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It has been a while since I reviewed any Young Adult books so for this update I will review Three wonderful YA books that your teens would love.  Please enjoy and grab them for the holiday season.

1) Starters- This book was written by Lisa Price and published by Delacorte Press in 2012. Imgine a world where a deadly war called the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between 20 and sixty years old. A young girl named Callie decides to rent her body to Enders-seniors who want to be young again.  Callie's world is divided and  full of danger, while teens are only second hand citizens. This book follows Callie and her survival in this detopian world full of renegades who will kill for food. As she rents her body she discovers that her renter intends to do more then just have fun. This is a great book to read. It will make you ask the question What if this can happen to us? I highly recommend this book not only for teens, but adults as well.  It will take you to place that may excist one day. Who know it may already be a parral world like this already. It is a very enjoyable read and lots of fun.

2) Elsewhere-  This book was written by Gabrielle Zevin and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2005. An imprint of Macmillan. "After fifteen-year-old Liz Hall is hit by a taxi and killed, she finds herself in a place that is both like and unlike Earth, where she must adjust to her new status and figure out how to "live".  This book look at the afterlife in a whole new way. The writer creates an amazing world that will imerse the reader in it's content. It is full of wonderful discrptions and has a great voice. As you read the book Liz will become a part of you and you will cheer her to the end. A great page turner.  Please grab this book and read it yourself or share it with your teen. A great gift  for everyone.

3) The Knife of Never Letting Go. Book 1 in Chaos Walking- This book is written by Patrick Ness and published by Candlewick Press 2008. "Pursued by power-hungry Prentiss and mad minister Aaron, young Todd and Viola set out across New World searching for answers about his colony's true past and seeking a way to warn the ship bringing hopeful settlers from Old World." I really enjoyed this book and the world the auther created. In this world males can here what other males are thinking. Our two main Characters Todd and Viola set out on a journey running away from death. This book is full of action and intersting characters. You get to know the young teens very well. As you read the book it will be a page turner. it also has a much deeper meaning to it. I highly recommend you grab a copy for yourself and your teens. Just be warned the is very gruesome and not recommended for children under 12.

Thank you everyone for reading my blog and have a wonderful Holiday season. Look for a new update soon.

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There wasn't as much time to work today as I had an art class to teach and we're getting ready to go out of town again.  What I did do today was focus on panel #4 and some changes that I wanted to make. 

Figures are about 1 foot taller than before

The first thing that was bothering me was the scale of the toasting figures.  I like to sit back and observe (analyze) what's in front of me - what I've done and what I have yet to do.  The figures looked fine in the smaller proposal painting, but something didn't seem quite right on the full-size panels.  They seemed kind of wimpy and small.  I felt that they needed to be more of a presence in that panel.  So, part of today's work involved "growing" the figures.  Since I didn't have any mushrooms from Wonderland, I had to redraw them, adding about a foot to their height.  I think it was a good call.

In my original design, the grapes were dark purple (like Concord grapes) and green.  But, with all of the green leaves and veggies, I decided to change the green grapes to red.  This required a field trip to the produce department at the grocery store to study the color of red grapes.  Upon close inspection, there are a lot of colors happening in red grapes - purple, reddish purple, and even green.  I've mixed some color options but, they're not quite right...yet.  So, know that what you see is NOT what you will get.

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Day 2 SCBWI 13 annual winter conference In the Big Apple.

       Wow, can't believe another day had just passed. It was an over whelming one full of lots of enlightenment and good news on all genres from picture books to young adults and beyond. I will try to put In the important information in here in a a few paragraphs. I have 11 pages of notes but will try to make it brief.
   It was a list of amazing guest speakers which included authors, agents, editors, publishers and other people involved in the business. The day started with breakfast, and the first keynote speaker was Chris Crutcher. He was a very inspiring speaker, that inspired the room that represented 49 states and 20 countries. The conference had 1400 people. He spoke about the importance of balancing out stories with tragedy and comedy. Here is a brief list to inspire you guys of what he talked about 1) Look into your life to find information 2) Put this into every story you write. 3) Power and connection of family is important. 4) Just write your story. 5) Hear it in your language and voice.
     The next speakers was panel children book pros which included two editor directors, a marketing person and agent. They covered lots of information, but I will l.limit the list to three basic important ideas.
1) Independent Book stores are growing 2) Picture Books are not dead 3) The Digital publishing market is expanding. In general now is a good time to get your book out there in the publishing industry. You also must understand that it takes a village to make a book. That it is important to also work as a team on each book.
    Our next speaker was a great surprise for all of us. It was Henry Whinkler. He was one of the best speeches of the day. He got a standing ovation today. He only spoke for ten minutes, but his ideas, comedy and inspiration touched us all.
     We then broke up into small groups I went to a fantasy meeting first. Then after lunch I had  two picture book small groups. Before the two afternoon sessions we had another key note speaker her name was Cassandra Clare she spoke of Love triangles and forbidden love in YA adult books. She was interesting speaker but not very inspiring to me, since it was not my kind of topic.
    I will just list the basic things of what editors are looking for in picture book manuscripts:
1) Characterization 2) Narrative guilty 3) Voice 4) Humor 5) Universal appeal. 6) Clear ideas and simplicity.
       In conclusion, the day ended with a wonderful cocktail party, and dinner that gave us two hours to network with other people in the industry. The day ended, and I got back on the train home full of inspiration, new ideas and hope for the future of children's books. There is now one more day left for this conference that I look forward to tomorrow.  I will make my last post this month called All great things come to an end.  
  

                        

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Yesterday three little birds came to my house for try outs.  What great fun to open the package!  Three baby chicks popped out!  Who will be Peepsqueak?  #1,  #2 or #3 ?  Do I like the eyes?  How about the beak?  Not sure I like the feet … Color is good… but is he smiling? He HAS to look happy! … Love the red PS shirt…the shirt might need a little horizontal seam under the arm to make it fit better? All in all it is great fun to learn the process of making a TOY!  I LOVE TOYS! When I was little all my toys talked. … and yes … mostly… they still do! ha ha ha ! … and yes, I still have TOYS!

Filed under: Peepsqueak!

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I've been having issues with Blogger and have started up a new blog at WordPress.  If all goes well with WordPress, I will start transferring my posts.  In the meantime, click the link below to check out my latest post!

http://www.kcoliver.wordpress.com/

Thx so much and enjoy!  =D

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The news story this July 4 is that Thomas Jefferson didn’t get it all right on his first try! Seems when Jefferson was writing the Declaration of Independence he erased some words and substituted others. It’s a writer’s biggest nightmare. Imagine readers being able to compare your sad looking first draft with the polished, and often completely different, final draft. If Jefferson could, I’m sure he would swoop down and tell those nosy historians, “No, no. Don’t look at that stuff. Here’s the finished piece.”

Jefferson thought he was effectively destroying those mistakes by erasing words and writing new words in place. Welcome to the world of hyperspectral imaging, Tom! It seems nothing is gone forever.

Being a neurotic person(what writer isn’t?), I “save” any large sections I cut out of my work—just in case I change my mind and want to put it back into my writing. I worry that eventually I’ll decide those original sentences were brilliant and be unable to recreate their perfection. Funny thing is, I rarely look at the “miscellaneous” file where I store the sections that don’t make the cut. If I do decide to reinsert the original work I usually write it fresh. Perhaps having the “miscellaneous” file is more of a superstition. If I don’t have it I may need it. Be prepared. And I was never even a Boy Scout!

When a piece is finished I normally save the “miscellaneous” file along with the finished piece on a disc. Of course, now that I’ve heard about Tom’s dilemma I’m rethinking that habit. Do I really want people reading my first drafts and terrible mistakes when I’m a famous(dead) writer and not here to defend myself?

So how about you? How to you treat the paragraphs, sentences, and chapters you cut out of your work? Save them? Run them through the shredder? Toss them in a bonfire?

If you want to learn more about Jodi's weird writing habits stop by her blog Words by Webb

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Raina Telgemeier's Smile is about big changes in a young girl's life. No, not those kinds of changes (although as a father to two girls I'll have my share of those awkward moments). We're talking instead about subtler changes, hinted at from the start by the book's cover, which features a brace-clad smiley face. From Scholastic's Booktalk:

Aah, hanging out with your friends. You laugh. You go shopping. You have sleepovers and you always have fun. Well, imagine this: you and your friends are chasing each other one day and you trip. When you fall, you hit the cement. You hit the cement so hard that you knock out your two front teeth! This is exactly what happens to the character of Raina in the graphic novel Smile by Raina Telgemeier.

After an emergency trip to Dr. Golden's office, the dentist glues Raina's teeth back into her mouth. He covers them in gauze that soon becomes soggy and gross. When Raina takes off the gauze, she discovers that the teeth have been inserted too far. Now she looks like a vampire! Going to school looking like a vampire will definitely make boys notice her, but not in a good way.

While the book on its simplest level is the story of Raina's teeth trials, on a much larger level it's the story of a girl who struggles to maintain her own identity while still fitting in. One part I particularly love is when Raina comes to the realization that she has to move on from her former friends, who are acting less and less supportive, to a new circle of friends in high school. These transitions happen in real life, of course, but less often in middle school lit. Too often we're offered a much simpler, pat solution.

I love Smile 0 Comments on Big Changes as of 1/1/1900