What is a Synesthete?

So I came across a new word today: Synesthete. What in the world is that?  As I hope you know, reading can bring all sorts of new experiences and knowledge.  Here’s what I learned today through taking a few minutes to read something new and interesting:

A Synesthete is a person with a sensory image condition called Synesthesia.  For a long time, scientists didn’t bother to study these patients because they claim that they can hear colors and taste words!  How unusual is that? 

There was never any way to prove if these people were making it up, thus causing the condition to be widely misunderstood for many years. Also, Synesthetes tend to describe the things they see and feel in extreme detail, which has prompted scientists to link them to schizophrenics and other people with mental incapacities. 

Now, however, scientists are starting to learn that this condition is not an incapacity at all.  In fact, they are trying to prove that all humans are wired with the potential for Synesthesia…that it is just suppressed from us for some unknown reason. 

I hate calling this strange phenomenon a condition because it offers people certain benefits to creative thinking.  What if we can find a way in the future to unblock the neural path to Synesthesia?  If studies indicate that Synesthesia is about seven times more common in artists, poets, and novelists than in the rest of the population, does this mean that we can all have the maximum potential for creativitiy?

We can all be writers and artists! As Synesthetes are better at linking unrelated ideas, would we be able to find connections and hidden links to many of the mysteries we are investigating today?  You wait and see…I wouldn’t be surprised if a Synesthete discovered the cure to cancer!   

Also, some Synesthetes have been known to perform amazing feats of memorization, such as remembering the value of pi to 22,514 digits, while others are able to distinguish between very similar colors or have a heightened sense of touch.  Whatever the condition heightens, a math genius, or an artist could be born.

Now, just because we don’t all have Synesthesia, or access to it, this doesn’t mean we can’t be whatever we want to be.  Anyone can write a story, and anyone can be an author.  Sylvan Dell Publishing is proof of this, as we ourselves are a small, but quickly growing company.  Many of the books we publish are written by first time authors.  Habitat Spy, Hey Diddle Diddle, The Penguin Lady, and Gopher to the Rescue! are only a few.  

Take a look at these books, read them with your kids, and make sure to tell them that any time they choose, they could be a first time author too!

Let’s Celebrate Antarctic Day!

Tomorrow, November 22nd, is Antarctic Day! This is a day to celebrate our neighbors way way south where the penguins and icicles play. This may be a nice place to visit, if you can handle the extreme cold, but I think it’s safe to say that none of us would want to live there.  Since we won’t be unpacking for good any time soon in the Antarctic, how about we give it its own special day and celebrate!

Here are some interesting and fun facts to get you and your kids excited about the Antarctic:

• To avoid confusion, the Antarctic is the region around our Earth’s South Pole, while the Arctic region opposite it is around Earth’s North Pole.  Now which one does Santa fly from again? 
• Did you know that that there are no polar bears in this southern region?  They only live in the Northern Hemisphere.  Penguins, on the other hand, are abundant in the Antarctic. 
• The very first human to be born in the Antarctic was named Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen (have fun pronouncing that one!).  He was born on October 8 of 1913.
• This region had no indigenous people living in it when it was first discovered
• There are more tourists that visit the Antarctic each year than people who actually live there!

Well there you go! To find out more about the Antarctic, keep an eye out for our new title coming in February of 2012, called “The Penguin Lady,”by Carol A. Cole. In this picture book, Penelope Parker lives with penguins!  Short ones, tall ones; young and old—the penguins are from all over the Southern Hemisphere including some that live near the equator! Do the penguin antics prove too much for her to handle? Children count and then compare and contrast the different penguin species as they learn geography.

In the meantime, however, you can learn all about the Antarctic’s rival region, the Arctic, by checking out our wonderful title, “In Arctic Waters,” by Laura Crawford.  While reading this book, you and your child can follow polar bears, walruses, seals, narwhals, and beluga whales while they chase each other around the ice in the Arctic waters!  It is a pure delight to read aloud, and the “For Creative Minds” section helps children learn how these animals live in the cold, icy arctic region. 

Let’s Toot the Horn of our Award-Winning Author, Donna Love!

Author Donna Love has become a USA Best Book Awards Finalist for her latest picture book, The Glaciers are Melting!

USABookNews.com is an online publicaion that provides coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the online community of the world.  JPX Media Group, in Los Angeles, California, is the parent company of USABookNews.com.

Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of USA Book News, said that this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries, which were then narrowed down to over 500 winners and finalists. 

This is now the ninth year that these awards have been distributed.  Keen says, “The 2011 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States.  With a full publicity and marketing campaign promoting the results of the USA ‘Best Books’ Awards, this year’s winners and finalists will gain additional media coverage for the upcoming holiday retail season.”

The Glaciers are Melting! deals with the story of Peter Pika, who is certain that the glaciers are melting after a drop of water falls on his head.  He decides to go speak to the Mountain Monarch about it.  Joined along the way by friends Tammy Ptarmigan, Sally Squirrel, Mandy Marmot, and Harry Hare, they all wonder what will happen to them if the glaciers melt.  Where will they live, how will they survive?  When Wiley Wolverine tries to trick them, can the Mountain Monarch save them?  More importantly, can the Mountain Monarch stop the glaciers from melting?

Donna Love is an award-winning author whose husband is a district ranger on the Lolo National Forest.  Two of their three children are now in college.  In addition to The Glaciers are Melting!, Donna’s other books include Henry the Impatient Heron, Loons, Diving Birds of the North, and Awesome Ospreys, Fishing Birds of the World. Awesome Ospreys became a Skipping Stones Press Honor Award Winner in 2006, for promoting ecological understanding and cooperation around the world. With a background in art education, Donna substitute teaches at the elementary and high school level. Throughout her years as a substitute and while raising her own children, she found she had a gift for explaining nature to children. She and her husband have three grown children and one grandchild.

If you are interested in learning more information about Love visit her website at www.donnalove.com. Check out more one her book, The Glaciers are Melting! through our homepage.

Orionid Meteor Shower: A Sight to See

This past weekend was the Orionid Meteor Shower. Did anyone get a chance to look at the night sky in the early early hours of the morning?  Although these Orionids, which appear from the Orion constellation, are rather modest, they do have a claim to fame that makes any star gazer ready to spot them: they are a product of Halley’s comet!  As Halley’s comet orbits the sun, it has left behind dust that was liberated from the comet when it was warmed by its close passage to the sun.  In turn, the Orionid meteor shower that we are able to see is the result of the Earth passing through this trail of depris deposited by the comet.  Did you know that these sand-grain size pebbles from Halley’s debris stream race through the sky at speeds of more than 90,000 miles an hour?  That’s 145,000 kilometers!  At speeds as high as this, when the debris reaches Earth’s atmosphere, streaks of light are created.  For us here on Earth, this is a beautiful sight. 

To peak your child’s interest, teach them more about the solar system and planets with our beautifully illustrated books, “Meet the Planets,” and “Saturn for My Birthday,” by John McGranaghan.  

Soar through the solar system with “Meet the Planets,” and witness the first Favorite Planet Competition.  Who will be the lucky winning planet?  Readers learn all about each planet as Pluto (the former ninth planet, now known as dwarf planet Pluto) introduces them with short, tongue-in-cheek facts.  Children (of all ages) will spend hours searching the art for all the references to famous scientists and people of history, space technology, constellations, art, and classic literature. 

In “Saturn for My Birthday,” young Jeffrey wants Saturn for his birthday, and he wants the moons too…all 47 of them!  But he’s not selfish, he’ll share some of the rings with his friends and teacher at school.  Facts about Saturn are woven seamlessly throughout this wonderful picture book.  Through a funny story, Jeffrey explains just what he will do with his present and how he will take care of it.   

 

 

 

Darcy Pattison Discusses Prairie Storms and Writing on PBS Special

Darcy Pattison will discuss her latest children’s book, Prairie Stormsas part of “AETN Presents: On the Same Page” on the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) on Friday, Oct. 21, at 6:30 p.m., and again on Wednesday, October 26 at 6:30 p.m..  “AETN Presents: On the Same Page” is part of AETN Arts Fridays, featuring world class arts and culture programming and locally produced series.

Darcy Pattison is the 2007 recipient of the Arkansas Governor’s Arts Award for her work in children’s literature. She founded the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators Arkansas Chapter, and actively serves as a speaker and judge for chapters throughout the nation. She is currently co-chair of the Children’s Program for the Arkansas Literary Festival. Pattison’s other works include Nineteen Girls and Me and Searching for Oliver K. Woodman.

Prairie Storms gives children a front row seat into the harsh climate of the American prairie and how the animals that reside within it adapt to the ever-changing climate. Pattison focuses on a different prairie animal and habitat each month, showing how a prairie grouse surves the freezing snows of winer or how a lizard evades the brutal sun and heat of summer with realistic watercolor illustrations by Kathleen Rietz. Written in lyrical prose and complete with activities and quizzes, Pattison’s book is both an educational and celebratory look into the great American prairies.

Be sure to watch for Darcy’s next Sylvan Dell picture book, Desert Baths, out Fall 2012!

Sylvan Dell’s “Fur and Feathers” is a 2012 Teacher’s Choice Award for Children’s Books Winner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learning Magazine has selected Fur and Feathers by Janet Halfmann and illustrated by Laurie Allen Klein, as a 2012 9th annual Teacher’s Choice Award for Children’s Books winner! 

The Teacher’s Choice Award is determined by a team of teachers from across the United States.  They judge the entries and provide reviews.  Sylvan Dell’s book, Champ’s Story: Dogs Get Cancer Too!  had the privilege of winning the Teacher’s Choice for the Family Award in November of 2011.  This is the only award that requires its judges to be both a teacher and a parent.  Winning titles are chosen based on qualities such as originality, creativity, safety and durability, and high-interest level and motivation for children. 

In Fur and Feathers, a young girl named Sophia dreams that strong winds whisk the fur and feathers right off her animal friends.  She decides to share some clothes with them, but as it turns out, her clothes don’t work so well on animals.  She offers to sew each one the “right” coat, and the animals line up to explain what they need and why.  Polar Bear needs white fur to stay warm and hide in the snow.  Fish needs scales, but with slime.  How will Sophia make a prickly coat for Porcupine?  This book brings animal coverings to life in an imaginative way.

Janet Halfmann is the award-winning author of more than thirty children’s books, both fiction and non-fiction.  Her other recent titles include Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea, Good Night, Little Sea Otter, Little Black Ant on Park Street, and Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story.  Janet is a memeber of the Society of Chidlren’s Book Writers and Illustrators.  Before becoming a children’s author, she was a daily newspaper reporter, children’s magazine editor, and a creator of coloring and activity books for Golden Books.  For more information, visit her website: http://www.janethalfmann.com

Laurie Allen Klein has been a freelance aritst for nearly 20 years.  Over the last several years, she has worked as the on-staff artist for a marine park, where she does everything from painting life-size sea animal murals, to illustrating children’s activity books.  In addition to Fur and Feathers, Laurie also illustrated Where Should Turtle Be?, the award-winning Little Skink’s Tail, and If a Dolphin Were a Fish for Sylvan Dell.  Her website can be visited at http://www.lauriekleinart.com/.

Get to Know Barbara Mariconda, Author of Ten for Me

Barbara Mariconda is the award winning author of two Sylvan Dell Publishing books, Sort it Out! and the Fall 2011 release Ten for Me, in addition to being a professor, mentor teacher, and partner in an educational seminar and consulting firm.

Where did the inspiration for the butterfly catching in Ten for Me come from?

I have a garden in front of my house that attracts butterflies of all kinds. They are delicate and strong at the same time. I love that dichotomy of delicate and strong. I suppose I tried to capture a little of those characteristics evident in my own personality.

What are the most frequently asked questions you encounter as an author?

Most people ask, ‘Where do you get your ideas?’ The answer to that is that I believe stories are expressions of our unconscious mind — reflections of the emotions, issues, concerns and questions we only look at in a superficial way on a conscious level. In fact, I believe all art forms — music, visual and theatre arts, as well as writing — are all vehicles for this kind of powerful self expression. It’s why people write — not to make a ton of money, not for any kind of fame, but because it is so satisfying to tap into the unconscious self.

What is something no one ever asks you about writing or being an author that you would like to share?

No one really asks about the amount of time, energy, resilience, and persistence it takes to get published. The effort is a testament to a driving force within the author that is all about the process and little about the end result. Writers write because there is something in them that needs to be expressed. And the process is life-giving. It allows the writer to deal with disappointment and rejection.

Why is teaching kids about math so important?

Math is not usually an end unto itself, rather it’s a way to think, analyze, quantify and ob-jectify reality. When kids learn to think mathematically, they learn a variety of ways to see and to think about other aspects of life.

What has writing taught you about yourself?

I’ve learned that what I write about is always a symbol, a powerful metaphor for some aspect of myself I seek to know or understand better. I don’t think authors intentionally create symbols in their writing — the symbols emerge from within and often inform and empower the writer as well as the reader. As I look over Sort it Out! I begin to wonder what aspects of my life need to be sorted through, and how many ways I might group and regroup everything important to me. This is why I have a passion for teaching chil-dren about writing — to empower them to use the written word as a means of opening the channels of self reflection and self expression.

Any advice for children who someday hope to become writers?

As you go through your days NOTICE everything. Look carefully at the people, places, and feelings in your life. Before you can write you need to learn how to really SEE. Question everything. Ask why, how come, why not, what if? Write every day. Never give up. Believe in your own view of the world. And write it true.

Barbara Mariconda is an author of children’s books, an educator (K-6), a mentor teacher, and an adjunct professor of Children’s Literature and Process Writing. Barbara has also written a wide variety of musicals, songs, novels, and numerous professional books for teachers. She frequently speaks on the topic of writing for and with children, and provides professional development for teachers at seminars across the country. She lives in Connecticut where she is a partner in the educational seminar and consulting firm, Empowering Writers, LLC., and is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Visit Barbara’s website at http://www.empoweringwriters.com, see Sort it Out! at http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/bookpage.php?id=30, and don’t forget Ten for Me http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/bookpage.php?id=101, which releases this Fall.

Get to know Marianne Berkes, Author of Animalogy: Animal Analogies

Marianne Berkes is the award-winning author of many titles, including the upcoming new release from Sylvan Dell Publishing, Animalogy: Animal Analogies.  She is a retired teacher and librarian who turned her love of nature and teaching into writing. 

 
What drew you to writing, children’s books especially?
  As a child our home was filled books and music.  I wrote plays that my friends and I performed in the summer in our back yard.— my Dad even helped us build some of the scenery.  Reading, writing, music and theater have been a constant in my life. In high school I did interviews for the school paper, and in college wrote my first picture book for a Children’s Lit class.  But it was many years later, after I moved to Florida, that I said “I can do this!” Reading so many books to children at the library where I worked, I kept coming up with ideas of my own.  Because I love kids and love “words,” I started submitting my stories to publishers, and one day……

 What do you hope children get out of your stories?
 An appreciation of our Earth and a respect for nature.   I spent a lot of time outdoors as a child and still do.  Discovering nature is a life-long adventure that I hope kids today still appreciate. Nature has so many stories to tell and is available to anybody, any place, any time.  I hope kids will be entertained by my books, but also that they will want to learn more about the topic I’ve written about.  My first book published in 2000 was about frogs making music in the night.  Hopefully after reading this book, kids will go outside in the early evening, especially after a rain, and listen for the sounds I’ve written about.  I’ve followed with stories about birds, shells, creatures living in an ocean reef, rainforest animals, animals that migrate, Arctic animals and Australian animals.  I’ve also written a book about the planets that I hope kids enjoy. How can we ask them to save the earth, if they don’t learn to appreciate it first?  My books are in lyrical verse, making it easy and fun for kids to read, with lots of facts blended in.  I want kids to really get inside my books, to read them more than once, each time finding something new and exciting!

What tips do you have to encourage young readers?
READ! READ! READ!  Reading can take you to so many places, near and far.  Also,   open your eyes to the world around you.  Ideas are everywhere!  When you get an idea, write about it.  It’s a wonderful way to express what you feel or see.  And if you don’t know much about the topic you are writing about, do some research.  It can be so much fun, kind of like a treasure hunt, because you never know what else you will discover.  I do a lot of research for each book I write, using lots of reference books and on the Internet.

What other authors do you look up to?
There are so many that I have come to love over the years, having been a children’s librarian.  I’m a huge fan of author/illustrators like Eric Carle and Kevin Henkes whose touching stories with perfect illustrations can be read again and again. I’m envious that they write so beautifully and illustrate.  Patricia Polacco is another one that comes to mind; she is a wonderful storyteller!  Naturally I enjoy authors who write in rhyme like Jean Marzollo and Stephanie Calmenson, and repetition like Laura Numeroff, since that’s what I like to do.  Kids love rhythm, rhyme and repetition. It’s like making music with words. When you ask specifically which authors do a good job creating a learning environment, the three that come to mind first are April Pulley Sayre, Steve Jenkins and Anthony D. Fredericks. After I write this I’m sure I’ll think of a lot more who write “creative non-fiction” including your Sylvan Dell authors, of course!

What is the most rewarding thing about having your books published?
That I get to read my books to kids in schools and libraries.  I hope they will be inspired to keep reading and also write stories of their own.  Actually, though, the kids inspire me, and often give me ideas for a book. I was reading Marsh Music, which ends with a bird beginning the music of the day, when a student planted a seed!  “I know what your next book is going to be!” he said with assurance.  I wondered how he knew, because I was working on a book about seashells, but hadn’t told anybody.  The boy assumed it would be a book about birds.  The next day I was out at the crack of dawn recording bird sounds and researching bird species.  I wrote Marsh Morning as a companion book to Marsh Music and set Seashells by the Seashore aside for a while.

 To learn more about Animalogy or Marianne Berkes check out http://www.marianneberkes.com/ or on the Sylvan Dell website at http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/bookpage.php?id=87.

Get to Know Jennifer Keats Curtis

Jennifer is the author of two great Sylvan Dell books: Turtles in My Sandbox, and Baby Owl’s Rescue. She was nice enough to answer a few questions for Sylvan Dell about her books and writing.

What advice do you have for writers looking to develop or maintain a regular writing schedule?

Regular?! From personal experience—with a very active and fun family including pets; working on books and writing and editing for two magazines; and speaking at schools, I find it nearly impossible to maintain a regular anything! However, I find that, for me, I have to set aside time to write as soon as I’ve finished my research; otherwise, my motivation (and memory) fizzles.

 What are the most frequent questions you receive as an author?

Kids often ask me why I write. I write because I’m nosy! For one thing, when you tell people you are a writer, they start dishing their deepest, darkest secrets, which is always great fun. Plus, the writing process allows me to learn about things I’d otherwise not have the opportunity to know about—like terrapins, owls, and wildlife rehabilitators—and to get answers from real experts.

 What do you hope that children will learn from your stories?

I hope my readers find my words and the illustrator’s fabulous art entertaining and interesting and that they learn a new fact and consider possible ways that they might help animals in need.

 How do your personal experiences shape your stories?

When I was a kid, I didn’t think I liked history. I struggled to memorize dates, facts, and leaders’ names. However, as an adult, I began reading historical nonfiction, and not only do I love it, I have discovered that I remember those important facts love history because it’s written as a story. As an author, I love writing realistic fiction because this is the genre that allows me to create an entertaining story without preaching important information about animals and the ways in which we can help them.

 What does being a green author mean to you?

It’s really an honor that the kids have nicknamed me the “Green Author!” I’m lucky to be able to research and learn about ways we can help our environment from kids, teachers, and experts. I love being able to pass some of this advice along in person and through my writing.

Jennifer Keats Curtis wants to help bring children close to the animals in their own backyards.  By diligently researching her topic and interviewing real experts, including children working to help preserve and protect local wildlife, the journalist has developed a knack for teaching young children about important ecological issues and what they can do to help. Jennifer’s first book, Oshus and Shelly Save the Bay, won the Frederick Douglass Award (Maryland Council of Teachers of English Language Arts). She also wrote Osprey Adventure, based on the work of Peter McGowan, a biologist with US Fish & Wildlife. Most days, Jennifer can be found among students and teachers, talking about literacy or conservation. She also regularly presents writing workshops to elementary school sudents. When she’s not in schools, Jennifer contributes to several magazines and serves as editor-at-large for Maryland Life Magazine. Avid fans of anything having to do with the outdoors, Jennifer and her family spend their summers in and on the Chesapeake Bay. She resides in Maryland, with her family and a wide variety of pets, including a turtle. Visit Jennifer’s website at http://www.terrapinbook.com/