by Phil | Mar 3, 2017 | Ideas
Dav Pilkey, A Real-Life Superhero This is a full-circle story, twenty years in the making. Back in 1997, I was teaching sixth grade in the Tremont section of the Bronx. My new boyfriend (now husband) at the time worked as an associate editor at Scholastic. He gave me...
by Phil | Nov 6, 2016 | Ideas
As a children’s book author, I’m really a small business owner. The idea that an author gets to spend hours and hours every day being creative in his or her cozy writing cottage is pure fiction. Much of my time is spent doing administrative work —...
by Phil | Aug 3, 2016 | Ideas
My Husband, a Picture Book, and the Future President On Thursday, July 28, my husband, Kevin and I were having an ordinary old-married-couple evening, the kind of evening you might have after being together for nineteen years. We brought in sushi, listened to some...
by Phil | Jul 2, 2016 | Books, Education, Ideas, Social, Tips
Last November, I traveled to Minneapolis for the NCTE annual conference in Minneapolis. It was one of the best conferences I ever attended. My Personal Learning Network (PLN) came to life. I got to in-person meet so many of the friends and colleagues I’d been...
by Phil | Jun 20, 2016 | Education, Ideas, Memories
The Teacher and the Rock Star For those of you that know me, you know Wonder by RJ Palacio is one of my favorite middle grade novels. It’s a book every elementary school kid should read or should have read before middle school. One of my favorite lines from Wonder...
