How to Encourage Reading through Author Studies

If you've ever considered tackling an author study but wondered Is it worth the time? Is it worth the energy?or What can my students really get out of it? then I encourage you to check out a recent post at my How to Teach a Novel site titled Born to Write: What Students Can Learn through Author Study.

In addition to providing answers to all the questions above, I've also provided dozens of links to author study resources, as well as a review of Charis Cotter's Born to Write: The Remarkable Lives of Six Famous Authors.

What Makes a Good Picture Book?

Marilyn Singer, who's authored over eighty books for children and young adults, asked a group of authors, editors, and other book people this question: What Makes a Good Young Picture Book?

Their responses appear at her web site, and we can take away several things from the conversation.

Many responders mentioned that picture books must deal with universal themes, which are shared across cultures, genders, and age levels. For example, Harriet Ziefert, author of You Can't See Your Bones With Binoculars, says

I believe there are issues that surface in childhood that continue throughout our lives, and that when we're eighty, we're still negotiating these basic issues: separation, loss, and reunion; dependence vs. independence; insecurity (which includes feelings of jealousy, envy, and rivalry) vs. security; delayed vs. instant gratification.

The stories that have the most powerful effects on both child and adult are ones that deal with at least one of these lifelong struggles. Though a child's experiences are different from a 20-year-old's, and a 30-year-old's are different from a 40-year-old's, the same feelings are at the core.

Many others spoke of the need to take out as carefully as you put in; picture books are meant, after all, to be brief, and not a word can be wasted. Jane Yolen, author of over 600 books including How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? proves this by her very concise response:

Lyrical lines, a recognizable sentiment, compression of story, and a character to love.

And finally, several responders spoke of a picture book's ability to make its own world, no matter how new or foreign to a child, one in which he or she will feel welcome. Luann Toth, Senior Book Review Editor of School Library Journal, states it perfectly when she says

I think that the best books for this audience are the ones that tap directly into a young child's experience, allowing him or her to enter the world the author and illustrator have created, no matter how unusual or fantastical, and to feel at home there. The storytelling should be straightforward and spare and the art needs to be uncluttered and clearly delineated. Repetition and rhymes sharpen the ears and often invite verbal responses. And who can resist opening a closed flap?

Be sure to visit Marilyn's site to read all the responses, and if you're a "book person" of any type, share your thoughts with her as well. Thanks, Marilyn, for this terrific insight into the literary form which we love so dearly!

How about, Book People? In your opinion, what makes a good picture book?

Authors and Illustrators Pronouncing Their Own Names

Well, the no nonsense title just about says it all. At this TeachingBooks.Net page you'll find an audio collection of children's writers and illustrators pronouncing their own names.

Time for a quiz! Sound these out before you click on them: How do you say Kevin Henkes? Louis Sachar? Jon Scieszka?

I love this simple site because I totally sympathize. Have you seen my name? Keith Schoch. Just so you know, it's pronounced shoke, which is simple enough, right? But giving a kid with a developmental speech problem a th and a sh in the same mouthful is kind of a dirty trick. If you ever see me presenting, you'll probably notice that at no time do I ever say my full name, but you'll hear my last name eventually when I act out a student asking me a question.

So check this site out and let's stop slaughtering these names!

(By the way, I've got the winners picked for the most recent giveaway, and once I get their permission I'll post those names here. I'm still in the process of notifications and confirmations).

Name to Know: Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

Under what rock have I been living? That's a question I asked recently over at my How to Teach a Novel blog. A couple readers emailed and suggested I repost here, since the reason for that rhetorical question would be of interest to teachers here as well.

I simply wondered how it took so long for me to discover Tracie Vaughn Zimmer. She's an author, and I do recognize a couple of her titles. But somehow I missed that she has also created this awesome site (absolutely no hyperbole intended) containing original teaching guides for picture books (over eighty of these!), YA books, and poetry. All for free! All Tracie asks in return, if you like what you see, is that you buy a copy of one of her recent books. Pretty good deal: free resources and one of her critically acclaimed titles for your library.

Personally I found teaching guides for many books I'm hoping to include in future blog posts including Abe's Honest Words, Daniel Boone's Great Escape, River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, and Mama Went to Jail for the Vote.

So in a rare move, I'll shut up now. I'll let Tracie's web site speak for itself (and you can check out her blog as well). Thanks, Tracie, for your terrific resources!