Hank is on the Reading the West Book Awards Long List

 I'm thrilled and delighted that Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight is on the long list for the Reading the West Book Award in the Young Readers category. Thanks to Reading the West for everything you do to support local authors and bookstores. 

Can you tell by looking at the covers below, which book is a decodable?

If you are familiar with my work, you already know it's Hank the Tank. Something important to me as I create decodable books for older kids is that they look, feel, and read like regular chapter books. That's why I write the story portion in verse. There is more flexibility with the flow of language in poetry and it's just more fun. If you want to know more about decodable books, check out the page on my website entitled, Choosing the Right Decodable Books for Your Students. 

On another note, I was excited to see that so many of my fellow New Mexico and Colorado SCBWI friends had titles on these lists including The Worst Eneby by Jennifer Bonhoff, Skyriders by Polly Holyoke, Bitsy Bat, School Hero by Kaz Windness, Fatima Tate Takes the Cake by Khadijah Vanbrakle, and Walter Steps Up to the Plate by Sue Houser.

And a special shout out to the Colorado Independent Bookstores, especially:  

West Side Books in Evergreen, Colorado - Hank the Tank Store Website Listing 

The Boulder Bookstore in 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO - Store Website

Second Star to the Right -  1455 S. Pearl St., Denver,  Store Website 

Off the Beaten Path - 68 9th St. Steamboat Springs - Store Website.

Tattered Cover - Various Locations - Store Website

The Bookies - Denver, CO - Store Website 

Mountain Shire Books - 63 Cooper Creek Way, Suite 231, Winter Park, CO 80482 - Store Website.

If these stores don't have Hank in stock, remember, you can always order copies from their website. If you have a local favorite bookstore that isn't listed, you can order Hank through Bookshop.org and mention that bookstore in the checkout process.

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