literature
Grades 1 & 2 Put on a Puppet Show!
Our mission? To teach fractured fairy tales to Grades 1 and 2, and have them each write out their very own fractured fairy tale, build puppets, and put on a puppet show.
And, we only had a few weeks to put it together.
Was this even possible? It was a lot of work, and not very much time.
But I’m happy to say we did it!
The Grade 1 class focused on the fairy tale The Three Little Pigs, except their main characters were green space pigs! And Grade 2 used the fairy tale The Little Red Riding Hood, expect their main character became the Little White Snow Boy. Very original!
Here are some of their creations:
And here I am reading one of my stories, and then the kiddies were lucky enough to get “fairy tale” inspired treats at the end!
A special thank-you to the amazing, one of a kind educator Kendra-Ann Fabes from St. Dorothy School, and to the talented Nancy Saltarelli from Une École Montréalise pour Tous for spearheading the project.
Grade 5 Students Write a Picture Book in THREE Days!
I love writing!
And, I love giving writing workshops. I especially love when my students get really enthusiastic about their own writing.
I recently worked with Royal Vale Elementary and I had the privilege of teaching two classes of Grade 5. Our mission? To create a complete picture in just three days. (Even I can’t do that!)
And I’m happy to say that we accomplished our goal! Here’s how it went down:
Day 1
We had an intensive first session to get the creative juices flowing. The students learned everything from character and plot development to how to write authentic dialogue. After a lot of back and forth, they also decided what the theme of the book would be.
Day 2
This workshop was the most challenging. The students first created the characters in the story. Then we all developed the plot and the structure of the story. After that, I separated the students into four groups and each group wrote a chapter of the book. There was so much to do, so we had to work fast!
Day 3
On the last day, I edited the chapters with the students. We also created the list of illustrations, which they drew out. The last task was to decide on details like dedication, and paper and font colour.
I brought everything home and after a lot of editing and layout magic, the finalized books were sent to the printer. When the students saw them, they were ecstatic! It was a wonderful reward for all their hard work.
Check out their final books Immigration to the States and The Condimental Worlds.
Love & Light,
Lydia
Multicultural Children’s Book
Hello all!
Today is Multicultural Children’s Book Day. I feel honoured to participate, and review a book from a talented Greek author, especially since I myself am Greek! And it fosters diversity, which is crucial.
Here goes:
Review of The Wounded Swallow By Vaggelio Kondaki-Karametou
I had the pleasure of reading this short children’s book and I was immediately drawn in. It started off in a very sweet yet mysterious way that left me wanting to know more. I could feel the love between the mother and her daughter in the opening sequence and I was curious about the swallow they kept mentioning.
Then the story traveled to another place and time, morphing into a story narrated by the mother. It was unusual and gripping. The act of war was personified, which I found to be very original. Read the rest of this entry »
How I Got an Agent, Lost that Agent, and Found a New One (Without Losing my Mind)
(This post originally appeared on the WriteForKids Blog)
https://writeforkids.org/blog/2018/06/got-agent-lost-agent-found-new-one-without-losing-mind/
Like many of you, I’ve been knee deep in the querying trenches, desperately trying to make my submission stand out in the staggering slush pile. And as we all know, this process is time consuming. It goes on and on, peppered with rejection letters, until we finally get a bite.
I signed with my first agent a few weeks after I got my first bite. In my mind, my problems were now over. Yahoo! No more submissions! No more Twitter pitch parties! No more querying! I was already visualizing a book contract with the Big Five.
But that’s not how the cookie crumbled.
Here are 3 truths nobody tells you about landing an agent:
- It can be anti-climactic: Don’t expect a book deal the next day, week or month.
- You will still need patience: The submission process is laborious, no matter who’s doing the submitting.
- You will still get rejected: The difference is that now, the rejections get sent to your agent.
The Anti-Conformist Picture Book
Mark Loewen is the author of an amazing new picture book, What Does a Princess Really Look Like? In the book, he breaks gender stereotypes and features a family with two fathers. Please enjoy my Q & A with him:
-You hit a lot of powerful topics in this book. One take-away lesson is that princesses don’t simply “look pretty.” Being a princess also involves using your brain, as well as being courageous and strong. Do you think there is too much emphasis on appearance and playing up to feminine stereotypes in society?
Definitely. And it was always obvious to me. I think this was one of the male privilege aspects that I always saw, especially growing up in South America. But I really noticed how powerful this was when I observed how people related to my daughter. Strangers everywhere tell her how pretty she is – all the time. And I agree with them! But it makes me nervous that most people who talk to her when we are out say something about her looks. As she grows up, I want her to know that her looks are not the best or most important thing about her. It’s just one part of her.
I remember one time we went to the grocery store and she was wearing a superhero mask. A lady smiled at her and said, “I can see your beautiful eyes through that mask!” And I thought… even specifically dressing as someone strong and brave, people are commenting on her eyes. And this is all well-intentioned. But I don’t think boys get this message.
-What about in literature?
Children’s literature plays into it because it sells. Even books or movies with strong females sometimes show that girls are “ditzy” or “clumsy.” I’m reminded of how Disney princesses like Anna and Moana both trip right at the end of a really big song. But I can’t think of male heroes portrayed in this way.
I’ve noticed that it’s becoming easier to find children’s books with strong female characters. Girl empowerment is big with publishers now, which is one reason why I found interest in my book so quick. What I do still notice is that books with strong female characters are still considered only for girls. But girls read books with strong male characters all the time. This needs to change. Read the rest of this entry »
The Face of Perseverance
The path of the author is notoriously difficult. It’s filled with heaps of rejection letters and long hours of constant editing, not to mention the “snail pace” rhythm of the publishing industry.
So how does one survive these challenges and still retain an earnest love for writing? I sat down with author Debra Shumaker to get her perspective. After submitting 187 submissions to both agents and editors with 11 different manuscripts since September of 2009, she achieved one of her dreams and landed a literary agent. Here is our Q & A:
How did you remain so perseverant throughout the process?
So
metimes I wonder, myself, why I persevered in all the rejection. But that is the name of the game in Children’s Lit. And I should clarify, though I started subbing in 2009, I probably started subbing too early. I was a beginner. I had three little kids at the time so I just wrote and submitted when I “had time.” My manuscripts probably weren’t ready and my querying was a bit undirected. But, as I worked on my craft, participating in Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo (now StoryStorm) and joining Julie Hedlund’s 12×12, my manuscripts grew stronger and my queries more directed. Then in 2014, I started to get some nibbles: some personal rejections and one agent asked for a revise/resubmit. Though that one didn’t pan out, it gave me a confidence booster. In 2015, I received an R&R from an editor and three agents asking for more of my work. Again, those didn’t lead to offers, but I knew I was getting close. I just kept plugging away at learning craft, studying mentor texts, writing new stuff, and submitting. I am so grateful for having signed with Natascha Morris from BookEnds Literary in July. Read the rest of this entry »
Why I LOVE Working with Children!
I love being a writer.
It rocks.
But sometimes, writing can be an isolating experience. One of the reasons I love giving workshops is because I get to interact with children of all ages. And let me tell you, that is a truly enriching experience! Even though I’m there to teach them about building narratives and developing characters, I end up learning a thing or two after each workshop.
Here are the top 5 reasons I love working with children:
- Children are hilarious!
I often write down the things they say because the statements can be incredibly funny. Even when they’re not trying to be funny, they’re funny. When I walk into a school, I like to have a notepad and pen handy at all times.
Welcome to my Blog!
Aloha and welcome! Here you will find my musings on various topics such as:
- children’s literature
- what it’s like to be an author
- inspirational quotes and thoughts
- my latest projects
- the publishing industry
- educational resources for parents and teachers
- parenting tips
- arts and crafts for kiddies and much, much more!
Stay tuned everybody! Subscribe to the LL newsletter HERE.
Lydia Lukidis 