Have you ever had the opportunity to watch and listen as a master storyteller like Donald Davis, Heather Forest, or Margaret Read MacDonald performs one of their classic stories? If you’ve had this good fortune, then you know what a treat awaits the audience as the teller steps onto the stage and makes a last minute adjustment to the microphone. When they spin their tales, we are truly transformed by their command of the story and their ability to bring characters to life, wh

A number of years ago, I was sitting in the stands watching one of my sons play Little League Baseball when another father and I got into a lively discussion about reading. He was a very attentive dad, present at all of his son’s games, and you could tell that he cared very deeply for his 7-year-old son. Unfortunately, the boy was struggling to read and wasn’t doing well in school. The dad knew that I was a publisher so he started asking me about children’s books and eventual

With Labor Day now solidly behind us, there's no kidding ourselves anymore: the school year is officially in full swing. Now that we are settling into our back-to-school routines, let’s consider how more stimulating classroom experiences for children. We know that children learn more and retain material longer when they are excited by novel experiences or when they’re actively engaged in the classroom. To create a positive classroom experience, how can we we take advantage of