Links I Loved Last Week: A Round-Up of Online Reading 3/1/15

This week’s must-read: Raising Zay, a profile of a family raising a transgender child.

It’s March 1, which means the Slice of Life Challenge starts today. I can barely manage 4 slices a month on Tuesdays, so I can’t imagine undertaking a daily slice challenge, but I’ll be cheering on the (many!) participants.

Wondering how to improve your productivity? Focus on your morning routine.

If you enjoy Mr Schu’s blog posts and tweets about children’s literature, be sure to check out this profile of him. (And if you don’t follow Mr Schu, read the profile to learn why you should!)

Lynda Mulally Hunt writes about the inspiration for the memorable big brother character in her new novel, Fish in a Tree.

Pernille Ripp reminds us that not all students want to change the world.

I’ve really been enjoying Carol’s poetry this week: check out an abecedarian about her morning routine and “Driving Lessons,” a powerful poem about the lessons she needs to teach her African-American sons in order to keep them safe.

Betsy MacWhitney writes about how she used poetry to communicate with her daughter during a very difficult and challenging time.

I’m a wee bit obsessed with this story and video of a pit bull playing with her BFF, who happens to be a tortoise.

I’m probably the only person on the planet who managed to miss #llamadrama as it unfolded in live time. Just in case I’m not alone–or in case you want a recap–this article has a video and many amusing sentences.

Writer Kelly Barnhill spends a week in the classroom teaching fiction writing to children and wonders how teachers manage to have enough energy to do their job day in and day out.

Myra at Gathering Books rereads some of the Sweet Valley High series so that I don’t have to. Man, this post brought back the memories!

The Washington Post has a fascinating story about how a book club is helping ex-juvenile offenders once they’re out of prison.