Cover Reveal: The Binding Stone by Lisa Gail Green

The word gorgeous hardly does this cover by Lisa Amowitz justice. It summons me into the world of Lisa Gail Green's Djinn Series akin to the way Bert and Mary melted through the chalk pictures in Mary Poppins.

I've had the honor of reading The Binding Stone, and it is an amazing ride through a rich and complex world. 

Tricked into slavery by the man she loved, the Djinni Leela has an eternity to regret her choices.

Awakened in the prison of her adolescent body, she finds a new master in possession of the opal that binds her. But seventeen-year-old Jered is unlike any she's seen. His kindness makes Leela yearn to trust again, to allow herself a glimmer of hope.

Could Jered be strong enough to free her from the curse of the Binding Stone?

Coming soon!

View From the Fifth Grade Trenches: March 2013 - Put the Creative Back in Writing

Have you heard of the Common Core Standards? If you haven't, they are basically a new set of academic expectations that will hit public education across the country in the next year or so. 

The good news is CCS are rigorous and give our kids the chance to take their critical thinking out for a spin. The new standards will dignify and challenge intelligence while promoting the spirit of cooperative learning.

With the growing emphasis on research skills and expository writing, I fear for the future of creative writing. Even the current standards here in California lean heavily toward non-fiction reading and writing at a young age. 

Here's my issue. Shouldn't kids be immersed in wonder in equal proportion to the world of information? I agree both are important, but I worry about sending a message that creative writing is a lesser form than its non-fiction cousin.

We've all watched funding for the arts being pushed into the corners of public education. I hate to see creative writing joining it in the shadows.

What kind of balance or imbalance do you see between creativity and information in your schools?