Dave Atze's Belly Button Fluff

 

Dave Atze, Author of 'Belly Button Fluff' Campaign Appearances & Interview The Authors Online Team are delighted to have the opportunity to support Dave Atze as he begins his campaign to promote his debut children's book, Belly Button Fluff.  Between 20-24 September, visit https://www.justkidslit.com/blog/ to join in on the Belly Button Fluff fun, along with other online appearances (including my website, michelleworthington.com on Thursday, 23 August.      Interview: Meet Dave Atze Hi, I’m Dave Atze; a professional fun-haver and all-round goofball from a small town in South Australia. I have been illustrating kids books for 7 years and authoring them for no years.   I called my first book Belly Button Fluff so I could say awesome stuff like: “Just hold my Belly Button Fluff in your hands, see how colourful it is? It will make you feel warm and maybe giggle a bit, too.” And “put your kids to bed with Dave’s Belly Button Fluff! They’ll love it!”   What was the first story you ever wrote and has it been published? Belly Button Fluff and yes indeedy, it has. What was your first book published? I self-published a book called Don’t Shut the Door with Melbourne Author Matt Nichols. I illustrated it. Then a wonderful and beautiful young lady, Michelle Worthington saw “DSTD” and said to her publisher at the time “pwitty pwees can Dave Illustrate my next book The Three-Legged Kangaroo from Uluru? They said yes and we all lived happily ever after. What is your favourite part about being an author? Getting to draw the silly stuff that I write about. Wait... umm, yeah, I’m like 10% Author 90% Illustrator What is the hardest part about being an author? Words, grammar, all that technical stuff. I’m not good at that stuff. But I can tell a fun story. I am very lucky these magical creatures called editors exist. Thanks Diane and Allison!! What do you do for fun? I draw. I run. I take photos. And most of all spend time with my wife Ashleigh and Daughter Ella.  How do you test out your stories? Or who do you test them on? Friends and family, running buddies and my Author/Illustrator colleagues. What was your favourite children’s book when you were a kid? The Very Hungry Caterpillar. What is your favourite children’s book now? Little Baa Baa and Quirky Turkey in I love lemonade. Have you met anyone even more famous than you that was exciting? I don’t really live anywhere near anyone who would be famous. What writing genre do you like to do the most? I like da funny stuff. What do you consider your biggest achievement? I think I have 3 as they all feel quite equal and required a lot of dedication. I ran a 100km race through the bush. It took 15hrs. (30km with baaaad stomach cramps) I became a second-degree black belt, and the grading was on par with running 100kms. There were black eyes and broken ribs. Getting that letter from the publisher saying ‘we loved your manuscript, and we would love to publish your book’. Less grueling but still so many hours of dedication. What is your favourite way/time to read? Bedtime stories with my daughter are the best!! What book are you reading right now? Ella is learning numbers at the moment and is enjoying Spot can count. You can discover more of Dave's work and follow him on social by visiting: Daveatze.com Instagram.com/daveatze Twitter.com/daveatze Facebook.com/daveatzeillustration             Meet Michelle Michelle Worthington is an international award-winning author, screenwriter and business woman. Shortlisted twice for the Children's Book Council of Australia's picture book of the year, two-time winner of the International Book Award and finalist in the USA Best Book Awards, Michelle also received a Gellett Burgess Award and a Silver Moonbeam Award for her contribution to celebrating diversity in literature. Michelle was the recipient of the 2018 AusMumpreneur Gold Award for Business Excellence and the winner of the 2018 Redlands BaR award for Best Start Up Business.  Michelle is also a real life book fairy. Her magic powers include turning coffee into award-winning books. Anthology Angels and Authors Online, she waves her wand to coach aspiring authors and illustrators all over the world achieve their dreams of publication. Whether she’s a fairy, a mermaid, a pirate or an elf, Michelle celebrates empowering readers and storytellers to dream big. Find out more about Michelle and her work here.     Contact Michelle

Meet the Illustrator: Adyna Ferre talks about character creation and animation

Guest Blog - Leo's Story by Megan Firster

 

Everyone who knows me is aware of my love for and connection to Queensland’s only children’s hospice. I wear my hummingbird tattoo proudly, in memory of my beautiful boy but also as a living tribute to the place that supported him and our family throughout some of the happiest and darkest times.  So, of course, when it was put to Hummingbird House families to create a picture that could possibly be used as a token for the Coles fundraising campaign I jumped at the chance. We did have a logistical issue with the brief though. We were asked to create a hummingbird that represented our child, perhaps by using their hand and footprints, but of course my child wasn’t here to squish his little hand into the paint. To trace around his perfect foot with a felt pen. After some discussion regarding the brief we were supported to do as much of the picture digitally as we needed to to include Leo in the way we wished to. After some assessment we realised Leo’s best footprint was one that was taken by Leo’s kindy teacher as part of my last mother’s day gift, and his best handprints were the ones taken by a caring staff member, at Hummingbird House after his passing. Leo liked to curl his fingers into the palm of his hand so they were the first really nice ones we had.  Leo’s prints were monochrome, so my son Sam, who is my tech support for everything, coloured Leo’s prints digitally to make it look like he had applied the paint to the paper directly. I printed a bunch of them and we all sat down as a family to paint and draw hummingbird bodies in between the handprint wings. Frances, my daughter, is the artist in my family and her hummingbird came more and more to life with every brushstroke. I can’t tell you how elated I was that our picture was chosen, and how proud I am that Leo is continuing on in a way that not only helps raise money for the house, but also represents the bereaved families that are a part of this special service.

 

 

Nobody likes to talk about children that have passed or will pass before their time. It’s a sad subject, but one that is so real and so raw for the families that use this place as a sanctuary. It is so important that this facility remains, and keeps providing all the wonderful services it provides, and to do that fundraisers like the Coles one are so very important.  For many families Hummingbird House gives them air – allows them to take a breath when they are living a life that allows no time and space for one. For other families it is a place to remember their child or to make memories with them in their final days. We were blessed to be able to appreciate all of these aspects of the house. We had so many wonderful family memories, laughs over home cooked meals and time engaging with other families going through similar trials and challenges. Hummingbird House was also the place where Leo had his last bath. Devoured his last mouthful of chocolate mousse. Enjoyed his last swim. Was wrapped in my arms for his last cuddle.  Hummingbird House is a unique space for families of palliative children. There’s no other place in Queensland that offers the range of services that they do and they need your help. Please go to Coles between the 16th of September and the 13th of October and buy a token. I promise it will make all the difference to a family just like ours. To find out more about this year's fundraiser, visit: http://hummingbirdhouse.org.au/home/2020-coles-hummingbird-house-campaign/

 

 

 

Share in the stories of 4 families who created this year's artwork

 

 

Is imagination an endangered species?

Modern children are very good at mimicry and mirroring instruction, but with the current curriculum’s focus on learning outcomes more so than learning pathways, are they losing the ability to think independently and inventively? The important role that imagination plays in creating engagement is being lost and forced literacy ignores the essence of critical and creative thinking: the need for questioning, exploration, and extended discussion around issues that are important to children. Without imagination, are our children equipped to be the leaders of tomorrow?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Share Your Story Christmas Writing Competition 2018

Share Your Story
Writing Competition 2018

 

We are very proud to announce that you can be published in the Share Your Story Annual Anthology.

Please submit either a complete short story up to 1500 words (no first chapters or to be continueds…) or a poem of no more than 650 words. The theme is "Christmas" and our judges are looking for creative, engaging stories or poems that will appeal to children aged 5 to 12.

We would love you to celebrate the spirit of Christmas, share with us your Christmas story, your memories of Christmas as a child, or what Christmas means to you, or just make something up that kids will love.

You can enter as many times as you like and will receive feedback from the judges on your entry. All work must be original and school students are more than welcome to enter. 

The best entries will be included in an anthology entitled "It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas" to be launched in December, just in time to fill everyone's Christmas stockings and all published authors will receive the red (and green) carpet treatment. 

Entry Fee: $20 per entry
PayPal via the Enter Now button 
Direct Deposit Details on Request

Guidelines:

• Entries open 9am 1st July 2018
• Entries close 9pm 31st August 2018
• Email your entry to Michelle Worthington at mworthington(dot)author(at)gmail(dot)com
• Please include your name, address, contact phone number and title of your entry in the body of the email.
• If you are under 18, please include your age, Grade and School name in the body of the email.
• Attach your entry as a Word doc. Please include the title of your entry, your name and email address in the header of each page and page numbers in the footer.
• International entries are welcome, but must be in English.
• Don't include illustration notes.
• If you are offered publication in the anthology, you must agree to have your work professionally edited if required, at no charge to you.
• Authors retain full copyright on work.
• The judges decision will be final. No sooking. Santa knows if you have been naughty or nice...

Pay by PayPal

Enter Now

Stop telling me what's wrong with our kids

Nearly every day, I see an article online about what's wrong with our kids, from teenage boys to toddlers. Speaking from the view point of a mother who has both at the same time, I am so disappointed that this is the only way they seem to be perceived: as a problem that needs to be fixed.

My grandmother passed away recently. She was a woman who faced many challenges in her life and didn't always make the right decisions when it came to the best interests of her children, but she was passionate about always loving them for who they are. I learnt so much about the challenges of parenting from her and I will be forever grateful.

Our children are doing amazing. They are growing up in a world that is moving faster than any other time in history. No previous generation has had to adapt to the amount of technological, economical and climate change that they will have to do in their lifetime. As far as I am concerned, they are adapting incredibly well and in most cases, no thanks to us.

If we criticise our kids about being more sensitive, more distracted and harder to fit into a mould than previous generations, then we are being absolutely correct but incredibly unproductive. Why does that have to be bad thing? Children are constantly bombarded with real world concepts that we were sheltered from when news was only watched on television at night and only by grown ups. Children are expected to cope with the real world issues without in most cases having an age appropriate context to understand what is happening. We can't shelter our kids from the world. It's everywhere they look; TV, computer, phones and even at the petrol station when you are filling up the car, but we can treat them with the respect they deserve and have conversations with them and give them the tools that need to live in a world that doesn't sleep. I would much rather have a son who felt he could express his feelings to me, both good and bad, so that I could better understand his situation and hopefully give him the tools for further safe expression and continued communication, than make him feel that overwhelming emotions made him weak or inferior somehow and that expressing those feelings is wrong.

If I had a choice between reading a book or playing a game on my iPad when I was their age, I would have chosen iPad, and I love books. The lure of modern technology comes from smart marketing, inadequate arts funding for interactive creative projects and a bunch of dinosaurs who are still trying to compete with immediate, individualised, integrated programming and display an appalling lack  of the imagination and foresight required to embrace what could be an amazing partnership between the new and the old. When parents are so distracted themselves, not only by having to be a two income family just to make ends meet, and then catching up with the younger generation by trying to understand the technology and social media they use with such ingenious prowess, that any time left should be to focus on the children. This is where we as parents fail them, by scheduling in after school and weekend activities from sporting, music and extra academic lessons to fill the white noise that deafens you as a parent of a child that you can't connect with. Connection with our kids is what's missing, and that's where we are failing them and not the other way around.

If we could just spend more time teaching our kids about critical and creative thinking, using the technology they are comfortable with, then they can hold the key to their own salvation. The insatiable need we have to give our kids labels is making them think that if they don't have one, there must be something wrong with them. It's not normal to be normal anymore. We've taken everything that was done with the best of intentions and twisted it with political purpose or economic gain. Even play based learning, extra help in the classroom and children's mental health issues have been skewed so far from the essence of their original purpose that they end up in most cases doing our kids more harm than good. Our education system, child protection agency and health care system are broken and the good people within these organisations that are trying to do the best for our kids are fighting a losing battle. All of these things are our of our kids control and another example of how they are constantly reacting to the world around them in order to survive. There is no time to think.

I understand that our kids aren't perfect, but what more can you expect from an imperfect world? As a parent, I'm not going to beat myself up about that, mainly because I don't have the time or energy to dedicate to what society thinks of me or my children, but mostly because the time I do have is better spent letting my kids know how proud I am of everything they are achieving and how much I'm looking forward to seeing the men they will become. I also let them know how sorry I am that the world they have to grow up in, the world that my generation was meant to fix, is a world full of 'ifs' and 'buts', without a clear answer of why things are the way they are or a united, safe and secure direction for the future. I believe with all my heart that the next generation, when we give them the support they need, not the criticism they definitely don't deserve, then and only then will they be the ones who really can make the world a better place.

Is Imagination An Endangered Species?

Last week, I was speaking with some author friends and we all agreed that in our recent author visit experience, children were struggling with the concept and practical application of imaginative play. And we asked ourselves the question, "Is imagination in danger of becoming extinct?"

Modern children are very good at mimicry and mirroring instruction. The excel at engaging in guided learning but with the current curriculum and focus on learning outcomes, more so than learning pathways, are they loosing the ability to think creatively, independently and inventively?

The important role that imagination plays in creating engagement in more than just rope-learning and forced literacy reflects the essence of the need for questioning, exploration and extended discussion around issued that are important to children as individuals. Here are my top three reasons why we need to save Imagination from dying out all together.

1. Imagination is learned.

Children are not born with imagination. Imagination is a learned strategy that is modelled and used by a caregiver or peer in an attempt to construct meaningful interpretations of the seen and unseen world in which we live. The importance of creating an environment in which children learn to and feel free to use their imagination can be undervalued in a technologically advanced culture that lends itself to children becoming passive, unresponsive and unable to engage with any medium that required individual interpretation, namely, books. We need to teach the next generation to use their imagination if we hope to have the inventors, the dreamers and the big idea makers that will take them into the next century and beyond.

2. Imagination is a tool.

The context and culture of imagination influences engagement in many areas of children's lives and is a tool for experimentation and learning. Children use their imagination as a tool in their interactions with the world around them as they attempt to make sense of it or craft their own interpretations. The act of imaginative play itself becomes the environment from which information is gathered which is evidenced by their non-verbal cues as well as their overt responses. They also become more motivated to participate in learning as a result of the engaging properties of the use of imagination as a teaching tool.

3. Imagination is contagious.

The reflexivity inherent in the use of imagination is that when the culture of the learning environment permits children to question, explore and invent, not only are individuals cognitively engaged, but their use of imagination elicits engagement in their peers as well.  Children can also use imaginative play as a way of safe space sharing of thoughts, feelings and ideas, modelling the behaviour for their peers and allowing age appropriate conversations of important topics that are relevant to their life and learning. More than any of that...it is so much fun.

If you have any other reasons why we need to save Imagination, especially in schools, please let me know in the comments.

www.michelleworthington.com

Top 10 tips for Connecting with Toddlers through Reading Time

Here are my top ten tips for Connecting with Your Little Ones.

• Build a foundation of communication and word structure for your child by helping them to become familiar with common sounds, words and language that you use throughout the day.



• Introduce them to the value of books by incorporating them into playtime as well as a bedtime routine.



• Talk about what you have read. Help your children understand that ideas need to be discussed and thought about critically and creatively. This will help show them that words can be communicated to other people in different ways to pass on the message. If you have read something you don’t agree with, discuss that as well. Children need to learn that everything this is written is not necessarily the truth.

• Find ways in everyday activities to spark your child’s imagination. Stimulate curiosity and help his brain development by using words creatively. Don’t be scared about using ‘big words’. Vocabulary is key to improving communication in young children.



• Use sounds in fun ways. Make silly made up sounds and vary your pitch and tone when talking, reading and singing songs together.



• Help your child learn the difference between ‘real’ and ‘make-believe’. Imaginative play with toys and books is a great way to switch from real life scenarios to make believe world building. Encourage made up stories but be clear about when the time is needed for truth.

• Picture books can be great tools for you to use to help your child understand change and new or frightening events, and also the strong emotions that can go along with them. The library is an amazing resource for finding diverse books.



• Stop and listen when your child is trying to tell you something. Maintain eye contact. Try to stay as still as you can. Your child will develop early literacy skills like the ability to listen to and understand words faster if they feel they themselves are being listened to and understood.



• Teach your child the importance of following simple instructions by writing shopping lists together and getting them involved with easy cooking recipes or reading aloud to them as you are cooking so they can see the importance of written words.

• Foster a sense of humour by sharing laughter every day. Laugh out loud at silly jokes, something accidental or unusual that happened or silly sounds. Learning to laugh is important for a child’s communication, literacy and emotional development. Best of all, the sound of your laughter will make them the happiest of all.





If you have some great top tips, I would love you to contact me.


www.michelleworthington.com
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