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Learn To Write Children’s Books That Shine!

Learn To Write Children’s Books That Shine!

Are you someone who loves the idea of telling stories to children? Stories are important part of the way that we teach the children around us and writing a children’s book is one way to do it! The truth of the matter is that while writing a children’s book might be tougher than it looks at first glance, it is actually easier than many people make it out to be and if you learn to write children’s books the right way you will be way ahead of those who don’t. You need to make sure that you are taking the steps that allow to book to shine, and taking a look at some of the tips below will help you.

The first thing that you need to remember when you learn to write for children is that you need to keep the pace up. A book’s pacing refers to how it flows and you need to find the pace that suits you. For instance, a book about trying to find a lost puppy might involve a lot of fast pacing and short phrasing, while a book about a lazy Saturday afternoon might have a more slow and soothing pace. Take some time and think about the book that you want to write and make sure that you have chosen the appropriate pace that is good for the story and for the reader, for that story you are trying to tell.

Another thing that you need to do is to learn to write a story that your audience can relate to. Children like to read about children as do adults about adults. Can your audience put itself in the place of your main character, and are the things that your main character is doing something that the audience might do? For this to work, you need to think about how logic works and what other people might do. There are many different ways for you to take your children’s book, but at the end of the day, you will find that finding the right path means finding the logical one.

When you are researching about writing a children’s book, specifically making your writing shine, remember that you should never talk down to the audience. There have been many authors that do this, and it is a sure sign that children are going to get irritated with the book. Put your trust in your audience to be able to understand what is going on, and don’t feel as if you need to explain everything to them. Similarly, do not assume that some things are over their heads. Children are very familiar with negative emotions like anger or jealousy, so if your story calls for them, think seriously about how you are going to present them.

Finally, when you to learn to write a children’s book, remember that showing something happening is more important than telling it and you will get a better response if you do. The younger your audience, the more you need to show things happening so they can feel the emotion in the words. The truth is that writing a children’s book is something that takes time, effort and dedication. You need to read other authors’ books and look at the style of writing they use and you should look into the wealth of information out there. The more you know about children’s books, the better off you are going to be, so take some time and really consider what your resources are.

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Learn To Write A Children’s Book: Capture The Audience From Page One!

Learn To Write A Children’s Book: Capture The Audience From Page One!

Learn to write children’s books and your in for a fun and exciting endeavor! It’s also extremely rewarding-not only when you see your book in print, but also when you watch the faces of children as you read them your story aloud or they read your story for the first time. As anyone who knows or loves children will tell you, however, children notoriously have a very short attention span, so it’s really important to start your children’s story with a big bang and get them engaged in the story immediately!

Sadly enough, if you want to sell your children’s book, you’ll soon learn that publishers and editors don’t have a much longer attention span than children when they’re reviewing submissions. So just as it is important to start your story out with a big bang to engage children, it is also critical to your ability to sell your story and get it published in the first place. Editors and publishers only look at the first few pages of your story before they reject the vast majority of submissions. But if you can capture their attention right away, you can keep them reading longer and improve your chances that they might publish your story!

Most children’s books really aren’t that long. Essentially that means that you really need to grab their attention in the first few words. The first few sentences or paragraphs can make or break the success of your story. That’s why when you learn to write children’s books you really need to focuses on developing a strong start to your story.

A great way to engage children’s attention immediately is to start out with action and/or dialogue. And if your dialogue creates a sense of action or excitement, as well, your story will be even more engaging! With children’s stories, you definitely want to jump right in without setting up the story with a lot of background information.

Beginning writers often make the mistake of providing way too much explanation at the start of their stories. A good writing teacher or editor will often shock the writer when they redline the entire first few pages of the manuscript, crossing it out entirely and advising the writer to “start here” several pages into the text. But this isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes new writers simply need to write all that background text out to work through their own story development process and be sure they have a clear understanding of the story they are creating. The thing is, that is a part of the writer’s development process, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a part of the final story or manuscript.

“Ouch! That hurt!” Melody cried. This is a great opening line for a children’s story because it really packs a punch. It captures the child’s interest, draws out the child’s curiosity, and makes the child want to keep reading or hearing the story. The child wants to know what happened and what will happen next. The opening line should successfully introduce the stories main character and establish the problem. You want to do this in as few words as possible in a short children’s story, as soon as possible. This is another reason this works so well as an opening line. This is what your opening line, paragraph, or page needs to do to be an opening “with a big bang!” This is one of the key factors of writing successful children’s books.

Of course, a great opening-even one with a really big bang-is only the beginning. You also need to craft a compelling middle and ending for the story to write successful, satisfying children’s books. Learn to write great opening lines that have a powerful start and as your story progresses, you may need to provide additional information to fill in any gaps in the story or plot. You will need to ensure your story stays just as strong from beginning to end. Learning to write children’s books can be challenging and it’s an ongoing process as your writing skills develop. But it is also one of the most rewarding and fun things you may ever do!

From cbiclubhouse.com, an answer to a common question from new children’s book writers Do I Need an Illustrator for My Picture Book manuscript? This is the first of a series of answers to frequently asked questions, hosted by Jon Bard, Managing Editor, Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Do You Want Some Quick Tips to Help You Learn Spanish?

Do You Want Some Quick Tips to Help You Learn Spanish?

If you find that learning Spanish can become tedious at times break up the monotony by using the many free resources available to you on the TV, radio, internet or your local high street!  If you start to apply some of the tips below you will find that your Spanish will actually improve very quickly and you will probably enjoy your studies a whole lot more also.

Tip 1: If you have some Spanish speaking friends invite them round for a non-English speaking coffee afternoon or wine evening you’d be amazed how much fun this can be.

Tip 2: If you don’t have any Spanish speaking friends then look to your local community for clubs and societies that have a Hispanic or Latino membership and enquire into joining them.

Tip 3: Tune into Spanish radio, it may be confusing to start with as it seems like the news readers speak at a 100 miles an hour, but you will be amazed how quickly you start to pick up and understand things.

Tip 4: Watch Spanish TV if available in your region, in a lot of cases this is probably more helpful than radio as you will be able to match what is being said with actions you can see.

Tip 5: Childrens Spanish language books are written using simple Spanish words and phrases that will help you build up your vocabulary, many students use this method as it builds confidence.

Tip 6: Continuing the reading theme, Spanish language newspapers and magazines are readily available spend time going through them and cross checking words in a dictionary this is an excellent way to gain a more comprehensive vocabulary.

Tip 7: The internet is a great tool as Spanish language chat rooms and forums are great places for practicing your written Spanish and the majority of people on them are extremely helpful.

Tip 8: When you do your groceries try using a Spanish speaking supermarket, it may be confusing initially but it really is enjoyable and will help with your day to day Spanish.

Tip 9: If you can afford it, take a vacation to a Spanish speaking country and try only to use Spanish, you will be amazed how quickly your confidence levels rise by doing this, yes, you will make mistakes, but that is all part of the fun of learning Spanish.

I hope these tips help you in your studies and even if you only implement one or two of them I am sure you will feel the benefit.

Kerolay takes My Big Book Of Spanish Words for a test read. mylibros.com

A Bilingual Audio Book for Children to learn Spanish

A Bilingual Audio Book for Children to learn Spanish

Parents who look for a way to help their children to learn a foreign language (or to learn theirs) often rely on bilingual books for children. Since it may happen to be difficult to make children read, their efforts are not always rewarded. The latest language learning software, bilingual audio books for children, solves the problem.
The Canterville Ghost has been chosen to become the first English-Spanish bilingual audio book. The sentence-for-sentence alternation makes it an easy language learning tool while sparing the learners the misunderstandings they often get when they listen to an audiobook recorded only in the language they learn.

According to MultilingualBookstore chief publisher, the choice of The Canterville Ghost, by Oscar Wilde, was made because it “meets linguistic, trade, and technical requirements.” The book to record should treat of a general subject, so that the vocabulary would be useful for anyone; it should be suitable for listeners of all ages; and not only should it allow cutting, but also had to keep its qualities despite the cutting.

The English-Spanish audiobook presents the recording of the original text (for the English part) that is to say: some sentences are quite long because, despite the classification “suitable for children” the book is a piece of art, not a teaching tool. The Spanish translation uses modern Spanish.

The Canterville Ghost is a parody of a ghost story. All the elements are in place: the old mansion, the armour in the hall, the blood stain, the chains, the secret corridor, etc, but they do not work the way they are supposed to. They are present, but the circumstances make them less ghostly than they should be, mainly because they are seen from the materialistic point of view of the American family, the Otises. For them, a detergent may remove the stain, the ghost’s chains may be lubricated, a syrup may improve Sir Simon’s awful voice etc.

Even things that are not related with the Otises refuse to work. When the ghost makes the terrible oath, using the “picturesque phraseology of the antique school” -something that is known to have yet proved its worth- though Chanticleer “sounds his merry sound” at once, then he remains mute, instead of serving Sir Simon’s purpose and allowing “deeds of blood” to be wrought. Everything goes wrong for the representant of the antique school, of the old England.

But in the end, it is the ghost who has a present for the new world. His legacy goes to Virginia, the one who will reconcile the two worlds by marrying an English duke.

While reading the story, children are entertained, not afraid.

Adult readers will enjoy the way Oscar Wilde pits an American family against a British ghost, one culture against the other. The inserted ads, that sounded so American one century ago, are still funny. The stereotypes of both cultures are reexamined.

In the Christian theology, the ghosts cannot exist, since a soul is or is not saved, but cannot choose a third way. No Christian can believe in ghosts. But it is the ghost himself who asks for someone praying for him, so that he can be forgiven; and it is Virginia, a believer and a member of the “Free American Reformed Episcopalian Church” who prays with and for him. The conclusion is clear: two choices are not enough.

Almost all Multilingual bilingual audio books, for children ???or not, follow a sentence-by-sentence alternation. It is what best mirrors the side by side bilingual books. It makes them perfectly suitable for beginners. The bilingual audio book Spanish-English works the same way, so that the beginners do not have to do guess work, they learn the easiest possible way almost as they learnt their mother tongue, except that they do not ask their mother to repeat when there is something that escapes their understanding, they simply hit the “Replay” touch.
The bilingual audiobook is a little less than three hour long. Each one of the seven chapters of the Canterville Ghost has its own corresponding mp3 file, so that even children may listen to the story since the length of a file is within their ability to focus.

Many adult listeners who are looking for a handy tool to refresh their Spanish will also find pleasant  to stop saying: “I have not read it yet,” when asked what they think of Oscar Wilde’s tale and instead will proudly reply: “Actually, I prefer to listen to it in Spanish.”

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Learn to Write: Children’s Books-Self Publishing vs Traditional Publishing!

Learn to Write: Children’s Books-Self Publishing vs Traditional Publishing!

Around twenty years ago the publishing houses started cutting down their losses by narrowing the stables of authors to the few they knew could produce blockbuster books. Anyone who tried to learn to write in order to break into that rarefied world was in for a long, hard slog. And it looked like the trend would only become more pronounced. It actually has, but another funny thing has happened to the publishing world: the internet.

Publishing, whether it be books, periodicals, music, or films, is a very different concept today than it used to be. Consumers have grown tired of a shrinking handful of big publishers determining what they can find to read in a given year. And enterprising writers have entered the world of self publishing in droves. Some have succeeded, and some have not, just like in traditional publishing. If you’re a writer, what should you do: try to get a deal with a traditional publisher, or strike out into self-publishing territory? There are definitely arguments for and against both.

If you’re like most people, money is a consideration. Say you’re interested in publishing a children’s book. With traditional publishing, a promising author will be paid in advance against future sales of his or her book. When the book comes out, the author has to sell enough books to make up for the advance and then sell more for further profit. That’s what book tours are for.

With self publishing, the author does it everything: edits, proofreads, gets it in final format, and has to have it printed. To make a profit from the book, the printing expenses must be made up in sales. This is hardly an issue with many self publishers nowadays, however. Print-on-demand services ensure that the only books that get printed are the ones requested. Thus, no piles of unsold books languish in a storage shed or basement. The fact remains, however, that if you don’t learn to write, your books will go unread.

Next to money, control is probably the next most important consideration for most people. With traditional publishing, the publishing house controls just about everything: the edits you have to make as well as typeface, design, cover art, list price, and even the author photo. They’re also the ones that market the book, arrange for reviews, and plan book tours. For some people, this is an immense relief. They would much rather have seasoned professionals deciding these things while they concentrate on writing.

Other people know what they want the cover to look like, how much they want to sell the book for, and whether they want their photo on the dust jacket. These are the people who may be happier and more successful with self publishing. They will, however, be in charge of marketing the book, and sales will be directly related to marketing efforts.

Everyone knew that the publishing industry would go through changes as the end of the 20th century neared, but few could have predicted just how that would happen. Traditional publishing is no longer the sole maker of reputations and fortunes, and self publishing is no longer the vanity vehicle for sub-par writers who can’t get work into print otherwise.

Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. You will have to balance your financial needs and obligations with your need for control and ability to market yourself. Either way is respectable these days. But one thing hasn’t changed: and that is the obligation to learn to write well. That’s because, books with good quality content – traditionally or self published – are the ones that people actually buy.

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Tres Bien! Learn French With Your Kids!

Tres Bien! Learn French With Your Kids!

Recently my homeschooled family decided to learn a foreign language together, rather than just instructing the kids on a language my partner and i knew a little of already we decided to simply all start at the same level and try something new.

After a little deliberation we decided on French, as we have some cultural interest in one day going to France. We decided we would study the language for two years and then travel to France after that time and put what we had learnt into practice.

We began with looking at resources to help in our study of the French language. Computer software for the PC was an ideal place to start as it allows an interactive approach and software to teach foreign languages has come a long way in the last few years.

After looking at the various approaches to learning a foreign language we finally decided on Fluenz, as they seems to have an interesting approach to teaching and are a smart, forward thinking new business.

We also adopted a number of traditional resources like a dictionary, reading and exercise books. There are an amazing array of resources for all ages when learning a new language and the internet has allowed us access to them all.

We bought a physical dictionary as well as a computer dictionary form Oxford Hachette. The cool thing about the latter is that it utilises the ability to speak the words you are looking up. Great for pronunciation practice.

Resources the kids enjoyed included the 1000 First Words in French language pack from Usborne. The pack includes a CD to help with pronunciation as well as Flash Cards and the book itself. There are also some CDs with music on it as well so we are learning some easy French children’s songs as well.

Learning a foreign language at the same time as your children is a true gift and with all the amazing resources out there you can really make the experience fun and educational for all.

LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table

LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table

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  • Learn & Groove with 15 activities and over 40 songs and melodies!
  • Activities provide opportunities for baby to explore with a roll, tap, slide or spin.
  • Includes a variety of music styles for baby to enjoy.
  • Comes with either blue or green legs to attach to table as baby grows.
  • Introduces shapes, numbers and counting 1-10 in English and Spanish.

It’s a learning fiesta for your little one. This interactive, bilingual activity table engages and entertains your baby for hours. There are songs, melodies, twinkling lights and real instrument sounds, plus lots of things to spin, roll, slide, open and close. The table plays over 40 songs and melodies so your baby stays entertained while exploring. When babies turn the center page, the activity table switches modes and transforms musical discoveries into learning activities where each instrument plays a learning song. The Learn and Groove Musical Table also helps your child develop the motor skills needed for learning to stand. Contoured grips make “pulling up” a piece of cake. As babies learn to stand, their little hands can stay busy with reaching, grabbing and pulling. Measures 23″ x 5.5″ x 15.5″. Requires 3 “AA” batteries (not included).

Provide a world of learning and musical fun for your child with the LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table. Designed for children ages six months to three years, this innovative toy is chock full of learning and musical activities designed to provide visual and auditory stimulation and motor skill development, as well as opportunities to learn about colors, the alphabet, and opposites for older children — and much more.


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The toy is full of learning and musical activities designed to provide visual and auditory stimulation.

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This plastic-molded table sits flat on the floor for babies to play at while sitting. View larger.

Grows with your Child
The sturdy, plastic-molded, brightly colored table sits flat on the floor for babies to play at while sitting. You can attach the table’s legs to adjust it to accommodate toddlers’ play while standing. And it offers plenty of activities at different levels of learning to keep your child entertained for these early developmental years. Your child will delight in spinning the maraca to hear a fun rendition of the ABC song; playing the colored piano keys to practice motor skills and learn about colors; moving the trombone’s slide to count to 10; and sliding the cello to learn about up and down. Kids can tap on the colorful drum and learn about colors and primary shapes, too. Then, by flipping the pages of the “book” to go from the Learning Mode to the Music Mode, kids can hear more than 40 songs and melodies, including nursery rhymes and fun individual instrument sounds that will have them singing and dancing.

Plenty to Do, Lots to Learn
With all of these activities, your child will exercise his or her memory and problem-solving skills with lots of things to push, pull, turn, open, and close. And with the flip of a switch, the songs and games switch from English to Spanish, offering a great introduction to foreign-language learning. The Learn & Groove Musical Table requires some assembly and needs 3 AA batteries for operation. Batteries are not included.

What’s in the Box
1 LeapFrog Learn and Groove Musical Table.

Rating: 4 5 LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table (out of 550 reviews)

buynow big LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table

List Price: $ 44.99

Price: $ 32.99

Learn To Speak French Fluently? You Need To Hear French People

Learn To Speak French Fluently? You Need To Hear French People

If you want to learn to speak French fluently there is only so much you can get from books. Books are great for the nitty-gritty of a language, and I wouldn’t be without a good English to French dictionary, but a language is a series of sounds so it makes sense that to learn it well you need to hear it.

Modern French language lessons on CD, MP3 or podcast are a huge step forward. They are much more entertaining and involving than your average French text book and it’s very likely you will enjoy them more. It stands to reason then, that if you’re having a good time you learn French quickly.

You can search for free French lessons online and you’ll find a variety of sound files. Some good, some not so good. Some have been around it seems for ever and it can be frustrating to find that they are in a format that isn’t compatible anymore. Don’t complain too much though, you’re looking for free so you’ve got to expect it to take a while to find the good stuff.

If you want to short-cut the process and learn to speak French fluently in the shortest possible time you will want to consider French CDs that you have to pay for. You will find you have a huge choice, from those that are a few dollars to those that are in the hundreds. Mostly it’s a question of getting what you pay for. The cheap ones tend to be OK for beginners and are often aimed at children. For more advanced learning you are going to have to pay more money.

When making your choice, try and make sure you get sound files that are spoken by French people. No matter how fluent you get, or the teacher is, if you’re not actually French your accent will be different. If you are English you must accept that you will never be mistaken for a French person – just like you would instantly recognize a French person by their accent even if their English was excellent. You just know. That’s not actually important. What’s important is that you try to learn the French accented language, not the accent that someone has if they come from another country.

If you find free French lessons online that are of an acceptable standard you don’t need to be so fussy – but if you are paying for lessons, it makes sense to pay for a French person to teach you!

You can’t learn to speak French fluently in an afternoon, or a week, but the more you practice the faster you get. Your ear gets accustomed to your new language. Luckily it’s no longer the chore it used to be, pouring over old text books. Modern language systems make learning French fun and you’ll be fluent in no time!

Related French Childrens Books Articles

Learn to Talk Spanish Fast Today

spanish children books
by dbking

Learn to Talk Spanish Fast Today

Learn to Talk Spanish Fast Today

It’s fun and easy to learn to talk Spanish fast. The most popular method is learning Spanish online, however, you can also take a Spanish class in a classroom where an instructor can monitor your progress, and provide extra lessons if needed

To learn to talk Spanish you have to be dedicated to it. Regardless if you are in a classroom, or leaning at home online, you need to take your lessons seriously and practice. As the saying goes “practice makes perfect” holds true for learning any foreign language.

You should spend as much time as possible practicing the language to learn to talk fluently. Practice every day read books, listen to television, chat online in Spanish. If you practice in this manner, you will learn to speak the language easily. Trying practicing while you are performing your daily routine like cleaning the house, walking the dog, cooking, in your car, gardening, or anything else you do everyday. You can download audio files and listen to them on CD as you go about your daily activities.

There are also workbooks and assignments with online courses that help to practice writing and reading Spanish. You can even start out slowly reading Spanish childrens books, and other materials that are simpler and easier to read. Once you have learned the basics, you can move on to the more difficult reading levels. Practicing every day by reading, writing, and speaking Spanish out loud will help to learn Spanish quickly and effectively as well as naturally.