Friday, April 16, 2010

Poetry Friday: A Pseudo-Haiku


It's Poetry Friday in the KidLitosphere,* and today I thought I'd contribute a haiku of the sort that haiku aficionados might categorize as "pseudo" — or, you know, not really-really a real haiku. All for the Friday fun of it!


fingertips on keys —
tapping, tapping, tapping now
racing toward the sun









*Many thanks to Jules at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast for hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Rockin' the Drop Today!

Oh no, I'm way behind in spreading the word about this year's Operation Teen Book Drop (please click over to get details about this phenomenal annual literacy-boosting event), but I have not forgotten!

Today — April 15 — is the day to participate. All you have to do is "drop" a YA book in a spot where kids tend to gather. (In past years I've dropped at a coffee shop and a library.) Pick a book you love, or a book you wrote (loving that one is, of course, a given). Think of it as your gift to a young reader, your gift to literacy. And be sure to print and insert the special TBD bookplate so anyone finding your surprise knows about the event — and that the book is his/hers to keep and enjoy.

Later today I'm dropping a few copies of my own books at Echo Lake Elementary School in Shoreline, WA. I'm Writer in Residence in the Grade 6 classrooms this spring, and I know there are lots of readers at the school who would LOVE to come across a little surprise. Plus, the school starts its Spring Break this weekend, so surely kids are looking for something to do! (Right?)

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

New Picture Book Series Coming Soon!

Early last year I wrote (and blogged about doing so) a six-title picture book series for Magic Wagon Books based on the theme of community. Finally, the series has a ballpark release date of September 2010!

Funny thing is, I only know this because I saw that the books had been added to Amazon. That means they have ISBNs and everything. Oh, and final-final titles, too, all under the series name Let's Be Social:
  • Make Friends
  • Family Gatherings
  • Go to School
  • Go Worship
  • Join a Team
  • Meet Your Neighborhood
Wish I had covers or other illustration samples to share, but right now I'm just excited to know that the books are, in fact, coming soon. This was a challenging project for me — six books in six weeks — but I had lots of fun working on it.

More later, of course!