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share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading posted in uncategorized tagged baseball baseball books baseball history brandon terrell bruce weber chicago cubs hank greenberg jackie robinson jesse cole joe posnanski karen l swanson mark braff mlb nathalie alonso roberto clemente roger kahn savannah bananas schaumburg boomers sharon robinson stephen krensky toni stone world series leave a comment retro review gentle ben by walt morey posted on november 21 2025 by gary anderson as a middle grade reader almost sixty years ago my favorite books were outdoor adventure stories about animals one of my favorites was walt morey s gentle ben i wondered if this novel would hold up after all these years and if it s a worthwhile suggestion for contemporary young readers and the answer is yes the setting of gentle ben is alaska in the years before statehood thirteen year old mark andersen lives just outside of town with his father and mother he is shy and withdrawn as he grieves the death of his older brother mark s father makes a living off of his boat as a seasonal fisherman while his mother takes care of the family and home mark secretly befriends a five year old brown bear named ben who is kept chained in a shed by a local scoundrel named fog benson when benson floats the idea of selling raffle tickets for the opportunity to shoot ben mark pleads with his parents to buy ben from fog benson his parents are reluctant because brown bears are dangerously unpredictable but when they see how mark and ben interact they cautiously give in and bring ben to live on their property mark and ben spend summer days in the tall grass and along the wild shores of their alaskan sound as this unlikely friendship deepens mark becomes more confident eventually mark takes his place alongside his father on their boat during salmon season while ben continues to grow and grow the beauty of gentle ben is in morey s writing about nature and in mark s emotional and physical progress brought on by the bond with his giant pal the novel s drama intensifies when gentle ben faces human and animal predators and when mark s father is caught out in a storm on his boat i held my breath through pages 100 101 and 102 originally published in 1965 the book avoids many of the stereotypes common at the time the only issue that might seem dated for today s readers is the relationship between mark s parents mark s father is the boss of the house and he makes clear that some things are best left for men to handle mark s mother is a strong woman though and she knows how to get her way without overt conflict this dynamic provides an interesting discussion opportunity for today s readers gentle ben is a solid choice for those interested in hunting fishing and the outdoors themes of resilience responsibility and healing from grief make the story meaningful for contemporary readers maybe i was a little nostalgic as i re read this childhood favorite but i found gentle ben heart warming exciting and enjoyable i hope this classic continues to find its way into the hands of young readers who are looking for exactly this kind of story side note some might remember the movie gentle giant and the television series gentle ben both starring dennis weaver and young clint howard these screen versions are based on walt morey s book but they are inexplicably set in the florida everglades instead of alaska and ben is changed from a huge brown bear to a smaller black bear share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest more print opens in new window print share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading posted in uncategorized tagged 1965 animals bears books clint howard dennis weaver hunting middle grade nostalgia outdoor retro review review walt morey leave a comment review living the life of a writer 6 practices student writers have know and do by jen vincent posted on november 17 2025 by gary anderson jen vincent is one of the best writing teachers ever so her new book living the life of a writer 6 practices students writers have know and do routledge 2026 is cause for celebration and celebration is in fact one of the practices jen offers in her book at the heart of living the life of a writer is the idea that claiming the identity of a writer matters not only for students but also for their teachers when we know the joy frustration and gratification that comes from writing we can better identify with and guide our students as they grapple with their own writing projects here are the six practices presented in living the life of a writer writers have a way to collect writers have a writer s mindset writers know writing is a process writers know strategies to help them write writers explore writers celebrate jen vincent believes in the power of choice and the beauty of each student s individuality as she explores each of the six practices i love how her teaching honors that individuality by providing students with the knowledge and opportunity to make the choices that good writers learn how to make my favorite of the practices is writers explore so much of traditional writing instruction involves following rubrics and guidelines but isn t it true that the best writing happens when we veer from those prescribed paths to explore new thoughts and dimensions related to what we re writing about isn t it also true that beyond writing we are more fully realized human beings when we have the courage and know how to go beyond what is known or expected jen vincent s living the life of a writer is inspiring but it s also practical the author knows kids and classrooms she knows what works and a thousand ways to scaffold and differentiate each strategy the how to aspects of this book are a gold mine wrapped in deeply humanistic motivational language each chapter includes writer s affirmations a moment to reflect living the practice and ready set write these sections are useful when going back to the book for specific purposes to enhance our teaching or writing since i started reading living the life of a writer i ve been using the moment to reflect sections as prompts for my own journaling living the life of a writer is a great choice for professional development through department book clubs and an especially useful title for home schoolers jen vincent is the writing teacher every student deserves the friend every teacher wants and now the author that will elevate every writing classroom share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest more print opens in new window print share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading posted in uncategorized tagged 2026 books education jen vincent lifeofawriter review routledge teaching writing writing leave a comment review king of the neuro verse by idris goodwin posted on august 23 2025 by gary anderson in idris goodwin s forthcoming young adult verse novel king of the neuro verse it s 1999 and pernell is in summer school again his english teacher ms harding dismisses his attention deficit disorder and just keeps failing him pernell s favorite part of summer school is the rap competitions that spring up in the school cafeteria his summer goal is to become the king of the neuro verse toppling the current king this of course echoes hamlet the play ms harding insists they study though pernell initially can t connect with shakespeare as the shakespeare thread becomes important to the plot it feels a bit forced shakespeare is hard for most students and it seems like a stretch that a neurodiverse student would be so eager to embrace shakespeare there is much to admire in this short book most of the verse in king of the neuro verse captures pernell s mind at work fragmented free verse reflects his restless thoughts while couplets and longer rap passages showcase his clarity and focus when rhyming the 1999 setting underscores how differently adhd was understood then compared to now while i m not wild about negative teacher stereotypes ms harding s character still rings true the most satisfying plot development is how pernell eventually claims agency by creating a self directed project celebrating the couplet as the basis of both rap and classical poetry king of the neuro verse is a solid suggestion for young readers who are into rap or who can relate to a character with neurological differences who is learning to navigate high school thanks to netgalley for advance access to this title share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest more print opens in new window print share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading posted in uncategorized tagged 1999 add adhd idris goodwin neurodiversity rap review shakespeare verse novel leave a comment review pop goes the nursery rhyme by betsy bird illustrated by andrea tsurumi posted on july 23 2025 by gary anderson that rambunctious weasel from the pop goes the weasel nursery rhyme just isn t satisfied with jumping out of one nursery rhyme in betsy bird s pop goes the nursery rhyme minerva 2025 he keeps interrupting other favorite nursery rhymes causing quite a bit of consternation for their characters especially one frazzled bird in the vein of mo willems pigeon books and david ezra stein s interrupting chicken pop goes the nursery rhyme is a hilarious romp through many of the best known nursery rhymes with a built in punchline guaranteed to tickle toddlers and others pop goes the nursery rhyme is a perfect read aloud because of its bop along rhythms and sudden exuberant interruptions by that trouble making weasel andrea tsurumi s energetic cartoonish illustrations and bright typography not only capture the uproar but they also animate the nursery rhymes familiar lines and images calibrated exactly to the pre school sense of humor pop goes the nursery rhyme is a picture book that little ones will beg to have read to them again and again share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest more print opens in new window print share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading posted in uncategorized tagged 2025 andrea tsurumi betsy bird david ezra stein minerva mo willems nursery rhyme picture book review leave a comment review creaky acres by calista brill and nilah magruder posted on july 10 2025 by gary anderson in the excellent new middle grade graphic novel creaky acres kokila 2025 a parental job change means ten year old nora has to leave her friends her school and her beloved high end horse facility where she is an accomplished and award winning equestrian at least she gets to keep hay fever her horse and best friend everything in nora s new environment seems strange her new house is old and purple the kids at her new horse barn creaky acres are quirky and lack the discipline expected at nora s previous barn worst of all creaky acres is in poor repair and the trainer doesn t believe in allowing her students to participate in competitions at her new school nora is the only black student and she is met with several microaggressions some kids want to touch her hair the social studies teacher only calls on her when the answer involves a black historical figure when she gets in an argument with a white bully the principal automatically believes the bully s version of what happened creaky acres has all of this drama but it also has plenty of appealing sillines including a girl who insists on riding a cow instead of a horse a poorly behaved goat and possums galore the artwork features colorful cartoon style drawings and panels of varying sizes are effectively used to intensify especially important moments some of the most compelling scenes include no text at all just sequences of panels that guide readers wordlessly through the action i can t quite put my finger on how they accomplished it but authors calista brill and nilah magruder have created a graphic novel that feels cinematic in ways that the characters interact and how the plot unfolds creaky acres is definitely for all the horse kids out there but other young readers wll like it too because of the clever banter its portrayal of outsider kids supporting each other and universal themes involving friendship and resilience creaky acres is one of the best graphic novels i ve seen in a long time i m glad that it allows plenty of room for development as a series share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest more print opens in new window print share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading posted in uncategorized tagged 2025 book review calista brill creaky acres graphic novel horses kokila middle grade nilah magruder leave a comment older posts gary anderson thanks for visiting my blog i appreciate your time reading and commenting here search for top posts pages review here come the aunties by cynthia leitich smith illustrated by aphelandra review the amazing generation by jonathan haidt and catherine price seeing the beatles sort of and other 2025 live music highlights review onward 16 climate fiction short stories to inspire hope edited by nora shalaway carpenter eleven baseball book reviews for the early off season retro review gentle ben by walt morey review living the life of a writer 6 practices student writers have know and do by jen vincent review king of the neuro verse by idris goodwin review pop goes the nursery rhyme by betsy bird illustrated by andrea tsurumi review creaky acres by calista brill and nilah magruder recent posts review here come the aunties by cynthia leitich smith illustrated by aphelandra review the amazing generation by jonathan haidt and catherine price seeing the beatles sort of and other 2025 live music highlights review onward 16 climate fiction short stories to inspire hope edited by nora shalaway carpenter eleven baseball book reviews for the early off season 2012 ...
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