Category: Children

Inspiring Teens Blog Hop

9/29/2013

Ready for some great fun?

Want to meet some fantastic MG/YA authors and terrific bloggers?

How would you like to win some books?

You can enter our Rafflecopter competition to win a $10 Amazon gift card. There will be two winners.
Well, you're at the right place!

The Inspiring Teens Blog Hop starts here on Monday, October 14 and will continue all week long. The list of bloggers/authors is below. Take a few minutes to visit each day for a chance to meet some wonderful people and win a free book.

Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter (below the schedule) for a chance to win a gift certificate from Amazon.

Monday, Oct. 14

Blogger – Kate Bainbridge http://read2review.com/2013/10/14/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-interview-with-vickie-johnstone/
Author - Vickie Johnstone

Blogger - Sharon Ledwith http://sharonledwith.blogspot.com/2013/10/inspiring-teens-blog-hop.html
Author - Jennifer Loiske

Blogger - Armen Pogharian https://armenpogharian.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/344/
Author - Ey Wade

Blogger – Candice Conway Simpson http://booksforboysreviewsandfun.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-sharon-rose.html
Author - Sharon Rose Mayes

Blogger-Cedar Sanderson http://cedarwrites.com/2013/10/14/teen-week-blog-hop-with-special-guest/
Author - Kim Mutch Emerson

Blogger – Maria Savva – http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/5020446-inspiring-teens-blog-hop-interview-giveaway-with-author-ed-drury/
Author – Ed Drury

Tuesday, Oct. 15

Blogger - Kate Bainbridge http://read2review.com/2013/10/15/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-interview-with-greta-burroughs/
Author - Greta Burroughs

Blogger - Jennifer Loiske http://jenniferloiske.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-meet-author-cedar-sanderson/
Author - Cedar Sanderson

Blogger – Lisa Cresswell http://lisatcresswell.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-15-teen-blog-hop-week.html
Author - Tim Flanagan

Blogger -Debra J Jameson Smith https://www.facebook.com/Creationsbydjamesonsmith (link to blog in pinned post)
Author - Sharon Ledwith

Blogger -David Lowbridge http://indieebookreview.blogspot.com/2013/10/an-authors-tale-why-i-write-teen.html
Author - Amanda Haulk Taylor

*************
Blogger -Wendy Strain - http://www.writeonwendy.com/
Author - Greta Burroughs 7:45-8:45 PM CST
This is a five minute fiction contest open for all participants to write a short piece using a prompt provided by Greta Burroughs. A prize will be awarded to the winner. It's a lot of fun and an exciting way to show off your skills at writing.

Wednesday, Oct. 16

Blogger - Kate Bainbridge http://read2review.com/2013/10/16/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-interview-with-debbie-manber-kupfer/
Author - Debbie Manber Kupfer

Blogger –Maria Savva http://quietfurybooks.com/bestsellerboundrecommends/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-linda-deane
Author -Linda Deane

Blogger – Debbie Manber Kupfer http://debbiemanberkupfer.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/interview-with-lisa-cresswell/
Author - Lisa Cresswell

Blogger - Ey Wade http://dna-bloodtiesandlies.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/armen-pogharian-is-inspiring-teens-to.html
Author - Armen Pogharian

Blogger – David Lowbridge http://tinyurl.com/q5h6dwy
Author - Dianne Gardner

Blogger - Robert DeBurgh http://robertdeburgh.weebly.com/2/post/2013/10/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-christine-hughes.html
Author - Christine Hughes

Thursday, Oct. 17

Blogger - Kate Bainbridge http://read2review.com/2013/10/17/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-interview-with-hugo-jackson/
Author - Hugo Jackson

Blogger - Vickie Johnstone (Vixie's Stories) http://vickiejohnstone.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-paul-plunkett.html
Author - Paul Plunkett

Blogger - Kim Mutch Emerson http://masterkoda.com/teen-reads-week-donna-dillon
Author - Donna Dillon

Blogger - Karen Pokraz Toz http://kptoz.blogspot.com/2013/10/author-spotlight-jr-simmons-teen-read.html
Author - JR Simmons

Blogger - David Lowbridge http://indieebookreview.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/cover-spotlight-pirates-pirates.html
Author -Saoirse O'Mara

Blogger - Brenda Perlin http://homewreckerthebook.blogspot.com/2013/10/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-welcomes.html
Author - Charlotte Blackwell

Friday, Oct. 18

Blogger - Kate Bainbridge http://read2review.com/2013/10/18/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-interview-with-tianna-scott/
Author - Tianna Scott

Blogger –Tim Flanagan http://timflanaganauthor.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/teen-reading-week-meet-catherine-stovall/
Author - Catherine Stovall

Blogger – Sharon Rose Mayes – http://www.notyourmomblog.com/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-interview-with-wendy-and-charles-siefken/
Author - Wendy Siefken

Blogger – Cassie McCown http://gatheringleavesreviews.blogspot.com/2013/10/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-author.html
Author - Alan Tucker

Blogger –David Lowbridge http://indieebookreview.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/authors-tale-michael-chulsky-part-of.html
Author -Michael Chulsky

Blogger – Wendy Siefken http://siefkenpublications.info/teen-blog-hop-juli-caldwell/
Author - Juli Caldwell

Saturday, Oct. 19

Blogger – Robbie Cox http://www.themessthatisme.com/2013/10/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-with-debra.html
Author - Debra J. Smith

Blogger – Jonathan Gould http://daglit.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-interview-with.html
Author – Sibel Hodge

Blogger - Greta Burroughs http://booksbygretaburroughs.weebly.com/8/post/2013/10/inspiring-teens-blog-hop-chris-baker.html
Author - Chris Baker

Blogger – Cassy Wood & Alex Harrington http://reviewmetwice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/blog-hop.html
Author - Vicki Kinnaird

a Rafflecopter giveaway

10 Comments

This special guest post is from DeEtte Anderton.
http://deetteanderton.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/a-new-writer-in-the-family/
I thought is was a perfect fit for our Inspiring Children blog...
Take it away, DeEtte....
My special guest today is extra special to me. She is my 4-year-old granddaughter. She wrote a cute little story with me. She dictated it and I typed it. The only prompts I gave her were “then what happened?” Several people have asked to read it, so I am sharing it here. This is totally unedited, and the words are hers, in her own language. I hope you enjoy it.

A Little Fairy Who Didn’t Listen to Her Mother

Flower was a little fairy. She lived in a very old tree. She liked to play outside on her playground and go on the slide and she liked to draw.

She went outside and climbed a very tall and very far tree. She saw some birds, some squirrels and some colorful leaves. She also saw a butterfly and butterflies were her favorite thing. She was tiny enough she could ride on a big butterfly.

Her mother told her she couldn’t play on the very tall and very far tree.

Flower said, “I didn’t!”

Flower went in the basement and saw a teeny tiny butterfly. She caught it and she fed it nectar. She went out of the basement out the top door. She found another fairy who was the same size as she and she ate and drank with her. They had a picnic in the road! A car came on the road where they were having their picnic and they got in the grass and resucd the food and the picnic blanket. Then the fairies told their mothers they wanted to play outside on the playground. Their mothers said, “Yes!”

Then they just went on the slide together.

She didn’t listen to her mother because her mother said not to go to the very tall and very far tree because it had so many branches. But they went up the tree and had their picnic at the top of the tree. The branches were bigger than they were.

A branch fell off the tree and made them fall. They flapped their wings to rescue themselves. They also caught their food and picnic blanket. Their moms were too busy to see them.

Flower and her friend said, “What pretty, pretty leaves!” and they gave some to each other.

They decided they shouldn’t go up that tree and they had their picnic on the grass. It’s “more safer” there.

They were happy.

The end.

Thanks for taking the time to read her little story!

0 Comments

Why I Write Childrens' Books

8/15/2013

6 Comments

When Greta invited me to write a guest post on her blog dealing with the topic of children and reading, I was thrilled.

My name is Inge Moore and I write all kinds of books. But my favorite writing is children's books.

I was a girl who loved to read. Any book caught my attention: picture books, comic books, and novels. I loved finding out about the world around me through the window of books.

Raised in a small town, I enjoyed nature and loved all animals, especially horses. Unfortunately, my family did not live on a farm and I could not own a horse. But I found the next best thing! I found books about horses.

I was an only child and loved to play outside with other children from the neighborhood. But on long winter nights when I was home alone with no brothers or sisters to keep me company, I turned to my books for companionship and adventure. When I found books about horses, well that was the best!

My favorite series was the Trixie Belden mysteries. Trixie was a tomboy (like me) who lived in a small community (like mine). She enjoyed helping her mom with the garden and her little brother, but she was a little bit bored. Then a family moved into the mansion on the hill. They had a daughter named Honey. And not only was Honey a perfect friend, but best of all, she owned horses. This was like Trixie's dream come true (and mine too).

Trixie and Honey went on many adventures together, solving mysteries, and in my bedroom at night I went along with them. I loved my Trixie Belden books and when I finished reading the series, I just started over again at book one.

Now I have written my own children's book about horses. The book is called, A Pony For the Fair, and tells the story of a young girl who also loved horses. In the book, thirteen-year-old Katie and her best friend, Angela, find a beautiful Gypsy pony. Unfortunately, the pony's owners have neglected her and she is terribly lame. Katie is horrified by the pony's predicament. No matter what the cost, she knows she must rescue the pony!

A Pony for the Fair is a novel about friendship, hope, family, and, of course, ponies.

There is a world of books out there. Some books are about the things that you already love, and others are about fascinating things that you have yet to discover. Books will turn your world into a bigger and more exciting place. Don't be shy. Grab one and start reading!

Inge has been writing since she was in grade school. Her short stories have been published in many magazines and have been broadcast on radio

She studied creative writing at the University of Alberta, working with such writers as Governor General's Award Winner, Rudy Wiebe.

Inge has lived in Austria, England, and in several areas of Canada including the Northwest Territories. Currently she resides in Fort Erie, Ontario. She enjoys nature, horses, art, reading, and, of course, writing.

Inge has a Bachelor degree in Zoology. She loves all animals (even snakes and toads), but especially horses. In the past, she worked with race horses in Canada and polo ponies in England. Now she writes about horses whenever she can.

Book
http://www.amazon.com/Pony-For-Fair-Gypsy-ebook/dp/B00AUA75X0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1358005570&sr=1-1&keywords=inge+moore

6 Comments

The Magic Within

8/7/2013

8 Comments

Nicole Storey offers a glimpse into her childhood and how musty, tattered used books took her to new worlds filled with adventure where she always saved the day.

A two bedroom shanty with a bathroom no bigger than a closet, four kids – three of them rambunctious boys – all crammed inside, nowhere to go and no money even if there was…For a nine-year-old girl, life couldn’t be more mundane. Everyday, I woke up to the same colorless routine. As the eldest child, I was expected to help care for my brothers, two of them twins. I cooked; I cleaned and I helped my parents run the house-hold so they could work jobs on two different shifts, trying to make ends come somewhere close to meeting in the middle every month. I grew up fast and books were my only escape.

Every day, as soon as my little brothers were put down for their naps, I would grab one of my tattered, yard-sale novels and sneak to the crab apple tree at the edge of our yard. There, among its scraggly branches, I would travel to foreign lands, fight evil witches, live a hundred different lives, and I always saved the day. My books, worn and falling apart, more tape than pages, became my dearest friends. The small collection was a varied as the colors of a sunset. Fantasies, mysteries, horror, and classics lived together, sharing a small cardboard box in the dark recesses under my bed. To me, they were the whole world.

Most of my books were acquired through a favorite aunt. She haunted yard sales like a ghost haunts spooky, old houses and was a shrewd negotiator. Watching her haggle for a bargain was as entertaining as any drama on television. In the end, most people were left frazzled, looking very much like the cheap, worn-out items they were hocking, and my aunt would saunter away with a bag full of goodies.

One day, she stopped by the house to gift me with a few new “friends” from her weekly haul. I tore into the paper bag, eager to see the covers, to touch the yellowed pages, and smell the musty scent of neglect. To this day that smell still brings back wonderful memories of a time when a twenty-five cent paperback was better than fancy dolls and shiny bikes.

I can’t remember any of the titles of the books I received that hot summer day, save one. The cover jumped out at me, begging to be held. There were four children, a magical doorway, and a castle in the background. I picked it up with a shaky hand and turned to the first page. In purple ink, someone had scrawled the message, “Magic lies within these pages…” It certainly did.

I’ve been to Narnia many times since then. I read that copy of C.S Lewis’, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe so many times the cover eventually crumbled, falling away piece by piece like so many memories of my childhood. When my son was old enough, it was one of the first books I purchased for him. I did the same for my daughter, making sure in each copy to include the message that seemed to encompass my entire youth, one that I have carried with me and still hold dear…Magic Lies Within These Pages.

Thanks Nickie for sharing your story with us...

A little bit about Nickie:
Nicole Storey lives in Georgia with her husband, two amazing kids, and a variety of pets. She loves ‘weird’ things (as her extended family so eloquently puts it) – the supernatural, paranormal books, and her favorite holiday, Halloween! She is the author of the juvenile fantasy series, Grimsley Hollow. Her new book, Blind Sight, was released in July and is the first book in her new YA paranormal series titled, The Celedon Circle. Her books can be found in e-book and paperback at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Blog: http://nicolestorey.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicolestoreyfans

8 Comments

A Late Bloomer Among Us Book Lovers

7/17/2013

6 Comments

Penny Estelle is vising with us today from the wilds of Arizona. She is living proof that you can get the reading bug at any age...

When I was in elementary school, all through high school, I hated to read. (Keep in mind this was about 100 years ago) I read ONLY what was required. I wasn’t a sloucher in school. As a matter of fact my grades were quite good, but I always thought I had way better things to do with my time than sit still and read.

Then I got married and had a baby. It was only then, did I start reading. Who knew you could escape reality in a good book! I have been reading ever since. I am a very slow reader and I honest believe it is because I started reading so late.

This is only one of the reasons I decided to write for the middle grade kiddos. I worked as a school secretary for 21 years. I watched all the little ones, kindergarten – third grades, pour over books in the library. They wanted to check them all out and would show anybody who would listen about the treasure they had found. Not so much with the older kids.

When I asked some of the kids, who were sent up to the office for one reason or another, why they didn’t read, I heard myself talking so many years ago. So sad!

The kids of today have to be readers to make it in this world. I believe that with all my heart. I figured I would try to write stories that were fun and adventurous and would pull the kids in and keep them interested. Even children need to escape reality sometimes. My hope is I have done exactly that!

A little bit about Penny...

I was a school secretary for 21 years. We moved to our retirement home in Kingman, AZ, on very rural 54 acres. We are on solar and wind. A real adjustment for a city girl, but I love it. At night, the sky is an explosion of stars. It is breathtaking!

You can find out more about my books and myself at http://www.pennystales.com or www.pennyestelle.blogspot.com. Please stop by anytime. I love visitors!

Hike Up Devil’s Mountain

http://www.amazon.com/Hike-up-Devils-Mountain-ebook/dp/B0058DE9YC

Billy Cooper’s Awesome Nightmare – Book 1 of the Wickware Sagas

http://www.amazon.com/Coopers-Awesome-Nightmare-Wickware

ebook/dp/B0088HTJ9U

Ride of a Lifetime – Book 2 of the Wickware Sagas

http://www.amazon.com/Ride-Lifetime-Wickware-Sagas-ebook/dp/B00D91Z1JM

A Float Down the Canal

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CUQEZYE

6 Comments

Reading a Book Changed Charlie's Life

7/11/2013

4 Comments

We have a mother and son team with us today. Charles Siefken wrote Kai's Journey while in high school and his mom, Wendy Siefken is his biggest fan and supporter. She wrote this piece about a book that made a lasting impression on her talented son, Charlie.

Charlie read a book called Eragon by Christopher Paolini and it really made an impression on him not only because of the book but also because the author was still in high school when he wrote it!

Charlie has always had trouble in school grasping concepts like everyone else. He learned differently than other children his age. He had dyslexia and issues with cross modalities. School was really tough for him. He found a way to get out of most school projects by just shutting down. It was a great struggle for him especially English. When he found Eragon it seemed to be the turning point in turning him around about school. He wasn’t a fast reader but he read the book. It helped him with his reading, and everything else in English class and a few other classes.

Now jump a couple of years forward and he is writing stories. Always writing ideas, talking ideas of story lines and characters and what the world would look like where they live. Instead of doing his journal homework like they requested he wrote stories, pages and pages of stories. Finally the principal came up with a plan for Charlie. He had been on an Individual Education Plan, or IEP, for several years and not much was working. So the principal came up with the idea of Charlie to write, edit and publish a book. It had to meet certain criteria for having elements of math, history, geography; obviously English was a big factor in it. Not the principal, teachers nor we knew anything about publishing a book. We had to research everything.

Since Charlie was still a minor I decided to spear head the contacting agents and publishing companies. We wrote the book, got it edited with the help of family and friends but stalled on finding an agent to represent us. Finally one day a teacher sent home an article in a local paper about Amanda Hocking and her story. That gave us the idea to try our hand at Indie Publishing. We knew the book still needed professional editing but we figured one challenge at a time. We did our research found out about the different ways to publish an e-book and would you believe Charlie wanted a paperback book? He wanted a book he could hold in his hands and be able to say, “I created this.”

We found out CreateSpace gave us that. So off we went and published the book. Charlie did graduate high school with as a published author and was selling books! We made a promise a long time ago that we would finish the book and we would get published. We both agreed we wanted to put out the best book we could possibly do. When MasterKoda Select Publishing opened their doors it was like a sign from heaven telling us this was the way to go. So now we have a book out under MKSP and have finally gotten the professional editing the story so desperately needed plus professional help with the cover design as well! This story hasn’t ended yet but we are looking forward to what the future holds.

Bio for Charles Siefken

Charles Siefken (1992-present) is a recent graduate of high school. This is his first book of many to be published. He currently resides in rural central Iowa where he enjoys reading sci/fi books and playing video games among other things. We have found a publisher, MasterKoda Select Publishing! Christopher Paolini was his inspiration to become a writer. Charles is the Author and Wendy Siefken is his co-author.

Charlie's book can be found here at amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Kais-Journey-Chronicles-Clover-ebook/dp/B00D3O48DK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371696428&sr=8-1&keywords=Kai%27s+Journey

And Wendy's and Charlie's Blog is here: http://siefkenpublications.info/

4 Comments

It Was on Their Laps...

7/8/2013

4 Comments

http://kw.wharton.upenn.edu/today/files/2012/05/parentchild.jpg

Laura Barnett submitted this guest post. She published this piece a few weeks ago on her blog, http://tracyheathpublications.blogspot.com/ and it goes perfectly with our theme. Thanks Laura.

My parents are both scholars. There aren't many others that I've met that are as eager to learn as they are. Mom ended her brick-and-mortar based learning in her twenties and started a family, but she continued on her path of absorbing knowledge by becoming a teacher to all four of her children, a tutor to many others, and, most recently, a painter.

Dad continued his education into his thirties, but his pursuit of understanding didn't stop there. His whole business is about uncovering new layers of wisdom to solve the maladies of mankind. Each day is dedicated to learning something new.

Something my parents incorporated into their children is the love of learning, and most of all, the love of reading. My brothers and I would spend hours every day reading--Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, C.S. Lewis--a whole variety. But I think we'd all agree that our favorite times where when one of our parents would read out loud to us.

During the school year, every day after lunch, Mom would read for an hour (or two if we begged hard enough). We worked our way through Great Expectations, the Lord of the Rings series, all of Ralph Moody's books, and many others. Those hours spent lounging around all together in our living room are some of my most treasured childhood memories--Mom's voice growing raspy from reading longer than she really was able to, but just to please her voracious audience.

And then there were the evening reading times with Dad. They didn't happen as frequently, but they made up for the sparsity by the amount of laughter they caused. Dad always read the funny books--the ones you could read for an hour and feel exhausted afterwards. He read selections from James Herriot and Patrick McManus, generally. What I remember most is not the actual stories, but rather Dad seeing a funny line coming up and laughing until he choked. We'd laugh along with him with no clue of what we were laughing at. It would usually take him a minute of wheezing and snorting and thigh-slapping before we even knew what the punch line was, but we didn't care. We'd just laugh all the harder once we actually heard it.

I thank my parents for the truly beautiful memories I have from my childhood. They inspire me to do the same for my child--read until the tears of sorrow and laughter flow. There the best of memories are formed.

4 Comments

From Dick and Jane to Stephen King

7/2/2013

6 Comments

Ann Swann takes me back to my early school days, talking about Dick and Jane and the SRA reading cards. Do you remember or was that before your time?

Reading. It’s always been my favorite thing in the world. In elementary school, I learned to read using the Dick & Jane books. When we finished that program, we were allowed to move up to the SRA (Science Research Associates) reading system, which treated reading as a reward. I can still recall the stillness of the sun-splashed classroom as we all hurried to finish our assignments so that we could choose a reading card from the color-coded SRA box. It was a race to get to the gold level cards. Now, I can’t even remember if I made it; but I certainly remember the feel and the smell of those heavily laminated reading cards. I was in my element.

On my own, I read books like Silver Chief, Dog of the North, and The Black Stallion. Little Women made a huge impact on me, too. But I’ll never forget the weekend I stayed tucked up in my cozy attic bedroom reading the biography of Amelia Earhart. It was riveting. My tiny little room under the eaves was transformed into a cloud-shrouded cockpit barely big enough for Amelia and her navigator. I think it must have been the first time I’d read a biography just for fun.

As a teen, I gravitated toward spooky tales by Poe and Alfred Hitchcock. Then came thrillers such as Jaws, Rosemary’s Baby, The Omen, Harvest Home, and The Exorcist (scared the willies out of me, every one of them).

When I was given Nightshift, Stephen King’s first collection of short stories, I felt as if I had come home from being away.

I taught my daughter to read by reading to her every night. Her favorites were Little Golden Books. All of them. Now, she writes a very popular historical romance series (Sara Barnard) as well as children’s tales for her own little ones.

As a teacher, I built my 5th/6th grade classroom library with everything from Dr. Seuss to C.S. Lewis. But I think the novels Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, and The Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson, always got the best results. I recall one squeamish young lady asking me, in all seriousness, if we could change our reading time to after lunch—we were reading Hatchet—because some of the grosser scenes were stealing her appetite. Mind you, she didn’t want to stop reading, just not right before lunch.

And when we read The Bridge to Terabithia, even the most reluctant readers were captivated. I love reading with children. That’s why I wrote the Phantom Series. It isn’t for the faint of heart though. Just like my student wanting to change the reading period to after lunch all those years ago, I recently heard from one young reader who said she loved the Phantom Books, but she couldn’t read them after eight o’ clock, they were too scary.

I think that’s one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received.

Ann Swann is the author of Stevie-girl and the Phantom Pilot, and Stevie-girl and the Phantom Student, books one and two of The Phantom Series (originally published by Cool Well Press). Book Three in the series, Stevie-girl and the Phantom of Crybaby Bridge, will be published at the end of June, 2013. Ann has also written numerous award winning short stories and novels for adults. She lives in Texas with her husband and their rescue pets, surrounded by her grandchildren, all of whom love it when she says, “Let’s go to the reading chair.” She adores libraries and book stores and owns two different e-readers just for fun.

How to Contact Ann Swann:

Amazon Central: http://tinyurl.com/6wl3oe2

Blog: www.annswann.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/annswann.authorfanpage

Twitter: @ann_swann

Email: swannann76@yahoo.com

Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/6vuw7vl

6 Comments

Write it Yourself

6/25/2013

8 Comments

Inspiration for writing and sharing stories can come from the ones closest to you. I want to thank Cedar Sanderson for sharing her experiences with us:

I have been reading since I was four, and my mother’s task was actually to keep me from reading all the time, so a few years ago when I found myself presented with the opportunity to become a children’s librarian, and a few months later, to write a novel for young adults, I dove in with both feet, feeling that every child should love reading the way I do.

            As a librarian in a library too small to need a full-time children’s librarian, I spent a few hours a week book shopping, planning programs, and just plain talking to kids about books. Because I was familiar with the books in our collection, what was popular, and books that I knew where to find them through inter-library loans, I was often able to steer reluctant readers toward books that would tickle their fancy. I wound up writing a story that bloomed into a novel because of this desire to help kids find books like the one they just read.

            My eldest daughter, who was 11 at the time, had read a book she adored. There was a series by the same author, and she read all that were out at the time, and insisted that I read the first of them, because she wanted to share her pleasure in them (which is a great way to get your kids involved with you in reading - read some of their books, and discuss. Or read aloud to one another). I read it, realized that there were very few books in the library or my home collection, or indeed, in modern releases, that featured mythology, and decided I would write her a story.

            When she went off to a long summer camp, gone for three weeks, I wrote a story about a girl who loved kittens, and who was a mythological gods’ descendant, just like in the book she had wanted me to read. And just like she is - she loves cats, and some other things I wrote into the story. She came home from camp, told me it was a great story, and summer passed. In the fall, she came home from school one day, brandishing a piece of paper. She wanted me to take part in NaNoWriMo, and make the story into a novel, especially since now her two younger sisters were ‘into’ that same series and would want to read more of my stories.

            I did win NaNo and finished the novel for them, but that was just the beginning. They still read avidly, as they always have, but they also are interested in writing now, and my eldest participated in NaNo herself at the youth writer level last fall. I believe she will again this year as well. Her sisters tell me their ideas for my stories all the time, most of which come from the books they are reading.

            With my children, as with the kids who came into the library, I usually just had to worry about supplying them with titles that they would enjoy reading. With the other children in town who I saw less often, I relied on the Summer Reading Program to bring them in, and I would have books on hand to get them interested. Kids like the shiny, the new, the same old subjects, so it can be a challenge to keep older books going out when they look a bit shabby, and to justify buying yet another book on dinosaurs, because that is what all boys of a certain age love.

            Once I had the novel completed and was telling my patrons at the library about it, I discovered that the hook worked not only for my kids, but the library kids. They were thrilled to know a ‘real author’ and often told me all about what they were writing, while asking me about how to write. This led to me recommending books and websites to them for research as well. It was a self-feeding interest that I believe even authors of MG/YA books can help out with, by being willing to volunteer at their local library and talk to kids about writing and reading. Maybe even to take the time to start a junior writer’s club and foster interest and skills that way.

Cedar Sanderson's blog is: www.cedarwrites.com

You can find "Vulcan’s Kittens", the YA novel Cedar wrote for her daughters, and excerpts from it, here: http://cedarwrites.com/vulcans-kittens/

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Passing the Torch by Yvonne Hertzberger

6/19/2013

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Noah passing the torch to the next generation

When our kids were young, even infants, reading was a daily part of their lives. At first it was nursery rhymes, which I sang to them as we looked at the pictures, then Dr. Seuss, Find Waldo, Richard Scary, animal books and others with lots of pictures that we would talk about. It wasn’t long, though, until there had to be a story, be it following all the cars on a train and learning their names, Peter Rabbit, or The Polar Express.

While our daughter caught on to reading right away, we discovered that out son has some dyslexia and found reading and writing a frustrating challenge. So reading aloud to the kids went on for many years, even when Noah ought to be reading on his own.

When Noah, the elder, was about ten, his dad began to read the entire Narnia Chronicles aloud. This became a cherished bedtime routine and there was considerable complaining on nights that were missed. Both our kids loved those books and we would discuss parts they asked about. Our daughter later reread them herself when she was about ten and has been an avid reader ever since.

During that same time Noah was interested in trains, model trains, and all things technical, so we bought him books and magazines with those subjects, mostly short articles that told him how things worked and what they did. Because he has a keen aptitude for those they did not frustrate him the way stories did. But he still struggled with fiction.

Then, in high school, he got the kind of help that he needed to overcome his difficulty. An exceptional teacher took a shine to him and each year his marks rose, so that he eventually made the dean’s list his first year in community college, studying IT.

Now, Noah reads novels, mostly crime and detective or mystery books, but you could have knocked me over with a feather the day he told us he had completed Moby Dick. I mean, I haven’t read Moby Dick, for heaven’s sake.

Now, Noah reads about a book a week as he sits on the train during his daily commute. He reads for pleasure. I credit our early reading aloud sessions for whetting his appetite, and that wonderful teacher for helping him believe in himself.

I cannot stress enough, how important it is for parents to share books and a love of reading with their kids. Had we not done that our son would likely not be the successful man he is today. Now it’s his turn. Even as his wife’s belly grew, he would read to the bulge every night. Now that Nathan is born that continues. The torch is passed.

Yvonne Hertzberger lives in Stratford, Ontario with her spouse, Mark. She calls herself a late bloomer as she began writing at the ripe age of 56. The first two volumes of her Fantasy trilogy, ‘Earth’s Pendulum’ have been well received and the third is on the way. She loves to sing, garden and spend time with like minded people and family.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/YHERTZBE

Facebook Author page: http://www.facebook.com/EarthsPendulum.YvonneHertzberger.author

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Yvonne-Hertzberger/e/B006X3DEOC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Amazon. UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yvonne-Hertzberger/e/B006X3DEOC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3217107.Yvonne_Hertzberger

Website/blog: http://newfantasyauthor.com

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Inspiring Children..
One Book at a Time

One of the most valuable gifts you can give a child is the love of reading.

This blog is for parents, teachers and caregivers and all those who have the power to help young minds to become great minds.

If you would like to write a guest post for this blog, please send an email to greta799(at)yahoo.com

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Greta Burroughs

believes that sharing the joy of reading is one of the most important gifts we can give to a child.
Books can teach, entertain, launch imaginations and help a child/middle grader/teenager to excel in school as well as in life.

Greta is the author of several children's and MG/YA books and her website is here.

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Books by Greta Burroughs. Click cover for more information

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