A newsletter—first issue! (Just think: this could be a collector’s item!) I’m planning to publish this newsletter once a month, or whenever I have news to share. The newsletter will be a way you can find out what I’m thinking, and what’s going on in my life. I think of the newsletter as a place for me to share practical tidbits and strategies that writing teachers might bring into the classroom.
Books for Writing Teachers
My new book—Tapping the Writer Within: Practical Ways to Help All Students Claim Their Wri-dentity—was published in February. I combined the words writing and identity to forge a brand-new word: WRI-DENTITY. My book takes a close look at how we move from “I do” to “I am.” I’ve come to realize that I have been circling this idea (students’ identity-as-a-writer) in many of my other books.
Tapping the Writer Within looks at identity in the practical sense of the word, such as when a student says: “I’m a soccer player.” “I’m a big brother.” “I’m a Christian.” We want all our students to say: “I’m a reader.” In the same way, we want them to say with confidence: “I’m a writer.”
In the new book I offer practical structures, routines, and strategies to build that identity in our students. I include a chapter on how to deal with the “Never-Writer”—that kid who says: “I hate writing!” I suggest ways we can give a student like that a fresh start.
Stay tuned for more news about Tapping the Writer Within. In next month or so I’ll be hosting a book give-away. And I’m eager to hear from teachers who have read this book.
* Use code SAVE20 on Corwin.com for a 20% discount. *
Books for Young Readers
Here are a few highlights on some of my books for young readers:
APRIL 28 IS FLYING SOLO DAY!!! The enitre Flying Solo book (well, 99.5% of it) takes place on April 28. Flying Solo Day will soon be a national holiday! Okay, well, maybe not, but it definitely SHOULD be, right?!
A teacher from Alabama contacted me with exciting news. Her fourth graders did a March Book Madness. Unbeknownst to me, my picture book (The World’s Loneliest Elephant: The True Story of Kavaan and his Rescue) was entered into the competition. My book faced My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Palocco in the finals. I felt honored—honestly, LOVE that book. In fact, when my son Robert was in 4th grade, he actually dressed up as the rotten redheaded brother. So I was astonished, gobsmacked, flabbergasted to learn that The World’s Loneliest Elephant won! Go Kavaan!
The Writer's Notebook
My most important book is one that has never been published, and never will be. My writer’s notebook feeds my other, published books. I use my writer’s notebook to collect things anything that I find interesting, surprising, funny, weird or shocking. Exactly what things do I collect? Well, you name it: I collect quotes, sentences from books or articles, jokes, rock lyrics, facts, stats. I collect ideas for books or poems I might write. For instance, right now I’m playing around with an idea to write a picture book about bird nests. (Don’t tell anybody!) Here’s a page from my writer’s notebook:
Photography
In the past ten years I have become a serious photographer. My photos have appeared in the New Hampshire Wildlife Journal, the California Reading Journal, among others. I love taking pictures! And I’ve come to realize that capturing images gives me another way to tell stories. I specialize in nature photography—mostly birds. My passion for photography has taken me to many beautiful places all over the world.
Check out these two (click to enlarge.):
Well, that’s it for now. Feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think who might be interested. You can contact me directly at figpudding@gmail.com