See ya in Korea, Azalea
My editor at Islandport Press has given me some good news: Azalea is going to be sold in South Korea! The book has already been sent off to translators. I am very curious as to how it will translate, both literally and conceptually. From what I’ve fished off the internet, homeschooling is legal only for expats in Korea. Children with two Korean parents are legally obligated to attend school until age 15. And formal schooling is highly valued in Korean culture. So the concept of unschooling, I imagine, is something of a...
Read MoreSummer Reading
I was very happy to see Azalea, Unschooled on the Maine summer reading shelf at my local branch of the Portland Public Library. There’s something about summer and Maine…summer in general, I guess. It seems like a lot of kids’ books take place during the summer because it’s the time when the rules of ordinary life, the school year rules, are suspended. Funny that a lot of my book takes place in summer, even though it is about unschoolers, kids for whom the school year rules are always suspended. Maybe I just couldn’t get out of my conventional-schooling mindset,...
Read MoreFor the Love of Learning
Thanks to Lainie Liberti, host of the alternative education movement webcast For the Love of Learning, for having me as a panelist on her show about unschooling fiction writers. Lainie invites a panel of guests to take on a different topic each week. Recently, she gathered several writers who have written fiction about unschooling. Sheila Baranoski, Kristi Howe, Nicole Olson, Crispin Bateman and I all talked about our experiences as authors. While the others are all active unschoolers and unschool advocates, I had the distinction of being the only author approaching the topic as an...
Read MoreDeck the Mall
Fellow middle grade novelist and Islandport Press author Elizabeth Atkinson and I signed books at the Islandport Press kiosk at the Maine mall this past Saturday. Thanks to everyone who stopped by for a chat, a signed book, or a piece of candy. We met teachers, parents, and kids, including a home(un?)schooler who left with both Azalea, Unschooled and Beth’s book The Sugar Mountain Snow Ball. The event was a lot of fun, and a nice kick-off to the holiday season....
Read MoreAzalea Signing
What are you doing Thanksgiving weekend? Perhaps braving the crowds at the Maine Mall in South Portland? I’ll be there on Saturday, Nov. 26 at the Islandport Press kiosk from 11-1, signing books along with fellow middle-grade author (and fellow 2015 Maine Literary Awards finalist) Elizabeth Atkinson. Stop...
Read More“The Guardian” Looks at Unschooling
As the parent of a conventionally-schooled child, and the author of Azalea, Unschooled, a novel that explores the life of an unschooled child, I’ve thought a lot about the limits and potentials of different types of education. The British newspaper The Guardian today takes an interesting look at the unschooling movement, exploring both pros and cons of an entirely child-driven educational experience. Read the article...
Read MoreLiza Kleinman
A writer of fiction for adults and children, and a freelance writer specializing in language arts educational materials.
Liza's latest release is the children's book Azalea, Unschooled from Islandport Press.
