Norberto Cruz is a prolific poet who writes about subjects that touch your heart and your mind. This first book is divided into two sections; in the first the poems are written in English and grouped into multiple themes. In the second, the poems are written in Spanish.

Each and every day teachers show up in their classrooms with a relentless sense of optimism. Despite the complicated challenges of schools, they come to and remain in the profession inspired by a conviction that through education they can move individuals and society to a more promising future. In Teaching with Heart: Poetry that Speaks to the Courage to Teach a diverse group of ninety teachers describe the complex of emotions and experiences of the teaching life – joy, outrage, heartbreak, hope, commitment and dedication. Each heartfelt commentary is paired with a cherished poem selected by the teacher. The contributors represent a broad array of educators: K-12 teachers, principals, superintendents, college professors, as well as many non-traditional teachers. They range from first year teachers to mid-career veterans to those who have retired after decades in the classroom. They come from inner-city, suburban, charter and private schools. The teachers identified an eclectic collection of poems and poets from Emily Dickinson, to Richard Wright, to Mary Oliver to the rapper Tupac Shakur. It is a book by teachers and for all who teach. The book also includes a poignant Foreword by Parker J. Palmer (The Courage to Teach), a stirring Introduction by Taylor Mali (What Teachers Make), and a moving Afterword by Sarah Brown Wessling (Teaching Channel). Where Teaching with Fire honored and celebrated the work of teachers; Teaching with Heart salutes the tenacious and relentless optimism of teachers and their belief that despite the many challenges and obstacles of the teaching life, much is possible.

Children's writer and poet Amy Ludwig VanDerwater leads us on an adventure through poetry, pointing out craft elements along the way that students can use to improve all their writing, from idea finding to language play. "Poems wake us up, keep us company, and remind us that our world is big and small," Amy explains. "And, too, poems teach us how to write. Anything." This is a practical book designed for every classroom teacher. Each lesson exploration includes three poems, one by a contemporary adult poet and two by students in grades 2 through 8, which serve as models to illustrate how poetry teaches writers to: find ideas, choose perspective and point of view, structure texts, play with language, craft beginnings and endings, choose titles. Students will learn how to replicate the craft techniques found in poetry to strengthen all writing, from fiction to opinion, from personal narrative to information. "Poets arrange words and phrases just as prose writers do, simply in tighter spaces," Amy argues. "In the tight space of poetry, readers can identify writing techniques after reading one page, not thirty pages."

In the 21st century, writing is more important than at any other time in human history. Yet much of the emphasis in schooling has been on reading, and after the early years, writing skills have been given less attention. Internationally, too many children are leaving school without the writing skills they need to succeed in life. The evidence indicates that students rarely develop proficiency as writers without effective teacher instruction. Teaching Writing offers a comprehensive approach for the middle years of schooling, when the groundwork should be laid for the demanding writing tasks of senior school and the workplace. Teaching Writing outlines evidence-based principles of writing instruction for upper primary students and young adolescents. It presents strategies that are ready for adoption or adaptation, and exemplars to assist with designing and implementing writing lessons across the middle years of school. It addresses writing from a multimodal perspective while also highlighting the importance of teaching linguistic aspects of text design such as sentence structure, vocabulary and spelling as foundations for meaning-making. Contributors argue that students need to continue to develop their skills in both handwriting and keyboarding. Examples of the teaching of writing across disciplines are presented through a range of vignettes. Strategies for assessing student writing and for supporting students with diverse needs are also explored. With contributions from leading literacy educators, Teaching Writing is an invaluable resource for primary, secondary and pre-service teachers.

For every day from Advent Sunday to Christmas Day and beyond, the bestselling poet Malcolm Guite chooses a favourite poem from across the Christian spiritual and English literary traditions and offers incisive seasonal reflections on it. A scholar of poetry as well as a renowned poet himself, his knowledge is deep and wide and he offers readers a soul-food feast for Advent. Among the classic writers he includes are: George Herbert, John Donne, Milton, Tennyson,and Christina Rossetti,as well as contemporary poets like Scott Cairns, Luci Shaw, and Grevel Lindop. He also includes a selection of his own highly praised work.

Two boys discover that their mother loves them equally but in different ways.