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Posts Tagged ‘Children’

I love my job. I get to spend entire days in the children’s section of the book store and call it research. I also get to celebrate birthdays of people I’ve never met. We recently marked Maurice Sendak’s 80th birthday, and the 45h birthday of his most famous child, Max from Where the Wild Things Are. So I took the opportunity to reacquaint myself with some of Sendak’s impressive body of work, and to meet Brundibar, his recent picture book, written by Tony Kushner and based on a Czech opera of the same name.

Whether illustrating someone else’s words or his own texts, Sendak could never be accused of taking the easy route to publication. His books are complicated, deeply emotional stories, with subtexts that often illuminate the dark side of human nature. In an interview appearing in the November/December 2003 issue of The Horn Book Magazine, Sendak says “…we can get away with things in children’s books that nobody in the adult world ever can because the assumption is that the audience is too innocent to pick it up. And in truth they’re the only audience that does pick it up.”

It’s comments like this that show Sendak’s deep respect for his audience, as well as the picture book as an art form. In the same interview, Sendak talks about how he chooses subjects he feels passionately about, or those that resonate with him on a basic emotional level. These are not cute bedtime stories, but books that reveal his soul. Some cut too close to the bone–when he was working on Outside Over There he had a breakdown and stepped away from the project for six months. And though he is revered as one of the most influential artists in the history of children’s picture books, Sendak doesn’t think of himself as a genius. “I have no brilliant conceptual gift for drawing or any really exceptional gift for writing,” he told The Horn Book. “My talent is knowing how to make a picture book. Knowing how to pace it, knowing how to time it. The drawing and the writing are good, but if my whole career counted on that I wouldn’t have made it very far.”

It inspired me to round up some of my other favorite author/illustrators. I’m no artist, and so I respond to picture books not from a technical aspect but with my gut. Here are three author/illustrators whose work, to me, embodies the pure emotion and wide-eyed wonder of childhood.

* Peggy Rathmann: Rathmann’s illustrations always say more than her texts. Packed with tiny, delightful details and secondary characters acting out stories all their own, her books mesmerize even nonreaders. Her latest picture book, The Day the Babies Crawled Away, is stunning. The story is told by a mother recalling the day her young son saved all the babies when they crawled away during a town fair (the parents were busy at the pie-eating contest). The illustrations are black silhouettes against a technicolor sky. Though we can’t see the characters’ faces we always know who’s who: the boy hero wears a fireman’s helmet, the babies are distinguished by bows, bonnets and topknots. A butterfly starts the baby parade away from the fair and is soon joined by a caterpillar, a frog, a bat and a bird. The same butterfly lands on Mom’s hair at the end of the day as the tired hero falls asleep in her arms. Rathmann makes clever use of every page in the book, starting the story on the! endpapers and building through the title page and dedication. Take a close look at the last picture to see how one baby relives her adventure.

* Ezra Jack Keats: Keats’ classic, deceptively simple picture books resonate with the everyday experiences that define childhood. In analyzing The Snowy Day, my lack of artistic experience became apparent. At first glance, I thought the illustrations were bold shapes cut from different types of paper glued on top of each other. But closer inspection shows edges of colors bleeding together and lines that aren’t quite filled in, as if they were painted with watercolors and a large brush. Faces were drawn with pencil or charcoal; snowflakes appear stenciled over tissue paper. In any case, the effect is childlike, wet and a little messy, just like playing outside after a big snowstorm. My son especially likes the spread of Peter in his red snowsuit making tracks through unmarred snow, first with his toes pointing out, then with his toes pointing in. After studying the book, Matthew said, “I can make pictures like that.” We bought different types of paper and Matthew proceeded to create artwork modeled after Keats. In my opinion, any book so accessible that a child can make it his own is a winner.

* Chris Van Allsburg: Van Allsburg’s books have a magical, otherworldly element that often takes my breath away. He is a supremely skilled artist, incorporating design, balance, color and texture in a way that gives the sense of stepping right into the picture. In one spread from The Polar Express, the reader is positioned above Santa’s sleigh as he flies over thousands of elves crowded into the North Pole’s city center. I almost get dizzy every time I see it. The Polar Express is a very personal story about a boy going for a ride on a magic train that takes him, along with hundreds of other kids, to the North Pole to meet Santa. Van Allsburg’s somber palette, the straightforward nature of the text, the depiction of the North Pole as a city of tall buildings past a desert of ice, and the poignant first-person narration all help the story to feel true. Put aside those cutesy Santa stories–here’s the real thing.

I urge you to spend a day in the book store or library finding those books that make music for you. By studying their rhythms, you’ll learn how to make your own stories sing.

The next step? Come hang with me and the Fightin’ Bookworms at http://cbiclubhouse.com Whether it’s writing picture books, chapter books, young adult novels, finding children’s book publishers — or anything else — you’ll find all the answers at the CBI Clubhouse!

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I did a search on here before posting, and all the other topics deal with work, marriage…grown up ways to deal with stress.
Can anyone suggest some ideas for children under stress, like while at school?
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In todays society, young children are under more stress and pressure due to the higher social and educational demands on them. A lot of college students have been suffering because they had not been taught how to properly handle stress and/or manage their time. With that in mind, should there be an establishment of stress and time management courses in grades as young as elementary school?

Sometimes, when all our doubts, fears and insecurities wrap ourselves up, we always come up with the idea of “I wish I was somebody else.” More often than not, we think and believe that someone or rather, most people are better than us.- when in reality, the fact is, most people are more scared than us.
You spot a totally eye-catching girl sitting by herself at a party, casually sipping on a glass of Chardonnay. You think to yourself, “She looks so perfectly calm and confident.” But if you could read through her transparent mind, you would see a bunch of clouds of thoughts and you might just be amazed that she’s thinking “Are people talking about why I am seated here alone? Why don’t guys find me attractive? “I don’t like my ankles, they look too skinny”, “I wish I was as intelligent as my best friend.”
We look at a young business entrepreneur and say “Woo! what else could he ask for?” He stares at himself at the mirror and murmur to himself, “I hate my big eyes” “I wonder why my friends won’t talk to me”, “I hope mom and dad would still work things out.” Isn’t it funny? We look at other people, envy them for looking so outrageously perfect and wish we could trade places with them, while they look at us and thinks of the same thing. We are insecure of other people who themselves are insecure of us. We suffer from low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence and lose hope in self improvement because we are enveloped in quiet desperation.
Sometimes, you notice that you have an irritating habit like biting off your finger nails, having a foul mouth, and you of all people, is the last to know.
I have a friend who never gets tired of talking. And in most conversations, she is the only one who seems to be interested in the things she has to say. So all of our other friends tend to avoid the circles whenever she’s around, and she doesn’t notice how badly she became socially handicapped, gradually affecting the people in her environment.
One key to self improvement is to listen and talk to a trusted friend. Find someone who you find comfort in opening up with even the most gentle topics you want to discuss. Ask questions like “do you think I am ill-mannered?”, “Do I always sound so argumentative?”, “Do I talk too loud?”, “Does my breath smell?”, “Do I ever bore you when were together?”
In this way, the other person will obviously know that you are interested in the process of self improvement. Lend her your ears for comments and criticisms and don’t give her answers like “Don’t exaggerate! That’s just the way I am!” Open up your mind and heart as well. And in return, you may want to help your friend with constructive criticism that will also help her improve her self.
One of Whitney Houston’s songs says “Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all. True enough. In order to love others, you must love yourself too. Remember, you cannot give what you do not have.
Before telling other people some ways on how to improve themselves, let them see that you yourself is a representation and a product of self improvement. Self improvement makes us better people, we then inspire other people, and then the rest of the world will follow.
Stop thinking of yourselves as second-rate beings. Forget the repetitive thought of “If only I was richer”, “if only I was thinner” and so on. Accepting your true self is the first step to self improvement. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others only to find out at the end that we’ve got 10 more reasons to envy them.
We all have our insecurities. Nobody is perfect. We always wish we had better things, better features, better body parts, etc. But life need not to be perfect for people to be happy about themselves. Self improvement and loving yourself is not a matter of shouting to the whole world that you are perfect and you are the best. It’s the virtue of acceptance and contentment. When we begin to improve ourselves, we then begin to feel contented and happy.

You can use these self improvement products to transform boring train or flights into inspirational personal development and learning experiences. Imagine how much information you could take in a matter of months and what it could do to for your motivation to improve your life.
1. Self improvement audio programs
One of the most effective learning tools available. In the fast paced world of today, finding time to read can be difficult. But it is easy to use otherwise wasted commuting and traveling time productively.
2. Self improvement dvds and videos
There are also those self improvement Videos and DVDs. Although you may not be able to attend all the seminars and workshops that could have a dramatic impact on your personal development and growth, DVD’s and Videos offer easily affordable access to the wisdom and insights of the best self motivation experts. And all this in the comfort of your own home.
3. Self improvement books & eBooks
Self improvement books were traditionally the way that most people discovered the life changing potential of a commitment personal development and self growth.
Most of the classic works of personal development are now also available as eBooks, as are many of the modern greats and bestsellers. eBooks are one of the easiest, most popular and economical ways to expand both your library and your mind.
4. Self improvement coaching and mentoring
Professional self improvement coaching or mentoring is one of the most effective methods of self improvement and one of the best ways to get more out of life generally.
Many of the most successful people in the world contribute a large part of their success, both professionally and personally to the positive influence and guidance of a coach or mentor.
It does not matter if you are an individual trying to make the most of your life, a small business owner or entrepreneur looking for guidance and inspiration, or a senior executive or CEO of a major corporation with responsibilities to shareholders and for large numbers of staff.
Your own personal Coach or Mentor can have a massive impact on your personal development, productivity, results and happiness in every area of your life. Coaching and Mentoring can be face to face, by telephone or online, or often a combination of methods.
Participating in self improvement seminars and workshops with the experts in personal development and self motivation can also be one of the most effective ways to ignite your enthusiasm and passion for life.
This is definitely one of the fastest ways to get you started on the road to a more fulfilling life, and to supercharge your progress toward your goals.
Even if you cannot participate in person and attend a seminar or workshop, there are plenty of opportunities to tune in to a teleseminars with some of the best-known names in self improvement. Many of these are even free of charge so there’s really no excuse for not joining in.
Each one of these self improvement products are made suitable to the needs of those who do not have all the time in the world but is still willing to make more out of themselves.
With all the self improvement products already out in the market, people who are bent on pursuing what they want in life have no more excuse for not doing so.