Uncategorized

Here Come the Humpbacks!

Posted by Kirsten on Mar 7, 2014 in Body Smart, Craft and Structure, Early Learning, Key Ideas and Details, Michigan Author, Nature Smart, Range of Reading, Science, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Happy March, everyone! This month I’m sharing a terrific informational picture book about humpback whales and a fabulous, free activity guide that will have your students up and moving as they process information. For those Nature Smart students who’re fighting the winter blahs, this kind of reading will be especially meaningful.

Here Come the Humpbacks! written by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated by Jamie Hogan is a nonfiction book detailing the migration of a humpback whale calf. Sayre gives us all the excitement of the treacherous journey that spans over 1,500 miles and doesn’t skimp on rich vocabulary or solid information.

After reading the book, your students can review what they’ve learned and “act out” the migration of a humpback. (Go, Key Ideas & Details!) Curious City has a wonderful, free humpback migration game you can download with step-by-step instructions and printables for 10 stations for students to visit. To add another layer of fun, go to YouTube and let kids hear the sounds that humpback whales make. (For more information about Curious City and its free children’s book engagement materials as well as book giveaways, please visit: curiouscitydpw.com. You’ll thank me later.)

I’ll be in New Jersey in April giving a seminar on early literacy skills for preschoolers and kindergartners. Please keep your fingers crossed that we’ll be enjoying tulip blossoms and not ice storms!

For more information about the author, please visit: aprilsayre.com.

For more information about the illustrator, please visit: jamiehogan.com

Free Books from ReaderKidZ!

Posted by kremenar on Dec 12, 2013 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

My recommendation for this week: go to ReaderKidZ.com where you can enter to win free books like Princess Posey and the Christmas Magic written by Stephanie Greene and illustrated by Stephanie Roth Sisson! December is Free Book Give-away Month on ReaderKidZ.com,  a wonderful free website with resources, book suggestions and ideas to foster a love of reading in kids, K-5. I’m a regular contributor to the ReaderKidZ Librarian’s Corner, and I use this site all the time when I need new book recommendations and ideas.

If you’re wondering why I’ve been so quiet these past few weeks (and quiet from me does cause most people to wonder), it’s because my sweet husband has been in and out of the hospital with a heart condition. Spending Thanksgiving in the hospital made me realize just how thankful I am for so many blessings in my life. If you are reading this newsletter or this post, please know that I am very grateful for you!

My First Author Gig

Posted by kremenar on Aug 15, 2013 in Uncategorized | 1 comment

Next week I am speaking to a group of elementary teachers about writing and publishing. It’s my first gig speaking as an author to a group of adults. I am 1/3 nervous, 1/3 excited, 1/6 fearful that I will be revealed as an imposter, and the leftover bits feel like I’ve been preparing for this for a long time.

And, according to the ancient documents I found while moving, I have been preparing for my place in the book world since at least second grade. The lesson here is to encourage your students’ passions because it may be the path of a future career. Tell students to save their work so they can look back one day on who they used to be. And most importantly, teach students to write daily affirmations like “I have a nice complexion.” These will come in handy during the tough teen years.

From Bright Idea to Bookshelf

Posted by kremenar on May 2, 2013 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

I had no idea when I started writing children’s books that it would take me more than twelve years to make my dream come true, or that the path to publication is rarely a straight line. So, on my new page “The Groundhog! From Bright Idea to Bookshelf”, I’m  sharing each phase in the life of my picture book To See or Not To See, starting with the “what if…” wonderings and ending with my announcements of the multiple awards it will win. (Writers like to dream…)

If you’ve ever wanted to see your own writing on a bookshelf, if you have students who want to be writers, if you love kids’ books and always wondered about the process, please check out my new page by clicking the tab at the top of the website. And don’t forget to let me know which Groundhog you’d like to see, or not to see!