47 Charming Facts About Children's Books -John Green

John Green is so much fun, and so great to listen to! Here he is on Mental Floss.

Revisions

I have been learning more about making revisions and I have been collecting some useful on-line resources. They include:

Filter Words, on Writing Life by Susan Dennard Filter words not only increase the word count unnecessarily, they make the story seem more passive instead of active.

I Told You by Janice Hardy with some helpful pointers on how to "Show, not Tell", the picture book writers mantra!

Check out Margot Finke's self-editing fact sheet which is full over other words that can be cut.

Remember the three R's for writing picture books, Revise, Revise and umm, Revise.

The Year of the Salamander

I spent a morning learning about our state's salamanders. We looked under rocks and flipped over logs. We found egg cases floating in a vernal pool and saw a pregnant salamander that was only weeks from becoming a mother. We learned some fun facts about these amphibians. Salamanders are the most populace vertebrate in the forests of CT and are a good indicator of the health of the environment. Some salamander moms, including the common red-backed salamander are protective and will guard their eggs.

The sounds of springtime, one of my favorite things!

A View from the Circ Desk, Part 2

An NPR blog article by Annalisa Quinn cites a report that found that a trip to the library makes people feel happier! Too true, give it a try!

Rhymes A-Plenty, Rhymes Galore

RhyPiBoMo is winding down. It's bee a wonderful month of writing and reading poetry for children. One great interview that was shared was Patricia Toht's interview of Kenn Nesbitt, the current Children's Poet Laureate,Part 1 and Part 2 on Groggspot. It was a delightful read. So many of the daily posts for RhyPiBoMo included words of inspiration from other writers who are passionate about their craft. The daily assignments kept us improving our skills.

In reading a huge assortment of rhyming picture books, I have discovered a couple of new favorites.

Boogie Knights by Lisa Wheeler/Illustrated by Mark Siegel, is so much fun and masterfully done. There is so much to be learned from her rhyming style.



Chicks Run Wild by Sudipta Bardham-Quallen/ Illustrated by Ward Jenkins, is just delightful!

A Restful Saturday

This week for my Saturday post, I thought I would include some of the great rhyming books I have been  reading as part of my assignment for RhyPiBoMo. I've read some real clunkers, but I have also discovered some gems that have already become favorites.

One Dark Night by Lisa Wheeler

Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters by Jane Yolen

Piggies in a Polka by Kathi Appelt

Samantha on a Roll by Linda Ashman

Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein

They are all masterfully done and a joy to read aloud!

KidLit411: The Weekly 411

I found a great blog with loads of helpful info that I'm going to start following:

KidLit411: The Weekly 411 (4/18/14)