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Picture Book Month

American Indian Heritage Month~ USA

National Year of Reading~ Australia

The Children’s Bookshow: Stories From Around The World~ ongoing until Nov 8, United Kingdom

Lee and Low Books’ New Vision Award~ submissions accepted until Nov 14, USA

Telling Tall & Tiny Tales Interactive Book Experience~ ongoing until Nov 24, Dublin, Ireland

The Illustrators’ Journey Art Exhibition Featuring Art by Shaun Tan, Matt Ottley and More!~ ongoing until Dec 31, Fremantle, Australia

Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award 2013~ submissions accepted until Dec 31, United Kingdom

2012 South Asia Book Award~ submissions accepted until Dec 31

SingTel Asian Picture Book Award 2013~ submissions accepted until Dec 31, Singapore

Exhibits of Winning Entries from the 2011 Growing Up Asian in America Contest~ ongoing until Feb 2013, USA

Nami Island International Illustration Concours for Picture Book Illustrations~ submissions accepted until Feb 15, 2013, Korea

Tall Tales & Huge Hearts: Raúl Colón~ ongoing until Mar 28, 2013, Abilene, TX, USA

Skipping Stones Youth Honor Awards Celebrating Multicultural Awareness, International Understanding and Nature Appreciation~ submissions accepted until June 25, 2013, USA

 Kaleidoscope Children’s Literature Conference~ Nov 1 – 3, Calgary, AB, Canada

Kuala Lumpur Children’s Book Festival~ Nov 1 – 6, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

YALSA’s 2012 Young Adult Literature Symposium~ Nov 2 – 4, St. Louis, MO, USA

Singapore Writers Festival~ Nov 2 – 11, Singapore

Children’s Laureate Niamh Sharkey’s Gigantic Illustration Workshop~ Nov 3, Dublin, Ireland

Penang International Kids Storytelling Festival (PINKS)~ Nov 3, Penang, Malaysia

Children’s Africana Book Awards Ceremony~ Nov 3, Washington, DC, USA

OKI (Ohio Kentucky Indiana) Children’s Literature Conference~ Nov 3, Crestview Hills, KY, USA

4th Global Conference Bullying and the Abuse of Power~ Nov 4 -  6, Salzburg, Austria

Once Upon a World Children’s Book Award Ceremony~ Nov 4,  Los Angeles, CA, USA

Kyun Kyun Ladki, a Play Based on Writer Mahashweta Devi’s Book, The Why-Why Girl (Tulika Publishers)~ Nov 4 and Nov 15, Mumbai, India

22nd Annual Children’s Illustration Show~ Nov 4 – Jan 15, Northampton, MA, USA

16th Annual Rochester Children’s Book Festival~ Nov 5, Rochester, NY, USA

Reading Association of the Philippines (RAP) National Convention~ Nov 8 – 10, Manila, Philippines

The 19th Annual IBBY UK / NCRCL MA Children’s Literature Conference~ Nov 10, London, United Kingdom

Children’s Literature Council Fall Gala: From a Book to e-Books: The Many Ways to Access Children’s Literature~ Nov 10, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Connecticut Children’s Book Fair~ Nov 10 – 11, Storrs, CT, USA

Children’s Day Celebrations Hosted by Tulika Books~ Nov 11, Pune, India

41st Annual IASL Conference Incorporating the 16th International Forum on Research in School Librarianship. Theme: The Shifting Sands of School Librarianship~ Nov 11 – 15, Doha, Qatar

National Young Readers Week~ Nov 12 – 16, USA

Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable Presents: A Night with Authors Susin Nielsen and Susan Juby~ Nov 13, Vancouver, BC, Canada

National Book Awards~ Nov 14, New York, NY, USA

3rd Annual Children’s Poetry Festival~ Nov 14 – 16, San Salvador, El Salvador

National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference~ Nov 14 – 18, Atlanta, GA, USA

Children’s Literature Assembly Events at the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention~ Nov 15 – 19, Las Vegas, NV, USA

Bookamania~ Nov 17, Chicago, IL, USA

Kahaani Festival~ Nov 17 – 18, Delhi, India

Istanbul Book Fair / IBBY Turkey Announces Children’s Books of the Year~ Nov 17 – 25, Istanbul, Turkey

SCBWI British Isles Annual Conference~ Nov 23 – 25, Winchester, United Kingdom

Northern Children’s Book Festival~ Nov 24, United Kingdom

Bookaroo in the City~ Nov 24 – 25, Delhi, India

22nd Annual International NAME Conference: Realizing the Power of Movements through Multicultural Education~ Nov 29 – Dec 1, Philadelphia, PA, USA

The Literature Centre (formerly Fremantle Children’s Literature Centre) Exhibits and Programs~ Fremantle, Australia

Dromkeen National Centre for Picture Book Art Exhibits~ Riddells Creek, Australia

Books Illustrated Events and Exhibitions~ Middle Park, Australia

International Youth Library Exhibits~ Munich, Germany

Tulika Book Events~ India

International Library of Children’s Literature Events~ Tokyo, Japan

Newcastle University Programme of Talks on Children’s Books for 2011-2012~ Newcastle, United Kingdom

Seven Stories (the National Home of Children’s Books in Britain) Events~ Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Discover Children’s Story Centre~ London, United Kingdom

Arne Nixon Center’s Children’s Literature Book Clubs for Adults Events~ USA

Events Sponsored by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress~ USA

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art~ Amherst, MA, USA

The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature Exhibits~ Abilene, TX, USA

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Events

 

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BLIND SPOT - Laura Ellen

Roz has a condition called macular degeneration. There are spots in her vision and she has to mainly use her peripheral vision, as well as her memory, to see her surroundings. When Roz awakens after a party she can’t fully remember, she finds out that one of her classmates, Tricia, has disappeared and is later found dead. People are telling her different accounts of what happened that night. Roz trusts the wrong people and gets involved in a crime in her pursuit of the truth.

The characters in this novel are schemers and liars. There’s Dellian, an unkind teacher who picks on Roz. Jonathan is a popular boy who’s charming, but the charm wears off since he’s unsavory. Tricia was an addict with a mottled past. While I read this I would predict who the murderer was, question myself, and then be proven wrong.

I thought the middle sagged a bit, especially when it hit the teen drama part related to Roz’s love life—she’s with Jonathan, then her friend Greg, and then she’s upset at girls who may have taken an interest in them. Despite this, I enjoyed the novel. It’s a suspenseful mystery and I enjoyed how everything unfolded. I don’t come across too many YA mysteries, so I was delighted when I found this. I received the galley from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: CABIN FEVER - Jeff Kinney

Greg Heffley has been accused of a crime. Even though his principal has punished him for vandalizing the school, the police still want to see him. When he’s stuck inside his house during a blizzard the police can’t get to him, but he’s enclosed with his brothers, Rodrick and Manny, and his mom…problems and hilarity ensue. The antics of Greg, his family members, and friends were a joy to read about. This is such a cute, fun book.

THE EMOTION THESAURUS - Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi

I’ve learned a lot over the years reading Becca and Angela’s blog, and I’m so glad everything “emotional” of theirs is in book form. This is a fantastic writing resource. I read it recently and I’m sure I’ll be flipping through it again and again.

CHARLIE AND THE GREAT GLASS ELEVATOR - Roald Dahl

Charlie, his parents, his grandparents, and Mr. Wonka are traveling through space in a glass elevator. They come across a space hotel when astronauts and the U.S. president mistake them for aliens. But the real aliens are the Vermicious Knids, who are after Charlie and his party as well as the astronauts. After taking care of the space creatures, there’s another problem at the chocolate factory when Charlie’s grandparents grow too young or too old with Wonka-Vites and Vita-Wonks. One of the grandmothers even vanishes to Minusland when she becomes -2 years old. I’ve read several Dahl books and the man was a creative genius, but this book is more unusual than the others I’ve read. Unusual is good, though.

THE PRANK - Ashley Rae Harris

This is a short novel about a group of high school pranksters who are haunted by a ghost. The adults in town seem to know the identity of the ghost, but they don’t want to talk about her. It’s eerie and suspenseful, although I felt I couldn’t completely sink into it because of its brevity. Still, it’s a decent read that’s going into my classroom library.

THE TWITS - Roald Dahl

The Twits are a horrid couple, playing nasty tricks on each other. Not only that, but they are cruel to the children and animals in their neighborhood. When the animals have revenge on their minds, the Twits are really going to get it. THE TWITS is a funny and odd book that doesn't get old, no matter how many times I read it.

WINNERS

My latest giveaway ended last night and I used random.org to pick the winners. Katie won a signed copy of THE EVOLUTION OF MARA DYER and Joanne won a signed copy of A THUNDEROUS WHISPER. Congratulations! We'll be in touch.

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The reading roundup is postponed tomorrow, due to extreme tiredness. Hard to type when your face is flat on your desk.

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Are you starting off on your yearly Nanowrimo marathon? If so, perhaps you’re thinking about how to diversify your cast or settings. Preferably both, right? This month I’m working on at least one new diversity post, but I also thought perhaps a list of existing resources in one place would be useful. Most of these links, which I’ve been sharing via Twitter and Facebook as I find them, can also be found on the CBC Diversity Resources page, specifically on the resources for writers page, along with resources directed at other publishing professionals such as editors, sales and marketing, and booksellers. I’ve added a few more recent articles/sites that I’ve recently run into, as well.

This is kind of a hodgepodge of links, but I think it’ll help you have plenty to think about. If I run into anything more in the next couple of days, I’ll likely add it. Most of these links apply to writing cross-culturally, but as I like to remind people, this can mean anyone writing from a perspective not their own. I’ve talked to New York City-based writers who make assumptions about Iowans based on what they’ve seen on TV that I as a Midwesterner find unbelievable at best. I’ve known probably as many writers of color who want to write about different cultures that fascinate them as white writers who would like to write about people of color. In all of these cases, if you aren’t writing “what you know,” then research is involved. You have to know what questions to ask, what assumptions you’re making because of your own worldview that your character wouldn’t make. These resources will help you with that.

Though, beware, there’s a lot of info here. If you’re Nanoing, perhaps you might want to go with one at a time to leave yourself time to write!

Stephen King’s Super-Duper Magical Negroes

Nnedi Okorafor examines Stephen King’s use of the “Magical Negro” trope and discusses how it can be avoided.

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story

Chimamanda Adichie’s transformative TED talk, The Dangers of a Single Story, shows us what happens when writers focus on only one kind of story, and how a multitude of voices from minority cultures need to be heard for that danger to pass away.

Appropriate Cultural Appropriation

When writing cross-culturally, we need to remember whether we’re acting as an invader, a tourist, or a guest. Nisi Shawl addresses how to watch out for stereotypes, bad dialects, and other problematic portrayals of people of color.

Transracial Writing for the Sincere

Nisi Shawl’s resources for those who want to get it right when they want to write cross-culturally; how to do your research.

Challenge, Counter, Controvert: Subverting Expectations

Uma Krishnaswami on challenging subverting expectations in our writing.

 

Describing characters of color in writing

N.K. Jemison on how to describe characters of color in your writing without resorting to cliches and stereotypes.

Part 1: http://nkjemisin.com/2009/04/ways-to-describe-characters-of-color/

Part 2: http://magicdistrict.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/describing-characters-of-color-pt-2/

Part 3: http://nkjemisin.com/2010/02/describing-characters-of-color-3-oppoc/

The Microaggressions Project

A Tumblr that seeks to provide a visual representation of the everyday of microaggressions, “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color.” Each event, observation and experience posted is not necessarily particularly striking in and of themselves. Often, they are never meant to hurt—acts done with little conscious awareness of their meanings and effects. Instead, their slow accumulation during a childhood and over a lifetime is in part what defines a marginalized experience, making explanation and communication with someone who does not share this identity particularly difficult.

 

Monika Schröder on Saraswati’s Way

Uma Krishnaswami on insider vs. outsider narratives (as she discusses Saraswati’s Way with Monika Schroder).

Don’t put my book in the African American section

N.K. Jemison’s response to the segregation of black writers (and often as a result, readers) in some libraries and bookstores.

 

Parenthetic Comma Phrases, Anyone?

Uma Krishnaswami on the use of parenthetic comma phrases to explain cultural details to the reader as if the reader were always an outsider to the culture. How else might these details be conveyed without alienating readers who come from that culture?

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Peggy McIntosh provides a classic list of privileges which a white middle class woman enjoys that many of other socioeconomic statuses or races do not. An example for writers seeking to write from a perspective not their own to muse on their own privileges, whether similar or different, so they can see their blind spots.

 

Things I Don’t Have to Think about Today

In the same vein as the above, science fiction writer John Scalzi talks about “Things I Don’t Have to Think about Today” paired with his post on narrative usurpation, covering why he wrote “Things I Don’t Have to Think about Today.”

“Things I Don’t Have to Think about Today”

Narrative Usurpation

 

Mitali Perkins on Writing Race

A Checklist for Writers

 

There’s no such thing as a good stereotype

N.K. Jemison on the “strong female character” stereotype that also connects with racial and cultural issues.

 

Interview Wednesday: Stacy Whitman of Tu Books, a Lee and Low Imprint

Uma Krishnaswami interviews Stacy Whitman about using cultural experts to read cross-cultural writing or to check details of a controversial or historical subject (even when the writer is of that culture).

 

Is my character ‘black enough’?

From my own blog (be sure to read the comments section).

 

My SCBWI Winter Conference 2012 talk on writing multicultural books

Notes from my SCBWI Winter Conference talk in which I quote from the book below (questions to ask to knowing what questions to ask)

A Beginner’s Guide to the Deep Culture Experience: Beneath the Surface

This book by Joseph Shaules is directed to potential US expats living abroad helping them to think about cultural differences and ways to adapt to their new countries and enjoy the journey. But when read from the perspective of a writer, the questions Shaules raises can be applied to world building and culture building in writing.

 

Beyond Orcs and Elves

My talk on the need for diversity in fantasy and science fiction (includes a resources for writers section in part 3).

 

The Language of the Night
This book is unavailable electronically and also out of print, but if you can find Ursula K. Le Guin’s collection used or at your library, published by HarperCollins in 1978 and 1989, two excellent essays for writers on diversity are “American SF and the Other” and “Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?”

Originally published at Stacy Whitman's Grimoire. You can comment here or there.

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The Three Little Pigs by Roger Hall, illustrated by Errol McLeary (Scholastic)

The Three Little Pigs is a story and play in one book.  Roger Hall takes a well-known fairytale and modernises it for today's kids.  The three little pigs are lazy little sods.  They expect their mother to do everything for them. However, mum is fed-up - she threatens them if they don't help she'll turf them out. They laugh. But the next day when they go to turn on the TV they find it gone - they sob their hearts out. Their mother then kicks them out.  Of course, you can guess who is laying in wait for them and the huffing and puffing scenario that plays out, with a little twist.

Once you've read the story, kids can then act it out.  Teachers will love this resource. Kids can understand the text first by reading the story, then perform it as a play.  I imagine many school assemblies will be featuring The Three Little Pigs. Kids will also enjoy it, as the humour and language is aimed right at their age level.  The cartoon artwork enhances it further.

Roger Hall is one of New Zealand's most successful playwrights. He has also written scripts for radio and television, and for children. His plays have toured widely and have been performed at international venues and won awards.  This is his second book for Scholastic (My Aunt Mary Went Shopping).

New Zealand born illustrator Errol McLeary now lives on the Gold Coast where his zany sense of humour continues to bring his illustrations to life.

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Here's the final installment in my series on poetry "text sets." This one is for young adults (ages 13 and up). Once again, each mini set includes 3 or more poetry books authored by one poet, focused on a single topic or theme, and formatted to be very similar in design and appearance which helps promote discussion, comparison, and analysis. This list is drawn from my recent book, The Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists available here.

FOR YOUNG ADULTS (Ages 13 and up)

Global poetry
Nye, Naomi Shihab. Ed. 1992. This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World. New York: Four Winds Press.
Nye, Naomi Shihab. Ed. 1995. The Tree is Older than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems and Stories from Mexico with Paintings by Mexican Artists. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Nye, Naomi Shihab. Ed. 1998. The Space Between Our Footsteps:  Poems and Paintings From the Middle East. New York: Simon & Schuster.

African American History
Nelson, Marilyn. 2001. Carver: A Life in Poems. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
Nelson, Marilyn. 2004. Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
Nelson, Marilyn. 2005. A Wreath for Emmett Till. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Nelson, Marilyn. 2008. The Freedom Business. Asheville, NC: Front Street.

Poetry paradoxes
Vecchione, Patrice. Ed. 2001. Truth and Lies. New York: Henry Holt.
Vecchione, Patrice. Ed. 2004. Revenge and Forgiveness. New York: Henry Holt.
Vecchione, Patrice. Ed. 2007. Faith and Doubt. New York: Henry Holt.

Poetry anthologies
Rosenberg, Liz. Ed. 1996. The Invisible Ladder. New York: Henry Holt.
Rosenberg, Liz. Ed. 1998. Earth-shattering Poems. New York: Henry Holt.
Rosenberg, Liz. Ed. 2000. Light-gathering Poems. New York: Henry Holt.
Rosenberg, Liz. Ed. 2001. Roots & Flowers: Poets and Poems on Family. New York: Henry Holt.

Poetry, people & history
Philip, Neil. Ed. 1995. Singing America. New York: Viking.
Philip, Neil. Ed. 1996. Earth Always Endures: Native American Poems. New York: Viking.
Philip, Neil. Ed. 1998. War and the Pity of War. New York: Clarion.
Philip, Neil. Ed. 2000. It’s a Woman’s World: A Century of Women’s Voices in Poetry. New York: Dutton.

Poetry by teens
Franco, Betsy. Ed. 2001. Things I Have to Tell You: Poems And Writing by Teenage Girls. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
Franco, Betsy. Ed. 2001. You Hear Me? Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
Franco, Betsy. 2008. Ed. Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Novel in verse trilogies
Wolff, Virginia Euwer. 1993. Make Lemonade. New York: Scholastic.
Wolff, Virginia Euwer. 2001. True Believer. New York: Atheneum.
Wolff, Virginia Euwer. 2009. This Full House. New York: Harper Teen/The Bowen Press.

Hopkins, Ellen. 2004. Crank. New York: McElderry.
Hopkins, Ellen. 2007. Glass. New York: McElderry.
Hopkins, Ellen. 2012. Fallout. New York: McElderry.

Please let me know if you have any additional text sets to recommend for the secondary level.

And be sure to swing by Mainely Write for the Poetry Friday gathering. See you there!


Posting by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2012. All rights reserved.

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For me, it all starts with accepting the sad truth that I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve published a handful of books over an armload of years and I still haven’t a clue how to write or draw anything approximating a viable picture book. None. When you’re as lost as me, a step in any direction is a total stab in the dark.

The second thing I try to remember after accepting being completely lost is that, much to my eternal chagrin, I will never write or draw like William Steig or Arnold Lobel or Esphyr Slobodkina or Rosemary Wells or Leo Lionni or Tove Jansson or Roger Duvoisin or Lane Smith or Ellen Raskin or you or my six-year-old daughter or anyone. Trying to write or draw like someone else makes me feel not only lost, but hopelessly lost. Hopelessly lost is the worst kind of lost.

When I’ve dispensed with the formalities of pretending to know what I’m doing or that I will ever successfully pull off being anyone other than me, I take out my pencils and a current favorite pad and let the only brain I will ever have tell me what it’s thinking. It has been chewing over bottles for years. And people in bottles. And mulling over hairdos of late. And mustaches. And mermaids with mustaches and hairdos. And seaweed. And tubeworms. And coral. And deep-sea hydrothermal vents. I have no idea how to draw deep-sea hydrothermal vents. And sunken treasure chests. And gumball machines. And balloon vendors. And people with no arms who don’t seem to care that they have no arms because they are stuck in bottles. And that we never have enough cookies in the house. Or enough batteries. Cookies and batteries and toilet paper should just regenerate themselves before you’ve had the misfortune to realize you’re out of them….but they never do, do they?

It’s generally easier to see when someone else is lost. Or when someone else is trying to write or draw like someone other than themselves. Or when someone else is having fun. It is harder to see yourself having fun because the very act of seeing yourself do so takes you out of the experience of having the fun you were having before you went ahead and ruined it by having a meta moment about what you were doing. Which is no longer having fun. It is thinking about having fun. Which is not as fun…no matter what you think. It just isn’t.

For me, the key to embracing my lostness, in the not-hopeless fun-having way I try to embrace being lost, is by trying to be present. What does that mean? I’m not entirely sure. It think it feels like not worrying about which direction I’m going because there is nowhere else but here. Where the skin ends and the scales start or a tail now curves or shells start gathering on the sea floor. It feels like not worrying about being as funny or wise or poetic or brave or dexterous as anyone else. It means not realizing that the last Oreo disappearing in my greedy maw at this very moment is the very last delicious thing in the ENTIRE HOUSE.

It doesn’t matter. I’m drawing scalloped-shell mermaid brassieres. Or merrily tracing chest hair. Or bottling the moon. Or realizing I can also draw with the green fountain pen I’ve previously been afraid to use. Even the red one. Yes…THE RED ONE! There is no one telling me I can’t use the green or red pens other than me, is there? They’re my pens for god’s sake. When was a “Pencils Only Rule” ever voted in as a Constitutional Amendment? There is no federal mandate forcing me to draw my characters in profile either (wait…there isn’t?). And congress has yet to make me learn foreshortening. Or write about things I don’t want to draw in profile…or foreshorten.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Front-View Happiness! Woo hoo. Look at me. No hands. No clue where I’m going. I’ve got all of later today and tomorrow and the rest of my life to work up a healthy froth over not knowing how the heck I’m going to turn anyof this flotsam into a book or that the flashlight in the “emergency drawer” doesn’t work. Right now not even Theodore Geisel could be having more fun than me.

Fun…and regenerative toilet paper…and C batteries… and fresh Oreos… and mermaid bras… and chest hair… that’s just what the doctor ordered!

There are much more potent prescriptions out there. I’ve read them here on PiBoIdMo. It’s sick how smart and generous and talented you people are. And by sick I mean inspiring. I may be incurably lost, but I know enough to leave the dispensing of real medical advice to those of you who actually know what you’re doing. I’m a fruit-flavored chewable guy. If it tastes too bitter going down, I can’t ask you to swallow it either.

Learn more about the inexplicably incomparable (Tara’s description) Robert Weinstock and his books (like I’M NOT and FOOD HATES YOU, TOO!) at his website, CallMeBob.com.

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Father Christmas - by Raymond Briggs. 

 

 The Killer Cat’s Christmas – by Anne Fine.

Lucy and Tom’s Christmas by Shirley Hughes

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

 End of Term by Antonia Forest

The Hobbit – by JRR Tolkien. 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis

The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper 

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5 Stars Geronimo Stilton #11: We'll Always Have Paris Lewis Trondheim Nanette McGuinness Papercutz 56 Pages    Ages: 7 and up .......................... .................................... Back Cover:  Geronimo Stilton is the editor of the Rodent’s Gazette, the most famous paper on Mouse Island. In his free time he loves to tell fun, happy stories. In this adventure, Geronimo [...]

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What do you think?

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LATEST NEWS

Artie’s poem Ceiling to the Stars was published by Families Online Magazine on October 3rd. To read the poem, please click on the illustration below. This poem was illustrated by the talented young artist Chung Oh. To learn more about Chung, visit her online at www.chungoh-illustration.com.

Artie’s children’s story The Hummingbird Who Chewed Bubblegum is being published in a book collection by the Oxford University Press in India. More to come.

Artie’s new story The Race for Space was published in the September issue of the Teachers.net Gazette. To read the story please click on the image below. (This story is dedicated to the memory of Neil Armstrong, whose courage and heroism will live on forever)

Artie’s children’s book Living Green: A Turtle’s Quest for a Cleaner Planet is now available as a free video for kids through StoryCub. A shortlist finalist for the national 2012 Green Earth Book Award, Thurman the turtle is tired of seeing the land he loves cluttered with trash and decides to take action.

To watch the Living Green video on Youtube, please click on the cover below. StoryCub videos are one of the most watched programs on Apple’s iTunes Kids & Family section.

Use of any of the content on this website without permission is prohibited by federal law

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I have been super pumped to draw and paint lately.  I attribute it to finally being pleased with the outcome of some of the things I'm doing.  It's amazing how much more you want to create when your not constantly frustrated.

Anyway, here is an elephant strapped to a balloon.

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I still don't have time to write a substantive post about much of anything, but there are a bunch of things I'd like to note before I forget them, so here's a rather fragmentary and scattered post about things mostly unrelated to each other...

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I'm so excited to tell you that Jill Pinkwater's classic CLOUD HORSE, out of print for years, is now back in shiny e-book form!  Huzzah!  It is the story of two girls, one a Viking maiden, the other a modern American -- separated by a thousand years, but brought together by their love of horses.

Best part: To celebrate the book release, for the next couple of days, it is FREE. FREE. ZERO DOLLARS AND ZERO CENTS. Only through midnight tomorrow, then it goes up (to a whopping $2.99).

"Wait a minute, is this a CHILDREN'S BOOK???" -- Nah. Well, OK, kinda. But I think it is suitable for all ages. There's a little romance, a little magic, a witch, a pinch of time travel, plenty of wild ponies... what's not to like?

"Is this a trick? What's the gag? Why are you giving the book away? Grrr!" -- Relax! Consider it a gift. Or... well, I would love to request a favor.  If you feel like it, press "like" on the book page. This doesn't go to Facebook or anything, it just makes things rise higher in Amazon's own search algorithm. And if you enjoy the read and are so moved, please do write a review of the book on the Amazon site.

No pressure! Just these simple things help enormously when it comes to helping other readers discover books. All the pony magic in the world does not help as much as a great review. :-)

"But I don't have an e-reader!" -- Welp, the good news is, you can download and read the book "in the cloud" online, straight off the Amazon website. Or download a free Kindle app to your phone, iPad or other device.

"But I hate shopping on A**zon!" -- Hey, I feel you, friend. The book will be available in other formats soon. Meanwhile, this is your chance to download it for FREE, which is almost the same as STEALING from them. Stick it to the man! 

"Will there be OTHER Pinkwater books in e-book format?" -- We're working on it. We'll be rolling out a few more Jill P. books in the next few months. And after that, who knows. If you have particular hard-to-find favorites, let me know. :-)

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Sometimes, your epitaph writer has your back. The mother of the outlaw Jesse James (1847 – 1882) did. She had this put on his tombstone:




Ellen Shannon's epitaph writer did as well, putting this inscription on her tombstone:




And sometimes, your epitaph writer cares very much for you, as Sylvia Plath Hughes' husband seems to have done for her. He had this inscribed on her tombstone:




But it's hard to know for certain that the words chosen to grace your grave will be as flattering as you'd like. How, then, to ensure the "dearly" in "dearly departed" for the stone that marks your eternal resting place? 

Lance Hardie knows just what you should do: write your own epitaph, and plan it well before the Grim Reaper pays you a visit. In fact, he found a way to turn the planning process into an official holiday (Mr. Hardie, that is; not the Grim Reaper). He persuaded the folks at Chase's Calendar of Events to accept Plan Your Epitaph Day, celebrated annually on November 2nd, into their listing of holidays. Why November 2nd? Because it appropriately coincides with the more well-known, but equally important holiday, the Day of the Dead.

So: write your own epitaph. Pompously presumptuous? Or seriously strategic? Let's examine this further, shall we?

Here are a few things you may want to consider before you decide to just leave the whole thing up to chance:

Your epitaph may be written by folks who didn't like you much, as seems to have happened to this poor soul:




You may not have been the model spouse you believe yourself to be. Here's what poet H.J. Daniel wrote for his own wife's tombstone:

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VERY VERY VERY HOT HOT HOT ONLY HOT
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HOT HOT LIP KISS
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SUPER HOT PHOTOS
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YOUTH HOT PHOTOS
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November is National Novel Writing Month! 

Since I will save all that time not shaving (Noshavember), I'll be working on my manuscript titled "Crushing Turtles". 

So what is National Novel Writing Month? Well, basically you write a 50,000 word novel in a month.. or more likely, you pledge to yourself to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. To be honest, most people don't succeed. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try! 

Now in my situation, my manuscript, Crushing Turtles isn't going to be anywhere near 50,000 words. So my goal is much simpler. I want to finish the ten chapters I have left to write. And, if i write 1/2 a chapter a day, regardless of word count, i will finish with time to spare! Wish me luck! 

For more info on NaNoWritMo check out the website http://www.nanowrimo.org

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Won’t you join me and my talented friend Linda Silvestri, for her second year of the Sketch a Day/ Post a Day or SKADAMO challenge.

Get those creative juices flowing… fill a sketchbook with great ideas and story starters… and have a lot of fun doing it!

To read more about it and see more of her fantastic artwork head over to her blog, Sketched Out.

 

 

….. and yes it is Fried Oyster Day!  who knew…..

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