Crystal
marks a 15th anniversary,
so
choose a flute from those pictured above, then join me in raising
a toast to
celebrate our TeachingAuthors 15th Blogiversary!
Next,
click here to enter our
celebratory Giveaway to win a copy of
my S IS FOR STORY and a $15 Bookshop gift
card.
S
is for story, I wrote,
so
brilliant in its might,
to help
us see
ourselves, our world,
in oh,
such dazzling light.
Reflecting
on the past fifteen years, I see, as Carmela did, the
circular structure of My
Story.
I
also see, and dazzlingly so: the more things change, the
more they stay the
same.
How
honored I was when Carmela invited me to join five
other children’s book
writers who also taught writing
to create this blog.
TEACHING
AUTHOR? TEACHING AUTHOR!
As
I shared in my very first post in April of 2009, I knew in my
heart since learning
my ABC’S, I wanted to teach and write
children’s books.
I
was grateful for the opportunity to share my Susan-Lucci-like
Writer’s Journey
to help others tell their stories to children,
especially since I’d soon be
publishing S IS FOR STORY.
As
always, I was hopeful, (1) that I could hold my own in the
company of such
talented and highly-degree-ed writers – and –
(2) that I could handle the requisite
software technology. I’m
an unashamed Luddite.
But…and
isn’t there always a but, I soon realized: TEACHING
had over-taken my
AUTHORING, filling my days and often,
nights.
My
story
had become helping others tell their stories.
My
students and the writers I coached – my “storied treasures”
as I described them
in my very first Thanku - had claimed my
heart and refused to let go, which was
just what my book
characters – Lowell, Rudie, Pippin and Howie – had done.
And
as former Chicago Cubs Manager Joe Maddon used to
say, “It’s all about the
heartbeat.”
Though
I wasn’t writing a children’s book, I needed to do
everything a children’s book
does, beyond entertaining:
inform, encourage, inspire and always, always offer
Hope.
Chicago’s
Newberry Library and the University of
Chicago’s Graham School of Continuing
Education
continue to gift me with outstanding smart and caring
human
beings eager to tell their stories to children.
They’re
joined by the singular writers I’m privileged to
coach – in person or now via
ZOOM, plus those I’ve been
lucky enough to mentor and the Young Authors I’ve
taught in countless school visits.
All engage my head and heart on a daily
basis.
To
seed and feed, to grow these writers, I grew classes,
workshops, seminars,
programs, meeting writers’ needs,
no matter their age or years on task. I’ve
presented here,
in Chicago, but anywhere and everywhere, often thanks
to SCBWI.
Believe it or not, thanks to the Pandemic, I even
learned how to teach virtually! I utilized the
unicorn's collective nouns to label the squares
on my screen my marvel, my blessing, my glory
of writers.
And
miraculously, with a whole lot of help from
Carmela, I posted on schedule,
sharing my views, thoughts
and opinion on the selected subject, always in
service of
offering Readers a Teaching Take-away.
Of
course…and isn’t there always an of course, my students and
writers
reside in our Children’s Book World, where I reside, too,
gladly on their
behalf.
NEW
has
become this ever-changing World’s operative word,
especially these past fifteen
years.
New
formats. New genres.
New
publishers. New ways to publish a story.
New
communities, online, offline.
New
institutions of learning, both in person and virtually.
New
gatekeepers and ways to reach our Readers.
New
technology.
New
social platforms.
New
awards, grants, booksellers, resources.
And
thanks to Walter Dean Myers’ NY Times OpEd that led
to We Need Diverse Books,
new doors, windows and mirrors
for generations of Young Readers.
My
job? To bring all of the above to the attention of my
students and writers and
to our Readers’ attention, too.
Yet…and of course there's a yet, our CBW's bottom line
remains as always.
Stories
matter.
Readers
matter.
WE
matter.
As
I shared (with the help of my then 11-year-old tech-savvy
grandson) in my
recent Power Point Chicago workshop
presentation As Our Children’s Book World Turns: the
more
things change, the more they stay the same.
It's all about the heartbeat.
Lo
and behold, while I was fully-engaged seeding and feeding
writers, they must
have been seeding and feeding me!
How
else could two very different characters – one a colonial
Jewess, one a bunny
potter – grab my heart and refuse to let
go until I get their stories told.
Writing
brought me to our Children’s Book World and in truth
to this blog.
How
good it feels to be writing - and revising - children’s books
again, while of
course, still TEACHING, but yet with
AUTHORING now and once again in
view.
I
remain hopeful…
and
grateful.
How
could I not?
Thank
you to my eleven fellow TeachingAuthors bloggers,
veteran and former*, for
sharing your Smarts and Hearts
these past fifteen years.
Thank
you to our TeachingAuthors Readers, storied treasures,
too, loyal Fans, Feeders and Fuelers.
Happy
15th Blogiversary! And don’t
forget to click here to
enter our Book and Book Gift Card Giveaway!
Esther
Hershenhorn
P.S.
Thank
you to Buffy Silverman/, whom I’ve cheered on since
our Writing Paths crossed oh, so long ago in
Illinois, for hosting
today’s Poetry Friday.
P.P.S
One spot has opened up in my July 7-12 Vermont Manuscript
Workshop! To learn more, click here and
scroll down the page.
*Joann Early Macken, Jeanne Marie Grunwell-Ford,
Jill
Esbaum, Laura Purdie Salas, Gwendolyn Hooks,
Carla McKillough
