READ-4-LUCK: Hilarious "Biography"

READ-4-LUCK is the weekly feature that acts as a book recommendation, book review, teaching tip, and writing lesson for children, parents, teachers, and writers.

 = Not bad. Might read twice.
 = Fun read first few times. Would get from library again.
 = Very enjoyable. Wouldn't mind owning a copy.
 = Awesome! Never tiresome for children, parents, teachers, or writers. May just have to buy this book.

This week's pick is Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea: A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Stacy Innerst. 

In tall-tale fashion, this book retells how Levi Strauss went to California during the Gold Rush, saw the need for a sturdier kind of trouser, and invented jeans.

 
Publisher: Harcourt, Inc.

Year: 2011

Word Count: 1098
Book Level: 3.9

Age: 4-8

Topic: History, Biography, Inventions

Theme: Humor, Tall-tales, Solving Problems

First Page: 

     "Gold!" somebody yelled. Next thing anybody knew, the whole world rushed to California and started digging up the place. The trouble was, they rushed so fast, they lost their pants.

RATINGS
CHILDREN:  This book is so much fun. The pictures are quite funny, too. Kids get a big kick out of seeing grown men walking around wearing nothing but a big barrell.

PARENTS:  This has got to be the funniest picture book I have ever read. I was laughing so much, my son said, "Mom! Quit laughing! Slow down. Now what did that part say again?" If you don't like the word "DANG!" then maybe you won't want this one. But it's still just so much fun!

TEACHERS:  Perfect for integrating into a tall tale unit. Or a Social Studies unit on the Gold Rush, or clothing, or the West. What fun you can have! The author's note in the back also gives the real deal on what went down. Very interesting - good for 5th graders to see that history can give ideas for great stories.

WRITERS:  Another PB full of voice. I SO wish I had written this book! A great book to study. Think of all the fodder we have to write about...the world is FULL of history! All I can say is WHAT FUN! I can't wait to map this one out!

Be sure to visit other "perfect picture books" at Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.

Keep on keepin' on...

300 Follower Giveaway: Win a Picture Book!

I am excited, honored, and amazed to have finally reached this milestone: 300 followers! After two years of blogging...wow! Thank you everyone for stopping by when you find the time. Thank you for your comments, camaraderie, and support.

To celebrate this special day, I'd like to give away a picture book: Big Chickens Go to Town by Leslie Helakoski, illustrated by Henry Cole (a way-awesome illustrator). I'm sure you'll love it! It is chock full of the power of threes and repetition. If you haven't heard of this WAY-awesome writer, this book is the third book in her series of "Big Chickens" books. The first is Big Chickens; the sequel is Big Chickens Fly the Coop. So I'm kind of stuck on threes right now. Here are some 300 equivalents:

1. 300 seconds = 5 minutes
2. 300 minutes = 5 hours
3. 300 hours = 12.5 days

All you have to do is leave a comment (by 3:00 PM EST on Thursday 2-23-12) about what writing thing you would do if you had 300 seconds, minutes, or hours to work on and/or accomplish it. If I had 300 hours, I would write my next book, or two, or three... If I had 300 minutes, I would write my blog posts for the next couple of weeks. If I had 300 seconds, I would either finish this blog post or read a picture book. If I had $300, I'd buy lots of books! (Or put it aside for my next SCBWI conference.) 

Okay, your turn... 

Pass the Paper #5: Leonard the Pig

Pass the Paper is when one person writes a few lines and passes the paper to the next person to add to the story. Just comment below to join in!


Here's story #5 for our Pass the Paper fun. Let's see if we can finish the story by 3-17. Join in, the more the merrier!


Leonard the pig wanted more than anything to roll around in the mud. But he wasn't just any old pig. He was a pampered pig, a purple pig, and a peanut-butter-loving pig. His parents, Dave (who was 8) and Trudy (who was 9), were unusually responsible pet owners - for their age. Leonard didn't know how he would ever step foot outside, let alone get to roll around in the mud. Maybe he should try...

READ-4-LUCK: Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer (a poet's DREAM)

READ-4-LUCK is the weekly feature that acts as a book recommendation, book review, teaching tip, and writing lesson for children, parents, teachers, and writers.

 = Not bad. Might read twice.
 = Fun read first few times. Would get from library again.
 = Very enjoyable. Wouldn't mind owning a copy.
 = Awesome! Never tiresome for children, parents, teachers, or writers. May just have to buy this book.

This week's pick is Mirror Mirror, A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Josee Masse.

Publisher: Dutton Children's Books

Year: 2010

Word Count: not very many (14 poems)
Book Level: unsure

Age: 4-8

Topic: Fairy Tales, Poetry

Theme: N/A?

First Lines:

Who

says

it's true-

down

is

the only view?

If you believe that,

this poem

will challenge

you.

Up

is

something new.

RATINGS
CHILDREN:  I had to explain some of the poems to my children, but they really enjoy the awesome artwork. It's vibrant and lyrical. Lyrical illustrations? Yes, I think so...

PARENTS:  This is one of my new favorite books! I got it for my daughter for Christmas, but I think I like it more than she does. Now I need to find all the original fairy tales so my children will know them, too.

TEACHERS:  Perfect for an intro to a poetry or fairy tale unit. Students will love trying out there own reversos! Could even assign one poem to a pair of students and have them do a study comparing the poem to the original fairy tale.

WRITERS:  This has got to be one of my new all-time favorite books. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book! I could re-read it over and over and just soak of Marilyn's masterful command of the English language. AWESOME! I have even tried a few of my own reversos.

Be sure to visit other "perfect picture books" at Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.

Keep on keepin' on...

Two Year Anniversary - Blog Like You Mean It, and Share the Love

Happy two-year anniversary to me!

Most bloggers blog because they love to write. I'm no different. I also love to connect with others, help others, educate readers about great picture books, and generally just have fun with it all. Don't let anyone lie to you, though. Blogging does take a lot of work. I'm not sure I remember the exact reason why I started my blog. To create a platform? Maybe. For fun - just to see what it would be like? Maybe. To get me into the more-writing-a-day mode? Maybe. Or maybe a little of all three. But I DO remember why I continue to blog.

1. To be a part of the writing community.
2. To help me study more picture books (and share them) on a more regular basis.
3. To give back to others with my fun Saturday features (High Five Interviews, Lucky Clover Contest, Pot-O-Gold Blog Award, and the Pass-the-Paper writing fun; see tabs above).

My blog has evolved over time, as many of yours have as well. At first, I just wrote about me - or writing. Then I starting mingling the two. Then I added picture books. I finally have something I feel benefits me, my style, my personality, and my writing. I hope it also benefits all of you!

In celebration of my two-year anniversary, I'd like to give away two critiques! Picture book, or opening MG chapter. 

Here's how to enter the giveaway. Just leave a comment on this post answering one of the following questions (or all three):

1. Why do you blog?
2. What is your favorite feature on my blog?
3. What type of ms would you like me to critique?

I'll randomly select two individuals from all those who comment on this post by 2-14-12, midnight EST. That should give you two days. Share the love. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, after all.

P.S. Looks like I'll be having another giveaway soon, a 300-follower giveaway.

Keep on keepin' on...

Pot-O-Gold Blogger Award #13: Excellent Picture Book Blogs

Pixel Berry Pie Designs

It's time to award another lucky blogger with the Pot-O-Gold Blogger Award! I created this award for excellent blogs based on interesting and helpful content AND visually appealing and easy-to-navigate design. It's an award that says, "Look at this awesome blog! There's a wealth of information here! If you visit once, you'll want to return again and again." In other words, it's like discovering a pot of gold.

Today's award goes out to the amazing Rob Sanders, author of the Picture This! blog, A Daily Guide to Picture Book Writing. His blog has been around for a little over a year and still going strong. Rob's debut picture book, Cowboy Christmas, will be released from Golden Books/Random House later this year. He is "a writer who teaches and a teacher who writes". His blog has so much excellent content, you'll never want to leave; it's extremely relevant and useful. He posts Sunday through Friday, hence the tagline "A Daily Guide". (I bet he spends all day Saturday writing his posts...) Each of his posts for any given week are thematic. On Sundays, he posts the theme for the upcoming week. For example, the week of Feb 5, 2012 (this week), the theme was "The Power of Critiques". And he also lists the daily topic for the whole week. Check it out! And that's just ONE week! Oh, believe me, there is much, much more to learn from the ever-talented Rob Sanders!

Monday—Finding a Critique Group

Tuesday—Beginning a Critique Group

Wednesday—Strategies for Giving Critiques

Thursday—Receiving Critiques

Friday—Putting Critiques into Action

My ratings (out of 4):  Content  Design  (could be easier to navigate)

I also have three runner-ups this week for excellent picture book blogs, because they share similar features and/or blog titles.

1. Picture This, by Sarah Frances Hardy, author and illustrator of Puzzled by Pink (Viking Children's Books, Spring 2012)
2. Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books,  by Dawn Little, founder of Links to Literacy, an educational consulting company.
3. Teach with Picture Books, by Keith Schoch, teacher and blogger at How to Teach a Novel. (Although he hasn't posted since April 2011, he has over 1,000 followers combined.) 

The Rules (you can copy and paste them):

1. Say thank you to the person who gave it to you.
2. Thank the giver (include image of award, link to the giver's blog and to WRITE WILD).
3. Award FOUR bloggers this award and tell why each is a Pot-O-Gold!
4. Share FOUR simple things about yourself: 
1. a time you had to exercise FAITH
2. something you HOPE for
3. something you LOVE
4. a time when you experienced LUCK.

Keep on keepin' on...