Write Now! (A writing workshop for kids)

In case the flyer is difficult to read, here are the details.

If you are passionate about writing, you live in Perth, and you are between the ages of 9 and 12 – the State Library of WA has the writing workshop for you!

The hands-on workshop will be led by Duncan Ball (author of the Selby and Emily Eyefinger series), and Chris Morphew (one of the authors of the Zac Power series). And you can get tips and hints about book design from graphic designer and illustrator, Tracey Gibbs.

Date: Saturday 20 March 2010

Time: 9 am – 4 pm

Where: ‘The Place’, State Library of WA

Ages: 9 – 12

Bring: Lunch and a water bottle. (Morning tea, afternoon tea and writing materials are supplied)

Cost: $55 – payment taken by State Library shop, in person or by phone.

Bookings essential as places are limited.

For more information, contact Joanna on 9427 3173.

Author event: Meet Rachel Spratt

Meet the author of the Nanny Piggins books at the launch of the third book – Nanny Piggins and the Runaway Lion!

When: 3pm – 4.30pm, Saturday 6th March
Where: St Johns little church hall, opposite St Johns Church, St Johns Road, Glebe, NSW.
Cost: Free!

You can chat with the author, Rachel Spratt, and hear a reading from the book. And there’ll be refreshments and activities including a chocolate treasure hunt.

Head to the launch for a snorting good time!

RSVP essential! Please email louise@gleebooks.com.au

Australia’s myths and legends with Mark Greenwood

We interviewed children’s author, Mark Greenwood, in a 2009 issue of Alphabet Soup magazine. If you’re in WA on 19 January 2010, you can hear him talk about Australia’s myths and legends. (Bookings are essential.)

When:  19 January 2010, from 4.00pm to 5.00pm
Where:  AH Bracks Library (Cnr Stock Rd & Canning Hwy, Melville WA)
Cost: Free
Contact: Phone AH Bracks Library on 9364 0115 for more information.
For: ages 7 to 12.

Meet storyteller Glenn B Swift

Tall Tales and True of Brave Knights and Fair Maidens (WA event)

Storyteller Glenn B Swift will let you in on what Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Sir Lancelot had in common and what lessons they had to learn to live happily ever after. For ages four to 12. (This event is part of the WA Premier’s Summer Reading Challenge.)

Tuesday, 12 January from 11.00am to noon at Willagee Library and 2.00pm to 3.00pm at Canning Bridge Library.

Wednesday, 13 January from 1.00pm to 2.00pm at A.H. Bracks Library and 3.00pm to 4.00pm at Civic Square Library.

Cost: $2.00 per child (bookings essential).

For more information,  phone the City of Melville on 1300 635 845.

Kids writing comp closes 3 January 2010!

There’s still time to enter our summer writing competition and win a $20 book voucher!

Entries are judged in three age categories: under 7s, under 9s, and 12-and-under.

To download an entry form – and for competition details – head over to the Alphabet Soup website! Entries close 3 January 2010.

Win a copy of Bush Secrets by Tjalaminu Mia and Jessica Lister!

Thanks to everyone who entered our Wombat Divine giveaway. (Refer to the comments at that post to see who won, if you haven’t already!)

We thought we could squeeze in one last book giveaway before Christmas is upon us. A while back we reviewed Bush Secrets, by Tjalaminu Mia and Jessica Lister, about a granddaughter sharing a secret with her grandfather, and then Grandpa sharing a special place in the bush with her.

We have one review copy to give away! To enter, leave a comment at any post on Soup blog, telling us the title of a children’s book you love (0r loved as a child!) that has a Christmas theme.

This giveaway has been extended and entries close on Thursday 24 December 2009 at 5 pm Perth time (that’s Perth in Western Australia!).

Even more Christmas books!

Well, there are only 7 sleeps left until Christmas day!

At this time of year, when I’m reading books to my children at bedtime, we always have at least one Christmas-themed book and (as we’re running out of days to talk about them) I thought I’d list a few all in one post!

One book that we continue to pull out since my eldest daughter was little is The Nativity, illustrated by Julie Vivas. It uses text from the Authorised King James Version of the Bible to tell the Christmas story and the illustrations really glow and make this a wonderful book. (You might know her illustrations from other books, like Possum Magic, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge and Our Granny, or many others!)

We also love Twelve Days of Christmas by Rachel Griffin. It comes with a CD of the song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ and each double-page spread in the book covers one day of the twelve days. Each page has photographs of brightly-coloured embroidery showing scenes from that particular day – our favourites: the Five Gold Rings worn by an elephant, and the Pipers Piping, who are snake charmers. We love this book and we never get tired of the fun CD, and of course, the twelve days of Christmas aren’t over until Epiphany, so we can keep listening until well after Christmas! (This was published in the UK and my children seem to think that the twelfth day should be ‘Drummers drumming’ and not ‘Lords-a-leaping’, but I don’t know if this is an Australian preference or a Newman-children preference. If we’re singing it along with a piano we go with my children’s preference, but we respect the CD version when we’ve got that on!)

I believe Twelve Days of Christmas is currently out of print, which is A TERRIBLE THING! But I’ve seen it at several public libraries, so you could add it to your ‘must borrow’ list.

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Kevin Whitlark arrived in our house just before December and (you guessed it) is a silly version of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ and full of all kinds of dogs doing doggy things. We like to sing ‘Three French Poodles, Two chewed up slippers, and a fat cat in a fur treeeeeee’ very loudly. If you love dogs (and Christmas carols), you will love this picture book. It really is very silly but it’s good fun and has been read quite a few times since it first arrived.

What about your holiday reading? Do you have any Christmas books that you just love and you think we should know about?

~ Rebecca Newman (Editor, Alphabet Soup magazine)

The Nativity, illustrated by Julie Vivas, Omnibus Books, ISBN 1862910529. This book was selected for review from the Editor’s own collection.

Twelve Days of Christmas, by Rachel Griffin, Barefoot Books, ISBN 9781841489407. This book was selected for review from the Editor’s own collection.

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, by Kevin Whitlark, Scholastic Australia, ISBN 9781741694451. A review copy of  this book was sent to us by  Scholastic Australia.

A subscription for Christmas!

Alphabet Soup is a magazine about books and creative writing for primary-school aged kids. A subscription would make a fantastic Christmas gift for your favourite young bookworm. (A 1-year subscription only costs $29.80.)

All our subscribers for issue 5 go into a draw for a chance to win a book pack from Fremantle Press, worth $200.00!*

*Books in book pack may differ from those pictured.

Subscribe now to ensure your first issue arrives in time to go under the tree!

Inside issue 5:

• Kids’ writing competition (win a $20 book voucher!)
• Q&A with Christine Harris, author of the Audrey books
• Meet an astronomer
• Stories, poems and book reviews
• 6 pages of kids’ writing (kids’ stories, poems, book reviews and artwork!)
• Writing tips for kids

Merry Christmas from Alphabet Soup!

The Battle for Rondo by Emily Rodda

The evil Blue Queen’s power seems to be growing and Leo and Mimi Langlander return to the world of Rondo for the last time to join with their Rondo friends to try to stop her. They come up with a plan to defeat the queen, but it’s risky. And they have to face dragons, ogres and numerous other evil inhabitants as they prepare. Can they save Rondo, or will the Blue Queen triumph and have Rondo under her spell forever?

This is the third book in the Rondo series and full of thrilling adventures. Mimi and Leo have changed a lot since The Key to Rondo (when they first entered Rondo) and seem more accepting of their roles in the survival of Rondo. You really want their plans to work, but even heroes are frightened, tired, and make bad decisions sometimes …

You don’t have to read the first two books to enjoy this one, but the first two are also fantastic – so I recommend starting back at the beginning with The Key to Rondo, and then read The Wizard of Rondo before moving onto this book. And you’ve got school holidays ahead of you, so you’ll have heaps of time to read!

The Battle for Rondo, by Emily Rodda, Omnibus Books for Scholastic Australia, ISBN 9781862918306

A review copy of The Battle for Rondo was sent to us by Omnibus Books (for Scholastic Australia)

Jake’s Gigantic List trailer

The current issue of Alphabet Soup includes a review of Jake’s Gigantic List. And today I came across a book trailer, made by Chris Nixon, the illustrator. (We’ll be interviewing Chris Nixon in the autumn 2010 issue of the magazine, so stay tuned!)