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"By Guy Gilchrist, Syndicated Cartoonist and Children's Book Author and Joyce Melton Pagés, Ed.D. Editor's Note: Guy Gilchrist is the author (or co-author with his brother) of the Nancy comic strip, the Muppets comic strip, and several other popular comic strips. In addition, he has written over forty children's books. In honor of National Cartoonist's Day, Guy Gilchrist has written an article to help children learn how writers get their ideas. Teachers and parents may want to share parts of Mr. Gilchrist's article with children. I have written the introduction to Mr. Gilchrist's article. I also wrote the section which follows his article about helping children find ideas to write about. -JMP"

Shmoop's approach is an online version of Cliff's Notes with links to other resources. Their mission is to "make learning and writing more fun and relevant for students in the digital age." "Shmoop wants to help you become a better lover (of literature an

"1.Charlotte's Web by E. B. White My son's school year started off with the wonderful classic Charlotte's Web. In an era where school's budgets are being slashed and creative arts are first to land on the chopping block, it's nice to see that many of the books on this list have themes of a creative talent saving the day. In this case, it's Charlotte's artistry with web making as well as her knowledge of words! My son said, "Charlotte's Web is about how Fern's pig Wilbur was going to be killed but then Charlotte (the spider) met Wilbur the day before he was going to be killed and made a plan to save Wilbur. I liked the book and my favorite character was the Gander goose." (My son seems to love the minor characters as you'll notice in his reviews!) 2.Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo If you ask me what my favorite childrens' book in the entire world is, I'll always say this one. It's a perfect chapter book in my mind where whole adds up to much more than the sum of the parts. Every character is memorable with a story to tell and somehow all these stories meld together into a satisfying ending with an uplifting message. My son says, "Because of Winn Dixie was a extremely good book and when we read it, had everybody in the class wrapped inside the book. (not literally). When we watched the movie, I liked the book a lot better because I got to see my own vision of the story and my favorite character was Otis from Gertrude's Pets." 3.The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate My oldest's third grade teacher flagged me down two years ago to tell me how much she loved this chapter book. It then went on to win the Newbery. She said that what stood out for her was voice. She's right. Ivan the Gorilla's voice draws you right in. He's like an old soul that you can't help but befriend. In some ways this book reminds me of Charlotte's Web so I like the pairing so kids can compare and contrast. Both books revolve