Why Picture Books Are Important

 

November is Picture Book Month, when schools, libraries, booksellers and book lovers around the world come together to celebrate the print picture book. I strongly encourage you to check out PictureBookMonth.com, where members of the children's lit community have been posting essays each day about why they believe picture books are important.

The following lists some of the reasons I believe that picture books are important. I've also included the covers of just a few of the many wonderful picture books that have come out in 2013 so far. Click on any cover to find out more info.

Picture books are important because of how readers interact with them, especially the read-aloud experience. No matter how many awards it may have won or how beautiful the prose or illustrations, an unread picture book collecting dust on a shelf is just paper and cardboard. The magic begins when a child or grown-up reader opens up the book.

Some parents try to rush their children out of picture books into chapter books because they believe that reading text-heavy books will help young people prepare for standardized testing, not realizing that picture books can be a valuable resource and enjoyed by older children, even up through high school.

With the above mind, here's why I think picture books are important:

Picture books introduce children to the concept of reading, even if they can't read yet. In a Boston.com interview, Bob Staake said that when he was a kid, he used to flip through grown-up magazines and fixate on whatever graphic element caught his attention (e.g. a photo, an illustration, an ad). "That was reading to me. That is the way kids start to read, and parents don’t respect it enough. The idea that looking at things is not as important as reading the written word, that’s BS."

Picture books encourage conversations between young and older readers. While some children enjoy reading picture books on their own, it's often the case that an adult or older sibling reads to a younger child. Reading a picture book aloud prompts conversations about what's happening in the story, what the characters are feeling, meanings of words, how what's happening might relate to the child.

Picture books help bridge the gap between generations, strengthening bonds and forming connections as an older reader (whether parent, grandparent, older sibling, teacher, librarian, etc.) reads aloud to a child.

Picture books strengthen visual thinking skills. Picture books help children connect what they observe with how they reason, linking concepts with words.

Picture books introduce children to a love of art in a way that just taking a child to an art gallery can't achieve. The illustrations aren't mere decoration to the text. They enhance the story and emotions. The context encourages a child to go back to different pictures over and over, noticing new things, reading characters' emotions and interactions, possible secondary subplots that are told only in the pictures.

Picture books teach children how to be better listeners. In a read-aloud experience, children learn that paying attention makes reading the book much more fun. As Emma Walton Hamilton points out, this helps prepare children to become better listeners in later life.

 

Picture books help children develop critical thinking skills. Karen Lotz of Candlewick Press points out in a New York Times piece: "To some degree, picture books force an analog way of thinking. From picture to picture, as the reader interacts with the book, their imagination is filling in the missing themes." Picture books stimulate a state of mind in children that words alone can't achieve, says J. Richard Gentry in Psychology Today.

Picture books give young readers a sense of control and help build self-confidence. In a world where there seem to be so many things that they aren't allowed to do and where adults have final say, a picture book offers an opportunity for a child to feel part of the story and control the pacing of the story. They can pause over certain pages, go back to revisit another part of the story. They can read slowly or quickly.

Picture books introduce complex concepts in a safe environment. Some even recommend using picture books for older children (middle school and high school), to set the stage for introducing broader topics of study like art or history, or for illustrating an abstract concept. "With picture books, each student in the class can access new information at his/her individual level of readiness," says Keith Schoch in Basic Literacy Through Picture Books.

Picture books help children discover themselves and the world. No matter what the topic or issue or emotion, there is likely a picture book that addresses it. 

Picture books help build vocabulary. Children will often be introduced to words in picture books that they would not find in simpler early readers. Even when an adult isn't around to help, defining unknown words becomes easier because the pictures provide clues to the reader.

Picture books plant the seed for writing skills. "It is the joyous power of picture books that turns young listeners into readers and readers into writers," says Charles Ghigna.

Picture books help show children that reading is important. Especially in a world where everything moves so quickly and adults are always rushing around and busy, the fact that a grown-up will take the time to read a book aloud to a child sends a positive message about reading as well as about the relationship.

Picture books encourage joy in reading. Reading picture books is FUN, whether by yourself or with a grown-up or child. When being read to, a child can tell that the adult is enjoying himself/herself, and that helps reinforce the message that READING IS FUN.

Picture books offer comfort. They're non-threatening, they're fun to read. Children (and grown-ups!) go back to reread familiar picture books. For me, rereading a favorite childhood picture book is like visiting an old friend. Or coming home.

If any of the above has helped convince you of the importance of picture books, I encourage you to do one or more of the following:

(1) Go to the library and read through some picture books. Find your favorites, discover new favorites.

(2) Read a picture book aloud to a young person. If you don't have children, then visit a friend or family member who does. :-)

(3) Tweet or blog about a picture book that you like. It could be a newer book that you've just discovered, or tell us about one of your favorite picture books from childhood.

(4) Go to your local children's bookstore and buy a picture book. This not only helps support the bookstore but also the people who helped create it.

(5) Feel free to share the image below. No need to link back to my blog (but you're free to, of course!) but please do keep my copyright info intact.

Now go forth and read a picture book!

-- Debbie

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Source material, related resources and other helpful links:

PictureBookMonth.com

Parents - Empower Children As Thinkers With Picture Books! - by J. Richard Gentry, Ph.D.

Bob Staake: Illustrator and looker (subscription needed)

Creating Reluctant Readers and Picture Books - by Heather Newman

How Picture Books Play A Role In A Child's Development - by Lori Calabrese

Introduction to Show Me A Story: Why Picture Books Matter - by David Wiesner

Not Too Old For Picture Books - Heart Of The Matter

Basic Literacy Through Picture Books (video) - by Keith Schoch

Why Picture Books Matter: 7 Reasons To Read With Your Child - on Britmums

Critical Literacy: Using Picture Books To Read The World - by Alexis Birner (M.Ed) and Lindsay Bromley (M.Ed)

Picture Books Are Not Just For Children: 10 Reasons Why - by Rick Walton

How Picture Books Can Help Children Read Better - Studydog.com

Gratitude, Encouragement and Inspiration: My Eighth Grade Teacher, Mr. David Smallwood

So much goodstuff has happened to me since 2010, when I was offered my first book contract. This is one of a series of blog posts (in no particular order) about people to whom I am grateful. Posts so far: My career-changing SCBWI conference - My thank you letter to the SCBWI - A thank you to Justin Chanda and Simon & Schuster Children's.

Above: My eighth grade teacher, David Smallwood, surprised me (and yes, made me weepy) last year by attending my very first book launch, for my illustrations in I'M BORED.  Not only that, but he gave me a folder full of my writing back then, which he had kept all these years:

Most of these stories and poems were written solely to show my teacher for the pure fun of it, NOT because they were assigned. All were typed manually (with mistakes laboriously fixed with correction fluid), and a few illustrations. Back then, I mainly wrote science fiction, horror and mystery, and was fond of twist endings.

David Smallwood (I still can't help but think of him as Mr. Smallwood, though he encourages me to call him David now) is the first teacher who ever encouraged me in my creative writing. I loved his sharp wit and the way he noticed individual students, no matter how quiet or shy. I clearly remember how much his comments about my writing made me more confident, drew me out of my shell.

We used to have a "who can be more witty/snarky" letter war going on that I hugely enjoyed. I used to spend hours with a thesaurus in my efforts to find longer and longer words in our literary one-upmanship contest:

I'm still fascinated by words, slightly off-beat humor and snark.

After I graduated from grade school, my friend Cathy and I used to go back and visit Mr. Smallwood from time to time. As high school students, we felt so sophisticated and grown-up as we reminisced with our former teacher about our year, exchanged gossip about what others from our class were up to. Sometimes Mr. Smallwood would ask me about my writing.

Visits grew less frequent once I started attending university. I reveled in my new independence. Unlike high school, I found boys that interested me AND were interested IN me: geeky nerdboys who liked the same books and movies as I did, who didn't think me odd for not wearing makeup and hating clothes shopping. I had a boyfriend.

Earnscliffe Public School seemed so very distant, though from time to time I found myself thinking of Mr. Smallwood because none of the profs I had in university inspired me the same way. Mr. S and I would exchange snailmail letters, but the time between our letters grew as I got distracted by my studies and then by work.

Years passed, and we eventually lost contact until we found each other on Facebook. Last Fall, I sent him an invite to the launch of I'M BORED at Type Books in Toronto on whim, not really expecting that he'd be able to attend since he lived out of town and we weren't really in touch. 

At the launch, he hung back behind most of the people, so I didn't see him until I signed books. Even then, he was one of the very last people in line. I can't remember what he said, but I recall recognizing the voice and looking up. Then screaming, "MR. SMALLWOOD!!!"

I was SO incredibly touched that he had made the trek out to attend my very first book launch, and proudly introduced him around. My husband had heard many stories about my favorite teacher, so it was a special pleasure to finally be able to have them meet in person.

Side note: Although I've gotten close a few times, my agent and I haven't yet found a home for my middle grade novel manuscripts. I've shelved two so far and I keep working on my craft. Some of my Torkidlit pals, the MIGWriters critique group and friends/family help me finetune my stories. I'm much more confident about my writing now than I was in the beginning, and continue to work on getting better.

When I updated Mr. Smallwood on what was going on with my writing, he encouraged me not to give up on getting my novels published.

And I won't. 

It WILL happen.

To Mr. David Smallwood and all the school teachers out there who continue to encourage young people in pursuing their creative passions: THANK YOU. You make more difference than you can possibly imagine.

(Thanks to my friend Walter K. for the book launch photos.)

 

In The End, It's All About Young Readers

The whole I'M BORED adventure has been amazing and continues to be amazing. Whenever things start to settle, something else happens that reminds me all over again to appreciate every moment.

I was floored about how it all began, with a rejection and a friend's encouragement. Then came the Simon & Schuster BFYR book illustration contract and the SCBWI Illustrator Mentorship program. Then the fun and immense satisfaction in collaborating with my editor and art director on the project.

Because I had been so focused on just trying to get published in past years, I underestimated how much joy I would get from reader feedback. Wow. 

Experienced authors and illustrators out there are likely much more used to this, but I'M BORED is my first children's book project and I'm still getting used to the fact that people out there -- people who aren't related to me and don't know me -- are looking at my illustrations in a published book they bought or borrowed.

From Paula Speer White, who sent me the photo above: "This book is excellent for teaching verbal irony at the secondary level and self-efficacy at the elementary level~I give it a 10! Humorous, courageous, and witty!"

I've heard from some parents whose children have learning challenges or who are slow readers, who delight in the humor and want to read the book over and over again.

Parents tell me that their older children are enjoying the book as well, reading it on their own.

Librarians tell me that I'M BORED has become a favorite with their young readers. I so love the idea of a copy of the book eventually becoming battered and dog-eared because of constant use. 

I think about a young person sitting down with a copy of I'M BORED, or perhaps having the book read to them by an adult, and try to imagine what happens as they listen to the story. Does it make them laugh out? Does it engage their imaginations? Do they identify more with the little girl or the Potato? Does the experience engage them enough to encourage a greater love of books and reading?

Does it change them for the better, even in a very tiny way?

Oh, I truly hope so.

What I've come to realize: While it's good to keep the market in mind (particularly if you want to get your work accepted by a traditional publishing house), remember that it's all about young readers. In the end, we create the magic for them, not the industry.

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For more fun photos, see the I'M BORED In The Wild reader gallery. If you'd like to submit a photo, here's how.

Teachers: if your class sends me snaimail about I'M BORED, I'll write back (with doodles!).

A Thank You Letter To The SCBWI

Back in May, I wrote a thank you letter to the Society Of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. Stephen Mooser wrote back the following:

Hi Debbie—Wow and Congratulations—we keep a file and a posting of SCBWI Success Stories, and not only is yours one of the best, but it may also be the most entertaining of all time---you have made our day and we are so happy for your well deserved success—looking forward to seeing you again soon—all best wishes from all of us here at the office, Steve

 As I was doing some prep for the SCBWI conference in LA next week, I realized that posting my thank you letter publicly might be of interest to some of you out there…especially those who have never been to an SCBWI event:

-------------------------
May 19, 2012

Dear SCBWI,

I’m writing to thank you all. Since I started attending your conventions regularly in 2009, so many opportunities have come my way.

I first heard about your organization and events from Santa Barbara area author named Lee Wardlaw, who was my writing mentor. Lee also introduced me to her agent at Curtis Brown, Ginger Knowlton, and Ginger eventually became my agent.

I was nervous when I decided to register for the Summer Conference in LA in 2009. I had attended many years before, but Lee had been there to introduce me around. This time I'd be going alone. What if no one talked to me? 

When I got to the conference, I was surprised and delighted to find out that my fears were unfounded. Everyone was friendly, and I met kindred spirits everywhere: sitting beside me while we were waiting for a workshop or keynote to begin, at the many social events throughout the weekend, even in line for the women's restroom. Especially in line for the women's restroom.

And the BNA's were friendly and talked with me. Yes, even Jay Asher! 

(You can see other comics I did leading up to the event here: http://bit.ly/xRxKRk )

I learned so much at that event and came away incredibly inspired plus during the year, I kept in touch with many of the people I had met.

Fast forward to the 2010 Summer Conference.

After I was rejected for the manuscript critique (it was my fault; I had misread the rules),  my illustrator friend Beckett Gladney suggested that I enter the SCBWI Illustration Portfolio Showcase instead. I thought she was crazy because (1) I had no art training and (2) I had no portfolio. Beckett went through sketches and doodles I had been posting on Flickr, and helped me put together my very first portfolio.

AND THEN SOMETHING AMAZING HAPPENED.

Not only did I win one of two runners-up in the overall Showcase, but I was also chosen for the SCBWI Illustration Mentorship Program. In addition to one-on-one sessions with six industry experts during the convention, I also met a wonderful group of illustrators who have since become friends. 

We encourage and commiserate by e-mail, launched a SCBWI Mentees blog for children's book illustrators called KidLitArtists.com , and joined forces with Mentees from other years. Late last year, some of us got together for an inspiring, informative and calorie-laden Lost Weekend at the home of Caldecott-winning artist and SCBWI Illustration Board member, David Diaz.

 

 (Photo from Lost Weekend with David Diaz in Nov/2011)

BUT WAIT...THAT’S NOT ALL!

Back to the 2010 Summer Conference:

One of the SCBWI Portfolio Showcase judges that year was Justin Chanda, publisher at Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, and he offered me a contract to illustrate Michael Ian Black's new picture book, I'M BORED. !!!

Working with Justin and art director Laurent Linn was amazing. Don't tell anyone, but I couldn't believe that someone was actually paying me to do something that was SO MUCH FUN. I'm blogging about the process at DebbieOhi.com/boredbook , and I can't wait until the book comes out this September.

But wait, THAT'S NOT ALL....

  Earlier this year, Simon & Schuster BFYR offered me TWO BLANK CONTRACTS (!!!). One is for the next picture book I illustrate for them, still to be determined. The other contract is for a picture book that I will WRITE and illustrate...my very first own picture book. I just recently had my first phone meeting about my story with Justin Chanda, who will be my editor on the project.

None of this would have happened had it not been for the SCBWI. 

I’m grateful to Lee Wardlaw (who is on the faculty for this year’s Summer Conference, yay!) for first telling me about the SCBWI.

And I’m especially grateful to the SCBWI Illustration Mentors who have given me advice and encouraged me: Priscilla Burris, David Diaz, Bridget Strevens-Marzo, Cecilia Yung, Pat Cummings and Rubin Pfeffer.

If I could send a message to my younger self, I would tell her the following...

GO TO SCBWI CONFERENCES.

As children’s book author Nancy Parish says: Writing may be a solitary endeavor, but trying to get published doesn’t have to be.

To everyone behind the scenes at SCBWI:

THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO.

Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Twitter: @inkyelbows

http://Inkygirl.com (my blog for those who write & illustrate for young people)

R.I.P. Ray Bradbury

Update: My friend Errol Elumir (of Debs and Errol) has just posted a video covering my "Homecoming" song! I love it!!

See info below for the background, lyrics/chords for this song]

Above: page from my childhood autograph collection.

Just found out that Ray Bradbury died this morning at the age of 91. :-(

I always loved reading, but it wasn't until I read Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine that I became aware of style in writing. I'm generally a fast reader, but with Ray Bradbury's books I slowed way down so I could savour the language. His books helped me appreciate the importance of word choice, and also got me hooked on science fiction.

I wrote a song called "Homecoming"  that was based on one of my favourite Ray Bradbury short stories, "The Rocket Man" (included in his R Is For Rocket short story collection). You can hear my group, Urban Tapestry, performing Homecoming in our live performance CD. I'm playing the rhythm/underlying picking guitar part on this track, Allison Durno plays lead guitar bits and Jodi Krangle sings lead. Allison and I sing some backup during the chorus. I've included the lyrics/chords at the bottom of this post.

Even before I experienced family loss myself, I was deeply moved by this story and others by Bradbury. His writing affected me in so many ways, and was a major factor in my own desire to be a writer. I owe this man so much and had hoped to meet him in person someday.

For more info about Ray Bradbury, see http://www.raybradbury.com/

 HOMECOMING

Words & music by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Based on "The Rocket Man", a short story by Ray Bradbury from his R Is For Rocket anthology.

Performed by Urban Tapestry (included on our live performance CD, Sushi and High Tea)

Also hear a cover of this song by Andrea Dale.

C(add 9)       D/F#          G/B           A7sus
===========    ===========   ===========   ===========
| | | | | |    | | | | | |   | | | | | |   | | | | | |
-----------    -----------   -----------   -----------
| | x | | |    x | | x | |   | x | | | |   | | x | | |
-----------    -----------   -----------   -----------
| x | | x |    | | | | x |   | | | | x |   | | | | x |
-----------    -----------   -----------   -----------
| | | | | |    | | | | | |   | | | | | |   | | | | | |
-----------    -----------   -----------   -----------

Intro:  D   Cadd9  G/B  A7sus

     D/F#                       Cadd9
My mother looks into the sky, I think she hears him coming
D/F#                         Cadd9
but the stars are blinding her so she cannot see
G/B                                    A7sus
"Help me keep him home this time," she says to me.
               D    Cadd9  G/B  A7sus
"He's coming home."

My father walks into the house, we laugh in his embrace
The scent of fire and stardust cling to his hands and face
Already we are wondering how long
he'll stay this time.


CHORUS (strummed):
D          Cadd9           G/B        A7sus A7
I hear the stars, they are calling tonight
C                 G/B
Listen, can't you hear them?
D          Cadd9           G/B        A7sus A7
I hear the stars, they are calling tonight
Cadd9
Calling me home
            D   Cadd9 G/B   A7sus
Calling me home.


He takes us to the carnival and swimming in the ocean
We picnic in the mountains, our faces to the sun
Each moment is a gift I take with me
A memory.

My father sits beside me, his laughter ringing true
"What's it like in space?" I ask as I always do
His eyes grow distant and he smiles, but mom...
she looks away.


BRIDGE:
Em           A          Cadd9
Before my father leaves, he takes me aside
    D        Cadd9        G/B               A
He says, "The next I come back, I won't be leaving
D         Cadd9          G/B              A
Tell your mother that I love you both and I am
        D    Cadd9  G/B  A7sus
coming home."

CHORUS

In the fading sunset, the message comes next day
His ship fell into the sun, a blaze of gold and gray
I try to tell Mom but she turns away...
             D    Cadd9  G/B  A7sus  D Cadd9  G/B  A7sus
and goes inside.

My mother looks into the sky, I think she hears him coming
but the stars are blinding her so she cannot see
The winds are cold, I hear them whisper to me
"He's coming home."

CHORUS (twice)

On poetry, language and Robert Lee Brewer's ESCAPE

I used to hate poetry. I blame scholarly literary dissection and school. My memory (which, I admit, may be tainted by early years of accumulated hatred) is one of many hours of tortuous analysis, taking a few simple lines of text that I kind of thought were cool at first but then learned to dread as we hacked and slashed at every syllable, every nuance, every possible interpretation, until there was nothing left except a dry husk that made me want to run from the room screaming "ENOUGH WITH THE RED WHEELBARROW!"

Years later, a poet/librarian friend of mine introduced me to some poems that I actually enjoyed. That I LOVED.

Some poems, I discovered, could be understood and appreciated by the average person. I also learned to love the language of poetry, and became more aware of writing style and the importance of word choice in my own writing. Every word counts, after all, and not just in poetry.

Recently, I purchased Robert Lee Brewer's most recent poetry chapbook: Escape. I bought  his first collection, ENTER, because I wanted to support Robert. He's been a wonderful editor at Writersmarket.com and great to work with, plus I've enjoyed his Poetic Asides blog. But the bonus: I loved Robert's poetry.

So when I found out that he had a new collection of poems, I ordered one right away. I have no formal poetry scholarly training and have never reviewed poetry before. All I can say, though, is that I LOVED THESE POEMS. They're full of emotion and music, and a joy to read.

If you're interested in owning a copy of Escape, send Robert Brewer an e-mail at robertleebrewer[at]gmail[dot]com, with "I Need an Escape" in the subject line. Price: $10 (which includes shipping to anywhere in the world). Do it before they sell out!

p.s. I actually do like The Red Wheelbarrow now.

PiBoIdMo and Tara Lazar

Tara Lazar is a children’s book author, mother, foodie and founder of Picture Book Idea Month (a.k.a. "PiBoIdMo"). Her first picture book, The Monstore, will be published by Aladdin/Simon & Schuster in 2013. Tara is represented by Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Find out more about Tara at her blog: http://taralazar.wordpress.com/

And stay tuned for PiBoIdMo 2011 this November!

What inspired you to start PiBoIdMo?

I got active in the online kidlit community in November of 2007. I learned about NaNoWriMo  immediately--EVERYONE was chatting about it. I was jealous of novel writers having all the fun, so the following November I decided I would do something to inspire me as a picture book writer. I'd created one new picture book concept a day. I didn't make it through the whole month, though. I finished with 22 ideas, but one of them was for THE MONSTORE, my upcoming book with Aladdin/Simon & Schuster.


How many years have you run PiBoIdMo?

PiBoIdMo 2008 wasn't official, it was just me and a few local writing friends. I ran PiBoIdMo on my blog for the first time in November 2009. This past November was the 2nd year for the blog-based event.


How successful has it been?

The first year I ran PiBoIdMo, I didn't have a sign-up period, so I don't know how many people participated, but a little over 100 signed the pledge at the end, confirming they had at least 30 ideas. My website received 15,000 hits during November 2009, which, at the time, was the most active month the site ever had.

For PiBoIdmO 2010, there was a sign-up period which logged 404 particpants, with 201 completing the challenge. Web hits soared to 30,000 for the month and my blog was ranked in the top 100 book blogs by Technorati, making it as high as #10. I was blown away by the enthusiasm of the participators! Many blogged their daily progress. Megan K. Bickel, for instance, put her own spin on PiBoIdMo by creating ideas in alphabetical order.

And PiBoIdMo has netted others contracts and awards. Corey Rosen Schwartz came up with the idea for GOLDI ROCKS AND THE THREE BEARS during PiBoIdMo 2009, which was bought by Putnam in 2010. Diana Murray wrote a manuscript from a PiBoIdMo idea which won the SCBWI Barbara Karlin Grant. Those are the two PiBoIdMo success stories I know of, and I'm sure there's more to come! I hope people will contact me with their good news.


Have you enjoyed running it?

It's been a blast running it, but also a lot of work. The first year, I decided to do a daily post after I had already recruited guest bloggers. There were 15 guest bloggers, which meant I had to write 15 posts on my own. That was a bit much, so in 2010 I decided to schedule more guest bloggers. The response was surprising--there were more volunteers than days in November! So some of the guest spots rolled into early December. I had so much fun putting the posts together; I felt privileged to read all the great advice before anyone else.

Next year I might need a PiBoIdMo assistant! So many people volunteered prizes that I'm still doling them out in January!

Inkygirl is BACK...and some security tips for other bloggers

(Resource list updated: June 3, 2010, 11:06 AM) As some of you may already know, some of my sites were hacked on the weekend. If you notice some missing images and features from this site, that's why -- I still haven't finished the finetuning after major damage control had been done. Many thanks to those who e-mailed, tweeted and sent me Facebook messages about the problem, and to Cid of Cidwrites.com and others for their advice. Biggest thanks to my technonerdboy hubby, Jeff Ridpath, who spent pretty much the whole weekend helping me get things back to normal. For anyone else out there who uses Wordpress as their blogging platform, be aware that what happened to me could very easily happen to you. You might think you don't have to worry because you just have a small site or figure that you don't have any valuable info on your site anyway but trust me...it's worth taking a few precautions to avoid going through the hassle of having to scrub your site clean and have to reinstall everything. And if you get flagged by Google as a malware site, then you have the added embarrassment of the warning that comes up whenever someone tries to access your site. Even after you scrub your site, then you have to fill out an application to get Google to review your site. Here are some things I learned from the experience that you may find useful: - Make sure your passwords are strong. Read Protect Your Blog With A Solid Password. Don't use any words that can be found in the dictionary. Other BAD passwords: names spelled backwards, phone numbers, birthdays, qwerty, asdf, yourname1, default, letmein, password1, your car license, middle names. Don't use the same password for multiple sites. - Keep your versions of Wordpress updated. As Alex King says, "Upgrade immediately. Always. No exceptions." - Keep your versions of plugins updated. Remove any plugins you aren't using. Some older versions of plugins have security holes that hackers can use. - Don't use the default admin account (called "admin") that comes with every Wordpress installation. Create another admin account with a different name and then delete the "admin" account. - Take regular backups of your file directories as well as your database. One security tips post I found recommended WordPress Database Backup. - Be wary of letting an application have write access to your files. Keep your file permissions as restrictive as possible. - Limit your use of plugins. I try to do this anyway, because I was finding that having too many plugins really slowed down page loading on my site. - Turn off any features you don't use. And yes, I'm on the lookout for another blogging platform. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to post below! Anyway, here are some useful resources I found while researching Wordpress and security issues: Top 5 WordPress Security Tips You Most Likely Don't Follow Wordpress Security Tips and Hacks 20+ Powerful Security Plugins and Some Tips & Tricks Wordpress Security, Upgrades and Backups Wordpress Security Issues Lead To Mass Hacking. Is Your Blog Next? Hardening Wordpress Wordpress Security Whitepaper How To Diagnose and Remove the WordPress Pharma Hack Protect your Admin folder in Wordpress by limiting access in .htaccess Any other tips or suggestions? Feel free to share them below.

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Looking for a useful notetaking or writing app for the iPad?

I've been reviewing iPad apps that could be useful to writers on iPadGirl recently. Unfortunately Posterous doesn't have a good archiving index system, so I'm compiling a list of notetaking and writing iPad apps for writers on a separate page, with links to my reviews.

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