Forgetti Heads and Boxer Shorts

A Letter from Author/Illustrator David Lucas to the Kindergartners of Helen E. James

2012-03-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

The very first book that Sarah and I shared with Mrs. Foley's class and Mrs. Luce's class was one of our favorites, CAKE GIRL, by British writer and illustrator David Lucas. It's an inventive tale about a socially-challenged witch and the cake girl she conjures on her birthday in lieu of the friends who never seem to appear. We've owned the book since it was published in 2009 and it is still in heavy rotation at bedtime -- a cherished favorite of all three of my children. We do tend to read it more around Halloween as witches are on the brain then, but CAKE GIRL isn't a Halloween story. It's part classic fairy tale (with perhaps a slight nod to The Gingerbread Man in that both stories feature a sweet treat come to life) and part the weird and wonderful imagination of David Lucas. I wrote to Mr. Lucas at the start of the year to tell him how much we loved CAKE GIRL and to see if he had any words for our budding kindergarten writers and publishers at the Helen E. James School. Imagine our delight when he wrote back. Here is the inspiring, generous letter from David Lucas that Sarah and I read to both classes a few weeks ago. I might add that his excellent advice is useful to writers of all ages.

DearKindergarteners of the Helen E. James Elementary School,

Themagic of the English language is in the little words - words (mostly) of onesyllable, the names of things that haven't changed in ten thousand years, andwill never change.

Wordslike: sun, moon, ghost, king, star, girl, spoon, wolf, boot, chair, house,giant, queen, cloud, witch, mermaid, horse, tree, fish, coat, bear, mouse, boy,apple, fork, genie, bird, hat, cat, dog, fairy, tiger, cow, lion, statue,snake, teapot, frog... simple nouns that are completely timeless, things thateveryone knows.

WhenI try and spark ideas for myself, or with children, I mix those up withadjectives / describing words - words equally simple and elemental and commonto us all: musical, hairy, electric, broken, tall, sad, noisy, ugly, dancing, bread,clockwork, fiery, magic, stone, ice, golden, cake, laughing, lonely,upside-down, silver, wooden, muddled, jumping, tiny, metal, pastry, rainbow,paper, lost, water, angry - that kind of thing.

ThenI pair them up at random: a pastry wolf! a dancing apple! a wooden ghost! amusical moon! being careful just to avoid anything ordinary,anything everyday (stone statue, wooden spoon, etc.)

Someword combinations instantly suggest problems. There are no stories withoutproblems.

Assoon as I put Cake and Girl together I knew there was going to betrouble...

Itis easy, really, to come up with ideas that no one has ever thought of before.

Iwas working with seven-year-olds the other day in a school in Yorkshire, and agirl came up with a Pirate Mermaid character. Brilliant!The Pirate Mermaid had lots of tattoos and big earrings, and she had a coupleof teeth missing I think, and an eye-patch. Iwish I'd thought of it...

I amalways inspired by children's story ideas - how effortlessly imaginative theyare. Children are so much more ready to believe in magic and poetry than adultsand that is something that adults can really learn from. There is magic in theworld - everywhere - but a lot of adults prefer to think otherwise. They wantto think there is no real mystery to life, or that if there are still somemysteries out there that they'll soon be solved. But people only want to thinkthat way because they are frightened: magic is scary, and unpredictable andimpossible to control. It never does quite what we expect. Butfairy tales teach us that if you respect magic and mystery then all kinds ofwonderful things can happen.

Happywriting!

David

If you'd like to learn more about David Lucas and his terrific picture books, we suggest checking out his website--just click here. If only he lived closer so he could visit us at Helen E. James in Williamsburg! But a letter just for us is without a doubt the very best next thing. Thank you, David Lucas.

And as always, happy reading!

--Jen

Picture Book Parade!

2012-01-24T09:06:00.000-08:00

I'm betting that you can vividly remember at least one picture book that you utterly adored, over and over, and over again when you were a child. Mine was HARRY BY THE SEA, by Gene Zion. Sarah's was TIME OF WONDER, by Robert McCloskey. Picture books are one of the pillars of early childhood, and rightly so. Yet picture books are an endangered species today. You're probably thinking "wait a minute, I just tripped over THE CAT IN THE HAT at the dentist's office and even Stop and Shop has WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE for sale." But I'm not talking about Seuss or Sendak. Their stupendously fantastic books are (thankfully!) like the cliched cockroaches--they'll be around forever. I'm talking about new stories and pictures told and drawn by relatively unknown writers and artists who don't happen to have a production credit on Dora the Explorer. Their words and illustrations don't have a movie or line of backpacks and bedsheets to help bolster sales--or attract the attention of book publishers, sellers, and readers. Also, kids are being pushed to read and prefer chapter books at an ever-younger age, despite the total lack of evidence that chapter books for four year olds inspire lifelong reading habits or better scores on standardized tests. The New York Times published a terrific article about these depressing trends last year and I've been dwelling on it ever since. Especially this part, which is worth remembering:

"Literacy experts are quick to say that picture books are not for dummies. Publishers praise the picture book for the particular way it can develop a child’s critical thinking skills.

'To some degree, picture books force an analog way of thinking,' said Karen Lotz, the publisher of Candlewick Press in Somerville, Mass. 'From picture to picture, as the reader interacts with the book, their imagination is filling in the missing themes.'

Many parents overlook the fact that chapter books, even though they have more text, full paragraphs and fewer pictures, are not necessarily more complex.

'Some of the vocabulary in a picture book is much more challenging than in a chapter book,' said Kris Vreeland, a book buyer for Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, Calif., where sales of picture books have been down. 'The words themselves, and the concepts, can be very sophisticated in a picture book.' "

Top-notch picture books should be at the front and center of a beginning reader's journey into the endlessly rewarding world of literature and art. The world will be a far less visually interesting place if the only picture books that are viable in the marketplace are ones that feature licensed characters. That's one reason why I introduce--and give away to a student--a newly published, especially gorgeous and riveting hardcover picture book each week that Sarah and I visit either Mrs. Foley's or Mrs Luce's classroom. Of course another reason is that presents are just plain fun! Here is a sampling of some of the books we've been reading with your children.We encourage you to remember them for birthdays and holidays for any young readers who might be on your list. These books are among the most interesting and visually exciting new picture books for children. You'll want to read them again and again and again.

SNEAKY WEASEL, by Hannah Shaw. Weasel (that's Weasel, Esquire to the likes of you!) is throwing a big party. He's very rich and very important. Weasel owns and lives in Weasel Towers, an impressive castle-like mansion complete with a crocodile-filled moat. Plus he owns practically every business in town. Anyone lucky enough to receive an invitation would surely attend his party, right? Wrong. Nobody shows up. And so a furious Weasel decides to visit each one of his animal 'friends' to see why they didn't come to his party. Shaw's hilarious illustrations add so much to this fun story!

IGGY PECK, ARCHITECT, by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts. When Iggy Peck was only two, he built a tower out of diapers and glue! Who doesn't want to read a story about that kid's adventures? And yes, the diaper tower is indelibly depicted. Beaty's snappy story and Roberts' elegant illustrations of a young boy with a dream are fresh, funny, and unforgettable.

PRINCESS HYACINTH (THE SURPRISING TALE OF A GIRL WHO FLOATED), by Florence Parry Heide, illustrated by Lane Smith. A princess tale with a twist. Princess Hyacinth has a problem. Unless she's wearing special clothes (ones weighted down with rocks and jewels), she floats. Up to the ceiling. Up to the sky. And even farther than that! Her royal parents don't want to lose her, and so she spends most of her days sitting inside the castle on a royal bench equipped with a royal seat belt. Naturally, Princess Hyacinth becomes extremely bored. As all parents know, that's where real trouble begins. This sweet and silly tale is positively...uplifting!

Check back in a day or so for more picture book suggestions and a special letter to the kindergarteners of the Helen E. James school from one of my favorite author/illustrators! Until then, happy reading!

--Jen

An Introduction to this Blog and Our Kindergarten Publishing Program

2011-12-07T08:22:00.001-08:00

Hello Kindergarten Parents and Other Interested Williamsburg, MA Book Lovers!

Creating a Limited Palette Collage in
Mrs. Foley's Class photo by Sarah Palmer

I'm sure many of you have heard bits and pieces from your children about the book publishing program Sarah Palmer and I are doing with the two kindergarten classes at the Helen E. James Elementary School. This blog is a place where you can find the Whole Story as well as regular updates on what we are doing each month.

Put simply, since mid-October each kindergarten class has been at work forming its own independent publishing company. The students are trying on the roles of editor, illustrator, writer, publisher, and bookseller. They are working with stories submitted by writers from the local area as well as with content that they will create themselves. At the end of the school year we will celebrate with a publishing party and book-signing at the Meekins Library for parents and friends.

Drawing a name from the The Magic Book Ball
photo by Sarah Palmer

Sarah and I are in the kindergarten classrooms on Friday mornings.We alternate visits so that Mrs. Foley has us one week and Mrs. Luce has us the next. At each session I talk about a particular aspect of the book publishing process and then we do a related activity like an illustration project or an editorial brainstorming session. After that, we gather for story time and a homemade snack. Each week I bring a picture book to share that I particularly love. Many are newly published by Random House, but not all. The books I choose introduce our young readers and writers to important ideas in storytelling and/or illustration. But most of all they are FUN to listen to and look at. After the story is read, I get out The Magic Book Ball. Everyone's name is in the ball, either on a ribbon-tied scroll or a beautiful piece of folded origami paper. I draw one name per week and the child chosen gets to take home a new gift-wrapped copy of the book that we read and discussed that day.

Reading Cake Girl by David Lucas to Mrs. Luce's Class
photo by Sarah Palmer

If I may say so, it's a wonderful morning for us all. Sarah and I leave the classroom each week impressed and inspired anew by Williamsburg's fantastic kindergarten teachers, Mrs. Luce and Mrs. Foley. And the kids are all just too cute. Each class is its own delightful, adorable mix of creativity, imagination, determination, and open-hearted enthusiasm. With a slice of silly pie on the side of course!

Reading Sneaky Weasel by Hannah Shaw in Mrs. Foley's Class
photo by Sarah Palmer

You might be wondering why we called this blog "Forgetti Heads and Boxer Shorts." Well, you probably aren't surprised to learn that at home I talk to my kids a lot about writing and illustrating stories. Originality is a concept that I discuss frequently with John, Reid, and Lucy. The characters and stories that they invent should be their own as much as possible. It's fine to be inspired by someone else's idea, but not OK to outright copy it. It's why we try to limit TV--there needs to be some room left over in kids' heads for images and characters that are wholly their own. In that spirit one afternoon I challenged the kids to come up with a totally new character for a story. Reid immediately said "A Forgetti Head!" "What's that?" I asked. "It's a mommy who forgets things and wears a bowl of spaghetti on her head!" Reid replied excitedly.

Different styles of illustration: from black &
white to full color photo by Sarah Palmer

Yikes, I thought to myself, it's clearly time for me to get more sleep, keep lists, and do my hair on occasion.... "Um, what does this Forgetti Head person wear?" I asked. "Boxer shorts!" John replied gleefully. He was in a phase where 'boxer shorts' was the ultimate all-purpose answer for absolutely any question right on down to 'what do you want for a snack today?' And so we were off on a detailed, hilarious literary and art adventure with Forgetti Head in her ridiculous boxer shorts. It was really fun. And it's also one example of the sort of imaginative literary projects that Sarah and I hope to encourage in both kindergarten classes this school year. Our over-all goal is to imagine, create, and, most of all, have fun with stories and illustrations.

In a few days I'll write about some of the books and authors we have been talking about.