It's Not Rocket Science

I've been working on a PB manuscript this past week. It wasn't going so well. I had a beginning and an end, but no middle. To try and get past the writer's block, I read some of my books on writing. Although I learned a lot, I was still stuck. My writer's group is due to meet soon, and I desperately need their help, but my ms is barely ready for them to see. Enter my friend Christine. Every morning Christine and I get up at 6 am to go for a walk. It's our exercise and therapy rolled into one. Christine is my sounding board. She talked me through my ms and offered some great ideas to help fill in the middle of my story. One idea in particular involves a toy rocket :). As soon as she mentioned the toy rocket, it was like a light bulb went off in my head!

I have found the community of children's writers very supportive, and SCBWI is a real gem. My head would still be stuck in the clouds if it wasn't for my writer's group. But sometimes it's nice just to have a friend to get you past your writer's block. Who's your sounding board?

Oh Baby!

So, I've been out of sorts, and haven't felt like blogging, much less anything else. But there's a good reason for that- I'm pregnant! My blessed family will welcome our third child in April. I'm not one of those glowing, sweet, all-is-right-with-the-world pregnant people. In fact, I'm pretty miserable, so life right now is living for the next meal or nap, or sucking on a Preggie Pop.

I think my son and daughter may be more excited than the mommy and daddy-to-be. They have lots of interesting question. Every day they want to know the size of the baby. To help them see and understand what's going on with the baby, we checked out:

The author, Abby Cocovini, does a terrific job at mixing fun with facts. The kids love her size comparisons for the baby, such as, "The baby is as big as a baked bean." Right now, our baby is as big as a baked bean, and looks like a tadpole!
Somehow we have avoided the BIG question..."How are babies made?" I haven't found a good book for that one!

Wait A Minute Mr. Postman

I ordered my copy of the 2010 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market this week! I'm excited to have my own copy for the first time. For the past year I have monopolized the library copy. (In my defense the children's librarian ordered it with me in mind.) But now I'll have one that I can mark up and dog-ear pages, eat toast and jelly over , drink coffee with, take for walks...

I also ordered The Elements of Style by William J. Strunk Jr. and E.B. White (yep, that's my old friend E.B.). Since my goal as a writer is not only to get published, but to become a better writer, I'm looking forward to drinking coffee with this one too. Speaking of working on becoming a better writer, The Writing Nag always offers good advice, but I found her post this Monday especially helpful. (My kids and I love to rock out to Schoolhouse Rock.)
While I'm waiting for my books to arrive from Amazon, I need to send out a package of my own . I finally registered for the 1st Annual Scarlett and Gray Writers and Illustrators Conference, and for the first time I am having a professional manuscript critique done. Thank you to Casey at Literary Rambles and Corey at Thing 1 and Thing 2 for their advice on manuscript critiques. Now, where is that postman? Doesn't he know I'm waiting!?

Shower The Ones You Love With Books

What do you get for a pregnant friend who already has all the practical essentials? Something truly essential... books! I was fortunate to attend a baby shower for my friend Tracy, who is having her second child any day (she hopes!). The hostess asked that the attendees bring a book as a gift for the baby. I love this idea! I wanted to get some board books that could stand up to the wear and tear of two boys. So, my kiddies and I headed to the bookstore (yipee!) to pick out some books. I was happy to find The Monster at the End of This Book in board book. I also found a baby-sized version of Ten Little Ladybugs, called Five Little Ladybugs. It's adorable! One of the guest at the shower gifted this amazing book:

I do love giving books as gifts! What is your favorite book to give as a gift, or what book do you think would make a great baby shower gift?

Me and E.B.

Remember how I said I couldn't wait to read my kids Charlotte's Web? Well, I also wanted to have it to read it to me! Who better than the author himself, Mr. E. B. White? With all the traveling we've been doing this summer, I thought some books on CD would be a good way to pass the time in the car. Yea me, because it was a great idea!
From Dayton, Ohio, to my parents house in Michigan is a pretty nondescript drive. I've driven that route so many times I could do it with my eyes closed. I may try it some time, so watch out people on I-75! Listening to E.B. White read Charlotte's Web while I drove, made me feel like I was settling in a comfy spot to listen to a dear old friend tell a tale. There are some amazingly theatrical people out there who read books on audio, and do a wonderful job. They have unique voices for each character, their villains are chilling and their heroines are charismatic. E. B. does none of this, except for his voice for Templeton does have a sneer to it, and forever more his voice for Templeton is my voice for Templeton. No, there's no theatrics from Mr. White, just his own voice, reading his best-loved story in his even, east coast accent. (I love the way he says the word barn, it's very New England sounding in its pronunciation.) I've cherished E. B. White's writing since I was in the third grade and my teacher read aloud The Trumpet of the Swan. Now I love him even more for telling me his tale in his own voice. What audio books do you love? Send me your recommendations.

Vacation Finds

What a wonderful trip to Michigan! The kiddies thoroughly enjoyed the lake and all the fun that came with it. They especially loved the lighthouses and catching tadpoles in the tide pools. I believe that childhood summer vacations should be full of things that make the memories that you carry with you your whole life. I think, I hope, that is what I achieved with our Michigan trip this summer.



On the way up to Presque Isle, we stopped in East Tawas at a little bookstore I remember visiting on my previous trips. East Tawas is a quaint town on the shores of Lake Huron. The Book Nook is just what you would expect in a small tourist town. Sorry, they don't have a website to link to. I went there with the hopes of finding a picture book about Michigan history or folklore. I was not disappointed with the selection. I eventually chose M Is For Mitten: A Michigan Alphabet because it covered a spectrum of all things Michigan, from petoskey stones to Vernor's ginger ale. It's almost two books in one, because part of each page is devoted to the letter of the alphabet and is written in rhyme, while another part of the page is a small history lesson. M is For Mitten is one book in a series of alphabet books for each state, so you may want to check out one for the state you live in, or will be vacationing in! I also picked up a fun, little book called I'm a Michigan Kid . It looks like a passport, but is more like a journal/record keeper of things children can do or see while visiting the Great Lakes State. My kids couldn't wait to write down which lighthouses we visited.

I'm heading off to Michigan again this week, this time for a funeral. But with the kids in tow, I want to make more summer memories part of our visit. We will be visiting another much loved spot, Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad. History and fun all wrapped into one!

Saying Yes! To Michigan

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of spending summer weekends at my aunt's cottage on Lake Huron. It was a magical place. You could do close to nothing all day, but still have the time of your life. As children, my siblings, cousins, and I would dig for hours in the sand, play frisbee, and wade out to the sand bar that was at times only ankle deep. I can instantly recall the sound of the waves lapping the shore, the smell of the pine forest, the sight of a billion stars and the Northern lights. It's calling me.....
In four days I will introduce my children to the magic that is Michigan in the summer time. Of course a week at the beach would not be complete without some summer reading. I think I'm going to finally get enough down time to start the Twilight series. For the kiddies, I bought my son, A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever. It's a great book for boys, and a great book for a trip to the beach! My daughter gets one of my all time favorites, The Secret Remedy Book. So, those are my kids' beach reads. What would be on your list for your kids?

Blooming Butterflies

My daughter just finished kindergarten, and one of the last things they studied was the life cycle of butterflies. What a treat for her and my son when my dearest friend Christine ordered a Butterfly Pavilion for her kids, letting my kiddies experience it too! The Pavilion is a pop-up, netted habitat that comes with the caterpillars and some other supplies. The kids were able to watch the caterpillars form chrysalises and then waited for them to "bloom" (that's what my son was calling the hatching of the butterflies, and I think it's great terminology for it!). After they bloomed, Christine put orange slices in the pavilion, and the children rubbed their fingers on the oranges to attract the butterflies. They loved being able to have the butterflies land on their fingers!

There are numerous picture books about butterflies out there, but I'd like to recommend two in particular, Hurry and the Monarch and Butterflies on Carmen Street/Mariposas en la calle Carmen.
What makes Hurry and the Monarch stand out is the beautiful watercolor illustrations, the pages almost drip all those amazing colors of butterflies in bloom. The story itself is the tale of the journey a monarch makes to lay its eggs. Along the way, one of the butterflies meets a tortoise, this sets up a nice juxtaposition of the briefness of the butterfly's life with the longevity of the tortoise's life.
I came across Butterflies on Carmen Street while researching publishers for my own book. This charming book is about a girl named Julianita who is studying butterflies at her school (much like my own daughter). Julianita's homework is to bring home a caterpillar, watch it form a chrysalis, hatch it, and release it when it's ready to make its journey to Mexico. With the help of her wise grandfather, Julianita is able to let go of her butterfly (which she named Tiger) so that it may make its journey over Carmen Street and on to Mexico. I loved seeing Julianita's town from Tiger's eyes. Even more, I love experiencing the world through my children's eyes, their joy is contagious!

Camping With Family and Friends

I love my children. I love them so much, I give up my bed to sleep on the ground for two nights. But, I do reap the rewards of eating s'mores with them, wiping their marshmallow and chocolate-covered faces clean so I can see their sweet, sweet smiles.

This weekend is our annual camping trip with two other families. While I love my yard and gardening, I don't consider myself an outdoorsy kinda gal. I abhorred the thought of joining the Girl Scouts as a child. Luckily for me, my gal pals feel the same way. We were lucky to find a camp ground last year with a lake, real potties and showers, a convenience store, and an ice cream stand across the way. Oh, and gotta love the pride some campers take in their campsites.

So, I'm looking for recommendations on picture books about camping. We currently have two books about camping, and while the kiddies enjoy them, I'm always on the look-out for a good book. The first book is an easy reader, PJ Funnybunny Camps Out. I like this one because my daughter can practice her reading with it. The other is a Dora book, and what kid doesn't love that little Latina adventurer? Dora's Camping Trip was a good introduction for my kids first year of camping, but we're looking for something new. Send me your recommendations for favorite books about camping!

Down On The Farm

I haven't met a child yet that doesn't love baby animals. (My own kiddies first signs of intelligent life came out as "moo" and "meow.") Imagine the fun of taking your kids to a farm with baby animals that they are allowed pet and cuddle. Just outside of Dayton is such a place, Learning Tree Farm. My son's Pre-school Co-op met for the last time at Learning Tree this past week.

I can't think of many things sweeter than a baby kitten, except maybe for baby goats, and baby lambs, baby pigs....

We spent the morning laughing, chasing chickens, swinging over bales of hay, and telling our kids to re-enact the opening sequence to Little House on the Prairie as they ran through the tall grass. (Yes, they did wonder what the heck we were talking about.)

One of my all-time, favorite picture books is Big Red Barn. We've had it in a board book (we're on our second copy) since my daughter was born. It may be the first book I ever read to her. I love the simplicity of it. It is the perfect book to read to your baby or toddler. The pictures are appealing, the text is rhythmic, and what child can resist crowing like a rooster or mooing like a cow?
I can't wait to read E. B. White's Charlotte Web to my kiddies! What's your favorite farm book to read with your kids?