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(I’m not sure if  “soundbite” is one word or two, and I don’t care; not going to look it up. Bah.) So. Something a little different from my usual “church sketching”. my sketching felt lame so I did cartoons instead. Not sure these are any less lame but they are what they are.

Just some sketches from yesterday’s church service. I struggled this Sunday with feeling comfortable sketching with people around; feeling conspicuous. I did these while sitting in the far back. One positive thing is that I noticed that the sketching was getting to be more habitual…or automated. Not sure what word to use for this, but [...]

But is there anything else in early February in Montreal? It’s a big church to warm up. There are large vents on each side of the sanctuary that put out heat. People will congregate there to warm themselves before sitting down. I spent a good part of the service in front of one myself. But when [...]

To get some exercise, I’ve been taking daily walks in the area. Sometimes I’m out in the early mornings, other times in the afternoon. The Pointe Claire Village is a beautiful place for walking, as you get many fine views of the St. Lawrence River to motivate you onward. So this week I took some [...]

It’s been a while since I’ve done any church sketches, but I had the opportunity to do so this weekend when I visited Christ Point in Corpus Christi, TX. Several of my good friends go here so when I’m in town, this is one of the churches I visit. The above is a mix of [...]

Today we have a special announcement
“All people with future special announcements please meet in the back of the church after service.
We would like to see how many special announcements we can collect.
We will then devise other special announcements,
So that we can all have a chance to be seen and heard.”

And we also have another special announcement,
“If you do a great job at anything, we will try our best to run you away from the church
Because we are intimidated by your gifts and we do not want to be outdone.
So, if you are good at anything, don’t do it, do the things that God did not call you to do,
So that you won’t do a good job and we won’t have to run you away from the church.”

Our final ‘special announcement’ is,
 “If your name wasn’t called to do your planned special announcement, it’s because, we cancelled your announcement because you are not special enough to be making special announcements. You must be favored by the pastor to make special announcements. 
So your special announcement has been cancelled by the special announcements team. And sometimes when you do make special announcements you to it too good and you make us feel very jealous.  This steals our peace so we would prefer that you do not make special announcements.”

Thought for the day, “God loves you, we love you, and you are blessed, but if you are good at anything, we will do our best to get rid of you, so perhaps its best to be mediocre.   Mediocrity is highly underrated, for it keeps you out of the way of church vipers. But if you are pretty and have long flowing hair, we might consider letting you stay in the church so that we can put you on display when we do the television shows for the church and also to get you endowed in lewdness just in case we continue to go backwards instead of forward thereby need a church harlot.  “

This concludes our “special” announcements.

God Bless You.  You are special to God!  Have a blessed and special day!

Three easy steps to say no:

I have a hard time saying no when people ask me to do something.  According to Merriam-Webster.com, no means:  not so —used to express negation, dissent, denial, or refusal .  Sounds easier said than done.

I can’t say no to teachers.  Why is it that I revert immediately back to a child when confronted by a teacher?  My son’s second grade teacher asked me to create games for their fall festival.  Immediately I had to raise my hand to ask a question.  Raise me hand?  I’m probably a good 20 years older than her, why am I raising my hand?  Because she’s a teacher.  Rather than just telling her that I’ve already committed to lugging a moonbounce to my son’s preschool, baking a birthday cake for our goldfish AND mowing the backyard after two straight weeks of rain, I hear myself, “How many games?”  I can’t explain the horrific guilt I felt when I pulled in the carpool line and my son was the last person standing there WITH the principle!  She capitalized on this by getting me to run the Book Fair!

If teachers were hard enough, priests are even worse to say no to.  They have this uncanny ability to look out into the pews at service and immediately pick out who they can tap for the next big project.  “Hmmm, need volunteers for the entire summer to dig trenches?  Let’s see…oh, great Kelly Melang is sitting in the back hiding behind a pillar, perfect.”  I try to make it out of service and feel this tap on my shoulder.  I think this is why our priest standing at the back of church shaking hands of everyone leaving, it allows him to hold on and get you to volunteer.  I can’t say no because I picture St. Peter there at the golden gates highlighting my name on his list, “Hmm Melang didn’t want to clean out the bird poo from the rafters of the church, one black mark.”

Then there’s the dreaded brownie/cub scout showing up at your door with the $50 box of popcorn.  I’ve found myself hiding in the house with all the lights off sucking my thumb hoping that I don’t have to mortgage the house for wrapping paper and popcorn.  Or they catch me and I’m wondering why I’ve gained 2 inches on my thighs from the 16 boxes of cookies I consumed.

I am weak, no is a hard word for me to say.  I’ve been employing a new strategy to not over commit myself by using these three steps:

If someone asks me to volunteer, chair, work, watch someone (insert commitment here) here’s how I say no:

“Kelly, can you make 300 cupcakes with all the colors of rainbow and letters of the alphabet on them for the school?”  Here I have a choice, normally I’ll just say yes then spend the next few days complaining as my fingers turn blue from food coloring and my boys go into a sugar coma from licking bowls.  Now I say, “I’m sorry, I can’t really commit to that at this time.”  This is translated into, “I’m trying to say something to get away from you then I’ll hide until the function is over…”  With my luck, they find me hiding in the bathroom stall and next thing I know, I’m in the kitchen.

My second tactial way to say no is, “I’m sorry I can’t do whatever but I can do……”  For example, I’m shaking our rector’s hand and he asks, “Kelly we really need someone to work the diaper changing room this morning.”  Hmmmm, my children are out of diapers and in case no one knows, other children’s poop really does stink.  Now I say, “I can’t do this because I’ll throw up, but I can help push the crying babies up and down the hallway.”   Translation:  Having two small boys means I lost my hearing a long time ago, so pushing crying babies sounds a lot easier to me.

“Kelly, can you commit the next 9 months of your life to running all the fundraising for (insert program here).”  I’ve already committed 9 months of my life twice and believe me I remember the last two months as not much fun.  Rather than saying No, I say, “Let me think about it and get back to you.”  This gives me a chance to think and let everyone tell me that I am crazy for even considering this.  With that chance to breathe, you realize that 9 months is a really long time and just like birth control, you have to say no.  Maybe you’ll get lucky and someone else will step up before you have to make a decision.

How do I limit my schedule when most Moms schedules are jam packed?  I don’t commit to anything unless asked, that way people are coming to me when they really need someone.  We all know those few that setup everything, those completely coordinated, organized, got it together Moms that run the PTA as school.  HIDE FROM THEM!  Whenever they see you, there’s some type of request, even if it’s just licking 600 envelopes for the parish mailing.  I bet you, they are sitting home with eating bon bons- they’ve delegated everything out!

1. Put fake money into the collection plate.

2. Sing badly out of tune.

3. Take a fake fit of sneezing.

4. During songs put whoopee cushions on peoples seats.

5. Shout Hallelujah constantly even when people are telling a sad story.

6. Bring crunchy sweets like wethers originals with you, and chew on them constantly.

7. Continuously shout “Thank You Allah!” if its a Christian Church.

8. Constantly sniff, this will really annoy the old ladies sitting in front of you.

9. Fart a lot, annoying to every near to you…!

10. Grunt constantly, especially when people are reading Bible passages.

Today, churches have different ways or methods on how to spread God’s words, even to the extend of setting up amuzing church signs. Though some deemed it funny just the same, church authorities have conveyed their message loud and clear. Here are some of those really amuzing church signs and how I view each one of them. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404125621/

OK, just give me some more minutes to take my bath and I’ll go attend the Sunday service.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404125607/

I believe that, Google can’t answer what our Choir would sing!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404952864/

Thank God, majority of the members this congregation are cheerful givers.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404952070/

Yes, some passages scare the hell out of me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404952070/

This reminds us of Moses and the stubborn Israelites.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404952028/

Good one, this will enlighten many about their final destination.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404126087/

This answers the publicans question.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404125955/

Thank God, I don’t like party as well as Bar-B-Que..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404125955/

I guess I should stop smoking right now. Good advice.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404126159/

Remember, put God first in everything you do.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404125531/

Got that, God bless the meak and the humble ones.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404952156/

Very true, no need of high-tech and top-of-the-line gadgets to have communications with God.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404125449/

For those who are having troubled-life, go enter this place and I guarantee you’ll have a different perspective of llife after 2 hours!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404126253

That is the best weather forcast of all time. An eternity of sunny days!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404125987/

The Ten Commandments in review. Got to attend this class.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404951958/

It reminds us that we should do what is right the moment we faced it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404952104/

A little bit tricky, but I know heaven is where the saved live.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/240412580

Just but logical, if you are not God’s children then your father is the Devil.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404952716/

A very good remedy for those encountering sleepless night.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_tiger01/2404951858/

This will make giant telecommunication firms change their marketing approach. A new competitor is in town.

Our boat was never one to just be plopped into the water and ready to sail. Paul’s been working on wiring, electronics, the engine, etc., for weeks to get the boat prepared to be sailed comfortably. Only tonight did he get the last of the lights working, which we tested out with a quicky evening [...]

(Just curious…Is that phrase redundant? Are there any “old” beginnings? Same-o same-o starts?) Anyway, these are sketches from today’s church service at St. Stephens. It was an emotional service as many of the congregants are leaving to start a new church. Other people I know are leaving for other churches, and some are just leaving. [...]

Elvin Lim is Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University and author of The Anti-intellectual Presidency, which draws on interviews with more than 40 presidential speechwriters to investigate this relentless qualitative decline, over the course of 200 years, in our presidents’ ability to communicate with the public. He also blogs at www.elvinlim.com. In the article below he looks at presidents and church. Read his previous OUPblogs here.

Americans do impose a religious litmus test on our presidents, and there is a tradition that proves it. President Obama and his family attended Easter service at St John’s Episcopal Church. Just across from the White House, it is known as the “Church of the Presidents,” the unofficial White House Chapel. Almost every president since James Madison has found occasion to worship in this church and in particular at pew 54, the presidential pew.

The selective presidential need to prove a religious point proves my point. Consider the case of President Eisenhower, who was raised a Jehovah’s Witness and whose home served as the local meeting hall for Witnesses for 19 years. Twelve days after his first inauguration, Eisenhower was baptized, confirmed, and became a communicant in the Presbyterian Church. No president before or after him has ever had to perform such rites while in office. The religious litmus test was so powerful in this case that it was voluntarily taken by a president who had already been endorsed by the people and sworn to protect and defend the Constitution.

Contrast Eisenhower to President Reagan or Bush, neither of whom belonged to a congregation or attended church regularly (or even sporadically) while in Washington, justifying their decision on the basis that the security requirements would be too onerous and disruptive to the congregations they joined. Faith is a personal thing only if the public already believes that a president possesses it. If not, no security arrangement is too onerous to trump the need to publicize it. This is true of President Clinton when he attended Foundry United Methodist Church while in Washington (one of the candidates for the Obamas’ new home church by the way), and it is also true of presidential candidate John Kerry when he made much public display of his Sunday church attendances.

The speculation about which church the Obamas will ultimately settle on as a home church in DC has been fueled, in part, by his past association with the controversial Jeremiah Wright and his membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ. The speculation about where the Obamas will end up has taken on more than normal political significance because there is a greater need for this president, unless others who didn’t even have to attend church, to demonstrate that his religious views are squarely in the mainstream.

So on this Easter weekend, to those who bemoan the secularization of America, take heart, because presidents who appear godless know that they will be judged on earth before they are judged in heaven; to those who believe the separation of church and state is not yet complete, take stock, because where and whether or not President Obama ends up worshiping every Sunday has become a topic of paramount political importance to the administration. So much so that White House aides reportedly considered over a dozen churches before deciding on St John’s as the safest place for a president to go to observe Easter Sunday.

Random notes, people and bunny doodles on Palm Sunday.

Mississippi Beaumont is awaiting her 13th birthday. That's the birthday when the savvy comes for her family. Mibs can't wait to figure out her savvy. Her brother Rocket has electricity, and her brother Fish has a powerful weather savvy.

The other good thing about 13 is homeschooling. Until the kids learn to scumble their savvies, Momma thinks it's best to keep them home. No more Hebron Middle School, and no more snarky comments from Ashley Bing and Emma Flint.

Then they get word about Poppa. Mib's world comes crashing down.

While Momma and Rocket speed away to Salina, Miss Rosemary -the preacher's wife - comes on over with her kids Roberta and Will to take care of the Beaumont clan. Mibs' little sister Gypsy has gone and told Miss Rosemary that Mibs is turning 13. Miss Roberta is determined to whip up a birthday party at the church for Mibs, and she won't take no for an answer.

When Mibs awakens on her 13th birthday, a couple of strange things happen that make her think she has figured out her savvy, and she knows more than ever that she has to make it to Salina and lay her hands on her Poppa. At the church, Miss Roberta's husband is yelling at a Bible salesman, and Mibs starts to hear some other voices as well. She leaves the church and sees the Bible man's pink bus, with a Salina address on the side. She knows how she will get to Salina. What she doesn't count on are the other kids. Roberta, Will, Fish, and little brother Samson are all aboard Lester's Bible bus when it leaves the church parking lot, and makes a turn away from, instead of toward, Salina!

What follows is a road trip adventure of the best sort. Friendships, families and savvies are at the forefront, as the children try to get Lester to speed up his trip to Salina and avoid the police who are soon looking for them at the same time.

I have to say, that this little book may be my favourite of the year thus far. Countrified charm, magical realism, a dash of romance, and a family that left me envious, all make for an utterly charming read. Ingrid Law's Savvy is a sweet book that will leave readers wanting more. Fans of Horvath and Wiles take note!

This time of year I am on the road a lot. I speak at conferences and visit libraries and schools. (Check here for a awesome nationwide environmental project/art contest for classrooms K-3 to celebrate my new book TROUT ARE MADE OF TREES. The prize is I come to your school for free.)

So, you can imagine that part of my impetus to read Life As We Knew It was the shiny arc of this title showing up at work.

The time frame is the same, but this time the setting is NYC and the Morales family's experience of the meteor.

With Papi missing in Puerto Rico, and Mami missing from a hospital in Queens, Alex is the head of the family. He has Bri and Julie to take care of, but he is sure that this is just a glitch, and that his plans of Georgetown and the Presidency may well come to fruition.

Alex is a kid who knows that there are a couple of different NYCs. He is, after all, on scholarship at his school, and some of the boys never let him forget it. He doesn't wonder too much when money loses its' value, and he and schoolmate Kevin turn to body shopping in order to provide what each of their families need.

Somehow I thought that the story told from NYC would hit me harder. I found myself persnickety about facts like feet above sea-level in my borough, and a certain lack of terror that surely would have taken place.

I wonder if it is the lack of first person narrative that led me to yearn for the feeling of Life As We Knew It. That said, however, The Dead and the Gone does several interesting things. I love the way that Pfeffer built the disparity between social classes so easily into the plot line. Rich families do not experience the losses that Alex and his family do. Folks that exist in a perpetually clean NYC do not have to see the filth of the dead, do they? This is a reality of NYC. People who live here have incredibly different existences, one could say solely because of income. Also, I enjoyed the difference between the country and city post apocalyptic experiences.

These books really make readers wonder, "What would I do if...?"

NOTE TO SELF: WONDER HOW THIS WILL AFFECT CELEBRITY BELIEVERS?



Germany's top security officials said Friday they consider the goals of the Church of Scientology to be in conflict with the principles of the nation's constitution and will seek to ban the organization.

The German government considers Scientology a commercial enterprise.

The interior ministers of the nation's 16 states plan to give the nation's domestic intelligence agency the task of preparing the necessary information to ban the organization, which has been under observation for a decade on allegations that it "threatens the peaceful democratic order" of the country.

The Church of Scientology, in a response sent to CNN, denounced the German proposal, calling it out of step with various international court rulings. Read the Church of Scientology response

The ministers, as well as federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, "consider Scientology to be an organization that is not compatible with the constitution," said Berlin Interior Minister Ehrhart Koerting, who presided over the officials' two-day conference.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/12/07/germany.scientology.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Church of Scientology's Response:

While failing to pursue the Hamburg Minister of Interior's motion, the Minister of Interior Conference has demonstrated that they are completely out of step with the rest of the world. Their statement and recommendation are a blatant attempt at justifying the ongoing and never-ending discrimination against the Church of Scientology and its members in Germany.

Ten years of OPC surveillance has uncovered absolutely no wrongdoing which could justify a ban, as conceded by Federal Minister of Interior Wolfgang Schauble in his interview with German Radio. There is no evidence of wrongdoing to uncover.

The suggestion that the OPC not only continue but expand its intrusive and illegal investigation represents a desperate attempt to concoct a justification for a never-ending investigation that wastes millions of taxpayer euros.

FULL RESPONSE:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/12/07/scientology.response/index.html

NOTE TO SELF: Yoga the work of the devil?

A toddler group has been banned from a church hall in Taunton - because their yoga lessons were deemed unchristian.

Say what?

Teacher Louise Woodcock was told her Yum Yum Yoga classes for pre-school children would affect their spiritual life in a way that was unacceptable to the church.

Miss Woodcock said the claims were ridiculous because her classes simply involve music, movement and rhymes. She was also turned away by another church and told it was unlikely any Christian organisation would accommodate her.

"At Silver Street Baptist Church, I said I wanted to book the hall for a children's activity group, which they said was alright," said Miss Woodcock.

Read the rest of the story here and decide for yourself:

http://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/display.var.1647089.0.childrens_yoga_classes_banned_by_church.php


Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum

So for the last few days, I have been looking at newspapers and trying to develop a list of places to send the press release my publisher sent. Problem is, I can find plenty of places, but it takes SOOO long, because I always find something I just HAVE to read on each page... I'm getting there, though. Have sent out a few by email where there was no addresses, and have started a labels sheet for other addresses.

And while I was doing that, I decided to check the contents of my marketing folder and came across Marti Leimbach's website and blog...she wrote Daniel Isn't Talking about her experience of discovering her son had autism and all that went with it. I enjoyed reading her blog, including a post about the difficulty of attending church when one has a child with autism. Sounds familiar...have heard similar stories from my daughter-in-law and son, too. It is a difficult thing to do. In fact, one minister told my son he and his family were an inspiration to other parishioners...because of all they have to go through to attend church with M. (Must say it is not as difficult as it used to be, now that he is getting older.) Anyway, it was interesting reading.

Hope you all had a good holiday!

Back in February, April was the visiting author at my school and at Franki's school, and then she was one of the featured authors at the Dublin Literacy Conference. If you don't know her books, it's time for a trip to the library or the bookstore! Please welcome...




April Pulley Sayre!


Tell a bit about how the places you've visited in the world have wound up in the books you write.

My idea of a great day is standing in an army ant swarm in Panama or swimming with squid in the Caribbean. My husband and I travel to many biomes but focus our trips on rain forests and coral reefs. We've visited rain forests in Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, Belize, and Panama. We've even led adventure tours to Panama so we know that country well. The direct experiences we've had in Panama have shown up in ARMY ANT PARADE and an upcoming book about howler monkeys. (I love to witness army ant swarms and see the many birds that follow the chaos.)


Photos from the rain forest are in my young readers book, TROPICAL RAIN FOREST, and in SECRETS OF SOUND: STUDYING THE CALLS OF WHALES, ELEPHANTS, AND BIRDS.

What do you feel is the best quality of your writing?

I think the best technical quality of my writing is probably what people have called "lyrical language." When I write picture books, in particular, I approach them with a certain voice, and polish them until they have a push and pull of language that is pleasing to my ear. The words have to be right. When I am done polishing a picture book it lingers in my mind—the rhythms and rhymes. I have a great sense of satisfaction when I am done writing these picture books and I never tire of reading them out loud. Perhaps that is the point. A great picture book has to hold up to repeated readings. It has to be delicious in every way.

My specialty is narrative nonfiction—material that is true but that uses suspense and other narrative techniques to give the feel of a story. I like to choose material that has layers of meaning. Often my books seem to be about something small but ultimately make a reader feel connected to something deep and large, such as the sunrise, the water cycle, and so on.

What's your favorite of all the books you've written, and what's the story behind that book?

I love so many of my books and each in its own way. One of my favorites is certainly DIG, WAIT, LISTEN: A DESERT TOAD'S TALE. It's about listening for the sound of desert rain. The illustrator, Barbara Bash, and the art director and designer just made it the perfect book. Kids just hug it to them. You can tell each part of the book was made with love. THE BUMBLEBEE QUEEN had that same quality and the illustrator, Patricia Wynne, made that text sing.



One of my favorite book texts is certainly my recent picture book STARS BENEATH YOUR BED: THE SURPRISING STORY OF DUST. It's about how you and I help create the color of the sunset and sunrise. It's about how we live in a world sprinkled with star dust and dust from long ago, even dust in which dinosaurs rolled. Again, it's one of those think small, think big kind of books. It's probably my best writing. I thought it would never be published; it was rejected 52 times over the course of 8 years until the wonderful Rebecca Davis, who was at Greenwillow, took the risk of making a book about dust. When STARS BENEATH YOUR BED won the best Science Picture Book of the Year from the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru/Science Books and Films, I cried I was so happy. I was so amazed that book would now have a life.

Would you tell us a little about your upcoming books?

I have three books coming out this year and two next year. My first, in April, is HUSH, LITTLE PUPPY, from Holt. It is a loving lullaby with beautiful illustrations by British artist Susan Winter.

In the fall my third chant book, BIRD, BIRD, BIRD: A CHIRPING CHANT will be released. A new chant illustrator, Gary Locke, has done this one and his work is spectacular. Really laugh out loud hilarious with an underlying bubble of good-natured joy.

The third book is VULTURE VIEW by Holt. I am so excited about this book. It's illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner Steve Jenkins. I think it's one of my best read aloud books and a perfect pairing with Steve's art and sensibility. I can hardly wait until it's released by Holt in October 2007. It's not just about vultures; it teaches about physics...how warming air rises and cooling air falls.

I wrote the book while standing on a tower in Panama. Yet the book isn't set in Panama at all. I was taking care of a tour participant who had gotten too excited while watching all the sloths, migrating hawks, toucans, and other spectacular things. She literally needed to rest and calm down. So, I sat with her. As I did, I looked out the window and a troop of howlers came and peeked in at us but I couldn't tell her they were there. Then, vultures started circling up out of a valley and suddenly I could hear in my head how my new book, VULTURE VIEW, should go. I had to grab a notebook and scribble the words.

In 2008, another spectacular book is coming: TROUT ARE MADE OF TREES. Of course this will be a great pairing with my book TROUT, TROUT, TROUT: A FISH CHANT. But TROUT ARE MADE OF TREES, from Charlesbridge, is another one of my deep lyrical nonfiction books, about how leaves fall into streams and are eaten by insects that are eaten by trout that are eaten by people and bears. It begins "Trout are made of trees. In fall, trees let go of leaves, which twirl and swirl and slip into streams..." I just saw the first art by Kate Endle. It is colorful and amazing collage...almost quilt like. It shows a family exploring the aquatic side of a stream.

Anything else?

Well, I just returned from speaking at the Dublin Literacy Conference, near Columbus, Ohio. It's run by you and the teachers of your district. Perhaps you're too modest to mention it, but that conference ROCKS! Any authors who are invited should definitely go. My only complaint is that I had to speak so I couldn't attend all the sessions. Moan. Moan. But I'm already using some of what I learned there.

On another note, one of the things I emphasize to kids is that not all the "cool" stuff is in rain forests and far away countries. Many of my great nature experiences have happened right here in the Midwest, in my Indiana backyard. The biodiversity here is terrific and there are lots of camouflaged, wild and wonderful creatures to see. My husband used to run a native plants nursery and he's kind of an expert in that field. So we've landscaped our tiny yard with prairie, wetland, and forest plants that bring creatures to our door.

Even a small patch of milkweed and other butterfly plants can bring great wildlife viewing to a yard or schoolyard. The future of wild life and wild experiences in the U.S. is really in the hands of landowners, even those with tiny yards. It's about planting trees and allowing places to be a little bit wild so there is room for birds, frogs, and the berries and insects they depend upon. Seeing a butterfly or a frog can make my whole day and many children feel that way, too. We need to keep that, for our health and quality of life.

I welcome teachers to take a look at my site, www.aprilsayre.com. It has lots of extension activities for my books. When I visit schools I try to take photos of what teachers are doing with the books and post those photos on my site. I better get to work because I have a lot of new material to add!