30 Days of Gratitude: Day 5

It's been a busy day and I almost didn't squeeze this post in. But I am determined to post every day, even when some days it is harder to find my place of gratitude. I envy those who seem to come by it naturally, and who are always bubbling over with thanksgiving. 

Today I am thankful for the small things....The two cats curled up around my legs as I type this. Friends who shared a meal with me so that I didn't need to cook dinner. Technology that lets me communicate face to face even when I am 3000 miles away. 

What are you thankful for? 

My picture book pick of the day:

This is Sadie
by Sara O'Leary; Illustrated by Julie Morstad

How to Tell a Story Week: Interview with Illustrator Brian Won

This week Jen Vincent from Teach Mentor Texts, Jennifer Reed from Reederama, Cynthia Alaniz from Librarian in Cute Shoes, and I are celebrating How to Tell a Story by Daniel Nayeri and Illustrated by Brian Won. I am excited to have Brian on the blog to share about his work on this project.  Thanks Brian for stopping by.

How to Tell a Story seems like a different type of project to work on than say an actual book. What did you have to take into consideration when working on this project with Daniel?

Although this project was different than illustrating a book, it was just as enjoyable and in some ways, more challenging. Ironically, the illustrations didn’t need to “tell a story” but convey an emotion, action, or location as quickly as possible. The dimensions of the cube faces are about 1.5 x 1.5 inches so my main goal was to make the illustrations simple and engaging. Also, I had to take into account the sheer number of illustrations required for all the sides of the dice, about 120. Categories like People, Places, and Things were easier to represent while Emotions, Relationships, and Verbs required more conceptual thinking. 

Can you share your process for determining which images would represent what on the blocks? Was it collaborative? Did you do research in order to decide? 

Daniel was absolutely fantastic to work with. He supplied an initial list of ideas and if I hit any roadblocks, he would provide several more options. Also art director, Colleen Venable, was instrumental as a sounding board. Early on I sent Daniel vector sketches, but soon found that to be time consuming. My usual work process doesn’t involve pencil sketches, but with so many moving parts, pencil sketches were far more effective. We were able to see if not only the illustration was working, but if the word itself needed to be changed. Below are some examples of rejected sketches and themes. Tied Together, still makes me smile. 

Are there any you are particularly proud of?

I am most proud of the illustration that represents Sail. It reminds me of when I’m driving with my son and I tell him to look out the window at the beautiful mountains. He has zero interest. 

How do you hope your artwork might inspire young writers?

I hope the artwork and the book will show young writers that writing is fun. I tend to put writing on a pedestal. I get tripped up with grammar and feel inadequate even when constructing an email. However, we can all tell a joke or talk about the crazy thing that happened five minutes ago. These are stories, wonderful stories worth telling and writing. 

What is your favorite indie bookstore (where is it and why do you like it)?

My favorite indie bookstore is Vromans in Pasadena. I have fond memories of my mom buying us books there when we were kids. My younger sister would get one of the Babysitters Club books and I would get something Roald Dahl. 

Finish the statements: “Reading is…” and “Writing is…”

“Reading is… the best thing you can do with a kid. Not even for the sake of the child, but for yourself. The day doesn’t seem so bad after a shared book.”

“Writing is.. whittling a golf pencil from a sequoia tree.”

What are you reading and loving right now (or recently)? 

Thanks to my friend, Renee Kurilla, I am reading Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. I highly recommend this book for both writers and illustrators. 

“Forgive yourself if you tried to create something and it didn’t work out. Remember that you’re nothing but a beginner – even if you’ve been working on your craft for years. We’re all just beginners here, and we shall all die beginners.” -Elizabeth Gilbert

What is the best writing advice you have received and what advice would you give student writers?

“When you are going good, stop writing. You don’t go on writing and writing until you come to the end of it, because when you do, then you say, well, where am I going to go next? You make yourself stop and you walk away. And you can’t wait to get back because you know what you want to say next.” – Roald Dahl. 

This also applies to illustration. Fiddling with your chair, checking the basketball score, Facebook – its all a distraction from actually starting. Student writers, have something good to come back to so you aren’t afraid to begin. 

To find Brian: website | twitter | facebook

Check out the other posts in this blog tour:

November 3, 2015 - How to Tell a Story Week Kick-Off - Teach Mentor Texts and Kid Lit Frenzy
November 4, 2015 - Jennifer Reed at Reederama and her students play How to Tell a Story
November 5, 2015 - Illustrator, Brian Won visits Kid Lit Frenzy
November 6, 2015 - Author/Creator, Daniel Nayeri visits Teach Mentor Texts
November 9, 2015 - Cynthia Alaniz at Librarian in Cute Shoes and her students play How to Tell a Story
November 10, 2015 - How to Tell A Story - Share your "Why Game" stories - Teach Mentor Texts and Kid Lit Frenzy

Enter to win a copy of How to Tell a Story: 

We hope you'll check out How To Tell a Story and visit the various blog posts we'll have up to celebrate #howtotellastory week!

Thanks for stopping by and celebrating with us! We do have a giveaway as well. Thank you to Workman Publishing, we have a copy of How To Tell a Story available to five lucky winners with a US mailing address and the sixth winner picked will win a Skype visit with creator, Daniel Nayeri.

Lost.Found Blog Tour & Guest Post: Marsha Diane Arnold

About the Book:
Bear loves his red scarf, but when he goes for a walk in the woods, the scarf becomes lost. The scarf is found by one animal after another, then lost again until...all the animals find the scarf at once! They all love that red scarf so much, they begin to fight over it, leaving the scarf unraveled and ruined. Bear comes upon the scene and sadly carries the yarn home with the animals helping. Will the scarf ever be whole again? Will the animals discover a way to share it, together?

Unraveling
aka A Frenzy in the Forest

Sometimes you feel as if your life is unraveling. I’ve had a year like that. Stitch by stitch, the life I’d knitted together seemed to be falling apart. From a move to a strange new place to health challenges to finances, I felt like the red scarf in Lost. Found., strewn across the ground. Some days I felt as if my life could never be knitted back together again. Over and over I had to tell myself that a new life, a better life, was possible. Over and over I had to assure myself that nothing is ever lost and there are always new things to be found.

In Lost. Found. Bear was so happy with his new red scarf, so proud. You may not know this from reading the book, but, you see, I know the story that happened before the book begins. When his precious scarf was lost, think how Bear must have felt. Devastated. Alone. Sad. And when he finally finds his scarf it’s not the same at all. It will never be the same. But maybe, in a way, it can be better.

What can we do when things become unraveled? Two things. We can stop and then we can move on. Stop and take a deep breath. Sit down, close our eyes, and be still. Then calmly move on, with perseverance and patience.

That’s what happens in Lost. Found. The animals stop. They take in the situation, considering what they have done. Then they move on, Bear in the lead, to do what needs doing. 

In the musical of The Secret Garden, the gardener Ben, Mary, and Dickon visit a long-neglected garden, which, in a way, has become unraveled. “It’s a Maze,” they sing, and the lyrics include, “Getting lost is how you learn.” This is often true. The red scarf was lost, neglected, unraveled, but by getting lost, much was learned and much was found.

That’s five paragraphs of pretty serious stuff and there are definitely meaningful themes in Lost. Found., like creativity, conflict resolution, recycling, losing things, and community.  But mostly the story is a fun romp that I hope will elicit lots of giggles from readers. 

Lost. Found. consists of only eighteen words. Two words repeated, nine times each. The story is told mostly through the talented Matthew Cordell’s illustrations. The animals build on the story through their different creative uses of the scarf. Oh, the spontaneous delight the creatures experience as they discover multiple ways to use a red scarf. What imaginative forest folk!  I look forward to leading Writing Funshops in schools where students brainstorm other ways to use a red scarf. 

One of the ways I envision is to “cast on” (knitting term, as well as fishing term, sailing term and more), at one school and knit a bit, then continue knitting the red scarf from school to school until we connect the whole world as one big community of cooperation and contentment. We may get lost, we may become unraveled from time to time, but if we’re calm and steady, we can find ourselves again in a circle of friendship, surrounded by a cozy red scarf.  Get your knitting needles ready, everyone!

Blog Tour Schedule
November 3: SharpRead and Nerdy Book Club
November 4: KidLitFrenzy
November 5: Read. Write. Reflect. 
November 6: Librarian in Cute Shoes
November 7: Watch. Connect. Read
 

About the Author: Marsha Diane Arnold is the award-winning author of books ranging from Heart of a Tiger to Quick, Quack, Quick to Roar of a Snore. Lost. Found., a Junior Library Guild Selection with two starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and School Library Journal, is her twelfth book.

Marsha has become unraveled in her home state of Kansas, in California where she lived for over forty years, and now in Florida near her daughter and family. But she’s sure she can always knit herself back together again.

Resources:
Lost. Found. Teacher’s Guide will soon be available on Marsha’s website, www.marshadianearnold.com, under Fun Activities. Meanwhile, you may contact Marsha at http://www.marshadianearnold.com/write-marsha and she’ll send it directly to you.

It's Monday! What are you reading? From Picture Books to YA - November 2, 2015

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys.  Jen Vincent of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

My "IMWAYR" posts are going to be a little strange for the next few weeks. A little bit of a collection of bookish news, a little bit of what I am reading, and a little bit of celebrating things I am thankful for and spotlighting picture books. 

Here is a little of everything...

HOW TO TELL A STORY WEEK!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 3rd is when How to Tell a Story Week begins. I am so thankful to get to work with Jen Vincent from Teach Mentor Texts and the wonderful folks at Workman Publishing to celebrate the creative work of Daniel Nayeri and Brian Won. To further celebrate Jen Teach Mentor Texts  and I recruited Cynthia from Librarian in Cute Shoes, and Jennifer from Reederama to join in on sharing some fun #HowtoTellaStory ideas with you.

30 Days of Gratitude Day 2

All this month, I will be posting something short or sometimes a bit longer on what I am grateful for.  Today, I am grateful for the words of others that inspire me.   

I write about the power of trying, because I want to be okay with failing. I write about generosity because I battle selfishness. I write about joy because I know sorrow. I write about faith because I almost lost mine, and I know what it is to be broken and in need of redemption. I write about gratitude because I am thankful - for all of it. - Kristen Armstrong

As I was googling quotes on gratitude, I came across this one by Kristen Armstrong. I don't know if she is still blogging for Runner's World but I remember a number of years reading a regular column that she was doing for them and always being inspired. 

I love how she writes about the "power of trying, because I want to be okay with failing". Ah failure! So important to growth and learning.  Do we allow ourselves to take the kind of risks that will help us grow? Do we allow others around us colleagues, students, friends to learn from their mistakes and grow from them? 

I am thankful for dear friends who support me through my falling down and getting back up.

Picture Book Month

Bird
by Jacob Grimm; Illustrated by Beatriz Martin Vidal
Simply Read Books (September 1, 2015)

This description from GoodReads tells it all: 

Anything is possible when you believe. The moment is coming. Be ready. To start a new path, to grow up, to change, to rise to the occasion. 
"Bird" is a stunning wordless picture book by Beatriz Martin Vidal, which brings us up to the moment of a child s flight, as she launches into life and imagination takes off.

The possibility of a new path to grow, and change and reach for the impossible, that is my wish for each of you.  

To see what I have been reading, check out my GoodReads page here. 

So, what are you reading?

Book Review: The Bear Report

The Bear Report
by Thyra Heder
Abrams Books for Young Readers (October 6, 2015)
Fiction * Arctic Regions * Polar Bears
Audience: Ages 4 to 8
IndieBound | WorldCat

About the book: 
Sophie does not want to do her homework, a research report on polar bears. Bor-ing. They’re big. They eat things. They’re mean. What else is there to say about them anyway? As it turns out, plenty. And when a polar bear named Olafur swoops her away to the Arctic, she soon learns all about the playful bear’s habits and habitat—from glacier mice to the northern lights—and, despite her first reservations, she finds herself not just interested but excited about the Arctic. When the two are swept out to sea on an iceberg, Sophie’s new knowledge and knack for creative thinking pay off in a big way: she calls a whale to their aid! Inspired by her journey, she’s ready to return home and take another swing at her assignment, this time with gusto.

The Bear Report showcases the power of curiosity and imagination to fill any blank canvas, whether it’s an incomplete homework assignment or the Arctic ice.

My thoughts on the book:
This is the time of the year when I begin thinking about my favorite books of the year. Some books grow on me as I read them again and again. Other books just never seem to catch my interest. And then there are those books that right from the moment I see the cover or flip through the first few pages, I know that I must have the book. 

Originally, I discovered Thyra Heder when I picked up her book Fraidyzoo.  I purchased it on a trip east while visiting R. J. Julia's in Madison, Connecticut. However, when I first held The Bear Report, I knew this was a special book. When I got to the page where the polar bear tells the young girl "We are not ALL mean.", I had to smile. This book was going to be a fun read. 

Heder swirls together a whimsical journey taken by a large polar bear and a small girl with beautiful illustrations. 

However, the story is not all imagination, readers discover facts about the arctic and the environment inhabited by polar bears and other animals. 

The friendship between the girl and the bear is touching and humorous. 

When Sophie learns about the whale's song and then uses her new found knowledge to communicate with the whale, I chuckled. However, when I opened to the two page spread of northern lights, I took a moment to pause and like Sophie and Olafur just admire it. I would love a print of of these two pages. 

In the end, Sophie has been transformed by her time with Olafur just as the reader has been touched by the beauty of this book. 

Consider pairing The Bear Report with a nonfiction book about polar bears when sharing it with students. Pick up a copy of The Bear Report at your local indie bookstore or check it out at your community library. 

About the author: 
Thyra Heder is the author of FRAIDYZOO, an ALA Notable Book hailed by Kirkus as "riotous buffoonery" in a starred review. She is also an illustrator and storyboard artist whose clients include Kenneth Cole, Vogue, and Coca-Cola. She lives in Brooklyn. For more information: website | twitter | facebook