Authors and Illustrators In Schools

Why Can't Johnny Read? Because it's English!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 15:14:00 +0000

Here is a fascinating article about how difficult the English language really is to read compared to other languages. A few highlights:

“…the Spelling Society speculates that English may just be the world’s most irregularly spelled language.”

and,

“Mastering such a language takes a long time and requires abilities that most children don’t develop until the middle or latter part of elementary school.”

The article goes on to explain some of the reasons that spelling the English language became so unpredictable. One reason: it was cast in stone by non-native-language-users.

“The first English printing press, in the 15th century, was operated by Belgians who didn’t know the language and made numerous spelling errors (such as ‘busy’ in place of ‘bisy’).”

And of course there was the influence of money…

“…because they were paid by the line, they sometimes padded words with extra letters; ‘frend,’ for example, became ‘friend.'”

My takeaway is this: When we compare the literacy levels of our children to children in other countries around the world, the difficulty of the language needs to be considered. Somehow, this had not occurred to me before.

ADHD/Creativity Connection

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 16:50:00 +0000

I love brain science! This article makes a lot of interesting points – a worthy read.

...researchers identified 22 recurring personality traits in creative people. Of these 22 personality traits, 16 are considered positive, such as independent, energetic, curious, risk-taking, emotional, and artistic. The remaining six traits are considered negative, and include such terms as impulsive, hyperactive, and argumentative.

Honestly, something I've come to wonder is this: Could it be that attention spans are just a normal variable in humans--no more a disability than someone who is short rather than someone who is tall? Or someone who is fair-skinned rather than someone with more pigment. It's obvious that a child with a short attention span and the need to move more than others is a difficult child for a teacher in a traditional classroom, but I don't believe that that necessarily makes it a disability. Just my thoughts on that, but it does lead me to this part of the article:

“In the school setting, the challenge becomes how to create an environment in which creativity is emphasized as a pathway to learning as well as an outcome of learning.”

Interview with Author/Illustrator Ed Young

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 10:21:00 +0000

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a huge fan of Ed Young's. So imagine my thrill at getting to

interview him. Here's what he had to say to me, you, us!

AIIS: What is your favorite thing about making books?

EY: My favorite thing about creating books is the pleasure of turning readers on in stories of the past, present and even future, The wonder of words and pictures!

AIIS: What is your favorite thing about visiting schools?

EY: School visits simply verify that books are made by people like themselves who also struggle with everyday mundane activities and face difficulties like everyone else.

AIIS: Would you describe your typical day in a school?

EY: My day at school depends on the need and limitations of the school. Some schools are so poor, I simply talk and draw pictures to tell stories, but often those were the best, students and teachers, in their thirst for knowledge and in their appreciation of visitors. I do workshops, large groups or small and all ages.

AIIS: How do your school visits benefit students?

EY: I know my visit benefits students; It's a win-win situation, if I'm not excited and receive a kick out of being there, they cannot be benefited by the visit either.

AIIS: How do your visits benefit the teachers?

EY: Same with teachers. helpers (parents), everyone involved if they put in their minds, they receive many times more.

AIIS: What do you want schools to know about planning author visits?

EY: Plan it well like all Mazza bookfests, It's well run if it appears so easy. Not so, a lot of work and heart in everyone who's involved without exceptions. The better prepared the students, the higher the spirit and anticipation.

AIIS: Is there anything else that you would like students and schools to know about you?

EY: That I am human and I have my limitations like all human beings.

Thank you, Ed, for taking the time to visit with us. I was lucky enough to see you speak at Mazza, and know that any school would be lucky to have you visit!

Check out Ed's website at: http://edyoungart.com/about.html

Universal Preschool and Publishing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 12:50:00 +0000

Does anyone know where Obama's Universal pre-K plan stands? Thoughts of it and its potential impact on publishing have been rumbling through my brain for some time now. According to the Washington Post last February, only 3 out of 10 four year olds currently attend preschool. To narrow the achievement gap, Obama wants to institute a program that would provide funding for preschool to all families 200% and lower than the poverty rate. These preschools would have strict academic standards with teachers trained and paid at the same levels as current k-12 teachers. I'm not saying this would eliminate the achievement gap, but as a teacher, I have no doubt that this would make a significant difference in the achievement of these students.

From the New America Foundation:

The president’s budget proposes $1.3 billion for 2014 and anticipates making awards to just 12 to 18 states. Recognizing that many states have a lot of work to do, the administration is also proposing a second, $750 million, pre-K grant program called Preschool Development Grants. These would be smaller, competitive grants and would help states build necessary infrastructure, such as workforce and facility development, to support the creation or expansion of pre-K programs.

As an author and illustrator, I'm thinking of the picture book market which has been in a slump for more than a decade. Let's pretend we doubled the preschool programs in the U.S. These classrooms need what?

Books! Picture books.

I hope publishers are thinking about this already and are gearing up to bring more young literature to the market. Because CORE standards are emphasizing nonfiction like never before, I would also expect publishers to be looking to acquire child-friendly NF, though children certainly need to be exposed to broad range of engaging text. (And as much as many publishers claim to be "not interested" in rhyming text, rhyming is hugely important to children as a pre-reading skill, which is why librarians include so much of it in their "storytimes" in public library programs. Hint, hint, publishers.)

What are your thoughts on the Obama initiative regarding preschool, and do you think this will affect the picture book market? Publishers, are you looking at this and planning for it, or do you expect to take a wait-and-see-attitude before increasing your PB offerings?

Back to School!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 17:07:00 +0000

As a visiting Author/Illustrator it's that time of year again. Like all the other teachers out there, we're going over our teaching materials, updating anything that needs to be updated, and rethinking our teaching strategies--what worked well last year? What could be improved upon? What could be done to make my visit more impactful to the students?

Ed Young at the Mazza Museum Summer Conference

I'm up to my eyeballs in documents, creating more streamlined files, and marking upcoming author visits on the calendar. And that's what's taking me away from my blog. But life is just that way--we have a lull where everything seems to fall into place, and then there's a rush where there's not enough time in the day.

I hearken to what Ed Young said about creating a predictable life. It really is the unexpected, or the extreme (even extreme busyness) that gives us something to look back upon and said "Wow, what a ride!"

What are your preparations like for the new school year? What's your ride like out there, and what has you busy right now?

10-for-10 Picture Book Event 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 13:34:00 +0000

This is my first year to participate in the 10-for-10 event. My list consists of the 10 picture books I, as a teacher, author, and illustrator, can't live without. Here goes:

1. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey--I had to begin my list with this because when I was a child and was taken to the library every week, though I searched and searched, I could not find a better book than this, so I checked it out each week. My parents then made a new rule: I had to check out two books, one of which could not be Make Way for Ducklings. Problem solved.

2. In a Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming. --Here is a great example of writing about a "small moment" and it's a great mentor text for that. Couple that with Fleming's brilliant and innovative paper pulp illustrations and you have pure genius.

3. The True Story Of The Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka --Here is a great example of Point of View and could be a great mentor text for kids of all ages to write a familiar story from an alternative character's POV.

4. Hook by Ed Young --I think that everything Ed Young does is brilliant, but I love this book for its sparseness. Sparse text, sparse illustration = less is more. For students who get hung up on trying to make their artwork look as realistic as possible, here's a great lesson in illustration that "gives the impression of," which is what illustration is meant to do. (If the publisher wanted the illustrations to look totally realistic, they'd use photos.) It's a freeing lesson for children.

5. This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen --What I love, love, love about this book is that the text does not match the illustration, and kids know it. Great for examining inference! Several years ago I took a novel writing class where the teacher posed this question: "If the majority of communication is nonverbal, what are you doing in your writing about this?" This is the question in illustration, and Klassen handles it in the blink of an eye.

6. Olivia by Ian Falconer--Olivia epitomizes the character-driven picture book, and no one, young or old, can tell me they don't like this little pig.

7. The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney --There are many awesome wordless picture books out there, but I challenge you to find one more beautiful than this one. I love the strength of wordless PBs in building vocabulary and blogged about it here.

8. Country Crossing by Jim Aylesworth --This obscure little book stole my son's heart when he was young. I love it for a couple reasons. First, I think it's a great example of the "speed" of a text. This story begins slowly and quietly, becomes fast and loud in the middle, and returns to slow and quiet in the end. The other reason I love this book is the way the illustrations become the text--a beautiful meshing of text and image.

9. Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh--The first reason to love this book is because the mice are so darn cute. The second is because it teaches an art lesson and it's fun to duplicate that. Finally, I love this book as an example of character motivation--why the mice decide to become white again in the end.

10. The Reader by Amy Hest--I'll admit it--I have a love affair with quiet books, and they rarely make it through the publication process these days, but this one did. This quiet tale is of two friends who share a great and important experience together--reading! Couple this with some of the best work illustrator Lauren Castillo has done and you have beautiful book through and through that celebrates--what else?--reading!

Thank you to Cathy, at Reflect & Refine: Building a Learning Community, and Mandy, at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for sponsoring this 10 for 10 Picture Book event!

Preparing for the 10-for-10 Picture Book Event

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 14:33:00 +0000

I have been busy, busy, busy this summer, but I keep thinking I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I had a wonderful 4-week visit from my sister and adorable three-year-old niece, followed by the week-long illustration conference I blogged about, followed by helping my son pack and move from campus housing to my place, followed by another wonderful visit from another adorable niece--this one twenty-years-old. This week I'm trying to catch up on the home front and preparing to be a part of the 10-for-10 Picture Books Event (more about the 10-for-10 Picture Books event here) when I will post about 10 picture books I can't live without. I will post my list on Saturday, August 10th. If you're a picture book lover, (and who isn't?) think about joining the event. There are opportunities for those with blogs and those without!

6 Ways to Use Word Clouds in the Classroom

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 12:36:00 +0000

Word clouds rock. You'd expect me to say that--I'm a writer, and writers love words. But I'm a

teacher too, and word clouds are a cool way to pick out frequently used words from a text, so in a sense, word clouds are a little like notes (as in note-taking).

I've found a couple really cool websites that allow you to create your own word clouds by either pasting in a URL or by pasting text into their program. The results are really cool, and are sure to pique the interest of students.

I've tried several, and most create, well, kind of a blob of words in different colors and sizes (the largest of which are the most frequently used words, but this cool site, Tagexdo, let's you create shaped word clouds, which for me equals concrete poetry! You can either paste in text, or link to a URL and those words will be sorted into a cloud. Most let you choose a color scheme and font style, but Tagexdo lets you do that plus choose a shape. Shapes are limited, of course, but they have a wide variety which I believe could be used in the classroom with a little stretching of the imagination.

To test this out, I used my manuscript from Beco's Big Year, and here is the result:

Love it! These can be then transferred to mugs, t-shirts, etc., if desired. A class t-shirt or tote bag with student names could be a fun end of year project, or could be an awesome teacher gift!

Here are 6 ways you could use word clouds in the classroom:

1) Type in text from a book, as I did above, to create a visual reminder of the book or to be part of a book report.

2) Concrete Poetry, as I mentioned before. And why not? If students are studying a topic, give them their notes, help them to create an outline of their subject (trace an image that they've found in a resource, or find a printable outline online), and set them loose to fill their outline with words that pertain to that subject. This could also be done as a collage by cutting out words that pertain and gluing them into the outline

3) A cover for a subject report. Again, this could be done by hand, or through the use of technology. It's an engaging way to represent the report.

4) Use the word cloud as the report itself. It might help students to break up the image into sections, stained-glass-window-style, then write information (where this animal lives, what it eats, what type of animals it is, etc.) in each section.

5) Using Tagexdo to create the word cloud ensures that it consists of words, not sentences (which might be used in example number 3). Have students choose 5 words from the Tagexdo word cloud and present information about each. This will encourage the students to present more from memory than from simply reading aloud to the class.

6) Use a teacher-made word cloud as a study guide for your kids. You give them the topics in this fun, visually stimulating way, and they know what to study.

Any way you slice it, this is fun technology. What ideas do you have for using word clouds in the classroom?

Mazza Museum Summer Conference Day 5

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 23:16:00 +0000

Wow! It's hard to believe it's been a whole week! Today started with a bang with a keynote from Roger Roth. Roger grew up in a family that embraced the arts--his father was a writer and taught radio drama, and his mother went to art school, painted, and took Roger to art museums as a child. Roger himself attended art schools as a youth, and has kept a sketchbook his his first class. After a false start at a university, Roger worked odd jobs, painting in his free time. Eventually, he landed at the Pratt Institute and when he graduated, he worked as a freelance illustrator for the likes of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. After doing an ad about Paris for a travel magazine, an editor contacted him. "We have a book about Paris," she said. "We wonder if you'd like to do it." That became the book (recently released by another publisher) The Giraffe That Walked To Paris. It'sbeauty!

Roger has since illustrated 18 books, including several by Jane Yolan. One fascinating story Roger told was of doing the book The American Story, which is 368 pages long. When he asked when they needed the art they said, "In a year."

Do the math, illustrators.

His answer was "I don't think I can get it to you that quickly," but they agreed to have him illustrate it anyway. For the next two and a half years, Roger delivered a finished drawing to them every three days! This book is worth taking a look at. The art is beautiful and wow--you've got to be impressed by the speed! Roger was a comfortable speaker and put his audience at ease. He shared about his family and hobbies ("Ice fishing is a very slow sport. Great for creative work.") We all enjoyed him.

Following Roger was Chris Raschka. Chris is a meticulous guy who admits to putting away all his art materials every night so "I can see my empty table in the morning." Whoever said creatives are messy? Roger is also very smart. He turned down medical school to pursue his love of art and has published over 50 books in his 20 years in the industry.

One particularly interesting thing Chris shared was that his book Otter and Odder: A Love Story (Candlewick 2012) was actually printed from the color book dummy (blown up 200%) he sent the
publisher. Can you imagine?
Chris won the Caledcott honor in 1994 for Yo! Yes!, and the Caldecott Medal in 1996 for Hello Goodbye Window, and again in 2012 for A Ball for Daisy.

Chris looks the part of an artist, but on the other hand, I can imagine him a doctor as well. His speaking style is warm and friendly and at the same time to the point, with a "let's not waste time" attitude. It was a treat to hear him speak and to meet him!

Mazza Museum Summer Conference Day 4

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 23:33:00 +0000

Tom Lichtenheld began our today. He is the illustrator of 19 books (more
currently being illustrated). Tom confessed that he was not good at school, but in middle school, his teacher submitted a piece of his artwork to a contest with Scholastic and Tom won a pin. Hurray for the teacher who recognized Tom’s gift and found a way to help Tom receive the affirmation that he had gifts, even if he didn’t fit the regular “school success” mold!

Like so many authors I know, Tom belongs to an illustration critique group and he showed how a simple crop of a picture (that Tom had not seen himself) took a really nice illustration to the next level. I love this message for students who sometimes think of suggestions for work improvement as discouraging or even mean. Whenever authors and illustrators can share that they seek out good helpful criticism, it’s good for kids to hear. Two heads are better than one, I always tell kids (and explain it to the younger kids!)

Another thing I loved learning is that Tom’s website has free teacher resources here for book-use in the classroom. Yay! I guess that makes this a Freebie Thursday!

Following Tom we heard from author Sherri Dusky Rinker. Tom illustrated Sherri’s first two books, Good Night Good Night Construction Site, and Steam Train, Dream Train. Sherri spoke of how she feels she “won the lottery,” by being published by the amazing Chronicle Books—on her first submission ever. Okay children’s writers—deep breath—it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person. Sherri a likeable speaker who is very transparent about her writing and revising process. She spoke of the agony she felt going through the editorial process the first time around—and how it’s getting easier. Sherri's presentation was interesting, informative, and funny!

Mazza Museum Summer Conference Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 00:31:00 +0000

Our day began with Michael Hall (My Heart is Like a Zoo) speaking about his books. Michael had a fun presentation style, sharing pictures of the women in his life—his wife, daughters, agent, and editor, all of whom came into his story as the presentation progressed. After a while I decided that, despite his classic looks, he reminded me of Bob Newhart, so I’m now dubbing him the Bob Newhart of the kidlit world. Bob—I mean Michael—showed us some of his design work, and it’s easy to see how he went from that to the books he And he did. Brilliantly!

does. One logo was a pelican. “I would never draw a pelican,” he said, “there are people who do that much better than me, but I would try to find a pelican in a few simple shapes.”

Michael also shared that he was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 8. I can’t help but think that this “disability” might be the driving force in the kind of artwork he excels at. He takes simple shapes and flips them, rotates them, and moves them around the page until he has created something else entirely. He also works a great deal with negative space—more divergent thinking.

Toward the end of his talk, Michael shared his 2014 release, It’s an Orange Aardvark. Cute stuff!

Michael is a quiet man with a story of hope for all the kids out there that struggle with any type of disability. As much as these things can be a struggle, they can also be something that kids grow into in a way that makes them unique, and uniquely abled.

Michael commented, “Brokenness is the source of all beauty,” followed quickly by “we are all broken.”

Next up was Ed Young, illustrator of nearly 90 books, one of which won a Caldecott. Ed, who was born in China but has lived nearly 60 years in the U.S. considers himself to now have a mostly American mindset. Yet what I heard from Ed rang with a deeper, more philosophical tone than I normally encounter.

Ed was transparent in his generous sharing of his life story. He spoke of a time when he left an entire book of final art in a taxi cab and could not recover it. This happened at a time when his wife had just been diagnosed with cancer. He promised his editor that he would recreate it, but he wasn’t sure when. His wife died two months later, leaving him with two preteen daughters to help grieve and heal. After a time, Ed left his daughters with friends for a week and went home where he worked on the book from 6 am until 11 pm. In a week’s time, he had “most of it down,” (and he feels the second version is better than the first.)

Ed feels that losing something, while stressful and unnerving, “is not the end of the world. It’s the promise of something more.”

Ed went on to tell us about growing up in China in a house his father built, (The House Baba Built). He shared artwork from the book at various stages, and photos, as he told stories of his family. He even told of the Jewish German family that came to live with his family at the end of WWII. With them, he said, was a blonde-haired little girl name Jean, whom he referred to as his "Jewish sister, and me, her Chinese brother." To our surprise, he asked a tiny woman in the front row to stand. It was Jean.

Ed was warm, funny, and sensitive, letting us take in a peek of his fascinating life, and I think we could have listened to him all day!

Mazza Museum Summer Conference Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 22:50:00 +0000

The conference today began with James Dean, who is famous for illustrating Pete the Cat. James was humble, warm, and funny. “I have 5 cats and 4 litter boxes. Those are my credentials for doing what I do.” If it were only that easy!

James’s talk resonated with me. He grew up drawing, but worried that trying to find his way in art was “irresponsible,” so he quit sketching and studied engineering. He picked up his art materials again at age 35, and quit his engineering position four years later. After self-publishing his 2 picture books, a friend sent Pete the Cat Loves his White Shoes to New York where it was picked up. And the rest, my friends, is history!

A few other interesting comments:

“Give your kids a vision of being something—even if it’s the wrong thing.”

“You are never too old for a fresh start.”

“Last night I felt really old. I got to spend about an hour and a half with Jon Klassen.”

James is a quiet man who exudes gratitude for what life has brought him. It felt like an honor to hear his story.

Following James, Julie Paschkis spoke. Julie has written and/or illustrated so many exquisite books! When illustrating someone else’s story, she says she reads a manuscript several times, but does not sketch. First, she waits and lets her unconscious mind work on it.

She shared her process, showing sketches and final art.

An interesting thing about her process is this: While I believe that most illustrators would tell you that they sketch out an entire book before doing anything else, Julie completes one finished illustration and lets that piece “ set the tone” for all the coming pages. Sometimes, she says, that final piece doesn’t get used, because it somehow doesn’t work and must be redone, but that’s okay. It’s a good reminder to creatives to “respect the process.” The process is working for Julie!

A few other interesting comments:

“I’m a crossword puzzle fanatic.”

“Starting something is the hardest part.”

“Make mistakes, make false starts and good starts.”

“Everything leads to something else—even the projects that don’t work out.”

Another great day!

Mazza Museum Summer Conference, Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:34:00 +0000

If you don't know about the Mazza Museum, at the University of Findlay, Ohio, it's a beautifully curated museum of picture book art. For the last 20+ years, they've been holding a summer conference and today was day 1, 2013.

Starting off the day was Walter Wick, whose I SPY books held my

boys' attention many long hours when they were kids. Not only that, they held the attention of many an adult with their beautiful photography and challenging rhymes. Walter, a photographer, has gone on to author another series called Can You See What I See? Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve. The Can You See books are very similar to the I SPYs in that they involve pages of intricate photos coupled with a rhyme that prompts kids to find things. One cool thing about them, though, is that they actually involve visual puzzles to solve, making them that much more cognitively stimulating for the reader. (Puzzles also utilize higher-order thinking skills too--thinking "outside of the box"--so hooray for that too!) Walter went on to show pictures of his "studio"--an old, brick firehouse he bought and transformed, and where he employs staff members to build many of the "props" that end up as part of his books. It reminded me a bit of looking into Santa's workshop!

Best of all, Walter has promised to let me interview him in the near future so he can be featured author/illustrator here on the AIIS blog. Yay!

The second author/illustrator of the day was Jon Klassen. Jon told the hilarious story of how he

received two phone calls the day he won two Caldecott awards (only the second person in history to have done so). He woke up to a call from his taxi waiting downstairs to take him to the airport. As he was jumping out of bed, the Caldecott committee called and told him he had won the award. As he hung up the phone, the taxi driver called again--anxious for him to get downstairs. As he hung up from that phone call, the phone rang again--the Caldecott committee again. They they then told him that another of his books won the Caldecott honor.

Jon, a warm and very funny speaker, shared with us his background in animation, even sharing a short film he completed in school (very cute and very funny!). He also told us a lot about the books he wrote and/or illustrated, This Is Not My Hat; I Want My Hat Back, and Extra Yarn, to name a few (and those few are all Caldecott Award or Honor winners!). He, too, has promised an featured author/illustrator interview with us here at the AIIS blog--yay!

It was an awesome kick-off for the summer conference! Stay tuned for more as the week progresses!

The Next Big Thing blog tour

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 19:33:00 +0000

My thanks to Alex Clark for tagging me in The Next Big Thing blog tour! This blog tour began in Australia and features authors' and illustrators' current book projects. Here we go.

1) What is the working title of your next book?

My current book project is a historical fiction picture book titled Bent Tree and the Serpent of Earth. It is a story about the building of the premiere effigy mound in North America, Serpent Mound, in Peebles, Ohio.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

Growing up in Ohio, I've known about the prehistoric Native American mound builders most of my life. I took a trip to see this mound many years ago and was amazed to learn that it was not just a ceremonial mound as I had always thought, but that it is actually a solar calendar, much like Stone Henge. As a teacher, this is my kind of thing, and I wanted to share that information with kids. In order to hook my readers, I decided to put a human story behind the mound.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Historical fiction picture book.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Goodness! I'm so much more a book person than a movie person, I couldn't answer that. That question would be much better answered by my son Elliott Stanek who has worked on the production end of films.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Bent Tree, a differently-abled boy, prevails in his struggle to find a way to make a meaningful contribution to his tribe's building of Serpent Mound.

6) Who is publishing your book?

I am in talks with a regional publisher, but don't have a contract on it yet.

7) How long did it take you to create the illustrations?

I have not yet begun the illustrations for this, but expect it to take several months. Once school begins again, my school visits will dramatically slow me down!

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It has been compared, by one reviewer, to The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Seeing the mound could be inspiration enough, but learning that it was a solar calendar, and understanding its importance for these early agriculturalists topped that off!

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

It might interest readers to know that, tragically, these prehistoric Americans all died off, presumably from diseases that were introduced by early explorers from Europe.

Thanks again, Alex, for tagging me! Up next, Agy Wilson at her blog:
http://agyart.blogspot.com/

Exciting Illustration Conference Next Week!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 18:02:00 +0000

I skipped my Friday post last week as I saw my brilliant-blogger sister, Rebecca Blood, off to the airport after a wonderful extended visit. Following that, I hustled around my house, catching up on

"must-dos" as I prepare for a week of illustration fun and learning at the Mazza Museum's summer conference. Here are the featured illustrators:

Monday: Walter Wick and Jon Klassen
Tuesday: James Dean, Julie Paschkis, and Sheila McGraw
Wednesday: Michael Hall and Ed Young
Thursday: Tom Lichtenheld and author Sherri Duskey Rinker
Friday: Roger Roth and Chris Raschka.

I'll be tweeting from the event @AIISblog, and will be posting here in the evenings. Can you say "EXCITED!"? That's what I am!

Ten Ways to Find an Author or Illustrator to Visit Your School

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 13:58:00 +0000

In many schools, a visit from an author or illustrator is part of the yearly schedule. But just where should schools look to find appropriate candidates? To begin with, try to determine what type of visitor you would like; if you had an author last year, maybe an illustrator this year. This of visitors based on the kinds of books they have published—do they books that will appeal to only one segment (age group) of your school, or do they have books that span your ages? Do they have fiction books, nonfiction, graphic novels, or poetry, and how does that compare or build upon last year’s visitor? Are they local or close to it? Travel expenses can drive up the cost of visits, so determine up front if it’s realistic to bring in an out of state visitor. Once you’ve narrowed down your “dream visitor”, it’s time to begin the search.

1) Ask other schools. One great way to connect with a visitor is by asking other schools in your district and surrounding area if they have had a great visit in the last couple years. Schools will be candid with you about what the students and teachers thought, and will probably be willing to share with you what the visit cost. (Unfortunately, many author and illustrators’ sites do not have costs listed—you have to contact the individual to learn of their fees. While fees can change from year to year, you can usually get a pretty close “ball park” figure by asking a school who has recently hosted them.)

2) Ask your public librarian. Your public librarian may have a slightly wider “net” cast of authors who have provided visits in your area.

3) Google.

a. Google authors and illustrators and go directly to their sites. You can either choose favorites of your own and search them by name, or google “children’s author” or “children’s illustrator”, adding your state to the search if you need to keep the search close to home. Carefully read their visit descriptions to see what kinds of programs they do. Some are presentation only, while others do workshops with kids as well. (Bear in mind that if you want a visitor to do workshops with the majority of the school, you will likely have to retain them for more than one day.
b. Google publisher’s websites. Many of them have links to their authors and illustrators who do school visits.
c. Google sites that help schools connect with an author or illustrator. You needn’t pay for this—look for a free service. Do be aware, however, that most of these sites charge the author, so many authors won’t be found on them.

4)      Blogs. Search teacher and librarian blogs for posts about their visitors. These ladies and gentlemen are all about passing on valuable information, so see what they have to say.

5)      Twitter. And speaking of social media, if you follow teachers and librarians on Twitter, send out a tweet asking for help. The broad scope of your network might turn up just what you’re looking for.

6)      Book Festivals. Attend book festivals to meet possible candidates. I’ve known schools who have researched the authors and illustrators who will be in attendance and gone to a book festival and have arranged their visit on the spot!

7)      Local Bookstores. Ask your local bookstore for recommendations. I know, this is becoming easier said than done, but if you’re lucky enough to have a good little Indy Bookstore nearby, the workers there can be a wealth of knowledge.

8)      Local Arts Organizations. If you have a local arts organization, see if they have any affiliation with authors and illustrators. Some do.

9)      Author/Illustrator recommendations. Each year, ask your visitor recommendations for other visitors and find out why they recommend them. Like all professionals, most people are fairly networked in with others in their industry. Find out what they know.

10)   SCBWI. Check out the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators—nearly everyone in this industry is a member of this international trade organization and on the National site, they list authors and illustrators who make school visits. If you want to look on a more localized scale, check online by googling SCBWI followed by the state where you live to find a local chapter. (There are often more than one chapter per state.) These often have links to their members who visit school, and if there aren’t, email the regional adviser, asking for help.

Five Authors (Some Illustrators) to Engage Your Students

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 17:22:00 +0000

Elementary classrooms tend to be havens for books (as they should be!) And teachers are pros at making good use of them. But every now and then I peruse author and illustrator websites looking for teaching materials that are ready to go. Today I bring you five.

April Pulley Sayre, nonfiction-author-extraordinaire heads up the list with literally hundreds of activity ideas for teachers. Her Educator Resource page is divided into the categories of: Author Study, Book Links, Book-Related Activities (tons of these!), Birds, Fish, Geography and Biomes, Insects, Mammals, Math, Other, Physical Science, Reptiles and Amphibians, Seeds, Vegetables and Fruits, Writing Process, Featured Resource, Miscellaneous, Standards and Curriculum, Story Plans, and Worksheets. Wow April! We can't ask for more than that!

Patricia Polocco, author/illustrator has a tab at the top of her page that says Fun Stuff. There you will find Color-Ins, Postcards, Puzzles, Bookmarks, Portrait Downloads, Mini-Posters, Video Gallery, and Audio. Check it out!

Author/Illustrator Jan Brett is known for her finely detailed illustrations. Here, you can find Activities. Coloring Pages, Murals, Cards, Hedge-a-Grams (audio), and Games. Nice stuff!

Author and Illustrator combo, Don and Audrey Wood. Audrey's activities page can be found by clicking the Activities box at the top of the page. In the drop down menu, you will find printables for eight of Audrey's books. Everyone will love the secret pages found by clicking the tab at the top, which show photos that were used as models for Don's fantastic illustrations as well as other books-in-the-making info.

And finally, check out everyone's favorite poet, Jack Prelutski's page. Personally, I find the creature on the landing page a bit creepy, but Jack's a poet, not an illustrator, so I'll let it slide. Jack doesn't have printables, but he has a number of activities there.

With some authors, connecting kids to books is as easy as going to their websites!

Seven Literacy Strategies That Work!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 10:27:00 +0000

Hoover was a troubled school, performing the lowest in the county and among the lowest in
California. Of the 2,200 students, 100% qualified for free or reduced lunch, 46% were ELL students, and 96% were members of minority groups. One consultant suggested that those students could not be expected to perform better. But the teachers thought otherwise. They formed a staff development committee and worked with colleagues at the San Diego State University. Together they developed the following seven strategies that helped bring their school's average reading level up two grade levels in three years. These strategies were developed for High Schoolers, but all could be used in upper elementary on up.

1. Read-Alouds. Yes, even at the High School level. Read-alouds give students the chance to hear varied vocabulary, as well as a variety of different text types. It also gives students the opportunity to hear fluent reading.

2. K-W-L Charts. Teachers report that this is a great way to hook students into learning about a topic. Write out what you know, what you want to know, and at the end, what you learned. In addition to hooking them into the learning at the time, K-W-L Charts also prove to students that they have, indeed, gained something from their study.

3. Graphic Organizers. Graphic organizers help more visual students record what they are learning. Student-created graphic organizers benefit kinesthetic learners. Students at Hoover consistently reported that graphic organizers were the most helpful strategy they used.

4. Vocabulary Instruction. Across all content areas. 'Nuff said.

5. Writing to Learn. Some teachers reported success with opening a lesson with writing about the subject to focus students. Some used writing in the middle of the lesson to help students process the topic. Some used it at the of a lesson to summarize and solidify the new material.

6. Structured Note-taking. Let's face it, we aren't born knowing how to take good notes. In this school, students made a vertical line two inches in from the left side of the page. Here, they wrote topics and keywords. To the right of the line, students wrote detailed information. At the bottom of the page, they wrote a summary of the lesson. Brilliant!

7. Teaching Each Other, otherwise known as reciprocal teaching. While teachers found this the most difficult part to implement, they said it was also the most effective way to engage students with text.

Read more about this school, this study, and these strategies here.

What do you consider the most successful literacy strategies that you use?

Wordless Picture Books Build Verbal and Interpretive Skills, and Visual Literacy

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:37:00 +0000

Let's face it, reading rocks! And learning to read is critical to every student's academic success. But...enter the wordless picture book.

When I first saw Jerry Pinkney's The Lion and the Mouse, I gasped at the beauty of it. Then I bought it. It lacks the beautiful language that so often draw me to picture books, but the visuals are beautiful enough for both. (Here's a YouTube video of Pinkney discussing the making of this masterpiece.)

So what happens when an adult "reads" a wordless picture book to a child? First of all, unlike the reading of a traditional picture book, the words used reading a wordless picture book vary each time it's read, thus increasing the number words the child is exposed to through that book. Not only does this child hear a greater quantity of words, but he is also exposed to a greater number of different ways to express the same meaning.

Picture books also allow for slight differences in the story line of the story. While one person may tell the story primarily from one character's point of view, in another reading, a different character's point of view may be emphasized.

As children read wordless picture books to themselves, they take their prior knowledge and create an internal dialog, retelling the story to themselves, taking the visual cues from the pictures--they are interpreting the visuals--another critical skill.

Eye Magazine's Clare Walters writes:

So how is a wordless picture book actually ‘read’? The picture book theorist Perry Nodelman says the process is ‘something like doing a puzzle … we must search for clues and put together apparently disparate bits of information’ (Words About Pictures, 1988), in order to recreate the story or stories the artist has chosen to portray.

Classroom Implications: Use wordless picture books in the classroom to learn about Point of View in writing. First, read and compare a traditional version of The Three Little Pigs and Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, which is told from the wolf's point of view. Create a Venn diagram of the stories--a free one is here. Now, have your students write the story of the Lion and the Mouse, taking one of the two points of view. Allow some students to share writing, and continue the point of view discussion.

Still another use--provide the class with different wordless picture books and allow students to write the story. This takes the "story-line invention" out of the equation, and allows students the chance to concentrate on the words they use to write the story.

Do you use wordless picture books in your classroom? If so, how?

Ten Reasons Author Visits are Valuable to Schools

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 10:22:00 +0000

Across the United States, many schools invite an author or illustrator to visit their school on a regular basis--many do so once each year. So what are the benefits of an author visit?

1) Author visits excite kids about reading. After all, when the whole school is abuzz with the news of an impending visit, and a lot of kids are chatting about certain books, and when there's even a chance to get a signed book when the author arrives, well...the excitement spreads!

2) Author visits create an opportunity to get a "special" book into the hands of students through book sales to the kids. Not all schools include a book sale, but most do. Schools find that parents are often willing to purchase a visiting author's book, and so it's a great way to get children's print material in the home. Schools generally purchase some books for their school library as well, which is another way to get those "special" books into kids' hands.

3) Authors have the chance to pass on writing tips to students. Kids often ask how author get their ideas, and idea generation can be a toughie when students find themselves with a writing assignment. Many authors have other writing tips to offer that kids take to heart. After all, an author is an expert writer, right?

4) Authors can help kids to understand that what students do in the classroom is really very much like what authors do in the working world--especially if authors discuss their writing, and rewriting process.

5) Author visits often encourage kids to try books they normally wouldn't try. For example, if a student has no interest in nonfiction, but a nonfiction author visits, that student will more likely than not have exposure to that author's nonfiction work. And, given the connection the student has with the author, it's possible that the nonfiction book will be embraced by the student, changing their attitude that genre.

6) Author visits give kids the chance to hear their teachers' lessons affirmed by an "expert" or "authority," the author. This goes a long way in supporting the work of the teacher.

7) Authors can sometimes shed light on the teaching of writing which can benefit the teachers in the school. Authors have the opportunity to be in a great number of schools and can see first hand what techniques are working and what are not.

8) Author visits can recharge teachers' excitement over books, reading, and writing. With so many things to tug at a teachers' attention, this refocusing can be a good thing.

9) Likewise, author visits can inspire teachers to be writers. Many teachers have a secret desire to write children's books, and visiting with an author, especially one who encourages them to pursue that dream can be a shot in the arm. This is not only good for morale, but excitement is catching, so a teacher who is serious about and excited about her own writing, models that, thus encouraging it in her students.

10) Finally, author visits give kids the very exciting opportunity to meet someone famous. (At least in their minds!)

Teaching Colors, Camouflage, and Books

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 10:26:00 +0000

Those who know me, know I love the book Mouse Paint, by Ellen Stoll Walsh.

I remember being fascinated, as a child, by mixing colors to make other colors. Stranger still, for me, was that some colors aren't made by others at all. They just are.

Wow! Those three primary colors were like the Color Gods in my mind. They were the beginning of all other colors. I remember spending time on the back porch on a summer's day mixing the colors of my crayons, and asking my artist mother over and over what to mix to make orange, green and purple, until I could remember them myself.

But back to Mouse Paint. What fun to play in the paints to mix colors. After all, these mice are so darn cute that who could resist those little pink feet dancing in the colors? And the stakes are high because, after all, there is a cat.This book leaves adults and children alike wanting to get out the paints to try it themselves--the mixing, not the dancing in them. And why not?

To play along, I have this free mouse image here for you and your littles to paint on. Print it on white

paper to simulate the mice in the book (and so your paints will appear truer in color).

Now, want to make some strong science connections as well? Talk to your kids about the mice hiding on the white page. Tell them there really are animals in the world that use their natural colors to hide. We call this camouflage. The Discovery Channel has a great set of photos showing amazing animal camouflage here. Look out your window and help your kids to notice camouflaged animals outside: squirrels are the color of tree bark, many birds are soft brown that help them blend in with trees and brush. Rabbits too.

Here's another adorable color-mixing book--this one featuring a white rabbit:

White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker

Here are some great camouflage books:

What Color is Camouflage? (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out-Science, Stage 2) by Carolyn B. Otto, Illustrated by Megan Lloyd--Gentle text (though it does talk about predators and prey, and animals being hunted by others) with great illstrations that demonstrate how animals really do blend into their surroundings.

Where in the Wild?" Camouflaged Creates Concealed...and Revealed by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy--Beautiful photos of animals "hiding in plain sight," coupled with poetry. This book also has a lot of nonfiction about the animals featured, making it a great resource for reports.

Here's a free hands-on color work and camouflage lesson packet for the beginning readers. If you're

looking for something older, I'll have an Animals Adaptations/Camouflage lesson soon at my Teacher's Store here.

Mouse Paints is a great introduction to colors and the concept camouflage as an animal adaptation. I'd love to here your experiences with these topics in your classroom!

The Visiting Author's Guide to State Standards and the Common Core.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:50:00 +0000

Authors who spend time in schools these days hear about the Common Core. We want our visits to be worthwhile to schools, and that means it needs to fit into the school's mandated standards.

Just what is the Common Core?

The Common Core, sometimes referred to as CCSS (Common Core State Standards), is a compilation of learning benchmarks that students should master at certain grade levels. It is called the Common Core because, while educational standards are determined on a state level, this was created in the hopes that all states would adopt it, bringing continuity to school systems throughout the country--something that would benefit students who move from place to place as they grow up. In a society as transient as ours, such a thing makes a lot of sense.

Who has adopted the Common Core?

So far, forty-four states, the District of Columbia, and four territories have adopted these standards.

What does the Core contain?

The Common Core contains English and Mathematical standards for kindergarten through 12th grade.

Wait! That's all?

Some people are surprised to learn that not all subjects are covered in the Common Core. Science, Social Studies and The Arts are not covered by it. They do exist, but for these standards, a person must look state-by-state to find them.

What's a visiting author to do?

First of all, know the Common Core. Find your book's and your presentation's place in it. After all, if your don't in some way support these standards, what's the school's incentive to have you visit? The best way to do this is to go to http://www.corestandards.org/. Click on the English Language Arts Standards. It will take you to a page that looks like this:

To the left, you can see a list of click-able choices. The top is the Introduction. Beneath that is "Anchor Standards." Anchor standards will give you an overview of what the educational system is looking for in the long run, but it is the list below that, Reading: Literature; Reading:Informational Text; Reading: Foundational Skills; Writing; Speaking and Listening; and Language that will be broken down by grade level.

I urge you to click on the grade-level standards, read them, and think about how your book, and more importantly, your Author Visit, fits into these standards.

Most Authors do at least one large group presentation. But if you also do smaller, grade-level groups, look at what the standards require of these groups and tweak your workshops or break-out groups to meet the kids' needs.

Going back to the Standards Page, if you click on the Mathematics Standards instead, you will find the choices broken down by grade-level there. Presenters can often make math connections. Does your book deal with speed? That's math. Does it deal with something growing? That's math. Look again for how your book connects to these subjects and think about how you might utilize this in your presentation to support the school teaching.

You may have noticed that below the grade-level English Language Arts there is a section called "Grades 6-12 Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects."

If you present to this age group, click on it--there are some interesting things there that you can make connections with.

But what if your book has a strong science, social studies, or arts theme? For these I suggest going to the state education site where you most often visit and find correlations between your book and the state standards, and your presentation and the state standards. Google, "___(your state here)___ academic standards," or "___(your state here) Department of Education Standards" to find the site.

On your website, you may want to list the standards that you support through your school visit presentations. This makes it easy for administrators to justify both the expense and the time spent with you at their school.

Reading promotes literacy. Author visits promote reading. But to letting schools know that you understand and take their standards seriously may just promote you.

Picture books to Aid Upper Elementary Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:00:00 +0000

PBS has a terrific PDF here about the validity of using picture books in the upper elementary classroom. 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders sometimes have a tough time connecting what they do as writers to "real world" writing. While their writing projects may span a handful of pages, they are reading full length novels--thus the disconnect. Picture books are a similar length to what students are writing. They contain that all-important beginning, middle and end, and they are well edited for conventions. Isn't that what we are asking our students to do everyday?

In the publishing industry, picture books are sometimes referred to as "lap books." In other words, they are meant to be read to a child, not by a child. Because of this, the language used in them can be at a much higher reading level than the child's. While these books are short, they are not necessarily "easy reads," so teachers needn't worry that their students are reading too far "below" them. And even if students were reading "below" them, these kids are learning about story structure, conventions, and that short pieces really are real-world writing--it validates the students' own work.

Sidebars, which I personally love, have become increasingly common in publishing. Often seen as a small box at the side of the page, these snippets of information are there for readers when they are ready for them. The reader can choose to interrupt the story to gain further knowledge, or s/he can wait until the story is done and then go back to read them.

Have you tried sidebars with your writers? This could be a great way to have students work on narrative writing while incorporating nonfiction writing in it as well. Check out April Pulley Sayre's book, Here Come the Humpbacks. It tells the story of humpback whales as they journey through the sea, and sidebars, cleverly formatted in the Jamie Hogan's gorgeous illustrations rather than in boxes, give interesting facts about these great creatures.

I can see a bulletin board now--pages of narrative nonfiction, beautifully illustrated by the students with sidebars incorporated into the illustration. What fun! For even more fun, have the kids cover the sidebars with an illustration piece that flips over to reveal the information. Perhaps a piece of construction paper that depicts coral flips up and beneath it is an interesting fact about coral.

Picture books really are a valuable aid to the writers in upper elementary school. And if you implement any of these ideas in your classroom, I'd love to hear about it!

Otis and The Tornado

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:43:00 +0000

It was a fitful night in the upper Midwest with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Here in my particular neck of the woods we fared well, but I woke thinking of the destructive force of nature...and of Otis.

I had the great joy of hearing author/illustrator Loren Long speak at a conference a few years back. He shared sketches he'd done while working on the first Otis, and the transformation he made from the first tractor images (rather stiff and toy-like) to his final tractor images that stretch and move and practically jump off the page! He also talked about being a lover of film, and trying to think like a cinematographer as he imagined scenes before putting pencil to paper. This shows in his always interesting final art.

Otis and the Tornado is a charming book about friendship, emergency, doing the right thing, and through that, developing more and deeper friendships. But that's just the beginning.

In the classroom, Otis and the Tornado is an opening to talk with students about weather--especially scary weather and how to stay safe. It's a must-read for Severe Weather Safety Week, and that time when teachers and students in tornado-prone areas must do tornado drills.

As a science experiment, students can make a tornado in a bottle--there are a number of lesson on the web with instructions on how to do this using 2 liter bottles, tape, and water. PBS Kids has a good one here.

For younger kids, Loren Long has a coloring page, maze, and other printables on his site here.

This book could be used as a mentor text for writing in the classroom as well. Have students write about a severe weather situation they have been in and what they did. Encourage them to write about how it felt to be there (both emotionally and physically--this is a good chance to write about what the five senses experienced), and how it resolved in the end. You could have your students read these aloud and discuss their feelings.

The weather has move out from here, but with all the severe weather in the news these days, there will be plenty of times when this warm and fuzzy book will be appropriate to pull off the shelf.

I wish you all a safe summer!

Welcome!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:20:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to my blog, Authors and Illustrators in Schools, where I'll talk about how teachers can help their students make real connections with authors and illustrators to promote literacy. I'll highlight individual authors and illustrators and will feature ideas and freebies to extend student engagement and learning. I'll also have tips for those teacher who would like to enter the publishing world, will post about what's happening in the industry, and how it will affect your classroom. For authors and illustrators, I'll be a resource to help you make your school visits meaningful and educational for the students you see. I hope you'll join me so we can make literacy connections, one classroom at a time!