For one of my assignments in LSSL 5370, I had to create a super short podcast over a leader in the librarian world. I was able to actually choose one I really love and that ended up being Judy Freeman. I discovered Judy last year while teaching third grade. My friend/colleague and I absolutely LOVE reading. We are always exploring new books for read alouds whole class, and for just plain enjoyment. Once we read the description for Freeman’s conference, we knew it would be a good fit.

Upon arriving and hearing how fun and witty Mrs. Freeman was, we were instantly hooked. It was more than a good fit, it was the perfect Cinderella fit! This year we just couldn’t wait to go back. I even moved up to teach 4th grade writing…but we all know that reading and writing go hand-in-hand, so I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass me up.

One of my now favorite books came from her workshop last year and that one was Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. I will definitely do a review over this book. Let’s just say that by the end of the book, I had three boys in tears who pictured themselves as the characters and myself as Ms. Bixby. We all so loved this book! Talk about having empathy! Wow!

Anyways, back to Judy Freeman- she is a published author of books used by teachers to help them with read alouds or with reader’s theatre, and she had reviewed hundreds of books and read thousands upon thousands of books. She is widely known in the children’s literature world and has served on many book award committees. Her website, judyreadsbooks.com gives loads more info than my blog post or my podcast, but check it out and let me know how I did! I was super nervous, even though it’s less than three minutes long! So cut me some slack! ❤

Click here to listen to my first podcast!