MY BLOG
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- Classroom experiences 9
- Cultural reflections 9
- Multicultural literature 8
- Behind-the-book stories 6
- Book recommendations 6
- Discussion guide 4
- English learner resources 4
- Literacy reflections 4
- Either the Beginning or the End of the World 3
- Joseph's Big Ride 2
- Literary process 2
- Author interviews 1
- Collaboration essays 1
- Go Home 1
- Reflections on storytelling 1
- The Cat Who Liked Potato Soup 1
- The Good Braider 1
Why novels? A high school story
In my role as a novelist, I recently presented an assembly program to students at Gorham High School in Maine. Many had not read my novels, but they came to hear a writer who often writes as a witness to the world and its people. The title of my talk was “Writing as a Witness,” and I wanted to bring them the world.
Seeing Haiti through a young girl’s eyes
I visited the Amiko Youth Program in Manchester, where twelve multilingual learners gathered to read Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings in English and Kreyòl. The children drew their own portraits, explored Haiti through the eyes of a young girl, and discovered what it means to see a home country “deep in your bones.”
Immigrants, kids and flan
Here’s a Behind the Book essay about my picture book “Luis Paints the World.” The book is timely again. It’s a story about a big brother’s deployment to war through the eyes of his little brother who finds a way to mark the days.
Reading with dads in prison
A sign at the Concord State Prison’s Family Connections Center reads , “Be a dad. Be there.” This is a story about books as a link between kids and their parent who’s incarcerated.
Discussion guide for ‘Go Home’
This discussion guide for “Go Home” invites readers to explore themes of home, identity, belonging, family and displacement. Through thoughtful questions and activities, it encourages young readers to consider the experiences of refugees and immigrants, the meaning of home, and the ways stories can help us better understand lives and perspectives different from our own.
Kate DiCamillo talks with one boy
At New Hampshire’s first Book Festival, 1,300 children filled the Capital Center to hear Kate DiCamillo talk about stories. Then a little boy in the balcony asked, “Do you like all your books?” When he quietly added, “I just want to know,” the enormous room seemed to disappear. For Terry, the moment captured the “gravity and wonder of writing for children.”
How visiting authors can be part of welcoming diverse kids
Librarians and writers are natural partners. A visiting author can do more than talk about books: with the right preparation, props, visuals, movement and invitations to participate, an author visit can help English learners feel welcomed and give every child a chance to bring their own language and experience to the story.
Discussion guide for ‘The Good Braider’
This discussion guide for “The Good Braider” invites readers to explore themes of war, displacement, immigration, identity, family and resilience. Through thoughtful questions and activities, it encourages young readers to consider the experiences of refugees, the challenges of leaving home, and the courage it takes to build a new life while holding on to the people, places, and traditions that shape who we are.
Discussion guide for ‘Either the Beginning or the End of the World’
This discussion guide for “Either the Beginning or the End of the World” invites readers to explore themes of family, grief, identity, friendship and belonging. Through thoughtful questions and activities, it encourages young readers to consider the ways we navigate loss and change, the complexities of family relationships, and the search for connection and understanding during times of uncertainty.
Discussion guide for ‘The Cat Who Liked Potato Soup’
This discussion guide for “The Cat Who Liked Potato Soup” invites young readers to explore themes of friendship, family, food, community and belonging. Through engaging questions and activities, it encourages children to think about the connections we make with others, the comfort of familiar traditions, and the ways sharing stories and experiences can bring people together.
6 picture books about food and friends across cultures
Food has a way of bringing people together. These picture books explore food, friendship, family and the traditions that travel with us across cultures.
5 outstanding international books
Stories can take us across borders and into lives very different from our own. These five outstanding international books offer young readers new places, perspectives and voices — and remind us of the connections that bring us together.
Writing a picture book
A book for a young child is the world. It becomes part of the way a child learns to see and make meaning for the first time. Writing a picture book means bringing words and images together to create that world, with every word carrying weight and every image opening another possibility.
How I became a children’s book writer
I had the great privilege of studying with the British Carnegie Medal winner, Jan Mark. Here’s an appreciation of the craft, and large-heartedness of this extraordinary children’s novelist. Every day I wish I could talk with her again.
Ways to find a home: 10 stories of migration
Julie Flett’s picture book “Birdsong” runs away with my blue ribbon for picture books about moving. All of these books are about migration of some kind, and in Katherena's case, in “Birdsong,” her migration is to a new home, away from the sea.
Immensity: A reading with immigrant writers
“Writing united us. But could we actually pull off a reading?” Poets and immigrant writers gathered in Portsmouth to write about memory, immigration, home, family and imagination. “We fit together like water, each in its own way.” Eventually, the poems moved from the page to the stage.
Art lesson for ‘Joseph’s Big Ride’
Joseph’s wish finally comes true: he gets to ride a bike. At a school in Westbrook, Maine, students turned the story into art, drawing their hands and connecting them to create the spokes of a bicycle wheel. The project became part of the Welcoming Library.
‘I hope I will learn to dance a different dance I’ve never danced before’
Students at Broken Ground School learned Nepali, Bollywood and hip-hop dances, then wrote about what it felt like to move. “Happy,” “excited,” “silly,” “joyful” and “floating” became words for the experience. Dance opened a door to poetry, friendship and imagination.
A story from the house of extravagant colors
“Welcome to our house of extravagant colors / in our classroom on Lake Street.” Thirty-five international students welcomed poet Juan Felipe Herrera with songs, stories and poetry. In this classroom, many languages and many voices came together.
Juan takes his turn: JabberWalking with Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera calls a poem a “burble” and urges writers to hurry, hurry, hurry—to write down whatever they see, hear, taste and love. “JabberWalking” invites writers to loosen up, write in any language and follow their words wherever they lead.