I was hired to teach English 101 at a local community college last summer, a week before class was to start. My primary qualification was my...

Happy Poetry Friday! Today's poem and Writing Workout /Lesson Plan on writing a holiday story are at the bottom of this post. There’s al...

[Note to teachers: while this post is aimed at adults trying to write commercially publishable picture books, the Writing Workout at the en...

I never meant to be a picture book writer. I was a novelist. More specifically, a middle grade novelist. Picture books intimidated me. Pre-s...

Oh, if only Ann Whitford Paul’s hands-on, right-on and thus write-on guide Writing Picture Books had been available when I first began wr...

I love wordplay. I savor the delicious way words feel in my mouth. The taste of an especially yummy combination—one that tingles with rhythm...

In second grade, I went to three different schools. (Ah, the joys of being an army brat.) In one of these (which I attended for all of three...

We have a winner! But before I announce the winner's name, I want to thank everyone who posted in response to our first Guest Teaching A...

Happy Poetry Friday! Today’s poem and a lesson plan on writing an envelope poem are at the bottom of this post. Don’t you hate it when someb...