JacketFlap connects you to the work of more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and Young Adults. The site is updated daily with information about every book, author, illustrator, and publisher in the children's / young adult book industry. Members include published authors and illustrators, librarians, agents, editors, publicists, booksellers, publishers and fans. Join now (it's free).
Login or Register for free to create your own customized page of blog posts from your favorite blogs. You can also add blogs by clicking the "Add to MyJacketFlap" links next to the blog name in each post.
Blog Posts by Tag
In the past 30 days
Blog Posts by Date
Click days in this calendar to see posts by day or month
Win an autographed copy of Counting in the Crazy Garden, complete with dust jacket. It’s great as a gift or as a special addition to your child’s bookshelf.
How to Enter: It’s easy! Just leave a comment on this blog post by midnight Saturday, October 3, 2009, Eastern Time. Don’t forget to include a valid email address. After the contest ends, we will email the winner to get their regular (snail) mail address.
The contest is open to residents of the United States. The winner will be chosen randomly.
We’re proud to announce that Counting in the Crazy Garden has been selected as a Disney Family web site Great Bedtime story. They’re featuring 10 products, and we’re #2 on the list. Check out the site here.
Is your school participating in this national handwriting contest? Participants from grades 1 -8 can enter to win some great prizes (and pick up good handwriting skills along the way). The current year’s winners received over $1,500 in prizes, including a Nintendo Wii! Click here for more information.
University Games has announced a contest for kids age 5-12 who want to design and create their own board game. Wouldn’t this be a fun competition to judge! For complete rules, visit their web site here.
If you didn’t know, we have a great shop set up at CafePress with adorable Chipper Kids(TM) merchandise, like this cute teddy bear. He’s not Arnold or Albert Chipper, but he sure looks cute! Visit our CafePress store here.
The green thumbs over at Kids Gardening have announced a contest designed to improve nutrition and help end hunger issues in the United States. Your school may be able to participate if they have an eligible garden in 2010. Winners can receive gift certificates valued up to $500. For more information, click here.
Chipper Kids fans love Elmo, too, and they’d probably be delighted if they could win this sweepstakes sponsored by Random House. The top prize is a trip to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania
For details, and to download the entry form, click here.
Margarette Burnette is always interested in visiting schools. Here’s a list of frequently asked questions about her school visits:
1. Does the author present to all grade levels?
Yes!She customizes different presentations for different grades.
·For K-1st, the author reads the book.Then, she discusses healthy eating habits.Finally, she answers student questions.
·For 2nd-4th, she discusses how a book is made. She supplements her own book with other popular children’s literature.
·For 5th-6th, she devotes nearly the entire block of time to discussing book and magazine publishing. She brings samples of her Parenting magazine articles.
·She hosts an optional teachers’ workshop: “How to Publish a Children’s Book.”
2. What size audiences does she prefer?How long are her presentations?
She’s flexible. Her preference is to combine grade levels and have students come to the Media Center at appointed times. Depending on the size of the media center, this would probably mean a maximum of about 125 students.She’s found that the best time frame is a maximum of 30 minutes per presentation, including transition time.
3. Will the author sell copies of her book at the event?Is it a requirement?
Some schools allow sales, some don’t.We’d like to offer autographed book copies for sale, but it’s not a requirement.
LeapFrog, the educational toys manufacturer, has heard educators’ requests for more learning-based activities. Link to Lessons is the new website that offers 6,000 standards-based activities to support existing LeapFrog School products. It allows teachers to design lesson plans at school or home, and provides an online community with other educators. Click here for details.
Increasing Communications with Teachers: Part 2
This is the final installment of an interview with Spanish instructor Terra Trofort. I asked her how time-pressed parents can increase communication with teachers. She gave me these four tips:
1. “Ask what material is being presented in the classroom, then reinforce that material,” she says. “For example, if your children have vocabulary or “sight” words that they’re learning, point them out at home. Label objects so children can associate the appropriate spelling word with that item.”
2. “Get to know your school or public librarian. He or she can help you find books that are appropriate for your child’s reading level.”
3. “Check out your child’s teacher’s web site, if there is one. A lot of communication is available to parents online.”
4. The last tip is probably the most obvious. “Make it a point,” says Trofort. Communicating with your child’s teacher, and helping your child become a great reader, are things that you have to make a priority. By doing so, you could be helping your little one develop a lifelong love of books!
At Chipper Kids, we focus on making reading fun, but many children are learning the fundamentals of reading in not one, but two languages. Could a bilingual education help your child enjoy reading more? I recently asked Terra Trofort, Executive Director of Lingual Kids, LLC, to weigh in. Her company provides foreign language instruction (primarily Spanish) to young students. Trofort says that children who learn the principles of a secondary language often become better readers all around. Here’s the first of a two part interview:
I understand that Lingual Kids specializes in Spanish instruction. What’s unique about teaching Spanish compared to teaching another language?
Trofort: One thing I love about Spanish is that it’s phonetic. Once you learn the sounds, particularly the vowel sounds, you can look at practically any Spanish word and figure out how to pronounce it.
What if a parent knows only one language? How can they help?
Trofort: Read to your child! Even if you read to them in their primary language only, it often becomes easier for your child to learn a second language because they have a point of reference. They understand letters, they know that each letter has a sound, and they know that these letters and sounds create words (that have meaning). The child who reads often already has a grasp of the concept of language and how words work.
What can parents do to make reading time more meaningful?
Trofort: One good idea I’ve learned is to choose a book and focus on that one book for an entire week. It doesn’t have to be too long, but lengthy enough to have a good story line. Throughout the week, ask questions about the story. This helps your child build up their comprehension as they remember the story from one night to the next. It really helps you connect with your child as you’re helping them read.
Tomorrow, Terra will share her ideas for how time-pressed parents can increase parent/teacher communication.
PBS and CVS Pharmacy are joining together to create another contest, called All Kids Can. Children ages 6-12 are invited to create a special needs character for Arthur’s popular cartoon that airs on PBS. The deadline for the contest is March 31, 2009. Click here for details.
This is a post that I did last Summer, and I think it bears repeating:
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a library that had all the children’s classics online, from all over the world, available to view for free? I recently found out about the International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL), a non-profit organization that does just that. To visit, go to their site and select “Read Books”. You can select by age group, language, and even book cover color!
THE ICDL’s goals are loftier than helping you save some money on books, though. The library is the main activity focus of the ICDL Foundation, a charity that offers books to children in poor and war-torn areas. When families have to move from one country to another, the kids’ books are often left behind. As a result, the children (who may have to learn a new language) don’t get to read the classics that are familiar to them in their home country. The ICDL hopes to bridge that gap by “building a collection of books that represents outstanding historical and contemporary books from throughout the world.”
Confession time. I regularly volunteer to read at my kids’ school, and I sometimes wonder how I stack up against the other moms and dads who lead story time. Is my voice exciting? Do the kids like my stories? How can I be a better reader, and help the kids become better readers, too?
I never asked anyone for feedback, though it’s always been something in the back of my mind. But a few minutes ago, I found this neat video from Scholastic that actually shows the best ways to read to your child. The fact that they had to make a video about it seems silly, but watching it was really, truly helpful. Now, I know I can hold my own with the other mommy readers out there. So, here it is. Go ahead, you know you want to see it. I won’t tell.
CVS Caremark (the charitable arm of CVS Pharmacy) and VSA Arts have announced a Call to Art for children ages 5-15. The winning selections will be part of nationally touring art exhibit. Participating art teachers may win $1,000 for their classrooms.
There’s no entry fee. Please read the full details of the art contest here before submitting any work.
Julian Kreusser could probably tell Arnold Chipper a thing or two about how to cook real food. According to Oregon Live, Julian is the five-year-old host of Big Kitchen with Food, a local TV program that airs on Portland Community Media. In each episode, Chef Julian talks about such culinary concepts as how to mix smoothies, fry eggs, and master the chocolate chip zucchini muffin. Wonder if he’d be interested in featuring a Chipper Kids Sweet Bread Treats recipe?
The Cybil Awards–bloggers’ top picks for kid lit–have just announced their finalists. Counting in the Crazy Garden was nominated, but didn’t make the short list. Alas, we can’t win everything, so a big congratulations to the finalists in the contest! Refresh the post each to see a different nominated book in the widget below.
Okay, I post this from time to time. It’s worth one last reminder, because in a few weeks I’ll be announcing a new product! Stay tuned:
Have you posted your Amazon review yet?
If you have a copy of “Counting in the Crazy Garden”, don’t forget to post your own review on our Amazon page.
Here’s what the rest of the Blogosphere is saying about the first book in the Chipper Kids(TM) series:
“An exceptional new book for little ones,” says D. Blankenship, an Amazon Top 500 Reviewer. He “loves this work”!
Jill at the Well Read Child blog says the “story itself is engaging and will make children laugh”, and it is a “fun take on traditional counting books, this is a nice choice for parents who are helping their children learn to count and recognize numbers.”
Several other bloggers are also posting their rave reviews. I’d love to know what you have to say, so be sure to post yours!
Okay, I post this from time to time. It’s worth one last reminder, because in a few weeks I’ll be announcing a new product! Stay tuned:
Have you posted your Amazon review yet?
If you have a copy of “Counting in the Crazy Garden”, don’t forget to post your own review on our Amazon page.
Here’s what the rest of the Blogosphere is saying about the first book in the Chipper Kids(TM) series:
“An exceptional new book for little ones,” says D. Blankenship, an Amazon Top 500 Reviewer. He “loves this work”!
Jill at the Well Read Child blog says the “story itself is engaging and will make children laugh”, and it is a “fun take on traditional counting books, this is a nice choice for parents who are helping their children learn to count and recognize numbers.”
Several other bloggers are also posting their rave reviews. I’d love to know what you have to say, so be sure to post yours!
The publishers of Junie B Jones are offering you a free 12-page downloadable scrapbook. Capture a full-year’s worth of memories in a style that only a true Junie B fan could appreciate. Click to get the free scrapbook!
The publishers of Junie B Jones are offering you a free 12-page downloadable scrapbook. Capture a full-year’s worth of memories in a style that only a true Junie B fan could appreciate. Click to get the free scrapbook!
Have you given up on coloring pages because all of your markers have dried out? Can’t find the right crayons? One Smart Mom offers this tip for recycling dried out markers. This blogger recently took her kids to the Crayon Factory in Pennysylvania, where one of the presenters gave her this advice. It’s great for me–my kids are always leaving tops off markers. If only it worked for lost socks, toy cars and mittens. Do you have any more tips for keeping up with crayons and markers?
Since I recently wrote about a kid chef, I thought I’d balance things out a little by offering an opportunity for the grown-ups. You have your very own chance to win a meat thermometer (which may or may not look like the one in the picture). In a partnership between Woman’s Day, The Beef Checkoff and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the sweepstakes will award prizes to 100 winners. Click for full details of the contest.
Since I recently wrote about a kid chef, I thought I’d balance things out a little by offering an opportunity for the grown-ups. You have your very own chance to win a meat thermometer (which may or may not look like the one in the picture). In a partnership between Woman’s Day, The Beef Checkoff and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the sweepstakes will award prizes to 100 winners. Click for full details of the contest.
Stumble it!
