“I Don’t Want to Wear a Mask!” has won the Silver Award in the Children’s Books Ages 0-5 category in the 2021 Reader Views Reviewer’s Choice Awards.
I am proud to announce that my most recent picture book, “I Don’t Want to Wear a Mask!”, has won the Silver Medal award in the Children’s Books 0-5 age category. I am awfully pleased to accept this award and want to thank my illustrator, Natalia Cano, for her fantastic illustrations that capture perfectly the message and theme of the book.
Also, to my father, who supported me in all of my writing and always encouraged me. I lost him in 2018, and dedicated the book to him. I’d also like to thank my husband, family and friends for their continued support in my writing endeavors. Without all of you, it would be hard to keep going.
Most of all, I’d like to thank all the readers of my books through the years. I started writing back in 2005 with the self-publishing of my first children’s book in 2007. It’s been a long path, but I want to continue bringing you unique voices and perspectives in my books. You’ve made it all possible. Thank you.
“I Don’t Want to Wear a Mask!” is available as an ebook or as a paperback edition at Amazon.com.
Greetings for Day 9 for the Lost Secret of Fairies Online Novel Study. I know I threw a lot into the last post, and I even realized I need to add one more thing before the final essay test, a lesson on theme or message. That is on the essay test, and I wanted to do at least one lesson with The Lost Secret of Fairies since it is an original fairy tale, and working with morals and themes is a standard for 3rd and 4th grade. It’s reviewed in 5th grade to get ready for looking over Tale Tales and American Folk Tales.
So, here you go. I’ve added the theme response worksheet to my free downloads for this novel study. Plus, below is a video from BrainPop. The literature concept of theme/message is taught with animated Star Wars universe characters. It’s about 6 minutes long. Most children are familiar with Stars Wars, so I thought it was a good fit to talk about message and theme.
When your child is done watching, they should have a better understanding of theme for books and movies. You can talk with them about the following discussion questions below:
What is a moral? Can you think of any morals for some of your favorite fairy tales.
What kind of patterns and ideas can you think of in the book, The Lost Secret of Fairies? What idea can you think of to connect them?
What is a basic motif in Star Wars? What do you think is a motif in the book The Lost Secret of Fairies?
Where can you go hunt for themes in a story?
What is one theme in the Star Wars movies? What are clues and examples that support this theme?
Now, they should be able to work on the theme response worksheet below. They can download the webbing graphic to help them organize their ideas. And yes, this will be on the essay test. So, they’ll need to do this.
I’m sorry about this oversight, but it is an important lesson to incorporate into the unit. I’ll post the essay test tomorrow, I promise.
Until then, enjoy the lesson on theme and messages. Stay safe, wash your hands, and together, we’ll get through this.
-Mrs. Turner
***Tiffany Turner is the author of the children’s fantasy series, the Crystal Keeper Chronicles. She has had 18 years experience teaching in California as a public elementary teacher. She is currently tutoring in the private sector and continuing to write full time.
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