Discoveries

This past Saturday, I opened an email from Get Lit!, a Spokane, WA group that organizes an annual lit festival in April. A month or so ago, I had signed up to receive email updates about the festival, but was so excited to discover they had year-round events posted on a calendar on their website! I clicked my mouse a few times and found that picture book author and illustrator, Daniel Schallau would be signing his new book, Come Back Soon, at Auntie’s bookstore in downtown Spokane that very afternoon.

Being new to the area, I hadn’t been to Auntie’s, but after perusing the Get Lit! calendar, I knew it was someplace I had to visit. I convinced the family it was the place to be, and we headed out. I was not disappointed! Auntie’s is a wonderful bookstore. But not only that, it has a super cool game store inside and a café next door with a large rectangular window that opens into the bookstore. So inside it smells like books, freshly brewed coffee and tasty café food. Ahhhh.

But now onto Daniel. Daniel was in town to promote his new picture book, Come Back Soon (and to visit his parents). Daniel grew up in the Pacific Northwest, became an architect and met his wife in a Starbucks on NW 23rd in Portland, OR. His wife is originally from Japan, so they moved to Tokyo to be with her family. It was so great to talk with Daniel in person about his book. I got the inside scoop on a lot of the amazing, detailed art within. His background in architecture and his life in Japan, influence the world he’s created inside this book. There is so much to look at and discover in the penguin’s iceberg home. If you know a child that loves looking at little details, they will love pointing out something new in this book each time they pick it up.

Critique Partner Success!

I am so pleased to announce that one of my critique partners has a published picture book out in the world, ready for you to purchase! Judith Snyder's What Do You See?, encourages children to look at the world in a new way. Readers will use mathematical thinking skills, but they'll never know they're learning! Kids can expand their minds as they flip through the pages and explore their own imagination.

Please visit Judith's website to learn more about this wonderful book and play along on her contest page. Kids can enter too!

An Itty Bitty Writing Conference

This past Saturday, I attended the Inland Empire's SCBWI conference in Spokane WA. It's a much smaller conference than others offered in the Pacific Northwest, but a small conference offers a completely different experience.

The small crowd gave presenters and attendees more opportunity to connect and chat. The editor, authors, and author/illustrator were just like regular people, imagine that! They mingled, they approached attendees, they encouraged, and they offered heart-felt advice.

True, the list of presenters isn't as long as the big conferences, but the opportunity to make connections, and the advice received, is well worth the price of admission.

A Back to School Picture Book

I checked out a cute picture book at the library, Dog Day by Sarah Hayes, illustrations by Hannah Broadway. It's another great example of an author taking a common subject, adding a clever twist, and creating something new.

It starts out simply, Here is Ben. Here is Ben's lunchbox. Here is Ben's classroom. Here is Ellie. Then you turn the page and the fun begins. Here is Ben's teacher. WOOF! WOOF! Wait a minute . . .

The story continues with Ben and the rest of his classmates learning how to be exceptional canines. Another top notch idea turned into a silly, simple story, making a perfect picture book.

Amazing New Resource for Children's Writers

My friend, Deb Cushman, just opened the doors to her new one stop shop for online writing resources. If you are a children's writer that loves to hang out on the Internet after writing and revising, check out this site. You can click to your heart's content and consume all the writing information you'll ever need to know. Click Writer Sites to begin.

Three Picture Books About Friendship

Last week I found my Spokane neighborhood library. I was so happy to find a nice, new building less than 2 miles from home. I picked up a library card and headed straight to the children’s section. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular on this visit, so I went for the librarian’s picks displayed on top of the shelves. Three of the books were about friendship. My Best Friends by Anna Nilsen, Illustrated by Emma Dodd, HELP! A story of Friendship by Holly Keller, and What are Friends For by Sally Grindley, illustrated by Penny Dann.

As a writer, I enjoy taking a look at picture books that address the same issues and topics. It gives me a chance to see how creative authors take a common subject, add their characters, use their words, rhythm and rhyme to make something new.

These books range from very simple text and low word count, to a very involved story with well developed characters. Take a look at these fun picture books to see how a manuscript on an “overdone” subject can become a book on display at your local library.

Setting up in Spokane

It’s official. I’m now a Spoka-noa-gen. It has been a crazy 6 months. My husband accepted a job in Spokane, WA last October. Spokane is about 6 hours from our home in Camas, WA. He commuted back and forth until the school year ended and the house sold. The family is together for one month, then my daughter starts college. It’s a crazy transition time for us.

But now that my computer is all set up, I’m getting back into the swing of things with my writing. I even got a rejection letter today, so things are back on course. I’ve signed up for the Inland Empire SCBWI conference in September, and I’m looking forward to meeting some local writers. Maybe I’ll even meet a critique partner or two.