Storystorm

I'm so excited to leave 2020 in the dust and start off 2021 with 30+ ideas to tweak! Thanks Tara Lazar for Storystorm (and I love the art by Mike Ciccotello)

#PBCHAT

 I'm so excited and relieved that I've sent off my application to the PBChat mentorship program. Now I just need to wait patiently until the announce the winners in July. For more info, since apllications are open until June 14th, check out....

http://justincolonbooks.com/2020-mentorship/

Milkweed Silkiness

I have been working on a manuscript for young children about the milkweed and monarch relationship. And yes, I'm the kind of person that encourages milkweed to grow in my garden. This is an amazing picture from last fall. Here's hoping that some of these seeds stayed and will be popping up soon.

Newt

Rewarded again for looking down, by this lovely red-spotted newt.

Spring

As I walk and distance, I'm taking more time to look up- it helps we feel grounded and to appreciate my place in the world.

And I look down- to appreciate that color and life pop up in the most expected places.

Friday Favorites

I'm going through withdrawal with my wonderful local library closed. Here is a list of some of my recent loves, you may notice a pattern here.

Home is a Window by Stephanie Ledyard, Illus. by Chris Sasaki is about what makes a house a home.






Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler is poignantly beautiful, and also shows that love and family can help make any house a home. I particularly love the wonder of nature here.



The House that Once Was by Julie Fogliano, Illus by Lane Smith looks at a vacant house with a sense of wonder and imagination.
 

The Gall of it All

I recently included a gall in a picture book manuscript, so I thought I'd include a picture of one. The one I used was a oak gall that became a disco ball in a fairy house. This gall is different, it grows right in the stem of the plant.

Vision

As I spent time outside and distancing, I've been trying to appreciate my view from new 

angles and perspectives. I find this is one way to get some new story ideas.

I loved these old barn doors. Think of the added work and expense that this

farmer went to long ago. Did he appreciate to amazing lines it gave the barn? Did he want some extra light or heat for his beloved animals? Did he work often in the barn and need the light himself, free from flies and mosquitoes and cold? I wonder....

Love and Comfort

In these trying times, it's important to feel comfort and love wherever you can. And this poem, one of the first I every remember learning, seems appropriate for the picture and today's weather.

 Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

by Carl Sandburg

Just Breathe

Sometimes we need to get outside to gain perspective and to just...breathe.

The Best Reading Room Ever

I have worked in a public library and love to check out libraries wherever I go. This is the one on the top of my list!! The CVW Long Lake Public Library has the most amazing children's room, complete with an Adirondack lean-to and and outhouse reading nook. So much fun!!! So much book love here!!

Friday Favorites

Some of my most recent favorites for:
Voice:
House Held up by a Trees by Ted Kooser, Illustrated by Jon Klassen
This book is simply beautiful, poetic, lyrical, haunting....
 
The Bell Rang by James Ransome is  poignant.
 
Hum and Swish by Matt Myers is proof that quiet, introverted books can have a loud impact.


Metafiction:
Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee is clever and just plain fun.
 
Do You Believe in Unicorns?  B.D. Murguia is a cheerful read full of wonder.

 

And I Loved
 Open in Case of Emergency by Richard Fairgay was funny and mysterious, loads to love here.

 

ReFoReMo

I am so enjoying Reading for Research Month. There are great posts and wonderful examples of a variety of picture categories including informational fiction, biographies, math, books with wonderful "take aways" and more.

ReFoReMo

Non-Fiction Fest- Loads to Digest!

Storystorm 2020- Done!