Things That Inspire Us

I've spent the past few days submerged in writing and learning new things about books for kids. If you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest about this time next year, do not miss the 14th Annual Children's Literature Conference at Western Washington University. 

Not only did I hear some fabulous writing wisdom, I met some fabulous teachers, writers, librarians- lots of librarians! 
I made new friends and hung out with old. 

One new friend, Adam Shaffer, just posted the most amazing Nerdy Bookclub post about historical fiction, specifically about Kirby Larson's awesome book, DASH.

I'm putting the entire link here so you won't overlook it. Teachers, be inspired. Writers, take a lesson from a master and read Kirby's book.




https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2016/02/25/a-dash-headlong-into-history-by-adam-shaffer/


Adam has a lot of excellent ideas about historical fiction and using it in the classroom. I could quote the entire post, but I'll begin and end here: 

"There is enormous value in reading these books. We
 are more knowledgeable, more compassionate, more understanding people when we read historical fiction."