ReFoReMo 2020 Registration

ReFoReMo 2020 is officially open! We are excited to celebrate the reading-writing connection for the 6th year of this annual challenge.

ReFoReMo Badge Illustration by Lori Nawyn: https://lorinawyn.com/

ReFoReMo examines the art of making picture books through mentor texts and multiple perspectives from authors, illustrators, educators, and publishing professionals. Registration opens today and runs through March 2. From March 1-March 30, participants will be presented with many different ways to focus on picture books as mentor texts to inform the craft of writing.

During the challenge, we follow a reading list, but the follow-through is what counts the most. Will you adopt a regular reading and research routine to inform your writing? If your answer is yes, please read and follow the guidelines below to register.

1.   If you have not already, subscribe to this ReFoReMo blog by entering your email address into the opt-in box on the right-hand side. A Feedburner Email Subscription box will pop up. Type the captcha code listed at the bottom of the box and submit.  You will receive an email verification link in your inbox. Click the link to activate your subscription. This will enable you to receive the daily challenge posts as emails. If you already receive our emails, skip this step.

2.    At the bottom of this post, find the comment box. (If you received this registration post in your inbox today, you must click the title of the post first. That will take you to the website where our challenge takes place, and you'll find the comment box at the bottom of that post.) Enter your FIRST and LAST NAME in the comment box. Click on the "Publish" button. Comment only once, please. Be patient. With many people entering comments at once, it may take quite some time for you comment to show up in the comment section. Note: Registration is considered official through Monday, March 2 (for prize purposes).

If you experience difficulty leaving your comment, click this link for tips before requesting help in the ReFoReMo Facebook group. (If you are not yet a member of the FB group, you must request to be admitted to the private group. Please be patient with us during this busy time. Once you are admitted, you will find the registration post pinned to the top of our FB group wall. Enter your FIRST and LAST name in that comment thread only if you have tried our tips for commenting on the blog and were not successful.)

3.   We designed the ReFoReMo Facebook group  to build community and host discussions about picture books as mentor texts. We encourage you to discuss the perspectives and mentor texts as you read. Note: We understand that sometimes certain mentor texts are hard to find. However, we cannot support sharing video readings that break copyright laws. Look for readings created by the publisher or author.  

4.    Many of our presenters are generously offering prizes. They will be revealed during the posts. To be eligible, you must be registered by March 2, make efforts to consistently research mentor texts, and comment on every blog post from March 1-March 30. You must be on the blog to comment. Please do not reply to the posts via email.  We are on the honor system and therefore you will not need to post your results anywhere. To keep things simple, we will have only one Rafflecopter to enter on March 31 from which all winners will be drawn.

5.    You may post the ReFoReMo badge (above) on your site or social media. Please link it back to this address:  www.reforemo.com   For more beautiful illustrations and designs, visit the talented creator, Lori Nawyn! 

Our 2020 Reading List can be found here. Get a jump on reserving your books from the library now. When March 1st rolls around, it's go time! Read the posts and book recommendations. Take notes on how each perspective applies to your writing needs. You may come across the same mentor text more than once, but you’ll have the opportunity to study it in a new light. Particular elements may apply to you personally more than others. That may lead you to study additional mentor texts that are not on the list. Hooray, we say! Hooray! 

Take advantage of the break we offer on the weekends. Use that time to catch up or just rest. Utilize our research tools and start discussions in our Facebook Group. We are excited to share this educational experience with you and we hope it makes a difference in your writing!

ReFoReMo 2020 Reading List!

Are you excited for ReFoReMo 2020? We are, and we want you to have a chance

to start reserving your books! Grab your library card and get comfy at the computer.

Registration opens next week!

ReFoReMo 2020 Reading List

Week One

March 2 ReFoReMo Day 1 Founders Carrie and Kirsti

This is the House that Jack Built by Simms Taback

The Prairie that Nature Built by Marybeth Lorbiecki and Cathy Morrison

Around the Table that Grandad Built by Melanie Heuiser Hill and Jaime Kim

There Was An Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight by Penny Parker Klosterman and Ben Mantle

There Was An Old Woman Who Lived in a Book by Jomike Tejido

Snappsy the Alligator Did Not Ask To be in This Book by Julie Falatko and Tim Miller

It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk by Josh Funk and Edwardian Taylor

Normal Norman, by Tara Lazar and S. Britt

Chloe and the Lion, by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex

Z is for Moose, by Kelly Bingham and Paul Zalinsky

March 3 ReFoReMo Day 2: Mentor Text Maven/Writer Marcie Flinchum Atkins

The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach

Are We Pears Yet? by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Carin Berger

Glacier on the Move by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Alice Brereton

Moon: Earth’s Best Friend by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Stevie Lewis

Sylvia’s Bookshop: The Story of Paris’s Beloved Bookstore and Its Founder (As Told by

the Bookstore Itself) by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Katy Wu

My Happy Year by E. Bluebird by Paul Meisel

Pluto Gets the Call by Adam Rex, illustrated by Laurie Keller

Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival by Lindsay Moore

Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution by Rob Sanders, illustrated by Jamey Christoph

My Mighty Journey: A Waterfall’s Story by John Coy, illustrated by Gaylord Schanilec

March 4 ReFoReMo Day 3: Literary Advocate/Writer Matthew Winner

A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story by Sharon Langley and Amy Nathan; illus by Floyd Cooper

The Mess That We Made by Michelle Lord; illus by Julia Blattman 

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Barretta; illus by Frank Morrison

Big Papa and the Time Machine by Daniel Bernstrom; illustrated by Shane W. Evans

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

The Bear's Garden by Marcie Colleen; illustrated by Alison Oliver

Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail by Leslea Newman; illustrated by Susan Gal

Friday Night Wrestlefest by J. F. Fox; illustrated by Micah Player

Black Is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy; illustrated by Ekua Holmes 

Like the Moon Loves the Sky by Hena Khan; illustrated by Saffa Khan 

March 5 ReFoReMo Day 4: Author Heidi Stemple

MOTH: AN EVOLUTION STORY by Isabel Thomas, Illustrated by Daniel Egneus

STONEWALL: A BUILDING, AN UPRISING, A REVOLUTION by Rob Sanders, illustrated by Jamey Christof

GIANT SQUID by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann

IT BEGAN WITH A PAGE: HOW GYO FUJIKAWA DREW THE WAY by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad

YOU ARE MY FRIEND: THE STORY OF MISTER ROGERS AND HIS NEIGHBORHOOD by Aimee Reid, illustrated by Matt Phelan

DANCING HANDS: HOW TERESA CARRENO PLAYED THE PIANO FOR PRESIDENT LINCOLN by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael Lopez

SWAN: THE LIFE AND DANCE OF ANNA PAVLOVA by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Julie Morstad

LITTLE LIBRARIES, BIG HEROES by Miranda Paul, illustrated by John Parra

BEFORE SHE WAS HARRIET by Lesa Cline Ransome, illustrated by James E. Ransome

BREAD FOR WORDS: A FREDRICK DOUGLAS STORY by Shana Keller, illustrated by Kayla Stark

March 6 ReFoReMo Day 5: Literary Advocate Susannah Richards

Vroom by Barbara McClintock 

A Friend for Henry by Jenn Bailey, illustrated by Mika Song 

Going Down Home with Daddy by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Daniel Minter 

Most Marshmallows by Rowboat Watkins 

Spend It by Cinders McLeod 

Good Boy by Sergio Ruzzier 

Feed Your Mind: A Story of August Wilson by Jen Bryant, Ill. Cannady Chapman

A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story by Sharon Langley and Amy Nathan, ill. Floyd Cooper

Bear Came Along by Richard T. Morris, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Truman by Jean Reidy, illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins 

River by Elisha Cooper 

Week Two

March 9 ReFoReMo Day 6: Editor Courtney Fahey

Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit by Linda Marshall illustrated by Ilaria Urbinati

The Honeybee by Kirsten Hall illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

Whale in a Fishbowl by Troy Howell illustrated by Richard Jones

Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers

March 10 ReFoReMo Day 7: Literary Agent Rachel Orr

IN A JAR by  Deborah Marcero

THE SCARECROW by Beth Ferry, illustrated by the Fan Brothers

BIRD, BALLOON, BEAR by Il Sung Na’s

ONCE UPON A GOAT by Dan Richards, illustrated by Eric Barclay

GREEN PANTS, by Kenneth Kraegel

March 11 ReFoReMo Day 8: Author Rajani La Rocca

Twinderella, A Fractioned Fairy Tale by Corey Rosen Schwartz, Illus by Deborah Marcero

A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars by Seth Fishman, Illus by Isabel Greenberg

100 Bugs: A Counting Book by Kate Narita, Illus by Suzanne Kaufman.

I’m Trying to Love Math by Bethany Barton.

Count On Me by Miguel Tanco

March 12 ReFoReMo Day 9: Author/Illustrator Gina Perry

Linus The Little Yellow Pencil by Scott Magoon 

Bear’s Scare by Jacob Grant 

The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates 

Crab Cake by Andrea Tsurumi 

The Book of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken 

March 13 ReFoReMo Day 10: Author Janie Reinart

What Miss Mitchell Saw by Hayley Barrett and Diana Sudyka

Ready to Fly: How Sylvia Townsend Became the Bookmobile Ballerina by Lea Lyon and A. LaFaye

Nine Months: Before a Baby is Born by Miranda Paul and Jason Chin

Predator and Prey by Susannah Buhrman-Deever and Bert Kitchen

Ruby’s Hope by Monica Kulling and Sarah Dvojack

Week Three

March 16 ReFoReMo Day 11: Literary Agent Linda Camacho

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss; illus by Crockett Johnson

Honeysmoke by Monique Fields; illus by Yesenia Moises

Sometimes You Fly by Katherine Applegate; illus by Jennifer Black Reinhardt

Wolfie the Bunny by Ale Dyckman; illus by Zachariah O'Hoia

Why? by Adam Rex; illus by Claire Keane

We Are Grateful Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell; illus by Frané Lessac

March 17 ReFoReMo Day 12: Author Michelle Cusolito

Giant Squid, by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann

Being Frog by April Pulley Sayre

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson

Hawk Rising by Maria Gianferrari and Brian Floca

Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome

The Stuff of Stars by Marion Dane Bauer and Ekua Holmes

March 18 ReFoReMo Day 13: Author Gaia Cornwall

Tiny Perfect Things Written by M. H. Clark, Illustrated by Madeline Kloepper

Here and Now Written by Julia Denos, Illustrated by E. B. Goodale 

They Say Blue  Written and Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

Truman, Written Jean Reidy, Illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins

How to Read a Book, Written by Kwame Alexander, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

March 19 ReFoReMo Day 14: Author/Illustrator Sarah Lynne Reul

Colette’s Lost Pet - words & pictures by Isabelle Arsenault; 48 pages

Stop That Yawn - words by Caron Levis, pictures by LeUyen Pham; 40 pages

Where’s Halmoni? - words & pictures by Julie Kim; 96 pages

Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian - words by Jacob Sager Weinstein, pictures by Vera Brosgol; 40 pages

Narwhal & Jelly (any book in the series; the latest one from 2019 is Narwhal's Otter Friend), words & pictures by Ben Clanton; 64 pages

March 20 ReFoReMo Day 15: Author Keila V. Dawson

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, Juana Martinez-Neal

Moon's First Friends: One Giant Leap for Friendship by Susanna Hill,  Elisa Paganelli 

Give Me Back My Bones by Kim Norman, Bob Kolar 

The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach 

Love, Agnes: Postcards from an Octopus by Irene Latham and Thea Baker 

Week Four

March 23   ReFoReMo Day 16: Author Emma Otheguy

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet by Carmen Agra Deedy and Eugene Yelchin

Brave Girl by Michelle Markel and Melissa Sweet

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero and Zeke Pena

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael Lopez 

March 24  ReFoReMo Day 17: Author/Illustrator Jannie Ho

Nobody’s Duck by Mary Sullivan

Moo Moo in a Tutu by Tim Miller

Duck, Duck, Porcupine by Salina Yoon

Snail and Worm Again by Tina Kugler

I Don't Want to Be a Frog by Dev Petty illustrated by Mike Boldt

March 25  ReFoReMo Day 18: Author/Illustrator Jeannette Bradley

The Remember Balloons by Jessie Oliveros, Illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte
When When Sadness is at Your Door by Eva Eland

Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano; Marietta Collins; Ann Hazzard; Jennifer Zivoin 

At the Mountain’s Base by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre

Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham 

March 26  ReFoReMo Day 19: Author Anika Denise

Birdsong by Julie Flett

Swan by Laurel Snyder; illustrated by Julie Morstad

A Hungry Lion or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals by Lucy Ruth Cummins

Marvelous Cornelius by Phil Bildner; illustrated by John Parra

Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal

March 27  ReFoReMo Day 20: Author Marcie Colleen

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart, illustrated by David Small

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

Maybe Something Beautiful by Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell, illustrated by Rafael Lopez

Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Sydney Smith

Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

Me Jane by Patrick McDonnell