Month: December 2011

Friday Reads

Picture Book of the Day

It’s Almost Time
by Debbie Bernstein (Author) and Sarah Chalek (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Two friends make their way through a clock-filled house, counting down, ready for all the different clock sounds to mark the hour. Cover your ears; it’s going to be noisy!

Snippet:
Tick-tick-tock.
It’s almost time.
The gears are winding,
getting ready to chime.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Planet Earth: What Planet Are You On? (Basher Science)
by Dan Gilpin (Author), Simon Basher (Author, Illustrator)
128 pages

Booktalk: A handy intro to earth science, with a new concept after each page turn.

Snippet: It’s a wide, wild world out there. Planet Earth is filled to the bursting point with Rivers, Mountain Ranges, Weather systems, Climate zones, Ocean Currents, Biomes, and all kinds of what-have-yous. There’s so much to understand about our planet that the mind boggles.
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STEM Friday

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

This week’s STEM Friday Round-up is hosted by Red Phoenix Books.

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Poetry Friday

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by The Drift Record

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Nonfiction Monday on January 2, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on January 2, 2012

is at The Nonfiction Detectives.

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Happy New Year! See you in 2012!

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Site Meter My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Young Readers

Picture Book of the Day

Red Sled
by Lita Judge (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: In this almost wordless picture book, a host of woodland creatures take a child’s sled for a nighttime joy ride.

Snippet: Scrinch scrunch scrinch scrunch scrinch scrunch
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Accidental Adventures of India McAllister
by Charlotte Agell (Author, Illustrator)
160 pages

Booktalk: Fourth grade is a year of changes, challenges, and ordinary joys for India McAllister. She lives in Maine with her artist mom and their dog, Tofu. Her father lives in the next town over with his new partner, Richard and their bird, Beatrice Strawberry. India – named for the ink, not the subcontinent – was adopted from China as a baby. Being the only Chinese girl in her small town fuels India’s search for identity. India reports in her own words and drawings about life, adventures (many with her good friend Colby) and all things annoying as well as what makes her happy.

Snippet: My name is India McAllister, and I’m nine and a half years old. I live in Wolfgang, Maine, where there are no wolves, but the coyotes grow almost as big. You can hear them calling to each other at night.
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Online Writing Workshops

Planning to write a children’s book in 2012?
The next Children’s Book Genres Workshop is Jan 4-Feb 22, 2012.

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STEM Friday on December 30, 2011

STEM Friday is coming! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

The STEM Friday Round-up on December 30, 2011

is at Red Phoenix Books.

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Site Meter My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

The Snow Blew Inn
by Dian Curtis Regan (Author) and Doug Cushman (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Emma can’t wait until Cousin Abby arrives so their sleepover can begin. But a blizzard shows up instead of Abby. Other guests arrive and arrive and arrive. Soon the inn is full. But where is Abby?

Snippet:
Is cousin Abby coming down the trail?
“Not yet, not yet,” calls Mr. Owl. “Storm, storm!”
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant
by Michelle Cuevas (Author) and Ed Young (Illustrator)
144 pages

Booktalk: Ever since he was an infant, Pigeon Jones has lived on the back of an artistically gifted white elephant named Birch.

Snippet: I was born a restless sort, a tumbleweed, a wanderer if you will, and the night my parents left me on the orphanage steps, I didn’t wait around to be found. I crawled right out of that basket and made my way into the world.
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December 2011 Carnival Of Children’s Literature

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Online Writing Workshops

The next Children’s Novels Workshop is Jan 4-Feb 22, 2012.

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Site Meter My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Holiday Thanks

Picture Book of the Day

I Can Say Thank You
by Tamsin Ainslie (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Three friends learn to say thank you.

Snippet:
These flowers are for you.
Thank you.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Guantanamo Boy
by Anna Perera (Author)
352 pages

Booktalk: Khalid, a fifteen-year-old Muslim boy from England, is abducted from Pakistan while on holiday with his family. He is taken to Guantanamo Bay and held without charge, where his hopes and dreams are crushed under the cruellest of circumstances.

Snippet: Sometimes, Khalid thinks as he drags himself home after another boring day at school, I’d rather be anywhere but here.

BONUS! Hear the author discuss the book!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/Qg1AaC3nHSA]
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Online Writing Workshops

The NEW Children’s Chapter Books Workshop is Jan 4-Feb 22, 2012.

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Site Meter My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Winter Colors
by Brian Enslow (Author)

Booktalk: See all of the colors of the season in this simple easy to read book.

Snippet: red mittens

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Chapter Book of the Day

Van Gogh (The Great Artists & Their World)
by David Spence (Author)
48 pages

Booktalk: Over 100 color images and illustrations bring the world of van Gogh to life…

Snippet: One of the most original and expressive artists ever, Vincent van Gogh is well-known the world over–as much for his tragic life as for his emotional and colorful artwork that has had a powerful and influential impact on art since he died over 120 years ago.
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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is Jean Little Library

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Online Writing Workshops

The next Intensive Picture Book Workshop is Jan 4-Feb 22, 2012.

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Site Meter My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

STEM Friday

Picture Book of the Day

A Polar Bear’s World
by Caroline Arnold (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: The Arctic wind howls, but the two polar bear cubs are warm inside their den. They snuggle tight against their mother…

Snippet: It is early January. The sky is dark both day and night. Inside the den, the mother polar bear has just given birth to two tiny cubs.
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STEM Friday

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

This week’s STEM Friday Round-up is here!

Leave your link in the comments and I will add you to the round-up! Thanks!

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Wrapped in Foil shares Elephant Talk: The Surprising Science of Elephant Communication

NC Teacher Stuff posts a review of Storm Chasers

SimplyScience debuts Forces and Motion at Work and adds some activities for it

rovingfiddlehead reviews The Secret World of Whales

Bring On the Birds cover

Laurie Thompson reviews Cybils Nonfiction Picture Book nominee Bring On the Birds

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Nonfiction Monday on December 26, 2011

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on December 26, 2011

is at Jean Little Library.

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Site Meter My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

They’re here early!

Debbie asked me to send her my book titles for the SCBWI conference in February, so I looked up my two new 2012 All-Star Cheerleaders books (just in case) – and they’re here early!

All-Star Cheerleaders: Save the Best for Last, Abby (Book 2)

It’s hard to be the oldest, especially when your younger sister complains about being last in everything, and everyone always says, “We saved the best for last,” even if it is a joke. But Abby’s little sister Emma isn’t just last – she’s a flyer! She’s the one everyone watches, so she’d better get this new routine right. And Abby has to help!

All-Star Cheerleaders: Just So, Brianna (Book 3)

Brianna wants everything to be perfect, and that includes her cheer moves. She practices and practices, and even then, sometimes not everything is “just so.” But with some help from her big sister and the older girls from Big D Elite gym, Brianna learns that while practice makes perfect sometimes, other times it’s OK to do your best and just have fun!

Now we can add them to the All-Star Cheerleaders webpage. Go Big D!

Site Meter Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

January 2012 Online Workshops

January 2012 Online Workshops

The January 2012 workshops will begin on Wednesday, January 4th.

Which workshop is best for you?

New to children’s books?
Learn about the different types of children’s books in the Children’s Book Genres Workshop.

Ready to write?
Write and edit your book in the Intensive Picture Book Workshop, Children’s Chapter Books Workshop or the Children’s Novels Workshop.

After you finish a writing workshop you can work through two more edits in a “work-in-progress” workshop, by rewriting your picture book or working on the next chapter of your children’s chapter book or children’s novel.

The January workshop dates are January 4-February 22, 2012.

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Site Meter My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.