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Official site of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign

Official site of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign
Related:  Readers Advisory

These Parody Book Covers Of Famous Classics Will Make Any True Literary Nerd Laugh Out Loud When it comes to my favorite books, movies, and games, I love in-jokes. There's a particular way that someone can poke fun at entertainment media while simultaneously proving that they like that book or movie just as much as I do, and I really appreciate that. If you're like me, you are going to love these spoof book covers created by The Online Pen Company, because they tell you exactly what your favorite stories are about, in no uncertain terms. Spoiler warning: Mild spoilers for some classic novels ahead. The season of giving is also the season of books. The Online Pen Company created 50 of these "hilariously honest" titles, all of which are based on vintage Penguin Classics. 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak The Online Pen Company "Sobbing for Days" is right. Click here to buy. 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen In high school, you either loved or hated this book. Click here to buy. 'The Cat in the Hat' by Dr. Click here to buy. The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer Click here to buy.

Digital Is (Telling Stories With Pictures--Graphic Novels) Step 1: Formulate a Narrative Some graphic novelists start from scratch and visually draft their narrative as they go, acting as both writer and illustrator; others create visual adaptations of existing prose work, “translating” the written word into visual-verbal form; still others work in collaboration from the onset, in a partnership where a writer creates a narrative script that an illustrator uses to craft the comic. There is no one “right” way to begin the composition process. That said, I have found that in teaching my students to focus on the nuances of a new form of writing, it is easiest for them to adapt an existing narrative than to try to create new content at the same time they are being asked to apply elements of visual literacy. Often I ask students to use a piece of writing they have composed earlier in the school year and explore the possibilities of adding a visual element to the essay/story.

Getting Personal with Books How do we encourage teens to come back to reading for fun? For my high school library, getting personal with books has made all the difference. Part of the answer lies in knowing your specific patrons and collection and matching students to books that might draw them in. Research from Common Sense Media shows that as students grow through adolescence they spend less time reading for fun. If you ask a teacher in any grade level or content area what one of the largest barriers they face is, they will invariably tell you it is time. Personal book shopping is a school-wide library program where I hand-pick 4 books for each participating student based on their answers to a few short questions. I then stack the books together, tie them with string, and attach a tag that has the student’s name on it. By choosing books specifically for students I eliminate a significant amount of the time commitment previously needed to check out materials in the library. Work Cited Author: Elizabeth Pelayo

Comic Master When Adults Don't Read, Kids Lose. Note: This post was co-written with my friend Todd Nesloney, who is both the principal at Webb Elementary School in Navasota, TX and the coauthor of the book Kids Deserve It. It was so much fun collaborating with Todd to transform what started as a conversation over Voxer about teachers who don't read, into this piece! Thank you for working with me on this, friend! I'd also be remiss if I didn't extend a nod to Donalyn Miller and John Schumacher, whose influence is clear throughout. Helping students create and grow authentic reading lives, is one of our most important jobs as educators. Obviously, there are probably many answers to this question, but one possible reason may lie in the reality that far too many educators don’t have reading lives of their own. Increase your own access to books: Visit your school library and become BFFs with the librarian. The bottom line is this: your students need and deserve for you to be their independent reading champion.

Prompts The most important and underrated factor in a writer’s success is discipline. Talent and luck always help, but having a consistent writing practice is often the difference between aspiring writers and published writers. The advice we hear from agents, editors, and authors alike is always the same: Focus on the writing. The Time Is Now offers a weekly writing prompt (we’ll post a poetry prompt on Tuesdays, a fiction prompt on Wednesdays, and a creative nonfiction prompt on Thursdays) to help you stay committed to your writing practice throughout the year. 11 Websites To Find Thousands Of Free Audiobooks Online - Book Riot We love audiobooks on Book Riot. We love listening to ’em on our commutes. While we’re cleaning the house. While we’re running. Or, even while we’re cooking. It’s a lot of time for audiobook listening. Where to find free audiobooks online We’ll discuss each in more details, but the best places to find free audiobooks online include: LibrivoxLit2GoLoyal BooksMind WebsOpen CultureOverdrivePodiobooksProject GutenbergSpotifyStorynorySYNC Important note! 1. Librivox is a non-profit initiative to record public domain books and release them as free audiobooks. You can even volunteer to read sections for books-in-progress! 2. Lit2Go offers audiobooks, plays, short stories, and poems that have been tailored for use in classrooms. 3. Loyal Books shares free audiobooks from titles in the public domain. You can also submit reviews and read what others have had to say about each of the titles. 4. You’ll find free science fiction stories from Ursula K. 5. Or, even a video of Neil Gaiman reading Coraline.

Write or Die 2 New Write or Die iOS App! Now you can Write or Die wherever you are! Works for both iPad and iPhone. New online Leaderboard for Write or Die! Over 1.5 million words written so far! VLC Control, custom playlist that works You can now use VLC in Stimulus Mode! 2.1.6 Updates Replaced countdown with more robust countdown clock.Countdown clock now animated, I will add an option to revert to a basic countdown clockMac version now has menu bar for Copying, Pasting and navigating between app windows.Added progress bar indicator for milestones in reward mode To update, revisit the original download link you received in your email and get the latest version. 2.1.3 Fixes Fixed a pernicious issue with time adjustment and wpm locking.Window positioning fixes. 2.1.2 Updates 2.1.1 Fixes Fixed autosave issuesFixed some leaderboard mathCustom background color now works, oops.Buy NowClick the question mark in the bottom right to let me know if you have any issues. Write or Die 2 Visual Stimulus Reward Mode To-Do

mashable Image: Mashable, Isar Chang Looking for the next great book to sink your teeth into? Look no further. As summer rolls on, you may find yourself with free time to catch up on reading. Here's a list of eight places where you can find a wealth of free (yes, free!) 1. In the free section of the Google eBookstore, you'll find a ton of free books from a variety of genres. 2. With a collection of more than 45,000 free e-books, Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to create and share e-books online. 3. The Open Library has more than 1 million free e-books available. 4. If you're looking for out-of-print books in different languages and formats, check out this non-profit digital library. 5. Searching for a particular educational textbook or business book? 6. With more than 29,000 free e-books at your fingertips, you're bound to find one that interests you here. 7. From romance to mystery to drama, this website is a good source for all sorts of e-books. 8. Want to listen to books instead?

Why You Should Self-Publish Originally published on Indie Reader This past week, my latest self-published book debuted at #7 on the New York Times bestseller list. Crunching some numbers, it appears that I've sold a million books in the last two years. You might think I'm living the best days of my life right now, but that isn't the case at all. I've had a lot of careers and have gone through quite a few distinct phases in my life, and several were happier than being a bestselling author. There's the decade I spent as a yacht captain, delivering boats all over the world. There are the years I lived on a sailboat while going to the College of Charleston, or the year I spent island-hopping through the Bahamas. My wife and I moved to Virginia in 2005. I loved it. I was home with my wife every night. I did most of my mental writing during those two years. I wrote most of my stories while working in a bookstore for very meager pay. I never went into these programs to hawk my books.

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