Bea and Jules, Day 3

Day 3:

Charlie wants to write a letter to Santa. Jules is happy to help. 

“Dear Santa, Happy December! Charlie wants ANOTHER train! This is okay with me, but pleeeese not one that SINGS!!! His old one that sings is hiding under my bed because it was ANNOYING! Also, I  think Charlie wants extra candy to give to his sister (me). And if you can make Gran feel better, we will even be okay without the candy. 

Love, Charlie (and Jules!!)”

Books!

The Jolly Christmas Postman, Janet & Allan Ahlberg 

The Dove's Letter, by Keith Baker

I can't wait to read "How Winston Delivered Christmas," by Alex T. Smith.

Bea and Jules, Day 2

Day 2:

Day 2: 

Today, Bea and Jules set up their workshops - the safest place to make things and keep them secret. 

What does one need in a workshop? 

Bea can give you a list. 

Her workshop has a calendar, pencils, envelopes, glue, tape, scissors, and everything else that’s on her list. 

Jules doesn't have a list, but her workshop is full. 

Full of glitter, full of paper, full of crayons, old holiday cards, tape, glue, paint, and more glitter.
Jules also stocks her workshop with: stacks of books, mittens, a jingle bell, a plastic spoon, mints from her gran’s purse, and three puzzle pieces that she found in her pocket. And a sock bookmark.

Or maybe that’s just a lost sock.

What do your elves keep in their workshops?

Books!

Toot & Puddle, Let it Snow, by Holly Hobbie

Christmas With the Mousekins, by Maggie Smith

The Elves & the Shoemaker, by Jim LaMarche

What are your favorite cozy, crafty, holiday picture books?

Bea and Jules, Day 1

Day 1:

Bea loves lists. 

On today's list: get the advent calendars from the Christmas box in the garage. 

The box bursts open with candles, ornaments, popsicle stick snowflakes, and the smell of winter. At the very bottom are the calendars. Each calendar has tiny doors that peek open with a note or a picture for each day until Christmas. Bea's family uses them year after year until the doors are worn and torn and taped back together. 

Today is the first day, so Bea opens the Day 1 door in all the calendars. 

What do you think she will find?

Merry Makers

Meet Bea and Jules. 

They are after-hours friends

who popped up in my night sketches. 

They really want to make Christmas special this year, 

but Bea's mom has a new job

and Jules' gran had surgery, 

so it's up to the kids to get the snowball rolling.

I'm going to follow them around for a few weeks

on a sort of illustrated journey

as they try to bring home 

a little bit of Christmas 

every day until it arrives. 

In other news, I am working devotedly on final sketches for THE STARKEEPER,
my picture book with Random House books
which comes out in 2020.
Here's a peek at my sketch process:

Oops. 

That's not progress. 

That's my new office assistant, Luna, testing paintbrushes.

There we go.
I've been building a village with blocks so I can create my imaginary village
in the book.

I want to know the bones of my world so that they hold together when I change my point of view.
I will share more about the blocks and village and the sketches in awhile.

Meanwhile, I think Bea and Jules will be stopping in again soon
with more and merrier.

Merry! Merry!

12 Easy-Peasy Writing Secrets, or How to Find Ideas

I get to talk with 4th graders this week about writing. 

As they especially want to know where writers get their ideas, 

I thought I should make a list. 

I decided to share it with you, too. 

This isn't the quantitative, end-all list of idea-catchers, mind you

because, as all writers know, ideas can be found....

• 1. At the bottom of the dryer
• 2. In snatches of conversation 
• 3. In the waiting room at the doctor's office 
• 4. Under the couch, next to the monster's eyeball
• 5. Inside a pair of Seven League Boots
• 6. Buried under the witch's bones in the graveyard
• 7. In a fistful of stolen pirate gold
• 8. In the pocket of the Wrong Coat at the Lost & Found
• 9. Behind a secret staircase in the old castle
• 10. In the next chapter after the final chapter of the last book you read

Of course, this list goes on 

and on

and on...

Writer friends, where do you find your ideas?

Any special plants or potions or special tricks

 that keep your ears and eyes 

ready for your next idea?

Teachers, you are welcome to use this freebie printable as a teaching resource.  Feel free to share links to this page. 

To use this resource, just drag the image to your desktop and print. 

Thank you for keeping this original content credited to its creator.  Cheers!

Let Sleeping Bears Lie, and Sneak Peeks

It's not exactly sleeping bears, -not much sleeping at all, really, 

but I am discovering that the road to illustrating picture books  

involves much burrowing away in caves.

A bit like hibernating. 

The good news is that sometimes 

when writers and illustrators hibernate, 

they have magical news to share.

I am a sucker for fairy tales. 

In 7th grade, I won a poetry contest. 

With my prize - a gift certificate to a local bookstore -

I bought two of the largest collections of fairy tales I could find. 

I devoured those books. I breathed in those stories

and longed to make my own. 

And now my life has come full circle. 

I'm thrilled to tell you that I get to illustrate Lynn Parrish Sutton's story

ONCE UPON A TIMELY

with Kane Miller books. 

What magic!

A huge thanks to Molly O'Neill and Root Literary for helping make this happen. 

Thanks to all of my friends and mentors who have encouraged me along the way.

And thank you to the bookstore, the poetry contest, the teachers 

who coaxed me to read and write and make art... 

Where would we be without the very special magic of having someone believe in us?

Here are a few sneak peeks...

Happy dance!

Sometimes dreams draw close enough to touch.

This is mine. 

Making books. 

I think I've whispered that dream to you, my friends. 

Maybe a few times. 

Over the past two years, I've been working as a paraeducator at an elementary school

while feverishly pursuing illustration and writing in all the extra corners, 

loving on my wildebeests,

and sometimes catching up on dishes.

I've put in late nights and early mornings, 

repeatedly fallen asleep 

with pencil in hand, 

and enjoyed a tumult of emotions 

while scrabbling between jobs and family, 

art and laundry. 

 And here it is. 

This wisp-ish dream has come close enough to touch. 

To folks who don't know me, it might seem like it all happened in a flash. 

Like I said, 

"Guess what? I want to make books!" 

"I got an agent!"

"I am going to have a book!"

But you know. 

It's been years. 

Fruitful in so many ways. 

Fruitful in some really hard things! 

And fruitful in thankfulness

and learning to savor the small beauties in life. 

Fruitful in trying to spread love like seeds. 

Fruitful in hunting for the sacred in the dirt.  

In being thankful for each day 

my family and I get to be healthy and alive. 

But still, years. 

It has been so long 

I started to think my dream would stay wishy, 

and that would have been okay, too.

But here it is! It's real!

I'm reveling in this strange and unfamiliar thrill

of having my bright dream come near. 

I am going to be a picture book author and illustrator. 

 I have so many thanks to all of you who have helped me reach for the stars.

Thanks to my teachers, my friends, my crew of writers and illustrators, my family.

And thank you to Molly O'Neill and Root Literary for believing in me. 

To Maria Modugno at Random House for believing in this story. 

Here's to dreams, my friends!