“Anglo-Saxon words will set you free”
If you write, or care about writing, or teach students who write, you must read “Writing English as a Second Language”. It’s a talk William Zinsser gave to new international students at the Columbia...
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Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta
I think Kristin recommended this one to me, in which case, props to you! Loved it. I finished it over a dinner shift at work and was totally sobbing in the library kitchen. But don’t worry; it’s not...
View ArticleMore on books in libraries
Following up on last week’s post about books in libraries… the NYTimes Room for Debate blog posted some of the comments from students. Most didn’t say much new, but here are a couple of thoughts I...
View ArticleClosing tabs (about food and education)
1. No Brownies at Bake Sales, but Doritos May Be O.K. raised my blood pressure way more than a whole plate of brownies (mmm… brownies): Nine months after effectively banning most fund-raising food...
View ArticleOperation Teen Book Drop
More apocalypsey goodness tonight, I promise. But in the meantime, Guys Lit Wire is running a fantastic book drive for Native American reservation school libraries. These schools don’t have much budget...
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Saving Francesca, by Melina Marchetta (2003)
It’s an eventful year for Frankie: she starts a new school (the formerly all-boys St. Seb’s, at which girls are welcome officially if not in practice), her normally outgoing mother becomes so...
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Review: No More Dead Dogs, Gordon Korman (2000)
Wallace hasn’t told a lie in his life. So when Mr. Fogelman assigns him to review the classic Old Shep, My Pal, he says exactly what he thinks: “[This] is the most boring book I’ve read in my entire...
View ArticleAll-school read
If you could make all the students in grades 8-12 (plus faculty) at an all-girls prep school read one book, what would it be? Rules: It can be fiction or non-, all one author or essays by multiple...
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Review: Loser/Queen, by Jodi Lynn Anderson (2010)
Cammy is a “loser” in typical high school novel style: she’s awkward, shy, the butt of jokes, and only has one friend — Gerdi, the perpetual Danish exchange student. When she starts receiving...
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Review: Make Lemonade, by Virginia Euwer Wolff (1993)
I still have a handful of books that are on my recommended summer reading list due to general acclaim even though I haven’t read them yet. Sometimes I read one and am embarrassed about putting my stamp...
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