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.