Spellbinder Lunch Chicago Style!

May 7, 2012 SPELLBINDERS LUNCH - CHICAGO STYLE or is it DINNER? A SPECIAL WELCOME TO THOSE OF YOU WHO SIGNED UP AT IRA TO RECEIVE OUR NEWSLETTER. YOU MAY UNSUBSCRIBE AT ANY TIME. Following the tradition of the past two years, we are wrapping up the spring semester with a Spellbinders Lunch, except in this case it happened to be a dinner with our other IRA author panelists. We all gathered at Mity Nice in the Water Tower on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago the night before our all day panel. From left to right: Caroline Starr Rose, Kimberley Griffiths Little, Esther Hershenhorn, Carolee Dean, and Lisa Schroeder, Uma Krishnaswami, April Halprin Wayland, and Carolyn Meyer. Kersten Hamilton couldn't join us but showed up Sunday morning in a cowboy hat and boots. The author panel was a great success. Here are some of the comments we received on the evaluations: "Very interesting presentations with practical, motivating ways to teach writing and content areas." "The lecture came full circle as ideas for developing stories were shown put into practice by published authors." "This was my first IRA and I could not be happier with my first institute. I was actively engaged all day and I literally drank up every word. Thank you."       If you missed our author panel, you can still find some of the highlights online. From Carolee's poetry panel there is an entire power point taking examples of literary and poetic devices from her novel TAKE ME THERE and putting them into a fun format for middle and high school students. Look in the TEACHER RESOURCES section of Carolee Dean Books. From Caroline's revision discussion you may want to explore  STICKMAN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT which includes a simple graphic to get kids thinking about deeper aspects of character development. From her history panel she also contributed a reading TRAVEL LOG and an activity called WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE WE READING. Check out Kimberley's examples of historical fiction at   KIMBERLEY'S BLOG    After this issue we will be going on a newsletter haitus for the summer so we may work on our book projects. That gives you three months to catch up on past issues of Spellbinders you may not have had time to read during the busy school year. You may find past issues at the SPELLBINDERS BLOG. Carolee'scolumn "The Secret Language of Stories" provides practical examples and discussions of her twelve step story analysis method. Kimberley's "Book Buzz" provides short descriptions of the latest titles in children's books so you'll know what to recommend for your students. Caroline's "Classroom Connections" gives fun and practical suggestions for how to run book clubs, and other helpful classroom tips.        GOODBYE FOR THE SUMMER! HAPPY READING AND HAPPY WRITING!    Join Our Mailing List! Meet the Spellbinders    Carolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a master's degree in communicative disorders, and she has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a speech-language pathologist.      Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list. Take Me There is a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Her upcoming paranormal verse novel, Forget Me Not, will be published by Simon Pulse in October of 2012.    She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Act of Haiku."                   Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in New Mexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time.     To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to my website.          Kimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs, as well as two more forthcoming novels in 2012 and 2013.    She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences.    Please visit her website to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides.                        Upcoming Author Events                  Wednesday, May 16  Bloomers, Buckboards, and Buffalo Chips presentation 7:00pm The Library Center Springfield, MO and Saturday, May 19 3:00pm George Washington Carver National Monument Diamond, MO Caroline Starr Rose    November, 2012 YALSA Literature Symposium  "Author Research Panel" Carolee Dean Kimberley Griffiths Little and two other authors St. Louis, Missouri

SPELLBINDERS at the International Reading Association!

April 30, 2012 GONE TO CHICAGO! ...and a giveaway SPELLBINDERS AUTHORS TRAVELED TO CHICAGO TO TALK ABOUT POETRY, PLOTTING, AND PROSE  A total of nine children's authors participated in an all-day panel pre-conference institute at the 2012 International Reading Association in Chicago yesterday, Sunday, April 29th. The institute was organized by Spellbinders' own Carolee Dean, a high school speech-language pathologist and young adult author. The focus of the Sunday panel was on "Rekindling the Reading Fire - Using the Story Strategies of Professional Authors to Inspire a Love of Reading and Writing."     Carolee started the day discussing The Secret Language of Stories, the twelve-step story analysis method she uses to both plot her novels and teach writing to students of all ages. The morning concluded with Spellbinders authors Kimberley Griffiths Little and Caroline Starr Rose leading writing workshops. Kimberley presented "The Secret Story Diary" and Caroline followed up with a revision activity she calls "Stick Man Character Development" where she gave practical suggestions for diving deeper into character descriptions. The afternoon involved several breakout sessions focused on recognizing the plotting strategies, literary devices, and other tools frequently used by authors, strategies useful to students for improving story comprehension and plotting original stories.   Afternoon panel topics included:   "Content Area Literacy: Making History Come Alive" by Carolyn Meyer, author of numerous historical novels including CLEOPATRA CONFESSES (Simon & Schuster) and THE WILD QUEEN (Harcourt Houghton Mifflin); and Spellbinders' Caroline Starr Rose, author of MAY B. (Schartz and Wade).   ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Social Issues in Contemporary Fiction and Verse Novels: Recognizing Literary Devices and the Implications for Struggling Readers" by Spellbinders' Carolee Dean, speech-language pathologist and author of 3 young adult novels including COMFORT (Houghton Mifflin) and TAKE ME THERE (Simon Pulse); Spellbinders' Caroline Starr Rose, former middle school teacher and author of the verse novel, MAY B. (Schwartz & Wade); Lisa Schroeder, author of 4 verse novels including CHASING BROOKLYN and THE DAY BEFORE (Simon Pulse); and April Halprin Wayland author of Girl Coming in for a Landing (Dell Yearling Books). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------  "Brave New Worlds in Fantasy and Magic Realism: Inspiring Literacy by Sparking the Imagination" by Spellbinders Kimberley Griffiths Little, author of THE HEALING SPELL and CIRCLE OF SECRETS (Scholastic Books) and Kersten Hamilton, author of the Goblin series which includes TYGER, TYGER (Clarion).   --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Social and Cultural Influences: Approaching Plot Through the Intersection of Character, Setting, and Time" by Uma Krishnaswami, author of THE GRAND PLAN TO FIX EVERYTHING (Ahteneum Books for Young Readers); April Halprin Wayland author of GIRL COMING IN FOR A LANDING (Dell Yearling Books); Esther Hershenhorn, author of S IS FOR STORY: A WRITER'S ALPHABET (Sleeping Bear Press).    ***The competition to get into this conference was stiff, and it was a great honor to have all of our Spellbinders authors participating. It was a lot of work, but we are also having a blast in Chicago, so be sure to join us next week for our final issue of the school year*** SPELLBINDERS LUNCH - CHICAGO STYLE - May 7th Issue!    AND... if you'd like to win a copy of THE YEAR WE WERE FAMOUS, the book featured in last week's Classroom Connections, simply leave a comment at the Spellbinders blog. Contest closes May 7th. Join Our Mailing List! Meet the Spellbinders    Carolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a master's degree in communicative disorders, and she has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a    speech-language pathologist.    Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list. Take Me There is a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Her upcoming paranormal verse novel, Forget Me Not, will be published by Simon Pulse in October of 2012.    She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Act of Haiku."                   Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in New Mexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time.    To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to my website.          Kimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs, as well as two more forthcoming novels in 2012 and 2013.    She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences.    Please visit her website to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides.                        Upcoming Author Events Tuesday, May 1 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. International Reading Association Conference Chicago, Illinois "The Secret Language of Stories" Carolee Dean                 Wednesday, May 16 Bloomers, Buckboards, and Buffalo Chips presentation 7:00pm The Library Center Springfield, MO and Saturday, May 19 3:00pm George Washington Carver National Monument Diamond, MO Caroline Starr Rose    November, 2012 YALSA Literature Symposium  "Author Research Panel" Carolee Dean Kimberley Griffiths Little and two other authors St. Louis, Missouri