Every February, LEE & LOW hosts a giveaway to celebrate Black History Month. This year, we continue to honor Black History Month by offering our biggest giveaway yet: two chances to win a copy of Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue With Today’s Youth, signed by Rosa Parks.
To enter, visit our Facebook page here.
We’re so excited for the upcoming release of Rebellion, the final title in the Tankborn trilogy, which comes out this May! Here’s what to expect:
In the wake of a devastating bomb blast, severely injured Kayla has been brought to the headquarters of the organization that planted the bomb—and many others like it in GEN food warehouses and homes. Her biological mother tells her that Devak is dead and that Kayla must join her in the terrorist group, which is ramping up for something big. Now Kayla must pretend that she embraces this new role in an underground compound full of paranoia as she plots a way to escape and save her friends.
Meanwhile, Devak has emerged from his healing in a gen-tank, only to be told that Kayla is dead and his family has fallen from grace. Can he overcome his grief at the loss of his power to see the clues that point to Kayla being alive?
As Kayla and Devak overcome the multiple obstacles between them while trying to free GENs without further bloodshed, the Tankborn trilogy rushes to a thrilling conclusion!
In this post, Tu Books Publisher Stacy Whitman shares the process of creating the cover:
As we discussed in the cover reveal post about Awakening (book 2 in the Tankborn trilogy), we showcased two different characters on the covers of book 1 and book 2. Originally, I thought perhaps we should showcase Devak, Kayla’s love interest and the major trueborn character, on book 3.
Jill Eisenberg, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching English as a Foreign Language to second through sixth graders in Yilan, Taiwan as a Fulbright Fellow. She went on to become a literacy teacher for third grade in San Jose, CA as a Teach for America corps member. She is certified in Project Glad instruction to promote English language acquisition and academic achievement. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.
Through elementary school, readers will learn to compare and contrast within and between texts. By first grade, readers can practice comparing two texts as they continue to learn decoding, sight words, and vocabulary. Comparing and contrasting are useful because teachers can assess students’ abilities at close reading, comprehension, and interpretation, as well as expose even new readers to deeper interactions with a text.
Below is a comparison of two books of similar topic and genre. I have created sample questions to teach towards and check mastery of each of the three Common Core categories. These are by no means the only questions to ask in each category, but these provide an overview of the progression in question complexity and mastery of the texts.
By creating a range of compare and contrast questions across the standards, we are able to differentiate for students within a class, provide extension opportunities for ready learners, or move the whole class from literal- to higher-level thinking over the course of several lessons.
Texts:
Twister’s Tricks (level: F)
Just released last month, our newest picture book, King For a Day, takes readers on a colorful journey through the spring kite festival Basant. From a rooftop in Lahore, Pakistan, Malik is determined to take his kite Falcon out and win the most kite battles to earn the title of “King of Basant.”
Illustrator Christiane Krömer used paper and fabric collage to create the gorgeous illustrations you see below:
I always take photos of the many stages. That way I can see what a picture looked like earlier on, experiment with many choices and then maybe go back to an earlier option. The fun with collage is that you can always push all the paper pieces and fabrics around until they are in the right spot. But there is also a big danger that all the 1000 loose pieces go flying, so it’s a good idea to have a photo that tells you exactly how it was when it looked good. I always have real fun to look at all the stages once the illustrations are finished. I hope you do, too.
In honor of Black History Month, we asked some of our authors and illustrators to reflect on the black historical figures who have meant the most to them. Today, Pamela Tuck, author of As Fast As Words Could Fly, reflects on Harriet Tubman:
I was “introduced” to Harriet Tubman in history class, and her story empowered me. As soon as people hear her name, they instantly think of an African American woman who led slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad. The courage and bravery she exerted in risking her life shows how she also empowered others to believe in themselves and the promise of freedom. Harriet Tubman’s journey proves how one person can empower a community, a nation, or even the world.
This past weekend was the 22nd Annual African American Children’s Book Fair in Philadelphia. The book fair is one of the largest single day events for African American children’s books in the country – and a great way to kick off Black History Month each February. Below, a few pictures from this year’s event:
Fourth grade is a significant juncture for readers because the Common Core State Standards prescribes that 50% of reading material should be nonfiction. One of the critical skills on Common Core-aligned end of year assessments is compare and contrast. By the end of the fourth grade, students need experience in comparison for both fiction and nonfiction works. Practice in comparison not only improves a student’s close reading abilities, but also enables educators to gauge student comprehension and interpretation.
In honor of Parrots Over Puerto Rico winning the 2014 Robert F. Siebert Medal for the most distinguished informational book for children published in 2013, I am comparing Parrots Over Puerto Rico with Puffling Patrol. This book comparison is useful because the books tackle similar central ideas, yet have very different text structures and presentations of information.
I have created sample questions to teach towards and check mastery of each of the three Common Core categories. These are by no means the only questions to ask in each category, but these provide an overview of the progression in question complexity and mastery of the texts.
By creating a range of compare and contrast questions across the standards, we are able to differentiate for students within a class, provide extension opportunities for ready learners, or move the whole class from literal- to higher-level thinking over the course of several lessons.
Texts:
Parrots Over Puerto Rico (level: Q)
Puffling Patrol (level: R)
A few weeks ago, Tu Books Publisher Stacy Whitman and author Joseph Bruchac (Killer of Enemies, Wolf Mark) answered questions about writing, publishing, science fiction and fantasy, and everything in between for a special Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. We rounded up their best advice for aspiring authors in Part 1. Today in Part 2, we share some of their advice on pitching, querying, and marketing:
Q: Joseph, when you sit down to write a query letter, what do you think the most important thing is to get across? I’ve heard a lot of advice, from getting the character’s voice in there to making sure the plot ends on a juicy cliffhanger. What do you do that made you so successful?
Joseph Bruchac: Writing a query letter is an art in itself. You need to get across both your idea and that you are the one who is qualified to write it.
Over the past several weeks, I have demonstrated what compare and contrast can look like in second and third grade. Even as young as kindergarten, early readers can learn to compare and contrast successfully within and between texts. In doing so, teachers can assess students’ abilities at close reading, comprehension, and interpretation.
Below is a comparison of two books of similar topic and genre. I have created sample questions to teach towards and check mastery of each of the three Common Core categories. These are by no means the only questions to ask in each category, but these provide an overview of the progression in question complexity and mastery of the texts.
By creating a range of compare and contrast questions across the standards, we are able to differentiate for students within a class, provide extension opportunities for ready learners, or move the whole class from literal- to higher-level thinking over the course of several lessons.
Texts:
Meat Pies (Level: A)
Our editors often get asked for advice on writing cross-culturally, so we thought we’d round up some of the best links on the subject. Writing cross-culturally means writing about a culture that isn’t your own (and in this definition of culture, we include race, ethnicity, sexual identity, disabilities, and other identity markers). We have published many books by writers who wrote outside their cultures, and believe that it can be done well; in fact, writing cross-culturally is an essential component of boosting the numbers of books about diverse characters.
That being said, writing cross-culturally must be done thoughtfully and carefully. It requires research. Changing a core piece of a character’s identity is not the same as changing a character’s name or hair style; different cultures provide different lenses through which to view the world, and affect characters in a multitude of small ways.
Here are some good places to start if you are an author writing cross-culturally or thinking about writing cross-culturally:
