Songs To Inspire...

One of my favorite sessions at Kidscreen was about leadership in children's media production. One of my favorite people in the business, Donna Friedman Meir, led the panel discussion and asked each panel member to share a song that inspires them to do the work they do. I was so excited by what they shared, and wanted to pass that on to you all...

Tim Brooke-Hunt, Australian Broadcasting Corporation


Angela Santomero, Out of the Blue


Tom Lynch, famed media creator and writer


Maggie Maguire, Scholastic


What song inspires you? This one really helps me get through the hard moments...


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My First Kidscreen: A Timeline

Leading up to last week's Kidscreen, I had joked that my anticipation was comparable to Brad Goretsky's before attending his very first New York Fashion Week. I was there as part of Insight Strategy Group, and could not have been more honored to represent such a reputable, fabulous team. The following is a timeline of my week...

Monday: Team Insight puts the finishing touches on all presentations and our Insight Museum, presenting real kids and their thoughts to the producers and creators present at this year's summit. We had lots of boxes to open.

We also had the pleasure of attending a "Lift Off" party at Little Airplane Productions downtown. It was great to spend some time with my co-workers and friends before starting the big week.

Tuesday: I arrived at my office early in the AM to help load in and set up our Museum. I thought it looked pretty great.

Donna Friedman-Meir, one of the Insight execs and a true leader in the field, led a great panel discussion on what it means to be a leader and a boss in the industry. More about that discussion will be posted later this week!

Wednesday: I took some time to tour the summit and found some great attractions. I am a sucker for good marketing, and love Rocket Fund's slogan "Fueling Creativity," particularly at the "refueling" stations.

I was so excited to see Monster Factory present. I have been following the plush company for some time and was thrilled to see that they were working with 9 Story Entertainment. Conference attendees got mini Monsters. I was pretty thrilled about that!

This is a booth set up by a new production. I didn't have an opportunity to learn more about the show, but I truly appreciated the set up.

Wednesday evening, I met up with a bunch of friends at the WiCM party. It was great to see how many people came out to network and hang. What a great group!

Thursday: Mostly meetings...but did I mention there were Penguins at the conference?!

Friday: The Insight team celebrated a week of hard work with a little after work fun, and I was happy to find a place on my shelf of toys for my new Monster friend, Todd.

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Kidscreen Must Haves

With the official Kidscreen kick off only hours away, I thought it might be fun to share a few accessories that I think every Kidscreen attendee should be packing for the week...

1. Memorable business cards like these from Rifle Paper Co.

2. A sturdy and cute business card case

3. Whimsical jewelry like Cynthia Rowley's bubble blower necklace

4. Kate Spade's Pittsburgh tote...it took me almost a year to find one on eBay, and it was totally worth it

5. You'll be on your feet a lot, might as well be comfortable in style

6. Carry your iPad in kidcentric style with the Etch a Sketch iPad case



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iRead: My Place

Did you ever draw floor plans or maps as a kid? I loved making my home and neighborhood feel like a place where adventures could happen! My friends and I would use our maps to find pretend treasure or to create neighborhood walks. The book My Place, by Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins, shares the stories of twenty-one kids over a span of 200 years. Each story shares information about the child, her family, and the neighborhood they live in as well as a map of the neighborhood. (SPOILER ALERT!) By about the third page, you realize each story takes place in the same home and each map is a variation of the neighborhood, tracking the changes from decade to decade.

The story, published in 1988, represents Australian history. My Place is a picture book but filled with a lot of text and information. I think children over 7 would enjoy reading this alone, but I could see myself reading it to kids as young as 4. I learned about it from a recent Kidscreen article. The book was turned into an Australian television program last year; each episode sharing a different child’s story, a different moment in time. They’ve renewed the show for another season, and I'm so curious to see it. You can read more about it here.

Though this is an Australian story, I think there’s something we can all relate to. Regardless of the kind of home we live in, everyone’s neighborhood has seen change and development over the past 200 years. Wouldn’t it be interesting to track the changes and the history of your own home and neighborhood?

I would have loved to use this in my Kindergarten classroom. I would have introduced the story to my students, probably reading it over a course of two days. As a class, we could create a history of our school and school neighborhood. Maybe we'd bring in the school director or parents who attended the school to interview and help us create our map and story. At home, each family could create their own map and brief history to be shared somewhere in the classroom.

My Place is out of print, but I highly recommend you purchasing a used copy here! Do you think this show would succeed in the US?

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