Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Patrice Gopo. We’ll discuss themes in picture books and her book All the Places We Call Home. Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter, especially for our podcast listeners. Every month, you’ll get an email from… Read more »
Hello! Welcome back to the kid lit craft column. I’ve decided to do a series on all the different types of kid lit! That’s right! We are going to be covering everything from picture books to middle grade and in between! Today, we are tackling picture books! Now, I’m sure we are all familiar with… Read more »
Have you been kicking around a children’s story idea in your head and you’re not sure where to start? You’re in luck! I’ve compiled several key questions into a survey and asked parents, grandparents, and teachers for their input. Based on their responses, I’ve summarized the top five best tools recommended for writing a children’s… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Traci Sorell and Carole Boston Weatherford. Traci is the author of the critically acclaimed book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga. She is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma, where her tribe is located. Today we’re talking about her picture book Classified: The Secret… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Rajani LaRocca. Rajani was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area, where she practices medicine and writes award-winning novels and picture books. She has always been an omnivorous reader, and now she is an omnivorous writer of fiction and nonfiction, novels, picture… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Amy Alznauer. Amy lives in Chicago with her husband, two children, a dog and her four puppies, a parakeet, sometimes chicks and a part-time fish, but, as of today, no elephants or peacocks. Check back. Her writing has won the Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction, the Christopher… Read more »
When a child learns words, first they hear them. Sounds repeated again and again enter the ear and find the place in the mind where language forms. Then they speak these words, again and again. In the moment of learning language, words have magic, make food appear, conjure a parent eager to pick you up,… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan. Virginia Loh-Hagan is an educator and author. She is the 2016 recipient of California Reading Association’s Marcus Foster Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in reading. Currently, she is directing the Liberal Studies program at San Diego State University. She has a… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Aaron Becker. Born in Baltimore, Aaron moved to California to attend Pomona College where he scored his first illustration job designing t-shirts for his water polo team. Since then, he’s traveled around the world, from Kenya to Japan, Sweden to Tahiti, looking for good… Read more »
What’s the difference between writing for kids and writing for adults? You may assume it’s something like using simpler words for kids, or ‘dumbing down’ the story, but that’s not the case. Kids can handle challenging words and concepts. Kids do have different needs and expectations, though. There’s a great DIY MFA post here with… Read more »
