Kai Strand's Blog, page 56

Children's Literacy from a Teacher's Point of View

It’s Children’s Book Week! In honor of CBW, I wanted to focus on children’s literacy. I’m a firm believer that the most effective tool you can provide a child is comfort with reading. Everything we do in life, shopping, cooking, driving, learning and working requires reading and when a child develops a comfort with the skill they are so much better prepared to live a successful life. This week, I’ll be asking people from all walks of a child’s life why literacy is important.
First brave interv...

Celebrate Children's Book Week with Guardian Angel Publishing Authors

M E D I A  R E L E A S E
CONTACT: Donna M. McDineWebsite: www.donnamcdine.com  Email: donna@donnamcdine.com
For Immediate ReleaseChildren's Book Week: Celebrate with Guardian Angel Publishing AuthorsMay 7-13, 2012
Established in 1919, Children's Book Week is the longest-running literacy initiative in the country. Each year, books for young people and the joy of reading are feted for a full week with author and illustrator appearances, storytelling, parties, and other book-related event...

My Between Shades of Gray Moment

Our daughter, double majoring in music & psychology, called on Monday and said, “I think I forgot to tell you that my recital isn’t next week, the 8th. It’s tomorrow night. So I called my husband, who was in Bakersfield, CA at that very moment and said, “You up for this?” Being the world’s best dad, he was all over it! So, he drove from Bakersfield, to Eugene, Oregon to drop off some family members, then home to Bend, Oregon. He got home about 1:30 am, slept a couple of hours, got up and...

Three Times A Charm with Danielle Kirrane

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry.
This week author, Danielle Kirrane is visiting with us. 
Thank you for having me!
Danielle, tell us about you.
I am the author of the new children’s book, The fish who swam too far. I live in New Jersey with my husband and our two amazing daughters. I have a big goofy dog, an absolutely hysterical cat, and a lot of fish. I am a stay at home mo...

My #1 Editing Tip - Say Again?

Editing is a tedious process for me. I complain about it more than I should, I’m sure. I apologize if I sound like a whiner. But there is one editing tool that I couldn’t live without.
Reading aloud. When I feel my story is fit for human consumption, I read it out loud to my children. I watch for reactions; laughs, furrowing brows, wandering attention. Sometimes I stop at certain points and ask what is going on in the story to see if they’ve picked up on a subtle story line. Or I ask what the...

Three Times A Charm with Chris Cloud

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry.
This week author, Chris Cloud, joins us as part of his virtual book tour.
Welcome, Chris. Can you tell us a little about yourself.
            I began writing fiction full time at the age of 66 after a long career in journalism and public relations. I graduated from the University of Missouri i...

When Spring Cleaning Reveals Your Anal Character

Geek alert:  the following is an admission of geek guilt! Proceed with an open mind. We’ve all got geek tendencies in some aspect of our personalities.
Organize
verb
to systematize: to organize the files of an office.
This is what I love about Windows7. The filing system that it has fits so well with my way of organizing. 
My photos folder is like a mecca of organization and I feel a flutter of pleasure each and every time I have to go into it. Which can be several times a day. Constan...

Three Times A Charm with Kathy Stemke

Three Times a Charm is back!!! It is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry.
This week we are celebrating Earth Day with author, Kathy Stemke. Welcome, Kathy. Can you tell us about yourself?  I have always had a passion for writing, the arts and all things creative. My teaching degree is from Southern Connecticut State University. I also have a B S from Covenant Life Seminary, as well as gradu...

Winging It! by Shel Delisle

Recently I was soliciting hosts for the promotion of my upcoming release, SAVE THE LEMMINGS! Author, Shel DeLisle said to me, “My main character, Grace, is about the same age as your main character, Natalie. They should meet.” Turns out the girls are as opposite as it gets and what a fun interview they came up with. So without further ado, here is Natalie from SAVE THE LEMMINGS! interviewing Grace from the recently released, Winging It!
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Welcome Grace! My name is Natalie. I’m twelve, but I’m...

At-risk kids and THE TRAZ - Guest Post from Eileen Schuh

Eileen Schuh is here today to talk about at-risk kids and how her book, The Traz, addresses the subject. This is important information for any parent or caregiver to know about, so please share this post with your friends and family.

Eileen's publisher is offering The Traz for free, please be sure to read to the end to learn more about that and the Kindle giveaway you can be a part of. Now, let's hear from Eileen.

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I’d always imagined THE TRAZ would be seen as an exciting story—drugs, gangs,...