Category:

Happy Birthday, Shel Silverstein

10/2/2011

According toThe Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor, today is the birthday of poet Shel Silverstein who was one of our daughter Elaine's favorite poets when she was a child and one of my favorite children's poets as well. We bought all his books and read them frequently. Some favorites: "The Bear in There," "Sara Sylvia Cynthia Stout," and "My Beard Grows to my Toes."

Silverstein's book Where the Sidewalk Ends is one of the best-selling volumes of poetry ever written. If you're looking for gifts for young readers, pick up some of Silverstein's books. Not only do the poems make for fun, out-of-the box reading, Shel's drawings make readers of all ages smile.

Who are some of your favorite children's poets?

0 Comments

Brian Jacques, Writer of the Redwall Series (1939-2011)

2/9/2011

1 Comment

When our daughter was in 6th grade, two of her bookworm cousins introduced her to the Redwall series. In one of my favorite childhood pictures of her, she's sitting on a lawn chair under the mountain ash tree in our backyard clutching a Redwall book in her left hand, clearly engrossed in its pages. On the index finger of her other hand perches a sparrow she was nursing back to health at the time. I don't recall how many Redwall books she devoured, but she made a good dent in the series.

The writer of the Redwall series, Brian Jacques, died this past week. One of my creative writing students at Southwest Minnesota State University who told me the sad news said he had the good fortune to meet Jacques at a reading.

Amazon.com offered this tribute on their web site: "We mourn the passing of Brian Jacques, the British author of the popular Redwall series, who died on February 5 at the age of 71. Jacques created his world of woodland creatures for a school for blind, and because of the nature of his audience he made his writing as descriptive as possible. His books, like The Sable Quean, won the hearts of millions of young readers."

The New York Times article about Jacques notes, "Published in more than 20 countries, the Redwall books have sold more than 20 million copies and inspired an animated series, broadcast on PBS in 2001."

Today, as Interim Director of Creative Writing at SMSU, I received a heavy file box of entries for the Creating Spaces Writing Contest for 3rd through 12th grade students in our region, sponsored by the Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative and the Southwest Minnesota State University English Department. Writers like Brian Jacques fire young imaginations and help to create lifelong readers. Among the young writers of poems, stories and essays that our SMSU creative writing students and faculty will be judging, I imagine there are more than a few avid Brian Jacques' fans. And who knows? One of the students entering this contest may be the next Brian Jacques.

Personally, I'm grateful Jacques picked up his pen midlife and that his words hooked a girl who loves all creatures and a tale well told.

1 Comment

"E-Readers Catch Younger Eyes and Fit in Backpacks"

2/5/2011

0 Comments

Do you know many young people who are hooked on books and reading? Do you know many elementary and high school students who use e-readers? According to an article in today's New York Times, "E-Readers Catch Younger Eyes and Fit in Backpacks," these slim devices at first attracted older readers but are now becoming increasingly popular with younger readers. Sales figures for young adult e-books downloads have been rising sharply: "Ever since the holidays, publishers have noticed that some unusual titles have spiked in e-book sales. The Chronicles of Narnia series. Hush, Hush. The Dork Diaries series.

"At HarperCollins, for example, e-books made up 25 percent of all young-adult sales in January, up from about 6 percent a year before — a boom in sales that quickly got the attention of publishers there."

After 11-year-old Eliana Litos received an e-reader in December, she said, “Some weeks I completely forgot about TV. I went two weeks with only watching one show, or no shows at all. I was just reading every day.”

In the article, Monica Vila, who runs the website The Online Mom, says, “Kids are drawn to the devices, and there’s a definite desire by parents to move books into this format. Now you’re finding people who are saying: ‘Let’s use the platform. Let’s use it as a way for kids to learn.’ Some teachers have been encouraging, too, telling their students that they are allowed to bring e-readers to school for leisure reading during homeroom and English class, for example."

And it's not just the newest, trendiest books that students are downloading: "Some younger readers have been exploring the classics, thanks to the availability of older e-books that are in the public domain — and downloadable free.

"After receiving a light gray Sony Reader from her grandparents for Christmas, Mia Garcia, a 12-year-old from Touchet, Wash., downloaded Little Women, a book she had not read before. 'It made me cry,' Mia said."

As a young mother, I loved going to the library with our daughter and hauling home a b of books, so I agree with Eryn Garcia: “There’s something I’m not sure is entirely replaceable about having a stack of inviting books, just waiting for your kids to grab,” Ms. Garcia said. “But I’m an avid believer that you need to find what excites your child about reading. So I’m all for it.”

What do you think? Do your children or kids you know have e-readers and has it sparked their interest in reading more? Will this upward spike in book sales of younger readers continue? What could this mean for young adult writers? Who are your favorite YA authors?

0 Comments

Happy Birthday, Shel Silverstein

Brian Jacques, Writer of the Redwall Series (1939-2011)

"E-Readers Catch Younger Eyes and Fit in Backpacks"

Author

Archives

Blogroll
Arts Beat
A Year of Being Here
Bearded Vegan
Becky's Blog
Better World Books
Birth Breasts and Beyond
Carrie Etter
Christine Stewart-Nunez
Dana Yost
Heroic Yes! Productions
James A. Zarzana
Landing on Cloudy Water
Nicole Helget
No Ideas But in Things
Story Guru
The Marsco Saga
Write Right

Categories

Happy Birthday, Shel Silverstein

Brian Jacques, Writer of the Redwall Series (1939-2011)

"E-Readers Catch Younger Eyes and Fit in Backpacks"

Author

Archives

BlogrollArts BeatA Year of Being HereBearded VeganBecky's BlogBetter World BooksBirth Breasts and BeyondCarrie EtterChristine Stewart-NunezDana YostHeroic Yes! ProductionsJames A. ZarzanaLanding on Cloudy WaterNicole HelgetNo Ideas But in ThingsStory GuruThe Marsco SagaWrite Right

Categories

Blogroll
Arts Beat
A Year of Being Here
Bearded Vegan
Becky's Blog
Better World Books
Birth Breasts and Beyond
Carrie Etter
Christine Stewart-Nunez
Dana Yost
Heroic Yes! Productions
James A. Zarzana
Landing on Cloudy Water
Nicole Helget
No Ideas But in Things
Story Guru
The Marsco Saga
Write Right