new posts in all blogs
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: About the authors, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 18 of 18
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: About the authors in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
Penelope Anne Cole has taught at every grade level. She enjoys writing children’s stories to be read aloud. “Reading to children is the best way to help them love literature.” When not writing or reviewing children’s books, Ms. Cole enjoys dog walking, reading, church, and choir activities. Ms. Cole is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and is a Reading Therapist with Read America. Ms. Cole reviews books at
http://pennyreviews-chat.blogspot.com/
See reviews of Ms. Cole’s books at
http://reviewsforpenny.blogspot.com/
Her website is www.penelopeannecole.com
The post Penelope Anne Cole appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.
D. A. Squires began writing The Time Seekers story many years ago. The early chapters were set aside as she raised her two children and worked in various corporate jobs. However, the inspiration for this story was never forgotten . . . a blue and gold macaw parrot named Taco who steadfastly watched over her daughter’s crib (sadly, a silent sentinel).
Fifteen years later she was astonished when, one summer day, a blue and gold macaw named Taco and a common raven named Noir landed on her shoulders and insisted their story be written. So she wrote.
A graduate of the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts in English, magna cum laude, and elected to Phi Beta Kappa, Ms. Squires grew up in Connecticut and now lives in Florida with her husband, two cats (one named Samuel Adams), a dapple dachshund named Mr. Chips, and a slightly faded blue and gold macaw parrot who remains ever vigilant.
Meet the Authors of a Caterpillar, a Bee, and a VERY Big Tree
Dicksy Wilson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and grew up in the 70’s and 80’s with some really great parents and a pretty cool little brother. She always enjoyed writing as a child and would sometimes write puppet skits for her and her brother to perform for their parents. After she had children of her own, she thought it would be fun to write a children’s book. One day while she and her brother were watching the kids swim, she came up with the line, “In a quiet backyard quite a bit like your own… a little green caterpillar crawled all alone.” This line later became the opening line of their book, A Caterpillar, A Bee and a VERY Big Tree. Soon after, she and her brother began collaborating on their book, which would take several years to complete. Dicksy lives in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, with her daughter Hannah, who is a senior in high school, her husband Scott, and her dog, Nash. Her son, Hayden, is grown and married, and has a child of his own.
Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 70s and 80s, D.B. Sanders had an early interest in art. Beginning with a love of cartoons, he started designing his own comic book characters at the age of 10. By his early teens, he became increasingly aware of his ability to draw in his own unique style. After obtaining his degree in art, he has utilized his passion for multiple artistic endeavors. This is his first children’s book to co-author and illustrate. Sanders lives in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma with his wife, Ashley and their children: Zach, Zoe and Leaf. More art can be found on Facebook at “The Art of D Sanders”.
Melissa Abramovitz has been a freelance writer for nearly 30 years and specializes in writing nonfiction magazine articles and books for all age groups. She is the author of hundreds of magazine articles, more than 40 educational books for children and teenagers, numerous poems and short stories, several children’s picture books, and a book for writers titled, A Treasure Trove of Opportunity: How to Write and Sell Articles for Children’s Magazines.
Melissa also does freelance manuscript editing. She is a graduate of the University of California San Diego and the Institute of Children’s Literature and is a member of SCBWI, Children’s Book Insider, and The Working Writer’s Club.
Visit her website at www.melissaabramovitz.com
Suzanne Lieurance is an author, freelance writer, writing coach, speaker and workshop presenter. She is a former classroom teacher and was an instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature for over 8 years.
Lieurance has written over two dozen published books and her articles and stories have appeared in various magazines, newsletters, and newspapers, such as Family Fun, Instructor, New Moon for Girls, KC Weddings, The Journal of Reading, and Children’s Writer to name a few. She offers a variety of coaching programs via private phone calls, teleclasses, listserv, and private email for writers who want to turn their love of writing (for children and/or adults) into a part-time or full-time career.
Jacqueline Woodson (born February 12, 1963) is an American writer of books for children and adolescents. She is best known for Miracle’s Boys, which won the Coretta Scott King Award in 2001 and her Newbery Honor-winning titles Brown Girl Dreaming, After Tupac & D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way. Her work is filled with strong African-American themes, generally aimed at a young adult audience.
For her lifetime contribution as a children’s writer, Woodson won the Margaret Edwards Award in 2005[1] and she was the U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2014. IBBY named her one of six Andersen Award finalists on March 17, 2014. She won the National Book Award in 2014 in the category of “Young People’s Literature” for her work Brown Girl Dreaming.
John Green is a New York Times bestselling author who has received numerous awards, including both the Printz Medal and a Printz Honor. John is also the cocreator (with his brother, Hank) of the popular video blog Brotherhood 2.0, which has been watched more than 30 million times by Nerdfighter fans all over the globe. John Green lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. She is known mainly for human rights advocacy for education and for women in her native Swat Valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of northwest Pakistan, where the local Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school. Yousafzai’s advocacy has since grown into an international movement.
Her family runs a chain of schools in the region. In early 2009, when she was 11–12, Yousafzai wrote a pseudonymous blog for the BBC detailing her life under Taliban occupation, their attempts to take control of the valley, and her views on promoting education for girls in the Swat Valley. The following summer, journalist Adam B. Ellick made a New York Times documentary about her life as the Pakistani military intervened in the region. Yousafzai rose in prominence, giving interviews in print and on television, and she was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize by South African activist Desmond Tutu.
On the afternoon of 9 October 2012, Yousafzai boarded her school bus in the northwest Pakistani district of Swat. A gunman asked for her by name, then pointed a pistol at her and fired three shots. One bullet hit the left side of Yousafzai’s forehead, travelled under her skin through the length of her face, and then went into her shoulder. In the days immediately following the attack, she remained unconscious and in critical condition, but later her condition improved enough for her to be sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, for intensive rehabilitation. On 12 October, a group of 50 Islamic clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwa against those who tried to kill her, but the Taliban reiterated their intent to kill Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai.
B.J. Novak graduated from Harvard University in 2001. Afterward he moved to Los Angeles, California and began working in clubs as a comedian. His first live stand-up performance took place at the Hollywood Youth Hostel on October 10, 2001. He was named one of Variety’s “Ten Comedians To Watch” in 2003.
Novak was a writer for the short-lived WB sitcom Raising Dad. He performed on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
Novak’s television acting career began on MTV’s Punk’d. He was the lead accomplice to Ashton Kutcher on the show’s second season in 2003, playing pranks on Hilary Duff, Rachael Leigh Cook, Usher, and Mýa.
After hearing Novak’s opening joke at a comedy club, executive producer Greg Daniels decided he “wanted to do something with him.” Novak was subsequently cast as Ryan Howard in the TV show The Office.
In addition to his television credits, Novak has appeared in the films Unaccompanied Minors, Reign Over Me, The Internship, Knocked Up and Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. He played composer Robert B. Sherman in Saving Mr. Banks (2013), and Alistair Smythe in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
On April 11, 2013, Knopf announced it had signed a seven-figure, two-book deal with Novak, with the first book slated to be a fictional collection of “Woody Allen”-like stories.
On February 4, 2014 a book of 22 stories, One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories, was published and spent 6 weeks on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers List. Novak also signed a deal with Penguin’s children’s books label and wrote the title The Book With No Pictures, which was released in September 2014.
Author
Jeffrey Patrick “Jeff” Kinney (born February 19, 1971) is an American game designer, cartoonist, producer, actor and author of children’s books including the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. He is attributed as the creator of the child-oriented website Poptropica. He also appeared in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film. Kinney was born and grew up in Fort Washington, Maryland, United States. He has an older brother, an older sister and a younger brother. He attended the University of Maryland at College Park in the early 1990s. It was in college that Kinney created a popular comic strip, Igdoof, which ran in the campus newspaper, The Diamondback.
Kinney recalls the growing pains of school life and introduces a new kind of hero who epitomizes the challenges of being a kid. As Greg says in his diary, “Just don’t expect me to be all ‘Dear Diary’ this and ‘Dear Diary’ that.” Luckily for us, what Greg Heffley says he won’t do and what he actually does are two very different things.
Joe Scott is a major developer and contractor in the Merrimack River Valley, and also an acclaimed author. His first book, The Joe Dial, received glowing reviews for its perceptive take on human interaction, and the role of positive and negative energy in relationships.
His new series, The Friend Ship Friendesha, introduces many of the same lessons to children ages 4-8. With bright, bold illustrations by local artist R. Boone, and delightful characters, the new story is sure to be a hit with young ones and their parents, as the lovable extra-terrestrial race of Friendeshans spread happiness and positive energy around the galaxy.
About Deanna
Deanna K. Klingel resides in the mountains of North Carolina with her husband. She writes primarily for middle grade and YA. This is her first picture book, the first of a series of backyard nature. Deanna has seven grown children with whom she shared her love of backyard nature, and now enjoys the company of eleven grandchildren. She enjoys visiting schools and museums to visit with her readers.
Klingel is a member of the Catholic Writers Guild, the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators, the North Carolina Writers’ Network and the American Christian Fiction Writers. Her books “Avery’s Battlefield” and “Avery’s Crossroad” have been awarded bronze medals by Branson Stars and Flags Book Awards. “Just for the Moment” and “Bread Upon the Water” have received the Seal of Approval from the Catholic Writers Guild.
Her books are available on Amazon and on her website, www.booksbydeanna.com (most are available on Kindle). She is also available to speak to youth and school groups about her dog therapy ministry and her writing.
All writers get rejection slips. It’s just part of writing if you submit your work to publishers. But if you’ve been seriously writing fiction for quite a while, yet ALL you’ve received for your work are rejections, then take a closer look at one of your short stories. In fact, do you really have a story – or do you have what editors call “an incident”?
A story has a protagonist who has a big problem to solve. As the plot thickens, this character struggles and struggles to solve the problem. As he does, he encounters obstacles at every turn until, finally, he is able to solve (or at least resolve) the problem. In doing so, this character changes or grows somehow, so he is no longer the same person he was at the start of the story. He may be a little wiser now, or a bit more careful, or maybe he just has a better understanding of what he wanted in the first place.
An incident is simply a series of actions and occurrences in a character’s life. But these things don’t change the character. By the end of the final page, he is exactly the same person he was on page one.
Does your fiction contain all of these story elements? If not, chances are you have written an incident and not a full-fledged story, and that just may be why your work keeps getting rejected.
Give your main character a big problem to solve right at the start. The problem could be something he wants, or somewhere he must go, or someone he must find. As he tries to solve his problem, give him plenty of obstacles to make things get harder and harder for him before he is able to solve the problem.
Finally, before you mail your manuscript off to an editor, ask yourself this question, “How has my main character changed or grown as a result of struggling to solve his problem?” If you can easily answer this question, and your manuscript is well-written, then you probably have a great story. And it should be only a matter of time before you receive your first acceptance letter.
****************************************
Barry Rudner has been a writer and poet of self-esteem books for children for over thirty years. This journey has allowed him to write about universal truths such as reaching for your dreams, being yourself, undying friendships, homelessness, and disability awareness. He is the product of an incredible education that was a gift from his parents; Silent Voice and his previous releases are his gift in return. He firmly believes that we cannot educate children unless they feel good about themselves, and ultimately, when they grow up, they will not feel good about themselves unless they are educated.
Suzanne Lieurance is an author, freelance writer, writing coach, speaker and workshop presenter. She is a former classroom teacher and was an instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature for over 8 years.
Lieurance has written over two dozen published books and her articles and stories have appeared in various magazines, newsletters, and newspapers, such as Family Fun, Instructor, New Moon for Girls, KC Weddings, The Journal of Reading, and Children’s Writer to name a few. She offers a variety of coaching programs via private phone calls, teleclasses, listserv, and private email for writers who want to turn their love of writing (for children and/or adults) into a part-time or full-time career.
Annie Tipton made up her first story at the ripe old age of two when she asked her mom to write it down for her. (Hey, she was just two–she didn’t know how to make letters yet!) Since then she has read and written many words as a student, newspaper reporter, author, and editor. Annie loves snow (which is a good thing because she lives in Ohio), wearing scarves, sushi, Scrabble, and spending time with friends and family.
Dawn Menge has a Bachelors in Human Development, Masters in Special Education and a Clear credential as an Education Specialist. She is currently a doctoral student specializing in Curriculum and Instruction.
She has worked with the Severely handicapped population for the past fourteen years. Her experiences include from teaching the elementary level up to adult education in special needs. She has been nominated for teacher of the year by SBCSS, awarded a Learning Leader by Leapfrog, served as a Lead teacher and has been a BTSA support provider. The disabilities she has experiences with include but are not limited to Autism, Visual Impairments, ADHD, Seizure Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, Intellectual Disabilities, Emotional Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairments, and Down Syndrome.
Dawn Menge has won fifteen national awards as a self-published author of the Queen Vernita’s Educational Series. Queen Vernita’s visitors has won; Reader Views, Readers Favorites, First Place Evvy, Scooter Award and A+ rating from the American Children’s Book Society, and a Purple Dragonfly award. Queen Vernita Visits the Blue Ice Mountains has won Finalist in the Readers Favorite and a Purple Dragonfly award; Queen Vernita Meets Sir HeathyBean the Astronomer has won an Evvy, USA Best Book Award, Readers Views and a Purple Dragonfly award, Queen Vernita Visits the Islands of Enchantment has won a Purple Dragonfly award, Readers Views and a Silver in the Mom’s Choice award.
Dawn Menge is the mother of three and the grandmother of five beautiful grandchildren.
Irene S. Roth is an Author and Editor for Halo Publishing. She has a Masters Degree in Philosophy and Psychology from York University and is currently using her expertise to write for kids about empowerment and self-esteem. She has published articles for kids, tweens and teens in Encounter, and Stories for Children Magazine. Irene Roth also has a children’s book that is about to be released in the late fall of 2012 which will be part of the empowerment series for kids 3 to 8.
.jpg?picon=694)
Writing for educational book publishers and book packagers can be financially lucrative and a great source of ongoing work for freelancers.
These markets are expanding in today’s world of Common Core Standards and the subsequent emphasis on quality supplemental classroom nonfiction materials.
But this type of work is not for everyone, and breaking into educational publishing is somewhat different than publishing trade books.
In this workshop/teleclass, children’s author Melissa Abramovitz presents information on what educational book publishers and book packagers are, how to evaluate whether or not this type of publishing is for you, and what is involved in breaking into/writing for these markets.
In this workshop you will learn and discover:
• What educational publishers and book packagers are and how they differ
• How to evaluate whether or not this type of work is right for you
• Trends in educational publishing, with tips and information from educational book publishers and book packaging company insiders
• How to find educational book publishers and book packagers that work with freelancers
• How to put together a pitch/query/resume to use in seeking this type of book assignments
• What the advantages are of working for educational book publishers and packagers
• Answers to your questions about educational book publishing and book packagers
REGISTER HERE NOW to get immediate and unlimited access to the full audio and handouts for this workshop for only $20.00!
About Melissa Abramovitz
Melissa Abramovitz has published hundreds of nonfiction magazine articles, more than 45 educational series books for children and teens, numerous short stories and poems, two picture books, and a book for writers. Melissa graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in psychology and is also a graduate of The Institute of Children’s Literature. She is a member of SCBWI and The Working Writer’s Club. Her goals in 2016 are to find an agent to represent her in marketing several fiction and nonfiction picture books to publishers and to start writing the YA novel that’s been simmering in her brain for ten years. In her spare time, she buys cute clothes for her grandchildren, volunteers at a local animal shelter, and occasionally sleeps. Visit her website at www.melissaabramovitz.com
The post Learn to Write for Educational Book Publishers and Book Packagers appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.
(written by Sandman, cat and writing buddy of Nancy I. Sanders)
Everyone wants primary sources in their nonfiction and even references for facts in their fiction these days.
What’s a cat gonna do?
I tried hiding in a bag and never dealing with it, but then I got too hungry for tunafish tacos so I had to come out.
So I decided to try a new tactic. I’d hunt those primary sources down and pounce on ‘em! First plan of attack was to sneak around the house, hide behind the couch, and jump out at any unsuspecting spider crawling by.
But that didn’t get me very many primary sources.
What are primary sources anyhow?
I looked up the definition of primary sources in my cat-dictionary and discovered they are:
Autobiographies: Whenever a cool cat writes a book or article about her own life, it counts as a primary source.
Diaries: My cat friend, Pitterpat, keeps a diary and in it she chronicles every detail about Devin and Derby, the two Rat terriers who live next door. Pitterpat knows those little yappers are up to evil designs and she’s determined to prove it! Diaries are a primary source.
More primary sources include
• letters people actually wrote
• artifacts, buildings and landmarks that were actually there during the era
• e-mails, interviews, photographs, official documents
• and speeches people actually spoke
But how do you FIND primary sources? I’ve tried digging in the dirt in every single potted plant in our house, pulling out all the tissues and reaching in the bottom of a tissue box, and shredding every paper that comes out of the printer, but that only got me in trouble!
So then I tried a new tactic. I already had a pile of picture books and books for kittens on my topic. This time, however, I went to my library and borrowed every book on my topic written for mature cats. These books have FOOTNOTES. (I think they should call them pawprints.) And these books list many many primary sources in the back where they cite those pawprints…I mean footnotes.
Plus these books have PHOTOGRAPHS and PAINTINGS from the actual era of my topic. I looked in the back for the places who own those primary sources and made a note to contact them and find out what kind of permissions they give to cats who want to use them. (Like me.) And when I contact them I’ll find out if it’s free to use them or if I have to pay them to use it. Plus they’ll tell me how I can get the right resolution to use on my website or in my article or book.
Then I went online and googled my topic. I didn’t look at Wikipedia like I normally do. (Okay, okay, I know that’s a no-no for research but it’s handy!) Instead, I read articles that looked official on my topic that were posted by museums and universities and national archives. I looked at THEIR footnotes to see where they got their primary sources. Plus, a lot of them have digitized primary sources such as diaries and ancient autobiographies and paintings and images of artifacts. So I checked on each of their pages for “rights and permissions” and details about how I can use the information from their sites. I even e-mailed the contact e-mails and asked people about rights and permissions, just to cover my bases.
So when my writing buddy, Nancy I. Sanders, was writing her book on Frederick Douglass for Kids, I gave her some tips and advice.
For example, I told her she could find this photograph of Frederick Douglass at the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs site.
It says: Rights Advisory: No Known Restrictions on Publication
I assured her she could be pretty safe using that photograph in any way, shape or form as long as she included the credit line with it.
What kind of credit line, she wanted to know. Yikes! Does a cat have to know everything?! I told her to dig around on the Library of Congress site to see what kind of credit line they say to use. I also told her to check in other books by the same publisher that she was writing for (or another current publisher who uses stuff from the Library of Congress) and see how they are citing the Library of Congress.
But then I told her she had to be careful about using this photo of Frederick Douglass from the Library of Congress because it did NOT include that same line about rights advisory. She’d have to try to find out who owned it and ask THEM for permission to use it and details about how that could be done.
Plus I told her to check out museums and historic sites on Frederick Douglass, so she did. She found out that places like the National Park Service would let her use their digital images for free on her website as long as she included the credit line they want. So she did! You can see how she did this and you’ll also see this awesome painting of Douglass that’s on her book’s website by clicking here. Plus, she found out she could use images for a cost in her book. They told her the steps to take and the fees it would involve. So she did!
I guess you could say working with primary sources is like hunting for ants. I can hear them marching behind the baseboard inside the wall, but I gotta figure out how to get them out here in the open where I can eat them. I’ve tried smearing tunafish next to a little nail hole. That worked for a little while. They came out by the hundreds! But then the pest control guy was called out to spray them. So now I gotta think about my next strategy.
The bottom line is that there is no specific strategy for hunting ants except for search and dig around and search and call or e-mail the people you gotta call. It’s the same for working with primary sources. It’s just what a cat’s gotta do.
For more information, tips, and techniques on research, visit the site of Sandman and his writing buddies at https://writingaccordingtohumphrey.wordpress.com/writers-notebook-worksheets/ or get Nancy’s how-to book for children’s writers, Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Children’s Books, Get Them Published, and Build a Successful Writing Career at http://yesyoucanlearn.wordpress.com
Want to learn how to write a children’s nonfiction book in just one month?
Register for this online audio workshop, below.
Find out more at www.writeachildrensnonfictionbook.com.
For more informative and cat-chy articles by Nancy’s cats, please visit their website at:
https://writingaccordingtohumphrey.wordpress.com
The post What are Primary Sources? appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.
Want to help kids make sense of what they hear in the news?
Do you think more should be done to expose them to stories of different religions, customs and cultures?
Then join mom bloggers, authors, educators, librarians and people from all walks of life as they celebrate Multicultural Children’s Book Day and trend on Twitter at #ReadYourWorld this January 27th.
Visit www.multiculturalchildrensbookday.com to learn how you can help put thousands of free diversity books into schools and into the hands of families nationwide.
Plus you can access hundreds of resource lists and topical articles; and to learn how, for just $25, you can give a shout out to two favorite multicultural books and we’ll post your name as a Friend of Multicultural Children’s Book Day.
The post Today is Multicultural Children’s Book Day appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.
In February, what child doesn’t enjoy receiving and sending colorful Valentine’s Day cards?
And whether children make the cards themselves or simply sign their name to a card they buy, the act of sending and receiving Valentine’s Day cards is one that promotes literacy among young children.
Why?
Because it encourages reading, writing, and even talking about the Valentine’s cards with friends and/or family.
Most children love creating a Valentines Mailbox.
They can make a mailbox for school and one for home, too.
In fact, at home encourage everyone in the family to build a mailbox and exchange Valentines and other cards, notes, and letters all month long.
The mail doesn’t need to stop when March rolls around either.
Children will be used to the practice of sending and receiving mail by that time and they probably won’t want to give it up.
In March, encourage them to create cards and notes for St. Patrick’s Day.
Of course, there are all sorts of reasons to send mail every single day.
And by making it fun for kids to send and receive mail, they start to value the written word more and more.
And they are doing so in a way that is “authentic” because they really want to be able to read what that card from their father says, or they want to know how to spell a word correctly in a message they are putting in their sister’s mailbox.
Using Mailboxes in the Classroom
Teachers can also use the mail as a way for children to write about books they read or topics they study in the classroom.
Letters or cards can be sent from one child to another answering specific questions about a specific book.
The teacher might ask the class to writer a letter to a friend in class telling who their favorite character was in the book, what they liked best about the book, what they would do differently if they were the writing a book like this, etc.
When the children finish writing the letters they can put them in the mailboxes.
Later, everyone can read the letters and share them with the class as a class activity.
Write Notes Throughout the Day
As a parent or teacher, jot little notes and put them in your children’s or students’ mailboxes throughout the day.
If you’re a busy teacher, you don’t have to send a note to every child in your class every day. Just one note a day to one student will do.
It’s also fun if kids can create a mailbox that has a flag that can be raised or lowered when someone puts mail in the box.
The raised flag lets the child know “You’ve got mail!”
In the classroom, children can make reading, writing, and distributing the mail a daily practice at a specific time.
That way, kids won’t be running around to all the mailboxes at all times of day.
They’ll really look forward to the “mail call” part of the day!
The post Valentines Mailboxes an Early Literacy Activity appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.
In 2013, he decided to change what he was doing and retired to settle in a small mountain community in Colorado to write fiction.
Reading and writing have interested him throughout his life and he is taking the same approach to writing that he applied to his career as a physicist: always challenging himself by tackling different genres, and by writing from differing perspectives.
His first book was THE BOY WHO RAN, a middle grade novel set in the mid-archaic period in North America, around 4000BC.
The book won the 2014 IPPY gold medal for juvenile fiction.
An audio version of the book is currently under production and is being narrated by Lyssa Browne, of Cedar House Audio.
There are also tentative plans to release an Italian language version of the book.
His latest book, THE BALANCE, will eventually be a 3-part story. THE BALANCE is a futuristic dystopian novel written for a young adult (and older) audience.
Part two, subtitled THE WASTELANDS AND THE WILDERNESS will be targeted at a new adult audience, and is planned for 2018.
A third book, I AM, should be released in late spring 2016. I AM is a science fiction novel written for a new adult audience.
Michael spent three months in Rome researching what will be his fourth book, DISOBEDIENCE, a supernatural thriller, and he plans to travel to Provence, France later this year to research additional chapters.
The post Michel Selden appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.
THE BALANCE
is a Young Adult novel, set in a dystopian future.
It takes place almost 200 years after a global thermonuclear war.
People in the Land survived the destruction of the world war only to have their lives disrupted again by a wayward asteroid.
It broke up and rained down on the planet, just as life had begun to regain a sense of normalcy.
This second tragedy disturbed the power sharing arrangement between the two leading factions that had helped rebuild the Land–the Council, and the Order–under an agreement called “The Balance.”
The Council’s leaders exploited the chaos that followed and drove the Order and its members into exile.
Afterward, the Council banned the use of most modern technology, which their leaders blamed for the war.
Seventeen year old Phoebe was the last product of the Order’s genetic engineering programs, and she lives under the Council’s rule.
Phoebe doesn’t understand why she’s so different from everyone else, and she struggles to survive while hiding her strangeness.
Members of the exiled Order have come to realize her condition and their leader, a Prescient, sees a potential in her that might allow them to regain their place in society, and to re-establish The Balance.
The post The Balance appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.
Michael Selden will be the guest author on Book Bites for Kids later this month to talk about his new book, The Balance.
Until then, you can learn more about Michael and his books at www.michaelselden.com.
The post An Interview with Michael Selden appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.
This week the National Writing for Children Center is sponsoring a 5-day virtual tour for Michael Selden’s new book, The Balance.
Follow along on this tour. Leave a comment and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a free month’s showcase here for your children’s books.
Start Michael’s tour here:
Day 1 Virtual Book Tours
Day 2 The Working Writer’s Coach
Day 3 – Suzanne Lieurance-author.com
Day 4 – The Working Writer’s Club
Day 5 – Book Reviews and More
The post Follow Along on the Virtual Tour for The Balance by Michael Selden appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.
Have you been thinking of creating your own stories for children, but you just don’t know how to get started?
Then here are some tips to help you start your own career as a published children’s author:
1. Join your local chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Authors & Illustrators (SCBWI) and then start attending some of this chapter’s regular events.
Just go online to www.scbwi.org to learn more about this wonderful organization for anyone interested in children’s publishing.
2. Take a field trip to your local book store or library and read all the children’s books you can.
Be sure to read some of the most current books for children on the market.
Children’s publishing has changed over the years and you need to know the types of books for children that are being published today.
There are also different genres of books for children, so be sure to read books in the genre or genres that you wish to write.
For example, if you want to write picture books, read picture books.
If you want to write middle grade novels, read middle grade novels.
If you want to write nonfiction books for children, read a wide variety of nonfiction books from many different children’s educational publishers.
3. Take a writing course that is specifically for children’s writing.
Writing for kids is much different from writing for grown ups, so you need to take a class or workshop that will address all the elements of writing and publishing FOR CHILDREN.
Try to find a class or workshop taught by a published children’s author and/or editor.
4. Join or start a local critique group for children’s writers.
Be sure the group includes at least one or two published children’s authors.
Otherwise, the group will be little more than “the blind leading the blind.”
5. Submit your stories and articles to publishers.
You’ll never get published if you don’t send in your manuscripts.
It can be scary at first.
But you’ll soon realize that rejections are just part of the process.
6. Be persistent.
Don’t give up.
It can take a while to break in with any of the children’s markets.
But keep trying.
If you keep writing, keep learning, and keep submitting, eventually you’ll sell one of your children’s stories or articles.
Now…just get started!
Try it!
The Working Writer’s Coach
www.workingwriterscoach.com
The post Write for Kids – How to Get Started appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.
Penelope Anne Cole has taught at every grade level. She enjoys writing children’s stories to be read aloud. “Reading to children is the best way to help them love literature.” When not writing or reviewing children’s books, Ms. Cole enjoys dog walking, reading, church, and choir activities. Ms. Cole is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and is a Reading Therapist with Read America. Ms. Cole reviews books at
http://pennyreviews-chat.
See reviews of Ms. Cole’s books at
http://reviewsforpenny.
Her website is www.penelopeannecole.com
The post Penelope Anne Cole appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.