Booksource’s 2022 Literacy Takeaways

Booksource Banter Blog helps educators select the best classroom library books for their students, manage their classroom libraries and foster engaged reading. Here’s a roundup of the best literacy takeaways of this year!

1. The Lifelong Benefits of Reading

While strong reading skills support academic success, engaged reading benefits students long after they leave the […]

A Letter to You, From Mr. Schu

Popular children’s book author John Schu, aka Mr. Schu, sent us a letter, and it’s addressed to you! Read his thoughts on the benefits of read alouds and sharing stories in the classroom and learn more about his recent books.

Dear Colleague,  

I am writing you this message on October 11, 2022, from 32,000 feet […]

Raúl the Third Discusses Connecting with Students Through Books, Art and the Spanish Language

Award-winning author/illustrator Raúl the Third is the creative mind behind many of today’s most popular children’s books. He illustrates the Lowriders series, including the newest addition, Lowriders to the Rescue. In this exclusive Booksource interview, Raúl the Third talks about his travels, his creative process and the inspiration behind his work. Learn more about Raúl […]

By |May 19th, 2022|Author Posts + Interviews, Award-Winning Titles|3 Comments

Jane Yolen: A Long Way From There to Here

By Jane Yolen, author of Owl Moon, Mapping the Bones and 364 (yes, that number is correct!) other titles.

I come from a family of writers and storytellers. My great grandfather was a storyteller in the old country (Ukraine). My father published nonfiction books, eight in all. My mother wrote short stories and created crossword puzzles […]

By |April 19th, 2018|Author Posts + Interviews|0 Comments

Taming the Wild Text: 4 Powerful Ways to Use Technology as a Companion to Raising Lifelong Readers

Guest post by Pam Allyn and Monica Burns, co-authors of Taming the Wild Text

Raising our children as readers has taken on many new dimensions in this 21st century world. We are reading in blended ways and we are responding in blended ways too. Reading has the profound potential to remind us of our humanity, our […]

By |March 23rd, 2018|Author Posts + Interviews|0 Comments

What Is Love?

Hi all, Matt de la Peña and Loren Long here. We’ve spent the past few weeks on the road talking about our new picture book, LOVE, and we thought it would be cool to share a little about our inspiration for the project. Thanks for your time!

Matt: Hey Loren, I know you tried a completely […]

By |February 9th, 2018|Author Posts + Interviews|0 Comments

Nikki Grimes: What Was the Question?

By Nikki Grimes 

I found myself in a strange part of town, this morning. I wandered aimlessly up and down an unfamiliar street. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. It’s called Writer’s Block.

How on earth did I get here? That of course, is the question, and questions—especially good ones—lead to answers, which is the point. Every story […]

By |February 2nd, 2018|Author Posts + Interviews|0 Comments

Ruta Sepetys: Every Human Being Has a Story to Tell

Imagine a suitcase.

It’s old, journey-weathered, and has lived in a lonely corner of a relative’s attic for more than fifty years. You recognize the name on the dusty tag. It belonged to your grandparents or your great-grandparents. What do you hope is inside?

For the past decade, I’ve been traveling the world in search of history […]

By |January 23rd, 2018|Author Posts + Interviews|0 Comments

Champions and Heroes by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Guest Post by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of Fish in a Tree and One for the Murphys

There is inspiration everywhere for writers who are willing to see. My inspiration for my books tends to come from my most vulnerable times in my young life.

It’s actually a bit ironic that I would grow up to be […]

By |December 12th, 2017|Author Posts + Interviews|0 Comments

This Is How We Do It: A Nonfiction Picture Book Introducing Students to Kids from Around the World

By Matt Lamothe, author of This Is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World 

In college I took a class in documentary filmmaking. The assignment was to select a group of people different from yourself, and show the audience specific aspects of their lives. I chose truck […]

By |December 4th, 2017|Author Posts + Interviews|0 Comments