Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The Better Battle In Chicago

With school back in session in the Windy City, the Chicago Public School system's Battle of the Books 2013 is gearing up--and The Year of Goodbyes is one of the "battle" books!  The program, in the words of the CPS website, "encourages ongoing reading, teamwork and partnership throughout the course of a year."  Starting this fall, schools throughout the city field teams that read, study, and discuss a list of 20 books, preparing for quiz-show-like competitions next spring.

I was interested to learn that in the semi-final round students will earn bonus point "for giving the full name of the author." 

So. . . .

Might they get super-bonus points for identifying me as "Deborah Marian Levy"?  Not that that, my full name, is on this book or any of my other books.  Or would that answer get them no points at all?

Whatever name they call me, I'm grateful to the Chicago Public Schools for including The Year of Goodbyes in this year's Battle of the Books.

 

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Food Poems!

Head on over to "Jama's Alphabet Soup," the blog by author Jama Rattigan, for a delicious post about the Poetry Friday Anthology.  She's put together what she calls a "three-course meal" from this new volume of poetry for the classroom--that is, she's all about the food poems.  In her post, you can read one of my poems, titled "Crunch," as well as poems by Joan Bransfield Graham and Terry Webb Harshman.  Recipes, too!