At the IRA today!

I am very pleased to have the chance to visit the International Reading Association's Engage blog today. 

Won't you join me there?  I think there might be cookies...

More O.J.!

It has been a busy couple of months, with travel to San Antonio, Minneapolis, New York, Virginia and more. Lots of kids, lots of O.J. books, and everywhere I go I tell kids, "Make an O.J. and send me a photo!"

Well, here's the newest member of the O.J. family, submitted by Rei (pronounced "Ray" - how cool is that?) in Vermont. He doesn't have a name yet, but I'm thinking maybe "Pinky"? Or how about "Sting"? That way, it'll be "Sting" and Rei - stingray! Just some suggestions... he's your dog, though, so the name is up to you. Write about him, send it to me and maybe you'll see your work published here!

Presenting: More Pups of Moretown (VT!)

O.J. loves to get mail (oj at ericaperl dot com!), and today he was treated to a great email from Diana Puffer, a 5/6 teacher at Moretown Elementary School in Moretown, VT.  She told O.J.: "My students got together with our 2nd grade buddies and made our own dogs like OJ.  They had so much fun and came out amazing!!!"  

And she sent photos, so you can see her fabulous students and their new pets:

 

But wait there's more... (of course there's more - these kids are from Moretown!)

Here's the "more":

Diana and her school librarian, Meg Allison, have created activities based on When Life Gives You OJ.  For example, they are planning to work with the 2nd grade buddies to make a biography about the dogs through the eyes of the dogs.  (I love that idea!)  She also thought the kids might work with their local Humane Society, Central Vermont Humane Society, to create bios for dogs needing adoptive parents.  And here's another great idea: turning the dogs into "doggie" banks and try to raise money for the local Humane Society.

Great job on the dogs, and great collaboration!  Let me know how these projects go and keep those stories and photos coming!

Introducing... Carlos!

Carlos the chameleon is the one and only KING OF THE ZOO (just ask him!).  He's illustrated by the fabulously talented, NY Times bestselling illustrator (and all around terrific person) Jackie Urbanovic.  He'll be available at a bookstore, library, school, and hopefully zoo near you in 2013!

I Shared My Lesson!

Last week, I had the pleasure of going to Osceola County, FL with the American Federation of Teachers and First Book to present my work and help provide books to all of the kids there.  It was an incredible event, though typical of the great work AFT and First Book are doing all over the country.  Here's a video AFT made of it:

Did you hear the kids chanting "Dot-TY! Dot-TY!"? Too cool...

Anyway, while I was there I watched a presentation on the AFT's new site, Share My Lesson.  When I learned that it is available for anyone who works with kids to share resources, I got really excited.  What a cool thing for us authors that create teaching guides and materials!  So I jumped on and, yes, shared my lesson, including several resources for using When Life Gives You O.J. with 3rd-6th grade students and linking them to the Common Core standards.  And my plan is to do it again, and again, and again. 

You should, too.  And you heard it here first!