ABOUT
ME!
About me...
I began writing books years ago when I found that I needed another way to keep students engaged with the Spanish language, but with vocabulary, grammar and sentence structures that were at their level. It started with La chica nueva, an entry level book in Spanish for students of all ages and has blossomed into a small library of books now in Spanish, French, English, Italian and German. I am inspired by people that I meet and their stories, and in each book I aim to present social issues to discuss as well as embedded culture. It is my hope that greater awareness of different cultures will only lead to realizations of similar we really all are.
To further learn the why behind my writing, have a listen to the conversation I had with Patti Diener on her podcast, "A Beautiful Second Act."
FRENCH
English
Italian
German
Comments
I am a 6th grade Spanish teacher and new to CI. This book is a great way to start at a beginners level where students will be able to understand the story and grasp the meaning of the story with the teacher's ability to implement CI at the start of the year.
Maestra Caballero, New Jersey
Jennifer Degenhardt has hit on a great formula with this book. Take high school age characters, add teenage angst, a dose of Facebook and texting, and finish it off with forbidden love and you have a wonderful recipe for a FVR/SSR novel. My students have enjoyed this book. It is written at a level that my Spanish II and higher students can read it independently, while my Spanish I students can read with assistance. The chapters are a perfect length for this setting and have just enough action to keep the plot moving forward. I have just added Jennifer's 2nd book "La Niñera" to my FVR library, and I am looking forward to her 3rd novel which I hear is coming out soon! Keep your eyes out for it!
Señor Sifert, Iowa
I finished Los tres amigos last night. It tore me up. I'll have to go back and re-read to think about level and vocabulary -- I didn't even pay attention. I thought about the story and how much I related to it. This is as much a book for the girl whose boyfriend breaks up with her (everyone) as a book about a boy who comes out. For girls -- we've all been the girl with the guy friend who turned out to be gay. It's really good. It's culture in a way that makes it the background of everything... I will be thinking about this book for a long time.... mostly that I didn't think there was an audience for books like this and now I know I was wrong and I couldn't be happier. Jennifer Degenhardt -- you are a groundbreaker and I hope a lot of the rest of us follow the path you've beaten.