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THIS JUST IN: New Book at the Education Library: So You Want to Write a Children’s Book
So You Want to Write a Children’s Book: An Insider’s Handbook for Children’s Writers and Illustrators Who Want to Get Published
By Peter Carver
Ever wanted to write or illustrate a children’s book and have no idea where to begin or where to seek publication? This handbook for new and aspiring children’s authors and illustrators is the ultimate guide to the whole process of writing your book and getting it to the publisher. Written in clear and expert prose by Peter Carver, one of North America’s leading children’s book editors, this book will show you how to begin, how to develop the story, how to speak to your audience, and how to refine the work for publication. Peter does not beat around the bush: Wring a children’s book is hard but rewarding work that requires the kinds of skill and dedication you can develop from the wisdom and guidance found in these pages. It includes: How to get started; Writing for you audience; Producing the Manuscript: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama; How illustrators get hired; Illustrating picture books and nonfiction; Planning your portfolio: Fiction and Nonfiction, trade or Education markets; Should you get an agent? Submitting for publication; Self publication; Contracts; Copyright; How a publishing house works; Lists or writers’ resources, and associations. And much more.
~from Google Books description.
About the Author:
Peter Carver is currently Red Deer Press’ Children’s Book Editor. Under his direction, Red Deer Press has published notable talents as Kevin Major, Martine Leavitt, Cora Taylor, Ted Staunton and many more. Peter Carver was awarded the Canadian Library Association Award for Advancement of Intellectual Freedom in Canada and the Writers’ Union Freedom to Read Week Award. When he’s not editing children’s books, Peter Carver teaches creative writing classes in Toronto.
Publisher’s Website Book Information: Fitzhenry & Whiteside
UBC Library Catalogue Information here.
Make words count: Encouraging reading at home is the best way to raise literacy levels
Reading at home is the best way to turn around Canada’s poor literacy levels, says reading expert Jan Dupuis.
With four out of every 10 adult Canadians struggling with a sub-standard literacy level, according to a 2005 survey, the most effective way to make sure literacy becomes more widespread is to encourage it in the home, in the family and with children, said Dupuis, literacy outreach co-ordinator with the Victoria Literacy Task Force.
“Their reading levels aren’t good enough, their writing skills aren’t good enough, their computer skills, they might not even have any, and their math skills are very low,” Dupuis said in the lead-up to today’s Family Literacy Day.
The statistics from the 2005 survey are daunting – 900,000 men and women, aged 16 to 65, have a literacy level below that defined as the bare minimum for the modern workplace, Level 3 out of 5 – but the problem can be overcome, Dupuis said.
Just 15 minutes a day spent with a child in an activity to stimulate or encourage reading or literacy can prepare a child for a successful adulthood.
Source: ABC Life Literacy
By Richard Watts, Times Colonist January 27, 2012
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist
The Black History in Canada Education Guide: A Message to Teachers
In honour of Black History Month, the Education Library would like to feature the Historica-Dominion Institute’s online Black History in Canada Education Guide:
A Message to Teachers
The largest independent organization dedicated to Canadian history, identity and citizenship, The Historica-Dominion Institute is committed to bringing the stories and experiences of Canada into the classroom. This innovative Education Guide explores seminal events and personalities in Black Canadian history through engaging discussion and interactive activities. It was made possible with the generous support of TD Bank Group, whose commitment to Black history and culture has been celebrated.
The purpose of this Guide is to enhance your students’ knowledge and appreciation of the Black Canadian experience, drawing from Lawrence Hill”s award-winning historical fiction, The Book of Negroes, the remarkable journey of Aminata Diallo and the historic British document known as the Book of Negroes. Structured around themes of journey, slavery, human rights, passage to Canada and contemporary culture, this Guide asks students to examine issues of identity, equality, community, and nation-building in both a historical and contemporary context. The tools provided here are supplemented with additional activities and resources at the Black History Portal. We hope this Guide will assist you in teaching this important aspect of Canadian history in your English, Social Studies, History or Law classroom.
~From the Black History Canada website
Three applicants for every K-12 teaching job in B.C.
January 30, 2012. 11:52 am • Section: Report Card
By Janet Steffenhagen
Young people interested in a teaching career need to know there are three applicants in British Columbia for every one position that becomes available in the K-12 school system, says Education Minister George Abbott.
“We need to be honest with students … about where their opportunities in the future may lie,” the minister said in an interview after a stalemate in teacher bargaining raised questions about whether B.C. needs to match higher salaries in other provinces to retain teachers.
Abbott says that’s not a concern because there are 2,700 to 2,800 teachers looking for work in any given year but only about 800 job openings in schools. The over-abundance of teachers is an issue Abbott said he intends to raise with the Association of B.C. Deans of Education (ABCDE) during a meeting set for spring.
The teaching pool includes new graduates from B.C.’s nine teacher education programs as well as teachers who have moved to B.C. from other jurisdictions. According to the most recent statistics available, the former B.C. College of Teachers certified 824 teachers who moved to B.C. from out-of-province in 2009-10 and issued 475 statements of standing for B.C. teachers relocating to other jurisdictions.
Abbott acknowledged that an education degree provides students with skills that can be used for other types of work but said it’s important for students to have the facts about job opportunities, given labour shortages in other fields.
Until he discusses his concerns with education deans, Abbott declined to comment on whether his government would consider a cap on enrolments in teacher education programs. “It would be premature for me to form any conclusion,” he stated.
By Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
jsteffenhagen@vancouversun.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Authorfest February 2
Join us at Authorfest on Thursday February 2, 2012 Hebb Theatre, 2045 East Mall, UBC Campus, Vancouver 4:30-6:00 pm.
This year’s Authorfest features BC children’s authors Linda Bailey, Robert Heidbreder and Ellen Schwartz. You will also meet other wonderful BC children’s writers Tanya Kyi, Kathryn Shoemaker and Julie Burtinshaw.
It promises to be a wonderful event. Come and bring a friend!
~from the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable website.