Birthdays: John Bunyan (1628), William Blake (1757), James Allen (1864), Nancy Mitford (1904), Ed Young (1931), Rita Mae Brown (1944), Alan Lightman (1948), Jon Stewart (1962)

John Bunyan is best known for his book “The Pilgrim’s Progress”

Ed Young won three Caldecott Awards for his illustrations.

Quote: “Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke.” – Joss Whedon

Tip: Avoid TSTL characters—too stupid to live. These are characters who have no depth and no reason for being in the story except as place holders or they may lack motivation or do the wrong thing just because the writer wants them to.

Jumpstart: She climbed onto the bus, her bag in her hand…(where is she going? Is she excited? Scared? Sad?)