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One of the greatest things that has happened since I started writing is that my network of friends keeps growing–writers and non-writers. Many of the writers host contests. (As I did for THOMAS AND THE DRAGON QUEEN last fall.) Below are links to some giveaway contests and good books written by good writers. So stop by one, or more, of them and enter. Someone has to win. It could be you!

Hugs,

Shutta

(p.s.:  I will be posting a permanent link on the right hand side to ongoing book-related contests. Be sure to check that out soon.)

Katie Davis:  In honor of the hatching of her new book: LITTLE CHICKEN’S BIG DAY. In addition to autographed books there are different prizes each week. This week it’s a baby quilt she made herself!  So stop by Katie’s site at katiedavis.com. 

And stop by the YA Fusion blog where book giveaways happen often. It is co-written by a number of young adult book authors and readers, including my friends Kristin Lenz and Tracy Bilen.

A big thanks to all of you who visited my blog during the blog tour for THOMAS AND THE DRAGON QUEEN. You are friends, colleagues, other writers, and fans.

Using a random number generator #44 was selected to win the prize–and Carol has been notified. So if you have not heard from me . . . I’m sorry, that means you did not win the book. However, copies are available at all your favorite book outlets and in an electronic version. Also, THOMAS AND THE DRAGON QUEEN will be out in paperback next summer.

Hugs, to all!

Happy Reading.

Shutta

Thomas and the Dragon Queen is making a tour of blogs about children’s books this month. In honor of that, I’ve decided to give away an autographed copy to a reader at random. Just leave your name and an email address where I can reach you, if you win, by midnight October 12th. Kids:  If you are under 13 years of age, please get a parent or guardian’s permission to enter the contest. To enter: click here or on the hand below:

NOTE:  You MUST be over 13 years of age, or have a parent’s permission if you are not. And I will randomly select a winner on Oct. 13th.

Good luck, all!

Shutta Crum

I LOVE that kids (and other readers) are picking up my new book, THOMAS AND THE DRAGON QUEEN (Knopf). Here are a couple of pics folks have sent me.

This is Aiden who read through a weekend visit to family and then on the way home in the car. Thanks, Hope for sending this to me!

This is Dillon Marx who, is not quite ready to read THOMAS yet, but who is trying to figure out why his older brother is so engrossed by this book.  Thanks, Sueanne, for letting me post this picture!

Finally . . .  a couple of favorite pics a friend sent of Bertie “reading” THUNDER-BOOMER!  Thanks, Alice!

I wish he could tell me what he truly thought of it. THUNDER-BOOMER! does have a dog in it. At least he is not trying to bury it in the backyard!

Way to go, Bertie!!

See my contact page if you have photos you’d like to send me of your family members reading my books.

Hugs,

Shutta

We are in Japan during Golden Week. It is very busy as this is the time of year that many Japanese take their vacations. It is also one of the beautiful times here as azaleas and wisteria are in bloom.

I had a great time with the young students of Yokosuka, Atsugi, and Zama. We are off today to northern Honshu (the main island) to schools in Misawa.

Shutta

During a break from working with the children at Sullivans School, we visited Kamakura where the giant Budda is, as well as the beautiful Bamboo Temple. I loved the way the light shone through the trees!

Shutta

My friend Hope Vestergaard had a wonderful storytime at Nicola’s
Books today. She read her new book, Potty Animals, to the enjoyment of the crowd.

Afterward the kids built a castle with rolls of toilet paper!

Fun!

Shutta

While I don’t have time at the moment to update my site, I thought I’d post some pictures of my granddaughter Chloe—-following, I hope—-in Grandma’s footsteps! The photo in the red (taken about 1 year and a half ago) lets you know that she was an independent reader from a very young age. Don’t let the fact that the book is upside down fool you!

This reading stuff is easy!

Hmm . . . what to write? If Grandma can do it, I can. We’ll start out with a hook . . . It was a dark and stormy night .. .

Grandma, you made a mistake right there!

Enjoy!  Shutta

There are a lot of end of the year lists going around now. Some of these are best of the year, some are just good gift lists. (See below.) I’m proud to announce that THUNDER-BOOMER! is making some of those lists, including School Library Journal’s Best of the Year, and the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Guide to Gifts, 2009.

You’ll find a comprehensive list of national, and some international, end of the year lists at CHICKEN SPAGHETTI. 

BEST LISTS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT:

ALA YALSA
Teens’ Top Ten Best Books (2009)
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/ttt09.cfm

American Book Sellers Association Kids’ Next (Winter, 2009)
http://news.bookweb.org/features/7162.html

Graphic Novel/Reporter 
Graphic Novels: A Survey of Comics Readers(2009)
http://www.graphicnovelreporter.com/content/best-2009-survey-comics-readers-seasonal-features

ALAN’s Picks: (October 2009)
http://www.alan-ya.org/2009/10/alans-picks-october-2009/

New York Times Best Illustrated Books (2009)
“Best Illustrated Books.”  (New York Times Book Review November 8, 2009: p. 28)
http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/20091108_best-illustrated_gg/list.html?ref=artsspecial

Booklist Top 10 Arts Books for Youth (2009)
http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=382407

Booklist Top 10 Books in Religion & Spirituality for
Youth (2009)
http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=3856801

Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books (2009)
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6704596.html
(Best Children’s Books of 2009.” Publishers Weekly November 2, 2009: pp. 30-31.)

Library Journal VOYA Best YA for Adults (2009)
http://www.libraryjournal.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6707666

School Library Journal, 2009, Best Books http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6708210.html

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, 2009, Guide to Gifts http://bccb.lis.illinois.edu/GBGB2009.pdf

Happy gift buying!

As a teacher, librarian, and a children’s book writer, I truly believe my life has encompassed the best of all worlds. My day job for more than 26 years meant going into a library and being surrounded with beautiful books containing inspiring words. Since retiring from the public library in 2004, I no longer go “in” to my day job. I write from home.

However, once a librarian always a librarian! I still reap the benefits of all that. I maintain my ALA and Michigan Library Assoc. memberships, and friendships. And I get wonderful newsletters and journals that help to keep me up to date on the latest technology, research, and reading habits of kids. I want to share some goodies from recent library news that will be of help to writers.

Best websites for kids. You’ll find a listing of these on my sidebar and here from ALA’s Library Association for Services to Children.

Check out Writer’s Digest annual listing: 101 Best Websites for Writers.

Below are a list of research sites that were recently reported upon by the American Library Association, the Reference and User Services Div.

Title: BBC Country Profiles (free)
URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm
This site supplies information on the history, economy, and politics of countries and territories.

Title: Blue Letter Bible (free)
URL: http://www.blueletterbible.org/
Containing 14 searchable versions of the Holy Bible. Passages can be compared between versions and there are lots of tools (an encyclopedia, a dictionary, 23 text commentaries, and 30 audio/video commentaries).

Title: BookFinder.com (free)
URL: http://www.bookfinder.com/
BookFinder.com indexes over 150 million books for sale from the catalogs of over 150 million sellers in 50 countries. Included are new, used, rare and out-of-print titles.

Title: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers (free)
URL: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
Part of the National Digital Newspaper Program, this site provides select digital access to American newspapers from 1880 to 1910. Also there is access to a directory of newspapers published in the United States from 1690 to the present.

Title: Lexicool (free)
URL: http://www.lexicool.com/
A directory to over 6000 freely available online bilingual and multilingual dictionaries and glossaries. Searches may be entered by language(s), subject, or title/keyword. Search results provide the number of entries and links to the online dictionaries.

Title: OnlineConversion.com (free)
URL: http://onlineconversion.com/
“Convert just about anything to anything else,” with 50,000 conversions and 5,000 units. Has popular conversions: length, temperature, speed, volume, weight, cooking, area, currency. Also contains measurements for women’s clothing sizes between countries, light-years, density, torque, horse height, meeting room size needed for attendees, even a “Fun Stuff” category where users can find their age in dog years, convert their names into Morse code, determine their weight on Mars, etc.

Title: Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) (free)
URL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
The Writing Lab at Purdue houses 200 free writing resources and instructional materials for students, teachers, and trainers. Included are formatting and style guides, grammar and mechanics, internet literacy, ESL, job search and technical writing, and research.

And check this out . . . in case you are wondering what are the best adult fiction books published thus far in the millennium. (By a panel of experts.)  I wonder what we would say is the best children fiction thus far? Perhaps we should survey? I’ll put the word out soon! Watch for it.

Happy researching (and writing)!

Shutta

I’m highlighting Andrea Beaty’s FIREFIGHTER TED book (see sidebar). What a hoot! When the principal’s pants catch on fire we see exactly why a caring bear has to do his best. Lots of heart and humor in this one! Way to go, Andrea.

A wonderful NY Times article about Jan Brett and the chickens she raises at her summer home can be found here.

And, after getting to meet editor Harold Underdown this past weekend at the Michigan SCBWI fall conference, I just want to remind folks what a wealth of information is at his website: The Purple Crayon. This is a great spot for beginning writers of children’s books to start. He covers all the basics of publishing and writing for children.

Enjoy!

Shutta

Deb Diesen is a wonderful writer, good friend, and perhaps(?) an alien abductee. You may not know that her first book, THE POUT POUT FISH, was named by Time Magazine as one of the top ten children’s books of 2008. Check it out–you can’t help but smile.  Enjoy this lighthearted interview with Deb, and check out her website at Jumping the Candlestick.   Shutta

**********************************************************************************

1. Let’s start out with something kids often wonder. How old were you when you first started seriously writing?

My first period of “serious” writing came in elementary school.  When I was in third or fourth grade, I decided to try writing a poem about a butterfly.  I put a lot of work into the poem, then typed it up on my Mom’s typewriter (this was WAY before computers).  I went downstairs with my carefully typed poem, and showed it to my Mom.  She told me it was great.  Then she said, “But put a date on it.  Writers always date their work.”

My mom had no idea the significance of those words to me.  Not only did she instill in me an excellent habit (I still always date my drafts and revisions), but more importantly she gave me belief in myself as a Real Writer.  I took that belief and immediately poured it into a very productive writing period, penning poem after poem, and even a “novel” (a thinly veiled rip-off of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, but I was earnest about it).  All through elementary school, I knew with certainty that I was a writer, and write I did.

Unfortunately, my belief in my writing slowly faded over the years.  By the time I reached the age of thirty, I’d pretty much set aside my writerly dreams.  But then I became a parent; and the experience of reading and re-reading and re-re-reading wonderful children’s books to my kids reawakened my own desire to write.  About a decade ago, I once again picked up my pen. I haven’t set it down since.

2. How many book rejections did you get before you got your first acceptance?

Spread across the various manuscripts I was submitting, I had had exactly 99 rejections before I got the wonderful phone call telling me that Farrar, Straus & Giroux would publish my story The Pout-Pout Fish.

I now have two other books on the way, and though I stopped counting rejections after the first acceptance, and I don’t think I had a full 99 more before either of the other contracts, I do continue to receive plenty of rejections.  They go with the territory!

3. How do you make up names for your characters?

I must have used up all my naming energy in picking names for my two kids, because my characters have some pretty unimaginative names!  The main character in The Pout-Pout Fish is, um, “Mr.. Fish,” and his pals are, er, Ms. Clam (a clam); Mr.. Jelly (a jellyfish); Mrs.. Squid (a squid); and Mr.. Eight (an octopus).  I guess you could say I use the Captain Obvious technique for character names.

(Either that, or no technique at all…  None of the babies in The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade (Tricycle Press, 2010) have names!)

4. When you write do you like quiet, music, or lots of activity around you?

I definitely need quiet to do my writing.  Most of my writing is done either late at night or very early in the morning, when no one else in the household is stirring.

Fortunately, ideas for my writing show up in all sorts of circumstances.  Good thing, because it’s usually pretty chaotic around my house!

5. What’s the earliest childhood memory you can think back to? Does it appear in any of your writing?

That’s a great question which I unfortunately don’t have a very good answer for!  For whatever reason, I don’t have a lot of strong memories of my childhood.  Those things that I do recall tend to be snap shot sensations that come back to me here and there, mostly out of the blue.  They feel almost like poems, rather than like memories, if that makes any sense at all.

6. What age child do you have in your head? Is there more than one child up there?

It’s standing room only up in my head!  I’ve got kids of every age and disposition.  Luckily, most of them are fairly well-behaved, with a tendency to be sweet and silly.  But there are a few pranksters amongst the bunch, and they’re all of them rather LOUD!

7. Why do you like to write for young readers?

Books and reading played a hugely significant role in my own childhood.  Writing for kids is a way for me to circle back to that — to acknowledge and celebrate the lifelong impact of books on kids, and to hopefully touch the life of a child or two in the process.

8. What do you have hidden in a dresser drawer? (We won’t tell, will we everyone?)

A shorter answer might be to list what I don’t have in my dresser drawer (I’m a bit of a clutter prone packrat, I must admit).  But I went just now to look, and found a set of three tiny pinecones on a small twig.  Wow! I’d forgotten they were in there. Perhaps they’re magical!  At the very least, they’re beautiful.  Maybe I should liberate them from the drawer and set them on my desk.  In fact, I think I will!  Ah. Much better.  (And more room for my socks that way…)

9. What do your favorite pair of socks look like?

Oddly enough, they look just like pine cones!  Just kidding.  No, my favorite socks are bright red and patterned with yellow and blue diamonds and sunbursts and other designs.  They’re completely different than the other 99.99% of my sock collection, which is based entirely on the traditional concept of Solid Colors.

10. If you woke up in the morning and found someone else’s shoes in your refrigerator, what would you think?

Initially, I’d simply move them aside to get to the creamer for my coffee.

But once the caffeine kicked in, I’d immediately figure my kids were up to something…

11. Have you ever been abducted by aliens? If so, did they wear socks? What did they have hidden in their zormorpholaters? And were they missing any shoes?

If I were to tell you that the shoeless aliens wore ankle socks with little puff balls (as were popular in the 1980s) and hid dark chocolate in their zormorpholaters, this should not be construed as an admission of a brief but enlightening alien abduction that occurred exactly three years and twenty-two days ago.

12. Will you name a character in your next book after me?

Shutta, every book should have a character named after you!

I just finished posting a blog entry for BIG UNIVERSE, about the imaginative play of my grandchildren titled: Coffee Shop Theater. If you are interested in peeking at a bit of the imaginative life of children take a trip to Big U.

In the meantime, enjoy the children in your life and these final days of summer. I can smell autumn in the air already!

(Sam and Abby)

Ciao!

Shutta

Wow! When it rains, it pours. I just got word that the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books will be giving THUNDER-BOOMER! an “R*” in its September issue. (Recommended, and an asterisk for “exceptional.”)

A writer friend asked if I knew that this book (my tenth) would be exceptional? And how did it feel writing it? Hmmm . . .

Good questions! I remember I felt good writing it. I live on a farm now and I love how  “the air smells sweet as butter” after a storm. And I LOVED the editorial process with my editor at Clarion, Marcia Leonard.  But of course, I had no idea it would generate such good reviews. I truly believe that with a picture book, a good portion, if not MOST, of the weight of the book is carried by the illustrations. And Clarion had the great good sense to hook THUNDER-BOOMER! up with Carol Thompson-a truly talented and knowledgeable illustrator.

Carol’s use of drippy gray watercolors, collage, and pencil over textures brings the storm to life. And the pale pale green of the after-math—my favorite spread—is picture perfect. In fact, most of the reviews speak to Carol’s inspired illustrations. Thanks, Carol!!!

Enjoy,

Shutta

Several friends have sent links to this wonderful video of the song AFRICA. It starts with creating the sound effects of a rain storm. Click here or on the sidebar. I can just see doing this with a whole group of kids! Music teachers?

The rock band Toto scored their biggest hit with this song in 1982. 

But it has been reinvented. Perpetuum Jazzile is an a cappella jazz choir from Slovenia. Group members simulate an African thunderstorm with their hands.

Turn up the volume to high …. and close your eyes!  Be patient as it starts softly before the vol really picks up. Enjoy!

Ciao!

Shutta

Click here for some great thunder sound effects!

(*Clip art by: http://www.designedtoat.com)

I have a wonderful little thunder stick I take with me when I visit schools. Many teachers and families have asked about where to get one. Below are some links and photos. I like getting a nice array of instruments together to make storm sounds and then read THUNDER-BOOMER! I point to each child to indicate when he/she is to play his/her instrument. I’m sure an upturned bucket would also suffice for thunder. But the thunder tube is so much more unexpected and exciting. They come in various sizes and are fairly inexpensive. And the frogs are fun, too. Enjoy!

For the rain: rainsticks. Available at:

amazon.com

musiciansfriend.com

For the thunder: thunder tubes/sticks. Available at:

amazon.com 

teachersource.com

For the hail: clappers, jingles, tambourines, shakers, gourd rattles. Make your own, or many inexpensive ones are available at:

musiciansfriend.com

For the frog/toad sounds after the rain: percussive frogs. Available at:

amazon.com

teachersource.com

Enjoy your classroom thunder storms!!

Shutta

I was reminded that the 2009 Bulwer-Lytton winners had recently been announced. I always enjoy these each year. This is the annual contest for the worst opening line (Since 1983). It is named after Edward George Bulwer-Lytton who wrote the famous opening phrase that Snoopy used so often: “It was a dark and stormy night . . .”  [Paul Clifford, 1830].

If you get a chance check out the winners for this year at http://bulwer-Lytton.com .

One of my favs was the romance winner:

Melinda woke up suddenly to the sound of her trailer being pounded with wind and hail, and she couldn’t help thinking that if she had only put her prized hog up for adoption last May, none of this would be happening, no one would have gotten hurt, and she wouldn’t be left with only nine toes, or be living in a mobile home park in Nebraska with a second-rate trapeze artist named Fred.  (by Ada Marie Finkel. Boston, MA)

HAH! (But it does make you want to keep reading, doesn’t it?)

Entries are taken all year long for the next batch of winners, so why not contribute if you’ve got a sentence that just isn’t working? Make it as awful as you can . . . who knows, you might be one of next year’s winners. And teachers, have your students–just for a fun respite from studying good writing—try writing the worst sentence they can. Have some samples of purple prose around, or first lines from genre fiction for them to imitate.

Have fun!

                                 Ciao,

Shutta

Congratulations to my friend Jacqui Robbins who was feted and cheered by an audience of cupcake smeared admirers. (The cupcakes were good!) But her second book, TWO OF A KIND (Illustrated by Matt Phelan. Published by Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, 2009), is even better than bright blue and green cupcakes! It has just taken its first steps out into the world, and what a sensitive and honest book it is!

Jacqui has just the right touch and is in tune with the tragedies of life in early elementary school. Join me in welcoming this new book. (Click on the photo in the sidebar, to be taken to an independent bookstore where you may order Jacqui’s book.) In addition, check out her funny blog at: http://jacquirobbins.blogspot.com . 

And in case you missed it . . . here is Jacqui’s first book, THE NEW GIRL . . . AND ME.  You teachers, listen up!  Jacqui’s books are spot-on for use in the early elementary classroom. She handles the problems of bullies, and new students with a knowing touch.

Enjoy!

Shutta

I kept this link to pass on to others. It’s Writer’s Digest annual listing of the 101 best websites for writers. Check it out! This listing/edition of the magazine is always one of my favorites.

I often find handy sites and apps to use, including Windows Live Writer–the software I am using at the moment. I use it to write and edit my blog entries. It’s free, and easier to use than the blogging editor that came with my site.

So check out the new listing at: http://writersdigest.com/article/101-websites-2009. 

Enjoy,

Shutta

Tanya Lee Stone has another wonderful work of nonfiction out, ALMOST ASTRONAUTS: 13 WOMEN WHO DARED TO DREAM ( Candlewick , 2009). It’s sure to get any thougtful person’s bloomers in a twist and make her want to take to the streets. Tanya writes with passion and precision. Hornbook said of ALMOST ASTRONAUTS, “meticulously researched and thrillingly told.”

Tanya is a well-rounded writer who not only excels in nonfiction (ELIZABETH LEADS THE WAY: ELIZABETH CADY STANTON AND THE RIGHT TO VOTE, and SANDY’S CIRCUS: A STORY ABOUT ALEXANDER CALDER and many others) but also writes riveting fiction such as A BAD BOY CAN BE GOOD FOR A GIRL (Wendy Lamb Books, 2007).

In honor of National Poetry Month here’s a special downloadable poetry tribute to the Mercury 13 women by Tanya Lee Stone.  Enjoy! I did.

Happy April!

Ciao,

Shutta