Valentine Mystery Critters: a digital picture book

As a picture book author-illustrator, I've been intrigued by the advancements in digital books, especially features that aren't possible in printed books. After looking into book apps and other technically arduous and expensive ways to add motion, effects such as appear/disappear, and other fun elements to my picture book making toolbox, I recently found a much simpler way. The video shows how adding simple animations can allow a book to exist that would be impossible otherwise. And I made it myself without a lot of unnecessary fuss.

As the video mentions, Valentine Mystery Critters was made in PowerPoint, of all things. I used the built-in vector shapes to keep the file size small and also just to see what could be done with simple circles, triangles, rectangles, and of course, hearts. Optional speaker notes are included in case a teacher or parent wants to extend the book beyond reading and watching it. For example, you can discuss the different kinds of shapes, their colors, their orientation, and so on before proceeding to watch the shapes assemble themselves into a critter.

Naturally this format has advantages and disadvantages, so here goes:

Pros

• PowerPoint is installed on zillions of computers.

• The book can be read on Mac or Windows computers with or without a projection system.

• It can be viewed on iPad with the free app SlideShark...it's easy to use and even has a built in laser pointer, which is always fun.

• While it was tedious work to get the animations working right, it was relatively easy and straightforward to make the book in PowerPoint compared to hiring a developer and trying to enter the labyrinth that is the Apple iTunes/App story, for example.

• You can include printable activity pages.

Cons

• PowerPoints have limited interactivity compared to book apps and the various formats for interactive whiteboards.

• PowerPoints don't have digital rights management like iPad apps do, so somebody could steal my work and post it online. What can I say except let's hope the pirates have bigger fish to fry than to steal my digital children's books...! Also, people who use pirated versions don't have access to updates.

• The book won't function properly on old versions of PPT. Someone has tested it for me and it works fine on the Windows 2007 version. Of course, most digital products run into this issue.

There probably are other "cons" but I can't think of more at the moment.

Here's the cover and the link to the book on my TeachersPayTeachers store.

No doubt I've only scratched the surface of what can be done in PowerPoint...the program has been around for a long time, but it's new to me. One thing that is on my list is to make a non-linear something or other, because you can have multiple links on a slide that take you to different slides.

Update: I've also made a version for Mac Keynote. (It won't work on the iPad, but the PowerPoint book will with the SlideShark app. Ironic, I know!)

Have a great Valentine's Day!

The Valentine Train Roll-a-Story Freebie

What is the Valentine Train? Where is it going? Who is waiting for a Valentine? What if one gets lost? These questions and more can be asked and answered by students... all they need to do is roll the dice, then add their ideas to create their own original stories. (A black and white version of the story element grid is included in the PDF.)

Each kiddo rolls the die once per column for a total of three rolls. They enter their results on this page:

After this pre-writing activity, the kids will be ready to "roll" and finish up their stories.
You can download the PDF here. 

Happy writing, and have a great Valentine's Day!

Clickety-clack, The Valentine Train is coming!

This Valentine Train card has been a fun project to work on. I wanted to design an activity that would be good for both boys and girls, since most Valentine stuff is fairly "girly." Not sure how the train popped into my head, but here it is. 

This card shown is printed on plain paper...printing on cardstock will give a sturdier result.
You could easily design your own using construction or scrapbook paper, but if you would like an easy printable version, please visit my teacher resource store on TPT.

Here is the cover image: 

For writing an original story, please check out The Valentine Train Mini-Book printable and the FREE Valentine Train Roll•a•Story. The Roll•a•Story recording sheet is below: 

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

A mysterious package arrives...!

What could it be? It was from one of my publishers, so that was a clue. They usually send things without any notice, just assuming I'll be home. Which I generally am, as opposed to jetting around the globe. Anyway, it was a nice surprise to see…

…the paperback version of my spring book Seeing Symmetry. That's pretty quick to have paperbacks already. I'm hoping it means that lots of schools will be ordering classroom sets (smile). In case anyone hasn't rummaged through my web site lately, there is a large activity pack in PDF form that goes with this book. Anyway, it was a nice surprise to get these today, so yay!

Winter Holidays Teaching Tips & Freebies ebook

Ho, ho, ho...click here for a holiday gift for teachers! It's a free ebook with dozens of seasonal tips and links to free classroom resources. Here is a preview of my page, which has a link to my Winter Symme-TREE activity.

This ebook is for PreK and Kindergarten, then there are several more for other grade levels. They are in PDF format so all you need is Adobe Reader.

Let's all try to have a low-stress December!

Loreen Leedy Math Books poster

I was emailing with an international school in Germany whose theme for the year is mathematics. The librarian wanted to make a display of my books so I agreed to make a poster with a message about my math books. With the emphasis in the U.S. on the Common Core standards, it might come in handy on this side of the ocean, too. The image is a medium resolution jpeg, which should print fine. If anyone needs a larger file, let me know and I'll send it to you (please send your request to: me AT LoreenLeedy.com.) Enjoy!

Curiosity has landed!!!

What a thrill to find out that the Mars Science Laboratory rover, nicknamed Curiosity landed safely this morning! This short animation shows the landing sequence:

My husband Andy is a scientist whose research centers around simulating Martian conditions, so naturally we have been monitoring this mission closely. Some of his work is about how Earth microorganisms fare in his Mars chamber…many of them die very quickly, but do they all? Stay tuned!

We wrote a picture book together about Mars a few years ago that introduces quite a bit of info about the Red Planet. If your young readers love space, please check it out at your local library. Preview the book on this page of my web site and see Andy's lab here. 

Happy reading!