Goddess of YA

For about 15 years, I was a middle school English teacher.  I loved eighth graders and found early on that they got my twisted sense of humor.  Despite my education, though, I knew very little about how to reach kids through books.  Being an avid reader myself, I thought everyone else would read anything any time any place.  Not so with middle school kids who were not already avid readers.  HELP!  Enter a fabulous class in YA literature taught by Dick Abrahamson at the University of Houston.  Not only did I discover tons of great books and ways to use them in the classroom, I also had a glimpse of my future teaching career.  After 15 years and two additional degrees, I landed a summer teaching position at Sam Houston State University teaching children's literature.  The temporary job morphed into my current position after a few years and now I am a professor in the Library Science Department at SHSU.  Since I do not have a background in LS, I am doomed to teach only classes in literature for children and young adults (boo hoo, feeling sorry for me?).  I teach preservice teachers and librarians and, in my spare time, do seminars and workshops on using literature with kids.  I have also managed to find some time to write about these subjects and have reviewed books for THE ALAN REVIEW, JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT AND ADULT LITERACY, and VOICES FROM THE MIDDLE.  My first book, MAKNG THE MATCH:  THE RIGHT BOOK FOR THE RIGHT READER AT THE RIGHT TIME (Stenhouse, www.stenhouse.com), is out there and doing well and the second book, NAKED READING, is out and seems to be well received.

I never thought I would have occasion to use the phrase, "my second book." I never even envisioned writing ONE book. However, #2, which at home is called "Corrie's college tuition book," is now available from Stenhouse. I hope that folks will let me know what they think of this book. While the title might be a bit titillating, I hope the contents will deliver what is promised in the subtitle. If you are interested in seeing more about the book, visit the publisher at: www.stenhouse.com. You will be able to read some of the book's contents from the web site. I know that this book is finding its way into education classes and English departments. I am now working on some ideas for the next book (gulp), so holler if you have some burning questions I might address in a new publication.

 Catherine Balkin called me in June to inform me that I am the 2007 recipient of the ALAN Award.  I still think there must be some sort of clerical error, but I  received the award at the ALAN Breakfast in NYC in November.  Here is a photo of the beautiful award.  I am incredibly honored to have this recognition from the folks wo have made ALAN my home for so many years.  You can read about the award and see a list of previous winners at the ALAN web site:  www.alan-ya.org.  And, as long as we are throwing around BSP information, make plans now to come to the ALAN workshop in 2008 in San Antonio where I will deliver the keynote speech for President David Gill.

Here is the cover of the new book edited by a tremendous trio:  Kylene Beers, Linda Rief, and Bob Probst.  I am thrilled to have a chapter in this book about new directions in YA Literature.  If you look closely at the cover, you will see that I am in great company.  Literacy luminaries who penned chapters for this collection include:  Janet Allen, Michael Smith, Jeff Wilhelm, Donald Murray, Nancie Atwell, Harvey Daniels, P. David Pearson, Dick Allington, and Chris Crutcher. Nice company!  Heinemann is the publisher.  The book is going into a second printing one month after its initial publication.  For more information, visit the Heinemann web site.

So, here I am now. I have been married for more than 30 years and my husband and I are rearing our three granddaughters:  Cali (the tall blonde one in the back row of this photo next to my niece Joy) is 20 and a sophomore at SHSU and my student assistant (despotism at its best, folks); Corrie  (far right with the huge smile and the curly hair) is a freshman in high school and her sister, Natalie (front and center with her arms crossed), is a seventh grader (now, you can shed real tears for me). Two kitties round out our family. GT and Rocky are home schooled.

Please remember to sign the Guest Book and let me know that you have been here! 

If there is something I can add to the site that would be helpful, let me know.