THE CHILDREN'S BOOK ACADEMY
  • 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

BIG VIVIDS...(and a big discount) by Marsha Diane Arnold

10/11/2015

10 Comments

 
Vivid: from the Latin vividus, from vivere “to live”; producing powerful feelings or strong images in the mind.
 
I recently received an email from an educator who shared that my visit of eleven years ago had been a “Big Vivid.” When folks who were part of the “Big Vivid” came into her office and spied one of my books, they’d start a walk down memory lane...“I remember when...”
 
“Big Vivid” is a phrase coined by one of the school’s past Administrators. He passionately believed that educators have the responsibility to create cross-curricular learning experiences so everyone can have “Big Vivid” memories of learning to carry with them forever.
 
Jackie Baumgartner and Principal Kent Otte were two of many in Philipsburg, Kansas who worked together so everyone - teachers, students, community - could be involved in my two-day visit. It’s true the school, located in a small close-knit town in northern Kansas, was different from most. I knew I was in for something uncommon when I exited the small plane that flew me in and was driven to the school where a huge tornado, representative of the tornado in The Bravest of Us All, topped the school roof.
Picture
Yep. There was a tornado in the auditorium as well as on the roof.
​Since Jackie’s email, I haven’t been able to get the phrase “Big Vivid” out of my mind.
 
It’s not just school visits that qualify.  Trips, special birthdays, a walk on an unforgettable morning with an unforgettable friend also count. Or books.
 
Books like Ish by Peter H. Reynolds, Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, Call of the Wild by Jack London, Just As Long as We’re Together by Judy Blume, or Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, which my husband read to his 4th, 5th, and 6th graders every year when he taught. Yes, they...and he...always cried.
 
​And what about those wonderful “Big Vivid” book characters: Pippi Longstocking created by Astrid Lindgren, Matilda created by Roald Dahl, Encyclopedia Brown created by Donald Sobel, the Weasley family from the Harry Potter books, Olivia created by Ian Falconer, Ferdinand created by Munro Leaf, or Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne.
 
,​Wouldn’t we love to create characters like those? Yes, a writer might dream of creating a “Big Vivid” character or book, a book that makes the NY Times Best Seller’s List or wins the Caldecott Medal.
 
But don’t worry. We don’t have to have written a world famous book in order to share a “Big Vivid” experience.
 
Out of the blue, a 17-year-old young man emailed me to share that whenever he needed guidance to do the brave and honorable thing, he turned to my book Heart of a Tiger, which I’d autographed for him when he was 8. It was a “Big Vivid” for him when I shared the book at a school visit, a “Big Vivid” for me when I got his email 9 years later.
 
Walter Jackson School in Alabama is one of several schools that celebrate The Pumpkin Runner every year. Walter Jackson celebrates the whole day and the entire school does a mile run. A “Big Vivid” for the school community. A “Big Vivid” for me when I get an email each year from a fabulous teacher, Todd McDonald, asking me to Skype with them as part of the celebration.
 
There was another out of the blue message from a woman whose daughter, with many medical challenges, fell in love with Roar of a Snore when her mother read it to her as a baby.  For the past four years the “beloved book,” as her mother calls it, has helped the little girl through multiple surgeries, intensive therapies, and nights in the ER. Whenever the parents start to read or recite it (by now they know it by heart), in the hospital or during tests and scans, it soothes and comforts the dear child. Doctors and nurses are amazed. A “Big Vivid” (perhaps the biggest) for us all. 
​These experiences make one’s heart jump with joy, and I know many other writers have had similar experiences that mean the world to them.
 
So go on out! Create your "Big Vivid" school visit, your "Big Vivid" picture book, your "Big Vivid" character, your "Big Vivid" life. Your intentions must be pure, not to impress, but to share a piece of yourself, a "Big Vivid" piece, one that makes you happy you're alive; that makes you want “to live” for more “Big Vivids.”
 
P.S. If you’re working on creating a Big Vivid picture book, you’ll need a Big Vivid character. So through the end of the year, Mira Reisberg and I are offering a discount on my Character-Driven Picture Book course. Here’s the link to the Big Discount.

Picture
Marsha is currently waiting for three "Big Vivids:" completion of a new home, the birth of her grandson, Flint, in December, and the pub. date for her newest book, Lost. Found. You can find Marsha online at her website, www.marshadianearnold.com, Facebook, or Twitter, where she's trying to tweet more, but kicking and screaming all the way. :)
10 Comments

    Meet the Friday Blogonauts

    First Fridays will feature Bryan Patrick Avery, published writer , man of mystery, and professional magician among other things.

    Second Fridays will feature  awesome multi-award winning author Marsha Diane Arnold who will be writing about character-driven and/or nature-based books and/or anything she likes :)

    Third Fridays
    will feature independent Aladdin/Simon & Shuster editor Emma Sector who has helped bring many books into the world.

    Fourth Fridays will feature the great Christine Taylor-Butler who has published over 70 award-winning fiction and non-fiction and nonfiction books including the acclaimed new middle grade series - The Lost Tribes.

    Fifth Fridays will feature the fabulous Carl Angel award-winning multi-published Illustrator and graphic designer.


    Join our Tribe

    and receive 7 Steps to Creative Happiness, access to free webinars, and lots more!

    Your email addresses are always safe and respected with us.
     
     

    Follow our Blog!

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Archives

    January 2019
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All
    Art Technique
    Authorartist
    Author Platform
    Author Visits
    Bitsy Kemper
    Book Marketing
    Books For Children
    COPPA
    Creative Flow
    Digital Books
    Diversity In Children's Books
    First Voice Multicultural Children's Books
    Illustrating Your Own Story
    Independent Publishing
    Magic In Books
    Marketing
    Maya Gonzalez
    Middle Grade Novels
    Picture Books
    Picture Books And Death
    Print-on-demand
    School Visits
    Self-publishing
    Understory
    Writer Platform
    Writing
    Writing Exercise
    Writing For Children

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Picture
Discover
Why Us?
Courses
Blogfish
Book Shoppe
About Us
Meet the Academy Faculty
Community
Contact Us

Privacy Policy
Join Us
Social Media
Join our Community and receive a fabulous free gift, yummy newsletters, scholarship info, contests, and more!

Like us on Facebook 
Join our interactive FB Group  
Find us on Twitter 
Follow us on ​Instagram  
Look for us on Pinterest
​
Watch us on YouTube
© 2012-2021  All content on this website is copyrighted. Sorry, all courses are non-refundable.
  • 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