In May, Shenandoah University’s School of Education class RDG 523 was surprised by a Zoom visit from author and illustrator Eric Rohmann and author Candace Fleming! The visitors shared insights on the importance of sharing nonfiction books with children and discussed their newest collaboration, Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera.
Fleming reminded the teachers that good nonfiction tells a story and it is the story, not a list of facts that make the reader care enough to take action. By writing this book, she hoped that children would begin to ask questions and seek out more information about the plight of the honeybee and possibly take action by planting bee-friendly plants and sharing information with adults. Rohmann, who won the Caldecott Medal in 2003, illustrated the book with exquisite realistic oil paintings providing the child with a close up look at a honeybee.
It is not every day that your doorbell rings and you find two award-winning authors and illustrators waiting to discuss their books with you. I am confident that in the fall, teachers in the group will be sharing books by these authors with their students and telling the story about the day that Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann stopped by for a visit.”
Karen Huff
The Foundations of Literacy class is team-taught by Karen Huff, EdD and Mary Tedrow, MEd, NBCT.
The class is made up of 30 teachers from:
- Clarke County Public Schools
- Frederick County Public Schools
- Winchester Public Schools
- Warren County Public Schools
