Linda sue park biography summary organizers

Review

"Twenty-six children's book creators reflect on the stories and art they produced in their youth. Each section includes a brief essay by the author or illustrator, images of the work in its (often handwritten) original form, and a bio that shows what came out of that work in the contributor's adulthood. Many entries are amusingly self-effacing: Dan Santat remembers a tantrum at age five because he couldn't draw as well as Norman Rockwell, and Candace Fleming recalls transferring the Newbery sticker from The Witch of Blackbird Pond to her own short story. Young aspiring writers and artists should find reassurance in the early foibles of those now successful in the field. But the volume also shows examples of developing talent--check out teenaged Ashley Bryan's drawings!"
-- "The Horn Book Magazine, November/December 2017"

"Firsthand accounts from 26 children's authors and illustrators describe how their earliest writing or drawing experiences resulted in a career in kid lit.... An attractive cover, glossy pages, and writing tips will make this a great addition to collective biography or career sections. VERDICT: An authentic, generous, and inspiring selection for tweens who wonder where their doodling or journaling might take them."-- "School Library Journal, May 2017"

"The best authors and artists make their work seem so effortless that it's easy to assume they're all preternaturally gifted; it's easy to forget the inevitable time and labor that went into their work, and this collection is the perfect remedy to that misapprehension. In short sections, children's literature luminaries offer short essays about their early artistic efforts and snippets of their early work...the main takeaway, of course, is that hard work and practice, as well as a lot of inevitable failure, is always part of honing a craft. A sweet, inspirational anthology for any kid who dreams of one day having their own name on the cover of a book."-- "Booklist, June 2017"

"This colle

Wow, what a weekend! It started on Thursday, with a rehearsal of my participation in the Kennedy Center’s Performing Arts Series. This is an amazing series of cultural and artistic performances broadcast live via satellite and web feed FREE to schools nationwide! I went to Hylton High School, part of the Prince William (County) Network, where an impressive broadcast studio is run by students and their advisors. The rehearsal Thursday afternoon was followed by the live performance Friday morning. I was interviewed by Maria Salvadore, professor of children’s literature at the Univ. of Maryland, in front of a studio audience of ninth-graders from Battlefield High School in Haymarket, VA. (Thanks to their teacher Brandie Provanzano for bringing them!) Then I took questions three ways—from the live audience, from phone-in callers, and from real-time e-mailers.

What an innovative program! Check out their website for this season’s schedule, which includes programs on dance, music, and theater as well as literature. And the programs are FREE—all a school has to do is register!

The Performing Arts Series program

Many thanks to Maria, Ginger Rogers and Kenny Neal of the Kennedy Center, and the students and teachers at Hylton for their help with my appearance. I had a terrific time!

I went back to the hotel and got all dressed up for the evening’s event: The National Book Festival’s Opening Gala. This is a black-tie event for the authors and the sponsors of the festival. Here’s a photo of me with my handsome escort, who also happens to be my husband:

And with our daughter Anna, 16:

The gala was held at the Library of Congress’s Jefferson Building. A reception in the Great Hall was followed by presentations in the Coolidge Auditorium. The first speaker was Laysha Ward of Target, one of the event’s major sponsors. She was followed by Dr. James Billington, Librarian of Congress, who introduced Laura Bush. Mrs. Bush, a former school librarian, has hosted the National

Skip the typical Linda Sue Park introduction lecture as you launch a study of A Long Walk to Water (or any of Park’s other novels) and, instead, empower students to find their own interesting facts about this author’s life with this “Author Bio” print/post-and-teach activity.

This single-page worksheet (includes printable PDF and Google Drive versions) is a powerful research organizer that’ll get students digging deep into Linda Sue Park’s background.

Please note: This download does NOT include a specific article or links to defined articles. It is an organizer tool for students to use as they conduct their own research. In my experience, students take more ownership of the material when they are the ones to research and discover the elements that make a literary figure’s life fascinating. They’ve seen enough of our introductory slideshows; this time, let your kids do the work and discuss/determine what they think is meaningful about this author’s life.

Here are a few suggested uses for this flexible research tool:

1. Book your school’s computer lab or have students access Park’s biography information on their own devices. Assign students to either work solo or in teams of two. Once the grids are complete, have students share and compare answers in small groups, focusing on the four interesting facts they discovered, the meaningful quote, and the personal/professional obstacle. Then, pull the students into a full-class discussion, having each group present an interesting fact, quote, or obstacle until every team has contributed. No repeats allowed.

This assignment works great as an “into” activity, but it could also be a “through” activity to add variety to your in-class routine as you work through a longer work. If you’re using this as an “after” activity, during the discussion I would also ask how any of the biography elements are reflected in the author’s work/s the class just studied.

2. Assign the worksheet as a traditional homework assignment. Launch