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Peggy's Pages Blog 

Poetry Blogs and Websites

April 8, 2010
Tags: Poetry Month, blogs, children's poetry, children's poets, poetry websites
It's Poetry Month, and I've discovered some great blogs and websites about children's poetry that I'd like to share.

1. Sylvia Vardell's "Poetry for Children" blog has a game of Poetry Tag going on! Each day features a different children's poet and one of their poems, which is linked to the poet before them. Go to http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com.

2. Brown Bag Poetry features a poetry lesson plan by Kim Norman. Find it at www.kimnormanbooks.com.

3. Giggle Poetry's website is an award winning site for kids and adults who wish they were still kids. The site inclues poems, games, ask the poet, and much more. Check it out at www.gigglepoetry.com.

4. Check out poet Doug Florian's blog and get a sneak peek into his new book, Poetrees. Go to http://floriancafe.blogspt.com.

5. Caldecott Honor Award winner Joyce Sidman's website features a poetry challenge and poetry starters. Take a look at www.joycesidman.com.

More to come next week!  Read More 
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Happy Birthday, Name That Dog!

April 2, 2010
Tags: dog names, pets, Dogs, Name That Dog!, picture books, poetry for children, Poetry Month

It's official-- Name That Dog! is finally released for sale by Penguin's Dial Books for Young Readers,and is available in bookstores and on line!

Happy Spring!

Happy Poetry Month!

Happy Reading!

I'll be looking at poetry books for children, poetry blogs and websites, and posting more this month.
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Twisted Tongue Twisters

March 25, 2010
Tags: tongue twisters, writing, writers tongue twisters
Ten Twisted Tongue Twisters

Do you have a problem overcoming overuse of alliteration in your children’s stories? Do character names trip off your tongue like “Tiny Tommy Turtle?” Do your titles rock to the rhythm of “Rita Raccoon and the Rattletrap Rattlesnake”? Well, here’s your chance to change all that! Take some time out and try these ten twisted tongue twisters and see how fast you reform.

One weary writer whiting out his writing.
Two choosy teachers choose children’s chapter books.
Three free critiques.
Four cool quick facts.
Five fine poets refuse to pursue prose.
Six short stories on a short shelf.
Seven spell checkers check spelling errors.
Eight easy-reader writers writing easy-readers.
Nine nice novelists notice no mistakes.
Ten tongue-tied typists typing in italics.

by Peggy Archer, oringinally published in OUAT magazine Read More 
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Sprucing up Flowerbeds and Manuscripts

March 17, 2010
Tags: St. Patrick's Day, spring flowers, planting, manuscript revision, Name That Dog!, Starke county Young artists day, North Judson
Happy St. Patrick's Day! What a beautiful day today is. I actually went for a walk outside with no coat on! The grass is green. Spring flowers are poking through the ground. Tomorrow is supposed to be even nicer.

I need to get rid of last year's dead growth to make room for the flowers coming up, and rake the leaves out of the bushes. Soon I'll be able to plant new flowers, too. If I plan it right, I'll have a beautiful garden that will last until the snow comes again.

Manuscript revision is sort of like that, too. I need to go in and pull out what's not working, and rake out the unnecessary words that are cluttering up the story. Then I can plant new words, and watch my story grow. If I plan it right, Read More 
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Math and Poetry?

March 10, 2010
Tags: math, Poetry, patterns, rhythm, simplicity
A former teacher, and fellow writer, put the thought into my head that math and poetry are related. It's something that I never thought of, but what she said kind of makes sense.

Math is a science. It gets to the point, or the answer, using the shortest route to get there. When doing a math problem every step counts, or you end up with the wrong answer.
Poetry gets to the heart of things, using the shortest route, with meaningful words, without explanations. In poetry, every word must count.

There is a pattern to math, just as there is in poetry. The pattern of a poem creates its rhythm. Read More 
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Aspiring Picture Book Authors

March 3, 2010
Tags: aspiring writers, picture books, picture book authors, children's authors, writing tips, marketing, connection, author presentations
On Saturday I spoke to an amazing group of close to 50 aspiring picture book authors. All of us are authors, some published and some not yet published. All of us are aspiring, some of us hoping to be published for the first time, and some of us hoping for that next book. Read More 
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Grants and Contests

February 25, 2010
Tags: SCBWI, Grants, contests, work in progress
On my list of things to do is 'apply for the SCBWI Work-in-Progress grant.' Heaven knows that I have enough works-in-progress in my file cabinet! The manuscript that I've chosen to submit is something that I was working on before my life went crazy around the holidays. Now that I've pulled it out again, I'm pretty excited about it and about getting it finished.

That's one of the perks of entering contests and applying for grants. It gets you excited about  Read More 
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You Have to be Committed to be a Children's Author

February 17, 2010
Tags: cmmittment, anniversary, Revision, research, marketing, rejection, acceptance, children's writers
My husband and I just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. We renewed our vows. Our kids totally surprised us with a celebration with family and friends. It was wonderful.

It made me think about committment. People often want things, but hesitate to make that committment. And it just doesn't work that way. If you love something, or someone, you make a committment to stick with it, through the good and the not so good times. Because it's where your heart it. And it's so worth the journey!

Writing for children is like that, too. First,  Read More 
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Writing--A Lonely Job?: Part II

February 9, 2010
Tags: writing, children's books, critique groups, feedback, connecting with other children's writers, SCBWI, conferences, libraries, bookstores, on line resources, websites, blogs, message boards, listservs, volunteer, contacts
Instead of the word 'lonely,' let's substitute 'solitary.'
You certainly can say that 'writing' is a solitary job. The story is yours alone. The characters, the setting, the voice. No one can write it just the way that you can. So you sit with your pen and paper, or at your computer, alone. And you write the story that's in you head, and in your heart.

Once your story is down on paper, however, there are many ways that you as a writer can connect with others to help you along  Read More 
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Writing--a Lonely Job?

February 4, 2010
Tags: writing, writing for children, interruptions, Stories, Children, critics, story starters, phone calls
Writing is a lonely job! Or is it? Maybe. If you have no kids. And no one knows that you write for children.

I started writing (to be published, that is) when my children were little. It's a bit uncanny how you can write surrounded by six small bodies in constant motion. But I did. In between the "I'm hungry" and "I hafta go potty" and "He/She took that away from me!" I'd sit and write (well, sometimes I would do laundry, or other things).

Occassionally I might hear something like this:
What are you doing, Mommy?
I'm writing a story.
Is it about a pig?
No. But it's about a farmer.
Does he have a pig?
! Read More 
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