Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Kevin Noble Maillard uses bold verses to highlight important elements in his tribute to the delicacy that is the most celebrated food entree in the collective Native American diet. Fry bread is food, time, art, history, place, and nation.

While school systems may offer resources and services for the identification and support of gifted children, the idea of “giftedness” seems to evaporate in adulthood. Adults who were identified as gifted in childhood tend to wave off this aspect of their life as a fun class they attended in grade school.    This, combined with the misconception that giftedness simply means that one is “good at school,” creates a dearth of understanding regarding the unique challenges and joys experienced by gifted adults.

Three recent slawsuits, among others, are examples of youth holding their governments accountable for providing them with a livable future. We should all be inspired by these young people and the work they are doing through the legal system.

Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Words can sing, exalt, encourage and cause children to soar. But, they can also sting, hurt, and cause children to stop believing in themselves and their dreams. BIG tells such a story. The picture book is proof that a book need not have a sea of words to be astonishing, triumphant, and forever memorable. It is, indeed, a book about words and the exceptional power they manifest.

Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | The Mona Lisa Vanishes is history that reads very much like a mystery thriller; it is a quick page turner. Along the way there are fascinating insights into the creation of the painting, a time in the history of the portrait when it was not considered one of the Louvre’s great treasures, and why the Mona Lisa became the international sensation that she remains today well over a century after her intriguing theft and her miraculous recovery.

Scientists believe humans' priority should be to shift to a new energy system that does not rely on fossil fuels and for us to shift away from a consumer mindset. Read the Climate News to find out more!

An activity on William Caxton, inventor of the printing press, which illustrates teaching and questioning methods that work for gifted children. Includes a downloadable version of the activity!

May 6! Or May 7, 8, 9 or 10! Right now some 60 small children in New Zealand are waiting eagerly for one of these days to arrive. When it does, it will be their first-ever day in One Day School – and they can’t wait! Rosemary Cathcart has taken a holistic approach to this, spending two years trialling various strategies, observing and recording children’s responses, and eventually developing a specific “Model of Needs” as a guide for program development.

Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Arboretum takes readers to many habitats and explorations of at least 150 of the world’s trees in the seven biomes where they flourish. Gifted readers will be delighted to have an accessible “museum” in their own homes or classrooms. Arboretum is the newest volume in a series of giant-sized nonfiction books that simulate the experience of visiting museums devoted to erudite fields of knowledge such as archaeology, history, oceanography, geography, botany, zoology, paleontology, and astronomy.

Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Cosmic Wonder is an excellent fusion of several sciences (astronomy, biology, botany, geology, zoology) and history (anthropology and archaeology). Author-Illustrator Ashley Behnam-Yazdani reveals the astronomical history and point of view of the most famous comet in our solar system while she also forges a stunning visual timeline of the evolution of early Earthlings and the growth of humanity, the dominant species on our planet.

This month I thought I would write about something more local than my last article so, I decided to write about the proposed Sun Bear solar farm on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation, near Towaoc, CO and how tribes may benefit from projects like this.

The Climate Crisis is getting nothing but worse and although as a world we are seeing some progress, many countries are still not doing enough. This month, I want to tell you about one country that is taking serious measures to reduce global warming and doing unbelievably well. The country is: Iceland. It is possible to slow change, we just need the will.

“Maybe you’re called to influence the one who will influence the thousands.”

For those of us who work with gifted learners, those words of author Mark Batterson likely resonate. We see the power and potential of our students every single day, but we also see their struggles. Our children are often told by the world that they are “too much,” but our world needs their “too much.” Read more about the power of Micro Schools.

Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | There Was a Party for Langston is not so much a juvenile biography of

Langston Hughes as it is a celebration of his profound legacy as a word maker and his influence on generations of African-American authors and poets such as James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Nikki Giovanni, and Alex Haley.

Dyslexia can disguise giftedness. The term “stealth dyslexia” was first coined by Drs. Brock and Fernette Eide in 2005 to refer to students (often gifted) who could fly under the radar for detection because of compensatory strengths. Some may be able to compensate for poor decoding by strong listening comprehension and the ability to “fill-in” what is not completely decoded by reading.

Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | The most recent Book of the Month column in the Gifted Development Center publication (December, 2023) was titled “Two Bad Boys.” As promised, the Book of the Month column begins the new year, 2024, with a tribute to “Two Good Girls.”

Madeline and Eloise are two of the most gifted and assertive girls in the history of 20th century picture books.

Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | In a new secular Christmas book, Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen encourage questioning and brainstorming about the countless ways Santa Claus may make his annual Christmas Eve visit to all good girls and boys. No children are left out even if their homes are tropical residences made of grass, pueblos made of mud bricks, or urban high-rises made entirely of steel and glass.

The holidays are an excellent time to make lasting memories with your kids. However, the excitement of the festive season and schedule changes can sometimes be challenging for children and their caregivers to manage. To make the most of this special time of the year, I’ve put together some tips on scheduling, travel and social gatherings, to help you best support your gifted or twice-exceptional child during this holiday season.

“Though I was bursting inside with stories to tell, I was never taught how to structure a riveting plot that would keep my readers interested. I was never taught how to create vibrant characters and describe tangible settings and add symbolism and nuance to my stories, which to me ARE the important aspects of writing.

So, to get back to the roots, the essence of the story and the character, the things that matter the most, I created a game.”