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from the BBC Magazine website, which has an article on the top 10 "factors that could influence the next sales behemoth". Few of which will gladden the heart of the professional critic -- no doubt as it should be, according to Sir Howard Davies -- especially: Factor #1, "Word of Mouth": "Who do we really trust? When the chips are down, it's the opinions of our friends and family and colleagues

Over at the Cybils blog, Cybils co-founder Kelly Herold wrote a post earlier this week, "Who Put the Kid in Kid-friendly?": When [Cybils co-founder] Anne and I led a panel session on the Cybils at the 1st Annual Kidlitosphere Conference this [past] weekend in Chicago, one theme in particular kept popping up during discussions: How do we decide if a book is child-friendly or not? This is an

I ran out of time yesterday, and wanted to add this list of suggested readings to go with my post yesterday about David McCullough's new 1776: The Illustrated Edition, the illustrated and abridged edition of Mr. McCullough's original 1776. All of the children's books listed below are narrative histories and overviews of the period, rather than books about a particular element of the American

As I wrote last week, the Cybils are back, the Cybils are back! I'm delighted to be on the Middle Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction committee, wrangled and organized by Jen Robinson, on the nominating panel along with Mindy at Proper Noun Dot Net Susan Thomsen at Chicken Spaghetti KT Horning at Worth the Trip Vivian at HipWriterMama Following up later will be the Judging Panel, comprised of Tracy

Become a member of the Children’s Writers Coaching Club today and tonight you can learn how to write nonfiction for children’s magazines by attending our special teleclass with children’s nonfiction writer Pat McCarthy.

The teleclass starts at 7:00 (CST) and lasts for 55 minutes.

Club members also receive a CD of this recorded event in their membership packets at the end of the month.

McCarthy is the author of over a dozen nonfiction books for kids.

Plus, she has written all sorts of nonfiction - everything from articles to quizzes and puzzles - for a variety of children’s magazines and other publications.

And tonight she’s going to talk to members of the CWCC and offer tips for how they, too, can start writing a variety of nonfiction pieces for the children’s magazine markets.

We also have 2 more special teleclasses planned for CWCC members this month. Plus, members are invited to weekly professional manuscript critique telesessions every month.

If you’re looking for a way to jumpstart your career as a children’s author, what are you waiting for?

Join the Children’s Writers Coaching Club today and get the help you need to make that happen.

Join here.

Title: Victory
Written by: Susan Cooper
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
ISBN-10: 1-4169-1477-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-1477-8
Ages: 9-12

Both eleven years old, Sam Robbins lives in 1803 and Molly Jennings lives in 2006, but their lives cross an emotional barrier 200 years apart that transforms Molly’s life.

Overcome with the loneliness after the death of her father, Molly Jennings finds herself moving to Connecticut in the United States from her native England when her mother remarries an American man. Desperately trying to find her place in her new family, Molly reluctantly joins her family in an outing to Mystic Seaport. As the rain hinders the trip, Molly and her family wander into a used bookstore for shelter. For reasons unknown to Molly, she is drawn to a grimy old book about Admiral Lord Nelson who is named the hero of the Battle of Trafalgar. Unable to explain her excitement over this find, Molly purchases the book. Soon afterwards, while reading the book, she finds a note about the small piece of flag found with it. Apparently, it is from Lord Nelson’s ship, Victory, and it is the prized possession of a person by the name of Samuel Robbins.

While Molly’s mother tries to make their new home as pleasant as possible, Molly continues to miss her home in England. In an attempt to please Molly, her mother surprises her with a trip to her grandparents in England. While out with her grandfather, they visit the restored Victory ship in Portsmouth, England where strange happenings occur with visions and voices heard only by her. While Molly continues on her own adventure, she makes an exciting connection of her families past.

She learns of the young Sam Robbins, who was kidnapped by the “press gang” at the age of eleven, along with his uncle, and brought into the Royal Navy. Sam finds himself in terrible conditions, having to do the most menial tasks. In spite of this, Sam is a quick learner and eventual loves the sailing life. However, he continues to endure horrors and heartaches beyond his imagination.

The novel switches back and forth from current time to the past in alternating chapters. Molly’s life is told in third person, while Sam’s life is told in first person. While this type of writing can be difficult for the most seasoned author, Susan Cooper expertly takes you on this adventure where you find yourself immersed in the lives of Molly and Sam.

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Reviewed by Donna McDine

Donna is a 2007 graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature, Writing for Children and Teenagers program. She is also a member of the SCBWI, The Children’s Writers Coaching Club at The National Writing for Children Center, and Musing Our Children Group. Donna has been published in Stories for Children Magazine, Kid Magazine Writers, and Long Story Short.

Last year, Lynne Truss followed up her popular book Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation with a children's version, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference! Just last month, The Girl's Like Spaghetti: Why, You Can't Manage Without Apostrophes!, Truss's latest offering for children, was published. Both of the children's books follow a similar format: a brief introduction of the punctuation mark the book focuses on is followed by a number of examples, and the book ends with further explanations of those examples. In The Girl's Like Spaghetti, Truss explains the two uses of the apostrophe: to show where letters have been left out of contractions and to indicate possession. Then fun, colorful illustrations by Bonnie Timmons demonstrate how apostrophes can change a sentence. One illustration, of boys dumping trash on each other, is accompanied by the sentence "Those smelly things are my brothers," while on the next page is a picture of dirty shoes that is captioned "Those smelly things are my brother's." Two different pictures show children's clothing stores. One picture, of Lil' Tess's Tots' Wear, is labeled "The shop sells boys' and girls' clothing." The other picture, labeled "The shop sells boys and girl's clothing," shows Lil' Tess's Tots 'n' Wear, which has girls' clothing and little boys in the shop window! After all the illustrations is an additional explanation of each sentence; for example, Truss explains that "The apostrophes make boys' and girls' plural nouns that are possessives" and that "Without an apostrophe, boys is a plural noun."

While the average child probably wouldn't seek this book out on his own, it could be a useful tool for teachers or parents who want to work with their children on punctuation. It is very well done and quite entertaining (I laughed out loud at some of the illustrations) and I highly recommend it for work with elementary school children. It might also provide a helpful review for older children--or even adults--who won't be put off by the simplicity or playful illustrations.

Dangerous Book for Boys to Hit Screen: "Disney has snapped up the rights to the bestseller after a fierce bidding war." It will be more than interesting to see how the folks at Disney plan to make a movie of a politically incorrect how-to-book that includes instructions on skinning a rabbit. We'll stick to the print version. And the UK edition at that.

by Contributing Editor, Maurene J. Hinds

One of the best ways to enliven nonfiction is by “borrowing” techniques used in fiction. This includes, when appropriate, opening with a high-action scene, building suspense, using plenty of “showing” description, and including dialogue to break-up the narrative. The only caveat is that actions and dialogue must be “true,” in that it accurately (word for word in the case of direct quotes) portrays events or people. What if you are not writing a biography or historical piece? You can still use these techniques by interviewing professionals, showing people in action, and determining an interesting point of view from which to write about your subject.

Kids love to learn about topics that interest them. For writers, this is good news, because it can often be “easier” to sell nonfiction than fiction–easier in the sense that many editors are looking for quality nonfiction. However, this also means that it is a competitive market, and only the best nonfiction writing will sell. You can make your nonfiction stand out by incorporating the techniques mentioned above, among other things (choosing and focusing on a specific, interesting topic also helps!).

Just as you need some type of “hook,” in fiction, so too should you use one in nonfiction. Even if your topic follows some type of chronology, consider opening with a significant event, fascinating fact, high-action event, or unique dialogue. Bring the reader in and then fill-in the details. What is an exception to this approach? Younger readers require more structure than older readers, in which case beginning in the middle of your story might not work. Straight chronologies work better for younger readers.

Use the idea of beginnings, middles, and ends as you craft your nonfiction piece. Just as fiction builds to the climax of the story, so too can you arrange your information in a way that builds to an interesting ending. Are you writing about a real-life mystery? Consider dropping clues along the way so your reader can try to solve the problem.

What if you are not sure of the best structure for your work? In many ways, you have more flexibility with nonfiction in that you can structure your piece in a way that best fits your material. Perhaps including the most exciting information first, rather than last, works best for your topic. Maybe the middle of your piece is full of action, which you then lead the reader out of to explain the significance. No matter how you structure your piece, remember that it needs to have some type of logical order (remember that bit about young readers?). As always, keep your reader in mind.

Dialogue is a great way to add interest to nonfiction while also breaking up longer sections of text. If you are writing a historical event or biography, search for actual words said by the people involved. If you cannot find this, you might be able to quote a newspaper article or some other source from the same period. If no quotes are available, or if you are writing a different type of piece, consider including excerpts from interviews. Experts add authenticity to your work, and some interesting quotes from experts can add that special, human touch.

As you develop your piece, look for ways to make the writing as interesting and “alive” as possible. Kids do not like to wade through dry, stale facts any more than (many) adults do. Think of ways to put those facts into context. Show the significance of the information, and present it in forms that kids can relate to. If you use the many ways to add sparkle to your nonfiction, you will help increase your chances of publication while providing fun, fascinating reads for your audience.

On Sunday, June 24th, children’s nonfiction writer Laura Purdie Salas will be teaching a 6-1/2-hour workshop in Minneapolis called, Writing Nonfiction Children’s Books for the Educational Market. The workshop will be at the Loft Literary Center (http://www.loft.org/index.cfm), and participants wil be surveying the field, analyzing publishers’ catalogs, learning how to prepare an introductory packet to submit to publishers, writing rough drafts of cover letters, analyzing series, going over tips for once you have your first assignment, talking about pay and contracts, and more.

If you’re in Minnesota or the Upper Midwest (or anywhere else if you’re an eager traveler) and can make it to Minneapolis that day, I’d love to have you join the workshop. So far, 22 writers have signed up, and the max is 30. Laura Purdie Salas has taught this workshop several times, and it’s always very practical and informative
and fun, too.

If you would like more info, go here.

Yikes! We’d meant to post this special edition of Book Bites for Kids earlier in the week, but we had some technical difficulties.

NWFCC contributing editor and children’s author Maurene J. Hinds

Listen as children’s writer, and contributing editor here at the NWFCC, Maurene J. Hinds talks with Book Bites for Kids host, Suzanne Lieurance, about her newest nonfiction book, Fighting the AIDS and HIV Epidemic.

Maurene also offers tips for how other children’s writers can get book contracts with children’s educational publishers.

New to me, from the March 2007 issue of Canadian Family magazine, found yesterday at the library: Can You Hear It?, book and accompanying audio cd, by William Lach of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (published by Abrams); suggested for ages four to ten. From the Met Store website: A bustling cityscape full of cars and people; the interior of a circus teeming with wild animals; ice-skaters gliding

Children's author and home educating father Chris Barton at Bartography is mulling over choices for picture books about modern American music and musicians, mostly for his almost three-year-old son, and wrote the other week, "As for those books already on the shelves, there are far more worthy titles than one family can take on in a single month. These that I've listed below are simply those that