Mums Write! April Book Review

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman (Ages 3-6)  Full review 

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman

Children's authors are advised to leave some open questions in the text, so that part of the narrative can be conveyed through the pictures.  In The Red Book, illustrator, Barbara Lehman, goes one better, by dispensing with words altogether and telling an entire story through pictures.  

And what a story it is!  I  was instantly drawn (pardon the pun) to the striking jacket design, just as the young heroine of the story is drawn (ouch!) to a glinting red volume half buried in a snow bank on a busy urban street.   She opens the book to discover a sequence of illustrations depicting a solitary boy walking along a tropical beach towards . . . a red book, half buried in the sand. Click here for the full review of The Red Book. 

Holiday activities to encourage child literacy

With the holidays approaching, here are some ways to share your love of stories and story-making with the children in your lives.  Click here for the full post. 

Goldilocks and the Three Bears
A Jo&D.Kydz Production

1.  Make a fairy tale slide show.

2.  Co-author a story or non-fiction book with your child on a subject or theme of particular relevance to them.

3.  Write a short, silly story with blanks for your child to fill in. 

4.  Go on an alphabet hunt: Take your kids into town, photograph interesting looking letters on signs, license plates, etc. and make an alphabet collage together.

5. Photograph your kid(s) in action every hour from breakfast until bedtime, and collaborate with them make a slide show or book about their day.

6.  Visit the library!!

Click here for the full post.  

Would you like to write for and about children?

Workshop - Create a story about your child, Friday, 15 June 2012

• House on the Hill Restaurant, Sevenoaks, Kent, 9:40 - 11:10

Contact joanna.norland@gmail.com to register. (£15).
Click here for more information.

Introductory Workshop - Fairy tales as a springboard for your writing, 22 June 2012

• House on the Hill Restaurant, Sevenoaks, Kent, 9:40 - 11:10

Contact joanna.norland@gmail.com to register. (£15).
Click here for more information.

5-week workshop, 7 Sept 2012 – 5 Oct 2012

• House on the Hill Restaurant, Sevenoaks, Kent, Fridays 9:40 - 11:10

Contact joanna.norland@gmail.com to register. (£75).
Click here for more information.

MW Book of the Month

Tiddler:  The Story-Telling Fish
by Julia Donaldson


After five or six iterations, I've had enough-alo of The Gruffalo, but I never tire of Julia Donaldson’s lesser-known hero, a quirky sardine who gets caught by a fisherman while inventing tall tales to entertain his classmates.

The magic ingredients?  A striking, whimsical protagonist, a loyal sidekick, and a narrative that celebrates the power of imagination and ingenuity.  
Click here to read more.

Words to inspire

"Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."

Pablo Picasso