HOW TO BE A ROCKSTAR with author Lisa Tolin

Congratulations to Cathy Sheafor!  ​You are the winner of a critique from Megan Hoyt!  Congratulations and best of luck with your manuscript! Please tell your friends about PBJamz and come back any time to find out more about picture books with musical connections and leave a comment.  

Everyone stay tuned and come back next week for part 2 -- tons of teacher tips for general education, music education, homeschool, preschool, and family fun!  Tips, a Pinterest board and a YouTube playlist full of amazing ways to use this superfun book!

Interview with Lisa Tolin where we discuss the book, musical connections, perseverance and not having all the answers!

Lisa and I talk about all the musical connections, parenting, teaching, how to foster creativity, how important it is to learn from our children and students just like they learn from us!  It's important to keep on going, but also important to be willing to be vulnerable and admit that you don't have all the answers.  It's a rich, deep conversation ! 

PB (Picture Book Tasting)

This book is part instruction manual, part ode to rock 'n roll, part treaty to persevere, and part plain family fun!  Have you ever been in a family band?  Come join this family with siblings who would like to rock the house together.

A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind) Rockin' the Alphabet by Mr. Al

Perfect for preschool, kindergarten, or any age that enjoys a rockin' edge on their alphabet!   Mr. Al actually has a whole CD of cool rockin' music called "Kids Wanna Rock".  Superfun, and I used it all the time with my second graders when I was in the regular classroom! Here's a link if you'd like to purchase the CD -- lots of old rock standards modified for a kid audience. https://melodyhousemusic.com/shop/music/mr-al-music/kids-wanna-rock/?v=ed5e635ddcfb  I especially like Kids Wanna Rock and I Want Candy.  This song below is awesome too -- a rockin' version of the ABC song.  One thing I especially like about this one is that LMNOP don't get all clumped together in this version.  There are lots of ways you could use it in the classroom (in addition to the obvious way of learning the alphabet). Accompany it with instruments, have kids hold up pictures of things that begin with that letter as he sings.  Use it as an opener/attention-getter for ABC order activity or any alphabet related activity.  Be sure to check out the YouTube playlist in next week's additions to this episode down in the links section.  You'll find more songs and more ways to integrate rock into your regular or music classroom!

Teacher Tips, Tricks and Topics

• Check out the writing prompts below
• Information from pics that are not in text
  
  • how text and illustrations work together
  • how to use clues from illustrations to better understand text (picture clues)
• Sequencing
  
• Writing a how-to story
  
• Understanding and using speech bubbles
  
• Character analysis
  

Music Vocabulary

• microphone
• rock star
• backup singers
• instruments
• electric guitar
• bass
• drum kit
• encore
• reunion concert
• heavy metal
• punk 
• pop
• audience

Tips and Topics for Music Teachers

• Instruments of focus: electric guitar, bass, drums
• Discuss rock as a genre:  Characteristics, history, etc.
• This book would be such fun paired with ROCK STAR RECESS (Access that episode here)
  • You could compare/contrast  
    
  • read both as part of a unit on rock 'n roll
• Focus on sub-genres of rock
  • Heavy/hard rock
  • Punk rock
  • Metal rock
  • Pop rock
• Rock n' roll dance moves (focus on those pages from the book); show examples; let them practice
• Famous rock bands
• Band break-ups/reunion concerts

Tips for authors from Lisa!

1. Silence your inner critic.
You’ll face a lot of criticism and rejection as a writer. You don’t need to join that chorus. Personally, I find running, meditating and free writing help my brain get to a more creative place.
​2. Play.
For me, the best writing comes from a place of joy. Sometimes that means capturing something meaningful or joyful to you on the page. Sometimes that means stepping away for a while and filling your well with non-writing joy.
3. Take a bow.
​Try to celebrate small wins. Even if you get an agent or a book deal, those achievements are infrequent, not in your control, and can take years. Plus they’re usually bookended by rejection. Celebrate finishing a draft or figuring out a revision. Supply your own applause - or drop me a line and I’ll clap for you anytime!

Writing Prompts from Tonnye

1.  What cool band name would you choose?  Why?
2.  Which is cooler?  Electric guitar, Bass, or Drums?  Explain.
3.  Create a concert poster for your band.
4. Which rock sub-genre is best and why?
5. Where would you MOST like to perform?
6 What does it mean "Always leave your audience wanting more."?
7. Write another "how to" story.

Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!

• DIY Microphone (some ideas on the Pinterest board
• Cardboard box tour bus (check out the illustrations as an example and create your own. There are some tips on the Pinterest board.)
• Pinterest board chock full of fun ideas for home, preschool, classroom, homeschool, music classroom and more!
• YouTube playlist with music and more fabulous connections and activities to go along!
• Create your own Family Band (check out the videos on YouTube of Colt Clark and the Quarantine Kids!). How fun!
• Host a concert night -- Create your own YouTube playlist of your family's favorite rock songs and make it a concert night -- Have pizza and snacks and enjoy time as a family!
• Have a karaoke night with the fam!  YouTube has quite a few karaoke tunes.  Find your faves, crank it up, grab a hairbrush, pretend microphone (or something else) and belt them out!
• Elvis is a personal favorite of my family, so last summer, we did a BIG trip -- through Tupelo and visited his birthplace, Memphis and toured Graceland and back through Nashville, where we visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and Studio B where Elvis recorded many of his hits! Create your own favorite rocker tour!  If you can't go in person, create a "Rock 'n Roll Staycation" and put together a virtual visit of important places to your fave, some concert moments, etc. 

PBJamz Snack

Well, this is a FIRST, and I LOVE it!  When Lisa and I were chatting, she said, "Oh, BTW, I have a great peanut butter and jelly cookie recipe if you want it. . . IF I WANT IT. . . .LOL . . . so this week, a special treat -- a PBJ snack recipe from the author herself!


Lisa Tolin’s PB&J thumbprint cookies (about 30 cookies)
I love this recipe because it’s easy and gluten-free, and it’s now my kids’ favorite!

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon kosher salt
16.3 -oz container smooth peanut butter
2/3 cup jelly

​Heat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugars, vanilla and salt for a few minutes until smooth. (You can use a mixer for this, but it’s not necessary.) Add peanut butter and combine until smooth. Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheets. Stick your thumb in the center to create a little thumbprint well (or use a rounded teaspoon bottom). Bake for 6 minutes, then pull out the sheet and add about a teaspoon of jelly to each thumbprint. Stick the cookies back in, rotating the sheets, for another 6-8 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

Guest Links and Giveaways

Lisa is offering a signed copy of her book HOW TO BE A ROCK STAR to one lucky winner.  To be eligible, simply leave a comment below!  I'll choose a winner at random before the next episode airs.  You'll have until 11:59 on 8/17 to leave a comment and get in the running for this great prize!

If you'd like to order a copy of HOW TO BE A ROCK STAR, here is a link for you

Lisa's socials/contact info:
Twitter

Linktree

Website

Instagram