It’s Tuesday, and time for another great batch of blog posts from the world of children’s books!
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Happy Monday, everyone. We’re back at you with four great posts today — and the video quality is officially new and improved!
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Back again with a fresh set of posts. And we have some history — our very first repeat blog! Yes, wow-Women on Writing is just that good.
Also, many thanks for the kind notes. Laura and I are so glad that folks are enjoying these videos so much. It’s really our pleasure to give such excellent blogs the exposure they deserve, and we’re grateful that so many of you have taken the time to let us know that you’re benefiting from our efforts.
I was volunteering at recess at my son’s elementary school last week, when a trio of third grade girls walked by. I’ve known them all since kindergarten, and I made a comment to one of them along the lines of, “I like your shoes.” She smirked at me, grabbed her friends’ hands, and skipped away. Something about her expression launched me back to junior high. I saw Lori Coleman, who thought she was so much better than the rest of us, whispering about me behind her hand on the school bus. I had to remind myself that this third grader was not Lori, that I was in fact bigger than her and could probably beat her at hopscotch if given the chance.
What a difference a year makes. In second grade Matthew’s classmates welcomed me with hugs, now they politely tolerate my presence. The boys seem to want me to join their games more than the girls, which I found surprising until I remembered being a third grade girl myself and escaping to that magic world inhabited only by a few close friends every chance I got. In kindergarten, all the kids were basically the same unmolded, cute little blobs of personality. Sure, some were more outgoing than others, some more sensitive, but everyone played together as long as no one hogged all the Legos or kicked sand in someone else’s eyes. In first grade kids started to band together by interests, but it was easy to bounce from group to group. Second grade brought sharper divisions, especially among the girls. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have never believed that cliques could form so young. But the kids still operated as units, predictable in their activities (the Tag kids, the Jump Rope girls, the Basketball boys, the Hide and Seek gang). Then something magical happened in the summer between second grade and third. Suddenly, these kids have distinct, interesting, individual personalities. Read more
A remarkable — and free — event is coming June 6 for those in the New York area. The New York Institute for the Humanities is holding an all-day symposium called Post Bang: Comics Ten Minutes After the Big Bang to explore the growing cultural significance of comics. The entire day looks great but the highlight for children’s lit fans will be the COMICS AND KID’S LIT panel, set to feature Lisa von Drasek (Bank Street College), Leonard Marcus (Minders of Make Believe), Francoise Mouly (The New Yorker), Mo Willems (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!), and Sara Varon (Sweaterweather).
One of the best things about our business is getting to know quite a few of the most successful [TAG-tec]children’s authors[/TAG-tec] and illustrators. As a group, these are some of the loveliest people with whom you could ever become acquainted.
While most are very generous about sharing advice with aspiring writers, they do tend to get overwhelmed with e-mail asking the same questions, so it’s not always easy to strike up a personal connection with them.
So here’s a neat way to say “hello” to a writer who inspires you: wish them a happy birthday! The excellent Children’s Literature site — http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/home.html– has a monthly list of children’s author’s birthdays, each linked to the author’s official website. Find an author whose work you admire and send off some personal birthday greetings. You might just find yourself with a new e-mail buddy!?
(Note: please use courtesy and common sense when doing this — keep your e-mail brief and don’t send a bunch of followup e-mails unless the author responds. The goal is to establish a professional connection, not to pour your heart out to someone you don’t know!)
PS: If you’d like to get direct advice from some top authors without having to wait for an e-mail reply, check out our book In Their Own Words (http://write4kids.com/itow.html). Culled from fifteen years worth of Children’s Book Insider interviews, it’s a collection of the best tips and guidance from such authors as Judy Blume, R.L. Stine, Chris Crutcher and many, many others. It’s an astonishing resource for inspiration and hands-on advice.
Children love rhyme. The rhythm of the text, the way the words bounce off the tongue can be especially appealing to young children who are mastering language and reading. There are two vehicles for verse in the children’s market: poetry and rhyming stories. Both have special guidelines.
Rhyming Stories. Often at writers’ conferences editors will say they don’t like stories with rhyming text. That’s not exactly true — rhyming stories are published all the time. What these editors are really objecting to is bad rhyming text. Too many writers try to copy [tag-tec]Dr. Seuss[/tag-tec], the master of the rhymed story. They imitate the form of his work but not the substance. The rhyme is a vehicle to tell the story, not the other way around. It must still follow all the rules of a good picture book: a strong opening, believable characters, an interesting plot, a satisfying ending. Every word must advance the story – you can’t throw in extra phrases simply to complete the rhyme. Consider the opening lines of The Cat in the Hat. In eight short lines Dr. Seuss establishes setting, mood and conflict. Few books written in prose do so much with so little. Read more
the rest of us, whispering about me behind her hand on the school bus. I had to remind myself that this third grader was not Lori, that I was in fact bigger than her and could probably beat her at hopscotch if given the chance.
called Post Bang: Comics Ten Minutes After the Big Bang to explore the growing cultural significance of comics. The entire day looks great but the highlight for children’s lit fans will be the 
them.
Rhyming Stories. Often at writers’ conferences editors will say they don’t like stories with rhyming text. That’s not exactly true — rhyming stories are published all the time. What these editors are really objecting to is bad rhyming text. Too many writers try to copy [tag-tec]Dr. Seuss[/tag-tec], the master of the rhymed story. They imitate the form of his work but not the substance. The rhyme is a vehicle to tell the story, not the other way around. It must still follow all the rules of a good picture book: a strong opening, believable characters, an interesting plot, a satisfying ending. Every word must advance the story – you can’t throw in extra phrases simply to complete the rhyme. Consider the opening lines of The Cat in the Hat. In eight short lines Dr. Seuss establishes setting, mood and conflict. Few books written in prose do so much with so little. 
