Author: Roberta

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Children’s Author Trivia Volume 15

trivia-logoSurprise! Next week we are thrilled to have an author of over thirty children’s books stop by for an interview. Take a look at the brief biography below and see if you can guess who will be coming.

This writer grew up on a farm in Michigan, which she says led to her interest in animals and nature. She graduated from college with a dual degree in English and Spanish, thinking that she would teach. Taking a home-study course on how to write children’s books made her realize that she wanted to write instead. After working as an editor for a children’s magazine, and an editor/writer for the coloring and activity books division of Golden Books, she began writing nonfiction books about animals and plants. More recently, her fiction has been published, with two popular books from Sylvan Dell Publishing, and another new title releasing this month from Star Bright Books.

Can you guess who is coming to visit? Leave us a comment if you have an idea.

Edit: Answer was posted.

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Answers to Children’s Author Trivia Volume 14

Today we have two authors who used pen names to cover their identities, although for two very different reasons.

31. This extremely prolific author covered the fact she had so many books published by using the pen names Golden MacDonald, Juniper Sage, Kaintuck Brown and Timothy Hay. Do you know her real name?

Would you believe Margaret Wise Brown? Before her untimely death at the age to 42, Brown felt she was publishing too many books per year. She created pen names so that people wouldn’t realize she was turning out such a volume of books.

How did she come up with so many books? One of her secrets was that she worked closely with children at the Bank Street Experimental School in New York City. The children told her stories and she shared hers. Who wouldn’t be inspired under those conditions?

Many of Margaret Wise Brown’s books have stood the test of time and are still available today, including the classics Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny.

32. The next author was said to have disguised her gender by using the initials P.L. It turns out, however, she was born in Australia under one name and when she moved to England, she assumed another. A wildly popular Disney movie is named for the main character of her children’s books, but she was not at all happy with how it turned out and refused to have Americans associated with any further adaptations. Any ideas who she might be?

The author we know as P.L. Travers, or Pamela Travers, was born Helen Lyndon Goff in Australia. Now do you know her famous character?

Pamela Travers created Mary Poppins!

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A Kid’s Guide to Latino History is Excelente!

I have a confession to make. I absolutely love Chicago Review Press’ children’s books with hands-on activities. They are fabulous. Given that, it is no wonder Valerie Petrillo’s A Kid’s Guide to Latino History:  More than 50 Activities is the book I picked for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Wrapped around so many juicy projects that you want to do them all at once, is the history of Latinos starting from Columbus’s discovery of the New World for Spain. This history is not an easy one to read, and it is could be controversial in our current political climate. Petrillo hits the right tone, however, with a quick and straightforward recitation of the facts. She has a lot of information to cover, and she gets right to the point. She supplies enough details to keep children interested. but not so many they are overwhelmed.

Without a doubt, however, the activities are the star of this wonderful book. Starting with a recipe for Champurrado, a drink with Spanish roots, to designing a poster to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, this book has a wealth of activities. There are games, toys, crafts, dances and food. These are thoughtful, carefully-researched projects that truly reinforce learning. The activities could be used with the text or stand alone. Every educator will want a copy of this incredibly useful resource nearby.

In fact there are so many wonderful projects, I wish Hispanic Heritage Month lasted all year!

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Chicago Review Press (August 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1556527713
ISBN-13: 978-1556527715

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by Anastasia Suen’s Nonfiction Monday page. This week’s post is at Madigan Reads.

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Cybils Nominations

October is such a busy month.
cybils2010

Be sure to take time, however, to nominate your favorite children’s and young adult books for Cybil Awards. Nominations are open until  October 15th at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time). Simply go to the Cybils website, scroll down to the appropriate genre of the book you want to nominate and then follow the simple instructions. Make sure your book was published within the last year, between the dates listed in the rules. (I hope my nomination is going to be considered because it is being released near the October 15, 2010 deadline.)

Not interested in nominating a book? The Cybils website is an absolutely fabulous place to find exciting new books for your age group and interests. The nominated books are the cream of the children’s book world, and you will find some treasures. The good news for busy folks is that the book lists will be finalized at the end of the nomination period and can be viewed at any time in the upcoming months.

Holiday shopping, anyone?