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

10 Tips to a Terrific Picture Book

Writing for children is not easy. An author's words and an illustrator's pictures must be chosen carefully because a young child's vocabulary is quite short. They do not understand long drawn out sentences. Please enjoy this article by Emma Walton Hamilton. She lays out the specifics of picture book writing in a most organized way.

Writing well for young readers can be deceptively difficult - almost like writing haiku. Here are ten tips to make the most out of your picture book manuscript:

1. Craft a simple, clear plot based on a single situation. What does your main character want, what's in their way, and how do they solve it in the end?

2. Tell the story from the point of view of someone the same age as your reader. The main character should ideally be a child, or a character (even if animal) of the same age or spirit as the reader, so that the reader can identify with him or her.

3. Write what you know. Research is important, but nothing will make your writing more compelling than drawing on your own knowledge and experience of people, places ands things. For example, use what you know about being a parent (or having one) to make a mother character (albeit a bunny, or an alien) seem truly authentic. Even in fantasy or historical fiction, try to infuse your characters, situations and storytelling with details from your own personal knowledge and experience to make them really come alive.

4. Jump right in. Start your story immediately, and don't take up too much time with settings or descriptions. Which grabs your attention better?

Chutney was a small white dog.

or

Chutney was lost.

5. Think visually. The average picture book is 32 pages long, including title pages, dedications and acknowledgments. Try laying out your manuscript in dummy format, with 16 pages folded in half to make 32 pages. What might the corresponding illustrations look like? At what point in the text will the reader turn the page? Think in terms of action - what makes your reader want to turn the page to find out what happens next?

6. Make every word count. Illustrations reveal as much about your story as words do. Choose your words carefully, and don't write what the illustrations will show. Avoid excessive use of adjectives and unnecessary detail. Economy is key - try to synthesize what you want to say into as few words as possible, artfully chosen.

7. Know your theme. What's your point? What message do you want to convey to your readers, what thoughts or feelings do you want to leave them with? Great books do more than entertain - they leave the reader with new ideas, a fresh perspective. Whether called message, moral, or point of view, your theme is best revealed through the actions of your characters and the events of the tale - as opposed to any heavy-handed "and the moral of the story is..." summations or direct address.

8. Use verse with caution. It's tempting to think that rhyme alone makes for an engaging story for a child - but many aspiring children's book authors neglect story structure for the sake of rhyme. If your story is in verse, make sure you craft a version in prose as well. Focus on finessing the story to make sure you've addressed the key points - character, plot, setting, theme - and then convert it back, to let the verse be the frosting on the cake, not the cake itself. Finally, be sure your verse is top-notch - that the rhymes are true and the meter scans consistently. Never try to bend the phrasing or emphasis to accommodate the rhyme.

9. Offer hope. OK, this is more a personal view than a professional one... but I believe children's books should ultimately be optimistic, even if the subject matter is sad. The world is hard enough. Young people need to know that there are solutions to problems, and that adversity can be overcome with faith, courage and right action. Think carefully about why you want to write for children, and what you want to leave them with. Their future may depend on it.

10. Polish, polish, polish! Because children's books are shorter than adult books, it's tempting to think you're done after the first or second draft - and rush ahead soliciting agents and publishers. But nothing can kill your chances of publication - or of success when published - faster than slipshod writing. Writing is all about re-writing. Read your book out loud to as many children in the target age range as you can. Notice what works, and what doesn't. Where do they get fidgety? What don't they understand? Read scores of books in the same genre, so you can see what makes the good ones sing. Consider hiring a freelance editor or writing consultant to evaluate your manuscript or provide a line-edit. Give it the care and professional attention it deserves. Your readers will thank you for it!

Have your manuscript edited by a bestselling children's book author and acclaimed editor! Visit http://www.childrensbookeditor.com for more information.

Emma Walton Hamilton is a bestselling children's book author, editor and arts educator. She has co-authored 16 books for children, four of which have been on the New York Times Bestseller List (including #1) and serves as the Editorial Director of the Julie Andrews Collection publishing program. Emma works as a freelance editor and speaks regularly on arts and literacy issues. http://www.emmawaltonhamilton.com

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

Write it down,
Carma

Write Short Fiction for Children

Have you ever wondered how some writer's are able to write such great stories for children? Especially short fiction. Children's short stories are fiction stories that are usually under 100 pages long.

Ideas for Children's short stories can range from animals, fairy tales, scary, or funny. Learning to write short stories deals with the same elements of long stories. The writer still needs to have a POV and most importantly a beginning, middle and end. However, children's short stories are not condensed stories from a larger version. Confused? The best way to learn how to write a short fiction story for children is to join the Children's Writer's Coaching Club now this week. During the month of September all CWCC members will be able to work on a short fiction story and have it critiqued before submitting. Does this sound like your cup of tea? Don't hesitate. Click on the logo below and sign up today.

Learn to write for children

Write it down,
Carma

Monday Writing Links for "In the Know" Children Writers

Welcome to Monday Links everyone and Happy Labor Day!

Writers are always on the lookout for relevant sources that will benefit a writing project. There are literally thousands of sources to check out and it can be overwhelming when you don't know where to click. One terrific site for children and Young Adult authors and publishers is Harold Underdown's The Purple Crayon. Here are a few links to groups of articles covering the basics of how to get started in publishing and detailed information articles that address specific subjects and specialties.

Basic Information Articles

Specific Information Articles

Also Harold Underdown is the author of the revised and updated "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books," third edition.

This link http://underdown.org/cig.htm will take you to The Complete Idiot's Guide page where you can access Chapter 3 The World of Children's Literature and Chapter 17 I Need an Agent! In addition you will be able to find some third edition FAQs and where to buy this book.

Write it down,
Carma