Songwriting 101

In honor of National Music in Schools Week, I'm supposed to be rhapsodizing about the power of music in our lives.  Given that I met my husband in my church choir, given that my husband's fondest dream would be to produce first-chair trumpet-playing heirs, I was feeling quite enthusiastic about this topic until I sat down to write and my three-year-old began singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" in full voice.   

Give my kids (most kids) a song, and they will sing it -- over and over and over again.  My daughter came home from school the other day, excited about a coin-sorting ditty set to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."  Sadly, I have to say I that we all found this to be an improvement over full score of "Annie," which we've enjoyed in an endless feedback loop since I took her to see her first musical two months ago.  In desperation, my husband tried introducting her to "Guys and Dolls," which has resulted in many questions such as, "Mommy, is it illegal to play craps in the United States?"  Ah, teachable moments.   

Kate is also fond of making up her own lyrics.  Here's a gem from last week:
"I am cleaning up, cleaning up...  Why do Patrick and I have to do all the work around here?" 

She told me the other day, "I wish I could write down the notes to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" on a piece of paper."  Unfortunately, she has yet to learn to read music, let alone write it.  And I realized, as I was explaining to her why we had to wait for her daddy to get home and help her, that precious few of us -- even those who do read music -- know how to scribble out a few bars. 

I was reminded of those bumper stickers that say, "If you can read this [musical score], thank a music teacher."  While most of us have great appreciation for music, our literacy is often sadly lacking.  My daughter baked brownies yesterday and then sat down to draw a picture and write a story about the experience.  Unfortunately, she couldn't (physically) write a song if she wanted to.  It is my determination (and hers) that someday she will have the skills she needs to write anything she wants!

When I ask my college students whether anyone writes in his/her spare time, typically I hear disgruntled murmurs.  But when I ask whether anyone writes music, I always have at least two or three enthusiastic respondents. Lyrics = poetry, and one of the most refined and difficult forms, at that.  Someday soon, I will try a songwriting exercise, which I think will be a great hit.

Check out this post and terrific exercises from the National Writing Project.  (And please support the NWP, which is facing a dire financial crisis.)

The tune of the moment is now, "If You're Happy and You Know It."  Wishing everyone a happy Monday and a terrific week! -- Jeanne Marrie

 

March is Music In Schools Month! And Happy Poetry Friday!

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Howdy Campers--Happy Poetry Friday!  And thank you, Liz Garton Scanlon, for hosting Poetry Friday this week!   

Did you know that March is Music in the Schools Month? Well, it is!  In fact, today's TeachingAuthors poem is actually a song written by our guest singer/songwriter who brings music to schools all over the country.  x

Hmmm...music in the schools...I remember Mrs. Priday, an older, potato-shaped woman with orange-ish hair, who played piano and joyfully taught us to sing at Franklin Elementary School in Santa Monica, CA.  And Richard Wagner, the Leonard Bernstein of Santa Monica schools, who lit a fire inside us when he turned on the William Tell Overture and let us put our heads down on our desks to listen.

And Sherman Plepler gave me private violin lessons once a week (during the school day!) in the musty basement of Franklin School.

Ahhh...the golden age of music in the schools.  But, hark! You can still find fabulous teachers using music in these days of school budget guillotines.

If you're lucky enough to be a fifth grader in my friend Allison Ho's classroom in Gardena, CA, you'll learn about heritage and different cultures through Broadway musicals. Allison opens her students' eyes to the world of arranged marriages ("Tradition" from Fiddler On The Roof and "You Are Beautiful" from Flower Drum Song), two cultures ("Farmer and the Cowman" from Oklahoma and "America" from Westside Story) and much, much  more--teaching them the songs and the dances, too.  Wouldn't you love to be in Allison's class?

And my buddy, folksinger/songwriter Bob Reid, teaches kids how to write their own songs.  So I've invited Bob in to talk about how he writes and teaches.

This is Bob Reid

There's a Light In You (click to listen...you must hear these kids singing it...)
words & music © Bob Reid 1995

Chorus:
There's a light in me, there's a light in you
Whatever language you speak
Whatever your point of view
Whatever people may say
Whatever people may do
There's a light in you
You must let your light shine through.

I am short, he is tall
It doesn't matter if I'm small
Whatever size I happen to be
There's a light in me
Please take the time to see.

Chorus

My eyes are brown, hers are blue
We may not share the same point of view
Whatever our hopes, our wishes, and dreams
There's a light that beams
We're closer than it seems.

Chorus

My friend Sam says she doesn't fit
When she wants to play the others want to sit
Times are hard, I must admit
I hope she doesn't quit
She's got to keep it lit.

Chorus

When the world is looking grim
It can happen to her, it can happen to him
That's when you need that light to glow
Come on and let it show
It's brighter than you know.

Chorus

When the sun has left the sky
Bringing darkness to the eye
Night reveals what can't be seen in the day
A glorious display
Behold, the Milky Way.

Chorus (2x)
AHW: What inspired you to write this song?

BR:  "There's A Light In You" was written in response to the flurry of songs I was hearing about people identifying by the color of their skin, giving attributes to people due to the color of their skin, black, yellow, red, or even songs that challenged that practice. They seemed to be framing the issue in a way that I felt was unhelpful and didn't seem to offer an alternative. I wanted to find a commonality, something that we all had, to bring us together.

The song is reminiscent for me of a song I sang as a child at Unitarian gatherings, "This Little Liberal Light of Mine" a variation of "This Little Light of Mine". There was a verse that said, "Don''t you try to poof it out!" "I'm gonna let it shine". The idea that there was this thing in us that we have to actively defend and tend and an awareness that the world may sometimes be inhospitable to our light, but it is our work to let it shine despite that.

AHW: What's your writing process?

BR: I wrote the song over several years. The chorus came first and then I worried that I would never find verses that could live up to the chorus. I sang it with fill in verses and added more and more, until my friend, Bill Harley, told me, "Bob, it's done!"

Bill, and my friend David Grover, both made recordings of it before I did. David sang it on the "Today Show" and at the White House Easter Event. We performed it at United Nations Headquarters with the United Nations International School Choir and Pete Seeger in a half hour concert we did for the kick-off of the International Year of Freshwater in 2003.

WATER   ...    photo by April Halprin Wayland (c) 2011

AHW:  Wow--pretty cool!  Do you have a favorite music-in-the-schools story?

BR: My favorite story is the group some 25 years ago with which I wrote the song, "Water." They were quite proud of that song. It was made into a clay animated film by Kristine Albrecht, an artist in Santa Cruz, CA, which won awards at film festivals around the country. In 2003, it was this song that was of interest to the United Nations, when Pete Seeger recommended it as the theme of their "International Year of Freshwater". I traveled to New York several times to perform it a several UN functions, such as "World Environment Day".
You can listen to it here.

Writing Workout: picking a topic ~ asking the right questions

AHW: How do you begin writing songs with students? I'm sure it's complex, so this really isn't a fair question... but can you point the way to help a teacher or parent help students write a song?

BR: I usually write in two sessions, one to come up with a topic in response to the question, "If a song can focus your attention on something for 3 or 4 minutes, what do you think is important enough to focus attention upon?"  I've usually sung them songs written with other groups to give them some idea of what can be done. Then I'll ask, "What will I play for someone when they ask what this class thought was important?"

Thanks for your time and inspiration
and thanks for stopping by, Bob!

Okay, readers...it's time for you to write your own song.  So ask yourself Bob's questions, take a good deep breath, and write with joy ~ 

Out & About!  

Three TeachingAuthors: (Esther Hershenhorn, Mary Ann Rodman and I) will join two fabulous professors (Roxanne Owens and Marie Donovan from DePaul University) at the Illinois Reading Council's Annual Conference in Springfield, IL on Thursday, March 17th.  We'll be teaching a workshop (two times!) titled: Helping You (and Your Students!) Connect to the Writer Within.  In addition, I'll be participating in IRC's Poetry Coffeehouse on Friday, March 18th.  Woo-woo!  We think it's going to be a hot time in the old town and hope you can join us!

 Where is Poetry Friday today?

Music and Writing: Does Your Story Have a Soundtrack?

Music in Our Schools Month logo

In honor of this being Music in our Schools Month here in the U.S., we TeachingAuthors are doing a series on the connections between music and writing/reading. If you're a teacher, check out the Writing Workout below for links to lesson plans on creating playlists for classroom literature. And for more information about Music in our Schools Month 2011, see the official website.

Reading Mary Ann's post kicking off the series on Monday, I could definitely relate to what she said about writing with music playing in the background. At this moment, Pachelbel's Canon in D Major is playing on my computer. I first started writing with music years ago to drown out the television and other sounds coming from my family. When I'm actively writing, the music has to be instrumental--lyrics distract me from the words forming in my head. I used to load my CD player with a collection of classical albums that included Music for the Mozart Effect and Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Nowadays, I play the music directly on my computer via the "radio stations" I've set up at Pandora.com. (Pandora is a convenient way to create a quick playlist that "matches" a specific song or type of music.) Like Mary Ann, when working on historical fiction, I listen to music from the era in which my story is set. That means that lately I've been hearing lots of 17th and 18th century pieces featuring the harpsichord and violins. Such music is especially appropriate as the main character of my young adult novel-in-progress plays the harpsichord and her love interest is a violinist.

I've noticed that some authors are now sharing their personal playlists with their readers. For example, on Kathryn Erskine's website, you can click on the titles of the songs she listened to while writing Mockingbird, winner of the 2010 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Young adult author Rachel Cohn has even created iMixes of her playlists on the iTunes Music Store. These playlists can be a great way to connect with young readers, especially teens. Teen (and adult) readers can also find playlists on sites like Novel Novice, which often includes playlists for the young adult novels highlighted there, such as Elizabeth Eulberg's Prom and Prejudice.

I know that listening to music while writing isn't for everyone. Years ago, the topic came up on a discussion board for children's writers, agents, and editors. I still remember a comment by a famous children's author who scoffed at the idea of background music, saying it interferes with hearing the rhythm of our writing. For me, that's only an issue when I'm working on a late draft of a project. That's when I turn the music off and read the work out loud. Most of the time, at least for me, the music doesn't interfere with my work. In fact, I think it has the opposite effect by helping me concentrate. Turning on my music has become part of my preparatory ritual, signaling my creative mind that "it's time to write."

How about you? Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what kind? Have you ever created a playlist for a writing project? If not, see the Writing Workout below.

Blog update: In case you haven't noticed, or you receive our posts via email, we've added a new page to our blog: "Markets for Young Writers." The link is at the top of our home page, just below the logo. The new page features links to information and markets for young writers. As far as we know, this is the largest roundup of sites open to submissions from young writers. (If you know of a larger list, please tell us!) We encourage you to share the page with any young writers (or teachers of young writers) who may be interested. Also, if you know of sites we missed, please post that information in a comment. We plan to update the page regularly, so do check back.  

Writing Workout:
Creating a Story Soundtrack

If you're a writer: create a soundtrack for your current writing project. Consider the following:

• What songs might reflect or reinforce the mood you're trying to create in a specific scene or chapter?
• Are there songs that mirror some aspects of your main character's situation or personality? 
• Are any songs mentioned by the characters in the story, or that are specifically suited to the story's setting?  
• If your project were turned into a movie, what would be on the soundtrack?

If you're a teacher, have your students create a soundtrack for a book they've read. For a detailed lesson plan, see "On a Musical Note: Exploring Reading Strategies by Creating a Soundtrack." Or take a look at this lesson plan: Creating a Playlist for a Novel.

Happy Writing (and Listening)!
Carmela

Announcing Our Book Giveaway Winner!

Wow! What a wonderful, creative variety of learning games our readers have played with children!

Several games, such as Toni's "What's in the Box?" and Moonduster's anonymous stories and poems, involve guessing. Playful quizzes and card games are part of the learning fun for LadyD's piano students.

RambleSAHM's game teaches colors. Carla's Wizard of Oz game teaches both colors and counting. Having fun with the alphabet is the goal for Margo's clay letter creation, Cindy's word creation game, and Looking for the Write Words's "A: My Name is Amanda" game. (I remember that one!)

Thank you to all who entered! And now for our winner: Dara will receive an autographed copy of Baby Says "Moo!" Dara's game helped a grandson with his pronunciation. Congratulations, Dara! I hope you enjoy the book!

JoAnn Early Macken

How Pink Floyd and My Dad Made Me a Writer

    I am a music freak who is a terrible musician. I took piano for six years.  Every year's recital was the same story.  I'd play the first four measures. Then I'd play them again.  And again, my musical memory as stubbornly stalled as a balky mule. With a sigh, my piano teacher would hand me my music, and the show would go on. I took classical guitar with similar results. I have sung in choirs for years, but give me  a two note solo, and I sound like a thirteen-year-old boy going through "that changing voice thing."  I love music; I'm just not a musician. A music lover who writes.

   I never realized how much music influenced my writing until I was critiqued by an Award Wining Writer who I knew was also a music freak. I sweated bullets, waiting to hear I'd written yet another piece of junk.  AWW looked up and asked...."Were you a music major in school?"  Oh no. This was going to be he worst kind of critique;  the snarky kind. Somehow AWW knew my musical history and say I was as talentless at writing as I was at piano.

    "Um, no," I stammered. "Drama major."Such a weird question since the story had nothing whatsoever to do with music, musicians or freaking out at recitals.

     "Odd," said AWW.  "Do you play an instrument?"

    AWW had a kind voice and mild manner that snookered me into admitting my Miserable Musical Past.  But he wasn't giving up on his theory, whatever it was.  "Are your parents musicians?"

    Trying to keep a straight face, i told him my father was an FBI agent who had played high school trombone, my mother a Russian translator for the National Security Agency, and both of them were absolutely tone deaf.

    My critique time I was running out, and I still didn't know what AWW thought of my story, so I cut to the  chase.

    "Not to be rude, or anything," I began in the humble-sort of voice one uses talking to Award Winning Authors, "but what does this have to do with my story?"

    AWW tapped his glasses on the desk. "I don't understand," he said.  "You write like a musician."

    "Well, I am kind of a music freak," I offered.  "I usually write to music."

    "Aha!" AWW exclaimed. "What kind of music?"

    I figured "everything" was too general a response, although true. On the the other hand listing the musical genres I had heard in childhood would be too specific, to say nothing of bring. So I told him about my dad.

   My dad, former first chair high school trombonist whose tiny rural high school won a national high school band competition his senior year, is a music nut job, a phrase not often used to describe FBI Agents. After work,when other Mad Men era fathers might go straight from work to Martiniville, my dad made a beeline to his "hi-fi" system. He'd pile the spindle (remember spindles?  remember LP's?) with anything from Harry Belafonte and Mahalia Jackson to Mahler and Mozart. Our house was wall to wall music until bedtime. As an adult, I realize he wasn't your average music lover.  Music was his release from had to be the most stressful job in America.

    I did my homework to Carmen and Copeland and Beethoven's Ninth (which I still think of as The CBS News theme.)  Mahler's First Symphony still brings back memories of my war with Algebra I. According to my mother, the only thing that shut me up when I was teething was the "Circus Band" section of Walter Piston's The Incredible Flautist.  I fell asleep to whatever was on the local classical radio station. Whenever my mother couldn't take the pressure of living in Mississippi in the 60's, she would break out her secret stash of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. I still play Tijuana Taxi and Spanish Flea as a cure for Them Old Book Rejection Blues.

   Dad's tastes ran to classical organ, marching bands and anything Beethoven, but he was no musical snob. He introduced me to Creedence Clearwater Revival, Pink Floyd and the eighteen minute version of the Chambers Brothers Time Has Come Today. I often wondered what J. Edgar Hoover, a man with an incredibly rigid set of standards for his agents, would say about Dad's "inner musical freak." When 8-tracks got hot, Dad was first in line for his player. (A fortunately short-lived trend, since Dad was going through a George Jones/Willie Nelson stage, and the only 8 track was in his bathroom. At 87, my dad has not only moved on to CD's (but not Ipod) and is planning to transfer his 12,000 LP 's (no, there is not an extra 0) in there to CD with some new gizmo he's found.

    "Well, there you are," said AWW. (Remember him and my critique?)  "You wrote as a child and absorbed all this music into your creative mind." He finally began the critique, pointing out the rhythm of my prose. Staccato here, legato descriptions.  Similes involving squeaky clarinets, out-of-tune guitars, the pure tone of a Bechstein piano.  And the music references---the Beatles, Benny Goodman, Vladimir Horowitz. Well, duh, Mary Ann.   How could you have missed all that?


   I missed it because music is so much a part of who I am, that I didn't think anything of it when it turned up in my writing.  I can't imagine writing in utter silence. The few times I have been forced to, I wind up playing Boggle on my laptop.  There is a musical "prescription" for everything. When I am working on a picture book, I haul out the Tijuana Brass.  Dramatic or sad scenes call for Mahler or Erich Korngold who composed a lot of movie scores in the 30's and 40's.

  When I am writing historical fiction, I research the music of the period more than all the other details put together. The music is my private time-machine, sending me instantly to my setting, with my characters dancing in its wake. Thanks to the five years I spent writing Yankee Girl, my 16-year-old not only knows the lyrics to every Beatles, Beach Boys, Supremes or Temptations song, she can tell you who sang lead, who was on keyboard, etc. Living with Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman during the Jimmy's Stars years were fun for me, but not so much for the rest of the family (although Lily fell in love with the song Pistol Packin' Mama, of all things.)  The music envelopes me and my fictional world so completely, it takes me about an hour to re-orient myself to 2011 when I finish for the day.

   Right now, I am "living" in 1925. Thanks to Dad, who is also on every catalog list known to man, I found an obscure company that transfers pre-World War II recordings to CD.  When they hear "Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me" or "The Tiger Rag" coming from my office, the family flees to their Ipods or the neighbors.  I hardly notice; my characters and I are off somewhere doing the Charleston.

    But maybe Lily, my daughter, has absorbed more of her mom's "weird" musical soul than she knows.
When she competed in her first figure skating competition in second grade, her coach allowed her to choose her own music. After watching at least ten girls skate to music from The Little Mermaid or Pocahontas (Disney is big in that age group) Lily's music cues up. I look at the judges, all my age or older.  They grin from ear-to-ear as Lily bunny hops to Whipped Cream by the Tijuana Brass (aka
The Theme from the Dating Game.)  Yes, she won.

As for me,I win every time I turn on the CD player and laptop.

Thanks, Dad.

Posted by Mary Ann Rodman

Picture Book Lesson #5, Book Giveaway, & My Favorite Date of the Year!

I celebrate March 4th every year. To me, it feels like the true beginning of spring. March forth! Read all about it in this post I wrote last year.

Besides being my favorite date, today is the final day of Baby Says, “Moo!” Week at Teaching Authors.com—but the Book Giveaway continues! To celebrate the publication of my new rhyming picture book, we’re giving away an autographed copy. Entry details below!

As my contribution to the picture book topic the other Teaching Authors have already addressed, I’m sharing some lessons I learned by looking back at the writing and publishing process for each of my five picture books. I’ve posted one each day this week.

Baby Says “Moo!” (Disney-Hyperion Books, illustrated by David Walker) is a cumulative story with the most complex structure I’ve ever attempted. Baby's parents, in an effort to teach animal sounds, ask, "Baby, what do birds say?", "Baby, what do cats say?", and so on, and Baby answers, "Moo!" Each time Baby's parents provide the correct answer, all the previously encountered animals are repeated. In reverse order. In rhyming stanzas.

Before she offered a contract, my editor asked me to make the story flow in a more logical way by reconsidering the order in which the animals appeared. I agonized. I tried to get away with a moderate revision because I was afraid to attempt what I knew would be a really difficult process. I finally had to give in, tear the whole thing apart, and start over.

What surprised me was that the process—like solving an elaborate puzzle—was not only challenging but also tons of fun! The final version was much more satisfying and well worth the effort.

Lesson #5: Don’t be afraid to work hard.

I’ve been inspired by all the different approaches to writing picture books described in this series of Teaching Author posts. I hope some of our comments are helpful to you, too. Maybe the most important things to remember are that we each have our own way of working and that each book might require a unique approach. Discovering the method that works is a necessary and exciting part of the process.

Baby Says “Moo!” Giveaway

To enter the drawing for an autographed copy of Baby Says “Moo!”, follow these steps:

1. Post a comment on any post this week and tell us about a learning game you’ve played with children. Enter only once, please!

2. Include your contact information in your comment. If you are not a blogger or your e-mail address is not accessible from your online profile, provide a valid e-mail address in your comment. Feel free to disguise your address by spelling out portions, such as [at] and [dot].

3. Post your comment by 11 p.m. (CST) Monday, March 7, 2011.

The winner:
• must have a mailing address in the United States.
• will be determined using the random number generator at Random.org.
• will be announced on Tuesday, March 8.
• automatically grants us permission to post his or her name on our Teaching Authors web site.
• will also be notified by e-mail.
• must respond to the notification e-mail and provide a mailing address within 72 hours, or the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be chosen.

Good luck!
JoAnn Early Macken

Picture Book Lesson #4, Baby Says “Moo!” Week, & Book Giveaway!

It's Baby Says, “Moo!” Week at Teaching Authors.com! To celebrate the publication of my new rhyming picture book, we’re giving away an autographed copy. Entry details below!

As my contribution to the picture book topic the other Teaching Authors have already addressed, I’m sharing some lessons I learned by looking back at the writing and publishing process for each of my five picture books. I’ll post one each day this week.

Waiting Out the Storm (Candlewick, 2010) began with my desire to say something comforting to kids after the terrible events of September 11, 2001. Like many other writers at the time, I struggled to figure out what I could say to children that might help them cope during difficult times. I couldn’t write about terrorism in a book for young children, but when I thought about fear from a child's perspective, I realized that I could address the common childhood fear of a thunderstorm.

Lesson #4: Consider your audience. What do you want to say, and what’s the best way to say it for your readers?

Baby Says “Moo!” Giveaway

School Library Journal says, "The rhyming text reads smoothly, and the acrylic illustrations are childlike and cheerful, making the book exactly right for toddlers. Each time a new animal is seen, the parents reiterate the names of the previous creatures and their sounds, inviting participation. . . . A winner for the youngest listeners." To enter the drawing for an autographed copy of Baby Says “Moo!”, follow these steps:

1. Post a comment on any post this week and tell us about a learning game you’ve played with children. Enter only once, please!

2. Include your contact information in your comment. If you are not a blogger or your e-mail address is not accessible from your online profile, provide a valid e-mail address in your comment. Feel free to disguise your address by spelling out portions, such as [at] and [dot].

3. Post your comment by 11 p.m. (CST) Monday, March 7, 2011.

The winner:
• must have a mailing address in the United States.
• will be determined using the random number generator at Random.org.
• will be announced on Tuesday, March 8.
• automatically grants us permission to post his or her name on our Teaching Authors web site.
• will also be notified by e-mail.
• must respond to the notification e-mail and provide a mailing address within 72 hours, or the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be chosen.

Good luck!
JoAnn Early Macken

Picture Book Lesson #3, Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, & Book Giveaway!

It's Baby Says, “Moo!” Week at Teaching Authors.com! To celebrate the publication of my new rhyming picture book, we’re giving away an autographed copy. Entry details below!

Today, we also celebrate the birthday of beloved children's book author Dr. Seuss. I'll always remember my mother reading The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins to my sisters and me. Our kids loved Dr. Seuss's ABC, Fox in Socks, and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. Join the nationwide birthday celebration by taking part in the National Education Association's Read Across America Day.

As my contribution to the picture book topic the other Teaching Authors have already addressed, I’m sharing some lessons I learned by looking back at the writing and publishing process for each of my five picture books. I’ll post one each day this week.

I learned how to research nonfiction by writing dozens of nonfiction books for beginning readers. Educational publishers assigned the titles and published them in series. I enjoyed the research process, so I decided to write a nonfiction book on a topic I chose myself. I also wanted to break away from strict rules about reading levels and sentence structures. Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move, a nonfiction picture book about the many ways seeds travel, was the happy result of both my longtime love of plants, trees, and gardens and my desire to write nonfiction in a creative, poetic way.

Lesson #3: Write about what you care about.

Baby Says “Moo!” Giveaway

Booklist says, “Everything about this picture book—concept, story, appealing art—is pretty much perfect for the two-and-under set. . . . The cumulative text is written in nicely scanning (and delightful!) rhyme that toddlers will enjoy. Fruit-juice colors and people and animals drawn in the rounded shapes of stuffed toys dominate the spreads, except in the sidebars of accumulating tweets and meows.”

Because picture book authors and illustrators typically have no contact during the illustration process, submitting a picture book manuscript requires an author to let go and trust the editor's knowledge of the field and the illustrator's ability to interpret and expand on the text. I'm happy to say that David Walker’s adorable illustrations not only fit the text perfectly but also include delightful details that help tie the story together and move it forward while entertaining readers of all ages.

To enter the drawing for an autographed copy of Baby Says “Moo!”, follow these steps:

1. Post a comment on any post this week and tell us about a learning game you’ve played with children. Enter only once, please!

2. Include your contact information in your comment. If you are not a blogger or your e-mail address is not accessible from your online profile, provide a valid e-mail address in your comment. Feel free to disguise your address by spelling out portions, such as [at] and [dot].

3. Post your comment by 11 p.m. (CST) Monday, March 7, 2011.

The winner:
• must have a mailing address in the United States.
• will be determined using the random number generator at Random.org.
• will be announced on Tuesday, March 8.
• automatically grants us permission to post his or her name on our Teaching Authors web site.
• will also be notified by e-mail.
• must respond to the notification e-mail and provide a mailing address within 72 hours, or the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be chosen.

Good luck!
JoAnn Early Macken

Baby Says “Moo!” Week, Picture Book Lesson #2, & Book Giveaway!

It's Baby Says, “Moo!” Week at Teaching Authors.com! To celebrate the publication of my new rhyming picture book (Today's the day!), we’re giving away an autographed copy. Entry details below!

As my contribution to the picture book topic the other Teaching Authors have already addressed, I’m sharing some lessons I learned by looking back at the writing and publishing process for each of my five picture books. I’ll post one each day this week.

Sing-Along Song, my second picture book, was inspired mostly by our son Jimmy’s habit of singing all day long. But lots of other memories and emotions went into my writing, too. After a difficult winter of loss and heartache, I felt renewed by spring. A Quaker hymn called “How Can I Keep from Singing?” expressed something like what I wanted to say. I also remembered scenes from my childhood, favorite sayings from my sisters, and most of all, the importance of family.

Lesson #2: Use everything. Don’t save an idea, a quote, or even a word to use later. Pour it all in. You will find more.

Now for the book giveaway!

Kirkus says, “Macken carefully structures a seemingly simple picture book about a baby learning animal sounds—or in this case stuck on the popular bovine one—using simple rhyming text, a progressive repetition of previously encountered creatures and the harmonious refrain of, ‘Baby says, “Moo!’”

When I first considered the idea of a baby answering questions about animal sounds, I thought it might be funny if the baby got the answers wrong. One day while I walked the dog, it occurred to me that Baby could give the same answer to every question. I'd wanted to try writing a cumulative story for ages, and the simple concept seemed a good match for that goal. I also knew from the start that Baby had to be right at the end.

To enter the drawing for an autographed copy of Baby Says “Moo!”, follow these steps:

1. Post a comment on any post this week and tell us about a learning game you’ve played with children. Enter only once, please!

2. Include your contact information in your comment. If you are not a blogger or your e-mail address is not accessible from your online profile, provide a valid e-mail address in your comment. Feel free to disguise your address by spelling out portions, such as [at] and [dot].

3. Post your comment by 11 p.m. (CST) Monday, March 7, 2011.

The winner:
• must have a mailing address in the United States.
• will be chosen using the random number generator at Random.org.
• will be announced on Tuesday, March 8.
• automatically grants us permission to post his or her name on our Teaching Authors web site.
• will also be notified by e-mail.
• must respond to the notification e-mail and provide a mailing address within 72 hours, or the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be chosen.

Good luck!
JoAnn Early Macken