Been There, Done That: Writing Stories from Real Life
(Grosset & Dunlap / Penguin Young Readers Group) November 2015
Where do authors get their ideas? And how do they turn those ideas into stories? This anthology looks at the process of taking real-life experiences and turning them into works of engaging fiction. The collection features award-winning and bestselling middle-grade authors who provide both original fictional short stories as well as the nonfiction accounts that inspired them.
The contributing authors include Julia Alvarez, Karen Cushman, Margarita Engle, Dee Garretson, Nathan Hale, Matthew Kirby, Claire Legrand, Grace Lin, Kate Messner, Linda Sue Park, Adam Rex, Gary Schmidt, Alan Sitomer, Caroline Starr Rose, Heidi Stemple, Rita Williams-Garcia, Tracy Edward Wymer, Lisa Yee, and Jane Yolen.
Learn more at the Been There, Done That website.
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Awards and Accolades
Junior Library Guild selection
Praise for Been There, Done That
A fine collection and a boon to writing teachers everywhere.
— Kirkus
These multifaceted, parallel stories reveal not only how ideas become fiction but also how the spark of creativity evolves into a polished product.
— Publisher’s Weekly
Some of the works have identifiable flavors of the actual event while others merely use a kernel of truth for their story. One of the best is “Lemon Squeeze” by Caroline Starr Rose, based on stories she was told by her mother. Lemon Squeeze was a game played by her mother in the Little Nippers club, where each girl contributed an anonymous “suggestion” to another girl. Rose spins a story written in free verse poetry. Each girl has her own voice and tells her inner thoughts about the game and the hurt feelings that go along with criticism.
— School Library Journal
Great Morning! Poems for School Leaders to Read Aloud
(pomelo books) July 2018
Great Morning! Poems for School Leaders to Read Aloud is an anthology of 75 poems by 50+ poets—with intros and intriguing facts for each week of the school year. Topics include:
School Forms ✼ Safety ✼ Inclusion ✼ Picture Day ✼ Health + Wellness ✼ Community ✼ Leadership ✼ Diversity ✼ Transportation ✼ Volunteers ✼ Compassion ✼ A Fresh Start ✼ Birthdays ✼ Recess ✼ Teachers ✼ Reading ✼ Art ✼ Music ✼ Technology ✼ Science ✼ Willpower ✼ JustJoking ✼ Literacy Everywhere ✼ Clean Up ✼ Mindfulness ✼ Surprise! ✼ Reaching Out ✼ Fun + Games
The 50+ poets who contributed poems to this book are:
Alma Flor Ada, Brod Bagert, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes, Robyn Hood Black, Susan Blackaby, Merry Bradshaw, Lydia Breiseth, Joseph Bruchac, Kate Coombs, Cynthia Cotten, Kristy Dempsey, Margarita Engle, Janet Clare Fagal, Catherine Flynn, Xelena González, Lorie Ann Grover, Mary Lee Hahn, Avis Harley, Jane Heitman Healy, Sara Holbrook, Ann Ingalls, Julie Larios, Renée M. LaTulippe, B.J. Lee, Suzy Levinson, Elaine Magliaro, Kenn Nesbitt, Eric Ode, Linda Sue Park, Ann Whitford Paul, Greg Pincus, Jack Prelutsky, Bob Raczka, Heidi Bee Roemer, Caroline Starr Rose, Laura Purdie Salas, Michael Salinger, Darren Sardelli, Liz Garton Scanlon, Michelle Schaub, Laura Shovan, Buffy Silverman, Eileen Spinelli, Traci Sorell, Elizabeth Steinglass, Holly Thompson, Linda Kulp Trout, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Carol Varsalona, April Halprin Wayland, Carole Boston Weatherford, Kay Winters, Allan Wolf, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Janet Wong, and Jane Yolen.
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The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations
(pomelo books) March 2015
Part of the The Poetry Friday Anthology series, The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations, features poems in English and Spanish by 115 poets for 150+ holidays and celebrations, including: Random Acts of Kindness Week, Children’s Book Week, World Laughter Day, National Camping Month, International Literacy Day, Global Hand Washing Day, and more!
Poets include: Jack Prelutsky, J. Patrick Lewis, Joyce Sidman, Margarita Engle, Marilyn Singer, Nikki Grimes, Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy, Ibtisam Barakat, Uma Krishnaswami, Francisco X. Alarcón, Linda Sue Park, Jane Yolen, Kenn Nesbitt, Jorge Argueta, Grace Lin, Joseph Bruchac, Douglas Florian, Laura Purdie Salas, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, and 95 others.
Target audience: PreK – Grade 5
For: Public Librarians, School Librarians, K-8 Classroom Teachers, Reading Specialists, and ELL Teachers, and Children (ages 4 and up)
Available in a Teacher/Librarian Edition and 4 bilingual Student Editions (featuring celebrations from Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter months)
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