Question of the morning: How do I get more than one heart?
Answer: Tell the story that’s in your heart and listen to others tell theirs with kindness and an open mind. We all have a story to tell.
#BEYOUROWN WORKSHOPS
Bank Street College of Education’s Best of the Best List
BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION’S BEST OF THE BEST LIST
In choosing books for the annual list, Bank Street College of Education’s committee members consider literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes.
Books selected reflect the committee’s belief in the power of literature to nurture empathy, curiosity, and resilience in children. Each title is carefully reviewed by educators, librarians, and child development experts who are dedicated to identifying stories that not only engage and inspire but also reflect the rich diversity of children's lived experiences. Inclusion on this list is a meaningful recognition—one that underscores the value of stories that speak honestly and respectfully to young readers at every stage.
Guest blogger for First Book, featuring Girls Write Now mentee, Saradine Nazaire
Saradine Nazaire survived the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti--after being pulled from the rubble of her home, she and her family relocated to New York. Here, she reads her original account of the earthquake, written as part of author Laura Geringer Bass' the Be Your Own! Workshop.
Interviews & Guest Blog Posts
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Karen MacPherson on Laura Geringer Bass: Editor & Writer Extraordinaire
If you're a fan of children's books, her name may be familiar to you, as she was a long-time children's book editor who ended up with her own imprint at HarperCollins. She's also an accomplished author of books for kids and teens, and published a new children's novel in 2018, The Girl With More Than One Heart.
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First Book Blog Post “Author Voices for Educators”
Telling Our Stories: Author Laura Geringer Bass & the #BeYourOwn Writing Workshop
Laura Geringer Bass helps empower young readers and writers to tell their own stories. Bass has developed a special set of writing resources based on her new novel The Girl with More Than One Heart to spark creativity in her readers and to spur storytelling.
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Guest Blog by Elizabeth Dulemba
On the Path to Publication: Little Miracles, Clothespin Angels, Rock Faces and a Talking Heart
The Girl With More Than One Heart had a long and winding road to publication. It began when I was a child with my mother, my first writing mentor. She was a lot like the mother in my book. She didn’t have one green eye and one brown eye like that mother, but she did see miracles.
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Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb
POSTING Q&As WITH AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS SINCE 2012! Check back often for new Q&As, and for daily historical factoids about books. On Facebook at www.facebook.com/deborahkalbbooks. Follow Deborah on Instagram @deborahskalb.
Laura Geringer Bass is the author of The Girl with More Than One Heart, a new novel for kids. Her many other books include A Three Hat Day and Sign of the Qin. She was publisher of Laura Geringer Books, a HarperCollins imprint, for more than 20 years, and she lives in New York City.
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Guest blog post for First Book featuring Girls Write Now mentee Laila Dola
There is a scene in my middle grade novel, The Girl with More than One Heart, that is based on a real life parent conference I had once with my son’s kindergarten teacher. I called the chapter “Lights Alive” which is the name of a game my son liked to play when he was little on a plastic board made up of dots of colored light. The player selects and organizes the pinpoints of light into pictures and patterns. The game may be played by several children at once with each child contributing something to the final picture. When it is complete, the last child to take a turn cries, “Lights Alive!”
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Public radio interview with audio book clip read by Joan Allen
When 13 year-old Briana's dad dies suddenly, she is faced with another unexpected turn of events: She now has not one heart but two. The second heart nestles inside her and speaks to her in her father's voice.
Laura Geringer Bass is the author of many award-winning books for children and teens including “A Three Hat Day” and “Sign of the Qin.” She recently visited the South Dakota Festival of Books and Young Readers at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls and the Children’s Museum of South Dakota in Brookings.
#BEYOUROWN