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Although not the best photo’s, I just had to capture this moment. When Ned saw that his little sister was on my bed he made a dash for his bookshelf to choose some stories to read to her. He realised that he had a captive audience in Tess but boy did she love it.

Around the same time I took these photo’s I had also read an incredible article on The Guardian website by Sarah Franklin about reading aloud to her blind grandfather. The article is emotional and really made me think again about the joy that reading aloud can bring to both children and adults. Often reading aloud to children can become just part of a routine, just a way to get them to bed at night.  But when you are really in the moment there is nothing nicer than sharing a story with the ones you love and that was what Ned was doing when he went to find some of his favourite books to read to his new little sister.

It was delightful to see Tess at just three months watching her brother adoringly as just listening to his voice reading the Max and Ruby story was bliss to her. I was so proud to hear him reading to her as his dad or I would, using tone and expression, playing up the entertaining storyline. He has found the joy in reading aloud and also appreciates that listening to a story read aloud is enjoyable and comforting.

There are two amazing books written about reading aloud – Reading Magic by Mem Fox and The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. Both these books are excellent resources for encouraging children to read themselves as well as how to get the most joy out of reading aloud to them.

On reading to adults, there is a gorgeous collection that was released last year called A Little, Aloud, compiled by Angela Macmillan. The book has a blog here , it truly is very special.

Copyright 1990 by Tomie dePaola. From the book My First Easter

Katie and I would like to wish you all a very happy and safe Easter and ANZAC day.

We apologise for that our blog posts have been a little quiet over the last couple of weeks but we promise we will be back bigger than ever after the Easter break. There are exciting things going on in We Heart Books land, including some new projects and for me a new addition to the family – little Tess pictured here with her, very excited, big brother Ned….

Our boutique little book store is still going strong and you can have a look at the gorgeous stock here or why not follow us on Facebook, where we share some cool links to other blogs and also have some special offers for the We Heart Books store.

Please excuse my dodgy phone camera work here….Since attending childcare this year Ned loves holding his own story times in his ‘book corner’. Today he pulled up his little cane chair and began reading Baby Boomsticks to an audience of a ‘Wonky Donkey’, two matchbox cars and a plastic toy from the bath all lined up on the suitcase at his feet.  

I couldn’t help but giggle, I love his play acting and I love that he thinks he should share his love of books with his toys – even if they are a rather mottled bunch.

My beautiful book eating boy has just turned three and reveled in celebrations this week with a stamina that has been hard to keep up with.

I still have a fair way to go in terms of party organisation but I did manage to make some cute bunting for decoration out of some old Golden Books….

We have recently moved house and I found a great local OP shop that has a large collection of Golden Books all shelved together. They were in varing degrees of quality, some with sticky pages and others with scribble, so I didn’t feel to bad cutting them up for flags. As Golden Books are all pretty much the same size and format they are very easy to cut from one template and then I glued them onto some yellow ric rac.

We also had Ned’s favourite food - popcorn in these gorgeous bags I ordered from Etsy seller HeyYoYo 

and cute little tiger and panda decorations ordered online from My Poppet… 

And of course he did get some fabulous books which I will tell all about soon.

My favourite book of 2008 is still a favourite.

Isn’t this little guy gorgeous? It’s an image from the picture book Harry and Horsie due in Australia in November.

I’m going to get it for Ned for Christmas. You can have a little peek inside on the Harper Collins US website and it is one of the most gorgeous things I’ve ever seen. The illustrations are so funky, I’m thinking I’d like to frame them up for Ned’s walls.

Harry is a little boy who undertakes a deep space adventure with his trusty toy Horsie, who he never goes anywhere without.

Ned is so keen on Space and stars and also has his pal ‘Hutchy’ who goes everywhere with him so this book sounds quite appropriate.

The Harry and Horsie story started out as a homemade gift from a nanny, Katie Van Camp for a little boy called Harry who is actually the son of David Letterman. Have a look at the gorgeous website for the book here.

If you know a 2 to 5 year old Harry, this just has to be the perfect gift!

Angelina Ballerina visited our house today as captured on mobile phone camera above. I have had the ears for years but today Ned decided he quite liked them, although he has put them on backwards.

To top off the day when I told him it was dinner time he answered “No mummy, I’m reading”!

We love irreverent picture books in our house because we can all have a laugh together. While at the beach over the weekend we bought a copy of Peek A Poo What’s In Your Nappy? by Guido Van Genechten because while we were in the shop Ned’s dad and I couldn’t stop giggling so we just knew Ned would like it too.

The main character is a mouse who is very inquisitive and decides that he would like to discover what is in each of his friends pants. The friends have nappies that are lift the flap so that when Mouse asks if he can have a look, it’s the reader who can reveal what is in the nappy! We see rabbit has seven pellets, dog has a poo with a pointy end, cow has ‘One Big fresh cow pat’ etc

Besides the fact that we all find it terribly funny there is actually a message in the madness. When his friends ask Mouse what is his nappy he proudly shows them that it is empty.

Mouse does his poo in the potty, he shows his friends and then they all want to have a go. Ned has related really well to the story both for it’s humerous style and also for it’s practical description of both what is in the nappies and about going to the toilet. He doesn’t like going to the potty at all but will sit on the toilet and I think he thinks that they are one in the same anyway.

Like Katie’s post about potty training books I liked this book because no one used the potty as a hat and although the Mouse likes to look in the nappy of his friends there is no playing with the contents!  The illustrations are great and it is fun to read aloud - a little gem of a book.

We took a lovely trip to the beach this weekend and enjoyed the sunshine while it lasted, walking along the pier, spotting whales, running in the park and buying too many gorgeous things at Lorne Beach Books!

Ned really enjoyed having the three of us sitting in the sun on Saturday afternoon and reading one of his favorites Imagine by Alison Lester.

I have always loved Lauren Child but Ned has suddenly fallen in love with Charlie and Lola or Charlielola (all one word) as he calls them. We need to read the books every night now and I have discovered the joys of reading Lauren Child’s original books rather than the TV adaptation books. Has anyone else found them awkward to read?

For Christmas we gave Ned a baby doll. His Granny and I spent ages in the doll isle at Kmart inspecting every doll until we came across one that we thought looks suitably like a real baby. Ned has always been fascinated by babies and the local health nurse had suggested getting a doll as a nice way to instill gentle, caring behaviour in children.  Ned christened the doll ‘Bubba’ and now Bubba goes many places with us in the stroller and gets lots of kisses and cuddles.

Yesterday while walking home from a trip to the park Ned held baby the whole way, cradling it in his arms and even holding it’s hand and gentling stroking it with his thumb, like I do to him when I hold his hand. He then eventually feel asleep still holding his baby.

It reminded me of a picture book I had once come across on the net and must track down. The book is called William’s Doll written by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Pene du Bois, published in 1973.

The book begins;

“William wanted a doll.
 He wanted to hug it
and cradle it in his arms…”

William’s brother and the neighbours call him a sissy for wanting a doll and his father buys him all sorts of ‘boy’ toys, which he likes but he’d still like a doll. His Grandma comes to visit and she buys him a doll and explains to his father…

“so that when he’s a father like you, 
he’ll know how to take care of his baby 
and feed him 
and love him 
and bring him the things he wants, 
like a doll so that he can 
practice being a father. “

That sounds a bit harsh but good on Charlotte Zolotow for creating such a lovely picture book in a time when the concept was possibly controversial. Is it still controversial? We would love to hear from you who know this picture book and of others that challenge traditional gender roles.

Although Ned has a plethora of trains and trucks and ‘boy’ things, I’m glad that he has chosen to also nurture and care for ’Bubba’.

William’s Doll was also made into a short film, it’s quite cute -  you can see a clip of it over at good old Youtube.

||William’s Doll is available from Amazon||

 © 2008, Ward Jenkins.

I can’t stay away from Etsy. Beautiful Bookgirl is by Ward Jenkins who blogs here and whose Etsy store is here. Also check out his amazing Flickr group Retro Kid which is a collection of the funkiest children book art from the mid-1940’s through the mid-1960’s.

And here’s a Bookboy - not available from Etsy (although sometimes it’s tempting to sell him). Reading a retro Golden Book called Fury in the car. 

I have never met anyone, child or adult, that hasn’t adored The Jolly Postman or Other People’s Letters. First published in 1986, Janet and Allan Ahlberg created one of the best known and most popular children’s books ever. Together they created the concept of combining text with real letters to be opened and read within a picture book. 

Once upon a bicycle, So they say,

A Jolly Postman came one day, From the hills And far away..

With a letter for the Three Bears.

The story follows the lovely ‘jolly’ postman as he delivers letters to familiar fairytale characters. Mr and Mrs Bear receive a sincere apology letter from Goldilocks, Cinderella gets a sample from the Royal Publisher of the book they have created to celebrate her marriage to the Prince and the wolf dressed as ‘grandma’ gets a letter from Little Red Riding-Hood’s solicitors demanding a cease in harassment. The humor in this book is fantastic and it works for so many age levels - little ones like the gorgeous illustrations and the familiarity of the characters and older children and adults can enjoy the very clever puns.

In an article in the Guardian in 2006, Allan Ahlberg explained that the concept had been born from his 2-year-old daughter Jessie’s fascination for opening their mail. I can really relate to this at the moment because Ned just loves posting letters as well as opening them. As it was his birthday recently I really noticed the excitement that he had from opening birthday cards and he was just as excited about the cards as he was about the presents.

Actually does the excitement of receiving mail ever go away? Well maybe not getting bills! I LOVE coming home to find a parcel, a magazine, a pretty catalogue or a postcard in the mail!

This week I came across a simply beautiful post on the blog Oh, hello friend that mentioned author Danni’s love for the Postman books. This week she had created her own envelope book for her partner, here are some gorgeous photos…

Have a look at Danni’s post for more photos and read about her memories of the Postman books.

I was thinking about how lovely it would be to create a book like this for or with a child.

||The Jolly Postman or Other People’s Letters available online from Readings||

One of the things I love about going on outings with Ned is watching the way he interacts with other children, and adults for that matter. He is a very social little boy, it’s part of his personality but I think it is part of all children to be really open to meeting new people and making friends.

I love observing Ned watching other children and I can often see in his eyes the hope that they will notice him and talk to him, not in a sad way, just a hopeful, inquisitive way. He is never afraid to inch closer to another child and quietly join in to a game or garbled conversation.

Recently I have taken my favorite picture book about friendship off the shelf and I hope to start reading it to Ned soon.  Leon and Bob by Simon James is a simple but really powerful picture book and one that won my heart the instant I read it.

Leon has moved house; he lives with his mum and his dad is away in the army.  Leon is lonely so he creates Bob, an imaginary friend who only he can see.

‘He always walked to school with Bob.
He always had Bob to talk to.’

On Saturday Leon looks to the house next door and he sees a new family moving in and a boy just like him. Leon keeps thinking about the boy and decides in the morning to visit the boy but only if Bob goes too.

But Bob leaves Leon just as he is about to ring the door bell and Leon must summon up his courage to do it alone.

‘Leon rang the bell and waited.
The door opened.
“Hello,” said the boy.’

The ending to this beautiful picture book is just gorgeous as Leon makes a ‘real’ friend and guess what his ‘real’ friend’s name is…?

Simon James’ watercolour-and-ink illustrations are simply divine, his characters and settings are so realistic. I adore his use of light in the illustrations and the shadows that his characters cast. There is an image of Leon walking up the steps to the neighbour’s house - the steps and the house seem so huge and Leon so small with his little shadow beside him on the stairs. The elongated format of the picture book also helps give that sense of being small and longing.

Just like what I see in Ned’s eyes though, the story is not sad - it is happy and hopeful. The endpapers sum up the story perfectly, at the front of the book the park that spreads over the double page is quiet and empty and on the last double spread Leon and his new friend are playing soccer, gleeful to have found each other.

Simon James has written and illustrated many critically acclaimed beautiful picture books, he has a fantastic website which contains many of his lovely illustrations and a bio. I love this quote…

“Watching children draw, it is easy to see drawing as a natural joy, well beyond criticism or judgement. It’s a kind of conversation with one’s self.
Drawing is good for you.”

There are some really gorgeous picture books about friendship and I have many more favorites that I will write about over the next couple of weeks. But now I’m off to admire my Stephanie Meyer boxset that arrived from the US today - yippee!

||Leon and Bob is published by Walker Books in Australia||

When Ned was born his dad insisted we get a copy of Bears In The Night because he remembered it from when he was little.

Bears in the Night is one of the Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners series written by Stan and Jan Berenstain. There’s not much to this skinny little book but Ned’s dad can remember it word for word. The text is great because it matches exactly what is happening in the illustration and is repetitious which aids children in memorising the story - one of the first steps to reading. There are only 24 words used in the story but repeated over and over and over again.

There is also an exciting build up as the bears sneak out of bed late at night - what’s going to happen? - and then a big BOOO and back you go through the text until the bears are safe in bed again. It is quite fun to read aloud as you can use lots of different tones and speeds with your voice.

There are now so many Berenstain Bears books in print I’ve lost count (I think there are over 250),  although I do remember the favourite of my brother and I was The Bike Lesson. The Bears now have their own TV series and website.

Last week Chelsea left a lovely comment about a photo of Ned and his bookshelves. She asked to see some long shots of the shelves which by the way are from Ikea (Expedit). We have one large one and a small one in Ned’s room and another large in our living room, all in white. Because we live in a unit we don’t have a lot of room but I have found these shelves really handy for ALL our books (although I still have boxes full in the garage) and also great because they are really deep so you can also display your trinkets.

Please excuse the photography, here are some shots from Ned’s room…

Charlie, sans Lola who is visiting a friend…

Horton Hears a Who…

So many books, so little time…

I like to display some favorite books standing so they are more like an artwork…

One of the other great things about these shelves is that there is plenty of room to display things on top…

Ned also has books on the shelves in our living room, it’s where we keep the up to the minute favorites and Ned loves sorting through them everyday. That’s when they end up like this…

Ned’s dad just commented tonight after he had shelved everything that Ned loves to look at them all neatly lined up and then he systematically chooses the ones he wants off again.

If you want to see a really cool use of the Expedit have a look at this post on Ohdeedoh and then you can follow the links to Super*Junk’s Flickr Stream.

Further to Katie’s post on the Moomin fabric which is divine, I have to share my favorite fabric which I bought off ebay when Ned was born. It is Little Prince fabric but the Japanese Little Prince not the French one! I didn’t even know there was a Japanese version until I saw this fabric and fell in love with it. I have stretched it over an artist’s canvas and it hangs over Ned’s cot.

I have searched for more but never found it. Maybe someone out there knows where to get more?

And here is a shot of Ned, the little bookworm, in his room perusing his bookshelf while his dad took photos of the fabric for the blog.

Ned and I bought this wonderful book last week and it is officially our favorite picture book of 2008. Cheeky Monkey is the new book written by Andrew Daddo and illustrated by Emma Quay, the team that also created the beautiful Goodnight Me.

Cheeky Monkey is one of those books that just grabs you from the first moment you pick it off the shelf. It gave me that little skip in the heart beat I get when I see something really beautiful.

The little boy Emma has created in this book instantly reminded me of Ned. He has the same beautiful toddler expressions that Ned has that make me ache with love for him. I adore how the character wraps his little leg around his dad as they get in the shower and how he leaps from the high chair for a cuddle just like Ned does.

Andrew Daddo’s text in this book is just simple and beautiful to read aloud. He uses all those funny little sayings that we all find ourselves using around little ones, well I do anyway. Silly Billy, Lucky Duck, Funny Bunny and of course Cheeky Monkey are all in there and leaving the most important till last, a big “I Love You!”

Goodnight Me was Andrew and Emma’s first picture book together and is also magic. Hear Andrew Daddo read their beautiful book here and you will fall in love with it too. On each page the little Orangutan baby says goodnight to a body part, reading this aloud is almost like a meditation, it is soft and lyrical making it perfect for bedtime. Emma’s illustrations are again incredible as she makes this little ape look so cuddly, he is a lovely fuzzy orange gangly creature against a stunning purple background that just makes the book so warm and inviting.

I have given Goodnight Me many times as a gift to little friends and also to one of my best girlfriends who has trouble sleeping. The other day some friends showed me their copy that I had given their little girl Amelie when she was born, much sticky tape had been used to repair the well loved pages as she and her little sister Olivia had wanted it read over and over again at bedtime.

Andrew and Emma obviously make a great team as they have created two instant classics and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

We Are Wearing Out the Naughty Step

This is the gorgeous description of the book from the UK Hodder Children’s Publishing website….

‘We are wearing out the Naughty Step - I lost the school hamster, and Josh fed the elephant the wrong way and we made the dog into a panda… Mummy is not happy… but the day she makes Kevin a chocolate birthday cake is the day that ALL of us, including Mummy, end up on the Naughty Step!’

This reminds me of a 30 degree day earlier this year when I made four batches of Nigella’s Cupcakes before one turned out edible! I really needed a spell on the naughty step when I literally had a meltdown over blue and yellow cupcakes. So I definitely know how ‘Mummy’ in the book feels.

This gorgeous new book points out one of the great hypocrisies of childhood, should mummies and daddies be banished to the naughty step too? Because we can all lose our temper can’t we?

Mick Inkpen is one of the most popular picture book writers and illustrators in the world. His Kipper and Wibbly Pig stories have sold millions of copies worldwide. Kipper alone has sold over 6 million books and is this year turning 18 years old. Like Nick Butterworth, Mick Inkpen has a graphic design background so he also places his characters in the middle of crisp white pages which makes the books really enjoyable for toddlers because they can really focus on the character. All of Mick’s characters are irresistible and later this year he will launch a new series based on the enthusiastic Zebra that features in Kipper’s A to Z.

When I did my post on my Owl Obsession fellow blogger Annie from anniesorganics mentioned that her son loves Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and illustrated by Patrick Benson.

Ned also loves Owl Babies especially when I read it aloud and do different voices for owl siblings Sarah, Percy and Bill. When the owlets awake to find their mummy gone the two older owls decide that she is out hunting and will be back soon but every time they come up with a reason as to why mum is not there Bill gets more and more anxious repeating “I want my mummy”. Bill is great fun to read aloud because you can put on a very sad voice that really keeps Ned’s attention and he thinks is very funny.

Finally mummy arrives back at the nest, swooping through the night for cuddles with the babies. This is a particularly good concept for Ned at present as he is starting to fret a little when I leave him but I want him to know that I am always coming back to get him.

Patrick Benson’s illustrations for this book are amazing, his artwork makes it so you can almost reach out and stroke the tiny fluffy owlets. He gives each owl a personality and their wide little eyes are adorable, toddlers like Ned can see themselves in the owls with their wonder of the big wide world but also feeling slightly scared of it.

Owl Babies makes a lovely bedtime story too as it explains to children that you will always be there for them, it’s very comforting. Simply written and with not to much text Owl Babies so it is perfect for the very young and is even available in board book for them to look at and hold themselves.

As I made clear in my post, Strike, I support the WGA, the strike, and writers being paid fairly for their work.

I'd like to point out a few things:

Looking to offer support as a fan? Go check out fans4writers. I love it when the fans show this type of support! Yes, we don't want our shows to end... but c'mon, you know you're viewing episodes online. I know I am. Why shouldn't the writers get paid for that?

I was directed to fans4writers by a blog reader, Miss Kate (who, sadly, operates under the delusion that Colby Granger is her TV boyfriend. Silly girl, he's mine!)

Miss Kate explains, "Fans4writers.com started the day that the Writers Guild Association went on strike as a way for fans to support the writers of their favorite TV shows, and feature films. Originally, it was just to deliver pizza on the picket line for writers associated with Joss Whedon's shows, but it has evolved into a larger, umbrella organization that wants to provide information, resources and ways to help the writers as they picket."

She continues, "Fans4Writers own programs are Food for Thought through which they will organize food for each picket location at least once a week and the Postcard Protest. Using their forums, you can also find more show-specific ideas for supporting the writers that are organized by other fan groups. Fans4writers is committed to providing support through morale boosting activities, protests to networks and advertisers and educating others about the strike for its duration."

Where do you think the funny lines, the intriguing plots, the characters come from?

THE WRITERS. And what recognition do they get? What respect? Hell, even when I do my Buffy Quote of the Day I don't say, Joss Whedon wrote this, or Jane Espenson, or Tim Minear (oh, that's Angel. Sorry.) And these are the people who make the magic possible.

Stop thinking short term; stop thinking, oh, I want my show back on. Think, I want my show back on because the writers are being treated fairly.

YA Authors who support the WGA:

John Green
Justine Larbelestier
Celise Downs
Holly Black

Kidlitosphere Bloggers who support the WGA:

Apocatastasis
From the Shattered Drum
Gotta Book


Yes, I know I missed a bunch, and I'm sorry; add links in the comments. Next week I'll edit this to add you. In the meanwhile, after I pack, I'm off to NYC!

The Writers Guild of America is on strike; their contract expired October 31, 2007.

Why are they striking? It's a brave new world; how we get our television has changed since the days of rabbit ears and a handful of stations. And, in a nutshell, the TV writers are saying, they want their fair share of the profits from their work product.

And all I have to say is ... four cents for each DVD sold? I'm shocked.

Jeff Gottesfeld kindly agreed to answer some questions for Pop (and agreed for this to be cross posted at Tea Cozy.) Those of you who read YA literature or watch daytime TV may be nodding your heads, recognizing his name. With his wife Cherie Bennett, is the associate head writer of The Young and the Restless on CBS. They are members of the Writers Guild of America (East) and are currently on strike. Working in TV, film (Broken Bridges), young adult fiction (Anne Frank and Me, Life in the Fat Lane, and A Heart Divided), adult fiction (Turn Me On, wring as Cherie Jeffrey ), as well as various other rumored pseudonymous projects, and stage (Reviving Ophelia, Searching for David's Heart), they live in Los Angeles with their son.

Liz B: I have to confess, one of my first reactions to the strike was selfish, oh, no, but my shows! Followed by, ah well, time to catch upon DVD watching. But then I wondered, hey, do the people who contributed to making the DVD get a fair share? (Seriously, even before the strike, I've wondered if the only people making money are the production company.)

I am also one of those people who think being a TV writer must be made of awesome. So, as I write these question, I'm both curious, and also a bit of a fangirl.

For the layperson, can you explain what exactly why the WGA (Writers Guild of America) decided to strike?

Jeff: Let me start with a caveat: I am not a member of my union's negotiating committee, and my understanding of these issues are a layman's understanding. The WGA offices in Los Angeles or New York, and particularly their websites http://www.wgaw.org/ and http://www.wgaeast.org/, have more and better details than I could possibly provide here.

The WGA decided to strike because the only thing that would be worse than striking would be not to strike. We came to this decision with the greatest of reluctance, when it became apparent to our negotiating team that the AMPTP (Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers), the major-producers consortium with whom we negotiate our writers' deal every three years, was not willing to tackle in good faith our major issue: what to do about payments to writers for materials streamed or downloaded on the Internet. We took important contract proposal after contract proposal off the table in an effort to create negotiating movement, as late as six hours before the strike deadline. We got nowhere.

Liz B: Which networks are affected? Not to be silly, but being as I have BBC America (yay Torchwood!) and watch DeGrassi (Canadian) on Nick at Night, I just wondered if all TV shows are covered or not.) What writing is affected?

Jeff: Our strike runs against WGA signatory companies, of which there are a few hundred. Not only does it cover the major TV networks and movie studios, but also a plethora of production companies. We had to put our pencils, pens, and computer keyboards down.

Scripts in development that had been acquired or optioned have to be shelved until the end of the strike. For us, Cherie and I wrote The Young and the Restless script #8796, which airs on the day before Christmas, and submitted it just before the strike deadline. A few more hours would have sunk that script. Not only that, writers can't negotiate with a struck company. We've had to tell our agents to stop. Here are the full strike rules: http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2493 They are extensive.

Here's what is largely affected on the TV side: scripted material that has yet to be written. Sitcoms, late-night TV, Saturday Night Live, Heroes, daytime dramas like our own The Young and the Restless, etc. Animation depends on whether the contact is with a Guild signatory. The WGA press office can give you more particulars on all these details. Canadian writers have been told to put down their pens on all the USA work. British shows are not affected. Nor are shows that have already been filmed, nor shows for which scripts were finished before the strike deadline. DeGrassi is safe; at least those episodes have already been filmed.

Liz B: What is the current contract (if any) for streaming media and DVD sales?

Jeff: DVDs. Currently, writers get four cents US for each DVD that is sold. That's split amongst the writers of the episodes on that DVD, remember, if it's a television compilation like Lost. This is a small fraction of the cost of the DVD. We'd like to see that increased, but the DVD proposal was reportedly one of those that we would have been willing to shelve had the producers been forthcoming on the new media side.

On streaming videos? We get zip. Zero. Nada. Our dear friends at Heroes (we know a couple of the writers from our Smallville days) get to see their shows streamed at abc.com, complete with commercials. There have reportedly been 90 million (no, that is not a misprint!) downloads. Know what the writers get? Zero. If they got a a tenth of a penny per download -- a tenth of a penny! -- that would be $90,000.

What we're looking for, as the distinction between broadcast and broadband whittles down to zero, is this: if the producers make money, then the writers ought to participate.

Liz B: Do the writers get anything for shows made before DVD or Internet technology was available?

Jeff: Answer: yes. That's the basis of our whole residuals structure. Every time that an episode of, say, Smallville is rebroadcast on television, the writer gets a certain payment as residuals. Those episodes of I Love Lucy that are shown on Nick at Night? Residuals. These residuals are the difference for many writers between financial disaster and a middle-class lifestyle. As the move to content delivery shifts to broadband, this classic residual structure will melt away.

Liz B: I watch reality TV, from Amazing Race to Kid Nation to Survivor. Are those writers covered by the WGA?

Jeff: For the most part, no. And we'd like to have them. Big time. Don't let anyone tell you differently: these producers are writers.

Liz B: What's a fan to do? What's a fan to do? Speaking for myself, as someone who loves stories: Hell ya, the writers are important. And as a capitalist, Hell ya, they should be paid fairly for what they do. So, is there anything we can do?

Jeff: First and foremost, understand the stakes of this negotiation, and that the only thing worse for us than striking would be for us to do nothing. For three generations, our union's willingness to sacrifice in the short term for the long term benefit has meant that generations of writers get things basic to so many industries -- health care. A pension fund. A decent wage.

Second, keep half an eye on who the writers are for your fave shows. If you hear that the show has taken on scab writers, stop watching. The good news is, this probably won't happen.

Lastly, it can't hurt to write to the prez of your favorite network and say: "Make a fair deal with the writers. They want to get back to work, and I want quality TV."

For our part, we love writing Y&R. The show has an astonishing history, amazing actors, fine writers, and one of the best production teams I've ever seen. We want to get back to writing it, and to telling the compelling romantic and human stories that have made so many people around the world soap opera watchers for so long. (Take the Jeff and Cherie dare: Watch Y&R for three days, and you'll be hooked for life). We hope that our union and the AMPTP can reach a satisfactory settlement as quickly as possible.

Liz B: Jeff, thank you very much!

And thanks for the ideas of what a fan can do. As I said over at the blog of Gotta Book (by kidlitosphere blogger, poet, and screenwriter Gregory K), I would love a button or banner or some such Internet thingee that said, "this blog supports the WGA strike." Alas, I am not techy enough to do this. Anyone?