Write What Inspires You! ~ Donna M. McDine: Pam Johnson

Thursday, October 18, 2012

9 Top Children's Books That Motivates Children To Follow Their Dreams

9 Top Children's Books That Motivates Children To Follow Their Dreams

by Pam Johnson

From a young age, it is important that children learn to follow their dreams. They need to have confidence in themselves and learn to do what they believe in. If a child does not believe in herself or himself and does not follow his or her dreams, this will most likely follow them throughout their lives. As young children, one of the best ways to instill this value is through the use of books. The following is a list of 9 children's books that will help motivate your children to follow their dreams and never give up.

1. Henry Builds a Cabin written by D.B. Johnson: This inspirational story tells the tale of a bear working towards building his dream house. It is modeled after Hery David Thoreau and his house near Walden Pond.

2. Snowflake Bentley written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin: This book is about a young boy who turns his passion for snowflakes into a lifelong quest. Despite people telling him he can't reach his goal, he perseveres.

3. William’s Doll written by Charlotte Zolotow: Not only does this book show the importance of following your dreams, but also being yourself, even when others don't approve. The story line of this book is that William has all kinds of toys that are traditionally for boys, but what he truly wants is a doll, despite ridicule for this.

4. Dream Big, Little Pig! written by Kristi Yamaguchi: This children's book centers around a young pig who wants to be a star. Along the way she discovers this is hard work, but she keeps working towards her goal and eventually becomes a star on the ice.

5. Leo the Late Bloomer written by Robert Kraus: This book is inspirational because it tells the story of a very sad lion who can't do anything neatly. He becomes very frustrated with himself but continues to try hard and eventually reaches his goal of being able to read, write, and eat neatly.

6. Follow Your Dreams written by Andrea Posner-Sanchez: This book contains two different stories starring two of Disney's favorite princesses. Both stories teach about not taking the easy way out and following your dreams, despite adversity.

7. Follow Your Dreams written by Mo Vaughn: This book is written by baseball MVP Mo Vaughn and he tells children that they should never give up on what they want to do. This steps from his hard work at becoming a great baseball player.

8. Follow Your Dreams written By Marg Watt: Marg Watt tells the story of a forest creature exploring who he is. He hopes to reach the Hallowed Hollow to truly find himself, and despite the long journey ahead, he follows his dreams and succeeds.

9. Pippa Funnell: Follow Your Dreams written by Pippa Funnell: Pippa Funnell, a famous British Equestrian rider, tells her story of how much work she put in to becoming one of the most famous equestrian riders in the world. She discusses her hardships along the way and showcases how all of that hard work paid off.

Author Pam Johnson enjoys reading to her children and blogging. She is a contributing writer for homeequityloan.net.

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Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with Donna McDine on Google+

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

10 Top Children's Books That Activates Child's Creativity

10 Top Children's Books That Activates Child's Creativity

by Pam Johnson

Children, for the most part, are known for having more imagination than adults. Some may think that this would directly correlate to having a strong sense of creativity, but this is not necessarily the case. It is important that, from a very young age, parents introduce their children to creativity. One great way to do this is through the use of books. Not only is writing one form of art, but these books also generally have illustrations to inspire young children. In addition to the writing and illustration, some books have an art-focused plot and are even better for a child's path to creativity. The following list is of 10 books that are great beginnings to your child's creative conquests:

1. A Book About Color written by Mark Gonyea: This book is great because it is art-focused. It give a background on basic color use, as well as tips on general art and design practices.

2. Popville written by Anouck Boisrobert and Louis Rigaud: As the title might give away, this book is about the popular art movement, pop art. This movement was started in the 1950's and was incredibly iconic, making it a great place for children to start learning.

3. The Art Lesson written by Tomie dePaola: This book paints a picture, both with words and images, of the tale of a young boy named Tommy. It tells of Tommy's journey through learning art techniques, first at home and then at school. This can help motivate children to take the same path as young Tommy.

4. Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook written by Ellen Potter and Anne Mazer: This book is great because it introduces children to a different form of art: writing. Writing is an important skill that all children will eventually need to have. Introducing them to writing at an early age makes them more likely to excel in it later in life.

5. Scribbles: A Really Giant Drawing and Coloring Book written by Taro Gomi: This book is unique because of its interactive nature. The book is a large coloring book that also has a story line. Readers are encouraged to decorate, and even sometimes finish, pages in the book.

6. Harold and the Purple Crayon written by Crockett Johnson: This book stimulates the imagination of children and shows them how creativity can be a result of that imagination, even if all you have is a large purple crayon.

7. Not a Box written by Antoinette Portis: This book once again plays up the imagination of children. In this book specifically children are presented with the idea that they don't need anything more than a box to have fun.

8. The Dot written by Peter Reynolds: This book promotes creativity of those who think they have none. It encourages them to try to make art, and shows that they can, in fact, come up with something.

9. Georgia O'Keeffe written by Linda Lowery: As Georgia O'Keeffe was an incredibly influential painter, her background is inspiring.

10. Willow written by Cyd Moore: This book gives insight to the fact that all art is not made the same.

Author Pam Johnson enjoys reading to her children and blogging. She is a contributing writer for grouphealthinsurance.org.