SCBWI Caribbean North

SCBWI Caribbean North: Rosy Reads

2006-06-02T17:00:00.000-05:00

Rosy Reads

2006-06-02T16:05:00.000-05:00

Storytime with Rosy is an interactive programme at Logos Bookstore in Nassau, Bahamas. Storytimes are held on Tuesdays (3-5s), Wednesdays (0-2s), Thursdays (0-2s) and Saturdays (3-5s). Rosy features new titles and old favourites. Babies, toddlers and their mums/dads make up a mini United Nations, representing many countries including Russia, Switzerland, Germany, England, Mexico, Canada, America, and The Bahamas.

Here's a sampling of what we're reading this month:

New titles:
While Mama Had a Quick Little Chat
Amy Reichert, Alexandra Boiger (Illustrator)

Do Not Open This Book!
Michaela Muntean, Pascal Lemaitre (Illustrator)

Monday the Bullfrog
Matthew Van Fleet

Wiggle Your Toes
Karen Katz

A Girl and Her Gator
Sean Bryan, Tom Murphy (Illustrator)

The Gruffalo
Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (Illustrator)

Captain Barnacle's Aquarium: Filled with Fun, Fishy Facts!
Edward Miller

Cha-Cha Chimps
Julia Durango, Eleanor Taylor (Illustrator)

Old favourites:
Shark in the Park!
Nick Sharratt

This Little Piggy: A Hand-Puppet Board Book(Hand-Puppet Board Book Series)
Scholastic Inc.Staff, Michelle Berg (Illustrator), Designed by Patti Ann Harris

Ten Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Tina Freeman (Illustrator)

From Head to Toe
Eric Carle

Moo Cow Book
Sandra Boynton

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout
Teri Sloat, Reynold Ruffins (Illustrator)

Mister Seahorse
Eric Carle

We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Michael Rosen, Helen Oxenbury

"My First Bahamian Counting Book"

2006-05-30T16:12:00.000-05:00

“My First Bahamian Counting Book” made its official debut at Logos Bookstore, Harbour Bay Shopping Plaza, Nassau, Bahamas on Saturday, March 4. Author Christine Aylen introduced the delightful rhyming book at a Super Storytime event for babies, toddlers and parents.

The North Caribbean chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) coordinated the event and representatives met with professional and aspiring children’s authors. “Christine is our newest recruit. We’re excited to welcome her to our SCBWI family of 20,000 members in 70 regions worldwide. Bahamian Alice Bain who wrote “99 Potcakes,” is also a member,” said Regional Advisor Rosemarie Johnson Clarke.

Published by LMH Publishing in Kingston, Jamaica, Mrs Aylen is a first-time Bahamian author who is working on several other manuscripts including one with her husband, photographer Tim Aylen. She studied children’s book writing at the City Literary Institute, London, England but said she has learned far more about writing for kids as a mother to Julia, 7, and Matthew, 4. “Reading to my kids, playing with them, just observing and listening to them has taught me so much,” Mrs Aylen said.

In fact, Matthew inspired her to write her first book. “One night he was helping me count and identify objects in a British counting book. When he saw mittens, he said, ‘hands.’ I realized that many things our children see in books are not things we see in The Bahamas. He’d never seen a pair of mittens before. So I decided to follow the old rule: ‘Write about what you know.’”

During discussion time at Logos, Mrs Aylen recommended her favourite authors — Enid Blyton, Dr Seuss and Judy Blume. One of her favourite story collections is “The Sesame Street Library,” a childhood gift from her parents. “They have a cookie recipe in them and my mother taught me how to bake them on my own. My daughter, Julia and I use the same recipe and she is reading my old Sesame Street books, which are out of print now.”

As a child, her favourite series was Enid Blyton’s “Magic Faraway Tree” books, which are still in print. “The characters are so unique and exciting and all the little details are so vivid. I felt like I was peeking into another world, it was such an amazing place to escape to.”

Mrs Aylen is a big read aloud advocate. “My dad read to me nearly every night until I was too old to be read to but we both enjoyed the time together so neither of us wanted to say anything to the other for fear of hurt feelings. I guess my love of books came from him.” And she has inherited the writing bug gene. Her great, great grandfather, Thomas Murray Ford, was actually a playwright and author who wrote under the pen name Thomas LeBreton. She recently purchased some of his books and is anxiously awaiting their arrival from a rare books archive. “They are from the 1920s; they will be tattered and torn but it means so much to me to get to know him a little, through his writing. He has always fascinated me,” she said. Mrs Aylen’s non-fiction writing has been published in The Tribune, INARU (Bahamian women’s magazine), Island Magazine and Island Sense in Grand Bahama.

She encouraged Bahamians and residents with a passion to write or illustrate children’s books to join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).Other countries in the North Caribbean region include Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Turks & Caicos, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Founded in 1971, the SCBWI acts as a network where writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers, and others involved with literature for young people actively exchange knowledge.

Storytime in Nassau

2006-05-30T11:14:00.000-05:00

Saturday, March 4 Super Storytime

2006-03-01T22:15:00.000-05:00

“My First Bahamian Counting Book” will make its official debut at Logos Bookstore, Harbour Bay Shopping Plaza in Nassau, Bahamas, on Saturday, March 4. Author Christine Aylen will introduce the delightful rhyming book at a Super Storytime event for babies, toddlers and parents.

The North Caribbean chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) will coordinate the event and representatives will meet with professional and aspiring children’s authors. “Christine is our newest recruit. We’re excited to welcome her to our SCBWI family of 19,000 members in 70 regions worldwide. Bahamian Alice Bain who wrote “99 Potcakes,” is also a member,” said Regional Advisor Rosemarie Johnson Clarke.

Bahamian author charms students with "99 Potcakes"

2005-12-08T01:55:00.000-05:00

Queen’s College Primary School in Nassau, Bahamas welcomed a “real live children’s author” recently. A guest of the North Caribbean chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Alice Bain brought along “Ninety-nine Potcakes” to a storytime and Q&A presentation for grades one, two and three. No, she didn’t bring four-legged friends; “Ninety-nine Potcakes” is the name of her charming, rhyming picture book.

Published by Macmillan Caribbean, Alice is a first-time Bahamian author now at work on another “potcakes” manuscript. One of her stories for older children will be featured in an upcoming Macmillan anthology.

Alice, who currently lives in Utah, explained that the book is loosely based on her experiences in Abaco when she opened her home to as many as 12 potcakes at one time. When she moved to Chicago to attend graduate school, she found good homes for all her dogs. One of her Marsh Harbour potcakes has since “relocated” to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Thanks to an arrangement with Logos Bookstore in Nassau, students also had the opportunity to buy “Ninety-nine Potcakes” and have their copies signed by the author.

“We are always so happy and excited to welcome real live children’s authors to Queen’s College,” Primary School Librarian Mrs Veronica Roberts, said. “When you are fortunate enough to hear an author read her book, it is definitely a very special experience,” she said.

Alice’s visit to QC was part of a two-day school and Logos Bookstore storytime and book-signing event organized by the SCBWI’s North Caribbean chapter, headed by Bahamian Rosemarie Johnson Clarke. Other countries in the region include Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Turks & Caicos, U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

Founded in 1971, the SCBWI acts as a network where writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers, and others involved with literature for young people actively exchange knowledge. There are currently more than 19,000 members worldwide, in more than 70 regions, making it one of the largest writing organizations in the world.

Rosemarie Johnson Clarke

SCBWI CARIBBEAN NORTH

2005-12-03T02:12:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to Caribbean North's Blog!
Enormous thank-yous to Vanessa (SCBWI Caribbean South) for getting us up and running!

More soon...

Sending big smiles,
Rosemarie