When a Young Reader Posts about Your Book on Their Website

Meet Bridget

Bridget and the Books: A girl who loves to read

I met an amazing young woman during a story time signing at Literati Books last week. Her name is Bridget and she is on fire for reading! Not only is her high-energy personality great fun to be around, she’s well-read and quite knowledgeable about all of the latest books on coming out on the kidlit scene today. I was thoroughly impressed by her ability to make connections between pertinent subject matter and contemporary resources. For instance, Althea Gibson is one of the girls with guts featured in my book. After I read Althea’s passage, Bridget instantly popped up with a connection between the passage and Varian Johnson’s The Parker Inheritance. Well done, Bridget!

I was also enamored by her delightful father, whose pride for his daughter radiates throughout his entire being. He actively supports for Bridget’s love and reading and blog production by traveling around the city assuring that she can meet authors, face-to-face. He keeps her focused, enthused, and nutritionally fortified. I really enjoyed getting to know him, too.

Take a moment to access Bridget’s blog. Enjoy reading the vast number of author interviews she’s got listed there. (She’s invited me to contribute an interview to her blog. I’ll share my post once it goes live. ) Appreciate her generosity as she directs readers to consider the platforms other cool kids are creating. Read five reasons why Bridget had to says readers will like Girls with Guts.

Learn more about Bridget and the Books by accessing her Facebook page and on Instagram. Contact information and book review deets can be found on her website. She’s adorable firecracker! You’ll love her.

Guides and Goodness Galore!

 Today has been a thumbs-up kind of day!

First of all, an interview I did discussing teacher guides with the highly respected TeachingAuthors.com went live today. In it, I talked about my take on creating companion guides for books written for kids. Below is a wee snippet from today's post.

As a classroom teacher, I scoured countless guides and activity games in search of lessons that would enhance the reading experience for my students. I looked for clever games, interesting new ways to practice vocabulary, dramatic interpretation, and introspective discussion questions. And, when I connected with the content of a companion guide, I kept that particular book in a prominent place on my classroom bookshelf to be used time and time again. Like the good resources I used back then, I now work to create guides that will keep the book in the heart of the child reader and the hands of those who care for them – my mantra.

And then, if the TeachingAuthors.com post wasn't wonderful enough, a friend and fellow RA from LA, Alexis O'Neill acknowledged my work on the current SCBWI Bulletin. In her article "Creating Teacher's Guides for Your Books", she notes that I state that guides fall into three main categories: Teacher's, Activity, and Discussion guides - and I do! Alexis also touts the work my compadres and I have been doing at ReaderKidZ.com.

Well, I've certainly been feeling the love today! Thanks, TeachingAuthors.com, Alexis, and SCBWI for the nods.

Today's been absolutely amazing. I can't wait to see what great things tomorrow will bring.