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Entries Accepted for The Growing up Asian in America Contest~ ongoing until Mar 10, San Francisco, CA, USA

2011 PBBY-Alcala Prize~ submissions accepted until Mar 30, Philippines

Sun Gallery’s Twenty-second Annual Children’s Book Illustrator Exhibit~ ongoing until Apr 16, Hayward, CA, USA

15th Annual Writing for Children Competition~ submissions accepted until Apr 24, Canada

The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature Exhibit: Anita Lobel – All the World’s a Stage~ ongoing until May 28, Abilene, TX, USA

Look! The Art of Australian Picture Books Today~ ongoing until May 29, Melbourne, Australia

The Art Institute of Chicago Exhibit: Real and Imaginary: Three Latin American Artists – Raúl Colón, David Diaz and Yuyi Morales~ ongoing until May 29, Chicago, IL, USA

Animal Fair: Birds, Beasts, and Bugs in Children’s Book Illustrations~ ongoing until Jun 5, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

Seven Stories (the National Home of Children’s Books in Britain) Events~ Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

International Youth Library Exhibits~ Munich, Germany

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Exhibits~ Amherst, MA, USA

Dromkeen National Centre for Picture Book Art Exhibits~ Riddells Creek, Australia

Mirror, an Exhibition by Children’s Author and Artist Jeannie Baker~ Australia

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Events

New Zealand Book Month

Read Across America Day~ Mar 2, USA

Over the past year we have blogged about children reading aloud to dogs and about Ethiopia Reads’ donkey-drawn libraries but here is a first: children reading with donkeys.  To celebrate National Storytelling Week in the United Kingdom, The Donkey Sanctuary,  will be opening its doors to local groups and schools for storytelling sessions in the company of the donkeys!  Emma Foster reports:

The sanctuary’s education and activities team will be bringing donkey-related children’s stories to life with the assistance of puppets and props. During each session the children will have a refreshment break and then take part in donkey walking and grooming around the barns.

Janice Aherne, education and activities manager, said: “We are thrilled to be taking part in National Storytelling Week. It will give our staff the chance to put into practice their recently acquired skills following training from a professional storyteller.

“Our donkeys always enjoy playing to an audience and we can’t wait to share stories and puppet shows with the children.”

Places are limited so booking is essential, the charity said. There is no charge for groups attending, however donations to the sanctuary are welcome.

For more information click here.

The Donkey Sanctuary aims to protect donkeys and mules and promote their welfare worldwide. Every year on March 20th, The Donkey Sanctuary celebrates World Storytelling Day by working with children throughout the world, using stories and discussions, to encourage better attitudes to donkey welfare.

Photo credit: Ethiopa Reads’ Donkey Drawn Library

A global celebration of the art of oral storytelling, World Storytelling Day is celebrated every year on the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, the autumn equinox in the southern. World Storytelling Day’s goal is to get everyone, everywhere to tell and listen to stories and to share their experiences.

The germ of World Storytelling Day originated in Sweden, with an event called “Alla berattares dag” (All Storytellers’ Day), which took place on March 20, 1991. The idea of honoring oral storytelling with a special day caught on over time, spreading to other Scandinavian countries as well as to Australia, North and South America. (For a complete history of its development, see here).

Growing in popularity every year, this now truly global celebration counts with the participation of over 25 countries from 5 different continents. The theme for this year’s World Storytelling Day is “DREAMS.” So dream big, and share your plans/results with us!

For more details and a calendar of storytelling events happening around the world, visit the website. Our thanks to Swedish storyteller Mats Rehnman for providing us with the World Storytelling Day logo.

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Shanghai International Literacy Festival~ Mar 1 - 15, Shanghai, China

The Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival~ Mar 2 - 12, Hong Kong

Adelaide Festival Awards For Literature Winners Announced~ Mar 2, Adelaide, Australia

Growing Up Asian in America Art & Essay Contest for Youth~ entry deadline Mar 6, San Francisco, CA, USA

World Book Day~ Mar 6, United Kingdom and Ireland

The 12th Annual Charlotte S. Huck Children’s Literature Festival~ Mar 7 - 8, Redlands, CA, USA

Masak-Masak: A Potluck of Delectable Stories from Around the World~ Mar 8, Singapore

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Winner Announced~ Mar 12, Vimmerby, Sweden

World Storytelling Day~ Mar 20

World Poetry Day~ Mar 21

Harmony Day~ Mar 21, Australia

Bangkok International Book Fair~ Mar 26 - Apr 7, Bangkok, Thailand

The Toronto Festival of Storytelling~ Mar 28 - Apr 6, Toronto, ON, Canada

Storylines Margaret Mahy Award Lecture~ Mar 29, Pakuranga, New Zealand

Tom Fitzgibbon Award and Joy Cowley Award Winners Announced~ Mar 29, Pakuranga, New Zealand

Bologna Children’s Book Fair~ Mar 31 - Apr 3, Bologna, Italy

Hans Christian Anderson Awards Announced~ Mar 31, Bologna, Italy

Good Morning:

I've just spent the morning listing and marketing on Ebay and Etsy. Not my favorite way to spend my glorious morning time, but it's a chore that must be done....so, it is done!!

With spring rolling smoothly along, and summer quickly coming upon us, I find myself looking forward to long days and bar-b-ques. With Memorial Day right around the corner, we have already planned the yearly grill with our neighbors across the street. Ava is working on the menu today and all will be well planned long before the charcoal is lit.

The menu is yummy, but somewhat predictible. Hamburgers and Hot Dogs, Chili, homemade Guacamole, lots of Salsa, dips and chips. I always try to include a few healthy items, corn on the cob and raw vegetables, although I am most likely the only person that grabs for these items first!! A big bar-b-que is never a healthy, meal, but it sure is good for the soul!! We look forward to our Memorial Day bar-b-que each year, although we never do anything outstandingly superb. We just hang out together and eat and gab.

You see, although the kids and teens that attend this traditional dinner don't consciously realize it, they are making memories. Through the act of having this celebration each and every year, we are concocting images that the kids will pull from as they grow older. Just as I remember my dad mowing the lawn, and my mom canning plum jelly on hot summer days, the kids who attend our annual bar-b-que will look back to these yearly and somewhat predictible dinners shared with friends.

As I have grown older, I have the luxury of wisdom!! I know that what my children and my neighbor's children are looking at as "just another Memorial Day bar-b-que", will, in their future, become breathable and almost touchable memories that will tug on their heart and bring joy and comfort to their lives.

I'm not really sure why I'm blogging about Memorial Day already. It doesn't seem appropriate yet, does it? I should have waited until next week, but for whatever reason, it's fresh on my mind today. Most likely because we are planning the menu and it is at the forefront of my mind.
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Here's the latest collage print I've listed in My Etsy Shop. It's called "Prince Roger's Garden"


The gorgeous little baby portraying Prince Roger is a vintage photo of my cousin Roger. His pictures fascinated me when I was a little girl browsing through the family "box of pictures". He's quite a lot older than I am, so I saw him as a baby, only in photos. His eyes are a spooky-ish light blue and his hair, jet black. I was so happy to come across this picture a couple of years ago in my mom's old photos. I just knew I had to use it. (It's a scanned image, of course. I never cut photos). So, I crowned him "Prince Roger" and put him in my garden.

Until Tomorrow:
Kim
Garden Painter Art
gnarly-dolls
Kim's Kandid Kamera