Library Days: The charming Katie Wheeler Library

As I mentioned in my previous post, Library Picture Book Round Up: Week One, I've been visiting libraries at least once a week this summer.   This week I decided to visit the Katie Wheeler library in Irvine. Isn't the building charming and quaint? As I strolled up the rose lined walk leading up to the front doors, I found myself thinking of a few literary classics of my youth.  I could picture myself being transported to Prince Edward Island and seeing Anne of Green Gables, with her fiery red standing on the balcony above. It was refreshing.  It was delightful place to spend an afternoon filled with nostalgia and researching picture books!


❖Visit Katie Wheeler Irvine Library blog to learn more about the rich history of Katie Wheeler, the Irvine Company, and the Original Irvine Ranch House.

Storytelling with Pictures

 Hello Blogging World! I have missed you. I have been busy writing, revising, reading, doing homework, catching up on life....and writing some more. Phew!

Needless to say I've been busy. Today I took a break and did a little video-editing. Thanks to a helpful training session at the apple store, I am using iMovie to make a video of our family trip to Tahiti last year.

Other than the blog writing I'm doing right now I did not do any writing for this project. I did however "tell a story through pictures," which felt equally fulfilling.  I tried uploading a video short of what I've been working on, but it seems I need to do a little more techie research before I will be proficient at that.  For now please enjoy some still photos of the majestically beautiful Tahiti!

Bora Bora

Moorea - Cook's Bay

Moorea - As seen from a hilltop

Library Picture Book Round-up: Week One

I have made it my mission this summer to visit the public library at least once a week.  My goal is to read and study picture books to better understand their construction, find out what kids like, and improve my writing.

This week I read:
Press Here by Hervé Tullet
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
Epossumondas plays Possum by Coleen Sally
Father's Day by Anne Rockwell
Herbert, the True Story of a Brave Sea Dog by Robyn Belton
and Calvin Can't Fly by Jennifer Berne

What I saw with my writer eyes...
I was delighted to see the similarities in the structure of these books. I was able to identify right away which books followed a traditional "picture book" paradigm and which were "concept" books. I took notes on when the books were published, by what publisher, and their word counts -- all useful, valuable information for me.

This week's standouts were:
1) Press Here by Hervé Tullet
 I thought this book was wonderfully imaginative and interactive (the phrase "why didn't I think of that?" comes to mind.) I know I will be sharing this book with my kindergarten group in the Fall.



2) Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
I was in awe of this book. It made me laugh. It had lovable, relatable characters. And it had an awesome story. It hooked you in right away through the words and illustrations, all in approx. 100 words. That is not an easy feat! If you are looking for a fun, quick read, with the added bonus of teaching a bit of rhyme, I highly recommend this book.

I also quietly observed to see what kinds of books children, parents, and teens were drawn to.  The buzz this week: Princess Books, Star Wars, and Halo.

My 5 Year Old Reading Self

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend a Free Writing Workshop, The Seven Deadly Sins of Writing led by Author Amy Goldman Koss and hosted by SCBWI (have I mentioned how much I love them?)

Ms. Koss was very candid, funny, and realistic in her discussion with us. I will be adding her list of seven deadly writing sins to my "post-its" from now on whenever I write. (I have been guilty of at least three!)

Ms. Koss also led us in several writing exercises, one of which was to think about the age group you are writing for, write to yourself when you were that age and tell yourself where you read when you were that age.  I wanted to share a bit of what I wrote below:

When I was five my family my moved all the time.  I had very little books of my own.  Most of my reading I did at school or daycare.  I remember reading and memorizing my first poem, "The Swing" at my preschool in Hawaii just before moving to San Francisco. I would recite that poem over and over in the car -- from the airport, to the car, to our new naval housing tract.  I loved that poem and I loved reading.  It was still be a few more years before I read consistently at home with my own books... that happened when I was seven.

Isn't it amazing the things we recall about ourselves during free-writing?

Summer Writing Workshops

Hello everyone!
So I have every intention to keep blogging throughout the summer, but at the moment I can't make any promises.

And why is that you ask? Well, I have signed up to take two online writing workshops simultaneously. I have my summer off from work so it should be no biggie right? Seeing as how the last class I took was two years ago when I took a Wilton Cake Decorating class, I'm actually a bit anxious about it. I know it will be a fun, exhilirating experience. But I can't help but feel like an incoming college student all over again. Wish me luck and if all goes well, which I'm hoping it will, I will be back to blogging in no time!

Fairies on the brain: A book review and book trailer

It's no secret that I'm a little obsessed with fantasy books. One of my favorite types of fantasy characters to read about are fairies. Give me evil fairies, quirky fairies, invisible fairies, or MC's that are part fairy (like Sookie Stackhouse) and I am instantly intrigued. My latest read was Justine Larbelstier's How to Ditch Your Fairy.

This book fulfilled my fairy craving and thensome! It is a quick read, centered around a teen girl who is trying to ditch her parking fairy in lieu of something better -- like the clothes-shopping fairy her best friend has. I love how Larbelstier's pulls you into a world where fairies exist (or are atleast acknowledged to.) I also love the lingo she has created for her characters. It's a unique, fun read!     My rating: ☆☆☆☆


Speaking of fairies, I am delighted to share the book trailer for Anna Staniszweski's upcoming novel, My Very UnFairy Tale Life, to be released in November 2011.  I am looking forward to reading this book!

RemembeRed: A Real Meal, Finally!

I gazed up at the menu with excitement. This was it, the first real food I would have in two weeks. This was the third restaurant in the food court I’d been to already, staring up at the menu deciding whether or not I could eat here. My husband didn’t say so but I could tell he just wanted me to pick something already.  

Would any of this food be ok and not get caught in the four gaping holes I had in the back of my mouth? I’d waited until I was almost thirty to get my wisdom teeth pulled out. Now I realized why this would have been much easier to do four years ago...

“Ok honey, this place is fine. I’ll have some hummus, pita and a bowl of soup.”

I found a place to sit and waited for my first real meal. Ok, it was really more mush, but atleast I was eating at a real restaurant -- and I loved Daphne’s pita bread! It’s so soft and pillowy.

I tested the bread for softness. Good good, I can chew this. I’m enjoying this. I’m enjoying food.

I relaxed and let myself enjoy lunch.

“Wanna try a green bean? it’s pretty soft?” my husband asked.

“Sure,” I replied.

He fed the green bean to me. When I bit down my jaw ached and I knew right away it was too hard. To add insult to injury the back of the green bean poked the raw gaping hole in the back of my mouth causing it to throb.

“Ouch,” I said, spitting the green bean back into my husband’s hand. He giggled.

“What? Why did you do that?” he asked puzzled.

“It was too hard!” 

Well that ended all the pleasantness of my first dining out experience since having my wisdom teeth out.  Maybe a few more days?

RemembeRed is a Memoir Meme.  
This week's prompt: Fill in the blanks, first time I ____ after ____.