Monstore is available now. Check out Tara Lazar’s site for more information:
http://taralazar.com/
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Monstore is available now. Check out Tara Lazar’s site for more information:
http://taralazar.com/
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Since Ramona asked and she traveled all the way from Seattle, I honored her request. We went around the room and introduced ourselves. It was a big dinner party — 33 people in… Read More

Jason Scheier is a visual development and concept artist at DreamWorks Animation SKG. Jason creates digital paintings as well as designs concepts in 3D.

In 2008 Jason drew the above concept presentation pieces for The Guardians of Childhood project at DreamWorks that eventually became Rise of the Guardians.
The following digital paint studies were created as personal projects and class demonstrations:





This is Jason’s modified Chevy Camaro design for the upcoming DreamWorks pic Turbo. The car was built and displayed at the Chicago Auto Show. See more of Jason’s work on his blog.


Word Nerds: Teaching All Students to Learn and Love Vocabulary is filled with fresh ideas for ways to teach vocabulary so the meanings of the words stick with kids. It is a resource that will help you develop an innovative and meaningful vocabulary curriculum for your students. Read a review of the book and preview sections of the text. Then, leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Word Nerds.
Today I will be sending out the new issue of the Growing Bookworms email newsletter. (If you would like to subscribe, you can find a sign-up form here.) The Growing Bookworms newsletter contains content from my blog focused on children's and young adult books and raising readers. There are 1685 subscribers. Generally, I send out the newsletter once every two weeks. This time, however, it's been three weeks, because I was on vacation last week (my daughter's first trip to Disney World).
Newsletter Update: In this issue I have nine book reviews (three picture books, three middle grade novels, and three young adult novels). I also have two posts with children's literacy and reading-related links that I shared on Twitter and one with the WordGirl word of the month for June.
Terry Doherty, Carol Rasco, and I are taking a bit of a break from the children's literacy and reading roundups for the summer (though I think Carol will squeeze in one more this week), but we'll continue to share reading links on Twitter. Look for the #litRdUp hashtag for items of particular interest.
Reading Update: In the past 3 weeks, I finished 2 novels for middle grade readers and 3 novels for young adults. I read:
Several of these were vacation reads, for my personal enjoyment - reviews may or not be to come, depending on how the week goes.
I'm currently reading Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart on my Kindle, and Dust Girl (Book 1 of the American Fairy trilogy) by Sarah Zettel in paperback. I'm listening to Clockwork Princess (Book 3 of the Infernal Devices trilogy) by Cassandra Clare on MP3.
I recently introduced Baby Bookworm to The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. I don't think she completely gets it, but she's enjoying it anyway. She's also enjoying 1, 2, 3 ... By the Sea: A Counting Book by Dianne Moritz & Hazel Mitchell. We took lots of Fancy Nancy, Berenstain Bears, and Little Critter books with us on vacation, because these are relatively text-dense paperbacks, and make excellent travel books. The Fancy Nancy books are particularly good for vocabulary-building.
How about you? What have you and your kids been reading and enjoying? Thanks for reading the newsletter, and for growing bookworms. Wishing you lots of summer reading!
© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
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Submissions needed: There are only a couple of submissions left in the pillory. If you’d like a fresh look at your opening chapter or prologue, please email your submission to me re the directions at the bottom of this post.
The Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective.
Note: all the Flogometer posts are here.
What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 or 17 lines on the first page (first pages of chapters/prologues start about 1/3 of the way down the page). Directions for submissions are below.
A word about the line-editing in these posts: it’s “one-pass” editing, and I don’t try to address everything, which is why I appreciate the comments from the FtQ tribe. In a paid edit, I go through each manuscript three times.
Storytelling Checklist
Before you rip into today’s submission, consider this list of 6 vital storytelling ingredients from my book, Flogging the Quill, Crafting a Novel that Sells. While it's not a requirement that all of these elements must be on the first page, they can be, and I think you have the best chance of hooking a reader if they are.
Evaluate the submission—and your own first page—in terms of whether or not it includes each of these ingredients, and how well it executes them. The one vital ingredient not listed is professional-caliber writing because that is a must for every page, a given.
Steve sends the first chapter of Cold Water Creek. Please vote—the feedback helps the writer.
Doctor Artemis Rite hovered over skeletal remains spread across a stainless steel examination table as if perusing through a jewelry store countertop looking at engagement rings.
“So that’s it?” Carter Blaine said. He stood at the doctor’s right shoulder gazing down at the brown mass of sticks. Rite had placed the fragments carefully in their respective places simulating a human skeleton. It was the best he could do considering the incomplete remains that were found in the sunken van.
“Not much to go on,” Rite mumbled.
The forensic dive team had collected twelve human bones, a skull and a slime covered high school class ring.
“That’s about it,” Rite said through a sigh as he clinched his Meerschaum pipe between his teeth.
“Can we do anything with what we got?”
“DNA could match something but it is a slim chance.”
“What do we know?”
“Young, female, dead.” Doctor Rite expressed through his bizarre sense of humor.
“I think the State’s Attorney will want a little more detail than that.”
“Not much more to talk about until the Feds come back with information on the vehicle.”
Would you turn Steve's first page?Nope
For me, there just weren’t any compelling story questions related to either of the two characters introduced here. It sounds like a routine medical examination. Since I know nothing of the dead girl, there’s no particular interest there, either.
I looked ahead in the chapter, and sure enough something did happen to the protagonist, Carter, that would have gotten me to turn the page. Here, with a little editing, is an alternative opening. What’s your vote?
Carter joined the line for the bank teller. It was nearly noon and his stomach grumbled; Jenna hadn’t felt like making breakfast. Her parting words were, “Grab something from McDonald’s and don’t get yourself killed before you come home.” All he wanted was some cash and to get through the day, get back home, have a couple of beers, and watch the game.
He scanned across the front of the bank as a cop would and noticed a squirmy little guy wearing a Red Sox ball cap charge through the front doors.
“Sonovabitch,” Carter mumbled as he felt a spasm in his stomach. Not from a lack of food or the fact the runt wore a Red Sox cap in south Florida; it was that feeling as if the air was being sucked out of the room just before something bad was about to happen. Squirmy headed directly toward the teller counter. Carter reached inside his jacket and placed his hand on his service revolver.
Squirmy flung his cap to the floor and pulled a stocking over his head. Carter released the grip on his weapon as Squirmy presented a cheap 38-caliber handgun from beneath his baggy Black Sabbath T-shirt. A confrontation now would only ensure someone getting hurt, or a hostage, or possibly something worse.
"Everybody freeze. On the ground. NOW!" Squirmy waved his gun in the air. Everyone dropped (snip)
Comments, please?
For what it’s worth.
Ray
Free sample chapters—click here for a PDF
"I'm mad at this book. Know why? Because it's one of the best I've read about crafting compelling novels, and it's telling me that I have to revise my own novel yet again. The examples are clear and unusually frequent. For example, you won't read pages of theory before being shown exactly what is meant by creating tension. If you're writing a novel you hope will sell to an agent, then to a publisher, and finally to a great many readers, Rhamey's realistic advice will help you.” Susan
Submitting to the Flogometer:
Email the following in an attachment (.doc, .docx, or .rtf preferred, no PDFs):
© 2013 Ray Rhamey
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I was struck yesterday by a news item about a UN report that states that the number of refugees in the world is now at a twenty year high – with a person leaving their home to seek refuge and safety every four seconds. Every four seconds. That is the state of our world. Syria alone now accounts for 1.6 million refugees. And world wide 46 percent of refugees are under eighteen – essentially children by our own definition.
So last year approximately 2 million children left their homes, sometimes with parents, sometimes without, to find a safer place to live. Children born into war, prejudice and starvation. These two million joined the seven million who are already out there.
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Contrary to the image portrayed by some sectors of the media the majority of these refugees are being supported and looked after by the developing world – 86 percent of all refugees are in the care of the developing world.
And a statistic that took me by surprise, one in four of all refugees is from Afghanistan – and has been for the past 32 years. For 32 years there has been a steady stream of people fleeing Afghanistan in search of safety. A country that the US has spent $636,000,000,000 being at war with (and this number increases every second – see Cost of War website for the figures)
Today is World Refugee Day – the UN has a page detailing how people can help refugees and you can find it here. Small things can make a difference.
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You'll run a gamut of emotions when your first editorial letter comes.
http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-five-stages-of-editorial-letters.html
Hi everyone!
THE YEAR OF THE BOOK is now in paperback! AND the sequel, THE YEAR OF THE BABY is out! (scroll down for more info!) <!-- START INTERCHANGE - THE YEAR OF THE BOOK -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> What better way to start the

I am trying to raise a reader! I'm hoping the reading corner I set up in Rain Dragon's room helps:
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| the leaf canopy is from IKEA, it reminded my of My Neighbor Totoro! |
To kick off my writing vocation in Northern California, Brilliance Audio sent me to Fantasy Studios in Berkeley to record the introduction and my own contribution to OPEN MIC: RIFFS ON LIFE BETWEEN CULTURES IN TEN VOICES.
Wait, stop.
Fantasy Studios, people.
| Paul Costanzo (left), director and voice actor, and sound engineer Alberto Hernandez (right) steered me through my recording session. |
As of November 20, 2012 (that is, Midnight Eastern Time tonight) I am closed to queries. I will reopen to queries January 7, 2013.
If I already have your work, you should hear from me by January 7. (That's the point of taking the break, I have to catch up!)

It’s been a week of animated film trailers and teasers. This afternoon, we see the release of the Free Birds trailer, which is the first feature film produced by Reel FX, a studio known for animating the well received CGI Looney Tunes shorts. Free Birds is directed by Jimmy Hayward (Horton Hears a Who!) and will be released by Relativity Media in the U.S. on November 1st.
A series of educational books by Tick Tock Books featuring level three reading. A brief summary of the books and their word focus are included below. This is a fun series kids will enjoy, while also learning how to read. Please also see posts on level one and level two information.

Snail Trail
Author: Sally Grindley
Illustrator: Mike Phillips
Publisher: Tick Tock Books
ISBN: 978-1-84898-763-0
Pages: 24
Price: $3.99
Level 3-A: The snail leaves a trail of paint, and Gail, the maid is not happy.
Focuses on ai words.

Queen Ella’s Feet
Author: Sally Grindley
Illustrator: Sandra Aguilar
Publisher: Tick Tock Books
ISBN: 978-1-84898764-7
Pages: 24
Price: $3.99
Level 3-B: Queen Ella’s feet are cold. When she asks for a sheet, she ends up with a sheep!
Focuses on ee words.

Puff Flies
Author: Sally Grindley
Illustrator: Valentina Mendicino
Publisher: Tick Tock Books
ISBN: 978-1-84898-765-4
Pages: 24
Price: $3.99
Level 3-C: Puff, the dragon, wants to fly. A magic spell works for a while. Then he learns the secret.
Focuses on ie words.

Goat in a Boat
Author: Sally Grindley
Illustrator: Mike Phillips
Publisher: Tick Tock Books
ISBN: 978-1-84898-766-1
Pages: 24
Price: $3.99
Level 3-D: Goat wants to cross the moat to catch the coach, so he gets into a boat. Toad joins him and makes a mess.
Focuses on oa words.

The Pop Duet
Author: Deborah Chancellor
Illustrator: Alex Paterson
Publisher: Tick Tock Books
ISBN: 978-1-84898-767-8
Pages: 24
Price: $3.99
Level 3-E: Jess asks Zack to join her in a pop duet at a big venue. The bus breaks down and they sing to the passengers.
Focuses on ue words.

Bart’s Go-Cart
Author: Deborah Chancellor
Illustrator: Garyfalia Leftheri
Publisher: Tick Tock Books
ISBN: 978-1-84898-768-5
Pages: 24
Price: $3.99
Level 3-F: Mark likes Bart’s new go-cart. He takes it for a spin and drives until dark, only stopping when he crashes.
Focuses on ar words.

Ernie and Hermie Visit Earth
Author: Lucy George
Illustrator: Claudia Venturini
Publisher: Tick Tock Books
ISBN: 978-1-84898-769-2
Pages: 24
Price: $3.99
Level 3-G: Space creatures Ernie and Hermie spend the day on earth. Hermie gets a perm. Ernie enjoys the opera.
Focuses on the er sound.

Dina the Rapper
Author: Lucy George
Illustrator: Andrew Geeson
Publisher: Tick Tocks Books
ISBN: 978-1-84898-770-8
Pages: 24
Price: $3.99
Level 3-H: Dina works in the diner, but wants to be a rapper. When T-Rex comes in, Dina finally gets her lucky break.
Focuses on the er sound.

Penguin’s Grosset & Dunlap imprint will award a $10,000 contract to a writer who can write the first book in a new young adult series based on Jim Henson’s 1982 fantasy film THE DARK CRYSTAL.
The world of The Dark Crystal is a world unlike any we have ever known. Under the triple suns, the skies roil with cloud formations not seen in our skies. Seedpods spiral up and rocks scuttle off. It is a world where the wise and noble urSkeks have been split into two imperfect races, Skeksis and urRu; and the Gelfling Clans, the species most like our own, go about their lives not knowing what their future holds. This is a world waiting to be explored and expanded upon with new stories, new quests.
At The Jim Henson Company, we continue to be enthralled with the possibilities of this world and invite you to join us in our obsession. We have set up a portal to share what we know, a new website with all of the information about this place and these creatures: DarkCrystal.com. We invite you to use the resources, character descriptions, locations, and history on this site to join us in imagining the next Dark Crystal story.
Cheryl Henson Founder, DarkCrystal.com
From October 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2013, The Jim Henson Company and Grosset & Dunlap of the Penguin Young Readers Group will be accepting writing submissions to find the author for a new novel set in the world of Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal. This author search is open to all professional and aspiring professional writers.
This new Dark Crystal novel will be a prequel story set at the time of the Gelfling Gathering, between the Second Great Conjunction and the creation of the Wall of Destiny. We will be placing all known lore from this era on www.DarkCrystal.com, the definitive home of The Dark Crystal. There you will find all the knowledge available for you to shape and build your story—and all we ask is that you share your stories with us.
Your submission should be an original story set in the era outlined above. The final novel will be upwards of 50,000 words, but please send in 7,500-10,000 words that represent the story you would tell in a full-length Dark Crystal novel. It can either be the first chapters, final chapters, a collection of middle chapters, or a short piece that would form the inspiration for a novel-length story. The Author Quest will be a two-staged journey. In the first stage, each submission we receive will be reviewed by the editorial staff of Grosset & Dunlap and the creative staff of The Jim Henson Company, including Francesco Sedita, President and Publisher of Grosset & Dunlap, and Cheryl Henson, Founder of DarkCrystal.com. Our review will be based on the following criteria:
You may have an amazing story coursing through your brain, but channeling those brilliant ideas and expressing them thoughtfully and clearly on the page is something very different. Is your writing engaging and thought provoking? Have you crafted a narrative that readers can—and want to—follow? Have you captured the essence of The Dark Crystal in a way that will please the fans while also infusing the story with your own style and personality? Have you told a story that can withstand the test of time and forever be a part of The Dark Crystal canon?
Creating memorable characters is one of the most difficult aspects of storytelling. It’s more than just giving them a name and describing a haircut or clothes, it’s giving life to a whole new entity. When creating these characters, you need to envision them as complete beings with desires, needs, and feelings. Even if it never makes it to the page, you should know and understand where they came from, why they’re in the situation we find them in, and what they ultimately want in life. Just like in the real world, knowing where someone came from can help you see where they’re going. One important thing to keep in mind while creating these characters is that the Gelflings aren’t human and don’t act or think like humans.
While we’re all fans of The Dark Crystal and we know the story of the film as if it was our own, traveling through someone else’s imagination can be a challenge. In creating your story it is important to tell an exciting and unique tale that expands the existing canon in a way that’s true to not just the physical world and characters of The Dark Crystal but also to its themes and ideas.
Since we are looking for professional-quality writers, all works must be well written. Even if you have a great, original story filled with unique characters, people aren’t going to read it for very long if it’s not properly written. We are not accepting submissions until October 1st, so please take your time.
After the initial review process is complete, five writers will be selected to proceed to the second stage of the Author Quest. At this point, each of the five writers will receive editorial feedback on their stories and be asked to make revisions. They will also be tasked with creating a detailed outline for their proposed novel. These top-five stories will be posted on DarkCrystal.com.
The final review will apply the same criteria as the first stage to both the revision and the outline. Grosset & Dunlap and The Jim Henson Company will then select the one writer who best exemplifies the creative talent, imagination, and writing ability that we’ve searched for to author this Dark Crystal novel.
Rob Valois Senior Editor, Grosset & Dunlap says, “We look forward to reading your story.”
What a great idea! I bet a lot of people will rent the movie, THE DARK CRYSTAL to everyone who wants to participate in this contest. Good Luck!
Talk tomorrow,
Kathy

The We The People petition website is run by the White House and bills itself as a site that gives “all Americans a way to engage their government on the issues that matter to them.” Any citizen of our great nation can create a petition and round up signatures from other constituents. The petitions that achieve over 100,000 signatures will generate a response from the Obama administration. Democracy in action…or so it would seem.
Last week, a courageous American started a petition that asked President Barack Obama to “re-enact the scene from The Incredibles where Frozone is looking for his supersuit.” The petition was supported by Incredibles director Brad Bird, who retweeted the request on his Twitter account. It made a reasonable request of the leader of the free world:

However, it turns out that Obama (or his minions who run the We the People site) do not appreciate The Incredibles as much as the rest of America’s freedom-loving, tax-paying, God-fearing citizens do. In an act worthy of the Turkish government, the petition asking Obama to re-enact a simple one-minute scene from a beloved animated film and which had received over 5,000 signatures in two days, was abruptly halted by the the U.S. government. Perhaps, then, Frozone was an appropriate character for Obama to re-enact because he clearly has no qualms about freezing the needs and desires of American citizens.
The harm that has been caused to the fundamental integrity of our democratic process is unquestionable, but we should never forget that, as Americans, we have the right to demand of our leaders to perform scenes from classic animated movies. In fact, a new petition requesting that Obama dress up as Frozone has already been launched on Change.org. We will make it happen one way or another:
I am so excited to have been able to interview Sonia Manzano! She’s the person we all feel like we know personally, but who has many larger than life accomplishments. In her role as Maria on Sesame Street, she has been named one of the 25 Greatest Latino TV Role Models Ever. Her first young adult novel, The revolution of Evelyn Serrano was a 2013 Pura Belpre Author Honor book and was selected for the CCBC Choices 2013 list. She is elegant, gracious and quite a role model for us all. I hope you’ll enjoy this interview as Sonia shares a little about what has inspired her to do all that she does.
Congratulations on being named a Pura Belpre Author Honor book!
Thank you so much for agreeing to an
interview! I hope it helps a few more readers find your book.
Let’s start with a few short questions to get things started.
Hello and thank you so much. Here goes!
Where did you grow up?
The South Bronx
Do you have any pets?
Never as a kid but as an adult I had a black lab. But it really belonged to my husband.
What do you enjoy watching on television?
I mostly watch movies and a show called Girls on cable. I love British dramas on PBS, and admit that I am slightly addicted to old films on Turner Classic Movies. I guess I prefer cable and PBS because I hate commercials!
Meat or vegetables?
I love both and mostly stick to chicken.
Are there any books that stand out in your memory from your childhood?
Fifteen by Beverly Cleary, Charlottes Web, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
What book(s) are you in the middle of reading right now?
I read a lot. Just finished Pinned by Sharon G. Flake. A book called The Street by Ann Petry. Rita Moreno: A Memoir, My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor. I’m re-reading Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt.
1969. Spanish Harlem. To what music would Evelyn be listening?
Joe Cuba, Ray Barretto and the timeless Stevie Wonder
How did you develop an interest in Puerto Rican history? Was it taught in schools? At home?
No, no, no! Puerto Rican history was never taught in school and though my parents had some rudimentary education in Puerto Rico in the 30’s and 40’s, I don’t think Puerto Rican history was taught there either. I must say it was The Young Lords and all the progressive groups of the Civil Rights era that bought Puerto Rican history to my attention.
How do you think things have changed from the 60s to today for young girls growing up in Spanish Harlem?
Can’t really say because I don’t live there. But what I noticed as I strolled the streets doing research for The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano, was that there were many South and Central Americans living in El Barrio as well as Puerto Ricans.
I heard you speak at the Joint Conference of Librarians Conference in Kansas City this past summer and remember you speaking about the inequity in the schools in New York and how much catching up you had to do to reach your full potential. I cannot imagine the emotions you felt when The revolution of Evelyn Serrano was named a Pura Belpre Honor book. Can you describe any of the emotions you felt?
Pura Belpre was such an icon even I knew of her in my un-literary household. Her stories with their Caribbean /Spanish sensibility intrigued me. I felt the tales had something to do with me but I wasn’t sure what. Surely, the Perez y Martina stories planted seeds of curiosity in me.
Needless to say I am thrilled to have been honored and feel I’ve somehow come full circle.
Will you write another teen book?
There is another teen book rumbling around in my head. I am working on a memoir for Scholastic now!
What does diversity mean to you?
To me diversity means many kinds of people (including young and old) solving problems together.
¡Gracias
De Nada!
Here is some more of the lined style I'm working on. Just a study of a couple of friends having fun together.
Nothing wrong with picking up used books here and there. I have a good relationship with the owners and workers at a used book store that is somewhat close to me. They're great places to find out of print discoveries at a good price.
After your last post I looked up McKay and noticed there is one about 2 hours from me in Manassas, VA. I'm not sure if it's the same chain? It seems like it's similar. Either way, I'm seriously considering taking a drive one weekend. One of the indie stores here in Richmond has a great (but small compared to McKay) used section, but I need a little bit more variety. Thanks for sharing all of your tips!