Lauri Meyers .

Thank you to all the participants in the Mentor Text Challenge. Remember mentor texts are an excellent defense against writer's block, lack of inspiration, and all sorts of writer's ailments. We have a challenge winner (selected by Random.org): Marcie! She has won a 2013 PiBoIdMo Journal and the warm touchy feeling that comes with knowing $3 goes to support Reading is Fundamental !  Marcie grabbed the book A Storm Called Katrina  and selected its first person narration style to apply to a WIP.  (Marcie - If I can't find you, email me at laurimeyers (at) gmail.com!) If you've been following along on the Mentor Text Posts, you deserve a prize for your commitment to studying craft. So just for you...  Excellent Resources for KidLit Nerds RenLearn  Type in the title of a book and get its book level, word count, AR points, etc. Scholastic  Type in the title of a book and get its grade interest level, grade reading level, and theme/su...

I like to write a "companion" post for PiBoIdMo every year. Last year's Match Up Mash Up game spurred PB ideas faster than a cowboy at a rodeo. This year since we've been talking mentor texts to learn craft, study word counts, and improve read-aloud-ability, I want to highlight another great use for mentor texts:   Cheating! No, no, no. Not plagiarism - but as a springboard, a starting point, a puzzle frame, a make-your-own-sundae bar... pick your favorite metaphor. Does this guy look worried about stealing a little bread? Heck, no! Just have a little nibble... (By Roman Olmezov via sxc.hu) You can try straight substitution. Take Kevin Henkes' Little White Rabbit , where a rabbit wonders what it would be like to be a different color, have different locomotion, or be a different size. Replace the rabbit with another animal or person or thing (we allow personification of inanimate objects in this neck of cyberspace.) What desires would this new ...

I adore seeing Marcie Colleen at NJ SCBWI events, because she is a ball of energy and easy to find in a crowd.  But it has been fun seeing  Marcie everywhere in writing cyberspace the last few weeks, too. Marcie & Lauri hanging out... if we look exhausted it's because Ame Dyckman (in the background) had us wrestling PBs all day.  As Education Consultant for Picture Book Month she developed this outstanding teachers' guide Why Picture Books Belong in the Classroom , where she makes a case for both non-fiction and fiction as teaching tools. She served as housecleaner for PiBoIdMo  with her post on preparing your creative idea collection space.  She was seen rolling up her sleeves and mining childhood memories over at the Picture Book Academy, where she is a graduate and Blogette!  Did I mention she ran the NYC Marathon last Sunday? Oh yeah. That too. :)   So it seems totally reasonable she is hosting an  Ask th...