Lester L. Laminack

Jim LaMarche

King of Bees

When life on the Tucker farm is disrupted by the arrival of a peacock, whose shrieking and strutting bring many welcome visitors, the hens complain that they are doing all of the work until the hound suggests a trade.

Three Hens and a Peacock

Bestselling humorists offer guidance for identifying and developing your own sense--and style--of humor.

Snow Day!

A guide for volunteers helping young children to develop as readers. Overviews theoretical foundations and practical details of childrens' literacy development, and addresses concerns such as the first day as a volunteer, books to use, and helpful strategies to build on a child's natural abilities with language. Detailed scenarios and situations with real children in classrooms are useful for teachers as well as volunteers. 10x7", spiral wire binding. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Volunteers Working with Young Readers

Katie Wood Ray

Offers advice to teachers on how to conduct writing workshops, providing a rationale for writing workshops, looking at what they have in common across grade levels, and discussing the tone of workshop teaching, getting started with independent writing time, curriculum, focus lessons, assessment and evaluation, and other topics.

Working Through the Hard Parts (and They're All Hard Parts)

The Writing Workshop

Even though Miss Olivia seems unaware of the world around her, when her daughter and her great-grandson come to the nursing home to visit, they awaken happy memories of her past.

The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins

With this book and DVD, Laminack invites you to join him in an effort to reclaim the read aloud for students as one of the most potent instructional moments of the school day. To get the most from our read alouds and make every aspect of reading aloud intentional, he believes that we must be as thoughtful in our planning for the read aloud as we are when selecting manipulatives for mathematics. We make the read aloud intentional when we purposely select texts and times with the intent to inspire our students to read and write, invest in our students' language and understandings, and use the read aloud to instruct across the curriculum. For use with Grades KÐ5.

Making Every Read Aloud Intentional and Instructional

Unwrapping the Read Aloud

Celebrate the 100th Day of School with this kid—and teacher—favorite from award-winning author Lester Laminack! Jake and his fellow students are getting ready for a celebration. Tomorrow is the 100th day of school and everyone is going to share their collections of 100 things. The day of the celebration arrives, but Jake forgets the 100 family pictures he has glued into a special memory book at home. Disaster! But thanks to Jake's ingenuity and the sensitivity of his principal, Jake does have a collection to display that day... and something special to share with the class on the 101st day of school. Lester Laminack's charming, relatable story shines a light on this milestone day celebrated by schools everywhere. Judy Love's joyful illustrations capture the excitement of Jake's diverse school community.

Jake's 100th Day of School

Reba M. Wadsworth

In Writers Are Readers, the mutually supportive roles of reading and writing are made visible through the idea of "flipsides;" how a reader's insights can be turned around to provide insights into his own writing, and vice versa. Lester and Reba's trademark engaging style is woven throughout chapters full of sample lessons, student writing samples, and recommended texts for maximizing the flipped concept across the year. "Leading the student to understand what he did as a reader can become a lens that brings into focus what the writer had to do before a reader ever saw the page," they write. Discover fresh new ways to turn reading strategies into writing opportunities that your students will be excited about and deeply understand.

Flipping Reading Instruction Into Writing Opportunities

Writers are Readers

Katie Kelly

"Reading to Make a Difference shows teachers how to move beyond including diverse literature in their classroom to become caring citizens and agents of change. With examples from many classrooms across grade levels, Lester and Katie engage students in critical conversations around topics that arise in literature and in life. They share concrete steps for how teachers can support students to take action and make a difference in their classroom, school or community"--

Using Literature to Help Students Speak Freely, Think Deeply, and Take Action

Reading to Make a Difference

This poignant tale tells of a woman residing in a nursing home who seems to live in a world of memories. Although Miss Olivia is unable to respond and doesn't always seem to notice her family, her daughter Angel and grandson Troy know better. Anything from a beautiful sunset to the mention of her porch swing can take her back into her past, from when she was just a little girl out on the farm with her papa or back to a recent birthday shared with her daughter. She can no longer do the things she used to do, but she's still their Momma Olivia. Laminack treats a difficult topic with great care, giving voice to the seldom discussed tragedy of watching a loved one slip into the past in terms children can understand. Bergum's delicate watercolors also give soft expression to the love that holds a family together during times of hardship.

A moving, coming-of-age story of a young white girl who overcomes family prejudice and cultural differences when she befriends a black girl in a small working-class town.

A hilarious read-aloud favorite about some foolish farm animals who decide to trade roles—and discover just how hard it is to do someone else’s job. From award-winning author Lester Laminack and celebrated illustrator Henry Cole. “Good farm fun.” ―Kirkus Reviews The Tuckers’ farm is a peaceful place where everyone has a job and no one complains. That is, until a hapless peacock falls off the back of a passing truck and stirs things up. Soon, customers are flocking to the farm to see what all the fuss is about. But the hens don’t like the newcomer getting attention while they do all the hard work. When a wise old hound sees the problem, he helps orchestrate a job swap. What follows is the riotous tale of three hens who get in way over their feathered heads, and one very distressed peacock who just can’t figure out how to lay an egg. Lester Laminack has created a comical look at envy, finding your strength, and what happens when we underestimate the value of others’ work. Henry Cole’s delightful illustrations heighten the story’s humor and will have readers of all ages laughing out loud. Teacher’s Guide available! Children’s Choice Book Awards Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year – Children’s Book Council Children’s Choices – International Reading Association, Children’s Book Council Best Children’s Books of the Year (Starred) – Bank Street College of Education Read Aloud Book Award – Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction

Lester L. Laminack

Books

Your next favorite book is out there