Mini Post: Book Giveaway & Writing Workout!

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Howdy, Campers!

This post will be short and sweet--'cause it's summer!

Last week I posted an interview with illustrator-author-poet-puppeteer-amazingness, Vincent X. Kirsch, who will personally autograph a copy of his newest picture book, HOW I LEARNED TO FALL OUT OF TREES for our Book Giveaway winner! To enter to win this wonderful book, go to the interview and scroll down.

And now, before the sun melts my flip flops, I'd like to present Vincent X. Kirsch's

Take an existing story you've worked on
and reverse the action,
telling it backwards,
starting with the ending first.

Some stories
work better backwards.

image from pixabay.com

See? I told you this was going to be short and sweet! If you try this exercise, let us know how it went. And don't forget to enter to win Vincent's newest book!

posted backwards by April Halprin Wayland, who loves this quote:
"Spend the afternoon. You can't take it with you." -Annie Dillard

image from pixabay.com

Student Success Story and Book Giveaway: Vincent X. Kirsch: Illustrator-Poet-Author-Puppeteer-Amazingness

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Howdy, Campers, and Happy Poetry Friday! (an original poem, the link to PF, and instructions on how to enter our drawing for an autographed picture book are below)

Look! Someone's climbed our ladder and is knocking at the door of the TeachingAuthors tree house right now!

Campers, I'm proud to introduce you to a dear friend.

But first, a confession: I feel a bit sheepish posting this interview as part of our continuing series, Student Success Stories, since he tiptoed into my Picture Book class undercover, without revealing he'd written and illustrated many wonderful picture books before landing in my class. But...he was my student...and man, oh, man, is he a success! So...he qualifies, right?

Welcome, Vincent X. Kirsch and Ogbert! (I'm sorry that the utterly adorable Scout Pippins, Vincent's other pup, couldn't join us today)

Author-Illustrator Vincent X. Kirsch and Ogbert
photo courtesy of the author

Have a glass of fresh lemonade and take a load off, Vincent, then please tell us how you found your way into writing and illustrating children's books.

One of my favorite behind the scenes story is how my first book came to be. I had been pursuing work in picture books for over fifteen years without any success. I had given up at a point in my life when a lot of my friends were getting book assignments without any effort at all. Over the same fifteen years, I had been doing a monthly illustration for The New York Times Book Review. I was told in August that the art director was leaving and the new art director wanted to start with his own team of illustrators. It was rather sad because I had been doing it so long and I hated to see that door shut. For my very last illustration, I drew two young Italian brothers on a scooter going in opposite directions. The illustration was published one Sunday in October, 2006 and the following Thursday, an editor at Bloomsbury USA called to say that she loved the illustration in The Times and wondered if I was interested in doing picture books? A new door was suddenly thrown wide open! She was thinking of me as an illustrator but was delighted to discover that I was also a writer. The result was my first book NATALIE &NAUGHTILY. So, all of that work over all those years paid off somehow. 

So, based on your experience, how would you encourage someone banging her head against writer’s block...or someone who's depressed about ever getting anything published?

Things never happen when we think they will happen. The greatest reward for working in any creative area is the work itself. To sit down and create is a treasure that nothing else in life can match. 

I often say: The greatest reward in life is to put a part of yourself down on paper. Enjoy the work. Be in the present moment.  Don’t compare and don’t compete. No one has the same life story or superpower. It’s what makes you who you are. Also, don’t forget to love as much as you can, it is all really take with you when you leave this world.

For Writer’s Block: Take a break. Take a vacation. Stand on your head. Look at the world from a new perspective. Read BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamott. Then, go back to work and look at your own work with new eyes.

Vincent's inspiration cork board
photo courtesy of the author

The cork board in your studio is filled with images that encourage you to dream. If you could be anything in the world except an author/illustrator, what would you dream of becoming?

An urban planner. A film director. A playwright. A scenic designer. A puppeteer. Or a job that I actually had and loved, a visual merchandiser for a line of luxury food shoppes.

(Campers...the thing about Vincent is that he will probably actually DO all these things--stay tuned!)

I know the story of how you wrote your newest book ~ could you share it with our readers, please?

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I was enrolled in your class at UCLA Extension. One week you asked us to rethink an existing project that we had worked on in the past. One of my favorite books titled FORSYTHIA & ME had recently gone out of print. I loved the book but thought I could do a better job if I gave it a bit more of an emotional tug at the heart.

I went back to a list I had made of remembered things from my childhood that stood out. Two that jumped out at me were: my fear of climbing trees and the memory of how heartbroken I was when my childhood friends would move away. So, I blended the two, addressing both of these feelings that had bedeviled me and somehow comforted myself in dealing with those memories. Since the class was a poetry driven class, I first wrote the book as a poem. I surprised myself at the end, since I really didn’t know how I would end it until inspiration wrote the final sentence for me.

The book came out exactly two years after my first draft in class. It is called HOW I LEARNED TO FALL OUT OF TREES by Abrams Books for Young Readers.

I love that story (of course I do!) and also way you so beautifully intertwine two different ideas, both in words and illustrations...and so do critics!  "A primer on both getting up into the leaves and coping with the loss of someone you're attached to. Kirsch elegantly makes the connection with affirmations that work both ways: 'Hang on tight with both hands'; 'take it one branch at a time'; and, inevitably, 'letting go will be the hardest part!' . . . A well-cultivated story that plants a seed about the value of friends and what they leave with us, even when they're gone" ~ Kirkus Reviews

How can teachers and parents use HOW I LEARNED TO FALL OUT OF TREES?

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I imagine it will be a very useful book to share with listeners and readers if they have lately experienced a loss of some sort, (such as when a friend/fellow student/relative moves away, dies or in no longer near). This book shows that even though someone might not be there anymore, they have left you with something of value that can be held on to. What might that be?

Yes. I can see myself giving it to an adult friend who's going through loss. You recently spoke to my class right after your beloved mother died...and choked up as you began reading it aloud. A student continued reading the book for you. It was a very touching moment.

Tell us about your mother.

I come from a rather large family of five children. I was second and am very much a second child. I was very close to my Mom. She was my greatest fan. Everything I did amazed and delighted her. I used to love to call her with good or bad news. She was always a voice of confidence. I have a terrific family by birth and another marvelous family of close friends. They now take turns being my Mom’s voice when I need to hear encouraging words.

Dapper, young Vincent X. Kirsch. photo courtesy of the author

Did your family celebrate holidays? What's your favorite?

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I adore everything about Christmas. I always have. I was Santa Claus’s greatest fan. At a very early age, my parents discovered that I was very good at wrapping packages. So, one holiday season when I was still very young, they sat me down and explained that Santa was not a real person but a very good idea. There were no elves. I needed to help. Then, they put me to work wrapping presents for my siblings and relatives. I remember crying my eyes out, that first day.

Years later, when I started as the window designer at Bergdorf Goodman, the store did very little for the holidays. No special windows. No fancy interior elements. Just a few cursory holiday touches. I was aghast and offered to take on the assignment and direction of holiday decorations. It meant much more work and planning for an already busy me. But I believed in festive holidays. I started the traditions of holiday windows, ornate interior decorations and wreaths hung on all of the windows outside the store. I did it for Santa Claus, not the person, but the idea.

You are always willing do extra work, and you're endlessly curious and multi-talented, Vincent. So, where will your abundant energy and enthusiasm take you next?

I have just begun artwork on my next picture book as author and illustrator. Hopefully it will be called FROM A. TO Z. It is about two little boys who can’t find the perfect words to express how they feel about each other. It is a very upbeat celebration of love and friendship. It will be out in Fall of 2020 from Abrams.

Then, I have started work on my second early reader/search-and-find book with Holiday House to be titled CAN PUP FIND THE PUPS? It is a sequel of sorts to the first book in the series, a Junior Library Guild selection for very young readers, CAN YOU FIND PUP?  about a little artist and his fun-loving, dare-devil pup. 

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Wow~ I can't wait to read FROM A. TO Z. It sounds like a life-changing picture book. 

And finally, do you have a poem to share for Poetry Friday? 

Years ago, I wrote a fairy tale about a little girl on an island who is given the gift of a dragon as her teacher. At the start of the story, I wrote this poem. It expresses something that I truly believe.

Each person changes the world.

Some for the better.

Some for the worse.

Someone might build a wall

to keep others out.

Someone else might build a house

for others to come home to.

Someone may step upon a flower.

Someone may plant a garden.

A cruel word might be spoken.

A poem might be written.

Someone might start a war.

Someone else might start to sing

a song that passes

from person

to person

to person.

by Vincent X. Kirsch

poem (c) 1998 Vincent X. Kirsch. All rights reserved.

illustrations and photos (c)2019 Vincent X. Kirsch. All rights reserved.

Vincent, thank you--I needed to be reminded that each person does change the world. And thank you for passing your inspiring song on to all of us. I hope you'll come back when FROM A. TO Z. comes out. (Campers! I urge you to read more about Vincent--or at least feast your eyes on oodles of his illustrations--in this 2016 interview)
And thank you for offering to sign and send a personally autographed copy of HOW I LEARNED TO FALL OUT OF TREES to one of our lucky Readers! (to enter the drawing, see directions below)

Campers ~ checkout Vincent's short and sweet Wednesday Writers' Workout!

And don't forget Poetry Friday! 

This week's roundup is hosted by Jone at DeoWriter  Thanks, Jone! 

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PS: Campers ~ there's still a seat for you in the one-day class, WRITING A PICTURE BOOK AND GETTING IT PUBLISHED I'm again teaching on Saturday, July 13, 2019 with illustrator and author Barney Saltzberg, from 9:30am-4:30pm, through the UCLA Extension Writers Program

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TO ENTER THE DRAWING for a chance to win an autographed copy of  HOW I LEARNED TO FALL OUT OF TREES written and illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsh, use the Rafflecopter widget below. You may enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options.

If you choose option 2, you MUST leave a comment* on TODAY'S blog post below or on our TeachingAuthorsFacebook page. (If you haven't already "liked" our Facebook page, please do so today!)

*In your comment, tell us what you'd do with the book if you win our giveaway--keep it for yourself or give it to a young reader or a teacher (...or?) ?

(If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.)

Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.

Note: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook, YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA THE WIDGET BELOW. The giveaway ends July 26th and is open to U.S. residents only.

P.S. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here's info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address. 

A Rafflecopter giveaway

posted with affection by April Halprin Wayland, and Eli (who loves every breathing being he meets.)

A Shining Legacy

My favorite genre is non-fiction. One of the best books I've read in the last year is The

Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore (Sourcebooks, 2017). Beginning just prior to WWI up until just before WWII, these girls worked as dial painters for clock-and-watch factories in Orange, New Jersey, Ottawa, Illinois and Waterbury, Connecticut.

The painters, Orange, New Jersey factory

The luminescent qualities of radium infused paint made it invaluable in painting clock and watch dials, as well as airplane instrument panels.  Working at "the watch studio" (as these companies styled their workshops) was a glamorous job for a working class girl. The painters were all female, mostly teenagers, some as young as thirteen. Watch painting was not only a "prestige" position, it paid three times more than ordinary factory work. Many of these young women made more than their fathers, helping their large families to stay afloat.

Radium infused lipstick-1930's France

It wasn't the generosity of their employers that paid the dial painters for their work.  The "bosses," the chemists who developed their paint and the factory directors knew that radium paint was a health hazard. This was a secret they kept to themselves because at the same time, radium was being touted as a "health" product. Everything that could possibly be infused with radium, was: toothpaste, "health tonics," make-up, milk.

Or so they were advertised.

Katherine Schaub (l) and Grace Fryer(r) the first plaintiffs 

 The chemists who handled the beakers of paint worked in labs, away from the painters.  The chemists wore protective gloves and lead aprons.

The painters? Not only did they not have protective gear, they were expected to fashion the fine point on their minute brushes by putting them in their mouths...ten to twenty times per dial...then dip them into the paint. There was no water for cleaning the brushes between "paintings." An average worker could turn out two hundred to three hundred dials per day. 2,300 to 3,000 licks of a brush coated with radium paint.

Within a few years, the "girls" (now wives and young mothers) contracted strange and mysterious illnesses, that couldn't be diagnosed. It began with arthritis like aches in their joint, which they attributed to "old age"...in their late twenties! They lost their teeth, at first pulled because of unbearable pain, then falling out of their own accord, Pieces of jaw bone followed, until the entire jaw crumbled to nothing.  Strange tumors invaded their bones. Spines turned to dust. Death soon followed.

Five of the terminally ill women in the Orange, New Jersey plant, led by Katherine Schaub and Grace Freyer, sued their employer, United States Radium Corporation under the New Jersey Occupational Disease Law. Despite the many doctors, "experts" and government officials the company paid to dismiss their claims that their maladies were caused by radium, the bravery and persistence of "The Orange Five" persuaded the courts and the public. In 1928, the company was forced settle out of court, providing health care and an annuity to the five for life...however long it that was.

The fortitude of "The Orange Five" inspired another five women, this time at the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois. Another five friends, who had been lied to by their employer as to the dangers of their workplace. Eight years later, after the death of their leader, Catherine Wolfe, "The Ottawa Girls" successfully won their fight against Radium Dial in court.

I find myself re-reading this book every couple of months. I re-read my favorite books all the time, but I don't recall reading the same book (at least not as an adult) as much as I have this one. Why?

First, I admire the strength and tenacity of the "radium girls." Many of them worked until they died...at ages 20, 25...so young. They believed their bosses. Their families needed the money. And they trusted their own youth to protect them.

Secondly, the author portrayed these girls real people and not a faceless collection of names in a class action suit.  The "girls" left a trove of material for future biographers.  Oral histories by the few survivors or their families. An 80's documentary (no longer commercially available) Radium City about the Ottawa "studio." Court documents. Newspaper accounts of the court cases. Some of the girls kept diaries, (Katherine Schuab aspired to being a published author, which she achieved before her death.) It's this fine use of detail that brings these young women to life again.

The Radium Girls had no sense of "making history" or "crusading" for workplace safety for the ages. All they wanted was enough money to pay their medical costs, and to leave money for their families. They wanted the companies to admit that they had duped their workers, treated them as an expendable commodity. They wanted safety standards put in place. They helped form occupational labor law. It was too late for them, but perhaps it was not too late for their younger sisters and cousins who still worked at the factories. Uneducated, yet determined factory workers achieved all this.

I am inspired by these women, who while seemingly at the mercy of big business and Big Men, felt empowered enough to take them on in court. The Constitution gave them the right to vote only a few year before. Why not use that new found power for the good?

Would that I as a writer, could pick and employ the right detail, shape an individual story arc, that could make my 1920's characters come alive for my readers. And that I as a person, would have the strength to persevere in doing what is right, as these young factory workers did.

In Hope and Story

We continue to look at books who inspire us. These past few years have been defined by an anger born of despair, and by a loss of kindness born from want of hope. Hope comes from many places: your family, your friends, your heart, your faith.

Where I find hope is in stories. 

Every writer and poet, every teacher and parent – everyone who has lived a life – knows that life isn’t always easy. Life isn’t without its fears and despairs. In fact, dare I say, it is impossible to experience life without experiencing pain. Complete freedom from pain, says Daniel Taylor (The Healing Power of Stories, 1996), means separating yourself from life.

Stories remind us what it means to be human. Not perfect, by any means. But certainly Human.

As Taylor suggests, we are the product of all the stories we have heard and lived. Our stories are interwoven, and we cannot live our stories separate from each other because we are characters in each other’s story.

Stories fill us with the courage to face life’s possibilities.

Stories show us the way to be more than what we are now. They remind us of what we are capable of doing, if only we work together. While there were many great and inspiring stories published, I am reminded of some favorite stories of hope, written by the master storyteller Monica Kulling. I've talked about Monica's grand books before. Her stories demonstrate what can happen when the best of humanity comes together. She is the master of biography. Her poetic narrative – a hallmark of all her books – breathes life to her characters as she explores the thematic values of determination and persistence.

Grant and Tillie Go Walking, by Monica Kulling (July 2015), is a gently wise picturebook on the power of friendship. Grant Wood struggles to find his artistic voice and runs off to Paris to find himself. However, he soon discovers there is no place like home. He learns to be true to himself by painting what makes his heart sing. And in this case, it's beautiful and peaceful Tillie.


Monica excels at taking a moment in history, oftentimes a forgotten moment, and fashioning a story that is both compelling and informative. Her Great Idea Series, published by Tundra Books, is one of my favorite nonfiction series for young readers. The books showcase inventors and how they were inspired to create their inventions that, in many ways, changed the course of history. Monica’s fascination with the late 19th and early 20th centuries confined her research to that particular period. Monica researches extensively, using online and in print sources.

Inventors are clever, says Monica, and they are ingenious in finding ways to realize their dreams. She focuses on that ‘a-ha’ moment, when a great idea clicks in your brain and has you racing off in pursuit. These books include Going Up: Elisha Otis’s Trip to the Top (2012), illustrated by David Parkins, the story of the founding of the elevator, allowing skyscrapers to literally touch the sky. And one of my favorites, the award-winning In the Bag: Margaret Knight Wraps It Up (2011), also illustrated by David Parkins, tells the story about the young inventor of the folded paper bag who eventually owned over twenty patents.

That a-ha moment is hopeful, full of promise. Such moments show us the way to be more than what we are now. 

Wishing you many a-ha moments.

--Bobbi Miller

Five VITABOOKS to Keep Us Keepin’ On!

I’ve always considered tomorrow, June 15 – the middle day of the year’s sixth month, the date that marks the middle of my year.  
Though technically it doesn’t, I celebrate anyway.
It happens to be my Half Birthday. 😊
It’s also the day I realize I’ve kept on keepin’ on for the first 166 days of the year!
Phew and whew, I usually sigh, before declaring, loudly, “YAY me!”

To honor the occasion and to keep on keepin’ on, this year I’ve gifted myself with 5 picture books I’ve lovingly labeled VITABOOKS.
They might not strengthen my hair, nails, skin and bones or vitalize key organs to maximize their function but they sure do fortify my Spirit to ensure I carry on.
I share them today so they can do the same for you.
All are a part of my Summer TeachingAuthor Re-gifting Plan.

This past Wednesday evening, I read aloud Cheryl B. Klein’s WINGS (Atheneum, 2019), illustrated by Tomie dePaola, to inspire and encourage my Newberry Library Advanced Picture Book Workshop students to return to their stories, again and again, until those stories fly.  Cheryl’s text of but 12 rhyming words not only capture a baby bird’s journey to first flight. They shorthand the Hero’s Journey – including the requisite stings and dings we writers experience and the inevitable yet surprising triumphant and soaring resolution we in time come to know.

In four weeks I’ll be sharing Mo Willems’ BECAUSE (Hyperion, 2019), illustrated by Amber Ren, with my Manuscript Workshop writers in Landgrove, Vermont.  “This is how it happened:……..”  the title page declares.  The text and art that follow bring to the page a young musician’s story of how her quest to make music and magic began.  Each of us has a "because," that one person who…, or that one event or thing or circumstance that…, caused us to follow our dream to create.  Remembering and reflecting on that long-ago inspiration can be the perfect Rx to combat any thoughts of not moving forward.

Sudipta Bardhan-Qualien’s CHICKS RULE (Abrams, 2019), illustrated by Renee Kurilla, will be the first picture book I read aloud July 28 in my Picture Book Workshop to my Judson University Doctor of Education in Literacy candidates who happen to be all women.  The story’s Rocket Club’s “No Chicks Allowed” rule leads to chicks banding together, lifting each other up and finally soaring out of this world. How lucky we are to have a community of like-hearted children’s book creators, female and male, ready, willing and able to push us forward.

 

Midway through each of the above workshops, when my writers might be considering their options to continue (or not), I plan to read aloud Danielle Dufayet’s YOU ARE YOUR STRONG (Magination Press, 2019), illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin.  Conquering fear, anger, worry, rejection is possible when we utilize the treasure our strengths offer.

Finally, I’ve chosen Deborah Underwood’s Bearnard, the star of BEARNARD’S BOOK (Godwin Books/Henry Holt, 2019), illustrated by Misa Saburi, to send off any and all on their Writer’s Journeys.  As the flap copy states, “Bearnard discovers that to shine in his story, he just needs to be himself.  That’s just another way to share Dennis Palumbo’s brilliant insightful comforting advice from WRITING FROM THE INSIDE OUT (Wiley): we are enough!

Thanks to Laura Shoven for hosting today’s Poetry Friday.

Five and a half months down.  Six and half months to go.

Here’s hoping the above VITABOOKS keep you keepin’ on!

Esther Hershenhorn

   

WEDNESDAY WRITING WORKOUT: FACT vs. FICTION

Meet my long-ago writer and debut middle grade novelist Naomi Milliner of Olney, Maryland, the creator of today’s WEDNESDAY WRITING WORKOUT!

Naomi’s talent was a given.  Her stories were her stories, but they were stories that would resound in young readers’ hearts, stories that could make a difference.  Running Press and her agent Liza Fleissig obviously agreed!  On May 7, Running Press released SUPER JAKE & THE KING OF CHAOS, and to stellar reviews.

I first met this novel’s magician-Hero Ethan in an earlier incarnation in a very early draft. Much of course has changed in the plot since we first worked together. Fortunately for readers, however, the story’s heart remains the same, thanks to Naomi’s real-life experiences with her young son who had Cerebellar hypoplasia, a rare condition that causes a baby’s cerebellum to be smaller than usual or missing, and her willingness to lovingly share those experiences.  Fact vs. fiction? Naomi knows that writer dilemma first-hand.

Running Press' catalogue copy says it all: “A debut contemporary novel about 11-year-old aspiring magician Ethan, who discovers that heroes come in all sizes, and real magic can be found in the most unexpected places.” Love and hope, it turns out, may be the best magic of all.

In a starred review, Booklist described SUPER JAKE & THE KING OF CHAOS as “…charming, heartwarming….funny…moving.”
SLJ agreed.  “A strong family story for realistic middle grade fiction shelves.”
The Kirkus reviewer lauded the book. “The Millers' love for one another radiates throughout Ethan's witty, introspective narration. Jake is never a burden; his family members include him in fun activities and everyday life as best they can.... A warm, hopeful debut.”

Oh, to be teaching fifth grade again, so I could gift my students with Ethan’s authentically-told story.

IMHO: SUPER JAKE is also ripe for consideration by ALA’s Schneider Family Award Committee.

Just as Ethan’s hard work and patience pay off in this novel, Naomi’s hard work and patience have done the same.
Read Alex Villasante’s interview with Naomi at the Love Your Shelf Class2k19Books blog to learn just how many years Naomi stayed on task so Ethan could be in the world today.
Her debut novel’s success proves the truth of the cross-stitched motto that hangs in her living room: “Dreams have no expiration date.”
I’m sure Naomi’s character Daisy McKay, hopefully the star of her next novel, agrees. 😊

Naomi also blogs at BOOKS, BROTHERS, AND BUTTERFLIES.

Thank you, Naomi, for gifting the world with SUPER JAKE & THE KING OF CHAOS – and – for gifting our TeachingAuthors readers with today’s Wednesday Writing Workout.

Happy Wednesday Writing!

Esther Hershenhorn

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FACT vs. FICTION

     My debut middle grade novel, SUPER JAKE & THE KING OF CHAOS, is about an 11-year-old magician named Ethan and his family, including his youngest brother Jake, who has special needs. Because Super Jake is inspired by my own family, a lot of the characters and events are real. However, it is a work of fiction, not a memoir.
I worked on this book for many years, and with every new draft, two things happened: there were more and more made-up characters and events – and - the book became stronger as a result. Fictionalizing the facts made for a much stronger story!
Try it yourself!

Think of a real event you experienced – something recent, not necessarily anything remarkable.

Write about it, describe it, in a few paragraphs, just as it happened, exactly as it unfolded.
Be sure to include REAL people, AUTHENTIC dialogue and a SETTING you know well. Include lots of concrete details.

Next, REWRITE the paragraphs changing any of the key elements – the people, the dialogue, the setting.

Decide:

What impact did the changes make? Did they add humor? Suspense? Fantasy?
Which version do you prefer and why?

Now try this exercise with another person or group of persons who shared an experience with you.
Describe the REAL story as it unfolded.
Then take turns changing the key elements – the people, the dialogue, the setting.

THE PROPER WAY TO MEET PAUL B. JANECZKO

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Howdy, Campers, and Happy Poetry Friday! (Be sure to visit this week's Poetry Friday host, Michelle at MoreArt4All)

Today's post is about Sadness and Celebration.

SADNESS

Many of you know Paul B. Janeczko died on February 19th. Paul was an original, he was a force of nature, and he was funny. He was also the author of more than fifty books, including poetry anthologies, novels for young readers, books of his own poetry, nonfiction, and guides for teachers. The loss is a big one in our poetry community.

Here's Publishers Weekly obituary, Cynthia Leitich Smith's post in memory of Paul, and a wonderful spine poem by Heidi Mordhorst.

Oh, Paul...

Paul's wife captioned this one, "Keep smiling"

I met Paul in 1996 through a mutual friend, super librarian and library activist Richard K. Moore. Paul showed up on the porch of the TeachingAuthors treehouse twice: when I interviewed him in 2015, and the following week, when he shared an exercise he used in school writing workshops. My poems are in six of his anthologies.

Though I only saw Paul a few times in person, we corresponded about politics, poetry, the weather and our families. I learned a lot from his sunny emails (signed pbj), especially stop being so uptight and enjoy the frickin' ride. (Paul would have phrased that more poetically or funnier.) I will miss those emails.

CELEBRATE!

THE PROPER WAY TO MEET A HEDGEHOG and Other How-To Poems (February 2019, Candlewick Press) is beautifully illustrated by Richard Jones--please look at a few of his luscious illustrations here.

Something to celebrate? I should say so! It's gotten three starred reviews (from Publishers Weekly, Booklist and Kirkus)!  Kirkus says: "The engaging artwork nudges the poems into the foreground, giving them ample room to breathe. The collection closes with "How to Pay Attention," just two lines that are almost a sacred offering. "Close this book. / Look." Young people lucky enough to find this miraculous collection in their hands will indeed look."  

That four word poem is mine :-)

I wrote my other poem in this collection after my husband and son gave me a shiny white bike for Hanukkah. I named her Bird. I didn't understand her brakes. Oh, what a wonderful, hairy-breezy first ride...until I had to brake fast to avoid a car. Bird was aptly named: I flew over her handlebars--oy! That's how "How to Ride a New Bike" was born.

HOW TO RIDE A NEW BIKE
by April Halprin Wayland

Reflector?

Head protector?

            Let’s ride!

Quick quiz, Cycling Whiz:

when car turns in a flash,

how won’t you crash?

            Brake hard!

            Brake fast!

You won’t last.

You’ll fly

past handlebars

seeing stars.

Next guess?

(Less mess, please)

Feather brakes slow

bike doesn’t throw me

so I touch ground

safe and sound?

Yup. You’ve got guts—

A plus!

poem (c)2019 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

There are 46 poems in this collection (many by several likely posting links on today's Poetry Friday blog). Here they are, listed in order of appearance: Charles Ghigna, J. Patrick Lewis, Elaine Magliaro, Allan Wolf, Marilyn Singer, Christina Rossetti, Calef Brown, Monica Shannon, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Karla Kuskin, Douglas Florian, Irene Latham, Marjorie Maddox, Kwame Alexander, April Halprin Wayland, Anne E. Jordan, Robert (Bob) Louis Stevenson, Margarita Engle, Ralph Fletcher, Charles Waters, Martin Garden, Nikki Grimes, Steven Withrow, Helen Frost, Pat Mora.

In Irene Latham's wonderful post on this collection, the dialogue between Irene and poet Allan Wolf is filled with affection, both for poetry and pbj.

What a loss to our community; what a lovely, final book you leave us to savor, Paul.

Posted with love by April Halprin Wayland

My Favorite Post to Celebrate Our 10th Blogiversary

 

This is the closing post to celebrate the ten wonderful years of this blog!   

Happy 10^thBlogiversary to the amazing writers –both past and present-who have been part of TeachingAuthors.com.  They welcomed me into the fold four years ago and I’ve enjoyed getting to know each one of them.  Soon I’ll be giving up my post as a TA, so I’d like to thank my fellow TAs and our readers for making this blog space so special for me.  

I’m closing out the series on our favorite posts.  During the time I’ve been a TA I was working on my latest book, Buried Lives: The Enslaved People of George Washington’s Mount Vernon.  I blogged about the process as I worked on it.  So my favorite blog post was the one I wrote a few days before that happy day when my book was released and available for sale.  

This post from December 14, 2018 was a celebration of completion for my book after more than five years of work.  It is also an effort to shine the spotlight on the lives of the individuals I’d been thinking about and writing about for so long.  In this post, I write about how I want to reader to emotionally connect with these real life people.  

For me, it takes a while to move on to a different project once my book is finished.  It is almost like taking your child to kindergarten on the first day of school.   You know it is a happy day and you should be glad that a new phase of life is beginning-but it is hard to let go.  

It is time for me to let go and figure out what project to tackle next . . .   

Carla Killough McClafferty

Bringing Up the Rear--Happy 10th Blogiversary, Teaching Authors!

Hello, readers! It's been nearly 5 years since I blogged here on TA. What a gift it is coming back and touching base with all of you again!

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS, TeachingAuthors, on 10 years of sharing your writing wit, wisdom, and camaraderie with lucky people all over the world. If any of you are just catching up, Carmela's kickoff post is here. As part of the celebration, TeachingAuthors have given away a copy of Cheryl Klein's fabulous The Magic Words. You can see who won, here.

It's been fun reading favorite posts from fellow TAs, present and past, and learning what they're currently up to. I think my own favorite post was one about finding ways to write during busy summers with kids underfoot, Summer Writing--with Kids.

That one caught my eye because, even though my own kids are in their 30s (gak!), we've added 5 grandkiddos to our family in the past 4 years. *cartwheels of happiness* When asked to babysit, I always say "Yes, I'd love to!" even if I'm under a stressful deadline (especially if I'm under a stressful deadline!). I can't resist the little stinkers. I anticipate plenty of happy times with them this summer. I'll be keeping my eyes and ears and heart open--and sticky notes handy. Brilliant ideas can spring from the simplest things....

My list of published books has grown in the past 5 years, too. You can see those on my website, here.  Next spring's picture books include Frog Boots, Where'd My Jo Go?, and We Love Babies!, as well as another title in Nat Geo's Little Kids Big Book series. I've done Who, How, and Why 2, and this next one answers Where.

Meanwhile, I'm still blogging at Picture Book Builders. Hard to believe we've been at it for nearly 5 years. Check us out!

Wishing my TA pals many more years of blogging!