This summer, try telling mixed-up fairy tales!  Recommended for road trips, plane trips, camping trips, bedtime and waiting rooms. From three different fairy tales, pick a character, a setting and a plot.  Put it all together in your own unique way and voila — you have a mixed-up fairy tale.  You are now a storyteller.  For example: -... [read more ]

Artist Date guest post by mom and author of Spilling Ink and other books, Anne Mazer. Years before I read Julia Cameron, I was doing artist dates with my kids. It was called “writing with mom” and for years, it was a nightly ritual. Like many good things, it happened by accident, almost unconsciously, and without any intimation of how important... [read more ]

Spilling Ink, a Young Writer’s Handbook isn’t what I expected, it’s MORE!  I loved it – and think it’s appropriate for us older young writers, too! *The only books for young writers I like are well, very few — Ralph Fletcher and Victoria Hanley’s books come to mind in addition to my new favorite, Spilling... [read more ]

Guest post by Jennifer Cervantes, YA author of Tortilla Sun, my newest favorite book and pick for this year’s Newbery Award –read my review here. One of my favorite ways to spend time with my daughters is when we are involved in some sort of creative exercise. Of course, for me, writing is at the top of that creative list. As an author... [read more ]

You need S is for Story, A Writer’s Alphabet for your library.  It’s the perfect book to kick off your summer reading and writing plans! This informative and engaging picture book illuminates words from a writer’s life from A to Z starting with Alphabet, explaining the history and Greek word alphabetos, ending with Z for Zorro... [read more ]

My article for the fifth issue of Literacy Lava, talks about my discovery of graphic novels — and that graphic novels aren’t just for struggling readers. Literacy Lava is a free pdf for parents or anyone who wants kids to love reading, writing and communicating, is now available from Susan Stephenson’s website. In this fifth edition... [read more ]

Guest post by Deborah Underwood author of children’s picture books including The Quiet Book, Spring 2010. I recently saw a video that shows an adorable little French girl telling a convoluted story with baby monkeys, frightening trees, crocodiles, a battling hippo and lion who go to heaven, a mammoth with claws, and a witch-killing orange ring.... [read more ]

Summer – I can’t wait and yet . . . I’m not ready. But, I’m excited because I’m going to have an artists’ summer with my kids. (I hope.) Julia Cameron, in her book The Artist’s Way, recommends artist dates with yourself.   She writes, “An artist date is a block of time, . . . committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your... [read more ]

Guest post by Kenn Nesbitt, poet and founder of Poetry for Kids. Read his book, My Hippo Has the Hiccups FREE in April.  See below for details. I visit a lot of schools and libraries, and I speak to as many as 30,000 kids each year. Because the poems I write tend to be creative and imaginative, one of the most common questions I get is “where... [read more ]

Guest post by Riley Carney, author and literacy advocate.  Read more about Riley after the post or on her website. Encouraging Your Child To Write Because I’m a teenager, a published author, and the founder and director of a nonprofit for children’s literacy, adults often ask me what they can do to get their kids to write. My childhood had an... [read more ]

I’m thrilled to welcome guest blogger, P.K. Hallinan, author of over 85 children’s books.  Thank you for your contribution to Imagination Soup! I have a few thoughts on how to help kids love to write… 1) Encourage Reading: First, you need to get them to love to read.  This is often not easy, especially with someone like me who... [read more ]

Okay, I know I’ve mentioned it before, but if you haven’t set up a writing nook or area, it’s time. Even if you have young kids. Even if you have old kids. If you have kids. Who can resist the lure of fresh notebooks, pencils, new markers, stencils, pom-poms, stickers, colored pencils — and the crowning glory of my own writing... [read more ]