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Shelly Burns on Five Great New Fall Releases! (Enter to Win!), 7/25/2011 7:13:00 AM
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Janet Halfmann on A Conversation with Janet Halfmann, Author of “Home in the Cave”, 1/30/2012 2:03:00 PM
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Sylvan Dell is proud to introduce one of our great new spring releases, Home in the Cave! Written by Janet Halfmann and illustrated by Shennen Bersani, Home in the Cave is the educational tale of Baby Bat and his adventures in the cave he calls home. Through his exploration, Baby Bat not only learns about other cave critters, but he learns a lot about himself as well!
Janet Halfman is the award winning author of over thirty children’s books, both fiction and nonfiction, including Home in the Cave, A Little Skink’s Tail, and Fur and Feathers. In this interview, Janet Halfman shares her literary and creative experiences as she discusses her life as a children’s author with her fans and readers.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
I like the surprises that occur as I’m writing my first draft of a story. Sometimes the characters just seem to come up with ideas on their own, such as Sophia does in Fur and Feathers when she adds her own special touches to the animals’ coats. But I think my favorite part of writing is the revising. I love finding just the right word to bring a character or action to life. I love making each sentence sound and flow just right.
What topics do you most enjoy writing about?
I enjoy writing about animals and nature. I never cease to be amazed at the intricacies of each animal’s life and how all of life is intertwined. For example, when researching and writing Home in the Cave, I was amazed to find out how important bat droppings or guano are to the other animals in the cave.
When did you become interested in writing?
I have loved to write all my life, but it wasn’t until after I graduated from college and took a writing course by mail that I decided I wanted a career as a writer. To accomplish that, I went back to school and got a second degree in Journalism (I had originally studied to be a Spanish and English teacher). The second degree led to jobs as a daily newspaper reporter, managing editor of a national magazine for kids who live in the country, and many years as a creator of coloring and activity books for Golden Books. When my position at Golden books was eliminated about 15 years ago, I set out to become a children’s author, my original dream!
What is a typical writing day like for you?
First, I check my e-mail and social media sites to see if there is anything I need to take care of right away. Then, If I’m working on a story, most of my day is spent on that story. To create the best story, I have to completely immerse myself in it and let it become part of me. Then ideas come to me while I’m taking a walk, or making supper, or doing any number of things. When I’m not working on a story, I promote my books through social media and other ways, look for new markets, fine-tune my old manuscripts, read picture books, etc. I work in an upstairs home office next to a window overlooking a huge, old maple tree. I spend 50 to 60 hours a week working on writing or business related to writing. And I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world—to have reached my dream of
Undoubtedly you know it is THAT time of year again…especially if you have young kids. Just yesterday I was at a T.J.MAXX in search of Christmas presents for my family and friends. It’s hard trying to make your money last when you have so many things on your list. In fact, it’s impossible. While there, I saw a father walking around with his young son. He asked him to point out things he liked, things he wanted Santa to bring him. Walking around, it was obvious that this man was making his own mental checklist…to pass along to Santa of course! All I could think was: How is he going to remember a list when his kid is pulling everything he sees off the shelf? It’s moments like these that I am tempted to walk up to a parent like him and say, Kudos to you, sir. Of course, I didn’t do that. I’m not one to deliberately put myself in awkward situations. Instead, when I noticed that most of the items his son was pulling from the shelves were books (!!!), I told him about Sylvan Dell Publishing and all of our exemplary elementary learning books. The array of books on our website does not require a mental checklist, and it does not require picking up after a roudy child as they raid the aisles of T.J.MAXX. AND for maximum stress relief, we do offer free gift wrapping…straight from Santa’s workshop…
Go to our online store now and choose the best way to further educate or introduce your child to science and math through literature. At this time in the season, stores have become life-size anthills. Don’t try to be a superhero and bust through the aisles like it’s nobody’s business…because you can’t. I can already tell you that the massive checkout lines will be your kryptonite. Avoid the chaos with a few simple clicks, and…wahlah! You can have some gift wrapped books at your door in no time.
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By: sylvandellpublishing,
on 11/30/2011
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Don’t pass this up guys! It’s easy and fun, and you could win your own personal elibrary. Starting now through December 31, check out our facebook page and post on our wall. All you have to do is write your favorite thing about reading or the holidays. And hey, you could “Like” us while you’re at it!
For example my favorite thing about Christmas is the hot Russian tea at my hometown tree farm, and the smell of my favorite Christmas tree candle.
If you are in the holiday spirit to share your favorite thing about the holidays, or your favorite thing about reading, do it now while you still have a chance to win! We will be giving out 5 free personal elibraries between now and the end of December.
With one click, these eBooks read aloud to the children and page-flip from the beginning of a story to the end. Put a child in front of this eLibrary, and they will “play” for hours on end reading and listening to wonderful, award-winning picture books. We encourage parents to take this excitement and discuss the “For Creative Minds” section at the end of each ebook with their child. Each book homepage also has 40-60 pages of cross-curricular Teaching Activities plus 3 Interactive Reading Comprehension and Math Quizzes.
And since I’m in such a holiday spirit, I can’t help but share the recipe to the best hot winter drink EVER!
- 1 cup of instant tea
- 2 cups of tang
- 1 tsp of cloves
- 1 package of Wylers lemonade mix
- 1 1/2 cups of sugar (or less depending on taste)
Directions: Mix all of this together and keep it in a tightly sealed jar. Use 2 heaping teaspoons for one cup of tea.
And Wha Lah! There you have it…the best winter drink of all time!
0 Comments on Facebook Contest…Enter to Win! as of 1/1/1900
So I came across a new word today: Synesthete. What in the world is that? As I hope you know, reading can bring all sorts of new experiences and knowledge. Here’s what I learned today through taking a few minutes to read something new and interesting:
A Synesthete is a person with a sensory image condition called Synesthesia. For a long time, scientists didn’t bother to study these patients because they claim that they can hear colors and taste words! How unusual is that?
There was never any way to prove if these people were making it up, thus causing the condition to be widely misunderstood for many years. Also, Synesthetes tend to describe the things they see and feel in extreme detail, which has prompted scientists to link them to schizophrenics and other people with mental incapacities.
Now, however, scientists are starting to learn that this condition is not an incapacity at all. In fact, they are trying to prove that all humans are wired with the potential for Synesthesia…that it is just suppressed from us for some unknown reason.
I hate calling this strange phenomenon a condition because it offers people certain benefits to creative thinking. What if we can find a way in the future to unblock the neural path to Synesthesia? If studies indicate that Synesthesia is about seven times more common in artists, poets, and novelists than in the rest of the population, does this mean that we can all have the maximum potential for creativitiy?
We can all be writers and artists! As Synesthetes are better at linking unrelated ideas, would we be able to find connections and hidden links to many of the mysteries we are investigating today? You wait and see…I wouldn’t be surprised if a Synesthete discovered the cure to cancer!
Also, some Synesthetes have been known to perform amazing feats of memorization, such as remembering the value of pi to 22,514 digits, while others are able to distinguish between very similar colors or have a heightened sense of touch. Whatever the condition heightens, a math genius, or an artist could be born.
Now, just because we don’t all have Synesthesia, or access to it, this doesn’t mean we can’t be whatever we want to be. Anyone can write a story, and anyone can be an author. Sylvan Dell Publishing is proof of this, as we ourselves are a small, but quickly growing company. Many of the books we publish are written by first time authors. Habitat Spy, Hey Diddle Diddle, The Penguin Lady, and Gopher to the Rescue! are only a few.
Thanksgiving is coming up once again for Americans on the fourth Thursday of November.
The traditional Thanksgiving holiday is primarily celebrated in the United States. It honors the initial feast held between the English settlers and the Native American Wampanoag tribe in what it is now known as Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island. In this 1621 feast, the meal probably consisted of deer, shellfish, roast meat, cranberries, and corn. Our tradition of giving thanks stems from the thanks for the harvest and in 1923, the thanks for the rain after a two-month drought.
Today we spend time with family on Thanksgiving, give thanks for our blessings, and indulge in turkey, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, and pie – lots and lots of pie.
But some other countries celebrate different types of Thanksgiving, or “harvest” days. Canada celebrates a Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October; at the end of the harvest season. The Canadian Thanksgiving feast is similar to American tradition with a turkey or other roast. They are especially fond of the Cornucopia tradition, made edible with bread. Countries such as Croatia or Grenada celebrate Thanksgivings on the anniversaries of historical liberations or other independence days.
Let’s go south of the border though and think about Thanksgiving in Mexico. What would they eat if they were to celebrate their harvest? Maybe a roast meat, maybe pumpkins, maybe chilies….but definitely corn tortillas!!! We may eat corn on the cob and corn bread, and hang dried corn cobs for decoration, but what about making corn tortillas for a change?
Corn tortillas were made by the Aztecs thousands and thousands of years ago. They ground corn into cornmeal and made corn dough, or masa, out of it. The dough is shaped into a little ball and flattened into a pancake. The “corn cakes” are then cooked on a hot griddle. Tortillas can be filled with just about anything – including Thanksgiving leftovers!
You can teach your children about tortillas with our book, Burro’s Tortillas by Terri Fields, illustrated by Sherry Rogers. Click here to learn more about Burro’s quest to make tortillas, with or without the help of his friends.
By: sylvandellpublishing,
on 11/21/2011
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Tomorrow, November 22nd, is Antarctic Day! This is a day to celebrate our neighbors way way south where the penguins and icicles play. This may be a nice place to visit, if you can handle the extreme cold, but I think it’s safe to say that none of us would want to live there. Since we won’t be unpacking for good any time soon in the Antarctic, how about we give it its own special day and celebrate!
Here are some interesting and fun facts to get you and your kids excited about the Antarctic:
- To avoid confusion, the Antarctic is the region around our Earth’s South Pole, while the Arctic region opposite it is around Earth’s North Pole. Now which one does Santa fly from again?
- Did you know that that there are no polar bears in this southern region? They only live in the Northern Hemisphere. Penguins, on the other hand, are abundant in the Antarctic.
- The very first human to be born in the Antarctic was named Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen (have fun pronouncing that one!). He was born on October 8 of 1913.
- This region had no indigenous people living in it when it was first discovered
- There are more tourists that visit the Antarctic each year than people who actually live there!
Well there you go! To find out more about the Antarctic, keep an eye out for our new title coming in February of 2012, called “The Penguin Lady,”by Carol A. Cole. In this picture book, Penelope Parker lives with penguins! Short ones, tall ones; young and old—the penguins are from all over the Southern Hemisphere including some that live near the equator! Do the penguin antics prove too much for her to handle? Children count and then compare and contrast the different penguin species as they learn geography.
In the meantime, however, you can learn all about the Antarctic’s rival region, the Arctic, by checking out our wonderful title, “In Arctic Waters,” by Laura Crawford. While reading this book, you and your child can follow polar bears, walruses, seals, narwhals, and beluga whales while they chase each other around the ice in the Arctic waters! It is a pure delight to read aloud, and the “For Creative Minds” section helps children learn how these animals live in the cold, icy arctic region.
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Multiply on the Fly written by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Erin E. Hunter is a California Reading Association’s “Eureka! Silver Honor Book Winner” for 2011.
The California Reading Association is a non-profit professional organization of educators devoted to the use of “standards-aligned instruction” and “research-based teaching strategies” in all aspects of reading and language arts education from the kindergarten level through college. The “Eureka! Children’s Book Award” was created to identify outstanding nonfiction books for children. Winners of this and other awards can be viewed in their journal, The California Reader or on their website, www.californiareads.org.
Multiply on the Fly follows the arithmetic feel of Suzanne Slade’s What’s New at the Zoo? and What’s the Difference?. In this book children discover the world’s insects: from pirate bugs to Luna moths, while simultaneously learning multiplication. Teeming with fun facts, readers will multiply a variety of insects, including dragonflies, hungry honeybees and stealthy walking sticks.
Suzanne Slade is the award-winning author of over 80 books for children. Her works include picture books, biographies, as well as many non-fiction titles about animals, sports, and nature. Slade has also written Animals are Sleeping and The Great Divide (which follows the series into division) for Sylvan Dell. One of her favorite parts of the writing process is researching and learning new things. Slade lives near Chicago with her husband Mike, two children, and their tiny dog Corduroy. For more information on Slade, you can visit her website at www.suzanneslade.com
Erin E. Hunter is both a children’s book and scientific illustrator, specializing in entomological and botanical illustration. She has taught botanical illustration and field sketching at University of California at Santa Cruz, and has even drawn insects under a microscope for the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History. She illustrated the fourth book in Slade’s arithmetic series; The Great Divide, as well as Sylvan Dell’s A Day on the Mountain. Hunter lives with her husband on California’s Monterey Peninsula where she tends to flowers, fruit trees, and vegetables in her yard when she’s not sketching and painting. Hunter’s website is www.eehunter.com.
Check out more on Multiply on the Fly via the book’s homepage on our website. Congrats to all!
1 Comments on Eureka! Multiply on the Fly is a Winner!, last added: 11/18/2011
Today, November 7th, is National Bookstore Day. It is also Book Lover’s Day. What better time could there be to make a trip to your closest bookstore and buy that book you have been itching to get your hands on. I know that I have my own growing list that alternates between my purse and back pocket. Go buy a book today, or buy several…the holiday season is here after all. You may not think it, but I can assure you, books do in fact fit in Christmas stockings!
Better yet, take a hunt around our website. To those of you with younger children, we have many fun to read books that you can order today. As you may know, Sylvan Dell has grown to include more than 75 authors and illustrators in the United States and Canada, and 65 titles – honored as finalists or winners of over 70 book awards. Our Science and Math Through Literature Program integrates reading, science, math, geography, character skills, and language learning through fun, cross-curricular activities. Sylvan Dell also provides more online educator resources than any other publisher in the United States.
And on a random note…here’s some interesting facts about Daylight Savings Time…that wonderful mock holiday of ours that bewilders us all:
- According to computer scientist, David Prerau, Ben Franklin—of “early to bed and early to rise” fame—was the first person to suggest the concept of daylight savings.
- Franklin noted that the sun would rise far earlier than he usually did. He determined that resources would be saved if he and others rose before noon and burned less midnight oil.
- Germany was the first place to adopt these time changes, thereby saving coal for the war effort during WWI.
- In the USA, a federal law standardized the yearly start and end of daylight saving time in 1918…during WWII, it was made mandatory, in order to save wartime resources. It was even enforced year-round during this time…essentially making it the new standard time for a few years.
- During the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, the USA again extended daylight saving time through the winter. This caused a 1% decrease in the country’s electrical load.
1 Comments on For our Beloved Book Lovers, last added: 11/10/2011
Author Donna Love has become a USA Best Book Awards Finalist for her latest picture book, The Glaciers are Melting!
USABookNews.com is an online publicaion that provides coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the online community of the world. JPX Media Group, in Los Angeles, California, is the parent company of USABookNews.com.
Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of USA Book News, said that this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries, which were then narrowed down to over 500 winners and finalists.
This is now the ninth year that these awards have been distributed. Keen says, “The 2011 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States. With a full publicity and marketing campaign promoting the results of the USA ‘Best Books’ Awards, this year’s winners and finalists will gain additional media coverage for the upcoming holiday retail season.”
The Glaciers are Melting! deals with the story of Peter Pika, who is certain that the glaciers are melting after a drop of water falls on his head. He decides to go speak to the Mountain Monarch about it. Joined along the way by friends Tammy Ptarmigan, Sally Squirrel, Mandy Marmot, and Harry Hare, they all wonder what will happen to them if the glaciers melt. Where will they live, how will they survive? When Wiley Wolverine tries to trick them, can the Mountain Monarch save them? More importantly, can the Mountain Monarch stop the glaciers from melting?
Donna Love is an award-winning author whose husband is a district ranger on the Lolo National Forest. Two of their three children are now in college. In addition to The Glaciers are Melting!, Donna’s other books include Henry the Impatient Heron, Loons, Diving Birds of the North, and Awesome Ospreys, Fishing Birds of the World. Awesome Ospreys became a Skipping Stones Press Honor Award Winner in 2006, for promoting ecological understanding and cooperation around the world. With a background in art education, Donna substitute teaches at the elementary and high school level. Throughout her years as a substitute and while raising her own children, she found she had a gift for explaining nature to children. She and her husband have three grown children and one grandchild.
If you are interested in learning more information about Love visit her website at www.donnalove.com. Check out more one her book, The Glaciers are Melting! through our homepage.
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By: sylvandellpublishing,
on 10/31/2011
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Our celebration of Halloween today is but a pale representation of its actual rich and multicultural history. It was once a celebration marking the end of the growing season, and a heralding of the coming winter months. It is told that this day, of all days in the year, is the one in which the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest. It is the day that ghouls and ghosts can walk among the living. While costumes today are for entertainment and fun, they were once used to confuse the dead and keep the living safe on this supernatural night. Blended from several origins, including the Celts, Romans, and Catholic tradition, Halloween came to be it’s own special celebration. Today, however, it has become a nationally commercial holiday, supported by a consumer based economy.
Back in the old days…with the history of the Celts, Druid priests were believed to have the ability to commune with the dead. It was rumored that their powers were the most powerful on the last day of the year: Samhain (sow-en) according to the Celtic calendar. On this day, the Celtic people would extinguish their hearth fires and gather in front of a bonfire for the evening instead. A celebration of singing, dancing, and listening to stories would ensue. At the end of the evening, each family would take some of the bonfire home and relight it in their hearths in hopes of good fortune for their home and family in the coming year. If it did not light, misfortune or death would come to someone in the house that year. The celebration of Halloween does not come directly from this day, however, for credit can also be given to the practice of several other cultures.
For instance, in the New World, Halloween was largely disallowed. In Maryland, however, it was encouraged, and people would attend parties with singing and dancing and ghost stories. Children would dress in costumes and try to scare one another. The actual tradition of trick-or-treating from door to door, did not begin until the Irish immigrants brought it with them when they came fleeing from the Potato Famine.
In relation to Pagan tradtion, this night was determined to be the night that a young woman would find out her future husband. This would be done by looking into a mirror in a dark room or by peeling an apple and casting the peel over her shoulder. Many Christian churches, who believed such paganistic rituals would lead to witchcraft and Satanism, created “Hell Houses” (haunted houses to us today), which were meant to scare children and young adults away from ever tampering with such damning traditions.
As you can see, this now famous American holiday is due to the old practices of many cultures throughout the centuries. There is so much more to learn about the history of Halloween as well all the other holidays we celebrate with our friends and loved ones. The best part is that ALL of the learning can be done through the simply wonderful act of reading!
Tomorrow, Nov. 1, is the start of National Family Literacy Month. Take advantage of this time to spark a budding love of reading in your child. Read to them about interesting facts they don’t know, and let them read with you. Sylvan Dell Publishing has a whole slew of options that can help aid you in educating your little one on a parent-child basis. Check out our homepage, and from there you can read about every book we have to offer you and your child!
By: sylvandellpublishing,
on 10/21/2011
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Deep in the Desert has just received a silver Moonbeam award!
The Moonbeam Awards are 100% dedicated to identifying the best children’s books published each year for the North American market. The Moonbeam Awards are one of the fastest growing U.S.-based award contests focused on children’s books. Award-winners appear for an entire year at www.moonbeamawards.com. Winners will also be featured in www.IndependentPublisher.com and highlighted prominently in their monthly newsletter, which goes out to more than 8,000 subscribers worldwide, many of whom are agents, buyers, and librarians.
Catchy desert twists on traditional children’s songs and poems will have children chiming in about cactuses, camels, and more as they learn about the desert habitat and its flora and fauna. Tarkawara hops on the desert sand instead of a kookaburra sitting in an old gum tree. And teapots aren’t the only things that are short and stout—just look at the javelina’s hooves and snout. Travel the world’s deserts to dig with meerkats, fly with bats, and hiss with Gila monsters! Whether sung or read aloud, Deep in the Desert makes learning about deserts anything but dry. Learn more by visiting www.SylvanDellPublishing.com
Rhonda Lucas Donald has written more than a dozen books for children and teachers including her most recent titles: Animal Rights: How You Can Make a Difference and Life on Other Planets. In addition, she has won awards for articles and stories appearing in Ranger Rick and Your Big Backyard magazines. Rhonda specializes in writing about science, and especially likes to write about animals and space. She fell in love with science as a kid, and read every dinosaur book in school library. Weaving science into verses and songs is her way of making it fun. Rhonda shares her Virginia home with husband Bruce, dogs Maggie and Lily, and her very dignified cats, Darwin and Huxley. Visit her website at www.BrownTabby.com
Sherry Neidigh, a graduate of Ringling School of Art and Design, has been freelasnce illustrating for over twelve years. Sherry’s love of animals and nature comes through in her bright, colorful art. In addition to illustrating Count Down to Fall (Fall 2009) and The Best Nest for Sylvan Dell, Sherry has illustrated several trade and education titles including Who Needs That Nose?, If I Had a Tail, and Black and White. Sherry lives in South Carolina. Visit Sherry’s website at www.SherryNeidigh.com
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By: sylvandellpublishing,
on 10/4/2011
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Have you discovered the joy of stamp collecting? Better yet, have you discovered the joy of collecting anything at all? Now, I’m not talking about the junk mail that finds its way onto each and every one of our kitchen tables. I’m talking about the collection of something meaningful, something that can offer knowledge and educate us, or simply be productive fun.
This month is your chance to get in the spirit, because October is none other than National Collector’s Month (…and Halloween of course)! Did you know that stamp collecting just so happens to be the most popular hobby in the world? Who knew? And just like me, I bet you’re asking, “Why stamps?” Well, they aren’t just little pictures on little sticky pieces of paper. Stamps represent different historical events, people, and places! It is the perfect stepping stone to learning as much or as little as you would like about the world.
This is the perfect hobby to start young or with children, because it gives kids the chance to ask questions, and it’s a fun way to start. It opens the door to so much history and information. It may be a stretch, but if you let it, collecting can be like visiting other parts of the world from your own living room. If you are looking for it, this is a wonderful experience to share with your children. You can choose any way to start, which give you the opportunity to choose an approach that will interst your child the most. For instance, you can focus the collection on a particular place or time period. Here are a few specific areas of collecting to consider:
- Topical (birds, castles, Disney, etc.)
- Precancels (US or foreign)
- Machins (Queen Elizabeth heads)
- Perfins (stamps with holes punched into them)
- Classics (stamps issued in the 19th century)
- and so many more!
Reading with your kids about other collectors can be another great way to get them interested in a hobby of their own. Sylvan Dell publishes a book called “Sort it Out!” by Barbara Mariconda. In this book, Packy the pack rat collects tons of things and has to sort them out. To him, all of the things he has collected are treasures in some way special to him. This book also includes interactive activites on sorting, categorizing, and classifying. Check it out, and maybe your child will find something awesome to collect too!
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Felina’s New Home has just become a finalist for the Florida Publisher Association President’s Book Award! This award recognizes book publishing excellence and creativity in both production and content.
The Florida Publisher Association presents the President’s Book Awards annually. This is Wlodarski’s second President’s Book Award nomination, having previously won for his first picture book with Sylvan Dell Publishing, If a Dolphin Were a Fish.
Felina’s New Home follows a Florida panther as her forest home begins to shrink, and her home becomes destroyed by pollution and man’s interference. Trees disappear, a new busy highway cuts through her wood, and she and the other animals have a hard time trying to survive the changes. How can she survive? Wlodarski, an environmental science writer, gives children a look into deforestation and endangered animals, and what children can do to keep wild animals safe, happy, and healthy.
Loran Wlodarski is a science writer for SeaWorld and has written six books for them in addition to his many normal daily responsibilities. He has been published in sources such as Grolier’s Encyclopedia for Children and The Marine Mammal Encyclopedia. In addition, he has served as a scientific consultant for Ask Magazine, Random House Books, Animal Planet, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. One of his early jobs at SeaWorld’s Education Department was to raise some of their animals-newly hatched sharks, macaws, turtles, tropical fish, and iguanas. He lives with his wife in St. Cloud.
Lew Clayton has worked as an illustrator for 20 years. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Brigham Young University, and he is a Graphic Designer in the Media Industry. He is a member of the Socity of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. His medium of choice is Prismacolor colored pencil, and his favorite subject matter is people and animals. He has two previously published books; The Adventures of Willy B. and Archie’s Christmas Tale. Felina’s New Home is his first picture book with Sylvan Dell Publishing.
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on 9/26/2011
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Good new too all! There may be a hidden silver lining to global warming…well, in the Arctic at least. According to a new study, the persistent change in climate may very well improve the quality of air in the polar region. This good news is rare seeing as global warming in the Arctic is increasing at a more rapid rate than in other areas of the planet. Due to warming, air pollutants from industrial regions travel to the Arctic. In turn, these pollutants only speed up the warming. It is a vicious cycle!
Now, I’m sure you are asking, “Where is the good news?” Well my friends, global rainfall is also predicted to be a widespread result of global warming. Lucky for us, rain serves as a natural cleanser. As said by the scientist leading this recent study, Timothy Garrett, “Precipitation is the atmosphere’s single most efficient way of removing particulate pollution.” Raindrops take the pollutants with them. Simple as that! Due to this redeeming natural occurrence, rainfall may already swipe pollution from the air before it even reaches the Arctic.
Read about another vicious cylce in our book, “In Arctic Waters,” by Laura Crawford. I promise, this cycle is more forgiving and much more exciting! Through this wonderfully illustrated book, join in the rhythmic, building fun of Arctic animals as they play and chase each other around “the ice that floats in the Arctic water.” What happens to interrupt and spoil their fun? Go and see for yourself!
For even more fun with reading, dive into another one of our titles, “The Glaciers are Melting!” by Donna Love. In this book, Peter Pika is sure the glaciers are melting and is off to talk to the Mountain Monarch about it. Joined along the way by friends Tammy Ptarmigan, Sally Squirrel, Mandy Marmot, and Harry Hare, they all wonder what will happen to them if the glaciers melt. Where will they live, how will they survive? When Wiley Wolverine tries to trick them, can the Mountain Monarch save them? More importantly, can the Mountain Monarch stop the glaceirs from melting?
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Looking for a fun project for your students which encourages reading and develops technology skills? Then this contest is for you! Create a cool book trailer and win a free author visit, a 1-year Sylvan Dell eBook site license ($450 value), and autographed books!
To enter, make a one-minute or less book trailer for one of these picture books – What’s New at the Zoo? or What’s the Difference? (Students, teachers, or librarians can make a book trailer for submission.) The winning trailer for each book will win a free author visit (in-person if the school is within a one-hour drive of Libertyville, IL, or a live Skype virtual visit), a 1-year Sylvan Dell eBook site license ($450 value), and 10 free autographed books by the author! Now that’s cool!!
Book Trailer Guidelines:
1. Email the author (Suzanne Slade at [email protected]) and tell her which book you want to use in your trailer. She’ll email you the book cover and illustrations to use in your video.
2. Make the video! Use any video making software you like such as iMovie or Animoto. The book trailer should be one minute or less. It must include the book title, author name, and cover of the book. Movie text should be short and relevant to the story. (Hint: Don’t read the whole book in the video.) Music must be something you have the copyright to use, or music and/or sound effects provided by your video software for users. Remember, the best trailers are lots of fun and make viewers want to read the book!
3. Once your video is complete, download it to YouTube.
4. To submit you book trailer in the contest, email the following to [email protected] by Nov. 23, 2011:
link to YouTube video of your book trailer, your school name, school address, adult contact name and email address.
5. Contest winners will be announced by Dec. 1, 2011. Good luck!!
6. Links to winning book trailer videos will be featured on the Sylvan Dell Publishing website and author website.
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Tomorrow, September 13th, is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day. Cancer, more common in older people, does reach children as well. Although no one really understands why young children get cancer, it is important that they always know it is not their fault. Neuroblastoma, for instance, is one of the most frequent cancers in children today. This disease attacks the sympathetic nervous system and spreads its harm to 650 children a year in the US. One of the most devastating facts about this disease is that there is no cure. Children with Neuroblastoma can undergo the most toxic form of chemotherapy, in search for the possibility of remission. If remission does occur, however, there is no cure for relapse, a traumatizing and constant threat for children in recovery.
Check out our book, “Champ’s Story: Dogs Get Cancer Too!” by Sherry North. This book provides the perfect opportunity for you as parents to teach your children about cancer awareness as well. In this inspirational story, although cancer affects a young boy’s dog, children can still learn it is a disease that can find anyone. It teaches children about cells that may grow the wrong way inside of the body, as well as ways to comfort the sick. A person may seem completely fine on the outside although they are sick inside. It is never too early to inform children and make them aware.
This day, of all days, can be one for you to help. There are countless non-profit organizations in cities all over the country. Finding one won’t be difficult. Volunteer opportunities are available all of the time. Children need the help of others in order to chase after a cure. For our followers here in Charleston, you can get active in your home city. Follow this link to meet Chase, a strong young fighter, and explore opportunities to help in the community: Chase After a Cure. For other followers, check out this more thorough list of organizations all over the country that are available to you! It doesn’t matter who you are, you can help!
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For the first time, scientists are closely studying the Pacific leaping blenny. Surely you are asking yourself, “What in the world is that?” The leaping blenny, my friend, is a land dwelling fish that walks! This fish lives and moves agily along the rocky coast of Micronesia. While this fish breathes through its gills and skin, it still requires water to survive. It has not completely leaped away from its evolutionary track.
Now that fish can walk, check out our book, “Tudley Didn’t Know,” by John Himmelman. In this crazy adventure, a turtle named Tudley finds out he can fly, leap, and glow among other things. He keeps discovering talents he never knew he had. When it comes to it, he learns how to protect himself and open his friends’ eyes to new possibilities.
This book teaches a lesson that is inspiring for children of all ages. If fish can walk and turtles can fly, then what’s stopping children from reaching for new possibilities as well?
The month of September is National Literacy Month. In celebration of literacy, our featured ebook for September will be “Animalogy: Animal Analogies.” This beautifully illustrated book makes use of animals’ characteristics and actions to teach children about analogies.
Our homepage features a free ebook every month, so go and check it out!
Take advantage of this time with your kids and teach them different ways to make reading fresh and fun! There are all sorts of ways to get children excited about picking up the next new read. Involve your child by reading with feeling and emotion, or letting them guess what may come next in the story. Something as simple as this can make reading books a treat to look forward to daily, be it in the middle of the afternoon or right before bedtime.
Here are a few tips to practice with your children:
- Spend time in conversation with your child to develop vocabulary and knowledge of the world. Label what you see and explain how things work.
- Read aloud with your child everyday. Don’t just make sure they understand what is being read, but how a book works. For instance, we read from left to right, as well as from the front of a book to the back of a book.
- Teach your child about letters and words. Take notice of the words and letters in the world around you, whether it’s on a cereal box or a billboard. Point them out to your child. You can post their name in their room, and let them get familiar with the letters.
- Play with language in order to help your child become familiar with rhymes and letter sounds. Read them nursery rhymes and involve your child by seeing how many rhyming words you can think of together: dip, lip, sip, tip, trip, hip. Use a series of words that start with the same letter (alliteration). This will allow your child to start recognizing letter sounds. Ex) ‘Frank the ferret found a friend.’
Visit the Reading and Literacy Tips page on our website for more advice on reading to and with children of all ages!
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As the hurricane season keeps blowing, take advantage of the great hurricane resources on the Sylvan Dell website! Play a hurricane crossword puzzle, learn hurricane vocabulary, and all about how to prepare for a hurricane. Check out the hurricane activities here, or visit the Ready, Set…WAIT! book homepage on our website.
Ready, Set…WAIT!
Hurricane . . . just the word brings to mind the power of these natural disasters. Humans watch the news and know of impending arrival. We board up windows and gather supplies. We might huddle in our homes or go inland. Then we wait for the storm to arrive. But what do wild animals do? Do they know when a storm is coming? If so, how do they prepare? This book explains how nine animals sense, react, and prepare for a hurricane. Based on research or observations, the brief portraits are explained in simple, poetic language for children of all ages.
Sylvan Dell Publishing will release five educational science or math-themed children’s picture books Aug. 10, 2011. As with all Sylvan Dell books, these new titles offer a complete reading experience with exceptional prose, art, and free educational features both in the back of the book and online at www.SylvanDellPublishing.com. Sylvan Dell holds all books to state educational standards, making them a valuable tool both in the classroom and at home. (See below for contest details.)
Prairie Storms- Cozy up for this great rainy day read! Prairie Storms gives you a front row seat to learn about a year of ever-changing prairie weather, and how the animals living in these grasslands adapt and survive in this harsh climate. Each month, read about a new animal, and learn about everything from how a prairie grouse can survive the January snows to how an earless lizards escapes the harsh, unrelenting drought of August. Told in lyrical prose, this story is a celebration of the great American prairies.
Hey Diddle Diddle- Hey Diddle Diddle is a whimsical journey along a riparian food web through the songs and antics of eight interconnected species. From a shiny green beetle “tappin’ his feet and singin’ a song” to a smug bobcat that feels like the “queen” of the jungle, readers will observe several colorful characters moving through three food chains in a familiar North American habitat.
Animalogy- Compare and contrast different animals through predictable, rhyming analogies. Find the similarities between even the most incompatible animals . . . bat is to flit as eagle is to soar; dog is to bark as lion is to roar. Comparisons include sounds, physical adaptations, behaviors, and animal classes and are so fun, readers learn without even realizing it! Animals are to nature, as Animalogy is to fun!
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Both the Mom’s Choice Award Foundation and Tillywig have just awarded Sylvan Dell Publishing picture books some of their top awards. Astro: The Steller Sea Lion and Big Cat, Little Kitty received gold Mom’s Choice Awards for Excellence, and Habitat Spy received the Tillywig Brain Child Award.
The Mom’s Choice Awards is an awards program that recognizes authors, inventors, companies, parents and others for their efforts in creating quality family-friendly media, products and services. It is known for establishing a benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products, and services.
Tillywig’s mission is to provide retail buyers, news media, parents, and consumers with product information and reviews of superior children’s products available in today’s marketplace.
Sylvan Dell’s mission is to excite children’s imaginations with artistically spectacular science, math, and nature-themed stories. All Sylvan Dell titles are held to the highest standards of excellence and include a “For Creative Minds” educational section in the back of the book, and extensive resources including teaching activities, quizzes, related websites, and more free online at www.SylvanDellPublishing.com. Sylvan Dell titles have been honored as finalists or winners of over 70 book awards. Our Science and Math Through Literature Program integrates reading, science, math, geography, character skills, and language learning through fun, cross-curricular activities.
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Shennen Bersani has two million copies of her books cherished and read by families throughout the world, including Astro: The Steller Sea Lion and The Glaciers are Melting! for Sylvan Dell Publishing. She has been a freelance illustrator since 1989, and her art delivers a unique blend of realism, heartfelt emotion, and life lessons for all ages.
How does art impact other areas of your life?
The art of illustration is somewhat unique, but it has similarities to artists working in other forms of art, e.g., ballet, music, photography, and painting. People who are successful in these areas and want to stay on top of their game, must work at it for long hours every day and have little time for much else.
Since my art is somewhat less typical in that it provides more emotion, near-realism, and detail throughout, it takes longer and more hours to create. I also spend time and doing up front research and referencing, many times traveling to far away places. This provides better accuracy and allows me to create the level of detail normally found in my books.
Based on these needs, the time required per week is very demanding. However, the time spent while working is very enjoyable to me. It does get challenging though, when you have children with many types of needs, you want some time with your friends, and you have a day-to-day home to operate. Somehow though, it miraculously works. Mostly, because all the people in my life are supportive of me and my work, and they understand what drives me.
What is the most difficult thing about illustration/being an illustrator?
I find the most challenging aspect of my career trying to juggle doing my work and making time for my loved ones. As noted in the previous answer, my illustrations take far more hours than typical. When a need arises during the day and pulls me away from my work, I will typically work throughout most of the night to keep from falling behind.
Do you think that the digitization of so many areas of book publishing-especially picture books-is a good thing or bad thing?
I do not believe it is a good or bad thing. I do believe it’s inevitable.
Certainly computers have impacted my illustrations for the better. Instead of having my finished art sent out to be photographed or drum scanned, obviously I do all that now in-house quickly and conveniently. I see the biggest impact on time management, especially with using colored pencils. Once upon a time I used colored pencils exclusively. It isn’t a very forgiving medium. It’s challenging erasing and making corrections. Actually, rather frustrating if you make a mistake. Now, with Photoshop, I feel free to experiment and make mistakes, for I can easily change them – on my illustrations. A much different world if I am creating fine art to be exhibited. Every stroke needs to be thought out in my head. There’s no ‘history’ window with a rubber eraser.
The world of data, text, print, photos, video, and film have always been in a considerable state of transition. The speed at which it transitions will continue to increase more and more over time. The reason publishing seems like such a big change, is because the sources of information the general public uses every day are changing much more rapidly than in the publishing business. It becomes expens
Barbara Mariconda is the award winning author of two Sylvan Dell Publishing books, Sort it Out! and the Fall 2011 release Ten for Me, in addition to being a professor, mentor teacher, and partner in an educational seminar and consulting firm.
Where did the inspiration for the butterfly catching in Ten for Me come from?
I have a garden in front of my house that attracts butterflies of all kinds. They are delicate and strong at the same time. I love that dichotomy of delicate and strong. I suppose I tried to capture a little of those characteristics evident in my own personality.
What are the most frequently asked questions you encounter as an author?
Most people ask, ‘Where do you get your ideas?’ The answer to that is that I believe stories are expressions of our unconscious mind — reflections of the emotions, issues, concerns and questions we only look at in a superficial way on a conscious level. In fact, I believe all art forms — music, visual and theatre arts, as well as writing — are all vehicles for this kind of powerful self expression. It’s why people write — not to make a ton of money, not for any kind of fame, but because it is so satisfying to tap into the unconscious self.
What is something no one ever asks you about writing or being an author that you would like to share?
No one really asks about the amount of time, energy, resilience, and persistence it takes to get published. The effort is a testament to a driving force within the author that is all about the process and little about the end result. Writers write because there is something in them that needs to be expressed. And the process is life-giving. It allows the writer to deal with disappointment and rejection.
Why is teaching kids about math so important?
Math is not usually an end unto itself, rather it’s a way to think, analyze, quantify and ob-jectify reality. When kids learn to think mathematically, they learn a variety of ways to see and to think about other aspects of life.
What has writing taught you about yourself?
I’ve learned that what I write about is always a symbol, a powerful metaphor for some aspect of myself I seek to know or understand better. I don’t think authors intentionally create symbols in their writing — the symbols emerge from within and often inform and empower the writer as well as the reader. As I look over Sort it Out!
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Darcy Pattison is an award-winning author of numerous books, and the author of the Sylvan Dell Fall 2011 Release Prairie Storms.
What drew you to writing, children’s books especially?
I write because I read children’s books to my own children. With four kids, it meant years and years of reading books, during which time I developed a love of the picture book form and a passion for chapter books for kids. I started writing when they were young and have never grown up.
What do you hope children get out of your stories?
My goal is to help kids enjoy playing with language. Of course, that means a story and I hope they enjoy the story, too. And since Prairie Storms is a non-fiction book, it also means facts. I want kids to have fun learning about the ani-mals and the storms and how living creatures interacts with the weather and cli-mate of their area. But mostly, this is meant to be a great read aloud that an adult can share with a kid, and enjoy a moment of shared pleasure in the words, the art, the sound of literature, the joy of knowing something.
What tips do you have to encourage young readers?
Read, read, read. The more you practice, the better reader you will be. And why should you want to be a great reader? So you can travel to places you’ve never seen, can feel emotions you’ll never feel any other way. In Prairie Storms, for example, you’ll stand stare into the face of a blizzard and stand, “prairie strong and defiant.”
What is the most rewarding thing about having your books published?
Because I’m published, it means I get to visit many places and talk to many peo-ple. In that sense, writing and publishing has enlarged my world, made me friends with widely scattered folks. I love the book, as something you can hold and open together. But mostly, I love that crea-tive work can connect people in special ways.
Any advice for those interested in writing?
Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Prac-tice is the most important thing you can do. If you want to be in a rock band, you don’t just pick up a guitar and wind up rich. Instead, you learn how to play chords, how to write music, how to sing. In other words, you practice. Don’t expect to sell the first thing you write. You may need to write ten novels before you write well enough to sell well. Consider those books and those years as an apprenticeship and you’ll be fine.
Darcy Pattison, (www.darcypattison.com) author of both picture books and novels, has been published in eight languages. Her books include 19 Girls and Me (Philomel,), Searching for Oliver K. Woodman (Harcourt), The Journey of Oliver
Janet Halfman is the award winning author of over thirty children’s books, both fiction and nonfiction, including Home in the Cave, A Little Skink’s Tail, and Fur and Feathers. In this interview, Janet Halfman shares her literary and creative experiences as she discusses her life as a children’s author with her fans and readers.
Thanks so much for interviewing me. I am so excited about the release of Home in the Cave—only 11 more days!!