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By:
andrea joseph,
on 11/8/2015
Blog:
andrea joseph's sketchblog
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Made this little sketch to celebrate the birthday of Joni Mitchell. My idol. My hero. My inspiration. I've pinched - I mean, been inspired by - her lyrics more than any other artist, to use in my work, as blog post titles, as life coaching. Happy Birthday Joni (her birthday was actually yesterday, but I did draw this late last night so it was kind of in time, although as my family and friends will tell you my birthday cards, presents and wishes are always, without fail, late).
A young Joni in, my new drug of choice, the Pentel brush pen.
I love my critique group!
How lucky I am that I've been a part of this amazing group for....
.....TWENTY-FIVE years!!!
We've been through life's ups and downs...
...publishing/writing/illustrating ups and downs...
We've laughed and cried and offered sage advice and warm hugs and honest words and kind looks and finger wags and encouraging words and all those things one needs in life.
We've been serious and silly and sad together.
They let me bring my timer (tick tick tick) and loved me, the gentle dictator, anyway.
Yesterday was my last (sniff, sniff) meeting with them before my move.
They gave me a gift certificate to White Flower Farm, so I can "enjoy these new blossoms as a token of our love and appreciation." (Waaaaah)
They gave me these great garden ornaments:
And this adorable dog:
And this amazing framed photo that I will cherish forever (On the background is printed all of the books we have critiqued together. So cool!)
I feel so blessed.
Thank you, friends.
Tick Tick Tick
So, I've been pretty absent from this blog lately.
But there's been a lot going on.
Because, well.....this....
After 26 years in New England, my husband and I are heading back to my beloved South....right there at the edge of the Smoky Mountains, my heart's home.
Specifically, to Asheville, North Carolina...one of the most beautiful and coolest places ever.
So happy.
But.....
Sigh....
So hard to say goodbye to things and places and PEOPLE I love dearly.
Starting with my house.
My son grew up here.
We have 26 years worth of amazing memories.
My husband's hippie carpenter friend came out from Arizona to help us build our screened porch:
Where we spent so many magical summer nights:
We built a swimming pool:
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| My son on the right |
Which brought us lots of happy times:
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| With my dearest pal, Gucci, who shared almost daily walks and talks with me. (And sewed for me and picked me up when I wrecked my cars and was always there for me and on and on and on. BFFs forever.) |
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| Ruby |
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| In the cement beside the pool |
There is still chewed woodwork in our house caused by puppies who grew into gray-faced old dogs.
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| Murphy, the first puppy we brought to this house. (She lived to be 14) Son on the left. |
My son brought a chestnut home from the cemetery beside our church when he was very small. It was in a paper cup. We said he could plant it anywhere he wanted to, never dreaming it would become this beauty:
This is the gate between my yard and my neighbor's, who is also the dearest of friends one could ever want. That friend who GETS me. On countless summer nights, she came through that gate to dance to disco music with me under the moonlight or listen to owls in the Adirondack chairs in the yard (snuggled together under a quilt like little girls instead of grown women), or laugh and cry and gossip on the porch. (Because that's what you do with your besties.) Pool Girl, you know I love you.
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| A gift she gave me. Perfect |
So, yeah, lots of memories in that house I'll miss my gardens.
I'll miss my summer writing office:
So on this Things I Love Thursday, I'm loving my house. And loving my dear, dear friends here, including:
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| Janet Zade (left), so wise and honest and punctual (three of the greatest traits of a friend, I think.) How lucky am I? Thank you, Janet. |
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| My writers' group (There is no greater treasure for a writer than a group like this. We've been up, down, and all around together.) |
BUT
I'm looking forward to making new friends
and building memories in a new house
in a new place.
Turning the page.
New chapter.So, by the way, school teachers and librarians of the Carolinas, I'll be ready to come to YOUR school this fall.
And, now, I'll close with a song that makes me cryEverySingleTime
I love my son's "writing" when he was 3 or 4 years old.
I used to write at the kitchen table.
He would sit at the table and "write," too!
I love this school display from a small town in Georgia.
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| Vocabulary Words We Know. Thank you, Barbara O'Connor. |
I love getting letters and drawing from students.
Here are a few I recently received.
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| Notice Owen on top of the motorhome saying, "Swear swear." This one came with a letter that said, "My favorite part was when Popeye and Elvis were spitting and swearing into the ditch because when Mrs. M read that part, I burst out into laughter because I did not expect it to happen." |
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| This one was signed by Hudson, Jack and Luke and included, "P.S. Hudson is one of seven rowdy kids." |
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| And of course I love this one because she says, "It is the best book in the world!" |
I love this video of students at Pomperaug Elementary School in Southbury, CT.
They discuss what they learned from their Skype session with me. Also included are some snippets of the Skype (starting at minute mark 2:51).
I'm often asked by students which of my books is my favorite.
I used to say I don't have a favorite.
I love them all.
Well, I DO love them all.
But then I decided to 'fess up.
I DO have a favorite.
This one:
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| Greetings from Nowhere |
So that's why I LOVE this news:
Official on-sale date: 8/25/15.
So excited, y'all.
I love these students from Meridian Middle School in Buffalo Grove, Illinois!
Y'all rock!
I love kids who say things like this [true story]:
I like writers who know what I like... and make their writing seem like it's written for me. How do they know? I mean, aren't most writers really old?
I love teachers who do things like this:
Fourth grade teacher, Saul Ruiz, at Carver Academy Elementary in
Amarillo, Texas, organized a wonderful project with his students after reading How to Steal a Dog.
"You have inspired us to take our eyes off ourselves and realize that someone else always has it worse than we do," Mr. Ruiz told me.
"We are teaming up with a local homeless shelter for mothers and their children. We are making “After Dinner Bags” for the kids who show up to these shelters. Just like Georgina, they sometimes just arrive with a plastic bag full of only a few of their belongings. We are making bags full of snacks and activities for children to do after dinner…the most boring part of the night for kids at the shelter."
How great is that?!
And I love that they are calling this wonderful activity Project Georgina in honor of the main character.
High five to Mr. Ruiz and his students!!
I love cool stuff for book nerds!
(The holidays will be here before you know it. Just sayin')
Like a library card phone cover:
And banned books socks:
And a Goodnight Moon onesie:
I love seeing these photos of shooting the movie version of How to Steal a Dog in South Korea.
I love working on my porch in the summer.
How could I not love a teacher who does something like
Are you a writer who will work on songs on a daily basis, regardless of whether you’re feeling inspired?
Yes. I still think you have to wait for the inspiration, but unless you’re there, waiting at the bus stop, you ain’t gonna get on the bus. If you’re doing other things all day, a song ain’t gonna get on the bus.
[So get on up there to the bus stop, y'all.]
I love summer!
My school visit year is officially over.
I've spoken to 8,456 students. (Give or take a few).
I've chatted with 2,344 amazing teachers and librarians. (Give or take a few.)
I've looked at 12,344 fabulous pieces of student artwork based on my books. (Give or take a few.)
I've spent 735 hours sitting in traffic. (Give or take a few.)
I've flown 12,456 miles. (Give or take a few.)
I've waited behind 345 school buses. (Give or take a few.)
I've signed 10,458 books, 345 tiny scraps of paper, 45 napkins and 3 arm casts.
I've eaten bagels in my car, cheese crackers in hotel rooms, sushi in restaurants, potluck dinners in school libraries and lasagna in cafeterias.
But now that summer is here, I'm going to stop talking about writing....
.....and write!
So my blogs posts will be fewer.
Picture me here:
I love this thank you note!
I gave some of the foreign editions of my books to a school with a large number of ELL students (English Language Learners). The ELL specialist thanked me with these fantastic notes from the students, written in Chinese, Portuguese, Greek, Spanish, German, Hebrew and Icelandic. And I love the diversity of the children in the drawings. Perfect for the new We Need Diverse Books campaign.)
I love Skype days.
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| With students at Gwin Oaks Elementary in Gwinnett, GA |
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| More Gwin Oaks students. Thank you, Ms. Amolo! |
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| A teacher at Fort Worth Academy showed me her dog, Plato, posing like the cover of How to Steal a Dog. Go, Plato! |
I love kids who write letters like this:
Dear Barbara O'Connor:
What I like in your books are the settings. They are very vibrant. What I dislike in your books is when you describe some things.
Don't get me wrong. Describing is okay. But when you described Mama Nell's purple feet and yellow toenails, I lost my appetite.
I love this old cookbook.
Eva Purefoy enclosed a postcard and wrote:
"Postage and insurance have gone up. Balance due on book is $.25. You may send stamps. My new book is a honey."
In addition to recipes, there are handy tips, like how to freshen a wilted veil.
I love this needlepoint given to me by my friend (and neighbor)
I love when I get such a good "report card" from students I've spoken to!
(Thank you, Hampden Meadows)
I love students letting me know I did a good job.
(Here they are saying, "Oh, you did a great job!")
Great students 2 from
Barbara O'Connor on
Vimeo.
(They are saying, "You're great!)
Great students 1 from
Barbara O'Connor on
Vimeo.
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