Shawn Loves Sharks

By Curtis ManleyIllustrated by Tracy SubisakPublished 2017 Shawn is a boy, a boy who loves sharks. He loves everything about them, even their dark, blank eyes. He spends his time at the playground chasing the other kid and yelling “chomp chomp chomp!” When a school assignment forces him out of his shark bubble, Shawn has...

Halloweensie 2020

It is time for the 10th Halloweensie contest. Ten years, wow! I didn't know about it before joining Twitter, so I'm excited to both experience it and participate for the first time. The premise is write a Halloween themed story in 100 words or fewer and it has to be written for kids 12 and...

Why is the Sugar Gone?

As the co-hosts of the Fall Writing Frenzy work so hard to read and judge all the fantastic entries, they've also shared some challenges and prompts. They're really going above and beyond to create and foster a community of writers.And the prize donors need lots of love and support too, so check them out!My original...

King Jack and the Dragon

King Jack and the Dragon, written by Peter Bently and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, was published in 2011 and therefore qualifies for the tag "old" when it comes to picture books. A good rule of thumb if you're looking for books to gauge the current market is to make sure the books aren't older than...

Fall Writing Frenzy, Pumpkin Pie – Take 2

I had so much fun writing out the disastrous pumpkin pie episode for the Fall Writing Frenzy that when I saw this challenge show up, I knew I had to try it. Try this: take your Fall Writing Frenzy piece & turn it on its head. Put it in another setting or switch your MC...

Beatrix Potter, Scientist

Here we have a new book, brand new and shiny, published in our own 2020. Written by Lindsay Metcalf and illustrated by Junyi Wu. What caught my readers-eye at first:The topicThe art Beatrix Potter has a bevy of well-loved characters: Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, and many more. But she had another passion aside...

The Art of the Draft, Fall Writing Frenzy

Drafts are usually pretty quiet things. They come out and serve their purpose in helping fine-tune the story and then are put in a back drawer or forgotten folder or deleted off the computer. But in the spirit of trying something new and writing from a contest prompt that ended up with Thanksgiving Pie I...

Fall Writing Frenzy: Thanksgiving Pie

Courtesy of Unsplash Thanksgiving and the biggest get-together of the year was tomorrow.Everyone was bringing a dish to share.Everyone but Claire. Nobody asked Claire to bring anything.But she wanted, she needed, she itched to make something.To bake something. It had to be a pie. Not apple or pecan or sweet potato, Those were yummy, but her...