Writing A Children’s Book
A Pathfinder
Robyn Rosenberg
March 5, 2001
LIS 382L.3
Information Resources in the Social Sciences
This pathfinder is designed to aid those who want to write children’s books. The most important part of writing a children’s book cannot be found in a pathfinder or web page, but in the creativity and imagination of a good storyteller. Therefore, the purpose of this pathfinder is to help with the peripheral aspects of writing a children’s book; such as, which organization may be beneficial to join? Where can one find examples of recommended books for Native American children? Where can one find information about online writing workshops? Where can one find publishers? And what types of awards recognize children’s books?
My pathfinder is part of the virtual library of educational resources for pre-service teachers at the Northwest Indian College in Lummi, Washington. All sources listed in both the bibliography and pathfinder can be accessed through the Internet. The pathfinder can be found online at http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~vlibrary/pathfinders/rosenberg
I first went to the search engine google.com and used “writing childrens books” for my search terms. After researching many of these sites I found links to other sites that were useful. In addition, my professor and a fellow student suggested two helpful sites.
In choosing my sites, I considered several factors. What is the reputation of the source? For example, many of the sites and links in this pathfinder come from well respected organizations such as the American Library Association, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Oyate and the Wordcraft Circle. My sources are fairly current: I chose material that was updated within the past five years. I wanted to include sites that were specifically geared toward Native American writers, books and publishers.
The purpose of this pathfinder is to aid pre-service teachers at the Northwest Indian College who want information related to writing a children’s book. This pathfinder can be found online at http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~vlibrary/pathfinders/rosenberg
What organizations would be
beneficial to join?
· The Wordcraft Circle of Native American Authors and Story Tellers. 2 March 2001.
<http://www.wordcraftcircle.org/>.
·
The Society of
Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. 18 February 2001.
· Oyate Web Page. 2 March 2001 <http://www.oyate.org/main.html>.
There are links to books written by Native authors based on Native American themes for various grade levels, as well as teacher’s materials, and reference books. This site can be used to research the different types of books already being published.
· Giese, Paula. Subject Index – ALL; Native American BOOKS. 4 March 2001.
<http://www.kstrom.net/isk/books/bookmenu.html>
· Courses and Workshops for Writers. Inkspot Company of Canada. 4 March 2001. <http://www.inkspot.com/craft/courses.html>.
Where
can I find information about publishers and publishing?
· Bowler’s Literary Marker Place.com. 3 March 2001.
<http://www.literarymarketplace.com/lmp/us/index_us.asp>.
·
Strom, Karen M.
Index of Native American Book Resources on
the Internet. 18
February 2001. <http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/indices/NAbooks.html>.
Scroll down to “Presses” to find many publishers that specialize in Native American materials.
· The Children’s Book Council. 18 February 2001. <http://www.cbcbooks.org/html/pubfaqs.html>.
What types of awards recognize
excellence in children’s books?
· Brown, David. The Children’s Book Award. 1997. Doucette Library of Teaching Resources at the University of Calgary. 2 March 2001. <http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/awards.html >.
· ALSC: The John Newberry Medal. 2001. American Library Association. 18 February 2001. < http://www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html >.
For further
assistance, please don’t hesitate to consult a librarian.
Style Manual Cited:
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th ed. New York:
Modern Language Association of America, 1999.
1. Children’s
Writing Resource Center.
Eds. Jon Bard and Laura
Backes.
2 March 2001. < http://www.write4kids.com/index.html >
This is a large and elaborate site containing lots of free information concerning virtually every aspect concerning writing for children.
2. “I’ve Written This Children’s Book. Now How Do I Get It Published?” The
Children’s Writers Place. 4 March 2001. <http://members.aol.com/cwpbooks/writers/sywwacb.html>.
Because not everything can be found on the web, this site lists several general how-to books that can be purchased directly online through Amazon.com. Once in Amazon.com you can evaluate these books by reading editorial reviews as well as reviews from people who have purchased the books.
3. For Authors and Illustrators. The Horn Book Inc. 2 March 2001.
<http://www.hbook.com/creators.shtml>.
This web page provides links to interesting articles previously published in the Horn Book Magazine as well as sample reviews, conference information, and access to archival information that would be of interest to writers of children’s books. “Our reviews of successful books will help you analyze your own strengths and weaknesses, and help you recognize new possibilities for your work.”
4. Strom, Karen M. Index of
Native American Book Resources on the Internet. 2001.
18 February 2001. <http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/indices/NAbooks.html>.
While not specifically related to children’s material, this site does contain hundreds of links to Native American subjects related to books. For example, there are links to Native American authors, online books, journals both online and print, lists of presses, book reviews and excerpts, and online bookstores that specialize in Native American material. This site can be used as a resource for locating publishers or to locate books written for Native American Children.
5. Tibbetts,
Peggy. Children’s Writing Resource. The Inkspot Company of Canada.
4 March 2001. <http://www.inkspot.com/genres/child/>.
This site contains many types of information: links to award pages, advice columns, book reviews, conferences, chat forums, articles, and author interviews.
6. Underdown, Harold D. The Purple Crayon: A Children’s Book Editor’s Site.
1 March 2001. < http://www.underdown.org/index.html >.
This is a wonderful site filled with loads of helpful links to numerous sites. You can locate articles, surf sites and read advice on many aspects related to publishing
7. Bowler’s Literary Marker Place.com. 3 March 2001.
<http://www.literarymarketplace.com/lmp/us/index_us.asp>.
LiteraryMarketPlace.com is “the world’s largest, most complete database of the book publishing industry.” You can find publishers based on several criteria, for example, you can do subject search “Native American Studies” and publication type “Children’s Books.” This site contains information such as the publisher’s the address, the size of the publisher, and number of titles in print.
8. The
Children’s Book Council.
18 February 2001. <http://www.cbcbooks.org/html/pubfaqs.html>.
The Children’s Book Council is a non-profit trade association, which deals specifically with publishers of children and young adults reading materials. This web page provides publishing tips from those on the “inside”.
9. Brown,
David. The Children’s
Book Award. 1997. Doucette
Library of Teaching
Resources at the University of Calgary. 2 March 2001.
<http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/awards.html
>.
This site provides discretions of various types of awards given to authors of children’s books. (Award winning books receive a lot of free publicity.)
10. ALSC: The John Newberry Medal. American Library Association.
18 February 2001. < http://www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html >.
The Newberry medal is a highly prestigious award in the field of children’s literature. This site contains information about the history of the award, how to apply, and links to past recipients.
11. The Wordcraft Circle of Native American Authors and Story Tellers. 2 March
2001. <http://www.wordcraftcircle.org/>.
There are numerous links providing many types of information and resources to Native American authors. The organization’s vision is “to ensure that the voices of Native writers and storytellers – past, present, and future –are heard throughout the world.”
12. The
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. 18 February 2001.
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators “is the only professional organization dedicated to serving the people who write, illustrate, or share a vital interest in children’s literature.”
13. Oyate Web Page. 2 March 2001. <http://www.oyate.org/main.html>.
Oyate is a Native American organization whose “work includes evaluation of texts, resource materials and fiction by and about Native peoples; conducting of teacher workshops, in which participants learn to evaluate children’s material for anti-Indian biases; administration of a small resource center and library; and distribution of children’s, young adult. And teacher books and materials, with an emphasis on writing and illustration by Native People.”
14. Giese, Paula. Subject Index – ALL; Native American BOOKS. 4 March 2001.
<http://www.kstrom.net/isk/books/bookmenu.html>.
You can find book reviews for all types of books dealing with Native American themes.
15. Courses and Workshops for Writers. Inkspot Company of Canada. 4 March 2001.
<http://www.inkspot.com/craft/courses.html>.
Here you can find eleven sites for online workshops and courses as well as three sites that provide offline distance learning courses.