My goodness!

How time flies!

Can you believe we’re on the last week of our little challenge already?  I’ve been having so much fun and enjoying all your creativity so much that it seems like we just started!

I want to apologize for getting a little behind with the updating and commenting.  A family situation came up and I’m not having much time to work.  But I promise I’ll sort it all out eventually, and I appreciate your patience in the meantime! 😊

This is the last week, so if you want to be eligible for the prize drawing (so many AMAZING prizes!!!) be sure to have all 7 of your entries posted in the comment section of the correct post (links to each week below) by Saturday June 27th at midnight!  I’ll announce the randomly drawn prize winners next Monday – June 29th.

Now! Let’s jump into Week 7!

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini is a 7 week writing challenge for anyone who needs a little boost or a little encouragement to get writing. . . or maybe just a little fun during this bizarre stay-at-home spring!

You get to write your own story, enjoy and be entertained by everyone else’s stories, and get yourself in the running for some awesome prizes (please see the end of the blog post for a list of all the prize goodies!)

To be eligible for the prize drawing you must enter all 7 weeks.

For a full description of the challenge or to add your Week #1 entry, please go HERE (Week #1)

To add your Week #2 entry, please go HERE (Week #2)

To add your Week #3 entry, please go HERE (Week #3)

To add your Week #4 entry, please go HERE (Week #4)

To add your Week #5 entry, please go HERE (Week #5)

To add your Week #6 entry, please fo HERE (Week #6)

 

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Prompt #7 for Week of June 22:

So far we’ve played with characters, setting, and emotion (or a combination, depending on where your random choosing landed you), with nursery rhymes and point of view, with a picture prompt, fun names, and a plot point, with fairy tales taking place in a new setting, with “How To”, and with getting into the young child mindset with only/always/never statements!  This week, for our final challenge, we’re going to do Summer Superheroes! 😊

Choose a superpower from Column A and an object/item from Column B and write a 100 word story for kids about a character of your choosing – boy scout, unicorn princess, sweet potato. . .  – anything goes 😊 that has, or meets someone with, the super power and includes the object.

Column A – Super Powers	Column B – Objects/Items
Time travel	Sand pail
Invisibility	S’mores
Mind reading	Picnic or barbecue
Xray vision	Popsicle
Breathe underwater	Pool float
Supersonic speed	Goggles
Superhuman strength	Shark or mermaid
Elasticty	The Sun
Flight	Camp Songs

You can write about Lily and Ben going on a picnic and meeting up with an invisible squirrel who is making off with their peanut butter sandwiches, or a time-traveling cave cricket who resolves an inter-cabin dispute at Camp Uggahmuggah by gathering all the kids around a fire and teaching them fun camp songs, or a Super Kid with xray vision whose powers are compromised at a crucial moment by ultraviolet swim goggles. . .  or anything else that inspires you!

• Stories can rhyme or not – totally up to you!
• You can go under or over 100 words if you want to – also totally up to you! – 100 is a guideline
• If you’re deeply inspired by a super power or object/item that is not on the list you can use that instead – as long as you write a story as outlined above – the purpose here is inspiration and to get you writing!
• For simplicity’s sake (and to aid skimming readers who might be interested in a particular thing) please be sure to put the super power and object/item you chose at the top of your entry along with your name and word count.

 

I’m not sure I’m going to have time for my little just for fun sample this week,  but if I can, I’ll add it in here! 😊

 

 

Now come join the fun! Get some writing done! Encourage your kids (or students) to give it a try! Or just have a good time together reading what other folks have written!

Remember, this is the last week, so if you want to be eligible for the prize drawing be sure to have all 7 of your entries posted in the comment section of the correct post (links to each week above) by Saturday June 27th at midnight.  I’ll announce the randomly drawn prize winners next Monday – June 29th.

Ready, set, WRITE! 😊

(And remember, for full details on the 7 week challenge you can check HERE)

(And if you need to motivate yourself scroll down to see all the amazing prizes you could win!!! 😊)

 

Check out the Week #7 stories!

Time Travel Freezing Power – Dawn Young (time travel, freezing power, popsicle)

Marty The Fly – Sue Lancaster (time travel, the sun)

Princess Supersonic Speed – Sara Ackerman (supersonic speed, popsicle)

Popsicles At Sunset – Matthew Lasley (popsicle)

Endless Freeze – Brenda Whitehead (time travel, popsicle)

Mia Flying Heart Girl – Lily Erlic (flight, hearts)

Supersonic Speed S’Mores – Jamie Bechtelheimer

Elasticity And Goggles – Ugo Anidi

When The Baby’s Allowed To Wish – Colleen Murphy (super size)

Untitled – Dot Anson (invisibility, popsicle)

Ed’s New Pair Of Sneakers – Jess Murray (superhuman speed, popsicle)

Marlene And The Fish – Patricia Nozell (breathe underwater, goggles)

The Crab And The Sun – Candice Conner (flight, the sun)

Soother – Mary Van Beuren (elasticity, electric guitar)

Limerick For Week 7 – Marty (superhuman strength, picnic)

Blaze – Rose Cappelli (invisibility, s’mores)

Untitled – Kay DiVerde (invisibility, popsicle)

The Sweet Smell Of Friendship – Jill Lambert (invisibility, s’mores)

Mind Reader – Rebecca Gardyn Levington (mind reading, goggles)

Lunch Lady – Susan Inez (elasticity, picnic)

Shark Breath – Deb Buschman (breathe underwater, shark)

Dr. Whooo – Susan Schipper (time travel, goggles)

A Melodious Picnic – Deb Sullivan (mind reading, camp songs)

X-Ray Birthday – Genevieve Petrillo (X-Ray vision, popsicle, goggles)

Saving Mermaid Arie – Cindy Boyll (breathe underwater, mermaid, goggles)

Rocks Rule – Amy Flynn (superhuman strength, pail)

Singing For His Supper – Penny Adler (elasticity, campfire songs)

Rocco Raccoon – Ashley Congdon (x-ray vision, goggles)

Fire Focus – Leslie Denkers (lights fires, a surprise, s’mores, bbq grill, popsicles)

Limerick #2 for Week 7 – Marty (supersonic speed, s’mores)

Lindy’s Flight Fright – Sarah Meade (flight)

Fish Camp Rocks – Katie Schwartz (breathe underwater, camp songs)

Dig It Up Jay – Michelle S. Kennedy (superhuman strength, sand pail, mermaid)

Untitled – Alicia Meyers Kelly (invisibility, goggles)

Untitled – Linda Schueler (time travel, popsicle)

Goggles The Supercow – Tracy(goggles)

True Blue – Corine Timmer

Week 7 Limerick – Liz Kehrli (flight, the moon)

Week 7 – Ketan Ram (X-ray vision, goggles)

The Super Babysitter – Mia Geiger (elastic, super)

Pudgy The Hero – Barbara Renner (superhuman strength, the sun)

Untitled – Heather Hatch (mind reading, picnic)

Sneaky Drake – Kristy Roser Nuttall (invisibility, s’mores)

All Bread Is Created Equal – Susan Krevat (time travel, s’mores)

 

 

PRIZES & PRIZES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

When it comes time for prizes, names of all those who completed the challenge will be drawn randomly and matched with prizes drawn randomly until we run out! 😊

Please join me in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, suggesting them for school visits, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊

For Spacious Skies by Nancy Churnin, award-winning author of so many fabulous books I don’t have space to list them all! Visit her website or Amazon Page!

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Kirstine Erekson Call, author of THE RAINDROP WHO COULDN’T FALL (Character Publishing 2013) and the forthcoming MOOTILDA’S BAD MOOD (Little Bee Books, September 2020), COW SAYS MEOW (HMH March 2021), and COLD TURKEY (Little Brown Spring 2021)

 

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Ellen Leventhal, author of DON’T EAT THE BLUEBONNETS (Spork 2017), HAYFEST: A Holiday Quest (ABCs Press 2010), and LOLA CAN’T LEAP (Spork 2018)

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Lindsay Hanson Metcalf, author of BEATRIX POTTER, SCIENTIST (September 2020), FARMERS UNITE!: PLANTING A PROTEST FOR FAIR PRICES (Calkins Creek November 2020), and NO VOICE TOO SMALL: FOURTEEN YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING HISTORY (Charlesbridge September 2020)

 

Picture Book Manuscript Critique (non rhyming) from Kaye Baillie, author of BOO LOVES BOOKS (New Frontier Publishing October 2020), and MESSAGE IN A SOCK (Midnight Sun Publishing 2018)

Your choice of EITHER a Picture Book Manuscript Critique or a Virtual Visit with Keila Dawson, author of THE KING CAKE BABY (Pelican 2015), and NO VOICE TOO SMALL: FOURTEEN YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING HISTORY (Charlesbridge September 2020)

 

Winner’s Choice of Webinar from the amazing Alayne Kay Christian, author of picture books Butterfly Kisses, An Old Man And His Penguin, and the forthcoming The Weed That Woke Christmas and the chapter book series of Sienna The Cowgirl Fairy, and editor at Blue Whale Press!  Webinar choices include: How A Picture Book Is Made, Perfecting Your Critique, Top Ten Reasons For Rejection, and How To Write Powerful First Pages Like A Pro!

 

15 Minute Video Chat – ask your questions about writing, research, submissions – whatever’s on your mind! –  with Christy Mihaly, author of DIET FOR A CHANGING PLANET: Food for Thought​(Twenty-first Century Books/Lerner 2018), HEY, HEY, HAY!
A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them (Holiday House 2018) , and FREE FOR YOU AND ME: What Our First Amendment Means (Albert Whitman March 2020)

 

Quick Impressions on your Picture Book Manuscript from Rosie Pova, author of IF I WEREN’T WITH YOU (Spork 2017), SARAH’S SONG (Spork 2017), the forthcoming SUNDAY RAIN (Lantana Publishing March 2021) and others.

RONAN THE LIBRARIAN, (Roaring Brook Press April 2020) brand new fromfabulous author Tara Luebbe

Your Choice of EITHER A Picture Book Manuscript Critique (fiction, non-rhyming) or an Ask Anything 15 Minute Video or Phone Chat with Tara Luebbe, author of  SHARK NATE-O,(Little Bee Books 2018), I AM FAMOUS ( Albert Whitman 2018), I USED TO BE FAMOUS (Albert Whitman 2019), OPERATION PHOTOBOMB (Albert Whitman 2019), and RONAN THE LIBRARIAN (Roaring Brook Press 2020) (see above)

Sherry Howard, author of Rock And Roll Woods (Spork 2018) and a series of Nonfiction Middle Grade titles for Escape Publishing (2019)

is offering 6 of her nonfiction middle grade titles which will go to 6 lucky winners!

Ann Whitford Paul, author of Writing Picture Books (being donated by Becky Scharnhorst below), the book we ALL use as our picture book bible 😊, and countless wonderful picture books, is offering signed copies of her IF ANIMALS… Series (Farrar Straus Giroux):

                     

If Animals Went To School (2019)         If Animals Kissed Good Night (2008)

                    

If Animals Said I Love You (2017)        If Animals Celebrated Christmas (2018)

If you would like to benefit from her picture book wisdom, please sign up for her newsletter HERE!

A hand lettered quote of someone’s choice from a picture book,  or a quote about reading or writing that could be framed as a gift for a child’s bedroom, a writer you know and love, or an inspiration for writing in your own work space (why shouldn’t you give yourself a present?!) offered by Kristy Roser Nuttall! (Samples below – you can choose your own quote!)

Making Picture Book Magic – Self Study Class any month (x3)

Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul, donated by Becky Scharnhorst whose debut picture book P.S. Camp Wildwood Stinks will be released in Summer 2021 from Philomel!

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert donated by Becky Scharnhorst whose debut picture book P.S. Camp Wildwood Stinks will be released in Summer 2021 from Philomel!

The Nuts & Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books by Linda Ashman (only available for Kindle) (x2)

Magnetic Poetry – Little Box of Happiness

 

The Story Book Knight by Helen Docherty

This Book Is Gray by Lindsay Ward

Story Cubes

Writing Journal (x10)

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Good morning, my friends!

It’s Monday!
It’s Monday!
That means it’s writing fun-day!
Grab a pen
and come join in!
We’ll all be published one-day! 😊

I made up that song just for you!  You can sing it to “It’s raining, it’s pouring!” hehehe 😊 It can be like our fight song 😊 Rah! Rah! Rah!

Now let’s jump in to Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Week 6!

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini is a 7 week writing challenge for anyone who needs a little boost or a little encouragement to get writing. . . or maybe just a little fun during this bizarre stay-at-home spring!

You get to write your own story, enjoy and be entertained by everyone else’s stories, and get yourself in the running for some awesome prizes (please see the end of the blog post for a list of all the prize goodies!)

To be eligible for the prize drawing you must enter all 7 weeks.

For a full description of the challenge or to add your Week #1 entry, please go HERE (Week #1)

To add your Week #2 entry, please go HERE (Week #2)

To add your Week #3 entry, please go HERE (Week #3)

To add your Week #4 entry, please go HERE (Week #4)

To add your Week #5 entry, please go HERE (Week #5)

 

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Prompt #6 for Week of June 15:

So far we’ve played with characters, setting, and emotion (or a combination, depending on where your random choosing landed you), with nursery rhymes and point of view, with a picture prompt, fun names, and a plot point, with fairy tales taking place in a new setting, and with “How To” 😊  This week we’re going to get right into the young child mindset! Behavior and choices tell us a lot about personality and character!

Begin with:

I (or Name) only/always eat  __________!
(first or third person, present or past tense – either is fine)

OR

I (or Name) never eat __________!
(first or third person, present or past tense – either is fine)

and choose a Simile from Column A, a Food from Column B, and/or a position from Column C to fill in the blank!

Column A – simile	Column B – food	Column C – position
Like a pig	Peanut butter (or nut-free alternative 😊)	Upside down
Like a bird	Things that are orange	On the floor
Like a horse	Things that are square	In his/her treehouse

So your story might begin:

I always eat in my treehouse!

or

Dumpling never ate like a pig!

or

Zoe only ate things that were orange, and she only ate them on the floor!

• Stories can rhyme or not – totally up to you!
• You can go under or over 100 words if you want to – also totally up to you! – 100 is a guideline
• If you’re deeply inspired by another simile, food, or position that is not on the list you can use that instead – as long as you write a story as outlined above – the purpose here is inspiration and to get you writing!
• For simplicity’s sake (and to aid skimming readers who might be interested in a particular thing) please be sure to put the simile, food, and/or position you chose at the top of your entry along with your name and word count.

 

Here is my little just for fun sample 😊

Just Like Mom (27 words – can you believe it? from ME?!)
position – upside down

Smidge always ate upside down.
A choice that made other folks frown.
But his mom only smiled
At her bottoms-up child.
“Monkey see, monkey do,” she’d expound!

Okay 😊 I took a few liberties using “expound”! 😊  I’d better leave the limericks to Marty, who has done one every week of the challenge so far!

Now come join the fun! Get some writing done! Encourage your kids (or students) to give it a try! Or just have a good time together reading what other folks have written!

Ready, set, WRITE! 😊

(And remember, for full details on the 7 week challenge you can check HERE)

(And if you need to motivate yourself scroll down to see all the amazing prizes you could win!!! 😊)

 

Check out the Week #6 stories!

(apologies for the delays in updating this week – family situation)

I Only Eat Like A Llama – Jamie Bechtelheimer (only, like a llama)

Marigold Eats Orange – Candice Marley Conner (only, things that are orange)

Eating With Gigi – Dawn Young (only, things that begin with P, treehouse)

Neater Eater – Cupcake The Dog (never, like a pig)

Polly’s Peanut Butter Passion – Patricia Nozell (only, peanut butter)

Drip Drop Plop – Brenda Whitehead (only, way up high, on the floor)

Doodle Dot – Cindy Boyll (like Minnie Mouse, dots, everywhere)

Charlie’s Cheesy Choices – Deb Buschman (like a cow, cheese, in the barn)

Lulu – Rose Cappelli (always, foods that begin with L)

Untitled – Colleen Murphy (never, in the stable)

Penny Never Ate Upside Down – Barbara Renner (never, upside down)

Geometric Eating – Deb Sullivan (only, foods that are square)

Ralphie Eats Like A Bird On The Floor – Ashley Congdon (always, like a bird, on the floor)

I Do NOT Eat Like A Bird – Sue Lancaster (like a bird, in my treehouse)

Annabelle Always Eats Chips – Susan Inez (always, like a pig, upside down, treehouse)

King Frederick The Square – Matthew Lasley (only, foods that are square)

Like A Bird – Dot Anson (only, foods that start with C, like a bird)

Limerick For Week 6 – Marty (only, foods that are square)

Milo Slurps – Sarah Meade (only, through a straw)

Stop And Roll – Linda Schueler (foods that are square)

There Was A Young Lass – Jill Lambert (never, like a pig, orange, upside down)

Dahlia’s Dilemma – Leslie Denkers (only)

A Bird Like Petunia – Michelle S. Kennedy (always, like a bird, seeds, on the floor)

Untitled – Kay DiVerde (like a bunny, things that are orange, on the floor)

Meredith, Meal Time Scientist – Sara Ackerman (always, like a scientist)

Untitled – Shariffa Keshavjee (always, like a bird)

Seafood Diet? – Rebecca Gardyn Levington (only, seafood)

I Only Ever Eat Things Beginning With C – Tracy (only, things beginning with C)

Tink Eats Like A Bird – Mary Van Beuren

Peter Liked To Eat Like A Pig – Lily Erlic

I Always Eat Summer – Kristy Roser Nuttall (always, summer)

I Always Eat upside Down – Corine Timmer

Follow The Rules! – Penny Adler (never, like a pig)

Henrietta – Susan Schipper (like a bird, things that are round, upside down)

You Are Invited – Di Litwer (pig, orange things, treehouse)

No To Purple Food – Bev Baird

Try It In Reverse – Elizabeth Meyer Zu Heringdorf (treehouse)

Gabi The Dog Eats Carrots – Susan Krevat

Santa And His Beans – Two Limericks – Liz Kehrli

I Only Eat Things That Are Square – Ugo Anidi

Jim? JIM! – Jess Murray (always, like a bird)

Carl Eats Like A Pig – Amy Flynn

I Only Eat Things That Are Square – Alicia Meyers Kelly

Oakley Only Eats Quirky Food – Katie Schwartz

Afternoon Snack – Mia Geiger (eat, bird)

Upside Down Blu Eats Things That Are Orange – Ketan Ram

Jay The Bird Boy – Lauri Meyers (like a bird)

Untitled – Heather Hatch (only, peanut butter)

 

PRIZES & PRIZES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

When it comes time for prizes, names of all those who completed the challenge will be drawn randomly and matched with prizes drawn randomly until we run out! 😊

Please join me in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, suggesting them for school visits, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊

For Spacious Skies by Nancy Churnin, award-winning author of so many fabulous books I don’t have space to list them all! Visit her website or Amazon Page!

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Kirstine Erekson Call, author of THE RAINDROP WHO COULDN’T FALL (Character Publishing 2013) and the forthcoming MOOTILDA’S BAD MOOD (Little Bee Books, September 2020), COW SAYS MEOW (HMH March 2021), and COLD TURKEY (Little Brown Spring 2021)

 

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Ellen Leventhal, author of DON’T EAT THE BLUEBONNETS (Spork 2017), HAYFEST: A Holiday Quest (ABCs Press 2010), and LOLA CAN’T LEAP (Spork 2018)

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Lindsay Hanson Metcalf, author of BEATRIX POTTER, SCIENTIST (September 2020), FARMERS UNITE!: PLANTING A PROTEST FOR FAIR PRICES (Calkins Creek November 2020), and NO VOICE TOO SMALL: FOURTEEN YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING HISTORY (Charlesbridge September 2020)

 

Picture Book Manuscript Critique (non rhyming) from Kaye Baillie, author of BOO LOVES BOOKS (New Frontier Publishing October 2020), and MESSAGE IN A SOCK (Midnight Sun Publishing 2018)

Your choice of EITHER a Picture Book Manuscript Critique or a Virtual Visit with Keila Dawson, author of THE KING CAKE BABY (Pelican 2015), and NO VOICE TOO SMALL: FOURTEEN YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING HISTORY (Charlesbridge September 2020)

 

Winner’s Choice of Webinar from the amazing Alayne Kay Christian, author of picture books Butterfly Kisses, An Old Man And His Penguin, and the forthcoming The Weed That Woke Christmas and the chapter book series of Sienna The Cowgirl Fairy, and editor at Blue Whale Press!  Webinar choices include: How A Picture Book Is Made, Perfecting Your Critique, Top Ten Reasons For Rejection, and How To Write Powerful First Pages Like A Pro!

 

15 Minute Video Chat – ask your questions about writing, research, submissions – whatever’s on your mind! –  with Christy Mihaly, author of DIET FOR A CHANGING PLANET: Food for Thought​(Twenty-first Century Books/Lerner 2018), HEY, HEY, HAY!
A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them (Holiday House 2018) , and FREE FOR YOU AND ME: What Our First Amendment Means (Albert Whitman March 2020)

 

Quick Impressions on your Picture Book Manuscript from Rosie Pova, author of IF I WEREN’T WITH YOU (Spork 2017), SARAH’S SONG (Spork 2017), the forthcoming SUNDAY RAIN (Lantana Publishing March 2021) and others.

RONAN THE LIBRARIAN, (Roaring Brook Press April 2020) brand new fromfabulous author Tara Luebbe

Your Choice of EITHER A Picture Book Manuscript Critique (fiction, non-rhyming) or an Ask Anything 15 Minute Video or Phone Chat with Tara Luebbe, author of  SHARK NATE-O,(Little Bee Books 2018), I AM FAMOUS ( Albert Whitman 2018), I USED TO BE FAMOUS (Albert Whitman 2019), OPERATION PHOTOBOMB (Albert Whitman 2019), and RONAN THE LIBRARIAN (Roaring Brook Press 2020) (see above)

Sherry Howard, author of Rock And Roll Woods (Spork 2018) and a series of Nonfiction Middle Grade titles for Escape Publishing (2019)

is offering 6 of her nonfiction middle grade titles which will go to 6 lucky winners!

Ann Whitford Paul, author of Writing Picture Books (being donated by Becky Scharnhorst below), the book we ALL use as our picture book bible 😊, and countless wonderful picture books, is offering signed copies of her IF ANIMALS… Series (Farrar Straus Giroux):

                     

If Animals Went To School (2019)         If Animals Kissed Good Night (2008)

                    

If Animals Said I Love You (2017)        If Animals Celebrated Christmas (2018)

If you would like to benefit from her picture book wisdom, please sign up for her newsletter HERE!

A hand lettered quote of someone’s choice from a picture book,  or a quote about reading or writing that could be framed as a gift for a child’s bedroom, a writer you know and love, or an inspiration for writing in your own work space (why shouldn’t you give yourself a present?!) offered by Kristy Roser Nuttall! (Samples below – you can choose your own quote!)

Making Picture Book Magic – Self Study Class any month (x3)

Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul, donated by Becky Scharnhorst whose debut picture book P.S. Camp Wildwood Stinks will be released in Summer 2021 from Philomel!

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert donated by Becky Scharnhorst whose debut picture book P.S. Camp Wildwood Stinks will be released in Summer 2021 from Philomel!

The Nuts & Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books by Linda Ashman (only available for Kindle) (x2)

Magnetic Poetry – Little Box of Happiness

 

The Story Book Knight by Helen Docherty

This Book Is Gray by Lindsay Ward

Story Cubes

Writing Journal (x10)

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Woo hoo!  It’s Monday and that means it’s time for the Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Challenge to continue!

I just have to say that I am so impressed by all the amazing stories that have been shared here for the writing challenge so far!  You guys are so creative, and so talented!  It has been a real pleasure to read your work, and I look forward to seeing what you write this week!

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini is a 7 week writing challenge for anyone who needs a little boost or a little encouragement to get writing. . . or maybe just a little fun during this bizarre stay-at-home spring!

You get to write your own story, enjoy and be entertained by everyone else’s stories, and get yourself in the running for some awesome prizes (please see the end of the blog post for a list of all the prize goodies!)

To be eligible for the prize drawing you must enter all 7 weeks.

For a full description of the challenge or to add your Week #1 entry, please go HERE (Week #1)

To add your Week #2 entry, please go HERE (Week #2)

To add your Week #3 entry, please go HERE (Week #3)

To add your Week #4 entry, please go HERE (Week #4)

 

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Prompt #5 for Week of June 8:

So far we’ve played with characters, setting, and emotion (or a combination, depending on where your random choosing landed you), with nursery rhymes and point of view, with a picture prompt, fun names, and a plot point, and with fairy tales taking place in a new setting!  This week we’re going to play around with “How To” 😊

Choose an action from Column A and a creature/animal/person from Column B:

Column A – Action	Column B – Creature/Animal/Person
scare	monster
comfort	brother/sister
entertain	teacher
be	babysitter
trick	pet (choose any animal you like J)
catch
protect

and write a 100 word story for kids entitled:

How To _____(action)_____ A/Your _____(creature/animal/person)_____
(e.g. How To Comfort A Monster/How To Trick Your Babysitter)

• Stories can rhyme or not – totally up to you!
• You can go under or over 100 words if you want to – also totally up to you! – 100 is a guideline
• If you’re deeply inspired by another Action or Creature/Animal/Person that is not on the list you can use that instead – as long as you write a How-To as outlined above – the purpose here is inspiration and to get you writing!
• For simplicity’s sake (and to aid skimming readers who might be interested in a particular thing) please be sure to put your title: How To _____ A/Your_____ at the top along with your name and word count.

 

Here’s my little just-for-fun sample 😊

How To Comfort Your Monster (159 words)

Sometimes monsters can be a bit of a handful.
If your monster is angry, tell her to take a deep breath and count to ten.
“I, 2, 7, 100, 43, 10.”
It doesn’t matter how she counts.
All that matters is that she trusts she can count on you.
If your monster is hurt, put a bandaid on her boo-boo and kiss it better.
It doesn’t matter if you can’t see her boo-boo.
All that matters is that she feels seen.
If your monster is sad, hug her close and sing her a happy song.
It doesn’t matter if she’s not really listening.
It only matters that she knows you’re listening.
If your monster is scared. . .
. . . AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
If something scares your monster, it might scare you, too!
Stand and face your fear together.
It doesn’t matter if you’re scared or sad, hurt or angry.
All that matters is that you always have each other.

💕          😊          💕          😊          💕          😊          💕

Now come join the fun! Get some writing done! Encourage your kids (or students) to give it a try! Or just have a good time together reading what other folks have written!

Ready, set, WRITE! 😊

(And remember, for full details on the 7 week challenge you can check HERE)

(And if you need to motivate yourself scroll down to see all the amazing prizes you could win!!! 😊)

 

Check out the Week #5 stories!

 

How To Be A Teacher – Cupcake Petrillo

How To Scare A Monster – Sue Lancaster

How To Catch A Pet Tarantula – Jill Lambert

How To Scare Your Teacher – Matthew Lasley

How To Comfort Harry Hedgehog – Cindy Boyll

How To Catch A Brother – Brenda Whitehead

How To Train Your Pet Rock – Colleen Murphy

How To Be A Sister – Sara Ackerman

How To Catch A Pet Turtle – Kay DiVerde

If You Want To Be A Monster – Linda Staszak

How To Be “Your” Own Babysitter – Susan Schipper

How To Entertain Your Donkey – Penny Adler

Let Me Entertain You (aka How To Entertain Your Little Brother) – Barbara Renner

How To Be A Blue Whale – Rose Cappelli

How To Catch A Fish – Marty

How To Find A Friend – Dawn Young

How To Entertain Your Furry Feline Friend – Linda Schueler

How To Calm Your Kangaroo – Patricia Nozell

How To Entertain Your Dragon On His Birthday – Ashley Congdon

How To Scare A Librarian – Candice Marley Conner

How To Catch A Monster – Jamie Bechtelheimer

How To Scare A Babysitter – Elizabeth Meyer Zu Heringdorf

How To Catch A Cupcake – Mary Van Beuren

How To Catch A Babysitter – Deb Sullivan

How To Comfort A MOOdy Cow – Corine Timmer

How To Comfort A (Pet) Skunk – Susan Inez

How To Crown Your Beast – Kristy Roser Nuttall

How To Treat Your Teacher – Leslie Denkers

How To Be A Cat – Dot Anson

How To Catch A Cat – Di Litwer

If You Have To Catch A Babysitter – Jess Murray

How To Comfort A Frightened Mouse – Bev Baird

If You Want To Trick Your Monster – Michelle S. Kennedy

How To Pamper Your Porcupine – Sarah Meade

How To Protect Your T-Rex – Amy Flynn

How To Protect Your Teacher – Susan Krevat

How To Comfort A Turtle – Deb Buschman

How To Be A Teacher – Alicia Meyers Kelly

How To Train A Penguin For City Life – Lily Erlic

Monster Under My Bed – Shariffa Keshavjee

How To Protect Your Princess – Tracy

How To Scare A Monster – Liz Kehrli

How To Comfort Your Comforter – Katie Schwartz

How To Love Your Brother – Rebecca Gardyn Levington

How To Comfort Your Babysitter – Ketan Ram

How To Scare A Monster – Mia Geiger

How To Scare A Monster – Ugo Anidi

How To Catch A Sister – Lauri Meyers

How To Trick Your Sister – Heather Hatch

 

PRIZES & PRIZES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

When it comes time for prizes, names of all those who completed the challenge will be drawn randomly and matched with prizes drawn randomly until we run out! 😊

Please join me in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazone, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, suggesting them for school visits, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊

For Spacious Skies by Nancy Churnin, award-winning author of so many fabulous books I don’t have space to list them all! Visit her website or Amazon Page!

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Kirstine Erekson Call, author of THE RAINDROP WHO COULDN’T FALL (Character Publishing 2013) and the forthcoming MOOTILDA’S BAD MOOD (Little Bee Books, September 2020), COW SAYS MEOW (HMH March 2021), and COLD TURKEY (Little Brown Spring 2021)

 

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Ellen Leventhal, author of DON’T EAT THE BLUEBONNETS (Spork 2017), HAYFEST: A Holiday Quest (ABCs Press 2010), and LOLA CAN’T LEAP (Spork 2018)

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Lindsay Hanson Metcalf, author of BEATRIX POTTER, SCIENTIST (September 2020), FARMERS UNITE!: PLANTING A PROTEST FOR FAIR PRICES (Calkins Creek November 2020), and NO VOICE TOO SMALL: FOURTEEN YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING HISTORY (Charlesbridge September 2020)

 

Picture Book Manuscript Critique (non rhyming) from Kaye Baillie, author of BOO LOVES BOOKS (New Frontier Publishing October 2020), and MESSAGE IN A SOCK (Midnight Sun Publishing 2018)

Your choice of EITHER a Picture Book Manuscript Critique or a Virtual Visit with Keila Dawson, author of THE KING CAKE BABY (Pelican 2015), and NO VOICE TOO SMALL: FOURTEEN YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING HISTORY (Charlesbridge September 2020)

 

Winner’s Choice of Webinar from the amazing Alayne Kay Christian, author of picture books Butterfly Kisses, An Old Man And His Penguin, and the forthcoming The Weed That Woke Christmas and the chapter book series of Sienna The Cowgirl Fairy, and editor at Blue Whale Press!  Webinar choices include: How A Picture Book Is Made, Perfecting Your Critique, Top Ten Reasons For Rejection, and How To Write Powerful First Pages Like A Pro!

 

15 Minute Video Chat – ask your questions about writing, research, submissions – whatever’s on your mind! –  with Christy Mihaly, author of DIET FOR A CHANGING PLANET: Food for Thought​(Twenty-first Century Books/Lerner 2018), HEY, HEY, HAY!
A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them (Holiday House 2018) , and FREE FOR YOU AND ME: What Our First Amendment Means (Albert Whitman March 2020)

 

Quick Impressions on your Picture Book Manuscript from Rosie Pova, author of IF I WEREN’T WITH YOU (Spork 2017), SARAH’S SONG (Spork 2017), the forthcoming SUNDAY RAIN (Lantana Publishing March 2021) and others.

RONAN THE LIBRARIAN, (Roaring Brook Press April 2020) brand new fromfabulous author Tara Luebbe

Your Choice of EITHER A Picture Book Manuscript Critique (fiction, non-rhyming) or an Ask Anything 15 Minute Video or Phone Chat with Tara Luebbe, author of  SHARK NATE-O,(Little Bee Books 2018), I AM FAMOUS ( Albert Whitman 2018), I USED TO BE FAMOUS (Albert Whitman 2019), OPERATION PHOTOBOMB (Albert Whitman 2019), and RONAN THE LIBRARIAN (Roaring Brook Press 2020) (see above)

Sherry Howard, author of Rock And Roll Woods (Spork 2018) and a series of Nonfiction Middle Grade titles for Escape Publishing (2019)

is offering 6 of her nonfiction middle grade titles which will go to 6 lucky winners!

Ann Whitford Paul, author of Writing Picture Books (being donated by Becky Scharnhorst below), the book we ALL use as our picture book bible 😊, and countless wonderful picture books, is offering signed copies of her IF ANIMALS… Series (Farrar Straus Giroux):

                     

If Animals Went To School (2019)         If Animals Kissed Good Night (2008)

                    

If Animals Said I Love You (2017)        If Animals Celebrated Christmas (2018)

If you would like to benefit from her picture book wisdom, please sign up for her newsletter HERE!

A hand lettered quote of someone’s choice from a picture book,  or a quote about reading or writing that could be framed as a gift for a child’s bedroom, a writer you know and love, or an inspiration for writing in your own work space (why shouldn’t you give yourself a present?!) offered by Kristy Roser Nuttall! (Samples below – you can choose your own quote!)

Making Picture Book Magic – Self Study Class any month (x3)

Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul, donated by Becky Scharnhorst whose debut picture book P.S. Camp Wildwood Stinks will be released in Summer 2021 from Philomel!

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert donated by Becky Scharnhorst whose debut picture book P.S. Camp Wildwood Stinks will be released in Summer 2021 from Philomel!

The Nuts & Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books by Linda Ashman (only available for Kindle) (x2)

Magnetic Poetry – Little Box of Happiness

 

The Story Book Knight by Helen Docherty

This Book Is Gray by Lindsay Ward

Story Cubes

Writing Journal (x10)

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

It’s June, my lovelies!

It came without playdates!
It came without school!
It came without Charmin, hand wipes, or the pool!
COVID-19 didn’t stop June – it came!
Somehow or other it came just the same! 😊🌸☀️

I invite you all virtually to my back porch for a little sunshine and lemonade 😊

Ready to write?

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini is a 7 week writing challenge for anyone who needs a little boost or a little encouragement to get writing. . . or maybe just a little fun during this bizarre stay-at-home spring!

You get to write your own story, enjoy and be entertained by everyone else’s stories, and get yourself in the running for some awesome prizes (please see the end of the blog post for a list of all the prize goodies!)

To be eligible for the prize drawing you must enter all 7 weeks.

For a full description of the challenge or to add your Week #1 entry, please go HERE (Week #1)

To add your Week #2 entry, please go HERE (Week #2)

To add your Week #3 entry, please go HERE (Week #3)

 

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Prompt #4 for Week of June 1:

So far we’ve played with characters, setting, and emotion (or a combination, depending on where your random choosing landed you), with nursery rhymes and point of view, and with a picture prompt, fun names, and a plot point! 😊   This week we’re going to fracture fairy tales by playing with setting!

Choose a fairy tale from Column A, and a setting from Column B.  If you like, you may also include a random object from Column C but that is optional.  Write a 100 word story for kids where your version of the fairy tale takes place in your choice of setting (including your random object if you wish!)

 

Column A: Fairy Tale	Column B: Setting	Column C: Random Object
The Gingerbread Boy	Wild West	polka dot umbrella
Cinderella	Pirate Ship	green balloon
Hansel & Gretel	Mount Everest	bubblegum

 

• Stories can rhyme or not – totally up to you!
• You can go under or over 100 words if you want to – also totally up to you! – 100 is a guideline
• If you’re deeply inspired by another Fairy Tale or Setting that is not on the list you can use that instead – as long as you rewrite a fairy tale in a different setting from the original – the purpose here is inspiration and to get you writing!
• For simplicity’s sake (and to aid skimming readers who might be interested in a particular thing) please say which fairy tale and which setting you’re using at the top of your entry along with your title and word count.

 

Here is my sample (which I wrote in extreme haste because I’m still working on revisions – deadlines, deadlines!😊) (and which you should not feel compelled to read unless you want to boost your confidence because it is both not particularly good and. overly long!):

The (Not) Gingerbread Cowboy
(Gingerbread Boy – Wild West)
(way too many words 😊 – I didn’t have time to make it shorter!)

Once upon a time, Farmer Bubba and his lovely bride Thunder Lily 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 Thunder Lily 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.  Thunder Lily was not one to sit around moping, however.  “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 as she plucked the skillet lovingly from the barbecue 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.  Besides, he knew better.
He doffed his cowboy hat and sang,
“Git along little piggies, git along.
If I stop then your tummies will be my new home!
I was born to ride the open range,
so forgive me if I’m on my way!”
And off he galloped.
He passed the sheepfold and the lambs baaed, “Oh, Charlemagne! Come be our friend!”
“Don’t call me that!” said the Cornpone Cowboy. Besides, he knew better.
He doffed his cowboy hat and sang,
“Git along little lambkins, git along.
If I stop then your tummies will be my new home!
I was born to ride the open range,
so forgive me if I’m on my way!”
And off he galloped.
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 you can guess how things went from there.
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 off for home!
When Bubba and Thunder Lily heard his story, Thunder Lily said, “That’s our boy! Lightning fast!”
Which is how he came to be called Lightning Charlie instead of Charlemagne (because really, who could live with that?) and they all lived happily ever after in a home that wasn’t anyone’s tummy!

 

Now come join the fun! Get some writing done! Encourage your kids (or students) to give it a try! Or just have a good time together reading what other folks have written!

Ready, set, WRITE! 😊

(And remember, for full details on the 7 week challenge you can check HERE)

 

Check out the Week #4 stories!

Untitled – Sue Lancaster (Cinderella, Mount Everest)

Cinder of the Seven Seas – Candice Marley Conner (Cinderella, Mount Everest)

Gingerbread What? – Linda Schueler (Hansel & Gretel, pirate ship, bubblegum)

Untitled – Genevieve Petrillo (Gingerbread Boy, pirate ship, polka dot umbrella)

Cinder Sherpani, Base Camp Scullery Maid – Jess Murray (Cinderella, Mount Everest, polka dot umbrella)

Cinderella Sails Away – Barbara Renner (Cinderella, pirate ship)

Hansel and Gretel Duel It Out – Jamie Bechtelheimer (Hansel and Gretel, wild west)

The Fairy Godfather Does Not Know Best – Colleen Murphy (Cinderella, pirate ship)

Shiver Me Timbers, A Gingerbread Boy! – Sara Ackerman (Gingerbread boy, pirate ship)

Caliope Cowgirl And The Three Leopards – Cindy Boyll (Goldilocks, wild west)

Pirate Anne – Mary Van Beuren (Cinderella, pirate ship, bubblegum)

The Big Bad Nice Wolf – Marley Conner age 9 (Three Little Pigs, Candy Land)

A Pirate-y Happily Ever After – Brenda Whitehead (Cinderella, pirate ship)

The Peak of Passion? – Elizabeth Meyer Zu Heringdorf (Cinderella, Mount Everest)

Walk The Plank! – Brittany Pomales (Hansel & Gretel, pirate ship)

Captain Blackbeard’s Just Desserts – Kristy Nuttall (Gingerbread Boy, pirate ship)

Traveling With Gretel – Leslie Denkers (Hansel & Gretel, Mount Everest)

Hansel, Gretel And The Magnificent Climb –  Susan Schipper (Hansel and Gretel, Mount Everest, polka dot umbrella)

Cabin Boy – Deb Sullivan (Cinderella, pirate ship, bubblegum)

Hansel And Gretel And The Greedy Pirate Captain – Rose Cappelli (Hansel and Gretel, pirate ship, bubblegum)

That’s The Way The Cookie Crumbles – Susan Inez (Gingerbread Boy, wild west, balloon)

The Showdown – Matthew Lasley (Gingerbread Boy, wild west)

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch – Jill Lambert (Hansel and Gretel, wild west, bubblegum)

Brother’s Big Idea – Dawn Young (Hansel and Gretel, Mount Everest, bubblegum)

Untitled – Kay DiVerde (Cinderella, pirate ship, bubblegum)

Goldie Goes To The Beach – Sarah Meade (Goldilocks & The 3 Bears, beach)

Cinderella In The Wild West – Linda Staszak (Cinderella, wild west)

Pirate-Ella – Deb Buschman (Cinderella, pirate ship)

Limerick – Marty (Cinderella, wild west)

Gingerbread Pirate – Mia Geiger (Gingerbread Boy, pirate ship)

No Fella For Cinderella – Michelle S. Kennedy (Cinderella, pirate ship)

Cinderella’s Vacation Liberation – Michelle S. Kennedy (Cinderella, pirate ship)

Hansel And Gretel’s Pirate. Ship Adventure – Dot Anson (Hansel & Gretel, pirate ship)

Cinderella And The Pirate Ship – Everard Anson (Cinderella, pirate ship)

Cinders And The Pirate Ship – Tracy (Cinderella, pirate ship)

Escape From The Greedy Gulch Home For Children! – Di Litwer (Hansel & Gretel, wild west)

The Leather Boot – Ashley Congdon (Cinderella, wild west, bubblegum)

The Gingerbread Boy (On A Pirate Ship) – Bev Baird (Gingerbread Boy, pirate ship)

Tinley’s Magical Fir Tree Cookies – Corine Timmer (Gingerbread Boy/Hansel & Gretel, Mount Everest/Himalayas)

Cinderella And Prince Sherpa – Susan Krevat (Cinderella, Mount Everest)

Untitled – Shariffa Keshavjee (Cinderella, pirate ship, green balloons)

Cinderella And The Wild West – Penny Adler (Cinderella, wild west)

The Woman In The Moon – Amy Flynn (Cinderella, moon)

Cinderella And The Bubblegum Ball – Lily Erlic (wild west)

Love On The Mount – Alicia Meyers Kelly (Cinderella, Mount Everest)

Cinderella Climbs Mount Everest – Rebecca Gardyn Levington (Cinderella, Mount Everest)

Untitled – Liz Kehrli (Cinderella, pirate ship)

Humberto And Genevie – Katie Schwartz (Hansel and Gretel, Mount Everest)

Cinderella In New York City – Patricia Nozell (Cinderella)

Untitled – Ugo Anidi (Hansel & Gretel, Mt. Everest, bubblegum)

Hansel And Gretel And The Candy Pirate – Lauri Meyers

Mt. Everest Writes To Cinderella – Ketan & Ravi Ram

 

 

PRIZES & PRIZES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

When it comes time for prizes, names of all those who completed the challenge will be drawn randomly and matched with prizes drawn randomly until we run out! 😊

Please join me in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazone, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, suggesting them for school visits, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊

For Spacious Skies by Nancy Churnin, award-winning author of so many fabulous books I don’t have space to list them all! Visit her website or Amazon Page!

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Kirstine Erekson Call, author of THE RAINDROP WHO COULDN’T FALL (Character Publishing 2013) and the forthcoming MOOTILDA’S BAD MOOD (Little Bee Books, September 2020), COW SAYS MEOW (HMH March 2021), and COLD TURKEY (Little Brown Spring 2021)

 

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Ellen Leventhal, author of DON’T EAT THE BLUEBONNETS (Spork 2017), HAYFEST: A Holiday Quest (ABCs Press 2010), and LOLA CAN’T LEAP (Spork 2018)

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Lindsay Hanson Metcalf, author of BEATRIX POTTER, SCIENTIST (September 2020), FARMERS UNITE!: PLANTING A PROTEST FOR FAIR PRICES (Calkins Creek November 2020), and NO VOICE TOO SMALL: FOURTEEN YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING HISTORY (Charlesbridge September 2020)

 

Picture Book Manuscript Critique (non rhyming) from Kaye Baillie, author of BOO LOVES BOOKS (New Frontier Publishing October 2020), and MESSAGE IN A SOCK (Midnight Sun Publishing 2018)

Your choice of EITHER a Picture Book Manuscript Critique or a Virtual Visit with Keila Dawson, author of THE KING CAKE BABY (Pelican 2015), and NO VOICE TOO SMALL: FOURTEEN YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING HISTORY (Charlesbridge September 2020)

 

Winner’s Choice of Webinar from the amazing Alayne Kay Christian, author of picture books Butterfly Kisses, An Old Man And His Penguin, and the forthcoming The Weed That Woke Christmas and the chapter book series of Sienna The Cowgirl Fairy, and editor at Blue Whale Press!  Webinar choices include: How A Picture Book Is Made, Perfecting Your Critique, Top Ten Reasons For Rejection, and How To Write Powerful First Pages Like A Pro!

 

15 Minute Video Chat – ask your questions about writing, research, submissions – whatever’s on your mind! –  with Christy Mihaly, author of DIET FOR A CHANGING PLANET: Food for Thought​(Twenty-first Century Books/Lerner 2018), HEY, HEY, HAY!
A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them (Holiday House 2018) , and FREE FOR YOU AND ME: What Our First Amendment Means (Albert Whitman March 2020)

 

Quick Impressions on your Picture Book Manuscript from Rosie Pova, author of IF I WEREN’T WITH YOU (Spork 2017), SARAH’S SONG (Spork 2017), the forthcoming SUNDAY RAIN (Lantana Publishing March 2021) and others.

RONAN THE LIBRARIAN, (Roaring Brook Press April 2020) brand new fromfabulous author Tara Luebbe

Your Choice of EITHER A Picture Book Manuscript Critique (fiction, non-rhyming) or an Ask Anything 15 Minute Video or Phone Chat with Tara Luebbe, author of  SHARK NATE-O,(Little Bee Books 2018), I AM FAMOUS ( Albert Whitman 2018), I USED TO BE FAMOUS (Albert Whitman 2019), OPERATION PHOTOBOMB (Albert Whitman 2019), and RONAN THE LIBRARIAN (Roaring Brook Press 2020) (see above)

Sherry Howard, author of Rock And Roll Woods (Spork 2018) and a series of Nonfiction Middle Grade titles for Escape Publishing (2019)

is offering 6 of her nonfiction middle grade titles which will go to 6 lucky winners!

Ann Whitford Paul, author of Writing Picture Books (being donated by Becky Scharnhorst below), the book we ALL use as our picture book bible 😊, and countless wonderful picture books, is offering signed copies of her IF ANIMALS… Series (Farrar Straus Giroux):

                     

If Animals Went To School (2019)         If Animals Kissed Good Night (2008)

                    

If Animals Said I Love You (2017)        If Animals Celebrated Christmas (2018)

If you would like to benefit from her picture book wisdom, please sign up for her newsletter HERE!

A hand lettered quote of someone’s choice from a picture book,  or a quote about reading or writing that could be framed as a gift for a child’s bedroom, a writer you know and love, or an inspiration for writing in your own work space (why shouldn’t you give yourself a present?!) offered by Kristy Roser Nuttall! (Samples below – you can choose your own quote!)

Making Picture Book Magic – Self Study Class any month (x3)

Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul, donated by Becky Scharnhorst whose debut picture book P.S. Camp Wildwood Stinks will be released in Summer 2021 from Philomel!

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert donated by Becky Scharnhorst whose debut picture book P.S. Camp Wildwood Stinks will be released in Summer 2021 from Philomel!

The Nuts & Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books by Linda Ashman (only available for Kindle) (x2)

Magnetic Poetry – Little Box of Happiness

 

The Story Book Knight by Helen Docherty

This Book Is Gray by Lindsay Ward

Story Cubes

Writing Journal (x10)

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I hope everyone ate their Wheaties this morning because it’s time for the Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Challenge Week #2!!!

 

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini is a writing challenge for anyone who needs a little boost or a little encouragement to get writing. . . or maybe just a little fun during this bizarre stay-at-home spring!

You get to write your own story, enjoy and be entertained by everyone else’s stories, and get yourself in the running for some awesome prizes (please see the end of the blog post for a list of all the prize goodies!)

For a full description of the challenge or to enter your Week #1 entry, please go HERE

 

Let’s jump into Week #2!

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Prompt #2 for Week of May 18:

Last week we played with characters, setting, and emotion, or a combination, depending on where your eenie meenie miney moe-ing landed you. 😊   This week we’re going to play with Point of View!

Eenie meenie miney moe, choose a Nursery Rhyme below. . . and rewrite its story (for kids) in 100 words from the point of view of someone or something else mentioned in (or conceivably associated with) the rhyme.  For example, if you choose Humpty Dumpty from the list, you can write the story of that famous tumbling egg incident from the point of view of the wall, or one of the king’s horses, or one of the king’s men, or a tree hanging over the wall watching the drama unfold, or the grass underneath that got landed on, or the chicken that laid Humpty Dumpty to begin with, or anything else you dream up! Post your story in the comment section below to get your Week #2 entry in!

• Stories can rhyme or not – totally up to you!
• You can go under or over 100 words if you want to – also totally up to you! – 100 is a guideline
• If you’re deeply inspired by another Nursery Rhyme that is not on the list below you can use that instead – as long as you rewrite a nursery rhyme from a different point of view from the original – the purpose here is inspiration and to get you writing!
• For simplicity’s sake (and to aid skimming readers who might be interested in a particular thing) please say which rhyme and what point of view you’re using at the top of your entry along with your word count.

Choose a rhyme: (rhymes included for your convenience in remembering the words 😊)

Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men,
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Hickory Dickory Dock
Hickory dickory dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one
The mouse ran down
Hickory dickory dock.

Hickory dickory dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck two
The mouse went “boo!”
Hickory dickory dock.

Three… the mouse went weeee
Four…The mouse went “no more!”

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky, twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.

Jack And Jill
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

Up Jack got, and home did trot,
As fast as he could caper,
He went to bed to mend his head,
With vinegar and brown paper

There Was A Crooked Man
There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
and they all lived together in a little crooked house.

 

Here’s a little sample 😊

 

Week #2: Humpty Dumpty, POV of lawn beneath the wall (199 words)

Rock Til You Drop

Okay, so technically? It might be that Humpty Dumpty didn’t exactly fall off that wall.

It was the night of the Rock ‘Til You Drop Dance Contest, and that egg head was taunting me.

“I’m going to win!” he boasted. “You can’t rock and you can’t roll!”

He showed off his moves, rocking and rolling on his round behind.

I was green with envy.  But I wouldn’t let him mow me down.

“I may be lawn,” I shouted back, “but I can sway to the beat better than you!”

I showed off my moves. Swish! Swoosh!

Then I laid it down.  “Besides, I’m taller than you.  No one will even see you!”

I watched him boil.  He knew I was right.

“Unless. . .” I said slyly, “you get up on that wall. . .”

Humpty enlisted one of the king’s horses to help him up.  He teetered on top.  “Just watch me shake my booty!” he gloated.

The beat boomed.

“Shake-shake-shake!” I dared him.

Humpty shook.

But the wall was narrow.

Too narrow for that big-bottomed-boy!

Rock…

…roll…

BLAM!

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall!

I won!

I had egg on my face, but it was worth it!

 

 

So come join the fun! Get some writing done! Encourage your kids (or students) to give it a try! Or just have a good time together reading what other folks have written!

Ready, set, WRITE! 😊

(And remember, for full details on the 7 week challenge you can check HERE)

 

Check out the Week #2 stories!

 

The Water’s Tale – Jess Murray (Jack & Jill, water’s POV)

The Moon Above The World So High – Candice Marley Conner (Twinkle Twinkle, moon’s POV)

I Am Not Afraid – Genevieve Petrillo (Itsy Bitsy Spider, Little Miss Muffet’s POV)

Jack And Jill Continued… – Colleen Owen Murphy (Jack & Jill, Jill’s POV)

No Running In My House! – Elizabeth Meyer Zu Heringdorf (Hickory Dickory, clock’s POV)

Twinkle Twinkle Neon Light – Corine Timmer (Twinkle Twinkle, star POV)

Little Miss Muffet – Susan Inez (Little Miss Muffet)

Children, Children – Rose Cappelli (Twinkle Twinkle, star POV)

Star’s Reply – Sue Lancaster (Twinkle Twinkle, star POV)

Not Again! – Dot Anson (Hey Diddle Diddle, moon’s POV)

The Clock Snaps – Sara Ackerman (Hickory Dickory, clock’s POV)

Cutie Lamb – Jamie Bechtelheimer (Mary Had A Little Lamb, lamb’s POV)

A Little Crooked Smile – Brittany Pomales (There Was A Crooked Man, house’s POV)

Twinkle Twinkle, Little Bear – Brenda Whitehead (Twinkle Twinkle, star POV)

Who’s To Blame? – Sue Lancaster (Jack & Jill, multiple POVs)

Teacher Had A Long School Day – Amy Flynn (Mary Had A Little Lamb, teacher’s POV)

The Clock – Linda Schueler (Hickory Dickory, clock’s POV)

There Was A Crooked Man – Barbara Renner (There Was A Crooked Man, cat’s POV)

Baa Baa Black Sheep – Shariffa Keshavjee (Baa Baa Black Sheep)

The Wall And The Fall – Michelle S. Kennedy (Humpty Dumpty, wall’s POV)

Look! A Crook! – Jill Lambert (There Was A Crooked Man, stile’s POV)

Hickory Dickory Dock – Susan Schipper (Hickory Dickory, mouse during quarantine POV)

Jack Sprat – Leslie Denkers (Jack Sprat, dog’s POV)

Humpty Dumpty – Anne Cavanaugh Sawan (Humpty Dumpty, mother’s POV)

Lenny The Lamb – Ashley Congdon (Mary Had A Little Lamb, lamb’s POV)

Hickory Dickory Dock – Kristy Nuttall (Hickory Dickory, clock’s POV)

Jack Is Still At It – Boyll(Jack Be Nimble, narrator’s POV)

Vinegar’s View – Deb Sullivan (Jack And Jill, vinegar’s POV)

Pail’s Tale – Patricia Nozell (Jack And Jill, pail’s POV)

Jack And Jill (And Jen) Go Up The Hill Again – Sarah Meade (Jack And Jill, big sister’s POV)

That Icky Spider – Linda Staszak (Itsy Bitsy Spider, house’s POV)

Do You See Me – Michelle S. Kennedy (Twinkle Twinkle, star’s POV)

Trying Something New – Dawn Young (Itsy Bitsy Spider)

Raindrops –  Shariffa Keshavjee (Raindrops)

The Unbreakable – Jarmila (Humpty Dumpty, king’s horse POV)

Old King Cole: A Limerick – Marty (Old King Cole, fiddler’s POV)

Yes, You Can – Rebecca Gardyn Levington (Twinkle Twinkle, star’s POV)

Hickory Dickory Dock – Matthew Lasley (Hickory Dickory, cat’s POV)

Operation: Find Little Bo Peep – Di Litwer (Little Bo Peep, sheep detective’s POV)

Baa Baa Black Sheep – Susan Krevat (Baa Baa Black Sheep, little boy down the lane’s POV)

Hickory Dickory Dock – Everard Anson (Hickory Dickory, clock’s POV)

There Was A Crooked Man – Liz Kehrli (There Was A Crooked Man, crow’s POV)

Hey Diddle Diddle – Beverly Baird (Hey Diddle Diddle, moon’s POV)

Our Friend Humpty – Mia Geiger (Humpty Dumpty)

Miss Mary Mack – Mary Van Beuren (Miss Mary Mack, elephant’s POV)

Spout Off – Deb Buschman (Itsy Bitsy Spider, water spout’s POV)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Bear – Lori Himmel (Twinkle Twinkle, Little Bear (ursa minor)’s POV)

Jack & Jill – Ketan Ram (Jack & Jill, hill’s POV)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – Ketan Ram (Twinkle Twinkle, moon’s POV)

Cock-a-doodle Doo, My Dame Has Lost Her Shoe – Ketan & Ravi Ram (Cock-a-doodle Doo, fiddle bow’s POV)

Little Bo Peep – Tracy (Little Bo Peep)

Jack And Jill – Kay DiVerde (Jack & Jill, Jill’s POV)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Firefly – Lily Erlic (Twinkle Twinkle, firefly’s POV)

Sing A Song of Sixpence – Penny Adler (Sing A Song O’ Sixpence, king’s POV)

Untitled – Alicia Meyers Kelly (Hickory Dickory Dock)

Untitled – Katie Schwartz (There Was A Crooked Man, house’s POV)

Untitled – Ugo Anidi (Jack and Jill, hill’s POV)

Untitled – Lauri Meyers

 

PRIZES & PRIZES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

When it comes time for prizes, names of all those who completed the challenge will be drawn randomly and matched with prizes drawn randomly until we run out! 😊

Please join me in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazone, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, suggesting them for school visits, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊

For Spacious Skies by Nancy Churnin, award-winning author of so many fabulous books I don’t have space to list them all! Visit her website or Amazon Page!

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Kirstine Erekson Call, author of THE RAINDROP WHO COULDN’T FALL (Character Publishing 2013) and the forthcoming MOOTILDA’S BAD MOOD (Little Bee Books, September 2020), COW SAYS MEOW (HMH March 2021), and COLD TURKEY (Little Brown Spring 2021)

 

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Ellen Leventhal, author of DON’T EAT THE BLUEBONNETS (Spork 2017), HAYFEST: A Holiday Quest (ABCs Press 2010), and LOLA CAN’T LEAP (Spork 2018)

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Lindsay Hanson Metcalf, author of BEATRIX POTTER, SCIENTIST (September 2020), FARMERS UNITE!: PLANTING A PROTEST FOR FAIR PRICES (Calkins Creek November 2020), and NO VOICE TOO SMALL: FOURTEEN YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING HISTORY (Charlesbridge September 2020)

 

Picture Book Manuscript Critique (non rhyming) from Kaye Baillie, author of BOO LOVES BOOKS (New Frontier Publishing October 2020), and MESSAGE IN A SOCK (Midnight Sun Publishing 2018)

Your choice of EITHER a Picture Book Manuscript Critique or a Virtual Visit with Keila Dawson, author of THE KING CAKE BABY (Pelican 2015), and NO VOICE TOO SMALL: FOURTEEN YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING HISTORY (Charlesbridge September 2020)

 

Winner’s Choice of Webinar from the amazing Alayne Kay Christian, author of picture books Butterfly Kisses, An Old Man And His Penguin, and the forthcoming The Weed That Woke Christmas and the chapter book series of Sienna The Cowgirl Fairy, and editor at Blue Whale Press!  Webinar choices include: How A Picture Book Is Made, Perfecting Your Critique, Top Ten Reasons For Rejection, and How To Write Powerful First Pages Like A Pro!

 

15 Minute Video Chat – ask your questions about writing, research, submissions – whatever’s on your mind! –  with Christy Mihaly, author of DIET FOR A CHANGING PLANET: Food for Thought​(Twenty-first Century Books/Lerner 2018), HEY, HEY, HAY!
A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them (Holiday House 2018) , and FREE FOR YOU AND ME: What Our First Amendment Means (Albert Whitman March 2020)

 

Quick Impressions on your Picture Book Manuscript from Rosie Pova, author of IF I WEREN’T WITH YOU (Spork 2017), SARAH’S SONG (Spork 2017), the forthcoming SUNDAY RAIN (Lantana Publishing March 2021) and others.

RONAN THE LIBRARIAN, (Roaring Brook Press April 2020) brand new fromfabulous author Tara Luebbe

Your Choice of EITHER A Picture Book Manuscript Critique (fiction, non-rhyming) or an Ask Anything 15 Minute Video or Phone Chat with Tara Luebbe, author of  SHARK NATE-O,(Little Bee Books 2018), I AM FAMOUS ( Albert Whitman 2018), I USED TO BE FAMOUS (Albert Whitman 2019), OPERATION PHOTOBOMB (Albert Whitman 2019), and RONAN THE LIBRARIAN (Roaring Brook Press 2020) (see above)

Sherry Howard, author of Rock And Roll Woods (Spork 2018) and a series of Nonfiction Middle Grade titles for Escape Publishing (2019)

is offering 6 of her nonfiction middle grade titles which will go to 6 lucky winners!

Ann Whitford Paul, author of Writing Picture Books (being donated by Becky Scharnhorst below), the book we ALL use as our picture book bible 😊, and countless wonderful picture books, is offering signed copies of her IF ANIMALS… Series (Farrar Straus Giroux):

                     

If Animals Went To School (2019)         If Animals Kissed Good Night (2008)

                    

If Animals Said I Love You (2017)        If Animals Celebrated Christmas (2018)

If you would like to benefit from her picture book wisdom, please sign up for her newsletter HERE!

A hand lettered quote of someone’s choice from a picture book,  or a quote about reading or writing that could be framed as a gift for a child’s bedroom, a writer you know and love, or an inspiration for writing in your own work space (why shouldn’t you give yourself a present?!) offered by Kristy Roser Nuttall! (Samples below – you can choose your own quote!)

Making Picture Book Magic – Self Study Class any month (x3)

Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul, donated by Becky Scharnhorst whose debut picture book P.S. Camp Wildwood Stinks will be released in Summer 2021 from Philomel!

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert donated by Becky Scharnhorst whose debut picture book P.S. Camp Wildwood Stinks will be released in Summer 2021 from Philomel!

The Nuts & Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books by Linda Ashman (only available for Kindle) (x2)

Magnetic Poetry – Little Box of Happiness

 

The Story Book Knight by Helen Docherty

This Book Is Gray by Lindsay Ward

Story Cubes

Writing Journal (x10)

Scythe by Neal Shusterman