Janice S.C. Petrie's Blog, page 10

#NELA2016 Game Night a Rare Success for Vendors

We joined in the fun at the New England Library Association’s 2016 game night, and us vendors managed to eke out a victory to win this coveted snail trophy, which used to be a decorative wine bottle in a former life!

Great Experience at the New England Library Association 2016 Conference

Met lots of fantastic people at this year’s NELA Conference. Our beach bag “basket” giveaway was won by this lucky attendee! Can’t wait for her to read the beach towel decorated with all the sayings you’ll only hear in the Massachusetts beach areas, while chewing on authentic salt water taffy, straight from Rockport. Congratulations!

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) “Book Blast” is Live

Starting today #SCBWIBookBlast has tons of books for kids and teens you can browse and buy http://www.scbwi.org/bookblast

While you’re there, if you could sign the guest book for my book, “Something’s Tugging on My Claw!” I’d be thrilled. The above link will take you to the book’s page. Just click on “Sign the Guestbook” on the right sidebar. It’s totally free, you aren’t required to leave an email address or to buy anything. Thanks so much for helping spread the word!

If you’d like to browse all of this years SCBWI member’s books, click on the logo to the left, and choose “book blast home.”

A Clever Vegetable Octopus Exhibited at the Topsfield Fair

This first prize winning creation is on exhibit at the Topsfield Fair, the oldest agricultural fair in the country. It’s the perfect blend of the farm and the sea, two of my passions.

This “octopus” has an eggplant body, two radish eyes, and carrots for tentacles. It could have been painted virtually any color, since the octopus is a master of camouflage, changing both the color and texture of their bodies to coordinate with their surroundings. With fall colors, and fruits and vegetables all around it, this octopus blends perfectly with its environment!

An octopus has two eyes that are remarkably very similar to human eyes. Each eye has a retina, a cornea, an iris, and a lens. Unlike humans, an octopus has the ability to rotate its eyes which eliminates blind spots. Although an octopus has great vision, it only sees really well up to about eight feet away.

This vegetable octopus will be on display at the Topsfield Fair until Columbus Day. If you’re in the area, be sure to check it out. If not, you can build your own octopus with one quick trip to your local farm stand. Happy Fall!

 

Surprisingly, Indie Authors and Lung Fish Have Much in Common

I thought a great analogy for an Indie author with few book reviews would be like a fish without water. They soon die, or so I thought. But not in all cases. Check out this amazing fish. Like the Indie author, it never gives up! Only 16 more reviews to go for the $25 Amazon Gift Card giveaway. You can make it happen! The link to the Amazon item page for the book, “Something’s Tugging on My Claw!” is below. Don’t wait. Write a quick review today! If we reach 20 reviews on Amazon by Saturday, 9/24/16, one reviewer will win a $25 Amazon Gift Card. Great odds! Don’t delay!!

Click here to link to Amazon’s item page to write a review!

Introducing “Did You Make the Hole in the Shell in the Sea?” at Barnes & Noble’s “Finding Dory” Storytime

If you’re a reading teacher, you know how important it is to activate prior knowledge and build background information before reading a new story. This is an introduction that I presented for my book, “Did You Make the Hole in the Shell in the Sea?” to a group of children in a Storytime at Barnes & Noble Booksellers. It was lots of fun being a part of Barnes & Noble’s “Finding Dory” event. Enjoy!!

Research Shows One in Three People are Intimidated by STEM

One in three people surveyed didn’t pursue a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) because it seemed too difficult. I’m trying to change that perception by writing and illustrating entertaining, fun books about sea life. I’m hoping that my books will help attract both boys and girls to understanding and enjoying science.

Follow this link for the full survey results by Emerson: http://www.emerson.com/en-us/careers/Pages/STEM-survey-results.aspx

Publisher’s Weekly Celebrates 2016 Independent Publisher’s New Releases

Check it out! Something’s Tugging on My Claw! is on the third page of this week’s Publisher’s Weekly issue celebrating independent publishers. Excited to have a tiny toe hold in the massive publishing industry.

When you’re looking for a great book for a gift or to read yourself, try picking up a book from an independent publisher instead of going with one from the big five publishers. You’ll be in for a pleasant surprise, and be helping out authors who are passionate about their stories, but don’t have the network TV shows at their disposal for advertising.

New York Times Reports Printed Books Still Preferred

E-books are really convenient when traveling, but there’s nothing like a printed, illustrated storybook when tucking a child into bed. It was one of my favorite times with my kids.

Article Link: http://nyti.ms/2ca8pgK

Bright & Colorful Illustrations Accompanying Text are the Ticket to Better Comprehension for Grades K-3

Illustrations help to make books more appealing to children, and also help to engage the reader, according to an article entitled, “The Influence of Illustrations in Children’s Storybooks,” published in Reading Psychology. In preliminary testing, this study found that books that attract children, whose grade levels range from kindergarten to third grade, are books containing brightly colored, cartoon-like characters. When further studying this phenomenon, this age group was found to prefer brightly colored, realistic drawings. Even more interesting is the effect that these illustrations, when matched with text, had on comprehension. The findings of this Reading Psychology study were that, “Illustrations do seem to influence comprehension and children’s preferences for books in general.”

So often, teachers and parents of kindergarten through third grade children quickly move into using text-only children’s literature, leaving illustrated children’s books behind at a younger and younger age. Yet, theories have been put forward that when books are re-read, comprehension and memory increases (Gyselinckand Tardieu, 1999). The Reading Psychology article states, “pictures lure children to read and interact with the text and provide mental images, allowing them to understand the written text more easily and remember it longer (Fang, 1996)”

I’m reminded that the findings of this study are true on a daily basis. When my books are sitting on a table during a sea animal program, I often see students choose one of these books to re-read, or to study the illustrations more closely. Some students have chosen to look at one of these books even when live sea animals or toys were available.

While text-only books are an inevitable progression in a student’s development, brightly colored, illustrated children’s books with matching text can be a fun way for students to develop their reading skills, and learn at the same time. When that text is rhythmic and rhyming, with the addition of occasional repeating text, and illustrations that match perfectly with the text, that’s a great book for students, kindergarten through third grade, to use to sharpen their reading skills.

(This study can be found published in Reading Psychology, Vol. 23(4), 323-339)

(To learn more, please visit: http://laurenscharff.com/research/dev...)