I was born in St. Louis, Missouri. My mother was a teacher, and she raised me and my five sisters with help from my Grandma Hazel, who lived in one of the two apartments above ours. My Grandma was the best cook and she was very strong. When I was little, she used to hold… Read more »
Dianne White
Your Friend, Crystal Hubbard
Dear Reader, When I was eight-years-old, I met a professional tennis player named Arthur Ashe. He was a very nice man who didn’t look like an athlete. He was tall and skinny and wore big glasses. I thought he looked like a teacher, not the number-one tennis player in the world! Mr. Ashe was very… Read more »
KICKERS! by Rich Wallace
It’s always a treat to find books that I’m thrilled to pass along to students – both boys and girls – and KICKERS is one such series. The stories move quickly, the action is fast-paced, and each book delivers a realistic view of team sports and the challenges individual players must overcome in order to… Read more »
All Around Good Sports
OWEN FOOTE, SOCCER STAR by Stephanie Greene Owen Foote has been playing soccer on the playground at Chesterfield School since kindergarten, but this year he’s in second grade. This year, kids join the town league where they get to play on a real soccer field. Owen can’t wait! In fact, he loves soccer so much,… Read more »
Sports Novels
This month, ReaderKidZ is talking about sports books for the K-5 reader and we’re thrilled to point readers to a terrific Horn Book article by Dean Schneider. Though not strictly about books for the elementary student, you’ll notice a mention of this month’s Author-In-Residence, Rich Wallace, as well as other important observations about – to… Read more »
Rich Wallace, Author-In-Residence
The flap copy on the back of each book in the KICKERS series announces: “Read them all!” And yes, we agree. You surely must! Each of the books – The Ball Hogs, Fake Out, Benched, and Game Day Jitters – is packed with fast-paced action and the ups and downs of learning how to be… Read more »
Rich’s Story
I grew up in northern New Jersey in a very busy household. I had three older brothers, two younger sisters, and a little brother. We were all very involved in activities like Scouts, music (not me), art lessons, and especially sports, so my mother cooked a lot of meals in shifts because some of us… Read more »
