Simon & Schuster Sweepstakes

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

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

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

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

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.