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Just when you thought you were safe from puns for the rest of the holidays…

Why not take a stroll on over here for links to see what the rest of the HoHoDooDa doodlers are doing.

Oh, and if you are wondering what the heck HoHoDooDa is, check this out.

The breeding process to achieve the hybrid, Crabrador was not exactly a smooth one.

Ok, so internet sensation, Meowls and Dirds got me to thinking. What other animal combinations could one come up with.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what SkADaMo is, check this out.

The breeding process to achieve the hybrid, Crabrador was not exactly a smooth one.

Ok, so internet sensation, Meowls and Dirds got me to thinking. What other animal combinations could one come up with.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what SkADaMo is, check this out.

Madeline & Genevieve sharing some quiet time in the rain. I love Madeline, and always have- here’s my tribute to her.

Amy Huntington

I lost India, my beloved studio-mate Saturday, June 7th. I’m only now able to write about her.  She was loved and maybe even a little spoiled. India was her mama’s baby but she spent the workday with me. Not only was she my work companion—as well as the official Studio 27B greeter—India made many cameo appearances in my books. I’ve compiled them here. There are probably more and I’ll add them as I find them.

Sleep well, my princess.

I’m working on and finishing up a few projects, and all have a dog or dogs. Also, in different styles. Below are clips from the final or working toward final illustrations.

I’m working on and finishing up a few projects, and all have a dog or dogs. Also, in different styles. Below are clips from the final or working toward final illustrations.

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Cat Says Meow: And Other Animalopoeia

by Michael Arndt

Chronicle Books               2014

978-1-4521-1234-3

Age 2 to 4           28 pages

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“Dog says woof . . . pig says oink . . . cow says moo. Animals and the sounds they make are paired up in playfully compelling ways in this eye-catching illustrated gift book featuring bold colors and an engaging use of onomatopoeia. Kids and parents will delight in discovering the ways in which the letters that spell out each animal’s sound are key elements of that animal’s illustration. With so much to see and to sound out, kids will relish this unique visual and educational experience, brimming with color and letters.”

Review

“Hi!”

“Woof!”

“Meow!”

“Quack!”

How do you say hello? Ask any of the animals in Cat Says Meow and you will get the answer you probably are expecting, but the animal may look a tad different from normal. The duck still says quack, but look closely at the animal that just spoke to you.

Its left eye looks like the letter “q.”

Its beak looks like a large “u.”

Its right eye looks like an “a.”

The wing looking like a large “c.”

Its legs that look like an odd “k.”

There is something odd going on. Still, if it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, then it must be a  . . . wait a minute, that duck says “quack” and it is made out of the letters quack, which spells “quack!” This has to be a coincidence.

Well, there are 25 animals in all, each greeting you in their native tongue, and each looking mostly normal. Take the cow. It greets you by saying, “Moo.” It looks normal as normal can be . . . wait, again. This cow is a bit odd looking.

Its right eye looks like an “m.”

Its left eye looks more normal, but still it looks suspiciously like an “o.”

Its nose looks like another “o.”

“Moo” says the cow that looks like moo.

There is a definite trend going on. A random turn of the thicker than usual pages brings me to an owl, which says, “Hooo.” An owl that looks like “hooo” and says, “Hooo.” Interesting. A pattern has definitely emerged from Cat Says Meow. Every animal, on every page looks like it sounds.

The author calls this animalopoeia, a word he has trademarked. Each animal, which the author also drew, looks like it sounds. A dog is “woof,” a lamb is, “baa,” and a horse is “neigh.” Onomatopoeia means words that sound like the actual act or thing. The words cough, growl, and boom are onomatopoeia. In Cat says Meow, all of these words are animal sounds. The author has coined these sounds Animal*opoeia. This is Michael Arndt’s debut children’s book.

Cat Says Meow is a great little book for teaching your child about 25 common animal sounds. As in reading, the words in each animal shape are formed from left to right, top to bottom. The large, singular illustrations little kids will easily recognize and will enjoy speaking like the animals and hearing you do the same.

Michael Arndt explained Cat Says Meow and Other Animalopoeia and animalopoeia in particular, “[aim] is to promote verbal and visual literacy as well as foster a love of animals at an early age.” Part of the Arndt’s proceeds from Cat Says Meow go back to animal rescue organizations, groups that are also dear to me. The next time you hear a familiar “meow” and think it is your Fluffy, take a quick look,  it could be an animalopoe*ia.

CAT SAYS MEOW: AND OTHER ANIMALOPOEIA. Text and Illustrations copyright (C w2014 by Michael Arndt. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.

Youtube video found by Erik at ThisKidsReviewsBooks. His review is HERE.

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Learn more about Cat Says Meow and Other Animalopoeia HERE.

Buy a copy of Cat Says Meow and Other Animalopoeia at Amazon—B&N—Chronicle Books—your local  bookstore.

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Meet the author/illustrator, Michael Arndt, at his facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/animalopoeia

Find more books at Chronicle Books’ website:http://www.chroniclebooks.com/

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Hi there is just a couple of hours over 2 days left for your chance to win one of two paperback copies 'It's A Ruff Life'.

Hurry up and get your entry submitted to Goodreads so that you don't MISS OUT.

If you're not sure about it hop over to Amazon and read some of the reviews we've already received.

Click on the link below to enter

Goodreads Book Giveaway

It's a Ruff Life

by B.R. Tracey

Giveaway ends March 08, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

You must be cautious about when standing under the mistletoe. You may experience a very awkward moment.

“Doggie Bag”

Beulah was bullish about hoity-toity bags.

Wow, it’s the SkADaMO 2013′s two week anniversary eve! You should check out what the other doodlers are doodling here!

“Melon Collie”

What’s with all the dogs lately? At least that’s what my cat Iggy seems to be saying, as she stomps across my keyboard. So I added a feline counterpart, for fear of retribution.

So hey, stop on by here and check out what the other SkADaMoers are up to

“Dog Eat Dog”

… and the puns and idioms just keep coming!

Trot on over here to see what the other SkADaMo participants are up to today!

THE BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS

The donkey, the largest of them, approached the window and looked in.

“What do you see, Gray-Horse?” asked the rooster.

“What do I see?” answered the donkey. “A table set with good things to eat and drink, and robbers sitting there enjoying themselves.”

“That would be something for us,” said the rooster.

“Ee-ah, ee-ah, oh, if we were there!” said the donkey.

Then the animals discussed how they might drive the robbers away, and at last they came upon a plan. The donkey was to stand with his front feet on the window, the dog to jump on the donkey’s back, the cat to climb onto the dog, and finally the rooster would fly up and sit on the cat’s head. When they had done that, at a signal they began to make their music all together. The donkey brayed, the dog barked, the cat meowed and the rooster crowed. Then they crashed through the window into the room, shattering the panes.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

A couple of weeks ago the Illustration Friday word of the week was “totem.” I’m telling you, time flies, because I’m just getting to it up now. Better late than never, I suppose!

Brown and the End of the Line
Kansas, 1900
By J. A. Campbell

Part Four

“Call off your dog, mister,” the sheriff said.

Growling more loudly, I crouched to the floor and glared at him.

“Brown, easy. It’s all a misunderstanding.”

I continued to glare, but I quieted my growl.

“She won’t hurt you, and I’m not worshiping the devil.”

The sheriff slowly holstered his gun and grabbed Elliott’s arm. “We’ll just see about that.”

“Ask the conductor. I’m trying to stop the ghost. We got one in Miller, Colorado. Wire Sheriff Tolbert.” Elliott smelled afraid and sounded desperate.

I stifled another growl.

“Time enough for that. Let’s go.” The sheriff shoved Elliott in the back, making him stumble down the narrow hallway. The priest followed and I stayed behind them, not letting Elliott out of my sight but staying far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to grab me. A few passengers stared as we marched past, but no one said anything. Though I was more concerned about Elliott, I didn’t forget the reason we were on the train and I kept my nose alert for ghost smells.

“Sirs, please, I’m here to hunt the ghost. I must get back to my room. It could be here any minute.” Elliott stopped and turned toward the sheriff and the priest.

“Son, there’s no such thing as ghosts.”

I couldn’t understand why the sheriff called Elliott son. He wasn’t that much older than my human. The priest on the other hand looked very old, with thin white hair and lines on his face like humans got when they were older.

“Yes….” Elliott’s reply was drowned out by a sharp screech that would have set me to barking if I’d still been on my feet, but the train lurched at the same time and I went sprawling, hitting the back of the priest’s legs and knocking him into the sheriff.

Elliott stumbled into the wall but stayed on his feet. He stared at the fallen men in shock and I had to bark to get is attention.

Run! I would have shouted at him if I could.

“Of course.” He seemed to know what my bark meant and sprinted past the fallen men before they could regain their feet.

Running close behind him, I got a strange feeling and, even though I knew I shouldn’t, I darted forward and grabbed Elliott’s ankle with my teeth and sent him sprawling.

“Ow! Brown, what are you doing?”

Gunshots rang out behind us and an eerie howl rattled my teeth. Something white shot by overhead. It seemed brighter than the lights in the hallway and it rattled the glass as it raced past.

“Good girl, Brown. I should know better than to question you.”

Women screamed up ahead.

“Go, get the ghost. See if you can push it back to our room.”

I jumped over Elliott’s back and I heard him get to his feet and start running as I chased after the ghost. It had made it to the dining car where a few people were enjoying an evening snack. Well, they had been enjoying it, but I smelled musty-ozone everywhere and the walls dripped with ghost slime. One woman was having hysterics and I could smell the ghost all over her and she looked wet with slime too.

Despite all the slime, the ghost was not in the dining car anymore. I barked, seeing if it would come when I called. No luck, but screams from the next room down let me know the ghost was still there, and if I hurried….

***
Be sure to check out David Riley – http://sftrails.blogspot.com/ tomorrow for Part Five!

The Schedule:
Intro – June 11th – J. A. Campbell – https://writerjacampbell.wordpress.com/blog/
Part 1- June 12th – Sam Knight – http://samknight.com/
Part 2 – June 13th – Bea’s Book Nook – http://beasbooknook.blogspot.com/
Part 3 – June 14th – Amaleen Ison – http://www.amaleenison.com/
Part 4 – June 15th – Jen Wylie – http://jlwylie.wordpress.com/
Part 5 – June 16th – David Riley – http://sftrails.blogspot.com/
Interview with Brown – June 17th – Anne Michaud – http://annecmichaud.wordpress.com/

The Contest:
Follow the link to enter a contest to win a copy of Science Fiction Trails 10 in which Brown battles Martians. US only I’ll send the winner a signed copy, the rest of the world, you have to take an unsigned copy, sorry. You gotta be willing to give me your address though  Alternately the winner can chose a Kindle copy. Contest runs from June 11th through June 30th. I’ll pick three winners.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bios:
Brown – Brown is a Border Collie who hunts ghosts, and other things as it turns out, with her human, Elliott Gyles. You can find out more about her adventures here: https://writerjacampbell.wordpress.com/eye-of-the-dog/

Julie – Julie writes fantasy novels. When she’s not out riding her horse, she can usually be found sitting in front of her computer with a cat on her lap and her dog at her side. Read more about her other stories here: http://www.writerjacampbell.com

Excerpt from Brown Goes Full Steam Ahead in the Penny Dread Three Anthology:
I quickly grew used to the shrieking whistle and the rumble of the steam engines that vibrated my paws constantly. We stood in the front of the ship while it rumbled down the Mississippi. Occasionally water would splash my nose and the scents that filled the air kept me busy with all the stories they told. I was almost disappointed when Elliott told me it was time for our performance. The sun was low in the sky and the people who worked on the boat said the ghost, they referred to it as a she, usually came out during the performances or at night when the passengers would stroll on the decks.