About the Author

Regie Routman has been teaching in public schools for almost three decades. She has taught most of the elementary grades and has been a reading specialist, a learning disabilities tutor, a Reading Recovery teacher, a language arts resource and mentor teacher, and a staff developer. Currently, she teaches and consults in schools and districts around the country doing demonstration teaching and conducting workshops. She continues to speak to educators nationally and internationally.

Regie Routman's books are acclaimed by educators as providing a solid, theory-based understanding of language learning along with a wealth of useable ideas and resources. She writes in an upbeat, conversational, practical, and sincere voice from her daily experiences in the classroom. Regie's first book, Transitions: From Literature to Literacy (Heinemann, 1988) has helped countless elementary teachers make the journey to literature-based teaching and more meaning-centered approaches. Her follow-up book, Invitation: Changing as Teachers and Learners K-12 (Heineman, 1991 and 1994) has proven to be an inspiring, invaluable, comprehensive resource for teachers of all grades. Her most recent book is Literacy at the Crossroads: Crucial Talk About Reading, Writing, and Other Teaching Dilemmas (Heinemann, 1996). As cries for back to basic teaching have grown louder, this book was written to clarify issues, offer specific suggestions, and provide impetus for taking action to make a meaningful difference in our schools. Her newest book, Conversations: Strategies for Teaching, Learning and Evaluating will be available from Heinemann in autumn 1999.