First People/American Indians/Native Americans in October/November + All Year Round

First People/American Indians/Native Americans

In October/November + All Year Round

by J.G. Annino

            SCBWI co-founder Lin Oliver is known for saying that

writers of picture books should read, digest & understand (not skim)

at least 100 picture books before attempting to write one. If they aspire to

publish a mighty fine p.b. of their own.

            Borrowing a page from Lin Oliver, today’s column suggests 

knowing, indepth, 100 books. On the Native American topic.

            Here are resources so that illustrators & writers, for children, can glean

100 great titles  & resources backed by authenticity on the topic of Native

Americans/First Peoples/American Indians.  And teachers & librarians not

writing for children may also enjoy time spent with the resources, too.

            Seeking out new titles, or, titles new to you, although written by Native

Americans decades back, helps counter books that don’t stand up to critical scrutiny.

Websites on the topic, operated by Tribe museums or Tribe governments are also

resources for titles & other information.

            It may just be that after reading 100, or 100+  titles, a writer may feel

that a book for children could emerge in better shape as a collaborative effort,

or at least with review during the process, by a Tribe member/Tribe staff who have

authentic deep connection.

                                                 How to Find Titles

CYNTHIA LEITICH SMITH – Longtime, active & supportive SCBWI member.

An award-winning children’s author with Native American heritage. Her pages offer

many fine resources.

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/diversity/native_am/nat_lit/native_lit_novels.html

AMERICAN INDIANS IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE –Dr. Debbie Reese who

created & administers this encyclopedic site, is an enrolled Nambe Pueblo Tribe member & an expert on children’s literature. On the right hand side of the AICL resource, find articles & pages, such as books by grade & how to evaluate a book on a Native American topic. Also note her tabs at the top, where there is also a world of illumination such as, “We are not people of color.” If time is really limited, that one article can be a game-changer.

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/

OYATE – A site operated by Tribe members who specialize in evaluating

books on Native American/First Peoples topics, especially for school age.

http://oyate.org/index.php/workshops

            Below is a book I’m currently enjoying.

           

            Memoirs, written by Native Americans/First Peoples, help us understand the benefit for
the eventual child readers, if non-natives, or those without deep Tribe connections, such as years
teaching American Indian students, collaborate with Tribe members, in crafting books for children.

           

My Indian Boyhood – Chief Luther Standing Bear (Lakota name, OTA K’TE)

Univeristy of Nebraska Press

“The first white men to come to this country thought they had discovered

India, a land they had been searching for, so they named the people they

found here Indians. Through the mistake of these first white settlers, we have

been called Indians ever since.” c. Chief Luther Standing Bear

Topics covered include - food traditions, riding his dear pony in a way nearly invisible
to anyone by clinging to the side, only one leg slung over the animal’s back at full speed
from age six, survival skills for a child alone on the Plains, high standards of cleanliness,
using plants for perfumes & much more is covered in an eloquent way.

                                    THANKSGIVING ALERT!

            If you are wondering about the timing of this post, it appears

on Monday, Oct. 12, 2015 the famous Columbus Day in the great U.S.A.

It is also published early enough that if you seek titles to read in school

or share with young people at Thanksgiving, you can use these resources.

            It’s awkward for our profession to know that some well-intentioned 

Thanksgiving holiday books have sections that may not stand up to solid 

critique, applied by American Indians in Children’s Literature, Oyate & similar 

expert sites. 

            Once I answered a challenge about these ideas from a fine person, a children’s 

writer appearing at the same time I was at a big city book festival. The writer thought to 

change (“retell,” in the writer’s word) a Native American teaching that this writer termed 

a legend. It was a sacred teaching received by young Tribe members from Elders; not 

something to change. It was not thought of that way by the writer, who seemed frustrated 

that a Tribe member might not be thrilled with any attention given to the Tribe by a traditionally published children’s author.  My understanding was that an editor had already turned down the project, citing similar reasons. I said,  “We don’t know, what we don’t know.”

                                     Some Thanksgiving Information

            http://oyate.org/index.php/resources/43-resources/thanksgiving

              Also, American Indians in Children's Literature has several articles about
Thanksgiving books for schools and children.

 

            There are at least 500 recognized Tribes in North America. Their

traditions, history & status is complex & fascinating to study. I am only

beginning to learn.

                                    So, Why I Am Writing This?

            One of our group members thoughtfully suggested the topic.

            I waved my hand. In a long literary odyssey, I worked with a Tribe
member/family members & that person’s Tribe museum, (affiliated with the Smithsonian)
to bring an eye-opening p. b. biography to children in 2010. It is in print & used
in many classrooms and libraries. Although it received good national & state
recognition, the honor that I held my breath to receive, is that it is sold in the
Tribe’s museum bookstore & was promoted to their membership.  The family
sent me a kind note after publication.

            I appreciate you for being interested in the American Indian/Native American/
First Peoples topic.  Happy Columbus Day!

With STEVE MOOSER/ SCBWI by J.G. Annino

Giveaway alert!

             If you stumble upon the capital letters, SCBWI, unexplained, this can pose a puzzlement.

                                                            See Chicken Books Which Invigorate?

                                                             Smile Cold Bears Wafting Icicles?  

            From the first time I heard SCBWI spoken out in full length -

Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators - the nourishing group has held my hand.
          Maybe you have your own glow from connecting with a SCBWI critique group,

from attending a conference or, in gleaning a crucial tip at the national

​website, and from regional chapter sites.

            And then, consider the SCBWI Bulletin.

            Many of us save paper version of the SCBWI Bulletin.  Each issue’s cover

shows off the fabulous original art of one talented & lucky member artist.

            You can make a game of finding the SCBWI kite & tail on each cover.

            You can curate favorite covers in your office or at school.

            One of my topmost faves is the plant-bedecked  May/June of 2010 cover

created by artist Lisa Desimini. A favorite kite hunt cover I like is the 40th birthday

celebration cover by Priscilla Burris in May/June 2011. Many of us kept that issue, as it featured a spiffy SCBWI chronology by Eileen Heyes. (And the cover kites were small cupcake toppers.)

            A sweet use of old paper ones (some members receive the Bulletin online)

is to gift them to SCBWI recruits. When the nascent SCBWI network launched in

North Florida in 2001, our events with Eliza Dresang, a well-regarded children’s literature

specialist, award-winning author Adrian Fogelin, our showcase at the library, & monthly meetings,

were fun. But for newbies, it could be that our pass-along SCBWI Bulletin copies

(as long as they lasted) were the most popular feature. 

            SCBWI is both safety net & tough love coach for illustrators & writers worldwide.

These are creators striving for nothing less than the best for young readers, ​to paraphrase

Newbery Award author E.L. Konisburg, who said, “And writing for children deserves a certain

kind of excellence.”

            We are lucky to hear from Steve Mooser, SCBWI president since 1971.

            Steve Mooser studied journalism & film-making in college & has lived on both coasts,

but prefers California. He founded SCBWI with jaunty author Lin Oliver, he has published

more than 60 books & has won many awards. He is a husband and a father, in addition to being

president.  He is also was also, a class clown. Now, some of Steve Mooser’s preferences or predictions.

​ ​
7 Questions for Steve Mooser, President, Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators

 Favorite spots/places/times to read for pleasure

In the evening before falling asleep—that’s usually in a bed rather than in a canoe far out at sea.

 Surfboard, paddle board, kayak/canoe or…

basketball

 What professional writing/publishing/creative groups do you belong to, besides SCBWI?

For what reasons?

I belong to The Authors Guild because I support their lobbying legislators and others for fair treatment of authors and illustrators.

Also -The Coalition Against Censorship, again, for supporting authors.

 What may be new for SCBWI national conferences in the next 10 years?

Probably more on new publishing platforms, and perhaps some live streaming of certain sessions. And if I have my way, perhaps stream the entire conference using Google Cardboard or Oculus Rift technology, to give people around the world the opportunity to experience the conference in Virtual Reality.

 Three legendary SCBWI members, sadly no longer with us & why we should
commemorate/remember them (links at end of this column)

Sue Alexander, our first member and a co-founder of the SCBWI.

Paula Danziger, whose enthusiasm for writing, for interacting with young people, and for the SCBWI keeps her in our thoughts every day.

Sid Fleischman, who along with Jane Yolen, spoke at our very first conference. He never ceased advising and mentoring us on everything from writing to magic. And he was master of both.

 Three current youngest SCBWI members & something about them

We don’t ask for age other than over 18.  I will say this—we wish we could have members under 18 but COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) laws prohibit us from collecting contact information on minors.  Over the years, however, some members have snuck their budding author or illustrator son or daughter into a session or two at the conference, and I have no doubt that mother’s stealth and their children’s desire will pay off down the road with a career in the field.

 (from Jan -  I have always enjoyed meeting these junior talents at SCBWI events...)
 

What are your visual art skills?

Zero –even my stick figures don’t look like stick figures

Appreciations to Steve for flying kites with us today & for his work on behalf of SCBWI.

Look for Resoruces/Links & Giveaway info, below.

RESOURCES

SCBWI  www.scbwi.org
STEVE MOOSER, especially his Class Clown Academy
http://stephenmooser.com/
BOTH SCBWI & Steve Mooser,  May 2015  Q & A

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-henry-sterry/stephen-mooser-on-kids-books-writing-_b_7236610.html

SUE ALEXANDER

http://jwa.org/people/alexander-sue

PAULA DANZIGER

http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/paula-danziger

SID FLEISCHMAN

http://sidfleischman.com/

. . .
GIVEAWAY – A copy of one of SCBWI member Lisa Desimini's picture books

(random title from Jan’s cache)

Comment TO WIN

During October at this day's blog -

1. Create a fun substitute for what the capital letters SCBWI can mean

 (see top of this article…)

        OR

2.  Leave a topical comment

3.  Or, do both
Plus, if you want to win,  make sure I know how to reach you.

As always, you may comment & opt out of the giveaway.

Persnickety Ginger the Ginger Cat is often hired to perform

selection honors & likely he will assist once more.

DEADLINE – Last day to comment to win - Oct 31, 2015

As close to Nov. 1 as possible, winner will be posted here in comments.

(You need not be an SCBWI member to enter... but, why don't you join, n-e-how?)

Screen Plays and Picture Books - A Surprising Connection

by Leslie Colin Tribble

Recently at my regional SCBWI conference I heard two different people mention the correlation between writing picture books and screen plays. What? What does writing a screen play have to do with writing children’s picture books? 

I sat down with a friend, Jake Graham, who writes screen plays to see if I could understand this phenomenon and I discovered some interesting ideas. Read on – you’ll see these different forms are actually pretty similar types of writing.

 Every Word Counts

I haven’t been in the picture book industry for very long, but in just a few short years agents and editors have gone from asking for word counts to be under 1000, to 500 and now it seems 300 is a good length to shoot for. That means every word must be absolutely the best choice. There’s no room for a mediocre word or sentence. Screen plays are the same. Each word, snippet of dialogue or scene description has to strongly convey the story. The perfect screen play is 120 pages which is the equivalent of a 120 minute movie – one page equals one minute of movie. Mediocre isn’t going to find a home in 120 pages either.

Move the Story Forward

In a screen play, the writer must move the plot forward or reveal something about the character in every scene. With the brevity of picture books, there’s a “scene” on each page, so every page has to count for something. Jake told me some of the best screen writers use index cards when writing. Each card is a scene – it has the slug line or heading, scene description, character description and action. The writer then lays the cards out and reviews the story. If an index card contains something that doesn’t move the story forward, it gets tossed. It’s a great pre-writing tool to structure the story better, but it’s also an excellent rewriting tool. 

Picture book writers are told to make a dummy of their book to help with flow and page breaks. I think the index cards might be a useful tool as well. A dummy makes your manuscript already feel like a book and you might be more hesitant to make some of those cruel editing decisions. Index cards seem less permanent - you might be less horrified to throw out those precious words.

One Thing

In a screen play, each character is known for their particular “one thing.” Every interaction with other characters, every action must be about that “one thing.” In writing picture books, I think this relates to understanding the main character’s conflict or desire. Don’t muddy the waters by suddenly bringing in another conflict or issue. Keep the plot about the “one thing” and its resolution.

Three Act Play

Screen plays are traditionally thought of as occurring in three acts – Act One is 30 pages, Act Two 60 pages and Act Three back to 30 pages. That’s pretty much the same in picture books, setting up the conflict, working to resolve the conflict and satisfying ending.

Plan

Jake told me the best way to write a screen play is to know the ending and work to get there. This allows you to have greater control over the scenes and keeps the script tighter. He suggests spending a lot of time pre-planning the story, which is hard to hear for someone whose writing consists of “winging” it. Planning and plotting was another refrain I heard more than once at the conference - that's an aspect of craft I’ll definitely have to work on.

Conclusion

After learning a little bit more about screen writing, I understand why the conference speakers suggested this medium as a way to become a better picture book writer. The two disciplines have a lot in common. Who knows? Maybe you’ll after looking into screen writing you’ll decide this is the writing you were meant to do!

*Note: The book, Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder was mentioned as a good resource for learning about screen writing. 

Goodnight, Manger--An Interview with Author Laura Sassi by Tina Cho

Welcome back to Laura Sassi in celebration of her second picture book, Goodnight, Manger. The book is available October 6th from ZonderKidz. You can read her first interview here about her debut picture book Goodnight, Ark. 

BOOK SUMMARY:  It’s bedtime for baby Jesus, but who knew a stable could be so loud? Mama, Papa, and all of the animals try to lull the baby to sleep, but between itchy hay, angels singing, and three kings bearing gifts, it’s too noisy. Cuddle up as everyone tries working together to shepherd Baby into peaceful dreams.

1. What was the inspiration behind Goodnight, Manger?  When my kids were little they loved playing with the little plastic nativity that we set up in the living room each December. I encouraged their play because I felt it was a good way for them to stay connected to the real meaning of Christmas in a fun, tangible way.  My daughter, especially, took a liking to the little Baby Jesus. She carried him tenderly around the house. As she played, I often overheard her saying things like, “Baby Jesus crying. It’s okay, Baby.”  Then she’d gently feed him with her imaginary bottle or rock him and sing a lullaby.  To be honest before listening to her tender play, I’d never thought of Baby Jesus as ever crying. He’s certainly never depicted that way in the carols and stories we sing and read about His birth.  But, he was human (and God), and so he must have cried.  With this fresh image in mind, I had the spark of inspiration I needed to write my story.

2. How long did it take you to write this story? 

  I am a percolator. That is, I like to reflect on new stories and poems, sometimes for weeks or months, before writing a first draft.  And this was indeed the case with GOODNIGHT, MANGER. During the percolation phase I played around with rhythm and rhyme. I also made lists of the different characters who might impede Jesus’s peaceful slumber as well as fun sounds and concrete words I could use to bring the story alive. As I do with most stories, I even wrote a pre-draft of the story in prose even though I knew from the beginning that I wanted it to rhyme.  Only after completing this pre-thinking was I finally ready to sit down and compose a first draft. Once I got going, it took two or so months of revisions to get the story polished and ready to submit. That was fast for me!

Watch the book trailer!

3. How long did it take this book to be published? The offer from Zonderkidz came a couple of months after my agent submitted it.  And just like GOODNIGHT, ARK, the time from acceptance to publication was approximately two years, which is pretty standard, perhaps even quick, in the picture book industry.

4. Did you have to do any research for this story?  In my percolation phase, I reread the gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. I also reflected upon and journaled about my memories of putting my own babies to bed in the midst of commotion. I know, I know, the biblical events that occur in one night in my story, in actuality, took place over several months. For example, scholars think the wise men might not have visited until Jesus was a year old or more. But for the purposes of storytelling in this fictional bedtime story, I chose to condense events so that readers would get a very rich sense of how busy that stable must have been!

5. You like to write in rhyme. Did the rhymes for this story come quickly and naturally? What is your favorite rhyme in this book? This isn’t always the case for me, but in this instance, because I had percolated for so long, the rhymes did indeed come quickly and naturally. I think my favorite verse is: 

Mama's frantic,
In a tizzy.
Who knew stables
Were so busy?

    I love it because I remember the moment when the wording came to me.  I was walking home after dropping my kids off at school. I didn’t have any paper, so I kept repeating the verse aloud to myself all the way home. 

6. What was your favorite Christmas book as a child?  My favorite Christmas book as a child was The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia M. Scarry. I loved the scratch and smell aspect of this book in which a little bear figures out that Christmas is almost here using his nose.

7. What is your favorite Christmas memory? My favorite Christmas memory is of staying with my grandparents for Christmas when I was in third grade. They hadn’t saved any of their ornaments (my grandmother never was very sentimental) and so my sister and I spent an entire afternoon drawing angels, kings, shepherds, sheep, stars, etc. on stiff drawing paper.  We then cut them out, punched holes for ribbon and decorated the entire tree with our homemade ornaments! (Up until a few years ago when the last little high-heeled angel finally got too fragile to save, I enjoyed hanging them on our tree every year.) 

8. Were you ever in a Christmas manger play?  I was never in a church pageant as a child, but a few years ago my children and I participated in a special way at our church’s children’s Christmas Eve service.  While I read excerpts from the story of the first Christmas, my children and a couple of other kids from church acted it out. It was a lovely and memorable way to make the real meaning of Christmas real, not just for my kids, put for the packed sanctuary of little ones as well!  Here are a couple of pictures from the event. My son was the donkey and my daughter was the angel.

9. What tips have you learned from marketing your first book that you would recommend to our Grog audience?  My first tip is that having a connection/reference works better than cold calls when setting up events at schools, libraries etc., so it’s well worth your time to brainstorm a list of friends, acquaintances, and colleagues who might be able to introduce you to preschool directors, librarians, and book store event coordinators.  Second, I have found that giveaways are great tools getting a little extra attention for your book. After all, who doesn’t love a giveaway!

And speaking of giveaways,  Zonderkidz is offering one hardcover copy - fresh off the press - to one lucky winner. And here’s the important part:  To be eligible, you must be a U.S. resident and have a physical address, not a P.O. Box. Just leave a comment for Laura about a favorite holiday memory. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Laura Sassi, author of GOODNIGHT, ARK (Zonderkidz, 2014) and GOODNIGHT, MANGER (Zonderkidz, 2015), has a passion for telling humorous stories in prose and rhyme. She writes daily from her century-old home in New Jersey where she lives with her husband, two children, and a black Cockapoo names Sophie.  In addition to picture books, Laura writes poetry, stories, articles and crafts for kids. Her work has appeared in Highlights for Children, Cricket, Ladybug, Spider, and Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr.  Visit Laura Sassi at www.laurasassitales.wordpress.com. 

How to Write a Lesson Plan for Your Book by Tina Cho

So you've written a book and would like to market to teachers. How can you make something yourself? You could start off with a lesson plan to put on your blog/web site or use as a handout. 

Let's take a look at some approaches. Author Laura Sassi has extension activities on her blog for her book Goodnight, Ark. This is great because as a teacher I can peruse the ideas and find what would fit my class. Nancy I. Sanders makes a web site for each of her books with links to activities or develops lessons herself and puts them in her teacher store at Teachers Pay Teachers. She did all of these for her newest book, A Pirate's Mother Goose. Very handy!  R.J. Palacio, author of Wonder, has discussion questions for teachers to use on her site. Wonderful! Debbie Ohi has a plethora of swag and activities for each of her books on her web site. Really cool is that these are PRINT-READY! Teachers don't have much time. So having something ready to go is awesome! And Suzanne Slade has a very organized list of her books with teachers' guides, book trailers, and a button to order each book.

 

Are you getting ideas? For this post, I'm going to take you through steps for a traditional lesson plan. And all you other educators out there can chime in in the comments with your fabulous ideas!

1. Brainstorm. Here are some questions to think about. What is your book about? (the pitch) What themes does your book fit under? (seasons, science, history, friendship, bullying) What grades would this appeal to? What grades study this topic? Could this book be a mentor text for something?

2. Introduce. Think of a snazzy introduction a teacher could use to get students' attention. For the rest of this post, I'm going to share how I used Dr. Seuss' latest, What Pet Should I Get? as an example. I used just a simple question for my 1st graders. If you could pick any pet, what would you get?

3. Read. In the lesson plan, the teacher will read your book to students, unless it's for older kids.

4. Ask. Write a list of comprehension questions. If you want to get really technical, you could refer to the Common Core Standards to see what kind of questions to ask. Common questions are: Who is the main character? Where is the setting? What happened in the beginning, middle, end? What was the problem? Solution? What's the main idea?

5. Assess. Here's where you can get really creative. You can develop worksheets, crafts, activities, recipes, you name it! You could list several and have teachers choose. For Dr. Seuss' book, I made a rhyming game to be played like Old Maid. And I made a comprehension worksheet with 3 boxes for kids to write and draw what happened in the beginning, middle, and end. I made another worksheet for them to journal/write about what they think happens next in the story because this book ends inquisitively. To be helpful, list the objectives that students will perform in your plan. For example, students will invent a pet using craft and recyclable materials. 

The sky's the limit. Have fun being creative and reaching out to teachers. Once ONE teacher discovers you and your book resources, it will travel like wildfire through channels such as Pinterest. I know, because one of my educational activities is being shared on Pinterest almost every day now that it's Fall.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments. I'd love to help you.