Chalk + Ink: Season 1, Episode 6

Interview with Author, Blogger and Teacher Educator,

​Melissa Stewart

Welcome back to Chalk and Ink: the podcast for teachers who write and writers who teach. Meet author, blogger and teacher educator, Melissa Stewart. Melissa is the award-winning author of over 180 science books for children and she helped create the books below for educators:

Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-winning Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing edited by Melissa Stewart.

5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children's Books by Melissa Stewart and Marlene Correia

Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books to Teach Life Science, K-2 by Melissa Stewart andNancy Chesley

Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books to Teach Life Science, 3-5 by Melissa Stewart and Nancy Chesley

In this episode, Melissa talks about how idea incubators will help students always have a topic to write about, how telling the truth connects you to your audience and how a large part of her heart is at the center of one of her most popular books Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes and Stinkers.

We both talked about the amazing educator resources she has on her website such as the No Monkeys, No Chocolate timeline and the Can An Aardvark Bark? timeline.

Melissa thinks every elementary school classroom should have the book Being Frog by April Pulley Sayre because the book gives readers the opportunity to experience the world from various green frogs' points of view. She also thinks every elementary school classroom should have Giant Squid by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann. Melissa talks about how in that book, artist Eric Rohmann created the art before the author Candace Fleming wrote the words.

​Happy listening!