Monday, May 30, 2011

Author Visit and Publication

This May I visited a third grade classroom. I talked about the publication process from idea to publication. The kids were very attentive and asked me a lot of great questions about being an author. I enjoyed the visit.

This month, my most recent publication hit the magazine racks. My headband craft is published on page 126 of the June 2011 issue of Crafts n' Things magazine. Check it out!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Among the Impostors

Among the Impostors, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is a sequel to Among the Hidden. This book picks up right where the first book left off. Luke gets dropped off at a boys' boarding school as Lee Grant. It's a rough start for Luke. He's confused and very scared. None of the boys are nice and the teachers don't seem to care about any of the students.

Luke finds a bit of happiness when he sneaks out of the school and plants a garden. Not long after that, Luke's garden is destroyed. Luke finds out that it was destroyed by accident, but in the process, he meets other shadow children also using fake identities.

Luke adjusts to being at the school and even starts enjoying his classes. But then, one of his good friends turns out to be an impostor, working for the Population Police. Luke's quick thinking saves him and his new friends. The story ends with Luke helping shadow children to adjust to being out of hiding.

I liked this story just as much as the first one. I recommend this book to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers as a read-aloud. The chapters are very short and exciting. This hooks the students and also allows for nice stopping points.