IBOOKS: Soon to be released! Our next Interactive ibook...ZOMBIES COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES

We are hard at work on our next iBook adventure: a collection of short stories for the middle grades that are all about ZOMBIES.

This particular book, titled ZOMBIES COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES, has a unique history. Two years ago, Julie Johnson taught a Gr. 7/8 class that was composed of many reluctant readers and was predominantly full of boys. When they did a short story unit in the Spring of 2012, she struggled to find material that would engage them. They disliked many of her choices. They moaned and complained--and frankly, she couldn't blame them. There are a lot of great novels for the young adult field but the short story arena for intermediates is slim pickings.  She relied on a lot of Poe...and the quirky stories of Australian writer Paul Jennings...

To make a long story short, she finally said to them: TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO READ IN A SHORT STORY AND I'LL WRITE IT.

This was some of their top criteria: zombies, explosions & car chases, humor, horror, romance, and mystery.

So--she rolled up her metaphorical writing sleeves and got started.

What evolved is a collection of unique zombie themed short stories: 'Date Night', 'The Great Escape', 'Point of View' and 'Posted on YouTube'.

This book, like the others we've created, will include clickable and interactive comprehension questions embedded after each story as a way to 'sneak the learning in there' (to quote Julie Johnson). This time, the questions will relate to Blooms Taxonomy.

Writing prompts will also be included after each story to inspire learners to craft stories of their own.

We're also adding goofy zombie animation to make it even more appealing!

We hope to launch this new ibook by the end of the summer! Stay tuned!