Story Reading at Camas County Public Library

No Winner in the Book Giveaway

Hi, Everybody!

The book giveaway has ended with no entries and thus no winners. The contest post had lots of traffic, though, so I am dying to know if readers tried to enter but had technical problems. If that was the case, please leave a comment on this post or email me, Amy, at this address: amy [at sign] amyballard.com.

You can of course purchase Shhhh. . .Murder on Amazon and elsewhere on the Web, but it's disheartening to think someone may have missed out on a win because of issues with the Rafflecopter widget.

If you live in southern Idaho, there's another opportunity coming up, and this one doesn't involve technology! You're invited to the Camas County Public Library on November 15 at 6 p.m. for a reading of two cozy mystery stories from Shhhh. . .Murder! and a chance to win the paperback edition as a door prize. See you there!

Just a few more hours to enter the book giveaway

Our giveaway for a paperback copy of Shhhh. . .Murder! is ending in a few hours!
If you are having technical difficulty entering the Rafflecopter below, please email me, Amy Ballard, at this address: amy [at sign] amyballard.com. That way I can address the issue with Rafflecopter.
Thanks!
Amy

Book Giveaway for Shhhh. . .Murder!

It's here, the giveaway for Shhhh. . .Murder! 

Use the Rafflecopter box below and comment below for a chance to win a free copy of this fun fiction anthology from Darkhouse Books. The contest begins Thursday, October 25 at 12 a.m. EST and ends Saturday, October 27 at 12 a.m. EST, so spread the word and tell your friends while there's still time to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



The prize: one copy of the paperback edition of Shhhh. . .Murder!, signed by Amy Ballard, the author of "Bookish Dreams," one of the stories in the collection.

Shhhh. . .Murder!

I was so excited when I saw the call for submissions for this anthology. What a fun theme! Immediately, I knew I wanted to write a library-themed who-dunnit. After all, I have so many good memories of libraries.

One of my favorite library memories from childhood is of the big, old-fashioned, clawfooted tub full of pillows that the public library in Waterville, Maine, kept in the children's room. What better reading nook could there be? And why don't I have one of those in my house? #LifeGoals. I wonder if the tub is still there. . . ?

Here in my southern Idaho town, our local library served as part of the inspiration for my story, "Bookish Dreams." While the characters in the story are purely fictitious, the setting of the old library building and other spots around town may be recognizable to local readers. 

(And speaking of my public library, I'm looking forward to doing a reading there in mid-November! More on that in a future post.)

As for the would-be detective pooch, Billy, he's inspired by a bulldog rescue that one of my husband's coworkers took to work with him. To my knowledge, the real-life doggy, Max, never solved any mysteries either, though he did get in trouble with the cops once or twice.

Amy Ballard

I hope you have a chance to read the story, along with the 23 other stories in the cozy/noir mystery anthology. If this contest doesn't bring you luck, you can go to Amazon.com to purchase the Kindle edition for $2.99 or the paperback for $12.95. Like what you read? Leave an Amazon review. Your reader reviews will help the book find more readers.

If you're a Goodreads user, you can add the book to your lists and follow me, Amy Ballard, there, too.

It's your turn! In the comments, tell us your favorite library memory.

Note: Any entries or comments deemed spam will be deleted by the author of this post and will not be eligable to win.

Library-Themed Book Giveaway Coming This Week: Shhhh. . .Murder!

Shhhh. . .Murder!

The fall book giveaway is just five days away! Stop by Christian Teacher, Public School from Thursday, October 25 at 12 a.m. EST to Saturday, October 27 at 12 a.m. EST to enter for a chance to win a paperback copy of Shhhh. . .Murder! The anthology features librarians in sticky situations, trying to solve "Cozy crimes in libraries." Some stories veer more toward noir, while others are solidly cozy reads. It's the perfect fall book pick, with twenty-four mysteries by various authors, including me, Amy Ballard.

In my story, "Bookish Dreams," assistant librarian Emma and her English bulldog Billy help solve a murder in the old library building across town. There's a smattering of romance, a pile of old National Geographics, and plenty of small-town charm for cozy mystery readers who like a happy ending.

Also don't miss Michael Bracken's "Mr. Sugarman Visits the Bookmobile," a cozy mystery with characters that feel so real they could be your neighbors. After I read this one, I just had to send the author fan mail via his Web site. Michael was kind enough to reply! I know you'll love the story as much as I did.

Can't wait to read the collection? Get the Kindle edition for $2.99 or the paperback for $12.95. Like what you read? Leave an Amazon review. Reader reviews will help the book find more readers.

If you're a Goodreads user, you can add the book to your lists and follow Amy Ballard there, too.

Use the sharing buttons below to spread the word about the contest to book lovers and library lovers in your life!

More:

Landlocked: Poems by Amy Ballard
The Swans of Starlight Lake, a traditional fairytale by Amy Ballard and Reagan Ballard, .99 for Kindle
"The Ghosts of the Composers," a short story by Amy Ballard on Penultimate Peanut

Free eCard Digital Colors of Fall, a Perfect Encouragement for the Teacher in Your Life

For a limited time, get the "Fall Is My Favorite Color" eCard from Brevity on TPT free. It's part of the 8 Encouraging eCards for Teachers, Summer and Fall Collection now on sale for $3.00. Celebrate the colors of fall with this cheeful greeting pack.

Coming Soon: Looking for a fun fall read? 

Mark your calendars for an autumn book giveaway perfect for lovers of cozy mysteries and noir. Tell your local librarian, too, because the stories in this anthology all feature "Cozy crimes in libraries."

The giveaway begins Thursday, October 25 at 12 a.m. EST and ends Saturday, October 27 at 12 a.m. EST. Stop by Christian Teacher, Public School during the contest window to claim your entries! The prize is a paperback edition of Shhhh. . .Murder!, featuring "Bookish Dreams" by Amy Ballard and twenty-three other stories.

In "Bookish Dreams," assistant librarian Emma and her English bulldog Billy help solve a murder in the old library building across town. There's a smattering of romance, a pile of old National Geographics, and plenty of small-town charm for readers who like a happy ending.

Get the Kindle edition for $2.99 or the paperback for $12.95. Like what you read? Leave an Amazon review, and don't forget to follow Amazon author Amy Ballard. Your reviews help make this launch from Darkhouse Books a success.

Goodreads users, follow Amy Ballard there, too.

I Sought Knowledge Also

There are a few lessons every year when I get on a soapbox. One of those lessons came around yesterday, when my sophomore class was analyzing the powerful short story "By the Waters of Babylon" by Stephen Vincent Benet.

In the story, the protagonist, a teen boy named John, explores the city of the gods, a future version of New York. The city has been destroyed by the gods, whose wisdom was not enough to prevent their killing each other with fire from the sky. It's chillingly prescient, considering "By the Waters" was published in 1937 before nuclear warfare became a reality. The line "Then the towers began to fall" gives me shivers every time I read it.

My soapbox moment centers around a more mundane quote, though. It's this:

"Everywhere there were books and writings, many in tongues that I could not read. The god who lived there must have been a wise god and full of knowledge. I felt I had a right there, as I sought knowledge also."

I put this quote up on the screen and tell my students that Idaho is consistently ranked among the lowest states in the nation for sending high school grads directly to college. Yeah, it's not pretty. According to the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems' 2014 data, Idaho is dead last, with just 43.7% of graduates heading directly to college.

Now, I'm not one who thinks every student has to go to college. I do wish every student would pursue some kind of higher education, be it one class each term from the local community college, an online class in the summer, a trade certification, or a liberal arts degree. So I get on a soapbox about that. Kids, don't underestimate your ability to pass a college class, to afford a few college credits. Just because you're from a tiny little speck on the map in a state that has a poor track record of sending kids to college, don't think you can't do it. If you seek knowledge, you have a right to it.

I show them a photo of the reading room of Harvard University's Widener Library, whose collection is available to scholars demonstrating a genuine research need. So, Idaho kid, you might never go to Harvard. But if you seek knowledge, you could use their library, one of the most beautiful and iconic in the world.

And before I get off that soapbox, I urge them to read. How many students have broken my heart by telling me point-blank, "I don't read"? Choosing not to read is like choosing a lifelong handicap for oneself. "I'd like to go through life with just one leg," or "I think I'd like to be blind," we say when we don't read.

It's usually boys who need the most encouragement. A recent article by Alia Wong at The Atlantic reminds us that, all around the world, girls are more likely to read for pleasure than boys. That's important, since "Reading for pleasure is. . .a habit that can prove integral to performing well in the classroom" (Wong).

Idaho kid, you'll never look back on your life and say, "I wish I hadn't read any books." The opposite is true. You'll be glad that, like John in "By the Waters," you followed your vision quest. That you sought knowledge also.

More

Don't forget, I'm giving away a copy of Shhhh. . .Murder! The book giveaway begins Thursday, October 25 at 12 a.m. EST and ends Saturday, October 27 at 12 a.m. EST. Enter for a chance to win a free paperback edition of this fun, cozy mystery anthology featuring my story, "Bookish Dreams," and other fun reads.

Be Unforgettable to English Language Learners

I know if the translation makes sense when I look at Renata’s face. Is she nodding and smiling that radiant, happy willingness to tackle a new assignment I have given her? Or is she giving me this: nada. The lovely statue of a teenage single mother from Mexico who stays in school for the sake of her son, her hijo, Mateo, but who is getting no meaningful words from Google Translate at this moment.

Or maybe it is because of my American accent, and not Google’s fault at all. I used to think I had an ear for accents. Now I follow every attempt to speak her language with a grimace and “That’s really bad Spanish. . . .”

She is the only Spanish-only student I have, which indicates how small my school is. There are under fifty students in the whole high school. I teach them all.

Renata, of course, isn’t the only one who knows Spanish. There’s a bilingual Mexican-American kid, Paulo. He talks to Renata in Spanish to make sure she understands her assignments. She laughs at him and corrects his sloppy Spanish, so sometimes he just shakes his head when I ask him for help. “She’ll make fun of me!” In another class there are caucasian kids taking Spanish as a foreign language. I lean on them to interpret for me, too. In still another English class (I have Renata in three classes, bless our souls), I seat Renata near a Mexican-American girl, Maria, and the new kid, a boy named Jose who contradicts me when I say I would like to visit his native El Salvador. “No, you wouldn’t. You do not want to go there.”

Jose’s English is better than Renata’s, but not as good as Paulo’s or Maria’s. There are pauses as he thinks of a word. Anything beginning with “sp” becomes “esp”—“Espending money,” “Listening to Espotify.” Anything beginning with “st” becomes “est”—“Climbing estairs,” “Esteering the car.” He’s plenty bright, so my lessons on subordinating conjunctions and comma splices help his writing noticeably. Part of me wishes Renata would progress as quickly in learning English. But I remember how long it takes—years—for a language learner to become fluent.

In the meantime, I buy a Spanish/English dictionary with classroom supply funds. I use Google Translate to prepare texts for her. I make her practice English phrases out loud: “May I please use the bathroom?” and (as she holds her water bottle up for a visual), “May I please get water?” Slowly, slowly, she is learning.

I have taken only one professional development class on teaching English as a second language. Over the years as a teacher, I’ve observed in dual-immersion classes, participated in a week-long Summer Spanish Institute, and provided differentiation for all kinds of learners in my high school English classes, no matter their native language. That's my training. But I want to learn more. I want to help kids more.

Sometimes it’s tough caring this much, trying this hard. There are days when I don’t get materials prepared for Renata’s classes before the day begins. There are times when Renata is tired, her brown eyes glazed over because she can’t keep up with the conversation in the classroom, or she’d rather be with her son, or she just doesn’t care today. It’s then that I invite her to join me at the computer as I fire up Google Translate, not to give her a new assignment or to translate a short story for her to read. Just to ask her in her own language, “How are you doing today? How is your son?” She wakes right up, smiles appreciatively, and types her response.

If my Spanish were better, I could ask these important, unimportant questions in a real conversation. Since I’m a beginner, I am glad to live in the digital age, when I can instantly communicate with my English-learner without a human translator.

Of course I want Renata to pass her three English classes. More importantly, I want her to know that I care about her. If not for building relationships with students like her, the teaching life would be bleak for many of us in the trenches. Because of the students, I thank God for the extra labor, for the time lost to translating, for the words lost in translation. For the chance to be unforgettable to an English learner.


Names have been changed.

Book Giveaway for Shhhh. . .Murder! Coming October 25th!

Shhhh. . .Murder!

Mark your calendars, mystery readers, because a fall book giveaway is headed your way! Tell your local librarian, too, because the stories in this anthology all feature "Cozy crimes in libraries."

The giveaway begins Thursday, October 25 at 12 a.m. EST and ends Saturday, October 27 at 12 a.m. EST. Be sure to stop by Christian Teacher, Public School during the contest to claim your entries! You'll have a chance to win a paperback edition of Shhhh. . .Murder!, featuring "Bookish Dreams" by Amy Ballard and twenty-three other stories.

In "Bookish Dreams," assistant librarian Emma and her English bulldog Billy help solve a murder in the old library building across town. There's a smattering of romance, a pile of old National Geographics, and plenty of small-town charm for cozy mystery readers who like a happy ending.

Can't wait to read it? Get the Kindle edition for $2.99 or the paperback for $12.95. Like what you read? Leave an Amazon review, and don't forget to follow Amazon author Amy Ballard. Your reviews help make this launch from Darkhouse Books a success.

If you're a Goodreads user, you can add the book to your lists and follow Amy Ballard there, too.

Tell your friends about the giveaway by using the sharing buttons below. Spread the word about the contest to the book lovers and library lovers in your life!

More:

www.amyballard.com
Landlocked: Poems by Amy Ballard
The Swans of Starlight Lake, a traditional fairytale by Amy Ballard and Reagan Ballard, .99 for Kindle
"The Ghosts of the Composers," a short story by Amy Ballard on Penultimate Peanut

Shhhh. . .Murder! Now Available

Buy

I just received my first batch of Shhhh. . .Murder! anthologies from Darkhouse Books. It's so exciting to see my story, "Bookish Dreams," in print! Though I've had short fiction published online and even as an audio recording, this is the first time I've held my published short story in my hand.

And mine isn't the only story in the collection. Twenty-four library-themed cozy crime stories fill the pages of this anthology, edited by Andrew MacRae at Darkhouse Books.

Learn more at darkhousebooks.com or on my author Website, amyballard.com. If you read the book, be sure to leave a review on the Shhhh. . .Murder! Amazon page!

A little bit of mystery

". . .how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow."

Seems like a funny quote for a teacher to post.

Don't we want our students to learn of the world, to understand that their native town is not all there is?

And what's this about "than his nature will allow"?

Where does this quote come from, anyway?

Great questons. The kind of questions we want students asking. The kind that comes from mystery, omitted information, suspense. The kind that leads to deep understanding of a text like. . .drumroll. . .Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Okay, Frankenstein has been on my To-Read list for. . .a lifetime. After reading Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley, I moved Frankenstein to my To-Read-This-Summer-If-I-Have-Time list. There it sat.

Then I went to the (most fun ever!) P20 Educator Conference this week and attended Laurie Roberts's fantastic session entitled "Why Don't They Read? Leveraging the Power of Mystery." I knew this would be a powerful session for me because

• Laurie is a fellow-Idaho Core Teacher Network alum
• My students need all the help they can get when it comes to reading literature
• I need all the help I can get to hook kids on reading
• I love improving the way I approach teaching literature
• Adding mystery and suspense to anything is always a good move
• Laurie is an awesome presenter (did I already mention that?)

Lo and behold, in her session, Laurie unfolded an adaptation of the Document-Based-Inquiry (DBI) process using none other than Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, now in its 200th year of publication. She engaged us with the text right off the bat by having us read the first letter Robert Walton writes to his sister in the opening pages of the novel.

How was that mysterious and/or suspenseful? The mystery was organic, since most of us had no context other than the paper in our hands and the vague notions of the plot of Frankenstein we had garnered from pop culture. Even as we read silently for eight full minutes of dense pre-Victorian text, the story began to work its magic on us. Laurie had provided a notecatcher for recording notices, wonders, and predictions, so we scribbled away as we read.

Why did his father not want him to go to sea? I wondered.

This text is straight-up Romantic Era literature, I noticed. The second paragraph is full of descriptions of nature, and the whole thing emphasizes emotion.

I'm a slow reader, so I didn't finish in eight minutes, but I couldn't wait to read the rest of it later. In the meantime, Laurie gave us time to discuss within small groups. My group included three other teachers, two of whom consider themselves avid readers and one who considers herself a reluctant reader. We took turns sharing what we'd noticed, wondered, and predicted while reading.

Each of us took something different away from the reading, while of course there were overlaps, too. I shared that I had at first struggled to figure out the object of Robert Walton's explorations. Another teacher shared that she had noticed the emotional highs and lows that Walton experienced. We nominated her to share out to the whole class when Laurie moved on to calling on each group. 

As I listened to the many perspectives on the pages we had read, I thought how powerfully the process fostered peer-to-peer instruction. Laurie wasn't teaching us Frankenstein. We were teaching us Frankenstein.

Needless to say, I was mentally moving the novel to my Must-At-All-Costs-Read-As-Soon-As-I-Get-Home-From-This-Conference shelf!

In her AP Literature classes at Timberline High School in Boise, Laurie repeats the 8-minute reading, note-taking, and discussion process with the other letters from the prologue of the novel. Notecatchers typically aren't graded. Each new letter adds layers of meaning, new information, sparking new notices, wonders, and predictions.

Where's the monster? Isn't there suposed to be a monster?

This expedition is not going to end well.

I said at the beginning that this process is an adaptation of the DBI process. A typical Document-Based-Inquiry begins with accessible texts that may be in video, audio, or image form. The process then moves into more informative, more complex text forms that add the next layer of meaning. A third and final round of documents may include texts that help students synthesize what they have learned. What Laurie did with Frankenstein was get readers hooked on the text itself, rather than potentially distracting or boring them by lecturing about the author, showing a PowerPoint, or otherwise "introducing the text." There's no need. You can do that stuff later if you need to. The suspense is in the text, if we'll just tap into it.

Now I'm several chapters into the novel. The anticipation I built by reading Romantic Outlaws and attending Laurie's session is being fulfilled on every page. I only hope I can hook students on literature as effectively in my classroom.

Thanks, Laurie!

Want more?

Follow Laurie on Twitter @lauriedroberts.

Here's an awesome exemplar DBI that a teacher in the Idaho Core Teacher Network created.

I share my process of revising my Band of Brothers unit, which includes a DBI, here.
Follow me, Amy Ballard, on Goodreads.

P20 Conference 2018: Looking Forward to Another Awesome Experience!

Along with my awesome coworkers, I accepted the Rilla Award this month.

Another P20 Educator Conference is almost here, and I'm excited to be presening Faith and the Public School Teacher twice! My first session is July 10 at 11:10 a.m., and my second is on the 11th at 1:30. I'm psyched to update my presentation using some of my newly-acquired tech skills and bring encouragement to a new group of teachers this year. Yes, you can hold to a personal faith and teach in the public school! The only trouble is, there are so many other great sessions going on at the same time. I will just have to get the notes! P20 is such a great conference and the keynotes are awesome every year. If you're in the Twin Falls, Idaho, area, sign up!

After taking a year off blogging, there's lots to catch up on. Here are some of the highlights of my teaching life and God's work in my personal walk of faith heading into summer.

• Reading the book of James with my kids
• Seeing some of my freelance writing efforts come to fruition
• Attending a writing conference from the Idaho Writers Guild
• Revising unit plans to fit the Understanding By Design (UBD) template (webinar here)
• Taking "Behavior is Language" class
• Accepting the Rilla award from Silverback Learning Solutions with my school
• Gearing up for the P20 conference at the College of Southern Idaho (see above!)
• Adding fun products to my TPT store
• Gathering engaging resources from around the Web to use in my classroom this year
• Creating and sending a summer survey to my students using Google Forms
• Catching up on reading great books (find me on Goodreads!)

I also have to share that it was a great blessing to lead my first-ever prayer walk before school started last fall. Another teacher and I spent half an hour or so walking around the school campus and praying both silently and out loud for the year ahead. It was wonderful to know that a sister in Christ was praying with me, sharing the burden of seeking grace for our students, staff, and community. It was a year of successes in so many ways, and I love that "two or three" of us (okay, it was two) gathered in His name (Matthew 18:20) to ask God for that at the beginning. Let me encourage you to start something similar at your campus. Remember that it's legal, and it can be a great blessing. Check with your administrators if you have questions.

It's so good to be posting again! 

Blessings on you,

Amy

More Reading:

Conference Fatigue? Six Strategies to Avoid Burnout at Education Conferences

Learning Through Writing: Choose Your Own Adventure

• Want the slideshow? It's yours! Go to https://goo.gl/c49wS5.

Revising a Unit

10 Ways to Be a Teacher-Leader

Shoveling a Path Through the Snowdrifts for New Teachers

I'm taking a year off blogging, but couldn't resist popping back in to post a link. My flash fiction story "The Ghosts of the Composers" is live in the current issue of Penultimate Peanut! The story has a Magical Realism flavor, which I hope you'll enjoy.

Blessings,

Amy