Inspired by a social experiment/writing contest created by children's book author Cynthea Liu (Paris Pan Takes the Dare, The Great Call of China, and Writing for Children and Teens: A Crash Course), eighteen young writers in grades 2-7 take a dare to better themselves for seven days, then write about it. The stories range from the warm to the wise to the sublimely hilarious. In this wonderfully charming and inspiring anthology, readers get a glimpse into tween minds as they struggle with issues like sibling rivalry, self-esteem, bullying, friendship, and many more. For educators, this little book serves as a great jumping off point for character education or units concerning the personal essay. Not only will students relate to the stories, they'll walk away inspired to write with the beautiful voices they already possess. Maybe they'll even think of their own dares and write about it. Information on how young writers can be included in future volumes of this anthology is also provided.

Nowhere will you find a more comprehensive, current, and detailed writing course designed specifically for writing children and teen books, written by an author who is in the field today. WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS: A CRASH COURSE is a ten-step course that relays all the nitty-gritty details of the business, beginning with how to evaluate your book idea all the way to pitching your book to editors and agents. Within each step, you'll find clear and specific information covering topics such as the children's book market, manuscript format, revision tips, finding the right agent or publisher, submission etiquette, and common faux pas writers make. This book will even tell you what kind of paper you should use and exactly how you should write your letters to editors and agents. Bonus materials include templates for all of your submission needs as well as examples of real-life editorial letters sent to authors from editors today. You will get a complete inside peak to the children's fiction writing market for those who want to write picture books, easy readers, chapter books, and middle grade or teen novels.

Bear can do almost anything. His one-paw pawstand is perfection. He can solve the trickiest of equations. He can even out-build a brigade of beavers. But the one thing Bear can't do? Ride a bike. Bear tries everything to help him learn: library books, training wheels and super-cheers from his fellow animal friends. But all of those fail to get poor Bear on two wheels. The situation is looking unbearable-but an unexpected mishap might be just the thing that propels Bear to bike on!