Blog Archives

2014: A Great Year to Read

12/28/2014

When you read to a child, you bring emotion, love, and adventure into their life. The best part is, you share that experience with them. Priceless.

In two short months, I've read over two hundred fiction picture books as a CYBILS panelist, and hundreds of others in the prior months. While there are many that deserve praise, the selected titles below set a great model for children, teachers, writers and illustrators. 2014 was a great year to read! Bring on 2015.

Feel-Good Illustrations:

Laugh-out-Loud:

Tender Relationships:

Compassion & Diversity:

Mind-Engaging Illustrations:

Nature-ific:

Tell Me a Story:

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Ho-Ho-Holiday Writing Contest Time!

12/11/2014

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Susanna Leonard Hill's contests are irresistible! So of course, I had to enter her 4th Annual Holiday Contest. I must admit, I almost didn't make it! Self doubt can get the best of any writer. But, it's the holidays! We might as well have fun!

This is my first year in this contest, so please help me out by cheering loud and proud for all the participants. You'll have until this Sunday, December 14 to get your fill of as many holiday stories as you can. The finalists will be posted next Monday or Tuesday (15 or 16th) and then it will be time to vote for your favorite. You'll have until Thursday, December 18th at 5pm EST to vote. Have fun!

You'll have to visit Susanna's blog to get the official rules...she's the boss. But, here are a few general guidelines that I had to follow:

-No more than 350 words
-Based on a seasonal holiday
-Wild weather must impact the chosen holiday

It's a fun prompt, huh?! Maybe you'll join me?

Enjoy the story! May your holidays will be filled with fun, family, and lots of joy! (And nice weather.)

Hail the Holidays

By Carrie Charley Brown
346 words

With all the children in all the world, Santa received lots of requests. Some simple. Some sweet. Some strange and some impossible. Christmas letters flooded the North Pole’s mailroom.

“What’s this?” Santa stared at the Jack-o-lanterns, hearts, and Easter eggs flying off the envelope.

“Hmmm. I think I’ll start with this one.”

Dear Santa,

I only want one gift this year. Please send ALL holidays this Christmas. That’s all. Thanks!

Your friend,

Jack

“Ho, ho, ho! Now, I’ll have to think about that one!” Santa tucked the letter into his coat before setting out to see his reindeer.

A giant gust of wind greeted Santa and plucked the letter out of his pocket. Up, up, up it swirled until it reached Mother Nature.

“What’s this?” Inspired by the flurry of Jack-o-lanterns, hearts, and Easter eggs, Mother Nature brewed up the perfect storm.

“Jack-o-lanterns, jack of hearts, Valentines and Hallowed parts,

Line up rabbits! Get Jack Frost! Turkey! Santa! Lines are crossed!”

Mother Nature rolled her hands into a whirlwind sending holiday mementos into orbit. Then, with jazz hands held high, she threw the twirly mess into Jack’s front yard.

Jack awoke to something pelting the window.

“Santa?” He dashed to the window. Firework lightning blazed through the sky as Valentine chocolates and Hanukkah Gelt pounded the house.

“Chocolate hail?”

By the time Jack reached the front yard, a Thanksgiving St. Patrick’s feast had stormed in. Pumpkin pie and stuffing showers splattered jigging Leprechauns. Jack took cover when the torrential downpour turned to Easter eggs and piñatas. An upside down tornado of pine branches swirled into place, sweeping the yard clean and leaving a perfect mammoth Christmas tree. Holiday packages brimmed from the bottom. But what was that? A Santa Claus tree-topper?

“Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, Jack!” A familiar looking envelope drifted down, down, down. Jack plucked it out of the sky and tore it open.

Dear Jack,

I only have one request for you in the New Year. Enjoy each holiday when it comes and save December 25 for Christmas. That’s all. Thanks!

Love,

Santa

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December Mystery Author #2: Carol Gordon Ekster (Plus a Giveaway!)

12/8/2014

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It’s not too early to start thinking of New Year’s Resolutions. In fact, today’s Mystery Author has a great one for you right away. Some of you may have already participated in some form of gratitude practice on social media or otherwise. Carol Gordon Ekster has gone a little further in making this practice an accessible reflection for children. Her newest picture book, BEFORE I SLEEP: I SAY THANK YOU released on December 1st.

Welcome, Carol!

I love the gratitude theme of your new book. Is this practice part of your daily life?

Yes, it is. I say five things I’m grateful for every night before bed. About eleven years ago I woke up in the middle of the night saying in my head over and over…”Before I sleep it’s time to pray…” That’s the beginning of the Jewish bedtime prayer, the Shema. I knew it was a hint that there was a story to be written and I wrote it down on a piece of paper. Many of the starts of my stories fly in on a dream! I got down a first draft shortly after that and didn’t do a first revision until a few months later. The story was acquired ten years after I started writing it, most interestingly by a Catholic publisher, after many rejections and revisions. Also, around that time of my first thoughts about Before I Sleep, I overheard a colleague speaking about a TV show about gratitude she had watched on Oprah. I sometimes think, What if I hadn’t been eating my lunch at that time? I dedicated the book to that coworker, who unfortunately is no longer alive. I don’t think Before I Sleep: I Say Thank You would be the book it is today had she not sparked the idea that ended up shaping the story. That’s also when I began my own nightly routine of gratitude. I latched on to this idea from the minute I heard about it.

You are blessed with many years of teaching experience. Time to put on the teaching shoes again! What would you recommend to parents as the best way to teach gratitude to their children?

Well, of course, I’d suggest parents read my book to their children! That and for all good habits you’d like your children to have… model it yourself. To me, modeling is the most powerful form of teaching. Kids are astute. They are watching you. Be your best self, and your children will follow.

Also, how would you recommend they introduce this as a resolution for their small children?

Parents could read the book for a few nights, and then help the child reinforce the practice explained in the book. There is both an introductory page, “For Grown-ups”, and an end page for children, “Now it’s your turn”, complete with suggestions. My hope is that with a little help from the adults in their life, children will resolve to continue this sweet time to review their day in thankfulness, until it becomes their nightly routine…hopefully forever!

All of your books offer opportunities for parents and children to work as a team. Which do you feel has influenced this in your writing more: teaching or parenting?

I was first and foremost a teacher. It has been my life passion. That said, the most important student was and still is my daughter. I only had one year to influence the other children in my life. Parenting is teaching.

Do the themes you have covered in your books hit close to home?

Well, my first book, Where Am I Sleeping Tonight?-A Story of Divorce, is about a child in a shared custody situation. I am not divorced and my parents aren’t divorced, but I wrote this because I felt my students’ pain when they went through a divorce in their family. I wanted families to have something to help them through this difficult time. I think my book offers them hope. My second book, Ruth the Sleuth and the Messy Room, deals with the issue of organization. I heard from so many parents over my thirty-five years of teaching 4th grade that I got their children organized and taught them how to study. I ran a tight ship. I get very frustrated when I can’t find something and I know what an important life skill organization is. And my new book, Before I Sleep: I Say Thank You, I truly believe can make the world a better, kinder, sweeter place. I want that world for my new grandson to grow up in…and that hits pretty close to home! The book encourages a nightly routine of gratitude. Try it…it’s hard to feel grumpy and angry when you’re focused on things you are grateful for.

What are 5 things you are currently most grateful for in your writing life?

I am grateful for being able to have a flexible schedule. I lived 35 teaching years by the bell. Being able to write when I want, which is usually after I finish an exercise and yoga class, is definitely something I’m grateful for. I am grateful for the illustrators who brought my stories to life and to the publishers who believed in my work. I am grateful that I have something of value to do with my retirement. Being an author has kept me very busy! And I am most grateful for being able to continue to communicate with children, not only through my books, but when I do Skype and classroom visits, as well. Teaching was such a big part of my life. So it the sweetest of gifts to be able to still have opportunities to interact with students. I want to be able to touch lives for as long as I am able.

What is on the writing horizon for you?

I have something in the acquisitions process…so I can’t tell you too much yet. And I’m always working on multiple stories. I have more than fifty manuscripts that are in some stage of the draft, revision, or submission process. Some new ones are sillier, not so teacher-like. Maybe this is a time of transition for me! I want to always continue to work on my craft so I can write the best stories possible. I am truly grateful for my author life!

I've started my gratitude list already, Carol. I am so grateful that you agreed to open up your heart to us today. I am also incredibly blessed to have you as a critique buddy!

Now it's your turn, readers! Show Carol some love as she offers up a copy of BEFORE I SLEEP! Enter the giveaway below and tell us: Do you have similar traditions with your children before bed?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Carol Gordon Ekster’s first published book, Where Am I Sleeping Tonight?-A Story of Divorce, Boulden Publishing, 2008, was an About.com Readers' Choice 2012 finalist for Best Children's Book for Single Parents. “The Library Is The Perfect Place”, was in Library Sparks magazine, 2010. The picture book, Ruth The Sleuth and The Messy Room, on Character Publishing’s debut list, 2011, was awarded the Children’s Literary Classics Seal of Approval. Before I Sleep: I Say Thank You, will be out January 1, 2015 with Pauline Books & Media. Her first e-book, Hip Hopping Books, will be out with Schoolwide Inc.’s digital library, winter 2015. Retired from teaching, Carol now spends time in critique groups, doing exercise and yoga, and working on her books. She’s grateful that her writing allows her to continue communicating with children.

Find out more at www.carolgordonekster.com or follow her on Twitter @cekster.

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December Mystery Author #1: Paul Czajak (Plus a Giveaway!)

12/1/2014

1 Comment

It's a tradition, here at Carrie On...Together, to offer TWO Mystery Authors Interviews as a special holiday gift before welcoming in the New Year. Today's author is not new to Carrie On... Together! Paul Czajak, and Monster, have both been Mystery Authors in the past.

As an early fan of Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer, there’s a special place in my heart for the Monster & Me series by Paul Czajak. Monster strikes me as a larger than life version of something every kid needs to follow. He loves to play, has a gentle spirit, and a short attention span. Hmmm…yep. He reminds me of my own kids. It’s only natural that I want to follow his every move. We all know by now that Monster has lots of needs just like every kid out there. Monster Needs a Christmas Tree is waiting to be wrapped and placed under YOUR tree.
Welcome back to Carrie On…Together, Paul!

Hey Carrie! Thank you for having me!

How did you go about creating Monster as a character? Did he adopt any of your personal traits?

Monster was born the day my daughter said, “My monster needs a haircut”. I thought it was brilliant that she would have a monster that needed a haircut. Then after watching my kids it was obvious that Monster needs a lot of things so I started writing each one down. What was interesting is how monster went from the original idea of MY monster which would suggest a pet like relationship with Boy, to just Monster who is now a Boy’s best friend. When I was creating the character on paper Monster became a combination of my kids. He has the creativity of my daughter (7), who I honestly think had enough tape and paper she could build a working rocket; and my son (9) who is the most generous kid and always in a good mood. You Mash those qualities together and you get a Monster who is larger than life.

What do you feel is the key to having a character with series potential?

That is a tough question because I didn’t go out and say, “Today I am going to create a character for a series!” I wish it worked that way because that would be really, really easy. Instead the the two characters just emerged. But If you look at what I did create I think what you can say about Boy and Monster is that they are likable, relatable (yes I know it’s a Monster but he has childlike qualities) and you can put them in a number of different situations.

In Monster Needs a Christmas Tree, Monster and Boy take a very creative approach with their tree. Have you always hosted a traditional tree in your own home or do you veer to a more creative approach? (Is there a story behind the type of tree you chose for Monster?)

We have always done a traditional tree in our house. The closest thing to a non-traditional tree was when I was a kid, I think it was 1980. My parents bought a real tree but it was covered in white flocking to make it look like it was covered in snow. Ahh... the 80's. Such an odd era.

As for the tree Monster created, I got the idea at a florist shop when the store had several potted poinsettias all stacked like a tree. I took it one step further with Monster using what ever plant he could find. I wanted Monster to think outside the box, plus I thought the picture would be cool.

That just goes to show that ideas are everywhere!

In our previous interview, we learned that Monster sings a little song to help him fall asleep. If Monster rewrote the 12 days of Christmas song, what would he include?

The first thing Monster would change out is all the birds. Not sure what was up with this guy and birds but man was he obsessed. So I will only go with those seven.

7 days of presents

6 books of reading

5 gold rings (it’s really the only good present in the song. Monster is silly but he isn’t an idiot)

4 Bags of Skittles

3 Songs to sing

2 blue canary night lights (the dark is still creepy)

And 1 Best friend Boy to share it all!!!!

Does Monster have a favorite holiday song?

Little Saint Nick, redone by Dr. Teeth and the electric Mayhem. The Muppets are big with Monster and he really likes Animal in that version.

The rhymes you incorporate are so much fun, Paul. As writers, we are told not to submit rhyme unless it is absolutely perfect. What do you recommend most to other writers that are trying to perfect the art of rhyme and meter?

First of all I don’t believe there is a perfect rhyming book. With the different ways people pronounce words you can never be perfect for everyone. That being said the rhyme and the meter has to be perfect for most. I would never dissuade someone from trying to write in rhyme. But if you have a hard time hearing the meter then don’t try it until you can. I would suggest reading several rhyming books and tapping along with them until you can hear the meter.
Once you write something, have someone else read it back to you. They don’t automatically know the meter up front, so this way you will hear the good and the bad immediately.

Thanks for joining us again, Paul! I love how this this book celebrates many aspects of Christmas and winter at once.

For you, my readers, there is still time to win one of three copies of Monster Needs a Christmas Tree at Paul’s Goodreads Giveaway. Good luck! But before you leave to enter the contest, please leave Paul a comment or question below. (It's your chance to tell Paul what you think Monster needs next.)

Paul Czajak got an ‘F’ with the words “get a tutor” on his college writing paper and after that, never thought he’d become a writer. But after spending twenty years as a chemist, he knew his creativity could no longer be contained. Living in Massachusetts with his wife, and two little monsters, Paul has rediscovered his passion for writing and looks forward to sharing his stories for years to come.

To find out more about Paul, and to read his blog, visit www.paulczajak.com.

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Click picture for a video greeting.

Carrie Charley Brown

As a children’s writer, and a teacher, my goal is to help you carry on. Sometimes learning is challenging, so why go it alone? Your journey will be more meaningful and comfortable with friends to share it with. Together, we'll get up close and personal with authors, illustrators, and the best of picture books. If we work together, great things will follow!

2014: A Great Year to Read

Ho-Ho-Holiday Writing Contest Time!

December Mystery Author #2: Carol Gordon Ekster (Plus a Giveaway!)

December Mystery Author #1: Paul Czajak (Plus a Giveaway!)

Carrie Charley Brown

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