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February 12 x 12 Check In — and a GIVEAWAY!

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Another good month in 12 x 12 Land! This is certainly keeping me on my toes. I decided at the beginning of the year that I really need to treat my writing as a job, and work at it steadily, even though “going to work” means simply going to my home office. 12 x 12 is helping me do this. 12 x 12 has also provided me with the opportunity to join a fabulous online critique group made up of other 12 x 12ers. This is my first experience with a critique group, and I couldn’t be with a better group of women. Thanks to all five of you! To read about my writing progress in 12 x 12 and for details of the giveaway, read more…

Coming Soon — “Behind the Scenes Month” and a GIVEAWAY!

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Although it isn’t immediately evident on this blog, I am a person of eclectic interests. For the purposes of my blog, however, I’ve chosen to concentrate mainly on writing, reading and the arts (hence my tagline). In the summer, I may have a little fun with topics relating to that last word in the tagline, “life.” But that’s summer. This is now. Throughout March, I’ll be taking you behind the scenes in some of the facets of the arts that particularly interest me. If you read the whole post, you’ll be rewarded with the chance to join in on a Giveaway…

And the Winners (of “Raising Bookworms”) Are…

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I want to thank all of you for participating in the giveaway for two copies of Raising Bookworms: Getting Your Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment by Emma Walton Hamilton. I especially want to thank those who posted about literacy on their blogs, and let me know so that I could read their blogs and add their names to the draw an extra time. (And I apologize to Mona Pease for missing her in the shout-out to those who blogged — I have added your name to my shout-out post now, Mona.) I truly wish all of you could have won. This is the part of a giveaway that always gives me a pang — that I don’t have a book for every one of you. I’d urge you to purchase the book for yourself, or for your local school or library. It is an excellent resource. It is available through amazon in either paperback or Kindle format. And now, thanks to random.org, which allowed me to make a completely random selection from the list of numbered names, the WINNERS! (For those who aren’t familiar with random.org, I numbered all the names, which were listed according to the number of times each person had commented and/or posted, then put the number, for example 1 to 63, into random.org and it randomly generates one number.) Susanna Leonard Hill and Julie Foster Hedlund Congratulations to you both!

Spreading the Word about Literacy — through Blogs

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I am delighted that three people responded to my challenge to blog about literacy. Not only did that earn them an extra entry in my giveaway of Emma Walton Hamilton’s book Raising Bookworms, but it reached more people with an important message. One person posted (different posts) on both her blogs! I want to give a shout-out to those people who blogged about literacy this week. If there are others whom I’ve missed, please let me know in the comments, and I’ll add your link to this post (and your entry to the barrel!) And it’s not too late – it’s always time to talk about getting children (and adults) to love reading, and if you post (and let me know) either today, Saturday January 28, 2012, or tomorrow Sunday January 29, 2012, you’ll get another chance at the giveaway.

The Importance of the Arts in Raising Bookworms

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I am a firm believer in the importance of the arts in children’s lives. That is perhaps readily recognizable through the tagline of my blog, “Writing, Reading, the Arts, and Life.” For me, those four things are inextricably entwined. Drama, dance, music, the visual arts – they all have the capacity to enhance a child’s self-esteem. They also have the capacity to enhance a child’s appreciation of and understanding of the written and spoken word.

Wednesday Worthy — Emma Walton Hamilton

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Since this week Emma Walton Hamilton is “In The Spotlight” on my blog, she is the subject of my Wednesday Worthy post today. I first became aware of Emma through the books she has co-written with her mother (I had delighted in her mother’s books for years prior to that). Then Emma started writing a blog, which I followed, and learned from, and commented on. Emma’s blog focuses on writing, and I have learned a great deal simply from reading her blog. When I learned that Emma had an online/home study course on how to write a picture book, I was intrigued, but it took a couple of rejection letters on the first manuscript I’d been brave enough to send to publishers for me to realize that perhaps it would be a good idea to try Emma’s course. It was more than a good idea. It was an excellent idea.

The Care and Feeding of Bookworms-in-the-Making

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It’s all very well for me to sit here and say, “Get your kids to enjoy reading!” “Reading is important!” “Make reading a joyful experience!” I can hear you all the way from wherever you’re sitting saying, “But HOW?” It would be nice if it was as simple as making sure kids have access to books, and modeling the enjoyment of reading. Certainly these are important factors, but they don’t do it all. After those magical, clickable words ‘read more’ (so appropriate in this case), I’ll give a few suggestions and a few links that may help in the care and feeding of the bookworms-in-the-making in your life.

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