'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Sunday 21 March 2010

Pick of the Web, 21 March 2010


I hope these links inspire you in the coming weeks with your writing and reading and self-publishing and overall love of literature.

If you have an article you'd like to share on KBR, let me know by emailing here!

Reader's Theatre (1) at The Book Chook
In July 2009, I discussed developing a child's imagination through play by spring-boarding from literature. Reader's Theatre is another wonderful medium for encouraging kids to use their imaginations. Basically, you develop a short script based on a book you've read together. Depending on your child's age, you could co-write a script with her, or she may have the confidence to try it alone.
Read more...

Mindmapping Your Novel Can Help With Writing Scenes at The Creative Penn
Writing the first draft of a novel involves a lot of idea generation and writing the bare bones of the story, as well as putting the overall structure in place. Sometimes you may come up with a topic or a place or theme you don’t know much about before you write it. I have found mind mapping to be very helpful for this research prior to writing the scene. Read more...

The future of publishing: Why ebooks failed in 2000, and what it means for 2010 at Rubicon
It’s a great time for ebooks. There are at least six ebook reader devices on the market or in preparation. A major business magazine predicts that up to seven million of these devices will be sold next year. A major consulting firm says ebook sales will account for ten percent of the publishing market in five years. And an executive at the leading computing firm predicts that 90 percent of all publishing will switch to electronic form in just 20 years. Read more...

What do all Those Self-Publishing Terms Mean? at Blogging Authors
Most authors dream of being published by a traditional publisher—one who pays to print the author’s book and then pays the author royalties. However, after months or years of mailing out manuscripts to publishers and literary agents, and piles of rejection letters later—if even lucky enough to get a response—many authors ultimately turn to self-publishing. Read more...

Fostering a Love of Reading Part 1 at Literacy Launchpad
Before I had kids I would hear this kind of advice a lot, and I gave this advice a lot myself as well. But I must admit, I was always a bit skeptical of whether it was really effective or not. Now that I have My Little Reader (Isaac) though, I can say that IT IS! Granted, I have been feeding Isaac a steady diet of books since he was a fetus, so I'm sure that helps, but I think this particular tip has helped his hunger for books grow and grow. Read more...

Teaching Geography with Children’s Literature: Geography from A-Z: A Picture Glossary at Open Wide, Look Inside
Geography from A-Z: A Picture Glossary, by Jack Knowlton, is a great resource for elementary students that are trying to learn the difference between a plateau and a plain or a knoll and an atoll. This wonderfully illustrated book defines sixty-three key geographic terms and includes a picture example to go along with each child-friendly definition. Read more...

Do writers need to network? Do crackers need cheese? at Sheryl Gwyther
Gone are the days when a writer could sit up in a proverbial garret and stare out across the rooftops, alone and isolated, glumly waiting for the muse to visit. Not that the garret situation was ever the case for most writers – but you get my drift. Read more...

Fantastic Fiction for Kids – Travel at Fantastic Fiction
Today’s Fantastic Fiction for Kids post comes from Tania McCartney. Tania is an Australian freelance writer, editor, blogger and author of both adult non-fiction and children’s picture books. Tania’s topic for today’s post is something very dear to her heart – not kids, not even mangoes, but Travel, so if you’re ready for a journey or two around there world let’s see what Tania picked for us to enjoy… Read more...