A golden age for memoir and a fresh outing for old favourites Kim Philby and Queen Victoria – Paul Laity rounds up this year’s life writing
Social-emotional activities have never been more important for younger kids.
Can you believe it’s already the end of 2015!? It went by SO fast, and yet it’s been an amazing year filled with so many incredible books. I read over 300 books this year (what!?) and I…
Love stories that don't suck.
Before having my third (and FINAL!) child and finding that I no longer have time to brush my hair let alone do anything else, I used to run a 6 week evening course on how to write and illustrate children's books. Being a fan of reuse, recycle and re-hashing old material I thought I might blog the course so that anyone out there who might be interested in taking up this noble profession (which according to my husband amounts to little more than 'colouring in') can glean what they may from my musings. The first three weeks are how to write a picture book, the following three are how to illustrate one. Obviously this is, at best, a brief introduction to the discipline but I hope it might serve as a starting point for a few who may have the talent and inclination but be a little lost on where to begin. I was at that point 14 years ago when I started self-teaching myself by reading just about every article I could lay my hands on and quizzing any professional who didn't take out a restraining order. There will be homework! If you chose to do it, great, if you want to send it to me for my perusal please do and if I get the time to get back to you then we'll both be doing well. Picture Book Writing Course Part 1 What Makes A Good Picture Book It's Tough! True story; Dr Seuss was at a dinner party when he met a Brain surgeon, the brain surgeon said ‘oh, are you that guy who writes those little books for children? I’ve always thought that when I had a free afternoon one Saturday I’d love to write one. Dr Seuss replied, ‘ ‘Ahh yes, and I’ve always thought when I had a free afternoon one Saturday I’d love to do a little brain surgery’ I'm not suggesting that what I do is brain surgery (it's actually more like rocket science;) but there is a misapprehension that it’s easy to write for children and get published. I thought so! Until the harsh realities and rejection letters beat my optimistic spirit violently down. The truth is that writing picture books is a particular artform with it’s own rules and requirements - it’s a craft that takes a long time to master - (and clearly I am in no way near to mastering it yet). It is also an EXTREMELY competitive field. I spoke with a small publisher a few years back who told me they get 100 unsolicited (i.e. not through an agent) manuscripts a week - of which 2 a year might get published. It took me 2 years of hard slog to get illustration work and 8 years of writing picture book manuscripts before one was published - and this is quicker than many. So why do so many people think they can do it? 1) Every parent/grandparent/teacher/aunt with a grain of imagination has made up stories to adoring children and thinks they would be good enough to be published. Unfortunately kids love the attention of anyone making up stories for them whether the stories are any good or not. We all have the ability to make up a story, but this doesn't make us all writers. I can make beans on toast - doesn’t make me a chef! 2) People think their book will change the world! People often get into writing children’s books with projects they are truly passionate about - pets, family anecdotes or memories, or a moral they wish to impart and then take it terribly personally when they hit their first wall and refuse to compromise or take advice. 3) People think it’s easy because unlike a novel, it’s short! But just because there aren’t many words doesn’t mean there isn’t much story. Children's author Mem Fox once compared writing picture books to ‘writing War and Peace in Haiku’. A slight exaggeration, maybe, but one of the most difficult books I've ever written is Zoo Girl - and it's told in only 20 words! But trying to get the story right first, with emotional ups and downs, cliff-hangers, a strong beginning, middle and end, character depth etc. and then condense that down and tell as much as I could in the pictures rather than the words was an immense challenge. It's easier to ramble. As this blog entry is proving. 4) People think it pays well - true if you have a big hit like The Gruffalo but this is exTREMEly unlikely and many books go out of print after their first print run so the writer gets no royalties and may be paid an advance of just £1000 - £3000. Why do most people fail? The fact is that most would-be children’s writers have no idea what they’re doing. They simply haven’t taken the time to learn about writing for children. Let's face it, you wouldn't try to fly a fighter jet without first taking flying lessons. So why do so many people think they can write a children's book without first learning how? (I admit this is a terrible analogy - no one, so far as I know, has ever died a horrible plummeting death from trying to write a picture book without the proper training, but you get my point.) So what’s the secret? Simple - In order to get your picture book published, you MUST find out what publishers are after and then give them EXACTLY what they want. And, the good news is, children's book publishers are desperate for good children's books, because, as I’ve said, most of what they receive is rubbish! Children’s books like anything else are a business (a really fun one, but a business none the less) and as such we need to be creating products which will be appealing to the target audience - not just the children (although they should ALWAYS be at the forefront of our thinking) but the publishers, editors, booksellers that all come before a child even sees it. Hopefully in this course you'll get a strong idea of what publishers want, and how to create it and present it to them. It's also worth saying at this point that if you can overcome the odds, do the research and break into the business - it's one of the most rewarding, enjoyable and fun jobs around! This first session is What Makes a Good Picture Book? - If you don’t know this, how are you going to create your own one? The only way to do this is to research - know your market, love your market, visit libraries and children's departments in book shops, start collecting picture books that catch your eye (charity shops are a great source). If you don’t love children’s books, if you think they're beneath you, if you're scared of being stared at as you spend hours in the children's section of the library, leave now, this profession is not for you. Different kinds of picture books: I regularly get emails from people who have written 'a children's book' and when I ask what kind of children's book and what age it's aimed at they're a bit stumped, or the material in no way goes along with the age they tell me it's aimed at so you need to learn the difference between... mass-market activity books, board and novelty books, Early Readers, picture books, YA novels etc. etc. You'll get to know these by visiting those libraries and bookshops again and seeing what's in each section, holding them, looking at the blurb on the back, etc. In this course it's high-end trade Picture Books we're interested in - these are generally - 32pages, 12-14 full colour spreads, with full-colour, quality illustrations, and original tales told in less than 600 words. But within picture books there are of course different genres, for example; Humourous (eg. Dave, The Monkey With the Bright Blue Bottom, Olivia, Naked Trevor) Action adventure (eg. Gruffalo, Where the wild things are, ) Snuggly bed-time story (eg. Guess How Much I Love you, I love you Daddy, Cub's First Winter) and lots more besides, and many books of course span the whole lot. But it's worth thinking about what kind of book you want to write and which market you'd be aiming at. Characters Your picture book will need a main character and generally these are; Children - the same age or a little older than the target audince (which for a picture book is usually between 3-6 but can be much wider) Animals - usually young animals or an older animal with a child-like outlook Creatures - monsters, fairies, robots etc. Adults - very rarely the main character (Percy the Park keeper is an exception but he looks quite chubby and child-like! There are other notable exceptions but i think best to avoid as your main character) ok to include parents, teachers, doctors etc. - Adults children have come across in their own lives. Inanimate Objects - Again, there are notable exceptions but generally I would avoid writing your picture book about Simon the Stapler or Billy Banana. It's old-fashioned, it's dull, it's of little interest to publishers. The important thing is your picture book needs at least one character the child reader can identify with - so whether it's a robot monkey or bespectacled duck make sure they make choices and deal with emotions like a 5 year old child would. So what makes a book work well? THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE HERE by generally a great picture book must be; Original - publishers are looking for a new hook or concept Well written - we'll go into more detail about this next week but each word must be perfect. Beginning, middle and end - Straight in, exciting progression, pleasing ending Fit nicely into 12/13 spreads with action on each spread Attractive and entertaining to children and adults Children/main character solving their own problems, not adults stepping in to 'save the day' A Simple idea told clearly Engaging characters GREAT ending We will be looking at this list and going through it in more detail next week but for now; Homework! 1. Look at a selection of (fairly recent) picture books and as you read them and study the illustrations ask the following questions; What kind of book is it (funny, adventure etc.) What’s the basic plot? What is the atmosphere of the book and how is that conveyed? Why and how do the images and text work together? Is the book appropriate for its audience? Why? Is there a character the child can relate to? What is the child meant to gain from the book, if anything? Is there an underlying message or moral to the book? How does the narrative work - is there a definite beginning, middle and end? 2. Come up with 3 vague picture book ideas - include a main character and a rough plot line. Next week - How to Write a Picture Book
So, you've finished the first draft of your novel. Congratulations! With a completed draft under your belt, it can be tempting to dive straight into edits, revising all of those pesky plot holes and other weaknesses you created along the way. This, however, would likely be a big mistake. Revising
Teachers are a special group of people. They give of themsleves again and again. Here's 19 Things Teachers Want Their Principals to Know.
Read 93411712 grammar practice g3 4 120629085757 phpapp01 by Dilqna on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!
Have you ever had to use a district curriculum that doesn’t really fit the levels or needs of your special needs student? It can be hard to make a purchased program work for our students, but it IS possible! To do so, though, we need to be flexible and creative….We totally rock flexible and creative, ... Read More about Modifying Curriculum For The Special Needs Student
Read READIN & WORDS by ประพันธ์ เวารัมย์ แบ่งปันความรู้สู่ความก้าวหน้า on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start h...
Are you back to school yet? The schools in my area returned last week. As you get settled into your routine and start shifting into the a...
Read 7 klas anglijska mova nesvit 2015 by uploader12283222 on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!
Summer Book Series :: Free Printable. Don't let summer learning loss happen to you. Check out these fun FREE books for kids. Repetitive and cute.
As some of you may know, I had somewhat of a “deprived” childhood. I’ve never seen Bambi, Winnie the Pooh, Sesame Street, or a whole assortment of commonplace children’s shows and movies. I’ve never been to any zoo. And I don’t remember ever eating a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich before the age of 15....
A teaching blog
Guided reading is an excellent instructional tool, but guided reading for ELLs is equally as effective--and maybe even more important!
Knitting 147 2015 10
How to adapt Reading A-Z books (or other leveled readers) to use during your Guided Reading instruction in self contained. Learn more at Mrs. D's Corner.
Here are several A Color of His Own activities and crafts that go along with this book wonderful book that has a beautiful message.
Knitting 144 2015 08
A compilation of the best ideas I've seen for an awesome detective classroom theme.
My daughter is LOVING 'I Went Walking' at the moment. It is a great read, but she loves it even more now she can read it TO me! I have read this to her since she was a baby, and it has a very similar pattern and rhythm as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, by Bill Martin, which we also love. I Went Walking is a modern Australian classic written by Sue Machin. If you have not got this in your home library, you should! The beautiful illustrations are done by Julie Vivas, and my US friends may be familiar with her work in Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. I have purchased a set of felt board characters from Felt Fun for this book. They make retelling the story lots of fun for my students. We can also work with ordinal numbers in maths, by talking about which animal came first, second etc I found this little beauty yesterday! It is another Australian book called Wombat Went A' Walking, with beyond-superb illustrations by Lachlan Creagh. The story follows a familiar pattern of animals going on a journey, and collecting a new animal with each page. Wombat begins walking and stops to cool his feet in the creek. He meets turtle... and the adventure begins. This book features SO MANY action words it would be perfect for starting a lesson or unit of work on verbs with your students. Lachlan's illustrations are PERFECT for bringing the action words on each page to life. Your students will gain a sense of the meaning of a verb, just by looking at these illustrations. I always introduce verbs to my kindergarten students by challenging them to get up and move around the classroom. I tell them that 'jump' is a verb, because we can DO it, and 'clap' is a verb, because we can DO it... 'Chair' I tell them... "Computer" I tell them...... and we all laugh as they realise that they cannot 'chair' or 'computer" like we can 'run', 'skip', 'talk' and so on. We play a fun game of calling out words, and if they are action verbs they perform the action. If the are 'things' or nouns, we pretend to take a photo of them. This book will now be my staple for introducing verbs and action words in the classroom, and playing this game. Here are just some of the verbs I found in the book today with my daughter: We also did a retell of the story with my collection of puppets. I have been collecting hand puppets for a long time, and buy them whenever I see them. The wombat and platypus are my favourites and I picked them up at Toronga Zoo last time we were there. The koala puppet was a dollar bargain at the dollar shop. Tim the Emu was named by my students on a school excursion I had with a kindergarten class back in 2006. He is very special! Puppets are a wonderful tool for helping students to retell stories and think about the structure of the text. Here is a close up of my wombat puppet... isn't he just too cute! If you visit Australia, you simply must take the time to try to see some wombats, they are adorable... very sleepy, so you may have to wait around to see one come out of its burrow. I made these writing worksheets to use with my daughter this week, and you are welcome to download them to use if you get the chance to share this wonderful story with your class. For my Australian friends, stop by your local Big W if you can and get it, I got mine yesterday for around $10. Awesome value! Click on the image below to get the worksheets from google docs. Thanks to scrappindoodles for the lovely clipart. A NSW font version is included in the file too!
Explore setting by creating a travel brochure for the setting of your book.
Read Pastel - Technical Guide of Drawing and Painting by Línea Editorial Publishers - Óscar Asensio on Issuu and browse thousands of other publicat...
We’re knee deep now in our Tomie dePaola author study . Each time I read The Art Lesson I’m reminded and amazed all over again at the acute recollection Tomie dePaola has of his childhood. Down to the last detail. It’s those little details in the story and illustrations that draw me in and make The Art Lesson one of my […]
Here are TEN great strategies to help improve reading comprehension for beginning readers in Kindergarten and first grade! These should be ...
Acquista il libro Andare a piedi. Filosofia del camminare di Frederic Gros in offerta; lo trovi online a prezzi scontati su La Feltrinelli.
Att ha fina saker hemma är bara att glömma, likaså att få äta ostört, gå på toaletten i fred och kunna gå utanför dörren utan att rolla kläderna först. Vissa saker förstår man helt enkelt bara om man är kattägare.
The man who drove everyone nuts with the "Find The Panda" picture has released as sequel.
This type of animal fits comfortably into a pocket or pencil case, won't make a peep during class, and is easy to take care of: It doesn't need food or water, and it never gets fleas.
If you’d like to customize your own road trip, I've released the Python code I used in this project.
This giant list of art projects based on children's books will help your students connect art to literature and make some fantastic artwork in the process.
