Stay With the Theme: Writing for Children

The theme is described as the underlying thread that runs throughout the entire story. It's the MESSAGE. The DOMINANT IDEA. It's what the reader will "take away" after reading your story. New writers often grapple with this problem of THEME. So do some of us who've been writing a while!

I like to write my theme (one sentence) on a 3 x 5 card and tape it to my computer. As I write, this reminder helps to keep me on the beaten path and not go off on "rabbit trails".

Here are some rules to remember about theme:

• Try not to hit the reader over the head with your message. Even fun, light-hearted books for kids have themes. They don't have to be "heavy".

• When writing for young children, it's best to stick with just one theme. Several themes will confuse the picture book age child about the message of your story.
  

• The theme must come through the action and reaction of the main character(s).
  

• The theme connects all events in your story.

• If you can tell someone what your story is about in a single sentence, you have expressed the theme. Example: The universal theme in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” is: Each individual’s life is significant and affects others. That is the DOMINANT IDEA developed in the story. The theme was developed through the plot. The PLOT: All that George Bailey goes through in order to see what life would have been like without him.

TRY THIS EXERCISE:

Can you figure out the themes in these excerpts from two of my magazine stories? I've listed the themes at the end of this article. Don't peek until you've finished the exercise (o:

From my magazine fiction story, The Learning Bug:

Gabe Grasshopper didn't want the next day to come.
"I don't want to go to school," he told his mom and dad.
"You'll learn lots of new things," his mom said.
"I don't want to learn new things," Gabe said with a frown. "That's too hard."
"You'll learn how to read your favorite books and write your name," his dad said.
"And you'll make new friends," his mom pointed out.
"You'll learn about nature and the earth," his dad continued.
"You'll learn so many new things at school!" Gabe's mom said enthusiastically.
"I don't want to learn new things!" Gabe insisted. "Learning is too hard. I want to stay home and play. Playing isn't hard."

From my magazine fiction story, Cookie Crazy:

Chatty Chipmunk hurried along, carrying a big basket. A most delicious smell trailed behind it. Chatty always welcomed a new neighbor with her award-winning cookies.
"Hello! Welcome to the neighborhood," said Chatty to Puff Bunny.
"How nice!" Puff said. "Please come in."
They sat and talked in Puff's kitchen. Right away they felt like good friends.
"These are the best cookies I've ever eaten," Puff said, munching her third one.
"Thank you," Chatty said. "They are my PRIZE-WINNING cookies. And these are my blue ribbons." She pulled open her sweater to show the ribbons, pinned right smack dab in the middle of her apron.
"Oooh! I sure would like to win a blue ribbon," Puff said. "Perhaps I'll enter the contest, too!"
"Well, I'm certain to win again at this years baking contest," Chatty said. "But you can come over anytime to look at my ribbons."

ANSWERS:

• Theme for The Learning Bug: Overcoming the fear of having to experience something new and unfamiliar.

• Theme for Cookie Crazy: Competition between friends can be healthy even though it may be difficult.

How did you do? You may have worded your answers a bit differently than mine, but did you identify the themes?

When I read magazine stories and picture books, I like to see how soon I can identify the theme. It's a great exercise and can teach you how to introduce the theme SUBTLY in the beginning of a story.

Are you ready to choose an age appropriate theme and start writing? Get out that 3 x 5 card and don't waiver. Have fun!

Copyright 2008 Sheryl Ann Crawford

I just received an email letting me know that my latest book is being offered on The All About Education website for parents and teachers! I'm seeing my Easy-To-Read Science Plays: The Human Body pop up on lots of educational sites.

Some of the related products offered that complement my book look very interesting. As a kid, I would have LOVED the Soft Foam Cross Section: Human Heart Model, and the White Board Magnet Set 3-D;Skeletal System.

This site has a wonderful list of categorized material for inquiring kid-minds. Topics include: Science Fair Materials, Life Science, Nature Studies, Animal Studies, Games and Activities, Mathematics, Creative Play, Health and Nutrition, Special Needs Material and more!

If you want to visit this page, click on the following link:

http://catalog.allabouteducationonline.com/product_info.php?cPath=1010604_1027347&products_id=1513359

Let's get our kids interested in the sciences!

Meet Author Janet Smart---I Am From Appalachia

Several months ago my friend and published author of 31 books, Marilyn Donahue, graciously permitted me to present her wonderful post on the "I Am From..." poetic form.

I asked my readers to get the creative juices flowing and try the "I Am From..." Well, my blogging friend, Janet Smart, did just that. Boy, did she do it!
Janet gave me permission to post her beautiful piece.

Here's a little info about Janet---She writes from her home in Ripley, West Virginia and is an active member of the WVWriters. One of her Christmas stories was recently published in a book titled Christmas Traditions. Janet writes a children's column for the regional magazine, Two-Lane Livin'. She's working hard to have her first picture book published. Janet loves children's books, she studies hard, and she's not a quitter. Expect to see a picture book with her name on it one of these days (o;

Here's Janet---


I Am From Appalachia


I am from Appalachia
From hills and hollers
And grandma’s front porch
With quilt covered gliders
Cotton soft and squeaky.

I am from dirt roads
Rutted from cars
That rumble past and
Leave billowing clouds of dust
To scatter in the breeze.

I am from summer vegetable gardens
Plowed in early spring
With Uncle Romey’s horses,
Whose long manes and straight rows
Flowed behind them.

I am from thorny blackberry patches
Spread over hillsides
And gnarled grapevines hanging from trees
Waiting for eager young hands
To grab hold and swing.

I am from close knit families
Living in houses built by
Strong hands and loving hearts
And cousins playing in yards perfumed
With the scent of roses and lilac bushes.

I am from time gone by
When fireflies dotted
Dark country skies and
Families left their doors open
For a visit from a night breeze.

I am from Appalachia
And I dwell in the shadows
Of the rugged hills
Where I walk in footsteps
Left by my ancestors.

c 2009 Janet Smart

Did Janet's I Am From Appalachia inspire you to give it a try? It inspired me!


Get to know Janet by visiting her at
www.creativewritingintheblackberrypatch.blogspot.com
Janet is an amazing writer and her photographs are breathtaking!

Writing for Coffee Breaks, by Marilyn Donahue

When I first began to write, I felt as if I were talking to the wind. I typed up manuscript after manuscript and sent my precious words to big time magazines. It turned out that I was the only one who thought they were precious. I collected enough rejection slips to paper a wall of my “office” — a corner of the family room where I had set up a card table, a portable typewriter, and a ream of paper.

I’ll admit that I was discouraged. But in a family with four children, a cat that had just produced six kittens in the clothes hamper, two large iguanas, a South African Jackson chameleon that lived in a fish tank and ate live meal worms, and my son’s pet snake — there was little time to mope. I decided to switch from the long-winded, academic articles nobody wanted to read and write, instead, about things I knew first hand — things that happened in my family and, likely as not, in families everywhere.

I approached the local weekly newspaper and offered to write a weekly column of short, family oriented pieces that would make their readers laugh — and sometimes make them cry. I didn’t ask for pay, and the editor said he would give me a chance. Before long, people began talking about the “Coffee Break” column that someone named Mary Robb was writing. The editor offered to pay me one dollar an article. I agreed.

Did I give my writing away too cheaply? I don’t think so.
* It gave me a chance to establish a pen name.
* It gave me an audience that asked for more.
* It taught me the discipline of writing for a weekly deadline.
* It made me search my brain for new subjects to write about.

And — the BIGGEST bonus of all — I began to use the seeds of these articles to write longer, more detailed stories that I sold to magazines for much, much more than one dollar!

Giving away my writing to a no pay/low pay market
was the smartest career move I ever made.

It showed me that focus is important and that writing about what I know pays off. It taught me that the joy of seeing my words in print outweighs dollar signs. And it gave me the self confidence I needed to keep trying.

I would do it all over again!

c 2010 Marilyn Donahue

Marilyn Donahue is a seasoned author, college and writing instructor, conference speaker, and has written a whopping 31 books. She recently signed contracts for four books! She believes in coffee breaks (o;

[Thanks to www.freeclipartnow.com for the cup of coffee]

Not Published Yet? Cheerios Contest!

Are you a children's writer but yet to see your work in print? The Cheerios Contest could be your opportunity to see your picture book published!

The entry Deadline is July 15th for a picture book story. The grand prize is $5000! The runner up prizes---$1000

Writers who have never been paid for their writing are allowed to enter. Only writers from one of the 50 states (or DC) can apply, and must be 18 or older.

Because I'm published, I can't enter---but I'll bet someone reading this, CAN!

For all the details go to http://www.spoonfulsofstoriescontest.com/

Hmmm. Makes me want to have a bowl of Cheerios (o;

Seven Easy Ways to Keep Dialogue Sharp By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

1. Keep it simple. "He said" and "She said" will usually do. Your reader is trained to accept this repetition.

2. Forget you ever heard of strong verbs. Skip the "He yelped" and the "She sighed." They slow your dialogue down. If you feel need them, look at the words,the actual dialogue your character used when he was yelping. Maybe it doesn’t reflect the way someone would sound if he yelped. Maybe if you strengthen the dialogue, you can ditch the overblown tag.

3. When you can, reveal who is saying something by the voice or tone of the dialogue. That way you may be able to skip tags occasionally, especially when you have only two people speaking to one another. Your dialogue will ring truer, too.

4. Avoid having characters use other characters’ names. In real life, we don’t use people’s names in our speech much. We tend to reserve using names for when we’re angry or disapproving or we just met in a room full of people and we’re practicing out social skills. Having a character direct her speech to one character or another by using her name is a lazy writer’s way of directing dialogue and it will annoy the reader. When a reader is annoyed, she will not be immersed in the story you are trying to tell.

5. Avoid putting internal dialogue in italics. Trust your reader. She will know who is thinking the words from the point of view of the narrative.

6. Be cautious about using dialogue to tell something that should be shown. It doesn’t help much to transfer telling from the narrator to the dialogue. It just makes the character who is speaking sound long winded. Putting quotation marks around exposition won’t draw the reader into the scene or involve him more than if you’d left it part of the narrative.

7. And magic number seven is, don’t break up dialogue sequences with long or overly frequent blocks of narrative. One of dialogue’s greatest advantages is that it moves a story along. If a writer inserts too much stage direction, it will lose the forward motion and any tension it is building.

For more on writing dialogue check out Tom Chiarella’s Writing Dialogue (Writers’ Digest) and for more on editing in general--from editing query letters to turning unattractive adverbs into metaphoric gold--find The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success on Amazon.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is an instructor for the UCLA Extension Writer's Program. The first book in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books, The Frugal Book Promoter, won USA Book News'Best Professional Book Award and Book Publicists of Southern California's Irwin Award. The second, The Frugal Editor, was just released and includes many editing tips on dialogue, the use of quotation marks and more. Learn more at www.howtodoitfrugally.com.

So, You Think You Need an Illustrator?

I love to draw. LOVE it! It’s therapeutic for me. There's a box full of paintings, sketches, doodles, and pastel drawings sitting in my cedar chest to prove it. And that’s where they’ll stay. In my cedar chest. You will never see my art in a picture book or on the cover of a children’s magazine. Why? Because it’s obvious that I’m NOT a professional illustrator! I’m self-taught and not good enough for today’s publishing standards. I’ve had no formal training and would never send pages of my artwork along with my manuscript submissions. That doesn’t bother me at all.

Want to know how to make an editor REALLY MAD? Ignore their Illustrator guidelines that say, “Send brochures, resumes, samples, tearsheets, promo sheet, or slides.” That means they are speaking to professional illustrators. If you are not a professional and you send your art anyway, it’s no different than completely disregarding the writer’s guidelines. You’re basically telling the publisher they don’t know what they’re talking about. That can be the kiss of death for your manuscript.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received manuscripts for critique with artwork included. Rarely were the authors or their illustrator friends or relatives true professionals. Eraser marks. Whiteout. Crayon shavings. Smudges. Disproportionate, stiff characters. No movement. No life. Not professional. Sort of like MY drawings!

A few of the drawings I’ve seen over the past few years were average to good---but not good enough for the high standards expected by book publishers. It’s always difficult for me to break the news to the writer/artist in my manuscript critique. It’s especially tough when the writer says something like this in the cover letter:

“These fantastic illustrations for my book were drawn by my 10 year old!” Okay, they were fantastic for a ten-year old! In fact, they will likely impress anyone looking at the refrigerator door, or even framed on a family room wall. They won’t impress a publishing house. The bar is set HIGH. The ten-year old will have his or her heart broken after I give the bad news to the writer-mom who sent them in. Please don't do that to a child! You are setting them up for great disappointment. Even tears )o;

If you are not a professional illustrator but insist that your art is good enough, here’s a suggestion---ask a professional illustrator at a writers conference to give you an honest evaluation. Don’t forget to look at all the portfolios on the table. How do your illustrations stack up? Be honest. Personally, I don't need to do this with my artwork because I'd embarrass myself. I KNOW my stuff isn't up to speed!

Here’s another suggestion. Compare your illustrations with at least 25 children’s books. How does your art compare? Again, be brutally honest. Unless you are a true professional your art will probably fall short.

I have a friend in our critique group who IS a true professional illustrator! Veronica Walsh illustrated a WONDERFUL picture book, Too Many Visitors for One Little House, by Susan Chodakiewitz. Look at the facial expressions of the characters! Drink in the color, the life, the movement, the emotions. To view samples of Veronica's artwork go to www.veronicawalsh.net

In my humble opinion, 99% of the time your publisher knows just the artist to make your book come alive!

When it comes to picture books, illustrations make half the book.

So, if your best friend, Aunt Beatrice, your child (whose heart WILL be broken), or your spouse want to illustrate your book, please just say "No," but say it gently. Tell them it's nothing personal. It's just the way it is in publishing, and YOU as the writer need to follow the guidelines.

A Wise Choice

When I'm needing an idea for another magazine story or a book, there's one resource I go to immediately because it never fails me. It's the book of Proverbs---the book of wisdom in the Bible.

Just ONE proverb can be a theme with a story waiting to happen!

My fiction stories are not overtly religious and don't need to be. The book of Proverbs is filled with jewels of wisdom for wise living and themes that apply to children as well as adults.

Here are just a few of the Proverbs that have triggered a book or story or two, or three, or---well you get the idea.

• "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else and not your own lips." Proverbs 27:2 gave me The REAL B.J. Beaver, (Clubhouse Jr.)

• "One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys." Proverbs 18:9 inspired my book The WiseNOTS Get Lazy, (book seeking a publishing home.)

• "A righteous man cares for the needs of his animals---" Proverbs 12:10 (a) inspired Pets and Proverbs, (Clubhouse Jr.)

• "The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice." Proverbs 12:15 inspired Take a Hike, (Clubhouse Jr.)
  

• "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"---when you now have it with you." Proverbs 3:27, 28 inspired Monkey Business, (published in Clubhouse Jr. One of my On Jungle Street books seeking a publishing home.)
  

Need some inspiration and a heart filled with joy at the same time?

"Let the wise listen and add to their learning,

and let the discerning get guidance." Proverbs 1:5

c 2009 Sheryl Crawford

Quotes from First Grade Kids!

I've heard that a first grade teacher collected well known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. Here are the answers from 6 year-olds: Better to be safe than.....................................punch a 5th grader Strike while the ..............................................bug is close It's always darkest before.............................Daylight Saving Time Never underestimate the power of..............termites You can lead a horse to water but................how? Don't bite the hand that.................................looks dirty No news is........................................................impossible A miss is as good as a.....................................Mr. You can't teach an old dog new.....................math If you lie down with dogs, you'll....................stink in the morning Love all, trust..................................................me The pen is mightier than the........................pigs An idle mind is................................................the best way to relax Where there's smoke there's........................pollution Happy the bride who.....................................gets all the presents A penny saved is............................................not much Two's company, three's.................................the Musketeers Don't put off till tomorrow what...................you put on to go to bed Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and.....you have to blow your nose There are none so blind as............................Stevie Wonder Children should be seen and not..................spanked or grounded If at first you don't succeed...........................get new batteries You get out of something only what you.....see in the picture on the box When the blind leadeth the blind.................get out of the way Don't ya love it? (o;

Author's Debut Book:The Declaration of Independence from A to Z

Catherine Osornio, yet another published member of our critique group, Wordsmiths8, is preparing for her first school visit with 6th graders. It may be her first---but certainly NOT her last. If you want your children, grandchildren, or classroom to really understand the Declaration of Independence (or if YOU need to brush up) you won't be disappointed with Catherine's debut picture book,
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FROM A TO Z (Pelican Publishing Company, 2010)

The combination of magnificent, richly colored illustrations by Layne Johnson, and Catherine's amazing facts, will hold the attention of an entire class or assembly!

Because Catherine is a dear friend I asked if I could interview her for my blog. Here's Catherine:

Q: Catherine, what prompted you to write about this particular subject?

A: I originally wrote this as a holiday alphabet book about the 4th of July. The publisher, Pelican Publishing Company, preferred a story about the Declaration of Independence, so I rewrote my manuscript to tell the history of this famous document.

Q: Kids can sometimes think of history as booooring. I know I did. Sigh. What is it about YOUR book that makes the topic of the Declaration of Independence EXCITING for children?

A: I tried really hard to make the text informative as well as interesting. The illustrations, painted by Layne Johnson, created a beautiful backdrop that made my words come alive. I think this blend of words and pictures will draw reluctant history readers in, allowing them to learn and to be entertained at the same time.

Q: What was the most difficult part of writing this book?

A: I took three months to research all I could about the period of time in America and about the Declaration itself. The hardest part was trying to compact all that information into 26 letters, while also writing it in chronological order so that it made sense.

Q: Catherine, have you always wanted to be a writer?

A: No. I grew up wanting to be a scientist, and ended up going to school to learn about film making. I didn't become a writer until about eight years ago when a friend asked for help developing her writing skills. As I taught her about creating stories, I realized that I enjoyed the writing process, and I haven't stopped since.

Q: What advice would you give to students or adults who want to be writers?

A: Read, read, and read some more so you can understand what makes a good story. Learn the rules of grammar, then keep writing and revising, until you can write a story well, with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Q: Are you working on any other projects right now?

A: I write articles and short stories for magazines, newsletters, and for an early reader program, but I really want to write middle grade novels. I'm working on a mystery series that I hope will be published some day.

THANK YOU, Catherine! I hope your success story has inspired other writers to press on!

Catherine L. Osornio can be contacted via email at:CLOsornio@verizon.net
Visit her writing blog at: www.catherineosornio.com


Want to get goose bumps and perhaps even choked up in a happy way? Then watch and listen to this short youtube tribute to her book!:
Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oHFn6HBDk8

Write for the Educational Market with Evelyn's Help!

Well, Evelyn Christensen has done it again! She's gets another A+ on her market research. Ev graciously shares her discoveries for publication possibilities--- just because she's NICE. According to Ev, her market list has "a few new tidbits." She is quick to point out and thank Susan Ludwig, a freelance children's writer, for assisting with updating the market list.

Visit her website at http://echristensen.atspace.com/markets.html

If you haven't considered writing for the educational market, you might want to think again. Nancy I. Sanders and I (photo)have co-authored seven educational books together for Scholastic Professional Books! My latest book was released November 1, 2009, Easy-To-Read Science Plays: The Human Body.

Every school week, first and second grade children across the country participate in our readers theater, make mini-books, create crafts from our reproducibles, and have loads of FUN while their teachers lead them in educational extension activities. I have a feeling that some of our crafts may be on refrigerator door galleries (o;

Check out Evelyn's site. She's got a looooong list of publishers who have some definite needs and guidelines. Who knows---YOU could be just the writer they're looking for!

Oh, and one more thing---THANK YOU, EVELYN and SUSAN!

I Am From . . . Let Your Characters Surprise You

I'm posting this again in case you missed this INCREDIBLE piece by author Marilyn Cram Donahue. I hope when you've finished reading this post, you'll try the "I Am From..." poetic form. It will certainly get those creative thoughts flowing.

Marilyn is a seasoned author, college and writing instructor, conference speaker, and has written a whopping 31 books. Look her up on amazon.com. She recently signed contracts for four books! See Marilyn smile as she holds her latest contracts? (o;

I am privileged and blessed to be Marilyn's friend. We are members of the critique group I so often speak of---Wordsmiths.
Marilyn writes books, stories and articles for middle grade, YA, and adult. She claims to never go anywhere without a notebook tucked away and one of those automatic pencils that never gets dull and always has an eraser. I absolutely believe her.

My friend has graciously permitted me to present her wonderful post
on the "I Am From..." poetic form.

Here's Marilyn:

The “I Am From . . .” poetic form was developed by George Ella Lyon. It has been successfully used in schools across the country. Some of the results are wonderful, with students reaching into their everyday lives and ethnic backgrounds and coming up with single images that are worth a thousand words. It occurred to me that this would be a good exercise in the class I teach on Writing Your Memoirs. This week we looked back to our early school years and concentrated on remembering one incident that might bring to mind many images. Then we wrote “I Am From . . .” poems with those memories as starting points.

I thought of Main Street, where I grew up, and inevitably I stretched those early memories to include a less juvenile time of my life. This is the result:

I am from Main Street,
from games at twilight
and Mrs. Loring’s chow dog
with the purple tongue.

I am from back fences and hollyhocks,
from orange trees that blossomed
in the spring,
and sent their fragrance
to float on the cool night air.

I am from a front porch swing
and the sounds of
the Lone Ranger and Captain Midnight,
and the taste of cold watermelon
with black seeds that were
good for spitting.

I am from sack lunches,
and the five and dime,
and banana splits
with three kinds of ice cream
and whipped cream and a cherry on top.

I am from time passing
and starry nights
and the moon shining so bright
over Main Street
that it put sparkles in my hair
. . . or so he said.

Can you imagine a character in one of your books writing an “I Am From . . .” poem? What would you learn by letting this person tell you how he or she feels? By standing to one side and listening while your character digs deep and comes up with what might be surprising information?

Thank you, Marilyn! Let's hear from some of my blog friends. I'd like to know if your characters revealed some surprises.

2009 Marilyn Donahue

Beginning Writer? Growing Writer? Go to the Children's Book Insider!

The Children's Book Insider, has been helping children's writers for more than 19 years. I subscribe to the CBI newsletter and visit their amazing website. Editors Jon Bard and Laura Backes will answer questions like,

* Can I really make it as a children's writer?
* Is it difficult to get started?
* Do I have to spend a ton of money on classes and books?

You can even watch short, instructional videos online.

You’ll find step-by-step instruction on their website and in the CBI Newsletter that will help you enter this fascinating field of writing for kids.

I just finished reading the January 2010 issue of the Children's Book Insider. Jon Bard challenges writers in his piece, From the Editor, to enter the 21st century by doing things like blogging, building a Facebook Fan page, and Twittering.

Jon wrote, "Don't be BORING." Now that's how to lose your followers for sure! He's reminding writers that merely blogging about daily activities on our blogs "won't cut it." He's right. Jon encourages writers to offer "fresh perspectives", and to direct our readers to great links. That's precisely what I'm doing right now!

Please visit www.CBIClubhouse.com and get excited about the possibilities!

Writing Contests---Where Can They Take You?

You never know where a contest story will take you. You don't actually have to win first, second, or even third place, to "win" in a different way.

Years ago I entered a Highlights 500-word beginning reader fiction contest.
Kitten's Climb didn't win, but an editor thought it was delightful, and choose to publish it.

Several years later I was surprised to receive a letter and another check from Highlights. They paid me again for the story when Harcourt Trophies purchased it for a reading comprehension booklet to be used in elementary schools across the country.

Today Kitten's Climb is accessible online. Click the link at the end of this post. I LOVE the mother Robin's attitude, and Kitten's final assessment of the whole ordeal.

Here's another plus---the reading assessment booklet is listed on my publishing bio along with the link so editors can read a sample of my work for this particular age group. Cool.

Here's the information on the Highlights contest YOU are thinking about entering:
* Theme - fiction based on a true story from your family.
* You must be at least 16 years old.
* Word count may be up to 750 words for ages 6 to 14. For beginning readers, word
count cannot exceed 475.
* They do not want to see violence, crime, or derogatory humor.
* Put the word count at in the upper right-hand corner of the first page.
* Entries must be postmarked between January 1, 2010 and January 31, 2010.
* Send your entry with a SASE to: Fiction contest, Highlights for Children, 803
Church Street, Honesdale, PA 18431.
[ www.highlights.com/highlights-fiction-contest ]

Three winners will be chosen, published in Highlights, and given their choice of a $1,000 cash prize, or tuition to the Highlights Chautauqua writing workshop!

Winners will be announced on their website in June 2010.
So, what are you waiting for? You never know where a magazine story will take you. One of my stories from Clubhouse Jr. Magazine became a picture book!

I'll always be glad
Kitten's Climb became a winning story in more ways than one.

Don't forget to click the link to read Kitten's Climb

http://www.highlightskids.com/stories/fiction/f0497_kittens.asp