disappearing desmond book giveaway!

November 4, 2010 ~ jama

Who’s that hiding behind the fence with the gray fur and pointy ears?

Could it be Desmond, a shy cat who likes to blend in the background and disappear? He’s quite clever with his disguises:

What happens when Gloria, a very outgoing rabbit, arrives at school? Not only does she like being noticed, but she seems to notice Desmond no matter where he tries to hide. Pretty soon, Desmond realizes he enjoys interacting with others after all.

Disappearing Desmond has already received glowing reviews from Publishers Weekly ("socially confident readers and shrinking violets alike will be won over") and School Library Journal ("Young viewers will enjoy spotting Desmond in his ingenious costumes and identifying others trying to stay out of sight in the schoolyard . . . This low-key story of how friendship can support and encourage others will be a welcome addition for most libraries").

Don’t miss your chance to win one of 10 copies in Anna’s special giveaway. To enter, just click on the image at the top of this post any time between now and November 14th. (You can enter as many times as you wish.) Anna will announce the lucky winners on November 15th! U.S. residents only, please. (More details here.)

♥ Check out Anna’s Disappearing Desmond webpage for Activity Kits for libraries, story hours and classrooms, reviews, and process posts. At her blog, Painting Bunnies, you can see more about how she created some of the illustrations from sketches to finished art.

♥ Nice online book review at Journey of a Bookseller.

DISAPPEARING DESMOND
written and illustrated by Anna Alter
published by Knopf BFYR, August 2010
Full color Picture Book for ages 4-8, 40 pp.
Cool themes: shyness, friendship, social interactions, inclusion.

What are you waiting for? Clickety click click click!

a visit to walton’s mountain

November 3, 2010October 4, 2017 ~ jama

“Without courage, honor, compassion, pity, love and sacrifice, as William Faulkner pointed out, we know not of love, but lust. We debase our audience. But we can enable and enrich our viewers and ourselves in our journey through this good time, this precious time, this great and wonderful experience we call life.” ~ Earl Hamner, Jr.

*Earl Hamner’s boyhood home in Schuyler, Virginia.*

Saturday, when the air was cool and crisp, and autumn leaves were raining down like shimmering gold coins, Len and I drove out to Schuyler, Virginia, birthplace of Earl Hamner, the real “John Boy” of the popular Emmy-award winning TV series, “The Waltons.”

Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville, Schuyler (sky-ler) is more a community than a traditional town (there’s no main street to speak of). Call it a hamlet, whose main feature is a meandering country road going up, over and around hills, with houses nestled here and there.

Continue reading →

and so it begins . . .

November 1, 2010 ~ jama

Happy November!

A brand new month, and an intriguing challenge. I don’t do many of these, but this one sounds like too much fun to pass up: Picture Book Idea Month, organized by Tara Lazar at Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)!

For the month of November, I will have to jot down one new picture book story idea each day. I decided this would be the perfect birthday gift to myself. I’m going to "flavor" my list by trying to think of as many food-related ideas as I can. Makes sense, right?

At last check, there are about 180 people already signed up. If you’d like to join us, there’s still lots of time — sign up deadline is not until November 7th. Tara has arranged for all kinds of cool prizes too — critiques, original artwork, books, jewelry, and feedback from literary agents. Guest posts by published authors and illustrators will offer lots of inspiration. Click here for all the details.

Now, a good challenge calls for extra chocolate — a major food group that has been scientifically proven to inspire the best ideas. Let’s start with these:

olya/flickr

Okay, I’m all set. I’ve got my official badge, and will keep you updated of my progress as the month goes on.

Fellow PB fans: Ready, Set, Go!

And those of you doing NaNoWriMo, good luck!

Everyone, have a great week!

trick or treat!

October 31, 2010 ~ jama

abigailsbakeshop/flickr

Happy Halloween!

Hope you’re having a nice Sunday. I can’t believe it’s already the end of October!

Are you all set for tonight? What’s nice about living here is that all the kids in the neighborhood trick or treat together (I don’t think there’s more than a dozen or so kids in all) — which means our doorbell rings only once, we pass out candy, and then can relax the rest of the evening.

Since the houses are spread far apart, it’s quite a bit of walking for some of the littlest munchkins, especially to reach our house (at the end of a long, dark driveway). But they’ve come up with the perfect solution. One of the neighbors hitches a trailer full of hay bales to his tractor — a trick-or-treating hayride! The kids love it, and some of the older ones take turns driving the tractor. The parents walk alongside and make a progressive party out of it, stopping at each house to chat awhile.

Bakerella/flickr

Had a lot of fun celebrating National Cat Day on Friday. Thanks again to all who came by, and to those who contributed photos and stories. Here’s a bonus photo of Julia Denos and Seri — isn’t it quintessential Halloween? Gorgeous!

Check out these posts for more cattiness:

♥ YA author Sonia Gensler posted some cute pics of her cat, Cedric.

♥ Kind and talented artist, Kevin Slattery, shared some awesome cat drawings and cartoons.

♥ Vince, a highly literate cat living with author Pat Zietlow Miller, has reviewed a couple of children’s cat books at Read, Write, Repeat. Charming and amusing!

♥ YA author Robin Graf Prehn shared some pics of Grey Kitty. Cute poses :).

*If you know of any others, please point me to them!

Help yourself to a kitty cupcake and some candy! And have a Spooktacular night!!

BTW, what’s your favorite Halloween candy? Cornelius is passing out mine ☺!

kool and krazy kidlit kats up close and purrsonal!

October 29, 2010July 19, 2018 ~ jama ~ 1 Comment

“When my cats are not happy, I’m not happy. They’re just sitting there thinking of ways to get even.” ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

Cats, cats, cats. Everywhere cats! Yowl!

Today, alphabet soup is proud to feature 17 somewhat scruffy immaculately groomed authors and illustrators from the kidlitosphere and their 17,000 crazy cool cats. It’s not like any of these people actually hissed at my National Dog Day post in August, where we rhapsodized about man’s best friend, extolled his loyalty, and traded stories over a few juicy bones. You know, a perfectly innocent little party.