I haven't posted in a bit. Lots of stuff going on around here. I'm just about ready to spray paint those leaves around my house that are threatening to turn yellow! I'm certainly not ready for fall!
I was thrilled to get to see the cover of my book. My editor emailed me what the illustrator has come up with - I'm not sure if it's the final version or if there still might be changes, but it was very cool to see that red Scholastic banner across the top and my name at the bottom. They've titled it "Cliffhanger Writing Prompts," which I first thought sounded kind of dull, but after talking to my editor, she convinced me that a teacher picking up my book in the store needs to instantly know what the book is about. "And Then..." wouldn't convey the information quickly enough. Yeah, yeah, Scholastic has done this a bazillion times and they know what they're doing.
Saturday I got to try out my stories on a public audience, as opposed to a captive group of kids in a classroom. I was at the Relay for Life at Sherwood High School and I managed to attract a dozen or so kids to come listen to some stories and venture up on stage to tell the audience how the stories turned out. I loved the aliens from the moon who were afraid of pickles! President Obama had all the farmers in America grow pickles and scared them away. (How do they come up with these ideas?)
Sunday my 14-year-old and I went to the Willamette Writers Conference. We got to go to several workshops, get our manuscripts critiqued, and my daughter got to meet with a publisher and pitch her book (mostly for practice, but still awesome!). She's on the third draft of an 83,000 word novel (approx. 275 pages). I'm proud of her!
Now I just have to wait patiently for a YEAR for my book to be in the stores!
First of all, I have to tell you my incredibly exciting news! Scholastic Professional is going to publish my book! And Then...Cliffhanger Stories to Ignite the Imagination has been under development for about four or five years, percolating through my brain and going through several incarnations. I submitted it to Scholastic as a professional resource book in January and got a phone call yesterday that they were interested. I spoke to an editor this morning and it all looks good! No contract signed yet, but I'm very encouraged! Say a prayer for me!
Back to Library news:
Baby Time
What a nice big group we had today! Lots of regulars, a few newcomers, and adorable babies from seven weeks old to one year. The main topic of discussion today seemed to be sleep habits. I guess my main bit of advice is "This too shall pass." Whatever phase they're in right now, they won't be in a little while. I don't know of too many five-year-olds who still wake Mommy up every couple of hours.
Toddler Time
I'm beginning to see a pattern with the children who have graduated from Baby Time to Toddler Time. Most little ones who start coming when they're about 14 months old spend several weeks just watching and adjusting before they're ready to dive in and participate. The ones who started with Baby Time and then graduated to Toddler Time seem ready to get in there right away. They're doing the hand clapping and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes like old pros right off the bat. So cool!
Our stories this week were:
How Do I Put It On?, by Shigeo Watanabe. They loved the ridiculousness of the images of the bear putting his cap on his foot or his shoes on his ears.
Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails, by Nancy Tafuri. I wish you could have seen their proud faces when they guessed right which animal was in the picture.
Preschool Storytime
Our theme for the week was "Mothers" in honor of Mother's Day.
Just For You, by Mercer Mayer. Little Critter has such a hard time doing his mom a favor!
A Mother for Choco, by Keiko Kasza. Choco discovers a true mother is one who acts like one, not just one who looks like one.
Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch. I read recently how some adults hate this story and think it's creepy. They obviously don't understand Robert Munsch's writing. It's meant to be silly, and I don't think the mom crawling across her grown son's bedroom floor and rocking him in the middle of the night is supposed to be taken seriously. I mean really! That needs to be separated from the touching "moral of the story," that a mom (or a dad) is a mom forever, and your child is your child forever, no matter how many years pass. And yes, one mom admitted that she wiped a tear away at the end of that book.
Only My Mom and Me, by Alissa Capucilli. The fold out pages really hold the kids' attention, as well as guessing which season comes next.
Is Your Mama a Llama?, by Deborah Guarino. We talked about rhyming words to help us guess the name of the animal with this Big Book.
We sang the Baby Bumblebee song:
I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee.
Won't my mommy be so proud of me.
I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee.
Ouch! He stung me!
I'm squishing up the baby bumblebee.
Won't my mommy be so proud of me.
I'm squishing up the baby bumblebee.
Ew! It's yucky!
I'm wiping off the baby bumblebee.
Won't my mommy be so proud of me.
I'm wiping off the baby bumblebee.
There! That's better!
