Here's a quick children's lit. quiz. I'm going to name some main characters; you're going to name their author.

Ready?

Murdley Gurdson
Princess Penelope
Fluffy
Tacky
Wodney Wat

Okay. What's your answer?

Did you say Helen Lester?  Ding. Ding. Ding. You are correct!

Lester also has a book about herself. In Author: A True Story, she tells the good and the bad of becoming an author. Your young writers will see an experienced writer facing rejection, persevering, practicing, using the writing process, being frustrated, being inspired.

They will see that they are much like Helen (well, except that they don't receive royalties for their work). Knowing that they are not alone may make a very difficult process just a tad easier to bear.

If you have young children who are learning to read and write stories, share these books about Rocket, a curious dog, and his teacher, a little yellow bird.  Very sweet!

If you have a boy who loves Legos and needs encouragement to write, check out this download which links the two.

There is also one that links Legos and language arts here.