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Kids' Caldecott Club is up and running!
In our first session, we talked about the Caldecott award, and about how the Caldecott committee works. We talked about layers, theme, and tone in story, and what we will look for as we hunt for the most distinguished picture books of 2016.
Here's one - Alan's Big Scary Teeth by Jarvis.
I asked the kids to tell me what kind of tone or mood they predicted it might have.
"Funny."
The Tree in the Courtyard by Jeff Gottesfeld, ill. by Peter McCarty
shows a different tone - historical, poignant.
The Night Gardener by the Fan Brothers
feels mysterious and intricate
Henry and Leo by Pamela Zagarienski
has a soft and ethereal mood.
We're starting with about 28 books this year because we only have so much time.
It would be lovely to absolutely roll in a roomful of books, but considering that we are working with after-school hours, 28 books is perfect.
Our wonderful librarian Martha helped as we evaluated two books with our ballots this week.
First, we examined the cover, jacket flaps, endpapers, copyright page.
We looked for interesting notes about the making of the book.
Next, we "read" the pictures all through, page by page, without words.
We searched for themes, color, mood, point of view, excellent details.
Then, I read the book aloud.
We asked ourselves what the book was about.
We asked what else it was about.
We looked for details to support our ideas,
nuances in text and art, in layout, in font.
We asked ourselves if the text and illustrations wove well together, or clashed.
We asked if the book would appeal to kids, if kids would be excited about that book.
We filled out our ballots and put them in their matching envelopes.
Exciting!
Here are the books we examined this week:
We All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel
I'm utterly wowed by the mind-explosions They All Saw a Cat creates.
I love the details our kids' committee noticed -
like balance in layout, patterns in text that echo in the illustrations,
exuberant differences in perspective throughout this book.
Genius!
The Music in George's Head : George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blueby Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Stacy Innerst
Another wowzer!
Kids pointed out that the illustrations are done in browns and blues,
which seemed fitting considering that it's about Rhapsody in Blue.
They liked the playful hand lettering,
and the way the story begins, crescendos, and ends.
We listened to Rhapsody in Blue as we tidied up.
What a jazzy bright delight!
I love my library!
Stay tuned for updates as our Caldecott Club continues.
I'll post notes on our ballot and criteria next time.
If you're a local friend, you're welcome to join us!
We're meeting Thursdays
at the Jefferson County Library in Port Hadlock
from 3:45-4:45 p.m.
See more info
here.Except on Thanksgiving.
That's reserved for the turkey eating club.
It's Mock Caldecott season!
Beginning November 4,
we'll meet Thursdays
at the Jefferson County Library in Port Hadlock,Washington
from 3:45 - 4:45 p.m.
Get ready to be wowed by beautiful reads,
learn about the Caldecott selection process,
grow your critical thinking skills,
and help choose the stand-out picture books of 2016.
Read more about it here.I'm so honored to get to join our stellar children's librarian
Martha Ashenfelter and the Jefferson County Library
for a second helping of Caldecott Soup.
I'll keep you posted on all the book deliciousness!
A few of the books we'll be looking at:
They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel
They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel: I'm wowed by how this book
plays with visual point of view. Clever in the extreme.
The Storyteller by Evan Turk: Set in Morocco, this layer-upon-layer story is intricate and deep. The illustrations are done in ink as well as indigo and sugared green tea. Striking.
Sam and Jump by Jennifer K. Mann: Soft and sweet, this is a poignant book about loss and connection.
There is a Tribe of Kids by Lane Smith: I love how this book deals with the concept of collective nouns simply and efficiently, but the illustrations tell a deeper story.
Ada's Violin by Susan Hood, illustrated by Sally Wern Comport : This is an amazingly uplifting true story that starts in a garbage dump. Gorgeous illustrations!
Before Morning by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes: Here is another beauty with simple text and visual story that begs to be followed again and again.
By:
Faith Pray,
on 9/23/2016
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How do you feel about failure?
This summer, we made chalk paint with cornstarch, food coloring, and water.
Summery delight!
See our driveway canvas?
Little did we know that a thunderstorm brewed two hours away.
All our chalky wonders washed away overnight.
It's that resonance of art and failure that makes us strong, right?
Do you ever wonder if we can learn as much from our flops
- our sloppy first drafts, our rejections, our imperfections -
as from our neat and tidy successes?
I have this thing. This fear of ruining a brand new notebook or sketchbook.
I figure if I'm constantly working at something, then naturally, I'll keep improving.
And when I look at my old notebooks stuffed with terrible first drafts and awkward brainstorms,
I get panicky. What if this first page represents who I am through that entire notebook or sketchbook? Can't it at least start out perfect?
Talk about writer's block, eh?
So, I solved it.
It's my secret to hurdling the fear of failure. (in a notebook.)
I just skip the first page.
Then I'm set. I have a one-page cushion keeping me from a first-page flop.
(Really, it means that the second page becomes the first page, but shhh.)
But really, don't we gain something in being brave with each feeble offering of ourselves?
In truth, even if I jump right into the first page of a notebook and ink it up with a scratchy failure,
actually my "failure" teaches me something, and that becomes growth.
And if that's true, then maybe "failure" isn't so much of a failure.
Maybe the effort of trying something stretches and grows our skills.
And actually, that is beauty right there: being brave.
So, go out and be brave, my friends!
Ruin some second pages.
Scribble your heart out.
Make sloppy chalk paint that gets rained on overnight.
Get all muddy and splash around in those glorious flops.
Chalky books!
Journey by Aaron Becker
Quest by Aaron BeckerChalk by Bill Thomson
Art & Max by David Wiesner
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
Harold's Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Because we like to shoot at least an entire roll of virtual film
on the first day.
No jitters here!
Birdy just wants to meet the classroom bunny!
The fella dealt with his jitters by making faces.
Here's to the firsts in life, my friends -
First grade!
First time in middle school!
First page in a new book!
First scribble in a sketchbook!
First line of a new story!
Here's to all the beauties to discover ahead -
all the joys,
and even more exciting,
all the mistakes around the bend -
the rough starts,
the scribble outs,
the failures
and bad days.
May they grow us kinder, brighter, wiser,
full of grace,
and brave in hope.
Here's to the beginnings in life, my friends!
Here's to joy in all of our seasons,
in all of our chapters.
Here's to each day we get a clean page
and fresh pencils
to make our mark.
Here's to erasers, and forgiveness when we make big, scribbly messes.
Here's to friendship and kindness
and all the beautiful things we pick up along the way.
Books!
Wherever You Go - Pat Zeitlow Miller, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
Atlas of Adventures - illustrated by Lucy Letherland
Zoo ology - Joelle Jolivet
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White, illustrated by Frank Marcellino
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet
Ramona the Brave - by Beverly Cleary
Let them eat cake!
Sweetness from Cafe Pray...
It's always fun to play with noses
on famous art...
They puzzled over my hand-drawn pieces of Picasso's Woman & Bird
and then played "Pin the Nose on the Picasso"
After a scavenger hunt, and treats,
we made wee matchboxes des Paris.
Ah the joys of the small things in life!
Paper. Art-making. A clamor of cousins. Laughter. Balloons.
Joyeux anniversaire! Happy birthday!
Here's to finding joy in the small things and the good things, my friends!
Au revoir!
C'est la belle vie!
Swan song!
Books!
Adele and Simon by Barbara McClintock
The Iridescence of Birds by Partricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Hadley Hooper
Henri's Scissors by Jeanette Winter
A Giraffe Comes to Paris by Mary Tavener Holmes and John Harris, ill. by Jon Cannell
Picasso and the Girl with the Ponytail by Laurence D'Anholt
Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Christian Robinson
By:
Faith Pray,
on 6/27/2016
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A small friend is turning 6 in two weeks.
She lives across the country,
and we can't make it to the luau party.
We can't come for cake and balloons and birthday hugs,
but we can send pineapples
and kitties
and fancy toothpicks.
They're like tiny, paper aloha hugs.
So, in shuttling wildebeests to soccer camp lately,
I have discovered a few good surprises
in being the carpool soccer mom.
Books on CD.
Car-goofy kids.
And sketchbook time
while all my soccer players
do their runs and drills.
Big chunks of sketchbook time
help when working out new ideas.
It's funny that I can sketch happy around a crowd,
but I can't write a drop.
My thoughts turn to stone and my stories sink.
But then, that's kind of a theme for me with words anytime lately.
I know some writers who scribble serious magic
in coffee shops and airplanes.
What about you?
When do you do your deep story work?
Can you create masterpieces with everyone there?
Do you thrive with hum and buzz?
Or do you like a hush when you create?
Wherever you find yourself this week,
I wish you peaceful breezes, sweet surprises, and
aloha.
Books {and CD books} we're enjoying this week:
Captain Cat by Inga Moore
Dream Friends by You Byun
Ling and Ting Share a Birthday by Grace Lin
Ling and Ting: Together in All Weather by Grace Lin
A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz, ill. by Catia Chien
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko
The Cat Who Came in Off the Roof by Annie M. G. Schmidt
It's National Library Week.
How glad I am for libraries this week and always.
How rich it is to have a place to borrow books,
to load up on research, art, music, words, and stories!
How glad I am for the staff at my library,
gracious souls who do not even sniff
when the wildebeests and I emerge
with a mountain of books to take home.
How patient they are with the noise and flamboyance
of kid-ruckus and story hour,
even when small bears and dragons and pirates
weave and wail beyond their story circles.
How perfectly like a matchmaker
is our children's librarian,
always hunting down treasure
to help her patrons fall in love with reading.
Happy Library Week!
Our latest librarian-found treasures:
When Mischief Came To Town by Katrina Nannestad
Hector and Hummingbird by Nicholas John Frith
Tea Party In the Woods by Akiko Miyakoshi
Detective Gordon: the First Case by Ulf Nilsson
Love that Dog by Sharon Creech
Happy birthday, Beverly Cleary.
Thank you for Henry, Ramona, and Beezus.
Thank you for Klickitat Street.
Thank you for your books.
By:
Faith Pray,
on 3/17/2016
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SCBWI's drawing prompt for March is LUCKY.
I got to thinking about luck,
and what it means to me.
With or without four-leaf clovers, book contracts,
double-rainbows or pots of gold,
I am wishing-wells full of the best kind of luck.
I have beauty all around me -
in sky and earth,
in people with all their glorious quirks,
in a roof over my head, clean water,
in laughter and forgiveness.
And I am free -
free to write, to make art, to learn,
dream, wish, pray,
to hope.
I believe thankfulness and hope can fill the darkest sky with stars.
That's my kind of lucky.
Books:
The Wishing of Biddy Malone by Joy Cowley, illustrated by Christopher Denise
The Woman Who Flummoxed the Fairies by Heather Forest, illustrated by Susan Gaber
Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
I'd rather have a turtle, and I'd rather wear a mock turtle.
I'd rather cook with crockery than be a mockery.
I'd rather party with Mock Caldecotts than with mock halibuts.
And party we did!
- complete with book toothpicks and book inspired snacks:
sunflower seeds (If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson),
honey and bread (Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick and Sophie Blackall)
tiny sandwiches (The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone Roach),
pretzel sticks and grape "stones" (Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld),
dried mangoes (Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina and Angela Dominguez).
Voters designed medals for the winning books.
Kids announced both the ALA winners, and our Mock Caldecott winners.
Our committee results:
Our Mock Caldecott Gold Medal : Out of the Woods by Rebecca Bond. 
And then,
honor awards for all eight of our runners up:
The Bear Ate Your Sandwich - by Julia Sarcone RoachMango, Abuela, and Me - by Meg Medina and Angela DominguezA Fine Dessert - by Emily Jenkins and Sophie Blackall Thank You and Good Night - by Patrick McDonnellIf You Plant a Seed - by Kadir NelsonThe Whisper - by Pamela ZagarenskiIn a Village by the Sea - Muon Van and April Chu And then, the entire library voted on the
People's Choice Award. The winner was
Sonya's Chickens by Phoebe Wahl. 
In the book "A Fine Dessert," blackberry fool is made by four families, over four centuries, with different implements.
Our children's librarian Martha Ashenfelter had a brilliant idea.
Why not have our committee make the same dessert
using the same implements?
They loved it!
Delicious!
They ate it up. Every speck. Every lick.
What a sweet finish to a wonderful party.
Thank you, Martha.
Thank you, Mock Caldecott committee.
I hope we can talk and mock Caldecotts again soon.
My adorably rogue-ish nephew played a pirate in Peter and Wendy a few weeks back.
His mama asked if I'd like to try some Peter Pan art for the bake sale.
Tink. Hook. The ship. The acorn kiss. Peter and Wendy.
Enough for a whole fleet of fairies and lost boys,
and their cupcakes, too.
Avast and Blimey! What a yardarm of sweet pirate bounty.
Books!
Peter Pan by J. M. Barry, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
Peter Pan retold by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson illustrated by Mary Blair
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
Fairies and the Quest for Neverland by Gail Carson Levine, illustrated by David Christiana
I thought they might be a fun Valentine-y gift.
I like to carry around pocket-sized art decks, don't you?
Because don't we all carry words on the go?
Who doesn't like a little
fun on a ring?
Or words on a string?
perfect word surprises
for your small people -
or your pocket card collectors.
Local buyers can enter the code: LOCALPICKUP
on my shop to waive shipping fees
and arrange a delivery option.
Here's to the small, the tiny, the mini,
the little bits of love and beauty in this big world
that make life sweet and good.
Tiny book favorites:
Enormous Smallness by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Eric DiGiacomo
The Tiny King by Taro Miura
Tiny's Big Adventure by Martin Waddell, illustrated by John Lawrence
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes - by Mem Fox, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
It's the final week before the
2016 Caldecott medal is awarded!
And it's almost time for our very own Jefferson County
Library Caldecott committee to choose a winner!
The selection of thirty-four books has been narrowed down
to these nine favorites:
Kid committee members meet this Thursday, January 7, at 3:45 p.m.
to defend and debate their favorites before their peers
and hold a final election.
Most of our members are kids, ages 5-11.
Did I mention that?
I have been blown away by the details they discover,
things that my broad adult eye skips right past,
the critical thinking skills they are developing
as they compare and contrast books and styles,
themes and layers of story.
What a treat to learn to look, to really look
alongside this multi-age group.
And the fun keeps coming!
Simultaneously, the library has displayed all 34 top contenders
in-house for the month of January, so that patrons of all ages can participate
in a library-wide People's Choice vote.
Look at those yummy choices!
Wouldn't it be exciting if picture book delight spilled over
to the greater library populace through all of this bookish hooplah?
I hope so.
Up next:
bring on the sparkly gowns!
the announcements!
the fancy treats!
that gold sticker we've all been waiting for!
All ages are invited to our Library Caldecott Award Party
on Thursday, January 14 at 3:45 p.m.
Good times are sure to be had by all!
Our Top Nine Finalists:
Thank You and Goodnight - by Patrick McDonnell
The Bear Ate Your Sandwich -by Julia Sarcone-Roach
Out of the Woods - by Rebecca Bond
A Fine Dessert - by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Sonya's Chickens - by Phoebe Wahl
Mango, Abuela and Me - by Meg Medina, illustrated by Angela Dominguez
The Whisper - by Pamela Zagarenski
If You Plant a Seed - by Kadir Nelson
In a Village by the Sea - by Muon Van, illustrated by April Chu
Our Mock Caldecott project is in full swing.
Oh, the yummy books!
So far, we've discussed the Caldecott award,
the workings of a Caldecott committee,
and what to look for in our very own sessions.
Children's librarian Martha Ashenfelter and I created ballots with four voting categories.
I thought it might be fun to share how we're teaching our committee to vote.
1. Excellence
We examine each book - its design, how the pages feel,
the endpapers, the copyright page.
We try to figure out the art medium used,
whether fancy research was done,
if the art is consistent, stunning, unique.
 |
| "In a Village By the Sea" by Muon Van, illustrated by April Chu |
We noticed the book "A Fine Dessert" by Emily Jenkins and Sophie Blackall, a book about blackberry dessert, is partly painted with blackberry juice. That's a pretty tasty detail.
Nikki McClure's book "In" is made from paper cuts.
Vincent X. Kirsch's illustrations in "Gingerbread for Liberty" are made to look like gingerbread. More deliciousness.
 |
| In - by Nikki McClure |
2. Appropriateness
We consider how well the art and the text work together to fill up the story.
Is there a tone or mood to the words,
and do the pictures complement it?
We look at layers -
we ask ourselves what that story is really about,
and then, what else is it about?
 |
| The Bear Ate Your Sandwich - by Julia Sarcone-Roach |
3. Importance
By "reading" the book first without words,
we figure out if the illustrations give us clues, if they tell some of the story.
Then we read it a second time with words, scrutinize how the text is represented,
if the pictures and words are perfectly matched,
or if they give too much away.
We look for details, hints, clues within the story and pictures
that might add to the wow of the book.
 |
| If You Plant a Seed - Kadir Nelson |
4. Appeal
And then we ask if we'd want to pick the book up,
if we think it would appeal to kids.
How much do we love that particular book?
Voters score books from 1-5 in each category,
and slip their ballot in its book envelope.
I have my favorites, but I have to keep mum.
Here is the library's Caldecottmobile.
Each of our nominees will be displayed in the
library and available for voting
until January, when our top finalists will be announced.
At that time, our committee will debate for favorites,
vote on the final few, and, drumroll....
Announcements!
Awards Party!
Letters to Authors and Illustrators!
Some of our nominees:
Finding Winnie: the true story of the world's most famous bear
- by Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Sydney Smith
It's Only Stanley by Jon Agee
Water is Water by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Jason ChinIn by Nikki McClure
If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson
Gingerbread for Liberty by Maria Rockcliff, illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
The Night World by Mordecai Gerstein
The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach
In November's gusty gale I will flop my flippy tail
and spout hot soup.
I'll be a whale!
Spouting once, spouting twice,
spouting chicken soup with rice.
- Chicken Soup With Rice, A Book of Months, by Maurice Sendak
It may not be spouting hot soup, but good news is easy to slurp about:
I get to help run Kids' Mock Caldecotts at the library!
And what a
library! They've ordered heaps of new books,
which the spectacular librarian Martha Ashenfelter and I
deliberated and drooled over for hours
before whittling our selection to a mere 32 book beauties.
On the first three Thursdays in November,
our library kids will form a Caldecott Committee,
evaluate, debate, and vote for their favorite books of 2015.
In January, we'll hold a final vote,
followed by an awards party.
Doesn't it sound fantastic?
If you are a local friend who knows of some book-loving kids,
bring them in on
November Thursdays!I'll try to post about our delicious book picks and the Caldecott sessions
along the way.
Doesn't it make you want to pick up a stack of picture books and start reading?
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By:
Sherrie Petersen,
on 6/10/2015
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Several years ago I attended the SCBWI summer conference and one of the wonderful people I met was Rachel Marks. Super talented as both a writer and an artist, she had an incredible joy for life, due in part to being a cancer survivor. Rachel was rooming with Paige Britt and both of them had […]
Shopping at holiday time is not high on my list of favorite things to do. Unless it involves being in a book store. I’m always happy in a book store :) Chronicle Books has an annual challenge for people like me. #GiveBooks this holiday and they’ll donate books to a child in need through First […]
In remembrance,
I find thanksgiving.
In remembrance, I find a feast.
It's in big things, like remembering
rough stones that have lined my journey,
and seeing them smooth some of my sharp edges.
Like the poets, I count the ways.
I count that it's been over one year since I had a stroke
and heart surgery,
and here I am,
heart-strong and feet-steady.
Playing soccer.
When I remember, there are skeins of thanksgiving
woven into this heart.
Six months since Winnie’s leg, the worrisome spot,
the relieving news, the surgery.
There are not enough words for this kind of thanksgiving.
This is life. There will be stormy days for all of us.
But remembrance is my feast.
thankfulness is my life raft.
I find thankfulness indeed when I count the big things.
And I find joy in the small.
Like when the wind pulls umbrellas
and makes us think, just for a moment, that we might fly.
Or in gathering leaves.
Reading books.
Lighting candles.
Twirling till we’re dizzy.
Holding hands.
Hugs.
Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.
I am thankful for you.
Thankful that we share this earth,
with all of our colorful, quirky differences.
What a feast!
Books!
Brother Sun, Sister Moon by Katherine Paterson, ill. by Pamela Dalton
Pilgrim Cat by Carol Antoinette Peacock, ill. by Doris Ettlinger
The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
Psalm 23 illustrated by Richard Jesse Watson
We like to masquerade in these parts.
Especially when learning our Pacific Northwest animals.
Especially when all fuzzed up about pumpkins and costumes.
I started with a few sketches,
the kids made their own beautiful batches,
and Voila!
Wildebeests, unite!
Need a quick costume this week?
I'm offering a few freebies for your personal or classroom use.
{Please note that these images are my original art.
They're not to be sold or passed off as anyone else's work.
Thanks!}
To use, just drag the image to your desktop,
print on card stock,
color at will!
Crayon, colored pencils or watercolor work just fine.
We also tried gouache and acrylic gel medium, for hoots.
Birdie asked if she could change her name to Owly-Whoo.
When you finish all that lovely color,
cut out and fix for wearing!
Our salmon puppet has a popsicle stick taped to his back.
Did you know sockeye salmon turn red when they spawn? I did not.
The wildebeests told me.
I guess this means they are learning something in the midst
of my art diversions.
Yarn or ribbon is an easy tie for the masks.
Hey, anything for a party, right?
Anything for a printable, coloring, educational, masquerade party!
That's right. We mask merry around these parts.
Happy hoots!
Books!
S is for Salmon - Hannah Viore
123 Moose! by Art Wolfe, ill. by Andrea Helman
Have You Heard the Nesting Bird? by Rita Gray, ill. by Kenard Pak
North - The Amazing Story of Arctic Migration, by Nick Dowson, ill. by Patrick Benson
A House in the Woods by Inga Moore
Leaves by David Ezra Stein
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, ill. by Jane Chapman
Once Upon a Memory by Nina Laden, ill. by Renata Liwska
Kiss Goodnight by Amy Hest, ill. by Anita Jeram
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
They say each season has a rightful place:
A time to scribble,
A time to paint.
A time to read good books,
A time to dream up new ones.
A time to craft words,
A time to delete.
A time to face the music,
A time to dance in the face of it.
It's the natural breath of our days -
The ups and downs of waves.
Summer rushed to Fall a smidge too soon in my neck of the woods.
Birthdays, school starts,
First wiggly teeth,
Rounded hula hoops of doings.
Responsibilities loomed.
Do you ever drag your feet ?
I soured up a few days
kicking my heels against time and tides,
and then I remembered...
What of all the sacred moments today ?
What am I missing with my eyes shut tight against change?
Here is the good news:
Gratitude mends easily.
It always starts with today.
And thankfulness is magic.
It turns straw into gold,
turns dirty dishes into a sacred space.
Farewell summer! Hello Fall!
It's simple, right?
To find joy, we breathe.
In and out.
And if breathing means working hard at a task today,
then may we find beauty under the stones at our feet.
Or if it means taking a ramble in the woods,
then let the leaves turn,
let the fruit fall
and find us with open hands.
"Nobody else but the rosebush knows
how nice mud feels between the toes."
- Polly Chase Boyden
Book treasures that make me smile in all seasons:
The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Inga Moore
Firefly July - compiled by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Lindbergh - The Tale of a Flying Mouse, by Torben Kuhlmann
The New Arrival by Vanya Nastanlieva
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
Henry and the Paper Route by Beverly Cleary
The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
Odd, Weird, and Little by Patrick Jennings
By:
Sherrie Petersen,
on 7/28/2014
Blog:
Write About Now
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The best part of summer is having time. Time for reading, time for vacation, time for kayaking, time for baking, time for redesigning the website. I’ve been doing all of these things. You’ll see the website redesign soon, but I have to say, my family is definitely more appreciative of the baked treats I’ve been […]
This summer is all about
gathering what we find
and making music
out of it.
Sometimes it doesn't quite fly,
like our xylophone
constructed of driftwood
and rubber bands.
Scavenged from a sunny beach walk,
and a hoot to make,
it only makes one sound:
plunk.
And yet... sometimes we need to plunk
to figure out what the rhythm is.
Our new rhythm :
Winnie's had her surgery,
and after a long wait,
she can run!
the pain is almost gone!
Oh, the delight!
And here we are
in the crazy whirl.
Driftwood:
Winnie's surgery. Swim lessons. Backyard soccer.
Cousins. Library storytime.
Scissor mishaps.
{That's right. Preschool cutting practice.
Both of them. Missing chunks of hair.
Where was their mama, you ask?
Ten yards away, scribbling in my notebook. }
This has been such a year and more
of wind and weathering.
and here is what I remember -
beautiful things come after turbulence.
sticks become pale as silver when they have tumbled through waves.
spiny stones become round and ripe across the sand,
fruit of sea and storm,
borne through time
and tides.
Is that art? music?
The transformation of rough things
into smooth beauties?
These tides might not be fruitful
in all the artsy, writerly ways I've been wanting.
but they might just be fruitful in the ways that I need.
humbling. compassion. grace. gratefulness.
To my friends going through rough waters right now,
my wish and prayer
is that Love will weather its way
through each of us
that Love will transform the rough places into smooth,
will fill the hollow places with sweet, clear water,
will turn our broken sticks into music,
and somehow
find us
more of Love itself.
Thank you for your words and prayers,
books and courage
that have helped us march through this summer!
We are all so grateful.
Some of our brave reads:
Brother Hugo and the Bear - Katy Beebe, S.D. Schindler
Have You Seen My Dragon? - Steve Light
Soccer Fence - Phil Bildner, Jesse Joshua Watson
A Tangle of Knots - Lisa Graff
Word After Word After Word - Patricia MacLachlan
The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle
It's a little bit scary to tell you things I'm happy about.
Things that feel like little green tips at the edges of my wintered-over branches.
Not that it's wrong to feel pleased with good things,
but when I remember the gravity of last year
I wonder -
is this okay?
this joy? these painted things?
Will I jinx it somehow?
Over the last year, I convinced myself I have permanent writer's block.
But then this week, a few words eeked out, and I wondered.
Maybe it's not writer's block.
Maybe it's just fear.
Fear is something we all have, isn't it?
Fear of failure. of something bad happening.
of shadows. heights. the dark.
Scratchy things. fish. being alone.
What are your crazy fears?
You know what's funny?
All that health craziness last year - that was like facing off against a lion.
I borrowed as much courage as possible.
Now I'm standing on a chair shrieking about a bug -
worried about putting stories on paper!
worried someone won't like them!
Oh, for a good gulp of perspective!
I just read "The Tale of Despereaux" by Kate DiCamillo.
It's about a mouse who battles darkness with courageous love.
It's beautiful.
Despereaux strapped on a belt of red thread,
a sewing needle sword,
and plunged into the dungeons to save a princess.
While I don't have dungeons, or a sword,
I want to have courageous love like that mouse,
not concerned about what people will think.
brave.
true.
every day.
not just on heart surgery days.
in the daily dirt.
in being a writer and artist, too.
So here's what I'm doing.
All fueled up from my Illustrating Picture Books class,
I'm going to the
SCBWI conference this weekend.
And I'm entering my art in a portfolio show.
To go with it, I did a little spring cleaning on the blog,
redesigned
The Portfolio.
I hope you like the new look around here.
I hope it's good dirt.
And if you're coming to the conference, let's hang out!
I'll be the small mouse in the corner.
The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo
By:
Faith Pray,
on 3/6/2013
Blog:
SACRED DIRT
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Some children are raised by wolves.
Others, by creatives.
And really, is there a difference?
Sometimes, the lines between "creative" and "fur-brained" blur.
And that's the beauty of it.
To be a creative,
you get to strap on your courage boots every day
and write,
paint,
parent,
sew, stitch, cook - whatever your bent -
and be prepared
for surprises.
Surprises like tears and paper wadding.
Snapping pencils.
Earnest screwdrivering until the cabinet doors fall off.
(Thank you for that, my wildebeests.)
Havoc.
Howling at the moon.
Eating paint.
raised-by-wolves days,
and sometimes, gleams of brilliance.
Have I mentioned this book?
"The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, the Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood and illustrated by Jon Klassen
(the Caldecott 2013 doublescoop!)
I love this book! I am in a happy swoon.
Jane Austen meets Agatha Christie meets Alexander McCall Smith, only with heaps of originality and humor. Well done, Maryrose Wood. Wow. wow. wow.
More wolf-ishness we love:
[For the record, and in case any great-grandmothers are concerned:
dry ice is considered dangerous in some contexts.
As such, it should probably not be given to toddlers...however, the children in these pictures were skillfully trained stunt-models, posing as children, and obediently avoided actually touching the ice.]
By:
Faith Pray,
on 2/27/2013
Blog:
SACRED DIRT
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I am Icharus.
Except instead of wax and feathers,
I'm patched together with glitter glue,
writing morsels and
cups of hot tea.
Struck by a blaze of new story lightning,
I'm going down.
That's a good thing, right?
...Right?
Muttering at walls, scribbling
"Words are my wings!" on sticky notes,
covered in ink smudges,
I'm delightedly doomed.
But not too doomed
to help with peg dolls.
Indeed!
And Ancient Greek peggies at that.
Athena, patron of wisdom, and arts and crafts!
She's an owl lady.
Aphrodite, patron of love.
Posiedon. Sea guy. And that's his trident.
Hera, wife of Zeus, patron of marriage.
Peacock lady.
Also compared to a cow in some circles.
Now you know.
Parthenon?
Ruler. Cardboard. Scissors. Tape. White glue.
And now for the drum-roll, please...
we'd like to announce a winner!
A hearty thanks to all of you who entered
Margaret Bloom's
Making Peg Dolls giveaway,
and thank you to
Margaret for the fantastic blog tour.
Our winner is...
Barb Davis-Pyles. Congratulations, Barb!
I hope you will all go out and find this beautiful book.
You are going to LOVE it.
And did you know SACRED DIRT has a
facebook page?
"Like it" to get posts on the beautiful mess of artsy writing,
daily dirt, and parenting sent directly to your facebook feed.
Ancient Greece on the page:
Greek Myths For Young Children, by Heather Amery, ill. Linda Edwards
Explore Ancient Greece!
Greek Myths - Ann Turnbull, ill. by Sarah Young
A Gift From Zeus - Jeanne Steig, ill. by William Steig
The Adventures of Odysseus, by Hugh Lupton, Daniel Morden, ill. by Christina Balit
Aesop's Fables - Lisbeth Zwerger
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Love it. :)
Thanks for the book recommendation!
If you like Alexander MS as I do, you'll LOVE Alan Bradley...the author of "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" and sequels. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. We just had a library book by Jon Klassen...I Want My Hat, I think it was. Again, fabulous!
ooh -- photos of paint-covered babies! love it!!
xo
Faith, Bloom, thank you. I love having such dear blog buddies.
Knitty, happy baby to you! And I can't wait to try the book recommendations. Thank you!
I love the the Incorrigibles! I've read them all so far. Funny to read your post today. I just read The true story of The Three Little Pigs to my son; we're going to see the play tomorrow. Time to get into our Wolf point of view.