The March Madness Writing Contest Is Here!!!

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Woo-hoo!!!

Spring is here!

And so is

The March Madness Writing Contest!

The Contest: Write a children’s story, in poetry or prose, maximum 400 words, that is a fractured fairy tale.  Feel free to add a theme of spring, or mix in one of the spring holidays if you like – St. Patrick’s Day, April Fools Day, Easter or Passover, Arbor Day, Earth Day…  Have fun with it!  The madder* the better! 🙂
*as in wild and wacky, not angry 🙂

You do not have to include spring – that is optional.
The story can be a picture book or a short story – whatever you like.
If it’s a picture book, you may NOT include art notes, because we get into a weird area of whether that’s fair in terms of word count and added description etc.  So if you write a picture book that’s wonderful, but make sure art notes aren’t necessary to understand it.
“Fairy Tale” apparently turned out to be a very debatable term, so my fellow judges and I will do our best to handle whatever you’ve come up with.
Title not included in word count.
Post:  Your entry should be posted on your blog between right now this very second and Monday March 24 at 11:59 PM EST, and your post-specific link should be added to the link list below which will remain up through Wednesday March 26 so we can all take our time reading and enjoying everyone’s stories!  (No PPBF on Friday March 21, no new post on Monday March 24, no WYRI on March 26).  If you don’t have a blog but would like to enter, please copy and paste your entry into the comments below.  (If anyone has trouble commenting, which unfortunately happens, please email me and I’ll post your entry for you!)

The Judge:  My lovely assistant and I will narrow down the entrants to 6 finalists (or possibly a couple more depending on the number of entries :)) which will be posted here on Thursday March 27 for you to vote on for a winner.  The vote will be closed at 5PM EST on Sunday March 30 and the winner will be announced on Monday March 31.  (No PPBF on Friday March 28.)

The Prizes!:  

 – 1st Prize is a read and critique by Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary!!! (Unless for some reason you don’t want a read and critique by an agent, in which case you may swap for any of the other prizes)
 – 2nd Prize is a picture book manuscript critique (for rhyming mss only) by Lori Degman, author of 1 ZANY ZOO and the forthcoming COCK-A-DOODLE-OOPS! OR a picture book manuscript critique (for non-rhyming mss only) by Cori Doerrfeld, author/illustrator of LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO and PENNY LOVES PINK as well as illustrator of many others.
 – 3rd Prize is personalized signed copies of THE THREE NINJA PIGS and GOLDI ROCKS & THE THREE BEARS by Corey Rosen Schwartz PLUS a $25 Amazon Gift Card
 – 4th and 5th Prizes are your choice of any two of the following picture books PLUS a $20 Amazon Gift Card:
     – THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG by Eugene Trivizas
     – CINDY ELLEN: A WILD WESTERN CINDERELLA by Susan Lowell
     – LITTLE RED WRITING by Joan Holub
     – THE THREE LITTLE PIGS AND THE SOMEWHAT BAD WOLF by Mark Teague
     – THE PRINCESS AND THE PEAS by Caryl Hart
     – THE WOLF’S STORY: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD by Toby Forward
     – GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE DINOSAURS by Mo Willems

 – 6th Prize (which just skated in under the wire – thank you Sudipta!) is a personalized signed copy of hot-off-the-presses SNORING BEAUTY by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

And don’t forget, all you illustrators, that this will be followed by a related Illustrator Contest in April!!! (to be announced and elaborated on as soon as the writing part of the contest is over! :))

And now, so that everyone will feel happy and confident about posting their stories, I will share my sample, a Wild West twist on The Gingerbread Boy at exactly 400 words (phew!):

The Cornpone Cowboy

     Once upon a time (because that is the way all good fairy tales begin), Farmer Bubba and his lovely bride ThunderLily had the most beautiful ranch in the Wild West.
     The grass was emerald green.
     The rivers were pure as morning dew.
     The cattle were sleek and fat and gave such rich, creamy milk that all the ice cream makers in the world fought over who would get it.
     But even with all this beauty and excellent ice cream, Bubba and ThunderLily were sad.  For though they were surrounded every spring by velvet-eyed calves and stilt-legged foals, fluffy chicks, pink piglets, and wooly lambs, they never had a child of their own.
     Luckily, ThunderLily was not one to sit around moping.  “If I can’t have a child, I’ll make one,” she told her darling Bubba.
     She got cornmeal and buttermilk, eggs, salt, and bacon drippings, and quick as you like she whipped up a sturdy little Cornpone Cowboy.
     “We’ll call him Charlemagne,” she said dreamily as she plucked the skillet from the barbeque pit.
     “You’ll have to catch me first!” snorted the Cornpone Cowboy, and off he rode as fast as his cowpony could carry him.
     He passed the pigpen and the piglets grunted, “Oh, Charlemagne! Come be our friend!”
     “Don’t call me that!” said the Cornpone Cowboy, and he galloped on his way.
     He passed the sheepfold and the lambs baahed, “Oh, Charlemagne! Come be our friend!”
     “Don’t call me that!” said the Cornpone Cowboy, and he galloped on his way.
     He passed the cow barn and the calves mooed, “Oh, Charlemagne! Come be our friend!”
     “Why does everyone insist on calling me that?” said the Cornpone Cowboy, and he galloped on his way.
     And so it was at the hen house…
     . . . the horse pasture…
     . . . and the goat shed.
     Along about sundown a voice called, “Hey, Cowboy! Won’t you come set a spell by the campfire?”
     “Don’t mind if I do,” said the Cornpone Cowboy, tuckered out from galloping. He hopped down from his pony, spurs a-janglin’, and came face to face with…
     . . . COYOTE!
     Quick as a wink he twirled his lariat. . . 
     . . . hog-tied Coyote . . .
     . . . and lit out for home!
     When Bubba and ThunderLily heard his story, ThunderLily said, “That’s our boy! Lightning fast!”
     Which is how he came to be called LightningCharlie instead of Charlemagne (because really, who could live with that?) and they all lived happily ever after!

The End

Wasn’t that nice of me?  Now you can all feel brave and smug, secure in the knowledge that your story is better than that!!! 🙂

Anyone besides me feeling an urge to sing?
     “Like a Cornpone Cowboy
     riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo
     Cornpone Cowboy…“

No? Darn! I was hoping the exceptional quality of my singing would distract you from that story even though “cornpone” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as “rhinestone”  🙂

I can’t wait to read what you have all come up with!  Let the fun begin! 🙂

And remember to check back here for entries added in the comments.  I’ll list them as they come in 🙂 (Titles link to stories in comments – give them an extra moment to load)

Jennifer C – The Princess And The Pete
Pat H – Jack And The Giant
Angela – The Belle And The Sticker Burrs
Sean – No Spring Chicken Little
Shelly – Prince Frog
Kirsten B – Goldi And Red
Pen – The Sweetie Witch
Connie – Chocolocks And The Three Bunnies
Karen – Little Red Hen’s Shiny New Friend
Teresa S – Little Red’s Green Cloak
Eric – A Sleeping Beauty
Katie – Little Dead Riding Hood
Robert – Jack And The Beanstalk
Lisa – Rabbi Wolfberg And The Boarmans Celebrate Sukkot
Denise – The Biscuit Man
Kristen – The Boy Who Cried Spring
Jennifer Mc – Little Red Ray
Debbie – The Three Kittens
Gaye – Chocolate Muffins
Nancy – Big Bad Wolf And Red Riding Toad
Robert2 – The Emperor’s New Clothes
Kelsi – Goldinocks And The Three Scares
Jen – The Mischievous Fire Truck
Heather – Rap-unzel
Robert3 – Humpty
Hilary – Hare And Tortoise
Sandy – The Three Little Pigs And The Shoemaker
Kelly V – A Fractured Fairy Tail (Literally)

Would You Read It Wednesday # 126 – Martin’s Perfect Web (PB) PLUS The February Pitch Pick

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I am SO excited!

Only ONE MORE DAY! until the Match Madness Writing Contest opens!

I cannot wait to read the fabulous entries I hope will soon be pouring in to distract us from the fact that it is still 10 degrees even though tomorrow is the official first day of spring!

(The only small fly in the ointment is that I STILL don’t have an idea for my sample story…  EEK!  I am seriously running out of time!!!)

One quick note on the contest: apparently the definition of “fairy tale” is a knotty one, not, as I thought, clearly the Snow White, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Sleeping Beauty, Ugly Duckling, Rapunzel, Rumplestiltskin etc. type of story.  So many people have argued their cases for nursery rhymes, fables, etc. and I don’t want to have to disqualify anyone over a difference in the definition of fairy tale, because different definitions do appear online, so whatever you guys have written is fine.  Apparently the rules were not clear enough, so my fellow judges and I will figure it out 🙂 But, I do hold the line on art notes.  Even if your story is intended to be a picture book, no art notes because we get into a weird area with word count.  And in answer to someone’s question, your title doesn’t count in the word count.

I think Something Chocolate might fuel the creative muse.  Let’s have some of Teresa’s French Chocolate Silk Pie, shall we?

Teresa’s French Chocolate Silk Pie – gorgeous, isn’t it?
And here’s a tasty view of a delicious slice – YUM!

Ah!  I feel more creative already! 🙂

But now let’s get down to brass tacks!

First, the February Pitch Pick.  Here are the contestants:

#1 Kristine
The STEM Girls Take Off – Picture Book (ages 5-8)
Sophia wants to win the school science fair, but when her project won’t cooperate, she uses perseverance and teamwork to bring home the goal, proving that every girl can be a STEM girl.

#2 Pam B
Fee Fi Fo Flub – Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The giant Mini wants to continue her school’s tradition of putting on the annual production of Klurg and the Beanstalk. But during practice, Mini’s co-star makes jokes and goes off-script, and Mini fears he will ruin the show. It is only when Mini makes her own blunder on opening night that she realizes the value of creativity and flexibility, and works with her co-star to make the show a success.

#3 Julie G
Diary Of A Linky Kid – Picture Book (ages 4-7)
Herman wishes he was like everyone else, but when all the other kids are gazing at their belly buttons during gym class, Herman is hiding his coil shaped tummy under his t-shirt. When just another day at school turns into a daring rescue mission, Herman becomes an unlikely hero when his flexibility saves the day.

#4 Steve
Silly Tilly – Picture Book (ages 4-8)
Tilly’s dreams of having a baby come true when a hatching egg presents her with a fluffy bundle of … crocodile! Everything is bliss until Charlie starts to grow. AND grow. When her friends start disappearing, Tilly worries that she’s next on the menu. But when Charlie invites her down to his cave, she’s in for a big surprise … party!

Please vote in the poll below by Friday March 21 at 11:59PM ET for the one you feel most deserves a read by editor Erin Molta.

Many thanks!!!

Today’s pitch comes to us from Beth H. who says she is a, “Chocaholic, reformed Catholic, (I don’t feel guilty anymore about eating chocolate), red wine lover – (no I was not an altar girl) seeking to publish children’s books that introduce children to self love, thinking out of the box and just plain silliness.”  

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Martin’s Perfect Web
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 5-7)
The Pitch: In a quest to build the perfect web, an obsessive compulsive spider confronts his biggest fears through an unlikely friendship with an inquisitive dragon. In a wild ride on the dragon’s tail, Martin learns how to relax and enjoy the simple process of creating – leaving a beautiful web behind him to his utter disbelief.  

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Beth improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.  There are openings in July so you’ve got a little time to polish up your pitches and send yours for your chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Beth is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to the contest!  The March Madness Writing Contest!!  Which starts tomorrow!!!  I’m so excited!!!!  Oh, wait.  I’m having deja vu.  Did I already say that???  Never mind.  It’s still true.  Start counting the hours!!!

(And won’t I feel silly if my sample – which promises to be quite dreadful since I don’t even have an idea yet, and therefore have yet to write a single word with less than 12 hours before I have to post it –  is the only entry!  So please, save me from myself and enter! :))

See you tomorrow even though it’s Thursday…

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone! 🙂

An Author’s Guide To Skype School Visits With Guest Iza Trapani!!!

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Everyone!

I have a present for you!

It’s not green.  And it’s not Irish.  But it’s still a great present 🙂

Remember on Friday I promised a guest post on a very interesting topic?

Ta-da!

Allow me to introduce the multi-talented and delightful Iza Trapani!

Author/Illustrator Iza Trapani

Hi Iza!

Thank you so much for joining us today!

I personally am very interested in the topic of Skype school visits.  I think they’re a wonderful alternative to in-person visits for many schools, allowing authors and illustrators to visit classrooms without the expense associated with in-person visits.  Having never done one myself, I was curious to know the details of how one goes about it, and I thought you guys might like to know too!  So I asked Iza (who is a pro :)) to elucidate, and she very kindly did (VERY kindly because not only did I ask her for a guest post, it was on short notice!)

Take it away, Iza!

While an in-person school visit is always better, a Skype session is a nice alternative for schools  struggling with tight budgets and/or for schools wanting to invite an out-of-state author. Most authors charge travel expenses  in addition to their presentation fees, so it can get expensive. Skype visits are a convenient and affordable option. They are also great for authors and illustrators who are often up against deadlines.  Cutting out the travel leaves more time for the works in progress.

I’ve been doing skype visits for a couple of years now, and I’m glad to share my experience.


Getting Skype Visits

Advertising for Skype visits is no different than for in-person visits. On my website I have a link with information on my school visits. It includes a description of my presentation, a short video of me presenting to a class, my fees, list of my titles, short bio,  feedback on my presentations and more. When a school contacts me, I also have a school visit PDF that includes all the relevant info plus references. A few years ago we added a blurb that I am now available for Skype visits as well. When I started doing Skype, I sent out an e-mail announcement to all my school contacts, teacher friends, and fans. A few years ago I’d also sent out a flyer to numerous schools within a 50 mile radius. The flyer had a brief bio, description of my presentation and contact info. I am also listed in Arts in Ed directories in several counties. Mostly, the schools find me either via my website or by word of mouth. Because my writing and illustrations (especially) are so time consuming, I can not do too many school visits. But that is a personal choice. Some authors do lots of school visits and I am sure they promote much more aggressively than I do.



Setting up the Session

I set up right in my studio which has good, glare-free northern light and overhead track lights.  My laptop will rest on a small table. I’ll have a stool to sit on and my materials (illustration samples, books I’ll be using etc.) will be within reach on top of my flat file cabinets on the left. To my right will be an easel with an 18×24 pad on which I’ll do drawing demonstrations. Behind me, a low bookshelf will showcase some of my books face out. It makes a nice backdrop.

Before doing my first school visit I did a test with my sister (in Poland!)  to make sure the light was good, that the books behind me were well arranged and that the easel was at the right height. When I first started I was worried that the class wouldn’t see me well, but I soon learned that the image I see of me in the little window on the bottom right in Skype is what they are seeing. I can tilt the computer screen to adjust the view as needed.

Makeup? Attire?

One of the advantages of a Skype visit is that I don’t have to fuss over my appearance. First of all, it’s never a crystal clear image-at least not on my end. I rarely wear make-up but I  will wash my hair and wear a nice, casual top for the session. It doesn’t matter what’s on my bottom half- clown pants or a tutu- they won’t see it 🙂

Interruptions?

I turn off the phone and leave a note on the front door. If it’s UPS or FedEx, they can drop off in our front foyer.  My big Mastiff, Jambo, might stay in my husband’s shop- but I have had requests from some schools that the kids wanted to see my pets, so in those cases I will leave him with me. Part of the attraction of Skype is seeing the author at home.


 Technical Problems

Sometimes there are technical problems – usually no sound. So far, the problems  were on the school’s end and were quickly fixed. A quick test Skype with the teacher ahead of time is always a good idea. I also do a test Skype with a friend or relative beforehand.

Sound can be a bit problematic. When the children join me in singing there is a slight delay. Also, I don’t always hear the children when they ask me questions; the teachers usually have to repeat them, and I can hear the teachers just fine. They say they can hear me very clearly, so I am glad about that.


My Presentation

My Skype presentations are the same as my in-person visits. I start off with a short intro, telling a little bit about me- how I was born in Poland and came to the U.S. when I was seven and went right into first grade not speaking any English, and then how my dream of making books for children came true. Then I sing/read one of my nursery rhyme books, and I’ll have the kids sing at least the first verse along with me. Then I will discuss the bookmaking process, talk a bit about getting ideas and turning them into stories, and then the many revisions that are needed. I will show samples of my storyboards, dummy sketches, color studies and final art. I will also show some of my rejected works- paintings I had started but wasn’t happy with. And I have some press sheets to show them so they can understand the printing process. After that I will do Q+A then go on to a drawing demonstration. I’ll choose a character from one of my books and have the kids think of some ideas of what the character could be doing and I will draw it for them. Then I’ll ask the kids to help me add details to the drawing and I will put them in. A typical scene might be a bear riding on a skateboard and juggling. For details they will ask me to put in the sun, birds, bunnies, flowers, ladybugs, etc. I love that! There are so many edgy books out there and it’s reassuring to me to know that kids are still charmed by the beauty and wonder of nature.


My books are ideal for preK to 1st grade, but I will also present to older kids. I will adjust my presentations- doing more singing and reading with the little ones and more bookmaking discussions with the older kids.

Fee

I charge $150 for a 45 minute to 1 hr session. My in-person visits are $250 per session plus travel expenses beyond 50 miles. I will do up to 4 presentations in one day. In both cases, the school will send me a check after the visit.

And that’s all there is to it! 🙂

Thank you, Susanna, for featuring me. I hope this info is helpful to your many wonderful readers!
Thank YOU, Iza!  I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say it was very interesting and enlightening!
Iza is the author and illustrator of 20 lovely picture books for children, including Itsy Bitsy Spider (a favorite in our house), Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, The Bear Went Over The Mountain, Little Miss Muffet and many more. She is also the illustrator of 4 books written by other authors.
Teachers, you can learn all about Iza’s school visits here:
http://www.izatrapani.com/educators.html#schoolvisits
and everyone – teachers, parents, readers, writers, homeschoolers, librarians, kids etc. – you can find Iza around the web here:

www.izatrapani.com
http://izatrapani.com/blog
Like me on Facebook
Follow me on twitter

I hope you enjoyed learning about Skype visits (I know I did! :)) and if you have any questions, I think Iza will be happy to answer in the comments!

Have a marvelous Monday, everyone, and once again, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Mathilda And The Orange Balloon

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Would someone please tell me how it got to be Friday?

Seriously!  Where did this week go?  I am still somewhere back around midday Monday…

But since the rest of the world seems to agree that it’s Friday, let’s have a Perfect Picture Book, shall we?

Title: Mathilda And The Orange Balloon
Written By: Randall de Seve
Illustrated By: Jen Corace
Balzer & Bray, Feb. 2010, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-7

Themes/Topics: imagination, be yourself/individuality

Opening: “Mathilda’s world was small.  Here’s what was in it: Green grass.  Green barn.  Gray skies.  Gray stones.  Gray sheep.”

Brief Synopsis: Mathilda lives in a small, familiar world, which is all very nice, until one day she spies an orange balloon.  She is captivated, and she believes that she can be an orange balloon too!

Links To Resources: Preschool lesson plan for the color orange; learning activities for the color orange; preschool lesson plan for sheep; pair this book with other sheep books like Sheep In A Jeep by Nancy Shaw and discuss how the sheep in the books are alike and different; pair this book with other imagination books like Harold And The Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson and discuss how Mathilda uses her imagination compared to how Harold uses his.

Why I Like This Book: This book is just darling!  Mathilda is so delightful, so cheerful, so optimistic and imaginative and determined.  “What is a balloon?” she asks, and when the others answer that it is round and it flies, Mathilda (who is a gray sheep) shows them that she too is round and can fly.  “What is orange?” she asks, and when the others answer that it is fierce like a tiger, warm like wool, and happy, she shows them that she is all those things too.  The art and the text are simple and sweet, and the message that you can be anything you want if you believe in yourself is one that is near and dear to my heart (since it is the same message that Punxsutawney Phyllis has :))  And I just have to share my favorite line from the story when Mathilda first catches sight of the orange balloon: “Mathilda had never seen anything so magnificent.” 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF bloggers, please be sure to leave your post-specific links in the list below so we can all come visit you and enjoy your selections for this week!  And please remember there will be no PPBF for the next two weeks because of the March Madness Writing Contest – so no PPBF March 21 or 28!!!

Have a great weekend, everyone!  I guess we will all be working on writing our fairy tales… wink wink nudge nudge… right??? 🙂 (For March Madness Writing Contest guidelines go HERE.)

Oh and P.S.  Be sure to stop by Monday for a guest post on a very interesting topic! (At least I think it’s interesting! :))

Would You Read It Wednesday #125 – Sk8ter Boy (PB)

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It’s a busy month here on Blueberry Hill.

The dogs are shedding.  (Full time work.)

My husband and kids are all taking turns being on school vacation with some overlaps, but basically from March 1 – March 31 one, two or three of them are home at a time.  This is lovely on every level except getting work done.  So anyone who happens to be waiting on me for anything, that’s why 🙂  And I promise I haven’t forgotten you!

The snow is melting.  (Yes! Really!  Although it’s got a long way to go…)

Yesterday was idyllic!  59 degrees and sunny!  I know we have yet to pass the midpoint of March, but it was the kind of day that fills you with the hope and belief that spring is actually thinking about coming.  After this winter, it is just so welcome.  I took #5 out horseback riding, and the other two horses jumped out of the pasture and came to join us, galloping and leaping and cavorting like colts, skidding on leftover ice and charging through substantial slushy snow, jumping out of their skins with happiness at being able to stretch their legs and run.  Even though it took us 45 minutes to catch them and get everyone safely back in the barn, it was lovely to see them so happy.  Everyone was feeling a little spring fever 🙂

So.  Writing, riding, blogging, teaching, school visiting, spring vacationing, critiquing, barn cleaning, house cleaning (maybe in April :)), driving practice (yes, we’re doing THAT again!), guest posting, running outdoors again with the dogs, and March Madness Contesting = happy and busy 🙂

And now it’s time for Would You Read It, but first, for today’s Something Chocolate, I believe I’ve discovered an idea whose time has come (really, why have I never seen these before???)

From HandleThe Heat

Witness the beauty!  The perfection!  It’s chocolate cream pie AND brownie!

Yes.  You may have another 🙂

Now then.  Today’s pitch comes to us from Ann who says, “I have only been writing seriously for a year.  An interesting fact about me is that I have an identical twin sister named Donna and my husband has an identical twin brother named Don.  I am an elementary school teacher.  I have always loved children’s books and meeting authors (I even met Lois Lowry in the early 1990’s where she signed a quilt my students and I made in honor of Number the Stars).  I’m an avid reader, especially YA. I like to scrapbook, bake, cook. and take photos.”

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Sk8ter Boy
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 5-8)
The Pitch: Peter wants to be an ice skater but can’t because he’s homeless, and he doesn’t have the money for a pair of skates.  But when there’s a poetry contest at school with a cash prize, he is able to make his smooth words glide and spin so that he wins the skates and his classmates’ respect.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Ann improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.  There are openings in June so you’ve got a little time to polish up your pitches and send yours for your chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Ann is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to having family home in whatever combinations they arrive in and to more days like yesterday as spring begins to overtake winter and to the March Madness Writing Contest (even though I haven’t the slightest idea what I’m going to write for my sample or when I’m going to write it!)

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone 🙂

Some Alligator Fun And A Contest Rule and Prize Update!!

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Happy Monday, Everyone!
**Warning!**
I have made up a poem!
(Yes, I realize I’m playing it fast and loose with the term “poem” :))
(And yes, I have a reason for this gross departure from sanity.  I didn’t just go off the deep end :))
Anyone whose sensibilities may be injured by my attempt at poetry should leave immediately!
Those of you who are brave enough to stay, prepare yourselves.
You may need some cake to fortify you.
Alligator cake by Courtney
Are you ready?
Here we go:
Boy’s Best Friend
Daddy said, “A boy like you
Should really have a dog.
A parrot, an iguana, or a happy, hoppy frog.”
I answered, “Thank you, Daddy, but on this my heart is set.
I want an alligator for my one and only pet!”
Thank you.  Thank you very much 🙂
Now.  About that reason.  The lovely and talented Catherine Johnson, author of Weirdo Zoo (buy your copy HERE), has a new book out!
It’s called The Everglades (hence the alligator themed “poem”) and she describes it as a collection of poetry for children who are old enough not to mind the odd arm hanging out of an alligator’s mouth 🙂  Seriously.  How can you resist that? 🙂  She says, “Half the poems are serene, and half are snorty.”  And she drew the illustrations herself!!  Such talent!!
She is celebrating on her blog HERE and running a giveaway, so scuttle on over as fast as your little alligator legs allow and join in the fun!
Should you happen not to be lucky enough to win a copy, you may buy one HERE!
Now, before you all go marching off to your magnificent Mondays, I’d like to clarify a couple things about the March Madness Writing Contest.
You will recall the contest guidelines:
The Contest: Write a children’s story, in poetry or prose, maximum 400 words, that is a fractured fairy tale.  Feel free to add a theme of spring, or mix in one of the spring holidays if you like – St. Patrick’s Day, April Fools Day, Easter or Passover, Arbor Day, Earth Day…  Have fun with it !  The madder* the better! 🙂
*as in wild and wacky, not angry 🙂
I want to clarify three things (because a few people have asked.)
1.  You do not have to include spring – that is optional.
2. The story can be a picture book or a short story – whatever you like.
3. If it’s a picture book, you may NOT include art notes, because we get into a weird area of whether that’s fair in terms of word count and added description etc.  So if you write a picture book that’s wonderful, but make sure art notes aren’t necessary to understand it.
The other thing I want to add is a full description of the prizes!!!  (So you’ll all be very motivated to think up stories! :))
 – 1st Prize is a read and critique by Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary!!! (Unless for some reason you don’t want a read and critique by an agent, in which case you may swap for any of the other prizes)
 – 2nd Prize is a picture book manuscript critique (for rhyming mss only) by Lori Degman, author of 1 ZANY ZOO and the forthcoming COCK-A-DOODLE-OOPS! OR a picture book manuscript critique (for non-rhyming mss only) by Cori Doerrfeld, author/illustrator of LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO and PENNY LOVES PINK as well as illustrator of many others.
 – 3rd Prize is personalized signed copies of THE THREE NINJA PIGS and GOLDI ROCKS & THE THREE BEARS by Corey Rosen Schwartz PLUS a $25 Amazon Gift Card
 – 4th and 5th Prizes are your choice of any two of the following picture books PLUS a $20 Amazon Gift Card:
     – THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG by Eugene Trivizas
     – CINDY ELLEN: A WILD WESTERN CINDERELLA by Susan Lowell
     – LITTLE RED WRITING by Joan Holub
     – THE THREE LITTLE PIGS AND THE SOMEWHAT BAD WOLF by Mark Teague
     – THE PRINCESS AND THE PEAS by Caryl Hart
     – THE WOLF’S STORY: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD by Toby Forward
     – GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE DINOSAURS by Mo Willems

And don’t forget, all you illustrators out there, we’re going to have an illustrator contest immediately following the writing contest!  (Details coming soon… :))

Now then!  I hope that fills you with inspiration and fuels the muse!
Have a marvelous Monday, everyone!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – JJ The American Street Dog

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Well, it’s Friday, and guess what?  It’s still zero!

Every morning I wake up all hopeful that today will be warmer.  The light is coming earlier (well, at least until daylight savings times throws a monkey wrench in that on Saturday night :)), and the angle of the light says spring is coming.  The robins are incurably optimistic.  But every morning I walk downstairs and check the thermometer and it’s still COLD.

The novelty has worn off.

I’ve forgotten what grass looks like.

But it is March!  Time is on our side!  And to help us throw off the winter doldrums, we have the amazing March Madness Writing Contest to distract us, with the fantastic first prize of a read and critique by Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary!  So I hope you’re all busily concocting stories 🙂

Chins up, everyone!  It’s technically less than 2 weeks until spring AND the contest fun! 🙂

And now, how about a Perfect Picture Book or two or twenty to get us through the weekend?

Title: JJ The American Street Dog And How He Came To Live At Our House
Written By: Diane Rose-Solomon
Illustrated By: Rachel Cellinese
SOP3 Publishing, 2012, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: responsibility, pets, rescue animals

Opening: “Since as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted a dog.  At night, I dream about dogs.  Little dogs with floppy ears and short legs. Big dogs with pointy ears and long legs. There are brown dogs, tan dogs and spotted all over dogs. Some are even pink and green. But those dogs are just in my dreams.”

Brief Synopsis: Maya has always wanted a dog.  When her Uncle Jerry finds a stray, it looks like maybe her dream will come true.  But what if his owner comes to claim him?  Maya learns a lot about stray dogs and about what it is to care for a pet of her own.

Links To Resources: talk about caring for pets, discuss responsibility and what that means in relation to taking care of an animal, talk about making thoughtful decisions, Bookmaking Activity, free downloadable worksheets for individual grades, Animal Welfare Lessons from the ASPCA, some animal rescue information at the back of the book.

Why I Like This Book: Well, you guys all know I love dogs, and that both my dogs are rescues, so this is a topic near and dear to my heart.  The story is entertaining and serves to get across a lot of information to help kids understand why dogs may be homeless and how they can help.  Although this is a fictional story, the information presented within it is true.  Lots of kids want pets, or think they do, so a story like this can be helpful in promoting discussion of exactly what is involved and expected.

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF bloggers, please be sure to leave your post-specific links in the list below so we can all come visit you (since it’s still too cold to spend much time outside!)

Have a great weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #124 – Puddles And Rainbows (PB) PLUS Straight From The Editor

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Ola petitos!

(For those of you who don’t speak my version of Spanish, that means hi little ones!  It’s a term of endearment :))

For starters today, we’ve got a Straight From The Editor.  You will recall that the December/January Pitch Pick was won by Beth with her pitch for Tomboy Rules: Blossoms Are Always Prepared (MG Realistic Fiction).

Here is her pitch:

Mabel is so close to playing baseball she can almost see her spitting distance improving.Mabel’smom thinks she should work on sitting still instead. So they make a deal: Mabel can play baseball in the spring, but only if she learns to fit in with the local Blossoms Troop first. But that isn’t easy. Mabel turns square dancing into a contact sport, saves a spider like she’s sliding into second base, and wolfs down the entire cookie sale stash. That’s three strikes and she’s out of Blossoms, but Mabel is not about to let that stop her. She sneaks to the campsite to make amends and discovers she isn’t the only intruder crashing the camp-out. With the Blossoms trapped between a smelly skunk and a sizzling fire, Mabel realizes that she’s the only one who can save the Blossoms from the stinky situation.

And here are editor Erin Molta’s comments:

This looks appealing! The only thing I would suggest is reworking the first sentence because it’s a little confusing because she can be close physically, too and the reader will have to go back and re-read it to figure out what you mean—especially with the spitting distance image. I suggest something a little more straightforward and perhaps more baseball-oriented. Maybe something like: baseball season is almost here and Mabel can hear the crack of the bat and the sound of the ball hitting her glove in her sleep . . . But Mom wants Mabel to make friends with more girls her own age (or something like that)

Insightful as always, I think!

Now that we’ve been enlightened, I think this would be an excellent time for Something Chocolate.  (Of course, I always think that… :))  How do you feel about cookies today?  I personally think I could be very comfortable with the idea 🙂

Aren’t these beautiful? So Yin and Yang!

You may be excused for one minute to get a cup of coffee or a glass of milk to go with the cookies, but come right back for Would You Read It!

Today’s pitch comes to us from Karen who says, “I enjoy writing for children, specifically, PBs, and have been working to both hone my craft and connect with other writers. I recently completed Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo and now am onto my first 12×12 challenge with Julie Hedland! I am a mompreneur of sorts and a bit of a daydreamer, journeying however fast or slow towards my goal of publication.”

Come visit her at:
Twitter @kmaewrite
FB as Karen Mae Zoccoli.
Wish I could say I have a website, but not yet (it is on my to do list!)

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Puddles And Rainbows
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-6)
The Pitch: Little Cloud desperately wants to play with the bigger clouds, but he needs to prove himself first by learning to rain. Raining takes patience and hard work. As Little Cloud figures out the science of rain, he soon makes a colorful discovery.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Karen improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.  There are openings in May so you’ve got a little time to polish up your pitches and send yours for your chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Karen is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to Spring.  Have I mentioned that before?  Is it starting to sound repetitive?  I can’t help myself.  It’s because of the robins.  Even though we’ve still got a good foot and a half of snow on the ground (with a nasty icy crust, no less) and the temperature this morning was a whopping 4 degrees, the brave, cheery little robins are back.  I don’t know what they’re eating (though we’ve been doling out birdseed by the ton to all the local winter residents, so the robins are welcome to get in on that action if it helps), or how they’re managing the cold, but it’s so uplifting to see them.  They are harbingers of spring.  When the robins come, there is hope!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone, filled with the kind of upliftingness the robins bring 🙂

This Just In…!

31 Comments

You will all be glad to know that I’m starting the week with one of my shortest posts ever!

Woo-hoo!  More time for you guys to go do other fun things!

I had great intentions for a proper post, but, well… stuff happens… long story…

So all I have to share today is THE PRIZE for the March Madness Writing Contest.  (If you missed the guidelines, read all about it HERE! – scroll down below the perfect picture book)

Are you ready?

Are you holding onto your socks (which are in danger of being blown off)? 🙂

The winner of the March Madness Writing Contest will get…

…drum roll please…!

…to have one of their picture book manuscripts read by the one and only Karen Grencik, renowned agent at Red Fox Literary!!!  And Karen will give helpful feedback!!!  And who knows – if you send a good enough story, she might love you and ask to see more!!!

I hope that lights the fire under you and you are now all racing for your pencils/pens/laptops/writing tools of choice!

And due to my exceptionally brief post (some might call it a masterpiece of brevity – that would be fine with me :)), you have extra writing time, so hop right to it!  Let me know how it goes!

May the muse be with you!

Have a marvelous Monday, everyone 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – The Girl Who Heard Colors PLUS A Contest Announcement!

77 Comments

Boy, oh, boy are we going to have tons of fun today!

(Which is good because we’re back in sub-zero temperatures around here and I might get cranky about that if not for all the fun! :))

First of all, it’s Perfect Picture Book Friday, and what’s not to love about that?

Second of all, we have a winner of today’s book from our meet the author post on Monday!  (You can see the post HERE if you missed it.)

Finally, someone around here, who clearly cannot be left unsupervised for a second!, has been hatching a hare-brained scheme, and I suppose it’s about time I let you in on it 🙂  But first – our perfect picture book!

Title: The Girl Who Heard Colors
Written By: Marie Harris
Illustrated By: Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Nancy Paulsen Books, September 2013, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-8

Themes/Topics: synesthesia, differences, acceptance, perception, five senses

Opening: “Jillian loved the world with all her five senses.  She loved the tickling touch of her bunny’s whiskers on her cheek.  She loved the taste of warm maple syrup on waffles.”

Brief Synopsis: When Jillian hears a dog barking, she sees red.  When she rings her bike bell, she sees silver.  The wind in the pines is soft gray, and the rain, light purple.  Jillian has synesthesia – a way of perceiving that causes sound to have color.  But when the kids at school tease her, suddenly it doesn’t feel like such a great thing to have.  It takes a special teacher to help them all see it for the gift it is.

Links To Resources: The back of the book has information about synesthesia.  Neuroscience For Kids has information about synesthesia as well as a test you can try.  Science News For Students also has a lot of information.  HERE is a test to see if you might be a synesthete.  Talk about what it would be like to hear colors or taste sounds.  Are there times when experiencing the world like that would be an advantage?  A disadvantage?

Why I Like This Book: I always like books that encourage acceptance and tolerance.  There is too much variety in the world for any one way to be the “right” way to be or believe or perceive.  So I like this book for that reason.  But it’s also a beautifully written story that any child who has ever felt different will relate to.  The language is poetic (not surprising since it was written by a New Hampshire poet laureate :).)  And synesthesia itself is absolutely fascinating.  I finished this book and found myself wishing I could be a synesthete for a day, just to see how cool it would be to experience the world that way!

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

The next item on our agenda of excitement today is to let you know who won the book so generously donated by Marie.  Random.org has chosen our winner and it is Tracy Campbell!  Woo-hoo, Tracy!  Come on down!  Your prize is a signed copy of THE GIRL WHO HEARD COLORS!  Please email me with your address (which I probably have but can’t find! :)) and I’ll get it right out to you!

And now, one last item before we all head off for the weekend….

It’s been a long winter.

We’ve had a lot of snow, and more is coming Sunday into Monday (according to the local weatherman who seriously needs to be replaced by a new weatherman with better news!)

It’s been bitterly cold, day after day, for weeks on end.

The icicles have icicles!

I think it’s time for some fun!

And it seems to me, we haven’t had a writing contest in nearly 3 months…

SO, boys and girls, hold onto your hats, because we’re taking Hare-Brained Scheme to a whole new level!

Announcing

The March Madness Writing Contest!

The Contest: Write a children’s story, in poetry or prose, maximum 400 words, that is a fractured fairy tale.  Feel free to add a theme of spring, or mix in one of the spring holidays if you like – St. Patrick’s Day, April Fools Day, Easter or Passover, Arbor Day, Earth Day…  Have fun with it !  The madder* the better! 🙂
*as in wild and wacky, not angry 🙂

You do not have to include spring – that is optional.
The story can be a picture book or a short story – whatever you like.
If it’s a picture book, you may NOT include art notes, because we get into a weird area of whether that’s fair in terms of word count and added description etc.  So if you write a picture book that’s wonderful, but make sure art notes aren’t necessary to understand it.
Post:  Your entry should be posted on your blog between Thursday March 20 at 12:01 AM EST and Monday March 24 at 11:59 PM EST, and your post-specific link should be added to the link list on the official  post which will go up on my blog on Thursday March 20 (no PPBF March 21!) and remain up through Wednesday March 26 (no new post on Monday March 24, no WYRI on March 26).  If you don’t have a blog but would like to enter, please copy and paste your entry into the comments on my March 20th post.  (If anyone has trouble commenting, which unfortunately happens, please email me and I’ll post your entry for you!)

The Judge:  My lovely assistant and I will narrow down the entrants to five (or possibly a couple more :)) finalists which will be posted here on Thursday March 27 for you to vote on for a winner.  The vote will be closed at 5PM EST on March 30 and the winner will be announced on Monday March 31.

The Prizes!:  

 – 1st Prize is a read and critique by Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary!!! (Unless for some reason you don’t want a read and critique by an agent, in which case you may swap for any of the other prizes)
 – 2nd Prize is a picture book manuscript critique (for rhyming mss only) by Lori Degman, author of 1 ZANY ZOO and the forthcoming COCK-A-DOODLE-OOPS! OR a picture book manuscript critique (for non-rhyming mss only) by Cori Doerrfeld, author/illustrator of LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO and PENNY LOVES PINK as well as illustrator of many others.
 – 3rd Prize is personalized signed copies of THE THREE NINJA PIGS and GOLDI ROCKS & THE THREE BEARS by Corey Rosen Schwartz PLUS a $25 Amazon Gift Card
 – 4th and 5th Prizes are your choice of any two of the following picture books PLUS a $20 Amazon Gift Card:
     – THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG by Eugene Trivizas
     – CINDY ELLEN: A WILD WESTERN CINDERELLA by Susan Lowell
     – LITTLE RED WRITING by Joan Holub
     – THE THREE LITTLE PIGS AND THE SOMEWHAT BAD WOLF by Mark Teague
     – THE PRINCESS AND THE PEAS by Caryl Hart
     – THE WOLF’S STORY: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD by Toby Forward
     – GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE DINOSAURS by Mo Willems

Now.  The really hare-brained part of all this is that it will be followed by a related Illustrator Contest in April!!! (to be announced and elaborated on later! :))

I know!!!

That kind of excitement bowls you right over, don’t it? 🙂

And with that, I wish you a lovely time perusing the rest of today’s perfect picture books!  PPBF bloggers, please leave your post-specific links in the list below.

Have a great weekend, everyone!!!  (And fire up those thinking caps!)