Michelle Worthington is an award-winning children's author and international guest speaker on the power of storytelling. Michelle is dedicated to encouraging a strong love of reading and writing in young children and supports the vision of empowering youth through education and working on books that are purposeful, innovative and inspirational.
Thursday 25 November 2021
Monday 25 October 2021
Review Crew Holly: Sass and Traz Save the Library
“Sass and Traz Save the Library”
Written by Michelle
Worthington
Book review by Holly,
7 years old
Holly’s summary:
Sass and Traz are twins, one is a boy and one is a girl.
They like reading together in the town library each day. Ms Burns is the
librarian and she is so nice to the kids.
But one day when Sass and Traz entered the library, Ms Burns
was in tears!
She told them the library was going to be destroyed by the
mayor of the town because he wanted to put a carpark there instead!
Sass wanted to help Ms Burns so she went into the library
basement to look for boxes.
She accidentally leant on a metal drawer and she said the
word “Pirate”.
Suddenly, the drawer opened and a card fell out and then out
came three pirates! They said “Ahoy, ahoy!”
Soon after, three brave knights and a king appeared from the
drawers!
Ms Burns was so shocked. She nearly fainted when a handsome
knight called Sir Lancelot saved her from falling. She kept blushing because
she had a huge crush on him!
Some more amazing characters appeared in the library, like a
dragon and Albert Einstein.
Albert Einstein tried to save the library when he told the
mayor how special the library was to all the people in the town.
But the mayor ignored him!
The best part of the story was when the mayor accidentally
made dinosaurs appear! He said that libraries are dinosaurs and then lots of
dinosaurs started walking around the library.
One even bit the mayor!
The mayor was so scared that he ran out of the library and
decided to not to destroy the library anymore.
Ms Burns and the twins were so happy that the library
wouldn’t be destroyed. I think that they might have a big party to celebrate!
My favourite parts of the story:
When the dinosaur bit the mayor, I thought it was so
hilarious.
But I especially loved the scene when Ms Burns fell in love
with Sir Lancelot and she kept blushing.
Age recommendation:
I think kids aged 6 and older would love this book!
Holly’s rating:
I give this amazing book 10/10!
Final note:
I can’t wait for the next Sass and Traz book to be
published! J
Thursday 23 September 2021
Dave Atze's Belly Button Fluff
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Monday 7 June 2021
Reading to Kids Makes Them More Resilient.
Building small humans into healthy, thriving big ones, isn’t about clearing adversity out of their way. Resilience is being able to bounce back from stress, challenge, tragedy, trauma, or adversity. When children are resilient, they’re braver, more curious and adaptable, and more able to extend their reach into the world. Research tells us that it’s not rugged self-reliance, determination, or inner strength that leads kids through adversity, but the reliable presence of at least one supportive relationship. In the context of a loving relationship with a caring adult, children have the opportunity to develop vital coping skills. Just reading with your child for 10 minutes a day from a book they like which touches on subjects like diversity and problem solving, can increase their resilience, help them manage their own behaviour and feelings, and increase their capacity to develop their own coping strategies during tough times.
Wednesday 28 April 2021
Wednesday 24 March 2021
Do books need a rating?
Would book censorship stifle the enjoyment and adventure of reading? In the forever metamorphosing environment of book genres, where young adult novels cover every conceivable topic that adult novels do, it makes sense to categorise books to suit reader age, and emotional intellect. But should written content be treated in the same way as visual content, like a movie? As parents, we have a responsibility to monitor what our kids read. A proactive approach to shared regulating what they read allows for open discussion around story topics, values and emotions; something every parent should be fostering. Children grow up so fast. Not permitting them access to a meaty young adult novel at age 12, even though they’re more than capable of reading it, may mean they remain 12 for just a little longer. Most school librarians are successfully implementing their own rating systems. Is it time to implement something nationwide?
Thursday 18 March 2021
Tuesday 16 March 2021
Thursday 18 February 2021
Opening Kids Hearts and Minds with Diversity in Picture Books
The best thing about books is that they can take you anywhere. Books offer us a perspective and experience that we may otherwise never know, and that glimpse into someone else’s story can be integral in creating open and accepting minds and hearts. Children’s books are no exception. Not only are diverse children’s books important for children of colour and with special needs - giving them visibility, relatability, and vital moments of representation - they’re important for all children. In a country as multicultural as ours, it’s vital to offer children an opportunity to see realities and experiences different from their own. Reading books with your children that celebrate diversity will help your children recognise that what is seen as outwardly different can just be a slight variation in the broad spectrum of humanity - and that different is not bad, but beautiful.
Thursday 4 February 2021
Why talking to your kids will make them better readers
Vocabulary is extremely important to a child's literacy development, especially if they struggle to communicate. Having a broader range and understanding of what words mean and do can help even the most reluctant reader. Most people make the mistake of thinking that reading to kids and getting them to read aloud is the first place to start, but this is in fact the end goal. It starts with having a conversation with them on a daily basis.
When children see the purpose and priority behind where words fit in their day-to-day lives, they are more responsive to engaging with literacy activities that will foster a love of reading.
Sunday 31 January 2021
Understanding the sensory aspect of books for children with ASD
It can be frustrating to get kids engaged in reading and even harder for children on the spectrum. As a children’s author, here’s my best tips: Don’t attempt to read books at bedtime when they’re tired and cranky. Find a time that works best for them. Choose sensory friendly books with lots of white space and engaging stories or subjects they’re familiar with. Getting them to look at the pictures first before reading will foster discussion and interaction. Allow fidgety behaviour and if they can’t sit still, walk around while reading. Let them touch the book before you start and be slow and deliberate when turning pages. Keep your voice low and calm, adding facial expressions and repetitive head movements as you read the same book again the next day. This process may have to be repeated many times but don’t give up. The reward is well worth the effort.
Saturday 30 January 2021
As an Author, How can you overcome excessive thinking?
Creating awareness:It is natural that excessive thinking makes a person distracted and makes them unaware that they are preoccupied with thinking. Creating awareness involves recognizing negative thinking circles when they occur, and to have deliberate awareness of excessive thinking. You will be able to control and stop thinking excessively when you monitor your thoughts and actions. Make sure you do not judge your thoughts or worry about excessive thinking. Mindset is everything.
Replace negative thoughts:
Another tip to eliminate negative thinking is to replace your negative thinking with positive thinking after interrupting your over-thinking style. Repeat your positive thinking many times aloud or with a voice in your mind. If your thinking is persistent, you should repeat this process as many times as you need. Over time, you will overcome the habit of negative thinking.
Talk to a trusted person:
There is also another solution to eliminate excessive thinking, which is to share your negative thoughts with someone you trust. This person can be a coach, mentor, counselor or friend. Such people can help you determine if you are overstated or not thinking clearly and they can also help you free yourself from negative thoughts. Your problem may not be as bad as you think and all you need is someone who assures you that you are fine.
Self-employment:
Keeping your mind busy keeps you from negative thoughts. Anything that requires attention may help you. This concern may vary between arranging your bookshelf alphabetically, drawing or calculating your annual expenses. This way you will gradually control your thoughts until you reach your desired level of control.
Exercise:
In addition to increasing self-confidence, exercise increases the secretion of the hormone Androfen and Sertonin, which reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. When you concentrate on exercising, it distracts your mind from negative thoughts. When you have a busy mind, do some exercise, bike or walk for half an hour.
Make decisions:
Sometimes excessive thinking comes from inability to make an important decision. The most appropriate solution is to set a time, whether it is half an hour or two, to think about everything about a topic and when the time is close to completion, the decision was to be made without any hesitation.
Blogging:
During excessive thinking, you can not communicate with the present. One way to get rid of excessive thinking is to train your mind on intentional attention. Get to know your negative thoughts and then get rid of them immediately, or blog about it...It makes for great content!
Just do it:
The trick here is to start the project you want to do instead of thinking about it. Focus on your goal and schedule what you want to do so you can solve every problem on time. A step-by-step move will make you spend less time thinking about it.
Stop trying to reach perfection or control everything:
People think about things in exaggerated contexts until they achieve perfect results. You take into account all possibilities to avoid starting...and the possibility of failure. It is important to keep in mind that all people who have accomplished great things have failed at some point. It is impossible to control everything and avoid any kind of error. You are good enough right now, so begin!
