Ebooks and Apps As Tools For Teaching Reading

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OK, folks.  This is serious!

I know I said I was going to finish the week with Challenge #3, but I have changed my mind for two reasons: one, no one’s doing the challenge, (so I don’t expect any heartbreak over a temporary delay – we’ll pick it up next week), and two, I have to give a talk Monday to actual professional grown-ups and I’m feeling just a mite panicky (understatement of the year.)

I’m hoping you all will be able to help me out.

I’m wondering what people think about ebooks and book apps for kids.  What are the pros and cons of these types of new media as they relate to teaching kids to read?  Do they have a place in teaching reading?  Do they surpass traditional books in this area?  Do they merely distract from the actual process of reading with too many bells and whistles?  Do they make lazy readers who rely on the voice that will read to them?  Or, as some have said, do they open new doors, particularly for autistic and dyslexic students?  In what ways?

If any of you have experience with this, especially specific apps you’ve used or seen, I would really love to hear about it.  Parents, teachers, anyone!  Opinions are also welcome!

Please share your thoughts.  I am liable to dissolve into a panic-stricken puddle without a little moral support 🙂

On another note, for anyone who is interested, I will be at the Empire State Book Festival in Albany tomorrow, on a panel about picture books, and the New York State Readers Association Conference (NYSRA) in Saratoga Springs on Monday, where I will be giving the talk which relates partially to this topic.  Also, April Fool, Phyllis! is being featured on The Children’s Literature Network‘s new Book of The Day Fanfare segment today 🙂  And Phyllis wants everyone to know that her prediction of snow on April Fools Day was correct!

How Younique – Challenge #2!

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Part of what makes scientific research work is participation!!!  Five lovely people stepped up for Challenge #1.  Let’s see if we can double it for Challenge #2!  (And maybe Challenge #2 will be more appealing to you :))

For any of you who might not have read the comments, the responses to Challenge #1 were as follows:

1.  I never expected that one day I’d open my closet and find…
     … a raccoon eating my underwear.
     … a kangaroo napping.
     … an eyebrowless gnome in an angel sweater, her pendulous stomach being balanced on tiny knees.
     … a doorway to another world.

2.  It was obviously going to be an unusual day when my mom came into the bedroom and said…
     …”Get up, princess!  Your prince is arriving at the west gate.”
     … “Are you ready to make a mess?”
     … “Grab a diaper for your sister and your pirate eye patch and come with me.”
     … we were moving to the North Pole.

3.  He was afraid, but he called upon all the courage he had as…
     … gulped down a spoonful of fishhead soup.
     … he climbed the tree to retrieve the frisbee.
     … his mother pushed the brussels sprouts under his nose; if Sam couldn’t choke down at least three of the slimy green orbs, his tongue might never again experience the frigid splendor of mint-chocolate ice cream.
     … he knew that Cora, his little sister, wouldn’t be able to escape the evil dragon without his help.

Aren’t these creative, unique and fun?  For anyone who suddenly feels motivated to join in, please feel free to add to Challenge #1.

Now, on to Challenge #2!  Use these three words in a sentence: bike, eyedropper, moon.  I can’t wait to see what you all come up with.  Maybe in the interest of encouraging participation we should offer a prize.  Perhaps followers can vote on which sentences they think are the best, and the winner will receive something fun I have yet to think up….  Please include your thoughts on this in the comments 🙂  (Whether we should do it and what would be a good prize!)

Once again, I will not post people’s responses until tomorrow (or possibly the next day since everyone is busy and doesn’t get around to the blog every day.)

Ready, set, GO!

How Younique – Challenge #1!

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First things first… there are only a couple hours left to bid on my books at Write Hope if any of you happen to be interested…

Now, onto today’s topic: uniqueness (which doesn’t quite sound like a real word…)

When I go on school visits, I’m always telling kids about the importance of their voices – because everyone is different, everyone’s experiences and how they experience them are different, and no two people will tell a story the same way.  But I think it would be fun to see how true that really is….

So.  I’m hoping at least some of you are like me and can’t resist a challenge 🙂

I will give you a sentence to complete.  (Actually, in the interest of encouraging more people to try it, I’ll give you a couple to choose from – please feel free to do more than one!)  I hope lots of people will give it a try.  I won’t post your responses until tomorrow and then we can see how different they all are!  (Really, we’re like scientists here!)

1.  I never expected that one day I’d open my closet and find…
2.  It was obviously going to be an unusual day when my mom came into the bedroom and said…
3.  He was afraid, but he called upon all the courage he had as…

Tomorrow I will give you three words and see how different the sentences you come up with are (Challenge #2.)  And Wednesday we will take cliche’s and try to make them new (Challenge #3.)

Please join in if you can.  We are conducting important research for the benefit of kids’ education 🙂  I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!  And what better way to take a little break from Monday’s work?  Who knows, by finishing the sentence, you may come up with a story starter for yourself!  (Or when I post the responses tomorrow, you might find a story starter in someone else’s sentence!)

P.S.  Due to an underwhelming response on Monday (*cough*) I’m going to leave this post up for another day in the hopes that I might get a few more participants, and do the 2nd and 3rd Challenges later in the week.  Please join the fun, the excitement, the ground-breaking scientific discovery!

The Second Challenge

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So I’ll probably be the last one to post for the Second Crusader Challenge, but better late than never, right?

This time, the challenge is to write a flash fiction story of 100 words or less beginning with, “The goldfish bowl teetered…”  For an extra challenge, you can try to write in your own genre.  You know me.  I love a challenge…

The goldfish bowl teetered in the basket of Jessie’s bike.
“Be careful!” said Jenny.  “Without the fish, the deal is off!”
Jessie pedaled more carefully.  Jenny trotted alongside, hauling the red wagon, ready to grab the fish if it fell.
When they reached Bryan’s house he looked the fish over and nodded in satisfaction.  “It’s a deal,” he said.
Jenny handed over the handle of the red wagon.  “Bye, Joey,” said Jessie and Jenny.  “Remember,” they told Bryan, “no backsies!”
So easy!  All it took to get rid of their pesky baby brother was a single goldfish!

97 words!  Not bad for the Queen of Longwindedness!  Anybody else want to try?

P.S.  A set of my books, inscribed to the winner’s specifications, will be available for bidding on Write Hope tomorrow.  Please spread the word and bid if you can.  It’s such an important cause.

UPDATED LINK FOR THE AUCTION!!!  Susanna’s Books on Write Hope

25-27 Hours

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I’ve decided 24 hours are not enough for a day.  I need more like 25-27.  There’s simply too much to stuff into 24.  (Herein lies the reason that I’m a bit behind on my blog schedule…!)  I’m hoping to get an entry in to the 2nd Crusader Challenge because it looks fun, but I’m currently drowning in work and promotional postcards.  Where is my personal secretary when I need him?  (Oh, right… with my personal trainer, personal chef, personal chauffeur, and personal masseuse – in my personal good imagination!)

So in the interest of time management (not my strongest skill) today’s post is pretty simple – just a little something I wanted to share.

When I do school visits, one of the things I tell the kids is that each of their voices is important.  Each person has things to say that no one else can say in quite the same way.  Each person’s view of the world is unique.  And whether they share that view through writing, art, dance, music, or any other medium, it is theirs and theirs alone.

Yesterday, my husband showed me a quote from Martha Graham, and it turns out she says essentially the same thing (in her own way :)) and she’s somebody famous 🙂

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open". from The Life and Work of Martha Graham


I find these words inspiring, comforting, empowering.  I hope you do, too.  Are there certain quotes that you find uplifting?  Please share!

					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
School Visits
			


	


				

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I love visiting schools.  Sharing my stories with the kids I write them for is a privilege.  Letting them see that authors are regular people, and encouraging them to pursue their own creativity in whatever form it may take, hopefully helps them believe that they, too, can be authors, illustrators, sculptors, musicians, or whatever their hearts desire.


For me it’s been a work in progress, though.  I am not, by nature, the kind of person who wants to draw attention to herself, or who feels like she has any right standing up before a roomful of people and trying to impart anything.  I don’t know about you, but the first time I had to face a roomful of kindergartners I was TERRIFIED!  You think I’m joking?  Uh-uh!  I was so nervous my teeth were literally chattering.  I had to clench my jaw to keep them still, and even that was uphill work.  And let me tell you, it’s pretty hard to talk normally with your jaw clenched 🙂


Eight years and uncountable school visits later, it has gotten easier.  I still shake when I have to address adults (and I’ve got 2 of those gigs coming up the first week of April!) but I have reached a point where I truly enjoy visiting with kids.


I have discovered that there is a fine line between having them really engaged and all-out mayhem, and that line is a tricky one to walk with large groups of 5 and 6 year olds!  But I love that they are so enthusiastic that they all want to chime in.  There isn’t much that’s more fun for an author than having 60 kindergartners laughing so hard they’re practically rolling on the floor (well, in some cases they actually are rolling on the floor!) or unabashedly joining in on an April Fools song they’ve never heard before but are perfectly willing to sing along with.  I wish I had a recording of them from Wednesday!


I try my best to make school visits fun and interactive for kids.  I remember being in a classroom when I was little.  There’s not much that’s more boring than having someone talk AT you.  So I have Phyllis and Woolliam/Baab – my puppets – who can always be counted on to be more entertaining than I am 🙂  I ask the kids a lot of questions so they get a chance to talk.  I make up songs related to the stories (songs that are always performed by the puppets – not me!) and encourage the kids to join in.  I show them the various steps to an idea becoming a picture book, tailoring the amount of detail to the age and interest of the audience.  I wish I could draw.  I think illustrators have a big leg up on authors because they can create something in front of the crowd.  The kids think they are magic!  But alas, for me a stick figure is about as artistic as I get.


But I am always open to new ideas.  I know there are other authors who read this blog, as well as teachers and parents.  What do you do on school visits?  Or what do you think would be fun and entertaining for the 4-8 year old crowd?



					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
Write Hope
			


	


				

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I wasn’t going to post this morning because I’m rushing off to a big school visit.  But the devastation in Japan has been on my mind, as I’m sure it’s on everyone else’s.  When I saw that Rachael Harrie and some friends had gotten together to do something to help, I wanted to join the effort and spread the word to anyone else who might be interested.


Rach, along with Marieke, Luna, Tessa Quin, and Amanda Milner have formed Write Hope.  Here is the plan:


“Right now we’re working hard to set up a charity auction, auctioning off all things kidlit. ARCs, books, critiques, swag. Donations are stacking up and we’ve only just started!


Over the next couple of days we’ll post details of the auction on the blog: the when, the how, the what.


Write Hope is a very proud sponsor of the Save the Children emergency relief fund for Japan.



Please, please help. Spread the word. Follow along at Write Hope. Take part in the auction. Spread the word.



As we said on Write Hope: Together we can move mountains.

Thank you!“





 If you are a writer (or anyone else) with something to offer the auction, please let them know.  If you have nothing to auction but would still like to help, please consider spreading the word and bidding when the time comes.











AP






There but for the grace of God…





					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
A Few Words About Postcards…
			


	


				

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So it turns out marketing is a hotter topic than I realized.  People are pretty interested.


In response to a question about postcards, I promised to post pictures of my most recent ones, so here they are:











Here’s the front of the April Fool, Phyllis postcard…















… and here’s the back






I really like how Jeff was able to put the Punxsutawney Phyllis cover on the front, since April Fool is a sequel.













And here’s the front of the Can’t Sleep Without Sheep postcard…















… and here’s the back.






(It’s hard to see that the back of the Can’t Sleep postcard does actually extend to the right so there’s room for the address and stamp, but it’s there!)


I am so lucky to have talented illustrators to work with!  The basic information on the postcards is just the book cover, a review or two, website, and school visit information.


I hope that helps answer the questions about the postcards.  These two were both made on Vista Print (not by me! – one by Mike Wohnoutka and the other by Jeff Ebbeler – I’m still learning how to upload templates to Vista Print…) but I’ve also heard good things about GotPrint and I personally have used Zazzle a number of times because it’s so easy to work with for the non-computer savvy such as yours truly 🙂


In answer to another question about supplemental materials, I have made a lot of them myself – the classroom guides to the early books, madlibs, library activities, word searches etc., but my wonderful illustrators have been terrific abut making coloring and activity pages to go along with the books – fun things that teachers can use in school, or that parents can download for fun at home.  They are all on the School Visit page of my website, along with the new fancy classroom guides for April Fool, Phyllis! (and coming soon for Can’t Sleep Without Sheep.)  I just asked Jeff, Nicole, and Mike for what I wanted, and they put their own creative spin on it.  Then we can all post the activities on our websites.


I hope that answers some of the questions, but please feel free to ask more, and also share things that have worked for you!

					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
I’m A Guest! – Let’s Talk Marketing
			


	


				

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So guess what?




Alison Stevens invited me to guest post on her blog this morning for Marketing Monday!  I’m so excited, because this is my first guest post ever!  I feel so sought after 🙂




Please pop over to her blog here and read about what I have done in the wide, wide world of marketing (about which I knew absolutely nothing and had to figure out everything the hard way – by trial and lots of error.)  You can also look back in her posts for marketing advice from other authors – very interesting and helpful.




I’ve also already thought of a couple things I left out when I was writing the post for her.  One of them is Amazon.  Amazon ratings and reviews are very helpful (as long as they’re mostly good :)) but it’s surprisingly hard to get them.  If you aren’t famous enough that everyone already knows about you – in which case you probably don’t need the ratings and reviews so much – you’re not likely to get too many.




So, if it should happen that someone tells me they like one of my books, I usually ask them, if they have a minute,  if they would be so kind as to quickly write a sentence or two that sums up what they just said on Amazon.  Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t.  I also seek out Top 10, 100, or 500 Reviewers and ask if they’d be willing to read and review my books.  I can’t afford to send out billions of copies, so I usually just ask two or three.  So far I’ve been lucky – most have said they’d be willing to read the books, and they’ve given me nice reviews – but that is a risk you take.  If they don’t like the book, you could find you’ve gone out of your way to ask someone for what turns out to be a negative review with extra weight because it’s from a Top Reviewer.  I can’t say whether the Top Reviewer reviews have actually helped sales or not, but I figure they’re not hurting them…




If any of you have writer friends with books on Amazon though, you can help them by posting nice reviews with good ratings (if you honestly feel the book deserves it.)




The other thing I forgot to mention was bookmarks… which I am just in the process of making now, thanks to my daughter who is a lot more computer savvy than I am.  When they’re all done, I’ll post a picture on the blog so you can see them 🙂




I think I also forgot to mention that I am on JacketFlap and GoodReads.  I think it’s helpful (hopefully) to be part of the reading community.  I love to read and discuss books, I usually post giveaways when I have a new book coming out, and it’s fun to see what friends and colleagues are reading and liking.




A lot of this blog’s followers are writers – what do you do for marketing?  Do you belong to JacketFlap?  GoodReads?  Other similar groups?  Do you have marketing tips that you have found especially helpful?  Please share!  And don’t forget to check out the rest of my experience in marketing, such as it is :), on Alison’s blog!

					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
My Favorite Picture Book Blogfest
			


	


				

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Yikes!  In the rush of morning preparations that precede a school visit, I forgot that today was March 10, the day of Megan Bickel’s Favorite Picture Book Blogfest!  As I was second on the list of participants (right after Megan herself!) I really can’t let this one slide under the rug.  Besides, as you might have guessed by my blog and the books I write myself, I LOVE picture books 🙂


I love them so much that picking one is simply impossible.  I will try very hard to confine myself to 3.  But I could probably choose 100 pretty easily!


Someone already mentioned The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf – the hazard of coming late to the party.  That is certainly one of my all time favorites.  But since someone else did it, that one doesn’t count for me 🙂


OK.











Bread and Jam for Frances






Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban


I love all the Frances books, but this one is my favorite.  Frances is cute and lovable and so delightfully determined to eat nothing but bread and jam.  I had a picky eater in my house, so I understand both the child’s desire to stay with what’s known and loved, and the mom’s frustration that she won’t try something new.  Frances’s mom is a wise badger, though, and pretty soon frances comes to realize on her own that food can be delicious even if it isn’t at first familiar.  The story, like all of Russell Hoban’s writing, has a wonderful rhythm for read-aloud, and the art is simple but engaging.


That’s 1.















Mike Mulligan






Next up, a story that would probably never have been published today due to its extensive word count – Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton.  I loved this book as a child, and all of my children, regardless of gender, loved it as well many years later.  I love how Mike refuses to abandon his beloved Mary Anne, how he takes such good care of her that she can still shovel more in a day than a hundred men could dig in a week.  I love the rhythm of the language… “They crawled along slowly up the hills and down the hills till they came to the little town of Popperville…” and “Now the girl who answers the telephone called up the next towns of Bangerville and Bopperville and Kipperville and Kopperville and told them what was happening in Popperville.”  And I love the inventive solution that makes everyone happy and still useful.


Third, I would choose The Camel Who Took A Walk by Jack Tworkov, a lovely, quiet story that would never have sold today because it’s too quiet, but which again has such a wonderful rhythm to the language that it’s a joy to read aloud.  The pictures are very simple, done is shades of blue for the forest before the sun comes up, and then in pink and gold for the beautiful camel, who “turns her pretty head this way and that.”  Alas, this one is out of print, but we still love it.


So those are the three I said I would contain myself to, and I’ll only quickly mention Make Way for Ducklings, Guess How Much I Love You, Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Where The Wild Things Are (which was also previously mentioned by another blogger), The Kissing Hand, To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, Madeline, the original Curious George…. OK, I’ll stop 🙂