Over the next week, we will feature stories penned by year 4 students at Carey Baptist Grammer School in Victoria. Their teacher, Colleen, included a note to say that the students were asked to write the final paragraph of their story and use that as a starting point.
We look forward to sharing some fabulous tales with you. Check in on Tuesday for the first story—‘Mr Malgroot’!
2012 Children’s Book Week is underway, and this week’s theme is Champions Read. (We know quite a few champions in that case—a lot of books get read around here!)
When I was at school, I loved dressing up for the Children’s Book Week parade. When I was six, my teacher came dressed as a pirate from Treasure Island. She made a giant octopus as part of her costume and I was terrified of it. It was the best Book Week costume ever!
Are you dressing up this year? Can you tell us about your costume, or is it a secret?
Happy Book Week!
~Rebecca Newman, Editor
To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we are sharing some fabulous first lines from the books on our bookshelves. (Every Friday you’ll find another fabulous first line here on Soup Blog. Try to guess the book it’s from. Would you read on? Perhaps you can use it as a writing prompt … if it were your own first line, where would your story go from here?)
Now for today’s Fabulous First Line*:
George and Ghost were friends, but George wasn’t sure he believed in Ghost any more.
Do you want to read on? The title of the book is at the end of this post …
Alphabet soup runs a cover-design competition every year. The 2012 competition is now open and entries close 16 September 2012.
Here are the covers done by our 2009, 2010 and 2011 winners, K Larson, A Hatton and E Nolan:
Now we’re looking for a winning design for our summer 2012 issue!
Here are some tips for all you budding artists.
COMPETITION DETAILS
Using any materials you like, design a cover for Alphabet Soup magazine.
Important – your artwork must be on one side of a sheet of white A4 paper. Make sure the paper is portrait orientation. Do NOT include the Alphabet Soup logo. And we’d prefer it if the paper wasn’t folded (but if you’ve already folded it, that’s OK!)
Entry to the competition is free. You may enter as many times as you like, but each entry must have a competition entry form with the declaration signed by you and a parent. (Entry forms can be printed from the website, or contact us to have one sent to you.)
The winner’s artwork will be used on the cover of the summer 2012 issue of Alphabet Soup magazine (out in November 2012), and the winner will receive one copy of the summer 2012 issue and art supplies worth $20.
The theme for the cover is: AT THE CARNIVAL/FAIR.
You can interpret the theme any way you like. You could show a whole fairground scene or you could focus on one particular item/event/person/activity you would find at a carnival or fairground. Artwork can be realistic, or abstract, or collage, or cartoon-like, or any style you choose. It must be your own work and it must be original (no tracing pictures!). Remember that the magazine’s readers are aged 6 to 12.
Our covers don’t usually have a lot of unused white space. If you draw one item in the middle of the page and nothing else, it would be tricky for us to turn it into a cover for the magazine!
There will be one winner chosen. By entering the competition, you agree to us using your artwork on the cover of the summer 2012 issue of Alphabet Soup magazine. We cannot return entries.
Download an entry form from the Alphabet Soup website.
We can’t wait to see your artwork!
To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we are sharing some fabulous first lines from the books on our bookshelves. (Every Friday you’ll find another fabulous first line here on Soup Blog. Try to guess the book it’s from. Would you read on? Perhaps you can use it as a writing prompt … if it were your own first line, where would your story go from here?)
Now for today’s Fabulous First Line*:
It had been a long, hard three days.
Do you want to read on? The title of the book is at the end of this post …
Ready, Freddy! Tooth Trouble by Abby Klein, ill. John McKinley ISBN 9780439555968, Scholastic
Reviewed by Lachlan, 9, Yidarra Catholic Primary School*, WA
When I first got this book I was thinking it is a bit long, however—I took the book. I also got another book in case it was too hard. However, it wasn’t hard. It only took 3 nights to finish.
Freddy is the only one in his class who hasn’t lost a tooth yet. So he has a problem. He wants to write his name on the big tooth poster at school. It isn’t an ordinary tooth, it is a big poster tooth. Every time you lose a tooth, you write your name on the poster with a special pen with a tooth on the end. The next day Freddy gets into a fight with Ben. Freddy wanted Ben to hit his mouth so that his tooth falls out. Freddy gets a fist to his stomach instead.
Should I tell you the ending? No—what about you find out by reading the book.
–
* Yidarra Catholic Primary School is a member of our Undercover Readers Club. The book reviewed here was Lachlan’s own copy.
To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we are sharing some fabulous first lines from the books on our bookshelves. (Every Friday you’ll find another fabulous first line here on Soup Blog. Try to guess the book it’s from. Would you read on? Perhaps you can use it as a writing prompt … if it were your own first line, where would your story go from here?)
Now for today’s Fabulous First Line*:
Wake up this morning and suddenly remember something absolutely BRILLIANT!
Do you want to read on? The title of the book is at the end of this post …
If you’re in NSW, head over to The Children’s Bookshop in Beecroft on 11 August—there will be lots happening to celebrate National Bookshop Day.
The bookshop will have authors working in the shop window, an artist in residence will be creating some illustrations, there will be book busking, face-painting, a sausage sizzle and balloons.
Schedule for the Morning:
10–10.45am Special Story-Time!
Meet Ursula Dubosarsky who will be reading such books as Too Many Elephants in This House and The Terrible Plop.
11.30am Meet Duncan Ball, author of Selby and Emily Eyefinger. (Selby will also be there to meet the kids.)
10am–12 noon Meet a range of authors in the Living Window—authors will be writing in the window! The Artist in Residence for the morning, Lisa Stewart, will also be working on illustrations in the shop.
Where: The Children’s Bookshop, 6 Hannah Street, Beecroft NSW
When: 11 August 2012
RSVP: for the 10am or 11.30am sessions. Ph. 9481 8811 staff@thechildrensbookshop.com.au
To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we are sharing some fabulous first lines from the books on our bookshelves. (Every Friday you’ll find another fabulous first line here on Soup Blog. Try to guess the book it’s from. Would you read on? Perhaps you can use it as a writing prompt … if it were your own first line, where would your story go from here?)
Now for today’s Fabulous First Line*:
Ellabeth stood in the centre of the pavilion whirling her fire stick high above her head.
Do you want to read on? The title of the book is at the end of this post …
For all you writers and artists who love to enter competitions—check out our page listing current competitions open to children under 12.
Do you know of any other competitions we could add to the list?
alphabetsoup.net.au 