I’ve had the pleasure this week of looking over a couple of friends’ fantastic picture book manuscripts. Since picture books are my life right now, what I’m reading, what I’m writing, even what I’ve been dreaming about, it’s been a bit of a greedy endeavor. It’s wonderful to be presented with delicious stories and get [...]
Monthly Archives: October 2007
Kapow!
October 29, 2007 – 3:42 am
Howdy folks. There’s been a dry spell for writing round these part. Ayep. Couldn’t find two syllables to rub together. No siree. Till tonight. We had ourselves a brainstorm. Kapow! I’ve had ideas roaming around my head for weeks and I finally got a stampede. Now it’s 3:30 in the morning. I’m feeling a little [...]
Books of the Week:Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad characters
October 26, 2007 – 1:19 pm
“The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another, his mother called him “WILD THING!” and Max said “I’LL EAT YOU UP!” so he was sent to bed without eating anything.” – Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are What is it that makes wild, stubborn, grumpy, characters so [...]
What would you bring?
October 24, 2007 – 12:01 pm
I stare mesmerized at the tv. Orange flames erupt from everything. Skeletons of houses blaze and tumble into ashes. All those homes. All those people. I wrack my brain, trying to think of where all my friends live. Who might need help. Who might need a place to stay. Meanwhile, the days stay hot. Golden [...]
Ice Cream for Dinner
October 22, 2007 – 5:05 pm
Lately, I’ve been jumping from story to story. I’ll get an idea, get excited, and work on it for a few weeks. Then I’ll get another idea and switch projects for a while. Whenever I tell people that I’m working on a new story, I cringe, ready for them to tell me I’m being flighty [...]
Books of the Week: Old Favorites
October 19, 2007 – 5:00 am
When I’m perusing the picture book shelves and come across a favorite book from my childhood, it’s like crawling under the blankets, snuggling up with a stuffed animal, and sipping a cup of cocoa. With mini marshmallows. Those tiny pillows of delight. Spongey icebergs in a sea of chocolate. Morsels of fluffy happiness. Ahem. Reading [...]
Tortugranja!
October 17, 2007 – 5:00 am
Turtle Farm! Our visit to the turtle farm on Isla Mujeres was definitely a highlight of our trip to Cancun. No, there weren’t turtles roaming over the open plains. Carefully labeled nests of incubating eggs were protected behind tall fences. Masses of tiny turtles, no bigger than your palm, endlessly swarmed around circular tanks. Growing [...]
The Morning Gift
October 14, 2007 – 6:54 pm
HaikuReview: The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson Vienna so sweet, It could only be fiction. Delectable tale.
Max Dare and the fantabulific picture book
October 11, 2007 – 5:00 am
Adam Rex (aka Max Dare… if you like anagrams) gets a gold star and a gazillionbillion exclamation marks. And maybe, even, a couple of smiley faces. His picture book, Pssst!, is wonderful, fabulous, and so very, very funny. The style of his pictures, the hilarious details, the surprise of the story blow me away. It [...]
Beach Books!
October 8, 2007 – 11:33 pm
What do you read while reclining on sugar-white beach under a thatched umbrella? This is a difficult and very serious decision. Only a professional should undertake a dilemma of such proportions. I mean, how can one paddle up to the poolside bar with a substandard book in hand? I suppose the more relevant question is, [...]
Books of the Week: Caldecott Books
October 5, 2007 – 4:30 am
It’s unusual for a book from the 40′s to still be on the bookstore shelves, but Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey is an exception. Not just because of its timeless story, but also because of its Caldecott Medal. The Caldecott is given each year “to the artist of the most distinguished American picture [...]
The technicolor yawn of the writing world.
October 3, 2007 – 4:00 am
The first draft. Starting a story is actually my favorite part. It’s fresh and perfect and you’re sure that this time you’re going to be able to put it all down exactly like it is in your head. If I could spend my life writing the first 20 pages of stories, I would. Unfortunately, you [...]
