Writing Tool

Yesterday at St. Cloud State University's 33rd Annual Children's Literature Workshop, I was privileged to sit with Jackie Briggs Martin. "I love talking about writing stories," she said, as she began her first presentation. Her books, she hopes, provide fodder for wonder as they tap a child's imagination and remind him of amazing facts. Writers have an obligation to story, she believes, and for her that means researching, writing a strong story, and presenting the book (along with the illustrator). To get the facts for her stories, she reads and visits the places and people who might provide information. When writing The Chiru of the High Tibet, she consulted George Schaller and got dimensions for a chiru in order to keep that image in her mind. That paper chiru joined the presentation. "I choose to tell the stories I love, the stories that sustain me when I think of them," she concluded.

Post Office

When guests visit my friends' home, they must check the tiny mailbox in the lower bathroom. No doubt there will be a tiny piece of mail for each person, courtesy of Frog and Toad. I treasure each of these miniature missives, written on Frog and Toad stationery, tailored to events in my life, and addressed to me in care of the lower bathroom.

Today I read letters written by Ignatius B. Grunply, Olive C. Spense, and Seymour Hope (and a few other characters) in the fourth installment of the 43 Old Cemetery Road series book entitled The Phantom of the Post Office by Kate Klise and illustrated by M. Sarah Klise. Iggy and Olive adopted Seymour, and the three cooperatively write a mystery that is delivered in three-chapter installments. When their latest story begins, the three have received a warning letter from a fan! These books epitomize the epistolary book genre and are filled with word play that readers love.

Being an enormous supporter of the U.S. Postal Service with my letter-writing, I love the quote the author chose to use at the beginning of the book:
"As long as there are postmen, life will have zest." - William James

Beginnings

I love book beginnings. Debra Frasier always introduces "the opening of a book, ladies and gentlemen" with a flourish, repeating it again for emphasis. Whether I am opening a picture book for the first or umpteenth (a word my mom says a lot) time, I love the anticipation of seeing artwork and how it works with the text. When I open novels, I savor the beginning phrases. Today is sunny, not humid, and not too hot, yet I am in my reading chair, enjoying library books and these first lines:

"The earth spins at a thousand miles an hour. Sometimes when I remember this, it's all I can do to stay upright - the urge to flatten myself to the ground and clutch hold is that strong. Because, gravity? Oh, gravity is no match for a force that equals ten simultaneous hurricanes." - The Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker

"When it was new, the house stood alone on a bare square of earth. There was a newly planted lawn around it, but not a single tree to give shade in summer or to rattle its bare twigs in the winter cold." - House Held Up By Trees by Ted Kooser

"On Thursday morning, May 2, 1963, nine-year-old Audrey Faye Hendricks woke up with freedom on her mind. But, before she could be free, there was something important she had to do. 'I want to go to jail,' Audrey had told her mother." - We've Got a Job: the 1963 Birmingham Children's March by Cynthia Levinson

As I cannot decide which to complete first, I am giving each a little time before savoring a different one again.

Looking Up

The treehouse in our backyard is impressive. Whenever children visit, they want to climb the rope ladder and enter that tiny house in the branches. Lately, older children have visited, kids who climbed up to it in their earlier years, and they express surprise at how small it looks now. Still, I do ascend every so often, just for perspective.

In Dana Jensen's book A Meal of the Stars, he examines the ups and downs of experiences, objects, and thoughts in ingenious vertical poems. I love the idea. I love reading them in the direction they take (like from the bottom to the top when a ladybug ascends a dandelion stem). I look forward to sharing the book with students in the fall and with teachers and librarians at a children's literature workshop next Monday. I just had to try one for myself...

below
scene
the
share
to
friends
for
enthusiasm
eager
yields
edge
the
over
stepping
and
ladder
rope
frayed
fearfully
the
climbing
carefully

Fairies

I have never had much of an imagination. At least I don't think I have. In my childhood, I do not recall pretending much of anything. Mud pies were mud pies, certainly not pretend chocolate cream pies. When my sons were little, it was my mom who effortlessly pretended to be Princess Leia in their Star Wars adventures.   As a librarian, I fill requests all the time for fantasy novels, books about mermaids, books with mythical creatures, books that feature fairies. I read these books to be a credible and informed resource for readers, but I still cannot engage in the imaginative part much.

It was with hesitation, then, that I read Mary Losure's new book The Fairy Ring or Elsie and Frances Fool the World. It is a wonderful story about two cousins in England who take photographs of fairies. Though Frances sees little gnome-like men in the woods, Elsie beautifully illustrates paper fairies that the two girls prop up among the foliage. Their parents silently accept their stories and photographs. When the Theosophical Society requests the information and images, the girls admit the truth, but they uphold their stories. The entire scenario ensnares even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!

Bird Talk in the Neighborhood

Last week we awoke too early to the raucous caws of a large number of crows. They were perched in our large elm tree. When my husband did yard work later in the day, he discovered what could have been the reason for their loud conversations: a dead crow in the backyard.

Lita Judge's new book Bird Talk: What Birds are Saying and Why (http://www.litajudge.com/BirdTalk.html) is perfect for helping readers understand what some bird calls, sounds, and songs might mean. Many of the species frequent my backyard each day. An American Goldfinch pair ate together this morning. An American Robin often visits our yard; it has unusual white spots on its head and neck that help me know it is the same bird. Wild turkeys sometimes strut through the neighborhood; they are skittish and appear to be quite proud. A North American Killdeer mama used to nest in the park behind our neighbor's house, and she did exactly what Lita indicated to protect her eggs. She made a screaming sound and faked an injury to distract us.

Whether it is to call their young, attract a mate, signal a feeding site, or stake out territory, bird sounds and songs provide insights into their intricate communication networks. An excellent glossary provides more details about the birds mentioned in the book.

This afternoon the feeders have been void of visitors. I think the absence of birds might mean they are trying to stay out of the heat on this intensely hot day!

Somebody's Birthday

In Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse, young Vera notes, "Perhaps in every town, in every village, in every place people live together, in every part of this world, it is someone's birthday and someone else is baking them a cake and singing." Many birthdays were celebrated this week among our family and friends, most notably my sweet husband, who loves a homemade blueberry angel food cake. It cooled on the Coca-Cola bottle I saved for that purpose from my great aunt Lorraine's stashes of stuff and was served on the ruffled cake stand from our dear friend Debra (given in honor of the publication of A Birthday Cake is No Ordinary Cake). Happy Birthday to all those celebrating life!