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• Blog
• Melissa Stoller

IT’S ALL ABOUT . . . DREAMING OF IDEAS IN DECEMBER!

It’s the end of the year – goodbye 2025 and hello 2026! This month, take stock of your ideas for the past twelve months, and dream about all your ideas...

• Blog
• Debra Collins

WHAT SHALL WE CELEBRATE?

Every day, we grown-ups are inundated with messages urging us to mistrust, exclude, and expel certain people. How do we “grow up” to this? Children do not find these attitudes modeled...

• Blog
• Debra Collins

I SEE MYSELF IN YOU

A friend of mine, a fellow writer, laments that picture books are considered little children’s books. Great picture books offer wisdom for humans of all ages. Consider the two books we’re...

• Blog
• Melissa Stoller

IT’S ALL ABOUT . . . FALLING FOR IDEAS IN SEPTEMBER!

Where I live in New York, Autumn starts in September. This is the perfect month to fall for ideas. Here are a few prompts to get you started:

• Debra Collins

SAFE ENOUGH TO BE BRAVE

Children who are easily overwhelmed have narrow comfort zones. It is far too easy for everyday situations to trigger self-protective “fight or flight” reactions, whereby the autonomic nervous system equips...

• Blog
• KidLit
• Melissa Stoller

IT’S ALL ABOUT . . . SHINY IDEAS IN JUNE!

In the Northern Hemisphere where I live, the month of June signifies the start of summer. This year, June 20 will be the official summer solstice, the longest day of...

• Blog
• KidLit
• Melissa Stoller

IT’S ALL ABOUT . . . FLOWERING IDEAS IN MAY!

Last month, I encouraged everyone to find ideas using the phrase “April Showers Bring May Flowers.” So this month - May - enjoy and appreciate the beautiful flowers that are...

• Blog
• Debra Collins
• KidLit

WARMLY WELCOMING EVERY ONE

This month’s book highlights and nurtures social-emotional capacities of Social Awareness and Relationship Skills through metaphor, rather than a character-driven plot.

IT’S ALL ABOUT . . . SHOWERING IDEAS IN APRIL!

According to the old proverb, April showers bring May flowers! I love using sayings to help generate ideas. This month, think about showers of all types to inspire your stories. 

A “HOLE” LOT OF OPPORTUNITY!

Last month’s spotlight featured a character with attributes that truly were quite different from his peers’.  In this month’s story, PAULA'S PATCHES, a girl who believes her situation is unique...

FITTING IN WHEN YOU’RE UNIQUE by Dr. Debra Collins

Forming a group, by definition, involves making many into one. It’s a unit made up of multiple, non-identical elements. For the group to run smoothly, the purpose or expectations of...

IT’S ALL ABOUT . . . MARCHING INTO MARCH WITH IDEAS! By Melissa Stoller

Each March, Melissa Stoller thinks of the phrase, “In like a lion and out like a lamb.” This refers to the weather during the month of March, which often comes...

Best Apps for Toddlers that Promote Reading

Let me just make it clear that I love technology, but I strongly believe that apps and IPADs will NEVER replace a real actual book, with real print on paper...

The Simplest (Yet Most Overlooked) Secret to Creating a Reader

It's All About...Cooking Up Ideas In November

November is a perfect month for cooking up delicious ideas. Here are a few prompts to help with inspiration: 1. Write a list of your favorite childhood dishes. Then note a...

This Book Makes Me Think About: Bing, Bop, Bam Time to Jam! By Valerie Bolling and Sabrena Khadija

Bing, Bop, Bam: Time to Jam is the latest collaboration of Valerie Bolling and Sabrina Khadija, and it will surely make your heart sing. The duo creates a colorful community of...

It's all about...Lighting Up Ideas In December

Coming Out On Top

“I am right!” “I am better!”Competition demands striving to place ourselves above.To be the highest, not the lowest.To be at the top, not the bottom.How can children learn that competing...

Embracing Comfort in Children's Books

​What keeps a young child smiling and secure 24-7? Their loving parents? Doting grandparents? How about their comfort toy or blankie! “Transitional Object” is the technical term for these prized possessions...

COOKING UP IDEAS IN NOVEMBER with Melissa Stoller

It's all about Fall foods for November's inspiration. Follow these prompts to cook up ideas for future fiction and nonfictions children's book stories.