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Conferences can help move your writing career along, but make sure you keep your expectations in check. 

http://yamuses.blogspot.com/2013/05/managing-your-conference-expectations.html

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Today started out as a typical day in the office, but by mid-morning we were in rescue mode.

On Wednesday mamma mallard and ten baby ducklings were wandering around the grass outside the Sylvan Dell office building. With a small pond nearby and a downpour of rain the day before it is not uncommon to see waterfowl outside our windows on occasion.  Baby ducklings however, were too cute in a line behind their mother that we couldn’t help but watch as they waddled around.

When our editor and Buddy the office dog went outside this morning, she found  that mamma duck was no longer with her babies and there were only four still quacking, six were no longer living. Stuck in the landscaping, and unable to get out of the well around a tree, the staff decided to help.

Mamma duck was quacking away in the nearby pond and so we tried a ramp, but they were afraid and the ramp was steep. Next we worked together to herd the babies into a box so that we could deliver them to safety. After several tries and many strategies the three of us were able to get three of the babies into the box and one baby was actually able to make it out of the well and ran all the way to the pond to quickly jump in. Mom swam over to her ducklings as they all hopped into the water.

It was a successful reuniting, and we were very happy to bring the family back together. We must  thank Jennifer Keats Curtis for writing the books Baby Owl’s Rescue, and Animal Helpers: Wildlife Rehabilitators, she gave us the inspiration and knowledge to save these babies from harm.

 

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Welcome to my writing for children's blog. Here are some of my books that I have written so far.

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I'm enrolled in Katie Davis's Video Idiot Boot Camp. And while I haven't had time to dive into a larger project, I've had a little fun with some quick and easy tools introduced in her class.

Here's a little Animoto gem created in about 15 minutes for FREE.

For more information on Katie's fabulous online Video Idiot Boot Camp, check out
http://videoidiotbootcamp.com/

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On her way to speak at her Alma Mater (the wonderful Oberlin College), we were lucky enough to have Tracy Chevalier stop by for the fifth event in our 2013 Winter/Spring Evenings with Authors series. With a full house, Chevalier discussed her latest novel, The Last Runaway.  For her 7^th novel, Chevalier dove into the history Oberlin and its progressive importance in the Underground Railroad. She was able to merge her passion for history and love of Oberlin to paint an authentic picture of Quaker life in the age of slavery and on the brink of revolution. Chevalier spoke candidly about the trials and triumphs that come with writing a piece of historical fiction. Creating any voice that sounds realistic is difficult, but when it comes to creating a voice that is historically known to be in a certain vernacular, it poses a different level of challenges. In preparation, Chevalier reread Huck Finn, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and did an extensive amount of research on Quakers to truly wrap her senses around the language and attitude of the time period. Through the long line of people waiting to get their books signed, Chevalier also gave advice to aspiring authors, told stories of her time at Oberlin, and answered any questions that our guests threw at her.  We hope everyone that made it to the event had as great of a time as we did!

Our season isn’t over quite yet! We still have two more wonderful authors on the way this spring and a whole new line up for our summer Literary Picnics. Don’t miss Jeff Sharra Monday June, 3 or Steve Berry on Monday, June 17.

Click here for more information about those events and others to come. 

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I haven't been able to find anything about who started Lucky Penny Day, or why.

Which leads me to realize that creating these "national days" is a pretty serious free-for-all. CLEARLY WE NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT AND COME UP WITH SOME NEW ONES.

Anyway, despite the dubious nature of this "holiday", I shall point you back to my old post about Jennifer L. Holm's Penny from Heaven anyway, because I'll use any old excuse to highlight a good book:

My affection for Holm's characters just sort of crept up on me—I hadn't realized how much I cared about them until Something Bad Happened and I found myself crying. 

The story itself starts off quiet and lightly comic: Penny tells the reader about her various family members and has some adventures with her cousin Frankie. She does mention the fact that her mother hardly ever talks about her father, and never talks about the circumstances of his death—that in itself was enough to alert me to the fact that there was Rough Stuff Ahead.

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My district has been all over Participatory Learning for several years now and when I first saw Makerspaces I thought, oh, yes, perfect. Our libraries already have a rudimentary beginning for this and what’s not to like about a DIY space?

“Makerspaces come in all shapes and sizes, but they all serve as a gathering point for tools, projects, mentors and expertise. A collection of tools does not define a Makerspace. Rather, we define it by what it enables: making.” From Makerspace Playbook

Makerspace as in create, build, design bring to life an idea. Not digital 21^st or web 3.0 tools, but real tools like my dad had in his workroom.

Not sure what to do or how to start? Download the Makerspace Playbook and get started!

With our new STEAM Academy, makerspace-like areas will be the norm, but why can’t an area in our libraries become a niche space for collaborative hands-on projects?  We need places where the 8 or 18-year-old student can teach not only classmates but also the teacher.

This is a pivotal time for our libraries to stand up and reshape the old notions of what can or cannot be done while in the library. I say, bring on the tools…my dad would be proud!

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Book: Boy Nobody
Author: Allen Zadoff
Pages: 352
Age Range: 12 and up

Boy Nobody is a tense thriller about a 16-year-old boy who has been trained as an assassin. The first person narrator (we don't learn his real name until late in the book, but let's call him Benjamin) was kidnapped by a shadowy organization, apparently part of the government, after a boy named Mike killed Benjamin's parents. Benjamin was trained to execute meticulously planned missions. For each mission, he is inserted into a school, where he befriends some key student. His target is someone close to that student, such as a parent. His job is to kill the target. 

Benjamin has a distinct voice. Not knowing much about the premise of the book, I thought at first that he was supposed to be some sort of alien. He calculates his every move and reaction. Like the scene below, in which a bunch of kids are hanging around after a baseball game.

""Your best kicks ass and takes names," Jack says, and he punches my shoulder again.

This time the big man doesn't move. But the other players are looking at us. 

Two punches on the arm. A way of asserting dominance.

Dominance is a threat. It must be dealt with.

I run a checklist in my mind:

I can let him punch me. Choose a lower status.

I can retaliate in equal measure, with equal force.

I can escalate. Assert my dominance.

Which should I choose?" (Chapter: I Pick Up a Baseball Bat)

He's like a human computer, the ultimate, unquestioning tool for killing people. But when the next student that Benjamin is supposed to befriend turns out to be the smart, extremely attractive daughter of the mayor of New York City, things become a bit more complicated than usual. Like this:

"Because my mind is thinking the wrong things. I should be thinking about finishing my assignment, but I'm thinking about the curve of Sam's neck, the corner of her lip, the way her breasts swell against the fabric of her dress." (Chapter: I Slip into the Bathroom down the Hall)

There is certainly violence in Boy Nobody, though I didn't find it gratuitous. (I mean, the book is about an assassin. The fact that he kills a few people should not be surprising.) There's a hint of a James Bond feel to the violence, and to the couple of sexual incidents (which are not described in detail). 

The teen assassin is an interesting premise for a young adult novel. Kind of takes teen alienation to a new and toxic level. Imagine having to go into school after school, reinventing yourself each time, figuring out the social dynamics on the fly? Now imagine doing that with no parents behind you (just two controllers who communicate via technology), and no one to confide in. Even if he didn't have to kill people, Benjamin would still be about as alienated as it gets. 

Boy Nobody is fast-paced, with lots of short paragraphs leaving white space in the text, and plenty of action to move the plot forward. Benjamin is a unique character, his damaged mind revealed through is first person narration (and his actions). Sam is also surprising and intriguing. And a nerdy computer geek comes into Benjamin's sphere, adding a bit of humor and humanity. 

While the main plot in Boy Nobody wraps up neatly, quite a few details are left unexplained. I don't know whether or not Zadoff intends to write other books about Benjamin, but he has certainly put the elements of a bigger picture in place. Personally, I hope that there are more books - I'm interested to see where this story goes. In the meantime, I recommend Boy Nobody for teen and adult readers who enjoy thrillers, and aren't put off by the idea of reading one told from the assassin's perspective. Boy Nobody is well worth a look!

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (@LBKids)
Publication Date: June 11, 2013
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

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I’ve had the pleasure of presenting the illustrator’s craft at school visits and have more booked on the horizon, but Springfield Elementary in Midlothian, Illinois, knows how to do it right!  I realized this as soon as I walked in and saw their Welcome Bulletin Showcase with a Rambling theme, to honor my latest illustrated book “One Day I Went Rambling” (author, Kelly Bennett, Bright Sky Press 2012).

I was doubly surprised to see their cute version of the story’s main character Zane with a wagon-full of found treasures and a “cowpoke’s twirling rope!”

Both authors and illustrators are interested in the same thing, telling a good story!  The difference is the visual media an illustrator offers can grab and hold attention immediately.  Without a moment’s hesitation, kids know the answer to questions like “How did I use color to show the character's emotion?  Or “How does this character’s body language give hints as to what a viper is?”

Certainly the best part of the illustration presentation is the live demo.  Here I show my black and white technique, an involved process part of which I create in the studio.  I save the most magical part for the demo. The pre-prepped board is painted black, takes a bath, and a line-drawn image appears and is projected on the jumbo screen!

Demo for grades - Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd:

Demo for grades 3rd & 4th:

 

Demo for grades 5th and 6th:

To the delight of many!

Finally, MY last delight was this sea of aqua shirts with the “Are You Ready to Ramble?” theme  logo.  I lunched with these teachers who are dedicated to inspire their students to read, write, problem solve and create, while making learning fun!  Thank you Springfield Elementary staff.  You are true ramblers….finding the strengths and passion in your students, and encouraging them to flower!

You can find out more about booking my picture book illustrator program here.

 

 

 

 

 

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Book: Mousenet
Author: Prudence Breitrose
Illustrator: Stephanie Yue
Pages: 416
Age Range: 8 and up 

Mousenet is a middle grade novel written by Prudence Breitrose and lightly illustrated by Stephanie Yue. The premise has oodles of kid-appeal. Mice have learned to read, and to use human computers (though it takes a whole team of mice to accomplish anything using a full-size PC). When a quirky inventor in Cleveland invents a teeny, tiny laptop (dubbed the Thumbtop), mice spring into action. They enlist the inventor's niece, Megan, in their quest to put "a Thumbtop in every mousehole" so that they can stand beside humans as the next intelligent species.  

The mouse society and hierarchy in Mousenet is fully fleshed out, and quite entertaining. The mice have figured out a way to travel by Greyhound bus (though this remains rare). They use sign language to communicate. Because they have eyes everywhere, they are able to intervene with humans in surprising ways. They have their own, hidden internet (Mousenet). They are based in Silicon Valley, for a completely logical reason. This whole shadow society of secretly smart rodents calls to mind books like Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (which I now want to re-read) and Malcolm at Midnight. 

The early part of the book is told from a third person (er, mouse) mouse perspective, which I particularly enjoyed. In fact, I found it a bit jarring when, in the middle of chapter two, things shifted to Megan's perspective. After that, things shift back and forth between mouse and human viewpoints. Here's an example of the mouse point of view:

"The mice felt more hopeful about picking up clues to the megging's wildness later that afternoon, after the big female had spent some time doing things to food that they'd never seen happen in this kitchen--slicing, steaming, chopping, mixing. When the girl and her uncle came in to eat, the mice looked anxiously at their inventor to see how he'd react, because the dishes that the big female had put on the table didn't look at all like his usual dinner, which tended to be either delivered or thawed." (Chapter 2)

I understand that it wouldn't have been possible to tell the entire story from the perspective of the mice (or certainly it would have been quite difficult), but I personally enjoyed the mouse point of view more than Megan's. Megan is a perfectly nice character, with passions and quirks of her own, but the mouse viewpoint is more unique. 

Anyway, the plot in Mousenet moves along quickly. There isn't really a bad guy in the book, but Breitrose finds other sources of conflict (like the need to keep the existence of the mouse society hidden). I particularly liked the way the author developed the relationship between Megan and her step-cousin Joey, slowly and with friction along the way. 

My one complaint, story-wise, is that I felt that the author's anti-global warming message came on a bit too strong at times. Not that there's anything wrong with the message itself, but towards the end of the book it comes perilously close to dominating the story. By making environmentalism a central trait of Megan's character, the author keeps things in hand, but only just barely. But I have admittedly very finely honed radar when it comes to messages inserted into fiction. Most young readers delving into Mousenet today will probably be fine with this aspect of the book. 

Yue's black and white pencil illustrations are generally small in size, and are found about once per chapter. I found them helpful in visualizing Megan (who has unusual hair that's hard to describe), and of course in picturing the intrepid mice. There are also mouse silhouettes included atop the large-format first letter of each chapter. Emails integrated in with the text also add visual variety. Together, these visual elements of the book help make it non-intimidating to younger middle grade readers. 

Mousenet has a premise that kids will find hard to resist, coupled with strong characters, and a "working together to save the world" ethos. There is humor as well as high tech. Oh, and there's a sequel, Mousemobile, coming this fall. Kids who enjoy stories about secretly intelligent animals, and/or who find the idea of a mouse using a computer delightful, will definitely want to give this one a look. Suitable for ages 8 and up (or younger, especially if read aloud).  

Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children (@DisneyHyperion)
Publication Date: November 8, 2011 (picture book edition released February of 2013)
Source of Book: Review copy from the author

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

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Author: Deborah Diesen
Illustrator: Dan Hanna
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Books
Genre: Children
ISBN: 0-374-36098-7
Pages: 32
Price: $5.00 at Kohl’s

Author’s website
Buy it at Kohl’s

I’m a pout-pout fish with a pout-pout face, so I spread the dreary-wearies all over the place. At least that’s what Mr. Fish thinks, as he speaks with his friends. As they try to convince him to cheer up, he repeats this dreary refrain, swimming away with a blub, blub, blub.

This adorable rhyming tale has a happy ending when a mischievous lady fish surprises him with a kiss. And suddenly Mr. Fish doesn’t feel so pouty anymore.

Kids will absolutely love The Pout-Pout Fish. And with these cute stuffed characters to accompany it, all for only $5.00 each, this set from Kohl’s Cares for Kids is a real winner. All proceeds go towards kids’ health and education.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

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Bee Ridgway grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts. She attended Oberlin College (B.A.), then worked for a year as an editorial assistant at Elle magazine. She studied literature at Cornell University (M.A. and Ph.D.) and has worked at Bryn Mawr College since 2001. She lives in Philadelphia, PA. The River of No Return is Bee's debut novel. It publishes today.

So yep, I’m an American. In fact, thinking about being American is how I make my living.  I’m a professor of American literature, and I spend my days teaching Moby-Dick to young Americans.   But about two years ago I sat down and started writing The River of No Return.  It’s a big, busty time travel novel, a genre mash-up that combines adventure, romance, spy thriller, mystery.  It’s set in Vermont, in contemporary London and in Georgian England.  Its two main characters are British. I surprised myself: shouldn’t a scholar of American history and literature write an American novel?  Instead, a frothy tale of time-traveling Regency aristocrats, beautiful medieval beet farmers and faceless corporate heavies from an ominous future was flowing from my fingers.

I had tossed my academic hat aside, my hair had come tumbling down, and I was tapping into fantasy.  And if there’s anything Americans love to fantasize about, it’s England (not Britain – England). Of course you fantasize about us right back, and always have.  Brits have more to say about Yanks than Yanks do, and Americans are fiercely protective of an idealized England that no British person would recognize.  The number of times an American has yelled at my British partner for not enjoying tea would astonish you.

This used to tick me off.  I’ve spent years in both countries, I have a pretty good grasp of the “real” Britain and the “real” US, and I used to roll my eyes at the notions each nation harbors about the other. 

But that was a humorless mood.  The fact is, fantasy is pleasurable and admitting it keeps us honest and makes us more generous, in art and in life.  The fun house mirror that someone else holds up teaches you to laugh at yourself. I am now a thoroughgoing fan of the fictional versions of our two nations that we dream up between us.  And there are always new ones.  Remember that amazing Dr. Who episode where Britain is zooming through outer space on the back of a white whale?  Remember how I told you that I teach Moby-Dick? Our mutual and often absurd fascination may not have had particularly savory effects on the world stage, but the“special relationship” has made for some terrific popular fiction, going back a long way. 

If I may put my academic chapeau back on for a moment, and regale you with some literary history?  Some of the most archetypically “English” writers bounced their portraits of Albion off America.  Arthur Conan Doyle grew up reading American penny dreadfuls: the first Sherlock Holmes story is largely set in Utah. Agatha Christie’s father was American. P.G. Wodehouse spent vast portions of his adult life in America. Frances Hodgson Burnett immigrated to the U.S. when she was sixteen.  Rudyard Kipling married an American and lived in Vermont for four years – he adored it and was wildly prolific while there, writing The Jungle Book and reams of poetry. I’ve chosen the “popular” writers of yesteryear to make this point, because it’s the “popular” fantasies that we swap back and forth to this day.  The Hollywood and BBC portraits of one another that we love to hate . . . and hate to love.

So yep.  I’m an American, and I’ve written a fantastical novel about Britain. My time-travelly Britain is also – through a side window and around some corners – a portrait of America.  I wrote the novel because it was incredibly fun to do so.  I enjoyed myself thoroughly, wallowing in the alternative versions of reality that I had given myself permission to explore. I offer it to you with a grain of salt (for flavor), and I hope that you enjoy it, too.

The River of No Return is out today. For a gentle introduction to the novel, here's Bee talking about it on Penguin YouTube. 

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Here's a a little video I made about making your own great textures in Photoshop. This is how I make the textures I use for my illustrations to make them look like natural paintings.  Let me know what you think!

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Little Brown, 2011
Min is mad, but more than that, her heart is broken...

Min doesn't have a lot of friends, but the ones she does have are loyal and close, with Al being her closest friend.  Between him and the avant-garde movies she loves, her life is really good.  Until Ed Slaterton showed up....

She was "arty;" he was an athlete.  She had a free-spirit; his was defined by his friends.  Min was under the radar; Ed was the one girls wanted to be with and guys wanted to hang with.  Her lifestyle was nostalgic; his was trendy.  Both of them showed each other a new world.

It was a complete accident, their meeting.  She searched for him, he handed her a beer (which Min poured out discreetly).  They talked that night and soon, this led to another meeting, then another...and then they became a couple. 

And everyone wondered why they were together.  But Ed knew, with all of his heart, that Min was different and he loved the fact that she wasn't just another pretty face.  Min was secretly, than openly, thrilled about being Ed Slaterton's girlfriend, even if it meant she had to sacrifice some things, including her favorite coffee shop.


But today, she wants no part of Ed.  Nothing about him in her life is the cleansing she needs.  So she takes everything they ever shared, including a:
pinhole camera
toy truck
plant pod

oily kitchen towel....and so much, so many more.


They go in a box, along with her story of why they broke up. 

The premise of this book is simple.  Each chapter contains an item and the story that goes along with it in chronological order.  Told from Min's point of view, the reader becomes entangled in her story and the curiosity quotient is raised of how, not especially why, Min broke up with him.  But this book is unique in another very different way.  Daniel Handler writes with dangling participles galore.  It will take a reader to fine tune the voice in their head to follow the pattern his writing takes on, including the ever important comma pauses he uses.  It is also because of his stylized writing that Min's character truly comes out, filled with emotion and packed with meaning.  Handler also creates the town Min lives in and the world of film she loves, not with the branded names of coffee houses, Hollywood, and music, but with care, choosing imaginative names to convey the feeling each name evokes. 

Simple book, intricate writing....two very different styles that compliment and run alongside the two main characters in this book that reflect Handler's writing.  Interspersed throughout are deft, well-spaced illustrations of each item Min discards.  Recommended for high school (9-12).

Sidenote: it has been a long time since I've read a book that was actually sewn.  Also, this is a heavy book (literally, not figuratively) with glossy thick pages.  Not your typical YA book, and one that definitely stands out. 

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The May session of Fairy Online School starts on Friday. There are several classes to choose from and if you are interested in a class, now is the time to sign up, because in July I will only be offering a few classes leaving time for the Animal Communication Mentorships. Since I am in the middle of lots of business transformational changes and lots of weeding out, the next classes will not be available until later in the Fall and they may be limited. Head on over to the catalog and pick out a class!

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After being trapped on an island in the middle of a hurricane, travel writer Lea Sutter discovers and adopts orphaned 12 year old twins Daniel and Samuel. But Lea’s husband Mark has his doubts about adopting the twins. Doubts that are soon justified when, shortly after Lea and the twins return to their Long Island home, Mark finds himself under suspicion for a brutal murder that occurred in his own front yard.

Back in the 1990’s, R.L. Stine was to teen fiction what J.K. Rowling became in the 2000’s. Every month, without fail, he produced a new Fear Street book for teens and a Goosebumps book for younger readers, and man, did those books sell. For three consecutive years in the ‘90’s, he was America’s best-selling author, and in 2003, the Guiness Book of World Records named him the best-selling children’s book series author of all time. Then, around the time Harry Potter became the “next best thing”, R.L. Stine seemed to vanish.

In the early 2000’s, YA fiction changed. The quality improved, it became respectable and all the monthly teen paperback series that were popular in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s died out. I had always assumed that Goosebumps and Fear Street had gone the way of The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High and that Stine had retired to do whatever he pleased. However, it turns out that, not only is Stine still writing around six Goosebumps books per year, he also has his own TV series (The Haunting Hour) and has recently come out with a new book for adults.

Red Rain is Stine’s fourth book for adults, but the first I would class as a true adult novel. Stine is clearly most comfortable writing for and about kids and teens. His previous three attempts at breaking into the adult market (Superstitious, Eye Candy, and The Sitter) all had protagonists in their early 20’s who acted like over-grown teenagers, so for all intents and purposes, were effectively YA books, just with more swearing, sex and violence that you’d usually find in one of Stine’s books. In Red Rain, however, Lea and Mark Sutter are a married couple in their 30’s, with kids and jobs, who said goodbye to their own childhoods years ago. Of course, Stine, being who he is, had to find some way of getting kids into the mix, which he does by way of 12 year old twins Daniel and Samuel, who turn out to be more than the Sutters bargained for, in the full horror story sense of the phrase (Side note: Why is it that adopted kids are always evil in horror stories? Did all these horror writers hate Annie and Anne of Green Gables that much?). The scenes featuring the twins are where the story really comes to life. Nevertheless, the book never feels like it is actually aimed at 12 year olds.

Red Rain is not great literature, by any stretch of the imagination, but it is very entertaining. The writing is bad in parts (“He doesn’t want us to be happy. Pa doesn’t want to give us the things we want. You heard him. You heard every word. We have work to do. We have plans, boyo. We cannot let the new pa stand in our way.”) and some of the twists and turns are ridiculous to say the least, but if you enjoyed reading Stine’s Fear Street books, you’ll love it. That’s essentially what this book is – Fear Street for adults.

The Fear Street books weren’t great books either, but Stine’s formula of cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter and humour mixed with a genuine sense of danger, kept readers turning the pages and buying his books. No matter how much I laughed at the lameness of Red Rain (for example, who really adopts kids without so much as checking to see that their parents are really dead?), I kept reading, I had a lot of fun, and I was even surprised by a few plot twists that I didn’t see coming. By that definition, as far as I’m concerned, Red Rain was a good book.

Even though R.L. Stine was once called “the Stephen King of children’s literature”, his writing will never be mistaken for King’s, but it serves a purpose. I loved the Fear Street books and missed them sorely when the series ended. Red Rain provides one more opportunity for fans to journey down Fear Street and for that I am grateful.

Verdict: A laughably bad, good time that Fear Street fans will welcome.

Were you a fan of R.L. Stine? What was your favourite of Stine’s books? Comment below.

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The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) has teamed up with LEGO® DUPLO® to expand the Read! Build! Play initiative by creating the LEGO® DUPLO® Read! Build! Play! 2013 Summer Reading List.  This reading list features recommended titles that inspire play for children age 5 and under and is free to download.

To accompany the Read! Build! Play! 2013 Summer Reading List, LEGO® DUPLO® has created a free downloadable parent activity guide.  This guide includes inspirational building instructions matched with each book for children and their caregivers. Doors in the Air (Orca Book Publishers, 2012) by David Weale and illustrated by Pierre Pratt is one of five titles featured in the Summer Activity Guide for children ages 3-5.

Visit www.readbuildplay.com to download free Summer Activity Guides today. Or click here to direct download the Activity Guide featuring Doors in the Air.

More About Doors in the Air

Doors in the Air is the story of a boy who is fascinated by doors. He marvels at how stepping through a doorway can take him from one world to another. He is especially enthralled by the doors of his imagination, which he refers to as “doors in the air.” He delights in discovering that when he passes through these doors, he leaves behind all feelings of boredom, fear and unpleasantness. Doors in the Air is a lilting journey through house doors, dream doors and, best of all, doors in the air.

“Surreal in its effect, this celebration of the creative mind encourages young readers and listeners to open doors of their own.” —Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2012

“Written in Seussian rhyming couplets…[and] employing alliteration that makes reading it aloud a pleasure…Doors in the Air is a fantastical triumph, celebrating the spaces in which the ordinary and the extraordinary intersect.” —Quill & Quire, May 1, 2012

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As of November 20, 2012 (that is, Midnight Eastern Time tonight) I am closed to queries. I will reopen to queries January 7, 2013.

If I already have your work, you should hear from me by January 7. (That's the point of taking the break, I have to catch up!)

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Continuing our week of Epic artists, we take a look at the designs of Blue Sky visual development artist Sandeep Menon.

Sandeep works as a designer, drawing and painting concepts for objects, vehicles, environments and structures.

Sandeep studied at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California where for one project he developed concept art about a future India which included flying elephant cars and robots designed with traditional Indian motifs integrated into their structures.

Sandeep previously worked as a product designer in India, which gives him practical experience in designing functional, real objects that he can apply to his current work designing fantasy worlds. See Sandeep’s animation design work on his blog.

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Mrs Locket's boarding school for girls. I figured its a murder mystery with the proper Mrs Locket (who owns the place) and the serious Miss Stand (who actually runs the place).

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Veteran visual effects supervisor John Knoll has been promoted to the position of chief creative officer at Disney-owned Industrial Light & Magic, reports Variety.

Working directly with ILM president Lynwen Brennan, Knoll will ensure creative consistency throughout the planning and production stages of ILM projects. The move is similar to John Lasseter becoming chief creative officer at Pixar following Disney’s purchase of the company.

Knoll is held in high regard throughout the visual effects industry. He was a visual effects supervisor on the Star Wars prequels as well as the first three Pirates of the Carribean films. He has worked on countless other major projects at ILM stretching back to Willow and The Abyss, and including films in the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible franchises. Knoll is also known as the creator of the software package Adobe Photoshop, which he developed with his brother Thomas in the late-1980s.

Besides serving as a creative voice in the production process, Knoll told Variety that he will leverage the company’s talent pool by encouraging interaction between crews working on different projects. He also said that he will remain hands-off in many instances:

“We have well-established supervisors here that certainly don’t need me to interfere with their project. Michael Bay comes because he wants to work with Scott Farrar. J.J. [Abrams] comes to ILM because he has a great relationship with Roger Guyett. These things are already working and I don’t need to interfere. [My role] is just to help from a facilities standpoint to make sure they get the resources they need, and to troubleshoot problems.”

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Materials ready for one of our small branch libraries

The time is nearly here. The supplies are laid in, the publicity out, the school promo visits just about complete, the database ready, contacts made with groups who come with kids-in-care to get them oriented and staff keen-eyed (or steely-eyed as the case may be). But as prepared as we are, I still like to see what's out there that you all are doing.
As I was reading my feeds (here we pause for the image and book that inevitably pops into my head when I think about my RSS feeds), I came across a colleague's description of her summer reading programs. While it was pretty darn nice to see that she had adapted two of the formats we have been using over the years there was a better bonus for me: she shared two other designs for programs (daycares and super readers) that were new to me and that I like quite a bit.

I really appreciate hearing and reading about what other librarians are doing to make summer fun for kids - and staff! Besides reading blog posts, I am lucky enough to travel widely when wearing my hat as an itinerate workshop presenter around my state and region*. And while I share ideas we have tried, I also pick up ideas others have used to make their summer reading or library programs better and more effective.

And how do we get at effectiveness - especially during summer when our days are filled with families, kids, daycares, slp and programs, programs, programs?

I look for posts or listen to people who tell me about how:

• a decision has resulted in more participation by the kids
• registration has been simplified or tossed out and the result
• how prizes have been considered and the results of any change
• strategies that have providing staffing relief really worked
• active programming has been de-emphasized in favor of a true stealth program: SLP
• they include transliteracy into their SLP format
• they innovate in any way and what happens
• new audiences have been reached 
• value has been added to a program through a simple innovation

You, my friends, are my guides to change and making SLP more fun and less onerous. These 8-12 weeks should not over-run our thoughts, energies, and ability to create powerful children's and teen services magic year-round. When we share our stuff, we make it easier to keep summer in perspective and bring great joy to the process.

Here's hoping you summer is joy-filled, kid-filled and a time to rise above the chaos to see just what good work you are doing for your communities. Now let's dig in!


*In the spirit of May's 30 Days of Awesome posts started by Sophie Brookover, Kelly Jensen and Liz Burns, I share that I present half and full day workshops and presentations for systems and at conferences that include Rethinking Summer Reading; Programming Mojo; The Big Link: Successful School Public Library Partnerships; Stealth Programming; Everyday Advocacy; Creating Amazing Youth Services; Undoing Dewey and anything else that helps me guide participants in the Marge-way of delving deep into why we do what we do and how to do it better.

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