A Stone Sat Still -- Perfect Picture Book Friday

I have been watching the birds in my backyard a lot. In the spring, we have many bird species that only stop by the feeders for a short time before moving on to their nesting grounds. There are also birds who stop coming to the feeder in spring as they are migrating to their nesting ground. I have been paying attention to the birds for several years. I noticed that the red-winged black birds come back in early spring. I used to think of them as summer birds because they would and still do sit on tall grasses in the summer sun and heat and trill all day. After paying attention, I realized that they are very early harbinger of spring. The robins come back a little later, and for a short time, flock into yards and open spaces as large groups looking for tasty meals. I suspect they love the rainy days and the worms coming up from the deep soil. And then the dark-eyed juncos who spend the winter foraging for seed under the bird feeders hang out until all chances of snowstorms are over. I begin to pay close attention to the juncos in March and hope each morning that they will be gone. For me they are a sign that the weather is really changing for the better. I love the juncos in the winter. Their little black and white bodies bop around under the feeders remind me that it may be cold out, but I am as resilient as a little bird so I can go outside too. In the spring, I am ready for warmth and the blooming of flowers and trees. 

Today I chose A Stone Sat Still because it is a poem to nature. A poem to paying attention and noticing things that seem simple and uninteresting, but are actually complex and exciting.

Title: A Stone Sat Still

Author/Illustrator: Brendan Wenzel

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2019

Opening Page:

A stone sat still

with the water, grass and dirt

and it was as it was

where it was in the world.

Why I believe you will love this book:

• It is lyrical and has a lovely repetition. 
• This story is filled with discussion opportunities and doors to learning more about nature topics. 
• The illustrations are made with cut paper, colored pencil, oil pastels, marker and the computer. They are soft and bright, wild and gentle.
• It is a story about using your senses and thinking about size. You can hear the crack of the shell, feel the warmth of the day, and understand that perception of size depends on what is is around. 

I am not doing this book justice. It is best enjoyed by just enjoying it. It is a book to sit with and ponder. It is the kind of book that catches your heart and holds on as a reminder of how special our world is.

Resources and Activities:

Here is a link to the book being read.

Brendan talks about the story behind this story. 

An interview with Brendan Wenzel.

Brendan's Website.

• Spend time in the woods, in your yard, on a nature trail, by a river, lake stream, ocean, or at your window and just sit and watch. What do you see? Make a list, draw pictures.
• What senses are you using as you watch? What senses are the animals, birds, insects using as they interact in the world? 
• Write a poem about what you discover.
• If a rock could talk, what do you think it would say about it's life experience?

• Make a collage animal. 
• Here's a link to loads of collage ideas.
• Use found objects for you art. 
• Play with watercolors and use the pieces to cut up and make a new piece of art.
• Participate in Citizen Science projects. I have been adding my bird data to Ebird. I also participate in the Frog Calling Survey and will be doing a training on a pollinator project. I love it because I get to be in nature and hopefully help the wildlife by keeping track of the things I see.
• Recently I started a little photography project that I call, "Nine things I Noticed."  I take lots of pictures with my phone when I walk my dog. I pull together nine of the cool things I love and put them together in the Instagram Layout App.  Here are two that I have created. 
  

Well, nature and my dog are calling. Off to see what we notice today.

Support your Local Indie Bookstore when you purchase a book.

Check out Susanna Hill's Perfect Picture Book Friday Blog post each week to learn about more cool books to read with your kids and add to your collection.

Explorers -- A Perfect Picture Book for Friday

I love museums. They are filled with so many wonders. I am also very nervous about museums. They are huge with lots of rooms and loads of people. It can get overwhelming. But everything is so impressive and awe inspiring.

In comes Explorers by Matthew Cordell. This wordless picture book is a whole new way to explore. Each image provides so much to see and think about. You are in the Museum, some iconic views of Chicago museums, and then rooms from . . . Wait. let's start at the beginning. The opening scene is an ode to the cover of The Beatles album Abbey Road. 

Then there's the iconic Chicago hot dog stands, and the people who set up shop selling trinkets and magic.

The story is about visiting a museum and discovering friendship along the way. The boy purchases a magic origami bird and plays with it through the museum. When it is caught by another child, the boy grabs it back and gets into trouble, but as stories go, that is not the end and the boy takes an unexpected tour in the museum.

This story begins before the title page with the scenes from above. Then the family and readers enter the museum.

While it seems that the story is set in the Field Museum, if you have spent time in the museums in Chicago, I believe that Matthew is testing us to see if we know where all these scenes really are located. I believe he added scenes from The Peggy Notebaeret Museum, and The Art Institute.

Take a close up look at the entrance in the Field museum photo above. The pattern of the blocks above the doorway and the blocks on the upper right and left of the building, are mimicked on the benches in the book. I can't remember if the benches really look like that, but you will see this pattern repeated a lot throughout the Field Museum.

This book is about museums, family, magic, Chicago, and friendship. The more you look, the more magic will appear.

What will you discover on your explorations?

Resources and Activities:

Whether you live in Illinois or another state, there are many museums you can visit and become and explorer.

Did you know that Museums and National Parks offer free days? If you live in or around Chicago, here's a list of free days.

https://www.choosechicago.com/articles/museums-art/free-museum-days-in-chicago/

If you don't live in the Chicago area, be sure to check out your community. 

The University in my town has a small museum that is free and open to the public. There are many places you can visit at little or no cost, take some time to see what's in your neighborhood.

You will also find hidden in the images, the Mold-O-Rama machines that are fixtures at several locations in Illinois. You can learn more about them here.

You can make your own flying origami bird.

Learn more about Matthew and follow him on Instagram.

A bit about wordless picture books.

You can also check out his wife, Julie Halpern's books too.

I Got Next . . . perfect Picture Book Friday

This past summer I met Daria Peoples-Riley at Highlights Foundation Summer Camp. On our last night, we all headed over to the Executive Director's family farm for a cookout. Daria, Matthew Winner, and I were in the same van for the trip. Daria pulled out her copy of her about to be released picture book, I Got Next. It's the sequel to her book This is It. 

Title: I Got Next

Author and Illustrator: Daria People-Riley

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 2019

When I got home, I ordered both books. There are so many kids I would love to share these books with. They are inspiring, encouraging, and filled with rhythm, poetry, and joy.

In the van, Daria mentioned that she wished there was a way to teach people how to read the books with the rhythm, poetry, and joy that is infused throughout. You see there are some videos of people reading the book. The readers do a beautiful job of enunciating and reading each page slowly for someone looking will be able to linger over the images. The problem with that is these books are more like music and when you read the story without the music, you leave part of that story in the book. (my thoughts.)

To give you a sense of the rhythm, here is the flap cover text:

It's Game day!

Time to put

your game face on.

Shake shake 'em.

Playground play, 'em.

Work hard.

Don't quit.

And leave your heart

on the court

because

YOU

      GOT

          NEXT!

I emailed Daria and asked if I could interview her for this post. She graciously agreed and a I sent her a few questions. 

What would you tell readers to help them get the rhythm?

I think in order for readers to understand the rhythm and rhyming in THIS IS IT and I GOT NEXT they should research the rhetorical devices deeply rooted in African traditions. One of the stylistic devices I use in my books, through voice and structure, both in text and visually is call and response. Call and response is the foundation for many African American oral traditions. It is a dialogue between the speaker and the audience, the author and the reader. 

Here is one article to get you started.

Some stories have an obvious tune based on a song that we know. Others are like these two books where the text size, the punctuation, the images provide clues to the voice of the story. This is a part of why we fall in love with a story and want to share it with the world. As librarians, parents, and teachers, we should have the courage to give each story we read the energy it deserves. It helps children become engaged with the story, and encourages them to want to read even more stories.

The end pages in I Got Next are beautiful and filled with symbols and portraits. Why did you choose this for the end pages? There is so much there to look at and wonder about.

I’m happy to hear this. I think this is exactly the purpose of public art, to make us pause, reflect and wonder, and maybe even wander into our own imagination. I chose to create a mural for the end pages because I imagined it would exist in the neighborhood where my hero lives, a reminder to him of the heroes and heroines whose lives he should use as mentor texts. Their stories of resilience and contribution should inspire him to put his game face on and use his gifts and abilities to work hard and to be a leader on the court, and in extension, in his community.

Would you share a little bit about your illustration style and process? 

My illustration style is a result of me learning to work with the materials and knowledge I gain as I grow as an artist through my life experiences and through trial and error. 

When I began, I enjoyed painting, but lacked the education of traditional art school training. I didn’t know things like how to prepare paper for a painting or the elements of composition or really the “right” way to do anything. Pretty much everything I learned about illustration was more or less a result of playing and experimenting with mediums and various processes.

My introduction to art was photography, so I learned Photoshop as a result and used it as apart of my process. Because of Photoshop, I think about the composition of an illustration in layers which is the way Photoshop is structured. 

I begin by painting individual layers, scan, or photograph the layers, and then composite them in Photoshop, from the background to foreground. If I mess up, it’s no big deal because I can just paint the layer over again until it can be added to the composition in Photoshop.

I used this process for both THIS IS IT and I GOT NEXT. I paint in watercolor, gouache, and ink. For the portraits in I GOT NEXT, I drew those using charcoal. 

Many people ask me if I call my style collage. I guess it is in a non-traditional way, but as I grow as an artist, I find myself moving away from Photoshop, primarily because I don’t really like using the computer as much these days. I do, however, like the idea of collage, so I’m experimenting with ways to retain my style while using a new process that doesn’t always include Photoshop or drastically limits my use of it.

How did these stories come to you; through words or images first?

All of my stories (up to this point) come through the inspiration of a protagonist who wants me to tell his or her story. When I sit down to tell it, some spreads come as words, others as images and after it’s gone through the revision process, both words and images tell the whole story. 

More Questions?

I could have asked her many more questions, but a book, once released into the world, is a partnership of the author, illustrator, and reader. We as the readers get to make our own interpretations and bring our individuality into each story we read. 

Why I love these books: 

For their poetry, their encouragement, and because I can easily see myself sharing them with loads of kids.

I love that the characters in these picture books are older. I love reading picture books to school aged children. They have the ability to see the layers within the stories and use their own imaginations to create art and stories of their own.

Daria uses a shadow person as the other character in the book. I have thought a lot about that. The shadow looks like the character, but it could also be the shadow of an important person in the child's life. Our shadows can be uplifting and our shadows have the potential of trying to tear us down. I believe this comes from who we have in our lives and how they talk to us each day. As adults and parents who connect with children, it is our opportunity to help each child we encounter develop their positive uplifting shadow.

Activities and Resources:

Check out the trailer for this is it. A celebration of individuality, self-expression and dance.

https://www.dariapeoples.com/

I had to laugh when I opened my email for the latest episode of The Children's Book Podcast and saw that it is an interview with Daria Peoples-Riley on the same week that I was working on my Perfect Picture Book Friday post of her books. I guess connections made at Highlights Foundation are really strong.

http://www.matthewcwinner.com/single-post/Daria-Peoples-Riley

Be sure to check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes. And you can check out her weekly #PPBF post along with links to many more wonderful posts here.

Fall Frenzy Writing Contest

I have to start by saying I love these writing contests. They help me stay creative, help me focus on best word choices to make a complete story in a limited number of words, and I get to read loads of stories written by many writers.

Having said that, this time, I had a hard time getting started. I have been participating in Inktober and my creative brain was drawing focused. I almost gave up. I figured I would promote the contest and read other people's stories and be satisfied. But that didn't feeling right. It felt like giving up on a tiny bit of my writing dream.

I sat down looked at the images again (I had limited my choices to two photos)

Image 11

I really thought the story would come from the crows. We have three crows who hang out in our Cottonwood tree from fall to spring and I have been waiting for their story to emerge. I must continue wait. Sitting on my table by the window was a little acorn that I had picked up one day while walking the dogs. The story didn't come from here, though a couple lines appeared:

"I told him not to eat the acorn. Who eats anything that glows?"

"You know if you hadn't said anything, he probably wouldn't have eaten it."

"So it's my fault he turned into a . . .?"


Then, I drew this:

Still not a story.

Image 6

But Acorn Man came to mind and then the Spider Man song from the sixties started playing in my head and this is what came out: Dun, dun, dunnnnnnnn!

Superhero Halloween

By Sarah Tobias, 159 words

“Aidan, Halloween is coming. Do you want to make a costume?”

“Oh, Yeah!”

“What would you like to be this year?”

“Acorn Man!”

“Tell me about this Acorn Man.”

Aidan began to sing:

“Acorn Man, Acorn Man! Enchanted by Squirrel Man.

Wears an Acorn hat and leaf.

Gathering acorns, he’s no thief.

Oh Yeah! He’s the Acorn Man.

Acorn Man, Acorn Man, Plants the seeds as fast as he can.

He’s strong as a tree

and floats like a leaf.

Make Way! For flying Acorn Man.

Acorn Man, Acorn Man! Nurtures seeds with a plan.

He cleans the air that we breathe

with his forest of Oak trees.

Oh Yeah! He’s the Acorn Man.”

“Well, all right then. Let’s get started making your costume.”

They planned and they drew.

They cut and they sewed.

By Halloween, the costume was ready.

Aidan wore his pouch filled with acorns and, 

for every treat he received . . .

he planted an Oak tree seed.

Be sure to check out more stories on the official entry page.
There are poems and stories; humorous and scary, sweet and dreary. They all show how creative people can be when they spend time and allow themselves to play, be inspired, and put pen to paper.

If you want to try your hand at writing a story, check out Susanna Hill's Halloweensie Contest. Get your butt in a chair and start writing. Your creative brain will thank you.

The Important Thing . . . Perfect Picture Book Friday

Title: The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown
Author:  Mac Barnett
Illustrated by: Sarah Jacoby
Publisher: Balzar and Bray, 2019

I was so fortunate to hear Mac Barnett read this book at the Anderson Bookstore Children's Literature Breakfast way back in February. I fell in love. This is an important book.

It is a little bit biography of Margaret Wise Brown. You will learn bits and pieces of her life as you read. It is a little bit biography of Anne Carroll Moore who doesn't even appear in the book until page 20. A little bit about censorship. A little bit about life and death. A little bit about being strange and being yourself. Yes, it is an important book that tells you important things about Margaret Wise Brown and important things about life and death.

The First page: "It did not seem important that anyone wrote these stories. They were true. And it still doesn't seem important! All this emphasis today on who writes what seems silly to me as far as children are concerned." -- Margaret Wise Brown.

The first lines of the story: (I say story because while this is a biography, it is also a story.)
"Margaret Wise Brown lived for 42 years. This book is 42 pages long. You can't fit somebody's life into 42 pages, so I am just going to tell you some important thing."

Man, he had me at Hello.

Most picture books are not paginated. But this one is. Mac refers to the page we are on several times in the book just as he tells us how many pages the book is. We learn about Margaret as a child, as an author, and as an adult. We get tidbits of her life surrounded by the world around her and how she interacts with it. He tells us her books are strange, she is strange, and yet, she is compelling and exciting. I love people who are all of those things.

And then there are the illustrations. Sarah Jacoby brings Margaret Wise Brown to life in vivid colors and movement. Throughout she slips in book covers of Margaret's books and uses the characters from her stories to show the action within the biography. Be sure to check out the cover under the paper cover. It is lovely. Look closely at the illustrations. It's more than just Margaret's books (I think I missed that until I took a close-up photo of the page) So many details!

Activities:

Play Seek and Find throughout the book. What book covers do you see? Have you read those books? Check them out and keep the reading going. What other details do you notice? Are illustrations used in tiny spots from larger illustrations in the book? Count the rabbits.

Pick a bouquet of flowers and set them on your table. Enjoy the fleeting moments of flowers.

Read books by Margaret Wise Brown

Teachers and Librarians: This would make a great read for Banned Book Week. Or maybe the week before Banned Book Week. A door to open up to conversations about Banned Books. "Because every good book is at least a little bit strange, and there are some people who do not like strange things in their worlds." I hope today, libraries are less restrictive in their selection policies. I believe for the most part that they are. But, I also believe that we can ALWAYS do better. Whether that is buying more Indie published books that maybe didn't get reviewed in the major journals, seeking out more diversity in books by own voices authors, offering controversial programming, speaking up for all people, and being the place that communities can rely of for opening our minds and allowing us to learn and release our biases.

Thesarahjacoby.com
@sjacobee
https://veryimportantmargaret.tumblr.com/

Be sure to check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes. And you can check out her weekly #PPBF post along with links to many more wonderful posts here.

Perfect Picture Book Friday -- Pocket Full of Colors

Hello World, It's #PPBF time!

Title: Pocket Full of Colors: The magical world of Mary Blair, Disney artist extraordinaire
Authors: Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville
Illustrated by: Brigette Barrager
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017

Ages: 6 and up

Themes: Biography, Artists, Women


First page: Under a wide blue sky, on a red dirt road,in a lemon-yellow house, there lived a girl named Mary. Other children collected marbles or dolls, but Mary collected colors of every shade and hue.

Why I love this book:

I am sorry to admit that until Vanessa Brantley Newton talked about the art and style of Mary Blair in my character design class, I didn't know who she was. But, it's never too late to learn.

Over the past couple of years, I have taken a much closer look at who the artists and illustrators are in picture books. I try to figure out their medium and style. Vanessa talks about the little feet that Mary Blair incorporated into her drawings of people. I realized, I needed to put a face to those little feet. I looked her up and came across this picture book biography.

It is a beautiful book which takes you through Mary's life and ties it all together with her love of color and her unique and daring style of art.

As you can see, Brigette Barrager used the bright swirls of color throughout Mary's life to show her never ending love of color.  In the last image above, you get a glimpse of the men she was working with at Disney. The are all in brown and white. While Walt Disney loved her colors and vibrant style, the other men's ideas and acceptance of Mary's style paled in comparison. Mary never gave up her dreams. She went off and created illustrations for many books with Little Golden Books.

When I was 10, our family went to Disney World. I fell in love with the "It's a Small World" exhibit/ride. Little did I know, that this was the work of Mary Blair. I wanted to go through that ride over and over again. Today, it would be kind of boring compared to the glitz and glamour of rides today, but back then, when the world felt so big, before everything was on the internet, when we hardly talked about all the cultures of the world, the It's a Small World, boat ride through tunnels and animated characters from around the world, inspired my love of people, color, and art. If Mary Blair were alive today, the ride would likely be bigger and brighter, and even more exotic, but it would have her same flair.

So I love this book because it tells me the story of a courageous artist who didn't give up, when others wanted her to be different. She persevered and created exciting art for her time inspiring artists to create and experiment with their own style and flair.

It is beautifully written and illustrated.

Activities:

Learn more about Amy Guglielmo
Learn more about Jacqueline Tourville
And Brigette Barrager
Learn more about Mary Blair

Create a Color Bingo game to collect colors when you travel.

Find your color. A friend posted this video of Sam Adams skin color comedy routine on Facebook, and it feels so appropriate here. It's good clean comedy. I am currently three colors: Indulgent Peach (sun tan/burn), Provincial peach (where the sun hasn't shined), and my freckles are Reindeer Herd according to Sherwin Williams color charts. What's your color/colors?

Make art!

Sing along: It's a Small World After All

Perfect Picture Book Friday -- Frida Kahlo

Happy Friday to you! Kids are heading into summer vacation mode with time to play, read, and make art on their own terms. If you haven't read this wonderful biography of Frida Kahlo, this summer would be wonderful time to meet the artist and her many beloved animals.

Title: Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos
Written by: Monica Brown
Illustrated by: John Parra
Publisher: North South Books, 2017
Pura Belpre Honor Book

Themes: art, biography, imagination, pets

About the book: This picture book biography of the artist Frida Kahlo is the story of her life as seen through her relationship with her many beloved pets.

Why I love this book: I too love animals. Frida's pets were grand and varied. I wonder what it would be like to have monkey's as pets?

Animals and art were therapy for Frida. This would be a wonderful introduction for children who have health problems or may be struggling emotionally. It tells a child she/he is not alone and gives them ways to move through the difficult times.

Art is so important. As they say, "Earth without art is Eh." This book is a double dose of art. First the story of an artist and secondly, the artwork created by John Parra.  I had the opportunity to listen and watch as he showed us how he creates his illustrations. Each illustration is many many layers of paint with cutting and masking of sections, building up to the final piece. You can learn more about his process here.

We need more art. Kids need to make art and be exposed to art. This book does that in spades!

A couple articles on the importance of making art which Arree Chung posted on his Facebook page and I share with you here:

https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2019/arts-teaching-become-important-maths-tech-based-future-education-expert

https://www.edutopia.org/video/powerful-effects-drawing-learning

Activities:

• Color a picture of Frida Kahlo
• Draw a self-portrait. What are your your favorite features? Who would be in the portrait with you?
• Experiment with different art styles.
• Visit an art museum, gallery, and/or local artists group to see what types of art other people are making. In my town, our art league shows their artwork at two local libraries throughout the year and offers a day of art for kids at a summer event.
• Learn more about Frida Kahlo
• Find out about the Pura Belpre Award
• Learn more about the Illustrator, John Parra
• Learn more about the author, Monica Brown
• Take some time to understand the meaning of the Spanish words in the book. You may even want to begin learning the language. Many public libraries offer access to online language learning programs. If you are taking a trip with lots of travel time, you could all learn together. Be sure to join the Summer Reading Program too. You and your kids will be more prepared than ever to head back to a new school year in the fall.

Be sure to check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes. And you can check out her weekly #PPBF post along with links to many more wonderful posts here. 

Perfect Picture Book Friday -- Sam & Eva

Today begins the SCBWI Marvelous Midwest Writers and illustrators conference. I am so excited to have Debbie as a guest and presenter at the conference. If you haven't seen her books (the two she wrote and illustrated and all the ones she has illustrated, be sure to check them out. There's a link to her website at the end of this post.

Title: Sam & Eva
Author and illustrator: Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2017

Opening Lines: Sam had just begun to draw when Eva arrived. "I like your pony," Eva said. "It's a velociraptor," said Sam.

Themes: Drawing, imagination, friendship, collaboration

About the book:
Sam wants to draw alone, but Eva wants to join him. The drawings takes on a life of their own as Sam and Eva's imaginary worlds collide. When Eva decides it isn't fun anymore and leaves, Sam realizes that something is missing from the experience.

Why I love this book:
I love books that show kids making art and using their imaginations.

This book about friendship and collaboration starts off on the wrong foot. Not an uncommon occurrence for kids (I won't mention adults). It's interesting to think about what shifts during the interaction to turn the relationship to something good and special? In this book, there are no adults. The answer to the problem in this story is not dramatic. It's just letting things happen and allowing a relationship to take its course. I think this is an important lesson for kids to learn. We don't always need someone to tell us how to fix and build relationships.

I love that the Sam and Eva are drawn in black and white and all the color is in the drawings they create.

Some Activities:

Make a Dry Erase/Magnetic  Board Wall : This is just one video of how to make a the wall. But Wouldn't it be fun to be able to draw on the walls and not get in trouble?

Debbie's Cool Website filled with activities, downloadables, and cool stuff about her and her work.

Team Building Exercises

As always, to find more cool picture books check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes.

Perfect Picture Book Friday -- Lost Words

April is Earth Month and National Poetry Month. Two things that go together as well as peanut butter and chocolate, tacos on Tuesday, rain and rainbows, worms and soil, flowers and sunshine . . . you get my drift. 

Today's Perfect Picture Book doesn't fit squarely in the picture book category of books. It's 128 pages and the acrostic poems require time and thought to allow their words and meaning to sink in and take hold of your heart and mind.  Yet, it is filled with beautiful illustrations and is a non-fiction poetry picture book.

For me, it conjures up the Wild Flowers of America book that sat on our book shelf as I was growing up (see image at the end of this post). I would browse the pages on rainy days, make drawings of the flowers with my crayons and paper, and even occasionally use it as the reference tool it was designed to be. So while neither are traditional picture books, they are books that take you into nature and without being pushed or prodded, your own imagination is sparked.

Title: Lost Words: A Spell Book

Author: Robert MacFarlane
Illustrator: Jackie Morris

Publishing Information:  2017 in the UK by Penguin Books Ltd. and 2018 in Canada and US by House of Anasasi Press Inc.

Ages: 0 - 100

Description from Amazon: In 2007, when a new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary ― widely used in schools around the world ― was published, a sharp-eyed reader soon noticed that around forty common words concerning nature had been dropped. Apparently they were no longer being used enough by children to merit their place in the dictionary. The list of these “lost words” included acorn, adder, bluebell, dandelion, fern, heron, kingfisher, newt, otter, and willow. Among the words taking their place were attachment, blog, broadband, bullet-point, cut-and-paste, and voice-mail. The news of these substitutions ― the outdoor and natural being displaced by the indoor and virtual ― became seen by many as a powerful sign of the growing gulf between childhood and the natural world.
Ten years later, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris set out to make a “spell book” that will conjure back twenty of these lost words, and the beings they name, from acorn to wren. By the magic of word and paint, they sought to summon these words again into the voices, stories, and dreams of children and adults alike, and to celebrate the wonder and importance of everyday nature. The Lost Words is that book ― a work that has already cast its extraordinary spell on hundreds of thousands of people and begun a grass-roots movement to re-wild childhood across Britain, Europe, and North America.

Opening Lines: Once upon a time, words began to vanish from the language of children. They disappeared so quietly at first almost no one noticed -- fading away like water on the stone.

Why I love this book: I first read about this book in a post from the Children in Nature Network. Sadly, that post slipped my mind until a friend shared an article about the book with me a couple months ago. I immediately ordered it. Each time I open the pages, I turn them with awe and reverence. The title on the cover is gold embossed and the cover illustrations are a small sample of the beauty that is held within the pages.

Each lost word is given three double page spreads. The opening spread for the word is a letter jumble with the letters of the word in a unique color. The second spread includes an acrostic poem on the left and a watercolor illustration of the word on the right. The final spread is a scene depicting the word in its surrounding world.

A book worthy of book cases everywhere. Each word can become an adventure to the outdoors.

The poems are deep and full of mystery and love.

It is a book you can look at and read over and over again.

Activities and Resources:

Activities and and Explorer's Guide from the John Muir Trust

Writing Acrostic Poems

More about Acrostic Poems and using the word at the beginning, middle and end of each line.

Make a flower chain crown

Nature Journaling for Kids

Wet on wet Watercolor Painting

Bird Identification

The book from our family book shelf.

My Acrostic poem from this mornings visit of nine turkeys:

Tom turkey struts his stuff
Under the bird feeders.
Rugged feathers raised, puffed, and shimmering in the morning light.
Kingly posture ignored by the ladies.
Every turkey more interested in breakfast,
Yet Tom persists hopefully.

Finally, if you want to find more cool picture books check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes.

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!

Six Ways to Get Rid of Your Parents

As a writer, I spend a lot of time reading. I read to see what others have written, to gain an understanding of how a story was put together, to see the story arc, and to keep up with stories that are being published.

Recently, while working on a story where I wanted to include a father and son relationship.  It's a story about a rogue cloud and as I head toward the ending, it becomes a big boring didactic mess.

I have heard before that you need to get the adults out of the story to allow the child to solve the problem. But, I kept wondering how do you do that when the story is about family teachers.

So I read. I read picture books with families and teachers in the stories. I discovered that you can have family stories and get rid of the parents in a variety of ways. Here is what I discovered.

1: Turn them into Children.

Arree Chung's Ninja: Attack of the Clan is a story about family. Maxwell wants to play, but his mother is too busy, his sister says no, and then his dad says yes, but not really. Maxwell is in charge of his world, but in the end, family does come in and play. It's just that they let go of their adult selves and let their inner child shine.

2. Be brave, and let the child go.

Miranda Paul's new book which will be released on Tuesday, October 16th, the parents allow Mia to "move out," so she can discover the things that are truly important to her. When I read an ARC (Advance released copy) of the book, this was a very poignant moment for me. I thought about how hard it would be to let your little girl go off and make her own discovery. Many parents would be too afraid to let their child go, but it's those times of letting go, where everybody grows.

3. Just stay in the background.

Spencer loves books. His mom and dad read to him every night. When his books begin to disappear, his parents don't get involved. They let Spencer go off to solve the mystery and come up with a solution on his own. OK, so this might be the same as letting your child go, but it's on a different level as the parental stakes aren't as high. So in my opinion, it feels more like knowing that they are in the background rather than letting their child go.

4. Go off and do your own thing, and let the child do theirs.

This is much easier to do when you are an anthropomorphized cloud. Claudette has bigger clouds in her life and they invite her to go and do big and important things. She is not ready to try those things, but she does want to do something special. Claudette is blown away in a storm and her journey to make her mark takes place when she is on her own.

5. Give up on the kid.

Rufus' parents are worried that he won't survive in the big cruel world so they send him to The Big Bad Wolf Academy. All the other wolves do as the teacher tells them, But not Rufus. The teacher teaches all the other wolves, but doesn't spend much time on Rufus. Of course, in the end Rufus is the one to save the day when the hunters come.

And the 6th way: Just don't have them in your story at all. 

Squirrel and his friends Hedgehog and Bear wake up to spring. Hedgehog falls in love and squirrel helps hedgehog win the heart of the lady hedgehog. There are no adults in this story, just childlike animals on a Don Quixotesque quest.

So as I writer, I am learning that even if you have a family story, somehow you need to get rid of the parents so the child can solve the problem. If one way doesn't work, then try another. On my cloud story, Carrie Charley Brown, founder of ReFoReMo, suggested in her wonderful critique ninja critique on 12x12, that I try reworking the story without the father. It has taken a lot for me to let go of the father. A new attempt moved the cloud to cloud school with a teacher, but right now, the story is using "way to get rid of your parent" number 6. No adults allowed. I am not yet sure this will be the right path for this story, but I am learning a lot about getting rid of parents, the dangerous didactic woods, and the importance of rewriting your story.

So if you are a writer and struggling to keep your parents from taking you into didactic woods, you may just want to get rid of them in one way or another.

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.

Happy Birthday, Albert Einstein Let's Have Pi

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research."

This is one of my favorite quotes by Einstein. Today is his birthday and therefore, in my opinion, a good day to celebrate. It also happens to be Pi Day and, well, that gives us a great excuse to eat Pie and learn about math. For the last several years, I have used this day to gain a better understanding of both Einstein and Pi. I have learned that while Einstein did not discover Pi or name Pi, he did use pi (π) in his work. Pi is used in understanding the circadian rhythms of our sleep, planning

flight patterns, making our GPS' work, and much much more.

I decided this year to celebrate Einstein's birthday and Pi with some art and imagination. I wanted to play and also work on a project that my sister, who is developmentally disabled, could work on as well. I went upstairs to my art closet to get some large paper. Then I got caught up in ideas and possible things that we could use. After a while, Jane was upstairs wondering what I was doing. I was really on a bit of a mental walk down memory lane as I had come across some of my old artwork. Pieces buried and hidden in a closet. A stark reminder that I have hidden my talent and desire to be an nature artist for a long time. She woke me out of my reverie. I then attempted to explain to her a little bit about Pi and plans for the day.

I grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and I drew a circle. I explained that the number 3.14 was the number for pi and that it is always the ratio between the diameter of a circle and its circumference. Since it is hard to measure around a circle, if you measure across the center/widest part of the circle and multiply it times pi, you will get the size of the circumference every time no matter the size of the circle. Jane nodded and agreed with what I said. So far so good.

We then proceeded to gather supplies for our art projects that would be an Ode to Pi and Imagination. I found several items that were round and could be traced to make circles. I pulled out my father's compass set.

Grabbed a few old magazines and a stack of old photographs that have languished in a drawer long enough. We took our supplies down to the dining room table and started to create. 

We drew and painted, traced, cut and glued. Along the way, I wrote a few haiku's. Not sure why, but I enjoy fitting my thoughts into the simple 575 syllable structure of these Japanese poems. (In case you are wondering the number combination 575 appears in the 411th position after the decimal point of Pi).

We took a break for lunch and had . . .

Circumference of pizza = 26.7035 inches
Circumference of pepperoni = 3.9269 inches
Area of pizza = 56.7449 square inches (ℼrsquared)

After several hours of cutting and playing, we had completed our Ode's to Pi and Imagination. 

By Jane

And this is mine.

I had another thought along the way. As I looked at all my old almost forgotten photographs, I saw that I have always been connected to nature, but I didn't really understand it. I accepted that I liked it and rarely went any further than that until 2014. That was the year that I became a Master Naturalist. Peggy Doty taught me, most importantly I think, to be curious and see the connection between all things. The readings and other class teachers provided a basis to gain a deeper scientific understanding of all the beautiful things I see in the world. My love of nature has become a lovely blend of science and art, forever connected and always expanding.

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality, It is enough if one tries to comprehend only a little of this mystery every day. " -- Albert Einstein. 

If you want more on Pi:

Nasa offers up a Pi Challenge

There is a Pi Day website so be sure to check it all out and celebrate Pi with all the cool kids.