by Phil | May 25, 2020 | Ideas
A school canceled my virtual author visit because they didn’t want their fourth graders to know about my middle grade novel A High Five for Glenn Burke. They didn’t want their fourth graders to know about it because they feared a few loud parents in their community....
by Phil | Nov 29, 2017 | Books, Education, Ideas
Every student deserves to experience an author visit. It doesn’t matter if they attend a rural Title I school in York County, Nebraska or an elite prep school on the Upper West Side of New York City, every student should have the opportunity to experience an author...
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...
