Still Waiting...

It's been a rough couple of weeks.

I'm still waiting for some good news about my new manuscript.  I've had several rejections so far, which are always hard to swallow, but I'd rather wait and get an editor who really loves my story.  That's what happened with Angus MacMouse and I was so grateful for the wonderful editor I had at Bloomsbury.

Then, my car broke down.  That's never fun (or cheap).

I've had a miserable cold that won't go away.  (Cough, cough, sniffle, sneeze.)

Then more expensive car repairs.

Now we are supposed to be getting a nor'easter... in October!

I know I'm not alone in this, but something yummy always makes me feel better.  So–– especially with snow coming, I decided to treat myself to some comfort food.  We are lucky to have lots of seafood restaurants on the North Shore to choose from, and since one of my favorite little spots will be closing soon for the season, I headed over to Farnham's in Essex.  They get my vote for the best fried clam strips ever!

My happy face!

What Is It?

It's a book!  But what kind of a book?  Is it a children's book, or an adult book disguised as a children's book?  Is it a book with a message, or just something fun and funny?

Well, it's definitely a BOOK, and it's stirring up quite a bit of chatter.  It's called It's A Book, by Lane Smith, a well known author/ illustrator. Perhaps he's best known for illustrating The Stinky Cheeseman, which was also edgy and ground breaking when it first appeared about a decade ago.

It's A Book is a simple story with two characters, a monkey who is trying to read his book, and a donkey who keeps interrupting him with questions.  "Can it text?  Blog?  Scroll?  Wi-Fi?  Tweet?" he asks.  "No... it's a book," replies the monkey over and over again.

I just watched a short video on Amazon of Lane Smith talking about It's A Book, and I love the way his own story and illustrations still make him chuckle.  Apparently, he did not intend it to have a message, but my first reaction when I read it was, YAY!!!!  Here is a champion of good old-fashioned books–– books made of paper, with bindings, and glue, and real pages that you can turn and feel, and–– even better–– he's poking fun at all those modern reading gadgets with funny names.  Hurray for Lane Smith!   Rah!  Rah!

My second reaction was, 'uh-oh!'  This is a picture book, which normally means it's for children who can't read yet, so–– I can't imagine most young children getting the point.  Will they even know what blogging and texting and scrolling mean?

So...  is it a picture book for grown-ups?

Actually, I think it is a picture book for grown-ups to read and explain to children.  And I really hope they do.  I hope parents will start early to promote the reading and enjoyment of REAL books to their children.  It's A Book is a funny (and touching) story which happens to have a valuable message.

But, there is one more "uh-oh."  It's the use of the word "jackass." It's the punchline of the whole book, referring to the donkey, of course.  It's not technically a bad word, (and Lane addresses this issue in the interview on Amazon), but I'm sure there will be some parents who will automatically want to ban this book just because of that word.  It's too bad.

If you want to get an idea of what the hoopla is about, go to Amazon and look up It's A Book, watch the interview, and see what you think!

Squeak of the Week

This quote is from the book I am currently reading, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

"Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books."  (p.53)

How true, and...  how fortunate!

My New Car

I have wonderful friends…  One of them gave me a new car!

It's a sporty, little red cabriolet.  Isn't it splendid?

The catch seems to be that it only goes in circles.  You drive and drive and never really get anywhere.  (Could that be a metaphor for something?)

That's Stuart Little behind the wheel.  I suppose that means I'll have to let Angus take a spin, too.

Many thanks to my friend, Jeanne, for the zippy new car!

A Nice Review

I found a nice review for Angus MacMouse and thought I would share it.

I didn't want to start off MouseSqueaks with a lot of chatter about my own book.  I thought that might get boring pretty quickly, and it seemed rather uncouth as well.  Better to talk about writing and books in general.

But, since Angus is really the driving force (although a diminutive one!) behind MouseSqueaks, I really should mention him once in a while, right?

So, here is a link to the review, if you'd care to take a peek.

Thank you to "Curled Up With A Good Kid's Book," and especially the reviewer, Bob Walch.  I like that he mentions the opera connection, because that is such a huge part of the story.  Angus could not exist without opera!

Here is the link:

 http://curledupkids.com/angusmac.html

Taking Flight

The school year is off to a great start, and I am blessed with another wonderful little class.

The theme in our room this year is "Taking Flight," and we are busy learning all sorts of interesting things about birds.  More importantly, we will be watching our little ones as they take flight–– growing and learning, absorbing and changing at an astounding rate.   They are such incredible little sponges at this early age.

Every day has its joys, and a few challenges, too.  And once in a while, magic happens.  Friday I had one of those magical moments.  Not surprisingly, it involved a book...  one of my favorite books...  Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann.

I was reading it to the children while we were waiting for parents to arrive to pick them up, and it was one of those special times when every child was paying attention, totally enthralled with the story, the pictures, the delicious colors, and the adorable characters.  We had so much fun looking for the pink balloon in each picture, and their excitement when they found it was wonderful.

One little boy seemed surprised that I said it was one of my favorite books.  He kept asking, "This is your favorite book?"  But when a book elicits such joy, curiosity, and delight–– why wouldn't it be a favorite?

Can you spot the pink balloon?  It gets harder and harder to find as it drifts off into the night sky.

Good Night, Gorilla  by Peggy Rathmann