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CALLING ALL TEACHERS – Writing Contest for K – 12 Students!

Who Can Participate:       Students in Kindergarten – Grade 12

Here’s How It Works:

Students write an essay, poem, or thank-you letter (500 words or less, in English on 8.5″ x 11″ white paper) sharing how a teacher has influenced their life and why they appreciate and admire them. Each entry should be submitted with the entry form and a parent or legal guardian must sign the entry form acknowledging that they have read the Official Contest Rules.

Participating schools will collect the essays and provide them to their local Barnes & Noble store representative. Deadline for entries is Friday, March 18, 2011. Winners are selected, and the local store and community celebrations begin! If your school is not participating in the contest and you would like your teacher to be considered for the local and regional award as well as the national Barnes & Noble Teacher of the Year Award, please submit your signed entry form in person or by mail to your local store. Forms must be postmarked by March 18, 2011 and can be sent to any Barnes & Noble store near you

 (a complete list of stores is available at http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com).

A store representative will ensure it is entered into the pool of entries for the awards.

What Students Get:   The students who write the winning essays or poems will receive a certificate of recognition and be honored at their local store during a ceremony for the winning teachers.

What Teachers Get:  The winning teacher will be recognized at an event at their local Barnes & Noble store where they will receive a special award acknowledging their achievement, a set of ten (10) Sterling Children’s Classics books for their library, and additional recognition and praise from their community.

The six regional winners will each receive a NOOK™ eBook Reader and a $500 Barnes & Noble Gift Card. The winner of the “Barnes & Noble Teacher of the Year” award will receive $5,000 and be recognized at a special event at a Barnes & Noble store. The winning teacher’s school will receive $5,000 as well, and an author visit by Laurie Halse Anderson, a New York Times bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. The winner will also receive five copies of the winning essay published in hardcover by Tikatok.com, the site where students create and publish their own books, and a $250 Tikatok Gift Card that will allow the teacher to publish select stories written by students in their class.

Visit this site for more information:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/my-favorite-teacher/379002376/

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Enter A 90 Second Video Contest!

Here are the rules quoted from James Kennedy’s blog:

1. Your video should be 90 seconds or less. (Okay, okay: if it’s three minutes long but absolute genius, we’ll bend the rules for you. But let’s try to keep them short.)

2. Your video has to be about a Newbery award-winning (or Newbery honor-winning) book.

3. Your video must condense the plot of the book in 90 seconds or less. Again, exceptions will be made for something really ingeniously bonkers, but it has to be related to a Newbery winning book.

4. Upload your videos to YouTube or Vimeo or whatever and send me the link at kennedyjames [at] gmail [dot] com. Make the subject line be “90 SECOND NEWBERY” and please tell me your name, age, where you’re from, and whatever other comments you’d like to include, including whether you’d like me to link to your personal site. You can give an alias if you want; I understand privacy concerns.

5. Sending the link to me grants me (James Kennedy) the right to post it on my blog and to other websites where I sometimes post content (like Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and to share at public readings, school visits—and hopefully the “90-Second Newbery” Film Festival at the New York Public Library in the Fall of 2011.

6. Deadline is September 15, 2011. 

Here’s his blog to see other information, and an example of a video for A WRINKLE IN TIME.

http://jameskennedy.com/90-second-newbery/

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Children’s Author Passes On . . .

So long, great author!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/05/dick-king-smith-obituary

1. Read a book by Dick King-Smith.   Write an original story featuring animals with distinct personalities.

2.  Watch the movie Babe, after reading the book that inspired the movie.  What are the differences between the two?

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Ten Great Books I’ve Read this Year

The following books are a mixture of books intended for adults, young adults and children.    I have marked the adult books.
 
In Franklin’s House by Beverly Lauderdale,  Oak Tree Press, 2010. 
(Marketed for adults)
 
Two stories interweave deftly; one at the turn of the century and one in present day with an intriguing and handsome ghost. When the main character, Kate, discovers a 1906 diary and a lovely necklace, she accidentally stumbles into a portal of another world.  Romance, suspense and history plus a story evocative of the time and place. 
 
The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak, Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.   
 
Death narrates this book set in World War II Germany, when nine-year-old Liesel Meminger steals her first book, The Gravediggers Handbook. 
 
Charles and Emma  by  Deborah Heilgman , Henry Holt & Co., 2009.
 
An amazing nonfiction book that reads like a novel, we learn about the life and work of Charles Darwin and that of his wife, Emma. 
 
 Marcelo in the Real World  by Francisco X. Stork, Arthur A. Levine, 2009.
 
I was all set to dislike this book, because problem-novels “aren’t my thing.”  Surely a book on Asperger’s syndrome wouldn’t be something I’d delve into with excitement?  I’m pleased to announce I was very wrong.  With a powerful voice, strong characters and high tension, you’ll be swept into this story right through until the end.
 
 
One Crazy Summer  by Rita Williams-Garcia, Amistad, 2010.
 
Eleven-year-old Delphine and her two sisters fly from Oakland, California to stay with their poet mother, Cecile in 1968.  Cecile isn’t going to win the World’s Best Mother Award, so Delphine has to hold everything together.  Cecile’s mysterious work, the girls’ involvement in the Black Panther-run community center, and her relationship with her mother all grows into an unforgettable read. 
 
 
Clean, Well-Lighted Sentences  by Janis Bell, W.W. Norton and Co., 2009.
(Marketed for adults but should be used in schools too!)
 
Humorous and clearly written, the author shows the grammar and punctuation problems people need to learn.  Fun quizzes are at the back of each of the seven chapters.
 
 The Year of Living Biblically by  A.J. Jacobs, Simon & Schuster, 2008.
(Marketed for adults.)
 
Hysterical!   Written by an agnostic, although Jewish by birth, Jacobs will teach you more about yourself, the Bible, and make you question your own spirituality and religion than you ever thought possible.  He lives the Bible literally each day for one year. 
 
Growing Up by Russell Baker , Signet, 1992.
(Marketed for adults but I’m sure it’s used in high schools and middle schools.)
 
Pulitzer-winning Baker’s memoir about growing up between the two world wars is a “you-have-to-read-this-book” before you ever attempt to write your own memoir. 
 
The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers  
(Marketed for adults and young adults.)
 
Twelve-year-old Frankie Adams grows up in the American South.  Character, emotions, and adolescence written richly and with grace.
 
 
The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Putnam, 2009.
(Marketed for adults) 
Although everyone I know has read this already, and a movie is on the way, I can’t help mentioning it.  Set in 1962 in Mississippi, I probably don’t need to say any more. 
 
 
 
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Create a Model for a Children’s Book

Look at this fabulous contest where kids used potatoes and created their favorite characters from children’s books!   If you are a teacher or librarian you could try it too. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aj_fotos/sets/72157625109250067/show/

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When a Publishing House Dies

“Tricycle is dead, ”  the e-mail said. 

I gasped.  Grief overwhelmed me.

How could this be? 

It happened to soon. 

I’m not ready for it.

I thought of the amazing books out of this quirky and unique small publishing house.   The hysterical George Hogglesberry Grade School Alien by Sarah Wilson,  the lyrical and moving Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown.  And who can forget Adventures of COW by COW?

 Tricycle Press’ sudden demise shouldn’t have come as such a shock.  After all, when Random House bought them, we knew anything could happen.  When a small publisher is gobbled up by a large one . . . who knows what the big guys are thinking?  

They wanted to buy Ten Speed, the adult publishing branch and they ditched the children’s division.  Isn’t that just like the world?  Giving second thought to kids? 

When I was in children’s theater, the “real” theater department considered children’s theater “second class” because we were “only” for kids.  Ha.  They didn’t get it.

Pretty soon we’ll have one or two gigantic publishers owning everything.  Every author will have the same voice.  There will be no choice in the world. 

So let’s “get it.” 

Right now, go to your bookstore and buy a quirky, unusual, fabulous book for kids.  Read it yourself!  Give it as a gift!  Don’t have a kid in your life?  Donate it to a local elementary school library.  Every school library is in need these days! 

Let’s promote small publishers,  unique independent bookstores,  unknown authors, well-done ANYTHING for kids!  Let’s have MANY voices instead of a few brands.  Join together to promote reading. 

Let us use this death to promote action.  Rest in Peace Tricycle.

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Want to learn the secrets of the publishing industry?

Visit some authors of the Mt. Diablo Branch California Writers Club in Contra Costa County, CA.  They’ll answer YOUR QUESTIONS about writing. Want to learn how they found an agent?  Discover how THEY got published?   Have a persnikety problem regarding writing craft?  Ask the experts for free!

PLUS if you are a middle school student, you can learn about all of these things AND how you can win $$$$$$$ in the current short story, personal narrative and poetry contest!   Not sure you want to enter the contest but you want to write?  Discover how YOU can take a FREE writing workshop!

 Local Authors Book Signing Benefit at Pleasant Hill Barnes and Noble

On Saturday, November 27, 2010, published authors from the Mt. Diablo Branch of the California Writers Club will sign their books to benefit their annual Contra Costa middle school Young Writers Contest.  The Barnes and Noble Bookstore at 552 Contra Costa Blvd., Pleasant Hill, will host the event from 11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.

All Contra Costa middle school students, their parents and teachers are encouraged to attend and ask questions about the upcoming free writing workshops and contest.  

A portion of in-store purchases will benefit the Young Writers Contest, supporting the art and craft of writing in all of the county’s public and private middle schools. Shoppers can buy personally autographed copies of adult mysteries, fiction, non-fiction, drama, young adult, and children’s books.

Local writers who will be signing their books include: Barbara Bentley, Nannette Carroll, Jon Cory, Lynn Goodwin ,Margaret Grace, Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff, and Nanette McGuinness. 

Visit:  http://www.mtdiablowriters.org

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American Library Association’s 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books 1990-2000

When I saw some of the titles on the list of censored books below, I just shook my head in amazement.  Are you kidding me?  I feel sorry for the children and adults who are trying to stop OTHERS from reading these great works of literature.

Now I’m not saying that because a book title is mentioned here it IS a great work of literature.  There are two that pop out at me that would NOT fit in that category in MY opinion.    However, I wouldn’t tell anyone else they couldn’t or shouldn’t read them. 

Some of my favorite books are on this list.  Thank goodness for the English teachers in my past who shared some of them with me.   When my son was in first and second grade he read every book by Roald Dahl.   These books are what turned him on to reading.  

I’m guessing How to Read Fried Worms is on there because some terrified Mommy thinks her kid will try to eat one.  (Sigh)  And if someone refuses to have Mark Twain on the book shelf . . . it’s sad.  Dialogue.  Dialogue.  Dialogue about what was acceptable back those days and what is acceptable now.  We can learn about our past and our future by discussion and comparison.

There are tons of non-reading kids who would never have opened a book willingly if it had not been for the Goosebump series.  Not to even mention Harry Potter.  JK turned on adults to reading too because of her series!

The Stupids?  If you haven’t read The Stupids, no matter what age you are, go out immediately to your independent bookstore and buy this series!  Or go to the library and check them out.  They are hysterical!

I happen to know that author Chris Crutcher has saved many lives by his books.  Kids NEED his books.  When you are drowning with problems you have to read about kids like you.  Don’t parents get it?  You don’t want to feel like you are alone.  Crutcher is a school therapist and teacher and he is threatened with all sorts of ridiculousness just because adults are afraid of what they don’t understand.  Fear will do all sorts of weird things to you.  Like make you be afraid of what your kids will read.

There is a lot of hate in the world because of fear.  People fear and hate what they do not know.  So of course we need books about subjects that are different from the norm.  Just because you accept people who live other lifestyles doesn’t mean your child will change overnight and decide to live in another lifestyle. 

Just this very weekend a good friend told me I had to Read Pillars of the Earth.   This bit of serendipity that means I have to go get it now. 

And if you are afraid, remember that you get to have a dialogue with your child as he or she reads.  This is the most fun and interesting part of reading! 

I used to tease my son about this.  “Tofer, this is why I had a kid.  So we could read and talk books!” 

100 Most Frequently Challenged Books: 1990–2000

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz

Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling

Forever by Judy Blume

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Giver by Lois Lowry

It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris

Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine

A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Sex by Madonna

Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard

The Witches by Roald Dahl

The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein

Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry

The Goats by Brock Cole Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane

Blubber by Judy Blume Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam

We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier

Final Exit by Derek Humphry

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Pigman by Paul Zindel

Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard

Deenie by Judy Blume

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden

The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar

Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)

Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole

Cujo by Stephen King

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell

Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy

Ordinary People by Judith Guest American

Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Crazy Lady by Jane Conly

Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher

Fade by Robert Cormier

 Guess What? by Mem Fox

The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Native Son by Richard Wright

Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday Curses,

Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen

Jack by A.M. Homes Bless Me,

Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya

Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle

Carrie by Stephen King Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge Family

Secrets by Norma Klein

Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole

The Dead Zone by Stephen King

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Always Running by Luis Rodriguez

Private Parts by Howard Stern

Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Running Loose by Chris Crutcher

Sex Education by Jenny Davis

The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene

Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts

The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney

Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Writing Prompts:

1.  What is your favorite book on this list?  Why is it your favorite?

2.  Write about censorship and your feelings about it.

3.  Have you or any of your books, thoughts, or feelings ever been censored?  How?  What happened? 

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Teachers and Librarians – Win $1000 in Graphic Novels for Your School – Enter by Sept. 24, 2010

Picture Literacy Contest by School Library Journal

Grand Prize  $1000 in Graphic Novels for Your School!

Second Place  $300 Graphic Novel Prize Package

Two Runner-Ups  $100 Graphic Novel Prize Package Each

http://reg.accelacomm.com/servlet/Frs.frs?Script=/LP/51082954/reg&Context=START

Sweepstake Rules

http://msi.dynamicdatainc.com/images/PictureLiteracy_Rules.pdf

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Metafiction for Children

Metafiction is fiction about fiction, or a device that draws attention to the book.  I remember laughing out loud while reading William Goldman’s The Princess Bride when the author cleverly tells the reader that this is a story in many unique ways.  ( I’m not going to tell you how he does this.  Go read the book!)

For some examples in children’s literature, see the entertaining video posted here.  

Then you try your hand at a bit of metafiction!  Draw the reader into your story or poem by making fun of the convention. 

http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/2010/09/03/metafiction-children-users-guide

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