The Eagle and the Moon Gold: A Fable From the Hmong People (Avenues)

This beautifully illustrated Hmong fable teaches a moral about the danger of greed. The narration highlights the concept of opposites.

Associate Professor, Literacy Education Northern Illinois University Dr. Alfred Tatum began his career as an eighth-grade teacher, later becoming a reading specialist and discovering the power of texts to reshape the life outcomes of struggling readers. His current research focuses on the literacy development of African American adolescent males, and he provides teacher professional development to urban middle and high schools. He serves on the National Advisory Reading Committee of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and is active in a number of literacy organizations. In addition to his book Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males: Closing the Achievement Gap, he has published in journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Educational Leadership, Journal of College Reading and Learning, and Principal Leadership.

Gretchen Bernabei, a secondary teacher for more than 20 years, shares the strategies in The Good Writer's Kit that have led her struggling students to a 100% pass rate on her state's high stakes test. Her teaching career spans more than 25 years. She has most recently taught English at Sandra Day O'Connor High School in San Antonio, Texas, where she was named Educator of the Year in 2003. Gretchen has taught both middle school and high school. Gretchen has shared her experience with other teachers through journal articles as well as several notable books offering field-tested techniques for teaching writing to young people. The Good Writer's Guide is a multi-component program for inspiring struggling adolescent writers. Other recent publications include Why We Must Run with Scissors (with Barry Lane) and Reviving the Essay: Teaching Structure without Formula. She is also the author of Lightning in a Bottle, a program featuring photographs (on CD-ROM) that are used to prompt and guide student writing. In addition, Gretchen presents several hands-on workshops and staff-development seminars every year, in various locations across the U.S.