A New Experience

Recently I had a new experience as a book reviewer. For those who may not know this, I do book reviews on Instagram. This part of my career started with me reviewing books that I already owned or ones that I bought for my classroom or to use in workshops. The idea was to connect the books to curriculum in classes. I use the term #literaturelasso to express how I feel that books (picture books, chapter books, graphic novels) can lasso a child’s interest in a topic. Or a #literaturelasso can introduce an idea for a unit or lesson. Or a #literaturelasso can make a connection to a child’s world or broader a child’s world.

As time went on, a few authors reached out and asked if I would review their book. So I started doing that as well. I then reached out to a few publishers and asked to be on their list of reviewers for upcoming books. A few started to send me ARCs, Advanced Reader Copies. I have been so excited to share so many new books to fellow educators to use as #literaturelassos in their schools and classes.

A bit ago, a representative from Greenleaf Book Group reached out and asked if I would review one of their author’s book. In addition she offered to have me speak with the author. I was so thrilled to have this new opportunity. We finalized a day and time with author, Karen B. Winnick. Ms. Winnick has written fifteen children’s books, many of them about animals. She has a background in graphic design and illustrates her books. Ms. Winnick writes mostly non-fiction picturebooks. She has written a poetry book as well as historical fiction picturebooks. Her most recent book was the one that I had been asked to review, Why Wolves Matter – A Conservation Success Story.

We had such a fun conversation by phone. Ms. Winnick explained to me why she writes, “keeps the child alive in me.” What a good idea, to find what keeps the child alive in ourselves. She was told that character driven books do better but one must write what you feel or need to write. To increase her writing skills she took courses, often with a children’s poetry writer. These are ideas that Ms. Winnick enjoys talking to kids about in her school visits. She also lets them know that writing a book, particularly when history or animals are the subject, requires lots of research. And all book writing requires rewrites.

For me this new experience has made me look at the authors of the books I review with new eyes. I like to see what I can read about how the authors come up with their ideas. Was it similar to Ms. Winnick in how she decided to write about the disappearance and reappearance of the gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park? She read an article in National Geographic that discussed the return of the gray wolves. This article led Ms. Winnick to research the gray wolves and discovered what happened to the other animals in Yellowstone National Park when they were eliminated and how their return restored the ecological circle. I have learned a lot reading Ms. Winnick’s books. She also supports educators and parents by providing curricular ideas on her website, https://karenbwinnick.com/.

I am so happy to have had this experience and I hope to have more like it.

Have a book you want me to review or are you ready for a book study? I have done books studies with whole faculties and with a few interested teachers or even a group of administrators. Virtual or in person. Reach out to discuss a book study or to have me review a book by emailing me, swladis@edtechease.com or DM me on Instagram @edtechease.