Lester L. Laminack is Professor Emeritus from department of Birth-Kindergarten, Elementary and Middle Grades Education, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina where he received two awards for excellence in teaching. He is now a full-time writer and consultant working with schools throughout the United States. Lester is an active member of the National Council of Teachers of English and served as co-editor of Primary Voices and the children's book review column of Language Arts. He also served as a teaching editor for the magazine Teaching K-8 and wrote the Parent Connection column. He is a former member of the Whole Language Umbrella Governing Board, the Governing Board and Secretary of the North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children, and the Board of Directors for the Center for the Expansion of Language and Thinking. Lester served as the Basic Reading Consultant to Literacy Volunteers of America from 1987 through 2001 and as a member of the Board of Directors of Our Children's Place [www.ourchildrensplace. com]. He is the current column editor for The Writing Department of the ILA journal, The Reading Teacher.