New Books!

Excited for two new books this year! First up will be my second Little Golden Book. This one is on Julia Child. It was so much fun to write and research. It even coincided with a trip to Paris my family took and I got to bring the cover of the book around to see some of the sights.

The second book will be the 5th in the Maddie and Mabel series. It’s hard to believe that my first little book has turned into five! Working with Kind World Publishing on these books has been so much fun and a lovely experience.

2024 is going to be a good one in my little corner of the book world!

Julia Child will be released on November 5th, 2024.

Visiting one of Julia and Paul’s apartments with the book cover!

Out November 19th, 2024!

Debut

It’s been almost three weeks since Maddie and Mabel hit the shelves and it’s been an absolute dream. On release day, I went to school and had a mini-book birthday celebration with my class. As luck would have it, we had a power outage at school and I got to go home early!

Every moment of the evening felt surreal. I got to do a book signing at my favorite bookstore. I truly thought that I would be able to maybe wander the store and do some shopping. But the line never stopped. Current students, my colleagues, former teachers, friends, family, even some strangers bought my book and showed up. I burst into tears a few times when surprises walked through the door.

The amount of support I’ve had has been overwhelming. Every time some one sends me a picture of them reading my book or a child with my book, my heart explodes. I’ve seen pictures of my niece reading Maddie and Mabel to her class. I’ve heard from High School friends who shipped my book across the country to not only support me but my local indie as well, at random moments my students will tell me how much they loved the book; all just moments I couldn’t dare to dream a few weeks ago.

Thank you to everyone for all your support and love!

SHELF

As part of a course I took last summer with kidlit author extraordinaire Jess Keating, I had to imagine what I pictured a successful author had or looked like. One of the things I pictured was an entire shelf filled with their books on it. Rather than wait for the shelf to appear, when the holidays rolled around, I asked for one. My husband and I hung it on the wall and it took a few tries to get it level and secure. Then I waited. This week my author copies arrived for Maddie and Mabel , my first book. Even though the shelf is slightly crooked, it’s mine, partially filled, with room for more. (And there will be more, that’s the thing that amazes me.) If it fills all the way up, I will build another one and then another one…I’ve got plenty of wall space.

Bucket list

I’ve wanted to see an owl in the wild since forever. I’ve told my students this and my own two children. And I keep my eyes peeled, when I’m driving or walking, looking up searching the trees for any sign of one. This fall, I found a feather in our yard that didn’t look like it belonged to any bird I had seen before. Upon further research it I thought it might belong to an owl. Then a few weeks later at dusk I saw something swoop through the trees after something my eyes couldn’t see in the darkening light. So I went out and looked and tried to find it. We even tried owl calls but our efforts weren’t successful.

Then, last weekend, I was brushing my hair and staring out the window when I saw it, something in a tree. It was an owl! “I think I see an owl,” I whisper shouted to my family, not sure if my excitement would scare it off or if I was actually seeing what I had thought I had seen.

We hurried outside with our binoculars and cameras. We watched the owl and it watched us. For the whole day it sat on that branch and sunned itself. After we returned inside, my youngest asked, “Mama, can I cross it off?” And I had to stop for a moment to think about what he had meant, cross it off? Oh! Cross it off my bucket list! And since I didn’t have a physical list, he wrote it down for me and then crossed it off.

How does it connect to writing? Well, I always think things are a metaphor for this publishing journey. Always be on the lookout for ideas or owls. Sometimes you’ll get signs that you are close. Sometimes it’s about looking out the window at the exact right time. Sometimes it’s about sending your manuscript to the right person at the right time. Sometimes you have to write something down simply to cross it off. And patience, as hard as it may be sometimes, this whole journey is one big lesson in patience and letting go of control. The only thing I have control over is the effort I put in and my writing. Keep writing; keep looking for owls, because you never know when you might happen to look out your window and spot one.

I hope you get to see your own owl someday. It’s pretty magical.

Watching each other.

Keep Going

Here’s a blog post for anyone who needs a little bit of encouragement. Keep going. Keep trying. You never know when you are going to get your yes. Or the sign that helps you see that you do indeed know what you are doing.

This past year has been so hard and long on many many levels for everyone in the world. Teaching during a pandemic is among some of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Writing during this time felt frivolous and I asked myself repeatedly “who even needs my stories?” And I’ve decided that I do. I need my stories. I need to sit down and tap at the keyboard. Even if no one ever reads them. Putting words down onto the page to capture the snippets of the day and snatching a title or idea out of everyday conversations makes me excited and feel connected to the world.

So this is just to say, I need YOUR stories too. Keep telling them. Keep writing them. Keep sharing them.

Our Last Day

Composed on March 14th, 2020. Posted after we got the word we are out for the remainder of the year.

Last days are supposed to happen in June, not March and I wasn’t completely sure it was our last day together. But I was trying to prepare anyway. There were the ones that knew, the ones who had picked up on the whispering that had been happening by their parents and the news and their teachers. They had sussed out why I was making piles and piles of paper with their names on it.

“It’s because we might have to stay home. It’s work for home”

We might. I answered in my head, but because I didn’t really know anymore than they did, I came up with a lame reason as to why I had made 2,347 photocopies.

Others were very excited by the thought of worksheets.

“It looks like so much fun.”

“Can we do it now?”

“Is this what we are going to do on Monday?”

My brain paused from the ping-ponging it was doing from topic to topic. They are excited by worksheets? We never do worksheets!

The most important question though is, what did we do on our last afternoon together as a group?

Play. We played.

Earlier in the day, I listened to two students excitedly plan a playdate together and heard one explain that this would be their first official playdate. I turned away from the class so they wouldn’t see my tears as I wondered whether those two friends would be able to have that playdate. I made the decision that that is exactly what we were going to do the entire afternoon, play.

As I stacked and sorted papers trying to plan for the unplannable, I watched a group play school and recreate activities we did daily. Two eager boys came to me with strings of numbers on a wipe board, challenging me to solve their equations. I over exaggerated how much their problems made my brain hurt and I told them this was harder than high school math. Their smiles brightened our room on that rainy afternoon. I watched kids take out classroom materials and repurpose them in better ways than I ever planned to use them for.

They just spent time together, them hopefully not knowing and me wondering, was this our last afternoon in the same space for the foreseeable future?

It was.

And I hope that in twenty years when they think back on this weird time, they remember that we did some of our most important work all year together on our last afternoon.

The Boy Who Loved Maps

My debut picture book was announced yesterday! It feels like a dream typing this out. When they say publishing is full of secrets and waiting, they aren’t kidding! I’ve waited almost a year to be able to shout this from every rooftop and mountain peak.

I am beyond grateful to my editor Anne Schwartz and agent Erszi Deak for making this happen.

There is going to be a book in a bookstore someday with my words in it.

There’s so much I could share, but I’ll save it for a different post. I am feeling enormous amounts of gratitude towards everyone in the kidlit community and to my family and friends. I am in the best most surreal dream right now!

The Publisher’s Weekly announcement. 

Eek! That’s my picture up there!

NESCBWI 2019

When the snow has finally melted and the boots have been put away and the snow pants have been washed and stored, it’s time for one of my favorite weekends of the year. 

It means it’s time to pack my suitcase and my extra bag for books and drive the 2 hours south. 

It’s time to sit and listen and learn. It’s time to tear up when someone touches my heart with a message about writing or books or this journey. 

It’s time to learn from others, to connect with other writers and creators. It’s time to remember what it was like when all of this was new and I had so many many many questions. 

It’s time to connect to the writer side of me. The side that thinks in picture book design and double page spreads. It’s time to sit in a room where more than 500 other people want to make books like I do. That want to put stories in the hands of kids. The time won’t pass quickly enough between now and then. I can’t wait. 

Writing Photos-Caption Version

I had my students write captions for photos the other day and wanted to try to do the same with this bunch of photos. What captions could you write? Can they spark a story idea? 

swimming with sea turtles is as magical as it sounds. 

“how close is too close?” wondered the paddle boarders as the whale leapt out of the water. 

at dusk, the palm trees caught a glimpse of themselves in the mirror.  

silhouetted against the sunrise, people tried to capture an uncaptureable moment. 

the rooster eyed the surfboard, waiting for his moment to catch a wave.  

As always, let me know if you use my photos in some way to help with your writing or inspiration! 

Travel

I love being home, surrounded by my books and family and the familiar. But I also love going new places, exploring new places and just being somewhere else. Travel helps us see the world through different eyes, helps us see the beauty in food and people and scenery. The more I think about it, traveling is like reading. We use books to help us connect to other places. I read to go places, places I can’t go by plane or bus. Where do books take you?

Better Late Than Never—A Word for 2019

It’s still January so I think I can post this and still have it count!

Last year my word for the year was “believe”. And that was the word I needed and used for the last two years. This year, while I need to continue to believe (don’t stop…) I think a new word is needed as I step into 2019.  Building off the idea of believing, this year, I need to be more proactive. This year I need to create. Create stories, create time, create organization and possibilities. Therefore, I am heading into the new year focusing on the idea of creation. Do you pick a word for your year? A word to focus on? What’s yours?

Early Winter Photos

Here is another set of photos to help jumpstart your creativity in the new year! As always would love to hear if any of these help you! 

Looking down from its perch.  

Glowing candle. 

I love seeing how things are named, trails, crayon colors, nail polishes...

Wagon ride.  

Light squiggles.  

Happy writing!  

Fall Photos

Fall photos has a nice alliterative ring to it. Fall in New England is one of my favorite times of year! Here is a set of fallish photos for you to use as writing prompts or inspiration. Enjoy! 

There is something about the fall sky.  

Monarch caterpillars get nice and fat here in the fall.  

Fall hikes are the best!  

Slight rainbow in the sky.  

No caption needed. 

#pb10for10

I’ve been away from daily classroom life for awhile now. But in the fall, all that changes as I slowly dip my toes back into teaching through a maternity leave sub position. I can’t tell you how excited I am. Every time I entered into a bookstore and browse, I thought about how I could use these books in a classroom with kids. I have bought many a title with the disclaimer “when I go back, I’ll use this.” So without further ado, my picture book ten for ten are the 10 books I am bringing into the classroom with me to use the first week of school! My first ten read alouds! 

#1

I want to use this book by Stacy Mcanulty to have students start to write about themselves! 

#2

This book, aside from being funny and delightful, will be used to start thinking about what kind of classroom community we want to create. 

#3

Piggybacking off of my number 2 book, this title will help continue the conversation about community and empathy.  

#4

I love this quiet simple book, it will help us to learn about each other and our names and where they come from with this story. 

 #5

I believe in reading out loud every day. I also believe in writing every day. This mentor text will help supper both of those beliefs!  

#6

I like students to think about themselves and all the different roles they take on during the school day, scientists being an important one!

#7

So much we could do with this book. Inflection, punctuation, how to read pictures, how pictures affect how we read a book. I read this to my pre-reading son over vacation and immediately he took it and started to read it out loud on his own, trying out different ways to read the word DUDE!

#8

We all need quiet sometimes. I was able to pick this up early at our local art museum as they have a display of dePaola’s work. It won’t be released until October!! 

#9

I love this book to start exploring other places besides the one we live in. Books connect us to others and this one is an excellent example of how to do that. 

#10

I read this one to the class already when they had a Move Up day in the spring. They’ve already heard it. But the power of rereading is magical. I can’t wait to see what they notice about this text this time around.  

Thanks for checking out my first ten read alouds! Counting down to the first day of school.  

Lazy Hazy Days

It’s been a awhile since I’ve done one of these! Here is some summer photo inspiration for you! Maybe it will help kickstart your WIP. 

Something to keep you afloat.  

Ancient animal with stories to tell. 

Potential.  

Ocean vibes.  

Washed ashore.  

Mournful calls. 

Magical wings. 

As always, happy writing! And if you use any of these photos to help your writing process let me know!  

Early Summer Photos

The weather here has finally turned and is starting to make this past winter fade into a pleasant memory so that when snow falls again in November we will be excited.  

As summer rolls in, it’s important for me to stay focused on my writing. Here are some picture prompts to get you going if you need a kickstart! 

No Diving!

Busy working. 

Possibly my favorite picture I’ve taken recently. So many caption options... 

Farmers’ Market. 

Beached canoe.  

Capturing sunlight.  

Peck. Peck. Peck. 

Balloons!

Happy writing!!!  

Spring Photo Prompts

A little bit of spring for you to use as writing prompts or inspiration! On our spring break I was finally able to enjoy a little sunshine and warm weather, something we’ve been lacking here in New Hampshire. 

Cherry tree flowers #1

Cherry tree flowers #2

And #3...I had to edit down the number of white flower tree pictures I shared...they were just so beautiful! 

Creeping vines with potential. 

Window and sky.  

Fence openings. 

As always, if you use any of these, let me know in the comments! Sometimes when I am stuck, using images can help me jumpstart my writing. 

Packing

I’m in the process of getting ready and packing for NESCBWI. I always stress out about make sure I have the right clothes in my suitcase, my writing stuff and my business cards all ready to go. 

The New England weather does not seem to be cooperating at all this year as we are on  what seems like our 45th snow day of the year even though it’s the middle of April.  

As I pack and repack my suitcase to make sure I have the stuff to navigate the weekend, I think about my first conference and my second conference and my third conference and how with each one, I brought more and more with me. Not just scarves and layers to deal with the ever changing hotel climate, but knowledge and confidence and experience and a community.  I am packing my bags with a lot more than just clothes and shoes. 

I can’t wait to learn and connect with other writers and creators this weekend, people who understand this journey.  People who know what it’s like to pack for a conference and know all the other baggage that comes with it. 

It’s Time

There comes a time in every New England winter where I decide I’m done with winter and don’t care anymore if it’s 30 degrees out. I will Spring to arrive by not wearing my boots and forgoing my coat even if it’s needed. I hunt for signs of spring, piles of snow that seem just a little smaller, listen to birds that appeared overnight and the smell of possibility that seems to permeate the air.

Spring in New Hampshire is such a time of newness and beginnings. It reminds me of the blank page. And this idea of starting something new even if the snow hasn’t melted yet and the thermometer is still saying it’s coat weather. Sometimes you just have to pull the ideas out even if they are still hiding in bulky sweaters and snow boots. 

Patterns

I am drawn to patterns and repetition whether visually or in text. No wonder I like picture books so much. The subtle (or not so subtle) repeating of a phrase or an image that harkens an earlier use makes me excited every time I see it. Here is a photo prompt set made of repeating things or lots of the same thing in one space...you’ll get the idea!  As always, if any of my photos jumpstart your writing, let me know! 

Bells.

Farmers' Markets are a great place to take photos or to gather inspiration. 

Carts for days. 

Giant cookie tray.