Travel Along This Week’s Blog Chain!
February 1, 2010 by Adrian
Filed under Blog, for children's writers
This week we have something fun for everyone. It’s a blog chain, and you’re invited to visit all the links in this chain of fascinating and informative blogs from other children’s writers. Of course, you don’t HAVE to visit every link in the chain, but each link will have something special so you won’t want to miss a thing!
Here are the links in the chain, along with a short description of what you’ll find at each site:
Suzanne Lieurance
Children’s Author, Freelance Writer, the Working Writer’s Coach
http://www.suzannelieurance.com
Find out what children’ author Suzanne Lieurance is up to by visiting her author site. You’ll find information about all her books, upcoming writer’s conferences and other events where you’ll find Suzanne, as well as tips for both aspiring and established children’s book authors. Suzanne hosts Book Bites for Kids, a talk show about children’s books, every weekday afternoon on blogtalkradio. Find out who her guests will be each day by reading her blog. Sign up for her mailing list at the site and receive a FREE ebook.
Grier Cooper
Children’s writer, photographer, Dancer
www.griercooper.com
At griercooper.com, you’ll find reviews, tips, and articles about dance and movement for children.
Terri Forehand
Children’s Writer, Nurse, Freelance Writer
terri-forehand.blogspot.com
Terri is a freelance writer drawing on her experience as a pediatric critical care nurse and former elementary school nurse and high school teacher. She writes health and nursing educational material but her passion is in creating fiction and nonfiction for children. She is currently working on a series of easy readers focusing on teaching first aid to elementary students.
Mayra Calvani
Children’s Author, Reviewer
www.mayrassecretbookcase.blogspot.com
Mayra’s Secret Bookcase features book reviews, author and publishing professional interviews, and articles on writing.
Karen Cioffi
Author, Freelance Writer, Reviewer
karenandrobyn.blogspot.com
Stop by this site where you’ll find frequently updated writing and marketing tips and resources, and reviews. Sign up for the free monthly newsletter and get a FREE ebook.
Nancy I. Sanders
Bestselling and Award-winning children’s author of over 80 books
www.nancyisanders.wordpress.com
Nancy I. Sanders loves to write for children, and she loves to help other children’s writers on their path to success. Much of the material she posts on her blog is based on her ground-breaking book, Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Children’s Books, Get Them Published, and Build a Successful Writing Career, Award-winning Finalist of the National Best Books 2009 Awards. Nancy writes a column for children’s writers for the Writer’s online magazine, the Institute of Children’s Literature e-News, and the Christian Communicator. She is on faculty at the National Writing for Children Center.
Dorit Sasson
Children’s Writer, Educator, Teacher Trainerwww.newteacherresourcecenter.com
This site is jam packed with tips for teachers and other educators. You’ll find a wealth of resources for beginning teachers and teachers with many years of experience.
Kristi Bernard
Book Reviewer and Children’s Writermemelynne.wordpress.com
Kristi Bernard offers helpful tips to parents for getting kids to read. She also has interviews with parents who talk about how their get their kids reading. These parents even suggest their favorite authors and books. This week on Kristi’s blog you can win a free children’s picture book. All you have to do is leave a comment and your name will be entered in a daily drawing.
Kathy Stemke
Freelance Writer, Author, Educator
educationtipster.blogspot.com
Kathy’s blog offers movement activities, book reviews, and parenting tips that will help parents and teachers teach children phonics, math, writing and science! Leave a comment for a chance to win a children’s picture book. Don’t forget to sign up for her FREE monthly newsletter, “MOVEMENT AND RHYTHM.”
Irene Roth
Children’s Writer, Educator
www.ireneroth.wordpress.com
Visit this blog for writers for writing tips, articles, and informative insights about the writing process!
NOTE: Leave a comment here at the National Writing for Children Center today - and at every site your visit on the blog chain – to be registered for our contests and book giveaways!
Historical Fiction Brings the Past to Life
October 1, 2009 by Adrian
Filed under Recent Posts, teaching tips
by Kathy Stemke
Historical fiction gives shape to the past. It brings part of the past alive in the present.
Stephen Crane, the author of the American Civil War classic The Red Badge of Courage, was once asked why he had chosen to write his book as fiction rather than history. The reason, he said, was because he wanted to feel the situations of the War as a protagonist, not from the outside. And it was only by writing a novel that he could do this.
And this is what all historical fiction does. It makes us feel what otherwise would be dead and lost to us. It transports us into the past. And the very best historical fiction presents to us not only the past, but also the heart of the past.
The best historical novels have characters that pull you right inside their skin so you can see, hear, taste and smell another time and place through their senses.
These books work well when integrated into a social studies curriculum.
Historical novels and picture books pique the children’s curiosity.
Before reading aloud have the children list what they already know about the subject. Afterward, investigate whether what they heard is typical of the time period.
They emphasize everyday details. Picture books today provide visual and contextual clues to how people lived, what their speech was like, how they dressed, and so on.
Social studies texts are often devoted to coverage rather than depth. Too often, individuals — no matter how famous or important — are reduced to a few sentences. Children have difficulty converting these cryptic descriptions and snapshots into complex individuals who often had difficult choices to make, so myths and stereotypes flourish. Good historical fiction presents individuals, as they are, neither all good nor all bad.
Traditionally, historical issues have been presented to children as flat, one-dimensional, or single-sided. Historical fiction restores the landscape of history so children can discover that problems are age-old.
It’s important for students to share their perspectives, while respecting the opinions of others. Historical fiction introduces children to characters who have different points of view and offers examples of how people deal differently with problems.
PRIMARY
Casey Over There by Staton Rabin, 32 pages; $15
This is a touching story of two brothers whose lives were affected by World War I. Casey fought and his younger brother, Aubrey, waited and worried. Aubrey’s letter to Uncle Sam initiates a sensitive response from the president. The illustrations add intensity to the story.
In America by Marissa Moss (Dutton); 32 pages; $14.99
Walter’s grandfather tells the story of immigrating to America. Walter learns about his grandfather’s village in Lithuania and about courage through his grandfather’s experience.
PRIMARY/INTERMEDIATE
Seminole Diary: Remembrances of a Slave by Dolores Johnson (Macmillan); 32 pages; $14.95
Libbie, a slave, tells of the peaceful coexistence of African-American slaves and the Seminole Indians. In the Seminole villages, runaway slaves found a haven of mutual respect.
The Sad Night: The Story of an Aztec Victory and a Spanish Loss by Sally Schofer Mathews (Clarion); 40 pages; $16.95
In text surrounded by Aztec codices, the story of this ancient civilization is recounted. Told from the Aztec perspective, this book connects the past with a modern-day discovery.
INTERMEDIATE
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco (Philomel); 48 pages; $15.95
Two young Union boys from very different backgrounds are caught up in the travesties of war in Confederate territory. This is a poignant Civil War story passed down through generations, including the generation of the author.
The Lucky Baseball by Suzanne Lieurance; 160 pages
Harry Yakamoto grew up in Seven Cedars, California playing baseball, going to school, and working at his family’s restaurant. As a young Japanese American, he faced discrimination daily. But when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, his life would change forever. Forced to move to a relocation center in the desert of California, Harry and his family have to start a new life behind barbed wire and guarded watchtowers. Follow Harry Yakamoto in this World War II story as he learns to live through difficult conditions in a Japanese-American internment camp.
Moving Through All Seven Days – A Review
September 25, 2009 by Adrian
Filed under Book Reviews
Reviewed by Donna M. McDine
Title: Moving Through All Seven Days
Written by: Kathy Ann Stemke
Illustrated by: Tony Glisson
Ages: 3-7
Publisher: Action Alley Education
ISBN: To Be Released by Lulu.com
Published: 2009
E-book: 32 pages
Price: $5.00
Move and groove along with the whimsical characters of Moving Through All Seven Days as they slip, twirl, and glide you through the days of the week. An activities resource, to help reinforce the learning process of spelling the days of the week, is a welcome bonus to the book. Moving Through All Seven Days provides an ingenious way of getting the children up from behind their desks to experience learning through movement.
Children’s author, Kathy Ann Stemke brilliantly blends lyrical rhyme and the learning process with a fun and educational twist. Vibrant illustrations created by Tony Glisson help make Moving Through All Seven Days a must-have for preschool and kindergarten classrooms and no home library would be complete without it.
Learn more about Kathy at kathystemke.weebly.com and educationtipster.blogspot.com
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To learn more about Donna McDine’s writing career, visit her a site at www.donnamcdine.com. Sign her guestbook and receive her FREE e-Book ~ “Write What Inspires You! Author Interviews”
Bring Children’s Stories to Life
September 3, 2009 by Writing for Children
Filed under Recent Posts, teaching tips
by Kathy Stemke, Contributing Editor
Young children learn by reading books and participating in experimentation and play. Books increase their vocabulary and understanding about many exciting subjects. Reading opens up new worlds and cultures to them. It can also enhance their social skills. Reading print books improves their eye-hand coordination as they turn the pages, and e-books teach them computer skills. Most of all, reading is a source of good, wholesome fun! Our job, as parents and teachers, is to bring books to life, and give children opportunities to experience the lifelong pleasure of reading. Try some of the following activities with your children to bring their stories to life.
Make a book of your favorite story characters with drawings. It might be fun to cut out figures and use crayons for their clothing and details. Make a colorful timeline of your favorite story.
Create sock or paper bag puppets of your favorite characters and put on a puppet show. You could even extend the story to show what happens next.
You and your friends dress up like your favorite book characters, and have a tea party. What would Snow White say to Amelia Bedelia?
Make a character mobile for your room. You can criss-cross two metal hangers and use string to hang your characters on. You could even use lightweight real objects or felt objects to represent the book.
Sculpt your favorite children’s story character from soap, clay or paper mache.
Build a diorama of a scene from the story. Use a shoebox, smaller boxes, pieces of wood, magazine pictures, construction paper, crayons, paint, cotton, grass, twigs, toilet paper rolls, and anything else you can find to make the needed objects.
Create your own website or blog about your favorite story and characters.
Draw a fancy family tree with your favorite characters and their relatives real or imagined. You can add a line or two about their personalities.
Use scraps of material to design costumes of the characters in your favorite story and put on a play or dance concert for the neighborhood.
Write a poem about your favorite character. Have your favorite character write his or her own poem.
Make a rhyming book. Staple some pages together to make your own book. Pick out an object from your favorite story to draw on each page. Roll one die to see how many rhyming words you need to add for each page. Foe example, if you draw a cat, write hat, mat, bat, fat, sat, and rat under it. (Kids can read their own book over and over again.)
Have family members each read a different character’s lines using appropriate voices. One person needs to be the narrator. Have one person make sound effects during a reading. (wind, rain, bells, barking, crashing noises, crying, doors closing, etc)
Start a kid’s book club with your friends. This website will take you through the process.
Make a snack or meal that your story character would eat. If your reading a story about pigs, make pig head cookies with pink icing, pink marshmallows, and M & M’s for eyes.
Make stick puppets and put on a shadow play of the story. In other words, use a strong flashlight, create shadows on the wall with your puppets, and act out the story.
Design masks for each character from paper plates and have a parade.
Gather your stuffed animals and superheroes on your bed and read a bedtime story to them every night.
Write a fractured fairy tale. Change a classic story to different characters, a different ending, or rewrite the story from a different point of view.
If you introduce some of these activities to your children, they will surprise you with some ideas of their own. The activities and fun are only limited by their imagination.
The Importance of Multicultural Literature
July 2, 2009 by Writing for Children
Filed under Recent Posts, teaching tips
by Kathy Stemke, Contributing Editor
Multicultural literature that represents any cultural group through accurate portrayal and rich detail has become an important ingredient in education. Books with characters of similar backgrounds, familial situations, of a close age, similar ethnicity, or living in familiar geographical settings can be useful tools in guiding children to discover who they are and where they fit into their communities. These books offer motivation for more reading and inspiration to pursue goals because someone like them did the same thing. They also help children solve problems by seeing how others solve similar problems. Children must to be able to find books that focus on many ethnic identities and backgrounds to help develop the sense of self so important to growing up and to the appreciation of others and the world around them.
A great book to use in conjunction with a multicultural lesson is Shoes, Shoes, Shoes by Ann Morris. It features shoes from around the world. After you read this book, talk about individuality and diversity. The following shoe measurement activity celebrates diversity and requires measurement skills, art, body parts identification, and matching skills.
1. Each child traces both his shoes on construction paper, and cuts them out.
2. The children measure the length to the nearest inch, and writes it on the feet.
3. Trace your own shoes and add several others of various sizes.
4. Let the children measure the other feet and record the lengths.
5. The kids can take turns matching up the feet first with the measurement side showing.
6. Now flip the shoes over and see if they can still match up the feet in pairs.
7. The children can practice counting by twos.
8. Now each child can use their art skills to decorate their own set of feet.
9. You can make a great bulletin board of feet, each with the child’s picture next to their feet.
10. Laminate all the other feet. Tape them to the floor in pairs. Have the children jump from pair to pair counting by twos.
Multicultural books:
China Ancient Arts and Sciences by the Franklin Institute includes inventions like the compass, papermaking, printing, and gunpowder.
A Birthday Basket for Tia by Pat Mora. Colorful papercut illustrations accompany this story of Cecilia as she prepares a surprise gift for her great-aunt’s ninetieth birthday with the help and interference of her cat, Chica.
Friends From the Other Side -Amigos del Otro Lado by Gloria Anzaldua. This is a bilingual story of Prietita, a brave young Mexican American girl who befriends and helps Joaquin after he crosses the Rio Grande into Texas with his mother in search of a new life.
The Lotus Seed by S. Garland. Throughout her life, Grandmother has carried a special lotus seed. When her grandson buries the seed, a beautiful pink blossom appears in the garden — a reminder that this symbol of her homeland will bloom wherever it is planted.
Light the Lights written by Margaret Moorman. One of very few pictures books about interfaith holiday celebrations, this is the story of a little girl named Emma whose family happily celebrates both Hannukah and Christmas.
The Butter Man by A. Alalou and E. L. Alalou. During a famine Nora’s grandfather must travel over the mountain to find work so he can provide food for his family. While young Ali waits for his father’s return, he learns a lesson of patience, perseverance, and hope. Fold-art illustrations capture the Moroccan culture and landscape.
Halmoni’s Day by E. C. Bercaw. Jennifer’s grandmother, Halmoni, is visiting all the way from Korea. She’s arrived just in time for Grandparents’ Day at school but she doesn’t speak English. As this moving story shows, there are many ways to express love–ways that bridge differences in generations and cultures.
How My Parents Learned to Eat by I. R. Friedman. An American sailor courts a Japanese girl and each tries, in secret, to learn the other’s way of eating.
Colors of Japan by H. Littlefield. Each double-page spread features one color and includes the Japanese word for the color, along with the pronunciation. The brief text contains basic information about history, daily life, traditions, population, schools, and geography.
In a Circle Long Ago: A Treasury of Native Lore by Nancy Van Laan. This is an impressive collection of Native American tales, songs, and poetry from the Arctic North to the Florida Everglades.
To purchase any of these books, visit our Book Store.
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Kathy Stemke is a freelance writer, author, and educator. Sign up for FREE monthly newsletter here!
