The Wonder of It All: When Literature and Literacy Intersect
Nancy J. Johnson currently teaches 8th grade Reading/Language Arts at the Singapore American School while on leave as professor of English/Language Arts at Western Washington University where she teaches courses in children's and young adult literature, English/language arts methods, and writing. She is also coordinating SAS's first children's/young adult literature conference in February 2012. A former elementary and high school teacher, Johnson works in schools and presents at conferences locally, nationally, and internationally. She is the co-author of The Wonder of It All: When Literature and Literacy Intersect, as well as three books about literature circles, and she coordinated WWU's annual Children's Literature Conference for eight years. An active member of NCTE, IRA, and ALA, in 2003 Johnson served on the Newbery Award selection committee and was awarded the Arbuthnot Award by the International Reading Association for teaching and advocacy of children's literature. She was recently elected to the 2013 Caldecott Award selection committee.Cyndi Giorgis is an Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is a former coauthor of the children's books column in The Reading Teacher and has served on both the Newbery and Caldecott Award committees. She has published and presented extensively on topics related to literature, reader response, and curriculum.