what I'm working on, part 2

So, despite some doggie help, I have been finally finished work on the mural. I can't believe it's done!


The painted Chinese characters is a proverb written by the upcoming baby's grandfather. Roughly translated it says,“In the pureness and innocence of childhood, true joy and happiness.”

This is my favorite part of the mural. The tree will be used as a growth chart, which is why the banner says, "Oh, how you've grown!" Originally it was going to include the baby's name but since that keeps changing, we decided to leave it out.


All in all the mural took about ten days to do. Ten, ten-hour days, mind you. I think I might have lost some weight in the process. I definitely lost sleep as you can tell from my haggard appearance. Haggard, but happy!

Keene State College Children's Literature Festival

On Saturday, Grace, Elaine and I attended the Keene State Children's Lit Fest up in Keene, New Hampshire (thanks for driving Elaine) and it was fabulous as always! It was my third time attending, and I think it was the best year yet. The festival is always formatted the same way: 5 speakers have an hour to talk about their work, with book signings and food in between presentations. Its a long day to be sure, 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, but a testament to the speakers that the audience stays rapt to the end.

This year's speakers were: Kathy Mallat, Michael Dooling, Richard Peck, Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and Chris Sontpiet. To be honest, I didn't know who most of the speakers were before I got there. But even not knowing their work beforehand, whats most fascinating about hearing authors speak in this context is getting a window into the way an artist's personality and life path interweaves with the books they make. I am especially hungry for this kind of information because as a an author/illustrator at the beginning of my career (if 8 years is still beginning- strangely in publishing it is) I'm always anxious to know whats coming next, what it would be like to be publishing for 20 or 30 years.

Richard Peck was probably the most dynamic speaker. A veteran writer of 30 plus years, the audience was instantly scrambling to jot down the abundance of phrases that collectively gave us all goosebumps. For example:

"The only way one can write is by the light of the burning bridges behind you"

"You learn the most from the experience you would have avoided if you could"

"No one ever grows up til they have to"

"Humor is anger sent to finishing school"

And a quote from Cicero: "Not to know what happened before you were born is to remain a child"

All of these points move through his books, and clearly evolved out of deep passion and interest in humanity.

Natalie Kinsey-Warnock was another stand out on Saturday. Mainly because her personality was so big and she was so open, it felt like watching a person explode behind a podium. She laid out all the facets of her life; her life in rural Vermont with 8 dogs, cats and a slew of horses all of which were rescued, the labor involved in maintaining her land, her obsession with family stories and researching her personal history, a distrust of technology (she has no cell phone and writes all her books longhand in pencil). She showed us quilts she designed with her great grandmother, all sewed by hand (no machine). Writing for her seems as compulsory as eating a meal.

Another highlight of the day was visiting the children's book gallery, maintained by the festival director, David White. It is hands down the best collection of children's book art I've seen, if you love children's books then you have to go. There are pieces from all the greats (Maurice Sendak, Tomie dePaola, Arnold Lobel, and Trina Schart Hyman among others) and new artists too. Lots of sketches and process work.

This year we got to see the expansion of the "owl wall," a collection of owls (Keene's mascot) painted by children's book illustrators to celebrate next year's 100th anniversary of the college. Here is a pic of me next to my owl contribution (you can see it close-up here):



Grace, Elaine, me and Alissa Imre Geis in the gallery:



The owls (thats Eric Carle's in the front):



Finally the day ended at a get together for the speakers, owl donors, and friends at the festival director's authentic Irish Cottage:

Best versus favorite?

Yesterday I was talking to a friend about favorite books, and I made the distinction that my favorite books aren't necessarily the books that I think are the best, or most well-written. The example I gave was with movies: I think Schindler's List is a technically better movie that, say, Say Anything, but I wouldn't rate the former on my top 10 favorite movies, whereas the latter is safely there. I've seen Say Anything countless times, and have enjoyed each viewing immensely. I've seen Schindler's List once, and found it moving, powerful, and beautiful to watch, but I have no desire to repeat the experience, because it was so draining. Maybe this has to do with the genre, romantic comedy versus drama, although I do think, in movies and in books, that I generally gravitate towards drama over comedy.

When I think of my favorite books, I think of titles like To Kill a Mockingbird, Little Women, Watership Down, Ender's Game, Emily of New Moon, etc. Books I read as a child, and read over and over. But I can't say that they're "better" books than Beloved, 100 Years of Solitude, The Book Thief, or Ulysses (I've never read the latter, actually). Of course, the nostalgia factor plays a role, as does the opportunity to re-read the books. All of the books I mentioned earlier above I've read at least 3 or 4 times. Nowadays, unless it's a book I'm editing, I don't have time to read books more than once, which I find sad.

So, the question: do you make the distinction between favorite and best? What are some of the books on your lists?

Blogging for a Cure: Week #3

Week #2 of Blogging for a Cure was another smash success. Unfortunately, I was so busy last week that I didn’t get an opportunity to read all of the posts featuring Robert’s Snow artists. I intend to read all of the Blogging for a Cure features once my schedule isn’t so hectic.

You will find the schedule for Week #3 of Blogging for a Cure below. Every day some of the picture book illustrators who have created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 will be featured at different children’s literature blogs. Robert’s Snow is a unique fundraiser. The proceeds from its three 2007 auctions will go to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for cancer research. Read all about Robert’s Snow: for Cancer’s Cure here.

NOTE: I have linked to the blogs that will be posting features about the Robert’s Snow artists this week—not to the specific posts. Jules and Eisha of 7-Imp have created a special page that includes a list with links to all the Blogging for a Cure posts. Their list is updated every day.

Monday, October 29
Dan Santat at Writing and Ruminating
Joanne Friar at The Longstockings
Alissa Imre Geis at Wild Rose Reader
Diane Greenseid at Just One More Book!!
Sean Qualls at Brooklyn Arden

Tuesday, October 30
Ann Koffsky at Book Buds
Bill Carman at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Gretel Parker at Finding Wonderland
Matt Phelan at A Year of Reading
Stephanie Roth at Writing with a broken tusk

Wednesday, October 31
Shawna Tenney at Kate's Book Blog
Adam Rex at Booktopia and Welcome to my Tweendom
Mo Willems at MotherReader
Rolandas Kiaulevicius at a wrung sponge

Thursday, November 1
Karen Lee at sruble's world
Diana Magnuson at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Melissa Iwai at Brooklyn Arden
Victoria Jamieson at AmoXcalli and Cuentecitos
Molly Idle at The Shady Glade
Meghan McCarthy at A Fuse #8 Production

Friday, November 2
Tracy McGuinness-Kelly at Sam Riddleburger's blog
Sarah Kahn at Kate's Book Blog
Sylvia Long at Whimsy Books
Jeremy Tankard at the excelsior file
Holli Conger at Please Come Flying

Saturday, November 3
Susan Miller at Your Neighborhood Librarian
Ellen Beier at What Adrienne Thinks About That
Hideko Takahashi at The Silver Lining
Judith Moffat at Jo's Journal
Wendell Minor at Wild Rose Reader

Sunday, November 4
Joy Allen at Check It Out
Robin Brickman at Greetings from Nowhere
Lauren Stringer at laurasalas
Nancy Wallace at In the Pages . . .

WIN A PRIZE!!! I do hope you’ll stop by to read my Blogging for a Cure articles at Wild Rose Reader and to comment about the artists and their work. I have a special prize for some lucky person who leaves a comment at any of my six posts featuring a Robert’s Snow artist: a limited edition giclee print of an illustration from Grace Lin’s book Robert’s Snow! That’s right folks! Here’s a picture of the print that I picked up at the Child at Heart Gallery.

Each time you comment at one of my Blogging for a Cure posts about a Robert’s Snow artist, I’ll put your name in a hat. If you comment at all six posts, your name will go into the hat six times! The drawing will take place on November 19th, the day bidding begins on the first of three Robert’s Snow 2007 auctions.

I also have several consolation prizes for commenters who don’t win the “big” prize: five small prints of the Robert’s Snow mouse(mice).


Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success.


These are the Robert’s Snow artists who will be/have been featured at Wild Rose Reader.


October 16: Scott Bakal
October 29: Alissa Imre Geis
November 3: Wendell Minor
November 9: Susan Kathleen Hartung
November 15: Mary Newell DePalma
November 18: Wade Zahares

Fact, not a fact

I'm trying to finish a book -- a non-fiction book with a contract and a deadline, so this is going to be a short post.

I'm not as far along as I'd like to be partly because I keep getting distracted by things that, probably, can't be included because they're not visual enough..... like that in the Quecha language (the language of the Incas that many people in the Andes still speak today), the form of a verb depends on whether you know something happened from hearsay or from your own experience.

You can also add suffixes to show whether an action was:

*performed for someone else's benefit

*performed for your own benefit

*futile or of little importance

*lamentable

*not your responsibility

This is fascinating to me -- for what it shows about their culture and ours. In English, something is a fact or not a fact; you did something or WOULD have done it if......or COULD have done it....period. Our verbs deal with the possible.

While doing this research I've also seen videos of kids learning to read in Peru, animals actually eating in the jungle, found a GREAT story for a picture book that hasn't been told, and wasted vast amounts of time! More when I can use the simple past tense to report that the ms. has IN FACT been handed in.

POETRY FRIDAY: One Reason I Like Opera

A couple of weeks ago I posted a poem by Marge Piercy entitled Colors Passing through Us. Eisha also posted the poem at 7-Imp the same day in Poetry Friday: Marriage, as seen by me (and Marge Piercy). Last Saturday, I got together with a friend who is a teacher and poet. We met at a local Border’s in the café to critique each other’s poems. Later, we checked out the poetry section in the store. I purchased a copy of Piercy’s book Colors Passing through Us. It’s got some great poems! Here’s one of the best poems that I’ve read so far in the book. I like the touches of humor in One reason I like Opera. I’m often surprised when an adult poem makes me chuckle to myself. I hope you all enjoy this Piercy poem as much as I do.

One reason I like opera
by Marge Piercy

In movies, you can tell the heroine
because she is blonder and thinner
than her sidekick. The villainess
is darkest. If a woman is fat,
she is a joke and will probably die.

In movies, the blondest are the best
and in bleaching lies not only purity
but victory. If two people are both
extra pretty, they will end up
in the final clinch.

Only the flawless in face and body
win. That is why I treat
movies as less interesting
than comic books. The camera
is stupid. It sucks surfaces.

Let's go to the opera instead.
The heroine is fifty and weighs
as much as a '65 Chevy with fins.
She could crack your jaw in her fist.
She can hit high C lying down.

The tenor the women scream for
wolfs down an eight course meal daily.
He resembles a bull on hind legs.
His thighs are the size of beer kegs.
His chest is a redwood with hair.

You can read the rest of the poem here at The Writers’ Almanac with Garrison Keillor.

At Wild Rose Reader today I have an Anti-war Protest Song and Poetry post with three poems and a YouTube video of the Jackson Browne song Lives in the Balance.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is at Literary Safari this week.



I'm off to New Hampshire this afternoon with Grace an Anna for the Keene State College Children's Literature Festival.

god damn!

Okay, once again I can't post photos. GRRRRR. But if you go to JJK's website's blog you'll see that Mr. Krosoczka has his own van! Well, not HIS van but a van that transports books is decorated with his slug character. Wow. One can only dream of having his or her own van. I'll post the pic when I can. Go Jarrett!

Anyhow, this brings me to an idea I've had brewing for a while, er, rather, a few weeks: To have a contest and the winner gets to be illustrated into my next book. I'm not sure exactly what the contest will be--perhaps the person who does the craziest thing with my books or my characters... or perhaps the person who does the most creative classroom project... I'm not sure yet. Ideas? I'm not sure how to judge the winner yet either. Perhaps the BRG can help out? I haven't asked them yet but I'm asking now!

Okay, so stay tuned for more info on that. Who wouldn't want to be illustrated into one of my books?

meghan

my trip to texas

Finally someone has pulled me out of my own little world and dropkicked me into the Texas. Did you know that Texans pledge allegiance to both the US flag AND the Texas flag?

Anyhow, Blogger is being a jerk and won't let me upload photos. Therefore I won't post until Blogger stops being a jerk. I will also post on my personal blog... and talk about Texas and the SOI opening... blah blah blah. I will also post an inside peek into my new book ASTRONAUT HANDBOOK. Yeah!

Stay tuned!

meghan

what I'm working on now

I still have not been able to settle down into book work, but I am attempting to use my artistic skills. Right now, I am painting a mural for some good friends who are going to have a baby. When I offered to do this, I realized that I had never painted a mural before but I thought, "Hey, I'm a professional illustrator, right? How hard can it be?" With my confidence in overabundance, I assured them that I could get the wall done in a few days, maybe a week.

So I drew up some sketches and got the okay for this one:



And calmly began painting in the background.


Then the snags began. My oh-so-smart idea of projecting the image onto the wall failed miserably. The room was too shallow for the image to project accurately and I spent the day wrestling with it.



Finally, I just gave up and drew everything freehand. Which was quite time-consuming.


And of course my pencil marks were so messy, I had to outline in paint just to see what I had drawn.


It was quite a relief to actually start painting color. But to get to this stage took about twice the amount of time anticipated.


And at this point, I just hope I get the mural done before the baby gets here!



to be continued...

Found in translation

I recently discovered that one of the books I illustrated, The Purple Ribbon, has been published in Japanese! This is the first time one of my books has been translated, so cool! I love looking through it to compare the differences in design and how the type translates (not that I speak a word of Japanese). I really love what they did with the layout. Especially here on the contents page:



And here on the half title, where they put my little mouse spot below the title, as if it were hanging from a string. Such an elegant design:



I am going to have to learn a little Japanese so I can read some of the book to kids, or at least pronounce the title!

Peter Brown and the fabulously bouncy, exciting, pretty good week

Last week, I neglected to mention one other book I edited that is out this Fall: The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder by Peter Brown. Peter has had quite a bit of good things happening for him lately. First of all, and perhaps most importantly, he was finally named a Hot Man of Children's Literature by Fuse #8.

He was also selected to be included in the Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators for the second year in a row for The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder. Here is Peter with his original art:As usual, it was a fabulous (although hot and crowded) event. I saw many familiar faces, including a few former colleagues who were down from Boston. My company treated our four illustrators who made it into the show to a nice dinner afterwards: Jerry Pinkney for Little Red Riding Hood, Chris Gall for There's Nothing to do on Mars (coming in February), Peter Brown, and Patrick McDonnell for Hug Time, although Patrick was under the weather and didn't make the event. But the dinner was lovely, and I had the privilege of sitting across from Jerry Pinkney,which was a treat because he and his wife an fascinating stories to tell about everything from Moscow, to Vegas, to hope.

A few of us made it to the Kidlit drinks night afterwards, although we did miss the raffle that Jarrett had organized. But there were quite a few people still out, including Meghan and newlywed Jarrett, and I was happy that the venue I suggested, Baker Street Pub (selfishly, in part, because the bar was 10 blocks away from my apartment), seemed to work out well.

But back to Peter and his good news: when he told me this story, it made my day--make that, my week, month, year. It's always wonderful to get positive feedback about the books I've worked on from fans, but when that fan is somewhat of a hero to you, it's that much sweeter and more amazing. I asked Peter to tell the story in his words, so here you go:

I was at a book signing with Doreen Cronin, Nick Bruel, Elise Broach and John Segal at Books of Wonder. Doreen and I were standing around chatting and waiting for the official signing to begin when I heard, "Look that's Peter Brown, the guy who made Chowder." So I turned around and saw that my hero, Jon Stewart from the Daily Show, was talking to his son Nate and pointing at my name card on the signing table. Doreen and I immediately became quite nervous and forgot what we had been talking about. After failing to salvage our conversation we decided just to sit down and see what happens.

While she and I had been talking, I think, but I'm not positive, that Jon Stewart had John Segal sign a copy of his book for them. And then almost immediately after I sat down, Jon and Nate walked over to me, handed me a copy of The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder, and asked if I could sign it to Nate and Maggie.

There was a pause as my brain tried desperately to figure out how to not come across like a giddy schoolgirl.

"I just have to say that I'm a huge fan." That seemed like a good start.
"Oh, thank you very much." Jon replied.
"So who's Nate?" I asked hoping for some fun banter with Jon's son.
"I am!" said Nate.
"Who's Maggie?"
"Sister!" said Nate.
"She's his sister," added Jon.
"Alright then, I'll sign it to you two," I said as my nervous hand
scrawled an almost illegible signature on the title page. "And I'll make a little drawing in here as well."
While I was personalizing the book Jon said to me, "My son thinks it's very funny that Chowder sits on the toilet."
"Oh, so you've got the first Chowder book?"
"Yes we do," said Jon, "It's one of our favorites."
Awwwwwww Yeahhhhhh! I thought to myself.
"Well then, you might be happy to know that there will be a third Chowder book someday, and possibly even a TV show."
"That's great!" said Jon. "Hear that Nate? You might get to see Chowder on television."

I handed the the book to Jon and Nate. They seemed to really like the little doodle I drew of Chowder bouncing on his trampoline, so I said to them, "Hold on a second, let me show you something."

I reached into my messenger bag and pulled out the immaculately framed original illustration from the first page of the new Chowder book. I had it because I had to drop it off at the Society of Illustrators when I was finished with the signing.

"So this is the actual painting that I made for the book, see?" And I put the painting next to the page in the book. "I had to sit down for hours and hours and paint this by hand, and then months later it magically appears in this printed book! Pretty cool, huh?"
"You actually painted that?!" Jon asked...he was impressed.
"Yup, I'm the author and illustrator of these books, so I do it all."
"That is very cool." Said Jon, and he reached out to shake my hand.
Another Awwwwwwwww Yeahhhhhhh!
"Well it was very nice meeting you both," I said.
"Very nice to meet you, too," Jon replied, and then he and Nate left the store.

I felt a little bad that they didn't approach Doreen, or any of the other authors, but I figured, Doreen has probably sold about a million more books than me...she can let me have this one little honor.

I'm in awe. I love Jon Stewart. Jon Stewart and his son love Chowder. Life is funny sometimes.


And to top it all off, the Red Sox are in the World Series! :)

Robert's Snow: Blogging for a Cure

Here is the schedule for Week #2 of Blogging for a Cure. Every day some of the picture book illustrators who have created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 will be featured at different children’s literature blogs. Robert’s Snow is a unique fundraiser. The proceeds from its three 2007 auctions will go to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for cancer research. Read all about Robert’s Snow: for Cancer’s Cure here.

NOTE: I have linked to the blogs that will be posting features about the Robert’s Snow artists this week—and not to the specific posts. Jules and Eisha of 7-Imp have created a special page that includes a list with links to all the Blogging for a Cure posts. Their list is updated every day.

Monday, October 22
Mark Teague at The Miss Rumphius Effect
Sharon Vargo at Finding Wonderland
Christopher Demarest at Writing and Ruminating
Rose Mary Berlin at Charlotte's Library
David Macaulay at Here in the Bonny Glen

Tuesday, October 23
Carin Berger at Chasing Ray
Marion Eldridge at Chicken Spaghetti
Sophie Blackall at not your mother's bookclub
Erik Brooks at Bildungsroman
Brian Lies at Greetings from Nowhere

Wednesday, October 24
Elisa Kleven at Rozzie Land
Consie Powell at Becky's Book Reviews
Jimmy Pickering at Shaken & Stirred
Frank Dormer at What Adrienne Thinks About That
Sheila Bailey at Lizjonesbooks

Thursday, October 25
Julia Denos at Interactive Reader
Rebecca Doughty at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Brian Floca at A Fuse #8 Production
Margaret Chodos-Irvine at readergirlz

Friday, October 26
David Ezra Stein at HipWriterMama
Juli Kangas at Sam Riddleburger's blog
Ginger Nielson at Miss O's School Library
Margot Apple at Jo's Journal

Saturday, October 27
Julie Fromme Fortenberry at Your Neighborhood Librarian
Sarah Dillard at The Silver Lining
John Hassett at cynthialord's Journal
Abigail Marble at Please Come Flying

Sunday, October 28
Ashley Wolff at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Barbara Garrison at Brooklyn Arden
Kelly Murphy at ChatRabbit

Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success.

These are the Robert’s Snow artists that will be featured at Wild Rose Reader.

October 16: Scott Bakal

October 29: Alissa Imre Geis

November 3: Wendell Minor

November 9: Susan Kathleen Hartung

November 15: Mary Newell DePalma

November 18: Wade Zahares

WIN A PRIZE!!!
I do hope you’ll stop by to read the my Blogging for a Cure articles at Wild Rose Reader and to comment about the artists and their work. I have a special prize for some lucky person who leaves a comment at any of my six posts featuring a Robert’s Snow artist: a limited edition giclee print of an illustration from Grace Lin’s book Robert’s Snow! That’s right folks! Here’s a picture of the print that I picked up last Sunday when Grace, Janet Wong, and I visited the Child at Heart Gallery to see the snowflake exhibit. Each time you comment at one of my Blogging for a Cure posts about a Robert’s Snow artist, I’ll put your name in a hat. If you comment at all six posts, your name will go into the hat six times. The drawing will take place on November 19th, the day bidding begins on the first of three Robert’s Snow 2007 auctions.

I also have several consolation prizes for commenters who don’t win the “big” prize: five small prints of the Robert’s Snow mouse(mice).

Scenes from the Child at Heart Gallery

Artist & Blue Rose Girl Anna Alter with her snowflake.

This is the back of Anna's snowflake.

Author & Illustrator Grace Lin

Grace is the co-founder of Robert's Snow.

Real children # 6: Hey, you, leave me alone!

Sometimes I feel sorry for kids now , with all their lessons and activities, but a karate class I watched recently made me think.

School had just started, and the teacher talked a lot about that, and their new responsibilities. Then, he asked,
"What are you going to do if someone bothers you -- pushes you, or shoves you?"
He showed them.
They were going to step forward, stretch out one arm, forefinger pointed at the person, and shout:
"Hey, you! Leave me alone!"

They did it, each time becoming more confident. I wish I'd thought to take a picture: imagine twenty second and third graders, girls and boys, in white karate outfits, stepping forward and pointing. By the third time, they were all exactly in step (it's like yoga class for us, the group energy kind of builds) and shouting all together:
"Hey, you, leave me alone!"

It was exhilarating. It made it seem so easy.....and it made me think of all the tragedies that could, maybe, have been avoided if children had always been taught to do that.

POETRY FRIDAY: Advice for Writers Starting Out

I read Ron Koertge’s poem “Do You Have Any Advice for Those of Us Just Starting Out?” Wednesday night. I liked his poem. It inspired me to pen my own poem with advice for beginning poets. What do you think about Koertge’s advice for writers who are just starting out? How do you feel about his poem?

“Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?"
by Ron Koertge

Give up sitting dutifully at your desk. Leave

your house or apartment. Go out into the world.

It's all right to carry a notebook but a cheap

one is best, with pages the color of weak tea

and on the front a kitten or a space ship.

Avoid any enclosed space where more than

three people are wearing turtlenecks. Beware

any snow-covered chalet with deer tracks

across the muffled tennis courts.

Not surprisingly, libraries are a good place to write.

And the perfect place in a library is near an aisle

where a child a year or two old is playing as his

mother browses the ranks of the dead.

You can read the rest of the poem here at Poetry 180.


Here is my poem in a rough draft stage —a place where it will probably remain forever. I can’t seem to get the ending right. I know the poem needs work--but I'll throw it out there because I know the Poetry Friday crowd is an understanding bunch of people.

Write
(A Not-Yet-Ready-for-Prime-Time-Poem)
by Elaine Magliaro

Write. Write. Write.
Write all the time.
Write what you know.
Write to explore the unknown.
Write from your heart.
Listen to your inner voice.
Skip the adjectives.
Use strong verbs.
Write with abandon. Forget punctuation!

Write in the morning,
a cup of coffee steaming
at your side.
Write after midnight
when the house is still
and fills with soft sounds that creep out after dark.
Write with a pencil on a composition pad,
marveling as your words glide across
icy blue lines like Olympic figure skaters.
Write on a computer with Fred Astaire fingers
tap-dancing on the keyboard.

Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Write on a frosted windowpane with your finger.
Feel your thoughts cold to your touch.
Write with your toes in wet sand.
Watch an incoming wave
capture your words
and carry them off to sea.
Write on the sidewalk with rainbow-colored chalk…
or on a wall…
on any blank surface that beckons to you.

Write about anger and angst.
Write about loss.
Write about laughter and love and longing…
about languid summer days spent lazing in the sun.
Write about anything.
Write about everything.
Write about nothing.
And when you’re finished doing that…
Write. Write. Write.


At Wild Rose Reader, I have brief reviews of two poetry collections with poems great to share with kids at Halloween time and an original witch poem I wrote many years ago.

Kelly Fineman has the Poetry Friday Roundup this week.

pre-Robert's Snow auction today!

Hello all,

Today is the Society of Illustrators opening. Perhaps some of you are attending. Even if you don't have a ticket, please come to the after party! My agent and Fuse #8 are organizing it. It will be at

Baker Street - Irish Pub - (1152 1st Avenue, corner of 63rd Street) at 8:00

Here's the deal: My fellow author/illustrator pal Jarrett Krosoczka thought it would be a great idea to raffle off some illustrator sketches/art for Robert's Snow. Just buy a raffle ticket (money goes to Robert's Snow) and you may win an amazing original piece of art!

I am donating this:


This is an ORIGINAL sketch for the cover of my book Aliens! There is only one finished sketch for the cover and this is it. Buy a ticket tonight and you may soon be the owner! The raffle will take place at Baker Street so please come! Fun for all!

Here are some other artists donating art:
Mo Willems
David Ezra Stein
Dan Yaccarino
Peter Brown
Selina Alko
Scott Magoon
Sean Qualls
Of course Jarrett…

And more! Illustrators, if you are donating something send me an email – Meghan@meghan-mccarthy.com and I’ll add your name!


See you soon!
meghan

thank you again

It's snowing all over the internet. Where ever I click, I see Robert's Snow mentioned. There are no words to describe what it means to me. It is wonderful.

Hey there spellers!

So one of my upcoming picture books, Abigail Spells, is a story about a bird (featured here) who likes to spell, and enters a spelling bee. In the interest of accuracy, I am researching spelling bees; appropriate words for different age levels (state literacy standards), procedures, etc. There is a lot of information online, and I've already interviewed my teacher friends, but I thought maybe all you great teachers, librarians, parents, and former spelling champs out there reading our blog might have some first hand experience you'd be willing to share.

I am especially interested in spelling bees held for young kids (1st and/or 2nd graders), and ones at schools, though I know that is not the only place they are held. Here is what I'd like to know:

-At what age/grade do kids switch from phonetic, or sounded-out spelling, to standard spelling? When do teachers start correcting the spelling on their homework? I know this is a very individual thing, I've gotten answers from anywhere from Kindergarden to 2nd grade... what has been your experience?

-Has anyone out there been to a spelling bee in recent past, or had one at your school? If so, which grades participated? Was it part of the curriculum, or an after school/enrichment type of thing?

-I've been looking at word lists for spelling bees (by grade) online, is there a good resource for this that you know of? I've heard the "four blocks" literacy model is a standard one.... but I'd love to know of more!

Thanks in advance for your help, little future spellers will thank you!

What I'm working on now--another sneak peak.

Work has been hectic again, but even more so for the last two months as I try to get all of my Fall 2008 novels ready to be sent to copyediting. The deadline is mid-October, and although most of the novels are close, it's going to be down to the wire for some! I have four novels and one picture book on the Fall 2008 list, which is fairly average in terms of number of titles, but I'm not usually juggling this many novels at once. For example, on my Spring 2008 list, I had three picture books and only one novel: The Postcard by Tony Abbott (his follow-up to Firegirl), Crocs! by David Greenberg, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger, The Blue Stone: A Journey Through Life by Jimmy Liao (the follow up to Sound of Colors), and Sergio Makes a Splash by Edel Rodriguez.

My Fall 2008 list tentatively consists of:

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley: this is the third YA novel I've worked with Justina on, and she's such a beautiful writer and a pro. This is the first of her novels where the protagonist isn't Asian, but for this story, it just felt right. But of course there's an Asian-American love interest (who gives a whole new meaning to the "Team Jacob" T-shirt I have), a powerful family drama, a trip to China (which was especially timely for me, as I'm in the process of planning a trip to Beijing and Shanghai), geocaching, and rumination on the meaning of true beauty and finding one's direction in life.

Sour White by Sean Beaudoin: think Charlie Kaufman meets Vanilla Sky (in a good way) meets The Matrix. This somewhat cyberpunk YA novel is an incredible, ambitious second book by the author of Going Nowhere Faster which came out this Spring. Sean is such an incredibly strong writer, and I'm excited that he's writing something completely different. This novel will blow your mind, but it's also engaging, humorous, and smart.

Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass: this is Wendy's fifth novel with us, and the second that I've worked on with her. Another middle grade novel in the vein of her brilliant Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, this is a story written in three voices. Three very different kids, two girls and one boy, come together at the Moon Shadow campground to see a very special sight--a total eclipse of the sun. Wendy always impresses me with the topics she chooses to write about, and I especially love that she says something different and important in every book that she writes, but never in a didactic way. And her description of the total eclipse, from three different point of views, always leaves me breathless no matter how many times I read it.

Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young: I described this book when I gave my last sneak peak, as this was originally slated for Spring 08. But due to tragic circumstances that involved the art for this book being stolen, as well as the even more tragic timing of Ed Young's beloved wife passing away, this book was put on hold. But Ed is back at work, and just delivered the final art two weeks ago. The book is now in the hands of the designer and is absolutely brilliant and beautiful.

And last but not least, the first book of a deliciously scary and gross horror series, Sorry Night. This is probably the most commercial novel I've ever acquired, and I just love how fun it is. This is a book about teen girl who delights in all things scary. She herself has a phobia of spiders, but pushes herself to embrace this fear. When evil mythical creatures feed on her little brother's fears and take over his soul, she must push herself even farther to try to bring her brother back. I love that this is a horror series with a female hero. And as I'm also afraid of spiders (well, creeped out by them, at the very least), this book challenged me to try to overcome that fear. For all of your enjoyment, here is a photo that reminds me of this book. My colleague Nancy encountered this monstrosity while vacationing on Martha's Vineyard a few weeks ago.

*shudder*

I hope to write more about these books in the future. If you want to check out some of the books I worked on that are out right now, here's a quick list:

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! The Beatles, Beatlemania, and the Music that Changed the World by Bob Spitz: I absolutely LOVE this gorgeous, illustrated book that was adapted from Bob's adult book The Beatles. This is the perfect gift for Beatles fans of all ages (especially those for whom the 900+ page adult book is daunting), and I loved learning all of the inside stories behind the group and the songs. Special kudos go to designer Alison Impey.Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall by Wendy Mass: this is the first novel I worked with Wendy on, and it was such a pleasure. This is her first novel-in-verse, and she did an incredible job. Best of all, I loved the imperfection of the main character--Wendy managed to succeed in the difficult task of making a flawed, sometimes wretched main character sympathetic and likeable.The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Piñata for the Piñon Tree by Philemon Sturges, illustrated by Ashley Wolff: this is a posthumous publication of the author's writing, and Ashley has outdone herself in the illustrations, making this a lovely homage to him. This is 12 Days with a Southwestern spin, complete with coyotes, cowgirls, and of course a piñata.I have a few more books coming out in January which I'll write more about then, including Grace Lin's follow-up to Year of the Dog, and Justina Chen Headley's follow up to Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies): Year of the Rat and Girl Overboard, respectively.

Any questions? Want to know more? Ask away!

Robert's Snow: Blogging for a Cure

I think many of you may already have heard that the fine ladies of 7-Imp are spearheading Blogging for a Cure, an effort to promote Robert’s Snow 2007. The goal of bloggers who are participating in Blogging for a Cure is to raise interest in the 2007 Robert’s Snow auction of snowflakes created by picture book artists. The money raised by the auction will go to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and will help fund cancer research.

For more information about Blogging for a Cure, read the following posts at Seven Impossible Things:

http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=886
http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=891
http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=895

Here is a list of the Robert’s Snow artists that I will be highlighting at Wild Rose Reader.

October 16: Scott Bakal
October 29: Alissa Imre Geis
November 3: Wendell Minor
November 9: Susan Kathleen Hartung
November 15: Mary Newell DePalma
November 18: Wade Zahares

Check out Seven Impossible Things every day from October 15th to November 18th. Jules and Eisha will have a list of all the artists that will be highlighted each day at blogs throughout the Kidlitosphere.

Don’t forget to visit the Robert’s Snow website and take a look at all the beautiful snowflakes that were created for this year’s auction.

Buy yourself a copy of Robert's Snowflakes: Artists' Snowflakes for Cancer's Cure. 100% of the royalties go to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute!

On parade

Last weekend BRG Linda marched -- twirling her baton and kicking -- at the Honk Fest in Somerville/Cambridge. I didn't get to see that, because Meghan and I didn't get to town until 11 that night, but luckily someone in the crowd took pictures.


The next day, Grace, Linda, and I followed the parade from Davis to Harvard Square:



We weren't the only ones.


I'm really glad I went: the bands and performers were amazing and inspiring -- thank you, Linda, for suggesting it and for sharing your pictures and a fun ride back, and Meghan for a fun ride up and Grace for having me over.

Since I started writing full-time, I've hardly seen anyone, thinking I should be working; in the last month or so, I've started going out a lot more. I'm getting just as much (or just as little!) work done. At least, I think/hope I am. I know I love seeing my friends! So what's the problem? Deciding when to go, when to stay home....I can waste HOURS agonizing over that. When I get there, sometimes have a nagging a feeling underneath everything that I should be working. And when I get home I don't just get back into my work routine -- partly because I'm exhausted ( i have fibromyalgia) and partly just because: I don't know, it's like I have to process things or something.....I'd love to learn how to skip THAT step and just snap back to work!

All or nothing is a lot simpler. But it usually means nothing and I am DETERMINED to keep seeing friends and doing things like going to the Honk Fest. I'm not good at switching gears from work to fun, though, or deciding when to do it -- and would love to hear how others manage it!