Tag Archives: literacy

Author Review – Reeve Lindbergh

We are all familiar with Charles Lindbergh, famous aviator who flew “The Spirit of St. Louis.” We are familiar with Anne Morrow Lindbergh, his well-known novelist wife, and the kidnapping of their son which so hurt them and angered America. What you may not know is that their youngest daughter, Reeve, followed in her mother’s footsteps to become a famous novelist in her own right. Reeve attended Radcliffe College in Cambridge and graduated in 1968, preparing her for a long and varied career as a novelist, historian, and children’s author. She wrote two family memoirs. The first, entitled “No More … Continue reading →

Literacy Series: A Changing Definition, A Greater Need for Comprehension

Just what exactly is the definition of literacy? Traditionally, it has been considered to be the ability to read, write, and use language. However, as time has passed, that definition has changed to encompass a more well-rounded understanding of language, to communicate and to comprehend. UNESCO said: “Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society.” … Continue reading →

Books for the Blind

My doctor told me that my eyesight will continue to deteriorate as I get older. I intend to fight that with lots of carrots and lutein, but I’ve often wondered what I would do if I ever went blind. I would miss seeing my children’s faces, the starry sky at night, the cute dimples in my husband’s cheeks, and I would miss being able to read. This made me wonder what programs are available to bring books to the blind. I found some I think would be very useful and I encourage you to look them over and share them … Continue reading →

The Perfect Snack for Your Book

I’m not a drinker (Mormon! that was a Pirates joke) but I’m told there is a wine for every meal. Red wine with beef, white wine with fish. But what about pork, the other white meat? What would you drink with that? Ah, but I digress. I had a thought – if there is a wine for every meal, shouldn’t there also be a snack for every book? I have compiled the following list, a suggestion, if you will. Romance novels – how about something sweet? Strawberries dipped in chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate anything – you see, chocolate feeds … Continue reading →

All About Bookadventure.org

This month, I had said I was going to devote blogs to literacy. . .and then new stories happened, and movies about great educators came up, and well. . .I forgot. But I was recently reminded to pick it up again and so I decided to devote my first blog on literacy to my favorite incentive offering reading site: bookadventure.org How It Works Your child’s teacher (or you) sign up for an account and then children sign up for their own accounts under their teacher’s (or your name). They read books and take quizzes. They have to get a certain … Continue reading →

Tristi’s Picks: Best Children’s/YA Books Read in 2006

To go along with the blog posted earlier about the best novels I’ve read in the year 2006, I’m sharing with you a list of books for children and young adults that I particularly enjoyed. Again, it was difficult to determine an order; I happened across some wonderful books this year. Click on the book title to read the full review. 1. “Ashes of Roses” by Mary Jane Auch. The story of the Triangle Factory Fire in New York City, I learned a great deal about the young immigrant workers who perished in the fire and the labor laws that … Continue reading →

Tristi’s Picks: Best Novels Read in 2006

Happy New Year! For my first blog of 2007 (this is rather a momentous occasion!) I thought I would answer a question that is regularly posed to me. Because of the large amounts of reading I do, I am asked: “What are the best books you’ve read recently?” And so I give you my top ten list of novels I read in the year 2006. It was hard to rank them; they all deserve the #1 slot, but after careful consideration, this is the order I finally chose. Click on the title to read the full review! 1. “I Capture … Continue reading →

I Can’t Think of a Title. . .

. . .that’s how mad I am. The inability to think and communicate those thoughts on paper plagues our students in the inner city. I imagine it is a problem everywhere. . .but I know it’s a problem here. In fact, stating it’s a problem here really is an understatement–it’s an epidemic. Students are loosing the ability to communicate effectively and it’s no wonder. I was at a school this past week. The teacher had a bulletin board displaying the students’ work. The bulletin board featured the objective they were trying to accomplish and the students had to write mini-essays. … Continue reading →

In Cases of Divorce, Who Gets the Books?

No one gets married planning to get a divorce. That is, unless you’re Catherine Zeta-Jones’ character in “Intolerable Cruelty,” but that movie is a PG-13 and I’m only allowed to mention PG movies so forget I said that. The point is, when you get married, you expect it to last, and together you build up a beautiful collection of books. What do you do when you find your heart broken, your dreams shattered, and you have to decide – who gets the books? Things like this just aren’t covered in prenuptial agreements. May I offer the following suggestions that might … Continue reading →

Genres in Literature

Often, when I use the word “genre,” the person to whom I am speaking isn’t sure just what I mean. I thought I’d take a minute today to discuss it. When you’re talking about books, and you use the word “genre,” what you’re doing is specifying what kind of book it is. If it’s in the horror genre, that means it’s a horror book. “Genre” is just a fancy name for category. The following is a list of genres, fairly comprehensive but by no means absolutely complete. Romance – a book that is called a romance will have the following … Continue reading →