Small Reads for Brighters Days
Ages ago, Lerner asked me to make a short video introducing my next picture book, We Belong, to educators and parents. I did it, and they used it at NCTE (I missed NCTE so much!). Now, I get to share it with you! Why did I write it? What are my hopes for it? All […]
Friends–I’m doing a virtual library storytime on Monday, Jan 10, at 6pm Central Time. Family and friends with kids in the 4-9 range, hope to see you there! I’ll be sharing picture books about water, winter, and getting yarn from sheep. Learn about states of matter, animal adaptations and behaviors, and the miracle of sheep […]
I love wordplay (no surprise there), and I’m always surprised at how many idioms I come across related to any topic I research. When I was writing If You Want to Knit Some Mittens, I toyed with the idea of putting a bunch of sheep and knitting puns and idioms into the book. I didn’t […]
It’s almost winter! I find myself writing about the seasons over and over again. I circle back to that topic the same way the seasons themselves circle around each year. That’s so comforting to me. Here’s a riddle-ku from Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons. Can your students guess the answer without looking […]
Whenever I knit, I learn all over again that crafting is not really about making something perfect. It’s about touching yarn or other materials. It’s about transforming something from one thing into another. It’s about letting nagging worries slide away and losing yourself in something meditative or creative. It’s all about the process. Sometimes the […]
Illustrator Angela Matteson made some really cute activity sheets to go with If You Want to Knit Some Mittens. Here’s a little craft project for you! You can give Sheep some wool, just like a real sheep grows new wool after it’s sheared. I’d love a couple of photos of completed sheep, so if you […]
It’s always a good time to be grateful, but it’s likely a topic you’re focusing on right now before Thanksgiving. Here’s a little poem from my (out-of-print) book of fall poetry, Shrinking Days, Frosty Nights (Capstone Press/A+ Books). And here’s a sheet you can use to write your own thankful poems with your students! […]
Thank you so much to those of you who were able to come to my online launch event last week with Red Balloon Bookshop! It was just lovely to see some familiar names in the Chat–really warmed my heart. Since I had gathered info and thoughts in preparation for the event, I thought I’d create […]
Y’all, I’m so excited for the virtual book launch tonight for If You Want to Knit Some Mittens! It’s at 7pm Central Time with Red Balloon Bookshop hosting me and Angela Matteson, and there will be two prizes given out at the end of the event: a pair of adorable Girl/Sheep wooden tiles painted by […]
Yesterday was the book birthday for my newest book, If You Want to Knit Some Mittens (Boyds Mills). Whee! On November 3, at 7pm Central Time, illustrator Angela Matteson and I will be joining Red Balloon Books for a launch party, and you’re invited! Those 2 charming painted mini-tiles you see, painted by Angela Matteson, […]
