At age 14 Nakahama Manjiro was shipwrecked on a deserted island with a few others from his fishing boat off the coast of Japan. This happened in 1841. How fortunate Manjiro was to be able to survive on Torishima aka. Bird Island, after he was shipwrecked. He and four friends managed to stay alive long […]

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Meet Lucinda, a New York City child of the 1890’s exploring her neighborhood on skates. This book won the Newbery Medal in 1937. Her mother’s health is failing so Lucinda’s parents decide to spend a year in Italy where the climate is much better than in New York City. They decide to leave Lucinda behind […]

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There’s a new boy in town. Who could he be? A strange boy came to town one day, He must have come from far away. Nobody knew who he might be, He didn’t look like you or me. He stopped at the store that sunny day, He thanked the clerk and I heard him say: […]

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It is market day in a cold, dusty town called Tampur. A child named Lea looks for a new friend. The Painted Wagon By Linda Jo Martin On a cold, windy day Lea sat on the stairs in front of her house, bundled in a coat and blanket. She watched as children from the countryside […]

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This novel takes place in Kansas during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. I’ve read a lot of great children’s novels, many of which I loved dearly, but Moon Over Manifest, Clare Vanderpool’s Newbery Medal winning debut novel surprised me. At first I was surprised because the main character, a pre-teen girl named Abilene, jumped […]

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Here’s a quick way to generate children’s story ideas. Every sentence has a noun and a verb. Let’s use these as basic building blocks for generating story ideas. Start by writing a list of ten nouns and another list of ten verbs. Nouns: cup clock element blanket juniper fireplace candy cane headphones guitar child Verbs: […]

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Broken home, busy Mom, playful kitten: Angel’s life is stressful, but a kitten makes it better. 1. Angel walked down the stairs, one by one, feeling sad. She tried to make her mother smile, but Mother was busy cooking, cleaning, and rushing around. Mother never sang anymore. “Oh Miho,” Angel sighed to the little gray […]

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Homeless children, their mother and an old hobo all find shelter under a bridge in Paris. How cold it is when three small children are forced to live under a bridge in Paris with their homeless mother! While she works they stay near the river and discover an old hobo, Armand. The first lines in […]

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Once a child has one problem, it can open up the door to many more. “Oh, Mom, I’m so bored!” “Sounds like a problem!” Mom said, as she peeled potatoes for dinner. “There’s nothing to do!” He squirmed in his chair. “What are you going to do about it?” The child sat still suddenly. His […]

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A city child of the nineteen-seventies studies time travel and copes with disappointment, while forging new friendships. In When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, Miranda, age twelve, is a New York City child with a penchant for reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle – a book that makes her think about time […]

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