Win a FREE book for National Poetry Month!

I was recently interviewed for the blog http://www.teachingauthors.com/.  I hope that you''ll stop by to read the interview and enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of LADYBUG, LADYBUG AND OTHER FAVORITE POEMS featuring my poem "Firefly".  Entry deadline is 11 pm (CST) Wednesday, April 14. 
Perfect for National Poetry Month! 

Here's a direct link to the post:
http://tinyurl.com/yansxvq

 

Great Literacy Night!

Many thanks to my friends at the Montessori Children's Garden for inviting me back for Literacy Night. It was wonderful! Great to see so many of you again and fun to meet new friends too. Keep reading and writing! You guys blew me away with how smart you all are. I spoke with lots of budding authors and illustrators. Keep up the great work!

Humpty Dumpty - coming soon....

I just received word that my poem "Bubbles" will soon be appearing in the May/June issue of Humpty Dumpty magazine. Yay! Be sure to check it out at your local bookstore or library! Can't wait to see the illustration.

Dan Gutman visits Naperville

This past Thursday my daughter and I had the pleasure of listening to Dan Gutman speak at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville. The place was packed and he had the kids completely engaged and interacting with him. My fifth grade son is a huge fan of Gutman's books and was more than happy to add Gutman's newest release "Roberto and Me" to his collection. Now my first grader is excited to read Gutman's "My Weird School Daze" series. Dan Gutman will be back at Anderson's in May - so mark it on your calendar. You won't want to miss it!

Thanks Anderson's for hosting such wonderful events. What a great night!

Spot the Plot

From the bookshelves ~

Spot the Plot
written by J. Patrick Lewis
illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

This is "A Riddle Book of Book Riddles". Say that ten times fast. This unique concept is so fun for kids. They beg for more. I read it to a classroom of first graders recently and they loved it! So fun for them to listen for clues and and explore the beautiful illustrations. Do you think there might be a part two? Please?

Let's hear it for Critique Groups!

Let's give a cheer for our critique groups. I can't tell you how much I appreciate and value mine. They are your biggest supporters. They cheer you on. They don't let you get away with less than your best work. They don't let you lose sight of the dream. We should all be so lucky to have support groups like this. Have you told your group how much you appreciate them lately???

Buyers, Books and Buzz

This past Saturday I attended SCBWI-IL's "Buyers, Books and Buzz" workshop at the beautiful Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook.  The speakers were Jan Dundon, Children's Book Buyer and Seller for Anderson's Bookshop and Mary Harris Russell, Reviewer of Children's Books for the Chicago Tribune.  This dynamic duo spoke about which books they love, hooked them and why.  It was a wonderful morning discussing children's books.  But I always leave with a huge list of new books that I need to read!