Archive for the ‘BW products’ Category

Bard Day!

449px-William_Shakespeare_1609We’re celebrating Shakespeare’s 450th birthday by offering the Boomerang based on Gary Blackwood’s book, Shakespeare’s Scribe:

Half price today through Friday: $4.95!

In Blackwood’s novel, we follow Widge, an actor in Shakespeare’s troupe. After the Globe Theatre is shut down due to the Black Plague, the company sets off to tour England, where Widge’s unique shorthand makes him a valuable member…until someone threatens to reveal a past secret.

The book is a sequel to The Shakespeare Stealer, but stands well on its own.

Also! Brave Writer instructor, Susanne Barrett, posted ways to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday in the Shakespeare Family Workshop.

Here are her ideas:

• Have a Talk Like Shakespeare Day (or even just an hour, if that’s all you can handle).

• Perhaps gather around the table with scones and jam and some Earl Grey tea and read some of Shakespeare’s sonnets aloud (you can find Shakespeare sonnet apps for your smart phone or check out this site).

• Read some of Shakespeare’s famous monologues aloud dramatically, perhaps even in costume. Here’s a list of some of the best single-person speeches, one list for men and one for women. Try performing them for family members and/or friends or at a co-op!

• Perform a Shakespeare scene as a puppet show or act out a scene in costume; either memorize parts or make copies of the scene for all the actors. Here are some scenes and scripts for kids from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.

• Watch your favorite Shakespeare play on film (mine is Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing). Check your local library or Netflix for some excellent titles, and the International Movie DataBase includes some helpful parents guides with advisory content for you along with ratings and information on most film versions.

• For older kids, check out Michael Woods’ in-depth documentary In Search of Shakespeare which first aired on PBS in 2004. Both the DVD and the companion book should be readily available through most public libraries.

• Better yet, see a live Shakespeare play as soon as possible. Check out college/university performances near you as they’re usually much less expensive than professional productions.

So, celebrate one of the greatest playwrights of all time and take advantage of this special Boomerang offer!

The Boomerang is a monthly digital downloadable product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It is the indispensable tool for Brave Writer parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.

Image above: The Flower portrait of William Shakespeare, c. 1820-40 (via Wikipedia).

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Happy Birthday, Beverly Cleary!

Mouse and the MotorcycleBeverly Cleary is 98 years young this weekend, and to celebrate we’re offering the Arrow based on her book, The Mouse and the Motorcycle:

Half price through Monday at Midnight! ($4.95) OFFER HAS EXPIRED

Ralph S. Mouse is not just any ol’ mouse at Mountain View Inn.

He is always looking for adventure. So when a young guest named Keith arrives with a shiny miniature motorcycle, it’s Ralph’s lucky day. Right away, Ralph knows that the motorcycle is special—made to be ridden by an adventurous mouse. And once a mouse can ride a motorcycle . . . almost anything can happen! (HarperCollins)

 

The Mouse and the Motorcycle is the first book in a trilogy (Runaway Ralph and Ralph S. Mouse being the other two in the series). Clearly has written other popular children’s books, as well, featuring the characters of Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins.

Also, every April 12th is Drop Everything and Read Day! Beverly Clearly was so inspired by the idea when she learned about it that she wrote about D.E.A.R. in her book, Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Since then D.E.A.R. programs have been held nationwide on April 12th in honor of Cleary’s birthday.

So, drop everything and read plus take advantage of this special Arrow offer!

Also, if you’d like to buy a copy of the novel, it’s available through Amazon: The Mouse and the Motorcycle (affiliate link).

The Arrow is a monthly digital product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It’s geared toward children ages 8-11 and is an indispensable tool for parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.

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Happy Birthday, Kate DiCamillo!

Winn Dixie“I like to think of myself as a storyteller.” ~Kate DiCamillo

We’re celebrating author Kate DiCamillo’s birthday today! The Arrow based on her book, Because of Winn-Dixie, is:

Half price for one day only: $4.95! OFFER HAS EXPIRED

When asked where she got the idea for Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo says she missed her childhood home in Florida. Then adds:

Also, it was the first time in my life that I had been without a dog. I was living in an apartment where no dogs were allowed, but there weren’t any rules about imaginary dogs. So I made a dog up, the best dog I could think of: a smelly, friendly, big old mutt.

That big old smelly dog in the book is, of course, Winn-Dixie, the pet of India Opal Buloni, a ten-year-old girl who is dealing with her mother’s abandonment. After moving to Florida with her father, Opal goes to the grocery to get macaroni, white rice, and tomatoes and comes home with her furry companion. Winn-Dixie then helps his young owner meet people in the community. Opal learns about forgiveness and acceptance as she gets to know her new friends, like Miss Franny Brock who once “fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace,” and Otis, the ex-con musician who serenades the animals in his pet shop.

So, celebrate Kate DiCamillo’s birthday and take advantage of this special offer today!

Also, if you’d like to buy a copy of the novel, it’s available through Amazon: Because of Winn-Dixie (affiliate link).

The Arrow is a monthly digital product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It’s geared toward children ages 8-11 and is an indispensable tool for parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.

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Happy Birthday, Jeanne Bendick!

Archimedes and the Door of Science

“Questions are more important than answers… If I were a fairy godmother, my gift to every child would be curiosity.” ~Jeanne Bendick

Jeanne Bendick was born February 25, 1919, and in celebration of her birthday we’re making a special offer! The Arrow based on her book, Archimedes and the Door of Science, is:

Half price for one day only: $4.95!

An artist as well as an author, Jeanne Bendick used words and drawings to make difficult concepts understandable. Inspired by her grandfather who often took her to New York’s American Museum of Natural History, Bendick developed a lifelong interest in science and grew up to write over 100 books!

“One part of the job I set for myself is to make those young readers see that everything is connected to everything-that science isn’t something apart. It’s a part of everyday life. It has been that way since the beginning.”

In Archimedes and the Door of Science, Bendick introduces us to the ancient Greek mathematician, and her captivating illustrations help bring the story to life.

So, celebrate Jeanne Bendick’s birthday and take advantage of this special offer today!

The Arrow is a monthly digital product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It’s geared toward children ages 8-11 and is an indispensable tool for parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.

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It’s Brave Writer’s 14th Birthday!

14th_Birthday

Not only are we celebrating Jack London’s birthday with a sale on The Call of the Wild and White Fang boomerang, but Brave Writer also turns 14 this month, so we’re offering a $14 discount on both the digital The Writer’s Jungle (usually $79), and the binder version (usually $97).

The Writer’s Jungle today only: $65 or $83!

In the last fourteen years we’ve gone from a kitchen table enterprise run by one to a thriving business that employs a number of instructors (fourteen!) and support staff. From the Introduction to The Writer’s Jungle:

I never set out to write a writing curriculum. This whole shebang started when a friend conned me into teaching a Sunday school class for homeschooling moms desperate for help in writing. I hesitated. Just because I worked in the field of writing and editing (wrote articles, worked as an editor, helped struggling D Min students with their dissertations and had ghost written a few books) didn’t mean I knew the first thing about the educational philosophy of teaching kids to write.

My kids were writing, but I had never used anyone’s writing manuals. I just taught them the way I’d learned to do my jobs. For one of them, my style of teaching worked great. For the older one, I found myself inventing new ideas on the fly-regularly-to keep his pen wet and his pages full of words. He thought writing itself a cranky and irritating process.

So I showed up for that first class of fifteen and within an hour discovered something that rocked me back on my heels. The principles I taught were brand new to the moms in the room. I wasn’t repeating information from their various and sundry manuals. None of them had heard many of the ideas I suggested. In fact, it’s become common since that day for mothers to tell me that what I teach has transformed how they themselves write.

What started in a church Sunday school class grew into a business that has helped thousands of families nurture multitudes of Brave Writers all over the world!

Here’s to many more years to come! 

Image ©  | Dreamstime.com

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