The quote of the week for my creative writing teens usually comes from someone older than them—but this week it comes from my son!

“Let’s walk without talking so we can be with our peaceful thoughts.”

More thoughts on this quote on my blog:
kendrakandlestar.wordpress.com/2024/05/09/wis…

Had so much fun leading a day at a young authors' conference last week. I helped almost ninety kids write magical school acceptance letters—and build the mini-brooms to deliver them! 🧹✨🧙🏼

Happy #MaytheFourth

If you need some help navigating the many characters in Star Wars, 11-year-old Lee has you covered. Well, at least for The Empire Strikes Back.

#starwars #theempirestrikesback #maythefourthbewithyou #happystarwarsday

Quote of the week for the teens in my creative writing classes:

“Playfulness gets you somewhere.”
Hans Zimmer

More thoughts on this quote on my blog:
kendrakandlestar.wordpress.com/2024/05/01/wis…

Wrapped up a residency at a local school this week, which is always bittersweet! I spend so much time working with the kids and then it seems over in a heartbeat. We sure had fun building magical schools and monster stores!

We're proud to have been invited to speak at the Surrey Teachers' Association annual conference. We're bringing our talented author and illustrators to speak at two different sessions. Can't wait to connect with Surrey educators!

I brought in a stack of envelopes to my creative writing kids and got them to imagine that one of their characters received a mysterious message—but one that had been through quite an adventure, as demonstrated by the condition of the envelope!

Discussing Coyote Tails by Thomas King in today’s book class.

Quote of the week for the teens in my creative writing classes:

“Ideas can be a very small spark, then they marinate.”
Judy I. Lin (Judy I. Lin (updates only))

Lucky to meet the author in person this week!

More thoughts on this quote on my blog:
kendrakandlestar.wordpress.com/2024/04/25/wis…

There might be a dragon egg on display too. Just sayin'.

Love this!

Happy #earthday ! (This was my six-year-old's creation for the day!)

Happy #EarthDay ! 🌍 What would you add to this list?

Discussing Maya and the Robot by @eveeeing and Embrace the Chicken by Mahtab Narsimhan (she/her) in today’s creative writing class.

From Austin Kleon's newsletter: An argument for the paper dictionary (and, I think, paper reference books in general!)

austinkleon.com/2024/04/18/how…

Interested in getting published in #kidlit ? Our friends at The CCBC are hosting a virtual workshop on May 11th: eventbrite.ca/e/get-publishe…

Quote of the week for the teens in my creative writing classes:

“There’s no such thing as perfect writing.”
Haruki Murakami

More thoughts on this quote on my blog:
kendrakandlestar.wordpress.com/2024/04/18/wis…

I’m presenting this Friday at the Decoda Literacy Solutions conference—Literacy: The Ripple Effect. I’ll be talking about my experiences writing for—and teaching it to—kids. I’m excited to share some of my thoughts and perspectives gained over the past 20 years.