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Jul 8, 2024 | 
fromthemixedupfiles.com | Jo Watson Hackl |Mindy Weiss
We all know that reading is a great solo activity. There are many ways to make reading a communal experience as well, whether that community be a group of students, your family, or some fellow reader friends. Exploring books with others is an excellent way to deepen relationships, create lasting memories, and engage with literature in a richer sense. Below are a few suggestions for creating group activities around exploring books. I invite you to try a few this summer.
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Jan 30, 2024 | 
fromthemixedupfiles.com | Jo Watson Hackl
Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a fun feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!Got a little tickle in your throat? Nose running? We’re all familiar with the common cold, the ferocious flu, and all kinds of illnesses, but did you know that animals struggle with sick days, too?
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Jan 26, 2024 | 
fromthemixedupfiles.com | Andrea Pyros |Jo Watson Hackl
Today we’re welcoming author Shaun David Hutchinson to Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors. Shaun’s latest book, The School For Invisible Boys, is out in February 2024 from Labyrinth Road (a Penguin Random House imprint). Shaun is the author of YA novels including Howl, A Complicated Love Story Set in Space, and Before We Disappear, as well as a memoir, Brave Face.
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Jan 23, 2024 | 
fromthemixedupfiles.com | Jennifer Swanson |Jo Watson Hackl
Bugs offer wonderful opportunities for creativity and science. This week’s blog discusses art activities and the connection to science. First a lesson plan on drawing bugs from an experienced art professor. Then a suggestion for a convenient portable sketch kit. And last, how origami and science connect. Drawing Bugs My good friend, Professor Lisa Granata, who has 30 years’ experience teaching all ages, has used bugs as models in her art classes.
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Jan 16, 2024 | 
fromthemixedupfiles.com | Anita Sanchez |Jennifer Swanson |Jo Watson Hackl
Leeches, bedbugs, and plagues! These books focus on some of the plants, pests, and parasites that share our home and, in some cases, our body. The possibilities are endless for bug-filled classroom discussions and activities!
A mix of conversational text and graphic panels takes readers on a world-wide tour of the best-known plagues and pandemics from ancient times to our current era. Highlights include the black death, smallpox, cholera, polio, Ebola, SARS, and Covid 19.
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Jan 9, 2024 | 
fromthemixedupfiles.com | Anita Sanchez |Jennifer Swanson |Jo Watson Hackl
Leeches, bedbugs, and plagues! These books focus on some of the plants, pests, and parasites that share our home and, in some cases, our body. Bugged: How Insects Changed History by Sarah Albee, illustrated by Robert LeightonThis book is filled with “death, disease, and disgusting details…” There are bugs that swarm, bugs that devour crops, and bugs that transmit plagues. There are also stories about insects that have built entire industries (think: silkworms, honeybees).
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Dec 27, 2023 | 
fromthemixedupfiles.com | Melissa Roske |Jo Watson Hackl
SummaryFaran Fagen Shares his Top 20 Writing Resolutions for 2024. Like you, I’ve got a full lineup of goals for 2024. The new year offers a time to look at what’s most important. My most pressing and concrete goals are a home-run revision that grabs the reader (my writing world), and to meet help my son and daughter finish the school year strong (my personal world). However, my general goal is to make a difference on all fronts.
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Dec 26, 2023 | 
fromthemixedupfiles.com | Jo Watson Hackl
Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!Today we’re interviewing Sarah and Richard Campbell, creators of Infinity: Figuring out Forever by Astra Young Readers. This picture book is a fascinating look at the concept of infinity told in a way that resonates with young children.
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Dec 19, 2023 | 
fromthemixedupfiles.com | Jo Watson Hackl
What makes an award-winning book? This month, we’re spotlighting award-winning STEM/STEAM Books. The selected titles are a diverse bunch, covering a variety of topics, book categories, and age ranges. Yet the books all have one thing in common — they have tapped into their creators’ curiosity and passion. These books reveal that an author’s connection to their topic can create some incredible nonfiction. Author connectionsWhat kind of connections do these award-winning authors have to their books?
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Nov 10, 2023 | 
fromthemixedupfiles.com | Andrea Pyros |Jo Watson Hackl |Nonfiction Titles
Welcome to MUF, Heather Alexander, author of The Good Luck Book: A Celebration of Global Traditions, Superstitions, and Folklore (DK Children), out November 2023. Heather Alexander is the acclaimed author of more than 70 books for children, and she also works as a children’s book editor, packager, and literary scout. Here, she talks to MUF contributor Andrea Pyros about luck, her research process, and why we really cover our mouths when we yawn.
