Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15-October 15 to celebrate the histories, cultures, and influence of past generations who came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. If you’d like to introduce your middle-grade reader to books that depict Hispanic characters and cultures, try these: Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs […]
As we get ready to launch book four in the Night Buddies series, we jump into the way back machine to answer a burning question: What’s up with the iguanas? The way back machine takes us to a post from eight years ago: Understanding the Iguana Gang. If you’ve read the Night Buddies books, you […]
Labor Day marks the official start of… wait for it… pumpkin spice season! While Crosley, our favorite red crocodile from the Night Buddies series, loves pineapple cheesecake, he does enjoy some seasonal variations. Here, with some help from Kraft foods, is a quick and easy recipe for pumpkin cheesecake that the family can make and […]
Simple morning and nighttime routines can reduce stress for everyone and help your pre-teen feel more confident and secure. Routines don’t have to be rigid to be effective. Talk with your middle-graders about what tasks must be accomplished every morning and evening, and brainstorm how they want to organize and achieve those. For example, you […]
Several years ago, a reader posted a question for author Sands Hetherington. “How does your main characters’ friendship develop throughout the series?” Sands shared the story of John and Crosley’s friendship. For starters, Crosley picked out John to be his Night Buddy. There must have been a lot of reasons, but the only one Crosley […]
August means back to school, and the start of a new academic year means changes for the whole family. So we’ve read several expert posts and condensed the best of the best advice into five back-to-school prep tips. Don’t wait for the first bell to start your school-year schedule. First, ease the family back into a […]
Today we jump in the way-back machine to retell author Sands Hetherington’s favorite ghost story. But first, let’s explore why we like ghost stories. An article in the Harvard Business Review summarized the psychology behind why we love (or hate) ghost stories. Three reasons we are drawn to horror stories are: They provide Stimulation. “Fright […]
Make reading a destination in your home by creating a space designed just for enjoying books. Make it warm, creative, and screen-free. Here’s a list of things to consider when creating your reading nook: Location. Your reading nook doesn’t have to be large. It can be a corner, some unused space under a stairway, a […]
“Without a strong foundation in reading, children are left behind at the beginning of their education. They lag in every class, year after year because more than 85 percent of the curriculum is taught by reading. And by the end of third grade, 74 percent of struggling readers won’t ever catch up. In fact, one […]
Night Buddies is now ten years old! The very first Night Buddies Adventure, Night Buddies and The Pineapple Cheesecake Scare, was released in the Summer of 2012. The fourth book, Night Buddies and The Evil School Bus will be out soon! It all started with night adventures conjured by author Sands Hetherington and his son John. […]
By nature, kids are curious. They want to know how things work. They ask ‘why’ and ‘how’ hundreds of times each day. STEAM learning starts with this natural curiosity to build understanding and critical thinking skills in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math. That’s a long-winded way of saying let’s start with the questions […]
Cooking with your kids is a great way to build literacy skills, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Reading simple recipes, even off a box or package, teaches children to pay attention to details, and to read and follow directions. Here’s a simple summer meal you can make together as a family. HINT: Make […]