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Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie
from the National Geographic Kids series
By Jill Esbaum
There have been plenty of fall weekends this October, and several more to go, where families can go pumpkin picking.
Kids love to forage in fields for the “perfect pumpkin.” And, for each child, this perfectness will, in their minds, vary from the tiny to the titanic.
And, along with corn maizes and the onset of kid friendly “agra-entertainment”, is the ability post or pre pumpkin pick, to settle down for a quiet moment with a child and perhaps a picture book about this worthy squash called the pumpkin.
If your young reader is loaded with questions such as, “How did my pumpkin grow?”, then this book from the National Geographic Kids Series, is a fine start for the youngest among us.
Its simple wording and accompanying bright photos of a pumpkin’s beginnings from seeds tucked into the “sun-warmed earth,” gets this pumpkin lesson off to a grand start.
Pretty soon the young reader is looking at a seed softened into a sprout by spring rains. Next, tangled vines protrude above the dirt and bright yellow flowers allow bees to spread their pollen from flower to flower.
And it’s a small leap to those knobs that form, morphing over time into pumpkins.
Here, at the farm, we saw firsthand how those cool October nights arrived, and those pumpkin vines fairly shriveled, and left in their wake, a veritable plethora of pumpkins.
Your young reader will marvel while turning pumpkin filled pages showing the variety, size, and color of pumpkins that are part of this squash family contingent.
Did you know that they can be green, red, tan, yellow, white, and even blue? Though the ubiquitous orange pumpkin is probably known best by kids, they all are photographed in profusion in Jill Esbaum’s colorful read.
Found in varied sizes, my favorite pumpkin picture in her book are three men, each in a ginormous hollowed out pumpkin, paddling along in the water in their pumpkin boats.
She points out that that, though hollow inside, and full of stringy goo, the seeds of next year’s crop can be found inside.
Our family has a tradition when we carve our jack o’ lanterns, that each and every member put their hand inside the carved pumpkins and haul out a handful of the goop for luck. We’ve even mailed a small handful to members that couldn’t be there in person. We’re traditionalists; what more need be said?
And for the purists, and do it “from scratch,” souls, there are the suggestions and pictures of the pies, breads, desserts and soups thatmay emanate from the venerable pumpkin.
Pictures of jolly jack o’ lanterns, with toothy grins, are in evidence, as well as the important note that unused pumpkins may be used to feed animals on a farm, or left in the field to nourish the soil. Many an unwanted pumpkin has nourished our fields. Sniff Sniff.
Provide your young reader with a window into the cycle of the pumpkin and how, if we are careful, nothing is wasted. Instead, this past season’s pumpkins feed the growth cycle next spring as “Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie” gives a simple and salient homage to the “pumpkin moonshine” in your child’s future.
Turning the pages before or after your trek to the pumpkin field, is well worth a look at this pumpkin info book.
Happy pumpkin hunting!
By: JOANNA MARPLE,
on 9/26/2014
Blog:
Miss Marple's Musings
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Title: I am Cow, hear me MOO! Written by: Jill Esbaum Illustrated by: Gus Gordon Published by: Dial Books for Young Readers, May 2014 Ages: 3 -5 Themes: cows, self-esteem, adventure, fear Opening Lines: Nadine was a truly remarkable cow. … Continue reading →
Creativity is tough to define and tougher still to write about. I’m no expert, but I know what works for me, and likely, you know what works for you. So I thought it might be fun to see what a few famous creative people had to say about the subject. I hope one of these nuggets inspires you. I’m putting a few up on my own bulletin board pronto. :)
(Note: I apologize for the wonky spacing you'll see below. It looks perfect on the "compose" page.)
To cultivate creativity:
1. Don’t overthink.
“It’s impossible to explain creativity. It’s like asking a bird, ‘How do you fly?’ You just do.”
–Eric Jerome Dickey
“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.”
–Ray Bradbury
“The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.”
–Pablo Picasso
“Rational thoughts never drive people’s creativity the way emotions do.”
–Neil deGrasse Tyson
2. Stop worrying that everything you write has to be perfect.
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
–Scott Adams
“An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.”
–Edwin Land
“There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.”
–Brene Brown
3. Just do it.
“Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is the result of good work habits.”
–Twyla Tharp
“Creativity is putting your imagination to work, and it’s produced the
most extraordinary results in human culture.”
–Ken Robinson
“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
–Sylvia Plath
4. Believe in your own unique and beautiful mind.
“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look
at things in a different way.”
–Edward de Bono
“Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous.”
–Bill Moyers
“Rule of art: Can’t kills creativity!”
–Camille Paglia
5. Trust your instincts…
“A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.”
–Frank Capra
…and let yourself go.
“Creativity makes a leap, then looks to see where it is.”
–Mason Cooley
More excellent posts about creativity:
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/08/25/the-psychology-of-writing-daily-routine/http://writerunboxed.com/2014/09/12/the-surprising-importance-of-doing-nothing/This is my last post for TeachingAuthors. I’ll miss my friends here, as well as you readers who comment to let us know you're reading (that’s always appreciated!). But I’m not disappearing entirely. I’ll be blogging at a new blog called Picture Book Builders, along with seven other published picture book authors and illustrators. Every Tuesday and Friday we'll explore one of the many, many elements that go into the making of great picture books. Hope to see you there! Check us out at
www.picturebookbuilders.com
This is a time of transitions here on the TeachingAuthors blog. Laura announced on Friday that she is leaving our team. Even though she'd signed on as a temporary sub, I'd hoped we'd be able to convince her to continue as a regular. Unfortunately, other pressing demands are tugging at her. But I do hope she'll keep us in mind if circumstances change. J
Meanwhile, we wish her the best. At least we'll all be able to keep tabs on Laura over at her own blog.
In two weeks, we'll also be saying farewell to long-time
TeachingAuthor, Jill Esbaum. I'm VERY sad to see Jill go,
L but she's leaving for a new, exciting adventure. I hope she'll share a little about it in her final post here. Of course, we wish her all the best, too. We're SO going to miss you, Jill!
 |
| We're going to really miss the wise and wonderful, Jill Esbaum! |
But the news isn't all doom and gloom! I'm happy to announce that
Mary Ann Rodman will be returning to the team! Hurrah! You can watch for her posts here every third Monday.
 |
| Mary Ann's BACK! YIPPEE! |
Finally, I'm excited to report that a new
TeachingAuthor will be joining the team in October. But I'm going to keep you in suspense about the new TA's identity a little while longer.
JI WILL tell you though, that we'll be sponsoring another great book giveaway this month! Be sure to see April's post this Friday for details.
Happy writing, all.
Carmela
Well, I had this post almost ready to go and was congratulating myself for being Ms. Prepared when – BAM! – I perused the brilliance that was April’s Friday post. I mean, poems and EVERYTHING. Color me deflated. Who wants to follow that? But here I am, up to bat. So….
Do I scrawl sentence fragments on a legal pad? Yes. Or more often on a napkin, grocery list, or the palm of my hand.
Back of a recent grocery list. Hey, at least I can read this one!Sometimes, if I’m driving, I’ll dictate a sudden insight into my iphone. And, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, sticky notes litter my desk like pastel snowdrifts more often than not.
But write an entire story in longhand? Nope. Not me. Oh, I’ve imagined it: I’m sitting straight-backed in a wicker chair, dressed like Emily Dickinson, pouring my musings into a lovely cloth-bound notebook. Everything I write is profound and poetic. A soulful sigh escapes me every now and then as I squint at the ceiling, gathering my thoughts…
I do occasionally give it a shot (minus the all-white clothes). But, like
Laura, my hand can’t keep up with my brain. The quality of my handwriting steadily declines until even I can’t decipher it. Plus I’m always, ALWAYS revising as I’m storybuilding, and seeing a page of crossed-out words/lines/paragraphs makes the smarmy internal editor (S.I.E.) sitting on my shoulder shake her head and tsk at my ineptitude.
It’s impresses me greatly to read about authors who write their stories longhand, then transfer them to their computers. That’s something I cannot even imagine. Give me a computer any day, as S.I.E. and I are happiest with greased-lightning keys and a handy-dandy Delete button.
Happy writing!
Jill Esbaum
A writer puts her/his heart and soul into crafting a picture book story. Over a period of weeks or months, she sweats and strains to get every little element exactly right. Finally, it's ready. The main character is enormously appealing. The language sings. The storyline crackles. Not one word is unnecessary or out of place.
She sends it off, and ... an editor agrees. Woo-hoo! Break out the bubbly!
A fabulous illustrator brings the story to exquisite life. The writer can't believe her luck. Flash forward two or three (or five) years, and she's holding her story – this perfect story – in her hands, a picture book at last.
Then ... more good news. Glowing reviews. STARS. Additional printings. Big sales. Her book soon grows more popular than she dared to dream it could, and then ...
Her editor asks for a sequel. I imagine this request elicits astonishment and elation (and perhaps the eensiest shiver of terror).
I can only imagine, since it hasn't happened to me yet. But I have been asked (not contracted) to write a picture book sequel. For me, the toughest part was beginning. How much should I refer back to the first book? SHOULD I refer back to the first book at all? Well, I figured it out. But it made me wonder what other authors consider the toughest thing about writing a sequel.
To find out, I asked three of them I admire. Here's what they had to say.
Jennifer Berne, on writing Calvin, Look Out! (illustrated by Keith Bendis, coming Aug. 5th, 2014 – eek, that's tomorrow!), sequel to Calvin Can't Fly (Sterling Publishing, 2010):
"I think my biggest challenge in writing the Calvin sequel was making it as good, as interesting, as compelling and entertaining as the first Calvin book. Of course, isn't that the same challenge in writing any book following a previous book, sequel or not?
"Writing the sequel was easier because I had come to know Calvin, his way of thinking, his way of talking, his passions and frailties. But the sequel was harder because I didn't want it to be too imitative of the original, yet it did need to feel connected and like a natural next adventure.
"I hope I succeed in meeting all my goals for
Calvin, Look Out! Only time and my wonderful young readers will tell."
Bonny Becker, on writing
A Birthday for Bear (illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton) and other sequels to
A Visitor for Bear (Candlewick Press, 2008):
"The biggest challenge without question is the problem of keeping the stories fresh. It's easy to think of situations that will frustrate Bear, but I don't want the escalation of the problem or the resolution to be too predictable. And I've tried to subtly move Bear's story along. His friendship with Mouse deepens and he's slowly coming out of his shell--in a way. At least, in the latest book, A LIBRARY BOOK FOR BEAR, Bear finally gets out of his house and there are actually other creatures in his world that he interacts with.
"Each sequel is easier in some ways and harder in others. I know these characters and their world better with each story, but, as mentioned, coming up with fresh situations and reactions doesn't get easier! It's also tempting to get lazy about it all--not work as hard for fresh language and gestures and such. So I work hard to reference back to earlier books--for example, Bear uses the skates he got in A BIRTHDAY FOR BEAR to get to the library and the humor works better if you know that Bear always ends up shouting--but I also want each book to be strong on its own.”
Pat Zietlow Miller, on writing
Sophie's Seeds (currently in the pipeline), sequel to
Sophie's Squash (Schwartz & Wade, 2013):
"My biggest challenge was that I had never imagined Sophie having a sequel. So I really had to start from scratch and ponder what she might do next.
"Plus, Sophie's Squash had been so well received that I felt a certain amount of pressure to do an equally good job. I hadn't ever felt that pressure before because I'd always written without anyone expecting it and waiting to see what I'd done.
"So writing Sophie's Seeds took longer and was a bit more painful, but I'm very happy with where we ended up and that Sophie got to have another adventure."
---------------
Count me among the biggest fans of Calvin, Bear & Mouse, and Sophie. Here's to their continuing stories. *clink*
Jill Esbaum
P.S. You can now find me on Twitter @JEsbaum
Each summer I order 15-20 new picture books to share at the Whispering Woods Picture Book Workshop hosted by my friend Linda Skeers and me. When a shipment arrives, I carry them in a big stack to my sofa, then sit down with them on my lap. I open the top cover of the top book, inhale that new-book smell, then slowly and blissfully read my way through the stack.
Well, sometimes it's blissful. Other times I find myself checking the publisher and wondering: What did XXX see in this story that I'm missing? I hate it when that happens. (And then I hope really, really hard that nobody is disappointed in MY books like that. But I also know you can't please everybody. *sigh* If only.)
The flip side is when I'm making my way (aloud) through a book – la, la, la – and a passage makes me STOP and catch my breath. In a good way. And I have to back up a page or two and come into it again. You know, to see if it was really that good, if it will make me stop and smile again. If it does, the next thing I have to know is "How'd she DO that?"
, by Kelly DiPucchio (illus by Christian Robinson) is the book that grabbed me this year. The whole story is adorable, but it's one little page that had me whispering a reverent, "Oh, man. Oh, man. Oh, man." And I didn't have to turn many pages to find it. Here's how the book begins:
"Mrs. Poodle admired her new puppies.
"Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Ooh-La-La, and Gaston."
Now, first of all, how fun is it to read those names aloud? Real.
So anyway, pictured are four white puppies. The reader is supposed to notice that one (Gaston) looks different from his litter mates. The reader MUST, in fact, notice that difference, because the entire story hangs on it. But like I said, the puppies are all white, and they're all about the same size. So here's where I was blown away. When you turn the page, you get this. The text reads:
"Would you like to see them again?
"Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Ooh-La-La, and Gaston.
"Perfectly precious, aren't they?"
Oh, man. See what she did there? See how the text comes across feeling light and off-hand? She never says: "Be sure to notice, kids, that one puppy is different." No. She finds a way to make sure kids see that difference WITHOUT telling them to, then blithely moves the story along with that slightly-flippant last line: "Perfectly precious, aren't they?"
THAT, ladies and gentlemen, takes a confident writer, one who knows her craft – and how to make a point without hitting us on the head with it. The next thing I have to wonder is if this passage was in the book from the beginning, or was it added late in the process?
I'll probably never know. But I love it when I come away from a book inspired to write better. And I loved being reminded, again, that it only takes a handful of words for masterful writers to make magic.
Jill Esbaum
WOO-HOO!!!
Can you believe it?
In spite of the fact that Perfect Picture Books goes on vacation every summer, we are now celebrating the 100th week of Perfect Picture Book Fridays! (Just in time to go on summer vacation again :))
100 weeks of fabulous picture books with resources of all kinds to make them easy for parents and teachers to use at home and in the classroom!
100 weeks of highly recommended books listed alphabetically and by theme to make it easy for gift-givers to find the perfect picture book for that special little someone!
100 weeks of perfect examples that we, as writers, can study and learn from!
To date, we have picture books listed in 226 themes/categories.
And we have - get this! - 2055 Perfect Picture Books on our list!!!
(Or, we would if I ever got caught up updating! Which is on my to-do list for this summer along with about a million other things :))
For those of you who haven't noticed yet (because I haven't announced it because I'm not finished with it :)), Perfect Picture Books is now on Pinterest. I'm hoping it will make it easier to search. But it's a work in progress and far from complete! If you want to check it out, here's the link: http://www.pinterest.com/susannaleonard/
So really, after all the hard work you guys have put in, all the wonderful picture books and resources that are now available to teachers, parents, writers, and gift-givers everywhere, I think we should celebrate!!!
First, we need cake (obviously!) :)
Next, we need streamers. . .
. . . confetti. . .
. . . and balloons!
And last but not least, we need prizes for all the amazing bloggers who have contributed so devotedly week after week to this effort! So let's do today's Perfect Picture Book, and hopefully by then I will have thought up a plan. I'll meet you down below after you're done reading about this delightful book!
Title: I Am Cow, Hear Me Moo!
Written By: Jill Esbaum
Illustrated By: Gus Gordon
Dial (Penguin Group), May 2014, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 3-7
Themes/Topics: honesty, courage, animals
Opening: "
Nadine was a truly remarkable cow.There was nothing
she feared - so she claimed, anyhow."Not lightning?" asked Starla. "Loud noises? A rat?""I'm not scared," Nadine boasted, "of any of that.""The woods?" asked Annette. "'Cause that place scares me stiff.""Not me," bragged Nadine with a proud little sniff."As a matter of fact, just to prove it, let's go!"(She was certain her meek-hearted friends would say no.)
Brief Synopsis: Nadine boasts that she isn't afraid of anything! When her friends call her bluff, she learns that sometimes acting brave can make you feel brave... and sometimes it can't! And when she's hailed as a hero for saving her friends, she has the choice to 'fess up and admit she was just as scared as they were or let her friends believe what they want. Which do you think Nadine chooses? :)
Links To Resources: this book will give parents and teachers a great opportunity to have discussions about what courage is, and what makes a person brave. Is it not being afraid? Or is it going forward in spite of your fear? It will also give an opportunity to talk about honesty. Is is okay to lie if it ends up being the truth? Is it okay to let people believe something good about you even if it's not exactly deserved? Talk with kids about things they're afraid of. What do they think could make them feel braver? Ask kids if they've ever lied about something and gotten caught? How did they feel?
Classroom Activities: Honesty,
Classroom Activities: Courage.
Why I Like This Book: Nadine is so full of herself, so spunky and fun, and so believable because haven't we all met kids (or adults :)) who can bluster their way through just about anything?! Kids will relate to this confident bovine who pretends not to be scared of the Deep. Dark. Woods. only to discover that she really isn't afraid... until the sun goes down! Things unravel a bit (I don't want to spoil it :)) but she ends up saving her friends (completely by accident) and is hailed as a brave hero... an illusion she chooses not to discourage :) The art is lively and entertaining, and the story is fun and full of humor!
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit
Perfect Picture Books.
So. About those prizes! Since we're celebrating Perfect Picture Books, I'd like to give away a few :) I wish I could give everyone a prize, but I have yet to become one of those authors who makes millions of dollars :) Instead, I've chosen a few books that have been widely well-received that I hope you guys might want to win:
Journey by Aaron Becker (Candlewick)
Mr. Wuffles by David Weisner (Clarion)
Warning: Do Not Open This Book! by Adam Lehrhaupt, illus. by Matthew Forsythe (Simon & Schuster)
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli (Disney/Hyperion)
On A Beam Of Light: A Story Of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne, illus. by Vladimir Radunsky (Chronicle)
Mitchell Goes Bowling by Hallie Durand, illus. by Tony Fucile (Candlewick)
The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illus. by Jon Klassen (Little, Brown)
This Is The Rope: A Story Of The Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson, illus. by James Ransome (Nancy Paulsen Books)
Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio, illus. by Christian Robinson (Atheneum)
+1 - If you'd like to win one of these fabulous books, please leave a comment below.
+1 - If you follow the Perfect Picture Books Pinterest Board, you'll get an additional chance to win (if you already follow, please remind me, if you don't already follow, there's no time like the present :))
http://www.pinterest.com/susannaleonard/+5 - If you've posted 50 or more Perfect Picture Books on your blog over the course of the past 100 weeks, tell me that and I'll give you 5 additional chances to win! (Scout's Honor - I don't have time to count! - but I think I know who qualifies :))
(And if there's a book your particularly hope to win or one that you already own, feel free to let me know.)
Please leave your comments/follow the Pinterest Board/let me know if you've posted 50 or more PPBs etc. by Sunday June 15 at 5 PM EDT. Names will be entered the appropriate number of times into random.org and 9 winners will be randomly chosen and matched with the books.
My deepest thanks to all the bloggers who have supported this effort so whole-heartedly, and to all the readers who come by to share our love of picture books every week! Perfect Picture Books would not exist without you!
And maybe we'll have another celebration/giveaway in September when we start up again because I'd really like to spread the word about PPBF but now is a dumb time since we're about to go on Summer Vacation! :)
PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you one last time before summer!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone, and I look forward to hearing from you all in the comments!!! :)
While the official start of summer is still two weeks away, writers with kids newly freed from school may already be wondering if they'll ever write again. At least that's how I felt every June about this time. I was fortunate to stay home with our kids, and there were a couple of really frustrating summers early in my writing career (and boy, am I using that term loosely). I drove myself crazy trying to follow the old "write every day" advice. Why wouldn't my kids cooperate?!
But my dad had his own advice: Enjoy your kids. They won't be little forever.
So I gave myself permission to take my own summer breaks. Play with the kids. Enjoy life. Store up memories.
Back then, I was specializing in rejected picture book manuscripts. But I also submitted lots of poetry to kids' magazines, much of which was accepted (Thank you, Carus!). Oddly enough, I wrote MORE poems during those summers than at any other time ... usually after getting the kids to bed. We'd say our nighty-nights, then I'd spend an hour or so deciphering odd snippets of rhyme from the sticky notes I'd been slapping onto my desk throughout the day.
So if you're ankle deep in Legos and Play-Doh and soap bubbles and sidewalk chalk right now, relax and enjoy. But keep your eyes and ears and hearts open. And take notes.
If you're more determined than I was to keep your writing front and center through these summer days, here are tips and advice from others who have found ways to make it work:
In the end, you have to do whatever works for YOU. Good luck!
Jill Esbaum
P.S. Enter our Rafflecopter
giveaway to win a copy of Joan Bransfield Graham's
The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices.
P.P.S. Two books I've written are part of a new series from National Geographic especially for 3-6 year olds. Hitting shelves June 25th are Explore My World: Penguins, and Explore My World: Snow Leopards. Watch for them! :)
Happy Monday! My clippings all have to do with this being the start of Children's Book Week.
It's not too late to make it a big deal for your kids/students. How? Check out these websites:
What is Children's Book Week?
http://www.bookweekonline.comFrom the Pennsylvania School Library Association – Top 10 Ideas for Celebrating Children's Book Week:
http://www.psla.org/assets/Documents/Advocacy/Top-Ten-List/Childrens-Book-Week.pdfFabulous ways to celebrate CBW from Smore.com:
https://www.smore.com/ef611-children-s-book-weekMy favorite from the site above? Take a pic of yourself with your favorite children's book, then share it on Twitter using the hashtags #plaea #cbw14. Fun!
From
Colorado Parent, 5 ways to celebrate CBW:
http://coloradoparent.com/article/5-ways-to-celebrate-childrens-book-week.htmlAnd all the way from Australia, here are easy book-related costumes:
http://www.kidspot.com.au/kids-activities-and-games/book-week+47.htmEnjoy!
Also, if you happen to be in a bookstore this week, my newest picture book debuts Thursday (we'll have a book giveaway sometime this fall). Keep your eyes peeled for
I Am Cow, Hear Me Moo!
Or the Australia/New Zealand edition:
Jill Esbaum
Happy Spring!
Since I didn’t get to post about our 5 year blogiversary, I’ll jumping in here to say a quick THANK YOU to friends who have been with the blog since the beginning or found us somewhere along the way. I love knowing that 5-book bundles are even now winging (wheeling?) their way to 5 of you who entered our contest. Woot!
Another of my National Geographic books was released a couple of weeks ago, so it’s time for a book giveaway. If you have any kiddos in your life who like the Angry Birds or might enjoy a lively book about the Amazon rain forest and its animals, please enter. I’d love to send you a copy of Angry Birds Playground: Rain Forest.
This fourth book in the series (the third written by me) was my favorite to research. I quickly compiled a lonnng list of the amazing creatures that live in the Amazon. Narrowing it down was actually the toughest part of writing this book. Reading about some of them made my jaw drop.
-Like Hoatzin chicks. Those are born with temporary claws on the front edges of their wings. When a hawk or other predatory bird attacks a nest (which are built hanging over the water), the chicks can ploop to the water below, then swim underwater to the bank until the threat is over. Then they use those wee claws to climb back up the tree to their nest. (I couldn’t get photo permission in time for this post, but
check out this quirky, chicken-sized bird!)
-Like the wide-mouthed Amazon Horned Frog. This bugger will attack and try to swallow anything that crosses its path – including human ankles. They're so aggressive that they're often found dead with some poor, too-big-to-swallow beastie halfway in.
Photo by George Grall
-Like the Golden Lion Tamarin,
a photo of which you can see here. This fiery, red-orange (and endangered) species always looks so big in photos. Did you know they’re really only the size of a 5-year-old child’s foot?
Readers will learn about the four layers of the Amazon, the river itself, and the basin in general. Add cool lizards and turtles and insects and snakes, a few animals that consume their own … um, droppings, 5 primate species, and a frightening assortment of animals trying their darnedest to eat each other, and you’ve got one fascinating, four-layered place to discover.
Want to win a copy? Just enter via Rafflecopter below. I’ll send one winner their very own book. Contest runs through May 16th.
Jill Esbaum
Side note #1: Farewell, Poetry Month. But if you're into rhyming picture books, I’m the guest blogger today over at
Angie Karcher’s RhyPiBoMo.
Side note #2: If you’re a picture book writer and are looking for a summer writing workshop, consider joining my author friend Linda Skeers and me at our
Whispering Woods Picture Book Workshop. Follow link for more details.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
We Teaching Authors are celebrating National Poetry Month by posting recordings of us reading some of own favorite poems.
Today is my turn--lucky me! I spent a few days at a writing retreat with Teaching Authors Jill Esbaum and April Halprin Wayland, who generously helped me try something I've wanted to do for a long time: read a poem in rounds.
Here's our recording of Mary Ann Hoberman's "Counting-Out Rhyme" from The Llama Who Had No Pajama.
What fun! Thank you, Jill and April!
If you're reading this post via email, you can
view the video on YouTube.
Don't forget to enter our drawing to win one of five
Teaching Authors Blogiversary Book Bundles!
The details are here.
After you enter, remember to visit me over at
my own blog, where I'm posting more poetry writing tips and assorted poetry treats on Fridays throughout April and giving away copies of
Write a Poem Step by Step. Good luck!
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at
Today's Little Ditty. Enjoy!
JoAnn Early Macken
First of all, I'd like to add my "WELCOME, Laura!" I’m so happy you’re here. Happy, too, about all the poetry you and April and JoAnn have been posting. That has me itching get back to writing more of my own (I was going to say you all were infectious, but that didn’t sound quite right).
Since we’re headed into conference season, I thought I'd post a relevant poem I wrote a few years back. Just before a fall conference, my SCBWI regional advisor called and asked if I’d get up on opening night and give sort of a “what not to do” talk regarding conference etiquette. (We’ve all heard horror stories of writers following visiting editors into bathrooms to talk about their manuscripts, right?) Then she added, “Make it funny. And how about writing it in rhyme?” Ack!
So, using a method very similar to Laura’s when she writes nonfiction poetry, I sat down and jotted a list of do’s and don’ts, then began tweaking and taking everything way over the top. Here’s the final product:
How to Impress an Editor
It’s my first time at a conference.
This? My brand new picture book.
Let me hold your glass of wine so you can take a better look.
See? It’s bound and fully laminated.
Here’s the copyright.
Just look at how the silver glitter sparkles in the light!
My nephew did the illustrations for me.
Aren’t they great?
I’m developing a series. This is number one. Of eight.
Yes, you are a little peaked.
Let’s go over there and sit.
What? You have to do the schmoozy thing and “work the room” a bit?
I’ll come with – and show you photos of Chief Kitchy-coo, my dog.
He’s the hero of my story (written all in dialogue).
See, he flies around Chicago with his mother, solving crimes.
It’s a shoe-in for that Printz Award.
And check this out … it rhymes.
There’s a song at the beginning.
There’s a moral at the end,
and a note reminding children that the story’s just pretend.
I’ve already got endorsements from the ASPCA,
and I’ve sent one to the Oprah show. I wonder … do they pay?
Oh, you have to hit the ladies’ room?
No problem. I’ll come, too.
While you’re taking care of business, I can read aloud to you.
Hon, is everything OK in there?
You need a helping hand?
What? You have a splitting headache?
Sure, of course I understand.
You can take my little story to your room and read it there.
No, it’s quite all right. Yes, I insist. I want you to, I swear.
Let me walk you to your suite.
Oh, it’s no trouble, none at all.
Well, for goodness sake, we lucked out. Look!
My room’s just down the hall!
Here’s an Advil for that headache.
Here’s my card. Know what? Take two.
Now, remind me of your name, hon, and … you edit books for who?
Take a hot bath.
Take it easy.
Don’t you let the bedbugs bite.
Ow, ow, ow! My foot was in there.
We’ll talk soon, then.
Nighty-night!
After I read the poem to the group, one editor took me aside and said that, sadly, the fictional writer of my poem wasn’t far off the mark. Yikes. Jane Yolen, who was one of our speakers, told me to send it to The Writer (which was still in business at the time). I did, and they published it in their April 2008 issue.
If you write rhyming picture books and haven’t yet signed up for Angie Karcher’s brand spankin’ new RhyPiBoMo, head on over and register: http://angiekarcher.wordpress.com
You can sign up until April 16th – and remember to enter the RhyPiBoMo Golden Quill Poetry Contest. Even if you don’t officially join in, you can follow along daily. Angie has lots of rhyming picture book authors lined up to post each day with tidbits of wisdom to help you improve your own rhyming picture books. See all the details on Angie’s site.
Jill Esbaum
P.S. If you haven’t yet entered for a chance to win Laura’s
Water Can Be…, hurry! You only have a little more time!
I’m the second one to post on the topic of writing rituals. Like JoAnn, I really don’t have any. I do have a habit, which is to hit the treadmill first thing every day, then shower and eat breakfast before sitting down to write. But that's only because if I don't exercise first thing in the morning, I probably won't do it at all. The surest way to call up my muse remains putting my buns in the chair and beginning something. Anything.
Calling up the writing muse isn’t my problem. My problem is that I have trouble settling in to actually, you know, WRITE until I deal with all the writing-related stuff that comes with being an author – jotting thank you notes, replying to kids, adding an accounting entry, creating a blog post, responding to author visit requests, taking action on something that came in the mail, sending and answering important e-mails, keeping current on the few blogs I follow, etc. Once the decks are cleared, I tell myself, I’ll be free to create. But as I’ve learned over the years, those other things are never finished. Never. I'm not complaining; I enjoy the business (and busyness) of being an author.
Often, though, I get so caught up in putting out every. little. fire. that, before I realize it's happening, I've allowed them to hijack my entire day!
Confession: I've been struggling with this lately. A lot.
Last weekend, though, I attended the SCBWI Midwinter Conference in New York, and hearing Jack Gantos talk about his strict writing routine gave me a needed jolt of fresh inspiration. (You can read about his talk
here)
So now, taking a cue from my buddy (I wish) Jack, I’ve created a new schedule – and hung it near my computer – that compartmentalizes my day in a way I haven’t tried before. I’ll be putting out fires first thing in the morning and again late in the afternoon. But I have plenty of writing time in between. I need this to work, as I have three book deadlines marching ever nearer.
Discipline – my new middle name.
Wish me luck.
Jill Esbaum
Today's writing workout combines
my Monday post with an exercise from Elaine Marie Alphin's
Creating Characters Kids Will Love. That exercise is:
"Read the community news pages in your newspaper. Find an article about a kid who's done something special. Based on the information in the newspaper, plan how you would interview that particular youngster for an article for kids."
I hope you'll give this one a try. Magazines, especially, welcome articles highlighting kids who are making a positive difference in the world or their small corner of it.
Back in ye olden days (late 90s) when I was a green writer trying to build credits, I read an article in my local paper about a young man from a nearby city who had grown up in a home where the Mississippi River was literally in his backyard. He'd noticed lots of trash left behind by spring flooding, and, upon learning that nobody else was cleaning it up, he'd started spending his summer breaks doing so himself. When I interviewed him at age 23, he's just founded Living Lands & Waters, an organization dedicated to cleaning up not just the 2,300 miles of Mississippi River shoreline (4,600 miles, counting both banks!), but
all American waterways.
I entered the article in a contest and did well, so I sent it on to
Highlights for Children. They accepted the piece, publishing it in 2002. Since then, they've resold it 8 times, and that young man, Chad Pregracke (Google him. He's all over the internet.) has gone on to win dozens of awards, give countless interviews (mine was the first article written for kids), and spoken all over the world urging others to environmental activism. In fact, he has just been named one of the ten finalists for CNN's Heroes 2013 - Everyday People Changing the World award. You can
read about that here (and vote for him!).
Back to writing....You never know when something you spot in your local paper could spark an idea that could pay off for you in ways both large and small (satisfaction and monetary compensation, in that order, ha). So keep your eyes peeled, and in the meantime, practice your interviewing and writing skills with Elaine's exercise.
Success = preparation + perseverance
Jill Esbaum
Since I'm the last of us to blog about bullying, I wanted to end on a positive note. Although bullying is as awful here as anywhere else, something great happened in our school district recently that was like the first star shining in a black night sky. So who's up for a feel-good story?
The high school from which my kids graduated is in a nearby small town. Graduating classes average 200-225 seniors. Homecoming week is special. A student government-led food drive kicks off in a big way. A parade winds through streets lined with red-clad crowds cheering the marching band, floats from every conceivable club, clusters of elementary school walkers, etc. School spirit runs high through many long-held traditions. The entire week has a very Norman Rockwell-ish feel to it.
The selection of Homecoming King and Queen, though, is mostly a popularity contest. No surprise there. This year, though, one of the guys the student body included on the court was a special needs student, Alex (not his real name). Alex is the kind of guy who knows and loves everybody. When he walks the halls, he's constantly shouting greetings, high-riving and flashing his bright smile. A staff member at the high school describes him as "always positive, always happy, always genuine."
Alex's parents nixed his participation in one Homecoming week tradition: The 24 kids on the court spend the evenings leading up to Friday night's game TPing each other's houses. (The police pretty much look the other way, as they have for years and years. I know. Weird.) Since Alex couldn't be included in these hijinks, the other guys on the court arrived at his home on Thursday night and (prearranged with his parents) surprised him with a trip to a bowling alley. While he was gone, the 12 girls on the court (again, with his parents' okay) swooped in to decorate the inside of Alex's home and hang a big CONGRATS poster. Pretty cool.
Then the student body pulled off something that knocked the collective socks off the community. When the candidates lined up on the sideline during halftime of the big game, the king's crown was placed upon the unsuspecting head of . . . Alex.
Talk about classy. I wasn't there, but I'm told the roar that went up from the crowd was enough to give you goosebumps.
With "dark" news bombarding us on a daily basis, I'm so grateful for stories like this one that bring back the light. They remind me that the vast majority of us are still guided by kindness and compassion. Shine on, peeps.
Jill Esbaum
I'm the last one who'll be linking back to a favorite column of Jeanne Marie's as we bid her farewell. I'm choosing her entry from January 30, 2012, Unschooling, in which she talks about the "rules" of writing we're taught – and often need to unlearn.
This is especially true in picture book writing. Authors of published picture books frequently use:
contractions
incomplete sentences
sentences that begin with A
one word sentences
complicated words kids probably won't know
improper grammar
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Some of my former English teachers would definitely not approve.
Wikimedia Commons
Think of picture books as performance art. How a story sounds, how page turns move it forward, are huge factors in its success. A certain elementary school librarian I know is the most masterful picture book reader I've ever heard/seen. She's also an actress in local stage productions, so that may be why timid is not in her vocabulary. She'll use multiple voices and volumes, dialects and intonations. Crazy faces. Dramatic pauses. Body language. She'll sing, crow, growl, or bring props from home, when necessary.
That's the kind of reader I'm writing for. One who brings a story to life for the kids who are hearing it, makes them feel a part of the action and empathize with the characters so deeply that they forget they're hearing a story somebody made up. We can only write stories to the best of our abilities and hope there are adults out there who will throw themselves in to the reading of them half as completely as my librarian friend.
When I was starting out, most of the manuscripts I submitted were "safe," meaning that I was careful not to break any rules. It wasn't until I loosened up that editors began to show interest.
Still, I remember dropping certain submissions into the mailbox and immediately wishing I could pull them out again. I worried that the down-home jargon in
Stink Soup wouldn't be allowed. That I'd be asked to simplify some of the complicated (but era-appropriate) words in
Ste-e-e-e-eamboat A-Comin'! and correct the improper grammar used by the characters in
To the Big Top.
More recently, I wondered if a scene would be cut from
I Hatched (Jan. '14). This book follows a newly-hatched killdeer chick as he delights in discovering his neighborhood and himself. At one point, he is surprised by ... well, the first time he poops. His story would have felt less authentic, to me, if he
didn't poop. Still, I couldn't help wondering if the publisher would put the kibosh on that particular scene.
None of those things happened. Not one. Which freed me to stop worrying about rules and just tell stories the way they
need to be told.
Jeanne Marie's final words regarding unschooling were these:
"While most of us can agree on the general precepts of 'good writing,' the first and best rule is ... there are no rules!
find your voice
find your truth
be true to your voice
always.'"
Amen, sistah.
Jill Esbaum
Happy Friday! As I promised on Wednesday, today I'm bringing you an author who turned a close encounter with nature into a joyful and educational picture book. That author is Lisa Morlock.
Lisa works as a writer and educator in Urbandale, Iowa....She has taught middle school through college language arts classes, worked as a secondary administrator, and written and edited for Perfection Learning Corporation and Meredith Corporation. She has led writing workshops with TAG students and teacher workshops on the nature-literacy connection, as well as guesting for whole-school visit author programs. In addition, Lisa currently serves as the Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI-Iowa.
Lisa's picture book, her first, is
Track that Scat! (Sleeping Bear Press, 2012). From the publisher:
When Finn and her dog Skeeter set out on a hike to cure their restless feet, they literally take a step into nature. A big gooey step...right into scat (also known as poop). And just like the animal it comes from, scat comes in all shapes and sizes. Scat, along with foot or paw tracks, can tell a lot about the creature who produced it.
As Finn's hike takes her further into the woods, she happens along some scat and tracks from a variety of woodland creatures.
Pairing punchy rhyme with science writing, Lisa Morlock has created the perfect nature guide, providing detailed descriptions of the prints, diets, and behaviors of the animals that Finn and Skeeter encounter along their hike. Watch your step!
School Library Journal said about the book: "If the need arises to teach children how to identify wild animal scat, start with this picture book . . . The large spreads are inviting, and the dog, a basset hound, is cute, cute, cute, and the gross factor is likely to draw kids in."
IndieBound.org included the book on their
Spring 2012 Kids' Indie Next List.
Track that Scat! is like two books in one. Younger readers/listeners will giggle through the bouncy rhyming story, and older ones will enjoy the nonfiction info in Lisa's conversational sidebars. A winning combination! Speaking of winning, YOU can win a signed copy of the book! Details at the end of this post.
Lisa was kind enough to answer a few questions for us. (Added bonus: art by the book's illustrator, Carrie Anne Bradshaw)
What made you want to write a nature story, and Track that Scat! in particular?
As a family we spend a lot of time outdoors. Children love exploring and getting dirty and being free – all the things that happen outside.
I wrote Track that Scat! after my son and his friend managed to find a big flock of geese sitting on a pond. Once the geese saw two boys running their way, they took flight. Geese poop up to a third of their body weight per day, so guess what was left behind....
The boys' shoes were covered in green goose scat. That's when I realized it: kids love poop talk and aninals. There's so much to learn from tracks and scat.
Also, more and more research supports a nature-literacy-mental health connection, so I do like to see kids get outdoors.
From the book:
Finn lands upon a hollow log
And yells, "Come on!" to that old dog.
Five-toed tracks, like handprints–see?
A messy pile beneath the tree.
A den! Her hound plays show-and-smell–
dry leaves, fish bones, a walnut shell.
With one tromp-stomp
Finn's foot goes splat.
Oh no!
Right into ...
... raccoon scat!
What made you decide to write the story in rhyme?
I love rhyming stories. And good rhyming stories make great read-alouds! They're fun, kids anticipate words, and the repetition allows for participation.
As a past teacher, I look for stories that combine factual tidbits in a fun, fictional storyline. The characters pull kids in, but there's an added educational benefit that stays with them.
Where there any challenges between acceptance and publication?
After the story was accepted and edited, the publisher wanted to hear it in 3rd person rather than 1st person. At first, I didn't see how it could work, but changing the point of view made it much stronger. I'm so glad for the suggestion.
Another surprise was a character change. My son, Will, and his buddy, Jaden, were muses for the story. When the artwork came back, the main character was a girl. They were nine at the time and quiet disappointed with the pigtails.
What are you working on now?
I am working on another Finn and Skeeter story, a biography, a middle grade novel, and scads of other tales.
--------------------
Something to look forward to! Thanks for the interview, Lisa, and THANKS, too, for donating a signed copy of Track that Scat!
Jill Esbaum
To win
Track that Scat!, enter our contest below through Rafflecopter. If you aren't sure how it works, read
this. And click
here to learn the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. signing in with your e-mail address.
Choose one option for entering, or more (if you want to increase your odds of winning). The giveaway will run through Friday, September 6th. Good luck!
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Today's Wednesday Writing Workout is one adapted (with permission) from a blog post by Pulitzer Prize Finalist author
Lee Martin. Martin writes both fiction and nonfiction and teaches in the MFA program at Ohio State. The following exercise is a simplified version of one he has used with his advanced undergraduate creative nonfiction students. You can find
his version here if you wish.
1. Locate yourself in the natural world.
2. Sketch in the sensory details of the place. Take in your surroundings. What do you see and feel? Now close your eyes. What sounds stand out? Can you distinguish specific scents?
3. Let those details lead you to a statement that expresses a mood. This is simplest if you go ahead and use the word "feel" in your statement.
The way the leaves whisper high above my head makes me feel wistful, wishing to be up there among them, sharing secrets. Or
Far away a dog howls for attention, making me feel lonely.
4. Carry that mood inward. Make statements about what being in that place is like for you. Martin suggests:
Being in this place makes me feel/wonder/think/question. . . .
5. Come back to one of the details of the place, perhaps a detail that you featured in the first step of this activity. This time find something new in that detail. Martin suggests, for instance:
I keep coming back to the sight/sound/smell of. . . . Why does that detail stand out for you?
Putting yourself into the natural world, allowing yourself to see and experience it more deeply, can open you – and your writing - in ways that may surprise you. Or even trigger an idea for a brand new project.
Come back Friday to meet an author who turned a close encounter with nature into a joyful and educational picture book.
Happy writing!
Jill Esbaum
P.S. You can still enter our contest to win a copy of Sonya Sones' new novel in verse,
To Be Perfectly Honest. Click
here!
I'm headed off later this afternoon to one of the highlights of my writing year: the Whispering Woods Picture Book Writing Workshop/Retreat. I'm one of the facilitators, along with my author friend Linda Skeers, so obviously I'm biased, but I urge all of you to someday try an away-from-home writing workshop/retreat. It can be nothing short of life changing. Briefly...
1. You get to focus solely on your passion – writing for kids – in a warm, friendly, no-distractions atmosphere.
2. You make new friends (the importance of friendship and support from other writers is crucial, at least for me).
3. Your work is read and compassionately critiqued by people who understand how tough it is to put yourself out there – they're doing it, too.
My first writing retreat was one sponsored by SCBWI-IL. Technically, it wasn't a workshop, but it was the first time I'd spent an entire weekend focused on my writing, so I'm counting it. I met amazing writers at every turn, people with whom I felt an instant rapport (Esther!). I made a connection with a sweetheart of an editor. But the best, most affecting thing about that weekend? I came away feeling like a writer. For the first time. (People who don't write might not get that, but I know most of you will.) It was almost as though I'd finally been given permission to take my writing seriously. I know, I know. Nobody has to GIVE us permission to follow our dreams, but with a busy husband and three active kiddos, it was way too easy to put my "little hobby" on the back burner. The positive feedback I got on my writing made me realize that a career in children's books wasn't a fantasy.
I've heard great things about on-line workshops. And sometimes those are the best option – maybe the only option – for writers who cannot get away. (I wish the internet had been around when I was starting out!)
I've also heard (or read about online, anyway) writing workshop horror stories about nasty critiquers and jealous/pompous/frustrated instructors, but I believe (hope!) those are rare (or nonexistent) at workshops centered on writing for children.
So if you can swing it someday, go for an in-person workshop. Do your homework first, of course. Look for online reviews of whichever one you're considering. Talk to others who have attended, if possible. Then, when you feel ready, take the plunge.
Truthfully, I get as much as I give at Whispering Woods. Talking about writing all weekend, reading dozens of quality picture books, reading and critiquing the work of others....All that concentrated picture book STUDY improves my own writing as much as I hope attendees are improving theirs.
I love it when everybody wins.
Jill Esbaum
(photos were taken by me on the grounds of the retreat facility here in eastern Iowa where Linda and I hold our workshop)
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Howdy, Campers and Happy Poetry Friday!
I stress when I have a blog post to write on a favorite online writing resource and no time to write it. Can you relate? In that case, it's nice to have a caring blog-buddy name Carmela who has extra resources in her big floppy bag and tosses me one as I frantically run by.
In the spirit of generous blogging, Carmela has handed me
20 Inspirational Apps and Online Resources for Writers. How cool is that for a hot summer writing resource?
Yep, there are lots of great resources on that link. However, may I express a nagging uneasiness about certain apps? Based on several friends' recommendations, I downloaded
Evernote, which is included in this list. I was looking for a useful To Do List app and this apparently fits the bill.
What creeps me out was that in order to access this marvelous and free app, you have to allow it to access all of your contacts.
ALL OF MY CONTACTS? Evernote wants the phone number of my vet? Of my dead podiatrist who I loved so much I cannot bring myself to delete from my phone? Of Uncle Davie?
Uncle Davie and Eli.
Evernote wants/GETS all these precious people?
I couldn't do it. I couldn't surrender my peeps for a free app.
PRIVATE
by April Halprin Wayland
I'm not openin'
my phone book
to apps.
And I'm hopin'
your phone book
is snapped.
poem © 2013 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved
Now I'm off to my critique group. Wish me luck! And if you find that one of these resources is particularly wonderful, please let us know...
and remember to enter our contest to win a copy of our very own
Jill Esbaum's newest book! Click for all the dino details:
Angry Birds Playground: Dinosaurs. You still have time--the contest ends June 18th!
Dive into your summer writing!
drawing © 2013 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved
April Halprin Wayland
When my kids were young, they'd often find nests on the ground after violent spring storms. Sadly, doomed baby birds were sometimes lying in the grass nearby . . . vulnerable to hungry barn cats.
Once, we tried to save a little robin that was hopping around, only a week or so from being ready to fly. I put a ladder against the tree and climbed up, holding the little guy gingerly in one hand, and returned it to its (too low) nest. Trouble was, he jumped right out again. One of the kids ran inside for an Easter basket. We tossed in a few handfuls of grass, tied the handle to the branch near the nest, and, once again, I took the little bird up and placed him inside. Ploop! He was back on the ground before I was.
Photo by Sande LaFaut (used with permission)
Four or five cats were closing in fast, and one snatched the little guy before we could retrieve him, then streaked away. Nature can be cruel, or at least it would seem so to us humans.
But it always bugged me that that little bird, so close to independence, met such a tragic end. Which is why I wrote
Tom's Tweet, a story in which a curmudgeonly cat's impulsive good deed goes wildly haywire when he ends up having to babysit a demanding little nestling all day. This time, I made sure the story had a happy ending, the one I
wished had happened in real life: the two become friends.
So for today's writing workout:
Think back to a real-life situation, one in which you made the wrong decision or that you simply wish had ended differently, then create a story around the incident – not the way it really happened, but with a happier or more satisfying ending.
Meanwhile, remember to enter our contest to win a copy of
Angry Birds Playground: Dinosaurs. Contest ends June 18th.
Jill Esbaum
...would've fit on the head of a pin. Or maybe a thumbtack. One of my sons was dino-crazed, back in the day, and I stepped on my share of spiny plastic stegosaurs. But it's been awhile.
So when my National Geographic Kids editor asked me to author Angry Birds Playground: Dinosaurs, I hesitated for a second before jumping in. But only a second.
(Re)learning all things dinosaur was a blast. New species are being discovered all the time, often by everyday folks. I had no idea how far we'd come in our dino knowledge. A tiny sampling:
-Scientists know what certain dinos ate because they sometimes find bones from smaller animals lying in the stomach area of a dino skeleton.
-Slower-moving dinos often had deadly, whip-like tails to fight off predators.
-Dino bones have been discovered on every continent – including Antarctica.
-Scientists used to believe a Stegosaurus could flap the plates on its back to keep itself cool.
So where do the Angry Birds come in? Here's the copy from the back cover:
"It's an extraordinary day on Piggy Island because the Angry Birds haven't lost their eggs, they've FOUND something amazing: a bone! Not a plain old bone – a HUGE and very old bone. What kind of giant creature could this bone have come from? That's a question for Mighty Eagle – the wisest bird they know. Join the Angry Birds on their imaginary trip through time to discover the most awesome animals ever to roam this planet: the dinosaurs!"
As Mighty Eagle helps the Birds imagine prehistoric times, they all wear tiny animals skins and bones in their head feathers, ala Bamm-Bamm Rubble. Very cute.
The book also answers these questions . . .
-What was Earth like in the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous time periods?
-How are fossils created?
-How do scientists determine a fossil's age?
-How are dinosaurs related to modern birds?
-How are all those dino names pronounced?
Throughout the book,
Franco Tempesta's spectacular paintings give kids an idea of how dinosaurs might have looked (click on his name to see for yourself!). His colorful and realistic dinos (48 of them!) all but leap off the pages.
Back matter includes a world map showing where various dinosaur bones have been found, a fun-filled quiz, a glossary, and dino-related activities for kids.
If you know a dinosaur-loving kid, or one who is nuts about the Angry Birds, enter below to win a copy of Angry Birds Playground: Dinosaurs (National Geographic). In your comment, please let us know who you'd be sharing the book with.
Entry deadline: June 19th
Jill Esbaum
If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, you may want to first read their info on
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Like Mary Anne, I learned the hard way not to lend my books. I was 12 when my favorite disappeared.
Yes, it was "just" a compilation of
Peanuts cartoons. But it meant the world to me, once upon a time. First of all, it was a Christmas gift from my parents, and my mom had written a sweet message inside, along with the date. Secondly, I fancied myself a budding artist/illustrator back then, long before writing was on my radar.
I'd flop onto the floor and, for hours, painstakingly copy cartoons, frame by frame, from the
Peanuts Treasury onto gigantic sheets of slick paper my mom found for me. I practiced until I could draw Charlie Brown in my sleep. Snoopy was a little tougher. But he was my favorite character, so I kept trying to capture every emotional nuance his body language conveyed: a lifted ear here, a tilt of the head there. . . .
That next spring, a friend asked to borrow the book, and I happily handed it over. Unfortunately, we grew apart over the summer as 12-year-old girls tend to do. When school started again, I asked her about my book and got a, "Me? What book? I don't have any of your books."
She smirked and walked away while I tried not to cry (and fantasized about taking her down). My mom called her mom. Her mom searched her room and said it wasn't there. And then . . . well, what could I do? Life goes on. What really irked me about the whole episode was that my mom had written that message inside the front cover; clearly, whoever had it knew it was mine, knew it was a Christmas gift. Ugh.
For weeks I plotted elaborate scenarios in which I befriended her again so she'd invite me to her house. We'd be in her room, and I'd ask for a glass of water, and when she left to get it, I'd search her room myself, and – aHA! – find my book between her mattress and box springs.
Didn't happen. And I stopped drawing.
Over the years, anytime I was at a garage sale or a used bookstore or even antique shops, The Book was in the back of my mind. I mean, there
had to be other copies floating around out there, right? Never found one, though.
So you can imagine how my heart leapt when I checked online a few years ago and found this reprint of my own personal Rosebud:
The cover wasn't the same, but I knew it was the right book. I ordered it and happy danced when it arrived – then promptly hauled it to my mom's and had her reproduce her inscription of 40 years ago.
I'm a writer today partly due to the frame-by-frame storytelling I learned from Charles M. Schulz. I'm living proof that when a kid connects with a book, whether a heralded work of great literature or a collection of cartoons, it helps shape who they become. That's why I never cared what my kids were reading, only that – thank you, Lord! – they were reading.
Jill Esbaum
P.S. Enter our giveaway and win a copy of Nancy Cavanaugh's
This Journal Belongs to Ratchet (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky). Details
here.
My ideal independent bookstore carries only children's books. A bell above the door tinkles musically each time a customer enters. Strategically placed twinkle lights lend a dreamy, wonderland quality to the bright, colorful interior. The staff is warm and welcoming and brilliant at pairing you with exactly the book you need. Cubby bookcases line the walls. Inside, new releases mingle with classics, and all are placed face out, of course. Displays throughout the store are artistic and irresistible. I can picture it so clearly . . . because it's The Shop Around the Corner from the movie, You've Got Mail.
If that store existed nearby, I'd work there for free. Oh, I'd earn a paycheck; the money just wouldn't make it home.
I don't have an indie in my hometown, but I wish I had one like Des Moines' Beaverdale Books. My DM author friends hold their book launches there, and owner Alice is a gem who's pretty much game for anything. I was able to attend Sharelle Byars Moranville's launch for The Hop last spring. Sharelle's friends brought in cheese and crackers, grapes, chocolates, a sweets tray, wine for the adults and, for the kids in attendance (since The Hop has gardening/environmental elements), cups of gummy worms in Oreo "dirt." Dozens of people showed up to share Sharelle's moment and hear her read from her adorable book. The joint was jumping!
My town has a Barnes & Noble and a (new) Books a Million. Luckily for area authors, those stores have friendly staffs, especially Barnes & Noble, where Asst. Mgr. Paul Ziebarth makes this B&N feel more like an indie than a big box store. Paul bends over backwards to make book signings successful. He knocks himself out for our SCBWI-Iowa conference booksales, too, always with a smile and cheerful attitude that makes us feel like there's nowhere he'd rather be. Thanks, Paul, for making authors feel wanted and welcome! I know it isn't that way everywhere.
There's still time to enter our blogiversary contest to win one of four gift certificates to Anderson's Bookstore!
Happy Mother's Day!
Jill Esbaum
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Jill, thanks for this great WWW, and for sharing your magazine success story (and for telling us about Chad!). I often recommend to my students that they submit to magazines. The ones who take my advice often reap the very rewards you mention. :-)
You're very welcome, Marti. :) I think lots of us start out with magazines. It's a great training ground.