This Will Be the Last One. Really.

The kids and I went to see Karate Kid the other day.  On our way in, we bumped into a  fifth-grade girl we know from school.  We told her which movie we were going to see and she lit up.  She said, "It's so good!  You can clap at the end if you want to."  That tickled me.  How uninhibited and joyful.  We just don't "clap at the end" enough these days.  So.  This is me, clapping at the end of the June Spilling Ink Blog Challenge.

I have to give "big props" to Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter.  Not only did they write Spilling Ink, but they heard about this blog challenge via Twitter and checked in (right here!) from time to time.  To say it was amazing to hear from them is an understatement.  Talk about validation!

As you may guess, I highly recommend Spilling Ink to anyone interested in writing , no matter the age.  It is funny, easy to read, and loaded with information.  We know that a good book means different things to different people, depending on individual schema.  Even though the authors probably did not intend for this book to be used by writing teachers, I read it from that perspective and found mini-lesson upon mini-lesson, ripe for the pickin'.  I will use it during the upcoming school year with teachers and students.  I'll share with students the story of this challenge and how the "actual-real-live-authors" left comments on this blog and on Twitter. 

Someone I greatly admire says we have two choices in life.  We can stay green and growing, or ripe and rotting.  I choose to stay green and growing.  This challenge has helped me to do just that.  Thanks again, Anne and Ellen!

Now we are officially finished the June Spilling Ink Challenge! (Clap, clap, clap....)