Arts

The Best Children’s Books

Some of the best children’s books are those that help push children into reading in stronger ways. Scholastic books help children to read based on level while stretching their skills. Books like the Harry Potter series, Twilight, or even Amelia Bedilia are great books for children to read that stretch their reading skills and they entertain their brain.

How to Identify a Good Book

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Some of the good books for kids use their language. Lanuage is important or a child will not be able to use his or her imagination. Some of the keys to look for include word count and word length. For children that are in the sixth grade, there will be multiple words of six letter or more per sentence. This is because a child should be able to comprehend the structure of the blends and then from there gain understanding.

The next thing to look for is to see if there is a series for something available that has a review. Most reading lists at schools will have a selection for a reason. The books on the list are recommended based on the criteria that they will have an entertainment value along with the vocabulary and word strength.

For most readers this is not an issue, but your reader is struggling, there is nothing wrong with finding fun reads that may be a little below their reading level. This will help encourage them to read more and feel comfortable with reading and diving into books regularly.

Filed Under: Children's Books, Reading Tagged With: Arts, Children's literature, Shopping

Is There Such a Thing as too much Research in Writing?

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There are topics that writers are experts in, topics they have limited amount of knowledge about, and then there are topics that writers have no knowledge of whatsoever.

For writers, the latter case is the time when they must research the topic. They want to be able to understand what they are writing about, and reflect that in the pieces they write. Sometimes writers will do tons of research, reading everything they can get their hands on about the topic. When they finish the article, they often discover they did not need half of the material they collected. To some people, this might seem like a gigantic waste of time. To writers, it means that they have that research material to use later on, for future submissions.

Anytime writers conduct research on animals, there are facts they run across that are specific to all species. Then there are the characteristics that only pertain to one species, or one type of animal. A writer can turn this information into articles in the future about the sleeping, eating, or mating patterns of one animal or a whole species of animals. Other information gained can turn into an interview with a zookeeper, or multiple Top Ten Lists regarding animals and their similarities and differences.

Even though the article has to do with a specific topic, writers occasionally stumble upon information about other subjects within the topic. If writers utilize their research properly, they can write numerous articles on the general topic of animals, such as their life cycles, mating habits or the foods they eat. They will also be able to write many more articles on specific types of animals, or even about why certain animals are indigenous to different regions because of the food supply or the climate.

Learning about animals can lead to learning about regions of the world and about the people living in those regions. Therefore, no amount of research material writers gather for a particular topic is ever too much. Writers can use the material for a wide range of topics, in unique ways.

Filed Under: Creative Writing Help Tagged With: Arts, Writer

The Value of Quotes

There is indeed a quote for just about any circumstance in life. If in doubt, do a Google search and you’ll be sure to find at least a dozen on any given topic.

Quotes are jewels of wisdom from which we can all benefit. Most are learned truisms from someone’s past experience. They are typically succinct, to the point, and hard to argue against. This is the beauty of them.

If we are faced with a difficult problem that we’ve been lamenting about for days, the perfect quote can instantly shine light onto the right decision. If you can’t quite find your own words to express your thoughts or feelings, a quote can speak for you – usually more eloquently.

Quotes are typically positive in nature; affirmations, if you will. At troubling times in our lives, affirmations can serve as the sole source of our inspiration to move forward. Subscribing to self-help or inspirational e-lists that provide daily uplifting quotes is highly beneficial to a person that can barely get out of bed due to depression, grief or illness. This practice ensures those that going through sad and lonely times will begin their day in a positive manner. Reading quotes also serves as a comfort to those that are downtrodden in that they come to realize that others have walked through the dark shadows and have survived.

Quotes are perfect messengers. A quote can further explain a concept when stated during a meeting or training session. During a speech, a quote exudes power. A quote can be inspiring when delivered in a toast. A quote can be moving when spoken at a funeral or memorial service. Essentially, a quote speaks truth when the truth is hard to speak.

Quoting Oscar Wilde, “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”

Filed Under: Creative Writing Help Tagged With: Arts, Oscar Wilde

Always Keep a Book Handy

We’ve all heard people say they would read more often if only they had the time. We’ve also heard people state they rarely can read a book to the end. These dilemmas are easily remedied when you learn to always keep a book handy.

First of all, you should locate or purchase a briefcase, backpack, tote or purse that is large enough to hold at least a paperback in addition to your necessities. Consider this your primary daily carrying case. Next, purchase or borrow from the library a book that you’ve been wanting to read. Place the book in your primary carrying case and let your reading adventure begin!

As you go through your day, you will discover many opportunities exist to escape into a book. For example, if you travel to work by bus or train, take out your novel instead of the daily newspaper – or at least spend half the time of the commute absorbed in a good book. One of the more common ways to add more reading time to your day is to enjoy a few chapters at lunch time. Particularly on days when you have no lunch partner, a handy book is welcomed company at your favorite diner or cafÃ©.

In addition to the above daily opportunities for expanding your reading time, you can take advantage of leisure reading when waiting at doctor’s and dentist’s offices. And, once you’ve completed your physician visits, most likely you will have a chance to finish that chapter in the pharmacy line! No doubt, if you are living in a metropolitan area, waiting in line is a fact of life. Banking, government registrations, grocery checkout lanes, fast food drive-throughs are all other opportunities to catch up on your favorite character or topic.

By always keeping a book handy, not only will you be successful in accomplishing more reading time, but you will be amazed at how much more pleasant waiting can become!

Filed Under: Famous Books Tagged With: Arts, Literature, Newspaper, Reading

Books for Women

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Centuries ago, women were not only discouraged from reading, they were purposefully not taught to read. With reading came knowledge and according to society women only needed to know how to run a household. Only the more elite of society taught their daughters to read. The modern world is a vast difference from that time period. Not only are women closer to equality with men, there are entire genres devoted to women readers. The worlds of romance, women’s fiction and chick lit are the three main genres written primarily by women for women.

The romance genre is proof that women still long for fantasy involving the opposite sex. These types of books actually make up 40% of all fiction books sold in the United States every year. So while some women may deny ever reading them, obviously someone is. On must keep in mind that today’s romance books do not always mirror those from the 1950s or 60s. Today’s romance can include suspense, horror, paranormal activity and even a bit of detective novel aspects. These are for those women who enjoy a good story with a romantic interest thrown in.

Women’s fiction books are normally focused on a woman or a group of friends that are on a journey of self discovery. This doesn’t mean that they go off on sabbaticals for months at a time. It simply tracks their lives over a period of time, showing how they grow and change over time until they reach the point where they are comfortable with themselves.

Chick lit is essentially about the everyday modern woman with a great deal of humor added into the story. Numerous times throughout these types of books the already extreme characters will have something completely over-the-top happen to them. There is nothing wrong with these books, they have an audience just like all other genres. Chick lit books are for the women who love reading about adventures and misadventures of other women.

Filed Under: Reading Tagged With: Arts, Book, chicklit, Fiction, Literature, Romance, United States, Women's fiction

Traditional Book Publishing Process Revealed

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Hundreds or even thousands of people claim that one day they will write a novel. The actual number of people that go through with that claim is significantly lower. Approximately 1-2% of those people will actually end up writing their novel. Once a rough draft is completed it must be refined and edited until it cannot be worked on anymore. This is only a drop in the bucket in the writing and book publishing world. Once it has been refined, a synopsis and cover page are created to send out to book publishing companies. That is when the wait begins. Some companies allow a writer to send their synopsis only to them. Others will accept them and allow writers to submit to other publishers at the same time.

Each book publishing company has their own wait time. It could take a matter of weeks from a smaller company, larger companies may take months. The key for the writer is to catch the attention of the editor right away, otherwise their book will never even be read, must less published. Once the synopsis has gotten the attention of editors, it is time for the entire manuscript to be shipped out. Again it may takes weeks or months for an author to hear back from a book publishing company.

If the manuscript is accepted then a contract is offered to the writer. Any advances that may be offered from a book publishing company are often low and all of the amount will come from the royalties of the book sales. Once a contract is agreed on, the editing, cover art selection and other details are decided upon. This process tends to take from 18 to 24 months to complete. So in reality, a book can take 3 years or longer to go from the first word to the printed version on the bookshelf.

Filed Under: Famous Books Tagged With: Arts, Book Writing, Business, Publishing, Publishing and Printing, Self-publishing, Writer, Writers Resources

Mystery of the Writer’s Process Revealed

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When it comes to writing, authors tend to fall into several different categories. There are those that plot, those that simply sit down and write and those that do a combination of the two. This makes for a bit of confusion on behalf of the readers and the outside world. Interestingly enough, writers tend to communicate on a different level with each other than those who are not into writing.

When writing based solely on plot there are certain aspects that are followed. A basic concept is formed before anything else is decided. It could be something as simple as what would a former FBI agent do if faced with the serial killer from their past. A writer would then take that and decide where the story will start, where it will end and what should happen in the middle. This type of writing requires a very specific pattern. The writer has to know exactly what big event is going to happen and why before writing a single word. They will often write the storyline scene by scene before writing it in detail with the characters exchanging a conversation.

The concept of sitting down and writing without creating a plot is a bit strange for some to understand. These types of writers often have a scene or even just characters in their head that the story comes from. They often claim the the characters are writing their own story and they, the writer, is simply taking dictation as to what takes place.

The writing technique that combines both is a bit more manageable for people to understand. This normally involves writing down the basic storyline, how to get from the beginning to the end, and outlines certain scenes that the writer believes is crucial to the story. After this is accomplished then the writing can begin. It is often said by these authors that the characters will lead them through the story and fight them on doing something that does not fit their personality.

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Reading for the Journey

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The world of books is something that can be enjoyed by anyone able to read. Those that don’t like to read do not always understand the why. They don’t understand why people will stay up until all hours of the night reading. They don’t understand why anyone would want to read on vacation or on the subway train on the way to work. What is hard for some to understand is that reading is a journey. Regardless of what books are being read, it is all about the journey.

For those reading fiction it may be the journey to another place or another time. It may involve reading about adventures that one would be too fearful or simply unable to ever have. Not only does the journey of reading involve the setting of the story, it involves the characters. Characters that become a part of the reader and push them onward to see what fate befalls them.

In nonfiction works the journey is one of knowledge and personal growth. Whatever topic the book is about will impart more knowledge to the reader. It may be books about historical icons, wars, business success, financial planning, or parenting. Whatever it is, the writing creates new thoughts, new ideas and a new understanding about themselves or the world around them. This journey is one that creates awareness that will ripple from one person to another.

Sometimes even those reading forget why they enjoy it so much. They say it’s losing themselves in the fantasy or the fact that they have learned something interesting about themselves or the past. Reading is a journey that has a beginning and an end within a set amount of pages. This is something that must be explored and delved into by those reading so that the author can make a clear picture for them.

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Benefits of Reading Nonfiction

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A great deal of readers prefer fiction over nonfiction. They claim that they want to escape into a world separate from reality. What some readers do not realize is that reading nonfiction may not seem exciting at first but can be greatly beneficial to their thought process and how they view the world around them. Not all nonfiction books are self-help or business. Some of them document famous people in history, interesting places to travel and entire historic events with little known facts.

What people have to realize is that reading books about people and events from the history of the human race helps to understand why things happened. When we understand more we can learn to keep from making the same mistakes. The old adage “those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it” comes to mind. This can be true in regards to the lives of individuals. Self-help books have acquired a bit of a bad reputation as of late, however, if lessons are learned from past mistakes then the future can be improved upon. Learning about people from the past that overcame similar, or in some cases worse, circumstances than their own can sometimes spur readers into action in their own lives.

Other nonfiction books that can enhance a readers life are travel books. A great deal of them offer local destinations that aren’t on the normal travel path. These are often hidden treasures just waiting to be explored. No big touristy amusement parks or tour groups are to be found at these locations. Just interesting entertainment and maybe a few nature trails for the outdoor enthusiast. There are even travel books called 1000 Places to Visit Before You Die, as well as one directed at places to take children before they grow up and leave the house.

Filed Under: Reading Tagged With: Arts, Book, Fiction, Literary Nonfiction, Literature, Non-fiction, Reading, Shopping

Encouraging Kids to Read Books

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The love of reading is cultivated very early. Parents reading to their children as babies or toddlers are already planting the seed of the love of reading. This can grow as the child does by having them read to you or even by choosing a chapter book to read to all of the children a chapter at a time on a nightly basis. Even allowing children to take turns reading to each other as they get older is a great encouragement.

Having older children read to their younger siblings promotes good sibling relationships as well as a joy for reading in both the reader and the listener. If the family is going on a trip soon then reading books to them about the location will get them interested in reading as well as making them fell included in planning the trip. If children can read at a high enough level, parents should encourage them to check-out books from the local library about the place the family is going to visit.

Other great ways to turn children onto reading are by creating a theme to go along with the books they are reading. If the entire family is reading Charlotte’s Web, have a party when the last page is read. Watch the movie and create a fun menu revolving around the book itself. Things like Pigs in a Blanket or Spider Punch are fun ideas. Let the kids help create the menu the week before the book is to be finished and even encourage them to help make the food if possible. If they have been reading travel books in anticipation for a trip then have them help create a menu based upon where the family will be visiting. They can also look for a movie that is based on that town or country.

Filed Under: Children's Books Tagged With: Arts, Chapter book, Child, Children, Education, Family, Literature, Reading

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