Katie's Christmas Teapot

Merry, merry one &all! Here's my entry to Susanna Hill's 3rd Annual Holiday Writing Contest. Check out her fab blog &read all the holiday tales! Mine is based on my favorite ornament which broke this year, my mom's hand painted glass teapot ornament. Though the teapot is now in shards,  the memory lives on in this tale.

Katie’s Christmas Teapot

      Christmas - more ho-hum than ho-ho! Katie thought. Last year Gramma and I had such fun!

      Cookie baking, present wrapping, story telling! Gramma rivaled Santa in those departments!

      But now? No Gramma to decorate ginger bread monsters with her! Katie chuckled remembering how the gingerbread overtook the oven. Gingerbread boys and girls the size of Abominable Snowmen marched onto the baking racks. Gramma and Katie decided to keep this special tradition every year.

      Now, no Gramma to wrap presents that gave tinsy hints at what lay inside. One Chrstimas Gramma wrapped a beautiful pearl in conch shell. Katie smiled at the memory as she stroked the pearl that dangled on a gold chain around her neck. It was special.

      Now? No Gramma to share the history of family ornaments that would grace the blue spruce tree in Katie’s family room.

     Today Katie waited impatiently as the family trimmed the tree. She wanted the SPECIAL ornaments, not those plastic ornaments from the discount store!

     I want the glass ornaments in the Shiny Brite boxes. They’re from Gramma’s tree! Katie almost screamed.

     Now, no Gramma. Gramma had died nearly two years ago.

    Christmas was not the same. How Katie wished for the gift of her Gramma!

    “Katie? Look at this.” Dad passed her an old gray box. He had ALMOST packed it away.   

     Katie examined it closely. A hand painted glass teapot peaked through the window-box opening. There on the box, written in a feathery manuscript, Katie read the words aloud, “Teapot. SPECIAL. My favorite one!”

     Gramma had given Katie one last gift…a Christmas teapot she would always treasure!

     

   

        

    

    

Down Girl & Sit - The Series

Down Girl & Sit is a fun beginning chapter series that peeks into the minds of two mischievous dog friends as they wonder about life in the neighborhood and how to get their maters' attention. In the book I read, Bad to the Bone, the dog capers include knocking their humans off painting ladders, grabbing the hamburger man's dinner and saving the neighborhood from cats, Here Kitty Kitty, and squirrels. The exasperated humans drag Down Girl & Sit to obedience school, but it clear to our clever canines, humans can just NOT be trained!
This is a good mentor text for writers to study POV, anthropomorphism, and a clever plot line.  Ba-roo!

Skeleton Cat - in November

No need to be afraid of Skeleton Cat by Kristyn Crow, illustrated by Dan Krall! I confuse to being a book hoarder at times, and with Skeleton Cat, I admit to hoarding him since early October. this cute rhyming picture book with plenty of onomatopoeia is just plain fun to read aloud and has a super rhythm! Plus this phat cat is ready to literally rock-n-roll as he auditions for the band as, what else? A drummer.
Lines like "He went: Rattle, rattle. Clink, clink. Rattle, rattle clink. Tip tap. Clickety-clack, ka-plink, ka-plink, ka-plink. He rocked and he rollicked and he clunked around, and the kids in a playground heard the rattlin' sound..." will have youngin's dancing  & a tapping. Great writer's mentor text for rhyme and rhythm! Gotta dance on over to the library & finally turn him in!

Monsters and Dogs & Kittens, Oh, My!

Cover of Katie Loves the Kittens

My tail wags for these 2 books: The Monster Who Lost His Mean & Katie Loves the Kittens. I've shared these 2 books multiple times with my bookworm grandson Tobin. By multiple times, I mean so many times that I know the books by heart!
Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman, published in 2008 by Henry Holt, is a deceptively simple, light-hearted look at Katie, an irrepressible dog who loves Sara Ann's new kittens soooo much, it gets her in constant trouble. The kittens fly and scramble as Katie's tail wags so hard a kitten is caught in the onslaught. Pencil & watercolor drawings bring out Katie's personality- you feel for the poor dog as she learns to be patient & finally, just finally, Katie calms down enough that the kittens curl around her as she sleeps. My grandson & I love to repeat Katie's signature bark, "Aroooooo," which is similar to my Corgi's bark, Ba-roooo. this tale bears up after repeated readings. Fun for all.

I found The Monster Who Lost His Meanwhile browsing for a not-so-scary story for my 2.5 year old. This picture book is perfect for Halloween and beyond. Written by Tiffany Strelizt Haber, illustrated by Kirstie Edmunds, this 2012 book published by Henry Holt is a clever tale of a monster who no longer has his "M," so now he's an "Onster." Without being didactic, readers learn about bullying, not fitting in, and how to recreate yourself by turning a liability into an asset. Monster makes new friends, helps with chores and even gets a surprise party all without his "M" or his old friends. Curriculum connections for educators include alphabet recognition, word play, connotation vs. denotation (what is a monster w/out his name?) and creating acrostics. I give this book an "M" for Marvelous!

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild

We move aside today to let a wild cat into the dog pen, since this book is just too dog-gone good! I'm lucky to have a great indie bookstore nearby in Tempe, Changing Hands Book Store. They bring in a steady stream of  fab authors-adult, YA, children's. Last week we were treated with a visit from Peter Brown of Creepy Carrots fame, in town to promote his newest PB. Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. As Peter says, we all have a bit of WILD in us that needs to escape now and then.
As a PB writer, I wanted to know what inspired this book. He harkened back to his 3rd grade classroom and a teacher admonishing him not to be wild. He also explained how hard it was to transition from recess to the calm & constraints of the classroom. Anyone who has ever taught knows of this treacherous time.
Author takeaway? REMEMBER THOSE TRUE TO LIFE KID FEELINGS to tap into universal topics kids experience daily. The books is visually stunning, done in muted tones with that ORANGE popping out as a contrast. Did not know it's more expensive to add orange to a book. The case cover (a new term for me) is also a visual treat-black & orange tiger stripes with texture. Read it today, you'll ROAR with delight. 

The Dog Days of Summer

Martha Speaks (TV series) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A List of Dog Tales new and old that grandson Tobin, 2.5 years old, and I have enjoyed this summer AND are now overdue the library! YIKES.
1. Martha Speaks - Yes, it's now a franchise and TV show, but back in 1992, author Susan Meddaugh took a lunchtime staple- alphabet soup & poured it down Martha's mouth to an inspiring response. If you're a dog person like me, I bet you are always putting words in your dog's mouth-so this is a believable premise for kids and adult readers. The fun begins on the dedication page when Mom, unseen says in a thought bubble,"I hope that soup is gone when I come back in there." Just like our own offspring, once Martha begins dialogue diarrhea blurts out uncensored comments about others ("Why is that man so fat?'), we wish they never learned to talk. But, Martha saves the day in true hero dog fashion.

2. My Big Dog - My first author/illustrator visit as a new librarian was from Janet Stevens who co-writes with her sister Susan Stevens Crummel. This larger-than-life pup dominates the illustrations and the story as the antagonist, but never even gets a name. He doesn't need it. Whiny cat Merl, our narrator, makes it clear big dog does not belong, everything belongs to him, eventually even "my big dog!" My grandson laughs every time we read this! He loves Merl's sarcastic tone of voice and the puppy's slurppy tongue in Merl's ear. At our elementary school in Hilliard, Ohio, the art teacher and kids created a mural of the big dog that literally took up the whole school entrance way. Kids from K-6th grade will love Janet's other books, too!

3.A Ball for Daisy- I was lucky enough to meet author/illustrator Chris Raschka this summer at the Mazza Summer Institute in Findlay, Ohio. Chris shared his process for the story-boarding and plot of this 2012 Caldecott winner. Chris says wordless picture books actually illicit more vocabulary from kids as they make up the words to fit the story. This fun, bouncy book about a dog and his ball went through more revisions than one could ever imagine. Grandson Tobin loves to point out how the ball changes thorhgtout the story. I actually see the ball as a character with its own character arc. for fun, try acting this story out with young kids or even adults as we did at Mazza. The results are hilarious.

Books to Chew On!

As a children's author, I  am interested in cataloging all the inspirational books that get me & keep me writing. This blog will mostly cover dog picture books, but an occasional cat book or adult book w/a dog theme may be reviewed. Join me in reading the best that children's literature & dogs have to offer! BAROO & happy reading!