March
2013
BOOKMARK NEWSLETTER
Author Spotlight: Boston Children’s Author, Jeff Nathan Technology Unleashes a New Idea to Stimulate Reading Interest
I used to think that curling up with good LCD screen would not resonate well with children.
Reality hit me, though, when a parent lamented over the fact that her child spent far too much
time playing video games and not enough time reading. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” I
realized, and the “Sherlock and Me” concept started to take shape. Why not take the outlandish
HUMOR that I use to educate kids about language arts, and personalize it in a book that plays
like a video game to kids? Why not stimulate reading in a way that can appeal to reluctant
readers, too?
The Sherlock and Me book series is an attempt to do exactly that. Imagine each of your students
as the main character in a book about them, unraveling the clues of very humorous mysteries as
they choose what to do and where to go. There are two reading levels for the book, and the
electronic version will read itself to the young and reading impaired. Students are rewarded for
reading and love seeing themselves as the hero, as they select objects and characters to bring
with them on their journey. A printed version will also be available in which the students can
enjoy the humor and reading about themselves, without making the choices. The book is
scheduled for full release in September, but there is an opportunity for a few New Jersey schools
to gain early access.
Here is a sneak preview of how the older-student version commences for a student named
Pammy Gunter, of Arleth Elementary School in Parlin, NJ. The title of THAT copy would be:
Pammy Gunter Solves the Mystery of the Dangerous Sandwich at Arleth Elementary.
The classroom was very quiet as Pammy Gunter arrived. She was instructed by Miss
Keeto, the substitute teacher, to read at her desk. As Pammy sat down, it was quiet
enough for her to hear a faint “creak” from the backpack beneath the desk next to hers.
“Your backpack sounds like a frog,” Pammy joked, in a whisper, to Shelby, the backpack’s owner. Shelby whispered back, “Maybe that’s because I have a frog in my backpack.”
“You’ve got a frog in your backpack?” Pammy responded, a bit more loudly, in surprise.
“SHHHHHHHHHHH!” Shelby whisper-yelled, as her eyes darted around the
classroom to see if anyone had heard.
Shelby Gumminround was an animal-lover. She felt it was her job to protect all
creatures, including each and every fly that would visit the classroom. Printed on her
backpack and all of her notebooks were pictures of the six white horses her family
owned. She even had a t-shirt with that same picture of the horses and her name just
below the picture. Everybody loved that shirt.
Shelby continued. “I saved Mr. Froggy from getting run over in front of school this
morning.”
“Can I see him?” Pammy asked, ever so quietly.
Shelby had her backpack’s zipper open a teeny bit to provide air for the frog. She unzipped it just a teeny bit more. Pammy peered inside, but couldn’t see anything. They
continued to whisper.
“You don’t have a frog in there,” Pammy concluded. “You’re just pulling my leg!”
“Oh, yeah? Look!” Shelby emphasized with a smile, as she opened the zipper much wider.
The frog, of course, took that opportunity to leap out of the backpack and under
Pammy’s chair. Shelby’s happy face took on a look of horror. Mr. Froggy hopped quickly up toward the front of the room. Pammy and Shelby
hopped up quickly, out of their chairs, to chase after him. The two froze, however, when
they saw Miss Keeto stare them down, and down they slid, back into their seats.
Nobody noticed the frog as it bounced its way next to Abby Birdhay’s desk in the front row—nobody but Pammy and Shelby. Their gaping eyes were first fixed on the
frog, then each other, then back to the frog, as it proceeded to make the worst decision it
could possibly make during independent reading time. Up it sprang, with a brief hop-stop
on the edge of Abby’s desk, before it landed smack-dab in the middle of the papers Miss
Keeto was reading on her desk.
“Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Miss Keeto screamed like a fire alarm and zoomed her chair back so hard, it pulled
the extension cord, running behind her chair, half out of the wall.
It was hard to tell who was more frightened—Miss Keeto or Mr. Froggy—but that
scream put Mr. Froggy over the edge, and over the edge of the desk he flew, toward the
wall behind Miss Keeto. The frog, though, had gotten his front foot caught in a paper
clip when he landed on Miss Keeto’s paperwork and that just may have saved his life.
The paper clip, still attached to his foot, landed across the extension cord plug
hanging out of the socket. With a flash of light, a wisp of smoke, and a mini-boom, the
frog soared toward the ceiling, as if shot out of a cannon. He landed with a plop—right
on the head of Mr. Preston, the principal, who had rushed in to see what all the
commotion was about.
“Mr. Froggy!” cried Shelby, as she ran, lip quivering, toward Mr. Preston. She was looking up at the frog, fearing the worst, and as soon as she got within leaping distance,
Mr. Froggy let out a croak and jumped off Mr. Preston’s head toward Shelby’s.
“Mr. Froggy, you’re o-bmbmb…” Nobody could understand the end of Shelby’s sentence because the frog landed right on Shelby’s face, half in her mouth. Shelby
grabbed the frog with both hands, pulled him out of her mouth and hugged him against
her cheek, smiling.
Mr. Preston was not smiling. Shelby (and the frog) had to go with him to his office.
As the story progresses, the reader will be making choices to figure out what happens in each of
the book’s humorous mysteries.
You may have noticed a few interesting character names. Miss Keeto and Abby Birdhay are
introduced more fully, later, as are many more name-centric people. Students at my school visits
have been able to easily discern, from their names, that Jim Nasium is athletic, what Eloise
Laffen does and why it is not a good idea for her to be seated near Joe Kerr. There are only a few
2
who have figured out Anna, the key character in the main mystery of the book, from her first and
last name. I explain to students that Anna Flactic thinks she is allergic to everything “from apples to zebras.” The book shares that she once felt her lips swelling and her throat was itchy after
drawing a picture of an apple in art class.
The book is not scheduled to release until September, but I have been authorized to work
with a small number of schools in NJ for an early release beginning March 24th. It is an
opportunity to promote literacy at your school in a fun and exciting way, while generating
revenue for your library, PTA, or special fund. The money you earn can also be used at higherthan-face-value to bring in CurricuLaughs in Common Core Language Arts.
In a letter from Pam Gunter, after my visit to Arleth, CurricuLaughs in Common Core Language
Arts was called “…wonderful…totally engaging…excellent…as entertaining as it was educational…fantastic…”
You can see the whole letter at www.IncredibleAssemblies.com/ArlethLetter.pdf
The book’s early release version will not include the audio (book’s ability to read itself) and
video (transition between chapters) that will be in the full release. Though the full release will
run on just about anything, the early release will be limited to web-connected computers. All
who get the early release will get access to the full release without additional cost.
The book series website is www.SherlockAndMe.com, my school visit website is
www.IncredibleAssemblies.com, and I would be happy to speak with anyone when I am in the
office.
For more information, please contact:
Jeff Nathan
[email protected]
office: 978-749-0674
Jeff Nathan is an award-winning children’s author and poet from Andover, MA. His humorous poetry books include, There’s a Bear in My Shoe, There’s a Hippo in My Locker, and Calling All
Animals, and his poetry has been featured in several books around the world, including
anthologies such as Oh My Darling, Porcupine.
3