Mahjabeen is a freelance writer in Chicago with a BA in creative writing. She is currently pursuing an MA in library and information science, specifically to become a young adult librarian to work with teens in underserved communities. You can find her on Twitter boasting about her favorite books and marveling at all things green tea flavored.
Attucks! Oscar Robertson and the Basketball Team That Awakened a City by Phillip Hoose, will tug at your heartstrings in all the right ways. Written for high-school readers, this is an inspiring and compelling account of Indianapolis’ Crispus Attucks High School varsity basketball team, winners of the Indiana state championship in 1955. With coach Ray Crowe […]
When a mysterious girl turns up in the cornstalks of his family’s farm bleeding and refusing to give up her name, 17-year-old Cade has no choice but to call her Jane Doe and hide her in the barn to honor her only request: “Hide me.” Sorboni Banerjee’s debut novel, Hide with Me (Razorbill), keeps readers on the […]
What makes someone a citizen? That’s what Dave Eggers hopes to explain to young readers in What Can a Citizen Do? (Chronicle). Collaborating once again with illustrator Shawn Harris (Her Right Foot, 2017), Harris’ art acts as a whimsical backdrop to bite-size examples of actionable things people can do in order to become great citizens, from picking up […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
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