The Magic Rabbit: A Book Review

The Magic Rabbit
Author/Illustrator: Annette LeBlanc Cate

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (August 28, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0763626724
ISBN-13: 978-0763626723



Ray is a street performing magician and his best friend is a rabbit. They live together. They do everything together. Ray and his best friend Bunny eat popcorn and watch TV. Bunny even sleeps in the magic hat on Ray’s bed. There couldn’t be any closer friends than Ray and Bunny.

Well you guessed it. Bunny is the rabbit that Ray pulls out of his top hat during their Saturday magic show downtown. One Saturday just as Ray was to say the magic word and wave his magic wand, Bunny was supposed to jump out in a spray of golden stars. A juggler crashed into Ray sending Bunny flying on the sidewalk when a pug dog spots him and begins to chase Bunny down the sidewalk into the busy street. Bunny makes it safely to the other side but now he is lost. Everywhere Bunny goes people walk along together and when evening comes everyone is going home to dinner. Bunny feels sad because no one seems to notice that he is lost.

I like the way LeBlanc Cate illustrated Bunny’s harrowing trip across the street. It is similar to a comic strip frame with captions under each picture. The black and white illustrations capture a cosmopolitan feel about city life and performing on the street. Tiny glittering gold stars are the only color in LeBlanc Cate’s black and white story. Gold stars and popcorn play a significant role uniting Ray and Bunny before the night is over with a touching reunion in the subway station. Friendship is serious business in LeBlanc Cate’s story and it may even suggest it to be a little magical.

This is a wonderful story between unlikely friends and business partners who cannot live happily ever after with out each other. When Bunny follows a popcorn trail he finds in the alley the reader is not told who or what put it there. The little bit of magic through the glittering stars hint that the reunion was not due to Bunny’s keen sense of direction. I guess it really doesn’t matter because Ray is a magician, after all.

Annette LeBlanc Cate studied at the Art Institute of Boston and was the art director for the animated television series DR. KATZ, PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST. She lives in Pepperell, Massachusetts.

Write it down,
Carma

Kids Cook! Fabulous Food for the Whole Family

Please welcome my guest blogger Judy Ferrill. She is an EZine article expert, connoisseur of healthy food and a full time freelance writer. It is important to instill good eating habits in children at a young age. When it comes to healthy food Judy knows what she is talking about. Enjoy her book review below and then go visit her at Local Food Connections. Thank you Judy for being my guest today.

Kids Cook – Fabulous Food for the Whole Family
Sarah Williamson & Zachary Williamson
ISBN 0-9135899-61-6
Copyright 1992

Notice the copyright date on this book.... 1992. I bought this book for my daughter the year it was published. It does not carry the endorsement of any celebrity chefs, but like any great cookbook – it is timeless in many respects. It was written with family recipes and traditions. I don't think you can beat that combination.

What I like about this book is the kid-friendly foods, but there are also recipes to start them on a path to appreciating "more adult" foods. The book emphasizes healthy food choices and alternatives. Kitchen safety and rules are discussed and recipes are labeled with a degree of difficulty by the number of spoons. Safety notes are included and there is a section on cooking terms, substitutes and equivalents, as well as kitchen appliances and tools.

If the book has one drawback, it does not have illustrations, but does have great black and white pen drawings that are fun and add to the personality of the book. The book is appropriate for ages 8 and up, but can work with younger children with adult supervision.

The recipes run the gamut – simple french toast breakfast, a fresh cucumber salad, an antipasto plate, to faux lasagna, chicken cordon bleu, and creamy asparagus. There is a variety of kid's favorites – desserts.

Here is an example where older children can easily manage the preparation and a younger child can participate with adult supervision.
Recipe from Kids Cook! Fabulous Food for the Whole Family.
No-Bake Chocolate Graham Cracker Cake
Serves 6 – 8

28 graham crackers
½ cup chocolate syrup
Homemade Whipped Cream

1. Make homemade whipped cream (In chilled metal bowl, beat 1 pint whipping cream, 3 Tablespoons confectioners' sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until soft peaks form.)
2. Whip the chocolate syrup into the cream mixture.
3. On a serving plate, make a square with four graham crackers.
4. Cover with a layer of whipped chocolate cream.
5. Repeat the layers – graham crackers and then whipped cream until you have 7 layers.
6. Cover the entire outside of the cake with the remaining whipped cream.
7. Decorate with chocolate chips or shaved chocolate (rub a chocolate bar over a grater).
8. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Best served the same day.

The book is available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble with an average price of $11.00

Children's Writers! Stop Sabotaging Your Writing Career

It is so easy to fall into the saboteur’s pit. Here is a link to children’s author Anastasia Suen’s blog. She has posted links to seven individual articles written by Jane Friedman from There Are No Rules blog.

Titles for the seven sabotage articles are listed below. They can also be translated into “What Not To Do if you want to become a successful writer.”

#1 Attempting to Get Published Too Soon
#2 Looking Out For Yourself Too Much
#3 Expect Your Publisher to Market Your Work
#4 Treating Online and Multimedia Activities as Optional
#5 Be High Maintenance
#6 Assuming A Work Deeply Felt by You will Be Deeply Felt by All
#7 Become Bitter

Do these titles pique your interest? Jane Friedman’s thoughtful analysis of how these self-sabotage traps can throw you off the road to success is worth reading. Each article is an eye opener for the new and seasoned writer. At the end of the day it is not about You, it is about your reader.

I couldn’t decide which quote to use so I used both.

"A great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up" (Albert Schweitzer). And also from Schweitzer: "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success."

Write it down,
Carma

Scritch Scratch - Book Review

Title: Scritch Scratch

Author: Miriam Moss
Illustrator: Delphine Durand
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Orchard Books (July 25, 2002)
ISBN-10: 1841211125
ISBN-13: 978-1841211121


The parent of every elementary school child has had to deal with infestation of lice at one time or another. Scritch Scratch examines the lice dilemma in a humorous way yet does not treat the subject carelessly. However, an irritable situation soon becomes bearable and funny.

The illustrations of cartoon looking classroom and students draw attention to various shades of hair color, short or long hair, and braids that attract this tiny little louse that no one notices until it is too late. All through the book, classroom antics are revealed in rich detail with kids pulling hair and throwing paper airplanes. The louse that is the star of the story has a sunny disposition. “The little louse closed her eyes, held her breath and dove through the air. It didn’t matter where she landed. Any head would be the perfect home.”

After she lands on Ms. Calypso’s long red curly hair, she sings a happy tune as she sticks her eggs to each hair on Ms. Calypso’s head.

“Oh…No one knows from where I came,
A nit, a nibbler with no name,
But watch the teacher scritch and scratch,
When my creepy, crawly babies hatch.”


I even laughed out loud to this tune. After the baby lice hatched and climbed on Ms. Calypso’s cascading curls, they began to hop on to new heads when she goes Scritch Scratch while helping a student. Before long all the little lice had perfect homes of their own.

An infestation of lice at school calls for action from Mr. Trout the principal. He sends letters home to the parents telling them to treat the children’s hair. However, the lice come back because Ms. Calypso lives alone and didn’t have anyone to help her treat her own hair. Mr. Trout offers to help and they end up falling in love. But that is not the end of the potato-looking louse. You will have to read the end of the story to find out what happens.

About the author: Miriam is an award winning author of 70 children's books. She originally published 40 information books, but for the last 12 years she has written fiction. This has included picture books, novelty books and poetry, and recently short stories for the adult market. Her fiction has been translated into 21 languages.

Miriam has had wide experience of working creatively with children, as well as speaking in schools, libraries, at festivals. She offers lively, innovative large group performances, talks, interactive storytelling sessions, readings, seminars, creative writing and poetry workshops.

She was born in England but also grew up in Africa, The Middle East and China. After university she taught English for eight years in the UK and Kenya before becoming a writer. She now lives in East Sussex.

Write it down,
Carma

You Can Write Articles for Children Too: Follow These Eight Easy Steps

Read this great article below by children's author Pat McCarthy and let her take the mystery out of writing for children.


Eight Easy Steps to Writing an Article for Children

Have you thought about writing an article for a children’s magazine? Maybe you have an idea, but you’re not sure how to go about it. Here are some tips.

Step One. Choose a topic. It should be something that many children will be interested in. But it should also be something you know about or are interested in learning more about. Animals, sports, famous people, science and how-to articles are all popular choices..

Step Two. Narrow your topic. Concentrate on just one aspect of it. I wanted to write an article about birds. I’d just returned from Florida, so I decided to concentrate on the birds I saw in one place, Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge. This was still too broad a topic, so I honed in on how different birds there eat. The article, “Dinner at Ding Darling,” was published by Children’s Digest.

Step Three. Research your article. Use both online resources and books and articles. Editors like a mix of print and Internet sources in a bibliography. Look for interesting little tidbits that will appeal to kids. Find facts with wow appeal and yuck appeal. Kids like the amazing as well as the gross.

Step Four. Organize your research. Jot down the main points you want to make, then go through your notes and plug them into your outline. It doesn’t have to be a formal outline. It just needs to get your thoughts in order. I love outlines. Once my outline is done, the article seems to almost write itself.

Step Five. Write the article. Decide what age you are writing for, then try to keep your writing on that level. Don’t talk down to kids but try to use words that age child would know and understand. Keep your sentences simple and fairly short. Use short paragraphs. Children are intimidated by large blocks of type.

Step Six. Revise and edit your article. To make sure it flows smoothly, read it aloud to yourself. That will enable you to notice the rhythm and to find repeated words. Be very sure there are no errors in spelling or grammar.

Step Seven. Research the markets. Get a copy of Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market or research children’s publishers online. Make sure your article is the right length, for the right age, and on a topic the magazine uses.

Step Eight. Submit your article. Then get busy writing another one.

Sound simple? Try it! With a little work and practice, you can be successful at writing articles for children.

Pat McCarthy is an instructor for the Institute of Children's Literature and the author of over a dozen books for children. Learn more about her books at her blog, http://www.PatMcCarthysAuthorBlog.blogspot.com If you have a question about writing for children, e-mail Pat at patmcbirder@woh.rr.com. More resources for children's writers will soon be up on the blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pat_McCarthy

Write it down,
Carma

Add a Dash of Silliness to Your Reading Time

Hello All, please welcome my guest blogger, Theresa Schultz of Stress-Free Parent blog. Theresa has a great solution on how to handle our little toddlers who want the same story read over and over.



It’s story time and your toddler comes running to you with her favorite book, an eager look on her face, ready to revisit her beloved characters one more time. The only trouble is that this is the fiftieth time you’ve read the same book and you don’t know if you can stand to read it again.

“Why don’t we read something else today sweetie?” you implore.

“But it’s my favorite. Please mommy. Pleeeeeease!”

You give in, but this time you’ve got a plan. You begin to read the story – Cinderella, let’s say. Only this time the story is about Cinder-fella – or Cinder-Rumplestilskin – or some other silly name you substitute for the real character. At first, your child thinks you’ve lost your mind, but she soon catches on. The mice become kangaroos, the pumpkin a watermelon, and the fairy godmother your great aunt Agnes.

Soon the two of you are laughing and giggling like crazy. You can barely finish reading the story through the tears in your eyes, but somehow, you manage it. Your little one looks up at you, her eyes filled with admiration.

“Mommy, that was the best story ever. Read it again.”


Note to Parents: I used this technique with my kids to change things up a bit. It made for a fun and memorable time, but I have one bit of advice for you. Do NOT try this with the bedtime story. You’ll never get your child to settle down.

Happy Reading!
Theresa Schultz
Stress-FreeParent.blogspot.com

The Tale of Despereaux: Book Review

Title: The Tale of Despereaux
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Timothy Basil Ering
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (April 11, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0763625299
ISBN-13: 978-0763625290


Newbery Medal winner for 2004 is The Tale of Despereaux, being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread. It is also a story of love, hope and forgiveness. However, as clever as it is there is some sadness and violence with some seedy characters and some without any morals at all. Despereaux has the odds stacked against him. I think this is why so many children will love this story. Who can resist a lovable underdog?

The new baby mouse, Despereaux is born with his eyes open and extra large ears. He does not fit in with the rest of the mice. Despereaux is the knight in shining armor of the story and a romantic who can also hear sounds his fellow mice cannot. He follows the sound of beautiful music to find Princess Pea who he falls madly in love with. This causes his father to turn him in to the Mouse Council for falling in love with a human. His brother helps to carry out the life prison term in the rat filled dungeon which is a sure death sentence. Despereaux is rejected by his family and fellow mice because he is different.

Enter rejected, Mig Sow, whose father sells her for a handful of cigarettes, a hen and a red table cloth. No one cares what Mig wants. She is hit upside the head daily until she is almost deaf when a quirk of fate frees her and sends her to the castle as a paid servant. The rat, Roscuro, short for Chiaroscuro, an artistic word, which means the arrangement of light and dark together accidentally becomes attracted to light. Rats are not supposed to like light. His brief exposure causes him to set out on a quest to bring light to the depths of his dungeon home. Roscuro successfully finds a source of light but sees himself for the first time as a rat. An ugly rat that no one likes.

“Rat.” He had never before been aware what an ugly word it was. “Rat.” In the middle of all the beauty, it immediately became clear that it was an extremely distasteful syllable. “Rat.”….It was then Roscuro realized he didn’t like being a rat.

The twist of the story’s ups and downs of Despereaux is never dull.

About the Author: Kate DiCamillo is also the author of Because of Winn-Dixie and Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. If you want to be a writer, write a little bit every day. Pay attention to the world around you. Stories are hiding, waiting everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and your heart.

I also discovered how much time and work goes into creating stories. In college, teachers often complimented me on my writing, and I made the mistake of believing I had a talent for it. I finally realized that talent really doesn't have anything to do with it, but working does. So five days a week, I get up, drink a cup of coffee, and then go to the computer and write. Two pages a day are what I ask of myself. I never want to write, but I'm always glad that I have done it. It takes me about a year to finish a book.


Write it down,
Carma