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October Bonus Links Worth Your While

10/29/2015

Mathew Winner’s Let’s get Busy Podcast, highlights the best picture books of summer 2015--perfect mentor texts.

The School Library Journal's article, Celebrating Literacy: Kids as Readers, Writers, and Imaginers, we learn about recent picture books that encourage creativity in kids.

Jill Esbaum posted a great review of Froodle and an Interview with Antoinette Portis that is definitely worth reading.

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October Mentor Text Check-In and Challenge: Keeping Up With CYBILS Nominations

10/20/2015

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By Carrie Charley Brown

It’s that time of the month. Are you ready for a challenge? Since I have been wrapped up in the amazing world of judging the CYBILS Fiction Picture Book Nominations again this year, I figured this would also be the perfect challenge for you, too. After all, it hits many of our ReFoReMo goals:

Read from the current market. CYBILS nominations cover books published between October 16, 2014 and October 15, 2015. Now, THAT’S current!
Read and research consistently. With an expected total of somewhere around 200 nominations, it will definitely keep your habit consistent. (And fast-n-furious!)
Decide for yourself which elements can help you with your writing. CYBILS nominations were open to the public for 15 days…meaning anyone could nominate a book. After that time, authors themselves, publishers, and publicists can nominate, too. We get a wide variety of books…some outstanding mentor texts and some, well, you can be the judge for yourself. We can learn from all sorts of examples. Sometimes mentor texts show what-to-do and others show what-not-to-do with our writing.

So, I invite you...no, I CHALLENGE you, to read and research with me. The working list of nominations can be found HERE. Let’s read! And if you want to take it a step further, write a few reviews, too!

Reviews for Three:
What About Moose? Written by Corey Rosen Schwartz & Rebecca Gomez and Illustrated by Keika Yamaguchi

Wherever You Go Written by Pat Zietlow Miller and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler

I Thought This Was a Bear Book Written by Tara Lazar and Illustrated by Benji Davies

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October Author: Yvonne Mes Talks Mentor Texts

10/13/2015

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Interview By Carrie Charley Brown

Photo credit: Ozan Tortop

Welcome to Part Two of Yvonne Mes's author interview. If you have not yet read Part One, you can find it HERE. You won't want to miss the complete look into Yvonne's personal writing world.

Do you utilize picture books as mentor texts? If so, how?

For about two years I visited two local libraries almost each week and got extra library cards for each of my sons, this allowed me to read about 80 picture books per week. This helped me to understand what worked well, what didn’t and why. I think the writing seeped in my subconscious and studying writing at the same time heightened my awareness.

I read a lot of biographical picture books in amongst the fiction picture books at this time. When I was asked to write MEET SIDNEY NOLAN, I closely studied the previous books in the series. I also studied word count and voice. I borrowed many books from the library, bought local ones and ordered some in from overseas (USA). I didn’t call them mentor texts at the time, to me it was research. I have listed some texts that I found particularly interesting and turned into mentor texts on the way.

Were there any particular mentor texts that inspired you in the creation of your two debut picture books, Sidney Nolan and Oliver's Grumbles?

There were many, but here are some favorites:

For Meet Sidney Nolan:

Queen Victoria’s Underpants - Jacqui French illustrated by Bruce Whatley
Simpson and his Donkey (in the USA known as The Donkey of Gallipoli: A True Story of Courage in World War I) – Mark Greenwood illustrated by Frane Lessac.
Minette’s Feast – The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat by Susanna Reich, illustrated by Amy Bates
On a Beam of Light – A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky

For Oliver’s Grumbles:

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge and Possum Magic- by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas
Tanglewood – Margaret Wild, illustrated by Vivienne Goodman
Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak

A BIG thanks to Yvonne for being with us in this two-part interview! If you haven't read Part One yet, slide on over to Carrie On... Together!

Yvonne Mes is a children’s author, illustrator and devourer of books. She writes short stories, picture books and junior novels. Yvonne coordinates Write Links, the Brisbane children's writers and illustrators group, and is vice president of Book Links QLD (Inc.) She reviews for Buzz Words Magazine and occasionally for the CBCA QLD newsletter. You can also follow her journey on her blogsite Picture a Book and on Twitter @YvonneCMes.

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Mentor Text Author Study: Aaron Reynolds

10/6/2015

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by Kirsti Call

At my house, we read Creepy Carrots, by Aaron Reynolds all the time. Why do my kids enjoy it so much? How does Aaron succeed in making us laugh and feel a little scared at the same time? What makes me willing to read it over and over? Why do we make references to creepy carrots every time we see something orange?

Clearly, Aaron’s picture books make an impact and his versatility makes him a great author to study. Aaron’s use of humor, the unexpected, and lyrical language make his books incredible mentor texts to learn from.

Humor: Aaron masterfully writes stories that not only make us laugh, but also subtly teach. Superhero School is fun to read and yet definitely makes a point about the importance of math. Carnivores teaches about animals hilariously, in a way that makes us empathize with the carnivores even after they eat each other. Chicks and Salsa makes us laugh as the barnyard animals yearn for and learn how to make southwestern food. Pirates vs. Cowboys comical story shows us that we have something in common with everyone--even if it’s body odor!

The Unexpected: Aaron’s stories surprise us. In Creepy Carrots, the carrots get the best the bunny in the end. Buffalo Wings stars a rooster chef who wants to make buffalo wings, but doesn’t realize they are made of chicken! Aaron’s rhyming story, Snowbots, pairs two unlikely things, (snow and robots) into a wonderful rollicking story. Here Comes Destructosaurus! depicts a tantruming monster who really is just looking for his teddy bear. Nerdy Birdy surprises us with how nerds can sometimes be just as exclusive as the popular kids. (Carrie posted a think quick interview with Aaron about Nerdy Birdy, here).

Lyrical Language: In Metal Man, a welder makes sculptures out of junk and helps a young boy create something special. The words are lyrical and powerfully written with a message about creativity and being yourself. In Back of the Bus, the story of Rosa Parks is told from the point of view of a young boy who sits in the back of the bus while she sits in the front. His symbolism and lush language make this story moving and powerful. It’s the perfect way to being a discussion about racism with young children.

Whether you're writing humous or lyrical or serious stories, Aaron's books are great mentor texts. What have you learned from Aaron Reynold’s books?

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October Bonus Links Worth Your While

October Mentor Text Check-In and Challenge: Keeping Up With CYBILS Nominations

October Author: Yvonne Mes Talks Mentor Texts

Mentor Text Author Study: Aaron Reynolds﻿

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Mentor Text Author Study: Aaron Reynolds