Caldecott Soup

In November's gusty gale I will flop my flippy tail
and spout hot soup.

I'll be a whale!

Spouting once, spouting twice,
spouting chicken soup with rice.

- Chicken Soup With Rice, A Book of Months, by Maurice Sendak

It may not be spouting hot soup, but good news is easy to slurp about:
I get to help run Kids' Mock Caldecotts at the library!

And what a library! They've ordered heaps of new books,
which the spectacular librarian Martha Ashenfelter and I
deliberated and drooled over for hours
before whittling our selection to a mere 32 book beauties.

On the first three Thursdays in November,
our library kids will form a Caldecott Committee,
evaluate, debate, and vote for their favorite books of 2015.
In January, we'll hold a final vote,
followed by an awards party.

Doesn't it sound fantastic?

If you are a local friend who knows of some book-loving kids,
bring them in on November Thursdays!

I'll try to post about our delicious book picks and the Caldecott sessions
along the way.

 Doesn't it make you want to pick up a stack of picture books and start reading?

Flight of the Birdy

And now we come to our smallest wildebeest.

I remember those tiny, newborn fists curling out of a green blanket.
I made it five summers ago out of fabric so soft it felt like clouds, 
with the hope it could keep out the world's roughness as long as possible.

Ergo, in the nature of a true youngest child,
Birdy scrambles up trees and leaps from the highest branches,
tumbles headfirst into high winds,
and rakes up her knees better than all the others.
She is so ready for this.
 
Kindergarten.

Always looking to make art,
I decided to make flashcards - heaps of them. 

I think I'll do a weekly series of the collection on my art blog.
They're for learning sight words, one of the ways to catch on to reading.

I guess this is my gift to her, like the green cloud blanket.
A way to say:
"When you want me, if you want help, I'm here. I love you."
 
Maybe it's proof. 
And maybe every parent offering,
every bowl of oatmeal we cook up,
every lunch we pack, every book read aloud,
every tuck-in at night
is us, saying:
  "You precious small people, you are loved."

   "Even though we got grouchy about the muddy footprints,
     or the scrabbly big mess in your rooms,
     you are loved." 

And maybe, it is proof for us as well.
Maybe these offerings to our small ones are gifts we keep close
as our birds wing the nest,
as our hair grays and our skin weathers,
knowing that in all our human roughness,
we have loved.

Friends, may you find love all around you,
and gifts in the giving.

 Books:

I Will Never Get a Star on Mrs. Benson's Blackboard - Jennifer Mann
Orange Pear Apple Bear - Emily Gravett
Owl Babies - Martin Waddell, Patrick Benson

Bo at Iditarod Creek - Kirkpatrick Hill
The Mighty Miss Malone - Christopher Paul Curtis
The War That Saved My Life - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
A Year Down Yonder - Richard Peck

Mermaid sightings

The twins are fast approaching ten!
"Tween twins!" Winnie reminds me.
"Double digits, doubled!"

And just like that, a decade ebbs. 

 

Having soaked up the Emily Windsnap books lately, 

they want to be mermaids. 

So, I've been making art.

Mermaidy tattoos!

 

Painted shells. 

Waves of seaweed.

 

 

Glowy lights.  

Cupcakes + art = yummy.   

 

Mermaids, this way. Your party awaits.

 Books!

The Mermaid and the Shoe by K. G. Campbell

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler

The Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Anderson, ill. by Lisbeth Zwerger 

Breathe - Scott Magoon

 

The Forgotten Sisters - Shannon Hale

Three Times Lucky - Sheila Turnage

Secrets at Sea - Richard Peck 

Listen, Slowly - Thanhha Lai

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea - Steve Jenkins

The Storm Whale - Benji Davies
Plastic Ahoy! Investigating the great Pacific Garbage Patch - Patricia Newman
Shackleton's Journey - William Grill

Art and Starlings

I'm bubbling about the SCBWI conference today.
This is the weekend children's book illustrators and writers in my region gather like starlings.
I go for the coffee and the courage. 
For inspiration and advice.
A break!
 
To find out about thrilling new books. 
To hug and high-five friends and peers.
To gain wisdom about crafting words and art.
My heart flies high. 

I'm bringing new art. More here. 

Art grown out of Joy Chu's UCSD Thinking in Pictures class. 
What a class!

Here's a peek at one of my projects:

Adventure awaits!

If you are one of my writer or artist buddies, I hope to see you there!