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Mondays with Mira: Social Justice Issues with out being "Issues"

11/25/2014

0 Comments

 
First of all, this looks like it's a Tuesdays with Mira post! I'm so sorry to have missed Monday you guys, I've just been really swamped with teaching the Craft and Business of Illustrating Children's Picture Books, preparing The Chapter Book Alchemist for it's 2015 run, creating 2 other self-paced courses from scratch for you to enjoy, writing a my Webinar script, and getting excited about the Andrea Davis Pinkey Merit Scholarship opening up! Gosh! Did that make anyone dizzy? Then you'll know how I feel!

Anyway, this week we have This Day In June by Gayle E. Pitman, which is a wonderful book about social justice for LGBTQI community. Gayle does a wonderful job of creating a fun and welcoming environment for kids and parents. Gayle is also a professor of psychology and in the back of this book she gives a sweet guide for parents on how to approach their children about these issues. The illustrator, Kristyna Litten, really brings a bright and sunny aura to this book with her quirky, simple, and absolutely adorable illustrations. The rhyme and rhythm of this book is also just really wonderful. After reading this book you'll think to yourself "How could anyone not support this community?" It's just a really sweet book.
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Story Sparkers: A Creativity Guide for Children's Writers

11/16/2014

5 Comments

 
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"Ideas are everywhere. They are walking down the sidewalk, hidden in stolen snippets of conversation, buried in the books we read and the movies we watch. Every waking minute- and every dreaming minute- is filled with tiny sparks just waiting to be ignited." 

With it being the middle of PiBoIdMo, there's still time to come up with those 30+ ideas. 

And thankfully, I've discovered an old book that looks promising.  Yes, this book is fourteen years old, however the content still works. 


(From Amazon)
This book is a practical guide for writers interested in writing for the children's market, and teaches aspiring children's writers how to generate, assess, and apply ideas for fiction as well as nonfiction, short projects as well as long ones. Marcia Thomton Jones offers exercises, worksheets, and guidelines for assessment to help writers apply what they've learned to on-going projects or to help them begin new projects. Story Sparkers begins with an overview of how to write fiction and nonfiction books for children. Jones then discusses the specifics of idea generation assessment and application. The design is open, easy to browse and features boxed tips and quotes from top children's writers. By the end of the book, writers will have a plethora of ideas and insight to help determine audience and appropriate genre, and helpful hints for developing new ideas. While this book is intended for novice writers who are interested in writing for the children's market, writers with experience will find it helpful and motivating, too.


This book is filled with writing exercises and prompts to get your ideas flowing. 

Here is a sampling of brainstorming type activities just from chapter two:

Webbing
Freewriting
Listing
Questioning
Researching
The Five Senses
Overheard Conversations
Dialogue
Letters
The Big Idea
What If?
Thinking Small
PIctures
Pet Peeves
Reading
Forced Relationships
Timelines
Possessions
Doodling
In My Shoes
Musical Muse

Unfortunately, it is out of print. But fortunately, you can get a used copy online for a cheap price. 

So if you are still stuck, during PiBoIdMo, check out this fabulous resource. 
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Mandy Yates is currently an elementary reading specialist and children's book writer. She has an MFA in creative writing from Spalding University and has been published multiple times in Highlights Magazine. 

She is also assisting Mira in teaching The Craft and Business of Writing Children's Books. http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/writing-childrens-picture-books.html, as well as The Chapter Book Alchemist  http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/the-chapter-book-alchemist.html .

Find some of her teacher resources over at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mandy-Yates.

And you can follow her on Pinterest, Twitter,and Facebook.   
5 Comments

Sensitive Explorations

11/9/2014

22 Comments

 
Sometimes we get so caught up in the craft of what we are doing and the hoops that often need to be jumped through for publication that we forget the why. Why do we want to get books in children's hands? What kinds of messages do we want to give kids about themselves and the world we live in? 

Most editors are well-aware of the power of children's books to transform lives either through laughter and delight or through the sensitive exploration of ideas and experiences relevant to their lives. And like me, they are drawn to both kinds of books.Today I have a big soft spot for the second kind of book as seen in this sensitive exploration of farmer's markets through the eyes of a young boy.

The author/illustrator, Linda Knoll, was concerned that so many kids were disenfranchised from their food source and ignorant about how food is grown. She also wanted to shine a light on the wonderful world of farmer's markets. So she created the concept book - Patient for Pumpkins. It is a beautiful quiet book that combines both fact and fiction and was published by North Atlantic Press, who publish socially aware books. So let's have a look at how former student and current friend Linda Knoll created Patient for Pumpkins.
22 Comments

Brainstorming Posts

11/2/2014

10 Comments

 
It's that time of year again! Picture Book Idea Month. Last year, I wrote weekly posts about ways to brainstorm. And to kick off this year, I wanted to re-share those posts all in one location.  Happy Brainstorming!!!

Discovering: The Neglected Step in the Writing Process

Brainstorming in Bits and Pieces

Cubing

Paradox: Creating Conflict in Picture Books

Need Some Writing Inspiration? How About Some Pinspiration!

Be sure to check out Mira's post from Day 2 of PiBoIdMo!


http://taralazar.com/2014/11/02/piboidmo-day-2-mira-reisberg-reclaims-and-revitalizes-her-inner-artist/
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Mandy Yates is currently an elementary reading specialist and children's book writer. She has an MFA in creative writing from Spalding University and has been published multiple times in Highlights Magazine. 

She is also assisting Mira in teaching The Craft and Business of Writing Children's Books. http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/writing-childrens-picture-books.html, as well as The Chapter Book Alchemist  http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/the-chapter-book-alchemist.html .

Find some of her teacher resources over at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mandy-Yates.

And you can follow her on Pinterest, Twitter,and Facebook.   
10 Comments
    We are so excited to be mixing things up at CBA, beginning with some delicious additions to the Blogfish. Meet our  awesome bloggers!!

    Here's our lineup:
    1st Mondays begin with awesome multi-published former student Shirin Shamsi who will be focusing on Muslim and cultural kidlit.

    2nd Mondays will feature super smart Melissa Stoller whose career is taking off with several new books.
     

    3rd Mondays will feature
    Bryan Patrick Avery, published writer, man of mystery, and professional magician among other things.

    4th Mondays will feature STEM, STEAM & SEL obsessed author Kourtney LaFavre sharing delightfully dorky, quirky, and fun info.

    And 5th Mondays we'll be taking a break

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  • Home
  • WRITING
    • Mastering Great Graphic Novels >
      • 2023 Mastering Graphic Novels Registration
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2022 Kidlit Palooza >
      • 2022 Palooza Program
      • 2022 Palooza Faculty
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • MN Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship