Category: Grab Bag

Growing Maker Education in the Midwest: A Making Spaces Story

This post originally appeared on the Maker Ed blog on June 6, 2017.

“Okay, you two. You have to leave. Your 5th hour teacher will blame me if you’re late class,” I urged Jake and Karina.

“Just one more minute. I have to glue on this last truss,” replied Karina with hot glue gun in hand and surrounded by a pile of spaghetti as her drawbridge slowly took shape.

As a physics teacher at Harding Senior High, the largest Title I high school in Minnesota, I typically stand in the hall between classes trying to get kids to class on time. I never thought I’d have to kick my students out of class or tell them they had to go home by 5 p.m., three hours after school ended. But as my colleagues in physics and engineering and I moved towards building projects with our students, this “problem” grew as well. Read More

Meet a Lerner: Cully Beisell

Harry Lerner and Cully Beisell

Read an interview with Cully Beisell (pictured above with Harry Lerner), who recently celebrated her 45th anniversary at Lerner! 

How did you get your first job at the company? In which departments have you worked?

Lerner was looking for their very first receptionist and the editorial director contacted a friend of his who taught business classes at my high school. Mr. Lawrence asked me if I would be interested and my answer, of course, was “Yes!” I interviewed with Harry Lerner and a couple of other people and they took me on. So, I graduated from high school on a Friday and started working on the following Monday. I worked as a receptionist and Harry’s secretary for a few years before Lloyd Schatschneider, our controller, asked if I might like to move to the business office. I was ready for a new challenge, so again I said “Yes!” When the company became more structured, I switched to customer service and now I work in accounting.

Read More

Happy Book Birthday! New Books from Carolrhoda

August 1 New Releases

Monkey with a Tool Belt returns in a new back-to-school picture book adventure, and acclaimed author Geoffrey Girard’s latest novel for teens delves into the world of conspiracy theories. Learn more about these new books:

Picture Book

Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Silly School Mystery picture book by Chris Monroe

Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Silly School Mystery by Chris Monroe

Chico Bon Bon is having the most unusual school day. Half the library books are missing and someone (or something!) has chewed up the classroom map. Chico is on the case—with his trusty tool belt, of course!

Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Silly School Mystery spread

“Monroe’s illustrations are as delightful to pore over as usual, with changes of perspective and lots of quirky details . . .”—Kirkus Reviews

View this title on Edelweiss.

Visit our website to discover more books in the Monkey with a Tool Belt series!

YA Novel

Truthers YA book by Geoffrey Girard

Truthers by Geoffrey Girard

Katie’s dad has a breakdown and lands in a mental hospital. To get him out, Katie needs to prove he’s not crazy—which means investigating his conspiracy theories about the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

★ “[A] fast-paced nail-biter with a resourceful heroine, packed with surprises . . .”—starred, Publishers Weekly

“Girard is a skilled storyteller, weaving history and conspiracy into a thriller that’s bold, smart, and impossible to put down.”—Natalie D. Richards, author of Six Months Later and One Was Lost

View this title on Edelweiss.

Read a sample chapter of Truthers here.