Tag Archives: Marilyn Singer

New Release: Every Month is a New Year: Celebrations Around the World

Today we’re excited to announce the release of our new title, Every Month is a New Year: Celebrations Around the World, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Susan L. Roth. In many places around the globe, the new year starts on January 1. But not everywhere! Chinese New Year is celebrated in January or February. Iranians observe Nowruz in March. For Thai people, Songkran occurs in April. Ethiopians greet the new year at Enkutatash in September. All these celebrations, and many others, have deep-rooted traditions and treasured customs.every month is a new year

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Poetry Friday: “Broadway Moon” from A Full Moon is Rising

marilyn singerMarilyn Singer is the author of more than one hundred children’s books, including many poetry collections. Her works have won numerous honors, including the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor and the Orbis Pictus Honor. A Full Moon is Rising is a collection of poems that bring readers on a whirlwind tour of the world to discover an amazing collection of full moon celebrations, beliefs, customs, and facts. You can find out more about Marilyn Singer and her work on her website here.

Since April is National Poetry Month, we asked author Marilyn Singer to tell us a little bit more about what inspired her to write A Full Moon is Rising:

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Poetry Friday: Marilyn Singer’s Favorite Poems

April is National Poetry Month, and we’re celebrating by asking some of our own Lee & Low poets to share their favorite poems with us. Today, poet Marilyn Guest Blogger Singer (A Full Moon is Rising) shares:

Marilyn SingerOne of my favorite poems is by the late Karla Kuskin:  “Write About a Radish…,” which begins:

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Compiling Rigorous Thematic Text Sets

Jaclyn DeForgeJaclyn DeForge, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching first and second grade in the South Bronx, and went on to become a literacy coach and earn her Masters of Science in Teaching. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.

One aspect of the Common Core that I get asked questions about all the time is thematic text sets.  What are they?  How do you know which books to use?  What types of texts should you be pairing together?

Fear not!  I’ve compiled some examples of text sets that cover one topic and span multiple genres and reading levels and over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing these sets with you.  Some of the titles you may already have in your classroom library, and others I think you’ll enjoy discovering.

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Another Sensational Summer Read Aloud!

For the next installment in our series on Sensational Summer Read Alouds, here’s another title that has a high student-interest level, can be used to hit multiple Common Core learning standards, and is super rich in terms of content.

A Full Moon is RisingToday’s  Pick: A Full Moon is Rising 

Written and Illustrated by: Marilyn Singer

Genre: poetry & informational text

Hook: Your homework: stay up late and look up at the night sky.

COMPREHENSION CONNECTION

It’s almost as if Marilyn Singer anticipated the Common Core when she wrote this collection, which is probably why Book Links named it one of their 2011 Lasting Connections titles. The poetry can definitely be used to teach some key literature standards, but the content is so clearly science and social studies related! She also includes amazing maps and an incredibly informative “About the Poems” section that gives further information about the content covered in each poem.

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The biggest full moon of the year

In our busy day-to-day life, certain things often slip by unnoticed. When is the last time you stepped outside to admire a full moon?

A Full Moon is Rising image

If you can’t remember the last time you admired the moon, tomorrow night is the night to do it. Thanks to the fact that our lunar neighbor will be especially close to Earth (a mere 221,802 miles away!), tomorrow’s moon is expected to be the biggest, brightest full moon of the year, also known as a supermoon.

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How to Read a Poem Aloud, Part 2

guest bloggerSome more advice from our LEE & LOW poets! This piece of wisdom is from award-winning author Marilyn Singer. Her first Lee & Low title, A Full Moon Is Rising, is expected later this spring. Some great advice from a woman who really knows poetry!

“My parents knew that reading to their kids was important.  But reading wasn’t the only thing they did which shaped my love of books and then of writing.  They also sang to me—especially my dad.  He had these wonderful pastel-colored HIT PARADE sheets, which contained the lyrics of the most popular songs of the day.   Now, we may not have Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, and all those other great lyricists around these days, but we have plenty of other good ones.  I think that singing that stuff to your kids is a marvelous way to inspire musicality, love of words, and a feeling for poetry.

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