Tag Archives: classification

Ellen Tebbits – Beverly Cleary

In “Ellen Tebbits,” Beverly Cleary brings us another little girl who’s very ordinary, who has the same hopes, fears and dreams that nearly every little girl does. The first chapter in the book is my very favorite. Ellen is off to ballet class, but she’s determined to get there first. She races up to the changing room, only to find Austine, the new girl, already there. Needing her privacy, Ellen slips into the janitor’s closet and there reveals to the reader what she hopes no one in her dance class will ever know – she is wearing long woolen underwear … Continue reading →

Author Interview – Lynne Jonell (part four) A New Release

Thank you for joining us for part four of our conversation with nationally published children’s book author, Lynne Jonell. If you missed parts one, two, or three, click here. Lynne, in addition to writing picture books, you write books for the middle-grade age range (9-12) as well. Can you tell us more? The book is titled “Emmy & the Incredible Shrinking Rat,” published by Henry Holt & Co., and it will be released in August of 2007. Booksellers are now taking pre-orders for it. I’m so pleased that I finally wrote a novel that someone thought was worth publishing! The … Continue reading →

Beezus and Ramona – Beverly Cleary

When Beverly Cleary began writing her Henry Huggins series, she included neighborhood children as characters to be friends for Henry. Among those children was Beezus Quimby, a little girl just Henry’s age. Cleary later decided to do a series of books specifically about Beezus and her younger sister Ramona. “Beezus and Ramona” is the first book in that series. Beezus is nine years old, and she’s very mature and practical. This is in direct opposition to her four-year-old sister Ramona, who’s imaginative and energetic, and, at times, completely out of control. She disrupts Beezus’s sense of order and causes quite … Continue reading →

What Grade Are You In?

It used to be that when an adult would meet a child for the first time, they would ask, “How old are you?” Now they ask, “What grade are you in?” and determine the age based on the grade. This doesn’t make sense. Plenty of children are held back or accelerated in their progression from grade to grade, and equating a child’s grade with their age isn’t accurate. Furthermore, if a child says they’re in a grade that is lower than the “accepted norm” for their age, this opens them up to ridicule. A few months ago, my daughter told … Continue reading →

Henry Huggins – Beverly Cleary

“Henry Huggins” is Beverly Cleary’s first published novel, and it’s a delight. Henry is a precocious little boy who’s just a bit prone to getting into trouble, not that it’s his fault, but fate just keeps interfering with his plans, sometimes in laugh-out-loud funny ways. When we first meet Henry, he’s buying an ice cream cone after an afternoon of swimming at the YMCA. A hungry stray dog wanders up to him and starts licking its chops. Henry doesn’t want to share, but the dog looks starved, with all those ribs sticking out through its fur, so Henry gives up … Continue reading →