Welcome to Marianne's Web Site

The Children's Museum of the Treasure Coast recently purchased 250 copies of "Over in the Ocean, in a Coral Reef" to benefit both sighted and blind children in Florida. Working with Braille International, clear Braille overlays were added to the book, one set for beginning readers and another for those more proficient at reading Braille. 180 copies of the book have been sent to blind schools and agencies across the state.
With the remainder of the books, the Museum is working with Braille International to develop educational programming for use with sighted children, teaching them the basics of the Braille system, while incorporating other tactile activities.
I'm meeting with Linda Wiggins, Director of Administration at Braille International next week to learn more about this wonderful project and to see and "feel" what has been done with my book.

More to come....
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The AIME/ILF (Indiana Library Federation)recently named "Over in the Jungle, a Rainforest Rhyme" as one of ten picture books for their Read Alouds Too Good to Miss List. This is wonderful news since in 2008 "Over in the Ocean, in a Coral Reef" was a Young Hoosier Award Nominee. Here's the link:
AIME/ILF website.  Read More 

Author, Kim Hutmacher, reviewed "Over in the Arctic, Where the Cold Waters Run" and "Over in the Jungle, a Rainforest Rhyme." And, author, Laura Crawford, interviewed me. These talented authors and teachers are "Wild About Nature". Visit Nature writers blogsite

Jeannette Canyon Interview
Dear Students, Miss Lee, Ms. Yanoff and all participating schools,

First, I would like to share how honored I am that Over in the Jungle has been nominated for the 2010 NYSRA Charlotte Award – WOW- Thank you all so much!!! I hope you have a great year reading, exploring and making  Read More 

My book "Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme" is nominated by the New York State Reading Association for the 2010 Charlotte Award. This statewide award program involves thousands of primary school students (over 14,000 in 2008) who read the ten nominated picture books and select their favorite.

In honor of the nomination, questions were submitted to me by some of the children, and the complete interview is now posted on the NYSRA website. The kids sure came up with some brilliant questions!

Below is sample question with my answer. Make sure to visit the Charlotte Award blogsite for the complete interview!

Where do you get your [story] ideas?
Ideas are all around you and you can use them to build stories. I have always had an appreciation of our Earth and a respect for nature. I spent a lot of time outdoors as a child, and still do. Discovering nature is a life-long adventure and ideas are everywhere you look. All you have to do to get ideas is to be really awake, that means staying curious about the world around you.

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In April schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers and poets celebrate poetry's vital place in our culture. National Poetry Month was inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996.

Back then at library story times, I wore an apron with pockets in which I put my favorite poems. After we read some, kids made their own pockets--two felt squares that they sewed together with yarn-- and chose a favorite poem to put in their "pocket." There were so many wonderful choices. Here's one by Shel Silverstein:

I made myself a snowball as perfect as could be
I thought I'd keep it as a pet and let it sleep with me
I made it some pajamas and a pillow for its head
And then last night it ran away
But first--it wet the bed!

Older kids had fun with words by writing their own poems for their pockets.
There are many different ways to write a poem.

One of the downloadable activities at Dawn Publications from my latest book,
Baby on Board, How Animals Carry Their Young encourages students to try haiku poetry. The poem has three lines of 17 syllables. The first line has 5, the second line has 7 and the third line has 5. Here's an example:

Sloths are very slow.
They sleep upside-down in trees.
That is where they live.

Check it out at: https://dawnpub.com/activities/BOB_PLAYING-WITH-POETRY2.pdf

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On Saturday, February 5,the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee will present an all day rogram: "Images and Illustrations in Children's and Young Adult Literature bringing together authors, illustrators, and educators to discuss the impacts of shifts and developments in the visual elements of children's literature. If you are over that way, please look me up. I will also be doing a book signing at Circle Books in St. Armands Circle from 2-4 on Sunday. Stop and say "hello."
HREF="http://www.childrensliteraturesymposium.org/">
Children's Literature Symposium
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Could it be the end of January already?
Guess so, since I’m almost ready to present at the 6th Annual Early Childhood Education Conference, Saturday, Feb. 6 at Seminole State College, in Sanford, Florida.

It is always a joy to share my books with educators, especially when there is time for me to talk about some of the activities (science, math, language arts, music and art) that can be used with them. Right now I’m working on a hand-out for the Feb. 6 Conference called “Suggested Activities for Early Childhood Educators” to use with my picture book, “Over in the Ocean, in a Coral Reef” published by Dawn Publications in 2004.

If anyone reading this blog would like me to e-mail you a copy of this five-page document, just send me an e-mail.

And, along this line, educators (and parents) may want to check out the books  Read More 

Before 2009 comes to a close I want to thank all the people who made this year so special for me as a children’s picture book author. To teachers who share their love of reading with their students and bring a sense of wonder to their classrooms;
To parents who spend precious, intimate moments,  Read More