Tomorrow is a big day. First, my son will be having his first soccer game of the season with his brand new team. Go Eagles!
At the same time, I’ll be walking with my daughter in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. (If you’re so inclined, there’s still time to support me here!) We’re honored and excited to be a part of Team Teri Atteberry and looking forward to an inspirational morning in the late summer sun.
Then, we’re rushing back across the water to go to TEDxRedmond all afternoon. I love listening to the real TED talks on http://www.ted.com/. But imagine my surprise and delight when I learned about TEDxRedmond–a TEDx event organized by youth, for youth–right in my backyard! How had I not heard about this before? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to attend this year.
From their web page:
After speaking at the annual TED conference in Long Beach, CA, in 2010, 12-year-old teacher, speaker, and author Adora Svitak wanted to bring a TED-like experience home to Redmond, WA.
And she’s done it! I’m thrilled to be one of the supporters of this year’s TEDxRedmond, and I’m looking forward to meeting this young dynamo. Check out her TED speech:
Here’s a list of all the speakers joining Adora at TEDxRedmond 2011. I can’t wait to hear what these young people have to say!
Finally, the whole family is meeting up with friends, including one visiting from afar for the first time in years, for dinner. It’s hard to imagine a fuller, or more rewarding, day. I just hope I have some energy left to tell you about it afterwards!
We had an all too rare sunny summer day yesterday, so the family and I walked to the library (mostly to drop off oodles of books), and then we went shopping at our local independend bookstore in honor of Save Bookstores Day. My daughter was consumed by a book we had just bought at the Friends of the Library used bookstore (hopefully that counts–save libraries, too!). My husband was consumed by afternoon nap and sunshine. So, the two of them sat outside together in the sun doing their things while the boy and I went into University Book Store. I love hanging out in there. They have a great children’s department!
After much deliberation (the boy is decision-impaired), we settled first on:
This nonfiction series published by Kingfisher (called the Basher series, after the common illustrator and creator) includes topics in science, math, the arts, and language arts, and each one we add to our collection holds both kids enthralled. Each one is a paper “Facebook” of what’s what in the given subject, treating each topic as a character and listing its behavior and vital statistics. They’re perfect for boys, because they feel like those game cards (Pokeman, Bakagan, Yu-Gi-Oh, and whatever else) with the stats, short descriptions, and fun art. They’re perfect for girls because they make abstract concepts characters, and suddenly we care about them (stereotypical, I know, but it sure works for my daughter and me). Highly recommended! I know our family will be buying many more.
This one is similar in feel to the ‑ology books from Candlewick, which he loves. A hit, and no nightmares. Yay!
Can I just pause to say how proud I am of my nonfiction-loving boy? *smile*
Finally, I bought myself this nifty shirt:
I think it’ll be perfect to where to KidLitCon in September, which I’m already signed up for. Are you?
The kids were too busy reading to walk back home again without face-planting somewhere along the way, so we all hopped on the bus back home.
Did you make it out for Save Bookstores Day? What did you buy?
I didn’t think SCBWI Western Washington’s 2011 conference could get any better than it was on Saturday, but yes, it could! Sunday started a little later (thank goodness, after all that dancing!). On Sunday, April 17, we started out by celebrating our awesomely talented and dedicated advisory committee. And they celebrated us with a great big surprise presentation!
Copyright Dana Sullivan
Before we even had time to see what goodies they put together for us, we jumped right into gear with Dan Santat’s keynote. He not only gave a peek into the trajectory of his career so far (and trust me, it’s only going up, folks!), but he showed us that he, too, is indeed human. He made himself cry by showing us a picture of why he works so hard (his family), and he took the rest of us right along with him. 400 people wanted to give Dan a hug, but I think most of us settled for buying his books and becoming lifelong fans.
The local success story panel is always one of my favorites because 1) I usually know most of the people of the panel and love celebrating their successes, and 2) the stories are always so inspiring and leave us all feeling that someday, if we keep working hard, we could be up there telling our stories (about our stories). This year’s panel–featuring Carole Dagg, Caridad Ferrer, Liz Mills, Craig Orback, Wendy Wahman, Jesse Joshua Watson, and Jim Whiting–did not disappoint! From the 14-year labor-of-love personal-history novel to the 90-day start-to-finish topical and timely picture book (written AND illustrated by the same person!), these folks were all full of examples of the rewards that come from hard work and dedication.
Copyright Dana Sullivan
During lunch I finally had a chance to peek at the goodies from AdCom–HUGE MISTAKE! They had all written personal notes and messages inside the card (see awesome picture of the card front, above), and I totally teared up, again! We have such a great team, and I’m so thankful to work with each and every one of them. For them to go all out to thank ME reduced me to a blubbering mess. I finally pulled myself together enough to return to the ballroom, where I watched our awesome Assistant Regional Advisor, Kimberly Baker, open the thank you gift we got her. She burst into tears, so yeah, there I went AGAIN. Then, our Published Pro Liaison, Sara Easterly, presented our region’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award to Peggy King Anderson. You can read Peggy’s take on it here, but we all know and love Peggy, so–yep, you guessed it–MORE tears!
Thank goodness the afternoon was jam-packed with information! First I went to Jim Whiting’s talk on Nonfiction Hooks. He had oodles of examples of revising to hook the write audience–with handouts! Then Jesse Joshua Watson talked about Writing for Change, with the inspiring story about how his book HOPE FOR HAITI came to be and organizations he has partnered with since (okay, I got a little teary here, too). Finally, the last breakout of the day for me was about authenticity, presented by agent Marietta Zacker. Marietta gave a brilliant talk illustrating the need to be absolutely true to yourself while still perfectly addressing your audience (yep, misty-eyed, sigh).
The rest, unfortunately, is a bit of a blur. But I know I ended the day on a total high–even before the foot massage and cocktails. 😉
In my most recent issue of Social Studies and the Young Learner (Volume 23, Number 4, March/April 2011) from the National Council for the Social Studies, there’s a brief article entitled “The Uncompromised Curriculum: Videos of Teachers Teaching Social Justice Issues,” by Debbie Sonu. Debbie talks a bit about how difficult it for today’s teachers to include social justice lessons despite narrow, test-focused curriculums. She took videos of three of these determined teachers in action, and they are nothing short of inspiring.
Watch the videos here.
These are classrooms I would’ve loved to be in as a child (heck, I’d love to be in them now!), and you can see how engaged the kids are with the different topics. What I love most about all three of these approaches is the respect each of the teachers has for her students. In the first, the teacher tells her fifth graders that it’s okay to let their discussions wander where they will and not stick to the prepared question list. In the second, the teacher tells her first graders they are not asking first grade questions, they are asking college questions. And in the third, the teacher asserts that all children–gifted or not–have the ability, and in fact the need, to discuss these kinds of issues.
Kudos to these teachers, and to Debbie Sonu for sharing them with us!
I just pre-ordered my copy of WHAT YOU WISH FOR: A BOOK FOR DARFUR, and I am so looking forward to reading it.
Coming from Penguin Group’s G.P. Putnam’s Sons in September, 2011, the book is a collection of YA poetry and short stories written by various authors, including Cornelia Funke, Meg Cabot, R. L. Stine, John Green, Ann M. Martin, Alexander McCall Smith, Cynthia Voigt, Karen Hesse, Joyce Carol Oates, Nikki Giovanni, Jane Yolen, Nate Powell, Gary Soto, Jeanne DuPrau, Francisco X. Stork, Marilyn Nelson, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Sofia Quintero.
Profits from the book sales will be donated to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), an organization building libraries in Darfur refugee camps in Chad.
Read more here or pre-order your own copy here.
I’m a huge fan of Kathleen Krull’s nonfiction books for kids, so I was surprised and disappointed to read her recent article in the Horn Book about the difficulties she and her husband have had selling their book FARTISTE! I would’ve thought a picture book biography about a performer who entertained audiences with his mastery of the art of the fart would be an easy sell, to a publisher AND on the bookstore shelves! Doesn’t it sound like the perfect idea for a kids book?
Here’s a case in point. Yesterday, my son was having a bad day. I took him to the library because he said there was a book there that he wanted. He walked straight to an empty table in the children’s area and burst into tears. Come to find out, the book he wanted had been laying out on a table the last time we were in the library together—2 weeks ago—and now, to his surprise and great disappointment, it was gone. He didn’t remember what book it was, and couldn’t tell me anything about it, except how heartbroken he was and how no other book in the whole library would do.
I walked over to the shelf, grabbed a copy of FARTISTE (which was on my mind because I’d just read the Horn Book article and was still mulling over my own aforementioned surprise and disappointment), and handed it to my sobbing, inconsolable boy. “What’s this?” he asked skeptically, sticking out his bottom lip. I told him. Curious, he opened it up and read the first page. Engaged, he sank down to sit criss-cross in the floor in the middle of the aisle. 15 minutes or so later, a perfectly composed boy closed the book and said, “Thanks, Mom. That was a great book. Let’s take it home.” And he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the checkout counter.
So, thank you, Kathleen, for the Horn Book article. And a big thank you, Kathleen and Paul, from both of us, for sticking with FARTISTE. You have fans!
I did it. I wrote 26 brand-new picture-book texts in the 28 days of February! Now that I’ve had some time to relax and reflect, I thought I’d share my thoughts on the experience.
I started out with great gusto, then stumbled in the middle and took a bunch of days off, but managed to sprint to the finish to make up for lost time. I finished the last one with exactly 12 minutes to spare before the clock struck midnight on the very last day. Talk about close. But, still, I did it!
And I am so glad I took on this challenge. Not only do I have 26 bright, shiny new manuscripts (several of which have real potential right out of the gate), but I learned some much-needed lessons along the way. I’d thought I’d document there here for anyone thinking about doing the challenge, for anyone thinking about writing picture books, or for my future self whenever I need a reminder!
5 Lessons I Learned From the Picture Book Marathon:
PB Marathon Lesson #1: When I set my mind to it, I can be a LOT more productive than I thought I could. I was finding stolen moments in the pick-up line at school, while waiting for kids to get out of lessons, scribbling on receipts at stoplights, etc. I discovered I have been wasting a lot of time on things like self-doubt, thinking I needed a big chunk of uninterrupted time to write, or trying to figure out the whole story before I started writing. I wrote more in this one month than I have in the past year. Yes, I was mostly working on revisions, but still–yipes! We need to keep the creative wheels turning, even when we’re focusing on more analytical tasks. This has unexpected benefits, like…
PB Marathon Lesson #2: Productivity begets productivity, and procrastination begets procrastination. The more I wrote, the more I felt like writing, AND it carried over into other things as well. I managed to get some long-standing to-do’s around the house done, simply because I felt so supercharged about getting my books written! Typically I wouldn’t let myself tackle those kinds of chores, because I always felt like I should be writing instead. But I often didn’t do the writing because it was so easy to get distracted by little to-do’s and interruptions. So, everything would stagnate. Now that I learned #1, it’s much easier to avoid the downward spiral of #2.
PB Marathon Lesson #3: As productive and energizing as that month was, it’s important to remember to recharge! I think I crashed in the middle because I was writing every day. It was fine on weekdays, but on the weekends I really needed to get away from my computer and play. Doing that and then feeling behind and rushing to catch up wasn’t helpful either. So, outside of the challenge, I’ll try to be productive every weekday, and I’ll reserve the weekends for resting, reading, and spending time with family.
PB Marathon Lesson #4: Writing fast and short is the best way to cut to the heart of the story. I tend to overthink book ideas before I ever get to writing the first word. And, if I do start writing, I tend to be research driven and overly wordy (which is the kiss of death for picture books!). So, my first drafts usually read like really bad encyclopedia entries, and then I spend all my revision efforts trying to resuscitate them and bring back the life that inspired me to write about them in the first place. The marathon forced me to just get it out there in all its passionate chaos. It’s much easier, and more successful, to start with a strong heart and add the necessary limbs later than it is to start with a bunch of limbs and try to find a place for the heart! The PB Marathon allowed me to finally get to the core of some big ideas I’ve been thinking about for years but didn’t know how to contain. I think this approach would also help me with longer projects, as a sort of outline/synopsis/summary to keep me on track as I flesh out the details.
PB Marathon Lesson #5:I need to work on endings! If I could work a circular ending, great. If not, though, all of my endings felt either rushed or drawn out or just plain trite and stupid. Clearly, I need some work here! So, I’m going to be launching a major self-education unit, studying the best of the best picture books and their endings. Maybe I’ll post my discoveries here someday.
PB Marathon Lesson #6: Finally, the biggest, most important lesson learned: Despite my weakness with endings, I don’t totally suck! Okay, so not all of the 26 are going to end up on anybody’s award list (or even bookshelf), but that’s no surprise to anyone–least of all me. What I wasn’t expecting was to find a handful of real gems. There are several manuscripts in the pile that I love, can’t wait to revise, and know I will happily and confidently submit in the not-too-distant future. And there are quite a few others that are, at the very least, a good idea worth pursuing to see if I can develop it into something solid. Very pleasant surprises indeed, and great confidence boosters besides.
After all those valuable lessons, I would’ve felt like a winner even if I hadn’t completed the 26 manuscripts. The whole experience was definitely worthwhile for me. To my friends and family, thank you for the encouragement and camaraderie: they were a huge help, and I am extremely grateful for your support! To my amazing and wonderful critique group, thanks for welcoming the deluge of new manuscripts coming your way! And to those of you considering the challenge, DO IT! And let me know what YOU learn. 🙂
I love fairy tales. My husband loves fairy tales (thanks to him we own an almost complete set of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library!). And of course, my kids love fairy tales. Who doesn’t?
Old photos of Snow White and one of her dwarfs—Hungry, maybe?
While searching for ideas for this month’s Picture Book Marathon, I’ve been reading more fairy tales and folktales than I normally do. And I’ve been loving every minute of it!
Imagine my surprise when I discovered the February 26th is National Fairy Tale Day! I can’t find an official source for that, but other people seem to celebrate it, so why not? I’ll take any excuse to share some of my newly discovered favorites with the kids at bedtime tonight, or maybe I’ll even read them some of the retellings I’ve written this month. 🙂
Looking for more fairy tale facts or fun? Here are some resources I’ve found:
SurLaLune is THE place to start researching fairy tales on the web. It features 49 annotated fairy tales, including their histories, similar tales across cultures, modern interpretations and over 1,500 illustrations. Wow!
“[Fairy tales] work through so many personal and cultural anxieties, yet they do it in a safe, ‘once upon a time’ way,” says Maria Tatar, a professor at Harvard College who writes about, and teaches classes on, fairy tales. “Fairy tales have a real role in liberating the imagination of children. No matter how violent they are, the protagonist always survives.”
I’d rather just read and enjoy (and write!) them, though. Two of my favorites have always been The Ugly Duckling and Puss in Boots. I guess I’ve always been a sucker for a good underdog story. What are your favorites, and why?
p.s. February is also National Love Your Library Month. Why not head to your local library and pick up some fairy tales to enjoy with someone special tonight?
Picture Book Marathon 2011 Logo, by Nathan Hale
I’m behind on the Picture Book Marathon and have some serious catching up to do, so I’m going to make this short, but thanks to this Picture Book Marathon blog post, I discovered some great new story idea resources that I just have to share!
Author Rick Walton has some great tips for coming up with story ideas here. He lists a bunch of different ways you might get started with a story. For example, choose a character, a quest, or even just a phrase–just about anything that comes to mind–then follow it, and see where it goes.
To help with that, he’s also compiled lots and lots of amazing brainstorming lists for children’s book writers, which you can find here. A few of my favorites include:
If you can’t find some story ideas in there somewhere, you might want to try a new career. Maybe brick laying or air traffic control? (Oh wait, that’s what MY high school aptitude test said I should do. I guess you’re on your own.)
Last month, I blogged that I was going to to do two big challenges: the picture book marathon and the WordPress PostAWeek. I’ve pretty much been keeping up with the WordPress PostAWeek challenge. I think I’ve put up some good posts so far, but I’m still a little disappointed with the results. I was hoping to get a little more inspired, get a lot more into the flow of regular blogging, and get more comfortable sharing more about what I’m learning and doing. Perhaps that will come in time. After all, I’ve been fairly well consumed by the Picture Book Marathon all this month, too!
The PB Marathon is a challenge “during which children’s writers compose one picture book each day until they have written 26 picture books.” Today is day 14, and I’m pleased to say I’m half way there! So far, I’ve written 13 brand-new picture books including everything from nonfiction science and biographies to purely fictional goofiness to traditional folktale retellings. It’s been a lot of work, but I have definitely learned that I can commit to a daily writing practice. (Well, Monday through Friday, anyway. Weekends have been nearly impossible!) I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by the results. I was expecting perhaps two out of 26 to be worth pursuing, but so far, I think maybe there are only about two that should probably just be deleted right now. Some are better than others, of course, but I think most of them do have the potential to be developed into something interesting. And since I like doing revision much better than writing first drafts, I’ll be set for quite some time (although I am definitely going to continue with some type of new writing work every day—just not a whole book)!
So, February is half over. And 2011 is looking to be a very productive year. Over the hump and on down the other side!
Physics: Why Matter Matters by Dan Green and Simon Basher
Mythical Creatures by James Harpur and Stuart Martin
