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Recently, while discussing poetry with a bunch of 5th graders, I discovered a word that’s pretty much left our daily vernacular: loafe.
Whitman used it in SONG OF MYSELF…
I loafe and invite my soul
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass
…but not a single student knew what the word meant. There were jokes about loaves of bread, and one girl thought she had it, but it turns out she’d gotten it mixed up with loathe. Which, you’ll agree, is another thing entirely.
Image via becuo.com
Once I defined the word for them, they loved it. I said, “Pretty great, right? To be given permission–even encouragement–to loafe about?!” and everybody laughed with relief. (Except for one boy who said, “I try to loafe about a LOT, but my mom won’t let me.” :-) )
So I stepped away from the session with kind of a two-part reminder to myself, and since it’s fresh on my mind, I’ll remind you, too:
Loafe about. Seriously. Creativity can’t be rushed. You need to absorb before you can express. You need to walk and garden and bathe and dream and breathe. These things are the stuff that art is made of, the places ideas come from, the source of a sustained head and heart. Really, loafing about isn’t just important when making picture books–it’s important when living life. Professor Omid Safi asked, in a recent column called The Disease of Being Busy, “When did we forget that we are human beings, not human doings?” We know this, right? Right. This is just a reminder. .
And here’s the other one. Let’s not let really great words like loafe go by the by. Let’s use them. I snuck the word kin into my book ALL THE WORLD, and strut into NOODLE & LOU. I used crimp in THE GOOD-PIE PARTY and hue in THINK BIG. These words are evocative and specific and rich and onomatopoeic–they’re too good to let go! And, as writers, it’s our duty to make sure that we’re not just left with a bunch of OMGs and LOLs on judgment day.
How about you make a list of words you used to hear and use, but never do anymore? What if you wrote down all the phrases your granddad used to say? And what if one of them gave you an idea? Picture books aren’t designed to dumb down; they’re meant to open up and out. They’re meant to expand the words and the world that a child has at hand. Lucky us to be a part of all that.
So go ahead, make that list.
And then, what the heck, loafe about for a bit.
Liz Garton Scanlon is the author of the highly-acclaimed Caldecott-honored children’s book All the World, illustrated by Marla Frazee, as well as this year’s The Good-Pie Party, illustrated by Kady McDonald Denton. Other books include Happy Birthday, Bunny; Think Big, A Sock is a Pocket for Your Toes, and more. Her next picture book (called In The Canyon) and her first novel for young readers, The Great Good Summer, are both due in 2015. Ms. Scanlon is also a poet, teacher and a frequent and popular presenter at schools, libraries and conferences. To learn more, visit her web site at LizGartonScanlon.com.
Liz is giving away two copies of her latest picture book, THE GOOD-PIE PARTY! (YUMMY!)
These prizes will be given away at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for these prizes if:
You have registered for PiBoIdMo.
You have commented ONCE ONLY on today’s post.
You have completed the PiBoIdMo challenge. (You will have to sign the PiBoIdMo Pledge at the end of the event.)
Good luck, everyone!
10 Comments on PiBoIdMo Day 25: Liz Garton Scanlon Loafes (and offers GOOD PIES as prizes!), last added: 11/25/2014
Liz told me to loafe. That’s my mantra and I’m sticking to it. Thanks for adoring words. A single word can be a catalyst. Dumbing down does nothing for he young child’s enchantment of words. The classroom banter you shared is full of energy over a single word. Pretty captivating to me. I’m guessing the fifth graders own that word now. Some words are just fun to say. My mother’s word that we all still ascribe to her is ‘persnickety’. It’s just the best word in the world. Mom would say, ‘Don’t get persnickety with me!’ Any siblings within earshot were glad it wasn’t them. That was how mom kept her seven offspring in line. Thanks for reminding me of the power of words. I LOVE All the World. It’s such a gift you and Marla Frazee have given to all of us.
DaNeil said, on 11/25/2014 5:09:00 AM
Love, love, love this post! Now I’m off to start my word list. Thank you!
marcimcadam said, on 11/25/2014 5:11:00 AM
Off to bandy some words about–love the invitation to loafe, Liz!
thislittlebirdie said, on 11/25/2014 5:14:00 AM
Fabulous idea(s)! Thanks so much Liz!
artsfusionmethod said, on 11/25/2014 5:19:00 AM
Liz…you made me realize that I did not even know how to spell the word LOAFE ! haha….Thanks for giving me permission to do such a random act of kindness for myself! ….Great Blog!
Red said what? said, on 11/25/2014 5:19:00 AM
So true. Thank you!
Cathy Ballou Mealey said, on 11/25/2014 5:20:00 AM
Inspiration for the day!
Pairing Liz’s thoughts with the brilliant book: The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet.
lmconnors said, on 11/25/2014 5:20:00 AM
Lisa Connors
What an excellent, succinct post! I get most of my ideas while walking or gardening and I agree that words are special — my next walk will be a chance to loaf with old, favorite words. Thanks!
Celeste said, on 11/25/2014 5:23:00 AM
“Picture books aren’t designed to dumb down; they’re meant to open up and out.” This is the best description of picture books I’ve come across in a long while. Thanks for the reminders!
Janine Johns said, on 11/25/2014 5:26:00 AM
Thank you for a great post! I’ll start my word list after I loafe.
It's that time again. Time to pull together all the great blog posts that were submitted for last month's Read & Romp Roundup. Thanks so much to everyone who contributed. I think we have another really great roundup!
Maria from Maria's Movers introduces readers to Prima the Ballerina in Her Backyard -- an interactive book by professional dancers Nikki and Ethan White. The book can be used as a lesson plan for teaching movement to children and is the first in a planned series!
At Flowering Minds, Darshana reviews Yawning Yoga, written by children's yoga specialist Laurie Jordan with illustrations by Aaron Randy. Full of yoga poses to release energy and relaxation exercises to calm the mind, this book can help young children slow down for bed!
Angela at OMazing Kids shares one of her new favorite ABC books to incorporate into yoga classes for kids. ABC Menagerie contains an animal and rhyme for each letter of the alphabet, plus what Angela describes as "quirky felt animal structures" as illustrations. A great book to accompany animal poses!
The "OMazing" Angela also shares an updated list of 222 picture books she thinks would be good choices to use in children's yoga classes. Wow! Plus, she reports that she is working on a separate list of children's books designed specifically to teach yoga and mindfulness. Can't wait to see it!
Amy at Picture-Book-a-Day is reviewing a different picture book every day this year. Lucky for us, she reviewed two dance-related books in July! The first is Bea at Balletby Rachel Isadora. "If your child is starting ballet class soon, this is the perfect book to introduce them to the format and conventions of class," says Amy.
The second book Amy reviews is This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt and R.G. Roth. Written to the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man," the book celebrates the lives and music of 10 jazz legends. One of those legends -- who made music with his feet! -- is tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. In her post, Amy also recommends some activities and other books to go along with this fun and jazzy book!
Deanna at Little Namaste Yoga posts about All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee. In one of her favorite lessons to teach, Deanna uses the book to find new "places" for her students to explore. As the scenes in the book change, Deanna uses yoga, songs, and other sensory activities to enhance the experiences of her young students.
4 Comments on Read & Romp Roundup -- July 2012, last added: 9/8/2012
Thanks for putting together such a fun roundup! Got lots of new ideas :) FYI.... I just finished the new resource page on my blog: http://omazingkidsllc.com/books-dvds-cds-specifically-designed-for-kids-yoga-or-mindfulness/
Thanks, Stacy. I'm so glad you've been reading :) I always find lots of new books during the roundups, too. There are a lot on this list I haven't read yet, but I've had a copy of All the World for a long time, and it is such a gorgeous book. If you haven't read that one yet, I highly recommend it. Nice connecting with you again!
Erin Murphy (l.) and Liz Garton Scanlon at the 2010 Newbery-Caldecott Award Banquet, where Marla Frazee, illustrator of Liz's All the World (Beach Lane/S&S), was awarded a Caldecott Honor.
So, you’ve got 30 picture book ideas. Now what do you do?
FILE. Keep them. All of them. Do you have an idea file of some kind? You should. It’s obvious that you might turn to the idea file when you’re casting about for something new to write, but it also can do wonders for unlocking writers block. You never know when some seemingly unrelated idea will be just the thing to add the missing layer to another piece. Sometimes it’s less direct than that; just reading through ideas is a way of getting you out of a stuck place, much like taking a walk or strolling through a gallery can knock you out of a creative rut.
CHOOSE. Sort through them to find the most promising ideas to spend more time with. Laura Purdie Salas had some great suggestions about how to evaluate your ideas last week.
WORK. Budget time to work on each of those most promising ideas. Not just once, but two or three times per idea before you decide if they’re worth pursuing further. Even if you schedule 20 minutes of writing time a day, you can spend 10 on a new idea, and 10 on an idea you’ve already worked on some, and by the new year, you’ll most likely have a couple of solid ideas that are coming together into a real picture book manuscript.
GIVE SPACE.
Some ideas seem to have promise, but they resist any time and attention you give them. This is a sign that they need to sit in your subconscious for awhile. They will most likely kick and scream when they’re ready.
OBSERVE. After a concentrated creative period like PiBoIdMo, you’ve got a great opportunity to take stock of where and when you do your most creative thinking. Did you get your best ideas in the car while waiting for your kid to come out of your piano lesson? Well then, perhaps a copy of your promising idea list needs to stay in the car so you can keep using that time for best results.
SORT AND EVALUATE. I’m not talking about evaluating the idea; you’ve already done that. I’m talking about general trends. Try putting all 30 ideas into categories (character-driven, concept-driven, voice-driven, plot-driven; lyrical, funny, quiet; spontaneous-feeling or intellectual…). Are you heavily weighted towards one type of story? Is that your strength? (Or, conversely, are you limiting yourself unnecessarily?) What research can you do about that type of story to help you grow in your picture book writing craft?
REVISIT.
Don’t forget to go back to that full list of ideas now and then. Who knows what discarded idea ends up turning out to have legs! Kathy Duval’s I Think I See a UFO, forthcoming from Disney-Hyperion, to be illustrated by the wonderful Adam McCauley, was a nearly discarded idea that found a home at the first publisher we sent it to!
Erin Murphy was born and raised in Arizona, and founded EMLA
10 Comments on Post-PiBoIdMo Day 8: Agent Erin Murphy on What to Do with All Those Ideas!, last added: 12/8/2011
This is excellent, Erin. Thank you! I will add your suggestions of 1) working on an idea more than once before heading to the draft or re-file stage, and 2) categorizing the ideas to the daily “look at one idea and flesh it out a bit” process I’ve been going through this month.
Jennifer Rumberger said, on 12/8/2011 7:30:00 AM
Thank you, Erin, for sharing your thoughts. Keeping things organized helps me work and your ideas definitely help contribute to that!
Sue Heavenrich said, on 12/8/2011 7:33:00 AM
Sounds like a plan – esp. the idea file.
Lynn said, on 12/8/2011 7:35:00 AM
Thank you for the continued nudging to get those ideas worked over until something becomes SOMETHING. I appreciate the experience shared here.
Diane Kress Hower said, on 12/8/2011 7:48:00 AM
Thank you Erin.
I like having a process as my writing and illustrating life gets more and more complex.
Jennifer DuBose said, on 12/8/2011 7:48:00 AM
Wonderful post! I’m delighted to learn about you and appreciate your advice. I particularly appreciate the suggestion to take second and third looks at ideas before re-filing them. Kind of reminds me that sometimes it takes a few — or more — exposures to a new vegetable for a child to decide it’s palatable. LOL!
Jim Hill said, on 12/8/2011 8:02:00 AM
“Sort & Evaluate” – this might be my favorite. I re-read my ideas yesterday and felt there was a common theme to a few. Am I limiting myself? I’ll take a few and twist them into places that I’m not comfortable with as a writer. Flex my creative muscles. You never know what might happen.
Thanks!
Jarm Del Boccio said, on 12/8/2011 8:16:00 AM
Thanks, Erin! Your post completes the picture….we have come full circle. I love your idea of categorizing our ideas, to see where our preferences lie. Mine would fall into the non-fiction category, but, as I mentioned in my PiBoIdMo blog post, this challenge has propelled me into the fiction world. I like it! I appreciate your helpful suggestions on the last day of PiBoIdMo. It will be missed, but, 12×12 in 2012 is just around the corner, thanks to Julie Hedlund!
Diana Delosh said, on 12/8/2011 8:38:00 AM
LOve your suggestion of the ideal file and of course how to sort and organize them.
Dana Carey said, on 12/8/2011 8:42:00 AM
Great advice– going back more than once and do more than give the ideas a thumbs up or down. A nice checklist of things to do with the month’s output to get the most out of it. Thanks so much, Erin.
I have to be honest with you.
I think the word “idea” is a little grand.
And by grand, I mean daunting.
An idea is a huge thing, right?
It requires freshness and originality, it encompasses possibility, it is—not to get all god-like here, but—the beginning of everything!
Meanwhile, we’re always being told, “There are no new ideas!”
Poet Audre Lord said, “There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.” And there are all those books and lectures that tell us there are only about seven plots available on the whole entire planet. And you guys. There is even a web site called “no new ideas” and it is just a blank page!
So. Phew. That’s out of the way.
No new ideas.
We can’t find what isn’t there.
But, this puts us PiBoIdMo folks in a bit of bind, doesn’t it?
What are we supposed to do for the rest of the month?
Well, personally, I think we should try for something smaller.
Not a whole new idea everyday—just a new perspective.
(And, guess what? The Greek origin of the word idea is idein, which means “to see”! Which means I’ve got support from ancient sages here, so let’s go with it.)
What if all we need is a new way of looking at things?
And what if that way is a child-like way?
A child, said author Olive Schreiner, “sees everything, looks straight at it, examines it, without any preconceived idea.”
Have you ever noticed what kids want to do when they’re riding a down escalator? They want to run up it!
Kids don’t look at things as if they’re static or rule-based or already defined. Surprise and experimentation are everyday affairs. Freshness and originality and possibility—all those things I found so daunting above? Ha. Child’s play.
And children, you’ll remember, are our audience.
So, what if we look straight at life today and examine it?
What if we let our preconceptions slip away and see things as children see things?
What if look around, each of us, at the animals in our houses and yards, the food on our tables, the books on our bedside tables, and we just plain see them in a new way? That’s all I’m going to do today, and you should join me. We’ll leave the grand and daunting to someone else…
I loved your perspective. When I babysit my grand-daughter I often am on my knees looking at the world how she sees it, at a lower level.
Thanks for reminding me.
Lynn
Marcy P. said, on 11/14/2011 11:07:00 PM
That was excellent. That photo of the bus… that is exactly the kind of photo I get when I give my 4 year old the camera… and I love it. I love seeing the world from his small stature… how tall I appear to him, the random things that catch his attention and he finds worthwhile capturing. This may be another way to experiment with the “new perspective.” Give a kid a camera and see what they see! Thank you for sharing!
Rebecca C said, on 11/14/2011 11:13:00 PM
As my six year old (going on 13 year old) has grown up, so as my writing. I really needed this reminder to get a new perspective on things. The one year old and I will be toddling around on the ground together this morning and as she discovers the world, I will be rediscovering it. Thanks!
Loni Edwards said, on 11/15/2011 1:43:00 AM
Hi Liz, thank you for such a thought provoking post. I love the quotes and the the picture. Yes, seeing through a child’s eyes is the perfect way to get new ideas. Thanks so much for the reminder.
Helen Ross said, on 11/15/2011 3:04:00 AM
Hi Liz. “Eureka!” Fabulous post. I love your way of thinking – looking at things from a child’s perspective. Gives everything,such as ‘normal things’, a fresh approach. Love it. Helen
Lynda Shoup said, on 11/15/2011 3:14:00 AM
Loved the way you put your thoughts together in this post. I especially liked the quote by Audre Lord. Thank you for this perspective.
Absolutely love All the World! Reading to my students during National Poetry Month is one of my new traditions.
Lori Mozdzierz said, on 11/15/2011 4:14:00 AM
Enjoyed the post, Liz!
Thanks for sharing Austin’s thoughts on how to steal like an artist
Kim Pfennigwerth (@kpfenni) said, on 11/15/2011 4:47:00 AM
Enjoyed this post. I love the fact that Audre Lord’s quote says there are only new ways to make ideas ‘felt’. Isn’t that what we hope our picture books will do, strike a chord and be felt by our audience.
Thank you Liz!
Laura said, on 11/15/2011 4:49:00 AM
Great post! : )
Diandra Mae said, on 11/15/2011 4:56:00 AM
Great post, Liz. A reminder that sometimes looking at everyday things from a different perspective is all we need…and whaddya know? There’s my PiBo idea for the day! (woohoo!)
Dana Carey said, on 11/15/2011 5:06:00 AM
Thanks for a very fun and thought-provoking post. I’m going to bend my brain a bit and try to see things as a kid would. I think good times are ahead.
Donna Martin said, on 11/15/2011 5:08:00 AM
I like your post as it reminds us to look at each day with a fresh perspective. My own “baby” has grown up but I now help take care of my best friend’s 17 month old and I get to “rediscover” the world through her eyes…and THAT means lots of PB ideas!
Juliet Clare Bell said, on 11/15/2011 5:13:00 AM
Thank you for the reminder. I love the picture on the bus -my favourite, too -and the one of the table where the cake looks enormous! I’m going to be doing some crawling around today… Thanks, Clare.
Cathy Cronin said, on 11/15/2011 5:14:00 AM
Great post! Thank you for sharing it. And I love your work!
Tia C. M. Svardahl said, on 11/15/2011 5:19:00 AM
We all need reminders and this is one of them! Thank you for the great post!
All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, wondrously illustrated by Marla Frazee, represents the kind of picture book I call irresistible – a fine-tuned, upbeat, read-aloud collaboration between author, illustrator, editor and art director. In fact, my basic question about this book is, “What’s not to love?”
The narrative of the book-length poem takes us through the day with one family (eventually opening out to grandparents and friends and neighbors) from beach to farmers’ market, and on to a cloud burst, a roadside diner, and an evening spent with songs, piano, harp, fiddle, babies – a “family” in the widest sense of the word. For any skeptics out there who think it might be too sweet for them, I say read this with a four-year-old and it will win you over. It is not over-sentimentalized. The rhythms are jazzy and the pictures are lively, and its read-aloud-ability is definite. I suspect quite a few parents are already into their hundredth go-around with reading this book aloud and yet not tired of it – for that reason alone, it has the potential to become a classic.
The real miracle of its read-aloud quality is that Scanlon wrote this poem in couplets, and (as anyone who has ever tried knows) it’s not easy to get away with a book full of couplets. Usually, the sing-song quality becomes irritating, predictable doggerel. But not with All the World. It starts
Rock, stone, pebble, sand Body, shoulder, arm, hand A moat, to dig, a shell to keep All the world is wide and deep.
What seems to be working, for me, is the unpredictability of what comes next in each stanza. There’s no real reason that “Body, shoulder, arm, hand” should follow “Rock, stone, pebble, sand” – a lesser poet might have said something more defined about the setting of the story, making sure that the reader understood it from the text, something like “Beach shovels in our hands….” Doing that would have pushed the illustrator towards an illustration. But Scanlon resists the temptation to explain the connection (leaving it to be made by the illustrator) and that is masterful. I often tell my picture book students to trust their ill
2 Comments on WRITING GREAT PICTURE BOOK POETRY: All the World, last added: 4/29/2010
If there was a theme in what the many published writers said at the Austin SCBWI conference a couple weeks ago, it was that perseverance is an important part of their success.
Kirby Larson, author of the 2007 Newbery Honor book Hattie Big Sky, said she received piles of rejection letters before her publishing career began. Finally, after many years of trying and taking a 10-day course that happened over her daughter’s birthday — what a sacrifice — she sold her first picture books. A few more followed, but then she didn’t sell anything for seven years. That’s when she tried a different type of writing and Hattie Big Sky was born.
Former editor and now full-time author Lisa Graff explained that for her last book, Umbrella Summer, she wrote 18 complete drafts.
Yesterday, this theme was reinforced in an article in the Los Angeles Times about non-fiction author Rebecca Skloot, whose The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks appeared on Amazon’s bestseller list immediately after the book debuted on Feb. 2. This was all after Skloot spent 10 years working on the book and went through three publishing houses, four editors and two agents.
All these writers shared something in common: They didn’t give up.
So, the motto for today: Never give up.
Write On!
0 Comments on Writers’ motto: Never give up as of 2/10/2010 1:32:00 PM
Sorry if you came here on Saturday looking for this post. I had a busy weekend and didn’t get to my computer much.
But here is day six of my reports from the Austin SCBWI conference. First, a quick recap of my other reports: agent Mark McVeigh on publishing, agent Andrea Cascardi on getting and working with an agent, editor Cheryl Klein on writing a great book, agent Nathan Bransford on finding the right agent for you and author/former editor Lisa Graff on writing and revising.
Today I’m featuring three of this year’s ALA award winners, all of whom show that success comes from perserverance.
Jacqueline Kelly, author of the 2010 Newbery Honor book The Evolution of Capurnia Tate, said the inspiration for her book came after she fell in love with a really old house that’s falling down. As she sat on its porch one day, she could hear the main character come alive in her head and recite the book’s first paragraph to her.
She first wrote about the characters in a short story, and it was her critique group members that encouraged her to expand it into a novel.
Capurnia Tate was rejected by 12 publishers before it was picked up.
If it wasn’t for Jacqueline’s critique group and her perserverance, we would not have Capurnia Tate to enjoy today.
Acclaimed illustrator Marla Frazee, whose picture book All the World is a 2010 Caldecott Honor book, has had similar perserverance during her career. She said it took 12 years to get her first book, then another five years before her second.
She said picture books are a collaboration between words and pictures, with the two working together to tell the story. Sometimes the pictures will illustrate the words completely, and other times the pictures will add new meaning to the words. For example, she showed a picture from her book A Couple of Boys Have The Best Week Ever, in which the words say the character is sad to leave his parents but the picture shows him excited and happy.
Marla said
2 Comments on Advice from ALA winners, last added: 2/10/2010
More advice from published writers « Day By Day W said, on 2/9/2010 8:16:00 AM
[...] By Day Writer Balancing work, life and the desire to create « Advice from ALA winners More advice from published writers February 9, 2010 Today is my last post from the Austin [...]
Writers’ motto: Never give up « Day By Day Writ said, on 2/10/2010 1:29:00 PM
[...] of this year’s ALA winners were there — Jacqueline Kelly (The Evolution of Capurnia Tate), Marla Frazee and Liz Garton [...]
Our Austin, Texas chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers (SCBWI)is a little dazed after last weekend’s 2010 award announcements. Austin’ s Jacqueline Kelly received a Newbery Honor for her YA novel The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate about a girl growing up at the turn of the 19th century. The picture book poem All the Worldpenned byLiz Garton Scanlonof Austin and illustrated byMarla Frazee was named one of the two Caldecott Honor books. (Frazee’s second Caldecott Honor.)
"All the World" by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee
And The Day-Glo Brotherswritten by Chris Barton of Austin and illustrated with retro lines and Day-Glo colors by Tony Persiani won a Sibert Honor for children’s nonfiction. (From the ALA – “The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in English during the preceding year.”)
Our SCBWI chapter claims all three of these writers and we’ll claim Frazee, too. So that makes four.
All four, as it just so happens had been scheduled to present at the Austin SCBWI regional 2010 conference “Destination Publication” next weekend (January 30) with an already honors heavy line-up of authors, editors and agents. Marla is giving the keynote address along with Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson (Hatti Big Sky)
Another Texan,Libba Bray won the Michael L. Printz Award
1 Comments on ALA honors for Austin authors; SCBWI conferences and illustration classes for you, last added: 1/24/2010
These are a few of my favorite things (that people said, on 1/24/2010 5:37:00 AM
[...] To Be A Children’s Book Illustrator: ALA honors for Austin authors You read that right: All three Austin authors with ALA-honored books, plus Caldecott Honoree Marla [...]
I was hanging out with my friend Tae a few weeks back and stumbled upon two killer books that everyone must see. First, there’s ALL THE WORLD illustrated by Marla Frazee and Liz Garton Scallion. I haven’t seen a more perfect book since Jonathan Bean’s AT NIGHT or Zetta Elliott’s BIRD (shameless, I know). See a detailed synopsis, and behind the scenes look here.
From the publisher:
All the world is here.
It is there.
It is everywhere.
All the world is right where you are.
Now.
Following a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning till night, this book affirms the importance of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky
Beach Lane Books, September 2009
Hardcover, 40 pages
ISBN-10: 1416985808
ISBN-13: 9781416985808
Ages: 3 - 7
. . . and while you're at the bookstore check out the gorgeous linoleum prints in ONLY A WITCH CAN FLY by Tae-Eun Yoo and Allison McGhee.
From the publisher:
If you were a young witch, who had not yet flown,
And the dark night sky held a round yellow moon
and the moon shone her light on the silent broom
and the dark cat beside you crooned, Soar,
would you too begin to cry,
because of your longing to fly?
Only a witch can fly.
Only a witch can fly.
But one little girl wants to fly—more than anything. So on a special night, with the moon shining bright and her cat by her side, she gathers herself up, she grips her broom tight, and she tries. And she fails. And she’s brave. And she tries again. Until . . .
Feiwel & Friends, August 2009
Grade Range: p to 3, Age Range: 4 to 8
ISBN: 978-0-312-37503-4, ISBN10: 0-312-37503-4Picture Book,
9 x 10 inches, 32 pages, full-color illustrations
Look for these two amazing books in your bookstores
on sale now and let me know what you think!
by 
They’re meant to expand the words and the world that a child has at hand. Lucky us to be a part of all that.
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Liz told me to loafe. That’s my mantra and I’m sticking to it. Thanks for adoring words. A single word can be a catalyst. Dumbing down does nothing for he young child’s enchantment of words. The classroom banter you shared is full of energy over a single word. Pretty captivating to me. I’m guessing the fifth graders own that word now. Some words are just fun to say. My mother’s word that we all still ascribe to her is ‘persnickety’. It’s just the best word in the world. Mom would say, ‘Don’t get persnickety with me!’ Any siblings within earshot were glad it wasn’t them. That was how mom kept her seven offspring in line. Thanks for reminding me of the power of words. I LOVE All the World. It’s such a gift you and Marla Frazee have given to all of us.
Love, love, love this post! Now I’m off to start my word list. Thank you!
Off to bandy some words about–love the invitation to loafe, Liz!
Fabulous idea(s)! Thanks so much Liz!
Liz…you made me realize that I did not even know how to spell the word LOAFE ! haha….Thanks for giving me permission to do such a random act of kindness for myself! ….Great Blog!
So true. Thank you!
Inspiration for the day!
Pairing Liz’s thoughts with the brilliant book: The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet.
Lisa Connors
What an excellent, succinct post! I get most of my ideas while walking or gardening and I agree that words are special — my next walk will be a chance to loaf with old, favorite words. Thanks!
“Picture books aren’t designed to dumb down; they’re meant to open up and out.” This is the best description of picture books I’ve come across in a long while. Thanks for the reminders!
Thank you for a great post! I’ll start my word list after I loafe.