Halloweensie Time!: Matilda's Treat

I love Halloween.  For me it's family, creativity, and scary, but not too scary times.

Susanna Hill has brought back many fun memories and pushed my creativity. Thank you for putting on this fun writing contest and thank you to all the people who have donated incredible prizes.

I met Matilda at Michael's and she came home to live, well not live, but hang out, at my house. While she looks like a bunch of bones, she lives on in this story.

Halloweensie Rules: Halloween Story, 100 words or less, must include the words, potion, trick, and cobweb, for ages 12 and under.

Matilda's Treat

Matilda died long ago.

Her skin is gone, but not her dream.

The full moon’s bright, and she has risen.

Time to mix her favorite potion.

The cauldron bubbles, steams, and boils.

She tosses in

Eye of newt and bat wing leather,

A vulture’s head and just one feather.

She stirs and stirs.

It’s almost ready.

One last touch, gently folded in;

shimmery, glistening spider webs.

Light and fluffy . . .

the perfect batch of cobweb candy.

Matilda waits for her guests.

Children come singing, “Trick-or-Treat.”

She raises her hand and makes her offer.

Would you try it?

Would you dare?

The End and The Beginning

I have been preparing and moving toward a lot of change this past year. I began the year participating in Julie Hedlund's 12 Day of Christmas for Writers. It begins the day after Christmas and goes for . . . 12 Days. I am ending the year preparing for 2019 with the same program. (You can too, just follow the link) Last year, I decided my quote or theme for the year would be: Does it Move Your Story Forward?

This theme had a double meaning for me. In writing it meant, do the words and images move the one important thing about the story forward? In life, Am I doing the things that help me to move my life forward toward my writing and art dreams and goals?

By holding to my theme, I gave myself permission to say no or to delay doing things that didnt move my story forward.

It also made it easy for me to join and participate in new classes and activities. I joined the 12x12 Challenge. I began attending SCBWI Illustrator's Group in Illinois. I participated in Tara Lazar's Storystorm and created a long list of story ideas, and then participated in ReFoReMo which helped me get into the "reading lot of picture books" habit. These activities took a lot of time and focus. They really helped me stick to my theme for the year.

I had decided with my husband that I would retire from Library work at the end of 2018. (You can retire from the work, but you are always a librarian.) When the end of last school year was approaching, my husband said, "I reviewed the numbers and I think you should retire now." That was too fast for me. There were only a couple weeks of school left, I wasn't 100% sure I was ready and I needed more time to think about it. So I didn't retire. The school year came to an end, I was writing and beginning to make more art, I took a drawing class and a watercolor class. I was feeling the contentment and bliss of making art. I also felt the stress and pain of not being perfect at my art. But, the bliss was winning over. I was ready to move forward full-time into my new career. I decided that I would go back to work for a couple weeks in August so that I could have closure and say goodbye to all the students before entering this new phase.

It's funny, I was scared. I was afraid that no one would care that I was leaving. The people who cared the most were the students. There were some adults who lamented that I was leaving, but they don't react the same way that kids did. The last day was SOOOOOO hard. I cried over and over again. I received so many hugs, and many sweet notes. One girl brought me a small gift. The day ended, the kids went home (I did a cartwheel for the kids waiting for their rides.) And then it was over. Just like that boom, the end.

Thankfully, I had a plan to keep moving forward. I was already working on my writing, I signed up for two consecutive watercolor classes, and took a 4 week poetry writing class. And . . . I had my theme.

I had an amazing year. I wrote 13 picture book drafts. A lot of garbage that will never see light of day, but also a few that I think are gems in need of polishing. I wrote a middle grade scary story that I love and shared with a former student whose mom told me he was in love with scary stories. (A goal is to figure out where this story might go in the publishing world). I received an honorable mention for a 100 word scary story I wrote for Susanna Hill's Halloweensie writing contest. I wrote a whole bunch of poems during my poetry class and actually had 10 that were worthy of submitting for publication.

Then I joined the Storyteller Academ and took Arree Chung's Making Picture Book Stories and Dummies. I loved the class and weekly meetings and discussions. I am still working on revisions to my story for that class and am enjoying making dummies. I can't wait to get started with more classes at the end of January.

As I was writing this post, I was thinking that my theme for 2019 would be: Less is More. I'm not sure that will fit at the beginning of this year as I plan to participate in the 12x12 challenge again, I have signed up for Storystorm, and then there's Storyteller Academy. We shall see. There's a few more days in 2018 and no rule that I have to decide before 2019 begins.

How was your 2018? Can you remember the good stuff that happened? I'd love to hear about your life progress. Do you have a theme for 2019?

Please know that my year was not perfect, and there were many things that slowed down my process requiring me to change focus for a while. What I am most proud of is that I was able to re-focus and keep moving forward.

Happy End of 2018! Cheers to 2019!

Dancing With the Night

Dancing with the Night

By Sarah Tobias, 100 words

Trick-or-treating has ended for another year.

I shiver. More than the chill in the air.

There is more to this night.

From my window, I see a red glow from the cauldron fire.

Silhouettes dancing in the woods.

Throwing my cape over my nightgown, I sneak out and join them.

Song fills the air:

The moon, the stars, the night.

We leave the earth behind.

Oh wayyyyy, Oh wayyyy. Ohhhh aaaa.

Frenzied dancing.

Brooms come alive and lift us toward the moon.

Howlllling A woooooo!

I wake as dawn is breaking.

I shiver, wondering how I am back in bed.

Happy almost Halloween.

To find and read more Halloweensie stories, follow this link to Susanna Hill's Blog.

So proud to be able to say, this story won an Honorable Mention for "Best Description/Mood Piece" Here's a link to all the winners!

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

The easiest way to get me to pick up a book is to tell me it is about nature and animals. The school year is over, and I have more time to dedicate to reading, thinking, and recommending. My first out-of-school book was Wishtree by Katherine Applegate.

Wishtree is written from the point of view of a Red Oak named Red who is 216 rings old. Red is proud of its heritage. Proud to be a home to so many animals. Red has a friend, a crow named Bongo. The tree looks out at two homes. Two families. One new family. One girl who has a wish to find a friend. It's not so easy. Not everyone wants this new family in town. Red has been the wishtree in the neighborhood for many human generations. Throughout, Red remained quiet, but now. . . .

After finishing this book, my first thought was that this would be a great book for teachers to read to their classes at the beginning of the school year. Then, I thought kids shouldn't wait. Parents should read this book with their kids and they should talk about it, and in the fall the kids should read it to their teachers and they should all take action.

While I was writing this review, an article shared among my writing groups about discussing the need for books to have lessons for a child to absorb and learn from. This really got me thinking about what I was writing about this book. It was sounding like a lesson plan for teachers and parents. Yikes!

One of the main reasons I became a librarian was to make reading fun, not lesson-filled and curriculum based. In this past year as a school librarian, I enjoyed sharing small lessons, but mostly, they were lessons encouraging curiosity and imagination  I tried not to even talk about that unless it came up in conversation with the kids.

Wishtree is a book filled with lesson opportunities:
Caring for Nature
Caring for others (Empathy)
Strength in numbers
Tolerance
Kindness
Friendship
and religious freedom all come to mind.

The thing is that when we try to push our agenda and lessons on kids, I believe that they are more likely to push back and test out the opposite. We can also ruin a perfectly lovely story because it is no longer about the story, it's about the lesson.

I watched 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders play tag football all school year. On occasion, a disagreement that was leading toward a fight would break out. I had to step in. We talked and I allowed them to find resolution to the problem. They had the skills. I didn't have to teach them anything except at the moment calming down enough to begin thinking again. There were also times one of those same kids would get hurt during the game. The other kids stopped playing and wanted to take care of their friend. They know empathy. I believe they learned this through their life experiences more than through the lessons that have been imparted upon them ad nauseam. When they are hurt, they want to be cared for, they can turn that around and know that they need to also care for others.

What I guess I am trying to say is that books may have lessons. I think they help to make these emotions and feelings more concrete, but we don't always need to hit everyone over the head and make them list the lessons they are learning.

I loved the Wishtree. It is a beautifully written story. I wanted to sit under red at night and watch the animals who lived there. I trust that the lessons within the book will shine for kids. It will come out in small ways, like when they stop a game to help someone who is hurt, they see worms in a new light, they take a moment to hug a tree, or befriend a person who is not just like them.

Letting lessons and learning happen organically, is so much more fun for everyone. After reading the book, if a child talks about nature and wants to know more, then offer up the idea of starting a nature journal. If a child wants to understand about a different religion run to the library and get books on the topic and have conversations. Don't be afraid if you don't have all the answers. Use your lack of knowledge as an opportunity to learn something new together. Learning new things because you are interested will take you down rabbit holes, up into the trees, and across the universe while at the same time you will build positive relationships with children.

Birds, Birds, Birds, Nature, and Books

We have a robin's nest on our deck. It is such fun to sit and watch mom and dad feed the babies. And the babies. Wobbly little heads with huge open mouths. Can you see the little bit of fuzz on the babies head?

Robin Redbreast

 I always feel special when a bird decides to nest in my yard. I believe it is because I make it a safe and happy place to raise young. I enjoy watching the birds at the feeders and this spring, we have had many migrating visitors that I have never noticed before. The more I know about birds, the easier it is to spot new ones and begin to figure out what type of bird they are.

Available at Anderson Bookshop

A really cool book I just learned about is called, Look up! Bird Watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette LeBlanc Cate. In a mere 51 pages, she provides so much information on ways to bird watch and understand birds. She breaks things down by shape, color, habits, sound, and more. Most people don't get excited about robins as they are around quite a bit, but I love to watch them.  The way they cock their head before they peck in the grass bringing up food amazes me. Annette even wrote a little song about the robins. It reminds us, that there is more to bird watching than just seeing the bird and knowing what kind it is. You learn about their behaviors and lifestyles too. This is a great book to get you started bird watching and nature journaling.

Available at Anderson Bookshop

A new release this year is How the Finch Got His Colors by Annemarie Riley Guertin. The illustrations are by Helena Perez Garcia. So lovely and full of joy. This folktale is the story of how the animals got their colors. A long time ago they were all the colors of dirt, clay, and stone. You'll have to read this tale to find out what happens and where the beautiful colors come from especially for the Gouldian Finch.

Scarlet Tanager at Colored Sands Forest Preserve in Rockton, IL

Available at 57th Street Books

Follow the seasons and animals in the lovely book,  Drawn From Nature by Helen Ahpornsiri. Each page is filled with pressed flower illustrations. Details and interesting information on birds, mammals, plants, and insects abound. This is a book that you will want to look at over and over again.

The bunnies in my backyard

You can check these books out from your local public library or purchase them for your own collection. I have included links to two great independent bookstores. While it's easy to order online, the experience of time spent in independent bookstores and libraries, surrounds you in books, curiosity, and dreams.

New Year or a New Moment: Move Your Story Forward

I keep thinking about all the posts on Facebook and other social media sites about ending this year and starting fresh with a new one. Many say they are ready for it to end because it was a terrible year generally noting the changes in our political climate. I think it is sad that we use the outside world and the rantings of a crazy person as our barometer of a good or bad year.

It may be helpful to think more about your personal year, the things that you had control over. Maybe you spent too much time caught up in the craziness and not enough on making the world a better place by you actions. Maybe you did wonderful acts of kindness and did make the world a better place for you and a few other people. Maybe you learned so much and are taking that forward into this new year.

I wonder why we feel that an arbitrary day (January 1) is the one to mark new beginnings? We have new beginnings every minute and opportunity at any moment to change direction and do things differently. We can begin the creation of new habits and new action right now.

Of right now.

I attended a Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators (SCBWI) Conference in September in Wisconsin. I heard authors, illustrators, agents and editors speak and I took loads of notes. I made new friends and learned so much. I didn't wait for today, January 1 to begin to implement what I learned.

One of the pieces of advice that was given by several speakers was to always ask if what you have written is moving your story forward. That phrase, "Does it move your story forward?" has been haunting me a lot lately. Not just as I am writing or editing a story, but because I am working on moving my personal story forward.

For me 2017 was not a bad year. I learned so much, I have moved my story forward and am very excited to continue doing so in 2018. Not just today, but every day of the year. Each action we take is is a step in a direction. Little changes. Wonderful small changes add up to big new stories.

We never really get a fresh clean start. We will always have our past. The question is, how do we take that past and use it to move our stories forward?

Do we create drama for the sake of drama, or do we create peace for the sake of peace? What do we want out of this life? What will it take to get us there? What little actions create a scene that leads to turning to a new page? Life is a choose your own adventure, what direction do you want to take? When will you take charge of the adventure?

I am taking steps forward now, and


now



and Now!