Abel’s Island by William Steig is about a mouse who gets blown across the countryside by an insolent storm, and ends up on an island in the middle of a swift stream where he is marooned for a year.

“White Fang is not a puppy anymore,” I said to my class. “He is very much set in his ways. What could possibly be strong enough to change him?”

“Love,” said my students.

“So often, I struggle when grading assignments because I come across answers that are not wrong, but could be a heck of a lot more right.”

“Well, my friends, I am on strike against myself. I am at war against my worries. I am picketing my peccadillos.”

Just like my career was born from my resentment of my own education, so was “Pressed Rose Classics” born out of my resentment for cheap re-prints of beautiful works. Now, I am self-(re)publishing beautiful classics in affordable, pleasant-to-read paperback form.

My students as young as 4th grade are now giddy over Shakespeare. So, I thought I would share some Shakespearean moments from class with you.

Some more recent stories from the classroom.

Some short stories from the classroom about how literature brings joy in many and varied ways.

Poetry, with its elegance, efficiency, and brevity, makes for an excellent beginning because it shows the students, in just forty minutes, a sample of everything they have to look forward to in literature class.

I love the start of each new school year, but this year I am more excited than usual.