Christine Sarmel
@christinesarmel.bsky.social
Reader. Writer. Librarian. House plant assassin.
The two biggest dangers to school library books: puppies and backpack water bottles.
📚 a large group of first-graders watched me demonstrate the library’s book mending machine today. I asked them if they had ever had a book in their home get really messed up. their hands shot up. I would estimate that 60% of their stories involved dogs
November 27, 2025 at 5:01 PM
The two biggest dangers to school library books: puppies and backpack water bottles.
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
We know that, for a ton of reasons, a lot of folks don't have as much to spend as they'd like this holiday season. Sooooooo, here's a thread of things you can do that will support your local indie bookstore or other business WITHOUT spending any more than you intended...
November 26, 2025 at 10:26 PM
We know that, for a ton of reasons, a lot of folks don't have as much to spend as they'd like this holiday season. Sooooooo, here's a thread of things you can do that will support your local indie bookstore or other business WITHOUT spending any more than you intended...
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
And don't keep offering, either.
"Are you sure?"
"It's open bar!"
"Just one."
"Keep me company."
"No one's keeping track."
"It's a party!"
"The bottle's already open."
"My treat!"
"Everyone else is..."
"Are you sure?"
"It's open bar!"
"Just one."
"Keep me company."
"No one's keeping track."
"It's a party!"
"The bottle's already open."
"My treat!"
"Everyone else is..."
Just a friendly reminder as we go into the holidays:
Folks don't have to explain to you why they don't drink.
If you offer them a drink and they decline, don't ask them why. It's not your business.
Just offer them something without alcohol to drink instead. And move on.
Folks don't have to explain to you why they don't drink.
If you offer them a drink and they decline, don't ask them why. It's not your business.
Just offer them something without alcohol to drink instead. And move on.
November 24, 2025 at 12:25 AM
And don't keep offering, either.
"Are you sure?"
"It's open bar!"
"Just one."
"Keep me company."
"No one's keeping track."
"It's a party!"
"The bottle's already open."
"My treat!"
"Everyone else is..."
"Are you sure?"
"It's open bar!"
"Just one."
"Keep me company."
"No one's keeping track."
"It's a party!"
"The bottle's already open."
"My treat!"
"Everyone else is..."
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
The trophies are out! It’s a special night at John Cook Arena as the Huskers are celebrating their 350th consecutive home sellout, a streak which dates back to 2001.
November 20, 2025 at 11:52 PM
The trophies are out! It’s a special night at John Cook Arena as the Huskers are celebrating their 350th consecutive home sellout, a streak which dates back to 2001.
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
I am a nyc teacher and I am in urgent need of highlighters for my students written short responses in writing. My school is mandating for us to have students color code their work for text based evidence. This is an urgent matter. Please repost. Thanks so much. www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...
November 14, 2025 at 10:15 PM
I am a nyc teacher and I am in urgent need of highlighters for my students written short responses in writing. My school is mandating for us to have students color code their work for text based evidence. This is an urgent matter. Please repost. Thanks so much. www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
No. 1 Nebraska is playing on the black Taraflex tonight vs. Illinois.
November 6, 2025 at 11:07 PM
No. 1 Nebraska is playing on the black Taraflex tonight vs. Illinois.
Well I guess this was inevitable. One of my elementary school students turned in a short story that included the phrase “He let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding.”
Bonus points because the breath-holding ‘he’ was a rhino.
Bonus points because the breath-holding ‘he’ was a rhino.
woody and buzz lightyear from toy story are standing next to each other and talking .
Alt: woody and buzz lightyear from toy story are standing next to each other and saying It’s Everywhere
media.tenor.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Well I guess this was inevitable. One of my elementary school students turned in a short story that included the phrase “He let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding.”
Bonus points because the breath-holding ‘he’ was a rhino.
Bonus points because the breath-holding ‘he’ was a rhino.
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
I joined @tomesandtextiles.bsky.social 's fundraiser and am offering an advanced query class plus a recording of a Query 101 class to anyone who donates $20 or more.
Plus two very rare opportunities for a query critique
Please repost.
teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/participants...
Plus two very rare opportunities for a query critique
Please repost.
teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/participants...
October 30, 2025 at 3:11 AM
I joined @tomesandtextiles.bsky.social 's fundraiser and am offering an advanced query class plus a recording of a Query 101 class to anyone who donates $20 or more.
Plus two very rare opportunities for a query critique
Please repost.
teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/participants...
Plus two very rare opportunities for a query critique
Please repost.
teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/participants...
But no one, and I do mean no one, uses them as much as sixth graders.
Standing classroom rule of one ! per document…make it count.
Standing classroom rule of one ! per document…make it count.
Study finds women use exclamation points 3x as much as men! Women worry they will seem too cold and unfriendly if they don’t. They then spend more time worrying about whether this makes them seem incompetent or inferior.
www.ft.com/content/dd81...
www.ft.com/content/dd81...
Not another work email with exclamation marks!
It turns out there is less to worry about than you might think
www.ft.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:45 PM
But no one, and I do mean no one, uses them as much as sixth graders.
Standing classroom rule of one ! per document…make it count.
Standing classroom rule of one ! per document…make it count.
It’s parent-teacher conference time so here’s some free teacher advice.
Let your kid be bored.
Give them paper books and a cardboard box and some markers and walk away.
If they whine, pull a page from Great-Grandma’s book and offer the chance to sweep the kitchen.
Fuel creativity!
Let your kid be bored.
Give them paper books and a cardboard box and some markers and walk away.
If they whine, pull a page from Great-Grandma’s book and offer the chance to sweep the kitchen.
Fuel creativity!
October 25, 2025 at 1:58 PM
It’s parent-teacher conference time so here’s some free teacher advice.
Let your kid be bored.
Give them paper books and a cardboard box and some markers and walk away.
If they whine, pull a page from Great-Grandma’s book and offer the chance to sweep the kitchen.
Fuel creativity!
Let your kid be bored.
Give them paper books and a cardboard box and some markers and walk away.
If they whine, pull a page from Great-Grandma’s book and offer the chance to sweep the kitchen.
Fuel creativity!
Me reading aloud: Cows have fur.
Student: Cows don’t have fur. They have that other stuff.
I ask questions.
Leather. Child pictures cows like sofas with udders.
Uh, no.
Are you sure?
I grew up next door to cows. Very sure.
Whispers to his neighbor, “I’m gonna ask my mom.”
Student: Cows don’t have fur. They have that other stuff.
I ask questions.
Leather. Child pictures cows like sofas with udders.
Uh, no.
Are you sure?
I grew up next door to cows. Very sure.
Whispers to his neighbor, “I’m gonna ask my mom.”
a baby cow is standing in a grassy field
Alt: a baby cow is standing in a grassy field
media.tenor.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Me reading aloud: Cows have fur.
Student: Cows don’t have fur. They have that other stuff.
I ask questions.
Leather. Child pictures cows like sofas with udders.
Uh, no.
Are you sure?
I grew up next door to cows. Very sure.
Whispers to his neighbor, “I’m gonna ask my mom.”
Student: Cows don’t have fur. They have that other stuff.
I ask questions.
Leather. Child pictures cows like sofas with udders.
Uh, no.
Are you sure?
I grew up next door to cows. Very sure.
Whispers to his neighbor, “I’m gonna ask my mom.”
Did anyone else immediately think of this?
October 19, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Did anyone else immediately think of this?
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
Pls consider ordering a book from your local indie bookshop *NOW* before holiday season to give store time to order title if they don't have it? This helps:
(1) support indie bkshops, (2) support human creators, (3) gets you ahead re: busy shopping time.
Psst: maybe one of my books? 🙏🏽💛 #KidLit
(1) support indie bkshops, (2) support human creators, (3) gets you ahead re: busy shopping time.
Psst: maybe one of my books? 🙏🏽💛 #KidLit
a cartoon of a woman hugging a book standing in front of a store that says support indie bookshops
Alt: Illustration of smiling person hugging a book. In the background is a friendly-looking bookstore with lighted windows, text on wall reads "Support Indie Bookshops."
media.tenor.com
October 15, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Pls consider ordering a book from your local indie bookshop *NOW* before holiday season to give store time to order title if they don't have it? This helps:
(1) support indie bkshops, (2) support human creators, (3) gets you ahead re: busy shopping time.
Psst: maybe one of my books? 🙏🏽💛 #KidLit
(1) support indie bkshops, (2) support human creators, (3) gets you ahead re: busy shopping time.
Psst: maybe one of my books? 🙏🏽💛 #KidLit
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
Returns from a chain bookshop have reduced our sales to a minus figure in the most important sales month of the year.
Please support independent bookshops this Christmas.
Please support independent bookshops this Christmas.
October 13, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Returns from a chain bookshop have reduced our sales to a minus figure in the most important sales month of the year.
Please support independent bookshops this Christmas.
Please support independent bookshops this Christmas.
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
October 10, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
Hey, I know books are expensive and money is tight right now.
But if there's a brand new book you really wanna read — including my own Lessons in Magic and Disaster — you can help get the book into way more hands by requesting it from your local library!
It's easy! Check your library's website.
But if there's a brand new book you really wanna read — including my own Lessons in Magic and Disaster — you can help get the book into way more hands by requesting it from your local library!
It's easy! Check your library's website.
September 16, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Hey, I know books are expensive and money is tight right now.
But if there's a brand new book you really wanna read — including my own Lessons in Magic and Disaster — you can help get the book into way more hands by requesting it from your local library!
It's easy! Check your library's website.
But if there's a brand new book you really wanna read — including my own Lessons in Magic and Disaster — you can help get the book into way more hands by requesting it from your local library!
It's easy! Check your library's website.
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
And if you order from @bookshop.org today/tomorrow, there is free shipping on all orders! 😍
Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
October 8, 2025 at 1:57 AM
And if you order from @bookshop.org today/tomorrow, there is free shipping on all orders! 😍
From the elementary school perspective, parents please help us out, resist the temptation to hand your toddler that iPad…
I think we’re really going to have to do a lot more of this. A massive deprogramming so that people can read more than ten words at a time without anxiety.
www.thetimes.com/uk/education...?
www.thetimes.com/uk/education...?
Universities teaching literature students how to cope with long novels
Critics blame GCSE English for deterring teenagers from the subject, describing the literature syllabus as boring and repetitive
www.thetimes.com
October 4, 2025 at 3:13 PM
From the elementary school perspective, parents please help us out, resist the temptation to hand your toddler that iPad…
Clearly the person who thought let’s make scented books a thing has never owned a puppy.
no no the publishing industry is doing fine, why do you ask
October 3, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Clearly the person who thought let’s make scented books a thing has never owned a puppy.
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
Have a kid who's just not a reader? Have they seen YOU reading lately? If it's not a priority for you, why would they think it should be a priority for them?
September 25, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Have a kid who's just not a reader? Have they seen YOU reading lately? If it's not a priority for you, why would they think it should be a priority for them?
It’s the weekend! Time to relax.
September 20, 2025 at 1:26 AM
It’s the weekend! Time to relax.
Hey middle grade writers/agents/ editors, I know it’s tough out there. I have a student who comes in every morning to ask me if my new shipment of books has arrived yet.
Please keep going so I keep having great things to hand to kids!
Please keep going so I keep having great things to hand to kids!
a pink bunny wearing sunglasses is holding a sign that says energizer and says just keep going and going .
Alt: a pink bunny wearing sunglasses is holding a sign that says energizer and says just keep going and going .
media.tenor.com
September 19, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Hey middle grade writers/agents/ editors, I know it’s tough out there. I have a student who comes in every morning to ask me if my new shipment of books has arrived yet.
Please keep going so I keep having great things to hand to kids!
Please keep going so I keep having great things to hand to kids!
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
As you cancel streaming services, here is a casual reminder that only 16% of Americans read for pleasure anymore, and your local library has hundreds or thousands of books you haven't read.
They would love to see you stop by and renew your library card.
They would love to see you stop by and renew your library card.
September 18, 2025 at 7:55 PM
As you cancel streaming services, here is a casual reminder that only 16% of Americans read for pleasure anymore, and your local library has hundreds or thousands of books you haven't read.
They would love to see you stop by and renew your library card.
They would love to see you stop by and renew your library card.
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
Don’t sleep on this method!! It can often feel like forms go into a black hole, but purchase requests do get seen. Librarians get excited when folks make their collection development responsibilities a little easier. 🙏🏾
Hey, I know books are expensive and money is tight right now.
But if there's a brand new book you really wanna read — including my own Lessons in Magic and Disaster — you can help get the book into way more hands by requesting it from your local library!
It's easy! Check your library's website.
But if there's a brand new book you really wanna read — including my own Lessons in Magic and Disaster — you can help get the book into way more hands by requesting it from your local library!
It's easy! Check your library's website.
September 17, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Don’t sleep on this method!! It can often feel like forms go into a black hole, but purchase requests do get seen. Librarians get excited when folks make their collection development responsibilities a little easier. 🙏🏾
Reposted by Christine Sarmel
Hello 👋🏻
🌽 No. 1 Nebraska (8-0)
visits
🐦 No. 18 Creighton (5-4)
It’s a sellout tonight in the CHI Health Center. Should be a fun one!
Keri Leimbach is here, but is not dressed out.
TV: FS1
🌽 No. 1 Nebraska (8-0)
visits
🐦 No. 18 Creighton (5-4)
It’s a sellout tonight in the CHI Health Center. Should be a fun one!
Keri Leimbach is here, but is not dressed out.
TV: FS1
September 16, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Hello 👋🏻
🌽 No. 1 Nebraska (8-0)
visits
🐦 No. 18 Creighton (5-4)
It’s a sellout tonight in the CHI Health Center. Should be a fun one!
Keri Leimbach is here, but is not dressed out.
TV: FS1
🌽 No. 1 Nebraska (8-0)
visits
🐦 No. 18 Creighton (5-4)
It’s a sellout tonight in the CHI Health Center. Should be a fun one!
Keri Leimbach is here, but is not dressed out.
TV: FS1