new posts in all blogs
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Marion Dane Bauer, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 18 of 18
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: Marion Dane Bauer in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 11/2/2015
Blog:
Teaching Authors
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Library of Congress,
Marion Dane Bauer,
Bobbi Miller,
Emma Dryden,
Bruce Black,
Joanna Marple,
Yvonne Ventresca,
Brainpickings,
Sylvia Liu,
Elaine Kiely Kearns,
connecting,
Add a tag
Remember the Egyptian Revolution of 2011? For two weeks and three days, the whole world watched as millions of protestors across Tunisia and Egypt demanded reform, ultimately toppling two powerful regimes. While other regional issues certainly followed, it doesn't minimize the enormous change that the internet helped bring about. The people had connected, and used the internet to show the world a new wave of revolution, ending a 31-year state of emergency.
On a much, much, much smaller scale, though just as fervent, the internet has certainly changed my world. I’m a Luddite by nature. I write manuscripts in longhand, use postnotes to organize everything, and write grocery lists on the back of envelopes. I prefer real books to ebooks. And yea, I still use snail mail. Only recently have I let go of my beloved stickshift, a relationship that lasted 200,000 miles. In its place is an automatic complete with all the computerized bells and whistles of modern convenience. This is me, rolling my eyes as I turn on the radio to listen to tried-and-true NPR. Not even the Tardis is this decked out. And this new car isn’t even high end!
Still, once upon a time I had spent hours in the university’s basement archives. Now, all of history is just a click away because of the internet. Remember my discussion on the
Library of Congress?
Of course, the most powerful connections have been about people.
It's always about the people. And these connections I’ve made by way of the internet have been at the very least life affirming, and at its best, life-saving.
In the two and some decades since I entered the business of writing for children, I’ve met some phenomenal people. Some had been my heroes and have now become close friends. (
I’m talking about youuu, Eric Guru!) Some had begun as friends and have now become my heroes. (
Thinking of you, Monica!)
And through all the good and the bad, and sometimes the very bad, that comes with the writing business, these connections have made the journey more than just bearable. They’ve made the journey worthwhile. (
Always ever grateful, dear Karen!)
I’ve included below some of my favorite connections and favorite people I’ve gathered along the way. This is by no means a complete list. But, in celebrating Internet Day, it's always nice to remember the people on the other end of the wire.
The amazing
Emma Dryden, otherwise known as Dumbledore, is a legend in the business, sharing her wisdom on life and writing in her blog,
Our Stories, Ourselves.
Award-winning writer and teacher,
Marion Dane Bauer is a national treasure. She shares her insights on life and writing on her blog, which includes a special section for educator’s at
Educator’s Endnotes.
A mainstay in the business is editor
Harold Underdown and his website,
Purple Crayon.
Yvonne Ventresca, author of the amazing young adult novel
Pandemic, always offers some interesting research and tidbits about a variety of topics.
Joanna Marple, long known for her wonderful explorations of children’s literature at
Miss Marple’s Musings, recently went on an inspirational life-affirming cross-country journey, and shared her adventures on her
blog.
Brainpickings is a wondrous exploration into all things art and human!
Bruce Black’s blog
Wordswimmer meditates on the art of life and writing, using the metaphor of swimming. Calming, serene, wise and inspirational.
Recently I chanced upon
Elaine Kiely Kearns and
Sylvia Liu at
KidLit411, and discovered a treasure trove of all of my favorite writing sources.
A group of ten writers after my own heart share their love of historical fiction, their insights and experiences about the genre on their group blog,
Mad about MG History.
Another favorite group blog is
From the Mixed Up Files, in which thirty authors write about all things middle-grade. A great resource for teachers, librarians, parents and everyone with a passion for children’s literature.
I could go on, but I don't want to hog the conversation. Who or what are some of your favorite connections that you've made because of the internet? Feel free to share them in the comments!Of course, the worse thing about the internet is the ever-so-easy access to online bookstores. New books just a click away!
O no!!
~ Bobbi Miller
(p.s. All photos courtesy of morguefile!)
Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday!
It's May on Blueberry Hill, and you know what that means:
Baby goslings.
Baby foxes.
Baby snakes.
Baby rabbits.
Baby groundhogs.
And given the black bears wandering around, I'm betting there are some baby bears even though I haven't seen any... which is probably just as well because where there's a baby bear there's a protective mama bear not too far away! :)
In the spirit of baby animals, I have chosen this very delightful book for today. I dare you and your young reading companions not to love the pictures :)
Title: Baby Bear Discovers The World
Written By: Marion Dane Bauer
Photography By: Stan Tekiela
Adventure Publications Inc, 2006, Factual Fiction with great photos
Suitable For Ages: 3 and up
Themes/Topics: wild animals, growing up, independence, nature
Opening: One fine spring morning Baby Bear said to his mama, "Mama, I'm a big bear now. It's time for me to go out and discover the world. Then he kissed his mama so she would know he meant business."
Brief Synopsis: From the jacket: "Follow Baby Bear's excursion into the big world as he tries to prove his independence, wandering closer and closer to places he doesn't belong. Using twin cubs and the assistance of a handler, Stan [the photographer] succeeded in getting all the photos for this book from the cubs' natural reactions to their surroundings. His ability to capture everything from their inquisitive faces to actually tumbling from a log is delightfully documented."
Links To Resources: Everything you need is right here! The back of the book has a section on bear facts - characteristics, activity, diet, cubs, and hibernation. It also has a section on how the book was photographed, and another section of "outtakes and bloopers" photos - SO CUTE! :) You can also go for a walk and look for signs of animals - paw prints, nests, etc. City or country, you're likely to discover some fun things, just like Baby Bear :)
Why I Like This Book: I just absolutely adore wildlife photography. This book combines a fun story about learning independence with exquisite photography of lots of animals besides the bears along with the surrounding flora. It's fun just to look at the pictures :) The outtakes and bloopers photos are also tons of fun and make the experience of the book even better. Wait until you see the picture of Baby Bear licking a mouse :)
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit
Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!
Oh, and just a quick heads up: June 12 (two weeks from now) will be our last PPBF before summer hiatus... just so you know for planning purposes.
Now then, I am off at an all day school visit, so I will see you all later or over the weekend, but stay tuned for a special post on Monday... it's about time we had some high jinx and shenanigans around here! :)
Have a great weekend, everyone!
By:
Erik Schulze,
on 5/13/2015
Blog:
The Children's Book Review
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Travel,
Ages 4-8,
Ages 9-12,
featured,
Dover Publications,
Activity Books,
True Kelley,
Animal Books,
National Geographic Children's Books,
Mordicai Gerstein,
Marion Dane Bauer,
Gary Robson,
Environment & Ecology,
Cultural Wisdom,
Barb Rosenstock,
Erin McHugh,
Best Kids Stories,
Auzou Books,
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers,
Farcountry Press Books,
Guide Books,
Maud Lienard,
Mike Graf,
National Parks Books,
National Parks Guide Books,
Simon Spotlight Books,
Yosemite Conservancy Books,
Add a tag
For those of you planning to take your kids to a national park in 2015, here are some excellent books you need to take along for the ride.
My latest picture book is launched today!
Released by
Holiday House Publishers on 15th January,
Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK, It's Spring!, is available in bookshops and online across North America, and in other countries via online bookstores.
The story is written by Marion Dane Bauer, regular followers may remember our previous picture book collaboration
Halloween Forest in 2012. This time the theme is the change of seasons.
In the middle of a cold, late winter night a child is awoken by strange noises outside. In the garden stands a bear, who takes the child in a mysterious journey through woods covered in melting snow.
Other animals join them as they go, a rabbit, a squirrel, a beaver, and a newly hatched bird, while the strange cracking sounds grow louder.
Eventually they discover a giant egg, which bursts to reveal - Spring!
A Japanese language edition is due for release in February from
Bronze Shuppan.
Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK, It's Spring! Words by Marion Dane Bauer
Illustrated by John Shelley
Holiday House Books for Children, 32 pages
ISBN: 9780823429523
If you live long enough, life becomes more about letting go than of gathering.
It is inevitable, this letting go.Sometimes we have to let go of our favorite things: our favorite pair of shorts worn to the fray. Our favorite book with its tattered pages. Even our car, with its 200,000 miles of memories.
Sometimes we let go of clutter, and wonder why it took us so long to throw them out. You know what I speak of: The box full of old research gathered for stories that probably won’t ever be written. Those uncomfortable shoes with pointy toes and impossibly high heels that you never, ever wore, but dang they look sparklie. Those skinny jeans that felt more like a bone corset then denim. Those old love letters, although the guy went on to marry someone else. Those laser disks (what?). Those eight-tracks (what?). That rotary phone (what?). Those old ideas that no longer serve a purpose in our lives.
Sometimes the letting go is more profound, as we say good-bye to our special friends, the four-legged as well as the two-legged sort. And those with wings. And we say goodbye to family. To colleagues and heroes and inspirations.
Of course, the key phrase in all of this,
If You Live. And perhaps, along the way of living our lives, we gather some understanding of it all. We become, hopefully, wise. It’s an elusive concept to grasp. Through the ages, religious leaders, philosophers, even politicians have debated on what is wisdom.
According to Dr. Vivian Clayton, wisdom consists of three elements: cognition, reflection, compassion. Wisdom happens when we take the time to gain insights and perspectives from one’s cognitive knowledge , what she calls the reflective dimension. Then we can use those insights to understand and help others, what she calls the compassionate dimension.
Of course, if it were that easy, with just three ingredients, there wouldn’t be all this debating about what it means. That’s why I like hanging out with poets. They know about such things.
Marion Dane Bauer inspired me in her recent post, “Because receiving is another way of giving. The giver grows in the giving. And that’s a truth we all need to hold close at any time of life!”
And her wisdom resonated with me. I am not the poet like my fellow Teaching Authors. Did you see Carmela’s
Thanks-Giving Thanku?
I am just a storyteller. Begging your indulgence, I was reminded of an old English folktale (Source: Lindsay, Maud. The Storyteller. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard; 1915). It went something like this:
There once was an old woman who lived in the woods. One day, she decided to bake apple dumplings. These dumplings were her favorite. She had everything she needed to bake the dumplings, except for the apples. She had plenty of plums, however. She filled a basket with these plums, covering them in her finest white linen. Then she dressed in her finest clothes and set out to trade these plums for some apples.
 |
| Morguefile |
By and by, she came across a young woman. The old woman asked the younger if she had apples to trade for her plums.
“No,” said the young woman, as she looked with such longing at the plums. “I have plenty of chickens, and not much else.”
The old woman traded her basket of plums for a bag of feathers. The old woman thought it was a good trade. The bag of feathers was much lighter to carry.
By and by, the old woman came to a garden, one of the loveliest gardens she had ever seen. She stopped a moment to smell the roses when she heard a couple arguing. The couple saw her, too.
“Tell us, old woman," said the woman. "Do you agree that cotton is best for making a cushion on our bed?”
“No,” said the old woman.
“See, the old woman agrees with me,” said the man. “Straw is best for our bed!”
“Never straw!” said the old woman, as she held up her bag of feathers. “But a bed made of feathers is fit for a king!”
The old woman traded the bag of feathers for a bouquet of roses. She thought it was a good trade.
By and by, the old woman met a young prince who looked as sad as a rainy day.
“I go to meet my lady love,” said the young prince. “But I have no gift to show her how I truly value her.”
“Give you lady love these roses,” said the old woman. “And she will know.”
She traded the bouquet of roses for a gold farthing. What a good trade! At last she had enough money to buy her apples!
You may think the story might end here, for it seems like a happy ending. But it does not.
By and by, the old woman came to a young mother and her child, who stood with a big and furry dog. They were all frail from hunger.
How can I eat apply dumplings when my neighbors cannot eat at all? thought the old woman. And she said to the young mother,” I have need for a companion, and would ask for your help. May I trade this gold coin for your handsome dog?”
The young mother agreed. The old woman worried now, for how could she take care of a big and furry dog? Where would he sleep? What would he eat? Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice where she was walking.
“That’s one fine dog,” someone said. She looked up to see an old man rocking on his porch. His house sat in the shade of an old apple tree.
“That’s a fine apple tree,” she said.
 |
| Morguefile |
“Apple trees are poor company to an old man who cannot bake,” he said. “But I’d trade all the apples you want for that fine fellow!”
The old woman traded the big and furry dog for a barrel of apples. She baked apple dumplings for her and her new friend. And that night, she enjoyed one of the finest apple dumplings she had ever baked.
Not The End.My list of grateful things:
My daughter, who stands above any list.For the wisdom of my friends. For working in a field where my heroes have become my friends. Including Eric and Marion, Monica and Emma, and Karen, and far too many that I do not have space enough to list. Thank you.
For the compassion, and love of my kindred spirits, like Cynthia, Carmela and The Teaching Authors, Rebecca and the Collective, Brian and the Snuggies; for soul sisters Jo and guiding lights Bonny and Bette. And many more. Thank you.
For apple dumplings.
If you like this tale, you might be interested in my book, One Fine Trade, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand (Holiday House, 2009).
You also might be interesting in this: Phyllis Korkki. “
The Science of Older and Wiser,” New York Times , March 2014.
Don’t forget about the
CWIM giveaway!
Bobbi Miller
By:
Bruce Black,
on 6/30/2014
Blog:
wordswimmer
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
VCFA,
Marion Dane Bauer,
Norma Fox Mazer,
ann angel,
my writing process blog tour,
Sharon Darrow,
writing process,
michelle edwards,
Jacqueline Woodson,
Graham Salisbury,
Add a tag
One
of my favorite writers and illustrators, Michelle Edwards, was kind
enough to invite me to join the My Writing Process Blog Tour. Michelle has
written and illustrated numerous books for children, including the National Jewish Book Award
winner, Chicken Man. If you enjoy knitting, you might like to pick up her book on knitting for adults, A
Knitter's Home Companion, an illustrated collection
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 6/27/2014
Blog:
Teaching Authors
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
agent,
Poetry Friday,
Getting Published,
critique groups,
Rejection,
rewriting,
summer vacation,
marketability,
Marion Dane Bauer,
April Halprin Wayland,
Book Giveaway Winner,
writing fears,
Barbara Bottner,
Add a tag
.
Howdy, Campers!
Woo-woo! The winner of Joan Bransfield Graham's new book, The Poem that Will Not End is Rosi Hollenbeck, who happens to be the SCBWI critique group coordinator for Northern and Central California. Congratulations, Rosi! You'll find Joan's Wednesday Writing Workout here and my interview with her here.
Today we conclude our series on Writing What We Want to Write versus Writing What is Marketable (or, as I like to call it, WWWWWWWM). Each of us is taking turns thinking aloud about Marion Dane Bauer's terrific post, The Creative Mind, in which she writes convincingly about WWWWWWWM.
It's also Poetry Friday at Buffy's AND it's the start of TeachingAuthors' Summer Blogging Break--woo-woo!
First, let's review what
TeachingAuthors have been saying so far this round:
JoAnn began the conversation by sharing her monarch haiku project and the new direction in which she's taking it;
Carmela talked about how hard it is to work so long on beloved projects that don't sell...but finds redemption;
Laura writes that it's a matter of prioritizing, e-publishing, sharing poetry love and more: and writing coach/writers' booster
Esther sees the light, rewrites, submits like the devil, and stays optimistic. Her post has helped
me stay optimistic, too. In fact each of these posts has.
So...wow. I've been mulling over how to talk to you about this one. It's potent. And personal.
Just like each of my blogmates, I've sent out countless manuscripts that have bounced back again and again and again and again. *Sigh.* I'd be a
great boomerang maker.
For example,
Girl Coming in for a Landing--a Novel in Poems (Knopf) took me ten years to sell. Then it won
two major awards. Editors who rejected it said, "Teens don't read. And if they
do read, they don't read poetry." As Esther reminds us: "Times change; markets change; publishers' needs change; editorial staffs change." Oy--is that ever true.
More recently, I finally found a way to fictionalize the story of
the flood which destroyed my family's farm and how we rebuilt afterwards. I'd been taking this picture book manuscript out, rewriting it, and putting it back in my bottom drawer for years. Last year I was invited to join a dynamite critique group; I took a risk and showed them my story. At this Magic Table I learned what my story was missing and how to strengthen it.
 |
| This is what happens at our Magic Table. Sort of. |
I was elated. I sent it to my fabulous agent. She told me that picture books these days must be short. VERY short. Picture books used to be for ages 3-8 and could be as long as 1500 words. These days, editors want picture books for ages 3-5.
After 650 words, editors roll their eyes, my agent told me.
I told the Magic Table this. They helped me shorten it. I sent it flying out my door again.
Editors said that it was too regional. I went back to the Magic Table. They said,
What about all the floods around the country? What about your themes of resilience, problem solving, weather, storms, climate change and life cycles for heaven's sake? You've just got to help them see this. You'd got to help your agent sell it.SO...I hired a curriculum specialist...and resubmitted the story complete with Supplementary Materials including Themes, Common Core-related English Language Arts activities, Science-related activities, and a Glossary.
(
Huh! Take That, I say with all those Capital Letters!)
And it's still not selling.
And yet...I believe in the Power of the Table. I do. I love this writing biz. I do. And I love my gang around that table. So what else can I do but believe? I keep on keeping on.
I wrote a poem recently to our group, to our leader, to the Magic Table. It was reverent, in awe of the smarts and wizardry at the Table.
But today I changed the poem. Maybe it's not a Magic Table after all. Here's the revised version:
AROUND THIS TABLE
by April Halprin Wayland
It's magic, you know.
Impossible feats of metaphor.
Six of us around this rosewood table,
savoring tea.
Spilling over our pages,
foreshadowing, fortune telling,
drawing stories
out of the shadows of these drapes.
The illusion of allusion.
A prophecy of sorcery.
The tinkling of full moon necklaces.
Shamans jingling bracelets
dangling from our sleight of hands.
But…are we clairvoyant?
Are we soothsayers,
sorceresses, sorcerers?
Maybe it's all just make believe.
Believe.
poem copyright © 2014 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.I am boldly stealing the following EXACT WORDING (and formatting) from today's Poetry Friday host,
Buffy Silverman because it's 12:15 am here in California...and because it applies to Buffy, to me, and to many other poets in the kidlitosphere you may know (thank you, Buffy!):
In other poetry news, I recently submitted a poem to a children’s poetry anthology being prepared by Carol-Ann Hoyte on food and agriculture, and was happy to learn this week that the poem was accepted. I’m in good company with many other Poetry Friday folks–look for the anthology in October of this year. TeachingAuthors will be taking our annual blogging break--we'll be back Monday, July 13th. See you then!
Four TeachingAuthors on summer break.
Written by April Halprin Wayland who thanks you for reading all the way to the end.
I proposed out current topic, which JoAnn kicked off on Friday, after reading Marion Dane Bauer's blog post, The Creative Mind. In the post, Marion writes of her experience creating a young adult short story collection that wasn't very marketable, in part, because "the book was awkward to place anywhere in the juvenile market." Unfortunately, I've written not only one, but possibly two, such books. At least Marion's reputation and sales history allowed her book to make it into print. My manuscripts, in contrast, are sitting in the proverbial "drawer," and may never see the light of day. This is especially frustrating because of the hours and hours of work I put into them. Both are set in 18th-century Milan--one a biography and the other a historical novel--and required extensive research. The more research I did, the more fascinated I became with my characters and their story. I'd hoped others would find them just as fascinating. The novel has done well in several writing competitions, and even took first place in the YA category of one. Yet the editors and agents who've read it so far tell me it's well-written but not marketable enough. There's that dreaded word again. I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple of editors and agents, but my hope is beginning to fade.
I'm looking forward to reading how my fellow TeachingAuthors deal with the issue of marketability. Our writing isn't only a creative pursuit--writing (and teaching) is what we do to pay the bills. At the moment, I can't afford to take a chance on creating another unmarketable book project, so I'm focusing on teaching and freelance writing. As much as I love teaching, I'm sad not to be working on a book project right now. I actually started a new middle-grade novel "just for fun" a few months ago, but I've put it on hold. Whenever I think about working on it, my inner critic says, "What will you do if this one turns out to be unmarketable too?" Some days the answer is "quit writing altogether."
Sorry, readers, writing this post is depressing even me! So I searched for some encouragement online. I Googled "unmarketable manuscript" and found the phrase in Sophy Burnham's For Writers Only: Inspiring Thoughts on the Exquisite Pain and Heady Joy of the Writing Life from Its Great Practitioners (Tarcher Books), a book I happen to own but haven't read in years. I pulled For Writers Only off my bookshelf and read Burnham's own rejection story. Burnham, who is a bestselling nonfiction author, spent four or five years working on a novel. When she finally finished it and sent it to her agent, he responded, "This is unmarketable. . . . Burn it. Every writer does one or two of these. You're a talented writer. Go write something I can sell."
Ouch.
Understandably, Burnham was crushed. She almost did destroy the manuscript. But then she remembered something her mother told her when she was ten or twelve years old:
"If you ever become a writer," she said, "remember never to throw away anything you've written."
(Funny, I often tell the young writers in my writing camps to never throw away anything they write, either!)
Burnham followed her mother's advice and packed the manuscript up in a box. Years later, Burnham was working with a new agent who asked if she had any other manuscripts. She brought out the boxed-up novel. The agent read it and thought it was "wonderful." Within a month, the agent had found a publisher for
Revelations, Burnham's first published novel.
Burnham went on to say:
"In fairness to that first agent, the novel probably was unmarketable when he read it . . . in that climate, at that period of time. . . . But times and tastes change. What is the moral? Perhaps that you never know when you'll succeed, that all you can do is to follow your path with enthusiasm, and don't let rejection get you down."
Even before reading Burnham's story, I'd thought about the cyclical nature of the young adult fiction market and how what doesn't sell today may eventually be the next big thing. I haven't given up hope for my novel or the biography.
Like JoAnn, I'm pondering other approaches that may make these manuscripts more appealing. In the mean time, I'm not throwing anything away.
J
Out and About:I'm teaching several one-day writing workshops for adults this summer at the
College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. If you live in the area, I invite you to read more about these classes, and the children's writing camps I teach,
on my website.
Also, don't forget to enter
our current giveaway for a chance to win an autographed copy of Joan Bransfield Graham's latest picture book,
The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices!
Happy writing!
Carmela
In a recent blog post, Marion Dane Bauer addressed a topic important to all writers who hope to have their work accepted for publication. “When I begin a new manuscript,” she says, “especially one that will require a major commitment of time, I pause to consider whether what I want to write will be marketable.” In the series of posts that starts today, we Teaching Authors discuss our own experiences with and thoughts about the question of marketability.
For five summers now, I’ve been gathering monarch butterfly eggs and caterpillars and raising them in our backyard, protected from predators by a mosquito net tent. Last winter, I finally—finally!—found a way to write about the process in a series of haiku. Sidebars include facts about monarchs and tips for readers who might want to raise them, too. I call the poems “butterflyku” and the collection
Butterflyku and Monarch How-To.
Here’s an excerpt:
Searching milkweed leaves,
I find what I’m looking for:
tiny monarch egg!
Five rejections later, I’m facing the prospect that this subject, important as it is to me, might not be acceptable in this form. Although I know that many manuscripts are sold after more than five rejections, I also understand that poetry collections are notoriously tough to sell. So I’m taking a different approach, a narrative nonfiction one that I hope will be more appealing to both editors and readers.
As I organize my thoughts in this new direction, I’m still learning. I attended a symposium last week at the Chicago Botanic Garden with brilliant speakers who elaborated on the urgent issues affecting monarchs today. I soaked up every word, took pages and pages of notes, and collected handouts to study.
To prepare for this year’s monarch project, I started three varieties of milkweed from seeds we collected last fall.
 |
| top to bottom: common, whorled, and butterfly milkweed |
Now the monarchs are back! Eggs are hatching! Caterpillars are growing! Today's tally includes 4 eggs and 7 caterpillars. I’m heading back outside to keep an eye on the amazing creatures and their awe-inspiring transformation so I can try, try again with a topic that’s not only important but also fascinating and dear to my heart.
Wish me luck!
Don’t forget to
enter our current giveaway for a chance to win an autographed copy of Joan Bransfield Graham's new book,
The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices!
JoAnn Early Macken
Asking me about my favorite writing books is like asking me about my favorite movie. I mean really, how can one have a favorite movie? I probably see as many movies as Roger Ebert. I have to categorize my favs: war/adventure: The Great Escape; comedy: Annie Hall, Airplane, Blazing Saddles; musical: Cabaret, All That Jazz: too bloody to fit in a category: Godfathers I & II, Donnie Brasco, Good Fellas, Pulp Fiction. Also anything with Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep or Johnny Depp. (Yes, I paid money to see Joe and the Volcano in a theater.)
When it comes to my favorite writing books, I pare it down to three categories of one or two books. (Aren't you relieved?)
Inspirational books. Marcia Golub is a woman I would love to have as a next-door neighbor. Anyone who can write a book called I'd Rather Be Writing about how those of us without nannies, housekeepers and writing retreats in the Caribbean manage to write anyway, is someone who has my number. Lesson taken away from Marcia' book: if you have a family and a writing career, you're always going to feel conflicted. Get over it. Oh and don't bother also trying to live the Martha Stewart life (even Martha Stewart doesn't live the Martha life without a platoon of assistants.) Alas, Marcia's book is out of print. I'd loan you mine...but then I don't loan books. (I never get them back.)
If you have been following this blog for awhile, you probably know that my favorite book after Charlotte's Web is Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird. I re-read Bird by Bird on a continual basis. (All right...I keep it in the bathroom for moment of "unavoidable delay.") Anne is funny and profane (for those of you who object to the occasional profanity in your how-to books, this might not be for you.) Anne taught me two important lessons: 1) first drafts are always crappy. That's why there are second, fourth and seventy-fourth drafts. You aren't going to get it right the first time. 2) You don't sit down to write with an entire story arc in place, any more than you would sit down to eat one of those 64-ounce-steak joints (finish it and it's free....and you have probably just had a coronary so the point is moot). The title Bird by Bird is Anne's shorthand for writing only what you see before you right this minute. Don't worry about that elusive center section, or that fuzzy ending. Write what you see clearly now.
Craft books. Darcy Pattison's Paper Lightening: Pre-Writing Activities That Spark Creativity and Help Students Write Effectively was written with the middle school writer in mind. Therefore, it is perfect for me, when I find myself with big story problems I can't solve myself. There are exercises here for developing characters, settings, plots, dull language....you name it, Darcy and Paper Lightening can solve it. I have always wanted to teach a full-year class just to have the pleasure of sharing all of Darcy's common-sense suggestions and solutions. However, since I am currently relegated to teaching six session workshops, Paper Lightening is my atlas to writing sanity.
Craft books for kids: The classic book I hand a student who wants a book "that tells me how to write a book" is Marion Dane Bauer's What's Your Story: A Young Person's Guide to Writing Fiction.
Although this is geared to a slightly younger crowd than Paper Lightening, it was my fiction writing bible in the Vermont College MFA program (and not just because Marion Dane Bauer was one of my four mentors.) Unlike Paper Lightening, which is designed to be a textbook, Bauer's book can be read and understood without teacher assistance.
My six-session workshops can be problematic. It is not reasonable to expect any student, adult or child (and I teach both) to complete more than a rough draft in such a short time. I focus on writing exercises that are fun and have the possibility of "growing" into a larger work. Ralph Fletcher has written more books on writing with kids than I can count, but my favorite is the one he has written for teachers, Craft Lessons. Fletcher takes students Pre-K through middle school through the components of fiction writing. The exercises and lessons can be used as stand-alone lessons. Each exercise is tailored to the skills and understanding of that particular age. My kids' workshops are for grades 4-8, so this is perfect for me. And if you like this book, check out the rest of the Ralph Fletcher bookshelf; you won't be sorry.
Tune in Wednesday when I share my favorite writing exercise that I did not learn from any of my favorite writing books!
Posted by Mary Ann Rodman
DINOSAUR THUNDER, by
Marion Dane Bauer, ill. by
Margaret Chodos-Irvine (
Scholastic 2012)(ages 3-5). Whenever there's a storm, big brother Chad likes to dance to the thunder. Not Brannon, though.
At first, he runs and hides while his family tries to explain thunder to him. It's a big cat purring, his father says. Angels bowling. Clouds bumping into each other.
But it isn't until Chad tells him it's just dinosaurs tromping around that Brannon feels safe. After all, he
knows dinosaurs...and has always wanted a
T.rex of his very own.
Exuberant illustrations and text make for a fun exploration of thunder and its CRASHING and BOOMING! And everything's better with dinosaurs.
Wow. I've been editing Slider's Son every spare second, so I haven't taken time to blog for ten days. So much to say, and so little time.
Rainbow theme:
First, Kirstin Cronn-Mills was on a panel last night at the loft, discussing GLBT YA literature, and the evening was fascinating and fun. So far to go in getting full acceptance of honest literature. Kirstin was the "token straight ally" author. I want to read every book represented there. Marion Dane Bauer, David LaRochelle, David Levithan, and Pat Schmatz. See my facebook page for a photo of the rainbow snacks provided (Jello made by DivaE, aka Kirstin).
Makes me delighted that in our upcoming anthology Girl Meets Boy, the stories include at least one gay romance.
I'm also gratified that in Chasing AllieCat, the issue isn't an issue--it's just part of who a character is.
David Levithan and Brian Farrey both read from their recent novels, and they ROCKED.
We're lucky to live in Minnesota with such a supportive writing community!
Posts coming in the near future (in between or after editing): Kurtis Scarletta, Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna, and some thoughts on fall cycling...:) stay tuned.
“For almost as far back as I can remember,” says Marion Dane Bauer in her memoir, A Writer’s Story, “I ‘wanted to write.’ Or at least I wanted to make stories. It is almost as though I was born with my head stuffed full to overflowing with stories that waited to be told.”Bauer’s pen has, indeed, overflowed with stories for children ever since she published her first novel in 1976. Since then she’
Not only did she give a beautiful keynote speech and teach a terrific class in picture book creation, Marion Dane Bauer is being honored today with a Golden Kite Award for the best picture book text of the year.
From the flap copy of THE LONGEST NIGHT:
It is the longest night of the year, and the snow lies deep. All through the forest, animals long for dawn's warmth. Strong and clever creatures boast that only they can bring back the sun. But the wind knows better. The wind calls Chickadee, whose simple song wakes the sun. In this lyrical story from Marion Dane Bauer with breathtaking watercolors by Ted Lewin, it will take a tiny and gentle creature to summon a new day. 
Lin Oliver says this about the book: "The language is poetic and perfect, each word conveying meaning and sound at the same time."
Marion originally was asked to write a picture book about St. Lucia's Day. It was tempting, of course, to write the real story of the saint, a woman who refused to marry a non-Christian and later served up her breasts on a silver platter to her parents.* But her passion lay with the Winter Solstice. She wrote more than fourteen drafts to get the book just so.
We're thrilled for her.
Learn more about Marion Dane Bauer on her
website.
*Today's chicken breasts were not in homage to St. Lucia. We can't believe you even thought that.
Some of Marion's picture book rules (which, she said, may seem obvious):
- Picture books are short. Most unpublished manuscripts she sees should be cut in half.
- Every word in a picture book should feed the illustrations. You don't have to create the entire world as you do with a novel.
- When you're writing, you're writing for rhythm. Keep in mind that an adult will have to read your text maybe a thousand times--great rhythm makes that bearable.
- Write with attention to page turns in mind--you generally have 14 page spreads.
- Read read read piles and piles and piles of picture books.
- You need a fresh idea--and that's not easy. (There isn't much that hasn't been done. You must come up with fresh spins on an old concept.)
- In picture books, there has to be a payoff for the child. Keep in mind there's nothing a child want more than to take control of his world, while still feeling safe.
The room is abuzz and packed for
Marion Dane Bauer's session on picture book writing!
Marion has been publishing since 1976 and is the author of more than 70 books in an array of genres (novels, early readers, fiction, nonfiction, picture books and novelty books). She's also won an array of awards including a Newbery Honor.
When she started out, she was "wrting in the cracks of time." Then when her youngest child went to first grade and her husband suggested she get a job. She told him she wanted five year to give writing a go. Suddenly she found herself sitting behind a manual typewrter in the corner of her bedroom. And she started out writing picture books because, she tought, "anybody can do that". She soon realized that was wrong and she stated spending a lot of time in her library reading lot of books, and for years she wrote and published novels, still working on picture books manuscripts along the way, having an editor her told her: You are not a picture book writer. Then she learned that you can't let someone else define you as a writer and she sent her PB's to other editors who didn't pigeonhole her a novelist only.
By:
Bianca Schulze,
on 6/1/2010
Blog:
The Children's Book Review
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Florence Parry Heide,
Robert N. Munsch,
Anna Pignataro,
Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban,
Philippe Lechermeier,
Princesses,
Books for Girls,
Ages Four to Eight: Books for pre-school to second grade,
Goodie Bag: Books to share and give,
Ages Nine to Twelve: Books for third through sixth grade,
Teens: Books for young adults,
Marion Dane Bauer,
Fantasy: Whimsical fiction,
Rebecca Dautremer,
Add a tag
In my quest to find new and original stories with a good princess feel—less boy-meets-girl and more strength and self-discovery—the following books really struck a chord with me; each for their own reasons.
For the past week or so, you, Our Faithful Followers, have sent us your favorite books on writing for children and young adults. Now it's out turn (the Teaching Authors) to join the conversation with OUR favorite books.
I'm going to cheat an eensy bit here, because my absolute favorite book on writing is not about teaching OR writing for children. It is more of inspirational book, and geared for all writers, not just those of us who write for the 18-and-under crowd. I also have a favorite teaching book, so you are really getting a two-for-one-deal here.
My all-time-favorite-don't-leave-home-without-it book is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Now I realize that Bird is not everyone's cup of tea. Anne Lamott is one highly opinionated writer, and her opinions in this book include hers on American politics, women's reproductive rights and religion, in addition to writing. If you pick past her mini-rants, you will find a lot of common sense on writing. Or, more specifically, in dealing with all the "garbage" your mind generates in the way of negative self-talk as you wrestle with your own prose. (Naturally, Lamott uses a shorter and less polite term for "garbage").
Negative self-talk is one of my big time problems that can stall me on a project for months at a time. "Who do you think you are? Karen Hesse?" (or my idol of the moment) "What makes you think you are a good enough writer to take on this story?" "So what if I've sold a book (or two or four or eight?) I got lucky. I'll never do it again." These are only some of the gems my mental radio station broadcasts to me in an "all-talk, all-negative, all the time" format. Lamott tells you how to pull the plug on this station, and other ways to kill your Inner Negative Writer.
Bird by Bird introduced me to the single most earth-shattering notion of my entire writing life; "permission" to write crummy first drafts. (Again, Lamott uses a far more colorful word than "crummy" to describe a first draft.) Perhaps this is just common sense to most of you, but the news that I did not have to hunt for just the right word or character name, or blitz through a transition scene, already knowing that it wouldn't work....just to get to the END of a first draft..why this was the best news ever! If given "permission," I will meander through a first draft, picking over my word choices like Forrest Gump with a box of chocolates. I will hunt through my "name books" for days, choosing and rejecting character names. All of which are good things to do...but not in a first draft. First drafts are for banging it out, getting it done, reaching the other side of the river.
My drawers are full of elegantly worded first chapters that have no second chapters, because I exhausted my original creative impulse by trying to make them "perfect" the first time. At some point, I became so frustrated with my imperfection, I gave up on them, or talked myself into thinking the whole idea was stupid.
Clearly, Anne Lamott and Bird by Bird had a lot to say to me.
But on to what I am supposed to be writing about...writing books to use with kids. My all-time recommendation is Marion Dane Bauer's What's Your Story?OK, I will admit up front that Marion Dane Bauer was one of my teachers in the Vermont College MFA program. However, I read this book long before I ever met her, and found it to be a straightforward in explaining the writing process to a young writer. Without condescending, it starts with the basics of character, setting and plot, and shows the writer how to fashion a multi-dimensional character, make the setting another "character" in the story, and how to dovetail the plot events in so that each event builds on the previous. Bauer manages to convey all this for writers age ten and up, in less than 120 pages.
Plot is my weak point, and What's Your Story reminds me not to include a single word that will not further the story. Bauer's mantra, "How does this move the story along?" is something I have to ask myself at the end of every page.
Marion Dane Bauer and Anne Lamott are my writing mentors, even though I personally know only one of them. It's sometimes crowded in my office, as the three of us plow on through my next "crummy" first draft, stifling the radio station in my head, and chanting HDTMTSA? (How does this move the story along?)
But it works.
.JPG)
.jpeg?picon=2287)
Late, but wanted to say thanks for all your ideas. I love Fletcher's books, just wonderful support for me and for teachers. I just purchased a new book by Judith Ortiz Cofer, Lessons From A Writer's Life at a recent literacy conference. It looks as if it will be a good one to share parts of with adolescents.
Thanks to Mary Ann and Carmela and all of our readers who've added to my Writer's Bookshelf, not to mention my credit card bill this month! :)
I'm STILL swooning after meeting, in person (!), the one-and-only Ralph Fletcher last week at the Denver, CO Colorado Chapter IRA Conference. Attending his luncheon too and hearing him talk about The WRiter's Notebook still has me smiling.
And, since it's almost Valentine's Day,I want to pass on the link to The Word Needs More Love Letters project at http://www.moreloveletters.com/welcome/intro-love-letter/
I'll be using this project with writers and their families next week.
Mary Ann--I have only one question: (picture this in tiny little letters)...may I take your writing class?
Ah, a gal can dream...