Celebrate Poetry for Children

April is National Poetry Month! Celebrate the joy of language and literature with your children. Not sure where to start? Try the following children's poets/books of poetry:

Jack Prelutsky's It's Raining Pigs and Noodles (Greenwillow)
Caroline Kennedy’s A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children (Hyperion)
Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing has one version; there are several)
Jane Yolen's Snow, Snow: Winter Poems for Children (Boyds Mills Press)
Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends (HarperCollins)
Kenn Nesbitt's When The Teacher Isn't Looking : And Other Funny School Poems (Meadowbrook)

There are many more. Ask your favorite librarian or bookseller for recommendations. Enjoy.

Grasshopper wasn't very patient, but...

Good things come to those who wait...but it's so darn hard to do it! :)

Finally heard from Highlights today about the story I sent them back in November. The wait was worth it, though, because they are buying "Roadrunner Rescue".

This story means a lot to me. It was one of those times, as a writer, when I really stretched, and it took some courage to submit the story when it was done. It's so easy to fall flat on your face when writing humor. :)

Also heard from the lovely Audrey Baird at Once Upon a Time today. She's accepting an article (on critiquing) and a humorous poem.

So, yeah, there are days when all the waiting and the angst are more than worth it. Just wish those days came more often!

Terry Brooks on Writing

I have decided, on reflection, it is best just to remember that sometimes the magic really works.

I cannot imagine life without books any more than I can imagine life without breathing.

I just added Terry Brooks' book on writing, Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life, to my list of recommended books for writers. Read it. It's that good.

Jane Yolen's Husband Begins a New Journey

Anyone who has followed Jane Yolen's tale of her husband's battle with cancer through her online journal, knows that yesterday she lost a truly remarkable partner, David Stemple.

I don't know either of them personally, only via their writings, but I have a great deal of respect for both of them. Their love of life and family, even in the face of cancer, has been inspiring. One of my favorite books of Jane's, Owl Moon, was written about David and their daughter, Heidi.

My best wishes and prayers go out to Jane and her children/grandchildren on their loss.

Some of Life's Essentials

World's Greatest Sister and I went to brunch yesterday, browsed at Barnes & Noble, then stocked up on pre-Easter candy (the kind you eat before you buy the stuff that will actually go *in* the Easter baskets).

Family, food, books and chocolate.

*sigh*

What a perfect day.

The Better Part of Valor

Say there's this writer who values her budding career as a children's writer. Say she's valiantly making her way through the minefield that is the publishing world. Say she sees, and reads, and hears things that make her laugh, make her cry, make her shake her head in astonishment, make her beat her head on her keyboard in frustration, make her question people's sanity, make her question people's motives, make her question people's intelligence, make her...er, well, *ahem*, you get the idea.

Does she blog about it?

No, she does not. :)

Porcine Parley

Stumbled upon this quote the other day and absolutely loved it:

"An insufficiency of pigs is one of the great faults of modern children's books."

Frederick Laws

(Of course, the fact that I've written a short story about a pig might have something to do with my feelings, ya think?)

Pithy Prose #4 - Anne Lamott

From one of my favorite books on writing, Bird by Bird, Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott:

Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.

I admire those who can turn off their internal critics and just write that first draft, unfettered by expectations. I'm working on attaining that kind of freedom in my writing. It sounds like bliss.

Busy, Busy

Yes, I've been very neglectful here lately, but it's because I've been working diligently on a few pieces that need to go out this month. One went into the mailbox on Friday. I can cross that one off the list. Still poking and prodding the other two.

Wrote a couple of poems the other day, too. For some reason, a lot of the ones I've written lately are nature poems. Perhaps it's my way of celebrating that spring's on the way. I love winter, but its shortage of daylight hours severely affects my disposition. Bring on the flowers and the chirping birds and I'll be back to smiling full time.

Oh, I forgot to mention that my sister and I spent Saturday in a mystery bookstore. It was heaven. Gotta love those indie bookstores! Support the ones in your area. They are worth the extra effort.