GDC Newsletter Updates
Mathematics + Poetry = A Dynamic Duo
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Betsy Franco is a prolific author of more than 80 books for children, including several titles that combine mathematics and science with poetry. Priscilla Tey’s frolicsome illustrations superbly complement the text of Counting in Dog Years. Readers will have an amusing time visiting familiar mathematical functions and perhaps even learn a few new “sassy” math terms and tricks.
America’s Gift to the World
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Reading for gifted youths is basically divided into two major genres: fiction and nonfiction. The essence of fiction is storytelling and the primary format is the use of the narrative voice. Nonfiction writing may use either exposition or narration. Expository writing is information based. One of the characteristics of expository writing is the presence of extensive author research. The text introduces and explains information that may be new to students.
Acceleration: Is It right for your Child?
Acceleration is allowing a student the opportunity to move through an educational program at a younger age or at a faster pace than typical. It is the most research-supported intervention in gifted education. Is this the right course of action? Read more about our expert recommendatioons.
Honoring Lee Ann Powell
Lee Ann’s dedication to the children, parents and community of GDC will be sorely missed. She knew everything about the organization and made sure everyone had what they needed. Read more for details about her scholarship fund and memorial service.
Hello Lighthouse
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Lighthouses along the coasts of the North Atlantic, especially from New York to Newfoundland, are portrayed in this luminous and highly informative picture book. They serve as steadfast sentinels that from dusk to dawn send out the life-saving message, “Hello, Hello, Hello” to ships at sea that may be in peril in all kinds of weather.
Farmhouse: Stories brought to Life
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Sophie Blackall has a rare visual talent for bringing old stories to life for contemporary readers in her remarkable history-oriented picture books. Farmhouse explores a time in the distant past when a family of mother, father, and their 12 children made a white clapboard farmhouse the center of their lives. In simple verse and inspired images, Blackall celebrates the plain yet loving lives of a large family on a real farm in upstate New York.
An Enduring Classic: The Westing Game
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | The Westing Game is one of the all-time favorite Newbery Medal-winning books. Originally published in 1978, Ellen Raskin’s final book is a novel of delight that should be introduced to each new generation of readers. The Westing Game is much more than a mystery novel. It is a puzzle, a word mystifier, a game to be played, and a work of fiction filled with delightfully eccentric characters of multiple disguises, aliases, and even at least one case of mistaken identity. One of the particularly relevant features of this classic work of juvenile fiction is the presence of four highly gifted teens among the cast of unlikely game players.
The Poet Who Was Green
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | “The Poem Forest” is a picture book biography of W. S. Merwin (1927-2019), an exceptionally gifted man who adeptly combined his life passions for poetry, literary translations, and the wilderness.
A Tribute to Betty Meckstroth
We have much to thank Betty Meckstroth for. Betty was coauthor of one of the first, most important, award-winning books on the gifted: Guiding the Gifted Child (Webb, Meckstroth, & Tolan, 1982). A huge supporter of parents of the gifted, Betty contributed an immense amount of knowledge and experience to this book, which remained a favorite for decades.
Could Your Child Have CAPD?
CAPD occurs when an individual has excellent hearing but has difficulty understanding speech and concentrating in the presence of background noise. CAPD occurs independently of other strengths, including strong intellectual abilities. Regardless of where intellectual abilities fall, if CAPD is present, one can benefit from solutions that help manage their CAPD.
Two Great Ladies
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | “Jackie” (Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy) and the Mona Lisa (Lisa Gherardini) are two of the most beloved women in the world. One of the advantages of fact-based picture books is that they serve all ages of gifted readers. Children can simply enjoy the story line and acquire new information. Older readers can use such books as points of departure to engage in fascinating research. Jackie and the Mona Lisa is just such a book.
The Gift of Vision for the Gifted
The gift of excellent vision is one gift all children deserve.
JUSTICE! One-Hundred Ten Years in the Making
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | On July 15, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.) rewrote their records to declare Jim Thorpe as the sole winner of the gold medals for the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1912 Stockholm Games. On that historic day, Jim Thorpe became the first Native American to win Olympic gold medals. He completely dominated his two Olympic events. Sweden’s King Gustav V presented Thorpe with his medals and said to the young champion, “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.”
A Spy in Monet’s Garden
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Ella in the Garden of Giverny presents a delightful story of a young American girl in the early 20th century who is befriended by the creator of Impressionism, Claude Monet. Daniel Fehr smartly integrates Ella’s first-person narrative with an extended dialogue using the voices of Ella and of Monet, who becomes her mentor.
Out of this World
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Award-winning author, Sally M. Walker, employs one of the most widely known and used verse forms to take students on a poetic trip into space, near and far, far away. Further, she devotes a large part of Out of This World to an exploration of space using informative prose to help gifted readers further explore and better understand the extraordinary space phenomena initially introduced in her haiku poems.
Together We Are Strong
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | ‘Twas the Night Before PRIDE is an easy reading celebration of families from the all-inclusive LGBTQ+ population around the world.
A World Without Story is Lost
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Donna Barba Hilguera’s The Last Cuentista would be a standout book for middle-grade and secondary gifted readers in any year. The fact that it was the novel chosen to receive the Newbery Medal on the occasion of the American Library Association’s 100th Anniversary of the award, as well the 2022 Pura Belpre Award, add to its distinction.
the Immigrant Experience
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Almost everything about Watercress, from the story line to the artwork, is both simple and basic, yet deeply meaningful. Ashamed of feeling different, Andrea Wang wrote this book as an apology and love letter to her parents. She invites all readers to share their family stories. “Tell your stories. They are essential.” Stories create family traditions.
In Search of Poets
For nearly 44 years, Gifted Development Center has been a beacon of child-centered assessment. We are seeking gifted poet/examiners to continue our work who can “attend in a more perceptive, intimate, even holistic way.” We need assessors who excel at listening, who can tell a story of who this child is, what are this child’s needs, and why we should care.
Colossus: Amazing Feats of Engineering
Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Colossus opens with a double-page spread of text and images that answer a key question: What is an engineer? Some engineering feats go back in time across thousands of years and their construction may still mystify contemporary engineers. How were such marvels as the great pyramids of Egypt and England’s Stonehenge constructed upwards of five thousand years ago?