As the name declares, Teacher Created Materials Publishing is all about producing quality books by teachers for teachers—and the company has been doing that for almost 40 years. The company’s bestselling Time for Kids series is popular with kids and educators in grades 1–5, and to celebrate its launch into the kindergarten market, senior v-p Deanna Mendoza says one of the publisher’s most prolific authors, Dona Herweck Rice, will be signing books today, 9:30–10:30 a.m., in booth C1767. Mendoza admits that even her own six-year-old is “starstruck” when it comes to meeting Rice, who has written more than 300 books (mostly nonfiction) for Teacher Created Materials.
Teacher Created Materials’ biggest bestseller written for educators is Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning by Sharroky Hollis (in its Shell Education imprint), which is all about how children from different backgrounds bring different skills and problems to the classroom. Buzz for the perennial bestseller built over time through the word-of-mouth excitement of those who have used the book to improve their classroom work. Mendoza says educators, booksellers, and librarians who use their books are TCM’s “best publicists.”
Rice thinks the Teacher Created Materials is so successful because “they have a passion for doing well by kids in all areas.” The company motto is “To create a world in which children love to learn.”
“There isn’t a child in the world who, with the right book put into their hands, doesn’t love to read,” says Rice, who has two small children and directs children’s theater near her Southern California home. Librarians and booksellers, she notes, ignite that magic spark of reading for children.
To celebrate that spark and hopefully ignite more sparks, Mendoza says the company is giving away two books of attendees’ choice from the company’s vast backlist on Friday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. The giveaway includes its books written for educators and for children.
This series is an excellent example of the company’s “high-interest readers,” which bring science or social studies content into reading books, which Mendoza says the company started to produce from its very beginning days at the request of educators. Librarians and booksellers can get TCM/Shell Education books from all major wholesalers.
