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MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Thought-Watching, Not Clock-Watching

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Middle Grade FictionMIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Thought-watching, not Clock-watching

Middle Grade Fiction is one of my favorite posting headlines because sometimes, your thoughts as middle school students are simply fictional fantasies.  By fiction, I mean when you think about what you CAN’T do more than you think about what you CAN do.

Our MIDDLE GRADE years are filled with so many insecure thoughts about fitting in with the ‘in crowd,’ all we end up doing is wasting time by watching the clock, waiting for it to end.  The activity of watching the clock… Read more

MIDDLE SCHOOL TRAGEDY: Reading Sucks, Man

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MIDDLE SCHOOL TRAGEDY: Reading Sucks, Man

Reading sucksReading Sucks is the reply this children’s book author heard when handing out free bookmarks at the Abbot Kinney Street Festival this past weekend.  Sadly, it was delivered by a tweenage boy, who’s father simply shrugged to the behavior.  As a children’s book author, my heart nearly broke when I heard a kid say, ‘reading sucks.’  I mean, how did we fail with this kid?  Where did our system of education go wrong?  Sure, not only was this a tragic statement to hear from a child, but to witness the father’s blasé attitude only confirmed our theory on why the statement was heard: don’t blame the child, blame the lazy parent!

Here is the article I wrote that appeared in the Santa Monica Daily Press:

“Grilling hot dogs, homemade ice cream sandwiches and the snap-crackling sounds of barbecuing corn on the cob.  The organizers of the 2010 Abbott Kinney Festival were ignited this past weekend as the mercury rose enough to finally deliver Santa Monica its first summer day of 2010. Little did I know, however, that a snarky comment from a twelve year-old kid could bring…CLICK HERE to read the entire article in the SANTA MONICA DAILY PRESS!