The text is written in a light, conversational tone. The punctuation marks are characters who often introduce themselves to the reader, speaking in first person. Possessive Apostrophe (the character on the front cover) says, “When I get ahold of something, that’s that- you don’t get rid of me.” At the bottom of each page are reminders of things to do (and not to do) with that particular punctuation mark. What an excellent way to reinforce learning!

The illustrations feature sweet figures that appear to have roots in Japanese chibi. The characters have a lot of visual clues as to how that particular form of punctuation works. For example, the list-making comma has a list in its hand and a line of commas in its tool belt.

For the student who may not quite grasp grammar yet, this refreshing approach might be exactly what’s needed to bring clarity. The creative illustrations are absolutely fantastic for visual learners. It would also be a wonderful book for the child who simply wants a quick review of the basics from time to time.

In the back, the book shows off its educational roots with a summary of eight different parts of speech and some questions to test comprehension. There is also an index and a three page glossary. Even better, each book comes with a poster of the various characters that acts as reference for study at a glance.

If you are looking for an educational reference about punctuation that’s packed with kid appeal, then this is a book to consider.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: Kingfisher; Pap/Pstr edition (July 6, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0753464209
ISBN-13: 978-0753464205

This video shows some of the other books available. You might be able to spot the author’s British roots.

This book was a review copy.

Starting with a perennial favorite, Jane Austin, and ending with superstar J.K. Rowling, these biographies tell of personal struggles, doubts, and rejection letters. Mary Ann Evans, writing in the 1800’s, took the pen name of a man, George Eliot, in order to be taken seriously as a writer. (Have times changed so much? Read interviews by modern mystery writer J.A. Jance.) Funny, talented Judy Blume faced criticism and censorship. Yet these women did not give up and eventually found success.

You can’t help, but to learn from these stories. Heather Ball writes:

Sometimes, a writer’s ideas come from her own experiences. She writes about her family, friends, her home and how she feels about things that go on around her… Sometimes, a writer wants to protest an injustice or express a strong opinion… And then sometimes, a writer is compelled to write suddenly, as if she has received a gift.

Remarkable Women Writers is part of the Women’s Hall of Fame Series. I love the format of relatively short, easy-to-read biographies that are still filled with rich detail. Each chapter has appropriate black and white illustrations and photographs (depending on the era), and interesting sidebars to pull the reader in. There is a very useful list of sources in the back, organized by author, so that you can quickly delve more deeply into the lives of the writers who interest you.

The biographies would be appropriate for approximately age nine and up. If you are a reader and/or a writer, this book definitely has something for you.

Paperback: 100 pages
Publisher: SECOND STORY PRESS (2006)
ISBN-10: 1897187084
ISBN-13: 978-1897187081
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.4 inches

I wish to thank the publisher for being willing to provide a copy of this older book.

If you want to learn more, check the 15 Words or Less Guidelines.

Today the photo prompt is a shower head spurting water drops.

Here are my 10 Words:

Ideas flow
in the shower
Can’t stay in
all day

Wow, what a great way to jump start the writing muse in the morning.

If you are an unpublished author (please check the website for the rules about being published), then you should consider the 4th Annual Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories New Author Contest. Basically, you need to enter by July 15, 2010 and if you win, your work will be published and distributed in cereal boxes. There are profiles of past winners at the Simon and Schuster site.

After finding a free copy of Duck for President by Diane Cronin in our Cheerios one day, we have been hooked on the Spoonfuls of Stories idea.

(Oats cereal rings by Petr Kratochvil)

Good luck!

Rosen calls the technically savvy kids the “iGeneration,” with the “i” in this case standing for individualized. In the past media was generic and everyone watched or listened to the same limited offerings provided on television or the radio. In contrast, the youngest children have grown up with a plethora of choices. From the TV they watch to the music they download, the media they experience is all individualized to their specific, unique tastes.

The individualization doesn’t stop at media, either. What children experience and learn is also more personal.

” ‘They know almost every piece of information they want is at their disposal whenever they need it,’ [Dave] Verhaagen [a child and adolescent psychologist in Charlotte] says. ‘They’re less interested in learning facts and learning data than in knowing how to gain access to it and synthesize it and integrate it into their life.’ ”

If this statement is true, then it represents a huge challenge to those of us writing children’s nonfiction books. Not only do we need to present the facts in an entertaining way, but also make them more personal and relevant than ever before. On the other hand, the bit that children’s books do well is the synthesis of information, and we have to continue to make that a strength.

Although challenging, the extra effort will likely result in innovative and better quality books. I can’t wait to see where we go next.

What about you? What do you think about the idea of the iGeneration? How do you think it will change children’s books?

‘igeneration’ kids grow up techie
By Sharon Jayson, USA Today. Retrieved 2/27/10 from http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/kids/articles/2010/02/09/20100209i-generation-kids-technology.html

I have following Sandra Foyt’s On Living By Learning blog, for awhile now, because she has a keen knack of accomplishing both the “doing” and the “writing.” When she wrote a post titled 2010 Writing Resolution: Get Published, it caught my attention. It was time to take things to a new level.

In How To Write The SAHM Blogger Resume, Sandra explains how having a blog has given her experience in writing and computer skills that she can put on her resume. She also included some links and tips if you need to brush up your own resume.

Get Published: Start Writing and Establish a Writer’s Platform has an extensive interview with writing teacher Christina Katz about establishing a writer’s platform. What does that mean? Basically, you need to establish an area of professional expertise that gives you both credentials and visibility. At the end of the post Sandra gives us the challenge to write, create a writing schedule, and identify and remove distractions. Let’s do it!

I am really excited about her most recent post, Get Published: 7 Reasons to Diversify Your Writing. I like her ideas to practice more and write faster. Even if you don’t have a deadline, give yourself one. I am a member of a critique group. Having regular meetings where I need to write something good enough for others to read is a great way to create deadlines.

I can’t wait to see how Sandra’s project turns out.
What about you? Do you have writing goals this year?

Ben Franklin must have followed his own advice, because his words are still in print more than 200 years later.

Did I win fame and fortune? No, but I did get my membership renewed, which was extremely valuable to me.  That’s why I am going to recommend two writing contests that have deadlines coming up soon. I like writing contests that don’t charge a fee and potentially lead to publication.

Delacorte Press has a contest for a first young adult novel.  Entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2009. They want manuscripts from authors who have not previously published young adult novels and will accept up to two submissions. Might be an incentive for getting your NaNoWriMo efforts ready.

Highlights Magazine 2010 Contest wants a fiction entry based on a true story from your family. Entries must be postmarked between January 1 and 31, 2010. See their guidelines for more details.

Good luck and let me know if you win!

Over the years I have found a few writing books that I find I go back to again and again, like old friends. I’d like to share them here. Although I recommend some that are for writing for or by children, all of these books contain information helpful for the craft of writing in general.

Any of Natalie Goldberg’s books for writers are wise and wonderful. Her highly personal style is particularly good for people interested in creating a memoir. She’s also an excellent resource if you have writer’s block and/or need encouragement or inspiration. Two examples are: Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within and Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer’s Craft.

Stephen King’s On Writing is a real bargain. Even if you don’t enjoy his genre or condone his lifestyle, the meat of his advice about writing is definitely worth much more than you’ll pay for his book.

You might wonder why I have included The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson, since it is about how the English language came about. I think that if you understand the language and how it works, you can use it more effectively. Plus Bryson is a compelling writer himself and it is worth studying his style.

Anastasia Suen is a prolific author who also teaches online courses on writing for children. Her book, Picture Writing, is based on a lot of experience and knowledge. Writers of all levels and genres can benefit from her insights. (Now, if she would just write a book on how she manages her time and her organizational system, because she manages to accomplish a superhuman amount!)

Instead of teaching adults how to write for children, Ralph Fletcher writes books to help children and young adult’s learn the craft. Two examples of his many titles are How Writers Work: Finding a Process That Works for You and Poetry Matters. I like his books because his passion shows through. They are good because they are quick to read and to the point.

Finally, I found The Novel by James A. Michener a fascinating glimpse of his writing world. Although from another time, and overlaid with a thin layer of fiction, it still speaks to a number of issues a writer faces.

Hope you find something useful in this list. I would love to hear what books you turn to when writing.

And now, check out this cool widget from Amazon. Isn’t it fun?

If you are thinking about joining in, but aren’t sure, I’ll share some of my own NaNoWriMo musings.

5 great reasons to participate:

1. The feeling of being part of a huge community of writers all trying to accomplish the same goal in their own way is exhilarating. Trying to do the seemingly impossible adds to the adrenaline rush.

2. If you are lucky, you will find writing time in nooks and crannies of your day where you hadn’t considered to look. You may push yourself to new word counts at rates you never thought possible. The cool badges put your word counts out there for everyone to see.

3. You may learn more about your craft. If you have never written a novel before, you will definitely learn more about crafting a plot, developing characters, dialogue and hundreds of other writing intangibles, such as the fact your characters will develop minds of their own and fly off in unexpected ways.

4. You create your very own novel!

5. NaNoWriMo may lead to many positive outcomes, regardless of what happens with your novel. In my case, I started a personal blog to record my thoughts on the writing process as I went along (you can find a link to it on the about page of this blog). That personal blog developed into Wrapped In Foil, through which I have “met” many fine people in the kidlitosphere. It would not have happened if I hadn’t participated in NaNoWriMo.

You never know where it will take you.

Although participating in NaNoWriMo may be glamorous and fun, there are many solid reasons not to participate:

1. You might want to give it a miss if adult fiction is not your genre. There are a few attempts to create children’s literature-friendly versions of NaNoWriMo, but let’s face it, different genre’s require varied writing skills. The ability to write children’s picture books is more the ability to distill and weed out words rather than write prolifically. In my case, I am committed to children’s nonfiction, rather than adult fiction.

2. Your family members need those essentials, such as a roof over their head, nutrition and hygiene. If participating in NaNoWriMo is going to compromise your ability to provide those, well, enough said.

3. You have other projects that will take you further if you were to complete them. Go for those instead. Finishing that PhD thesis? Yes, that might be more important.

4. Your novel requires a lot of research to provide historical or scientific accuracy. One month is not enough time to do hordes of research and write too, even with Google. Go for the quality, not the quantity.

5. This isn’t the “write” year. Give yourself a break. or find challenges that are more in step with what is going on in your life. Another writing activity to consider is National Blog Posting Month, or maybe you want to do a reading challenge instead. Sometimes knowing your limits is more important than testing them.

NaNoWriMo or not? What do you think?

A middle-grade fiction book about a 12-year-old boy with autism doesn’t necessarily sound like a must read, but Anything But Typical is never what you expect. If you know someone with autism, you have to read this book. If you are interested in the craft of writing, you have to read this book. If you are a teacher with quirky students, you have to read this book. And, oh yes, if you are a middle-grade aged kid who likes a superbly written book, you have to read this book.

Nora Raleigh Baskin has taken on a tough assignment by telling the story from the point of view of the main character, Jason. It would be easy to fall into stereotypes or even worse, to create an unrealistic voice. Baskin has avoided the traps and created a character you can identify with and root for, a boy with an alphabet of labels who turns those letters into wonderful stories.

People with autistic spectrum disorders often have narrowly focused talents and/or interests. Some writers are going to say that Baskin copped out by having Jason an aptitude for writing. What’s easier than writing about a character with an ability in your own craft? Rather than taking the easy route, however, Baskin has defied the stereotypes. Too often people with autism spectrum disorders are pigeonholed as computer geeks, engineers or scientists. An autistic boy who is a gifted writer is a refreshing change.

Because Jason’s writing is such an important part, this book is a gem for teaching language arts. All the elements for crafting a fiction story, such as foreshadowing and conflict, are laid out for all to see. Reading this book would allow many opportunities for discussions about writing, and for tie-in writing activities as well as for ample material for sensitive discussions about autism.

Anything But Typical is a special book. My friend Lisa recommended to me (Thank you, Lisa!). Now it is my turn to recommend it to you. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing (March 24, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416963782
ISBN-13: 978-1416963783