Linda K. Sienkiewicz's Blog, page 16

Should parents censor what their kids read?

“Home” by Ingrid TanWhat is acceptable reading material for your child?

It’s a legit question, especially since banning books by some schools has in turn created a demand for these books.

Suppose your middle schooler wants to read Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus? Would exposing them to certain truths harm them, or frighten them?

Looking at this list of banned books, I realize I’ve read nearly every one of them as a kid, and I didn’t become a deviant, sex...

Honoring our Fallen Veterans

Vietnam Memorial Wall; Getty Images
Teaching the meaning of Memorial Day to children

To most kids (and to many adults), Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer. We barbecue hamburgers, take a trip to the park, or plant flowers since there’s no longer the threat of frost.

To families who have lost loved ones in the service of our country, however, the meaning runs deeper than a cookout. We want our children to understand what Memorial Day means to our country’s history and our fallen ...

What, Why, How, Diana Dinverno

What:

Each poem in my chapbook, When Truth Comes Home to Roost, is meant to be a revelation, a slant of light shining through a window. The poems lean toward autobiography, capture experiences, both large and small, over time and against shifting backdrops— childhood in the working-class Midwest, a Northern Michigan meadow, World War II Europe, a funeral during the pandemic, and in contemplation of what will remain of us in a thousand years.

The collection is a meditation on family an...

What, Why, How: Sarah Hovorka

What?

I write across genres and ages. When ideas come to me, a voice is already part of them and that’s how I know whether I’m writing a picture book, middle grade, adult work, web blog, or anything else. Most of my attention is focused on children’s fiction. In picture books, my stories usually revolve around a social-emotional issue and heavily feature family and friend relationships. These are influenced by my personal experiences and those of my children. 

My debut picture book, Ha...

An Author Platform

Bea VaqueroWhat good is social media?

Allison K Williams is a memoirist, essayist, and travel journalist whose recent post, Writers, Stop Using Social Media (Like That) on JaneFriedman.com explained the use of author platform in a way that made sense to me:

Twitter, Instagram or TikTok might deliver the final “buy this” message, but that message is a single nail in your author platform. To have anything to attach that message to, you must first know your mission, discover your best mix...

What, Why, How: Suzanne Jacobs Lipshaw

What:

I am a children’s book author whose books are inspired by my two sons, nature, and my 23 years as an elementary special education teacher. My publishing credentials include I Campaigned for Ice Cream: A Boy’s Quest for Ice Cream Trucks (Warren Publishing, April 2019) inspired by the true story of my son Josh who at nine-years-old wondered why ice cream trucks never came down our street. After a nudge from his mother to call the township board, he discovered they were illegal due to ...

What, Why, How: Dennis Hinrichsen

What:

schema geometrica, my ninth full-collection, is a departure from my previous work in that it was conceived as a project book on two fronts.

For the longest time I wanted to write a book entirely of short poems, so the first parameter was form. So I zeroed in on the sonnet, or broken sonnet, as the shape, with collage as the logos. Joseph Cornell’s wonderful boxes were a model as well as the tableau vivant style of Sergei Parajanov’s film, The Colour of Pomegranates. I really wan...

I, Myself, or Me?

Myself?

A letter to advice columnist Miss Manners begins: “My husband, myself and another couple went out for dinner last summer…”

I read the rest of the question but kept bouncing back to that opening sentence. It was so wrong. Myself? MYSELF? Miss Manners wisely didn’t correct the writer; she focused on the question at hand. I, however, couldn’t let it go.

Myself is a special kind of pronoun. It’s called a reflexive pronoun (reflexive because it reflects the subject) or emphatic (...

Gordy and the Ghost Crab goes to School

We hit the road!

I took Gordy and the Ghost Crab and my newest creation, my felt ghost crab hat, to Weston Elementary School in Imlay City, MI where we meet with three groups of students: 1. the begindergarten and kindergarten students, 2. the first graders, and 3. the second graders — A total of about 400 students in all!

Christina Herr, M.Ed., Reading Interventionist at Weston, asked that I gear my presentation toward resiliency, bravery and facing our fears, which make excellent ta...

What, Why, How: Pria Dee

What:

I focus on Children’s picture books and the sub genre is humor.  I like to write stories that appeal to children and parents/grandparents, stories that the children will want to read over and over again.  I heard from one parent that their four-year-old reads Bill Makes Cookies and now wants to read the book every day!

Why:

I am motivated to write from my own experiences as a child as well as my experience as a parent.  In Balu Saves the Day, I touch on life in India whic...