Blown Away: Salley Mavor's Fabulous Art

Post By Carol Baicker-McKee

Our March theme is "Blown Away" which is exactly what I was by this stunning nursery rhyme collection, A Pocketful of Posies, by one of my favorite illustrators, Salley Mavor.

I often give a book of nursery rhymes as my standard new baby gift. I know from my professional work as a child psychologist that exposure to nursery rhymes has a powerful effect on later reading skills (see, for example, this very readable review of some of the research on rhymes and "phonemic awareness"). Perhaps even more importantly, I know from my experiences as a mom and a former day care and preschool teacher, that cuddling up with a good book of rhymes has strong emotional benefits for both kids and caregivers.

There are several things that make this collection stand out from the dozens of options available:

Little Miss Muffet from A Pocketful of Posies by Salley Mavor (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010)

The Artwork It's hard for me to come up with enough superlatives for Mavor's unique fabric-relief and found object illustrations. It took her three years to do the art for this book and it shows. From the intricately embroidered endpapers to the clever use of found and recycled materials to make objects (for example, on one page alone - p. 15 - Mavor has constructed the following from different sizes and types of seashells: a washtub, an easy chair, a bouquet of flowers and a royal scepter), Mavor's creativity, craftsmanship and attention to deail are mind boggling. The artwork is also remarkable for the range of emotion she coaxes from the expressions she paints on the wooden beads she uses for heads and the carefully posed bodies made from, among other materials, chenille stems. (Incidentally, Mavor is an exceptionally generous artist who provides much how-to information in blog posts and a book, Felt Wee Folk.)

What's also remarkable about the artwork is how it appeals to a huge age range. Even young infants are attracted to the crisply photographed 3-D images and bright colors, older babies are drawn to the textures and sense of action, and toddlers on up through adults can not get enough of the detail.

Tree detail from A Pocketful of Posies by Salley Mavor (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010)

Rhyme Selection Mavor included a broad range of rhymes, from the most familiar classics like "Jack and Jill" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to less common ones like "A Wise Old Owl" and "One Misty Moisty Morning" to others I'd never even heard before, like "To Bed, To Bed, Says Sleepyhead" and "Go to Bed First, A Golden Purse." There are rhymes for a good many of the experiences a young child would have, and I can easily imagine how easy it would be to recite just the right rhyme garnered from this collection as a child helped a parent with laundry, sat down to eat, or got ready for bed.

Organization Often the order of rhymes in a Mother Goose collection seems arbitrary. But Mavor has arranged the rhymes overall to follow the rhythms of a child's day from waking up and doing chores through playtime and sleep. This arrangement not only gives the book a sense of "story" but makes it easy for a parent to read just a few rhymes to suit the moment's activity when there isn't time for a longer story session. Mavor's also grouped rhymes on similar topics together, so that the illustrations for different rhymes blend seamlessly into a single scene, and children are subtly exposed to the concepts of repetition and variation on a theme.

I hope you'll be blown away by this book too. If you liked this book, you'll want to check out Mavor's website and frequently updated blog, as well as her other books, some of which I've pictured below:

Totally love this fabulous book of rhymes.

This was a Horn Book selection.

 Short and sweet text - and art that creates a warm and a cozy home and  features a child of color.

Totally excellent craft book.

Sadly, many of these books are not currently in print, so you may be limited to buying used copies or borrowing them from the library. But you can keep an eye on the availability of all of Mavor's books on her Amazon page here.



Whole Lotta Lovin' Going On

Posted by Kitty Griffin

I'm squeezing in a last post for February's theme of LOVE with a list a few things I love—movies that takes risks, like “Inception” and “Despicable Me” for instance. Both of these are fairly recent releases and they are as far apart as two movies can be. What made me love them?

They took chances!

“Inception” delved into the human mind until you didn’t know where the dream ended and reality began. The lines were blurred and the audience worked hard as they plunged through. As I understand it, people either loved or hated this movie, there wasn’t an in-between. It was love for me.

“Despicable” Me took a chance, too. It opened with a main character so mean he took candy from little kids. He was rotten to the core, to use an over-tired cliché. But it worked. It worked because you just had to find out what happened next.

I have books that I love, too. I love these because they are books that took chances. The authors dared to challenge the reader.

“I Am The Cheese” by Robert Cormier is a book that winds forward and back as Adam Farmer rides his bike taking you on a trip with him. Pedal on, pedal on, pedal on. It is so daring in its approach that when I finished reading I found myself thinking about Adam for days and weeks. It’s not an easy read. But it is one that challenges you.

“Tanglewreck” by Jeanette Winterson is another book that takes chances. The scope of the imagination in this one is similar to the movie, “Inception.” It moves between time and space so effortlessly that I felt like I had to pinch myself to make certain I hadn’t fallen into the story. This is a wonderful romp into a London where time-twisters roar through and rough up the world.

“Which Witch” an absolutely charming tale by Eva Ibbotson (so sad she passed away not long ago) that is like “Despicable Me.” With characters just this side of shady the reader wonders how things will turn out. It’s fast, it’s fun, and a wonderful leap of the imagination.

And finally, one of my favorite books, ever. “The Brothers Lionheart” by Astrid Lindgren is an astonishing work. Dying is the starting place for this amazing story. I love this book because it made me think. It made me wonder.  

With my writing, I love to take chances. It’s hard when I work with my students at Chatham (MFA, writing for children and young adults) because I tell them there are rules. But, we’re writers. We want to bust out and burst onto the scene by breaking the rules. Nope, you have to learn them, really learn them, before you can even bend them. If you’re going to write fantasy or adventure, you need to understand the hero’s journey. If you’re going to write historical, you need to back up your work with solid research. If you’re going to write a picture book, you need to know how to set-up the story so the artist can make their contribution. There are rules. Rules to be learned and then, then it’s okay to stretch…and bend.

To all of you who want to write, you have to love it. Seriously love it. The writing world isn’t easy. There’s a reason the word starving hitches up to artist. So when you get ready to write, be sure you’re in love with your story, with your characters, and your plot.

Once you’ve got that love, JUMP!

Don't Sweat the Rejections

Over the years I’ve pitched dozens of manuscripts to agents and children’s book editors. And I’ve received tons of rejection letters. Now don’t get me wrong, some of the rejections I received were encouraging: “Dear Ms. Press, I enjoyed reading your work, and think you have a great voice for the middle great market, and it is clear you really understand a kid's world and what would appeal to young readers.”  But then there’s the dreaded: “I’m sorry that we are unable to offer you representation at this time.” Or, “We regret that your manuscript does not fit our publication needs at this time.” And sometimes there’s a few helpful words: “the “doodle” approach to this sort of illustrated kid’s book is really clever—I almost felt like it could be more of a centerpiece, could drive the story forward more, where the doodles are part and parcel of the plot, etc.” But O.K. so why am I still toiling away at this business of writing? It’s simple: I get great satisfaction from putting into words the ideas that float around in my head. So maybe it’s really all about the creative process that drives me. Sure, I’d like to get published, but if it’s not in the cards today, then maybe it’ll happen tomorrow. So, file away those rejections dear writers, along with your self-doubt, and keep on writing!

Butt in Chair, etc.

by Carol Herder

I’m going to write about something I’ve come to love only recently; one of my writing processes. If you’re a writer you’ve heard the acronym BIC. It means butt in chair. And, most of the time that’s what it takes to get the job done. However, since my dog came to live with us I’ve learned another way.

When Brutus was young, he was wild. So I began walking him daily to expel some of that puppy energy. At first I had to watch the little monster every minute less he escape and get hopelessly lost, but these days he pretty much stays with me.

Our favorite place to walk is the apple orchard. It’s peaceful and allows my thoughts stray. Here, when I talk to myself only Brutus, the squirrels, chipmunks, deer, and the fox that lives near the creek can hear. It doesn’t seem to bother them. The hawk that hunts the field below the orchard is bothered at times. But I don’t stay long and she soon settles back onto her favorite perch.

In the quiet of the orchard I’ve worked out tricky plot twists, contentious dialogue, and a number of scandalous scenes for my novels. This process came to me by accident, but it’s worked so well, I now SCHEDULE what I’m going to ponder during my next walk! Of course I still have to do the BIC thing afterwards.

Because of this experience I’ve learned something of great value; creativity comes in numerous forms. So here’s to whatever works! Another famous writers’ saying is “your process is your process” something I can now totally vouch for.

Busy Novelist Spaghetti

1. Giant Eagle frozen meatballs
2. Pasta (boxed or stuffed tortellini from the fridge section)
3. Prego spaghetti sauce
4. Pillsbury Italian bread in a can

Heat sauce and meatballs in pan. Heat water for pasta. Heat oven for bread. Cook and bake everything per directions; and serve!

Books I Love to Hate

BOOKS I LOVE TO HATE

posted by Andrea Perry

I guess I could more accurately have titled this little rant, "Celebrity Books that I Love to Hate," as it turns out all of my selections are from celebrity children's authors.  And I use the term 'author' loosely. I feel it is safe to say these books would never have been published if their creators had not had the whole celebrity thing going for them. Even more painful for me is the fact that some include poetry. (And yes I know that rhymes.)
Steve Martin let me down first with The Alphabet from A to Y.  What can I say about the letter I's couplet?
"Iggy's aunt Ida, indecent in undies,
 Hid icicles under her Indian uncle."
                      Or Z's?
"Zany Zeno zoomed to the end zone,
 But with a zucchini, scoring him zero."
Enough said?  Dean Koontz's Every Day's a Holiday prompted me to write a review on Amazon. It was that bad. To wit, an excerpt from "Snow Day," as to rewrite the entire poem is a waste of good blog space:
"...Lost deep in snow,
 And still more snow.
Froze my big toe.
 It had to go.
 I cut it off.
 I've got a cough.
 I just heard, dude,
We're out of food..."
And while we're busy gagging, here is "Abraham Lincoln's Birthday":
"Abe was born in a humble log cabin.
 He walked FIVE LONG MILES every day to school!
 I guess he was mentally unbalanced
 But the log cabin part sounds kinda cool."
I kept waiting for him somewhere along the line to rhyme "orange" and "door hinge!!" 

My final two chosen disasters are Party Animals by Kathie Lee Gifford, and Dirt on my Shirt by Jeff Foxworthy.  Dirt on My Shirt reads like a redneck lullaby, a stand up routine set to rhyme, while Kathie Lee's book comes with a CD where she sings the story to us! Help!  I am only heartened by the fact that when I questioned bookstore employess about Kathy Lee's book, I was told that almost everyone who saw it picked it up and paged through it, but then they all put it back.  Perhaps there's hope! 

Post by Cynthia Light Brown

This month we're posting about love and things we love, in case you hadn't noticed. Here's a list of some books I LOVE. It's eclectic, as any half-decent list of books is. It's not complete; if I made a list tomorrow I'm sure I'd add a whole bunch more. And it's in no particular order.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King.

This book is so practical and so on-the-money. Use it. Love it.

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.

Dresden fascinates me as a character - he is hands-down a "good" guy, yet he is capable of doing awful things. And the Michael character is equally fascinating because of the way Butcher creates him as a wholly good, religious person and completely believable. Truly good characters are the hardest to create. I also love Butcher's Alera series.

The Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien

and The Hobbit

and Lord of the Rings. I received The Hobbit as a gift in high school and was astounded and in love. Moved on to Lord of the Rings which further astounded me. If you love fantasy, you probably love these - and for me, The Hobbit no less than LOTR. It is not as involved of course, but it has a charm all its own. You can see that charm in a different and wonderful way in The Father Christmas Letters which is a collection of letters Tolkien wrote to his children every Christmas. Can you imagine being a small Tolkien receiving those? It inspired me to write letters to my own children when they were young from Father Christmas - even with illustrations.

Anything by Jane Austen. Especially Pride and Prejudice.

Her writing is amazing; the narrator is wonderful. I think I may not be the first person to notice this. And the BBC mini-series is as good as a movie version could possibly be (infinitely better than other dreadful movie versions). Austen's secondary characters are delicious. Who could desire a better character than Mister Collins?

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis.

All of the Narnia books of course. They give me hope. I put this one in simply because of Puddleglum. I do love Puddleglum. And Lewis' other fiction - including the much less well known, but wonderful Till We Have Faces. Lewis' nonfiction is another love of mine.

The Seal of Solomon by Rick Yancey.

When Alfred Kropp falls from the Devil Paimon, falls, falls, and then finally hears the voice of Saint Michael, "Speak, my beloved, and I will give thee words." I wonder if Yancey has heard those exact words.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling.

So many fun characters. I'm a sucker for good vs. evil. The third book has a great twist, and I love twists.

The Attolia series by Meghan Whalen Turner.

Lots of great twists. And such surprising relationships. They walk right up to the edge of not-to-be-believed...but you believe them. And love them.

Geology. I love geology. You can hold a rock in your hand - even just a pebble, and it has contained within it the story of the ages. I got a B.A. and M.S. in geology (the M.S. when I was pregnant with my second - that's how much I love it). So now I'm writing a series on the geology of our country, for kids. It's not dumbed down; if you want the latest research on theories of how and why the Columbia River Flood Basalts formed, it's right there in Geology of the Pacific Northwest by yours truly, coming May 2011, with 3 others to follow. Maybe you'll come to love geology too.

Thirsty

Guest Post by Christina St. Clair. Please visit her here.

This is a love story of sorts, but not the traditional boy meets girl, they get hot for one another, they eventually tumble into the bed and live happily ever after.  Such a beautiful fairytale, we all know, does not exist in real life, especially in relationships which, in order to deepen, take work, persistence, insight, and time.

So it is with the writing life, at least so it has been with mine.  Writing seemed a way I might quench a longing I couldn't even name.  When I was at my father's funeral in England, I began telling stories to my small nephews.  It seemed to me perhaps I could turn this interest in story-telling into a refreshing way of living.  How hard could it be?  I became convinced my words would be worthwhile enough for people to pay me money, enabling me to live freely, roam the world, and never again have to work in a nine-to-five job.  Success would surely come.

My first children's novels, I wrote feverishly, full of excitement.  I studied the genre, I attended workshops, I went to writers' conferences, I joined the SCBWI, I constantly read the best in children's literature.  I sent out my manuscripts time and time again.  The result was hardly any affirmation, and certainly no novels accepted for publication by major publishers.  I did get a monetary award for a YA historical fiction novel, which convinced me my novel would sell.  It did not.

Yeah, well--I can see other writers nodding their heads…

My thirst did not abate, but after twenty years of effort, I was ready to throw in the writer's towel, heartbroken at all the rejections, convinced of the utter futility of continuing.  Along came a writer friend, Eddy Pendarvis, who, like me, was a big fan of Pearl Buck's work.  It aggravated us that Buck never received sufficient acclaim for her writing achievements.  In spite of winning a Nobel Prize in literature, her work was strongly criticized by the literary establishment, and still is today.  We wanted to find ways to promote her best works, to acclaim this woman of high achievement and high principled altruism.  Doesn't that make you think of children's literature writers?  We little knew where our ideas would lead, but we wrote a children's story.

Eddy led the way.  She knew a Chinese scholar, Berlin Fang, who'd helped translate Peter Conn's Pearl S. Buck, A Cultural Biography into Chinese.  Berlin suggested we send our work to the Chinese publisher.  It seemed an unlikely hope, but we gave it a try.  We were offered a contract to complete the work: no royalty agreements, no definite yes to publication, merely an agreement the book might be something this publisher could use if we got it to them on time in the length they wanted.  No money, friends said, for all that work.  Don't do it!  When you have hardly made a penny for your work for years, it didn't seem a big deal to decide we weren't in this for the big bucks, but for the Buck book (forgive the pun).  We had nothing to lose.

While we sipped tea at Tim Horton's, we talked about what to write, nurturing each other's suggestions, eventually coming up with twenty chapter ideas.  A lot of reading and research ensued.  If ever I love to do something, it is looking up facts, and letting them blossom into who knows what.  It was pure nectar following leads, trying to get facts straight, writing something tailored for Chinese students.

Our deadline loomed: we met in Hillsboro, WV, where Pearl S. Buck was born, to participate in the Pearl S. Buck International Writers' Conference.  Eddy orchestrated our participation, and Eddy insisted I come along.  What a good friend!  Others too ( Kitty Griffin, Marie Manilla, Laura Bentley, Philip St. Clair, Kathy Combs, Jim Gifford, Susan Caldwell to name a few), have turned my writing life from arid desert to crystal waters.  Eddy had obligations to fulfill at the event, but in between, we worked feverishly, putting our chapters together, smoothing out the writing, trying to get rid of the overlapping ideas we'd both used.  As I recall, at the end of the evening before we retired to our tiny room in a B & B, we sipped on fruit wine (Yes, Kathy, I am still drinking wine).

Eddy fed our completed chapters to Berlin who, with great mastery of both languages, translated them into Chinese.  We agreed on a three-way split of royalties.

Before long, we sent the best version we could manage to the publisher.  It seemed to take forever, but eventually a contract arrived.  We signed it.  The book we co-authored, Between Two Worlds: a Biography of Pearl S. Buck, was eventually released by the Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press in China as an English/Chinese reader.

The published book, beautifully illustrated on good stock, filled us with satisfaction.  We three (two writers and one translator) received royalty checks for about $200 each--not a huge sum, but a reminder of the power of friendship, persistence, connectedness.  For me, as well, this book gave hope for other writing projects.

My urge to write had definitely been encouraged.  I rewrote, reformatted, revised and sent out tighter versions of two young adult novels.  I gave up worrying about the outcome, I stopped needing anyone to tell me my work was good enough, and I accepted whatever happened.  At last, two publishers offered me contracts.  Instead of Harper Collins or Holt (do they even exist anymore?), my books got taken on by Bloodmoon and Rogue Phoenix.

The big publishers didn't want my novels, which certainly humbled me, but these e-publishers with funky names said yes.  At first, I felt despondent:  Blood moon, I muttered to myself, Rogue Phoenix?  But, you know, it's been a wonderful experience.  The editor and publisher, Christine Young (RoguePhoenix), has given me insightful suggestions greatly improving my historical fiction novel.  Marlene Satter (aka Lee Barwood), my editor at Bloodmoon, whose supernatural novels inspire me, is a psychic soul mate.  Her book, Some Cost a Passing Bell, available on Amazon, is a book about mystical gifts used for love of Mother Earth.

I believe I can hear the universe chuckling.  I am laughing too, no longer concerned about money or recognition, simply enjoying the process, whether good and bad, for no doubt I have become a better writer, and hopefully I am a deeper person.  I feel as if I am drinking sweet water from a freshly dug well.