Contest Alert - Free Book!

If you kids are between 8 and 13 and love to read, there is a contest to win a free signed copy of Donna St. Cyr's debut novel The Secrets of the Cheese Syndicate at http://community.livejournal.com/classof2k9/.

Cynthea Liu's Library Lovin’ Challenge

Do you love libraries? I do. I buy a lot of books, but I also check a lot out from the library. When I didn’t have money to spend on books as a kid, I could always rely on finding something to read.

Cynthea Liu is participating in the Library-Lovin’ Challenge organized by author writerjenn. As a thank you to the libraries, she is donating 10 cents to for every comment made on Cynthea's blog up to $100. So, hop on over and make a comment. She is giving away signed bookplates and a couple of lucky people will win a signed copy of her newest book, Paris Pan Takes a Dare.

The Book-a-holic

Too many books? Nah. Inconceivable!

This weekend I spent a couple of hours digging through the books in the kids’ rooms. In my older son’s room, the books were piled two deep, and my husband really wanted me to open up a few cubes in the big shelf for the cloth toy baskets. It’s a “book shelf” not a “toy shelf.” Okay, so my #1 son has a ton of toys and books in his room, and I had to find a way of dealing with it.

I had an idea. In my #2 son’s room (very small shoebox of a room), he has drawers under the bed. His room is too small to play in, and it gets trashed when he does – nowhere to walk. So, I emptied one of the big drawers under his bed, and thought, hey, I could make a book drawer. He absolutely loved the idea.



Hours later, I had pulled out a bunch of baby books to store or give away. I moved the chapter books (from #1 son’s room) and all the beginning readers (from #2 son’s book shelf) into #2 son’s drawer, and I moved picture books from #1 son’s shelves to fill the gaps on #1 son’s shelves. Then I moved novels to the little shelves in #1 son’s room.

I was feeling very good about myself, but I still had no holes to fill with toys. After another hour and more weeding out of books that could fit in #2 son’s drawer, I have room.

I haven't even begun to tackle the jumble of books in the living room, but I need more shelves to do that.

I’m a book-a-holic. I admit it.

Frogs, Writing, and Books

Frog:
I dug the frog out the other day, rinsed him off, and called the kids. They rarely get to see the little bugger any more.

The frog calmly sat in my hand (still in the tank) while I called, “Kids, come see the frog.”

Both kids came running and sliding into the kitchen.

My little one said, “What frog?”

I guess he forgot we had him. We left Dash (the frog) to rest in the water. I knew he’d just go bury himself again, but… he didn’t! The frog is out of hibernation. Of course, we’ve had a couple of warm days, and we’ve finally made his scratchy log more of a shelter (no bottom). So, instead of staying under the dirt and moss, he hides behind his log. He peeks through a crack in the bottom and keeps an eye on us at all times.

Writing:
I haven’t been writing as much as I would like. I’ve written a new picture book that I’ve left to fester a bit before I tinker with it again. A few other ideas have sprouted, but nothing significant. Mostly, I’ve been reading and revising stories I had on the back burner.

Reading:
Linda Sue Park told us at a recent RACWI meeting that writers have to be readers. I’m an avid reader of children’s books. Shhh! I enjoy them more than the adult books – more imagination sometimes.

Anyway, in the past four days I’ve read three books:
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman – excellent read and told from the perspective of a severely disabled teen with Cerebral Palsy

Frindle by Andrew Clements – surprisingly clever story about a boy and the power of words

Just Ella by Margaret Haddix – an interesting twist on the Cinderella tale

I enjoyed all three books and pretty much read them without interruption. Who needs sleep?

Save an Editor: Buy a Book

In the past two months, we’ve seen a drastic blow to the children’s publishing business. Big publishing houses are consolidating and laying off editors in order to cope with the economic crisis. Others have declared a moratorium on submissions.

Last November, RACWI sponsored (along with Liftbridge Books) the Rochester Area Children’s Book Festival. We had record numbers of attendees and some of the authors were left with no books on their tables by the end of the festival. People were still buying books in November. Has America’s purchasing habits changed that much since the festival, or were we just seeing an isolated event?

My family has not stopped buying books. Since the beginning of 2009, I have bought more than seventeen children’s books. I can’t remember all the titles because my children ferreted some of them away.

1. The Secret Cheese Syndicate by Donna St. Cyr (bought 4 copies- some for gifts) – Middle Grade
2. The Grave Yard Book by Neil Gaiman –YA (IMHO)
3. The Boys Book: How to the Best at Everything by Dominique Enright and Guy Macdonald (elementary and up)
4. Penguins and Antartica by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce (chapter book)
5. The Magical Dress by Charles Nolan (chapter book)
6. The Daring Rescue by Charles Nolan (chapter book)
7. The Missing Medal by Charles Nolan (chapter book)
8. Saving Christmas by Charles Nolan (chapter book)
9. The Owl and the Pussy Cat by Edward Lear, Illustrated by Jan Brett (picture book)
10. The Faery Taile Project: Book One by Jim C. Hines and Christopher Kastensmidt (YA)
11. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith
12. A guide to current card games like Pokemon (for my son, but it’s still on order) – Middle Grade
13. Crogan’s Vengeance by Chris Schweizer (graphic novel, YA)


What about you?