Sunday Post: On-Going…Picture Books and Projects

Posted on February 9, 2013 by viviankirkfield

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge…today’s theme is ON-GOING.

The seasons are on-going…soon it will be spring and the flowers will bloom.

Black History Month is on-going during the month of February.

On January 1^st, I celebrated my first day of retirement.

Now that I am retired, I have many on-going projects which I have shared with you.

De-cluttering the garage is a project that is still on-going.

School classroom visits are still on-going. This semester I am reading Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems and the children are constructing their own storyboards. I enjoy working with the kids and the teachers and, as a picture book writer, I believe it is important to stay connected with young children.

I’m taking Emma Walton Hamilton’s “JUST WRITE FOR KIDS’ online picture book writing course…this 8-week class is on-going…fortunately, you can work at your own pace…it’s been WAY more than 8 weeks. What I love most about it so far is that it encourages me to look REALLY carefully at how classic picture books are constructed. With that understanding, I hope to write picture books that kids will want to read over and over again.

Participating in Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 Picture Book Writing Challenge is on-going. If you haven’t signed up yet, please check out the link…you have until February 28 and then it will be too late to hop aboard this year. As part of the program, I submitted a manuscript this month to agent Stephen Fraser and am currently working on a new manuscript for next month’s submission. I’m excited about this new one…it’s about wildlife conservation. My local and on-line critique group work is on-going as well…reading the manuscripts of others and the comments and suggestions they make on mine is like taking a workshop class. I never realized how helpful it would be to participate in a critique group…I recommend it to everyone who writes.

The chance to win $25 for the literacy charity or organization of your choice is on-going. Simply leave a comment on last Friday’s post. Next Friday I will pick one of the comments using Random.org and that person’s choice will receive a check for $25…$25 is not a fortune, but it can purchase a couple of books…who can say what a difference those few books may make in a child’s life.

Nancy Hatch’s Writer’s Desk Competition voting is still on-going. If you would like to vote, you can go here. All of the entries are great…I am honored to be among them with my piece…I Write, Therefore I Am.

My desire to provide quick and easy activities for their kids is on-going. Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking, is a wonderful resource for parents and teachers with picture book recommendations, simple craft projects and child-friendly recipes. Click this link if you would like a copy! Engage your child, encourage creative expression and, most of all, have fun together!

What’s on-going in your life?

Check out Jake’s Year of the Snake logo!

http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/

Beginning with Beginnings (kathytemean.wordpress.com)
Sunday Post: Concepts (francineinretirement.wordpress.com)
Canuck Picture Books Galore! (storms.typepad.com)
Critique of my Picture Book (writersobsession.wordpress.com)
Don’t Call Me Little Bunny: An odd and unusual gem of a picture book. (turtleandrobot.wordpress.com)
Sunday Post: Concept…Are We Teaching Our Children to Gossip? (viviankirkfield.wordpress.com)

Prince Bear and Pauper Bear…Teaching Kids About Love and Friendship

Posted on February 7, 2013 by viviankirkfield

How can we teach kids about love and friendship?

By being great role models and treating our friends with love and respect
By giving our children respect and attention and expecting the same from them
By reading stories that deliver this important message

Today is Perfect Picture Book Friday…an opportunity for me to share a book with you that teaches kids about love and friendship…come and join Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic group of picture book writers, illustrators, librarians and others who contribute a picture book review.

February is a month that is chockfull with special days. Thursday, February 14 is Valentine’s Day…which is all about love…but it is also International Book Giving Day…which is all about getting books into the hands of children who have none.

I want to help young children become lovers of books and reading…and a child must have a book in order to fall in love with it.

Last year, I donated to Reach Out and Read, Sit Together and Read and Books for Africa.

In honor of International Book Giving Day and Valentine’s Day, I am donating $25 to provide books for kids…but I would like your help in choosing where the money goes. Do you have a favorite organization that supports this cause? Please leave a comment on my blog and tell me why your favorite should get the money. I will use Random.org and the winner will be announced in next Friday’s post.

Today’s Perfect Picture Book celebrates love and friendship…and is written by a children’s author and blogger I connected with last year. Emily Lim is now a member of 12×12 and is one of the featured speakers at the 2013 Asian Festival of Children’s Content. If you’d like to find out more about her and the many beautiful books she has written, you can visit her blog. When the book first came out, Emily appeared on TV, talking about how she came to write the book.

Prince Bear and Pauper Bear

Written by Emily Lim

Illustrated by Neal Sharp

Publisher: Mustard Seed Books (2007)

Ages: 2 and up

Themes:

Friendship, love, self-esteem, believe in oneself, caring about others, sharing

Synopsis:

From Amazon’s book page: “Pauper Bear is a sad little teddy bear who longs to be loved whilst Prince Bear is a proud teddy bear who loves himself. When their paths take different turns, the two bears discover that things do not happen as they expect… Prince Bear & Pauper Bear has been awarded the Bronze Medal (Children’s Picture Books category) at the 2008 IPPY Awards (World’s largest independent publishers book awards).”

Why do I like this book:

All kids love teddy bears…and here is a timeless story about two bears who are as different as day and night. Kids will cheer when Pauper Bear is carried home and lovingly cared for by his new owner. The illustrations are sweet and clever and clean and simple, with muted tones (a perfect bedtime story) and bold lines. The pictures are so expressive that we can tell what the teddy bears are thinking, even without reading the words. The author has given us a fresh perspective on the classic story of The Prince and the Pauper, with a book that kids will want to hear over and over again. Unfortunately, the book has limited availability here in the States…I was lucky to get a copy on Amazon and I plan to use it for the fall semester in my school programs.

Related Activities:

TEDDY BEAR PAPER BAG PUPPET

Photo courtesy www.dltk-kids.com

You will need: 1 paper lunch bag, construction paper, markers or crayons, scissors and glue.

A paper bag is an amazing craft resource. Depending on the age of the child, you can make this puppet as simple or as intricate as you wish. If you want templates for the arms, ears, etc…please go to: http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/teddy/mbearbag.html

If not, you can just cut out approximate-sized pieces from a piece of construction paper.

Cut out arms, ears, eyes, etc. from construction paper.
Glue onto the paper bag in the appropriate places.
If you’d like to make this a Valentine Bear Puppet, you can cut out a heart and glue onto the front, instead of the bow tie or the stomach…wherever you choose.
Make one with your child so that you each will have one…then you can role-play…retelling the story of Prince Bear and Pauper Bear.

Great teddy bear Valentine’s Day crafts from DLTK: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mheartbear.htm

More teddy bear Valentine’s Day drafts here: http://parenting.leehansen.com/holidays/valentine/kids_valentines/index.shtml

And more here: http://dreamlandmagic.soniacjensen.com/valentine/valentine_teddy_pin.html

Wonderful resource website here: http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/bears-crafts-ideas-activities.html

Last link for teddy bear Valentine’s day crafts here: http://www.ehow.com/info_12100662_teddy-bear-valentine-arts-crafts-preschoolers.html

Okay…I lied…here is one more: http://easypreschoolcraft.blogspot.com/2012/07/teddy-bear-puppet-craft.html

And this one has a template you can print out for a bear with movable arms and legs: http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/activities/takehometeddy.asp

Show Me How! No batteries required…powered by a child’s imagination! Click this link to purchase a copy

Valentine’s Day Teddy Bear Valued At $30,000 Hits The Couch (newyork.cbslocal.com)

Sunday Post: Hope…The First Step to Success

Posted on February 3, 2013 by viviankirkfield

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is HOPE. To hope is to have a wish to get or do something or for something to happen or be true. Hope is the first step to success. It’s important to take other steps to make sure what you hope for will actually happen.

Many years ago, I hoped to write a book for parents and teachers. That was the first step and, in 2011, I went to Chicago for a book event at Lollie’s, one of the stores that sells that book.

This year, I hope to have some of my picture books published.

But hoping for this is only the first step. There are other steps that must be taken if I want to succeed.

One of those other steps involves Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 Picture Book Writing Challenge. Last month I submitted a picture book query for a special critique from author Emma Walton Hamilton. This month, as a Golden Book member, I was able to submit a full picture book manuscript, The Boots of Dylan McGee, to agent Stephen Fraser.

Another step I’ve taken towards realizing my hope of having my picture books published is to take Emma Walton Hamilton’s online picture book writing course, Just Write for Kids. I’m only on lesson four out of eight…but I’ve learned lots already.

Entering contests and writing challenges is another important step in making this hope become reality. Last month I sent a children’s story to the Highlights Fiction Contest. In addition, I entered Nancy Hatch’s Writer’s Desk Contest with a poem about why and where and how I write.

The seven finalists were announced yesterday…and yes, I am one of them!!!!

For those of you who might not have seen it:

I WRITE, THEREFORE I AM

A writing space by any name does serve me well.

By lamplight or with sunlight streaming

Ideas flourish while I’m dreaming.

From mind to pen words quickly teeming

Pages fill with stories beaming.

In quiet or with children screaming

Cluttered desk or table gleaming

I’ve found my heaven…not to write would be my hell.

If you would like to vote, you can go here. All of the entries are great…I am honored to be among them.

As parents, we also have to instill hope in our children…and then offer them opportunities to realize those hopes. If you have the time, please watch this video of Jarrett Krosocska’s TED talk on ‘How a boy became an artist’…it is inspirational and educational and Jarrett is an amazing speaker!

http://pinterest.com/pin/470274386059243757/

How can a parent instill hope in a child?

Be a good role model…be hopeful about your own life
Encourage your child to try new things…go to museums, read books, etc.
Provide support when your child fails…but please allow your child to fail
Allow your child to pursue his or her talents and gifts
Spend positive time with your child

My book, Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking, is a wonderful resource for parents and teachers that build self-esteem, develops better literacy skills and creates a life-long parent-child bond. Isn’t that what we all hope for our children? It’s a one-stop book that provides quick and easy activities. Grab a copy! Engage your child, encourage creative expression and, most of all, have fun together!