I'm entering a writing contest for my novel tonight and just found out I need to post the link on my blog. If anyone is interest in learning more, you can go to http://kidlit.com/kidlit-contest/.
You can also visit the blog by clicking on the link on my sidebar, "Favorite Sites."
Wish me luck!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Caldecott Medals
I love the winner(s) of the Caldecott Medal this year!
Honor Book: Red Sings from Treetops illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
Honor Book: All the World illustrated by Marla Frazee
We had a mock Caldecott in my Children's publishing class a week before the winners were announced, and I had voted for all three of these picture books! I was pretty excited when I heard who had won. We also had Gene Nelson, a member of the Caldecott Committee who helped pick the winners, come and speak to our class. It was a really neat experience to hear how the Caldecott winners are chosen from someone who has done it first-hand. The Caldecott and the Newberry Medals are like the Academy Awards in the children's book world, so it's a pretty big deal.
Maybe you'll see a Newberry on one of my books someday... =)
Caldecott Medal Winner: The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
Honor Book: Red Sings from Treetops illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
Honor Book: All the World illustrated by Marla Frazee
We had a mock Caldecott in my Children's publishing class a week before the winners were announced, and I had voted for all three of these picture books! I was pretty excited when I heard who had won. We also had Gene Nelson, a member of the Caldecott Committee who helped pick the winners, come and speak to our class. It was a really neat experience to hear how the Caldecott winners are chosen from someone who has done it first-hand. The Caldecott and the Newberry Medals are like the Academy Awards in the children's book world, so it's a pretty big deal.
Maybe you'll see a Newberry on one of my books someday... =)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
School Visit
This semester, I'm interning with Rick Walton, the author of over 60 published picture books. He also teaches part-time at BYU (how I originally got connected with him). I'm really fortunate to be able to intern with him this semester because not only is he an amazing writer, but he knows the publishing field really, really well (aka: LOTS OF CONNECTIONS!) He personally knows almost every writer and illustrator who lives in Utah, plus knows editors, agents, publishers, etc. which might influence my own writing career someday...
For my internship, Rick has been having me do random tasks each week, but my favorite "assignment" occurred two Friday's ago. Rick asked if I'd accompany him on one of his school visits! Because he has so many picture books published, he is often invited by elementary schools to come and speak. This time, Midway Elementary School in Utah invited him as their guest author.
We (Rick, me, and one other teacher Rick invited along) left around noon and drove up the canyon to Midway, a small town in the mountains. The elementary school had between 500-600 kids and brought me back in time when I was 7 or 8 and had school assemblies in the gym. I honestly didn't have to do anything except help Rick set up a little and then sit in the corner and watch the kids file in. Rick's powerpoint presentation was hilarious and extremely entertaining, which kept the kids' attention for most of the time. I honestly don't know how he or any educator manages to keep their attention for so long, or answer their crazy questions.
It was really fun being back in elementary school for an afternoon and interacting with children again, but it was also a HUGE learning experience for me. When I say I want to write for children, I'm talking about middle grade and young adults...I don't think I have what it takes to write picture books and then visit children in the schools! Frankly, the idea scares me to death! But it was a lot of fun to see how school visits work and to see how much the children loved Rick's books. Just doing anything that influences children, whether their age 8 or age 14, is pretty neat to think about. I still want to be a writer, even if it takes years and years of writing before I ever get published. Visiting the school with Rick Walton was just another helpful reminder of what I love and why.
For my internship, Rick has been having me do random tasks each week, but my favorite "assignment" occurred two Friday's ago. Rick asked if I'd accompany him on one of his school visits! Because he has so many picture books published, he is often invited by elementary schools to come and speak. This time, Midway Elementary School in Utah invited him as their guest author.
We (Rick, me, and one other teacher Rick invited along) left around noon and drove up the canyon to Midway, a small town in the mountains. The elementary school had between 500-600 kids and brought me back in time when I was 7 or 8 and had school assemblies in the gym. I honestly didn't have to do anything except help Rick set up a little and then sit in the corner and watch the kids file in. Rick's powerpoint presentation was hilarious and extremely entertaining, which kept the kids' attention for most of the time. I honestly don't know how he or any educator manages to keep their attention for so long, or answer their crazy questions.
It was really fun being back in elementary school for an afternoon and interacting with children again, but it was also a HUGE learning experience for me. When I say I want to write for children, I'm talking about middle grade and young adults...I don't think I have what it takes to write picture books and then visit children in the schools! Frankly, the idea scares me to death! But it was a lot of fun to see how school visits work and to see how much the children loved Rick's books. Just doing anything that influences children, whether their age 8 or age 14, is pretty neat to think about. I still want to be a writer, even if it takes years and years of writing before I ever get published. Visiting the school with Rick Walton was just another helpful reminder of what I love and why.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Shannon Hale Obsession
I'm pretty aware of the fact that a majority of my posts have been about Shannon Hale and that I'm a little obsessed with her books right now. I even got the entire Bayern series for Christmas (with the original artwork on the first three books). Well, I'm auditing Children's Publishing again at BYU (I owe this blog to that class!), which means I get to sit in each class period without having to do any of the work.
And guess who was our guest speaker last Wednesday night?!?
That's right! SHANNON HALE!!!
I came to class with all 4 of my new books, and Shannon signed and personalized every single one of them! I was pretty excited, and a little star-struck when I talked to her. She knows Rick Walton really well (see later post), so she even added a special note about him in Forest Born.
Here are a few pictures of proof to my obsession:
And guess who was our guest speaker last Wednesday night?!?
That's right! SHANNON HALE!!!
I came to class with all 4 of my new books, and Shannon signed and personalized every single one of them! I was pretty excited, and a little star-struck when I talked to her. She knows Rick Walton really well (see later post), so she even added a special note about him in Forest Born.
Here are a few pictures of proof to my obsession:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)