Billy, the former champion slugger for his third grade baseball team, is bothered by his very young stepsister's presence at games and feels that she is jinxing him into a batting slump.

Billy, the former champion slugger for his third grade baseball team, is bothered by his very young stepsister's presence at games and feels that she is jinxing him into a batting slump.

A collection of autobiographical essays written by prominent authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults.

Here are more great topics and sample book club sessions to help you start a book club and keep it going! Chapters in this volume cover humor, families, social issues, folklore and mythology, sports, magazines, picture books as art, censorship, the Internet, middle school readers, gender bias, booktalks, and the arts. For each genre, the authors offer a general overview, discussion questions, a bibliography, resources for further reading, and appropriate Web sites. If you want to promote literacy and involve parents in the reading program, you'll love this book and its companion, The Reading Connection.

Introduce children to 75 favorite authors and illustrators with this all-in-one resource! The lively profiles in this collection provide insight into the lives, work, inspiration, and creative process of these talented writers and artists. Share these fascinating mini-biographies with students to enhance author studies and help your students read with greater enthusiasm and understanding. Book jacket.