Habitual Rhymer

Rate Your Story

2012-01-14T14:00:00.000-06:00

I found this awesome blog called Rate Your Story, and I thought it was such a wonderful idea, I submitted three stories. What I really like about Rate Your story is, you get general feedback to let you know if you're on the right track, if you've been derailed somewhere or your train never left the station (not sure why I'm using train analogies)! Because I appreciated the feedback they gave me and because I LOVE helping writers with rhyming stories, I asked if I could be one of their judges - and they said YES!

Here's how it works:
1 - Submit a story you've written.
2 - One or more judges (maybe me) will read your story.
3 - You'll receive a rating from 1: "Great story - you should consider submitting this" to 10: "Consider this story as practice and write a new one."
4 - You can visit the Professional Critiques page if you'd like an in depth critique of your story.

So, if you've written a story and you're not sure whether it's ready to submit, close to being ready, or needs a lot more work - this is the blog for you! Check it out!

Perfect Picture Book Friday - Thomas' Snowsuit

2012-01-13T09:01:00.000-06:00

My writer friend, Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. In her post, she reviews a book she loves. There's also a running list of books loved and reviewed by other bloggers. She posts it every Friday - bet you figured that out :-)

Since we got about 4 inches of snow yesterday, I thought I'd choose Thomas' Snowsuit for my first review.

Thomas' Snowsuit

Written by: Robert Munsch

Illustrated by: Michael Martchenko

Published by: Annick Press, 1989

(Snow)Suitable for: ages 4 and up

Theme/Topic: Common Childhood Experiences;

Emotion; Humor; Mischief; Seasons

Brief Synopsis: Thomas refuses to wear the new brown snowsuit his mother bought for him. "If you think I am going to wear that ugly snowsuit, you are crazy!" Every time his mother, or teacher, or principal tries to make him put it on, Thomas says "NNNNNNO" - which kids love saying along with him! After several hilarious attempts to get him in his snowsuit, Thomas' friend calls him out to play and he jumps in his snowsuit and runs out.

Resources: Winter Coloring Page; Lesson Plan; Reading Activity Kit

Why I like this book: Anyone who has ever had to get a child in a snowsuit, boots, hat, mittens, scarf . . . to go play in the snow will appreciate this book. My kids and I laughed out loud reading this book and they loved joining Thomas' in his "NNNNNNNO" refrain!

And the winner is . . .

2012-01-08T22:24:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the 16 people who entered the giveaway! I picked a name at random and the winner of the $25 gift card to the indie bookstore of her choice is . . . Patient Dreamer!

Please contact me at: Lori@Loridegman.com with the name of the indie bookstore and their contact information and I'll arrange for your gift certificate!
I appreciate you all entering and I hope you have a fantastic 2012!!

The Week in Rhyme - January 1 - 7

2012-01-06T17:46:00.001-06:00

Tuesday they held the Iowa Caucus.

Voters and candidates sure were raucous.

Mitt and Santorum were neck and neck
Bauchman's campaign? A total wreck.

Paul edged out Perry and Newt by a bit.
Huntsman beat Cain. Oh yea, Herman quit.

They climb on each other to get to the top.
I can't wait 'til March when the primaries

STOP!

Calling all picture book writers!

2012-01-01T21:55:00.000-06:00

Children's book author Julie Hedlund has created an awesome challenge called 12 x 12 in 2012: Picture Book Challenge! Exactly what is this challenge you ask? It's just what it says - write 12 picture books in 12 months in 2012.

If you participated in PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) you'll have plenty of ideas to work with! If you missed PiBoIdMo, you can read the daily blogs for inspiration.

I'm so excited about this because it feels very doable to me. So - are you up to the challenge? Read all about it at Julie Hedlund - Write Up My Life.

Hurry up - the deadline for signing up is

January 29th!!

New Year's Word: Balance

2012-01-01T11:36:00.004-06:00

A writer friend of mine, Cat Woods, posted about her new alternative to New Year's Resolutions. She chose one word that will motivate her throughout the year. I chose a word but, as I was thinking it through, I realized I'll need two more words to make my first word work.

BALANCE

I chose the word balance because I am constantly trying to balance the various areas of my life - family, friends, health, teaching, writing, hobbies, interests . . . - and it's often hard to do.

FOCUS

But, balance isn't enough. If I don't focus, I can't achieve balance. I flit from thing to thing, often leaving things half-finished or finished, but not to the best of my ability.

PLANNING

And, balance and focus won't happen unless I use planning. If I take the time to plan my days and for upcoming events, I'll be prepared to focus on each aspect individually and fully, and I'll achieve balance. Well, that's my goal at least.

In addition to adding these words, I'm hoping to strike the phrase "should have" from my vocabulary. If I apply planning, focus and balance, I "shouldn't have" cause to use it!

Typically, I would have posted this without giving it another thought and later I'd be saying to myself, "I should have had a giveaway for my first post of the year!". But, since I'm banning that phrase from my life and I'm doing more focusing and planning, I stopped myself!

Introducing, my first giveaway of 2012!!!

You can earn up to three entries by doing the following:

1 - Comment here with your word - or words - for the new year (required).

2 - Link to this post on your website, blog, facebook or twitter.

3 - Follow this blog (if you're already a follower, you'll get an entry).

I'll randomly pick from the entries a week from today, January 8th and one lucky winner will receive a $25 gift card to the independent bookstore of his/her choice.

Good luck - and may the word be with you! (sorry, I can't resist a bad pun!)

'Twas the Morning of Christmas

2011-12-21T16:36:00.001-06:00

My writer friend, Susanna Leonard Hill, is hosting a contest on her blog - sorry, the deadline is 11:59 EST tomorrow night, so that doesn't give you much time to write a story and enter! Here's the link if you want to enter or if you just want to read the amazing versions of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas!

Susanna will choose three finalists and, on December 26th, she'll post them on her blog where her blog-followers can vote for their favorite. The winner will receive their choice of either a $15 Amazon gift card or the 2012 Children's Writers and Illustrators Market!

So, I wrote my own version of the story and have posted it below. Even if I don't make it to the finals, it was a lot of fun writing it!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah or Happy Kwanzaa!

'Twas the Morning of Christmas

'Twas the morning of Christmas with nothing much newish,

No stockings, no presents, no tree - 'cause we're Jewish

But still, Christmas day is a very big deal
    We have our traditions and big family meal.

    We lounge ‘round the house since we're not in a hurry,
    We stay in our jammies and mukluks, so furry.

    For breakfast we toast up some bagels to eat,
    With layers of cream cheese and lox - what a treat!

    We talk and tell stories and play a few games,
    We light a nice fire and we gaze at the flames.

    We eat Chinese dinner; they serve up big portions
    and then, for dessert, we have cookies with fortunes.

    We finish our feast, then we're off to the show,
    ‘Cause Jews go to movies on Christmas, you know.

    And on our drive home, we admire all the lights,
    Merry Christmas to all and - OY, what a night!

2011 Illinois School Library Media Association Conference

2011-10-30T17:25:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I participated in the Illinois School Library Media Association's annual Author Breakfast & Showcase - it was a lot of fun! During the breakfast, I sat with a wonderful group of librarians and teachers and we talked about children's books, libraries and schools. After we ate, we heard from Jan Thomas, author of the 2011 Monarch Award winner - Rhyming Dust Bunnies and Leslea Newman, author of the 2011 Bluestem Award winner - Hachiko Waits.

After the breakfast, there was an author showcase where the Illinois authors sat at tables around the perimeter of the room and spoke to conference attendees and signed copies of their books.

If this were a video, you'd hear the crickets chirping :-)

November 2011 - PiBoIdMo

2011-10-30T16:52:00.001-05:00

Attention all picture book writers!!!

2011 PiBoIdMo begins in just two days, on November 1st! I participated last year and created a fabulous file of story ideas. Admittedly, not all are gems but there were a bunch with a lot of potential!

Last year I was a guest poster but Tara is full-up this year (which is awesome) so I'm just a participant.

There's a Preview Day 1 post by Mindy Alyse Weiss up right now to get you started - check it out!

All registered writers will be entered into a drawing for wonderful prizes - one of which is an autographed copy of 1 Zany Zoo and a rhyming picture book critique by yours truly. Head over to the site and sign up - what are you waiting for?!!

Comedy of Errors #4

2011-10-24T18:15:00.004-05:00

It's time to share another faux pas. Here we go . . .

I wanted to get a manicure and pedicure before my LA conference in August, so I called a place my friend, Jan, suggested. I made an appointment and a couple of weeks later, I went for my mani/pedi (see how quickly I picked up the lingo?).

When I walked in, they asked if I was the Living Social client. I said, no I wasn't but I could be if they wanted me to - they didn't. During my pedicure, Jen (the woman doing my nails) tried to think of how this mistake could have been made. I suggested the receptionist wrote it on the wrong day. They checked - nope. Someone had another idea - nope . . . and another - no again. It was really bothering them.

After my pedicure, while Jen was doing my manicure, she said, "It's so strange - the four-digit Living Social number is right next to your name." Then it hit me - I knew exactly what happened! When I had called to make my appointment, I thought the receptionist asked for the last four digits of my social security number - apparently she asked for my 4-digit Living Social number. I thought, "Wow, they are really cautious!" and, even though I thought it was odd, I gave it to her. I explained this to Jen and told her the last four digits of my SS number; she checked the book and, sure enough, they were the same - mystery solved! MORON!

(These are not my feet) :-)

Comedy of Errors # 3 - parts 1 & 2

2011-08-13T11:26:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've written about something stupid I've done - here's my latest.

Part 1: I was making my way down the aisle of the airplane, on my way home from the LA conference. I was behind this really tall guy and, when we got to my row, he stopped and I said to him, "Oh good, I hoped you were sitting near me." It was all over his face - "this lady is trying to pick me up!" I quickly told him I just wanted him to put my bag in the overhead bin - that's it! It was awkward, but at least I didn't have to talk to him anymore.

Part 2: Wrong! As luck would have it, his seat was next to mine and, after a few uneasy minutes, we began talking. As a matter of fact, my friend Meg and I talked to him during the whole flight. It turned out he was a semi-pro hockey player who was born in Spain, grew up in Canada, played hockey in France and currently lives in LA. He was very knowledgeable, sweet and funny - plus he was really cute! During our conversation, he mentioned how Meg's green eyes reminded him of his mother's and how rare green eyes are. Then I butted in with, "My eyes were green until my late twenties, when they miraculously turned blue." As soon as the words left my mouth, I wished I could have taken them back! I sounded just like Kristen Wiig's character, Penelope, on Saturday Night Live! Then I tried to add more details so it didn't sound like I was lying just to get attention. The guy, Sergio, said, "Yea, I can see how they could have been green - they're pretty." He was clearly afraid I'd have some sort of psychotic episode! I stopped trying to convince them - I was only making things worse. I was SO embarrassed, mostly because Meg and Sergio were trying so hard to make it seem as if it was a normal thing to say!

In case you don't know who Penelope is, or if you just want to see a hilarious skit, here's an example:

And, just to prove I am not a Penelope - here's a picture of me in 7th grade and you can clearly see my eyes are green! You know I must be desperate to prove I'm not a psychotic one-upper, if I'm willing to share this picture :-)

Anyone else want to confess a Penelope moment? Please!!

2011 SCBWI LA Conference

2011-08-11T23:16:00.001-05:00

Last week, Aug. 5 - 8, I attended the 40th annual SCBWI Summer Conference in LA. The event was hosted by SCBWI founders Linn Oliver and Steve Mooser and they did an outstanding job! The lineup of speakers was unbelievable and more than 1,350 people attended! Here's a list of the keynote speakers (in the order of their appearances): Bruce Coville, Jerry Pinkney, Libba Bray, Emma Dryden, Donna Jo Napoli, David Small, Judy Bloom (surprise special guest), John Scieszka, Norton Juster, Mary Pope Osborne, Gary Paulsen and Laurie Halse Anderson. Can you believe it?

The annual Saturday night pool party was a slumber party in honor of the 40th anniversary (40 winks). Here are some pics from the party.

Here I am with my fabulous and hysterical roommates
Meg Flemming, Jenni Bielicki, and Heather Zenzen!

Just a handful of my fellow Illinois authors
(I don't know how Heather got in there)!

I finally met Shellie Braeuner, the first winner of the Cheerios New Author contest, in person. She's so sweet! We kept trying to get a picture with our books and a box of Cheerios but we could never coordinate it. Here's a picture of us at the Friday night PAL book sale.

I had the opportunity to hang out with my agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton, on Saturday night at the gathering she hosted in the hotel bar and again on Monday at the end of the conference. It's always nice to talk with her in person (I forgot to take a picture with her)! Jamie and I discussed the great feedback I received from Andrea Welch, editor at Beach Lane Books and Steven Malk, agent at Writer's House - I'm so excited to be working on revisions!

There was a great write-up about the conference on Publishers Weekly - much better than I could have done - so I've linked it for you to read there.

37th Annual Illinois Young Authors Conference

2011-05-28T13:09:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, May 20th & 21st, I had the honor of being a guest author at the 37th Annual Illinois Young Authors Conference, sponsored by the Illinois Language and Literacy Council and the Illinois Reading Council! The conference is a celebration to honor exceptional writing by students in grades K - 8 and to give these young authors the opportunity to meet with published authors and hear about the writing/publishing process. Jan Dundon, Children's Coordinator at Anderson's Bookshop, was kind enough to ask me to participate! The conference was held in Normal, IL, on the Illinois State University campus where my son attends.

I drove down there on Friday afternoon with three writer-friends, Suzanne Slade, Barb Rosenstock and Hilary Wagner.

Hilary, Suzanne, Me, Barb

That night, we attended a reception in the Bone Center Bookstore and had a question and answer session with students, parents and volunteers. I was particularly impressed with the questions posed by the young authors! I was happy to be seated next to Ruth Spiro so I could get to know her better. She gave some really thoughtful answers to many of the questions!

The next morning, we met again at the Bone Center where the students and their parents attended an opening ceremony and the authors met with their volunteer escorts. Then, each author was escorted to a classroom where they held their small group sessions. I spoke to three groups of students for 30 minutes each. The first group had 21 kindergartners, the second and third groups had 21 first graders each.

I read my book, 1 Zany Zoo, to each group; explained about Book Tour Alex (the kids kept referring to her as "your Barbie" :-) ; and the students showed me their books, which were so creative! My favorite titles were "The Banana Who Wanted to be a Hot Dog", "The Princess with the Broken Heals" and "The Middle Stinks - the Life of a Middle Child". I asked him if it was a funny book and he gave an adamant "NO!" The kids were adorable - I had so much fun!

After the small group sessions, we returned to the Bone Center for a delicious lunch. We then went to different auditoriums for the Recognition of Young Authors & Closing Ceremony. Here, I stood on stage and each group of students with whom I spoke, were called up to the stage. Their group leaders read their names, the names of their books and then I gave them each child a copy of my book. It was awesome!

After the Closing Ceremony, we returned to the Bone Center (again) and signed books for those who chose to buy them. Then, Suzanne, Barb, Hilary and I said goodbye and thanks to Jan and made the drive home.

What an event!! I don't think they ask the same authors two years in a row but I hope to be asked back in the future!

PS - The biggest lesson I learned that weekend - don't wear brand new shoes without socks to an event on a large college campus - ouch!! Can you say blisters? Also, don't wear a long, baggy shirt that makes you look grossly overweight or 9 months pregnant!

Setting The Scene With Arthur Levine

2011-04-23T15:32:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, April 16th, I was co-coordinator of the first annual, SCBWI - Illinois Spring Thaw. My partner in crime, Meg Flemming Lentz, and I are planning to make this an annual event. The SCBWI Regional coordinators had already lined up Arthur Levine and they guided us through the process of hosting a conference.

Meg Fleming Lentz, Arthur Levine, me, Lisa Bierman

For those of you who don't know, Arthur Levine is the vice-president of Scholastic inc. and publisher of Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Books. Arthur A. Levine Books published a series of books you may have heard of - Harry Potter! Arthur is also an author of books for children. His latest book, Monday Is One Day, was released this month.

Back to the event . . . We decided to title the event, Setting the Scene with Arthur Levine so people would pronounce his name correctly (rhyme Levine with scene). People sometimes rhyme it with 'mine' or 'pin', so we thought we'd help them out a bit. I'm sure it gets annoying having people mispronounce your name all the time. Growing up, people often pronounced my last name, Grusin, as 'gruesome'. I think they did it accidentally :-)

The day went beautifully! We had 129 attendees, with a good mix of published and non-published authors and illustrators and all genres in children's literature were represented. Arthur spoke to the group about the current state of publishing and, by the end of his talk, he was pretty optimistic!

Next, he spoke about the process of submitting, publishing and marketing picture books, using his latest book as an example. He said his book had three different editors and it took seven years to hit the shelves!

He followed up this talk with a fantastic Q & A session! Luckily, they were running late with the lunches, so we were able to pick Arthur's brain for an extra ten minutes.

After lunch, we had a First Pages session. Children's author, and voice over pro, Laura Ripes, read first pages submitted by attendees and Arthur gave instantaneous feedback - not an easy task. There was a good mix of picture book, middle grade and young adult stories.

Arthur found a common thread in each story - "info dump" as he coined it. Info dump is when there's too much set-up at the beginning of the story. Arthur said you need to trust that your reader will get that information through the characters words and actions. One example was a story about a bird who is afraid of heights. The author stated that in the first few sentences. Arthur pointed out that she didn't need to put in that fact because the reader would learn it by observing Bird trying to get out of going to high places.

After the First Pages, we gave out some door prizes, mixed and mingled a bit and Arthur signed books (The Magic Tree Bookstore sold them there). Then it was over and there was nothing left to do but clean up. We had a little bit of "after the wedding blues" but we were also relieved it was over and had gone so smoothly!

Arthur and me with Book Tour Alex

Procrastination Cinquain

2011-04-14T22:46:00.000-05:00

One thing I've learned about myself, time and time again, is that I have a hard time posting every day. That's why I should never start something like a poem-a-day to celebrate Poetry Month. One of these days I'll remember not to promise to blog daily!

So, it's been a couple of days and I have a new kind of poem to write - a cinquain. I've never written one before but it looks like fun. Here are the rules for cinquain writing:

A cinquain is a five line poem.
Line 1: One word (subject or noun)
Line 2: Two words (adjectives that describe line 1)
Line 3: Three words (action verbs that relate to line 1)
Line 4: Four words (feelings or a complete sentence that relates to line 1)
Line 5: One word (synonym of line 1 or a word that sums it up)

Here's my first attempt at a cinquain.

Procrastination

Troublesome, habitual

Waiting, delaying, rushing

Putting off, chasing deadlines

Stalling

Love

2011-04-11T21:49:00.001-05:00

Today's poem is a verbal collage entitled "Love". It's the first time I've made one and it was fun and easy. Here's how you can make your own:

1 - Pick a topic and, in a word processing program, make a list of words you want to include.

2 - Determine the importance of each word and you can adjust the size accordingly. If you type a word 5 times it makes it very big; 4 times makes it big; 3 times makes it smaller; 2 times makes it even smaller; 1 time makes it the smallest.

3 - Now, copy your text and paste it into Wordle.

4 - You can change the color, font and layout until you're happy with how it looks.

5 - You can't save your collage on Wordle so you'll need to take a snapshot of it and save it that way.

It's as easy as that! Give it a try!

Saturday Night Clerihew

2011-04-09T22:45:00.011-05:00

Today's poem is a Clerihew - a light verse, usually consisting of two couplets of uneven length

and irregular meter, the first line usually containing the name of a well-known person.  The Clerihew was invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875 - 1956), an English writer, at the age of 16.

Sean

My son, Sean

Is almost gone,

He's moving soon,

I think in June :-(

Brian

My son, Brian

Is always tryin'

He'll work it out

Without a doubt!

Skeltonic Verse

2011-04-08T19:00:00.003-05:00

In researching different forms of poetry, I came across Skeltonic Verse, named after English Poet, John Skelton (1460-1529). Skelton had tutored King Henry the Eighth when he was a prince and later spent time in prison, was censured by the church and seemed to have a lot of fun! The rules of Skeltonic Verse are simple:

Keep the line lengths between three and six words
Every end word rhymes with the previous, until you start a new set of rhymes
Keep the same rhyme until it starts to lose its energy or impact
The poem should be full of energy and fun

Here's my Skeltonic Verse:

The weekend's here

I shout and cheer

Until I hear

A voice so clear

From in the yard

the words were hard

So I was jarred
My plans were marred

There on the stoop

With bag and scoop

He made me droop

"Let's pick up poop!"

I forgot

2011-04-07T22:54:00.001-05:00

I Forgot

I can't believe I almost forgot,

to write another poem.

I don't know where my memory went,

It must still be at home.

Sausage Poem

2011-04-06T18:32:00.001-05:00

Today's poem is a Sausage Poem - a string of words which are "linked" with the same letters/sounds at the endings and beginnings of words. An extra challenge is to go full circle and have the last letter of the sentence match the first letter. It's a lot harder than it sounds! Here's my meager attempt. Before you judge me - give it a try yourself!

Spring goes slowly yet time elapses.

Summer rain nurturing growing greens.

Fall leaves swirl like caustic kids.

Winter rains snow over rustic cabins.

My Mea Culpa

2011-04-05T16:57:00.000-05:00

My Mea Culpa

I had the best intentions

I really meant to do it

I hoped to write a poem a day

and on day two - I blew it!

April is Poetry Month - DUH!

2011-04-03T20:09:00.000-05:00

What kind of habitual rhymer forgets poetry month? I'm going to use being in Las Vegas when April began as my excuse. It's lame - I know! In honor of Poetry Month, I'll post a new poem everyday - starting today. I'll also include fun poem-writing ideas I've found in various places. So, my poem for April 3rd is called a Book Spine Poem. April Halprin Wayland mentioned it in today's blog post at Teaching Authors. She got the idea from Travis Jonker, an elementary school librarian and he wrote about it on the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) blog. I copied this off the blog:

How do you create your own? Here are my tips for kids and teens:
1. Check out last year’s book spine poem gallery for inspiration.
2. Once you’re in the library, start looking at titles to see what strikes you. Arrange and rearrange in your head. The best part of this type of poetry is the fact that you don’t know where you’ll end up.
3. Have a pencil and paper with you to write down titles that stand out – you can go back to them later.
4. Don’t be afraid to use the library catalog to search for titles with exact words or phrases that you want.

As promised, here's a book spine poem I wrote tonight:

What am I doing here

Lost in the cosmos?

Beginning to see the light

With a little help from my friends -

Heroes!

Give it a try and, when you do, post it here for others to read!

Happy Poetry Month!!

Radio Disney at Kidgits Book Blast

2011-03-23T20:10:00.005-05:00

On March 5th, I participated in the Kidgits Book Blast, hosted by Radio Disney, at Orland Square Mall in Orland Park.

They had a great turnout!

Fellow Author, Laura Crawford and I each read our books and sold and signed them.

It was a lot of fun!

Anderson's 9th Annual Children's Literature Breakfast

2011-03-23T18:49:00.001-05:00

On February 19th, I attended Anderson's Annual Children's Literature Breakfast for the third year in a row. This year was different, though, because I was invited to be a visiting Illinois Author. As a visiting author, I began the breakfast at my assigned table and I spoke with the other attendees about my book, the Cheerios contest, writing for children and I explained why I had Book Tour Alex with me.

There were four guest speakers and, between each of their presentations, the other visiting authors and I moved to the next table and spoke with those attendees.

The first guest speaker, Trent Reedy, wrote the book, Words in the Dust. It's a story about an Afghan girl, loosely based on his experiences in Afghanistan. It was very moving.

Here's a picture of me and two young men at my second table.

The second speaker was Tim Green, the author of The Big Time: A Football Genius Novel. Tim was an NFL player and has since earned his law degree. As if that wasn't enough, he's also written several books for adults and middle school readers. And did I mention, he's also handsome and funny? What a loser!

My friends and third table mates, Kelly Polark and Laura Ripes.

The third speaker was the amazing illustrator, Mark Teague, who showed us his process of illustrating his latest book Firehouse! He also illustrated a director's chair that one lucky winner took home - it wasn't me :-(

The fourth speaker was Kathryn Lasky, author of Shadow Wolf, one of many books about animals. Ms. Lasky shared a secret with us - even though she often writes about animals, she's not a big fan!

The final speaker was Weird Al Yankovich, who answered pre-submitted questions from the audience and discussed his latest book, When I Grow Up.

In addition to all this, they sold the visiting Illinois authors' books in another room. I believe I sold one book - to the two cute boys at my table. Alex and I had fun posing with the stack of 1 Zany Zoo.

Any authors, teachers, librarians and children's book lovers should consider attending next year!

Catching Up

2011-03-20T10:27:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been two months since I've posted! Really, I can believe it - thinking about how busy I've been, juggling work, writing/writing events and family & friends.

Work: Everyone knows how much financial trouble all the schools are in - it's tragic! As lead teacher of our Hearing Itinerant Program, I need to determine the number of teachers we'll need for the upcoming school year, and it's not always possible to stretch the numbers far enough to avoid cuts. Because of circumstances beyond my control, our student numbers are down, which means we may not need all the teachers we have. It's been a long couple of months working on the numbers "creatively" to stretch them as much as I can to avoid losing a teacher. No decisions have been made yet, but I'm afraid it's not going to be good.

When I'm not lead teacher, I work with students at Stevenson High School and Hawthorn School District. In the past two months, I've had eight intake meetings (IEP meetings for eighth grade students who will be my students next year at SHS). I've also had seven other IEP meetings. Thank goodness for electronic IEPs - at least we're saving some trees! I've also attended two computer workshops and a teacher's conference.

Writing: I've been revising, revising, revising my story in prose, Eb & Flo. I think I may have found the missing "something" I've been trying to pinpoint. We'll see what my sister (and best editor) thinks!
Writing events: That'll be a separate post.

Family: My mom has been going through some health issues with arthritis and carpel tunnel surgery. I'm happy to say, she's doing really well now - she's an amazingly strong person! I've been able to spend more time with her and my other family members, which has been wonderful! Sean's still living at home :-) but not for long :-( and Brian came home for spring break, plus I got to see him at ISU this weekend!

Friends: While I had to back out on a couple of events, I managed to get together with friends from the neighborhood, college, high school (thanks Facebook), work, and SCBWI.

Wow, I was busier than I thought! I'm tired just writing it down :-)

Save Everything! (and the Picture Book.)

2011-01-15T18:09:00.000-06:00

I want to tell you about a great new blog - Save Everything! (and the Picture Book), Started by Bridget Heos, author of the upcoming book What to Expect When You're Expecting Larvae: a Guide for Insect Parents (and Curious Children), illustrated by Stephane Jorisch (Lerner/Millbrook, Spring 2011).

The goal of this year-long promotion is to introduce children to new picture books. Here's how it works: Each month, Bridget will highlight 10 new picture books centered on a theme. Kids who send in a review (in the form of a paragraph, drawing, video, etc.) for one of the books, will be entered to win book-related prizes. Teachers can also win prizes for their classrooms by submitting multiple student book reviews.

Here's what teachers need to do:

1. Read picture books to your students.

2. Have them write reviews.

3. Send the reviews in to be entered to win picture books and other bookish prizes for your

classroom.

Each month, there will be a new theme, new list, and new prizes, so be sure to follow along on the blog.

To my author friends, here's a list of monthly topics. If your book fits one of the topics, let Bridget know and your book may be included in that months book reviews.

January: Save the World (and the Picture Book)
Books with environmental or world themes

February: Save the Sweets (and the Sweet Picture Books)
Books about sweets things like cupcakes and sweet-ish things like fuzzy animals

March: Save the Bookworms (and the Picture Books They Eat)
Books about books…and insects

April: Save the Laughing Children (and the Picture Book)
Funny books

May: Save the Pink Princesses (and the Tomboys)
Books about princesses and other girl power themes

June: Save America’s Favorite Pastime (and America’s Favorite Picture Books)
Baseball books

July: Save the Polar Bears (and the Teddy Bears)
Books featuring bears

August: Save the Summer Vacation (and the Picture Books)
Books about summer and books about school

September: Save the Koalas (and the Marsupial Picture Books)
Books about marsupials

October: Save the Monsters (and the Picture Books)
Books about monsters—scary, funny, or cute

November: Save the Heroes (Real and Pretend)
Books about military, police, firefighters, superheroes, and other heroes

December: Save the Snow Angels (and the Picture Books) Books featuring snow or angels (This includes holiday books if they have snow.)

Out and About with Book Tour Alex

2010-12-12T20:17:00.000-06:00

I did a book reading/signing at Barnes & Noble in Vernon hills. It was my fourth reading/signing at a B&N, but my very first with Book Tour Alex. For those of you who don't know, as a debut author, I was awarded custody of Book Tour Alex at the SCBWI-Illinois Prairie Writer's Day conference. I am supposed to bring Alex to all of my book events until the conference again next year.

The reading/signing was part of a book fair for Mundelein School District 75. My son had done his student teaching in dist. 75 and two of his students and his cooperating teacher came to see him. I got a wonderful surprise when I saw one of my previous students there! I had been his itinerant from preschool through fourth grade and I hadn't seen him in three years! Sean's new girlfriend, Kiera and her mother also came - it was so nice of them to come and really great meeting her mother!

Here are some pictures from the event. See Alex on the table with the books? I think I need to give her a more prominent seat at the next event!

Book Signing at Barnes & Noble

2010-11-16T19:33:00.000-06:00

I did a book reading/signing at Barnes & Noble in Oakbrook last night as part of a fundraiser for the Hinsdale United Methodist Preschool. We had a great turnout and the kids were adorable, as usual! Cheryl and the rest of the staff were so nice and supportive! One of the workers in the cafe created a special drink in honor of 1 Zany Zoo. It was SO delicious! He even made this counter sign.

I can't believe I forgot to bring Book Tour Alex with me!! I'm already falling down on my duties :-( I hope they don't ask me to return her!

School Visit at Thomas Metcalf Laboratory School

2010-11-15T09:03:00.001-06:00

My friend, Lori Hahm, asked me to come to her school, Thomas Metcalf Laboratory School at Illinois State University. I went there on November 12th and read to the kindergarten, first and second grade classes, as well as the fifth grade class for deaf and hard of hearing students. I had a fabulous time!! They started the day off with an all school assembly - something they do on a regular basis. Lori introduced me there and I got a very warm welcome.

When I went into the library, I found this banner the students made.

The librarians have a tradition of having the author hide, the children do a chant and then the author pops out - it was a riot! We did that before each group reading. Everyone at the school made me feel so special and welcome - I really appreciated that! What a wonderful school! Here are some pictures of the event.

Prairie Writer's Day

2010-11-14T22:37:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, I attended Prairie Writer's Day, our annual SCBWI-Illinois conference, and it was fantastic! There was a great line up of editors and agents and I learned a thing or two or twenty. The best part, as always, was hanging out with my fellow writers!

We met at Harper College and the main room we used was awesome!

There was a display of 2010 books by Illinois Writers and/or illustrators. If you squint, you can see 1 Zany Zoo towards the top of the rack on the right :-)

Every year, the committee chooses from among the authors whose debut came out that year and gives the lucky person Book Tour Alex. Guess who the lucky person was?

Here's a close-up of Alex.

Pictures compliments of Bethany Robinson - thanks!

Unplanned Hiatus

2010-11-04T19:15:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been more than a month since I last posted - it feels like a couple of weeks! Since I started writing this post a week ago, I've had a book reading/signing at Barnes & Noble in Bolingbrook, a Career Night at Stevenson High School and a weekend trip to Washington DC! I'm determined to finish this post before all my events are history! Here's what's coming up this month:

On November 6th, I will be the guest blogger on Tara Lazar's blog, Writing For Kids (While Raising Them). Once again, she's hosting PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month), "30 days of inspiration and motivation created for picture book writers". I'm also a participant and, at the end of the month, I'll have a file of at least 30 picture book ideas!

On November 12th, I'll be reading my book to the students at Thomas Metcalf Laboratory School at ISU. A college friend of mine teaches there and asked me to come read. It's going to be a lot of fun! Plus, I'll get to see my son, Brian, while I'm down there.

On November 13th, I'm attending Prairie Writers Day - SCBWI-Illinois' annual conference. I can't wait - it's fun to see my Illinois writer friends and I always come away with so much knowledge and renewed inspiration and motivation to write!

On November 15th, I'm doing a reading/signing at the Barnes & Noble in Oakbrook. I love reading my book to kids - I'm not so crazy about adults listening :-)

I hope I can keep doing events every month - we'll see how long it lasts!

57th Street Children's Book Fair

2010-09-19T20:31:00.002-05:00

I went to the 57th Street Children's Book Fair and had a great time! I met a very special fellow author, I'Deyah Ricketts, an eight-year-old girl whose parents self-published the picture book she wrote when she was four and she's now working on a novel! We exchanged autographed books - she was so adorable! Her book, Where are the Animals? was published by I'Deyah Books - they have a fantastic website too - check it out at ideyahbooks.com!

Book Fairs and Festivals

2010-09-13T18:15:00.001-05:00

A fellow author on the SCBWI-Illinois listserv asked if anyone had a list of book fairs or festivals for authors to attend and/or participate in. One reply included a link to a page on the site sellingbooks.com - Your guide to writing, publishing and marketing books and ebooks.

The author of the article, Scott Lorenz, explains why and how book fairs and festivals can be great promotional tools for authors. He also includes a list of the top 25 fairs and festivals.

While you're on the site, take a look around for other great information for authors!

57th Street Children's Book Fair

2010-09-12T17:08:00.007-05:00

I've been so busy with work, I've neglected my blog and, in the process, failed to promote a fantastic event for families - The 57th Street Children's Book Fair! Here's their press release:

The 57th Street Children's Book Fair began 24 years ago as a back-to-school celebration. The Fair has grown every year since its inception, and now hosts dozens of local booksellers and community organizations. Last year, more than 5,000 people from all over Chicago attended the Fair and participated in reading-related activities, enjoyed live entertainment and delicious refreshments, and browsed a huge selection of books and merchandise available from a variety of specialty vendors.

In celebration of Blue Balliett's forthcoming novel, The Danger Box, our theme for 2010 is . . .

Mystery & Science: What will you discover at the 57th Street Children's Book Fair?

We'll have all the usual entertainment and activities, plus books and activities about scientific investigations and science giants.

This year, join us on Sunday, September 19th from 1pm to 6pm for hands-on fun for the whole family.

I will be manning the SCBWI table from 2:00 - 3:00, along with fellow Illinois authors. I hope to see you there!!

Critters Against Cancer

2010-08-29T09:35:00.001-05:00

Jenni has put my critique auction up on her site - actually she did it last week but I've been so busry with the start of the school year, I haven't had a chance to post this.

If you have a rhyming manuscript you'd like critiqued - get over to her site - Bee Historic - and place a bid!! If you have a non-rhyming manuscript, bid on one of the other fantastic critiquers. You can also bid on autographed books and illustrations!

Did I mention, it's for a wonderful cause? So, what are you waiting for?

Critters Against Cancer

2010-08-23T18:31:00.001-05:00

A fellow writer, Jenni Bielicki, is hosting an event called Critters Against Cancer, where she's auctioning off manuscript critiques, along with autographed books and artwork. The money is going toward breast cancer research. Isn't that a great idea? You can check it out at her blog beehistoric.blogspot.com

Those of you on Facebook, you can join her event here: Critters Against Cancer.

SCBWI Conference in LA

2010-08-06T17:58:00.000-05:00

I went to the SCBWI Conference in LA and it was fantastic, stupendous, outstanding, tremendous . . . !

There was a super lineup of keynote speakers - here they are (in order of appearance): Jon Scieszka, M.T. Anderson, Loren Long, Gordon Korman, Marion Dane Bauer, E.B. Lewis, Gail Carson Levine, Carolyn Mackler, Gennifer Choldenko, Rubin Pfeffer, Rachel Vail, Paul Fleischman and Ashley Bryan.

There were also a zillion workshops throughout the four days. I'd go into detail, but why reinvent the wheel? There was a team of bloggers who covered the sessions. You can read it here: The official SCBWI Conference Blog.

I met so many talented and fun people, many of whom I'd talked to online but never in person. I had two roommates I'd found online - E. Samantha Cheng, a mini-documentary producer and Shelby Mahan, a middle-grade nonfiction writer. I was worried that we might not hit it off and it would be uncomfortable for us. Well, there was no need to worry - we had the greatest time together! As a matter of fact, we've vowed to be roommates for all future conferences!

I also met my agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton, for the first time in person! On Saturday night, she and her fellow agent, Kelly Sonnack, hosted a little wine and cheese gathering in the park for their clients. It was so nice meeting them all. On Sunday morning, she took me out to breakfast at a really cool restaurant - can't remember the name of it though. It was nice getting to know her better.

I hope I'll be able to attend next year - it'll be their 40th year so it's bound to be loads of fun! If I do go, I'll know better than to lug 20 books with me. At Friday night's book sale, I only sold five books - and three of them were bought by my roommates! Obviously, this picture was taken before I counted how many books were left!

Anyone out there have a good conference you'd recommend?

1 Zany Book Launch

2010-07-26T08:48:00.001-05:00

I had my book launch for 1 Zany Zoo on Saturday and it was a huge success! Ruth and Pam at Barnes & Noble did a fantastic job setting up the children's area and getting the word out in the preceding weeks. I did my part by emailing friends and spreading the word on Facebook.

I made goodie boxes for the kids with animal-themed items and Cheerios Treats to tie in the contest.

One of the best things I did (at the suggestion of another writer - can't remember who) was to have my friends and family autograph a copy of my book. It's going to be a wonderful keepsake!

We had a great turnout - more than 90 people came and we sold 102 books - it far exceeded my expectations! Thanks to everyone who took the time to help me celebrate the release of 1 Zany Zoo!

Interview With Illustrator, Colin Jack

2010-07-23T11:45:00.001-05:00

Check out this awesome interview with Colin Jack, the illustrator of 1 ZANY ZOO! It's so interesting to get a behind the scenes look at this extremely talented illustrator!

Colin Jack Interview

My Book Hit's The Shelves Today - Virtually

2010-07-20T07:39:00.000-05:00

Today is the release day of 1 Zany Zoo. I've had this date marked on my calendar for nearly a year - my work calendar, purse calendar, home calendar, both laptop calendars and google calendar. You might say I was a little focused on this day. So, why aren't I standing outside my local bookstore, waiting for it to open so I can finally see my book on the shelf?

Because - my book will only be available online! Apparently, bookstores are choosing to primarily carry authors with a "track record" in their stores. This has been a huge disappointment to me - not only because I can't walk in to any bookstore and find my book on the shelf but, more importantly, potential readers can't!

From the first time I saw the phenomenal cover Colin Jack drew, I knew it would be a magnet for children and their parents. Then they'd open the book and start reading and looking at the equally fantastic illustrations on every page, and they wouldn't be able to resist it! Well, that was the dream anyway.

So, I'm very excited my book is officially released - really! I just need to adjust the dream :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 1 ZANY ZOO!

School Library Journal Review

2010-06-26T10:28:00.003-05:00

1 Zany Zoo was reviewed in the July edition of the School Library Journal. I'm pretty happy with it - here's an excerpt:

" . . . Degman's giggle-inducing rhymes move this read-aloud story along: "2 sporty zebras in goggle and flippers / were snipping the walrus's whiskers with clippers. / One did the combing, the other the trimming, / They swept up the clippings, then all four went swimming." Kids will enjoy hearing the catchy rhymes read multiple times. Digital cartoon images, made to appear like hand-drawn ink sketches, capture the swift movement and playful mood. Overall, this is a fun romp through the zoo."

1 Zany Zoo Launch Party on July 24 - HELP!!

2010-06-25T07:23:00.002-05:00

My launch party is going to be at Barnes & Noble at Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills, on July 24th from 2:00 - 3:00, and I need help!

I'm trying to think of a fun craft to do with Cheerios. Does anyone have any brilliant ideas?

Also, I'm having book signing anxiety! It doesn't help that my handwriting is worse than a third grader's (new game show?). Because the zookeeper's key plays an key role (can't help myself) in the story, I want to write something like "Reading unlocks doors to your future" or "unlock your imagination - read". What do you think?

If you're in the area on July 24th - I'd love to have you stop by for a bit :-)

Hilarious British Sketch!

2010-06-23T16:23:00.000-05:00

This is a hilarious sketch of an author getting advice from his editor. Too funny!!

Blog Contest at Ink Spells

2010-06-22T15:37:00.001-05:00

Fellow writer, Susan Kaye Quinn, is hosting a contest on her blog to celebrate the release of her first novel,

LIFE, LIBERTY & PURSUIT,

"a teen love story about a college bound girl who falls in a pool, the navy recruit that saves her, and their struggle to choose between following their dreams and daring to love."

Check it out on her blog Ink Spells I'm going there right now!

Thirty Day Countdown to 1 ZANY ZOO

2010-06-20T22:04:00.002-05:00

I can't believe there are just 30 days until the release of 1 Zany Zoo and 34 days until my launch party!! I remember a year and a half ago - it felt like July 20, 2010 would never come!

I would love to tell you to run to your local Barnes & Noble or Borders to buy one, or just look at it on the shelf (that's what I want to do), but I've been informed neither store is going to carry the book. However, they will be available on both sites as well as amazon.com. I'm not sure which independent stores, if any, will be carrying it but I'll post them when I find out.

Though they're not selling the book in their stores, the managers at my local Barnes & Noble have been nice enough to arrange a launch party! It's going to be on July 24, 2:00 - 3:00. If you're local, I'd love to see you there!

Simon & Schuster Sweepstakes

2010-06-16T22:13:00.002-05:00

Simon & Schuster is having a sweepstakes and the prize
is . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . 1 ZANY ZOO! What - no money, no cars, no trips? Sorry, but it is a $15.99 value :-)

If you want to enter - and why wouldn't you - here's the link: 1 ZANY ZOO Sweepstakes But don't wait because the deadline is June 30th!

2010 Printers Row Lit Fest

2010-06-03T22:11:00.007-05:00

Next Saturday, June 12th, I will be participating in a panel discussion with fellow children's book authors: Kat Falls, Meggan Hill, Barb Rosenstock & Kristen Walker :

SHOW, DON’T TELL: Up Front and Personal with Five (!) First-Time Chicago Children’s Book Authors Moderated by Esther Hershenhorn. Five first-time children’s book authors share their Tales from the Front – the thrills, the surprises, the rewards, the Reality A portion of the time will be given to Q & A.

You can find us at the Hotel Blake, 500 S. Dearborn, Second floor, Chicago at 1:00 pm. I'm really looking forward to this - it'll be my first (maybe only) time on a panel. Hope to see you there!

Good Kirkus Review for 1 ZANY ZOO

2010-05-24T21:04:00.005-05:00

My editor sent me the Kirkus review for my book, 1 ZANY ZOO, and they like it!! Here are a couple of quotes from it:

". . . An array of further animal antics unfolds in bouncy verse (full of phonetic Seussian crunch) amid equally antic pictures . . ."

" . . . Degman’s verse is bright—this text won the Cheerios New Author Contest—and animator Jack’s digitally produced creatures, both animal and human, are pleasingly Bill Peet–esque. Crackling good fun . . . "

YAHOO!!

Pomp and Circumstance

2010-05-16T10:16:00.002-05:00

My son, Sean, graduated from Western Illinois University yesterday! He got a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. I know he's going to be a phenomenal teacher!

Congratulations, Sean! I'm so proud!!

National Limerick Day

2010-05-12T11:59:00.002-05:00

Did you know today is National Limerick Day? I didn't know until this morning, but I'm going to put it on my calendar for next year. In honor of NLD, I wrote a little limerick. I'd love if you'd write one too and post it in your comment :-)

There once was a picture book writer,

Who’d edit to make her work tighter,

She polished each line,

To make every word shine,

A contract would surely delight her.

Hearing vs Not Hearing

2010-05-10T22:20:00.005-05:00

One of my students, Alix Z., drew the picture below to enter in the SEDOL Student Art Fair. The right side (our right) shows how she hears without her hearing aids and the left side shows how she hears with her hearing aids. Didn't she do an awesome job?!

Tales From the Front in Prairie Wind - Spring 2010

2010-05-03T21:01:00.003-05:00

The Illinois Chapter of SCBWI has a quarterly newsletter, The Prairie Wind, and I was asked to write an article for a column called Tales From The Front. The column is written by newly published authors and their paths to publication. I wrote about the publication of 1 Zany Zoo and my article, 1 Peculiar Path To Publication, appeared in the spring, 2010 edition,which went online yesterday. You can read it here.

Prolific Blogger Award

2010-05-01T18:06:00.009-05:00

I was so pleased to be awarded the Prolific Blogger Award by Ruth Donnelly at Readatouille! Apparently, once you are the recipient of the award, you need to award it to three other bloggers. This was a tough decision but, here are my three choices:

Blee Bonn who always has fun and interesting posts and who makes the best book trailers around!

Kelly Pollark who has the highest energy blog posts I've read - they're exhausting!

Scotti Cohn whose blog, It Happened in Chicago! includes all-things-Chicago and fascinating interviews with authors with a Chicago connection.

Congratulations, Blee, Kelly and Scotti! Now go forth and pass on the award.

39th Annual SCBWI Conference in LA!

2010-05-01T14:32:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited - I signed up for this year's SCBWI conference in LA! It's going to be "4 days of agents, editors, publishers, workshops and networking designed to take your writing and illustration to the next level." (scbwi.org)

It's expensive so I wasn't going to give myself permission to go until I sold another manuscript - don't get excited - it didn't happen :-( But, my husband, John, got free airline tickets and a hotel voucher from work and he's been wanting to visit his brother in San Francisco so, CA - here we come! While I'm at the conference, he'll be visiting his brother - it worked out perfectly! We'll tack on a couple of days after the conference to see LA.

Another great thing about it is, I'm going to meet my agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton, in person for the first time! I'm really looking forward to that!

Are any of you going? I hope so - it would be great to meet online friends in person!

My First Negative Review on You Tube

2010-04-22T17:47:00.001-05:00

I found a negative review of 1 Zany Zoo on You Tube and it's hysterical. Check it out:

I Made a 1 ZANY ZOO Book Trailer!!

2010-04-18T17:52:00.004-05:00

Our regional SCBWI chapter hosts wonderful workshops on different aspects of children's publishing, called "Food For Thought". Yesterday's workshop, Book Trailers and Online Promotion included a panel of SCBWI-IL authors and illustrators who shared their experiences creating book trailers and other on-line promotional tools for the picture book, middle grade, and YA markets.

The panel included:

Host, Librarian, blogger, Amy Alessio.

Middle grade writer, Brenda Ferber, who shared her trailers for Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire.

YA writer, Laura Ruby, who shared her trailer for Play Me.

Picture book illustrator, Larry Day, who shared his animated trailer for Nanook and Pryce.

I was so inspired by the presentation, I went straight home and created a trailer for 1 Zany Zoo. Thanks to the amazing illustrations by Colin Jack and the jacket copy by Chloe Foglia, I think it turned out pretty well. I'd love to know what you think!!

Interview on "Monsters & Money in the Morning" on CBS!

2010-04-15T20:03:00.001-05:00

I did an interview on the CBS show Monsters & Money in the Morning at the crack of dawn yesterday morning. I think it went well and it was so much fun! Everyone there was extremely nice and they made me feel very comfortable! By the end of the interview, I was enjoying it so much I would have stayed for the full two hours :-) After the interview, Terry Savage asked me to sign the hardcover book and Mike North had me sign the Cheerios box. Terry gave me a signed copy of her book The New Savage Number.

And The Free Critique Winner is . . .

2010-04-10T17:16:00.000-05:00

Well, here are the stats and the result of my very first critique giveaway:

Nine people entered for a total of 23 entries. I used a very high-tech method to select the winner - I cut strips of scratch paper, wrote the entrants' names on them, and placed them in my favorite winner-picking bowl. I then closed my eyes - you'll have to take my word on that - and picked the winning name.

And, the winner is . . . Bernell!!!

Congratulations, Bernell! Please save your manuscript as a pdf and send it to me at: lori@loridegman.com.

Thanks everyone for entering! I feel bad that I could only choose one winner so I've decided to offer a free critique for each of you. The only thing is, I may not be able to get to them in a timely manner but I promise I'll get to them before the end of May - and hopefully sooner, depending on how busy things get around here. So, if you'd like to send a manuscript for critique, save it as a pdf and send it to the email address above. I'll do the critiques in the order in which they're received.

Thanks again for joining in my first critique giveaway!!

Chicago Public Radio Interview

2010-04-06T18:08:00.000-05:00

Last week I went down to Navy Pier and did a taped radio interview with Kristin Moo for the show Eight Forty-Eight on FM 95.1 - WBEZ. The interview aired this morning during the 9:00 - 10:00 hour and will replay tonight during the 8:00 - 9:00 hour.
Here's a link in case you want to listen and can't sit by your radio waiting :-) I think it turned out pretty well - Kristin had asked me to read a few verses and I read them a bit too fast but, other than that, I think it was good.

Happy First Birthday To My Blog!

2010-04-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

In honor of my blog's first birthday (and Poetry Month), I'm giving away a free critique!! Because prose is not my thing, I'm only accepting rhyming manuscripts. Writers of prose will thank me for this. Here's a little poem I wrote about it:

My blog's been up for one whole year,
The time for celebration's here!

If it's a free critique you seek,
congratulations - it's your week!

So, now I bet you're asking "How?"
Just read the rules - yes, read them now!

Rules:
You'll receive one entry for doing each of the following:

Post a comment saying you want to enter
Write a little poem and include it in your comment
Post a link to this post on your blog

Entries will be accepted until midnight (CST), April 9th. The winner will be chosen, at random, on April 10th and I'll post the winner here.

Good Luck!!

My First, and Unfortunately Not My Last, TV Interview

2010-03-29T22:27:00.073-05:00

I had my first TV interview yesterday - it was a fantastic experience - until I saw myself on TV!! The people at ABC were so nice and helpful and made me feel very comfortable - as comfortable as I could be doing a LIVE TV interview!! Here's a link in case you want to watch - it wasn't perfect but it was better than I expected - I didn't faint or have a major brain freeze!

The wonderful marketers for Cheerios put me and my two sisters up in a beautiful hotel right across the street from the studio - which we appreciated at 6:00 in the morning!

At the studio, we waited in the "Green Room"

My sister, Mindy, wrote, "The Grusin sisters were here" on the wall!

I was "miked" by Mike - really!

I was interviewed by Kevin Roy,
who did a wonderful job of
covering for my flubs!!

The "news room" is a lot smaller than I thought it would be. There was a small platform off to the side where Kevin and I sat for my interview. I don't have a picture of us together because I made my sisters leave right before Kevin sat down. I was afraid I'd look at them and start laughing so they watched in the green room!

Here's a view of the set from the sidewalk in front of the building. The whole thing was very cool!!

My First (last?) Major Newspaper Interview!

2010-03-21T10:41:00.001-05:00

My first (last?) interview for a major newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times, came out today. It's exciting, but a bit embarrassing - especially the gigantic picture of me! I was a little uncomfortable with the online picture - about 2" x 2" - then I saw the picture in the actual paper - about 6" x 6" - it's hard to hide the imperfections in a picture that big!! Oh well, I am what I am :-)

I think Delia O'Hara did a great job and I appreciate her leaving out some of the idiotic, nerve-driven, things I babbled on about during our phone interview!

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/2114208,SHO-Books-chilit21.article

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T07:53:00.005-05:00

32 years ago - wow, I'm old - I went to visit my boyfriend in Ireland and he took me to Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone. We climbed up to the top of the beautiful old castle, full of history and magic.

When we got to the spot where you kiss the stone, we found a gruff man who appeared to have come straight from a long night at the pub. He said that, to reach the stone, I needed to lay on my back and hang upside down over the edge. He assured me, he wouldn't let me drop. Keep in mind, he said this with a cigarette hanging out his mouth, smoke billowing into his eyes, and wreaking of stale beer.

Well, being a typical 20-year-old, I said, "Ok, thanks!" and I did it! I don't have a picture of ME doing it but I found this online - it'll give you an idea of what Im talking about.

Britain's Smallest Library - Thinking Inside the Box

2010-03-16T07:04:00.001-05:00

Villagers in the Somerset Village of Westbury-sub-Mendip have found a "novel" way to cope with the shortage of libraries in their area by turning an old red phone box into a book exchange. The villagers set up the book box after their mobile library services were canceled.

I bet this is where Redbox DVD rentals ~~stole~~ got their idea. I would love to go there to check it out - any excuse to go to England! If only someone would bankroll it . . .

What's The Difference? by Suzanne Slade

2010-03-14T16:31:00.003-05:00

My friend, Suzanne Slade's latest book, What's The Difference?, is now available for sale! Suzanne has written more than 60 books!! I can't even imagine that!

What's The Difference? (the sequel to What's New at the Zoo?) uses clever rhyming verse to show the difference caring people can make in helping endangered animals - all while practicing subtraction skills.

You can check it out here.

Links are provided for informational use. Please don't forget your local independent bookstores!

3rd Annual Cheerios Winners Announced

2010-03-11T21:58:00.008-06:00

Yahoo - the 3rd Annual Cheerios New Author winners were finally announced! And the winner is . . .

Laurie Isop for her story "How Do You Hug a Porcupine?"

And the runners up are . . .

Billie Fowler for her story "Samuel T. Slingshot"

Jessica Young for her story "Juliet the Jellyfish"

Read all about it here!

In a Cheerios Box Near You - Finally!!

2010-03-10T16:49:00.006-06:00

Well, I finally got the green light to make this announcement:

The Cheerios boxes with my book inside are in a grocery store near you NOW!!

As of today, spottings have been reported at Walmart, Jewel, Cub Foods, Safeway and Wegmans, but they should be in most grocery stores by the end of the month. The picture on the left was taken by my son at his Walmart by ISU. It's a very surreal thing seeing my book on the front of the box and even more surreal seeing my picture on the back - yikes!!

The book is written in English and Spanish - I actually like the Spanish title better - 1 Zoo Loco! Next time you're shopping, check out the cereal isle :-)

A Comedy of Errors #2

2010-03-06T09:06:00.001-06:00

This one's a quickie: I took my son to his first job fair this morning and I was worried he'd be late. We were waiting to turn left out of our subdivision and that light always takes forever. It was 6:45 on a Saturday morning and not a car in sight. My son told me to turn through the red light. I said I didn't want to go through a red light so I turned right and made a quick u-turn (also illegal because of the double yellow lines - but not as blatant as going through a red light). What I didn't realize was, while I was making my u-turn, the light changed, so I ended up driving through a red light anyway!

New widget - Ideas For Change In America

2010-03-06T07:38:00.001-06:00

I added a new widget - it's over there, below my profile picture. Right now they're in 16th place and need 329 more votes to be one of the ten winning ideas!

While you're there, check out the other great ideas - once you sign up, you get 10 votes. There are some amazing ideas - I'll post my other favorites when I find them.

Read Aloud - Think Aloud To Improve Comprehension

2010-03-03T17:43:00.000-06:00

This great site, Reading Rockets, was suggested in an email from Anastasia Suen. The whole site is great but the particular articles she recommends are about "Reading Aloud" and "Thinking Aloud" to help students increase reading comprehension. Both articles discuss the power of reading and show how to model strategies typically used by thoughtful readers.

I have several students with whom I work on reading and listening comprehension and I'm going to try these techniques ASAP!

I'll report back about how it works for my students - if you use these techniques too, let me know how it goes.

Congratulations to Jamie Weiss Chilton!!

2010-02-22T17:21:00.001-06:00

My agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton, has been received a well-deserved promotion from associate agent to agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, inc.! I'm so happy for her!

Anderson's 8th Annual Children's Literature Breakfast

2010-02-21T21:45:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, at the crack of dawn, I attended 8th Annual Anderson's Children's Literature Breakfast - though it was only my 2nd annual. I went there with my friend, Suzanne Slade, who was one of the 65 Illinois authors invited to attend the breakfast. As part of the program, guest authors sat with the approximately 500 attendees for "table chats". At different times during the program, between speakers, the authors moved to different tables to mix and mingle and talk about their books. I really enjoyed meeting authors who I knew by name and book titles but had never met - Brenda Ferber, Katharine Kendzy Gingold, Robin Luebs, Janet Nolan, and Beverly Patt.

As usual (at least both times I've been there) the Andersons provided a lineup of fantastic speakers: Pam Allyn, Jordan Sonnenblick, Francoise Mouly, Patricia McKissack, Henry Cole and Richard Peck. In addition, Jan Dundon and Kathleen March, Anderson's Bookshop Children's Coordinators, did a wonderful presentation of some of their favorite books released this year. To me, the highlight was Jordan Sonnenblick - his talk was genuine, humorous, and touching! I bet this middle grade English teacher is the most requested teacher by parents and students!

I came away with a bag full of goodies, ton of inspiration and a long list of story ideas sparked by the speakers' presentations. I'm already looking forward to attending again next year!

Tara Lazar's Short but Sweet Writing Advice

2010-02-21T09:04:00.000-06:00

A fellow writer, Tara Lazar, had a great post on her blog that I want to share. In he post "Saying a Lot with a Little" Tara reminds us that, in picture books, less can be more. The writer can write a short, succinct sentence and leave it to the illustrator to fill in the details. She does a great job of explaining it so I'll let you read her post, rather than try to explain it myself!

It's funny how rules or advice or suggestions that you've heard before (and you think you're always conscious of) can sound brand new when presented a different way. Thanks to Tara, I'm going to take a hard look at my two "finished" picture books to see where I can make more - less.

Here's the link to her post taralazar.wordpress.com. While you're there, read her other posts - they're terrific!!

Guest Author on It Happened in Chicago blog

2010-02-17T18:54:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited, my very first blog interview! Check it out at It Happened in Chicago

Five-year-old girl's 911 Call - listen

2010-02-16T22:18:00.000-06:00

I LOVE this girl! Listen to the story about her 911 call that saved her father's life!

Two Book Releases by Two Friends

2010-02-06T13:22:00.002-06:00

Two of my friends - one from grad school and the other from SCBWI - have had books released in the last month.

Amber Buetel's book, SPELLING WORD PRACTICE by Enasco is geared toward children in grades 1-3. It features spelling activities that can be used in spelling centers, weekly spelling packets, at home. The book is divided into four categories: word shape, word characteristics, word practice, and word use and includes activities for individuals, partners or groups.

I ordered the book online and it came in a couple of days. I'm giving it to my son, Sean, who is student teaching first grade right now, but it has some really great activities that I'm going to use with my students before I hand it over to him. I'll probably order another copy to keep for myself. I think this would be an excellent gift for a beginning teacher! Congratulations Amber!!

The other book, WRITING AND PUBLISHING: THE ULTIMATE TEEN GUIDE by Scarecrow Press, was written by Tina Schwartz.
In her book, Tina offers tips on writing fiction and nonfiction, as well as poetry and songwriting. She also provides information on the importance of critique groups (I'll attest to that), and attending classes and workshops. She even explores various writing carreers and the basics of publishing and marketing. What a great resource for young writers. Congratulations Tina!!

So if you're looking for fun and motivating ways to get your children or students to practice their spelling or if you know a teen who wants to break into the publishing field, these are the books for you!

2010 Caldecott & Newbery Winners Announced

2010-01-18T23:11:00.012-06:00

CALDECOTT WINNERS ANNOUNCED TODAY!

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

The 2010 Caldecott Medal winner is:

THE LION AND MOUSE, illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers).

The 2010 Honor Books are:

ALL THE WORLD, illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon, published by Beach Lane Books.

RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS: A YEAR IN COLORS, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman, published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

NEWBERY WINNERS ANNOUNCED TODAY!

The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

The 2010 Medal Winner is:

WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead, published by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books.

The 2010 Honor Books are:

CLAUDETTE COLVIN: TWICE TOWARD JUSTICE by Phillip Hoose, published by Melanie Kroupa Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE by Jacqueline Kelly, published by Henry Holt and Company.

WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON by Grace Lin, published by Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers.

THE MOSTLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF HOMER P. FIGG by Rodman Philbrick, published by The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS!!

A Comedy of Errors #1

2010-01-15T17:36:00.004-06:00

I entitled this post, A Comedy of Errors #1, because I know from experience, there will be more to follow. So, what's my latest comedy of errors? Here it is...

I've been trying to grow out my nails and have been using a cuticle softener as part of my regimen. The other night, I went to sleep way later than I should have - as usual. I was so proud of myself for remembering to apply the cuticle softener before I went to bed - even though I was sooo tired. I quickly slathered it on my nails and finger tips and went to bed.

In the morning, I noticed my fingers looked odd. Then I checked the bottle on the bathroom counter - it was clear nail polish, not cuticle softener. I decided to take it off before showering so I didn't smell like nail polish remover all day. So, I grabbed the remover from under the sink and scrubbed off the polish.

After my shower, I realized that the polish was still on my fingers. How could that be? I looked at the bottle I had used and saw that it was rubbing alcohol, not nail polish remover. So, I put on my reading glasses, found the correct bottle and proceeded to take off the nail polish. Success - naked nails!!

Ah, but here's the rub, my hands smelled like nail polish remover all day!

Six-word Resolution

2010-01-09T17:02:00.003-06:00

The bloggers over at Teaching Authors challenged their readers to write a six-word new year's resolution. There will be prizes - check it out! Here's my six-word resolution:

Embrace the changes that are coming!

Great Advice For Writers

2010-01-01T10:18:00.014-06:00

If you are a writer or want to be a writer or just want to watch a cute youtube video, check this out. What a great way to start the new year! Happy new year everyone!!

Find Class Pics

2009-12-22T16:19:00.004-06:00

I changed my blog, Find Class Pics, to allow people to make requests for class pictures they're looking for and to let people know what class pictures they have uploaded to the site. So far, there are class pictures from 32 different states.

If you have class pictures, I'd really appreciate if you would upload them to the blog - I'm sure your classmates who are looking for them will appreciate it too.

Please check out the blog and spread the word to your friends and family. Here's the link: www.findclasspics.blogspot.com

Got My Author's Copies!!

2009-12-18T07:10:00.004-06:00

Wahoo! I got my author's copies in the mail from my editor!! I'm so excited! It's hard to believe that one little sentence that popped into my head 20 years ago, "You'll never believe what I saw at the zoo" is now a real, hardcover book from Simon & Schuster! Anyone who has edited a book will understand this - that sentence is no longer in the book - it got cut in the last round of edits. I don't care :-)

The big one is a full-size hardcover that will be in stores July 20, 2010 and the small one is a paperback that will be in Cheerios boxes in March. I can't believe it's almost here - it's been a long year!

Things I Like

2009-11-29T09:44:00.016-06:00

Fellow blogger & writer, Kelly Polark, put a list of things she likes and suggested her followers do the same. Anyone who knows me knows how malleable I am so - here's my list (one thing for each year) - in no particular order! Like Kelly, it goes without saying that family and friends are at the top of the list.

1. Good puns
2. Sitting on the patio, listening to the pond & smelling burning leaves
3. Writing in rhyme
4. It's A Wonderful Life
5. Irish and English Accents
6. LONDON
7. Gardening
8. Kung Pao tofu & spinach at Big Bowl
9. Fortune cookies
10. Playing games
11. Winning Games
12. Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (with white chocolate since I quit brown chocolate)
13. My mother's Neapolitan Casserole
14. Sentimental songs
15. Whistling
16. Singing (I'm sure I like it more than those listening to me)
17. The Dick Van Dyke Show
18. Ron Howard as a kid
19. Drinking beer by a campfire - then going to sleep in a BED
20. Olive oil & Parmesan cheese with good, crusty bread
21. Having a great memory for faces and names
22. A hot shower on a cold day - until I have to get out
23. The first Day in Spring that I don't need a coat
24. Movies that make me laugh and/or cry
25. Thanksgiving day
26. Cooking for company
27. Jigsaw puzzles
28. Traveling
29. New York City
30. My DVR
31. Crocheting
32. My students
33. Cheesecake
34. Not having to get up in the morning
35. Birds, especially Hawks
36. Bejeweled - unfortunately
37. Lox & bagel
38. Jitterbugging
39. My hair when it's wet
40. Word and number puzzles
41. Going to plays
42. Photographs
43. Popcorn with real butter
44. Spicy food
45. My I-phone
46. My laptop
47. My friend Jean's toffee
48. Playing jacks
49. Floating on a noodle in Table Rock Lake, drinking beer and singing with my friends
50. Sean Connery and Gregory Peck's voices
51. Laughing until I cry
52. Making people laugh until they cry

Find Class Pics

2009-11-23T08:54:00.003-06:00

I started a new blog call Find Class Pics because I'm missing most of my class pictures from grade school and would love to replace them. I know there must be thousands of other people who would love to find their missing pics too!

I'm not sure how well it will work but, if problems arise, hopefully I can fix them to keep the site going strong.

So, if you have class pictures you're willing to share or are looking for missing class pics, go to my site and maybe we can make some sad alumni happy!

PiBoIdMo - Picture Book Idea Month

2009-11-18T13:00:00.007-06:00

I just found a great challenge - Picture Book Idea Month PiBoIdMo on Tara Lazar's blog Writing For Kids (While raising them) Tara's idea is an offshoot of another writing challenge - National Novel Writing Month - NaNoWriMo - a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in one month and it's offshoot, National Picture Book Writing Month - NaPBWriMo - a challenge to generate 30 picture books in 30 days.

Tara's idea is to write 30 picture book ideas to get the creative juices flowing and to hopefully lead to some completed picture book manuscripts. Since it's already the 18th, I'm trying to do all 18 days in one day! I don't think it's too late to start so, if you haven't already, you can start now too!

So how is this going to work? Here's how Tara explains it on her blog:

Stop here once a day in November for a new inspirational little tale. We’ll have guest bloggers and giveaways. And at the end of the month, if you’ve collected 30 ideas, you’ll get a PiBoIdMo badge for your blog (based on the logo above by Ryan Hipp) and a special super-secret prize. (You’ve guessed it, “super-secret” is code for “I don’t know what it is yet.”)

So what are you waiting for? Get thinking!!

What a Difference a Day Makes

2009-11-07T07:10:00.008-06:00

Yesterday, I attended an IEP meeting in my new role as Lead Teacher for our Hearing Itinerant program. As we were completing the paperwork, people asked questions about what forms to use and what to write. There was one form I'd never used before and they all looked to me, wanting to know what to do. Since I've only been lead teacher for two months, I was able to say - "I don't know, I've never done this form before." without fear of consequences. I figure I've got until after winter break to use the "I'm new at this" excuse.

But then it hit me - so I said it out loud - god forbid I don't blurt out every thought in my head - "They appointed me the lead but I'm just an itinerant teacher - I have no special skills or knowledge to be the Lead!" Which is completely true! Luckily, it was a great group at the meeting and we got the paperwork done and everyone left happy.

I was just thinking about this again and it reminded me of when I won the Cheerios contest and got the book contract. After the news got out, I started being asked for my opinion on all aspects of the writing/publishing process from both writer friends and writer strangers. I was even asked to speak at our local SCBWI group about my experiences with the contest, publishing...

At the meeting, after explaining that I'd only had 1 1/2 beers with dinner (I didn't want to start rumors about being a drunk) I told the group - some of whom were waiting to hear from a knowledgeable, about-to-be-published author - I said, "I'm just a writer like all of you and six months ago I was a writer who'd never gotten a positive response in all the years I'd been submitting my work!"

So, what's my point? My point is, I'm amazed how giving someone a new title - "Lead Teacher" "Contest Winner" "Published Author" - it instantly changes the way people perceive you and the expectations they have of you. It's crazy, isn't it? Has this happened to anyone else?

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Got My F&Gs!

2009-11-05T07:43:00.003-06:00

I got my F&Gs (say it slowly) for 1 ZANY ZOO in the mail yesterday! What are F&Gs? They're the actual printing of the book but they're not bound, just Folded and Gathered (thus - F&Gs). But it has the cover and endpapers and the pages printed back to back so it looks just like the real thing!

I think I'm going to tell my students about it next week and read it to them. I hadn't told them anything about it because, without the actual book to look at, it would be hard for them to get really get it. Hopefully, they'll love the book or I'll be crushed!

John Lennon's Birthday

2009-10-10T14:13:00.004-05:00

My sister and I went to Strawberry Field in Central Park last night to see if anything was happening in honor of John Lennon's birthday. We found a group of musicians playing Lennon songs, surrounded by people of all ages singing along. It was great! Here's a clip of one of the songs my sister took on her iPhone.

S Is For Story by Esther Hershenhorn & Zachary Pullen

2009-10-07T22:48:00.007-05:00

I saw the amazing Esther Hershenhorn at our monthly SCBWI meeting in Vernon Hills. She spoke about her journey from first idea to publication of her new book S Is For Story: A Writer's Alphabet published by Sleeping Bear Press. There are so many levels to this wonderful book and the illustrations by Zachary Pullen are phenomenal!

Check out Esther's website and blog and Zachary's website and blog!

Debut Authors - Get In CWIM

2009-09-29T07:43:00.003-05:00

I found this on Alice's CWIM Blog. Hurry - the deadline is October 8th!

Official Call for Debut Authors for the 2011 CWIM...

I'm looking for debut author and illustrators who'd like to be interviewed for my "First Books" feature in 2011 CWIM.

If you are interested in being featured in First Books, here are the rules and guidelines:

1. Email me at alice.pope@fwmedia.com, subject line "First Books."
2. Tell me about your debut book including the title, publisher, genre and approximate publication date.
3. The book must be available in some form by November (so it can be read before you're interviewed).
4. A cover image must be available by January 2010 (because I don't want to feature a book without showing the cover).
5. Please include links to your website or blog if you have one.
6. No self-published books please.
7. Tell me something fun/interesting/exciting/unusual/inspiring about you/your book/your path to publication.
8. E-mails must be received by October 8th.
9. I'll be in touch with those I've chosen by the October 30th; otherwise you likely will not hear from me--I simply don't have time to contact everyone, although I wish I could. (I may acknowledge receipt of emails, however, depending on how busy I am and/or how much I do or do not feel like doing other work.)
10. Debut authors not chosen to be featured in First Books could be chosen as Debut Authors of the Month which will be resurrected on this blog starting January 2010!

57th Street Children's Book Fair

2009-09-12T11:12:00.006-05:00

I meant to post this sooner but I've been so busy with my new position as lead teacher (I have a new-found appreciation for our old lead - I had no idea how much she did). Hopefully, some of you in the Chicago area will read this in time to go - if you don't already know about it. I pasted the info below off their website. I'll be manning - or womanning - the table from 3:00-4:00. It'll be great to meet some fellow Chicago-area writers!

"This year, the 57 Street Children's Book Fair is excited to host children's book author Jennifer Holm at our annual event. Jennifer Holm is a two-time Newbery Honor Winner and has garnered respect from teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents across the country. She is revered by children everywhere for her momentous and popular graphic novel series, Babymouse. Holm will sign books and greet fairgoers from 2pm-4pm on the corner of 57th and Kimbark. 57th Street Books will offer a variety of Holm's award-winning and beloved
titles for purchase throughout the day.

In addition to Jennifer Holm, the 57th Street Children's Book Fair will also host national treasures Arthur Yorinks and Richard Eigelski as they present and sign their newest picture book collaboration titled, Homework. Yorinks & Eigelski will present at 2:30pm on the 57th Street Books Stage and sign nearby from 3pm-4pm.

The 57th Street Children's Book Fair is honored to celebrate this event with a talented group of local authors and illustrators. This year's Local Treasures appearing at the fair include:
Ilene Cooper, author of The Golden Rule
Matthew Cordell, author/illustrator of Trouble Gum
Esther Hershenhorn, author of S is for Stories
Jeff Jarka, author/illustrator of Love That Puppy
& The Three Silly Chicks (www.threesillychicks.com), otherwise known as:
Andrea Beaty, author of Iggy Peck, Architect
Carolyn Crimi, author of Henry & the Buccaneer Bunnies
Julia Durango, author of Cha-Cha Chimps

With this spectacular line-up of literary talent, children of all ages will have the opportunity to meet an author or illustrator. Some fairgoers will even take home FREE signed copies! Details available at the information table the day of the Fair."

How Well Can You Focus

2009-09-01T16:44:00.000-05:00

Here's something fun I saw at a recent school meeting I attended. Click on the video link below. You'll see people dressed in white shirts and black shirts. Your task is to count the number of times the basketball is passed between the people wearing white shirts. Do not watch the video more than once. When you're done, leave a comment with the number of passes you saw. Tomorrow I'll provide the correct answer. Don't cheat - only watch it once!

http://viscog.beckman.illinois.edu/flashmovie/15.php

TMTOMH Disorder - I'm cured

2009-08-31T17:40:00.000-05:00

After three long months of suffering from TMTOMH (Too Much Time On My Hands) Disorder, I'm cured! I started back to work a week ago today and you'd think that would have a negative impact on my writing but, as with many things in my life, it has done the opposite of what you'd logically expect. This weekend, I did more productive writing than I have all summer - go figure!! All I know is, I'm going to take advantage of my remission of TMTOMH Disorder and write as much as possible during the next nine months!

Anyone else have this disorder?

Another New School Year

2009-08-29T16:17:00.007-05:00

John and I are empty nesters again! I drove Brian to ISU two weeks ago and drove Sean's mattress (on the top of my car) and the other things he couldn't fit in his car to WIU last week. I have to say, John and I did a great job of tying down the mattress but I still drove with one eye in the rear view mirror the whole way and I didn't drive over 60 mph! The only positive about it (other than the mattress not flying off the car and causing a major accident) is that I knew for sure I wouldn't get a speeding ticket!

I finished my first week of the new school year and I'm still standing! I took on the role of lead teacher for our department so I'll be doing that part time and teaching part time. I can already tell it's going to be difficult balancing both but I'm sure I'll get a handle on it before too long. Then I'll have to figure out how to fit in my writing and blogging and socializing and . . .

Wish me luck!

Writer's Wednesday: Blue Rose Girls

2009-08-19T20:15:00.000-05:00

I found a great site called Blue Rose Girls. It's hosted by seven children's book professionals who discuss their lives in books. The blue girls are primarily authors and illustrators but they also have a teacher and editors. Check it out!

Youtube Tuesday: Three Funny Videos On Writing

2009-08-18T08:13:00.004-05:00

Here are three funny videos on writing. I know Wednesdays' blogs are about writing but Tuesdays' blogs are about youtube so - what the heck.

Me Monday: Goodbye Boys - Hello Facebook

2009-08-16T20:20:00.007-05:00

I drove Brian to ISU yesterday and will drive some of Sean's stuff to WIU on Friday. It's going to be awfully quiet around here! I'm going to miss them :(

Also, I went public on Facebook this weekend and I've connected with some old friends - it's fun! I'm giving Twitter another try too :)

Favorite Friday: Comedy Shows

2009-08-14T08:52:00.002-05:00

Here's a list of my top 10, all-time favorite comedy shows:

- The Andy Griffith Show
- Arrested Development
- Barney Miller
- The Dick Van Dyke Show
- Freaks and Geeks
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show
- Mash
- Seinfeld
- Sex and the City
- Two and a Half Men

What are yours?

Thoughtful Thursday: One Click Donations

2009-08-13T11:56:00.005-05:00

I found three great sites that allow you to "donate" money just by clicking a button. These sites are funded by various companies who sponsor the site for a day. Every sponsor makes a donation for each user who clicks on the site during the day.

I put these sites in my toolbar and have made a habit of going to them the first time I'm on my computer. It takes less than 30 seconds to do all three.

The sites are:
The Hunger Site
The Animal Rescue Site
The Breast Cancer Site

I just got this link from the blueboards: freerice.com It's a vocabulary test and for every answer you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger.

If anyone knows of other sites like this, please share!

Writer's Wednesday: My Book Cover!!

2009-08-12T07:30:00.002-05:00

I'm SOOOO excited to be able to share the cover for my first, and hopefully not last, picture book! All of the illustrations are complete and they've been sent, along with the text, to the printer for first proofs!

Isn't Colin Jack fantastic? He has a Dr. Suess-type quality - don't you think?