Letter to the BookChook - Dinosaur Books

Dear The Book Chook,

My son loves dinosaurs. Can you recommend some good dinosaur books for me to buy him?

Aden's mum, Victoria

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Dear Aden's mum,

My short answer is no. Please read on for my explanation.

I haven't read any dinosaur books recently to recommend to you. However, I did some research and found some dinosaur books that I would like to read, and that Aden might enjoy. I like the Dorling Kindersley books, and they have several dinosaur books.

Walker Books is one of my favourite publishers. They have Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs and Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Dinosaurs. I also found several fiction books about dinosaur characters, but I suspect you want non-fiction for your young dino-boy!

You don't say how old Aden is. Some good non-fiction books are designed for children to read independently, but even if he's not at school yet, he can benefit from such books. He can look at the pictures by himself; you can read him snippets of the text, or ignore the text and just talk about the illustrations with him. Also, he may be of an age to think picture books are for babies. They're not! Aden may even find that a great dinosaur picture book inspires him to do some research, writing and drawing of his own, culminating in producing his own picture book.

If Aden were my son, here's what I would do. First of all, I'd go to my local library. I'd talk to the children's librarian and ask if she can point out some dinosaur books. Budget cuts might mean she's busy wrangling books, so I'd check in the non-fiction area (around 567.9 on the shelf signs) and also the picture book area. I'd encourage my son to take a look at the books, and suggest he might like to borrow some. Then I'd make sure we shared those books over the coming days, with me reading excerpts aloud, and my son having unlimited access to the books (okay, maybe not in the bath!) I wouldn't buy any books at all for my son until he had a chance to check out several books and find ones he liked.

That's the great thing about libraries, you can try before you buy. Once Aden finds books he loves, you can decide which ones to buy for him. It's such a great idea for kids to own their own books as well as to have a library card. Owned books are read over and over, one of the important preliminary steps to independent reading. If you can't afford book shop prices, you may find some good books at markets, second-hand stores etc. I have it on excellent authority that quality hardback picture books for children can be picked up very reasonably at garage sales.

In case it helps, Aden's mum, next week I have an article with some online resources about dinosaurs that Aden might like.

Readers, if you know of any dinosaur books you would recommend, please mention them in comments.

(Image credit, Wikimedia Commons)

Looking Back to June Past

DRAMA helps kids communicate!

Towards the end of each month, I like to revisit articles I've written in 2009 and 2010. Not only does this mean new readers of the blog may find something useful otherwise buried in the archives, but it also reminds me of content I can refer to when I write new articles.

June 2009

Cartoonist - Sharing Stories with Cartoons: Creaza's cartoon editor is still one of my favourites, and a great place for children to play with words and images to create a story.

Recycle and Read: All about Arvind Gupta's Toys for Trash site.

Great Online Story Maker: The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has a really neat online story editor for kids.

Letter to the Book Chook - Dad Won't Read Aloud: A mum is concerned her husband won't read aloud to their son.

June 2010

Turning the Pages: Primary source documents from the British Library.

LEGO and Literacy (1) Skills and ideas LEGO can support.

LEGO and Literacy (2) Using online resources to create LEGO-based stories.

Make a Video at WinkBall

Read Comics Online

The Book Chook loves drama and what it can do for kids. In DRAMA (1) I present what I think Drama lessons can do for kids. In DRAMA (2) I suggest some drama activities you can introduce to family or school to help kids develop creativity and communication skills.

Create a Story Box: Great idea for storytelling and language activities

Should we let kids play with sticks? Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones

June 1 is just past, and that means Literacy Lava 9 has recently been published! If you missed it, or earlier issues of this free pdf for parents erupting with literacy tips, you can grab them at my website.

NOTE: RSS readers, you've received this content twice. My apologies. The Publish Post button cunningly disguised itself as the Save Now button one night when I should have known better than to be blogging!

Write a Novel in Thirty Days - Guest Post

Write a Novel in Thirty Days
by Gina Clifford

Gina is the author of the eclectic home learning blog Spotty Banana, where she shares information on all sorts of subjects. Gina is a child-led, project-based learning advocate who enjoys exploring fun math, science, and technology-themed activities with her son, who is a fanatic like her. 

Writing a novel sounds like fun but also overwhelming.  Thanks to NaNoWriMo’s National Novel Writing Month online event, anyone can write a novel in thirty days.  In fact, the challenge requires it. Even kids!

Writers sign-up for the challenge through the NaNoWriMo’s website any time during the year but must write and submit the novel between November 1 and November 30.

Don't worry if you or your young learners have never written a novel.  NaNoWriMo’s resources section contains free, detailed, and downloadable workbooks to walk writers through the entire novel writing process.  The "100% Awesome NON-LAME workbooks" are highly recommended because they help writers learn about the elements of a novel and provide plenty of explanation.  When finished, the writer’s workbook contains an impressive outline for the novel.  The workbooks are available for elementary, middle, and high school levels but all explain the main elements of a novel. NaNoWriMo also features tips from published authors, links to other writing challenges, and a blog-style section for event-related news.

There is no cost to enter the challenge and no fancy prizes to win. Adults who sign up for the challenge have thirty days to write 50,000 words. Young writers under the age of seventeen are encouraged to choose their own challenging word count goal. Although winning is based solely on reaching your word count goal, the glory of completing the challenge is the real reward. The event is completely free, fun, and challenging.  NaNoWriMo doesn't promise that you'll end up with a masterpiece after just thirty days, but you'll definitely learn to write a novel! 

Sign-up for the challenge now, download and complete the appropriate workbook, and prepare to write your novel in November. Plan the following twelve months to edit your novel and maybe even get it published.

Even if your children don't sign up for the challenge, the workbook makes an excellent resource to help their writing. Check out the resources page and educators page for more helpful ideas.

Children's Book Review, The Last Viking

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com Check out more by clicking on the right side bar, Reviews button.

I have a new favourite picture book! The Last Viking, written by Norman Jorgensen, and illustrated by James Foley, was published by Fremantle Press (2011).

Josh is very brave. He's only a tiny bit afraid of the dark, ghosts, boy-eating dinosaurs, pirates, monsters, vampires… Hmmm, and of course going to Nan and Pop's. In fact, he's as brave as a lion. Sort of.

Luckily, Pop introduces Josh to the Vikings. Josh becomes Knut, and his imagination takes flight. He'll need all that imagination, and bravery, and perhaps some Viking magic to cope with the neighbourhood bullies.

All kids have anxieties. Literature is a great way to show children they're not alone in their fears, without preaching to them. I think Knut's story makes an excellent choice for parents and teachers who want to remind children that we all have fears, and that sometimes feeling the fear and doing it anyway can have surprising results.

Jorgensen's writing works on two levels, like that in all the great picture books. There's the main story, satisfying and full of drama. And then there's the subtext produced by the combination of his words and Foley's pictures. Like when Knut, outside with sword upheld to a thunderous sky and lightning bolts, vanquishes his foes, while inside Pop asks after little Knut because there might be a storm. And when Nan, who just doesn't get it, refers to the bullies as Josh's new friends and wants them to come in for some cordial.

Some picture book partnerships seem to be a relationship made in Heaven - or should that be Valhalla? Jorgensen's writing is beautifully complemented by Foley's art. The drawings are cartoon in style, but there is a richness and texture to the whole illustration that makes the book a real visual delight.

There is lots of attention to detail in The Last Viking. I adore picture books that engage our attention over multiple re-readings, don't you? Several page borders turn out to be not just decoration. Even the end papers fascinate, with more messages to decode and an alphabet-rune key. What fun to totally confuse older brothers and sisters by writing messages in runes!

Do check out the author and illustrator's blog for teachers, students and aspiring authors, Knut the Last Viking. You'll find a great Resources page with pictures to colour, as well as runes to solve.

After reading this book with your kids, they'll love to create their own Longships, be they from rearranged furniture, cardboard or construction blocks. I love the emphasis in The Last Viking on the close relationship between literature and imaginative play - it fits perfectly into The Book Chook's scheme of the Universe. The book also emphasises non-fiction - there is a whole page depicting the book Pop gives to Josh, Vikings:Pirates of the North. I also love the way Josh is so inspired by this book, that he enters fully into his role as Knut, Prince of the Vikings.

Kids might like to work out their own names in runes, and read more about vikings on the BBC website, which includes a Dig It Up game and teacher resource page. Try carving runes into clay, or plaster of paris, or decorating rocks or pebbles with runes. Your older children might like to read an interview with archaeologist, William Fitzhugh, who feels the viking's sordid reputation wasn't entirely warranted. No matter the age, it's lots of fun learning to write in runes, and confusing those not in the know! Can you guess what words are in my runes above?

Fremantle Press have teacher notes available to support The Last Viking, and below is the wonderful book trailer that succeeds in transmitting the flavour of the story without giving too much away - bravo!

Letter to the BookChook - Worried about Play

Dear BookChook,

I am really looking for some advice.

My children are 7 and 5. My husband and I have only recently started looking at different parenting styles and education philosophies after we became concerned with the amount of TV our children were watching in a week. The turning point came when we realised they would rather watch movies than play and that in fact we were concerned that they didn't know how to play.

Now, I know this is our fault and we accept that but what I'm asking is, where do I start? How do I get my children to play? What types of play areas should I set up? I really don't know what to do. I've tried painting but they didn't know what to paint. Is there a way to inspire them to be creative and get their imagination going?

I know this is a huge question, but I am really hoping you have some advice for me. I am concerned that my children are missing out on so much.

J

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Hi J!

I believe what you describe is true of many kids nowadays. There's so much entertainment on offer, who can blame kids for being entranced? But like you, I believe play is crucial to their development, and they need to be encouraged to play.

I used to teach in primary schools. Kids would often come up to me and ask, "Can you make us a game?" I'd start them off with some kind of scenario from literature usually. Often, I would be the wicked witch (the huge wart on my nose helped.) I'd look into my mirror, (a handy bird bath in the playground) and see that Snow White was fairest of all, or that an invasion of elves was coming. I'd ponder aloud about my future actions. Pretty soon the children were racing away to build cubbies, or capture elves, or become elves trying to set traps for me.

Once I'd prompted them, they mostly didn't need me. Oh, I'd give an evil cackle if I passed them by perhaps, but the play was theirs and usually changed from what I'd started anyway.

I really don't believe in adults trying to shape children's play. But sometimes kids need a start. Even in a school playground, where there are no screens as distraction, they may need a start. And more drastic action might be needed for home to break a screen habit.

My suggestion would be to start with one evening maybe, and for you to explain to the kids that tonight is screen-free. Then the adults and kids could do things together. The kids will be keener that way. How about teaching them how to play charades, or reading a story together then making a puppet show about it, or playing a board game like Pictionary even? Try painting again, but everyone has a go. Choose a painting activity like printing with objects from the kitchen, or leaf printing, or just make wild designs in finger paint. Show the kids there is no right or wrong, and no need to have a representation of anything. Share your own efforts and praise them for having a go.

Build in a treat like making homemade popcorn togther, or go outside and cook marshmallows over the fire. If you start with one night a week, then add more ideas and more times, and encourage your kids as often as you can to play, imagine, create, I'll bet they start to choose play over screen at times. And I'd definitely stick to that family play night anyway - it's good for all of us!

As for daytime play, I know many parents believe in limiting screen time. Again, I suggest you lead the way by example. If possible, go for a bike ride after school or walk to a local park with your kids. Maybe you can play hide and seek together, or teach them some skipping games.

If it's too wet/cold/hot to go outdoors, take a long look at the children's toys. How about a LEGO building contest with a silly prize for the craziest/tallest/fastest construction? Do you have some oddments of material and old clothes the children can have for a dress up box? They like movies, so I bet they would enjoy making up their own stories and acting them out. Maybe the kids can have one TV show after play time, and when homework is done? I'd also suggest a trip to your local library to raid the art/craft section and find some projects the kids will enjoy doing. Make sure while you're there to borrow some great children's picture and chapter books to share - quality children's literature is a wonderful way to enrich play and vocabulary.

Screen time can also be turned into play time with some encouragement. Say you've watched a cartoon about the Princess and the Frog with your kids. When it's over, think about how you can re-tell the story through play, or make a game about some aspect of the story. All sorts of media can be fuel for imaginative and creative play, even if some chooks prefer books!

Over to you, The Book Chook readers. What advice do you have for J?

(Image credit: Morguefile)

Interview with Paul Collins, Author of Mole Hunt

Paul Collins, author, publisher and fantastic promoter of Australian authors, has just had a new novel published called Mole Hunt. You might remember I reviewed Paul's children's picture book, The Glasshouse, recently. Below, Paul answers some questions I asked him about Mole Hunt.

BC: Paul, your latest book, Mole Hunt, has just been published. Can you tell us a little about it?

Paul: The author information sheet says: "In a galaxy of cutthroat companies, shadowy clans and a million agendas, spy agency RIM barely wields enough control to keep order. Maximus Black is RIM’s star cadet. But he has a problem. One of RIM’s best agents, Anneke Longshadow, knows there’s a mole in the organisation. And Maximus has a lot to hide..."

It's basically a dystopian novel set in space. Bookseller + Publisher sums it up well: "Bitingly clever" (I'm glad I didn't write that!) and "a cross between The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Dexter and Total Recall".  Buzz Words said it's so fast paced that it'd "...give Matthew Reilly a nosebleed."

BC: Who do you see as the audience for Mole Hunt? 

Paul: I wrote it specifically for boys who like fast-paced action -- I guess the Matthew Reilly audience. But it seems a lot of adults are getting into it as well -- not surprising these days when YA fiction is being equally read by adults as it is by the initial target audience.

BC: I know lots of people like to read about dystopian worlds. What do you see as the attraction for young readers to dystopian worlds?

Paul: I think young readers get to test out their own belief systems and moralities without getting too close to the real issues – because they get to empathise with the characters in the books instead. It’s commonly set in bleak or post-apocalyptic landscapes where resources are scarce, and features futuristic technology, mind control, violence and war. Books like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner really brought dystopian fiction back into vogue. Of course, this genre has been around for a long time.

BC: As a writer, why did you choose such a world for your setting? 

Paul: I’ve written it in the past with The Earthborn Wars published by Tor in the US (The Earthborn, The Skyborn and The Hiveborn). Fifteen years before The Hunger Games, I also wrote a virtual reality dystopian novel with a remarkably similar plot called Cyberskin. People dying from a terminal illness can sign their lives over to a legal “snuff” movie company and get killed live for the audience (for payment, of course – a life insurance policy that goes to their grieving family). They’re pitted against a superior fighter who is an enhanced fighting machine.

So it’s a genre within which I feel comfortable.

BC: Where can we find out more about Mole Hunt in particular, and all of your other books, too? 

Paul: There are two websites: www.fordstreetpublishing.com and www.paulcollins.com.au

Writing Fun for Kids - Arthur Comic Creator

I believe in making writing fun for kids. Here's another comic editor that provides your kids and students with all sorts of goodies for creating a story in comic format. It's part of the PBS Kids website, and just one of a range of activities devoted to the character, Arthur, and his friends. Kids might have encountered Arthur books by Marc Brown in their local or school library. This Comic Creator is a perfect way to follow up reading an Arthur book, and gives kids the opportunity to link reading and writing.

The Arthur Comic Creator gives kids the option of starting from scratch, or of using a story-starter to finish a story. The story starter is a three-panel comic, with illustrations, and sometimes speech bubbles that need filling. Pull the handle again to find one you like. If you start from scratch, you can choose backgrounds, characters, props, editable speech bubbles and some extra words to create your comic. Clicking on an element in a panel means you can delete it or change it. When you press Save, it saves to your own computer as a jpg file. I found I needed to take a screen grab to get enough clarity for the blog though.

If you're interested in more ideas on writing fun for kids, you might like my articles:
Sharing Stories Using Online Editors, Cartoonist - Sharing Stories with Cartoons, Making a Book at ToonDoo, Create a Story with Story Jumper, Great Online Story Maker (Carnegie Library Pittsburgh), Have Fun, and Develop Literacy Skills, with Bookr and Review, Myths and Legends.

Reading Rewards - Guest Post

Reading Rewards

by Michelle Skamene

Reading Rewards is a reading incentive program with a little something for all kids. Designed to encourage reluctant readers by rewarding time spent reading in various ways, Reading Rewards also has tools for eager readers who want to share their reading experiences in a fun, safe, online community.

As a mom of 3, I created Reading Rewards in an attempt to get my 2 school-aged boys to read more. Since its launch in 2010, I’ve expanded Reading Rewards to include tools for K-12 teachers who want to move away from paper reading logs.

About the website:

Registered users are encouraged to log information about their reading. They capture book details, time spent reading and number of pages read (optional). Parents are then notified via email and are asked to validate the entries. (Teachers can choose to set up accounts that do not require email addresses or parental validations).

Once the entries are validated (either by the parents or automatically), children receive ‘RR Miles’ (1 for every minute of reading) which they can redeem in various ways, from viewing a Joke of the Day, a silly Video, or interacting with other members in various games. They can only do these things if they have logged reading time. Kids also earn bonus RR Miles when they go a step further and rate/ review their books, or make recommendations to their friends.

Parents and/or teachers can then add custom rewards to the kids’ RR Stores, which kids can then purchase with their RR Miles. How about a tickle session with dad for 30 RR Miles, or a sleepover in the living room with mom for 1000 RR Miles? We have some great examples of incentives that don’t cost a penny, the key is to make it specific and meaningful for your child.

Features that will appeal to parents:

1. Track kids’ reading and print off progress reports, reading journals or reading logs using any one of our reading log or library templates.

2. Limit TV/Computer/Game console time! Set them up as rewards in the RR Store, and only allow them to watch or play once they’ve redeemed their RR Miles!

3. Get book recommendations from your children's peers. Makes selecting and buying books easier!

Features that will appeal to teachers:

Do you use reading logs in the classroom? Try Reading Rewards as a way of moving away from all that paper, and getting your students sharing book reviews and recommendations!

1. Use paperless reading logs! Kids track their reading online, and you can view their entries anytime. Parental sign-off optional.

2. Set individual reading targets (and rewards, if desired) for your students, or group targets and rewards. It’s fun for the class to watch their numbers grow, and there is very little you need to do to set it up!

3. Print off detailed reading logs using a variety of different templates. Kids log their reading regularly, and you choose which entries to pull out into customized reports.

4. Set up and share annotated reading lists.

5. Share and discuss any of your reading topics in a mini blog.

6. Compete in weekly mini-games! The more they read, the better their chances of winning. A great reading incentive!

Getting started couldn’t be easier. Visit Reading-Rewards.com, and click on ‘Child/Student Sign Up’ to create a child account, or ‘Teacher Sign Up’ to create a teacher account. Watch this brief video below to see Reading Rewards in action:



I’m so excited to see this community of young readers continue to grow. New users join us daily, and I hope you’ll be one of them! Feedback is welcome, I am always eager to hear from young users, parents or teachers. Happy Reading!


Michelle Skamene is a mom of 3 from Montreal, Canada. An IT consultant working in the field of database-driven websites, she started working on Reading Rewards in 2009. She continues to work for various clients, but Reading Rewards is taking up more and more of her time as its user-base continues to grow! Connect with Michelle on Twitter, Facebook or the Reading-Rewards.com blog.

Children's Learning: Break a World Record

Discovering world records is a great learning activity for kids. I always had a world record book in my classroom, because I found that often boys who said they didn't like to read fiction, would devour this book and enjoy sharing it with friends. Bite-sized chunks of text are often far less threatening than a whole novel would be.

Some world records are bizarre or good for a laugh. Others might just be the inspiration your child needs to investigate more, or even try to topple a record himself. Maybe your whole class might like to tilt at the World's Largest Rubber Band Ball record, or practise their multiplication with a view to breaking a world maths speed record. Your children and their friends might also be intrigued by The Most Complicated Rube Goldberg Machine you can see in operation in the video below.



We can't all be top athletes, and some of the records might capitalise on your child's quirky skill. Is she a great cup stacker? Is he a wonderful whistler? There are records for these.

If your children/students are in record-breaking mode, these resources might help:

• At Kideos, you can see a short video of a girl breaking the world cup-stacking record.

• Scholastic has a Book of World Records 2011, a book of Australian and World Records 2011, or of course there is the Guinness Book itself.

• The Guinness World Records website is chock full of record descriptions. You can search for world records - like the longest string of seeds/pips - and find out how to apply for your own record. They have a Twitter feed, a community where you can make suggestions for new records like "longest time to have a spoon held on the nose" , and a Facebook page. Your kids might also like to check out Youtube videos from the Guinness World Records TV Show.

• Australia has a few world record breaking animals in the category of most deadly or most poisonous - as shown in this video. Why not have your children research and develop their own list of world record breaking animals, or just decide for themselves. They could try categories like cutest, most dangerous, fastest, fluffiest, biggest, longest etc, and back up their claims with written and pictorial evidence.

• You might find books like The Guinness Book of Records in your local library, or check out websites like The Book of Alternative Records and 50 Extreme Guinness World Records at The Wondrous (Parental supervision advised as always.) Reading about world records helps kids practise becoming world record-beating readers!

{Original image public domain, Wikimedia Commons, supplemented by text from Skitch.}

  

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Stop Press: Congratulations to Susanne Gervay, author of I am Jack, on being awarded the Order of Australia!  The only children's literature recipient for the Queen's Birthday.

Susanne says, "As the child of post war refugees, my parents with my baby brother, left everything to escape Hungary across minefields in the dead of night, for freedom. In the Austrian refugee  camp, they hoped a country would take them.

They wanted to be chosen by the USA, but it was Australia who offered them home. They  didn’t know what or where Australia was, except it was far away from war, communism and imprisonment.

They came on a refugee ship, without language, possessions, community, but with hope. Like many,  they rebuilt their lives in a new country. It is the story of America, Canada, UK …. many countries.

It’s hard to believe that as the child of refugees, I have been awarded an Order of Australia. It is overwhelming and deeply meaningful."

Children's Book Review, The Great Expedition

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com

How can any child or chook resist a book with "Expedition" in the title? Ever since Pooh and friends went on an expotition to the North Pole, I've loved to read books that lure with promise of adventure and charting new territory. I think you and your kids will enjoy The Great Expedition as much as I did.

Written and illustrated by Peter Carnavas, it was published by New Frontier (2011). You might remember I've reviewed two other children's picture books by Carnavas, Last Tree in the City and The Important Things.

On August 20, a group of young explorers was charged with a dangerous mission. They were to travel across wild country to deliver a valuable parcel.

The journey would be punishing. It would test the resolve of the brave young explorers. Most of all, it would provide us all with a pair of unlikely
heroes to admire and remember for many years to come.

This is their story.

Like all expeditions, this one has its problems. Parents and kids alike will laugh over situations like the team being ambushed by a Senior Officer who drags Ivy away - it's obvious from the illustration this is Mum who's carting Ivy off to her ballet lesson. The illustrations constantly reveal the subtext to add humour, as when the team locate a waterhole but the picture is of a bubbler/water fountain. The final double spread picture of the survivors overlooking the park and playground equipment completes the fun.

I like the way Carnavas tells his tale with a flavour of the slightly formal language used in expedition write-ups. We read that "They were a ramshackle bunch but each member had a duty essential to the journey", of "Henry, biologist: collect creatures native to the land" and "Ivy, botanist: gather plant samples along the way." It's so important for children to learn new vocabulary this way, and makes their reading experience rich and meaningful.

Carnavas took the story of real-life Australian adventurers, Burke and Wills, as his inspiration for The Great Expedition. Can your kids think of any other explorers they've heard of or would like to find out more about?

When you've read The Great Expedition, here are some more activities to help your children make connections to the book with their own adventures.

• Go on a scavenger hunt at your local park - find leaves, seedpods, other natural items or manmade items. Help your kids develop visual literacy by making up a card with age-appropriate words and pictures of things they need to find. If you can't make it to the park, "salt" the backyard with things for your kids to find - you could hide toy dinosaurs, toy cars, plastic snakes, even letters of the alphabet for your child to discover.

• Try archaeology in the sandpit, or at the beach. Salt the area with small plastic animals or toys, and give your kids plastic shovels and buckets to retrieve them.

• Do some map making. Ask your kids to look really hard at the natural and man made environment in your park or yard. Have them represent that environment with sand and found objects. Older kids can take it a step further and try to make a 2D map of the environment with lines and shapes to stand for actual objects and terrain. If your kids love maps, make sure to read an excellent article in Literacy Lava 9 by Rebecca Newman, titled Maps and Literacy - Heading in the Right Direction.

• Pack a picnic lunch and do some adventuring of your own. Has your family tried geocaching or canoing? While you're out in the fresh air, replay the story of The Great Expedition with some toys, or gather a group of friends together and assign each a role. Good luck!

Find more Children's Book Reviews on The Book Chook via the Table of Contents. 

Children's Literacy and Reading News Roundup

I'm hosting the Children's Literacy and Reading News Roundup (usually brought to the cyberworld by Jen Robinson's Book Page, The Family Bookshelf and Rasco from RIF) at The Book Chook today. Below you'll find snippets of news about literacy and reading-related events from across the blogosphere.

Reading News

Did you catch the Washington Post June 2 article: Are picture books dead? No need for you to follow that link. I have the answer: Of course picture books aren't dead! You can't kill 32 pages of dreams and wonder.

Sections of the media seem intent on making fusses. I wonder why??? An article in the Wall Street Journal prompted some interesting debate recently as Jen mentioned in her June 8 Roundup. Here are four different perspectives.

The Happy Accident
I always enjoy reading Greg Pincus's take on things. Be sure to scroll down and read comments too. It's wonderful that the kidlitosphere is a place where we can have healthy discussions and allow each other differing opinions.

The Book Whisperer
Donalyn Miller sums it up for me with this sentence: Do not let ignorance and storm crow squawking about the decline of civilization prevent you from sharing relevant, powerful books with your children.

Cheryl Rainfield
Cheryl gives a personal perspective as the author of a book (Scars) mentioned in the original article at the Wall Street Journal.

The Light and Round Project
Jennifer Bertman decided to turn lemons into lemonade and started the Light and Round Project to showcase YA Literature that's "light to absent on the dark and edgy elements". Each Wednesday a roundup of books will be posted with links to blogger reviews or book pages.

Amazon.com reveals the most well-read cities in America.

Story Snoops
"We help you find fiction that fits." Children's book reviews, and a great searchable database that gives book suggestions according to different criteria.

When do we stop reading with our kids? A father's gift of reading from CBS News.

Tips to Build Better Readers from TogetheREAD. Great ideas for families to incorporate into reading at home.

Challenges

Looking for a reading challenge? Why not join Donalyn of The Book Whisperer in the Third Annual Book a Day challenge? Or try the Paper Tigers Reading the World Challenge. And don't forget the Literacy Toolbox Summer Reading Challenge (If you're a Book Chook, reading without spectacles is challenge enough!)

Libraries

Dawn Morris of Moms Inspire Learning is a passionate public library supporter. Her recent article, A Simple Tweet, Email or Visit Can Help Save a Library, shares ideas for taking helpful action.

Discover what this library is doing to heat up summer reading with a Transliteracy approach - fun ideas that have generated immense enthusiasm in kids.

The 10 Coolest Libraries for Kids. Is it true? Who knows, but check them out to see how your US local library compares.

Grow Up Reading is an initiative from the West Bloomfield Township Public Library in the USA. Check it out for information on ages baby to grade 3.

Education

Kim Yaris poses the question: "How do we get kids to want to read?" Find her answer in The Secret Society for Selecting Stories.

"Preschoolers who enjoy spending time with a good book are more likely to behave better in the classroom, according to research from Purdue University."

Johnnie's Story Page. Links to Interactive Stories and Reading Activities for Kids and Teachers.

I'm always fascinated by different concepts for schools and learning. In The Children's Manifesto from the Guardian newspaper (UK), kids were asked what they wanted from a school, and here's a compilation of their answers.

Learn new songs and rhymes with the StoryBlocks videos and "help build readers."(via @readingrockets)

Literature

Jan Pienkowski: drawing Meg and Mog - audio slideshow from The Guardian newspaper (UK) (about 4 minutes) "In the latest in our series of audio slideshows with children's illustrators, Jan Pienkowski talks about his childhood in Poland, how tales of the terrifying Baba Yaga indirectly inspired his "incompetent" witch, Meg, and why he believes picture books may soon become a thing of the past".

Interested in World Literature? Invitation to World Literature. Watch, read and explore - from The Epic of Gilgamesh onwards. Fascinating!

Ephemerooks (BookChook Ephemera!): Small things that have snagged my attention, however briefly.

1. Reading Rockets has some great widgets for blogs.

2. Need bookmarks? Generate some beauties at National Geographic. Kids can scroll through different bookmark templates then personalize and print their bookmark. (See my screen shot at left.)

3. Need a poster for your blog post or library? I made the one up top at Big Huge Labs - Billboard (choose Wilderness from the style menu, upload your photo and add text.) You'll find similar tools there too.

And in conclusion...

Most of us involved with children's literacy have times when we wonder if it's worth it. Perhaps we look at the statistics on how many parents read to their children, or we experience cutbacks to our own libraries, and even worse, their closure. Here's a paragraph that reminds me it's totally worth it: One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in my bank account, or what my clothes looked like. But one hundred years from now, the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child. (Attributed to Anonymous all over the internet, it sounds a lot like lines from Within My Power by Forest Witcraft.)

Here's another favourite literacy quote, introduced via The Joy of Literacy: The single most important condition for literacy learning is the presence of mentors who are joyfully literate people. ~ Shirley Brice Heath

And finally (as your reward for reading all the way to the end!) here's a trailer for the movie, The First Grader. Even watching the trailer moves me to tears, and reminds me what a privilege being literate truly is. May your week be joyfully literate!

Children's Reading - Interesting Facts at Did-You-Knows

Some kids absorb facts like a sponge. They just love to find out things, and usually enjoy imparting that knowledge to others. If you have such a child, why not share some of the facts at Did-You-Knows with her/him?

Did you know:

• no two corn flakes look the same
• an ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain
• reindeer like bananas
• the longest recorded flight of a chicken was 13 seconds

Facts can be filtered by subject areas: Animals, Countries, Human Body, Space, Sport, TV etc.

After you've browsed some facts at Did-You-Knows, you could suggest your kids illustrate the snippets they like best with their own drawings or cartoons. Visit Learn Something Every Day for inspiration (I told you about it in Learn Something Every Day - just another of my creative titles!) A different follow-up activity might be to make a poster about a chosen fact at Big Huge Labs, and choose a creative commons photo to illustrate it, or set up your own photos and use an image editor like Iaza to add text to them.

If your children enjoy reading and collecting facts, why not explore the non-fiction section at your local library? So often when we think of books, we think of fiction, but some kids prefer books about "real stuff". Ask your librarian to recommend some good non-fiction books, check out the catalogue in subject areas of interest, or simply browse to see what you can find.

Word Games for Kids - KeyMaba

I love word games. They're a fantastic way to develop children's literacy skills, while providing the fun of using clues to solve a mystery. I told you about lots of word games in Messing About with Words to Increase Literacy and I invented a real life version of Only Connect in Word Fun at Only Connect. You can find some more of my favourite word games in the Book Chook Bag of Tricks. Here's a new one that might turn your kids into word detectives.

It's called KeyMaba. (I discovered it thanks to Russell Stannard.) It's available for sale as an app, for sale via the website for $1.99 or you can try it for free via the developers, Head Fake Games.com.

KeyMaba gives you a clue for the word you need to provide, then it gives you examples of compound words, phrases or expressions containing the keyword you're looking for. The more examples you need, the more your final score is reduced.

My first clue (teaser) was "many would like to do this to their boss". I thought of "sack him" which speaks volumes about my respect for authority. But my first word clue was Rapid___. Of course, "fire" was the same as sack and "rapid-fire" worked. The second word clue popped up while these thoughts clunked away. It was Rocket___. I quickly typed "fire" on the answer line and received 900 points.

The speed makes it probably best for kids over ten in my guess. The game is fun and fast - even if your kids aren't old enough to try it, I think YOU should. Having our children witness us loving word games and reading contributes to their own enthusiasm for literacy, after all!

Do you have a favourite word game children might like?

Create Art Online with the Saatchi Gallery

Psst! Wanna know where I've been playing? At The Saatchi Gallery. Hidden inside what is essentially an online gallery for buying art work is an art editor where I created the masterpieces you can see here today.

Caterpillar on wood with flowers

This is such an exciting art editor! There are many wonderful tools. It reminds me a little of the lovely art editor at CBeebies, Mister Maker Magic Paintbox (see my article, Playing with Art at CBeebies) which also has a wide range of tools for kids to explore. And it shares similarities with Aminah's World (see my article, Create Art at Aminah's World.)

The editor interface is a palette, with a canvas in the middle, and icons and tools around the outside. It's perfect for experimenting. Choose backgrounds like brick, paper or timber, and apply paint with brushes, sponge, roller or even ice cream. You can also change the background after you've finished drawing, and there's an option for increasing opacity with the spray can by right clicking. To save, you need to register, so I took screen grabs and added a daisy frame at Picnik. Sadly, even cheerful daisies could not hide the strangeness of my caterpillar!

Caterpillar in clouds with flowers

Do your kids a favour and let them play at Saatchi Gallery. Creating online using all these lovely tools is a great way to give in to their requests for screen time, yet make sure they're not busy killing postmen in some mindlessly violent game. As always, I advise parental supervision - there's one link back to the Saatchi Gallery home page which may have paintings and photographs you don't want your child to see.

Visual Literacy - Play with Images at Iaza

A regular The Book Chook reader commented a while back on all the image editors I write about. I do! I love these free online places where we can play with images and words. They're great for creating captions, and allow us to edit a photo and add all sorts of interesting effects. Fooling around with images is a great way for kids to think creatively, and develop their knowledge of visual literacy. If your kids have their own blog, image editors can be really useful because they make it easy to resize, crop and even add frames to images.

Iaza is a new-to-me online image editor. When you arrive on the home page, you're presented with a big orange button to click and upload your image, as well as lists of the functions available. Kids will enjoy exploring and trying different Conversion, Edit, Mix and Create functions. Once you upload an image from your computer or the web, you can then choose the effect you want to try. If you don't like it, simply use your browser's back button to undo it, and you can save as you go.

I chose sepia 4 (look under Convert/Adjust), then chose frame 14 (look under Edit/Border/Art Frame) to generate the framed image just above.

After that, I clicked back and popped the sepia image into a magazine cover instead (look under Mix - Magazine.) This might be just the lift that picture for your child's school assignment needs.

Check out Poster, which allows you to add a caption and choose border, font and colours. To generate the image above, I used the same sepia pic and applied Poster (under Edit). For the image below, I used my original image without edits, and applied Border Text (also under Edit.) Use this function if your kids just want to add a message to a photo they want to send someone.

At a rough guess, there are around 50 options, and you can apply multiple options to the same image. I also experimented with Fossilized (below) which gives a kind of embossed effect, and Art Gallery - Impressionist (at very top of this article). Wouldn't it be fun to try different artistic styles in the editor when your kids are studying different kinds of art techniques!

Iaza is a great webspace to play with words and images, especially to see the same image in different ways. Why not encourage your school-aged kids to experiment there while you check it out yourself?


If you're interested in encouraging kids to play with words and images, you might like my recent articles Play with Words and Images at Pizap,  Add Captions to Images with Bubblesnaps, and Quick Writing Online.

Writing Fun for Kids - Boys' Life Comic Creator

The Comic Creator is part of the Boys' Life website. It's another cute online place where your kids can express themselves in words and pictures, and create comics. In other words, it's yet another website that encourages children's literacy.

The working screen appears as an empty room, but you can change that background to one of 6 options. Choose from Pedro, PeeWee and other characters, add objects and text. The editor allows you to move elements, resize, flip and see your panel as one of three. The speech/thought bubble is directly editable.

Unfortunately, the creator is limited to the characters and scenarios from the magazine, so there isn't a huge range of art to choose from. But it's worth a look, and a fun place for kids to explore. Use it as a jumping off point to introduce your kids to creating simple comics, then move on to more complex online editors like ToonDoo or Professor Garfield. Some kids will be creative enough to write and draw their own.

If you're interested in prompts to encourage children's creativity, whether that's in writing, art, or other pursuits, you might be interested in my Creative Prompt series. You can link to all the articles so far from the introductory post.

Interview with Ian Irvine, Australian Author

Ian Irvine is my guest at The Book Chook today. He's visiting as part of a blog tour for his recent novel, The Calamitous Queen. Find out more about the tour via Ian's blog. 


BC: Ian, welcome to The Book Chook. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your children's books?

Ian: Thanks, Susan. Firstly, I didn’t start out with any intention of becoming a writer, though from my earliest days I devoured books. At school I was really interested in science and I’ve spent my working life as a consulting scientist investigating water pollution and pollution in the sea. Then, about 25 years ago, I had a powerful urge to write, and I started out writing epic fantasy. By the time this work was eventually published, it had become an enormous 11-book series (so far!). It’s been a bestseller in Australia and the UK and has been published in many other countries and languages. You can read about it here. First chapters for all 27 of my books, and some shorter works, can be read here.

These days I write full time though I still do some of my scientific work, just for variety. I’ve also written 12 children’s books, my latest series being Grim and Grimmer, a quartet of humorous fantasy novels for ages 9 and up (though quite a few adults seem to be enjoying them too). I’d never written humorous fiction before, so taking on this series was rather a challenge – what if I wrote the books and they weren’t funny?

But reviewers have been kind, and I have to say these books are the most fun I’ve ever had writing. Perhaps this was because, for the first time, I let go and got in touch with my wild and wacky side. The book that has just been published is Grim and Grimmer 4, The Calamitous Queen, which was the most fun of all. Book covers, reviews, blurbs, first chapters, and some readings for these books can be seen here.

BC: I know you're conscious of writing books that engage young readers. What do you do to promote that?

Ian: I begin with a flawed but likeable protagonist, give him or her a big problem in a bad place, then keep the laughs and the adventure flowing all the way to the end, which always has a twist or two. In the Grim and Grimmers the hero is Awkward Ike, who is well-meaning but useless at everything except drawing.

Ike has accidentally betrayed Princess Aurora to the wicked Fey Queen, Emajicka, and he’s caught and chained to a guard imp called Nuckl who wants to eat Ike’s liver. With the aid of a clever but reckless thief girl, Mellie, Ike escapes and they set out to rescue the princess. But the Fey Queen is stealing the children of Grimmery for her Collection. She bathes in their nightmares to relieve her own, and there is one nightmare she wants most of all - Ike's.

BC: What tips do you have for parents who want their kids to love reading?

Firstly, read to them from a young age. Mum read to us when we were really little, then Dad took over until we were about 10 or 11, and we did the same with our kids. Reading to your kids is important because it teaches them about stories and storytelling. Without it, some kids will never get into reading for pleasure, not because they don’t have the skills, but because they never enter into the fictive world when they’re reading. In order words, the story doesn’t mean anything to them.

BC: What tips do you have for young writers?

Ian: The most important attribute you need is determination, because it’s incredibly hard to get published, and just as hard make a living at writing once you have been published. Lots of people are good at writing but that’s not enough to succeed. What really matters is that you’re utterly determined to learn the craft of storytelling, no matter how long it takes and how many disappointments there are on the way. I think that most people can learn the craft of storytelling, if they’re prepared to put enough time and effort into it, and I believe such people will get published.

There are a number of articles about writing on my website. Here’s one of them.

BC: Is writing fun or hard work? What's your favourite thing about writing for kids?

Ian: It’s both fun and hard work. I’ve been a full-time writer for 12 years and I work hard at my writing, about 60 hours a week most weeks, and longer when I’ve got a big deadline to meet. Writing is hard and frustrating, and no matter how well it goes one day (or one book, for that matter), the next day and next book one is starting again from scratch. First drafts are particularly frustrating because, no matter how much planning I’ve done for a book, it never seems real until I’ve come to the end of the first draft and read what I’ve written. But having said that, it’s hard work that I love. It’s the best job in the world.

I like writing for kids because I think they’re mainly looking for good, strong stories about likeable, believable characters, and that’s the kind of book I like to read myself. And write.

BC: Do your own children love to read? What sort of books do they like?

Ian: I have four children and they all love to read, though they’re all grown-up and have left home some time ago. When they were little they liked the usual books – Dr Seuss, the Berenstain Bears and so forth, and when a bit older, Roald Dahl, The Hobbit, Goosebumps. In their teenage years they read a lot of fantasy – even, dare I say it, some of my books – though I don’t think they were ever their favourites. Sigh!

I also have a large and active Facebook author site with competitions and giveaways every week.

BC: Thanks Ian!

Children's Book Review, Into the Unknown

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com

Here's a picture book to delight those of us who dream of adventure. Into the Unknown was written by Stewart Ross, illustrated by Stephen Biesty and published by Walker Books (2011). A fascinating in-depth look at how great explorers found their way by land, sea and air, the book starts with Pythaeas the Greek (340 BC) and ends with Apollo 11 landing on the moon (1969 AD).

Join acclaimed illustrator Stephen Biesty and popular children's history writer Stewart Ross, as they themselves explore some of the boldest, most daring expeditions of all time, using fold-out pages, cross-section drawings and dramatic storytelling. Twist through the waves of the stormy North Atlantic in a Viking knarr with Leif Ericsson or burst into the stratosphere in a balloon with Auguste Piccard, cross the deserts of the Silk Road in a caravan with Marco Polo or land on the moon in the Apollo 11 lunar module... With this book, you can travel through time and space, in non-fiction that's as exciting as exploration itself!

How could any of us, child or adult, fail to be intrigued?

The problem with some non-fiction children's books is that they try to cram too much text onto a page. Others manage to kill children's interest in a subject by presenting information in a dry and dusty way. Into the Unknown is a prime example of non-fiction that DOESN'T do this. Text is spaced out and not at all didactic. Ross writes as if he's chatting with us, letting us in on fascinating glimpses of adventuring that he's gleaned from extensive research. He uses fiction techniques to bring the book alive.

Biesty's illustrations are wonderfully detailed. They retain an old-fashioned flavour (in those parts of the book that deal with the past), yet are almost cartoonish in style - perfectly aimed at kids. Carefully unfolding the fold-out of Magellan's ship, The Trinidad, reveals a cross-section of the interior to us, complete with busy crew, and even one sailor falling overboard. Into the Unknown's creators have ensured that each element conforms to the book's vision. There are textured backgrounds to many pages - some have the look of cloth, others are grid paper or old maps. The choice of fonts and page dividers even add authenticity, and as for the maps … my fellow cartophiles, trust me when I tell you this is the book for you!

I do try not to be gender biased in my book reviews - honestly though, my instant reaction was that Into the Unknown is such a boy book! It's definitely the sort of book my boys would have pored over and shared snippets from. However, I truly think it makes an excellent gift for the whole family. Into the Unknown is also a superb choice for teachers and parents who want to develop visual literacy in children, and show them how information can be organised and displayed in many different visual ways.

Find more Children's Book Reviews on The Book Chook via the Table of Contents.

Sixteen Sensational Storytelling Ideas

Oral storytelling is one of mankind's oldest traditions. It's probably the origin of teaching too. Storytelling skills are excellent ones for children to learn, and attending storytelling sessions given by an adult will pay dividends. Kids learn to improvise, gain an understanding of basic story structure, sequence a story correctly, speak with confidence and engage an audience.

• I think storytelling cubes are a wonderful idea. The ones in this picture were made by Maggy Woodley of Red Ted Art. Maggy tells you how to make your own cubes in her blog post. I've also seen cubes constructed from cardboard and paper (just draw the net of a cube and young artists add their own pictures, or use clip art.)

• If your craft skills aren't up to Maggy's, why not make some little storytelling cards instead of blocks? Choose some common elements like a couple of scenes (forest, mountains, beach), a couple of characters (boy, girl, wizard, grandma, fireman), animals, props, and maybe some problems (a wolf, a monster, a wand, money.) You could laminate them, or put magnets on the back so kids can use them on a metal tray or the fridge anytime they want. Follow up with recording the stories you create sometimes.

• A fun storytelling activity is to collaborate with other people. Try throwing in a word while someone else tells a story, and they must then incorporate your word into their story. Try a circle story, where each child contributes a sentence at a time. Add a twist by throwing a ball to the person who must continue the story, or throwing a ball of wool across the circle back and forth to see the story unravel.

• One my students always loved was a story box of tiny things. This also works as a story bag. Read more about it in my article, Create a Story Box.

• Share a story from your past with your kids. Kids especially love to hear of the mischief their parents and teachers got up to! At school, have kids bring something important from their past and share its story. If you're having special guests visit the class, having an artefact for them to share with the kids can help them, and give the kids a focus while they listen.

• Make a family time capsule. This can be something simple like a cardboard box. Each family member brings something special from their lives for the capsule. Before they put it into the box, they tell the story of that object and why it is special for them. Seal the box and open it in 12 months or two years time. This would make an excellent activity for the classroom too.

• Try storytelling with puppets. You choose a well-known fairy or folk tale, and kids manipulate puppets while you tell the story aloud. Once children are comfortable with the process, change roles.

• Have children choose some pictures they like from magazines. Ask them to tell the story one or all of those pictures makes them think of. Or start with one picture, begin a shared story there and incorporate the next picture soon after you look at it.

• Listen to music, allow a story to develop in children's imaginations. Share it. This can lead naturally to wonderful drama improvisations or art work, and makes a great prompt for creative writing.

• Give your kids five random words eg bird, chair, bucket, happiness, swim. Have children create a story that encompasses all the words. This is a fun one to do in the car. Challenge older kids to come up with four average words and throw in a wacky one.

• Use a tin tray as a backdrop (vertical) and manipulate magnetised plastic people and shapes to tell a story. Or you tell the story and have your youngster listen and perform the actions. It might be as simple as: "One day Mrs Flappe came home and shut the door. She looked for Tabby cat under the table. But she wasn't there. She looked for Tabby cat on the chair. But she wasn't there. She looked for Tabby cat behind the bookcase and there was Tabby, fast asleep." If you don't have plastic shapes, draw and cut from card, and glue magnets to the back.

• Make an inkblot by folding a blob of paint or ink inside a piece of paper. Tell a story about what your imagination sees in the result.

• Start with a squiggly line on a piece of paper. Hand it to a partner who adds another line or two. Swap back and forward until someone says stop because they can tell a story about the squiggle. Any Aussies remember Mr Squiggle on TV?

• Use songs as the basis for a story for kids to tell. Have them listen to ballads like Puff the Magic Dragon, or Alexander Beetle, and tell the story in their own words. In this as in other activities, we're not aiming for 100% accuracy of re-telling. Encourage kids to add their own twists and turns.

• Raid the dress-up box for storytelling ideas. Lots of storytelling will start spontaneously from a child becoming a pirate or fairy queen.

• Why not have your kids choose a favourite well known and short story and practise telling it? If they're happy with the result, you could video it and they can take a look at themselves performing. This is valuable feedback so long as it's approached sensitively. Well-rehearsed stories also make great party pieces for events like family concerts.

Creative thinking, improvisation, developing imagination, self-expression - all these skills can be encouraged in kids via storytelling. If you have any other ideas for storytelling activities, I'd love you to leave them in comments.

Update 1 - here's a wonderful storytelling activity from Erin at Small Type. This will entrance the gamers amongst your kids. Yes, it makes Seventeen, but this is the most sensational of all!

Update 2 - here are some more storytelling activities from Rachel at Quirky Momma. I particularly like the paper city from Made by Joel. Yes, I know that makes Eighteen - so sue me! Better still, add to the list by leaving a comment.

Update 3 - more storytelling goodness, this time with magnets, from Catherine at Sun Hats and Wellie Boots. Makes 19.

Update 4 - Dee reminded me in comments that picture books are great to use for storytelling. Simply substitute different elements to see what you create. Scroll down for Dee's more detailed comment below. Makes 20. Any advance on 20?

Read Online at MeeGenius

Read Books Online at MeeGenius

Here's an interesting website where children can read books online. At MeeGenius, not only can kids have the story read aloud, but words are highlighted as it's read, making it easy to follow along.

MeeGenius is your virtual store for enhanced children's books. Available as a website, an application created for the Apple iPhone, iPad or iTouch, as well as Google TV and the Google Chrome Web Store, MeeGenius offers a selection of classic children's stories - both old and new - and enhances them with technology, with features such as word highlighting, audio playback and personalization.

Stories like Three Little Pigs, The Lion and the Mouse, The Little Red Hen and Jemima Puddleduck are on the free list. Some of the illustrations in the free books are charming - you can see an example of Jessica Golden's art work above. I'm a fan already!

There are six free books you can access, but the site also offers a personalised book experience, and books you pay for (from $0.99.) You can preview the non-free books before you buy, an excellent strategy to get an idea of the quality of the writing. (One of the books I previewed was in rhyme and rhythm that set my teeth on edge, so check carefully.) The audio recording is excellent. Most of the books seem to be re-told traditional tales, but there are some original ones.

Overall, the quality of my reading experience was good. Of course none of these digital books will ever replace real print books in my mind, BUT I truly believe there's a place for such books in family life. If you have an iPad, how wonderful to be able to access books so your kids can read while waiting in a queue somewhere! And screen time based around books certainly beats screen time shooting zombies, or is it just me who feels this way?

Professor Garfield's Character Builder

Earlier this week I told you about the Toon Books Comic Maker. It's a cute editor where kids can create their own stories in comic format. While I was exploring Professor Garfield's website and reminding myself of Comics Lab,  and Comics Lab Extreme, both great places for kids to create comics, I noticed an orange bar, just above the three panel strip I was making. I pressed it and discovered a feature I love, the Character Builder.

It's a lot like an avatar maker, except you only save your character to the comic template, rather than to your own computer. Of course, you can always take a screen shot of your character if you want to use it in some other project. Top left is a screen shot of what the Builder looks like.

To use the Character Builder, find Expand Character Builder, just above the panels. When you expand it, you get a character to customise. Choose skin tones, head, eyes, mouth, ears, nose and body. Many features can also be resized. Once done, you can save your character, provided you've logged in (just a christian name or nickname is necessary for this.) If you like, make more characters, or get random ones.

These characters/avatars can then be used in the three panel comics. Remember to click the panel to edit it first, then your created characters will appear. You can see my first pirate comic above, then I added the new characters I made to it in the lower version. Of course, this isn't as creative as kids drawing their own characters. But it gives them some control over the creative process, and not all of us want to start from scratch.

If you're interested in avatars and how to use them with children's writing, you might enjoy my articles, Writing with Avatars (1) and Writing with Avatars (2).