Resource Review: The Literature Teacher’s Book of Lists

When I was getting my doctorate, I worked for a year at the university’s bookstore. While this occasionally was a crazy experience (complete with confused undergraduates, angry and frustrated parents, and the occasional unhinged patron), it was also very rewarding. I worked with some fantastic people, and I got a great discount on books. One of the books I purchased with my employee discount was The Literature Teacher’s Book of Lists (2^nd edition) by Judie L. H. Strouf, and I have never regretted buying it. With over 250 lists on topics ranging from literary allusions to literary periods, it an indispensable resource for English teachers and English teacher educators, and it is a fun and interesting read for those who like trivia (or perhaps aspire to be on Jeopardy! one day). 

YA/Children's Book Review: The Family Romanov

Since I was young, I have been fascinated by the last Russian tsar and his family. After reading about Anastasia Romanov in a library book about great unsolved mysteries in the 1980s (before the remains of the Romanovs were found and identified), I wanted to learn all I could about the tragic family. In the days before the internet, I had to rely upon the books available in my town’s small library, and while it had several books on the Romanovs, Nicholas and Alexandra and Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson were a hard slog for nine-year-old me. After trying to read these books, I still had an incomplete and highly romanticized idea of the Romanovs and the Russian Revolution.

Even though that was many years ago and I’ve since had the chance to learn more about Revolutionary Russia, I was thrilled to read Candace Fleming’s The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & the Fall of Imperial Russia. In it, Fleming presents a well-written and well-researched account of a Russia’s last tsar and his family and the inequality and discontent that led to their downfall. This is a considerable undertaking, and the author navigates the complexity of the task with ease. The result is a lively and compelling narrative that keeps the reader engaged while also being informative.

YA Book Review: Grim

“Someday my prince will come…”

“When you wish upon a star…”

Thanks to the ubiquity of Disney in our culture, these are often what we associate with fairy tales. To many people, fairy tales are light and enjoyable wisps of stories that make perfect fodder for bedtime stories and animated musicals. Grim, an aptly-named collection of 17 stories by various young adult authors, tacitly acknowledges this in its back cover synopsis:

Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today.

Although this is accurate in that the stories in Grim tend to be dark and sinister, the stories in the anthology are closer to the original tales than the back blurb suggests. Despite fairy tales’ reputation and treatment in much of the media, the original works have another, more sinister side to them. Cannibalism, incest, and child abandonment and abuse are par for the course in many fairy and folk tales, and they sometimes more closely resemble the work of David Lynch than that of Walt Disney.

YA Book Review: Fangirl

Cover: St. Martin's Griffin

One of the most aptly named books about books is Nancy Pearl’s Book Crush, which offers reading suggestions for children and young adults. The idea of having a crush on a book might sound a little crazy to non-readers, but it is certainly something that most readers and bibliophiles can relate to. While I read a lot, I don’t often develop book crushes. This is likely due to the nature of the books I tend to read; I enjoy reading about curriculum and pedagogy, but these books don’t typically inspire the swoony, happy feelings associated with crushes. However, I’m this summer I officially got my first book crush in a long time after reading Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl.

EdumodoCon 2014

My last few weeks of summer are packed with virtual conferences. Besides SummerTeen, I've also registered for EdumodoCon 2014. It is a free online conference dedicated to helping teachers use Edumodo. Since I'm a relative newbie to Edumodo, I'm looking forward to attending and learning more about using it with my students.

The conference is on August 6, 2014, and it is free. To register, visit the EdumodoCon 2014 page.

Free Online Conference on Young Adult Lit this Thursday (7/24/14)

This Thursday (July 24, 2014), the School Library Journal is holding its third annual SummerTeen virtual conference. The conference features YA authors discussing their writing and publishers featuring new and upcoming books.

For more information or to register, visit the SLJ SummerTeen page.

Welcome to the English Ed Department!

Welcome to my new blog, The English Ed Department!

As you likely guessed from the title, it is a blog dedicated to English education, which means that I will be writing about different topics related to teaching English at the middle and high school level. This will range from book reviews, especially on young adult literature and professional teaching texts, to information on what's going on in the world of English education. Also, if there is something you'd like to see featured here related to English education, please leave me a comment.

My plan is to post at least twice a month during the school year. I'd love to post more, but I make no promises since I've found that the time during the school year quickly passes :).

Now that you know a little more about this blog, please have a seat, grab a cup of tea (or whatever beverage you would like), and make yourself comfortable. I hope you visit often!