tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.comments2023-10-15T02:52:43.686-07:00Teachers Are Sparklighters for Literacy Everyday!Cathy Puett Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06359939210231329861noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-84027446094635347042012-06-14T23:04:44.283-07:002012-06-14T23:04:44.283-07:00Dear Cathy,
I'm an award-winning author with...Dear Cathy,<br /> <br />I'm an award-winning author with a new book of YA fiction. Ugly To <br />Start With is a series of thirteen interrelated stories about teen life <br />published by West Virginia University Press in November <br />of 2011. <br /><br />Can I interest you in reviewing it? <br /><br />My book's only 160 pages short. The writing is easy and open, and all <br />the stories are interconnected--same hero and story arc throughout. It <br />reads like a brisk novel in the form of stories. <br /><br />If you write me back at johnmcummings@aol.com, I'll send you a PDF of my book. <br /><br />At this point, my small publisher is out of available review copies, so <br />I hope and politely ask that you consider the PDF. I would be <br />very grateful. <br /><br />My publisher, I should add, can offer your readers a free excerpt <br />of my book through a link from your blog to my publisher's website: <br />http://wvupressonline.com/cummings_ugly_to_start_with_9781935978084 <br /><br />Here’s what Jacob Appel, celebrated author of Dyads and The <br />Vermin Episode, says about my new collection: "In Ugly to Start With, <br />set in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, Cummings tackles the <br />challenges of boyhood adventure and family conflict in a taut, <br />crystalline style that captures the triumphs and tribulations of <br />small-town life. He has a gift for transcending the particular <br />experiences to his characters to capture the universal truths of human <br />affection and suffering--emotional truths that the members of his <br />audience will recognize from their own experiences of childhood and <br />adolescence.” <br /><br />My short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five literary <br />journals, including North American Review, The Kenyon Review, Alaska <br />Quarterly Review, and The Chattahoochee Review. Twice I have <br />been nominated for The Pushcart Prize. My short story "The Scratchboard <br />Project" received an honorable mention in The Best American Short <br />Stories 2007. <br /> <br />I am also the author of the nationally acclaimed coming-of-age <br />novel The Night I Freed John Brown (Philomel Books, Penguin Group, <br />2009),winner of The Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers (Grades <br />7-12)and one of ten books recommended by USA TODAY. <br /><br />For more information about me, please visit: <br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Michael_Cummings <br /><br />Thank you very much, and I look forward to hearing back from you. <br /><br />Kindly, <br /><br />John Michael CummingsJohn Michael Cummingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00571255538205741563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-56541134243637260632011-01-31T05:27:14.187-08:002011-01-31T05:27:14.187-08:00New policy brief from Harvard Family Research Proj...New policy brief from Harvard Family Research Project: http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/beyond-random-acts-family-school-and-community-engagement-as-an-integral-part-of-education-reform<br /><br />Terrific read on this topic! Please share!Cathy Puett Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06359939210231329861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-52630296045724940182010-07-01T19:31:21.410-07:002010-07-01T19:31:21.410-07:00Thanks, D, for your comment. I hope you'll fo...Thanks, D, for your comment. I hope you'll follow this blog as I work toward posting more often. I've been reading Donald Pink's new book, Drive, and I believe so much of what he has to say about motivation. External works for simple if this, then stuff but when we want someone to be thinking, according to Pink, we want to allow them to have choice and autonomy. I do think parents' model is a powerful element. My thought is that we must give then an authentic reason to read and if we cannot do that we're in trouble.Cathy Puett Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06359939210231329861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-60344115151107975242010-06-28T10:33:41.311-07:002010-06-28T10:33:41.311-07:00This is always such a controversial debate. The sa...This is always such a controversial debate. The sad reality is that more and more kids see reading as work and not fun regardless of whether it's during the summer or not. Why read a book when you can just watch a story on the movie screen or T.V.? The root of the problem, I think, has to do with parenting. Parents need to read to their kids more and show them that it can be fun and exciting. Our society needs to learn to turn off the T.V. more often and learn to think again. But I digress... The main solution to the problem presented here is that it seems that the only way to get kids to read during the summer is to offer an incentive that they don't want to miss (pool party or a day at an amusement park or something). And maybe, just maybe, they'll actually see that reading isn't work at all, but a wonderful way to use your imagination.<br /><br />Dana<br /><a href="http://www.360-edu.com/professional_development.php" rel="nofollow">Teacher's Professional Development</a>Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11676153392219882254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-70159425614105124142010-03-10T04:34:48.346-08:002010-03-10T04:34:48.346-08:00Welcome and thanks to Erik and Rob. I don't p...Welcome and thanks to Erik and Rob. I don't post as often as I'd like but I'm working it in. Hope you are following!Cathy Puett Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06359939210231329861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-50907896510009031532010-03-02T13:19:42.069-08:002010-03-02T13:19:42.069-08:00Hi Cathy. I'd like to connect with you on link...Hi Cathy. I'd like to connect with you on linkedIn. How did you know about me.<br />Rob Bernstein<br />rjb@autismspeech.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10443813428934780208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-67506564355094721132010-01-21T01:10:45.934-08:002010-01-21T01:10:45.934-08:00Nice post. I really enjoyed reading it!
Physical C...Nice post. I really enjoyed reading it!<br /><a href="http://www.mchmultimedia.com/store/Physical-Chemistry-ebooks.html" rel="nofollow">Physical Chemistry</a>erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15829365923444949862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-88527685246835567402010-01-12T03:58:13.925-08:002010-01-12T03:58:13.925-08:00It was a very nice idea! Just wanna say thank you ...It was a very nice idea! Just wanna say thank you for the information you have shared. Just continue writing this kind of post.I will be your loyal reader. Thanks again.<br /><a href="http://edtrainingspecialists.com" rel="nofollow">Staff Development for Educators</a>Swigardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14074480847546390768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-50231086479377383112010-01-12T03:54:32.646-08:002010-01-12T03:54:32.646-08:00Good blog related to teacher training.I like your ...Good blog related to teacher training.I like your post.Its really very nice.I will keep visiting..<br /><a href="http://edtrainingspecialists" rel="nofollow">Staff Development for Educators</a>Swigardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14074480847546390768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-72088882497611061612010-01-08T12:38:34.757-08:002010-01-08T12:38:34.757-08:00Thanks, Marry! We starting a three times a week p...Thanks, Marry! We starting a three times a week posting now!Cathy Puett Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06359939210231329861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-756664201955009082009-12-03T07:42:23.813-08:002009-12-03T07:42:23.813-08:00It's great to hear that someone else is out th...It's great to hear that someone else is out there spreading the awesomeness of picture books, as well as their many uses.<br /><br />Thanks also for the links to some new resources and authors.Keith Schochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04487459160222497971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7316896623856318759.post-12696246292380313452009-10-28T19:13:38.482-07:002009-10-28T19:13:38.482-07:00Cathy, reading and writing are such a natural fit ...Cathy, reading and writing are such a natural fit that I'm always surprised when either is taught in isolation. When students are introduced to the 6-traits of writing, they gain a rich vocabulary that describes both literature and writing. <br /><br />I'm going to pass along your 'Hot Potato' game to the Pre-K through Elementary teachers that are currently working with me in my online class Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6 Traits. <br /><br />Your materials are so rich, I know we'll all benefit!<br /><br />Thanks for the good work,<br /><br />Dennis O'Connor<br />UW-Stoutwiredinstructorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07221464821539727027noreply@blogger.com