Posts

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

middle grade fiction

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION

Our middle grade fiction tour carries on.  Walking the streets of New Orleans with Saltwater Taffy under my arm brought back an afternoon of memories from my days on the USA NETWORK show, THE BIG EASY.

On this trip we met some amazing parents, educators and children of all type in the Crescent City.  I think the coolest thing about the trip was discovering the indie bookstore of OCTAVIA BOOKS, located in the Garden District.  Filled with best selling books, Tom and Judith Lafitte (yes, Judith is related to the great pirate, Jean Lafitte) are two amazing bookstore owners.  Their store is intimate and friendly, which was perfect for the kids who showed up for the Saltwater Taffy book sining.  I especially… Read more

Middle Grade Fiction

/0 Comments/in , , /by

middle grade fiction

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION

One way to fix the middle grade fiction literacy problem and drop-our rate of our children in America is for authors to visit middle grade schools with loads of enthusiasm.

Yesterday marked the start of my adventure and doing what I can to get kids excited about reading middle grade fiction.  With the help of Mr. Murphy, an awesome middle=grade teacher here in Santa Monica, I spent my Friday morning with 5th, 6th and 7th Graders of St. Anne’s Catholic School.  The Daily Pretzel said I had “more energy and enthusiasm than a bus full of sugar-high 5th graders.”  It’s a good thing because I needed every ounce of it.  To say the room was BUZZING with energy would be an understatement.

We had close to 60 kids in one classroom and if you don’t bring your A-Game of enthusiasm with kids, they will eat you alive.  It truly was an awesome way to start the Saltwater Taffy National Tour.  Next up, Las Vegas!  More from the road coming up!

Eric DelaBarre is an award-winning filmmaker and the author of Saltwater Taffy.

SNOWBALL EXPRESS GIVEAWAY

/0 Comments/in , , /by

GarySNOWBALL EXPRESS GIVEAWAY WITH GARY SINISE

The Snowball Express is an amazing event for children every holiday season.  Today we loaded up 1000 copies of Saltwater Taffy onto a plane for the children of fallen American heros in the war.  This wonderful program came through our friend Gary Sinese from CSI: New York.  I think each and every one of us has had a bad day here or there, but can you imagine what it must feel like to learn that you’ve lost a parent in the war?  Hopefully this holiday season, Saltwater Taffy will bring a smile to the 1000 children in Dallas tonight for the Snowball Express Gala.  Please visit their site and help however you can.

 

MIDDLE GRADE READING: The Fear of Failure

/0 Comments/in , /by

Middle Grade ReadingMIDDLE GRADE READING: The Fear of Failure

Middle Grade Reading can be a starting point of how tweens can learn how to dream a bigger dream.  The problem facing most kids is they don’t think they can achieve their dream, which is why they live in fear most of the time.  

Living in fear of anything limits our ability to perform in the very thing we wish to succeed in.  Let’s say, for example, we are in middle school and we are afraid of failing the exam we are about to take even though we spent hours studying the required material.  When we sit down to take the exam, we go into a brain lock and forget…

Read more

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Bang, Bang, YOU’RE DEAD

/2 Comments/in , , , /by

middle grade fictionMIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Bang, Bang, YOU’RE DEAD

Middle grade fiction, middle grade students, and middle grade literacy is the reason I became a children’s book author in the first place.  The problem I have is all the violence we are feeding our middle grade children.

Over the weekend, my wife and I walked into a pizza joint to eat dinner and this was the first thing we saw; little boys holding guns while playing the arcade games.  There is nothing wrong with arcade games, don’t get me wrong, but the image of this Tween holding a gun was…

Read more