You have probably heard lots of talk about reading lately and that’s because 2012 is the National Year of Reading. Our winter issue celebrates the National Year of Reading (because we do love reading and we know you do, too!).
Subscribe via our website (you can order single copies from the subscribe page, too). If you’re in WA, rush in to one of our WA stockists—Westbooks (Victoria Park) and Zero to Ten (South Fremantle) who will have copies of the winter issue to sell you from Wednesday 16 May 2012.
Happy National Year of Reading!
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Alphabet Soup magazine is a proud partner of the National Year of Reading.
We received heaps of fabulous entries for our autumn writing competition! We asked you to imagine a fairytale or folktale had been written as a newspaper article and you had to send us the perfect headline for that article. Congratulations to our winners—here they are:
Under 7s winner: L Sargasso (VIC)
Servant Girl Marries Handsome Prince
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Under 9s winner: J Riordan (WA)
Emperor Exposed in Fashion Disaster
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Under 12s winner: F Langer (WA)
Unexpected Guests at Grandma’s House!
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The winner in each category won a $20 book voucher. Happy reading! (PS—details of our next writing competition will be up on Alphabet Soup’s website soon … )
This is the third book in the Violet Mackerel series. In this book Violet explores her theory of Helping Small Things and helps her sister with her natural science project.
I enjoyed reading about how Violet and her sister Nicola worked together. The illustrations by Sarah Davis are very detailed and help to make sense of the story.
I would recommend this book to girls aged 6+ who enjoy reading stories about children their own age and science.
The hardcover makes it a good present to give friends who also enjoy reading.
I am looking forward to reading more Violet Mackerel books in the future.
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* Eliza is a member of our Undercover Readers Club. A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.
To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we are sharing some first lines from books on our bookshelves. So, every Friday for the rest of the year we’re posting a fabulous first line here on Soup Blog.
Here’s today’s Fabulous First Line*:
Marley was dead: to begin with.
Do you want to read on? What do you think comes next?
Do you know the name of the book? (We’ll put it right at the end of this post so you can try to guess first.)
*For the purposes of Fabulous First Line Friday, we’re counting the first line as the first line of chapter 1 in any book. So if there is an introduction or an author’s note or something before chapter 1, we don’t count that bit …
Davide Cali is a children’s book writer and illustrator who was born in Northern Switzerland and grew up in Italy.
He has created more than forty illustrated books for publishers in Austria, France, Italy, Argentina and Portugal. His books have been translated for 25 countries.
Davide speaks French, Italian and English and he is currently on a blog tour before travelling to Australia to celebrate his new comic book/graphic novel, 10 Little Insects. (Kids Book Review has a sneak peek inside 10 Little Insects … check it out here. )
Today we are pleased to have Davide visiting Alphabet Soup‘s blog to discuss writing. We’re talking to him about his picture book, The Bear With the Sword.
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What brought you to write The Bear with the Sword?
At the beginning, the bear of the book was a man. Just a human warrior. The Italian publisher Zoolibri asked me to change it into an animal, to make it a little less tough.
In this book comes the theme of ‘the enemy’, but I wanted to talk about the fact that we always try to find someone else as guilty for our faults.
Did you meet the illustrator Gianluca Foli?
Yeah, a couple of times, but only when the book was already finished. You know, in this job often you don’t even know or meet the people you work with. I did four albums in France with Eric Heliot before we met and talked for the first time!
You write books for a range of ages. How do you know if a story would work best as a picture book or a novel?
Well, I read a lot of children’s books before I start my writing. As you probably know, I worked for a while in a public library which specialized in children books (during the civil service I did instead of military service). Later I spent a few months working for a magazine specialising in children’s book critics, so I really saw and read hundreds of books. These experiences helped me to fit something I got in my mind in a certain range of ages.
Could you give us your top tip for young writers who want to write picture books?
I guess the most important ones are: reading, writing.
I know it could sound a little obvious, but it’s not. Many people—even adults—who want to write, don’t read. I think reading is just like feeding yourself. And you know, writing is just like feeding others. So, how can you feed others if you don’t eat first?
And writing because: many people tell me “I really would like to write. What should I do?”
My answer is always: “Just do it!”
You have just to start it. Sometimes you don’t need to have a complete and perfect story already formed in mind to write it down. Stories come out just while you’re writing, and they often change while they’re coming out.
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Check out the complete blog tour schedule (and reviews of Davide Cali’s books) on the Wilkins Farago blog.
To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we are sharing some first lines from books on our bookshelves. So, every Friday for the rest of the year we’re posting a fabulous first line here on Soup Blog.
Here’s today’s Fabulous First Line*:
Imagine yourself back when you were learning the alphabet for the very first time.
What do you think—if you opened a book and read that first line, would you want to read on?
Do you know the name of the book? (We’ll put it right at the end of this post so you can try to guess first.)
*For the purposes of Fabulous First Line Friday, we’re counting the first line as the first line of chapter 1 in any book. So if there is an introduction or an author’s note or something before chapter 1, we don’t count that bit …
The book is The Word Spy by Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Tohby Riddle
To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we are sharing some first lines from books on our bookshelves. So, every Friday for the rest of the year we’re posting a fabulous first line here on Soup Blog.
Here’s today’s Fabulous First Line*:
One afternoon … a princess and her panther crossed the desert sand.
What do you think—if you opened a book and read that first line, would you want to read on?
Do you know the name of the book? (We’ll put it right at the end of this post so you can try to guess first.)
*For the purposes of Fabulous First Line Friday, we’re counting the first line as the first line of chapter 1 in any book. So if there is an introduction or an author’s note or something before chapter 1, we don’t count that bit …
The book is The Princess and her Panther by Wendy Orr, illustrated by Lauren Stringer
Here’s something for grownups in Perth who love children’s books. (If you live in another state, check with your branch of the Children’s Book Council for similar events around Australia).
Book of the Year Award—Shortlist Talks
Every year around May, the WA Branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia presents a talk about the books that have been shortlisted for the Book of the Year Awards. This year a panel of experts will present the Shortlist Talks and our editor—Rebecca—will be on the panel on 3rd May at the Joondalup Library. Come and say hi!
So—come along and discuss good books, enjoy a light supper and cheer for your favourite shortlisted title!
Southof the River Where:A. H. Bracks Public Library,
cnr Stock Rd & Canning Hwy, Melville. When: Wednesday, 9 May 6:30 pm for 7 pm Cost: $10 members $15 non members. Pay at the door
Light refreshments available Bookings are essential—visit the CBCA WA website for details.
To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we are sharing some first lines from books on our bookshelves. So, every Friday for the rest of the year we’re posting a fabulous first line here on Soup Blog.
Here’s today’s Fabulous First Line*:
“When will they be here?’ asked Ramona Quimby, who was supposed to be dusting the living room but instead was twirling around trying to make herself dizzy.
What do you think—if you opened a book and read that first line, would you want to read on?
Do you know the name of the book? (We’ll put it right at the end of this post so you can try to guess first.)
*For the purposes of Fabulous First Line Friday, we’re counting the first line as the first line of chapter 1 in any book. So if there is an introduction or an author’s note or something before chapter 1, we don’t count that bit …
The book is Ramona and her Mother by Beverly Cleary
To celebrate the National Year of Reading, every Friday for the rest of the year we’re sharing some first lines from books on our bookshelves.
Here’s today’s Fabulous First Line*:
It was Mrs May who first told me about them.
What do you think—if you opened a book and read that first line, would you want to read on?
Do you know the name of the book? (We’ll put it right at the end of this post so you can try to guess first.)
*For the purposes of Fabulous First Line Friday, we’re counting the first line as the first line of chapter 1 in any book. So if there is an introduction or an author’s note or something before chapter 1, we don’t count that bit …
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