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As many of you know, I love helping people get started with workshop. Here’s what I’m wondering tonight… What is the most important thing to know as a writing workshop teacher? I’d love… Read More →

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Looking out of our hotel window in Vancouver Canada.

So. I have the attention span of a flea anymore – especially on week nights when I’ve been staring intently [INTENTLY] at a computer monitor for eight hours. The thought of getting back on the computer when I get home makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

But I still haven’t written about our vacation TWO MONTHS AGO, and Jazz’s marching band season so … bear with me. I’ll get to it. But it’s going to take a while – I’ll write when I can, and IF I can. (See the scratch my eyes out paragraph).

When we started planning our vacation for the year (we have sort of made a pact to take a cruise/trip somewhere at least once a year – because life is too short to be all work and no play), we knew we wanted something short – not a whole week because we didn’t want to leave the boys alone at home for too long. And we wanted to go someplace different – the west coast sounded good. We hadn’t been to the west coast since I was four-months pregnant with Dude – TWENTY YEARS ago.

We opted for Holland America cruise lines this go around because we hadn’t sailed with them before and we were getting a little burnt out with Carnival Cruise Lines. Not that Carnival isn’t great, it is, but we wanted something a little more “sophisticated” (i.e., a line that likely wouldn’t have as many children on board).

We picked a cruise that sailed out of Vancouver Canada.

We used our frequent flyers miles, which meant we could, and did, fly out of Springfield. We flew to Dallas, then caught a bigger plane to Vancouver – a four-hour flight. With Internet. SWEET. The flight went like clock-work and we arrived in Vancouver, Canada with nary a hitch. We sailed through customs. We hailed a taxi and made it to our hotel in record time (though I did get a bit car sick – it was stop/go/stop/go process the whole way).

The day was overcast and a bit rainy, but it wasn’t too bad.

Our hotel was literally across the street from our pier. And it was nice. as in, we were SEVERELY under-dressed nice. And it was expensive. But did I mention it was right across the street from the pier and we would save money on taxis?

We loved Vancouver immediately. And since we were only there for one night in order to catch our boat out the next day, we started planning another trip back again so we would have more time to explore.

We plan on going back in August/September next year.

More later …

Filed under: Cruise 12

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How did it get to be the end of November?!" I keep asking myself...

I can hardly believe it!

But believe it or not, it's here, and along with it... our final four Mini Interviews for 2012.

And, I think you'll agree that though they may be last- they are certainly not least!

Here's the lineup...

Constanze Von Kitzing  visits Juana's blog on Tuesday.

Jeremy Holmes will be here on Wednesday

Alexandra Ball chats with Mikela on Thursday

and

Brian Karas finishes out the week on Laura's Blog, Friday.

 

What a week!

 

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Torrey Maldonado is an author and educator. His first MG/YA novel, Secret Saturdays was a 2011 ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers selection. Torrey is also an advocate for literacy, education and young men of color. He recently agreed to the following interview and I think that you’ll be as amazed by his energy, optimism and hope in our collective future (i.e., our children) as I am.

First let’s start with  a few questions to introduce you to my readers.

Where did you grow up?

“In New York!” (to quote Alicia Keys’ song) “The Concrete Jungle where dreams are made of!”  My upbringing and path from poverty to being featured on NBC, CNN, and other media is more similar to Jay-Z though.  Red Hook, Brooklyn is where I grew up and it’s an “other side of the tracks” place that is full of contradictions.  On one hand, it’s the hard Brooklyn housing projects where my sister was the Day Care teacher of the NBA-star Carmelo Anthony.  Life Magazine in 1988 called our neighborhood the “Crack Capital of the U.S.A.”.  On the other hand, Red Hook “will make you feel brand new” (to quote Alicia Keys again) and it’s the tightknit, warm community where many “hipsters” and “artsy” types today visit, fall in love with, and set up shop.  Red Hook’s contradictions, charm, and warmth have a hold on me and it’s why I thought I’d write the next Harry Potter or Twilight series but blinked and I produced a debut novel set in Red Hook about two Red Hook friends.  I think Red Hook’s magic is what landed Secret Saturdays on states’ High and Middle School reading-lists and inspires Red Hook organizations and colleges to assign it next to classics such as The Outsiders and invite me to visit.

Do you have any pets?

I SO wish I had pets.  I miss my cat, Snow White, from my childhood.  Sure, she peed on and clawed to shreds my prized two-hundred plus-comic book collection!  Urgh!  But I still miss her because pets have a magic that I see makes people’s eyes light up more than when they see friends.  So why don’t I have pets?  My wife does this hacking cough, allergic thingy if she’s around animals for too long; so, I gave up pet-ownership for another love.  Now, we have a toddler and she may be allergic to animal-hair.  But every now and then, I get lucky and am invited to author-visit around the country and stay with pet-owners.  Oh, I’m in “pet heaven” then (hi to Mr. & Mrs. Udell in Husdon!  Hey to the Antony John family in St. Louis).

What do you enjoy watching on television?

I’m like the people who like my book—I like T.V., but only good T.V.  I rarely get to watch T.V. because I’m a veteran public school teacher PLUS an author PLUS a father PLUS an active collaborator with a few organizations that help youth evolve into their best selves.  The other night I got the rare chance to watch T.V. and I re-watched an international T.V. phenomenon—a first episode of “Heroes”.   Sci-Fi, fantasy, and magic realism T.V. feeds my “T.V. sweet-tooth” because it was that non-reality programming that sweetened by childhood when the hardships of my neighborhood soured my reality.  I also prefer T.V. or movies that have characters who look like the mix of our world.  My T.V. and movie tastes color my writing.  I wrote Secret Saturdays while constantly asking, “Would a young media-addicted ‘me’ read this?”  In other words, would today’s Young Adults and Middle Schoolers say my book has “made for T.V. swag”?  I still have a letter that a Bangladeshi mom wrote me.  She said, “Thank you. My son is addicted to video games and T.V.  For the past two days, he’s read your book and did none of those things.”  I hope someone who makes movies sees the similar response on amazon.com from a Child and Adolescent psychologist.  She starts her therapy groups by reading a chapter of my book to grandparents, parents/caregivers, teens, and tweens and everyone feels my book should be a movie.  As for the multicultural aspect of my writing, both my family and my friendship-circles are proud because I’m on must-read Black, Latino, and multicultural book-lists.

Meat or vegetables?

Right now, you can’t see me but I’m licking my lips and eyeing Thanksgiving Turkey.  However, if you could look inside my mind, you’d see a steel-cage wrestling match: the meat-eater I am now versus the vegetarian I was for nearly ten years.  I come from a mixed—Black and Latino—upbringing, just like the half-Black and half-Puerto Rican two main characters of Secret Saturdays.  The cultures of my family and neighbors during my childhood put meat in every meal.  So Luke was able to resist “the force” that his Darth Vader dad was serving but, as much as I resisted, bacon tempted me back to the “meaty”-side of life.  It’s a tasty world yet I’m reminded of a sixty-something year old vegetarian I recently met.  How does he look forty years old with a muscular body like Duane “The Rock” Johnson?  He says his secret is he doesn’t eat meat.  He quit after the Vietnam War and has outlived his friends and family.  So, today, I’m eating meat yet should I?

Are there any books that stand out in your memories of childhood?

I still time-travel back to a “happy early childhood place” whenever I see Ezra Jack Keats’ A Snowy Day.   My mom would peel back those pages and I thought I was looking in the mirror—I thought that little brown, boy protagonist was me!  Interestingly, I was invited to speak on Election Day on an award-winning, all-male panel in the recent New York City Librarian conference.  Our session was entitled, “Engaging Boys in Reading” and the first man on the “mic” began by saying his favorite childhood book was A Snowy Day!  Wow!  To quote Roberta Flack or Lauryn Hill, he was “telling my whole life with his words”.  Is it a coincidence that we share the same childhood, favorite book?  I think the answer is in the weekend before that panel.  The weekend before, I was invited to speak at the YALSA Symposium in St.  Louis on a panel called “Guys Talkin’ to Guys: What Will Guys Read Next?”  Ours was a different all-male, diverse panel yet there were so many uncanny coincidences!  Most of the guys said they were drawn to similar books that I loved as a boy, tween, and teen.  Us loving the same books and types of books as children influenced another coincidence—we now write those kinds of books (books where fictional characters and dialogue feel real, comics and graphic novels, books that are cool for guys to be seen carrying, thinner books, and books with chapters as long as the attention-spans of today’s Young Adult and Middle School females and males).

What book(s) are you in the middle of reading right now?

I might be revealing that I’m a “history geek” with this answer.  I bought and, so far, am enjoying every moment I steal to read the just-released graphic novel The Hammer and The Anvil: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the End of Slavery in America.  As a teacher and author, I’m more in the middle of two places.  First, I’m in the middle of reading books that I use in my classes.  At the same time, I’m wrapping up writing a book that I’m told Young Adults and Middle School students will devour in under a day.  I just wish I could finish writing it in under a day.  

You’re an educator! What subjects and ages do you most enjoy teaching? Why?

I’ve taught for sixteen years in two capacities and see a strong connection between both fields.  For three years, I was a Conflict Resolution Trainer and Staff Developer for the U.S.’s largest victim-services agency and taught schools to set up and run Conflict Resolution programs.  There, I taught adults as well as classes from fifth grade through twelfth graders.  Then, I became a sixth grade Social Studies (History) and have loved it for the past thirteen years.  The connection between my Conflict Resolution and my veteran teaching careers is what most teachers do: develop students’ character.  That’s what I aim to do with my novel and I love one librarian’s review of me in her “Library Lounge Lizard” blog because she “gets” a part of why I teach and write!  She says: “I really loved this book and I will be encouraging teachers and librarians everywhere to read it and keep it in their classrooms and libraries.  The situation of [middle school] boys insecure about communicating their feelings with other boys without seeming ‘gay’ is practically epidemic and compounding that with the fact they sometimes live without positive male role models is a recipe for disaster.”  In Secret Saturdays, I show how kids are losing a language of their youthful honesty and trading their innocence for a new language of “fronting” and being mean and bullying and, for many, this is a fall into an abyss of non-stop ugliness as they falling into lower and lower rungs of meanness.  As a teacher and author, I enjoy being in the “tween and teen crossroads” to help kids sidestep the “abyss of the dis” and stay multidimensional and kindhearted as they walk into young adulthood.  I saw the Common Core Learning Standards on the horizon so designed Secret Saturdays in alignment with them so schools see the added-value in my book.  The heart of the Common Core is get students to listen like judges, think and read like detectives, and write like investigative journalists and Justin grows to excel in all three tasks by the book’s conclusion.  You’ll also find Core-based materials I designed on my site—lessons for major subjects, a Discussion Guide, test, and more.

What books do you recommend most often to your students?

It depends on the student.  I always follow this rule: the best salesperson is your peer.  A kid doesn’t want to hear my love for Marianne Williamson’s A Return to Love (although she’s amazing because she does for women in that book what I do for males in Secret Saturdays and Nelson Mandela quoted her in his inaugural speech and Oprah loves her).  Do I think my male and female students should read A Return to Love?  Yes, but they don’t want to read that.  Young people want to wear the Michael Jordan sneakers that their friends wear and, similarly, they want to read what is popular with their peers.  So, when I figure out what issue a student is struggling with I assign a matching fan-favorite book almost the way a doctor prescribes the right medicine.  Basically, it’s always the same equation: a student has an issue, kids elsewhere recommend a book that addresses that issue, and I relay that book into the right hands.

In an interview about Secret Saturdays you talk about all the missing men in young people’s lives and in the lives of families.  I think men are also missing in the voice of teen/pre-teen books, particularly those of men of color.  What difference do you think it would make to have more Black, Latino, Asian and Native American men writing for teens?

Youth—especially young males—have gone so long without soaking up images of themselves in books or as authors that they’re dry sponges and will sponge-up anyone who remotely looks like them.  I participated in the upstate, NY, Hudson Children’s Book Festival and a Filipino boy spotted me and yelled, “YOU’RE FILIPINO, RIGHT?”  I didn’t have the heart to crush him and say “No”.  A one-hundred-and-eighty degree shift in this area would trigger massive, positive change for boys on many levels, especially in the explosion of boys who become men-of-color authors—like I did.  In the 1990s, my mom opened a New York Daily newspaper and showed me a Dominican Republican-American debut author who looks a bit like me.  His name was Junot Diaz.  I took that article and he represented my missing voice so much that I cut out and taped the article on my wall.  Then, again in the 1990s, my mom said a bestselling African-American author named James McBride—the writer of The Color of Water which is set in my hometown—would speak at our local Red Hook library.  I went and he autographed his book I bought with “To a fellow scribe (author)”.  Both Diaz and McBride don’t make up my exact racial make-up yet they fired me up so much that it ignited me to skyrocket into joining them as a professional writer.  I can’t count how many White, Mexican-American, Asian, Native American, and more tweens and teens tell me I inspire them how these authors inspired me. 

Do you think you’ll always teach?

Yes.  And write.

You mention quite often that you’ve always wanted to be a writer.  Looking back, what were some of the things you did, whether intentional or not, that helped prepare you to become a professional writer?

Remember in The Matrix how Morpheus kept waiting for Neo to be ready?  Neo’s whole life prepared him but he needed a push?  My whole life prepared me for the road I’m on but my mom almost slipping into a diabetic coma helped push me to become the professional-writer that she kept waiting for me to be.  Since I was in elementary school, I heard my mom brag that “My son’s going to write books someday.”  The possibility that she might die without seeing me fulfill her dream lit a fire in me that propelled me to write Secret Saturdays.  That’s why my book is dedicated to my mom.  That’s also backstory into how I got my start.  I think jobs I’ve had help keep me successful.  In high school, I had a few sales-jobs and, in one, I sold socks and ties to subway train-passengers.  The rule then was the rule now for most debut authors: “sell or sink”.  When I debuted, I was told “You’re responsible for setting up your author-visits and promoting your book.”  Having learned as a teen how to engage a person and establish responsiveness helps me as a professional writer.  Teaching has prepared me to engage large-groups and also know if I’m “hit” with an audience; so, I group-talk and write with a sense of what will “move” or “lose” an audience.  

I read Secret Saturdays quite a while ago!  In fact, I think I read it as an ARC.  I’m sure that in all that time, you’ve re-visited that story a lot as you discussed and introduced it to new readers. What are some of the storylines you might continue to develop in a sequel?

The publishing game is supply-and-demand.  I have a “hit” with readers and we’ll see if get a sequel.  One librarian made a bulletin board that said, “The 25 Most ‘Checked Out’ Books from Our Library” and my book was number one.  Secret Saturdays was more popular than a lot of books-to-movies!  Wow.  The other day, a girl asked, “When are you done with the second book?  I’m halfway through this one and I can’t wait to close it and open up the next.”  Also, when I author-visit ten out of ten times readers, teachers, librarians, and administrators ask, “When is book two coming out?”  They even have titles!  LOL!   Secret Sundays!  Manic Mondays!  If enough readers demand the book, Penguin will tell me to supply it and I’d love to get the chance to do what readers want: play out want what happens at the end between Justin and Sean; show their friendship change as new teen dramas crop up; see what happens with Sean and Vanessa (bom chicka wow wow); and guess who’s dads re-appear and bring a lot of action and craziness to the mix. . . .  As I cross-fingers and wait to be asked to write a sequel, I’m writing another book with other storylines.

Thanks, Torrey! It was a pleasure getting to know you. I hope Penguin will soon realize how much demand there is for a sequel to Secret Saturdays, as well as other stories you have to write!

Torrey’s bio: Voted a “2012 Top 10 Author”, NBC & more have spotlighted Maldonado & his “hit” ALA Quick Pick novel, Secret Saturdays.  Born & raised in Red Hook projects, he overcame neighborhood poverty & violence to be the first immediate family member to attend college.  Graduating Vassar, he trained schools to implement Conflict Resolution programs through the U.S.’s largest victim-services agency.  He holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Baruch College.  A veteran teacher, his cross-cataloged—Young Adult and Middle Grade—novel is praised for its current-feel & timeless themes, made states’ Middle & High school reading-lists, & is assigned alongside classics in colleges.  Learn more at torreymaldonado.com

Filed under: male monday, Me Being Me Tagged: author interview, Male Monday, Torrey Maldonado

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The Phoenician Women by Euripides is a sort of mash-up of Seven Against Thebes and Antigone and it messes around with the timeline of events. If you recall in Oedipus after he learns his wife Jocasta is also his mother, Jocasta hangs herself and Oedipus blinds himself and goes into exile led around by his daughters Ismene and Antigone. After Oedipus dies, Antigone returns to Thebes. In the play Seven Against Thebes Oedipus’ two sons Polyneices and Eteocles fight and kill each other for the right to rule Thebes. The play Antigone takes place after Seven and we see Antigone go against the wishes of her uncle and now king, Creon, by burying her brother Polyneices. Then Antigone hangs herself and Creon’s son to whom Antigone was betrothed kills himself in grief. Got that? It would be simpler to say everyone dies but then you’d miss out on all the fun.

In Phoenecian Women, Jocasta didn’t kill herself, Oedipus blinded himself and abdicated his throne to his sons but is still in town. His sons were supposed to rule together but each wanted to be the one in charge so they came up with the brilliant plan that they would alternate years and while one ruled the other had to leave town. As you can imagine it doesn’t work out. After Eteocles rules for a year, brother Polyneices shows up for his turn for a year to learn that Eteocles has no plans to share. So Polyneices puts together an army and marches on Thebes. Then we get a brief cease fire during which Jocasta tries to mediate a truce. But Eteocles won’t bend. The war is on.

Everyone is worried Thebes will fall. But we learn that if Creon kills his son Menoeceus as a sacrificial offering, Thebes will not fall. But Creon turns out to be a coward and rushes around trying to hide his son who has ideas of his own. Menoeceus will not be a coward and sacrifices himself. We then get a sort of Cliff’s Notes version of the long fighting and cataloging of the seven gates and the seven men on each side who attack and defend each gate that takes up so much of the play Seven Against Thebes. There was a moment that made me laugh as Eteocles is about to run off and direct the battle at the different gates. He tells Creon,

To the seven-gated town
I’ll go, and set the captains as you say
in even numbers against their enemies.
It would take long, long talk to give each name,
now while the enemy camps outside our walls.

I wonder if this is a little slam against Aeschylus who did take a long, long talk to give each name, what each was wearing and what was engraved on each shield.

Before he high tails it off to the walls, Eteocles tells Creon that should he die Creon will be king and orders him to not allow Polyneices to be buried. Then whoosh! Thebes is saved but the argument between the brothers still isn’t settled. They decide to fight it out one-on-one. Jocasta rushes out to the battlefield to stop her sons but arrives just in time to see them kill each other. In her grief she takes one of her sons’ swords and kills herself too. The death scenes happen out of view and get recounted in detail by a grave but friendly messenger who saw it all.

Creon is now king and tells Oedipus who is upset over the death of his sons and his wife/mother that he needs to man-up because it’s all his fault anyway, oh and he had better leave town by sunset or Creon will gun him down. Ok, maybe that last bit’s my own addition. Then Creon learns that Antigone has gone against his orders and buried her brother and is planning on killing her but Oedipus says no, she can come with me in my exile cuz I’m blind and I need a seeing-eye-daughter. Creon accuses Antigone of trying to avoid marrying his son Haemon. Antigone tells Creon to stuff it; she’s going into exile with pop or she’s doing herself in with a sword like mom. Creon throws up his hands and tells her to not let the door hit her on the way out.

See how Euripides got all timey-wimey with this one? Neither Oedipus nor Jocasta are supposed to be alive during the attack on Thebes but there they are. But they have to be alive so we can get this really awesome back and forth between Jocasta and Polyneices early in the play where each one shoots single lines at each other. Here’s a taste:

J: What is it to lose your country — a great suffering?

P: The greatest, even worse than people say.

J: What is its nature? What so hard on exiles?

P: One thing is worst, a man cannot speak out.

J: But this is slavery, not to speak one’s thought.

P: One must endure the unwisdom of one’s masters.

And it goes on. Of course, at the end of the play Oedipus and Antigone become exiles and lose their country. This one line back and forth is something I have not come across in any of the plays before and here it happens more than once. Polyneices and Eteocles do it, Creon and Eteocles do it, Teiresias and Creon too, and the best one between a sharp-tongued Antigone and a grumpy Creon.

But back to Oedipus and Jocasta being alive. We also need Oedipus so at the end he can come full-circle and see what all the curses and bad choices have brought to his house beginning with his father trying to outsmart the Oracle. We have to have the man who bested the Sphinx and lived well as a king brought low because only he can say with full emotion and deep meaning:

Yet why do I lament these things and mourn for them in vain?
The constraint the gods lay on us we mortals all must bear.

There is an undercurrent in the play about what is best for the city. Each brother thinks he knows what is best, Creon thinks he knows, Teiresias spouts a bit of prophecy, but none of them actually do anything for the city. The only one who does do something is Menoeceus who gives his life to keep Thebes from falling to Ployneices’ army:

I’ll cure this ailing land.
If every man would take what good he can
and give it to his city’s common good,
cities would suffer less, be happy from now on.

But I have to wonder given everything that happens in this play, if his sacrifice was worth it.

The Phoenician Women was probably written around 410 BCE and has obvious additions in it. Scholars have been able to sort out at least three pieces, two speeches in different places mid-play, and very likely most of the play’s ending. Do the additions help or hinder the play? Did Euripides have a different, better ending that gives us a different conclusion? Oedipus submitting to the will of the gods does seem an odd thing for Euripides who often notes how absent and uncaring the gods are. We can only echo Oedipus and accept the constraints not of the gods, but of time.

Filed under: Ancient Greece, Plays, Reviews Tagged: Antigone, Euripides, Oedipus, Seven Against Thebes

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Here I am with my annual late November cold. This morning I made a big pot of organic chicken soup with lots of garlic and fresh herbs and veggies from the garden. 

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Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins.

This is Huck’s current favorite read-aloud. I grabbed it from the library on impulse a couple of weeks ago—we’re short on fall color here, and the cover appealed to me, but I didn’t expect it to grab the three-year-old’s attention. Shows what I know. The kid is smitten. He thinks it’s called “All Dem Leaves.”

The bold images on the cover are a good foretaste of what’s inside. We’ve spent many happy moments poring over these bright leaves, matching their shapes to their names. Turns out we have a lot of sweet gum trees on our street—almost the only sparks of autumnal foliage we see here. (Mind: we’re not complaining. 70-degree weather and soaring blue skies. I’m content to satisfy my fall-color longings with children’s books.)

Rilla’s a fan of the book too—it ties in quite serendipitously to the fun we’ve been having with the Trees of England course over at Memrise. (By golly, I know my horse chestnut from my blackthorn now.)

Most of you probably live in places where the gold and scarlet has been stripped from the branches by now, in late November. (Jiminy crickets, it’s late November. I’m quaking.) This recommendation may come a bit late; we’ll all be in Holly and Ivy mode soon. But if you’re not ready to let go of autumn, you might enjoy a ramble through these colorful woods.

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Today’s Picture Book Month theme is PIGS and I have two books I think you’ll enjoy

Florentine and Pig Have a very Lovely Picnic by Eva Katzler, illustrated by Jess Mikhail with recipes and crafts by Laura and Jess Tilli is one half story book, one half recipe book. It’s about two best friends (one of whom happens to be a pig) having fun in the kitchen, preparing for a summery picnic, but there’s a problem when they realise they don’t have one of the ingredients they need. A dash of porcine derring-do saves the day and after an afternoon of baking, caking, whisking, wiggling, cooking and crunching Florentine and Pig settle down for a feast.

This gentle story about the delights of spending time together, doing simple things like baking, is charming. It’s a great text for reading aloud, with lots of onomatopeoic words to relish and giggle over; the author of this book is also a singer-songwriter and her sensitivity to rhythm and cadence really shines through.

The colourful, flowery illustrations are bright and cheerful. I particularly like the frames used by Jess Mikhail; many images are edged with blanket stitch, further adding to the cosy handmade, homemade ambience of the story.

The story is followed by six illustrated recipes for all the picnic food featured in the story, plus a tutorial for making picnic bunting. Given that we’re rather fond of picture book picnics, of course we road tested all the recipes in Florentine and Pig Have a very Lovely Picnic to create our own (indoor) picnic.

The recipes are really very good! They are easy for the kids to follow, using simple ingredients to create slightly unusual picnic fare; the savoury flapjacks and the mini quiche using bread instead of pastry were especially fun for little hands to make. I’ve investigated a lot of recipe books for kids over the last few years, and few have done as good a job as Laura and Jess Tilli have done here in creating fun and yet healthy food, a delicious feast that can be made almost entirely by kids.

Fans of Sarah Garland’s Eddie’s Kitchen or Jacqueline Wilson’s The Four Children and It (which features lots and lots of amazing picnics) might particularly enjoy this book.

Whilst preparing our picnic we listened to:

An old favourite, Big Pet Pig by Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke

Teddy Bears Picnic played here by The Clyde Valley Stompers

Florentine March by Julius Fučík. Here’s an excerpt from the film Brassed Off:

Other activities which would go well alongside reading this book include:

Making florentines! I’m sure these would be welcome at any picnic. Here’s a recipe from Delia.

Creating your own Pig – a friend or a piggy bank – using this tutorial and recyclced objects from LooleDo

Helping the kids revamp some of their clothes by sewing on fun buttons. Florentine’s dress is decorated with buttons, and with a little help, even quite young children could enjoy choosing and decorating a jumper or dress with some buttons. Sewing together, like cooking together, can be lots of fun!

My second dose of piggy goodness today comes in the form of Churchill’s Tale of Tails by Anca Sandu. This book isn’t published until just after Christmas, but I couldn’t resist including it today because it’s not only about a pig, it’s also enormous fun, and by a debut author/illustrator I hope we’ll be seeing lots more of in the future.

One day Churchill the pig loses his curly tail. He sets off to find a replacement, and with help of his friends he tries on everything from a zebra’s tail to a crocodile’s tail, enjoying how each tail makes him feel different. Caught up in dressing up, Churchill soon forgets his friends. But without them, how will he solve the mystery of his mislaid tail?

A book full of pastel pinks and blues embracing issues around identity, hubris and humility might sound rather baffling, but Sandu has created a gorgeously funny fable which also explores kindness, empathy and the great feeling that comes from generosity. A lightness of touch and a good deal of old fashioned silliness ensures Churchill’s Tale of Tails never overextends into worthiness.

Sandu’s illustrations are a great deal of fun, with some very clever compositions (look out for the mirror, and the elephant), and a spread which has the same WOW factor as that one by Nadia Shireen last year (but this time with a peacock rather than a wolf). The pig’s expressions, with just tiny adjustments to his ears and eyes, are superb – even in his most narcissistic moment you can’t help feeling rather fond of Churchill.

Churchill’s Tale of Tails is going to be the next book I put in our dressing up box, and I shall also be reading this book at one of my story+craft school sessions in the new year.

I haven’t quite worked out all the details yet, but I’m hoping to get the children making their own tails to wear once we’ve read the story. Although some of these ideas will need adapting to work in class with 30 5 and 6 year olds, here are some of the ideas I’m mulling over:

I’m wondering if we might make paper/card versions of these gorgeous mermaid tails from etsy seller missprettypretty

Or paper/card peacock tails using this halloween costume as inspiration

Not sure that we’ll manage sewing in 45 minutes, but I like this Tiger Tail tutorial by One Charming Party

Of course somehow we’ll fit in making Pig tails out of pipecleaners!

I might try adapting this idea from Oriental Trading to create tails which the kids can paint using fabric paints. It would require a fair bit of preparation, but I think the activity would be very popular.

Maybe a few of the older kids could try making non droopy animal tails with coat hangers as inspired by Made by K. This might require more supervision than is on offer for the session, but perhaps I can make myself one to wear whilst I read!

Using old tights and stuffing – the kids could scrunch up newspaper for the stuffing and then we could use string to attach the tights to tummies… (here’s a tutorial from Animal Welfare League, Queensland.)

Have you any more ideas for making tails? And what are your favourite pig picture books?

Disclosure: I received a free copy of each of the books I’ve reviewed today from their respective publishers. I was under no obligation to review the books and I received no money for this post.

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Yes, it's true. I'm back in the saddle again, although I never really left; it was more along the lines of changing lanes rather than getting off the highway altogether.

I'm still writing away, providing online content for others, but I also got bit by the self-publishing bug and decided to drag my writing out into the light.

I had another site that followed my early adventures as an author but Blogger doesn't like it for some reason because it's almost impossible to mess with. I can post but that's about it. Everything else is a major pain, and life's too short for nonsensical fights like that... especially when I have a perfectly good blog right here.

For those who were around during my book reviewing days, I hope the change isn't too bumpy for you as we transform the place from Dark Wyrm the reviewer to Marty Shaw the writer.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get busy dusting around here because the place has just been sitting since 2010.

Wow! Has that much time really passed? o_O

Hang on tight. Changes are coming.

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Yes, it's true. I'm back in the saddle again, although I never really left; it was more along the lines of changing lanes rather than getting off the highway altogether.

I'm still writing away, providing online content for others, but I also got bit by the self-publishing bug and decided to drag my writing out into the light.

I had another site that followed my early adventures as an author but Blogger doesn't like it for some reason because it's almost impossible to mess with. I can post but that's about it. Everything else is a major pain, and life's too short for nonsensical fights like that... especially when I have a perfectly good blog right here.

For those who were around during my book reviewing days, I hope the change isn't too bumpy for you as we transform the place from Dark Wyrm the reviewer to Marty Shaw the writer.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get busy dusting around here because the place has just been sitting since 2010.

Wow! Has that much time really passed? o_O

Hang on tight. Changes are coming.

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Bertil Vallien

(Venice, Italy) The prestigious Glass in Venice award was presented on Thursday, November 22 at the Veneto Institute of Science, Letters and Art to two distinguished glass sculptors, Pino Signoretto and Bertil Vallien.


Palazzo Franchetti is a beautiful palace on the Grand Canal where the the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti is located. It was erected in 1565,  nearly 450 years ago, and contains all sorts of magical information gathered by the wizards of Venice, France and Austria over the centuries. So, receiving the Glass in Venice award is sort of like getting a special recognition  from Hogwarts.

Pino Signoretto

Pino Signoretto was born in 1944 in Favaro, a small town in the Veneto. At the age of ten, he started working in a glass factory, apprenticing under such masters as Alfredo Barbini, Livio Seguso, Ermanno Nason and Angelo Seguso, rapidly rising to level of master himself.

Throughout his long career, Pino Signoretto has developed an international reputation in sculpting hot glass. Amazed audiences all over the globe have witnessed his unique ability to create with molten glass, and his mastery over the fiery material. On his second visit to Japan, he performed in the presence of the Imperial Family; his sculptures are on permanent display at the Museum of Venetian Art in Otaru. He has produced sculptures for Dale Chihuly in Seattle, Washington and taught in many schools of glass and universities throughout the United States. Signoretto has the energy of hot glass coursing through his blood, has wrestled it under control, and tamed it enough to be able to produce magnificient Earthly objects, down to the smallest detail.

Bertil Vallien was born in 1938 (which I find astonishing, since he has the energy of a man a decade or two younger) in Sollentuna, a small suburb north of Stockholm. Raised in a devoutly religious home,Vallien  felt conflicted and restricted by the faith being imposed upon him. His spiritual quest is reflected in the profound emotion contained in his sand-casted glass sculptures.

When asked, Why work in glass?, Vallien admitted it was a difficult material to work with, but "glass has qualities that no other material has." Vallien said he wanted to express what was in his head and his heart with his hands, but since it is impossible to touch liquid glass, he creates negative molds made out of sand, which gives him control. When accepting the Glass in Venice award, he said, "how touched and pleased I am to receive this prestigious prize. All over the planet when you talk about glass you say: Venice, Venice."

After the ceremony, I wandered around the Bertil Vallien exhibition Nine Rooms inside Palazzo Franchetti and was overwhelmed. I had the same emotion I felt when I first saw the work of the video artist, Bill Viola, many years ago. Both artists grasp something deeply spiritual and universal, and put their own essence of that understanding into their work. It has been a long time since I fell in love with a contemporary artist, but I fell in love immediately with Vallien. He has the magic touch.


As I passed through the Nine Rooms, I longed to touch the glass sculptures, but forced myself to resist. Then, in Room 5, where the glass boats were, an older man stroked his hands across a boat. I was pleased to see I was not the only one who wanted to stroke the glass. So I did.

Pendulum

Room 7 was filled with tall, heavy glass pendulums that almost reached to the ceiling. They were still. I wanted to start them all swinging. I was alone, so I pushed them into action. The glass was heavier than I expected, and the frames supporting the glass less sturdy. For a few moments, I was concerned that I was going to topple them all; that the entire glass pendulum room might go crashing to the floor, or worse, knock over the Murano glass chandelier hanging perilously from the ceiling. But they stood tall, swinging to the rhythm of the Earth. I thought they looked much better in motion.

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Hardback coverReader Gut Reaction: As I often am with Maureen Johnson's work, I was immediately drawn in by the premise of this book—a teenager from the U.S. whose family leaves for England, so she decides to live and go to school in... Read the rest of this post

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I've written about Sherlock Holmes quite a bit  here over the years. As I've often said, I read the Holmes books when I was a youngish teenager, but as an adult, I don't know why kids are fascinated with him. The publishing world certainly is, but child readers? I don't get it.

I put off reading the Enola Holmes books by Nancy Springer because, without recognizing a child/Holmes connection, I didn't feel any compelling need to read a Holmes story about his younger sister. I wasn't very hopeful.

Well, I stumbled upon the last book in the series, The Case of the Gypsy Good-bye, and, since the author and I are Facebook friends for some reason, gave it a try. Wow. A marvelous book.

This series appears to have had an arc involving Enola's (and Sherlock's and Mycroft's) mother disappearing. Enola has been on the hunt for her and while doing so has taken on her own cases. She's also been on the run from Sherlock and Mycroft because, since she's only a female in her early teens and they are the men of the family and this is the Victorian Era...Well, you get where I'm going with this.

It was incredibly easy to come up to speed with that back story. Additionally, this volume includes a mystery that really is well done with a marvelous solution, especially for those of us interested in women's history.

The writing is just incredible. Enola's first-person narration makes her sound like a young woman from another time, which is exactly what she's supposed to be. The historical world-building is fascinating without becoming a tedious lesson in what it must have been like to live in nineteenth century England. The detail...Well, I've already said incredible, haven't I?

And Springer uses the world Suffragist. SuffragIST and not SuffragETTE, which would have been considered derogatory. I would have forgiven a lot, just for that one point. But I didn't have to forgive anything.

The publisher lists this book as being for ages 8 and up. I found it in the YA section of my local library, where I believe it belongs, if only for the sophistication of the historical world and voice.

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Reading level: Ages 14-17

Add this book to your collection: Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Video courtesy of harperteen: In a world without air, what would you do to BREATHE? Three friends risk everything in this novel of danger, longing, and glimmering hope.

Learn more at: http://www.epicreads.com/books/breathe/9780062118691/

Original article: Breathe by Sarah Crossan – Interview

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

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I decided to reread The Hunger Games so I could watch the movie, after reading the first book in the series, I just had to finish the whole trilogy. It was my first time to reread any of the books in the series. Some things I remembered--the Quarter Quell twist--other things not as well (the fate of some of the characters). 

Catching Fire. Suzanne Collins. 2009. Scholastic. 400 pages.

I may love Catching Fire even more than The Hunger Games. Perhaps just because I already care about Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, Cinna, etc. Or perhaps just because it introduces Finnick!!! This is a book that definitely surprised me the first time I read it, and it was great to finally get the chance to reread it after a few years. I think it was even more enjoyable. The Quarter Quell (75) Hunger Games definitely are intense, and very very very different from the Games from the first book. I also REALLY appreciated the brief glimpse of the other games, particularly the hunger games that Haymitch won. I wouldn't mind learning even more about him and about other victors and their games. 

Mockingjay. Suzanne Collins. 2010. Scholastic. 400 pages.   

Mockingjay is so different from The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. In a way, this is a book all about consequences and sacrifices. And as you might expect, rebellion, violence, and death. All three books are that life-or-death dramatic, this one is no exception. In some ways this one is even more intense because of who is involved and what is at stake. But. It is not a fun read. There's hardly a scene to be enjoyed--it's a matter of enduring so you can know what happens next...

I am glad I reread the series. I think watching the movie helped me get back to the books.

Read The Hunger Games trilogy:

• If you like twist-and-turns in action-packed dystopias
• If you enjoy dystopias with or without love triangles 
• If you like intense action and don't mind violence

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Kelly Light shows one you shouldn't give up. 

http://taralazar.com/2012/11/09/piboidmo-day-9-kelly-light/

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ARMANDE.
What, Sister! Are you truly of a mind
To leave your precious maidenhood behind,
And give yourself in marriage to a man?
Can you be harboring such a vulgar plan?
HENRIETTE.
Yes, Sister.
ARMANDE.
Yes, you say! When have I heard
So odious and sickening a word?

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The idea of creating a website may seem overwhelming to many who are new to the writing arena. This may lead to a hesitation in regard to taking the website step.

But, don’t let fear or procrastination get in the way of your online presence. A website is a necessary online marketing element that is at the foundation of your author platform.

Here are a couple of statistics to demonstrate the need for a website if you have any intention of building an author platform:

According to PCMag.com, there are 694,445 Google search queries made and 1,500 blog posts published each minute.

The internet is the place for people to search globally for what they want or need. Having a website allows you to be in on that action.

If you want to create visibility for you and your book or product, a website is the initial spark that will ignite your internet presence. And, it will be the hub or central location where you will let people know who you are and what you have to offer.

To further cement the need for a website, it’s through your website that you will attract readers, get email subscribers, and sell your books and products.

It’s easy to see that a website is absolutely necessary, and it’s not as difficult as you may think to create one. The first step is planning.

Plan Your Way to a Website

As with any project you undertake, the first course of action should be to plan out your course of action. This is usually considered a business plan or writing plan.

Your website is your online calling card or business card. It needs to be as professional as you can get it and needs to have all the necessary elements of an effective site.

So, if you’re not familiar with websites, one of the first steps in your course of action should be to learn about all the elements needed to create an effective website.

As an example, one of the first elements that you’ll need to work on is the domain name. Choosing a domain name is serious business. It needs to be searchable, convey what the site is about, and relate to you. It should be part of your platform, your brand. And, if at all possible, it should have your keyword in it.

Other elements of an effective website include: optimization, specific pages, posting fresh content regularly, an opt-in, and a freebie.

A website is an absolute necessity, but it also needs to be effective. It needs to be planned out.

~~~~~
Source:
Infographic What Happens Online in 60 Seconds?
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398097,00.asp

~~~~~

Turn Words into Traffic with pro marketer Jim Edwards. Jim will show you his quick and easy techniques for pumping out high-quality, persuasive, and professional articles, along with getting great guest blogging spots. He even goes into PLRs, articles written by someone else that you can claim as your own.

Check it out for yourself.



~~~~~
MORE ON ONLINE MARKETING:

Building a Profitable Information Product Business
What is an Author Platform and How Do You Create It?
Text and Images – The Perfect Combination

~~~~~
To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars, join us in The Writing World (top right top sidebar).

Karen Cioffi
Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Online Marketer, Affiliate Marketer
Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012

Karen Cioffi Professional Writing Services
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com/karen-cioffi-writing-services/

Author Online Presence and Book Marketing Ecourse:
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com/book-marketing-ecourses/

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Interview With James Daunt

Waterstones Managing Director James Daunt talking to Liz Thomson in the Piccadilly flagship store:

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The harbour was sparkling, the Festival engaging, Woollara Council’s Word Festival was in full swing.

Yoram Gross entertained the audience with stories of his childhood escape from Nazism to become our leading children’s film maker in his biography.

Who hasn’t grown up with DOT & The Kangaroo?

Yoram Gross was interviewed by loved Australian actor Kate Kitzgerald.

It was an afternoon of books and words.

The Hughenden Hotel is a sponsor of Woollahra Council’s Word Festival.

I had the pleasure of joining Mayor Andrew Petrie and Deputy Mayor Katherine O’Regan in awarding prizes for new novellists.

Mayor Andrew Petrie is such a great friend of of the Arts community. I loved it, when he arrived with his mayoral glamour for the visit by authors and illustrators on a good will tour from the  Slovenian Ministry of Culture at The Hughenden Hotel.

 THANKYOU TO WOOLLAHRA COUNCIL FOR SUPPORTING WRITERS & BOOKS

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Looking for the perfect unique gift for that special animation nerd in your life? Or maybe you just want to give yourself a special treat. Either way, you can’t go wrong with any of these hand-picked animation and cartoon-related goodies. For the price conscious, I’ve arranged them by cost, with the lowest-priced items first.

1.

Wreck-It Ralph Little Golden Book illustrated By Lorelay Bove
$3.99 on Amazon

2.

The Perfect American by Peter Stephan Jungk
$10.85 on Amazon
This controversial fictionalized account of Walt Disney’s life will be much talked about in the coming months since it is the basis of a new opera by Philip Glass that will premiere next year.

3.

The Prince of Cats by Ron Wimberly
$11.35 on Amazon
Fantastic high-energy artwork by an artist who has done character design on Adult Swim’s Black Dynamite

4.

Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth by Sanjay Patel and Emily Haynes
$11.55 on Amazon

5.

Life in the Analog Age: A Time Before Volume 2 by Gabe Swarr
$11.99 on his personal website

6.

The Day the Cow Sneezed by James Flora
$13.49 on Amazon
If you don’t want this book, I don’t know what to tell you.

7.

Adventure Time Finn boxers
$13.50-$16.65 on Amazon
Once the ladies see you in these, you’ll never spend another night alone!

8.

Phil Mendez 2013 Year-in-Progress Calendar
$15 on StuartNgBooks.com
Keep track of the year with drawings by animation legend Phil Mendez

9.

Bugs Bunny Superstar
$15.39 on Amazon
This long out-of-print 1975 documentary about Warner Bros. animation is worth it just for the film footage of Bob Clampett, Tex Avery and Friz Freleng.

10.

My Little Pony “Brony” Wallet
$16.50 on Amazon
My preferred method for carrying lots of cash around town!

11.

Pixar Short Films Collection 2
$19.96 on Amazon
A collection of twelve recent Pixar shorts including Presto, Day & Night and La Luna. Also includes six CalArts student films by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter.

12.

Skadi volume 1 by Katie Rice and Luke Cormican
$20 on their personal website

13.

Spacehawk by Basil Wolverton
$23.21 on Amazon by Basil Wolverton
Amazing pop art decades before the term existed.

14.

Mighty Mouse: The New AdventuresThe Complete Series
$23.70 on Amazon
A must-have for anyone interested in the history of modern TV animation. 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of this seminal show.

15.

Walt’s People, Vol. 12: edited by Didier Ghez
$23.99 on Amazon
If you’ve missed the first 11 volumes, don’t miss this super-packed twelfth one. More details about the contents HERE

16.

It’s Kind of a Cute Story by Rolly Crump as told to Jeff Heimbuch
$24.95 on Bamboo Forest Publishing or a limited edition, hardcover edition signed by legendary Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump for $59.95 on Bamboo Forest Publishing

17.

Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott DVD
$24.95 on ScottDoc.com
A documentary by the son of and about the experimental music composer Raymond Scott whose music was used by everybody from Jim Henson to Bob Clampett.

18.

Poster Art of the Disney Parks by Danny Handke and Vanessa Hunt
$26.04 on Amazon

19.

Rowland B. Wilson’s Trade Secrets: Notes on Cartooning and Animation by Rowland Wilson with Suzanne Lemieux Wilson
$26.37 on Amazon

20.

Herve Morvan: The Genius of French Poster Art by Veronique Morvan
$27.70 on Amazon

21.

Comics Sketchbooks: The Unseen World of Today’s Most Creative Talents edited by Steven Heller
$29.97 on Amazon

22.

Evoke: The Art of Dave Pimentel
$29.99 on his personal website

23.

Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two video game
$29.99-$59.96 on Amazon

24.

Dr. Seuss: The Cat Behind the Hat by Caroline Smith
$37.50 on Amazon

25.

Beany and Cecil 2-DVD set
Available for $54.90 on BeanyandCecil.com
Animation history buffs will be delighted by the amazing extras on both volumes. See the contents for Volume 1 and Volume 2

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