• build classroom community
• understand students' literary histories
• facilitate keeping a writer's notebook
• discover important writing topics
• put listening at the core of students' writing processes
• inspire lifelong investigations of good writing.

In Lasting Impressions, Shelley Harwayne draws upon her travels, her speeches, and her family life, but mainly on her passion for putting fine literature into the hands and hearts of young children. It will be a valuable resource for all elementary and middle school teachers, especially those who wonder if the literature that lines their classroom walls is making a lasting impression on their students' lives and their writing.