Brianna Caplan Sayres's Blog, page 2
July 9, 2013
Good News Day Tuesday: An Interview with Debut Author Tara Lazar (in celebration of her recently released picture book, THE MONSTORE!)
[image error]
Happy Good News Day Tuesday! Today I am thrilled to be celebrating with debut picture book author, Tara Lazar.
Not only is Tara an incredibly gifted picture book author (with two more upcoming picture books in addition to THE MONSTORE!), she is also an incredibly giving, helpful and talented member of the kidlit community. And she is the founder of the super-awesome PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) which I'm sure I will be blogging about as November approaches!
Hope you enjoy this informative interview with Tara!:
How would you describe your debut picture book THE MONSTORE?
Crawl inside a quirky, underground emporium with Zack, looking for a monster to buy
that will scare his pesky little sister. But choose wisely! Because there’s a monster of a
return policy—that is, there is none. What you buy you must keep, even if your monster
doesn’t work to plan.
Where did you get the idea for this story? How did the idea evolve as you wrote?
The idea came from the title—that’s all I had in my head for months on end. When
I was finally forced to get my “butt in chair” and write it out, the words “no returns,
no exchanges” just spilled out and the story took off from there. Zack can’t return his
monsters, but he’s convinced to buy more and they just keep accumulating—which
brings about hilarious consequences and unexpected twists.
Speaking of ideas, how has founding and running Picture Book Idea Month impacted
you as a writer?
PiBoIdMo has kept me very busy--and inspired! I start planning in late August and
the event keeps me submersed in kidlit through January. With all the guest authors
and participators and the Facebook group full of discussions, it’s a constant source of
inspiration. I find November to be my most productive month of the year.
Can you describe your path to picture book publication?
The path began when I was about 8 years old and I realized I wanted to be an author. My
friend Francine and I created a little book full of fractured fairy tales that she illustrated.
I wish I still had that book, but it’s long gone. But my desire to become a published
author never disappeared; it just took me a while to get around to it! When I was pregnant
with my second daughter, I felt like it was finally the right time. I joined a local writing
organization called Women Who Write and participated in a children’s critique group.
Then I discovered SCBWI and began attending first page sessions, mentoring events and
conferences. I began my blog. I soaked up a lot of information about writing for children,
and after several years of writing I landed my agent and my debut deal.
What do you see as the unique challenges and benefits of writing picture books?
The benefit? Definitely the illustrations! It is a joy to see your words come to life in the
talented hands of an illustrator. When I was a kid, I never wanted to move from picture
books to reading novels because there were no illustrations. Heck, I’m still upset novels
have no pictures!
The challenges are many. You need a killer concept and you need a compelling
beginning, middle and end in 500 words, paying careful attention to page turns while also
offering fun repetition, imaginative word play, and an unexpected final twist. That’s a
lot to pack in such a small package. Most people think writing for kids is easy—“they’re
just kids!” But you can never talk down to them, never dumb it down. They’ll see right
through it. You must entertain them, and they’re a fickle audience.
What advice would you give to new and aspiring writers?
Take time to develop your craft. And I’m not talking weeks or months—I’m talking
years. I know I was in an incredible rush to get published. After delaying my dream for
so many years, once I got started, I couldn’t wait for it to happen! But like everything
else, practice makes perfect. With each new manuscript you write, you get better and
better. Cultivate your ideas. Create a compelling concept. Write and rewrite and rewrite
again. Don’t rush it. It will happen for you if you keep at it. Keep learning; keep striving.
Kids deserve your very best work.
Be sure to visit Tara on the web at: taralazar.com (which is always filled with useful information!)
Congratulations, Tara! We are loving THE MONSTORE around here and looking forward to reading your upcoming books! And thanks so much for your wonderful explanation of the challenges that go into writing a picture book!
Not only is Tara an incredibly gifted picture book author (with two more upcoming picture books in addition to THE MONSTORE!), she is also an incredibly giving, helpful and talented member of the kidlit community. And she is the founder of the super-awesome PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) which I'm sure I will be blogging about as November approaches!
Hope you enjoy this informative interview with Tara!:
How would you describe your debut picture book THE MONSTORE?
Crawl inside a quirky, underground emporium with Zack, looking for a monster to buy
that will scare his pesky little sister. But choose wisely! Because there’s a monster of a
return policy—that is, there is none. What you buy you must keep, even if your monster
doesn’t work to plan.
Where did you get the idea for this story? How did the idea evolve as you wrote?
The idea came from the title—that’s all I had in my head for months on end. When
I was finally forced to get my “butt in chair” and write it out, the words “no returns,
no exchanges” just spilled out and the story took off from there. Zack can’t return his
monsters, but he’s convinced to buy more and they just keep accumulating—which
brings about hilarious consequences and unexpected twists.
Speaking of ideas, how has founding and running Picture Book Idea Month impacted
you as a writer?
PiBoIdMo has kept me very busy--and inspired! I start planning in late August and
the event keeps me submersed in kidlit through January. With all the guest authors
and participators and the Facebook group full of discussions, it’s a constant source of
inspiration. I find November to be my most productive month of the year.
Can you describe your path to picture book publication?
The path began when I was about 8 years old and I realized I wanted to be an author. My
friend Francine and I created a little book full of fractured fairy tales that she illustrated.
I wish I still had that book, but it’s long gone. But my desire to become a published
author never disappeared; it just took me a while to get around to it! When I was pregnant
with my second daughter, I felt like it was finally the right time. I joined a local writing
organization called Women Who Write and participated in a children’s critique group.
Then I discovered SCBWI and began attending first page sessions, mentoring events and
conferences. I began my blog. I soaked up a lot of information about writing for children,
and after several years of writing I landed my agent and my debut deal.
What do you see as the unique challenges and benefits of writing picture books?
The benefit? Definitely the illustrations! It is a joy to see your words come to life in the
talented hands of an illustrator. When I was a kid, I never wanted to move from picture
books to reading novels because there were no illustrations. Heck, I’m still upset novels
have no pictures!
The challenges are many. You need a killer concept and you need a compelling
beginning, middle and end in 500 words, paying careful attention to page turns while also
offering fun repetition, imaginative word play, and an unexpected final twist. That’s a
lot to pack in such a small package. Most people think writing for kids is easy—“they’re
just kids!” But you can never talk down to them, never dumb it down. They’ll see right
through it. You must entertain them, and they’re a fickle audience.
What advice would you give to new and aspiring writers?
Take time to develop your craft. And I’m not talking weeks or months—I’m talking
years. I know I was in an incredible rush to get published. After delaying my dream for
so many years, once I got started, I couldn’t wait for it to happen! But like everything
else, practice makes perfect. With each new manuscript you write, you get better and
better. Cultivate your ideas. Create a compelling concept. Write and rewrite and rewrite
again. Don’t rush it. It will happen for you if you keep at it. Keep learning; keep striving.
Kids deserve your very best work.
Be sure to visit Tara on the web at: taralazar.com (which is always filled with useful information!)
Congratulations, Tara! We are loving THE MONSTORE around here and looking forward to reading your upcoming books! And thanks so much for your wonderful explanation of the challenges that go into writing a picture book!
July 8, 2013
"Read it again, Mommy!" (and why it's important... even when it drives me a bit crazy! :o) )
Happy Keep Reading Fun Day! Before I forget, please remember to read this interview with Chieu Anh Urban and enter for a chance to win a copy of her newest book! That will certainly help keep reading fun!
[image error] My son's latest favorite book to say,
"Read it again, Mommy!"Also thanks so much to illustrator and writer, Dani Duck, for her lovely review of Brianna's Book Stop on her own wonderful blog!
And now on to today's "keep reading fun day" topic... "Read it again, Mommy!"
Have you ever heard these words? I have. Many times.
And, while they bring joy to my heart. I also have to admit that they can also drive me a bit...
crazy!
They bring joy to my heart because they mean that I am raising children who love books. Hooray!!!
They drive me a bit crazy because... Eek! Do I really have to read that same book ONE MORE TIME?
Today I want to talk about why, yes, I do! I really do!
There are so many benefits to repeated readings. Especially for young ones like my little guy.
With every repeated reading, he is learning that favorite books tell the same wonderful story again and again and again (and again :o) ).
He is learning how wonderful and comforting a favorite book can be.
And, as we read the same book again and again, he is sometimes even learning to read a favorite book for himself.
"I read it myself," he tells me proudly. And he does.
He picks up his latest favorite, Baby Dance by Ann Taylor and Marjorie van Heerden, and he begins to sing it to me, just like I have been singing it to to him. He carefully turns the pages just like I do when I read to him.
And when I finish it he says, "I read it again!" And again and again and again! Hooray!
Do (or did) your kids like repeated readings? Which books were their all-time favorites?
July 2, 2013
Good News Day Tuesday: An Interview with Novelty Book Author/ Illustrator Chiêu Anh Urban (And a Giveaway Too!)
Happy Good News Day Tuesday! Today I am excited to be celebrating with Chiêu Anh Uban. Chiêu's novelty board book, AWAY WE GO!, was recently published by Scholastic Cartwheel. What a clever concept!Thanks so much to Chiêu for these very informative answers! And hope you enter for a chance to win a copy of Away We Go!. Details about the giveaway are at the end of this post!
Enjoy the interview!:
Can you tell us about your recently released book, AWAY WE GO!?
Away We Go! A Shape and Seek Book is a novelty board book published by Scholastic, Cartwheel. This concept book introduces basic shapes and transportation modes, and is brightly illustrated with bold, colorful geometric shapes. Die-cuts of shapes are layered throughout each page for a fun shape-and seek-game. The challenge is to find the vehicles in the shapes and the shapes in the vehicles.
How did you come up with this wonderfully creative visual idea?
I have a background in graphic design, and love creating playful books that offer fun exploration for our youngest readers. One of my illustration technique is to build images using shapes. I enjoy working with die-cuts, and thought it would be fun to layer them on every page as an interesting transition to each transportation mode, which we see everyday.
What do you see as the unique benefits and challenges of writing for young readers?
It’s very heartwarming to create and share a storytime experience with little children. They are learning and exploring everyday, and I love creating books that are fun for them. One of the challenges I face is designing an innovative novelty book that isn’t too expensive for production. I have many neat ideas I would love to see as books, but know that the cost of producing them may not be feasible.
Can you describe your path to publication as an author/illustrator?
It took six years for my debut novelty book, Raindrops: A Shower of Colors to be published. During this time, I attended many SCBWI conferences, and learned as much as I could about the publishing world. Over a year after publishing with Sterling, I started working with Ronnie Ann Herman of the Herman Agency. Another year of hard work went by before Scholastic acquired my second title, Away We Go! I try to develop two to three new novelty concepts each year and hope for the best.What advice would you give to new and aspiring author/illustrators?
Continue to work on your craft, and attend SCBWI conferences. They have played a large role in my journey as an author/illustrator. There will be many discouraging moments, but don’t give up! Learn from them, and you’ll be a step closer to publication.
Would you like to enter for a chance to win a copy of AWAY WE GO! A SHAPE AND SEEK BOOK!? Just post a comment following this post letting Chiêu know who you'd love to give it to (of course, keeping it for yourself is fine too. :o) ) To be entered, you must comment before Tuesday July 8th at 11:59 p.m Pacific Standard Time. Please make sure that I can find your contact information when I click on your name. All those who comment will be entered into a random drawing for a chance to win one copy of Chieu's awesome board book, AWAY WE GO!
Chiêu Anh Urban is an author/illustrator and graphic designer, and enjoys creating fun, innovative books for the youngest readers. She designs novelty formats that provide playful exploration of early concepts. Her debut book, Raindrops: A Shower of Colors uses acetate to show how primary colors blend to make new ones. Away We Go! A Shape and Seek Book is published with Scholastic, Cartwheel this summer, and incorporates layered die-cuts to introduce shapes and transportation modes for a fun search-and-find game. When she’s not working on book ideas, she’s most likely baking and doing crafts with her girls.Please check out Chiêu's blog:http://chieuurban.blogspot.com/2013/06/away-we-go-shapes-and-transportation.htmland her website:http://chieuurban.blogspot.com/2013/06/away-we-go-shapes-and-transportation.html
Congrats on your new book, Chieu! It looks like soooooo much fun!
Hope you enter the giveaway!!
July 1, 2013
Motivating Young Readers: Rewarding Reading with... Reading!
Happy Keep Reading Fun Day! Today I'm going to talk about fun ways to motivate young readers.
As mom to a beginning reader, this is a topic that is frequently on my mind. And it was also a topic that was on my mind a great deal when I was a classroom teacher and when I taught reading in private practice.
Before I begin talking about motivating young readers, I have to talk about how I don't try to motivate young readers. I don't offer pizza parties for reading or points or prizes. I'm sure these motivations can work for some young readers and their parents and teachers, but they don't match with my philosophy of teaching reading.
I want my kids and my students to know that reading is its own reward. But, when readers are at the very beginning stages, reading isn't as rewarding as it will be when they are a bit more advanced. They can't yet just curl up with a good book and get lost in the world of a story.
So I have found a variety of other ways to reward reading with.... reading!
Here are just a few of the ways I've found to motivate young readers:
1. You Read to Me, I'll Read to You
Mary Ann Hoberman and Michael Emberley have an awesome series of books by this name. These books have parts for the parent to read, parts for the child to read and parts for the two to read together. Definitely worth checking out if you have a young reader at the right level!
But my son and I have also done a variation on this theme that can work with any two books. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my oldest is crazy for chapter book read-alouds. And I have found a way to use these read alouds to motivate him to read on his own.
Basically we alternate reading. He reads a few pages and I read a few pages (or a chapter). He reads from a book at his level and I read from one of the the chapter books that he can't yet read on his own but loves to listen to.
I love how incredibly flexible this technique is. It will really work with any two books.
And my son is so eager to hear chapter after chapter of the read-aloud that his own reading flies by! Yay!
2. More Turn-Taking!
Alternating pages within the same book is another great variation on the above technique. My son and I did this recently with Nate the Great-- a wonderful mystery series for young readers.
I read a page, then he read a page. Doing it this way, we flew through the book. Not only was this technique motivating, it also provided him with a wonderful reading role model. As I read alternate pages, he could hear these pages read with the fluency and expression of a more advanced reader. And he began to read with more fluency and expression himself.
Plus it was so much fun!
3. Give a Young Reader A Real Audience
Audiences can be very motivating for a beginner in any discipline. I loved to have book parties where we celebrated the stories that my second and third graders had published. And my son always gets a boost of motivation when he is preparing for a violin recital.
For reading, we recently found a fun and natural way to give my son an audience. He reads bedtime stories to Daddy. This is so much fun for both father and son! My son will choose a book he has already practiced for school and proudly read it aloud to his dad.
When I was a classroom teacher, my students got a similar real-world audience for their reading by reading to their younger "reading buddies". Each student would prepare a book and read it aloud to an admiring younger student. It was awesome! Definitely a highlight of each week!
4. Reading Our Way to the Stars
This last idea was from when I was a classroom teacher. I wanted my students to know that reading at home was truly important. So when the students turned in their reading logs each week, we added up the total minutes that the class had spent reading.
For every two hours my students had spent reading we traveled 1 million kilometers closer to the sun. (My whole back window had Earth, Venus, Mercury and the sun spread out with the kilometers marked off along a track. Each week my students' home reading moved them closer and closer to the sun.)
Finally, when they reached the sun, we had a... whole day reading slumber party!
My students came into school in pajamas and with sleeping bags. And we spent the whole day reading. And listening to wonderful read-alouds. (One year we were even lucky enough to have a father who read books on tape professionally come into the class and read aloud.)
This was one of my favorite ways to reward reading with reading! And it was always very popular with my students too! Such a fun day!
5. The Power of Motivating Books
I wrote about this before, but I can't leave it out of a post about motivating young readers with motivating books. Helping kids find books that are about topics they care about is incredibly important to creating motivated young readers!
So, what ways have you found to motivate young readers? Please share! I'm always curious for new ideas!
As mom to a beginning reader, this is a topic that is frequently on my mind. And it was also a topic that was on my mind a great deal when I was a classroom teacher and when I taught reading in private practice.Before I begin talking about motivating young readers, I have to talk about how I don't try to motivate young readers. I don't offer pizza parties for reading or points or prizes. I'm sure these motivations can work for some young readers and their parents and teachers, but they don't match with my philosophy of teaching reading.
I want my kids and my students to know that reading is its own reward. But, when readers are at the very beginning stages, reading isn't as rewarding as it will be when they are a bit more advanced. They can't yet just curl up with a good book and get lost in the world of a story.
So I have found a variety of other ways to reward reading with.... reading!
Here are just a few of the ways I've found to motivate young readers:
1. You Read to Me, I'll Read to You
Mary Ann Hoberman and Michael Emberley have an awesome series of books by this name. These books have parts for the parent to read, parts for the child to read and parts for the two to read together. Definitely worth checking out if you have a young reader at the right level!
But my son and I have also done a variation on this theme that can work with any two books. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my oldest is crazy for chapter book read-alouds. And I have found a way to use these read alouds to motivate him to read on his own.
Basically we alternate reading. He reads a few pages and I read a few pages (or a chapter). He reads from a book at his level and I read from one of the the chapter books that he can't yet read on his own but loves to listen to.
I love how incredibly flexible this technique is. It will really work with any two books.
And my son is so eager to hear chapter after chapter of the read-aloud that his own reading flies by! Yay!
2. More Turn-Taking!
Alternating pages within the same book is another great variation on the above technique. My son and I did this recently with Nate the Great-- a wonderful mystery series for young readers.
I read a page, then he read a page. Doing it this way, we flew through the book. Not only was this technique motivating, it also provided him with a wonderful reading role model. As I read alternate pages, he could hear these pages read with the fluency and expression of a more advanced reader. And he began to read with more fluency and expression himself.
Plus it was so much fun!
3. Give a Young Reader A Real Audience
Audiences can be very motivating for a beginner in any discipline. I loved to have book parties where we celebrated the stories that my second and third graders had published. And my son always gets a boost of motivation when he is preparing for a violin recital.
For reading, we recently found a fun and natural way to give my son an audience. He reads bedtime stories to Daddy. This is so much fun for both father and son! My son will choose a book he has already practiced for school and proudly read it aloud to his dad.
When I was a classroom teacher, my students got a similar real-world audience for their reading by reading to their younger "reading buddies". Each student would prepare a book and read it aloud to an admiring younger student. It was awesome! Definitely a highlight of each week!
4. Reading Our Way to the Stars
This last idea was from when I was a classroom teacher. I wanted my students to know that reading at home was truly important. So when the students turned in their reading logs each week, we added up the total minutes that the class had spent reading.
For every two hours my students had spent reading we traveled 1 million kilometers closer to the sun. (My whole back window had Earth, Venus, Mercury and the sun spread out with the kilometers marked off along a track. Each week my students' home reading moved them closer and closer to the sun.)
Finally, when they reached the sun, we had a... whole day reading slumber party!
My students came into school in pajamas and with sleeping bags. And we spent the whole day reading. And listening to wonderful read-alouds. (One year we were even lucky enough to have a father who read books on tape professionally come into the class and read aloud.)
This was one of my favorite ways to reward reading with reading! And it was always very popular with my students too! Such a fun day!
5. The Power of Motivating Books
I wrote about this before, but I can't leave it out of a post about motivating young readers with motivating books. Helping kids find books that are about topics they care about is incredibly important to creating motivated young readers!
So, what ways have you found to motivate young readers? Please share! I'm always curious for new ideas!
June 25, 2013
Good News Day Tuesday: An Interview with Author/Illustrator Joyce Wan (in celebration of her TWO about to be released books!)
Happy Good News Day Tuesday! Today I am so excited to be celebrating with the fantastic author/illustrator Joyce Wan! Joyce creates some of the most adorable board books I have ever seen! In fact, she is busy creating lots and lots of amazing books! (Just read the interview to see all that she's working on.)
And, just like Tina Kugler (the awesome author/ illustrator I interviewed last week), Joyce is also represented by that super-awesome agent, Teresa Kietlinski. :o)
A sketch by author/illustrator Joyce Wan Hope you appreciate Joyce's insights into her creative process as much as I do! Enjoy the interview!:
Another wonderful sketch by author/illustrator Joyce WanHow did you come up with the idea for these lovely "What Am I?" books? I've always loved wood textures and even offer a line of cards printed on actual birch wood veneer from sustainably harvested trees. (http://wanart.com/products-page/wood-cards/ ) My business card is also printed on wood too. I wanted to incorporate wood textures into illustrations for my next book which naturally led to the idea of some sort of tree book. The original manuscript was written as a picture book about a tree (very close to what Owl & Friends is like) which the publisher broke down into two board books when it was acquired. The textures were created by scanning actual wood and then incorporated into the art using Photoshop. I also love surprise endings in books (and movies for that matter). One that begs another sitting and makes sense when you go back over. These books offers a surprise ending and done in such a way for the wee’est of readers. I look forward to introducing young children to some of nature's cutest creatures and their natural habitat!Can you describe your creative process? As an author/illustrator how do your writing and drawing interact?
I’m a big concept person so usually a concept is what comes first. Then I try to flesh it out with words and then, interestingly enough, pictures come last for me. Although, as I’m thinking of the words I may have images in my head. When I have a draft of a manuscript that I’m somewhat happy with, I’ll create a dummy for it. As I’m creating the dummy, I may change more words at that point and often simplify too when I find that a lot can actually just be said in the pictures. So it’s a constant back and forth at the dummy stage.
What other books should we be on the lookout for from you (past and future)?
I’m the author and illustrator of Greetings from Kiwi and Pear (Blue Apple Books, 2009), You Are My Cupcake (Cartwheel, 2011), We Belong Together (Cartwheel, 2011), and several forthcoming titles including: Hug You, Kiss You, Love You (Cartwheel, 2013), Mama, Mama (Cartwheel, 2014), My Lucky Little Dragon (Cartwheel, 2014), Whale in My Swimming Pool (FSG, 2015) and I will be illustrating a book called Sleepyheads by Sandra Howatt (Beach Lane, 2014).
What strategies do you use to keep up with your many upcoming projects? (Congratulations! It is so exciting to see how very many forthcoming projects you have!)
Although it seems like a lot of projects, behind the scenes they are staggered in a way that I’m not ever really working on two things at the same time. There’s a lot of waiting time for your editors to get back to you. So if sketches are done on one book I may start on the finishes for another while I wait for comments on the sketches. Also, I’m one of those folks where, the more things I have on my plate the better I do. I love being busy.
What advice would you give to aspiring author/illustrators?
Immerse yourself in the industry, join SCBWI and attend their conferences and take advantage of all that they offer (one-to-one critiques, retreats, workshops, etc.), continuously visit your local bookstore/library and read/look as much as you can – analyze the books, break them apart and ask yourself why are they successful, keep track of all your ideas in a notebook of some sort, the ones that stick in your brain are the ones to work on (one of my more successful books “You Are My Cupcake”, was in my notebook/head for a year before I decided to create a dummy for it and pitch it), create as many book dummies as you can, keep writing and illustrating. Whenever I find myself at a road block, I like to watch this video: http://vimeo.com/24715531#
Joyce Wan designed her first greeting card when she was in first grade for a city-wide greeting card design contest. The design won first place and was subsequently sold through a major department store chain. Twenty years later that design would inspire a design studio called Wanart whose products featuring Joyce's designs are now sold world wide. Joyce also teaches courses on greeting card design and art licensing at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Joyce is inspired by Japanese pop culture, modern architecture, and things that make her smile. Joyce hails from Boston, Massachusetts and currently lives in New York City. Through all her work, Joyce hopes to inspire people to embrace the spirit of childhood and follow their dreams. Visit her online at www.wanart.com.
Congratulations , Joyce! Thank you so much for these very informative answers! Looking forward to reading your latest books!
June 24, 2013
Keep Reading Fun Day: Why We Love Bedtime Stories (and a list of some of our favorites)!
[image error]We love many, many bedtime stories,
but WHERE DO DIGGERS SLEEP AT NIGHT?
is sort of a favorite around here.
Don't know why? ;o)Yes, I'm a fan of bedtime stories! I think they're awesome (and not just because I wrote one :o) ).
Bedtime stories are such an easy and wonderful way to keep reading fun for young readers.
But a recent study showed that many kids and parents are not cuddling up with bedtime stories on a regular basis (or even at all). So, for today's "Keep Reading Fun Day", I want to talk about the many benefits of bedtime stories (and to list just a few of our favorites)!:
2. The repetition of these bedtime favorites helps build an early love of reading. This is so fun to see happening with my little guy right now. He asks for his favorites again and again (and when I've read them to him as many times as I possibly could before we must turn out the lights, he loves to keep them close to himself in bed and look at them as he goes to sleep.)
3. Bedtime stories are a wonderfully easy way to make sure we always fit in our daily-read alouds. Even though regular read-alouds are super-important for young readers, it can be ever so easy to miss fitting them in when things get busy. When they're part of a regular bedtime routine, these importanT read-alouds will never be missed! (Of course we always make sure to fit them in as many other places in the day as we can too. :o) )
And now for just a few of our bedtime favorites:
TEN LITTLE FINGERS AND TEN LITTLE TOES
by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury.
Oh my! This book is just so very beautiful and so peaceful and calming to read at bed time. My little guy asks for it again and again!
NIGHT-NIGHT, FOREST FRIENDS by Annie Bach
The illustrations in this recently released board book are so very beautiful! Another favorite around here. I especially love the inclusion of the one animal who does not go to sleep at night. Very calming.
[image error]
BABY DANCE by Ann Taylor and Marjorie van Heerden
We found this book on our most recent trip to the library and my little guy loves it. It is meant to be sung and I have sung it to him so many times that he is now singing it with me.
[image error]
GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown
Like many parents I'm sure, I have this book completely memorized. I read it to my oldest and my youngest every night for years. A bedtime classic!
[image error]
TIME FOR BED by Mem Fox and Jane Dyer
Another one that we read every night for years. So beautifully calming as each animal gets put to sleep.
[image error]
WHERE DO DIGGERS SLEEP AT NIGHT? by Brianna Caplan Sayres and Christian Slade
Yes, I couldn't leave out this bedtime favorite! Especially good for truck loving little ones. :o) My little guy really does love it for a bedtime story. "Mommy wrote it," he tells me. "Mommy wrote 'Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?". So much fun when he completes each rhyme!
What do you think about the importance of bedtime stories? What bedtime stories do (or did) your children enjoy? (Looking forward to some new favorites to add to our list!)
but WHERE DO DIGGERS SLEEP AT NIGHT?
is sort of a favorite around here.
Don't know why? ;o)Yes, I'm a fan of bedtime stories! I think they're awesome (and not just because I wrote one :o) ).
Bedtime stories are such an easy and wonderful way to keep reading fun for young readers.
But a recent study showed that many kids and parents are not cuddling up with bedtime stories on a regular basis (or even at all). So, for today's "Keep Reading Fun Day", I want to talk about the many benefits of bedtime stories (and to list just a few of our favorites)!:
2. The repetition of these bedtime favorites helps build an early love of reading. This is so fun to see happening with my little guy right now. He asks for his favorites again and again (and when I've read them to him as many times as I possibly could before we must turn out the lights, he loves to keep them close to himself in bed and look at them as he goes to sleep.)
3. Bedtime stories are a wonderfully easy way to make sure we always fit in our daily-read alouds. Even though regular read-alouds are super-important for young readers, it can be ever so easy to miss fitting them in when things get busy. When they're part of a regular bedtime routine, these importanT read-alouds will never be missed! (Of course we always make sure to fit them in as many other places in the day as we can too. :o) )
And now for just a few of our bedtime favorites:
TEN LITTLE FINGERS AND TEN LITTLE TOES
by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury.
Oh my! This book is just so very beautiful and so peaceful and calming to read at bed time. My little guy asks for it again and again!
NIGHT-NIGHT, FOREST FRIENDS by Annie Bach
The illustrations in this recently released board book are so very beautiful! Another favorite around here. I especially love the inclusion of the one animal who does not go to sleep at night. Very calming.
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BABY DANCE by Ann Taylor and Marjorie van Heerden
We found this book on our most recent trip to the library and my little guy loves it. It is meant to be sung and I have sung it to him so many times that he is now singing it with me.
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GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown
Like many parents I'm sure, I have this book completely memorized. I read it to my oldest and my youngest every night for years. A bedtime classic!
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TIME FOR BED by Mem Fox and Jane Dyer
Another one that we read every night for years. So beautifully calming as each animal gets put to sleep.
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WHERE DO DIGGERS SLEEP AT NIGHT? by Brianna Caplan Sayres and Christian Slade
Yes, I couldn't leave out this bedtime favorite! Especially good for truck loving little ones. :o) My little guy really does love it for a bedtime story. "Mommy wrote it," he tells me. "Mommy wrote 'Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?". So much fun when he completes each rhyme!
What do you think about the importance of bedtime stories? What bedtime stories do (or did) your children enjoy? (Looking forward to some new favorites to add to our list!)
June 20, 2013
Go Outside the Rhymes: A Video With J.Patrick Lewis
My published (and soon-to-be-published) picture books are both written in rhyme. And I have published several rhyming poems in magazines as well. But when I was a teacher, I always encouraged my young writers NOT to write in rhyme. This is often good advice for beginning adult writers as well.
Rhyming is hard work. Especially if you want to do it well. And it is important to do it well. (As I have such fun teaching young readers and writers during my "Rhyme Crime Time" workshop where we investigate crimes of rhyme.)
So I absolutely loved this Reading Rockets video with the incredible children's poet, J. Patrick Lewis::
Hope you enjoyed it too!
p.s. Please make sure to visit my critique group's blog, The Paper Wait, for a cover reveal of Robin Constantine's upcoming YA novel, THE PROMISE OF AMAZING! And for a chance to win one of two advanced reader copies! Robin is an amazing author, so be sure to check it out!
Rhyming is hard work. Especially if you want to do it well. And it is important to do it well. (As I have such fun teaching young readers and writers during my "Rhyme Crime Time" workshop where we investigate crimes of rhyme.)
So I absolutely loved this Reading Rockets video with the incredible children's poet, J. Patrick Lewis::
Hope you enjoyed it too!
p.s. Please make sure to visit my critique group's blog, The Paper Wait, for a cover reveal of Robin Constantine's upcoming YA novel, THE PROMISE OF AMAZING! And for a chance to win one of two advanced reader copies! Robin is an amazing author, so be sure to check it out!
June 18, 2013
Good News Day Tuesday: An Interview with Author/Illustrator Tina Kugler (in celebration of her TWO upcoming books!)
Happy Good News Day Tuesday! Today I'm so excited to be celebrating with author/illustrator Tina Kugler who has TWO upcoming picture books. Yes, two! Isn't that awesome?
Tina not only has two upcoming picture books. She also has one incredibly awesome agent, Teresa Kietlinski! (Yes, Teresa is my agent too, and Tina and I both agree that she is incredibly awesome. :o) )
A sketch by Tina Kugler from
THE CHANGE YOUR NAME STORE by author Leanne Shirtliffe
(Sky Pony Press, Spring / Summer 2014)
Tina was kind enough to do an interview where she shares information about her upcoming books, her illustration process, and the challenges and benefits of collaborating with her husband on a picture book! Hope you enjoy Tina's wonderfully informative and thoughtful answers!:
An illustration from IN MARY'S GARDEN
by Tina and Carson Kugler
(Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt, Spring 2015)Could you tell us about your TWO upcoming books?
My first picture book will be coming out in Spring/Summer 2014 with Sky Pony Press, THE CHANGE YOUR NAME STORE written by awesome humor blogger Leanne Shirtliffe. It's written in verse, which is fabulous to read aloud, and it's the story of a little girl who wants a new name. In the process she travels to other countries, so I'm super excited to research & illustrate the different locations. Also, the main character is Asian-American, so I'm pleased that this book contributes to diversity in children's books-- First Book just released a study that in 3,600 children's books, only 2.1% were Asian-Americans. It also has a great, universal message of being happy with who you are!
My second picture book (which was technically my first "deal") will be coming out in Spring 2015 with Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, IN MARY'S GARDEN written by myself and my husband, Carson Kugler. It is a nonfiction picture book, the story of an amazing Wisconsin artist, Mary Nohl, who grew up recognizing art in everything, and was inspired to transform her garden and home into an explosion of art and personal expression. Her huge sculptures were created from cement and found objects, and her incredible house and yard still exists in Milwaukee. We consider ourselves artists first and writers second, so we really wanted to concentrate on showing with the art instead of telling with the words. Carson & I collaborated on the art as well, so the style is very different than my own personal style. We are currently working on another nonfiction idea, that would be a great follow-up to IN MARY'S GARDEN, so fingers crossed!
How does your process differ when you are both author and illustrator versus when you are illustrating a book written by someone else?
Both are fun! When I illustrate and storyboard, I often get visuals (sometimes almost a movie) in my head as I am reading along (be it a manuscript or TV show script). With a project by a different author, I have to reread more carefully, so I catch all of the nuances in the text, versus writing it myself, where I already know every detail as a visual. Fortunately, the author contributed a few illustration notes, but not too many-- I have just enough guidance but I feel free to do it the way I want.
And with my writing, since the images come first to me and the writing is like a framework to bring it together, it's a different process: the entire thing exists in my head, I just need to get it out on paper (or my tablet, actually, even my rough sketches are digital).
How did you and your husband decide to collaborate on a picture book? What challenges and rewards did find in your collaboration?
For IN MARY'S GARDEN, we were both completely enamored with Mary Nohl's art since we were children growing up in Milwaukee. After we married and moved back to Wisconsin with a new baby, we went to see her house again and thought, goodness, what a fantastic idea for a picture book. We did a ton of research with old newspaper articles at the Milwaukee Public Library, but the manuscript we ended up writing was completely dry & boring. It had all the facts, but it wasn't a story. Despite her amazing life, nobody would want to read this book, certainly not a kid. So we ended up shelving the whole project.
Ten years later, I go to my first SCBWI conference, the summer 2012 conference in Los Angeles. I was working on a couple of other dummies, but Mary was always in the back of my mind. I had been absorbing information like a sponge the whole time, and I was sitting in yet another amazingly informative workshop or keynote (I honestly cannot remember who was speaking) and I had this giant revelation: nonfiction is also a story, with a specific point of view. And (not out loud, thankfully) I went, "Oh my stars, Mary had DOGS. What if her story was from the DOGS' point of view?" As soon as I got home, I wrote the entire manuscript from scratch in ten minutes, like I was possessed. And I sent it to my agent, Teresa Kietlinski at Prospect Agency, and she LOVED it. She GOT it. Carson & I revised it a number of times, but that's where the bones of it came from, her dogs' story as Mary is creating these amazing things. And now it's a universal story, one that will be inspiring to kids all over, and hopefully some adults too.
Our next problem was that we BOTH wanted to illustrate it. Really, really badly. But our styles are completely different, how on earth could we illustrate a book together? (And also stay married?) Carson does great watercolors, and I love them, but I work all digitally and can't paint on paper to save my life. He hates working on the computer. After a lot of discussion, I tried an experiment with digital collage- and it worked. Mary made her art with found objects, she never threw anything away. So I combined Carson's paintings and old found paper ephemera and my digital painting and linework and hatching on top, and it is just perfect.
When we drew the roughs, we would both thumbnail them separately, then decide on the stronger image. One of us would do a full-size rough in Photoshop, then the other would do a pass over it, and back & forth until we both agreed on the staging and poses and framing. We both come from doing animation storyboards, so we understand each other's visual process very well, if that makes sense-- and we use filmmaking terms with each other, like "lower the camera angle here" or "do a wide shot here."
The beauty of the entire process is that together we came up with something far better than each us could individually, both with the text and art.
How did you keep motivated through thirteen years? (p.s. it took ten years for my first picture book, so I really get it. :o) )
It was tough! Had I known it would take this long, I would have given up, I think. But being published always seemed just over the horizon, just barely out of reach, maybe with this batch of postcards.... I had three kids along the way, and was used to drawing with a baby in my lap.
We owned a children's bookshop for a few years, and then I worked in the youth department of the public library, so I always surrounded myself with picture books, I breathed picture books and I so desperately, desperately wanted to be a part of that magical world.
In the mid-90s, I felt that way about animation (as did my then-boyfriend-now-husband), so we moved to Los Angeles and followed our dream- we were hired at Nickelodeon, eventually doing storyboards, and I later worked at Warner Bros. Television Animation and Walt Disney TV Animation. But picture books were my first love, and I worked at getting a personal illustration portfolio together while I was storyboarding, which was a challenge since I was used to working in the style of whatever show I was on-- I didn't even have my OWN style. After we had our first child, I transitioned out of animation entirely and began to pursue illustration full time. It had only taken me about six months between moving to L.A. and getting my animation job, so I thought success in illustration would be just as quick. WRONG!
What advice would you give to new and aspiring authors and illustrators?
Don't give up! (Can you deal with soul-crushing discouragement for 13 years? Haha. Keep that sense of humor!)
For illustrators: Draw all the time. Develop YOUR style. Discover new influences. (For authors, ehhh, I don't have any specifics.)
For everyone: Join SCBWI and go to a conference, even if it's a regional conference. Network with other illustrators/authors and kidlit people. Be nice to everyone. Go to the library regularly and read all the new picture books. Then find some old picture books you've never heard of. Support & encourage other illustrators/authors even if you are insanely and unreasonably jealous that they got a book deal and you haven't, yet. Seriously, be happy for them. (Read "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott.) Good agents are incredibly helpful, especially in terms of helping you focus on a direction and improve your work. Find a critique group (SCBWI is helpful), and network with your peers.
Illustrator Tina Kugler lives in Los Angeles with her artist husband, three little boys and an enormous hairy dog named Harryhausen. Tina spent ten years drawing storyboards in the animation industry for studios such as Walt Disney, Nickelodeon, and Warner Bros., and is also known for her iconic Sputnik Girl posters for Manitowoc, Wisconsin's annual Sputnikfest.
You can visit Tina's website and blog at http://tinakugler.squarespace.com/
You can visit Author Leanne Shirtliffe's blog at http://ironicmom.com/
Congratulations, Tina! So excited to read both your upcoming books! (And thanks so much for being my first illustrator interview! Your illustrations look amazing!)
Tina not only has two upcoming picture books. She also has one incredibly awesome agent, Teresa Kietlinski! (Yes, Teresa is my agent too, and Tina and I both agree that she is incredibly awesome. :o) )
A sketch by Tina Kugler from THE CHANGE YOUR NAME STORE by author Leanne Shirtliffe
(Sky Pony Press, Spring / Summer 2014)
Tina was kind enough to do an interview where she shares information about her upcoming books, her illustration process, and the challenges and benefits of collaborating with her husband on a picture book! Hope you enjoy Tina's wonderfully informative and thoughtful answers!:
An illustration from IN MARY'S GARDENby Tina and Carson Kugler
(Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt, Spring 2015)Could you tell us about your TWO upcoming books?
My first picture book will be coming out in Spring/Summer 2014 with Sky Pony Press, THE CHANGE YOUR NAME STORE written by awesome humor blogger Leanne Shirtliffe. It's written in verse, which is fabulous to read aloud, and it's the story of a little girl who wants a new name. In the process she travels to other countries, so I'm super excited to research & illustrate the different locations. Also, the main character is Asian-American, so I'm pleased that this book contributes to diversity in children's books-- First Book just released a study that in 3,600 children's books, only 2.1% were Asian-Americans. It also has a great, universal message of being happy with who you are!
My second picture book (which was technically my first "deal") will be coming out in Spring 2015 with Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, IN MARY'S GARDEN written by myself and my husband, Carson Kugler. It is a nonfiction picture book, the story of an amazing Wisconsin artist, Mary Nohl, who grew up recognizing art in everything, and was inspired to transform her garden and home into an explosion of art and personal expression. Her huge sculptures were created from cement and found objects, and her incredible house and yard still exists in Milwaukee. We consider ourselves artists first and writers second, so we really wanted to concentrate on showing with the art instead of telling with the words. Carson & I collaborated on the art as well, so the style is very different than my own personal style. We are currently working on another nonfiction idea, that would be a great follow-up to IN MARY'S GARDEN, so fingers crossed!
How does your process differ when you are both author and illustrator versus when you are illustrating a book written by someone else?
Both are fun! When I illustrate and storyboard, I often get visuals (sometimes almost a movie) in my head as I am reading along (be it a manuscript or TV show script). With a project by a different author, I have to reread more carefully, so I catch all of the nuances in the text, versus writing it myself, where I already know every detail as a visual. Fortunately, the author contributed a few illustration notes, but not too many-- I have just enough guidance but I feel free to do it the way I want.
And with my writing, since the images come first to me and the writing is like a framework to bring it together, it's a different process: the entire thing exists in my head, I just need to get it out on paper (or my tablet, actually, even my rough sketches are digital).
How did you and your husband decide to collaborate on a picture book? What challenges and rewards did find in your collaboration?
For IN MARY'S GARDEN, we were both completely enamored with Mary Nohl's art since we were children growing up in Milwaukee. After we married and moved back to Wisconsin with a new baby, we went to see her house again and thought, goodness, what a fantastic idea for a picture book. We did a ton of research with old newspaper articles at the Milwaukee Public Library, but the manuscript we ended up writing was completely dry & boring. It had all the facts, but it wasn't a story. Despite her amazing life, nobody would want to read this book, certainly not a kid. So we ended up shelving the whole project.
Ten years later, I go to my first SCBWI conference, the summer 2012 conference in Los Angeles. I was working on a couple of other dummies, but Mary was always in the back of my mind. I had been absorbing information like a sponge the whole time, and I was sitting in yet another amazingly informative workshop or keynote (I honestly cannot remember who was speaking) and I had this giant revelation: nonfiction is also a story, with a specific point of view. And (not out loud, thankfully) I went, "Oh my stars, Mary had DOGS. What if her story was from the DOGS' point of view?" As soon as I got home, I wrote the entire manuscript from scratch in ten minutes, like I was possessed. And I sent it to my agent, Teresa Kietlinski at Prospect Agency, and she LOVED it. She GOT it. Carson & I revised it a number of times, but that's where the bones of it came from, her dogs' story as Mary is creating these amazing things. And now it's a universal story, one that will be inspiring to kids all over, and hopefully some adults too.
Our next problem was that we BOTH wanted to illustrate it. Really, really badly. But our styles are completely different, how on earth could we illustrate a book together? (And also stay married?) Carson does great watercolors, and I love them, but I work all digitally and can't paint on paper to save my life. He hates working on the computer. After a lot of discussion, I tried an experiment with digital collage- and it worked. Mary made her art with found objects, she never threw anything away. So I combined Carson's paintings and old found paper ephemera and my digital painting and linework and hatching on top, and it is just perfect.
When we drew the roughs, we would both thumbnail them separately, then decide on the stronger image. One of us would do a full-size rough in Photoshop, then the other would do a pass over it, and back & forth until we both agreed on the staging and poses and framing. We both come from doing animation storyboards, so we understand each other's visual process very well, if that makes sense-- and we use filmmaking terms with each other, like "lower the camera angle here" or "do a wide shot here."
The beauty of the entire process is that together we came up with something far better than each us could individually, both with the text and art.
How did you keep motivated through thirteen years? (p.s. it took ten years for my first picture book, so I really get it. :o) )
It was tough! Had I known it would take this long, I would have given up, I think. But being published always seemed just over the horizon, just barely out of reach, maybe with this batch of postcards.... I had three kids along the way, and was used to drawing with a baby in my lap.
We owned a children's bookshop for a few years, and then I worked in the youth department of the public library, so I always surrounded myself with picture books, I breathed picture books and I so desperately, desperately wanted to be a part of that magical world.
In the mid-90s, I felt that way about animation (as did my then-boyfriend-now-husband), so we moved to Los Angeles and followed our dream- we were hired at Nickelodeon, eventually doing storyboards, and I later worked at Warner Bros. Television Animation and Walt Disney TV Animation. But picture books were my first love, and I worked at getting a personal illustration portfolio together while I was storyboarding, which was a challenge since I was used to working in the style of whatever show I was on-- I didn't even have my OWN style. After we had our first child, I transitioned out of animation entirely and began to pursue illustration full time. It had only taken me about six months between moving to L.A. and getting my animation job, so I thought success in illustration would be just as quick. WRONG!
What advice would you give to new and aspiring authors and illustrators?
Don't give up! (Can you deal with soul-crushing discouragement for 13 years? Haha. Keep that sense of humor!)
For illustrators: Draw all the time. Develop YOUR style. Discover new influences. (For authors, ehhh, I don't have any specifics.)
For everyone: Join SCBWI and go to a conference, even if it's a regional conference. Network with other illustrators/authors and kidlit people. Be nice to everyone. Go to the library regularly and read all the new picture books. Then find some old picture books you've never heard of. Support & encourage other illustrators/authors even if you are insanely and unreasonably jealous that they got a book deal and you haven't, yet. Seriously, be happy for them. (Read "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott.) Good agents are incredibly helpful, especially in terms of helping you focus on a direction and improve your work. Find a critique group (SCBWI is helpful), and network with your peers.
Illustrator Tina Kugler lives in Los Angeles with her artist husband, three little boys and an enormous hairy dog named Harryhausen. Tina spent ten years drawing storyboards in the animation industry for studios such as Walt Disney, Nickelodeon, and Warner Bros., and is also known for her iconic Sputnik Girl posters for Manitowoc, Wisconsin's annual Sputnikfest.
You can visit Tina's website and blog at http://tinakugler.squarespace.com/
You can visit Author Leanne Shirtliffe's blog at http://ironicmom.com/
Congratulations, Tina! So excited to read both your upcoming books! (And thanks so much for being my first illustrator interview! Your illustrations look amazing!)
June 17, 2013
Keep Reading Fun Day: How Easy Books Can Help Young Readers!
There has been a lot of talk lately about what books are assigned for school reading and what books kids should be reading. A lot of talk got stirred up with this article For an awesome response to that article read this fantastic blog post.
The basic complaint of the original NPR piece really struck a chord with me. A negative chord. (As it did with many readers. You'll see if you read the comments following the article).
While the piece is talking about high school kids (and I agree with those who debate that many books are often much more complex than a simple analysis of sentence length and word complexity would suggest), there still seems to be a basic assumption in the article that it is good for kids to be reading challenging books (which I agree with) and bad for kids to be reading easy books (which I disagree with).
This assumption about easy books being a negative exists many other places as well. I often hear people complaining about younger kids' book choices in much the same way.
A child brings a book up to a grown up. "Oh no," says the parent or the teacher. "That one's too easy. Choose something harder." of "for your age." or "at your level."
Now I am a huge fan of pairing kids with "just right books". But "easy books" have a place too. A really important place in my opinion.
Here are just a few ways that easy books can help young readers (and older readers too):
1. Easy books are fun and relaxing!
And fun and relaxing is good. If you never read anything fun and relaxing, you probably won't become a reader. We must remember that the goal of reading instruction is to develop readers. Kids (and eventually grown-ups) who want to read outside the classroom.
(Think about your fun "beach reads"! Don't kids deserve to have those too?)
2. Easy books can allow readers to solidify what they've already learned.
If you're always working at the cusp of your abilities, it can sometimes be hard to put it all together.
Recently, for summer reading, my son enjoyed reading books that are several steps easier than what he was reading during the school year. And everything is coming together. His fluency. His expression. His word solving abilities. Definitely an awesome feeling (for him and for me)!
3. Easy books help kids gain confidence as readers.
After reading some easy books, a kids can begin to feel like a good reader. LIke s/he really has the hang of this reading thing. And, once a kid feels this way, that kid will often willingly take on more intense reading challenges. Because s/he will feel good enough to try.
(As a kid, I loved relaxing with every single Trixie Belden mystery and with Archie comic books too, but I also explored a huge range of books including every book by Louisa May Alcott, every book by L.M Montgomery and classics including THE SECRET GARDEN and THE THREE MUSKETEERS. I later went on to earn my B.A. with High Honors in English and American and did my senior essay on Henry James' THE GOLDEN BOWL (definitely NOT an easy book :o) ). If my parents had been worried about the easy books I enjoyed, I don't know that I would have gone on to enjoy the more challenging ones. Or to love reading so very much.
In fact, a close friend did finally start to read an easy series when he was a child. He was feeling really good about it too. He finally found some books he enjoyed. Yay! He liked reading. But the teacher asked him to switch to something harder... and he stopped reading new books... Oh how I hate that story!)
***
These are just a few of the reasons I feel passionately that it is important to give kids the opportunities to read easy books. I want every child to get experience reading books that feel easy. These books can really help!
So, what is your opinion of easy books for young readers? (Can't wait to hear what you think!)
The basic complaint of the original NPR piece really struck a chord with me. A negative chord. (As it did with many readers. You'll see if you read the comments following the article).
While the piece is talking about high school kids (and I agree with those who debate that many books are often much more complex than a simple analysis of sentence length and word complexity would suggest), there still seems to be a basic assumption in the article that it is good for kids to be reading challenging books (which I agree with) and bad for kids to be reading easy books (which I disagree with).
This assumption about easy books being a negative exists many other places as well. I often hear people complaining about younger kids' book choices in much the same way.
A child brings a book up to a grown up. "Oh no," says the parent or the teacher. "That one's too easy. Choose something harder." of "for your age." or "at your level."
Now I am a huge fan of pairing kids with "just right books". But "easy books" have a place too. A really important place in my opinion.
Here are just a few ways that easy books can help young readers (and older readers too):
1. Easy books are fun and relaxing!
And fun and relaxing is good. If you never read anything fun and relaxing, you probably won't become a reader. We must remember that the goal of reading instruction is to develop readers. Kids (and eventually grown-ups) who want to read outside the classroom.
(Think about your fun "beach reads"! Don't kids deserve to have those too?)
2. Easy books can allow readers to solidify what they've already learned.
If you're always working at the cusp of your abilities, it can sometimes be hard to put it all together.
Recently, for summer reading, my son enjoyed reading books that are several steps easier than what he was reading during the school year. And everything is coming together. His fluency. His expression. His word solving abilities. Definitely an awesome feeling (for him and for me)!
3. Easy books help kids gain confidence as readers.
After reading some easy books, a kids can begin to feel like a good reader. LIke s/he really has the hang of this reading thing. And, once a kid feels this way, that kid will often willingly take on more intense reading challenges. Because s/he will feel good enough to try.
(As a kid, I loved relaxing with every single Trixie Belden mystery and with Archie comic books too, but I also explored a huge range of books including every book by Louisa May Alcott, every book by L.M Montgomery and classics including THE SECRET GARDEN and THE THREE MUSKETEERS. I later went on to earn my B.A. with High Honors in English and American and did my senior essay on Henry James' THE GOLDEN BOWL (definitely NOT an easy book :o) ). If my parents had been worried about the easy books I enjoyed, I don't know that I would have gone on to enjoy the more challenging ones. Or to love reading so very much.
In fact, a close friend did finally start to read an easy series when he was a child. He was feeling really good about it too. He finally found some books he enjoyed. Yay! He liked reading. But the teacher asked him to switch to something harder... and he stopped reading new books... Oh how I hate that story!)
***
These are just a few of the reasons I feel passionately that it is important to give kids the opportunities to read easy books. I want every child to get experience reading books that feel easy. These books can really help!
So, what is your opinion of easy books for young readers? (Can't wait to hear what you think!)
June 14, 2013
In Honor of Father's Day: Dads and Reading
Father's Day read-aloud on the ferry! Just had to share this wonderful article about dads and reading. It really got me thinking and got my husband and I talking. Love the great ideas about how dads can have more fun reading with their kids! And Father's Day seems like a perfect time to get started.So what is Dad's role in reading in your family? Are some of the ideas from the article on your family's "to do" list?
