ABC books have always been popular in the Sharp household. There is just something special about them, that I believe helps lead readers towards a love of language. ABC Dream is the latest ABC book to captivate readers in my home. This wordless book invites readers to find words that begin with the given letter on the page. Hunting for words in Kim Krans’s mystifying illustrations will surely draw in readers for years to come.

I’m thankful that I have the opportunity to interview Kim on my blog today. I found out in her bio that she goes by  The Wild Unknown. How cool is that? Maybe I should think of something cooler than Colby Sharp to go by.

5. What advice do you have for the young writers/artists in my classroom?  

Be patient and work steadily. I self published ABC Dream five years ago and thought that was the height of its glory. Now the book is published with Random House Children’s and copies are making their way across the globe. Have faith in your project, you never know where the story will lead.

4. Can you tell us a little bit about ABC Dream?

I drew ABC Dream because I wanted to bring magic back into the alphabet. More mystique, more enchantment! I imagined the letters falling asleep at night and dreaming up an entire universe. I tried to draw that world.

4. If you could spend one day inside the world of any book which book would you pick?

Game of Thrones. Sorry but its true! Who doesn’t want to ride on those dragons?

2. What’s the hardest thing about being a book creator?

Believing in an idea for long enough to see the project through. Finding people (publishers, printers, or designers) who will take the journey with you.

1. What is your favorite thing about being a book creator?  

Watching the story unfold.

Be sure to check out Kim’s ABC Dream. It is beautiful. AND you should probably follow her on Instagram by clicking on the image below. Her account is filled with awesomeness.

Happy Saturday everyone! In today’s video I chat about the amazing book i’m reading and two books that are very high on my to-read list.

Books Mentioned In This Video

Each night, for a couple of weeks my daughters and I read The Quickest Kid In Clarksville during our bedtime routine. Each night the girls get to pick one picture book to read, and I sometimes pick one, too. It is not super hard for a book to make it to our night reading routine, but it is hard for a book to stay there. A lot of books find their way into the our home, and the girls are always on the lookout for their next favorite book. Many books are read once before they make it to our bookshelf or my classroom. The Quickest Kid In Clarksville was so loved my little ladies that they kept selecting it over and over again.

Can you blame them? The books is lovely.

I’m tickled to interview The Quickest Kid In Clarksville author Pam Zeitlow Miller today here on Sharpread. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as my kids have enjoyed her book.

1. Can you tell us a little bit about The Quickest Kid In Clarksville?

It’s a book about two girls in Clarksville, Tennessee who want to be just like their idol — hometown hero and Olympic gold-medal sprinter Wilma Rudolph. While they both adore Wilma, they’re initially not so fond of each other. But as they compete to see who’s faster, they learn to work together and even like each other. And, as a bonus, they get to attend Wilma Rudolph’s victory parade. This book is a story of dreams, determination and the power of friendship.

2. What is your favorite thing about being an author?

I like seeing the stories come to life and make their way from my head to the page. And, I like working with the words until they stories are as perfect and real as I can make them. I also am thrilled whenever I get a letter or an email or see something online about a kid who liked my book. It’s the best feeling in the world.

3. What’s the hardest thing about being an author?

Fitting it in with everything else in my life. Writing is one of my absolute favorite things to do, but I also work full-time and have a family. So I write late at night or early in the morning or on weekends, and always when I’m very tired.

4. If you could spend one day inside the world of any book, which book would you pick?

Well, not The Hunger Games, I wouldn’t come out alive. I’d like to be in the first Harry Potter book – just to see which house I’d get sorted into.

5. What advice do you have for the young writers in my classroom?

Keep writing no matter what.

Be sure to  check out Pam’s Nerdy Book Club post by clicking on the image below!

My principal is interviewing for a superintendent job this week. It terrifies me to think of her leaving, but I know that any district would be blessed to have her as their leader. Two and a half years ago I made the hardest professional decision of my life when I chose to to leave Minges Brook Elementary, to come home and teach at the school I attended as a child: Parma Elementary.

The thought of my principal leaving has caused me to be super reflective on the last two and a half years. One thing that I’ve been thinking about a lot is teaching third grade in a K-5 school. At Minges Brook I taught fourth grade in a K-4 building. When my students at Minges Brook left, they went to the middle school. Many of them came back to visit, but when many of my students left the last day of school it ended up being the last time that I ever saw them.

One of the coolest things about teaching a grade where my students still have two more years in the building after they leave my classroom, is seeing them all the time. The students from my first year at Parma are now fifth graders. I see all of them each day as they head to lunch and I pick my students up from lunch. They are SO tall. It blows my mind.

Each morning, when the bell rings at 8:25 I frantically try to put the finishing touches on my classroom as the students of Parma Elementary begin filling the halls. As my students begin putting their coats and backpacks in their lockers, the first few students that enter my classroom are fourth and fifth graders that I taught the previous two years.

They say things like:

Mr. Sharp, these chairs are so small. 

Do you have the new Amulet?

This is my sister. She’s in kindergarten. Can I borrow some Elephant & Piggie books to read her? 

Have you read them Ivan, yet? You have to read them Ivan.

What books make the Mock Caldecott list this year?

Do you have any new books?

I’m reading Percy Jackson. Have you read it?

When I took the job at Parma, I took it for many reasons. I wanted to teach where my kids went to school. I wanted to teach kids that grew up running the same streets that I ran as a child. And I took the job to teach closer to home. The thought of getting to hang out with my former students for years after they left my classroom never crossed my mind. Handing them a new book, chatting about their reading, and seeing how much they’ve grown brings me tremendous joy.

I cannot believe that I got to sit down and chat with Newbery Medalist Rebecca Stead at NCTE for The Yarn.

A page from an early draft of Goodbye Stranger. 

We had a wonderful chat about her book Goodbye Stranger. You can listen to the episode below.

Click here to subscribe to our wacky little newsletter. We promise to try and make it something that you actually like showing up in your inbox.

Did you miss an episode of The Unraveller? Never fear! We created a playlist on Soundcloud.

Rebecca Stead

SUBSCRIBE TO THE YARN BELOW