Trinidad, 1938

Every now and then, a little piece of my country’s history surfaces, and I’d like to share it with you. This is a video of Trinidad in a simpler time. Enjoy.

A cut above

President Obama and a young boy have a nice moment comparing haircuts at the White House.

From the White House Flikr site.

Best 100 Picture Books

School Library Journal blogger Elizabeth Bird spent the last few weeks couting down the top 100 books of all time. #1 is finally up today. You can check out the entire list starting here.

For the finale, there are a few treats. A preview of the upcoming movie version, and a video clip of President Obama reading the story to kids.

A taste of Trinidad

This feature from the New York Times will leave your mouth watering.

Obama up to bat

Several days ago, President Obama visited Trinidad to attend the Summit of the Americas. One of Trinidad’s best and most famous cricket players, Brian Lara, got the Pres to have some fun by showing him how to bat.

Awesome.

Happy Birthday Morse Code!

Today is the birthday of Samuel Finley Breeze Morse (1791-1872), inventor of the single-wire telegraph, and Morse code.

Morse was an American painter who lived in England briefly and then returned to the United States to become Professor of Painting and Sculpture at the University of the City of New York.

On the sea-voyage from England to New York, Morse met Charles Jackson who was an expert on electromagnets. From Jackson’s research in electromagnets, Morse got the idea for a single-wire telegraph. Prior to Morse’s invention, telegraphs had to go over railway lines, which limited where messages could be sent. With Morse’s idea, telegraph wires could be put up anywhere, and radically improve comminication.

Morse quit painting in 1837 and worked exclusively on developing the telegraph. And on May 24, 1844, the first telegraph message was sent: “What hath God wrought.”

Now go write your buddies a message in Morse Code.

Morse Codes
American	International
A . _	. _
B _ . . .	_ . . .
C . .    .	_ . _ .
D _ . .	_ . .
E .	.
F . _ .	. . _ .
G _ _ .	_ _ .
H . . . .	. . . .
I . .	. .
J _ . _ .	. _ _ _
K _ . _	_ . _
L _____	. _ . .
M _ _	_ _
N _ .	_ .
O .   .	_ _ _
P . . . . .	. _ _ .
Q . . _ .	_ _ . _
R .    . .	. _ .
S . . .	. . .
T _	_
U . . _	. . _
V . . . _	. . . _
W . _ _	. _ _
X . _ . .	_ . . _
Y . .   . .	_ . _ _
Z . . . .	_ _ . .
1 . _ _ .	. _ _ _ _
2 . . _ . .	. . _ _ _
3 . . . _ .	. . . _ _
4 . . . . _	. . . . _
5 _ _ _	. . . . .
6 . . . . . .	_ . . . .
7 _ _ . .	_ _ . . .
8 _ . . . .	_ _ _ . .
9 _ . . _	_ _ _ _ .
0 ______	_ _ _ _ _

Snafu!

I was just checking to see if any more of my covers had been posted to online bookstores like Amazon and B&N, and I came across this one:

But I didn’t write that book. You can see from the cover image that the author is Alexa Murphy. I’m sure she’s not thrilled.

I wrote Overcoming Prejudice which is attributed to Tara Koelhoffer on B&N, though on Amazon I am correctly listed as the author. I also have a small box of this title that the publishers sent to me more than a month ago.

I also wrote Being a Leader and Making Decisions. That title does not appear in the Character Education series on B&N, but it’s on Amazon, with my name, but with no cover picture yet.

I wonder what the holdup is?

Incentive for young writers

If you’re a parent or teacher, you know how difficult it can be sometimes to get your young ‘un to write. CHATEAU MEDDYBEMPS YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP has story starters on their site at
http://www.meddybemps.com/9.700.html. Perfect for home-schoolers, teachers, or just parents wanting to help their kid write, you can send in your kids’ story and if it’s published on the site, Chateau Meddybemps will send your child a “Published Author” t-shirt that they can sport in style.

Who says being a writer doesn’t come with perks?

Improve your students’ literacy in an hour

Dear Teachers,

I know you understand the importance of good literature for students. It’s not just about being able to read, it’s about being able to comprehend, to make connections, to close the book and walk away with something new. As a teacher, I used all the usual methods to get kids to connect: writing reports, re-writing the ending, dramatizing a section of the book, book talks and more. They’re all good methods, but one idea I never gave much thought to, was getting an author into my classroom.

I don’t know why. I was writing at the time. Wouldn’t I have liked to go to my own classroom as an author? Of course I would have.

I think that the idea of an author in your classroom might seem out of reach. But the fact is that many authors of Picture Books, Middle Grade Fiction and Young Adult novels want to meet you and your students. I know I do.

Of course, there’s the cost, which can be prohibitively expensive, especially in these tough economic times. I’ve always kept my costs low, wanting to reach kids who might not otherwise be able to afford such things, but I’ve recently found a genius solution. It’s all the benefits of meeting an author, with little or no cost.

Intrigued?

Well, if you have a computer with internet access, you can have an author in your classroom in a snap.

I recently joined a group called Skype an Author. The program brings authors into your classroom via your computer with internet connection. I know! I’m totally psyched about it too! You can choose a brief “meet the author” visit at no cost. Yes, FREE. Or you can have an in-depth discussion with the author for a price of his/her choosing. I’ve opted to do up to a one hour presentation, and it’s the same kind of presentation I would do if I were actually coming to your school, except I could do it from the comfort of my own office.

Admittedly, it’s not as dynamic as a face-to-face visit, but it’s economical (for both class and author) and it’s an invaluable way to make literacy come alive for your students. All in the space of one hour.

Great idea, huh?

Visit my Skype an Author page to schedule a visit.

Children’s Choice Awards

Alrighty, all you readers out there, it’s voting time!

Over the past few weeks, 15,000 kids just like you read and selected books in the following categories: Favorite Book, Favorite Author, Favorite Illustrator, and Teen Choice Book of the Year and now it’s your turn to choose the winners!

You can visit Book Week Online to vote. Voting is open now and ends on May 3, 2009. Winners will be announced at a New York City gala on May 12th, during Children’s Book Week (May 11-17).

Happy voting!