ABC’S OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD

Traci Bold's PLAYING WITH WORDS

ABC GAME WITH AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR, TERESA ROBESON!

 The ABC song is one of the first fun songs we teach our children to sing. Why? Because the alphabet is thebackbone for learning to read and write. For some people, reading and writing is not fun at all. Which is why I thought up my ABC game.

My new series, ABC’S  OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD offersa new way to have fun with the alphabet. Every week, a children’s author, illustrator, literary agent or editor will share their ‘top of the head’ answers to the ABC category list they were given, A to Z. Following their answers, I ask a few questions to gain a little insight into their world.

Feel free to play along, maybe your answer off the top of your head will match theirs. Enjoy!

Our ABC game contestant today is author…

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ABC’S OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD

Traci Bold's PLAYING WITH WORDS

With Children’s Author & Poet Renée M. LaTulippe

Friday, January 5, 2018 

The ABC song is one of the first fun songs we teach our children to sing. Why? Because the alphabet is the backbone for learning to read and write. For some people, reading and writing is not fun at all. 

My new series, ABC’S OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, offers a new way to have fun with the alphabet. Every week, a children’s author, illustrator, literary agent, or editor will share their “top of the head” answers to the ABC category list they were given, A to Z. Following their answers, I ask a few questions to gain a little insight into their world.

Feel free to play along—maybe your answers off the top of your head will match theirs. Enjoy!

 

Rhyming picture books are the hardest picture books to write well. Why? Today’s contestant…

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ABC’S OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD

Traci Bold's PLAYING WITH WORDS

With Children’s Author and Illustrator, KIDLIT411.com Co-Founder, Sylvia Liu 

Friday, January 19, 2018 

The ABC song is one of the first fun songs we teach our children to sing. Why? Because the alphabet is the backbone for learning to read and write. For some people, reading and writing is not fun at all.

My new series, ABC’S OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD offers a new way to have fun with the alphabet. Every week, a children’s author, illustrator, literary agent or editor will share their ‘top of the head’ answers to the ABC category list they were given, A to Z. Following their answers, I ask a few questions to gain a little insight into their world.

Feel free to play along, maybe your answer off the top of your head will match theirs. Enjoy! 

Today’s guest is one of the co-founders of the award-winning, resource…

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ABC’S OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD

Traci Bold's PLAYING WITH WORDS

With Children’s Author and
Founder of KIDLIT411.com, Elaine Kiely Kearns

 

The ABC song is one of the first fun songs we teach our children to sing. Why? Because the alphabet is the backbone for learning to read and write. For some people, reading and writing is not fun at all. 

My new series, ABC’S OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD offers a new way to have fun with the alphabet. Every week, a children’s author, illustrator, literary agent or editor will share their ‘top of the head’ answers to the ABC category list they were given, A to Z. Following their answers, I ask a few questions to gain a little insight into their world.

Feel free to play along, maybe your answer off the top of your head will match theirs. Enjoy!

Today our contestant is children’s author, and founder of one of the top-rated websites for children’s…

View original post 726 more words

Five Books that Will Take Your Writing to the Next Level

by Sylvia Liu
Reposted from sylvialiuland.com

How do you become a better writer?

You can write a lot. You can read a lot. And you can read how-to-write books. While my main focus is illustration, I have taken creative writing classes and studied many craft books. Here are the most useful and practical ones I’ve come across:

All About The Lyrical Language Lab Online Writing Course

Interview with founder Renée M. LaTulippe by Julie Hedlund
Reposted from juliehedlund.com

I am SO delighted to be hosting my friend Renée LaTulippe today. I met Renée initially through my 12 x 12 challenge, and quickly discovered her talent and effervescence as a children’s poet/actress/performer. So much so that I corralled her to serve as the “Poetry Elf” for 12 x 12 these past two years, where she passes her poetic passion onto other bards to be (and already are… no not to be…).

Renée has long been an advocate for poets and a supporter of poetry for children, but now she’s passing on her gifts in a course designed to help ALL writers write more lyrically and rhythmically in her course THE LYRICAL LANGUAGE LAB: Punching up Prose with Poetry. Because I am signed up to take this course in July, Renée gave me a sneak peek into the course and a spot in the private Facebook group.

Writing Process: The Writing of the Poem “Elegy for a Daffodil”

by Renée M. LaTulippe
Reposted from NoWaterRiver.com

Every now and then I participate in a yearly event called March Madness Poetry…

in which poets are assigned a difficult word and then given 36 hours to compose a children’s poem using that word. Since it’s a high-pressure, high-stakes kind of game, I thought I’d share the feverish process that is devising a poem for March Madness.

For Round 1, I had 36 hours to compose a poem for the word GAIETY. In light of words like verjuice, parallax, and grok, I thought I had it easy, but this word gave me some trouble indeed. Besides that pesky extra syllable, I felt boxed in by the meaning of the word. I had to write a poem about frolicking, it seems, so I dutifully made my list of words.

Three Essential Books for the Visual Storyteller

by Sylvia Liu
Reposted from sylvialiuland.com

 

If you’re an aspiring children’s book artist or writer seeking to improve your skills…

you can take classes, study the masters and experts, read voraciously, join a critique group, and continuously practice your craft. With some patience, curiosity and a good internet connection, you can expose yourself to a world of ideas, inspiration, and tips and advice from fellow travelers. Every once in awhile an actual book may make it onto your reference shelf. In my own journey to become a better visual storyteller, these three books have stood out for their ability to teach and inspire:

Happy 1st Birthday, Kidlit411!

by Sylvia Liu
Reposted from sylvialiuland.com

Many of you know that my friend Elaine Kiely Kearns and I run a resource website for children’s writers and illustrators, Kidlit411.

We have been open one year, and it’s been so much fun watching it grow. The concept is brilliantly simple (Elaine’s brainchild): gather all the kidlit links of good articles, resources, and advice that is available all over the internet and organize it in an accessible and appealing way.Over the year, the site has grown to include: