PD! What is PD? Professional Development! I’m a big fan of continuing education and love to share what I learn. This summer is one big learning experience and it started with the 21st Century Children’s Nonfiction Conference held in New Paltz, NY (took a plane, train and bus to get there!) in June. It was a gathering of writers, illustrators, editors and agents, all focused on the business of nonfiction. I attended seminars on everything from what’s new in digital nonfiction to how to brand yourself to how to write for the school market and even assessment tests. An editor from National Geographic Kids critiqued my proposal and motivated me when she announced that they are actively expanding their children’s book line. I love the Nat Geo tag line – “where curiosity runs wild” since that could be my motto too.
I was especially curious about the demonstration of 3D Printing sponsored by the SUNY engineering department. Imagine scanning a person and then making that image in plastic. That’s what they did to one of the conference participants. 3D Printing is the theme for an upcoming issue of Odyssey science magazine for kids so I took lots of photos, asked lots of questions about this new technology and then sent in my query and received an assignment for the magazine!
The American Library Association held their conference in Las Vegas and it was two days of nonstop walking and talking to exhibitors. That translates to free books, free books and more free books as the publishers are busy promoting their new lists and giving away ARCs or Advanced Reader Copies. I signed my book D is for Desert – a World Desert Alphabet in the Sleeping Bear Press booth and then had a great dinner afterwards. What could be better than lively conversation with a teacher, librarian, authors and editors?
My goal at ALA was to meet editors who might be interested in my manuscript, How to Read a Building, and to look for books to offer to members in the Catholic Kids Book Club, my latest project. (post coming soon)
Next up on my “summer school” schedule is Honesdale, PA and the Highlights Foundation workshops – the Craft of Writing Short Nonfiction and the Power of the Picture Book. I’ll have the opportunity to work closely with award-winning nonfiction writers and editors. Two years ago, I met Candace Fleming and am thrilled to be able to learn from her again. There will even be a session on nature photography. The second workshop involves educators from the Eric Carle Museum and National Writing Project who will present sessions about visual thinking strategies and the whole-book approach. Illustrators Floyd Cooper and Vera B. Williams will be special guests at the Power of the Picture Book. A tour of Highlights and Boyds Mill Press is also part of the fun.
The Highlights Foundation celebrating thirty years in service to children’s writers and illustrators offers a variety of programs, workshops, and retreats. If you are interested in learning the craft of writing for children, check out www.HighlightsFoundation.org
Last stop for the summer will be the National Book Festival in Washington, DC and a jam-packed day of author talks. (Check out my post from last year’s festival to discover how authors find their ideas.)
Imagine all the new information that I’ll be exposed to and then sharing it with you! I already have professional development workshops scheduled for the Paradise Valley Unified School District (teachers check out the Course Wizard site for 8 workshops this fall) and at Gardner’s Book Service in Phoenix.
Mark your calendar for Saturday, October 18 and the Writer’s Toolbox: Strategies for Reading and Writing Nonfiction. Contact Gardner’s to register for this free workshop. www.gbsbooks.com
Special thanks to the Arizona Commission on the Arts for awarding me a Professional Development Grant to help defray the travel and conference fees for my summer learning experiences. 
If you’d like to offer workshops to your staff, click on the header for my page – Professional Development Workshops for Educators.
I parked myself in the front row in the children’s tent and enjoyed inspiring words from award-winning authors about where they get their ideas for their stories. Katherine Applegate wrote The One and Only Ivan in 1st person gorilla! She read an article in the NY Times over 20 years ago about a gorilla in a Tacoma, WA shopping mall. That story is the basis for this Newbery Award winning book. And Katherine recently paired with illustrator G. Brian Karas so watch for the picture book, Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla in October 2014. In the Caldecott winning book Locomotive, author/illustrator Brian Floca tells the story of a steam locomotive similar to the one in a park in his hometown. Lesa Cline-Ransome and her husband, James, write picture book biographies giving them the opportunity to eavesdrop on conversations of famous people. They gave the advice to write about what you know and love and that’s evident in their book Light in the Darkness. Where do they look for ideas? the obituary pages! Richard Peck’s The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail grew out of a trip to London. He saw a mouse darting around an old castle. Why not tell a story from the point of view of the mouse? And so he did. Even Queen Victoria is in the book.
