Win 4 Issues of Alphabet Soup, a Magazine for Children Aged 6 to 12

Welcome to Writing Children's Books with Robyn Opie. Today we have a special guest, Rebecca Newman, Alphabet Soup's publisher and editor.

Here is a little information about Alphabet Soup and their spring issue from Rebecca Newman. Thanks, Rebecca.

Alphabet Soup is an Australian magazine for children aged 6 to 12 who love reading and creative writing. We're thrilled that the spring 2009 issue is here - it marks our first birthday! A year (4 issues!) has gone very quickly.

Inside the spring 2009 issue of Alphabet Soup:
* Q&A with Mark Greenwood, author of Simpson and His Donkey
* stories and poems by adults and children
* meet a family growing vegies in their garden
* tips for honing your writing skills
* book reviews
* children's writing competition
* design-a-cover competition.

A free sample of the magazine (issue 1) can be downloaded from our website: http://www.alphabetsoup.net.au

As part of our blog tour to celebrate our first birthday, we're giving away the first 4 issues of Alphabet Soup. Keep reading to learn how you can win.

But first here are 5 things you might not know about Alphabet Soup magazine:

1) The magazine is published in Perth, Western Australia.

2) As the magazine is highly illustrated (and we don’t use many photographs), we print the magazine on ‘satin’ paper, rather than gloss. Sometimes glossy paper is harder to read, due to the light reflecting off the glossy finish. (We don’t want our readers to have tired eyes!)

3) Children do not have to subscribe to the magazine to enter our competitions. (We run a writing competition in each issue. We are currently running a design-a-cover competition too, and this closes on 16 September 2009.)

4) The original logo was designed by Lucas Ihlein using alphabet pasta. While he was brainstorming ideas for the logo, he made a 13 second video (which you can view on Alphabet Soup’s Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=27726653438). A later version of the logo used coloured alphabet pasta. Then he passed it along to Chris Farrell, who ‘flattened’ the image – to turn it into the logo we know and love!

5) You can stay up to date with our kids’ writing competitions and other news by subscribing to our free e-newsletter. (Parents can sign up for it by sending an email to: editor@alphabetsoup.net.au with ‘subscribe e-newsletter’ in the subject header.)

Now, to the competition.

One lucky person can win the first 4 issues of Alphabet Soup. Please answer the following question, then email your answer and your name to: robyn@robynopie.com.

Q: In which Australian state is Alphabet Soup published?

Remember to email your answer and your name to robyn@robynopie.com. Thanks for being a part of our first year celebrations. We hope to see you again next year for our second birthday!

Thanks for visiting my blog, Rebecca, and for offering a wonderful prize for a lucky reader. Who will it be?

Good luck!

And best wishes,
Robyn Opie
http://www.robynopie.com

Come on a blog tour with Alphabet Soup magazine!

By visiting this blog, you could win four issues of Alphabet Soup magazine. Alphabet Soup magazine is celebrating their spring 2009 issue with a blog tour -- and you could be a winner.

From 1 – 7 September, Rebecca Newman (Alphabet Soup’s Publisher and Editor) will visit 7 different blogs, where she’ll answer questions about the magazine. Find out what started it all, how the magazine could be used in the classroom, who’s on the team at the magazine, and more!



The spring ‘09 issue marks the magazine’s first birthday. To celebrate, there’s a set of the first four issues to be won. Right here! So make sure you visit this blog on 6 September.

BLOG TOUR DATES:

1 September 2009
What led the publisher to start Alphabet Soup magazine?
Dale Harcombe (Write and Read With Dale)
http://www.livejournal.com/users/orangedale

2 September 2009
What goes into ‘whipping up’ an issue of the magazine?
Sally Murphy (Sally Murphy’s Writing for Children Blog)
http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com

3 September 2009
Promotion and Alphabet Soup
Claire Saxby (Let’s Have Words)
http://www.letshavewords.blogspot.com/

4 September 2009
Submissions, and selecting material
Mabel Kaplan (Tales I Tell)
http://belka37.blogspot.com

5 September 2009
Alphabet Soup in the classroom: benefits for teachers
Dee White (Teachers Writing Helper)
http://www.teacherswritinghelper.wordpress.com

6 September 2009
‘First birthday’ giveaway. Win a set of the first four issues!
Robyn Opie (Writing Children’s Books)
http://www.robynopie.blogspot.com

7 September 2009
Who’s on the team behind Alphabet Soup magazine?
Sandy Fussell (Stories Are Light)
http://www.sandyfussell.blogspot.com

You can subscribe to Alphabet Soup via their website: http://www.alphabetsoup.net.au

See you soon!
Best wishes,
Robyn Opie
http://www.robynopie.com

Claire Saxby's "Sheep, Goat and the Creaking Gate" Blog Tour

Welcome to Writing Children's Books with Robyn Opie. Today, we have a special guest, Claire Saxby, as she nears the end of her blog tour for her fabulous new picture book, Sheep, Goat and the Creaking Gate. To keep with the subject of picture books, Claire is here to discuss the differences between picture books and school readers. Thanks, Claire.



The Difference Between School Readers and Picture Books by Claire Saxby

I started writing for children about a decade ago. I loved story and I loved children’s stories. My first published book was a 5000-word story for an educational publisher. They had a series of leveled readers and wanted some longer but no more linguistically complex stories for children who had mastered the language at that level but needed something at the same developmental level. Clear?

I’m not sure I understood completely at the time. But I had a story that was the right word length and pitched at the appropriate age group, so I submitted it. It was accepted.

In the years since, I’ve honed (and continue to hone) my understanding of the differences between short illustrated texts for educational publishers and magazines, and picture book texts. This is not about their relative merits, but about the differences between them.

It’s not as easy as saying the education texts have black and white illustrations and picture books color, because many early education texts are now in full color (and some picture books are illustrated in black and white). It’s not that picture books are bigger, although they are, mostly. It’s not that the intended audience is different, because in many ways it isn’t. In both, the story has to engage with the reader; both have to have a beginning, middle and ending – so what is the difference?

Language
An illustrated text for an education publisher (let’s call it a "reader") will have text designed to be read BY a child learning to read. A picture book text may often be read TO or WITH a child and so the language can be more sophisticated. An adult can explain words that may not be familiar to a child, or they may be words that a child has heard, but is not ready to decipher on the page. A reader may focus on a particular sound or use repetition in a particular way. This is seldom the case in a picture book, even when the picture book is in rhyme. The reader, particularly the earliest ones, are often very "concrete" in that the images will help the reader to interpret the text, eg, the words "A cow eats grass" would be accompanied by an illustration of a cow eating grass. In a picture book, the pictured cow may be accompanied by text that indicates the cow is lonely, or tired of eating the same thing every day.

Length
Both picture book (and I’m talking about picture books for the young, rather than picture books for older children here) and the reader will tell "simple" stories (one or two main characters, linear plot, single tense and narrator), but the picture book is likely to be longer. A reader will be short enough for a child to be able to master on their own. There is a purpose in mind. A child will "succeed" at reading this book and be encouraged to read more. They may be eight-, twelve-, sixteen- or twenty-four-pages. A picture book, as a general rule, is 32 pages.

Target Audience
The majority of picture books are targeted at 4-7 year olds, but the audience for a picture book is changing, because picture books are changing. There are now picture books for all ages. Some are studied at senior secondary level and others are bought by adults for their art value. Picture books are available as individual titles in bookshops. Readers are marketed directly to schools and are not as readily available to the general book-buying public.

Marriage of Text and Illustration
A publisher once told me that picture books are a collaboration. Nothing new there. But I liked her definition. 40% words, 40% illustration, and 20 % was an "X-factor" – how the words and images worked together to produce the picture book. In a picture book, the illustrations have to work much harder than just illustrating the text. They need to have their own story as well. Look at your favorite picture books – there is a whole other story in the illustrations. It doesn’t contradict the text, rather extends and enriches it, to make something that can no longer be separated.

I think of writing picture books as being like writing poetry. There are so very few words and each one has to work hard to earn it’s place. It’s as much about the words that are left out, as about the words included. I like writing readers, meeting the challenge of writing an interesting story in a tight frame. Basically, I just like stories.


Thank you, Claire, for visiting my blog and sharing your experience with picture books and readers.

Here is a complete list of the dates so you can join Claire on her blog tour:

Monday 17August 2009
Dee White: http://tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com

Tuesday 18 August 2009
Rebecca Newman: http://www.soupblog.wordpress.com

Wednesday 19 August 2009
Mabel Kaplan: http://belka37.blogspot.com

Thursday 20 August 2009
Sandy Fussell: http://www.sandyfussell.blogspot.com

Friday 21 August 2009
Dale Harcombe: http://orangedale.livejournal.com/

Saturday 22 August 2009
Sally Murphy: http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com

Sunday 23 August 2009
Robyn Opie: http://robynopie.blogspot.com

Monday 24 August 2009
Sally Odgers: http://spinningearls.blogspot.com

If you'd like to find out more about
"How to Write a Great Picture Book", please visit
http://www.robynopie.com/howtowriteagreatpicturebook.html

I hope you come back soon. In the next few days, you'll be able to read an interview I did for Trish Puddle's blog
http://trish-mollygumnut.blogspot.com.

Happy writing!
Robyn Opie
http://www.robynopie.com

Blog Tour with Claire Saxby, author of the fabulous new picture book Sheep, Goat and the Creaking Gate

Welcome to Writing Children's Books with Robyn Opie. This week is the official release of Claire Saxby's new picture book Sheep, Goat and the Creaking Gate, illustrated by Judith Rossell and published by Windy Hollow books.

As part of the official release and launch, Claire is doing a blog tour. On Sunday, 23rd August, Claire will be visiting this blog to discuss the differences in writing picture books and school readers.

Thanks, Claire. I'm looking forward to your guest blog. I'm sure others are, too.

Here is a complete list of the blog tour dates so you can join Claire and learn more about Claire's experiences in writing children's books:


Monday 17August 2009

Dee White: http://tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com

Tuesday 18 August 2009

Rebecca Newman: http://www.soupblog.wordpress.com

Wednesday 19 August 2009

Mabel Kaplan: http://belka37.blogspot.com

Thursday 20 August 2009

Sandy Fussell: http://www.sandyfussell.blogspot.com

Friday 21 August 2009

Dale Harcombe: http://orangedale.livejournal.com/

Saturday 22 August 2009

Sally Murphy: http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com

Sunday 23 August 2009

Robyn Opie: http://robynopie.blogspot.com

Monday 24 August 2009

Sally Odgers: http://spinningearls.blogspot.com

I hope you come back soon.

Happy writing!

Robyn Opie

http://www.robynopie.com

Monkey Fist Blog Tour with Sandy Fussell

Welcome to Writing Children's Books with Robyn Opie and my special guest Sandy Fussell. Sandy is the author of the popular Samurai Kids series. This week the fourth book in the series, Monkey Fist, was released by Sandy's publisher Walker Books and Sandy has been busy touring. We are honored to have Sandy here today to talk about her experiences with Samurai Kids and Monkey Fist. So over to Sandy, my fabulous guest blogger.



Zen and the Art of Writing for Children by Sandy Fussell

In the beginning there was just one story – Samurai Kids. Sixteen months later, Samurai Kids is a series and the fourth book, Monkey Fist, has just been released. Two more titles are scheduled. I get emails from readers immersed in the story and anxious to know when the next instalment is coming.

So why has the series been so successful?

Samurai and ninja make great action heroes. There’s a sense of Cowboys and Indians happening here. The sort of action that makes kids want to swing their swords and throw shuriken stars. Kids want to dress up, to swagger like samurai or sneak like ninjas. One Mum told me after the nightly reading of Samurai Kids, her boys would pretend their dressing gowns were kimonos, brandish cardboard swords and jump from bed to bed. They even broke the bedside lamp. When I tried to apologize, she grabbed my arm and interrupted: “I don’t care about the lamp. This is the first time ever my boys have wanted to have a book read to them. They can’t wait for the next one."

Eastern culture is very popular with kids. Children’s television programming has a high proportion of Japanese cartoons ranging from Samurai Jack to American Dragon and Ang, The Last Avatar. Recent movies set in China, such as Kung Fu Panda and Mulan, have been box office successes. Samurai Kids taps into this trend.

Martial arts is one of the top ten sports for children in Australia and has been for years. The Samurai Kids learn many martial art skills - not only traditional samurai swordsmanship, wrestling, archery, horsemanship, haiku poetry and flower arranging but also the ninja arts of poison and stealth. They travel to China to learn shaolin fighting and later books will see them in Korea when tai kwon do was first emerging.

Kids can see the funny side of Zen, where pure contemplation of nothing is the ultimate enlightenment. It’s an irony that makes kids laugh. As Sensei says: “In Zen, NOTHING is important” and the Samurai Kids learn a lot of NOTHING. Young readers love the puzzle of koans such as “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” and have no trouble suggesting the most zen-like of answers.

They identify with the characters. Kids love the fact that the Samurai Kids achieve despite the physical and mental obstacles in their way. They admire blind Taji and one-legged Niya. Big, gentle Yoshi is a favorite. It was my intention initially to leave Yoshi in Japan when they left for China in Shaolin Tiger but from school visits and emails it quickly became obvious readers had a strong attachment to the original group of kids so it was the newcomer, Nezume, who stayed behind to teach swordsmanship to the Emperor’s son.

Readers actively engage with the idea of spirit guides. From their feedback I created two quizzes for the Samurai Kids website: Which Samurai Kid Are You? and Which Spirit Are You? These are two of the most popular pages on the site. Children regularly approach me with “I’m Yoshi and my spirit is the Tiger” Sometimes they even roar to prove their point. I get emails suggesting new animal spirits in case I decide to introduce more characters.

So now that I’ve worked out why I think the series is successful, I just need to know how to do it again, in a different place and time.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the latest installment in the Samurai Kids series, Monkey Fist.

Please visit the following link for more information on Monkey Fist: http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/Books/Samurai-Kids-Book-4-Monkey-Fist-9781921150913

Sandy's Monkey Fist Blog Tour Dates:

1/8/09 - http://tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com
Dee Scribe Writing – Dee White, author of the recently released YA novel, Letters to Leonardo will be interviewing the narrator Niya Moto to find out what it’s really like to be a Samurai Kid.

2/8/09 - http://www.livejournal.com/users/orangedale
Orangedale Journal – Dale Harcombe, poet and children’s author (latest release The Mystery of Goanna Island) will be interviewing Sandy about writing Samurai Kids.

3/8/09 - http://www.letshavewords.blogspot.com
Lets’ Have Words – Sandy will be visiting Claire Saxby, children’s author (latest release Sheep, Goat and the creaking gate August 2009) to talk about the unique challenge in writing a historical novel about a group of children with disabilities.

4/8/09 - http://spinningpearls.blogspot.com
Spinning Pearls – Sandy will be visiting author and manuscript assessor Sally Odgers (too many books to name but the Jack Russell Dog detective series and the e-Manual (Giving our Kids) A Reason to Write are just two examples) to discuss ‘the hour of the rat’ and how she gets to Japan and China inside her head.

5/8/09 - http://belka37.blogspot.com
Tales I Tell – Storyteller and author Mabel Kaplan interviews Sandy about how her interest in Japanese and Chinese history has influenced the series. Mabel uncovers the meaning of Monkey Fist.

6/8/09 - http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com
Sally Murphy’s Writing For Children Blog – Sandy will be visiting Sally Murphy (author of many books for children including the verse novel, Pearl Verses the World) to talk about book promotion and how to harness cyber resources.

7/8/09 - http://robynopie.blogspot.com
Writing Children’s Book with Robyn Opie – Sandy will be visiting Robyn Opie, author of more than 75 books including "How to Write a Great Children's Book" and the novel “Black Baron”. Sandy will be discussing Zen and the Art of Writing for Children – her view on why the series has been so successful.

8/8/09 - http://www.soupblog.wordpress.com
Alphabet Soup – Magazine editor Rebecca Newman will be interviewing Sandy about her research techniques and asking questions to discover whether all that historical research is really any fun.

9/8/09 - http://thebookchook.blogspot.com
The Book Chook – Writer, reviewer and children’s literature advocate Sue Stephenson will be interviewing Sandy about how her own children’s reading experiences have influenced her writing.

10/08/09 - http://jefferyedoherty.blogspot.com/
Words and Pictures – Writer and artist Jefferey E Doherty will be interviewing Sandy writing illustrated novels – the artwork, graphics and working with an illustrator.

I hope you enjoy Sandy's Monkey Fist blog tour.

Happy writing!
Robyn Opie
http://www.robynopie.com

Monkey Fist Blog Tour with Sandy Fussell

Welcome to Writing Children's Books with Robyn Opie. I have the pleasure of being involved with Sandy Fussell's Monkey Fist blog tour this week. Monkey Fist is the fourth book in the popular Samurai Kids series, written by Sandy Fussell and published by Walker Books.

I hope you can join Sandy on her international blog tour.

Please visit the following link for more information on Monkey Fist: http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/Books/Samurai-Kids-Book-4-Monkey-Fist-9781921150913

Blog Tour Dates:

1/8/09 - http://tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com
Dee Scribe Writing – Dee White, author of the recently released YA novel, Letters to Leonardo will be interviewing the narrator Niya Moto to find out what it’s really like to be a Samurai Kid.

2/8/09 - http://www.livejournal.com/users/orangedale
Orangedale Journal – Dale Harcombe, poet and children’s author (latest release The Mystery of Goanna Island) will be interviewing Sandy about writing Samurai Kids.

3/8/09 - http://www.letshavewords.blogspot.com
Lets’ Have Words – Sandy will be visiting Claire Saxby, children’s author (latest release Sheep, Goat and the creaking gate August 2009) to talk about the unique challenge in writing a historical novel about a group of children with disabilities.

4/8/09 - http://spinningpearls.blogspot.com
Spinning Pearls – Sandy will be visiting author and manuscript assessor Sally Odgers (too many books to name but the Jack Russell Dog detective series and the e-Manual (Giving our Kids) A Reason to Write are just two examples) to discuss ‘the hour of the rat’ and how she gets to Japan and China inside her head.

5/8/09 - http://belka37.blogspot.com
Tales I Tell – Storyteller and author Mabel Kaplan interviews Sandy about how her interest in Japanese and Chinese history has influenced the series. Mabel uncovers the meaning of Monkey Fist.

6/8/09 - http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com
Sally Murphy’s Writing For Children Blog – Sandy will be visiting Sally Murphy (author of many books for children including the verse novel, Pearl Verses the World) to talk about book promotion and how to harness cyber resources.

7/8/09 - http://robynopie.blogspot.com
Writing Children’s Book with Robyn Opie – Sandy will be visiting Robyn Opie, author of more than 75 books including "How to Write a Great Children's Book" and the novel “Black Baron”. Sandy will be discussing Zen and the Art of Writing for Children – her view on why the series has been so successful.

8/8/09 - www.soupblog.wordpress.com
Alphabet Soup – Magazine editor Rebecca Newman will be interviewing Sandy about her research techniques and asking questions to discover whether all that historical research is really any fun.

9/8/09 - http://thebookchook.blogspot.com
The Book Chook – Writer, reviewer and children’s literature advocate Sue Stephenson will be interviewing Sandy about how her own children’s reading experiences have influenced her writing.

10/08/09 - http://jefferyedoherty.blogspot.com/
Words and Pictures – Writer and artist Jefferey E Doherty will be interviewing Sandy writing illustrated novels – the artwork, graphics and working with an illustrator.

See you soon,
Happy writing!
Robyn Opie
http://www.robynopie.com