About

Who am I?

I’m a former elementary school teacher who loves to read.  Our school librarian was always teasing me that I need to go back to get my library degree so that I can spend all my time talking about kids’ books.  I also love to cook and I used to have an adorable, furry dog.  That’s his black shiny nose pressed between the pages.

I have a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Boston College.  At the beginning of my career I taught first grade, so I have a lot of experience with early literacy.  I taught third grade for several years and also spent two years as a gifted teacher for grades 1-4.  Seeking out reading material that is hard enough for them and yet content appropriate has become something of a quest!*

*A quest that is going slightly more slowly now that I am staying home with a little baby.  Be patient, I’m reading as fast as I can during nap times!

What am I trying to do?

It’s a wonderful thing when kids love to read.  But the more I work with children and the more I read, the more I realize that there are simply no guidelines attached to books.  Unlike movies, there’s no service telling you – the adult – what the content is so that you can help your children or students make good decisions about what they read.  I want to help by sharing my experience so that you can help steer children towards books that they will enjoy and you feel comfortable with, so that you’ll know when topics are raised that you want to discuss with them.  I’m not about censorship or narrowing horizons, but I’ve learned that just because children can read the words, it doesn’t mean they are necessarily ready for them.

Where did it all begin?

Check out my inaugural post.

What kinds of books will be featured here?

I plan on talking about old books, new books, kids books, tween books and teen books, maybe even some adult books that teens would like. Picture books by their nature have much more parental involvement, so you probably don’t really need me to help you out with those, right?

There probably will not be in depth discussion of series books where the series goes on forever – I’m thinking Junie B. Jones, Babysitter’s Club, Nancy Drew, Captain Underpants. Magic Tree House – you know what I mean.  That’s not to say I’ll avoid them entirely, but we’ll probably be talking about a representational sample here, not a book by book, blow by blow account of their contents.

Disclaimers and Apologies:

Our values may not line up, you may be offended by things I don’t mind.  I may be offended by things you don’t mind.  I may miss something, or neglect to write about something, if I do, feel free to let me know.

 

One Response to About

  1. Ruthe says:

    Carrie,
    I guess I can’t say I read it “cover to cover”, but I did read your entire blog. You are such a good writer! And such a clever idea! You should sent your link to Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, those kinds of magazines. You should be a feature column.
    R

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