Liz Cooper's Blog

I've been awarded the honor of having two of my books chosen to be printed in braille. These will be distributed in 2021 to four-thousand blind children in the United States. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is a non-profit organization doing this.
They are associated with the National Federation of the Blind.

Needless to say, I am thrilled and look forward to working with both of these organizations in any way I can,

The books:
Bluebell Skinks Wheelchair Kid
Mitzi Mufflin for a Day

I'm also finishing up one more book in the series:
Morris Flip Sound Machine.

I've been awarded the honor of having two of my books chosen to be printed in braille. These will be distributed in 2021 to four-thousand blind children in the United States. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is a non-profit organization doing this.
They are associated with the National Federation of the Blind.

Needless to say, I am thrilled and look forward to working with both of these organizations in any way I can,

The books:
Bluebell Skinks Wheelchair Kid
Mitzi Mufflin for a Day

I'm also finishing up one more book in the series:
Morris Flip Sound Machine.

This has been some crazy year...... It's been strange hunkering down at home. I've spent the better part of the time working on some new projects. I created several stained glass pieces, made five quilts, started Spanish lessons, and wrote a book about reading with kids.

I wrote How to Analyze and Improve Your Child's Reading Skills (It's easier than you think!) because parents have the unique opportunity to work with their kids for a few minutes at a time, which can reap tremendous rewards if they understand how to address reading errors more effectively than just "telling the word." I wish I had given the parents of my past students the same mini-course I presented to middle school and high school teachers. Knowledge is power!

I can only imagine how hard it is for parents right now. I guess there's an advantage of being older. I am relatively free to "do my own thing," but I miss having my grandchildren and their parents over for family dinners. I bought my grandchildren some new books to enjoy over Thanksgiving weekend, and I will deliver them by leaving them on their porches. Like I said....Crazy!

For years, I've been meaning to write a book about how to read with children. I have always felt that parents could have a tremendous impact on their child's reading improvement if only they could recognize reading strengths and weaknesses. Most adults don't know what to say (or not say) when their kids (perhaps) make a mistake. In the past, when people were stuck on how to help their kids, they hired a tutor, who often made the same mistakes. Because of the extended time afforded to me during this challenging time, I finally sat myself down and finished|55808750]Your Child's Reading Skills (It's easier than you think!)

It's new, so reviews aren't in yet, but I am hopeful that it will help parents and other caring adults read more effectively with kids.

If you know what the problem is, you are better equipped to improve skills. If you don't really know what the problem is, it's easy to frustrate a child, regardless of how well-intentioned the effort is.

In my past life, I was the reading supervisor for my school system. Part of my job was to evaluate whether or not a child should skip a grade when requested by the parents. Almost every parent explained the rationale for the request by saying, "My child is reading way above grade level." They would then explain to me exactly what grade level text their child was reading.

The problem with this statement is that reading involves more than being able to decode words. Reading involves making sense of what is written. In addition, there are various levels of understanding. Many readers can tell you what events happened in a story, who the characters are, etc. But when digging deeper, they are unable to make inferences, identify a deeper theme, connect the story to other ideas, and discuss what might have happened if the setting was different or the character had made a different choice.

Parents, and caregivers often don't know how to talk to their children about what they are reading. This is why I added a strong comprehension component to my book, Granny's Teeth- A Collection of Quirky Rhyming Tales The stories are funny and the themes are meaty enough to support different levels of understanding. At the end of each story there is one single question in super-size print for independent readers to ponder. I chose They can't miss it! At the end of the book, there is an entire section of higher order thinking questions designed for sharing by adult and child. Remember, when adults discuss literature with children, It's not enough to simply answer rote questions. It's much more important to extend the conversation. One way to do this is to ask your young reader to explain why they answered they way they did "What happened in the story that made you think this?" "Tell me more." "Can you explain why you think so?" Teachers incorporate this kind of questioning and discussion all of the time.
I will be posting more tips about reading here on Goodreads, as well as on my website.

Please visit my website www.lizcooperauthor.com to read more about my book- particularly the the reviews by Kirkus, Clarion, and Blue Ink.