Picture Book Review and Activity: DADDY DEPOT plus Giveaway

Posted on May 12, 2017 by viviankirkfield

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends!

I hope all of you have scrolled through yesterday’s #50PreciousWordsforKids post. There were 57 wonderful stories written by kids in grades K-6. Children in six countries and thirteen states participated. And honestly, I read the makings of several awesome picture books. Many of the parents said their children wanted to know when the next challenge would be. I’m thrilled to have created a platform for our future authors. I’ll be reaching out to the friends who generously offered to donate a mini-Skype author visit – I’ll randomly pick one name from each grade level and that child’s class will receive the author visit.

Before we get to our wonderful picture book, we have a giveaway to take care of. Last week, Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum generously offered a copy of TRAINS DON’T SLEEP.

And the winner is…

KIM CHAFFEE.

Congratulations, Kim…let’s connect and I will put you in touch with Andria so she can get a copy of the book out to you!

Today’s picture book review is another of our fabulous 2017 debuts and I know you are going to love it! And the author, Chana Stiefel (who will be here tomorrow on Will Write for Cookies), is offering a copy of the book. So, if you’d like to be entered in the giveaway, please don’t forget to leave a comment.

DADDY DEPOT

Written by: Chana Stiefel Continue reading →

#50PreciousWordsforKids International Writing Challenge Stories are HERE!

Posted on May 11, 2017 by viviankirkfield

HURRAY! It’s time to unveil the wonderful stories from children all over the world.

Many thanks to the parents and teachers who encouraged their kids to participate.

The guidelines were simple.

I got several requests from teacher friends who asked for a few more days…so I extended the deadline to May 10th.

And the notes I got from parents and teachers were filled with thanks for creating this writing opportunity.

“Best wishes for a fabulous contest. This is a wonderful thing you are doing for kids!”

“My daughter told me she wants to write books like me, and my heart melted!”

“Thanks for hosting such a wonderful contest for young students.”

“Thank you again for organizing this fun event! My students were challenged to keep their stories under 50 words – especially since we’ve been working so hard in second grade to add details to lengthen our writing!”

I also decided to open the challenge to children all over the world—believing that, especially in these times, it’s important for us to come together—with children leading the way as the storytellers.

Each story was submitted by either a parent or a teacher. Teachers were requested to send one story per class. A couple of classes wrote a collaborative story. And one child even drew an illustration for her story.

By Grace, author of Brothers

#50PreciousWordsforKids BY THE NUMBERS:

#57 ENTRIES

#6 COUNTRIES

#15 U.S. STATES

I’ve already had inquiries as to when the NEXT children’s writing challenge will take place. So, I guess I need to start thinking about that…maybe it would be nice to have one in the summer to keep those young minds creating…and definitely one later in the fall.

Hosting this has been a thrill…the diverse topics and creativity are impressive. These are the future writers of our world!

Without further ado, I present the #50PreciousWordsforKids International Writing Challenge stories, listed in the order I received them. Continue reading →

Will Write for Cookies: Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum PLUS Giveaway

Posted on May 6, 2017 by viviankirkfield

WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION

FOR WRITERS

TODAY’S GUEST

ANDRIA WARMFLASH ROSENBAUM

I’m excited to welcome another 2017 debut picture book author today. Please don’t forget to leave a comment to qualify for the giveaway of a copy of Andria’s debut picture book, Trains Don’t Sleep.

Here’s a bit of the bio from Andria’s wonderful website:

Reading didn’t come easily to me, but making up stories and poems did. It took a lot of hard work, frustration and a few buckets of sweat and tears until I got the hang of it. Along with help from my parents and teachers, I finally figured out why everyone was so excited about reading. I earned a master’s degree in special education from Bank Street College of Education so I could help other kids learn to read faster than I did. Now I live in New Jersey with my husband and children. I can usually be found in the library stuffing shiny new books into a bottomless book bag. Too bad it isn’t weightless too Continue reading →