CELEBRATE REDHEADS AND ELECT THE RED HAIRED ANIMAL OF THE YEAR

I'm a redhead 

And I'm proud of it. In fact, being a redhead is a big thing in my family. I have redheaded cousins and a redheaded son. We trace our family red hair roots proudly back to my great grandfather John Wesley Haldeman and we enjoy this shared bond. So I'm happy to announce that November 5, 2015 is National LOVE Your Red Hair Day. 

To my surprise, this isn't the only calendar day set aside to appreciate redheads. There is even a festival held each year in Breda, The Netherlands. That event started in 2005 when Dutch painter Bart Rouwenhorst decided he wanted to paint 15 redheads. He advertised for models and had 150 replies. Over time the festival has grown and now attracts around 5,000 redheads each year.

Of course, people aren't the only redheads. There are redheaded animals too. In fact, a few animals are red all over. So try these activities to have fun getting to know some of the redheads of the animal world.

2015 Redhead of the Year 

Invite kids to join in electing one of these three red haired animals to hold this title. Here's a snapshot of the candidates.

Red Panda: This animal is not a kind of panda. It's a unique kind of mammal (hairy, warm-blooded animal whose mothers nurse their young). Its red hair helps it blend in with the red mosses growing on the trees where it live.

Orangutan: In the swampy forests where this ape lives the muddy orange water casts an orange-red light into the trees. So it hides in plain sight thanks to its red hair.

Golden Lion Tamarin: This monkey's red hair makes it stand out. That may help it find other golden lion tamarins in its forest home. 




Scientists believe its hair is red at least partly because of the chemicals (carotenoids) in the fruit it eats. 

Now pick one candidate to support.  

Click on one of the names below to go to websites and find out more about your favorite candidate for REDHEAD OF THE YEAR.

• Red Panda
• Orangutan
• Golden Lion Tamarin

Next, write a paragraph to share with others to convince them to vote for your candidate.

Also make a campaign poster. And think up a slogan--a catchy phrase--for why others should vote for your candidate.

Hold an election and count the votes to find out who is the winner.

Don't forget to celebrate the election of the 2015 REDHEAD OF THE YEAR!!!

How The Woodpecker Got Its Red head

Another of my favorite wild redheads is the red-headed woodpecker. 

There is a Cherokee legend about how the red-headed woodpecker came to be.  Here is my retelling of this legend.

Long ago, there was a cabin way off in the woods. A man who was a wood carver lived there with his beautiful red-haired wife. One day, while the man was away and the woman was home baking, an old Cherokee man came to the cabin. He had been travelling a long time and was very hungry. He asked the woman to give him something to eat. But she sent him away.

The old man was surprised because the Cherokee would never send anyone away hungry. He went back the next day. The woman in the cabin still would not give him any food to eat.

Now the old man was able to work magic. So he decided to teach the woman a lesson. The next day he went to the cabin yet again. When the woman still would not give him even a slice of the bread she was baking, he cast a spell on her. He said, “From this day on, you will spend every day searching for food and have to work very hard for what you eat.”

As he walked away, the woman began to change. The black dress she was wearing, her white apron and her bright red hair changed to feathers. She became a woodpecker. To this day, the woodpecker must fly from tree to tree and peck very hard to get food to eat.      


Another telling of the "Ta-la-la" story is found here. "Ta-la-la" is the Cherokee word for redheaded woodpecker.

Now, just for fun, make up a story of your own for how the woodpecker got its red head.

Save A Redhead

Finally, don't miss reading the true life story of how people worked very hard to save one of my favorite red-haired animals. 

CELEBRATE BAT WEEK!

It's officially BAT WEEK!  In fact helping out bats is so important this celebration is continuing.  It's the perfect time to find out about bats. You could even build a bat house to help out your local bats. Check out these sites to learn more.
Organization for Bat Conservation
U.S. Department of Interior Bat Week
Care2 For Bats
Bat Conservation International 

Then share how science detectives tracked down what's been killing a great many bats. So many that little brown bats that were once among the most common kind of bat are in danger of becoming extinct (no more exist). You’ll also discover what's being done to try and save bats of all kinds--even how you can help save your local bats.

Then put what you discovered in this book to work and dig even deeper 

to tackle these activities.

What If You Could HIBERNATE?  

You know what it's like to be asleep. You do it every night. So what if you could hibernate for an entire season the way little brown bats do during the winter? Read about how a bat's body changes during hibernation (read over pages 10 and 11). Then look at this list. Which describes how your body would work if you were hibernating.

1. Your body stays its normal temperature--about 98.6F.
2. You become active sometimes to pass liquid wastes.
3. You become active sometimes to get a drink of water.
4. You eat at least three times a day.
5. Your heart rate drops to a much slower rate than the usual resting rate of 100 beats per minute. 
6. Your immune system isn't nearly as strong in fighting bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

If you could hibernate, which of the four seasons would you choose to skip: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter? Why would you like to miss that one?

What Should We Do?

Here are three ways scientists are trying to help bats survive. Choose the one you believe has the best chance of working. Prepare to tell others why you think this effort is the one to focus on.

*Winifred Frick and her team hope to find bacteria or fungi that could just naturally stop the growth of Pd, the fungus causing the problem. Then bats could be swabbed with this to help them resist infection. (Check it out on pages 38-39)

*David Blehert and his team are trying to find ways to change the temperature and humidity inside hibernation sites. Their goal is to make those sites less likely to encourage Pd to grow. (Check it out on pages 34-35)

*DeeAnn Reeder and her team is working on developing an implant that could be inserted into the bat's bat. It would slowly release a protective chemical into the bat's blood over the winter. (Check it out on pages 36-37)

Once Upon A Field Trip

Find out more about little brown bats. Go online. Use these keyword phrases as you search for information:

1. Little brown bat diet
2. Little brown bat echolocation
3. Little brown bat nursery colonies

 

Now use your research to write a one-page story.  Pretend you’re on a field trip (during the day or at night). Tell about watching this bat. Work something you learned about this bat’s life into your story. 

And don't miss checking out these sites for ways you and your family can help bats survive!

Organization for Bat Conservation

Bat Conservation International

TOP TEN TIPS I WISH I'D KNOWN YEARS AGO FOR GETTING A CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK PUBLISHED

Okay, this is going to be one of those top ten lists. Don't know why but lists of tips like this always seem to go from least to most so this one will too. Although, frankly, the order changes for me on a regular basis. This is today's version. SMILE!

TOP TEN TIPS, 
I WISH I'D KNOWN YEARS AGO,
FOR GETTING A CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK
PUBLISHED 

Please read catalogs digitally. SMILE

NUMBER 10: Study publishers' catalogs thoroughly and regularly. It's the best way to know you're not offering up a book similar to something they've recently published. And to think about the kinds of books they might be looking for.

NUMBER 9: Read interviews with editors and agents. Check out  the kinds of books they've worked on or represented and think about whether yours might be a fit--or not. Check if they are also published and, if so, what they've written. 

Remember, 9 is only a fact finding step.

NUMBER 8: Read PW Children's Bookshelf to see what editors are newly acquiring. But absolutely do NOT worry about trends.

NUMBER 7: Attend SCBWI conferences and listen. LISTEN. LISTEN!

NUMBER 6: Read award winning books. READ more. READ even more!!!

NUMBER 5: Read award winning books aloud. LISTEN!!!!

NUMBER 4: When you think you're ready to send something out, STOP! Let it brew for two weeks and not one day less. Then reread. Revise. POLISH!! Meanwhile, go back through Numbers 10, 9, and 8 to decide who/where to share (and have a Plan B in mind). THEN GET IT THE #%* OUT THERE. Nothing sells sitting on your computer.

NUMBER 3: Stop writing for yourself. Write to sell.  So pick a target audience and get to know them: observe them in action, talk to them, and listen to them.

I love letters and emails from kids with ideas about the books
they want me to write.

NUMBER 2: Find a critique group. Share. Bond. Learn from them. Learn with them.

My group (L-R): Janet McLaughlin, Teddie Aggeles, Susan Banghart, Me, Augusta Scattergood, and Melissa Buhler
LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

NUMBER 1: Write. Write. Write. Breath. Sleep. Eat. Write. WRITE. WRITE!!!!!

And a final thought to those who've asked me, "How many words should there be in a children's picture book text?" Here's what I tell myself: 

Think what you need to say. Then use the very best words you can think of to grab kids and keep them reading (or listening) all the way to the end. Better yet--make them want to read it or hear it again. 

TIPS ON WRITING NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

Now we're digging into a topic I'm passionate about. SMILE.

Everything I said about writing picture books holds true here except that there's one more thing--RESEARCH.  It's key.

I love the detective work: the figuring out what I need to find out and who I need to ask, ferreting it out, and making sure I've examined the information from every angle. People have asked me how I research my books, which reminded me of my friend who wanted a tour inside my brain to see how I think when I work. So here goes.

Open Heart Surgery I suited up to observe.

Ultimately, for me, it's all about talking to people: experts, researchers, scientists, people with real-life experience being there, doing that, seeing for themselves. 



But to find those people and, frankly, to be worthy of their time talking to me, I read about whatever subject I'm tackling: bats, honeybees, traumatic brain injury, open heart surgery, you name it.


I read books, journals, newspapers, every website with any related snippet (that I trust because there is frankly a lot of crap posted by unreliable sources). I try to think of all the nuances of the subject I should examine. And I look for WHO the people are studying, investigating, observing. I also take note of what school or organization they're affiliated with because that's usually key in tracking them down. Although I have to tell you finding people can be a journey and bring surprises. One of my favorite stories is about interviewing William Shockley, one of the three scientists awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing the transistor. 

William Shockley

I was determined to interview all three of these men and had already interviewed the other two: J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchley. In fact, Unisys (the company that bought the company Eckert founded) flew me to Philadelphia just to lunch with J. Presper Eckert. TALK ABOUT A MEMORY! 

However, try as I might, I couldn't get a lead on contact information for William Shockley. So I decided to back door it. By that I mean I started digging for the man's hobbies and interests. Anything that could connect me to people who were in contact with him. I finally found one. 

William Shockley was an active sponsor of the Repository for Germinal Choice (also known as the Genius Sperm Bank). I contacted them and eventually set up a phone interview. William Shockley began by saying, "I never do interviews." 

I said, "Okay." And started asking him about everyday things. Eased into his work and inventing the transistor. He talked for an hour. It was fascinating. Like holding hands with history. 

And probably the best complement I've ever received was when he said good-bye he added, "You can call me any time." We did talk several more times.

In fact, I'd say I learned my interviewing strategies from William Shockley: 
Always be prepared (know the subject and have meaningful questions). 
Always ease into what you really want to know. 
And when the person is hesitant to share ease around that subject and slip back a little later. 
Always check any quotes to be sure it's what they want to share.

And here's the WHY I always seek out the experts. Years ago when I was working on OUTSIDE AND INSIDE BATS (Atheneum), I wanted to include information about the different ways bats move around. I mean flying is obvious but some hop on the ground and I found a photo in a respected magazine (won't name it for obvious reasons) that showed a bat swimming. I also found reference to bats swimming in a couple of books. So I tracked down a bat researcher and asked him how common swimming was for bats. 

His response was, "PLEASE, don't say they can swim. I know about that photo but it's wrong!"  He went on to tell me he was there when the photo was taken. To his dismay, the photographer threw the bat in the water. So what had appeared to me to be a look of determination on the bat's face was, in fact, panic. To this day, I never tackle any research without thinking, "I have to be sure I find the ultimate source who can tell me the truth."

Children deserve nonfiction  to be absolutely accurate.

Researching my nonfiction picture books has allowed me the privilege of talking to amazing people around the world. Sometimes from remote places. I remember interviewing Scott Powell for ANIMAL SCAVENGERS: ARMY ANTS (Lerner). 

 It was by satellite phone while he was in the jungle watching army ants in action. And Nikita Ovsyanikol in Russia  told me such great stories about his experiences studying polar bears on Wrangel Island that besides ANIMAL PREDATORS: POLAR BEARS (Lerner) I also wrote WAITING FOR ICE (Charlesbridge).  

And there was the day Dr. Melissa Behr shared how she climbed down a frozen waterfall into a mine to try to figure out what could possibly be killing hibernating little brown bats for THE CASE OF THE VANISHING LITTLE BROWN BATS (Millbrook/Lerner). Wow! What dedication to research.

My daughter Holly has often said I should write a book called SANDRA MARKLE'S PEOPLE just telling about all of the fascinating people I've been blessed to talk to and sometimes meet in the course of researching my books. Even better, some I continue to touch base with from time-to-time to hear what they're doing now. A few, I'm even blessed to count as friends.

This was one of several penguin books inspired by my Antarctic experiences.

Of course, I have to admit to having an explorer's soul. So some of the research I've enjoyed most is when I've had a chance to do it myself. Like my three trips to Antarctica. I spent two summers camping out with 160,000+ Adelie penguins watching them raise their chicks. 

And I spent a 9-month long winter in Antarctica working at McMurdo Station and experiencing firsthand the coldest, fiercest winter on the planet. The record was -149F but trust me anything below -50F is COLD. I had to wear goggles if I went outside because my contacts would freeze to my eyes. BRRRRRR!

I was able to be in the water with a dolphin, touching it and looking it straight in the eye.

The phone call I received from June Scobee, wife of the Challenger pilot Francis Scobee, was the most touching
moment in my writing life.

I climbed through the Shuttle training module at NASA, stood under the real Shuttle, was with the press and felt the ground shake the day Sally Ride became the first U.S. woman in space, held a moon rock, and lots more wonderful NASA experiences.

I've helped dissect a giant squid. Been in the operating room watching open heart surgery.

It would take days--months--to list all of the amazing experiences I've had researching my nonfiction picture books.

After the research, the process for writing nonfiction picture books is the same as what I wrote as tips for writing picture books in general.  However, I would add two more key challenges.



Share what's true and factual in a picture book in a way that grabs readers every bit as strongly as any fictional story.

Make it worthy of being read aloud.

One of the biggest complements I've received in a letter from a child was that one of my books was her favorite bedtime read aloud. I also love that nearly every letter I receive from both children and teachers includes ideas for other subjects they'd like me to write about. That's truly special.