If you're new to the Update, you may not know that we publish a monthly subscription-only newsletter for aspiring and working children's book writers that's jam-packed with market leads, advice, inside info and much more. It's called Children's Book Insider, and we've been sharing it with subscribers across the globe since May, 1990!

Here's a look at what's in the current issue of Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers:

* Publisher Seeks Nonfiction for Middle Grade Girls
* Publisher Accepting Nonfiction on Western, Native American and Nature Topics
* Major Upcoming Conference
* Magazine for Young Children Accepting Submissions
* Submission Updates
* Ten Tips for Becoming Invisible to Your Reader
* Self-Promotion Tips for Introverts
* The 4 Most Common Mistakes Writers Make - and How to Fix Them
* A Revealing Interview with Agent Jessica Regel
* Writing Around the Limitations of Viewpoint

........................and lots more!

If you enjoy the information offered in this e-mail update, wait 'til you see what we've got in store for you each month in the pages of CBI! A one year subscription to CBI costs as little as $26.95 and includes a special bonus gift.

For more information, go to http://write4kids.com/aboutcbi.html

And to take advantage of our special "18 Months for the Price of 12" offer before the June 9 deadline, go to:

18 Months of the Paper (by mail) edition of Children's Book Insider (US residents ONLY).....$29.95

18 Months of the Electronic Edition (anywhere in the world).....$26.95

"If you are "thinking" about subscribing, DON'T!!! Just do it. I waited for almost 2 years before I did, now I'm wondering why I waited so long" Frederick Claus

>> ITEM 6 - Featured Children's Lit Blog:  Grow Wings

In the past couple of years, there's been an explosion in wonderful blogs about children's books and the writing process.  Now, in each issue of the Update, we'll profile a unique and helpful blog.

This issue, we highlight Grow Wings, a terrific blog from children's author Laini Taylor.  Laini has a knack for discussing the nuts and bolts of the writing process in a fun, informative manner.  Her takes on vital issues such as revising one's work and setting scenes are lighthearted but right on the money.  If you love the intricacies of putting words to paper (and you really should if you hope to be successful as a writer!) you'll truly enjoy Grow Wings. 

http://growwings.blogspot.com/

PS:  If you have or know of a blog that should be featured in the Update, drop Jon a line at jon@write4kids.com   Also, if you happen to come across a children's writing blog or site that doesn't list the Children's Writing Update, The Children's Writing Web Journal (http://write4kids.com/blog) or Write4Kids.com among its links or resources, why not send a friendly note telling them about us?  We'd really appreciate it!

The Children's Writer's Big Book of "How To" has the solution to more than 100 of the trickiest issues faced by children's authors. From coming up with great ideas right through signing the contract, this amazing volume is packed with insight. Visit http://write4kids.com/bigbook.html to view then entire table of contents!

>> ITEM 7 - Feature Article: Writing Poems for Children  By Laura Backes, Publisher of  Children's Book Insider

Springtime brings out the poets. The collections I critique this time of year might include verses that gush over the beauty of a sunset, pine for lost youth or eagerly anticipate a future love. And though the authors clearly worked hard to pack their poems with eye-popping adjectives, I'm afraid when kids read them all they'll do is gag.

I love good poetry for children. It's free of the narcissistic navel-gazing and emotional hand-wringing present in a good chunk of the poetry for adults. While there's really no wrong way to write verse for kids, the poems that work have the same childlike worldview employed by successful children's prose. And, like any other area of writing for children, reading quality published examples is the best way to learn how to write good poems of your own. I like anthologies because they give you a sampling of many different poets and styles. One of my favorites is the classic Random House Book of Poetry for Children, edited by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. Use an anthology as a jumping-off point to discover poets you like, then delve further into their own collections. As you read, you'll see that great poems for children all share some common elements:

1) They're built around a central idea that has nothing to do with the adult author. There are certain universal truths and ideas that mark each stage of childhood. Poems, like books, have a specific target age group, and should explore the ideas that are of importance to that particular age. Pick one childhood truth and present it to the reader in a new way. Broad, abstract, grown-up concerns have no place in poetry for children.

2) They hold a magnifying glass up to the world. Kids are fascinated with the details of the world, as long as those details are relevant to their own lives. Instead of rhapsodizing about the beauty of a sunset, commiserate with the frustration of trying to duplicate the colors of the sunset with a box of only eight crayons.

3) They capture a moment in time. The area of that magnifying glass isn't very big, and neither is the time frame of your poem. It might be however long it takes for a bird to swallow a worm, or the period between lights out and sleep. But everything that occurs in that time frame is in sharp focus. One of my favorite poems that beautifully illustrates all of the above is "A Bug Sat in a Silver Flower" by Karla Kuskin. I don't want to infringe on copyright by reprinting the poem here, so I urge you to read it for yourself. It involves a bug sitting on a flower, minding his own business, when a bigger bug comes along and gobbles him up without a thought, just because he can. It touches perfectly on a child's sense of fairness, bullies, and good manners. And it also contains a brilliant final line.

4) They are pleasing to the eye and the ear. The way the poem looks on the page is just as important as how it sounds. The length of the lines and the arrangement of stanzas can add meaning to the words. Valerie Worth's "Crickets" is a poem written in very short lines, most one word long, stacked on top of each other like a blade of grass. The structure of "Valentine" by Shel Silverstein reminds me of Valentine's cards piled on a child's desk, with the final line (displaying the child's disappointment) hidden underneath. Even if you create words, they must capture the rhythm and spirit of the poem, and make sense to the reader. A.A. Milne pulled this off perfectly with poems like "The More It Snows" and "Sneezles."

5) They end with a punch line. Not every poem needs a kicker for a last line, but it's a good way to add humor, irony, or make your reader see the world in a new way. Kuskin's poem about the bully bug ended by dispensing justice, as the big guy didn't just eat the little bug: "He also ate his underwear." 

Above all, poems for children encompass all the wonder, joy, sadness, imagination, and discovery of simply being a child and interacting with the world. No navel-gazing allowed, unless it means examining the lint that collected there over the winter.

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