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Authors for Earth Day

Brooke Bessen is one of the many inspiring people I met at SCBWI-LA (yes, I’m still talking about it!  If you’re interested, you can read more about my conference experience here.)  On top of being an...

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A Chat With Librarian Rachel Shulman

Today we welcome Rachel Shulman to the Mixed-Up Files. Rachel is a youth services librarian at the Vernon Area Public Library in Lincolnshire, Illinois. She oversees the library’s creative writing...

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For Teachers/Librarians Page Update

It’s time once again for our semi-annual update on what’s new on MUF’s For Teachers/Librarians page! We’ve added some great new resources and links to our regular categories. More on those in a moment,...

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Ruff Ruff READ!

We love to watch middle-graders emerge as fluent readers. No longer focused on decoding and sounding out every syllable, a strong reader basks in the glory of a great story. But reading doesn’t come...

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Wisdom from the Second Grade: Writers’ Tools

One of the things I love about school visits is that I get to go to classrooms all over the country and meet wonderful students and teachers. There are some comforting universals to a grade school...

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Filling the Well: on growing as a writer

About eight months ago I finished the author note and copy edits for Written in Stone which will be out in June of this year. I had worked on that book off and on for 15 years. In many ways it’s the...

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Remembering the Eruption of Mount St. Helens

On May 18, 2013 at 8:32 am PDT, I hope you paused  to celebrate the amazing power of our Earth, upon which so much depends.  Many of us throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond remember that moment...

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From Augustus Gloop to Dudley Dursley: Fat Studies and Middle Grade Novels

We hear quite a lot about the ‘childhood obesity epidemic’ these days. From Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign to healthy school lunch initiatives by celebrity chefs, we as a culture are concerned...

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Using Books to Calm Anxiety

Using books as a therapeutic tool, bibliotherapy, can be a powerful experience. As children face new situations and demands, they typically will experience some degree of anxiety, which is normal. In...

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Happy Flag Day! Let’s celebrate with an interview with award-winning author...

  Happy Flag Day!   What better way to celebrate than to talk to award-wining author Kate Messner            about her middle-grade mystery book, Capture the Flag!   Kate’s newest middle-grade novel...

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Picture Book Windows to the World

This summer, I’m working with reading specialists in a literacy camp for middle grade English learners in a diverse Seattle public school. Our students are immersed in the hard work of becoming...

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For Teachers and Librarians Page Update!

It’s smack dab (almost) mid-August, which means … time once again for our semi-annual update on what’s new on MUF’s For Teachers and Librarians page! Here’s an overview of three great new resources and...

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The Secret Language of Stories (SLOS) by Carolee Dean

Hi everybody! Your long-time MUF member, Kimberley, here with today’s fantastic post! I’m thrilled to introduce you to The Secret Language of Stories, created by my good friend and writing/critique...

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Fun books to read when you’re sick (or distracting yourself from ongoing...

So this blog post kind of snuck up on me. I had no idea what to write about, until… I went to the dentist. Weird, huh?  There’s just something about sitting with your mouth gaping open for over an...

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A Tribute to Libraries

September was Library Card sign-up month — a reminder to parents and children that a library card is the most important school supply of all. So I’m a little late to the game to write a mini tribute to...

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The Children’s Hour: Poetry Study with Middle Grade Readers

It started this summer, when we visited Boston. We had just been to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s house in Cambridge. We were relaxing on the Harvard University lawn, and, inspired by the...

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A Salute to Veterans!

Happy Veterans Day!!  To all those individuals who serve or have served our country proudly as members of the U.S. armed forces, and the families who sacrifice a lot to support their service, we thank...

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Biographies: The World through Others’ Lives

A few weeks ago, I met with two new teachers planning a biography unit on persevering in the face of challenges.  As they talked about the books they wanted to use, I was suddenly transported back to...

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Life is What You Make It – Inteview with CinderSilly author

When I was a kid I loved the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Cinderella. We all wanted to be her, the beautiful damsel in distress who sang, “I’m as mild and as meek as a mouse, When I hear a command,...

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Visions of Gold and Silver

The milk and cookies are waiting by the fireplaces, stockings are hung, candles are lit in windows the world over and you know what that means? The book award fairies are on their way to spread holiday...

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