Children’s Writing Web Journal

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If you said Janette Sebring Lowrey, you are good.

But most folks probably draw a blank, even though The Poky Little Puppy is one of the most famous children’s books ever written.  Ms. Lowrey deserves better, and the Beaumont Enterprise has done its part to remember their hometown girl with this article that recounts her life and works.  Turns out Janette was quite prolific, although her books beyond Poky are little known.

Take a minute to read the article and pay respects to the lady who gave the world a book that, for many young readers, is a true first love.

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/local/orange_native_wrote__poky_little_puppy___the_best-selling_kids__book_of_all_time_12-21-2008.html

Infant and board books don’t always get enough attention, so we enjoyed seeing this blog post from Joan Holub about a delightful soft-cloth book called Button Nose by Nina Laden.

Some real creativity can be found in this genre, and the folks who make it happen don’t get enough love.  So go and give them some!

http://readertotz.blogspot.com/2008/12/nina-laden-button-nose.html

Interested in writing stories and sending them to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Some breaking news:

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell (Scholastic) has won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.  The award ceremony was held tonight in New York.

Congratulations, Judy — it’s a great accomplishment!

For full details, check out this piece at School Library Journal.

Any petty reason you might have for not persuing your dream of writing children’s books has now been thoroughly put to shame, thanks to an Australian gentleman named Richard Dabinett.

Richard, a 66 year old Blacktown resident, published his first book, A Day’s Fishing with Pop, last February and has sold 1300 copies.  He has a dozen more books written and is about to release Shaboo - The Runaway Elephant.

So what’s the big deal?  Just this:

Richard Dabinett learned how to read and write just four years ago, at the age of 62.

So, what was that excuse of yours again?

Writer finds his voice

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

The children’s literature blog world (or Kidlitosphere, as it’s come to be known) is filled with smart, clever and insightful folks.  So many, in fact, that it can be a bit overwhelming to keep up with all the genius being tossed around out there.  So, we’re doing our part, by highlighting the absolute best postings from the Kidlitosphere in this daily video series.

Have a look…and then pay the featured blogs a visit.  And tell ‘em Jon sent you!

Today’s posts:

Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Brian Lies

My Epitaph: Suh-weet TY Note

“LinkIn” To Opportunity!

Comment Challenge: Questions & Answers

I got my first solicitation from AARP yesterday. I’m not 50 — not even close. Well, I can see 50 peeking over the horizon, but it’s still blurry unless I’m wearing my reading glasses.

Whenever I’m feeling more mature than I’d like, I read children’s books. A great book for kids pulls me right back to my childhood. A stellar novel for young adults makes me feel like a teen again, only now I’ve got some perspective on the experience and can actually laugh about it. And interestingly enough, many of the most popular authors, the ones who really get their audience, are old enough that their own childhoods would be considered historical fiction by their readers (or at the very least, retro).

Two of my favorites are Lauren Myracle, beloved author of contemporary middle grade and teen fiction, and Mo Willems, hero of the picture book and easy reader crowd. Lauren and Mo have got it — they know exactly how to speak to their audiences without sounding like stuffy grown-ups, and yet we could have all gone to school together (OK, just to clarify, I would have been in sixth grade when they were in kindergarten, but I’m sure they were so cool even back then that I would have hung out with them). (more…)

As I read this story in today’s paper, my first though was “what a wonderful children’s book this would make”.  Turns out, someone beat me to it.

Angel Girl by Laurie Friedman, illustrated by Ofra Amit (Carolrhoda Books) recounts the story of Herman Rosenblat, a teenager held at a death camp in Schlieben, Germany, and Roma Radziki, a girl living free in the village while her family posed as Christians.  Each day, Roma tossed Herman an apple over the barbed wire.  They never spoke, they never knew the other’s name.  They simply shared a daily act of humanity and kindness in the midst of insanity.

More than a decade later, the two were reunited by pure chance on a blind date.  They married and this year celebrate their 50th anniversary.

This is a story almost perfectly suited for a picture book, where it can be relayed simply and without adornment.  No need to pad the story to 300 pages or come up with enough “backstory” to reach a 90 minute running time.  Just keep it simple and let the events speak for themselves.

Here’s a preview:

Young adult fiction is hot right now, especially for older readers ages 14 and up. New publishers and imprints are popping up all the time. Be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Evelyn Fazio, publisher of WestSide Books, in the November issue of Children’s Book Insider. WestSide will debut its list of contemporary, realistic teen fiction in Spring 09.

When I teach writing workshops around the country, I meet aspiring authors who want to try their hand at YA, but sometimes feel a disconnect with the grittier, more realistic fiction being published today. They want to study the market, they want to understand the genre and try to write it, but it’s so different from the novels they read as teens that it feels alien to them. Of course, I’m speaking to those of you over 40 right now. You youngsters can just skip to the next post.

Check out Monica Edinger’s Educating Alice blog post about putting aside her personal prejudices and tastes while serving on the Newbery and NCTE Notable Books committees. Judges have to read outside their comfort zones all the time, and they learn to appreciate literature that they don’t think they’re going to like. If the new crop of YA books makes you squirm, but you’re open to learning what they’re all about, Edinger’s advice may be just the ticket.

So, upcoming movies get their own coming attraction trailers, why shouldn’t upcoming children’s books?

I’ll admit, it never occurred to me before, but having seen this video by author Laurel Snyder promoting her book Up and Down the Scratchy Mountain I’m amazed there aren’t such trailers all over the web.

Get a camcorder, some images from your book and some music and you’ve got yourself a potentially viral video that can help sell your book. Smart, smart, smart.

[Update: I've been taken to task by another blogger for being "behind the times" in the crafting of this post. Yes, book trailers have been around for a while, but I was speaking in the context of children's books, where it's a technique that hasn't really taken off. So when I say "it never occurred to me before", what I meant to say -- I sound like a politician now! -- is that it hadn't occurred to me to use these for a children's book. Laurel's trailer opened my eyes to the possibility, although I'm still not fully sold that a book trailer will be as effective in selling a kids book to a parent as a trailer for, say, a mystery would be in selling it to an adult end-user, but it's worth a shot.

In general, please remember that this is a blog about children's lit, and my observations are crafted through that prism, not through the prism of the adult lit market, which is a very different beast.]

http://laurelsnyder.com/

For many writers, description is a real stumbling block.  Either they offer too little, and fail to create an interesting world for their characters, or they offer too much, and swamp the plot with meaningless detail.

If you’re struggling, I suggest you think about each element of description you provide, and decide whether it adds depth to your story.   Here’s one way:

I happened to overhear my son’s social studies teacher giving advice about a paper his students are currently working on.  The kids are learning about the African slave trade and are assigned to write a few paragraphs from the perspective of a captured man or woman awaiting placement on a slave ship. (more…)