Last week's launch party for WHERE DO STEAM TRAINS SLEEP AT NIGHT? was so very, very fun! Thanks so very much to Mockingbird Books for hosting this wonderful event! And thank you so very much to who attended and to all who sent their virtual good wishes!

Here are a few fun pics from the party:

And we had a green screen at the party! So everyone got to take their picture with their favorite train:

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Sorry it has been so long since I have posted on here! Excited to get back to blogging!

And so excited that today's "Good News Day Tuesday" is a very special one for me! Today is the book birthday for my third picture book, WHERE DO STEAM TRAINS SLEEP AT NIGHT?

Picture books take along time to come into the world (much longer than babies :) )! So I am so very excited that you can all finally see Christian Slade's amazing illustrations of train moms and train dads getting their little boy and girl trains ready for bed!

In honor of my launch day, I would love to invite you all to two special launch parties:

If you are in the Seattle area (or will be this Thursday night): You are cordially invited to my in-person launch party at the fantabulous, Mockingbird Books! I hope to see you there!!

And if you are not in the Seattle area (or even if you are but you just want to check this out too): You are cordially invited to my online Train Station Book Launch party on  my website. Just chug on over to
the party for a freight-load of train and picture book fun!

All aboard!

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If you had visited my website (www.briannacaplansayres.com) yesterday (or any day before then), you would have seen a beautiful blue sky with two lovely trees and one yellow digger busily digging away.

But if you visit my website now, you will see a beautiful blue sky with two lovely trees and one yellow digger busily digging away PLUS one fierce T-Rex putting her tiara on and off and one sweet steam train puff-puff puffing away. (Huge thanks to Jeffrey Duckworth  for these awesome new animations!)

The addition of these two new animated gifs means a lot to me. It all goes back to my initial vision for my website...
When I first envisioned the site, I pictured a very happy "Briannaland". (Yes, I am silly.) Basically that beautiful background would become a home for little graphics related to all the books I would publish someday.

And so I started with a graphic for my first book, WHERE DO DIGGERS SLEEP AT NIGHT?-- a busy yellow digger. In one way, it looked perfect, but... in another way it looked sort of lonely.

Would my yellow digger ever be joined by other graphics? Would I someday have more books to make graphics for? I wondered and I hoped and I wrote...

So today I am super happy that that wonderful digger has two "friends" joining him on my website. The T-Rex with the tiara is for my upcoming picture book, TIARA SAURUS REX (coming out in February! Yay!) and the happy, puffing steam train is for my upcoming companion book to DIGGERS, WHERE DO STEAM TRAINS SLEEP AT NIGHT?.

The site is getting pretty busy! Yay!

But, like most writers, I can't wait to make it even busier! Definitely a fun way to track my writing progress!

What writing milestones should you be celebrating? Starting a new manuscript? Finishing a manuscript? Making a commitment to sit down to write? Please comment below and let's celebrate together! :)

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Happy Monday, or, as I like to call it, "Keep Reading Fun Day"! Today I want to talk about the power of reading games.

So often learning to read can feel like very serious business, and this "serious business" can lead to loads of stress for both parent and child. Of course, feeling stressed does not help good learning... or good teaching. In fact, it pretty much makes both impossible. :(

So, how can we get past this sometimes miserable situation?
Take away the stress, of course. Stop making it so serious. :)

But when you are a stressed out parent whose child is not liking reading, this can feel hard to do.

That is where reading games can come in. My son needed to work on recognizing more sight words. He also needed to become more strategic about his decoding by using word chunks instead of going letter by letter.

I could easily see that those were his two weaknesses. But, who wants to focus on their weaknesses?

I wanted to make this fun! For him and for me. So I went looking for some games to address these two needs.

And, yay! I found a great popcorn sight words game (pictured above) and Chunks: The Incredible Word Building Game. (Homemade games are awesome too! I was just too stressed to make some right then. :) )

Hard work didn't feel so hard when it was done in the context of a game. Quickly, he started to get these skills that had felt so frustrating. Soon (very soon), we didn't need the games anymore.

He was just reading. Everything in sight. :)

Could it have happened without the games? Maybe. But the games sure took a lot of stress off of both of us, and made reading a whole lot of fun.

Have you used reading games with your kids? What games did you try? How did they go?

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I used to write very, very slowly. At the time, I thought that was the only way to write. Each word had to be perfect before I moved on.

There is nothing wrong with writing this way, if it works for you. I am a huge believer that each writer has her own writing process. But for me, it wasn't working. I was worried too much about perfection and not creating anywhere near enough writing.

Recently I was working on a first draft of a new manuscript, and I kept reminding myself...
perfection is not the goal!

"Just get something down," I would tell myself. "And then you can make it better."

And it worked! For me the blank page is incredibly intimidating. Whatever will I write?

But, once there is something (anything!) on that page, revision is so much fun! I love polishing (and polishing and polishing and polishing), my words until they shine!

Once I had something down for each stanza, that sense of blank page intimidation went away. Then I just got to play to make each stanza better.

And play I did! It was so much fun!

To be clear, I am sure this manuscript is not yet done. But, I am equally sure that it is much further along than it would be if I had worried about perfection from the very beginning.

So I wonder: Do you allow yourself to write badly? Do you encourage (or even celebrate) it? Why or why not?

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This week I am excited to be participating in the Children's Author Blog Hop! For the hop, participating authors answer four identical questions and then invite three more authors to join in the hop. I was thrilled to be invited to participate in the hop by children's book author, Laura Sassi.

Laura’s poems, stories, articles and crafts have appeared in many publications including Highlights for Children, Cricket, Ladybug, Spider, Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr., FamilyFun, and Pack-O-Fun. She has a passion for playing with words and rhyming. Her first (awesome!) picture book, GOODNIGHT, ARK,  is now published by Zonderkidz, a HarperCollins Company. And Laura has a second book, GOODNIGHT, MANGER, slated for publication soon. Laura is represented by Lara Perkins of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Laura writes from her century-old home in New Jersey where she lives with her awesome husband, two adorable kids, and a black cockapoo named Sophie.

Thanks so very much, Laura, for inviting me to join in the hop!  And now for my answers to those four questions:



WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?

Right now, I am busy drafting and revising several picture book manuscripts. I tend to hop between manuscripts as I work until my excitement for one really catches fire. Then I work on it in every spare moment I can possibly find, trying to make every word and idea as perfect as I possibly can. Most recently I experienced this intense passion with a manuscript I was drafting about outer space.

HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM OTHER WORKS IN THE GENRE?

I love it when I can give a new twist to a familiar topic. An editor referred to it as a thematic mash up, and I love that description. But I don't want to reveal what the mash up is just yet... :o)

WHY DO YOU WRITE WHAT YOU DO?

I have wanted to write children's books since I was a child. But initially I imagined that I would write chapter books. I think I was one of the few beginning children's writers who thought that picture books would be too hard. In the beginning I wrote many, many manuscripts (short stories, magazine articles, poems and chapter books). And my first picture book efforts were pretty rough, I think. But somehow more and more picture books kept coming out of me and somehow I've turned into a (mainly) picture book writer. (which I love!)

WHAT IS THE HARDEST PART ABOUT WRITING?

Sometimes I think the hardest part about writing is staring at a blank page. Or getting to the end. It is so much fun to start revising once I get a rough draft down. But each round of revisions presents its own challenges. Especially when I have a revision request from my agent or my editor and I am trying to get it just right.

And now for the three amazing children's book authors I get to share with you on this hop:


ROBIN CONSTANTINE: Robin writes YA novels and her debut novel, THE PROMISE OF AMAZING from Balzer + Bray is now available. And her next book, THE SECRETS OF ATTRACTION, is coming soon! Let me tell you, Robin's writing really truly is amazing! I was lucky enough to be in a critique group with Robin when we both lived in New Jersey. At the first meeting I attended, some of Robin's chapters were up for critique. From the moment I started reading, I knew that I was going to be reading Robin's work in print one day. And now that day is here and you can all read her wonderful stories too. Hooray! You can visit Robin on the web at www.robinconstantine.com and you can follow her on Twitter @RConstantine14.



DORINE WHITE: Dorine is a children's author and book reviewer. The first book in her Cleopatra's Legacy series, THE EMERALD RING, was published by Cedar Fort Books. It is an exciting middle fantasy novel that involves ancient Egypt, Cleopatra, and a magic emerald ring. I had the pleasure of meeting Dorine at an SCBWI conference and my son and I had so much fun attending her wonderful book launch for THE EMERALD RING. THE EMERALD RING was a great read-aloud for my then 6-year-old and I to share together and we enjoyed Dorine's sequel, THE RUBY PENDANT equally as much. Both books had so much excitement and suspense (which he and I both love)! My son and I are both looking forward to the next book in the series! You can visit Dorine on the web at www.dorinewhite.com or follow her on Twitter @DorineWhite.


Hope you enjoy checking out all these wonderful authors! Happy Hopping!

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Here are the questions Maureen asked me and their answers:




1. If you could be any ice cream flavor, what would it be, and why?

I think I would be Rocky Road... because life always seems to be challenging (but wonderful and delicious too :o) )!

2. What is your favorite time of day to blog?

Any time I can find the time!

3. If you were not a writer (or other current occupation) what would you be and why?

If I were not busy being a writer and a mom, I would be a teacher (an occupation I loved for many years!).

4. Your go-to (place, blog, person, book) when you are dry on inspiration?

What an interesting question! I have a lot of great places that inspire me! I love attending the Western Washington SCBWI conference each spring and have left each year completely inspired. I also love when I get together with my former critique group members (when I visiting NJ). I also love working with my wonderful agent and editors! I get a lot of wonderful inspiration from their wonderful revision suggestions!

5. What is your favorite book of all time?

I think it's a tie between Anne of Green Gables and Little Women.

6. The best advice you've ever received?

Unfortunately I don't remember where I received this advice but someone suggested to make it a goal to get 100 rejections. Non-writers look at me like I'm crazy for making this a goal but it really works. Once I made getting rejections into something positive, I stopped being afraid of sending things out. And once I sent things out, many things got rejected... but some got accepted too! Hurray!

7. If you could have a super-power, what would it be and why?

I think I would have the ability to slow time... so I could get everything on my to-do list done and still have time to write!

8. What is something you are optimistic about?

Life's challenges. Sometimes it gets hard but I try to view the challenges life throws at me in a positive, optimistic way. :o)

9.  I wish I could see... because...

I wish I could see my grandparents because they were all so wonderful and I miss them so much!

10. What is your most indispensable possession and why?

I love my books! When I move from place to place it is wonderful to unpack these treasured possessions and help move them into their new home.

Thank you again, Maureen! Here are my nominations for the Liebster Award and the rules for those who choose to accept:

Christine Marie Alemshah

The Paper Wait

Mirka Muse

Laura Sassi Tales

Dani Duck: Artist Obscure

1. If you could be an animal, what would it be, and why?
2. What is your favorite part about blogging?
3. What is your biggest writing challenge?
4. What writing book / conference / website would you tell other children's writers to read / attend / visit?
5. What advice do you wish someone would have given you when you started writing?
6. What book (or books) do you wish you would have written?
7. What are you most proud of?
8. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
9. Book you most love to re-read?
10. What question do you wish I would have asked you? Please answer it!

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Building our own "Magic School Bus" was one recent fun project around here!

Happy Monday or, as I like to call it around here, Keep Reading Fun Day! I love reading to kids and I love reading with kids. But today I want to talk about how wonderful it can be in those special times when our shared reading experiences become so powerful that we actually go beyond the book.

A simple example of this could be seeing a movie or a play of the book we just watched. This is always fun! We loved seeing the movie of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (Gene Wilder Version) and I am looking forward to taking my son to JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH at Seattle Children's Theater later on this year.

But today I wanted to share some fun examples that go even further. Ways in which we have lived the books we love:


1. BUILDING PART OF A FAVORITE BOOK:

In our case, my son was inspired to build the magic school bus. This became a team project with Daddy. They took several huge cardboard boxes and built one awesome magic school bus. This facilitated wonderful dramatic play opportunities. It was such fun for him to actually be in the bus!

2. ACTING OUT A FAVORITE BOOK:

We had the fun of doing this recently for my son's birthday. He wanted a Boxcar Children party. After my initial wondering-- "How in the world are we going to do that?!?!"-- we ended up having a great party. My son helped me create the beginning of a mystery and named several possible suspects. Then he left it up to me to plant clues (including several false herrings). Our house became Greenfield, Connecticut-- home of the Boxcar Children. Our Dining Room became Cook's Diner. And our living room got a (cardboard) statue of Josiah Wade (a revolutionary war hero from one of the Boxcar Children books we had read).

My husband worried that the other kids wouldn't get it-- but luckily almost all the guests were fans too. All but one child who arrived at the party knew exactly which of the Boxcar Children he or she was. (It was an extremely small party and we had 3 Bennys. :o) )

The little stuffed white dog we pretended was Watch was extremely popular with all the kids. And my son was so excited to cook the recipe for Benny's Birthday Cake from THE BOXCAR CHILDREN COOK BOOK (which is actually quite delicious!).

In the end, the kids solved the mystery and my son and his friends had a ball living one of their favorite books!

3. WRITING A BOOK OF THEIR OWN:

One more way in which we have gone beyond the book is when my son has written a story very inspired by one he is reading. When he was little he wrote a very detailed story called "How Matzah is Made" I am sure was very inspired by one of Richard Scarry's wonderful Busy Town stories "How Bread is Made".

And recently he has completed the first chapter of Nancy Drew #65. (The story list in our book stopped at #64 so he is trying to write the next one.) It is fun to see how he is taking the characters and suspenseful writing style of a Nancy Drew novel and imitating it in his own writing.

Going beyond the book can definitely be fun! Especially with a well-loved favorite!

Do you and your kids (or students) ever go beyond the book? How? 

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Today I am excited to welcome everyone to the newest feature on my blog: The Picture Book Diner. This feature was inspired by Jeffrey Duckworth's awesome illustration at the top of my blog. Originally, on my website, this image was a wonderful truck stop (also drawn by Jeff) for the launch of my picture book, Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?.

When I launched this blog, I wanted to use the same wonderful image, but I asked Jeff to help me change it up a bit. Now it was transitioning from a truck stop into "Brianna's Book Stop" and all the building titles changed accordingly. The mini-mart became a library (Jeff even changed the original shelves of food behind the frosted glass to shelves of books!) and "Digger's Diner" became the Picture Book Diner.


At first this was just a wonderfully fun image for my new blog. But the idea of a picture book diner kept tugging at me. What a fun place to "taste" an incredible variety of picture books! And so I have decided to make The Picture Book Diner a regular feature on my blog.

Starting next week I'll try to share a book I've been tasting lately. Or several books. (With picture books it is hard to stop with just one!)

For today, I'd like to invite you to share:


What picture books have you been enjoying lately? Which picture books should my boys and I be sure not to miss?

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Happy Good News Day Tuesday! Today I am thrilled to be celebrating with debut picture book author, Tara Lazar.

Not only is Tara an incredibly gifted picture book author (with two more upcoming picture books in addition to THE MONSTORE!), she is also an incredibly giving, helpful and talented member of the kidlit community. And she is the founder of the super-awesome PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) which I'm sure I will be blogging about as November approaches!

Hope you enjoy this informative interview with Tara!:


How would you describe your debut picture book THE MONSTORE?

Crawl inside a quirky, underground emporium with Zack, looking for a monster to buy
that will scare his pesky little sister. But choose wisely! Because there’s a monster of a
return policy—that is, there is none. What you buy you must keep, even if your monster
doesn’t work to plan.

Where did you get the idea for this story? How did the idea evolve as you wrote?

The idea came from the title—that’s all I had in my head for months on end. When
I was finally forced to get my “butt in chair” and write it out, the words “no returns,
no exchanges” just spilled out and the story took off from there. Zack can’t return his
monsters, but he’s convinced to buy more and they just keep accumulating—which
brings about hilarious consequences and unexpected twists.

Speaking of ideas, how has founding and running Picture Book Idea Month impacted 
you as a writer?

PiBoIdMo has kept me very busy--and inspired! I start planning in late August and
the event keeps me submersed in kidlit through January. With all the guest authors
and participators and the Facebook group full of discussions, it’s a constant source of
inspiration. I find November to be my most productive month of the year.

Can you describe your path to picture book publication?

The path began when I was about 8 years old and I realized I wanted to be an author. My
friend Francine and I created a little book full of fractured fairy tales that she illustrated.
I wish I still had that book, but it’s long gone. But my desire to become a published
author never disappeared; it just took me a while to get around to it! When I was pregnant
with my second daughter, I felt like it was finally the right time. I joined a local writing
organization called Women Who Write and participated in a children’s critique group.
Then I discovered SCBWI and began attending first page sessions, mentoring events and
conferences. I began my blog. I soaked up a lot of information about writing for children,
and after several years of writing I landed my agent and my debut deal.

What do you see as the unique challenges and benefits of writing picture books?

The benefit? Definitely the illustrations! It is a joy to see your words come to life in the
talented hands of an illustrator. When I was a kid, I never wanted to move from picture
books to reading novels because there were no illustrations. Heck, I’m still upset novels
have no pictures!

The challenges are many. You need a killer concept and you need a compelling
beginning, middle and end in 500 words, paying careful attention to page turns while also
offering fun repetition, imaginative word play, and an unexpected final twist. That’s a
lot to pack in such a small package. Most people think writing for kids is easy—“they’re
just kids!” But you can never talk down to them, never dumb it down. They’ll see right
through it. You must entertain them, and they’re a fickle audience.

What advice would you give to new and aspiring writers?

Take time to develop your craft. And I’m not talking weeks or months—I’m talking
years. I know I was in an incredible rush to get published. After delaying my dream for
so many years, once I got started, I couldn’t wait for it to happen! But like everything
else, practice makes perfect. With each new manuscript you write, you get better and
better. Cultivate your ideas. Create a compelling concept. Write and rewrite and rewrite
again. Don’t rush it. It will happen for you if you keep at it. Keep learning; keep striving.
Kids deserve your very best work.

Be sure to visit Tara on the web at: taralazar.com (which is always filled with useful information!)

Congratulations, Tara! We are loving THE MONSTORE around here and looking forward to reading your upcoming books!  And thanks so much for your wonderful explanation of the challenges that go into writing a picture book!

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My son's latest favorite book to say, "Read it again, Mommy!"

Also thanks so much to illustrator and writer, Dani Duck, for her lovely review of Brianna's Book Stop on her own wonderful blog!

And now on to today's "keep reading fun day" topic... "Read it again, Mommy!"

Have you ever heard these words? I have. Many times.

And, while they bring joy to my heart. I also have to admit that they can also drive me a bit...


crazy!

They bring joy to my heart because they mean that I am raising children who love books. Hooray!!!

They drive me a bit crazy because...  Eek! Do I really have to read that same book ONE MORE TIME?

Today I want to talk about why, yes, I do! I really do!

There are so many benefits to repeated readings. Especially for young ones like my little guy.

With every repeated reading, he is learning that favorite books tell the same wonderful story again and again and again (and again :o) ).

He is learning how wonderful and comforting a favorite book can be.

And, as we read the same book again and again, he is sometimes even learning to read a favorite book for himself.

"I read it myself," he tells me proudly.  And he does.

He picks up his latest favorite, Baby Dance by Ann Taylor and Marjorie van Heerden, and he begins to sing it to me, just like I have been singing it to to him. He carefully turns the pages just like I do when I read to him.

And when I finish it he says, "I read it again!"  And again and again and again!  Hooray!

Do (or did) your kids like repeated readings?  Which books were their all-time favorites?

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Happy Good News Day Tuesday! Today I am excited to be celebrating with Chiêu Anh Uban. Chiêu's novelty board book, AWAY WE GO!, was recently published by Scholastic Cartwheel. What a clever concept!

Thanks so much to Chiêu for these very informative answers! And hope you enter for a chance to win a copy of Away We Go!. Details about the giveaway are at the end of this post!

Enjoy the interview!:


Can you tell us about your recently released book, AWAY WE GO!?

Away We Go! A Shape and Seek Book is a novelty board book published by Scholastic, Cartwheel.  This concept book introduces basic shapes and transportation modes, and is brightly illustrated with bold, colorful geometric shapes.  Die-cuts of shapes are layered throughout each page for a fun shape-and seek-game.  The challenge is to find the vehicles in the shapes and the shapes in the vehicles.


How did you come up with this wonderfully creative visual idea?

I have a background in graphic design, and love creating playful books that offer fun exploration for our youngest readers.  One of my illustration technique is to build images using shapes.  I enjoy working with die-cuts, and thought it would be fun to layer them on every page as an interesting transition to each transportation mode, which we see everyday.

What do you see as the unique benefits and challenges of writing for young readers?

It’s very heartwarming to create and share a storytime experience with little children. They are learning and exploring everyday, and I love creating books that are fun for them.  One of the challenges I face is designing an innovative novelty book that isn’t too expensive for production.  I have many neat ideas I would love to see as books, but know that the cost of producing them may not be feasible.


Can you describe your path to publication as an author/illustrator? 

It took six years for my debut novelty book, Raindrops: A Shower of Colors to be published.  During this time, I attended many SCBWI conferences, and learned as much as I could about the publishing world.  Over a year after publishing with Sterling, I started working with Ronnie Ann Herman of the Herman Agency. Another year of hard work went by before Scholastic acquired my second title, Away We Go!  I try to develop two to three new novelty concepts each year and hope for the best.

What advice would you give to new and aspiring author/illustrators?

Continue to work on your craft, and attend SCBWI conferences. They have played a large role in my journey as an author/illustrator.  There will be many discouraging moments, but don’t give up! Learn from them, and you’ll be a step closer to publication.


Would you like to enter for a chance to win a copy of AWAY WE GO! A SHAPE AND SEEK BOOK!?  Just post a comment following this post letting Chiêu know who you'd love to give it to (of course, keeping it for yourself is fine too. :o) ) To be entered, you must comment before Tuesday July 8th at 11:59 p.m Pacific Standard Time. Please make sure that I can find your contact information when I click on your name. All those who comment will be entered into a random drawing for a chance to win one copy of Chieu's awesome board book, AWAY WE GO! 


Chiêu Anh Urban is an author/illustrator and graphic designer, and enjoys creating fun, innovative books for the youngest readers.  She designs novelty formats that provide playful exploration of early concepts. Her debut book, Raindrops: A Shower of Colors uses acetate to show how primary colors blend to make new ones.  Away We Go! A Shape and Seek Book is published with Scholastic, Cartwheel this summer, and incorporates layered die-cuts to introduce shapes and transportation modes for a fun search-and-find game.  When she’s not working on book ideas, she’s most likely baking and doing crafts with her girls.

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Happy Keep Reading Fun Day!  Today I'm going to talk about fun ways to motivate young readers.

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A sketch by author/illustrator Joyce Wan

Hope you appreciate Joyce's insights into her creative process as much as  I do! Enjoy the interview!:

Another wonderful sketch by author/illustrator Joyce Wan

I've always loved wood textures and even offer a line of cards printed on actual birch wood veneer from sustainably harvested trees. (http://wanart.com/products-page/wood-cards/ ) My business card is also printed on wood too. I wanted to incorporate wood textures into illustrations for my next book which naturally led to the idea of some sort of tree book. The original manuscript was written as a picture book about a tree (very close to what Owl & Friends is like) which the publisher broke down into two board books when it was acquired. The textures were created by scanning actual wood and then incorporated into the art using Photoshop. I also love surprise endings in books (and movies for that matter). Ones that begs another sitting and makes sense when you go back over. These books offers a surprise ending and done in such a way for the wee’est of readers. I look forward to introducing young children to some of nature's cutest creatures and their natural habitat!

Can you describe your creative process? As an author/illustrator how do your writing and drawing interact?
I’m a big concept person so usually a concept is what comes first. Then I try to flesh it out with words and then, interestingly enough, pictures come last for me. Although, as I’m thinking of the words I may have images in my head. When I have a draft of a manuscript that I’m somewhat happy with, I’ll create a dummy for it. As I’m creating the dummy, I may change more words at that point and often simplify too when I find that a lot can actually just be said in the pictures. So it’s a constant back and forth at the dummy stage.

What other books should we be on the lookout for from you (past and future)?
I’m the author and illustrator of Greetings from Kiwi and Pear (Blue Apple Books, 2009), You Are My Cupcake (Cartwheel, 2011), We Belong Together (Cartwheel, 2011), and several forthcoming titles including: Hug You, Kiss You, Love You (Cartwheel, 2013), Mama, Mama (Cartwheel, 2014), My Lucky Little Dragon (Cartwheel, 2014), Whale in My Swimming Pool (FSG, 2015) and I will be illustrating a book called Sleepyheads by Sandra Howatt (Beach Lane, 2014).

What strategies do you use to keep up with your many upcoming projects?  (Congratulations! It is so exciting to see how very many forthcoming projects you have!)
Although it seems like a lot of projects, behind the scenes they are staggered in a way that I’m not ever really working on two things at the same time. There’s a lot of waiting time for your editors to get back to you. So if sketches are done on one book I may start on the finishes for another while I wait for comments on the sketches. Also, I’m one of those folks where, the more things I have on my plate the better I do. I love being busy.

What advice would you give to aspiring author/illustrators?
Immerse yourself in the industry, Join SCBWI and attend their conferences and take advantage of all that they offer (one-to-one critiques, retreats, workshops, etc.), continuously visit your local bookstore/library and read/look as much as you can – analyze the books, break them apart and ask yourself why are they successful, keep track of all your ideas in a notebook of some sort, the ones that stick in your brain are the ones to work on (one of my more successful books “You Are My Cupcake”, was in my notebook/head for a year before I decided to create a dummy or it and pitch it), create as many book dummies as you can, keep writing and illustrating. Whenever I find myself at a road block, I like to watch this video: http://vimeo.com/24715531#

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We love many, many bedtime stories, but  WHERE DO DIGGERS SLEEP AT NIGHT? is sort of a favorite around here. Don't know why? ;o)

Yes, I'm a fan of bedtime stories! I think they're awesome (and not just because I wrote one :o) ).

Bedtime stories are such an easy and wonderful way to keep reading fun for young readers.

But a recent study showed that many kids and parents are not cuddling up with bedtime stories on a regular basis (or even at all).  So, for today's "Keep Reading Fun Day", I want to talk about the many benefits of bedtime stories (and to list just a few of our favorites)!:


1. They are the perfect cuddle time at the end of a day! There is nothing better than cuddling up with a favorite (or often many favorite) bedtime books!

2. The repetition of these bedtime favorites helps build an early love of reading. This is so fun to see happening with my little guy right now. He asks for his favorites again and again (and when I've read them to him as many times as I possibly could before we must turn out the lights, he loves to keep them close to himself in bed and look at them as he goes to sleep.)

3. Bedtime stories are a wonderfully easy way to make sure we always fit in our daily-read alouds. Even though regular read-alouds are super-important for young readers, it can be ever so easy to miss fitting them in when things get busy. When they're part of a regular bedtime routine, these importanT read-alouds will never be missed!  (Of course we always make sure to fit them in as many other places in the day as we can too. :o) )

And now for just a few of our bedtime favorites:


TEN LITTLE FINGERS AND TEN LITTLE TOES
by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury.
Oh my! This book is just so very beautiful and so peaceful and calming to read at bed time. My little guy asks for it again and again!



NIGHT-NIGHT, FOREST FRIENDS by Annie Bach
The illustrations in this recently released board book are so very beautiful! Another favorite around here. I especially love the inclusion of the one animal who does not go to sleep at night. Very calming.







BABY DANCE by Ann Taylor and Marjorie van Heerden
We found this book on our most recent trip to the library and my little guy loves it.  It is meant to be sung and I have sung it to him so many times that he is now singing it with me.







GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown
Like many parents I'm sure, I have this book completely memorized. I read it to my oldest and my youngest every night for years. A bedtime classic!






TIME FOR BED by Mem Fox and Jane Dyer
Another one that we read every night for years. So beautifully calming as each animal gets put to sleep.






WHERE DO DIGGERS SLEEP AT NIGHT? by Brianna Caplan Sayres and Christian Slade
Yes, I couldn't leave out this bedtime favorite! Especially good for truck loving little ones. :o) My little guy really does love it for a bedtime story. "Mommy wrote it," he tells me. "Mommy wrote 'Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?". So much fun when he completes each rhyme!



What do you think about the importance of bedtime stories? What bedtime stories do (or did) your children enjoy? (Looking forward to some new favorites to add to our list!)

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My published (and soon-to-be-published) picture books are both written in rhyme. And I have published several rhyming poems in magazines as well. But when I was a teacher, I always encouraged my young writers NOT to write in rhyme. This is often good advice for beginning adult writers as well.

Rhyming is hard work. Especially if you want to do it well. And it is important to do it well. (As I have such fun teaching young readers and writers during my "Rhyme Crime Time" workshop where we investigate crimes of rhyme.)

So I absolutely loved this Reading Rockets video with the incredible children's poet, J. Patrick Lewis::


 


Hope you enjoyed it too!

p.s. Please make sure to visit my critique group's blog, The Paper Wait, for a cover reveal of Robin Constantine's upcoming YA novel, THE PROMISE OF AMAZING! And for a chance to win one of two advanced reader copies! Robin is an amazing author, so be sure to check it out!

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Happy Good News Day Tuesday! Today I'm so excited to be celebrating with author/illustrator Tina Kugler who has TWO upcoming picture books. Yes, two! Isn't that awesome?

Tina not only has two upcoming picture books. She also has one incredibly awesome agent, Teresa Kietlinski! (Yes, Teresa is my agent too, and Tina and I both agree that she is incredibly awesome. :o) )

A sketch by Tina Kugler from THE CHANGE YOUR NAME STORE by author Leanne Shirtliffe (Sky Pony Press, Spring / Summer 2014)

Tina was kind enough to do an interview where she shares information about her upcoming books, her illustration process, and the challenges and benefits of collaborating with her husband on a picture book! Hope you enjoy Tina's wonderfully informative and thoughtful answers!:

An illustration from IN MARY'S GARDEN  by Tina and Carson Kugler (Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt, Spring 2015)

Could you tell us about your TWO upcoming books?

My first picture book will be coming out in Spring/Summer 2014 with Sky Pony Press, THE CHANGE YOUR NAME STORE written by awesome humor blogger Leanne Shirtliffe. It's written in verse, which is fabulous to read aloud, and it's the story of a little girl who wants a new name. In the process she travels to other countries, so I'm super excited to research & illustrate the different locations. Also, the main character is Asian-American, so I'm pleased that this book contributes to diversity in children's books--  First Book just released a study that in 3,600 children's books, only 2.1% were Asian-Americans. It also has a great, universal message of being happy with who you are!

My second picture book (which was technically my first "deal") will be coming out in Spring 2015 with Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, IN MARY'S GARDEN written by myself and my husband, Carson Kugler. It is a nonfiction picture book, the story of an amazing Wisconsin artist, Mary Nohl, who grew up recognizing art in everything, and was inspired to transform her garden and home into an explosion of art and personal expression. Her huge sculptures were created from cement and found objects, and her incredible house and yard still exists in Milwaukee. We consider ourselves artists first and writers second, so we really wanted to concentrate on showing with the art instead of telling with the words. Carson & I collaborated on the art as well, so the style is very different than my own personal style. We are currently working on another nonfiction idea, that would be a great follow-up to IN MARY'S GARDEN, so fingers crossed!

How does your process differ when you are both author and illustrator versus when you are illustrating a book written by someone else?

Both are fun! When I illustrate and storyboard, I often get visuals (sometimes almost a movie) in my head as I am reading along (be it a manuscript or TV show script). With a project by a different author, I have to reread more carefully, so I catch all of the nuances in the text, versus writing it myself, where I already know every detail as a visual. Fortunately, the author contributed a few illustration notes, but not too many-- I have just enough guidance but I feel free to do it the way I want.

And with my writing, since the images come first to me and the writing is like a framework to bring it together, it's a different process: the entire thing exists in my head, I just need to get it out on paper (or my tablet, actually, even my rough sketches are digital).

How did you and your husband decide to collaborate on a picture book?  What challenges and rewards did find in your collaboration?

For IN MARY'S GARDEN, we were both completely enamored with Mary Nohl's art since we were children growing up in Milwaukee. After we married and moved back to Wisconsin with a new baby, we went to see her house again and thought, goodness, what a fantastic idea for a picture book. We did a ton of research with old newspaper articles at the Milwaukee Public Library, but the manuscript we ended up writing was completely dry & boring. It had all the facts, but it wasn't a story. Despite her amazing life, nobody would want to read this book, certainly not a kid. So we ended up shelving the whole project.

Ten years later, I go to my first SCBWI conference, the summer 2012 conference in Los Angeles. I was working on a couple of other dummies, but Mary was always in the back of my mind. I had been absorbing information like a sponge the whole time, and I was sitting in yet another amazingly informative workshop or keynote (I honestly cannot remember who was speaking) and I had this giant revelation: nonfiction is also a story, with a specific point of view. And (not out loud, thankfully) I went, "Oh my stars, Mary had DOGS. What if her story was from the DOGS' point of view?" As soon as I got home, I wrote the entire manuscript from scratch in ten minutes, like I was possessed. And I sent it to my agent, Teresa Kietlinski at Prospect Agency, and she LOVED it. She GOT it. Carson & I revised it a number of times, but that's where the bones of it came from, her dogs' story as Mary is creating these amazing things. And now it's a universal story, one that will be inspiring to kids all over, and hopefully some adults too.

Our next problem was that we BOTH wanted to illustrate it. Really, really badly. But our styles are completely different, how on earth could we illustrate a book together? (And also stay married?) Carson does great watercolors, and I love them, but I work all digitally and can't paint on paper to save my life. He hates working on the computer. After a lot of discussion, I tried an experiment with digital collage- and it worked. Mary made her art with found objects, she never threw anything away. So I combined Carson's paintings and old found paper ephemera and my digital painting and linework and hatching on top, and it is just perfect.

When we drew the roughs, we would both thumbnail them separately, then decide on the stronger image. One of us would do a full-size rough in Photoshop, then the other would do a pass over it, and back & forth until we both agreed on the staging and poses and framing. We both come from doing animation storyboards, so we understand each other's visual process very well, if that makes sense--  and we use filmmaking terms with each other, like "lower the camera angle here" or "do a wide shot here."

The beauty of the entire process is that together we came up with something far better than each us could individually, both with the text and art.

How did you keep motivated through thirteen years?  (p.s. it took ten years for my first picture book, so I really get it. :o) )

It was tough! Had I known it would take this long, I would have given up, I think. But being published always seemed just over the horizon, just barely out of reach, maybe with this batch of postcards.... I had three kids along the way, and was used to drawing with a baby in my lap.

We owned a children's bookshop for a few years, and then I worked in the youth department of the public library, so I always surrounded myself with picture books, I breathed picture books and I so desperately, desperately wanted to be a part of that magical world.

In the mid-90s, I felt that way about animation (as did my then-boyfriend-now-husband), so we moved to Los Angeles and followed our dream- we were hired at Nickelodeon, eventually doing storyboards, and I later worked at Warner Bros. Television Animation and Walt Disney TV Animation. But picture books were my first love, and I worked at getting a personal illustration portfolio together while I was storyboarding, which was a challenge since I was used to working in the style of whatever show I was on-- I didn't even have my OWN style. After we had our first child, I transitioned out of animation entirely and began to pursue illustration full time. It had only taken me about six months between moving to L.A. and getting my animation job, so I thought success in illustration would be just as quick. WRONG!

What advice would you give to new and aspiring authors and illustrators?

Don't give up! (Can you deal with soul-crushing discouragement for 13 years? Haha. Keep that sense of humor!)

For illustrators: Draw all the time. Develop YOUR style. Discover new influences. (For authors, ehhh, I don't have any specifics.)

For everyone: Join SCBWI and go to a conference, even if it's a regional conference. Network with other illustrators/authors and kidlit people. Be nice to everyone. Go to the library regularly and read all the new picture books. Then find some old picture books you've never heard of. Support & encourage other illustrators/authors even if you are insanely and unreasonably jealous that they got a book deal and you haven't, yet. Seriously, be happy for them. (Read "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott.) Good agents are incredibly helpful, especially in terms of helping you focus on a direction and improve your work. Find a critique group (SCBWI is helpful), and network with your peers.

Illustrator Tina Kugler lives in Los Angeles with her artist husband, three little boys and an enormous hairy dog named Harryhausen. Tina spent ten years drawing storyboards in the animation industry for studios such as Walt Disney, Nickelodeon, and Warner Bros., and is also known for her iconic Sputnik Girl posters for Manitowoc, Wisconsin's annual Sputnikfest.

You can visit Tina's website and blog at http://tinakugler.squarespace.com/
You can visit Author Leanne Shirtliffe's blog at http://ironicmom.com/

Congratulations, Tina! So excited to read both your upcoming books! (And thanks so much for being my first illustrator interview! Your illustrations look amazing!)

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There has been a lot of talk lately about what books are assigned for school reading and what books kids should be reading. A lot of talk got stirred up with this article  For an awesome response to that article read this fantastic blog post.

The basic complaint of the original NPR piece really struck a chord with me. A negative chord. (As it did with many readers. You'll see if you read the comments following the article).

While the piece is talking about high school kids (and I agree with those who debate that many books are often much more complex than a simple analysis of sentence length and word complexity would suggest), there still seems to be a basic assumption in the article that it is good for kids to be reading challenging books (which I agree with) and bad for kids to be reading easy books (which I disagree with).

 This assumption about easy books being a negative exists many other places as well. I often hear people complaining about younger kids' book choices in much the same way.

A child brings a book up to a grown up. "Oh no," says the parent or the teacher. "That one's too easy. Choose something harder." of "for your age." or "at your level."

Now I am a huge fan of pairing kids with "just right books". But "easy books" have a place too. A really important place in my opinion.

Here are just a few ways that easy books can help young readers (and older readers too):

1. Easy books are fun and relaxing! 

And fun and relaxing is good. If you never read anything fun and relaxing, you probably won't become a reader. We must remember that the goal of reading instruction is  to develop readers. Kids (and eventually grown-ups) who want to read outside the classroom.

(Think about your fun "beach reads"! Don't kids deserve to have those too?)

2. Easy books can allow readers to solidify what they've already learned.

If you're always working at the cusp of your abilities, it can sometimes be hard to put it all together.

Recently, for summer reading, my son enjoyed reading books that are several steps easier than what he was reading during the school year. And everything is coming together. His fluency. His expression. His word solving abilities. Definitely an awesome feeling (for him and for me)!

3. Easy books help kids gain confidence as readers.

After reading some easy books, a kids can begin to feel like a good reader. LIke s/he really has the hang of this reading thing. And, once a kid feels this way, that kid will often willingly take on more intense reading challenges. Because s/he will feel good enough to try.

(As a kid, I loved relaxing with every single Trixie Belden mystery and with Archie comic books too, but I also explored a huge range of books including every book by Louisa May Alcott, every book by L.M Montgomery and classics including THE SECRET GARDEN and THE THREE MUSKETEERS. I later went on to earn my B.A. with High Honors in English and American where I did my senior thesis on Henry James', THE GOLDEN BOWL (definitely NOT an easy book :o) ). If my parents had been worried about the easy books I enjoyed, I don't know that I would have gone on to enjoy the more challenging ones. Or to love reading so very much.

In fact, a close friend did finally start to read an easy series when he was a child. He was feeling really good about it too. He finally found some books he enjoyed. Yay! He liked reading. But the teacher asked him to switch to something harder... and he stopped reading new books... Oh how I hate that story!)

These are just a few of the reasons I feel passionately that it is important to give kids the opportunities to read easy books. I want every child to get experience reading books that feel easy. These books can really help!

So, what is your opinion of easy books for young readers? (Can't wait to hear what you think!)

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Father's Day read-aloud on the ferry!

Just had to share this wonderful article about dads and reading. It really got me thinking and got my husband and I talking. Love the great ideas about how dads can have more fun reading with their kids! And Father's Day seems like a perfect time to get started.

So what is Dad's role in reading in your family?  Are some of the ideas from the article on your family's "to do" list?

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Happy Good News Day Tuesday! After my post yesterday about how wonderful magazines are for beginning readers, I'm so excited to be celebrating with three (yes, three!) authors who are all published this month in magazines published by the Highlights magazine family. Highlights is amazing and these authors are amazing too!

Hope you enjoy this interview with Jeanne Kaufman (JK),  Jody Jensen Shaffer (JJS),and Deborah Holt Williams (DHW)! I'm so excited to be celebrating their good news today. Please enjoy the insights they give into writing for children's magazines!:


First of all can you tell us the title and genre of your piece? What Highlights magazine and month is it (or will it) be published in?

JK: My poem, Ten Pins, is in the June 2013 issue of Highlights. It's a concrete poem, which means it takes the shape of its topic. In this case, the topic is bowling.

JJS: "Robins' Treat" is a poem for 0-2 year-olds. It was published in Hello in the June 2013 issue.

DHW: The name of my action rhyme is Body Language and it appeared in the June 2013 issue of High Five.

Where did you get the idea for this piece?  Can you describe your process in writing it?

JK: I originally wrote this poem to submit to a sports anthology. That didn't work out and I thought it would be great for Highlights. This was one of those very rare pieces that came to me nearly fully formed. Of course, I needed to tweak it, but the idea of a bowling poem in the shape of ten pins was there from the beginning as was the last line, "gutter ball."

JJS: I love to watch the birds in my backyard. I am particularly amused by the robins that hop, hop, hop, stop, and then cock their heads to the side to watch the soil move, which indicates a worm below.

When I wrote, I tried to describe what I saw, using fun, kid-friendly language. For the last line, I wanted to add a touch of humor. I think it took a couple of revisions to get this poem finished.

DHW: I've worked with 3-5 yr-olds for years, as a preschool teacher and library Storylady, and now as a Spellbinders storyteller, and I love to get them up and stretching between stories.  So this one and the two other action rhymes I've sold to High Five (Five Little Snowmen and Garden Stretch) came out of the need for a little movement during circle time.

What other published works of yours should we be on the lookout for?

JK: My first picture book, Young Henry and the Dragon, was published by Shenanigan Books in 2011 and was a finalist for the 2012 Colorado Book Awards. It's a rhyming story about a squire who has to trick a disagreeable dragon out of a little fire. Young Henry and the Dragon is available at Shenanigan Books, on Amazon, and at many local bookstores. It's also a title in the Reading Rainbow App. LeVar Burton reads it! That's a real thrill. In addition, I've had other poems and short fiction published in Highlights, High Five, Turtle, and The School Magazine of Australia.

JJS: I've sold more poems and nonfiction pieces to the Highlights magazines, Babybug has purchased a couple of poems, and I've got a couple of nonfiction books coming out in 2013. My first trade picture book will be out in 2014.

DHW: I have a 400 word poem about dragons coming out in the fantasy e-mag Spellbound this summer, a rebus in the September Highlights, and a poem in Hello, the new Highlights baby magazine, later this year.  Highlights also bought a holiday craft piece, but I don't know when it will appear.

What do you see as the unique benefits and challenges of writing for magazines?

JK: I love writing for magazines. It's so great for those of us creating poetry for children to have these markets. The challenges are very similar to writing longer fiction. You need to know your audience and try to find a good fit and it's very competitive. But it's also very rewarding, especially seeing my work published in a magazine I read when I was a kid.

JJS: I love writing for magazines! The benefits are that my writing is seen by lots of children, the turnaround time between submission and publication is usually fairly quick, and there are lots of great kids' markets (and editors). The challenges are that if you target a submission to a particular magazine and that magazine doesn't pick up your piece, your may not have many other options. One way to take advantage of the work you've already done is to revise what you've written and send it out again to another market.I love writing for magazines! The benefits are that my writing is seen by lots of children, the turnaround time between submission and publication is usually fairly quick, and there are lots of great kids' markets (and editors). The challenges are that if you target a submission to a particular magazine and that magazine doesn't pick up your piece, your may not have many other options. One way to take advantage of the work you've already done is to revise what you've written and send it out again to another market.

DHW: If your motivation is to share your writing with lots of children, magazines are the way to go!  According to Lou Waryncia, head of the AppleSeeds magazine group, the average book sells 5,000 copies, but Highlights has an audience of two million!  The response time is generally quicker than it is from book publishers.  The pay isn't fabulous, but the only investment required is a little paper and ink, an envelope and a stamp!  I have found the editors at all the magazines I've written for, but especially the Highlights family, to be warm and encouraging.

How does this compare to any other kinds of writing you do?

JK: I see poems as puzzles. You have to fit the right words together in the right way. That's true for any kind of writing. It's just more intense when you only have four to eight lines to do it in (and when you have to come up with perfect, satisfying rhymes).

JJS: I also write trade picture books and nonfiction books for educational markets. Magazine writing is somewhat different from these other genres in the topics that are covered and the word counts of the pieces. Nonfiction writing also includes detailed writing specifications, like target reading levels. Magazine writing is similar to the other genres in that the ages I write for are all the same, roughly birth through early middle school, and many of the topics addressed by the books I write are the same as those addressed in magazine pieces.

DHW: Well, I've been successful in magazines, but so far have had no luck at all with picture books!  I'd love to get one published one day.  I'm doing 12x12, started by Julie Hedlund, that gives us the opportunity to pitch one manuscript a month to a real, working agent and get feedback, so I'm hopeful.

What advice would you give to new and aspiring writers?

JK: Read as much as you can. Read books and poetry and short stories. That will help you with your pacing and your tone. And read everything you can about publishing. There are some great books and websites out there that discuss the ins and outs of writing and publishing in the kids market. You can learn so much from the many generous writers who share their experiences. It also helps to find a critique group of partner.  My road to publication would have been much, much more difficult without the sharp eyes and ears of my friends and critique partners in The Poets Garage.

JJS: Read the kinds of things you'd like to write (make sure you're reading things that have been published in the last 5 years, so you're up to date on current trends); draft, draft, and draft again; have a critique partner or group give you honest feedback; and don't be afraid to revise. Mostly, seek to improve and stick with it. You can't win if you don't play!

DHW: If you want to write for children, I think it's valuable to work with kids, and get to know their attention span, what makes them laugh, what bores them, etc.  Being Storylady was great training, because I read hundreds of books and got to know the work of different authors, and what they did that worked or what didn't.  Also, join SCBWI, find a critique group, and attend conferences and workshops if you can.  I had already sold a couple things to High Five before I attended Chautauqua in 2011, but meeting the editors and some great authors (including my hero, Joy Cowley) was very beneficial sown the road.

Congratulations Jeanne, Jody and Deborah! Thanks so much for sharing!

So, have you tried writing for magazines? How does it compare to other writing you do?

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Around here, we love our subscriptions to Ranger Rick Jr. and Highlights High Five!  And before Ranger Rick Jr,. we loved getting Your Big Backyard and Wild Animal Baby!

And, of course, there are so many other wonderful kids magazines I look forward to subscribing to as my boys get older. (So looking forward to Cobblestone and Cricket and Highlights and  Dig!)

Yes, kids magazines are awesome and they help keep reading fun in soooo many ways. Here are just a few of them:

1. It is so wonderful for a young reader to get their magazine in the mail each month. Getting mail is so exciting for kids, and getting a magazine in the mail makes reading even more exciting!

2. When a child starts getting a magazine regularly, s/he starts to anticipate the regular features. "Let's read about Bonnie and Chester!" my son tells me. And of course we must read about Ricky Raccoon and his Friends. (We're big fans of Ricky's amazing illustrator Christian Slade around here because he also illustrated my picture book, "Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?" :o) ) These regular features definitely help make reading fun!

3. Magazines provide fun reading variety. With short stories and poems, articles and activities, they feel different than books. And different can be good. Variety can really help to spice things up for a young reader. Some days we read just a poem or an article or a favorite story. Other days we read the whole magazine cover to cover.

4. For a beginning reader or for a reluctant reader magazine articles and short stories can provide super-fun and super-interesting short reading material. In Highlights High Five "The Adventures of Spot" and other wonderful stories provide such a motivating story for beginning readers each month.

And when I worked with older students one-on-one, I also loved magazines. There was so much learning to be done about how to read from a single article. The kids I worked with enjoyed the interesting reading material we found in magazines and so did I.

So what do you think about magazines? Which ones do the kids in your life like to read? What other benefits can they have for young readers?

p.s. Make sure to stop back here tomorrow to hear more about children's magazines. I'm going to be interviewing three Highlights published authors for Good News Day Tuesday! So excited to share their good news!

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So excited to be celebrating Lisa Kahn Schnell, who just signed a contract with  Charlesbridge!

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One of the Seattle Public Library's awesome new options for library cards!

Right now, I am lucky enough to live within a few blocks of the library I went to when I was a child. I remember how excited I was when I was old enough to sign up for my first library card. And I remember the book I checked out week after week. (How I loved "The Shy Little Girl"!)

Now I take my children to the library I used to go to as a five-year-old. It is a pleasure to see them get excited by the treasure trove of books they can check out there. What an incredible resource!

But, now that I am "Mommy," our trips to the library started to come with their own set  of challenges.

While we were finding some good books by browsing the shelves, this method could sometimes take too long. Way too long. When we took too long, my little guy would have a meltdown, and everyone would get frustrated. (Especially me, who envisioned the beautiful,  peaceful library trips I sooooo loved as a child.)

And then there were the times I got myself I got myself organized enough to list some books we were hoping to find. Sometimes these times got even more frustrating. We were all excited to find those books, but, more often than not, they were already checked out. (My friend explained that our local library is one of the busiest in the whole system. Which is wonderful! Yay, Seattle readers! I just had to figure out how to get us the books we wanted.)

Finally I figured it out! And our library trips have been amazing ever since! The solution is probably obvious to you, but it took a while for this sleep deprived mommy to figure it out...

We started putting books on hold!

I know, I know. It's not rocket science but it has made a dramatic difference in our family. We are able to take advantage of the Seattle Public Library's awesome online resources.

Now, whenever we think of a title or an author or a category we're interested in, we head to the library's online catalog and do some pre-library-trip searching. This searching is so much fun as we have the entire city's library books at our disposal.

We get to think about which titles sound the most intriguing or the most helpful. And then we put them on hold. Often we get an email that these are ready for pick up quite quickly, but even when we have to wait a bit, we know we will be able to read the books we are waiting for soon.

It is such fun to go to the library and pick up an awesome stack of books (both print books and audio books) from the hold shelf. My oldest is always super-excited to make a trip to the library to pick up the books he has chosen.

And now that we have happily arrived at the library to pick up a whole pile of wonderful books, it is a pleasure do some relaxed browsing together and pick out several more books to add to the pile. My oldest with his sharp eyes always manages to spot an extra construction book or two. Or more books by a favorite author or from a favorite series. And my youngest loves to pick out fun board books from the library's collection for us to read together.

I even get to pick out some wonderful books for myself. Yay! (Super-important for me, the mom who as a young teen wanted to get my driver's licence so I could drive to the library. :o) )

Yep! Now our library trips are awesome! And they definitely help keep reading fun for our family!

So how do you use the library? What kind of library visits do you find works best with kids? How about when you're visiting the library on your own?

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It can be very tempting to find the correct reading level for a child (a student or my own) and to give them a book at that level and expect them to start reading. At least I have made that mistake at times.

About a year ago, my oldest son was ready to begin reading and I gave him books that were at the exact correct level for his current (very beginning) reading stage. Unfortunately, I had made a big strategic mistake. While some kids will read through books that don't interest them my son found this miserable. Part of it is probably personality and part of it is probably those wonderful read alouds. He had heard such wonderful stories that the very short books he was then able to read seemed very disappointing by comparison.

All I wanted was for my son to love reading and he professed to hate it. Ouch! What could I do? (I promise this story has a happy ending. Please keep reading :o) )

As I was trying to figure out what I could do, I asked him what could make him like reading more. "Better books" he told me. Our conversation quickly led to the idea that books about Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder would be super-cool.

(While these books might not be great literature, they were motivating to my son. And, at that point, motivation was key!)

So we immediately went online to order a bunch of these books, and his passion to continue reading was reignited.

Recently, we had a similar issue. Thomas and Little Bear had lost their charm. But the Boxcar Children did the trick. He loves hearing these stories read aloud and now he is excited to be reading the easy reader versions of these books (which are not so easy) on his own.

It is a bit funny to me that I had to learn this lesson with my son. When I worked with reluctant readers in my private practice, the first thing I always did was find out what kind of books they liked to read. (Often their first answer was "short". :o) )

Once I got them to go beyond that initial "short" criteria and tell me more about what kinds of books could interest them, I would greet them the student the next week with a custom pile of books chosen just for them. And then I would empower them by asking them to divide their new books into three piles: -books they definitely wanted to read, books they might want to read and books they definitely did NOT want to read. I loved to see what an empowering experience making these piles was for my new students!

Yet, even though I've always known the power of motivating reading material, it is very easy to forget. Too easy to focus on level alone and to ignore a reader's interest (or lack thereof) in the book at hand.

I will work hard not to do this again!

So what books motivate the young readers in your life?

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And the winner of a copy of WHERE DO DIGGERS SLEEP AT NIGHT? is Rachel Writes 4 Kids! Hope your nephew enjoys it Rachel!

Thanks so much to all for helping me to celebrate DIGGERS first birthday! (It seems like just yesterday she was a newborn. :o) )

This week I also had the pleasure of attending a wonderful book launch party for Dorine White's fantasy novel THE EMERALD RING.

Below is a picture of me Dorine and a very special attendee at the celebration. (At least he's very special to me!):

It was a pleasure to watch his face as he listened to Dorine read her book's exciting opening. Can't wait to read THE EMERALD RING together (once we are able to take a brief break from his beloved Boxcar Children)!

p.s. My comma key does not seem to be working. My apologies for any and all missing commas. :o)

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