HERE WE COME!

Congratulations Jennifer Cowan!  You are the winner of the PB Manuscript critique from last week's episode (THE BUNNY HOP)! I'll be in touch and I look forward to reading your story!

Video interview with Janna Matthies, author of HERE WE COME!

PB (Picture Book Tasting)

This is an adorable book, full of whimsy and fun, music, kindness, and more!  While it is probably MOST appropriate for the preschool and early elementary level, I believe children and adults of all ages can and should enjoy this precious book.  It's a perfect bedtime read, but full of so many additional layers.  For all ages you can use this book as a starting point for some music instruction, science study, or a rhyming mentor text. Younger children might enjoy sequencing activities,  counting, and playing some of the instruments mentioned.  Whatever the age or subject, this little book has something to offer everyone.  With Hundred Acre wood vibes to the story and Mary Poppins feel to the song, it is bound to find many fans. Take a read and a listen to find out if one of them will be you.

​Check out the book trailer with a little snippet of the song with accompaniment on guitar. 

​A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)

Listen up for the tune for the book! Janna sings the book to demonstrate the melody for us. You can use the video with your children or students or simply use it to learn the melody and  then sing it with your class or your children.

​Teacher Tips/Curriculum Tie-ins

Preschool/Kindergarten

• Listen to the story
• Bedtime routines -- what do you do before bed.
• -um rhyming pattern -- other words; write sentences. . .
• Play simple instruments named/pictured
  • Drum
  • Ukulele
  • Kazoo
  • Fiddle/violin
  • Recorder/ reed flute/ pennywhistle (wind instrument played vertically, not horizontally)
• Order/sequencing
• Simple rhymes
• Simple rhythms
• Call-and-response
• Discuss reality/fantasy
• Moon science on their level -- 
  • What is the moon
  • Why does it look different from time to time?
• Storms/rain science
  • Safety
  • Difference in rain and storm
  • Difference in thunder and lightning
• Relate to other cumulative stories
  • The House that Jack Built
  • The Old Lady who Swallowed. . . .books
  • The Napping House

K-2

• Read the story
• Participate in
  • sequencing
  • B/M/E,
  • Order words: first, next, then, last
  • Retelling in proper order
• Learn more about the science concepts:
  • Moon science
    • Phases of the moon
    • Difference in sun, earth, moon, stars
    • Interesting moon facts
    • Read other moon books
    • Moon myths
  • Weather science
    • Deeper dive into thunderstorms
      • What causes them
      • Difference in thunder/lightning
      • Safety in storms
      • Make a rainstick.
  • Birds
    • What do different birds eat?
    • Which ones are active at night?
    • What should we put in a feeder for them?
    • What else can we do to help birds?
    • Characteristics of birds. . .
• Rhyming and word families
  • Do the same for their rhyming lists.
  • Sort the /-um/ words into word families. Discuss spelling patterns.
  • Discuss how rhyming does not necessarily mean they belong to the same word family.
  • Make lists of rhyming words

​Tips and Topics for Music Teachers

So many fun musical mentions that could evolve into lots more:

• Marching
  • Practice steady beat
  • Introduce marching music
  • Discuss the importance of the drum in marching
  • Musical history of the drum and its role in marching and parades
• Parades
  • Marching bands -- compare and contrast with the instruments in the story
  • Difference in typical parades and this type parade
  • Use EVERYONE LOVES A PARADE by Andrea Denish to compare/contrast different types of parades
• Songs about the topics in the book
  • Rain/thunderstorms
  • Bubble gum
  • The moon
• Instruments
  • Listen to examples of the instruments in the book
    • recorder/reed flute/penny whistle
    • kazoo
    • fiddle/violin
    • drum
    • ukulele 
  • Categorize them according to :
    • wind instruments
    • String instruments
    • percussion instruments
  • Discuss fiddle vs. violin (same instrument; different names)
  • Discuss ukulele vs. guitar (how are they the same/different)
  • DIY instruments
    • kazoo
    • drum
• Sing along with Janna's tune (or make up your own)
  • Add motions (use the ones Janna demonstrates in the video or come up with your own or have the kids create motions to match)
• Have older students (2nd - 5th) create a play version of the book and perform it for the younger students or some other creative way of sharing it with younger kids
• Perfect book for finding/creating sound effects to match a story or drama. . .
• Difference in environmental sounds and musical sounds

​Writing Prompts/Author Tips

Writing prompts for the author in us all -- students, kids, adults, professionals. . . 

• Make a list of rhyming words.  Write as many sentences as you can that END with this words.  See how many you can connect in a story.
• Write about an unusual parade.
• Write about your favorite thing to do at night (when you're supposed to be sleeping).
• Write about a time you tried to stay up all night to do something fun.
• Write about your bedtime routine.
• Write about your favorite instrument (from the book?).
• "How to" blow a bubble.
• Write your own cumulative story.
• What do you like to do in a thunderstorm?
• Write about when/how you learned to . . .play an instrument, blow a bubble, make an instrument, keep a steady beat. . . 
• Write about your favorite "midnight snack". If you wake up feeling hungry, what do you want?
• Write a story called THE MOONLIGHT PARADE.
• Write an invitation to a fun event.  Make sure you have all the W details: what, where, when, and why.  End your invitation with "Wanna come?"

Writing Advice from Janna for those of us trying to get published:
1) READ, READ, READ books in the genre you want to write--picture book, middle grade, poetry, YA. Use the ones you love as "mentor texts," studying them to learn how they do it successfully. Then write, revise, receive critiques...REPEAT! 

2) Scour the most recent CHILDREN'S WRITER'S AND ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET guide book, in print or digitally, to better understand the industry, your genre, the craft of writing, what editors and agents are looking for, how to find an agent, how to submit queries. It includes indexes by subject matter at the rear, full of publishing info. 

3) Join the SCBWI (pro organization for the children's publishing industry). Read the website thoroughly and find a local critique group via your region's chapter. SCBWI conferences offer great learning and networking, chances to meet agents and editors and to register in advance for a paid critique.

4) Regarding finding an agent, check out manuscript wish lists on twitter at #MSWL as well as www.manuscriptwishlist.com, where editors and agents show what they want in general. 

There are simply no shortcuts! 
​

​Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!

• ​Create a thunderstorm
• Pinterest board with lots of ideas!
• WEATHER Pinterest board
• YouTube playlist
• Coloring pages
  

PBJamz Snack ​

If you're looking for a yummy gluten free cookie for your moonlight tea party, I'm thinking this is it.  After your moonlight parade, a couple of these with some hot tea or a glass of milk would be just the thing to wrap up a night of adventurous romps in your pajamas.  Here's the link for the recipe if you'd like to try them next time you're out for a moonlight stroll with thumbs and strums and such.

Guest Links and Giveaways

To purchase HERE WE COME



​Janna's website

​Janna's Twitter

​Janna's Instagram

​Janna's FB

Christine's website
​

​Janna has generously offered an autographed copy of the book as a giveaway for this week.  Comment below to be entered into a random drawing for the book.