Kids can write and publish their own books, with some help!

Is your child an Anne 'with an E'

Kids Can Create Books Workshops 

This workshop is for school aged children who have an idea for a story that they would like to publish.

Whether it is a picture book or longer story, kids can bring their ideas to life, giving style and colour to a story solely created by them.

Award winning international author of empowering picture books for children of all abilities, Michelle Worthington, will give aspiring authors and illustrators the information they need to decide what genre they would like to focus on, how they can create engaging stories and the process involved in publication.

You can find out more about Michelle at www.michelleworthington.com

Julieann Wallace, director of Lilly Pilly Publishing, will give real life examples of the children she has worked with to help them share their stories with the world. Visit www.lillypillypublishing.com for more information.

To get the most out of this workshop, children are required to have a project in mind they would like to work on so they get relevant and constructive feedback and can have their specific questions answered.

Bookings essential as places are limited. Parents are welcome to stay during the event, or take some time to read in the library while the workshop takes place, but we require all parents to stay on site.

For any further information, contact Michelle at mworthington.author@gmail.com

Date and Time

Sat. 11 August 2018

12:30 pm – 3:30 pm AEST

Location

Wynnum Library

145 Florence Street

Wynnum, QLD 4178

Book now: Kids Can Create Books Workshop Booking Link

The Importance of Group Story Time

The Importance of Group Story Time

It is a growing problem but a common fact that children are less interested in reading books as a single passive experience. If this is their sole experience of story time, we are in danger of them becoming disinterested in reading at all. The importance of regular storytelling in a group format has never been so important.

Children become engaged during story time because they construct mental images of the text events  while it is being read aloud. When you provide them with a story that is vividly written, they become engaged with the text and actively respond to it. The use of picture books as stimulating text, not only for pre school aged children but for those in primary levels of education, provides a starting point in terms of creating a home or school culture that fosters engaged reading and aesthetic response. The interpretive tools that children use as they attempt to craft meaningful interpretations play a significant role in cognitive engagement and creative thinking. 

One interpretative tool that has displayed for me the most cognitive engagement is when children relate the content of the text to their own personal experiences. When children are able to think about the text and make connections between the new information presented in the story and their store of background experiences, this allows them to be active and thoughtful about their interpretations.

Children often use this ability to  make connections between familiar knowledge and incoming information in order to make predictions and inferences about characters, their motives and actions, as well as story events. If they can enter into shared reading knowing that their own unique set of interpretive tools has value, they find it easier to construct a meaningful connection and learn to work well in a collaborative environment. 

We need to encourage children more often to open their tool boxes and apply those tools in ways that build team work and critical thinking. The collaborative effort of group story time means children, along with the story teller, can add pieces of information recalled from the text, earlier predictions or background knowledge to support and elaborate ideas which is a natural and organic encouragement of further reading.  Each new piece of information added to the discussion becomes a new tool that can be used to see how they all fit together as a whole, allowing them to raise their own questions and topics for discussion and learn the intrinsic value of linking the process of reading to finding answers to their own concerns. 

If you have had a similar experience with group story telling, I would love to hear from you in the comments.