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PBJamz!
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Congratulations Carrie Suzanne Karnes-Fannin! You are the winner of your choice of the StoryTime books read by the Cleveland Orchestra. AND Congratulations Janet Frenck Sheets! You are the winner of a musical picture book critique. Thank you both for checking out PBJamz! I hope you'll come back often! Interview with Robyn McGrath, author of DOLLY!: THE STORY OF DOLLY PARTON AND HER BIG DREAMWe hope you enjoy this chat with Robyn as she talks inspiration, research, publishing process, musical connections, and what's next! DOLLY! The Story of Dolly Parton and Her Big Dream While there are other picture books on the market about Dolly, this one focuses on Dolly's childhood and the big dreams she had and how she made her dreams come true. The language is so lovely and country and well done. I love the phraseologies and the "twang". Anyone who is a fan of Dolly will enjoy this look at Dolly the dreamer and how she started her journey to become the beautiful strong woman, prolific performer, reader/writer, and literacy leader, entrepreneur, and all the facets that make up Dolly. A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)Dolly has touched so many genres, and it is only fitting that she moved into the children's realm. This song is perfect to follow up the. book and also perfect to go along with THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD which is always the first book children receive from the Imagination Library. This is a sweet and positive song with Dolly's signature vocals and full of affirmations to encourage children to reach out for their own dreams! Teacher Tips, Tricks and Topics
Tips and Topics for Music Teachers
Writing Prompts from Tonnye
Writing Tips from Robyn McGrath1. Write that bad first draft. It takes a lot of willpower to write without editing as you go. If you’re like me, when I edit as I’m writing I trip up on my words and get easily sidetracked on punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Try letting the words flow without hitting the delete button AND without judgment. I personally like to set a 20-minute timer so that I work uninterrupted for shorter periods of time. The hardest part about writing is getting the full story down. And once you do… remember only YOU will see that bad first draft. 2. Read, read, and read some more. Read for rhythm, story structure, pacing, and page turns. Find the picture book you most connect with, what draws you to that style of writing? What feeling did the text elicit while you were reading? And how did the author use page turns to build suspense? Make note of all these great insights and decide how you can use them in your own manuscript. 3. Edit for fun! In the past I dreaded having to edit. But now I find that chopping, rearranging, and rewriting CAN be enjoyable. Can I try a new word here? Move this sentence there? Do I need this sentence at all? How can I say this same sentiment in as few words as possible? It’s like a puzzle, and well, I LOVE puzzles! In end if you’re afraid of cutting your darlings, try cutting and pasting them to a separate word doc, you just might find use for them later. 4. Be vulnerable. Yes, this is a tough one! To be a writer one must share their work with others for feedback. It can be hard to hear feedback about our work, especially when the story is close to our hearts. But often our critique partners can see something we can’t by offering us ideas that are new and fresh. Ideas that might just get other ideas flowing. Which in turn can give you a renewed energy about your manuscript! That is the power of a critique group! Of course, in the end the choice is yours to accept the feedback or not, but by having options YOU get to play with your manuscript in a new way. Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!
PBJamz Snack -- Peanut Butter and Jelly Biscuits! As a Southerner, Dolly loves Southern country cooking, including biscuits! So, for today's PBJamz snack, I'm suggesting Dolly's famous biscuits made into sweet little PBJ biscwiches that are worth singing about and will make your toes tap! Of course, you can also enjoy them plain or with butter or jam only and leave out the peanut butter, but then, why would you? Just kidding! You enjoy them however you like, but I hope you'll give her biscuits and our PBJ biscwiches a try! This recipe is courtesy of Taste of Home! Guest Links and Giveaways Check out all the places you can find Robyn!
Website Order Dolly and get more info GIVEAWAY DETAILS!! Robyn is offering one winner YOUR CHOICE of either A copy of DOLLY! OR A PB CRITIQUE
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Congratulations to Jennifer Thomas! You are the winner of a copy of LISTEN! Shannon, thanks for your generosity, and Jennifer, thanks for checking out PBJamz! I hope you'll share it with the teachers and musicians and authors in your world! Overview of Cleveland Orchestra resourcesSomething different for this episode. I had a little break between interviews, and I've been exploring some amazing resources from the Cleveland orchestra. This video is an overview of the resources and some information about this episode's giveaway . . . .watch to the end for that info and leave me a comment as to which prize you want if you win. There will be 2 separate giveaways. Check out the video and the giveaway section. Links!Music Explorers on YouTube Early Childhood playlist on YouTube Storytime with the Cleveland Orchestra on YouTube What is an Orchestra playlist on YouTube PBJamz books from the Cleveland Orchestra and linksI've linked up tons of lessons, activities and resource lists below that go with each of the books on the StoryTime playlist. I'm sure there are more, and I may add them later, but this should give you a happy plethora of ideas to start with to use these books in your classroom, preschool, homeschool, etc. Please support these authors and the Cleveland Orchestra in whatever ways you can!
GIVEAWAY!!!I'm offering a double giveaway this episode (2/2 & 2/9). Please let me know in the comments which giveaway you'd like to enter.
1. For my author friends -- a picture book manuscript critique for a manuscript WITH MUSICAL CONNECTIONS. (Future PBJamz material ;-)) 2. For my non-author friends (or author friends who prefer a book ;-), I will purchase your choice of the featured books (in the list above) from the Cleveland Orchestra StoryTime playlist and send it to you in the mail. To be eligible, leave a comment below by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023! Tell me if you prefer a book or a critique. There will be 2 separate drawings! It's a double giveaway for PBJamz (almost) birthday. February 24 makes 1 year of PBJamz content! You can help PBJamz grow by sharing it with : 1. Music teachers (Your friends, your children's music teachers, the music teachers at your church, on your social media, etc.) 2. Aspiring authors (We often give away critiques and there are writing tips from authors, songwriters, author-illustrators, etc.!) 3. Preschool teachers/daycare workers (Many of the books I share are perfect to share with our youngest upcoming musicians and would be a wonderful addition to their preschool experience. 4. Anyone who loves kidlit. . . . 5. Anyone who loves music. . . 6. Anyone you think of when you're perusing PBJamz episodes. 7. Oh, yes, and anyone who loves peanut butter and jelly ;-). |
PBJamzThis page is the official space for PBJamz -- multimedia Jamorama celebrating all things PB (picture books) and Jamz (music), although we'll indulge in the other PBJ snacks where appropriate :-). Join us each Thursday for new content connecting picture books and music! Archives
January 2025
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