Author: cindyindigo

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Quite the Character!

The July Blogging Theme for The Sweet Sixteens (#SixteensBlogAbout) is CHARACTERS. With that in mind, I thought I’d look back on a couple of my favorite past blogs on the subject.

Getting Into Character highlights a simple strategy for helping young authors quickly develop interesting story characters–with just a few hats to set things rolling.

Oftentimes, DIALOG is overlooked in revealing characters. Read Character Talk to discover how the conversations in your story disclose amazing information–and help make the story so much more fun and readable.
Below I’ve included two templates for creating characters. If you want to you use a picture of your own, no problem. Write away!

Create a Character : Girl
Use the picture on the left to help you create a character by completing the form below.

NAME ______________________________________________________

AGE _________________ HEIGHT/WEIGHT ____________________
WHERE SHE LIVES ____________________________________________
TELL ABOUT HER FAMILY ________________________________________
FRIEND (S) ___________________________________________________
ANY PETS ____________________________________________________
LIKES ________________________________________________________
DISLIKES ____________________________________________________
FEARS _______________________________________________________
PROBLEM(S) __________________________________________________

Create a Character: Boy

Use the picture on the left to help you create a character by completing the form below.


NAME ______________________________________________________

AGE _________________ HEIGHT/WEIGHT ____________________
WHERE HE LIVES _____________________________________________
TELL ABOUT HIS FAMILY ________________________________________
FRIEND (S) ___________________________________________________
ANY PETS ____________________________________________________
LIKES ________________________________________________________
DISLIKES ____________________________________________________
FEARS _______________________________________________________
PROBLEM(S) __________________________________________________
Posted on by cindyindigo

It’s Almost Here

Are you ready???

Tomorrow is NATIONAL SUMMER LEARNING DAY!

What do you plan to learn?

Perhaps some words in a new language:

Spanish for Beginners by Helen Davies

This book not only has plenty of words and pictures but an online website to help you with pronunciation. ¡hurra! (Hooray!)

Or maybe off-the-wall baseball trivia:

Odd Ball by Timothy Tocher

This comic book provides funny, surprising, and truly unbelievable facts on America’s favorite summer sport.

Or how to draw monsters:

Draw 50 Monsters, Creeps, Superheroes, Demons, Dragons, Nerds, Dirts, Ghouls, Giants, Vampires by Lee Ames

Master monster drawing and amaze your family and friends with your spooky artwork!

 

Or how to make healthy snacks:

Holy Guacamole! by Nick Fauchild

Pass up the sugary snacks for yummy treats you can whip up          yourself.

Or how to write a poem:

How to Write Poetry by Paul B. Janeczko

Find lots of tips and techniques that will inspire you to put pen to          paper (and learn about alliteration like in this sentence.)

Or how to write a story:

Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine

From beginning to end, this book will help you shape a super story—perhaps even a monster story that you can illustrate!

Whatever you’d like to learn tomorrow—or throughout the summer, remember a good starting place is your local library or bookstore or online sites like For Kids here on my website or at the American Library Associations Great Websites for Kids.

I’d love to hear about some of the cool stuff you’re learning!

 

 

Posted on by cindyindigo

Monster to the Max

Exciting news!

Jolly Fish Press has acquired my middle-grade fantasy series Monster or Die and will be publishing the first book, From the Grave, in Fall 2016. Editor TJ da Roza fell in love with my wacky and wonderful monsters with his first read—and who wouldn’t.

Frightful and fun.

Delightful and deadly.

These creatures bring a whole new meaning to monster.

Be sure to follow along the journey to publication. With monsters in charge, most anything might happen.

Posted on by cindyindigo

Early Start to Summer Fun

Summer is nearly here. School ends and fantastic summer reading begins.

Summer is the perfect time for kids to kick back with some books. Children who read during vacation will enhance their reading and educational skills—rather than backtracking and losing scholastic ground. With the incredible choices in quality children’s literature, every child can find an interesting book.

For younger readers, these diverse books are being made available through First Book, an organization which helps provide books to needy children.

Titles include:

NINO WRESTLES THE WORLD by  Yuyi Morales

TANGO MAKES THREE by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell

TIGER IN MY SOUP by Kashmira Sheth

EMMANUEL’S DREAM by Laurie Thompson

KNOCK KNOCK by Daniel Beaty

BOATS FOR PAPA by Jessixa Bagley

For older readers, visit the Suggested Summer Reading List. Most of these titles should be available through your local library or bookstore.

 

Don’t wait for the official start of summer. Begin your reading adventures today!

Posted on by cindyindigo

Mummy Fun

It turns out that you are never too old to have a birthday–as in a 3,000-year-old birthday!!!

That’s right. A mummy at the St. Louis Museum of Art will celebrate his birthday next month. His name is Amen-Nestawy-Nakt, and he lived in 900 B.C. He was a priest at the Temple of Karnak and must have done a good job to merit such a fancy mummy case.

Perhaps you’d like to celebrate mummies too. A great way to do it would be to explore a few books on the topic. There are a great many good ones out there at your school or public library or your local bookstore.

Here are a few I found:

SECRETS OF THE MUMMIES by Harriet Griffey
This is a Level 4 reader that presents mummies from around the world.

CREEPY EGYPTIAN MUMMIES YOU WOULDN’T WANT TO MEET by David Stewart
Ten of the creepiest mummies and information on how the whole mummification process works.

MUMMIES IN THE MORNING by Mary Pope Osborne
Another Magic Treehouse Mystery–this one finds Jack and Annie in Ancient Egypt encountering lots of adventures.

MUMMIES IN THE LIBRARY by John Perritano
Who knew mummies and math go together? Well, it seems very beneficial to know division in order to embalm a mummy. Find out how it all works with this math challenge story from iMath Readers.

Hope you find someMUMMY special to hang out with!
Happy reading 🙂

Posted on by cindyindigo

March is NATIONAL READING AWARENESS MONTH

As we wait for the snow to melt

and SPRING to arrive, it’s a great time to enjoy READING!

I usually highlight story books, but today I’d like to celebrate
some fun research sites.

DK Publishing has a free online encyclopedia: FIND OUT
The site is for simple searches on a variety of science-related
topics. Results provide a colorful illustrated page with brief
explanations and related topics. Of course, if one of the topics interests you, check at your local library for a corresponding DK book on the subject.

Another free online site, available through public and school libraries, is EBSCO Kids Search. This is a more in-depth database of magazines, encyclopedias, dictionaries, web articles, biographies, books, newspapers, and photos. A handy tool to have at your fingertips.

Kids Info Bits from Gale/Cengage Learning is search resource available through some libraries as well. It’s a more simplified database of sources, including magazines, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and maps. It includes advanced search capabilities and is geared toward elementary school students.

So during this month focused on READ ALOUD time, choose a topic of interest (I know my grandson would pick Monster Trucks); use one of these kid-friendly sites or a book and read together for 15 minutes.

Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter–every season is just right for READING!

Posted on by cindyindigo

Summer Scenes

Although sometimes SUMMER is a time to slow down and take a look at the wonders close by

it can also be a time for new adventures

like listening to animated author BRUCE COVILLE discuss plot at the SCBWI CONFERENCE in LA,

or building the TALLEST tower in the world
or experiencing a brand new TASTE.

Ever since I can remember, SUMMER has been a special time for me–colorful BEGINNINGS…
new PATHS explored… 

new BOOKS read…

and fond FAREWELLS.

I hope YOU have found WONDER and EXCITEMENT this summer, especially in the pages of a SPECIAL BOOK — or two or ten. 
Here’s to more SUNNY DAYS and lots more GREAT SUMMER READS!

Posted on by cindyindigo

April News

April has been a busy, crazy, fun, busy, poetical, busy, bunny business month–and it’s not over yet.
So before it gets any crazier, I’ll share what I’ve been reading, doing, writing…

Who says libraries are just for books? Not the Lorain, Ohio children’s librarians! They are encouraging kids to explore their creative side in fashions with “Sew Lorain Kids.” A long time ago I worked in a couple of libraries in the Cleveland area. I’m so glad to see that the librarians there are continuing to be innovative. There are so many great craft how-to books in libraries, but why not give kids a chance to actually put the lessons into practice. My hats off to all of you in Lorain!!!

 I’ve been working on a variety of writing projects–one of them is an easy reader narrative nonfiction book on stars. So I was delighted to see a new book by Kathleen T. Isaacs which highlights picture books dealing with nature: BUGS, BOGS, BATS, AND BOOKS. Young readers–as well as their parents–often need help in finding age-appropriate books on various nonfiction subjects. This title also including science activities relating to various topics in the book. Look for this book at the library or ask your librarian to help you find some delightful nonfiction books to share with your children.

Kuddos to another librarian–this time with the focus on poetry. Thinking totally outside of the norm, Cathy Jo Nelson, a South Carolina educator, blogs about “The Unexpected Perks of Poetry.” She and a teacher collaborated on a poetry assignment–encouraging the students to create poems from words in book titles: spine poetry. Ms. Nelson elaborates in her blog about the many bonuses of this activity for both students and faculty. Poetry always seems to expand the world for us.

I’m writing the rough draft of chapter book with a poetic ghost in it. Although the story didn’t start out with a lyrical ghost, she just appeared out of thin air–so to speak. And who am I to tell her that she doesn’t belong in this story. I might be haunted for eternity…so I continue writing.

 Apparently April is also NATIONAL HUMOR MONTH. Although I was unaware of this, I have been reading some humorous picture books of late. A couple of favorites are CREEPY CARROTS by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown. Here is a video by the illustrator explaining how he envisioned the sneaky carrots. My two-year-old grandson loves this books. We’ve read it over and over again. I’ve even made him his own creepy carrots with real carrots and a black sharpie. Beware biting into that next crispy, orange carrot! There may be many more lurking in the shadows–just waiting to pounce!!!

The other fun picture I’ve been studying of late is WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN by Jodi Moore, illustrated by Howard McWilliam. The author uses the “what if” storyline to create an elaborate beach day fantasy complete with fire-breathing dragon. And the illustrator brings the creature to life with humor and charm, sure to entertain children of all ages. But of course, there is the dilemma–once a dragon moves in how do you get him to move out??? Rather like the moles in my backyard, I’m afraid. 🙂

So here’s hoping April is poetically humorous–and beware of carrot-eating dragons, or something like that!

Posted on by cindyindigo

The Children’s & Teen Choice Book Award

This will be the seventh year in which you can choose a favorite book to win the CHILDREN’S CHOICE BOOK AWARD. The award is given by the Children’s Book Council.

You’ll find the list of books in the running for the award at the link above. The voting continues into May, so you have plenty of time to read all of the books in your age bracket. The winners will be announced during Children’s Book Week, May 12-18. When you visit the Children’s Book Week site, you’ll find cool freebies:

the official bookmark you can print out by nonfiction illustrator, Steve Jenkins

the official poster by Fancy Nancy artist, Robin Priess Glasser. You can request as many of these as you need.

 You can also find out above local events that you can participate in. Most likely your school or a local library will be planning something special during Children’s Book Week–because we all know how very special both books and children are!

And books for kids are the absolute best!!!

Happy reading. 🙂

Posted on by cindyindigo

Conflict and Tension

Today we had a break from the cold winter temps, so my dog Holly and I enjoyed a long walk.
But we’d barely made it back inside, when it started pouring rain.

Now if I’d been writing a story, this would have been much too easy a course for my characters. They took a nice walk and escaped the drenching rain without batting an eye. Absolutely no TENSION or CONFLICT.

In a real story, poor Holly and I would have been bent over double, battling the high winds. The thunder would have rumbled around us, lightening sparked. And of course, we would have scrambled and scraped to make it back in time–only to have been walloped with a downpour mere steps from safety.

A good story needs plenty of TENSION and CONFLICT. Here’s some examples in books I’ve been reading:

DIRTY GERT by Tedd Arnold. A young child adores dirt, so much so that she finally starts to sprout.

THE DARK by Lemony Snicket. A young boy is terribly scared of the dark, and one night it invites him into the basement.

FOG ISLAND by Tomi Ungerer. A boy and girl become lost in their boat during the fog. When they land on Fog Island, they climb the slippery stairs and meet an enchanted wizard.

Can you find examples of TENSION and CONFLICT in one of your favorite stories?
Can you write a story filled with TENSION and CONFLICT?

I think it’s quite fun to amp up wattage in a story. Give it a try. It’s nice for your characters to arrive eventually at a happy ending–but don’t make it too easy for them.