Crows hold a special place in my heart. I was first-on and last-off my school bus as a kid, living on a wooded road in what was then rural Virginia. Those waits for the bus were lonely, and the company I kept on those cold, dark mornings was crows. One would caw from the creekline, … Continue reading KidLit Bird Book Review: I am We
Author: Susan Wroble
KidLit Bird Book Review: The Blue Jays That Grew a Forest
One of the glories of nonfiction picture books for adults is a moment of amazement and awe. I had known that Blue Jays hid acorns, but I hadn’t realized the degree of mutualism between Blue Jays and oaks—and I hadn’t know that Blue Jays had a throat pocket, an expandable gular pouch where they can … Continue reading KidLit Bird Book Review: The Blue Jays That Grew a Forest
KidLit Bird Book Review: Plight of the Pelican
This was a case of being grabbed by a subtitle... “How Science Saved a Species” completely hooked me! In her nonfiction picture book Plight of the Pelican: How Science Saved a Species, author Jessica Stremer uses the decline of pelicans to explain how scientists were able to identify and mitigate the impact of pesticides on birds. Plight … Continue reading KidLit Bird Book Review: Plight of the Pelican
Exploring the Human Animal Bond: The Power of a Reading Buddy
By Susan Wroble Seven years ago, our pup Nella was recruited for a job. Nella, a black lab mix bred by Canine Companions. Julie Neitz Wielga directs Partners in Literacy, a non-profit that creates communities of readers in schools. She matches up each student with an adult reading buddy, and the two meet weekly to … Continue reading Exploring the Human Animal Bond: The Power of a Reading Buddy
Building Writerly Resources: Just the Right Word
Many years ago, I attended a writing class with the incomparable Melanie Crowder that completely changed the way I wrote. That class opened my eyes to an entire new world, and at the time it was so far over my head—and was so brilliant—that I knew I was getting graduate-level craft techniques when my writing … Continue reading Building Writerly Resources: Just the Right Word
Building Writerly Resources: A Marketing Plan that Works for You
By Susan Wroble Marketing. It usually fall pretty low on the list of things that KidLit creators want to do. But in a series of webinars this spring for Rocky Mountain Chapter of SCBWI, author Jessica Speer set out to change that mindset. Marketing, she noted, has evolved from an approach that focuses on market sales to … Continue reading Building Writerly Resources: A Marketing Plan that Works for You
In the Garden: Pollinator Wall
On a recent trip to the Denver Botanic Gardens, my husband and I came across an insect hotel that completely captivated me. I’d seen so many cute little houses, almost like doll houses, with a room of reeds and a room of assorted logs, perhaps some bricks, or pine cones… But this! This was no neat … Continue reading In the Garden: Pollinator Wall
Building Writerly Resources: The Art of the Review
By Susan Wroble In the post-conference survey from last years’ Rocky Mountain Chapter SCBWI’s annual conference, there was one request that really stuck with me. The attendee wrote “I want to learn how more about reviews. How to write them. How to get them.” This resonated because I had struggled with reviews. While there are … Continue reading Building Writerly Resources: The Art of the Review
Building Writerly Resources: KidLit Nonfiction Awards
By Susan Wroble This past summer, my planned presentation on award-winning nonfiction books took a tangent. I realized that instead of award-winning books, what I really wanted to learn about was the nonfiction awards themselves. I knew about the Sibert Awards from the American Library Association but had no idea if there were any other … Continue reading Building Writerly Resources: KidLit Nonfiction Awards
Building Writerly Resources: Richard Reiman and Imagination Storybooks
By Susan Wroble, October 2023 "Reiman," Richard says, "and it rhymes with demon." But Richard Reiman, founder of Imagination Storybooks and a member of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of SCBWI, is no demon. Instead, he's something of a wizard—his motto is "Be Part of the Magic!" In 2019, he created and developed an organization whose … Continue reading Building Writerly Resources: Richard Reiman and Imagination Storybooks
Susan Wroble 