I  belong to a critique group, and I look forward to our weekly meetings.

We have such fun!

Uh, oh. I shouldn't have used that exclamation mark. According to one of our members, we use entirely too many of these in our writing. And, we use too many semi-colons.

We currently have eight members that come on a regular basis.
Our latest member writes mostly poems.
We have three other members who are very good at poems, but they also write short stories.
We have a member who writes novels.
One who writes novels, memoirs, children's stories, and columns.
One who writes essays and columns and is thinking about writing her memoir. She is a retired English professor and author of four books, including “The Confident Writer,” a grammar-based college textbook. Boy does she know her grammar, and she tells it in such a way (usually with humor), that makes it easy to remember.

I write picture books, middle grade books, chapter books, poems, Appalachian, columns (newspaper and magazine) and novellas.

We look forward to our meetings and try not to miss any.  We gab about this and that at the beginning. We bring extra copies of our material with us to give out to each member.We also bring our tough layer of skin, because this is when the reading and editing begins.

We mark on our copies of the story or poem and we make suggestions.

And, I almost forgot to say that we give each other support and encouragement.

At our last meeting, I was a little down. I had been bringing my novella to our meetings for critique. I said that I didn't think there was much of a chance of getting it published, because publishers weren't exactly tripping over top of each other in their rush to obtain novellas.

One of our members said, "Yes, they do. I read a lot of books that contain two or three novellas."

I had never thought of that. My two novellas would go perfect together in one book. The first manuscript takes place in 1908 when a young couple gets married and it ends with the birth of their first child. The second manuscript takes place in the early 1940s. The main character is one of the daughters of the couple in the first manuscript.

Since then I have been writing, writing and writing on my manuscript--really giving it a once over.

If you don't belong to a critique group, I would suggest you join one.  Every manuscript needs a separate set of eyes to look at them.

I love critique groups and I think you will too.

Do you belong to one?

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It never fails, every summer I get behind on my blogging and my writing.

Summer is so busy around my house, we don't even find the time to go on vacation.  But, next year we are going to cut down on our garden. That will help out a lot.

The garden and the potato bugs took over our life this year. Did you know that potato bugs also love to devour tomatoes? Well, take my word for it, they do!

We have been canning spaghetti sauce, freezing what little berries we have, digging drain ditches, planting grass seeds and trying to keep up with the fast growing grass. And, next week we will begin freezing corn!

I often wonder how some writers manage to go to the summer conferences, participate in the great events that are online during the summer months, and continue to write.

I am continuing to write, though, just on a much smaller scale than I would like.

I am thankful for the monthly column I write for kids for Two Lane Livin' magazine. It makes me keep a deadline and find time to write each month.

I am thankful for Appalachian Wordsmiths, my weekly writer's group. It encourages me to continue to edit and to come up with something new to bring each week.

Now, if I could just continue to submit during the summer.

How about you? Do your summer chores/activities cut back on your writing time?

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I attended workshops over the weekend about writing picture books for children.

Marc Harshman - He is West Virginia's poet laureate and a picture book writer. And, he is a very nice person! Click here for his amazon page. Though I notice that there are a few books missing that he has written, including two of his latest, Mountain Christmas and One Big Family.

Anna Egan Smucker - She is another West Virginia author who writes picture books. Click here for her Amazon page.

Ashley Teets - An illustrator from West Virginia. Click here for books on Amazon that she has illustrated.


One of Ashley's suggestions was to write with a lot of verbs.
We also did a drawing exercise where we closed our eyes and, with a crayon, made a doodle on a page. Open your eyes. Look at the picture from all angles. Draw a picture from your doodle. It just may be an inspiration for a new manuscript.

I drew a picture of a tortoise in a hurry. His head was stretched way out and he was really getting down the road. I see a picture book here. Harry, the Tortoise in a Hurry.  :o)

Anna, who always writes her first drafts in pencil, says to think in pictures.
Leave a space or draw a line when you think there will be a page turn.
Make sure enough happens in your story.
Try different ways to tell your story.


All of her books, except one, were sent out to publishers without using an agent!

I took the advantage of seeing these authors and got a few of my books autographed by them.


What am I going to do now?

I am going to go over my picture books - again.
I am going to make sure that my words (500 or less) provide enough opportunities for the illustrator to do his or her job.
And I am going to make sure there is enough going on in my story.

Hope you enjoyed my post.
Now get out your pencil and paper and write - or doodle.

Do you have any suggestions on writing picture books?

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The year has flown by.

It is time for the West Virginia Writer's Conference held at Cedar Lakes, West Virginia.

It will take place June 10, 11, and 12th.

As usual, workshops that I want to attend overlap with each other. If only I could become two and attend two workshops at the same time.

I write mainly picture books and middle grade.
But I also love historical fiction and non fiction.

Hmmm, on Friday I need to choose between a picture book workshop with Anna Smucker and a workshop on historical fiction with Matthew Null.

On Saturday, I need to choose between a workshop on marketing by Michael Knost , Magazine Writing (Goldenseal) or go to a children publishing panel.

And I usually don't attend on Sunday, but there is a workshop that I would really like to attend that morning.  

Visual Story Telling for Children workshop with Ashley Teets.
The description for this workshop is:

 A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: The Art of Book Illustration and Visual Storytelling-- Want to write a children's book with illustrations?  Learn about the process of illustration, working with an illustrator and how a picture becomes a thousand words, literally. Also discover the best ways to pair your text with illustrations so as to present an aesthetically pleasing and successful flow of material for the reader. View children's books in the "raw form" and original artwork that eventually becomes the catalyst for delivering content to audiences. Bring your children's book manuscript for review and feedback!

After reading this, I think I have just made up my mind. I will be attending on Sunday.

Also, Cathy Teets of Headline Books will be offering pitch sessions on each day of the conference for authors with finished manuscripts seeking a publisher.

I need to run off a poem and prose piece to put on the Writer's Wall.

I need to get my item (set of four scrabble tile coasters) ready for the silent auction table.

I need to run off copies of my picture book manuscripts to take (just in case).

I need to decide what I am going to bring for the snack table.

Are you going to a writer's conference this year?

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It has been a great month of learning.

I participated in Vivian Kirkfield's challenge of writing a picture book in 50 words or less. Out of around 130 entries, I won 6th place with my entry!

I have been participating in ReFoReMo!

ReFoReMo = Reading for Research Month

We have been studying different types of picture books and using them as mentor texts.

What kind of picture books are there? Let's see . . .

how to picture books
historical picture books
non fiction picture books
wordless picture books
low word count picture books
concept picture books
rhyming picture books
fractured fairy tales
alphabet and counting books
informational picture books
animal stories

etc. etc., the list could go on and on.

What type of picture books do you like to read?
What type of picture books do you like to write?

I took a plunge and wrote a 'how to' picture book this month. I am still working on this one. Lots of editing to be done.

Unlike what some people think, writing a picture book is hard.
Writing a short story (less than 500 words), means  each word has to be splendid. Each word has to be important to the story. Take out those meaningless words. Take out those boring words. Do not describe too much, let the illustrator have room to shine.

Children are special!

Make your book special!

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Below are a few more publishers that accept manuscripts from writers without an agent.



Holiday House accepts unsolicited submissions. 

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I am always on the lookout for publishers accepting unsolicited submissions. Sometimes when you go to a publishing company's site, it is like a puzzle finding their submission page. The links below go directly to their submission/guideline page. These publishers all publish children's books.

I have submitted to Ideals, Charlesbridge and Boyds Mills Press before.

These publishers are on Facebook. You might want to go and like their page. That way you can keep up with happenings at their company.

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I have ONE writing tip.

Get out those writing tips and re-read them!

If you are like me, you have printed numerous pages of writing tips. Or, you have numerous  books on writing.

But, how long has it been since you got out those tips and read them again or got out those books and refreshed your memory on the tips and info they gave you?

I have been organizing my writing space. I don't have a room devoted to my writing (wish I did), but I mainly use our family room for my writing.

I have rearranged my family room. I have went through and organized my three bookcases. I have gotten rid of a bunch of books (took them to the thrift store or my writing group). I have rearranged the books I have left and grouped them according to what they are about.

And, I switched out my dad's old trunk with another bookcase I had in an adjoining room. Now I have all four bookcases in one room.

What I am saying to do in this blog post is to use your info you have gathered down through the years.

Get out those tips and refresh your brain.
Get out those books and refresh your brain.
Have them organized so they are easy to find and get to.

Then do what you love - write!

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Another year has come and gone.
What accomplishments did you have in your writing last year?
Did you obtain a great contract with a big publisher?
Did you get on the best seller list?


Maybe not.
But, I bet you made smaller accomplishments.
These small accomplishments add up.
They are important and keep us on our path to being published.

If you didn't give up, you made a very important accomplishment.

What do you want to accomplish this year?

One year I made a resolution to submit at least once a month. And, you know what, I did.

Your stories can't get accepted if you don't send them out. I sent out submissions last year in February, March, April, May, June and September.

So far, I have received 3 rejections.  But, I also placed first and second in a contest.

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Susanna Leonard Hill is hosting her 5th annual holiday contest.
Below is my entry. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

SANTA UNDER THE MISTLETOE

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November has come to an end.
I have 30 new ideas for picture books.
How about you? How many ideas do you have?

Now that we have our ideas -  we write.

We should try to:

Pick the perfect words - the perfect character - the perfect place.
But, keep it under 500 words and don't be preachy.

Be original. Put a new twist on an old story.
Show and don't tell, please.

And, do not write in rhyme - unless you are very, very good at it.
   (I must admit that I don't always follow my own advice.)

Revise, revise and revise.


But, most of all, write the story that will have kids saying, "Read it again! Read it again!"

It is not easy. But, nobody said it was going to be. Except for those people who think anyone can write for children, because the stories are so short and the readers are so young.

But, we know better.

So, let's get to work. I know we can do it.

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How do you edit a picture book?

Here are a few of my suggestions.

Read it and see if it fits into the age group you are shooting for.

Ask yourself ---

Does it have a plot?

Does it have a satisfying ending?
(I just read a middle grade novel. I was anxious to see how it ended, but when I turned and read the last page. I thought, What? Is this the end? I was very unsatisfied with the ending.) Don't let your readers down - have a good ending.

Does it use good word choices for a picture book?

Do you use repetition and alliteration to your advantage?

Does it pass the read aloud test? Word, rhythm and sound are important.

Can you visualize the illustrations?

Did you use the senses in your story?

Does each sentence move the story along?

Does it past the so what test?

I've been editing one of my picture books - again. This book has changed many, many times. I like the story and I really want it to go somewhere. So, lately I have been looking at it under a magnifying glass. I recently said to myself, so what. So what that this happened in the text, so what the character did this or that. I decided my story needed more substance. The character needed more incentive. The story just needed something else.  

 So, I went back and looked at it with a more critical eye. I changed it again. In this process I also took out some of my favorite lines, (my babies that I loved), because I realized the story didn't need them. And, you know what, removing those lines didn't hurt me or the story like I thought it would.

I also took it to my writing group again.  Among other minor changes, there was one word that they just did not like. They said they could not associate the verb I used with the noun I was using it with. One spoke up and said, "Now, Janet, listen to what we are saying. We all agree it doesn't fit. You need to change it."

So, after a little brainstorming we came up with the perfect word. And the best way to reword the two sentences.

So, my last suggestion is to put on your tough skin and get to work!

I end this blog post with this thought, all the above is easier said than done. It may be easy to see what is wrong with other manuscripts, but not easy to see what is wrong with 'your' manuscript. You are too close to it. So let other eyes see it, too.

But, if you love writing for children, don't give up. Be optimistic. Keep writing and improving and some day your dream of being published will come true.

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It is that time of year again.

The time of year when we brainstorm and come up with a month of picture book ideas.

The time of year when we let our minds go back to being a child. It is when we sit at our writing desk and let our inner child flow onto the paper and come up with ideas! Some may be great ideas, some may be terrible ideas, but ideas they are. And we must have ideas before we can write the manuscripts. Having ideas is where it all starts.


Are you ready to take the challenge, too? If so click on the PiBoIdMo badge on my sidebar and sign up.

Becoming a successful writer for children is more than I have a memory or an idea and I want to write it down. 

It is making changes to make your ideas and memories into a story that is good enough to be published. It is being persistent and determined and dedicated.

Sometimes this means changing details that you might want to keep in the story. Sometimes this means thinking outside of the block. Sometimes this means working day and night until your story is just right, or as close to just right as you can get it.

But, it always means being dedicated to making it the best story you can write. It means getting other eyes to look at it. It means being open to suggestions. It means growing and learning each and every day of your writing life.

 But, most of all, it means not giving up. Because if you give up, it will never happen.

Writing for children is different than writing for adults. Everyone doesn't have the knack for writing for children. Writing less words, does not mean it is easier, as some people think.  But, writing fewer words means each word is very important. You must brainstorm to come up with the perfect words and the best words for your story.


Happy writing.

This November, during PiBoIdMo, I hope you come up with that one special idea that makes a great manuscript!

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Writer's block - do you ever get it?

I have had it a couple of times - at least!

I have been working on a new middle grade novel, a sequel to one of my other ones I have written. I started on it a couple years ago - at least!

I let it set for a long time, and then recently brought it out, dusted it off and started writing again.

It is moving along at a slow pace. I took it to my writer's group and we put our heads together and came up with ideas on what, when and where.

I write a monthly column for kids. I usually come up with ideas pretty easy. I like to have the subject matter have something to do with the month or time of year.

This gives me more leeway than you think.

One of my April topics was the Pony Express (established in April 1860). Did you know February was National Blah Buster month? You would if you read my February 2011 Column. And, I love giving kids fun crafts and easy recipes to try.

But, for some reason, I was coming up blank for November's column. I have already written about turkeys, how the pilgrims celebrated, that November is National Peanut Butter Lover's Month, the history of pulling on the wishbone, food ate by the Pilgrims and how you (children) can help with the meal, National Novel Writing Month and PiBoIdMo (writing for picture book writers), and how writing letters helped establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday (the many letters that Sarah Hale wrote to presidents) and presidential pets and Tad Lincoln's beloved turkey named Jack.

I thought and thought and thought.
I came up with different ideas and started to write - but nothing clicked. Nothing clicked.

One night when we were walking, I asked my neighbor for ideas. She came up with some good and some not so good ideas. One of her ideas had merit, so I gave the topic a try. It didn't click.

Then an idea popped into my head. I did a little research and found out some interesting fun facts that I turned into a column I thought my readers would enjoy.

What is the topic?
You will have to wait until November to find out. But, like I told my neighbor, it is very different from her suggestion -- very, very different.

Mark Twain's suggestion:

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

My suggestions:


Brainstorm, just write and see what comes, write on paper, try a new place to write,  have an idea book - write down ideas whenever they come to you - go to them when you are stumped as to what to write about and googling is always an option. But, my most important suggestion is never give up.
.

What are your suggestions?

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In November of last year, I sent a PB manuscript to a publishing company. I had submitted to them before and knew I would get notified in a timely manner, (usually before 3 months), if they wanted my manuscript or not. I had also researched what they published and my manuscript fit them to a T!

Since then I have been waiting patiently (if that is what you call crossing my fingers when the phone rang and constantly watching my emails). I was that sure my manuscript had a chance.

I even did a no-no. I did a follow-up email after waiting around four months. But, it wasn't so bad. They promptly got back with me and said it had been sent to the owners for a decision. So, I continued to wait.

One day, during the course of my waiting, I checked out my stats on my author blog, I saw where someone from the publishing company had visited my site. (My heart and hopes soared) They are checking me out, I thought.

Saturday, after arriving back from our family reunion, I checked the mailbox. There was my SASE waiting for me. That was not what I had hoped to see.

But, on the bright side, it was a personal rejection signed by the Editor in Chief.

She thanked me for my patience during their evaluation (9 1/2 months), they had given it their thorough consideration, but were afraid they decided to pass due to limited publishing slots available each year. Again, saying she was sorry and apologizing for their delays.

Sigh

Oh, well. I'll do more research and send it off to another publisher.

 Also, I have another PB manuscript out there that I sent to another publisher after careful research. This one also fits them to a T.

 Keeping my fingers crossed.

What is new with your writing and submitting?





 

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I've taken a needed, but much too long, break from writing this summer. Aside from writing my monthly articles for Two-Lane Livin' Magazine, I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to write something new again.

This morning I decided I needed to send out at least one of my  manuscripts. So, I planned to work on my cover letter and zip it out to the world.

The picture book I chose is one of my very favorites that I have written. It has went through many, many changes over the years (yes, I said years). It has been critiqued many times (by my critique groups, a professional critiquer and Rate Your Story).

This past June, it placed second in the annual West Virginia Writers writing contest. I can't complain about coming in second, because one of my middle grade novels placed first!


I thought this would be a piece of cake. It has been edited many times and placed in a contest, so it should be ready to submit. But, I decided to look at it one last time. I opened up the manuscript from my computer and took a look.

Was it ready?

No! I found many small changes I felt I needed to make - and, a couple of big changes.

Hopefully, these changes made it an even better manuscript than it already was.

My advice - never give up on your stories, never think they cannot be improved, always keep an open mind and let suggestions simmer and consider them all.

And - do not get in a hurry. Leave your stories for a while and then come back. I bet changes will pop out at you.

When you have did all you can do and you believe in your story - cross your fingers and zip it out to the world.





 

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I have really been neglecting my blog lately - I apologize.
It seems that summer is a very busy time for us here at The Blackberry Patch.

But - I promise you, I am still writing.  And, I am still surfing the web and reading helpful, wonderful blog posts of my friends.

To go out of July with a bang - below is my Two-Lane Livin' July column for kids.

I hope you enjoyed it. My column is titled, Fun Facts for Kids, so I always like to include fun information for kids. I've been told by many adults, that they also love my column and learn something new when reading it.

My book, Fun Through the Seasons, is filled with these type of articles, fun recipes,crafts and stories for kids and adults to enjoy.

I hope you are enjoying your summer. I'll start blogging more soon - I promise.

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I attended a workshop by Cat Pleska about putting poetry in your prose.

How do you do that?

To make your narrative flowing and beautiful you can add metaphors and similes and figurative language.

As always, with your writing, choose your best words. Revise and move parts around. And, my favorite, use rhythm and sound. Make the words sing when read aloud.

So, when writing, create a mood, entertain and play with your words and phrases. Using elements of poetry can make your story memorable and a pleasure to read.

Here are a couple of links to elements of poetry.

Elements of Poetry: Examples and Techniques

Poetic Devices - Judi Moreillon

 

 I love putting poetry in my prose, whether it be a middle grade novel or a picture book. 

 

One of my favorite picture books, Owl Moon, is written beautifully using some of these techniques.

With passages such as:

 

we reached the line of pine trees, black and pointy against the sky

the moon made his face into a silver mask

the trees stood still as giant statues

 

I have also written a picture book (unpublished at this time) where I have used lines such as:

 

We walked past the cattails near the pond, standing tall like toy soldiers all in a row

The ground rose before us like a giant stretching his arms tall and touching the sky. 

 

So, give it a try, whether you are writing a picture book or a novel. Add a little magic to your writing to make it memorable and fun to read.

 

 Do you put poetry elements in your prose?

Happy Writing! 

 

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While at the WVWriter's Conference last week I went to a workshop on ----- beginnings.

This was a long workshop that came in two parts. Edie Hemingway was the teacher.

Some of the things I gleamed from the workshop were:

The importance of the first page.

Your opening page should be powerful, giving a glimpse of your voice.
If writing for a young audience, try to incorporate the POV character's name, age, something about their physical appearance, and time/place within the first three pages or better yet, the first page.

That's quite a list for you to include in the first or second page of your manuscript.

In the second half of the workshop, we got the chance to read our first page for her. She, and members of the audience, critiqued it. Before reading my first page, I quickly skimmed through it, realizing that I had not incorporated some of those things listed above. I found out (through a little quick editing) that most of these bits of info can be easily incorporated into your manuscript -- and it does make it better.

Very helpful is all I can say about this part of the workshop. I would love to attend other workshops that incorporate this into their presentation.

A few other first line tips are: draw your reader in with emotion, set up conflict, set up a question for the reader, set the mood or tone of the story and jump right into voice. If starting with description, add something extraordinary (no hum-drum, overused or ordinary descriptions)!

Open with a powerful image, dialogue with tension and/or emotion to pull your reader in.

Give your manuscripts a glance and spiffy up those first pages!

Go to the library, or your bookshelves, and check out the first pages of your favorite books, to see how they did it.

Do your first pages make the grade?

Happy Writing!

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The WVWriter's Conference is over until another year rolls by.

It was a wonderful weekend. I enjoyed meeting old friends and making new friends.

And, I very much enjoyed attending the Saturday night banquet where they announced the winners of their annual writing contest.

The presenter was speaking about no matter how the entries are mixed up and shuffled before sending them out to the judges - the cream rises to the top.

I am so happy that the judge chose mine as first and second place winners!

I entered six manuscripts into the children's category and four of them placed. (I also received 1st HM and 3rd HM)

Duck and Cover and Amazing Miss Maizie are near and dear to my heart. My heart skipped a beat when they were announced as winners.

Amazing Miss Maizie was the second PB I ever wrote, and it has been changed many, many times. I am a BIG advocate of revising to get it right.

Duck and Cover is a more recent product of my imagination. It takes place during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The manuscript started out as a small memory from my childhood. A small memory that I never really understood. I remembered us going to my aunt's house and being scared. One of my other aunts kept saying that the world was coming to an end. But, I finally figured out that it must have been a memory from the time period of the Cuban Missile Crisis. So, I put on my writing cap and a story came to life from that one small memory.


For now I want to say to never give up and to keep revising until you are happy with your manuscript. Don't send your work out before it is ready. (Unfortunately, I have did this many times)

I think when you submit a story in which you have put your heart and soul into and have revised it over and over again --- that manuscript will have a much better chance to rise to the top and stand out in the slush pile.

I am very thankful to my writing group. They have put up with listening to my stories over and over again until I am sure they were sick of hearing them.

 Happy writing! I will be posting later about some of the things I learned from the workshops at the convention.

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I love books!

Today I went to our local library's book sale. I came back with quite a few. As you can see, I head toward the children's section and books about history. I also picked out one cookbook and a book about squirrels titled,  Squirrels Love 'Em Hate 'Em which might come in handy for the non fiction children's book on squirrels I have been working on.

I am also looking forward to browsing through the very large West Virginia Encyclopedia, Clementine's Letter, Scaredy Squirrel, Ruby Holler and Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed.

I have also won a few books from my fellow bloggers in the last couple of months. I am currently reading Navigating Early.  I have already read the other three books. I enjoyed Like a River, but wasn't that crazy about the ending. The same goes for Rain Reign, I think the ending could have been better. I think a good ending in a book is just as important as a good beginning.


I wish I could collect time. Seems I never have enough time to do all the reading and writing I like to do.

How about you? Are you a collector of books, too?

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This is National Library Week!

What do you do at your local library?

Our writer's group meets every week in one of their rooms that are free to use.

I do research on writing my picture books and middle grade novels.

I research genealogy and learn all about my family's past.

I participate in their activities and events.

I submitted my hickory nut pie into their Pie Competition on National Pi Day on March 14th. I won first place.

I enter their annual writing contest.

And, with the help of our library, we now have little libraries all over our county where you can . . . take a book - return a book.







What do you do at your library?

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I've been reading rhyming picture books this week.
Here are some of my Friday favorites.

Tadpole Rex 
by Kurt Cyrus

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the descriptive words used:

goop, whopping big,
bloop, bloop, bloop
soup, mud, wallow,
floop, fleep, gulp
bone crunching chompers

The Voyage of Turtle Rex
by Kurt Cyrus










Some fun word phrases in this book are:

a tumble of specks
sploosh went the waves
fizz went the foam
swish went the flippers
swung like a compass


I also read:
Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw

Dinosaur Roar! by Paul and Henrietta Strickland and
How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague


What makes a fun picture book?
Rhymes, of course.
But, also, the rhythm has to be right on.
And, you should think a lot about your choice of words and phrases. Make the words sing on the page. If you notice, the author used really fun words and phrases in the above books.


When reading a good rhyming book, the words should flow off your tongue with ease.

And last, but not least, you have to have a good story.

Want to write a rhyming book?
Practice, practice, practice!
It takes a lot of work and rewriting to make it appear as if it was easy to write.

But most of all, have fun doing it!

We are having fun at RhyPiBoMo this month. Go check it out if you like writing and reading picture books.

‪
 

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My friend, Marcia Berneger has a picture book being released today! Don't you just love the cover.  Buster is such a cute garbage truck!

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