#Children's fiction

[zippocreed501]

AUTHOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

'Fantasy for me as a kid was real, and I had a fantasy about what life was, whether it was sort of wicked and dire, or wholly normal, or whatever. Anything really close to home is not, it seems to me, what a good book should be about.'

'If you take myth and folklore, and these things that speak in symbols, they can be interpreted in so many ways that although the actual image is clear enough, the interpretation is infinitely blurred, a sort of enormous rainbow of every possible colour you could imagine.'

'Things we are accustomed to regard as myth or fairy story are very much present in people’s lives. Nice people behave like wicked stepmothers. Every day.'

'It does seem that a fantasy, working out in its own terms, stretching you beyond the normal concerns of your own life, gains you a peculiar charge of energy which inexplicably enriches you. At least, this is my ideal of a fantasy, and I am always trying to write it.'

Author Extraordinaire Diane Wynne Jones

[fallensapphires]

Stories: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911)

I am sure there is Magic in everything, only we have not sense enough to get hold of it and make it do things for us.

[bodhrancomedy]

Shnazsnit the Astonishing (Public Enemy No.9)

I have started on my chaotic children's book about my troublemaking delight of a creation, Shnazsnit.

Here is her description.

Shnazsnit was short and scraggly with long white hair and skin the colour of green pond-scum. She had two short tusks which jutted up nicely above each corner of her bottom lip, a sharp chin, even sharper ears, and a long green tail with not one, not two, but three tufts on the end. Shnazsnit was very proud of these – most orcs could only grow one tuft or maybe two. Three was unusual and often meant the owner was destined for great things. That wasn’t the main reason Shnazsnit liked them. It was also because each of those tufts were at the end of a three-way split, just at the end of her tail, and she could move the tips independently which made pulling pranks and climbing away from angry adults far easier. That was also why she liked her sharp nails on her fingers and toes, although those had yet to grow properly. She would have to wait a whole three years at least before they caught up with her current growth and hardened into the retractable claws like her mother’s, her father’s, and her grown-up neighbours’.   She wasn’t a very patient orc.

by Bodhrán M

[reallyunluckyrunaway]

I just thought this was cute.

[first--lines]

Mrs. Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow, fringed with alders and ladies' eardrops and traversed by a brook that had its source away back into the woods of the old Cuthbert place; it was reputed to be an intricate, headlong brook in its earlier course through those woods, with dark secrets of pool and cascade; but by the time it reached Lynde's Hollow it was a quiet, well-conducted little stream, for not even a brook could run past Mrs. Rachel Lynde's door without due regard for decency and decorum: it probably was conscious that Mrs. Rachel was sitting at her window, keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed, from brooks and children up, and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof.

  —  Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)

[bookcoversaroundtheworld]

Plain Jane and the Mermaid - US

Jane is incredibly plain. Everyone says so: her parents, the villagers, and her horrible cousin who kicks her out of her own house. Determined to get some semblance of independence, Jane prepares to propose to the princely Peter, who might just say yes to get away from his father. It’s a good plan!

Or it would’ve been, if he wasn’t kidnapped by a mermaid.

[annelisreadingroom]

I went to the park this morning before heading to the airport. It was so nice and sunny and the park was full of flowers. It's still a bit cold, though. Most days it's around 8°C-12°C. How is the weather where you live and do you like to take outdoor pictures of your books?

[writelikethrollope]

Writing Share Tag

Thank you @aintgonnatakethis for the tag!

When Amber opened the door she couldn't have been more surprised: outisde, with a black t-shirt and short jeans, stood a girl around ten years of age. Maybe, the witch thought, it was already time for the scout girls' annual cookie campaign. The kid smiled a fully-teethed smile. - Hi! I'm looking for the old, evil witch that lives in the woods! Is this her house? - Amber was horrified. Firstly, she was only 30 years old which, she thought, hardly qualified her as "old." And more importantly, she was not evil. A little wicked sometimes, yes, when for example she poured Newt's eye in Sarah Mason beauty tonic. But Sarah was a bully and her revenge, though petty, was well deserved.

I found a couple paragraph of something I was writing last year and 1. i didn't remember writing this but I found the overall story funny and 2. it seemed to me that it was much much longer since I had written anything so I felt kinda better about myself. Also I had still never published anything I wrote here so this is a nice excuse :D

Tagging (no pressure, no stress): @leitereads ; @renasdoodles ; @mjparkerwriting ; @xenascribbles ; @thedeerwight

[nanowrimo]

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 2

And it's day 2 of NaNoWriMo! Today, we have Stick Insect and Sea Monkeys by Kate Jackson, a fun Children's Fiction novel. This novel cover was designed by the amazing returning artist, Holly Aguilar!

(For those of you who don’t know, 30C30D stands for 30 Covers, 30 Days in which 17 Wrimos and 5 YWP Participants get the chance to win a professionally designed cover! The rest of the days are being filled by community features. We’ll be posting a cover a day throughout November, so make sure to check them out!)

Stick Insect and Sea Monkeys

Bella is devastated she can’t own any pets but suddenly finds herself petmother to a gigantic stick insect and pack of sea monkeys. Pet ownership turns into a bigger adventure than she could ever have imagine as she and her pet family find themselves faced with a mystery that could change their world forever.

About the Author

Kate Jackson is a lifelong writer, but recently only of shopping and to do lists. She is interested to see how juggling work, parenting two energetic boys, and trying to write a novel will go. Stick Insects & Sea Monkeys is Kate’s first foray into fantasy writing for elementary school age kids, but nothing like having a captive audience at bedtime! When not writing, Kate is setting up a new house in Boston after recently relocating from London, and trying not to eat too much leftover Halloween candy.

About the Designer

Holly Aguilar is an award-winning designer and illustrator, so if anyone does judge your book by its cover, she’s got you…covered. By day, Holly is a Design Director at Balcom Agency, the largest marketing firm in Fort Worth, Texas. Learn more about her at her company’s website!

[hmvw2015]

A request for @eyedtheallmighty42069

"Would that be considered cannibalism?"

[fiction-quotes]

"Child," said the Voice, "I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own."

  —  The Horse and His Boy (C. S. Lewis)

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Sometimes Books are Not For You. And That's Ok

So...I cannot say that the Percy Jackson books are a series I enjoyed. In point of fact, this is the book after which I noped out of the series.

THAT SAID: I recognize that for the right reader, these books could be a defining foundational series. I could bitch and moan about the pacing and some of the tropes that have aged poorly (the whole thing with Grover in the wedding dress and the Cyclops honestly made me want to throw the book across the room), and how the pacing of this book was kind of bad. But I must also acknowledge the ADHD and dyslexia rep, the sheer badassery that is Annabeth, and the creativity of the world and its use of Greek mythology.

The conclusion, then, is that the Percy Jackson books are simply not for me. I'm not the target audience, and I didn't have fun with these books. But my reading buddy for the first two books? He INHALED the series, and has been messaging me nonstop about how much fun he was having and how he wishes he had gotten to these books as a kid because they WOULD have been foundational for him. And I am so, so psyched for him. Finding a book series you really connect with and love is a special kind of magic, and I wish it for more people.

So I'm not going to really expand on my issues with this book, because I don't think they matter nearly as much as the fact that these books can be as magical as they have been for my reading buddy. So if you're a fan of Greek mythology or have tiny humans who are, go forth and enjoy!

[tosin-talks]

Tiny Tim is a fun picture book that teaches the importance of emotional regulation! As Tim learns how to control his storm of emotions and avoid problem behaviors, he also learns how to separate himself from harmful narratives. The original book provides 8 additional pages for parents and caregivers to learn how to help their children navigate intense emotions and develop a positive sense of self.

The junior edition was created for independent reading with age-appropriate language for young people. This version allows them to learn alongside Tim as he gains control of his emotions and behaviors.

Tiny Tim: Navigating Stormy Feelings and Behaviors is available for purchase on Barnes & Noble.com: $16.99 Hardcover or $13 Paperback and on Amazon: $13.00 Paperback. The junior edition is also available on Amazon: $9.13 Paperback

Tiny Tim: Navigating Stormy Feelings and Behaviors is written by Tosin Anjorin and illustrated by Peachmarch.

[the-random-sentence-library]

"He wanted one thing – to win the big race!"

Quote randomly selected from page 5 of Apple Jordan's children's fiction book Driving Buddies, part of the Step Into Reading series.

Additional notes: "He" is Lightning McQueen.

Quote was selected at random from a book chosen at random from my local library.

[bookcoversaroundtheworld]

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Canada (2006)