Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Four Fun Art Projects at the BOOK TALK TEA, An Afternoon with Four Children’s Book Illustrators

Last Sunday afternoon I joined three other author/illustrators--Priscilla Burris, Joe Cepeda, and Tim Egan--for a BOOK TALK TEA at the Thousand Oaks Library in Thousand Oaks, California, to talk about our books and how we illustrate them. While we talked, attendees sipped tea and enjoyed delicious tea cakes and fruit. Each of us had been asked to “teach” one of our illustration skills to the audience as part of our presentation to provide some insight into our creative process. Paper and pens were provided.
Tim Egan demonstrated how to draw a moose, guiding us through the simple shapes needed to draw the head and bumpy antlers. (Tim created the charming animal tea party poster art for the event.)
My rendition of a moose following Tim Egan's instructions
Joe Cepeda showed how one can use simple shapes such as rectangles, circles, triangles and a couple of moon shapes to draw a dog.
My rendition of a dog following Joe Cepeda's instructions
Priscilla Burris passed out a worksheet of blank faces to be filled in according to the emotions listed underneath.
Expression worksheet by Priscilla Burris
Since my cut paper art would be too messy to do as a group, attendees were given a baggie filled with the ingredients to “Put the Stripes on the Zebra” to take home and do later. I demonstrated how this can be done in a larger format after downloading the template from my website.
Packet to put your own stripes on the zebra
Thanks so much to the Ventura Reading Association for inviting me to be part of the Book Talk Tea! The hard working committee did a fantastic job of putting on a great program--I loved listening to the other illustrators talk about their process--plus the delicious refreshments, raffle and table decorations. Everyone wore a creative alter ego name tag--mine was Emerald Sun Bee! I enjoyed talking to the people who came--librarians, teachers, aspiring book illustrators–who all said they really enjoyed the event.
The Book Talk Tea committee
Thanks to the committee for all their hard work and to the library staff for helping to solve equipment problems and making sure that it ran smoothly. And thanks to Connie Halpern of Mrs. Figg’s Bookworm  for supplying the books for autographing.
The Book Talk Tea was sponsored by the Ventura County Reading Association, the Thousand Oaks Library and Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Save the date! Book Talk Tea, Thousand Oaks Library, CA

I will be joining three other author/illustrators--Priscilla Burris, Joe Cepeda, and Tim Egan--for a BOOK TALK TEA at the Thousand Oaks Library in Thousand Oaks, CA, on Sunday, January 28 at 2:00 pm to talk about our books and how we illustrate them. The event is sponsored by the Ventura County Reading Association, the Thousand Oaks Library and Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library.
Please join us if you can!

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Chicken and Egg Jokes: Part 2

Why did the chicken cross the road?
Here are some more chicken and egg jokes to celebrate the one year birthday of the publication of HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6.
Enjoy!

Why are chicks so neat?
Because they always have a comb.

Why did the chickens sit on their eggs?
Because they didn’t have any chairs.

How did the egg get up the mountain?
It scrambled up.

How do comedians like their eggs?
Funny side up.

What do you call an egg that goes on safari?
An egg-splorer.

Who wrote the book, Great Eggspectations?
Charles Chickens

(For more chicken and egg jokes, check out last week's post.)

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Chicken and Egg Jokes: Part 1

Why did the chicken cross the road?
Today is the one year birthday of the publication of HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6. Let's celebrate by telling some chicken and egg jokes.
I'd love to hear your chicken and egg jokes too. Write them in the comments section.

What do you call a chicken that crossed the road, rolled in mud, then went back across the road?
A dirty double-crosser!

What do you get if you cross a chicken with a cement mixer?
A brick layer.

Which side of a chicken has the most feathers?
The outside.

How do chickens get into a hotel?
They chick-in.

How do chickens get strong?
They egg-cercize

What do you get when chickens lay their eggs on the roof of a barn?
Egg rolls.

Why did the chicken cross the playground?
To get to the other slide.

What do you call a chicken at the north pole?
Lost.

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Cut-Paper Animals by Students at Coastal Grove School

I was away for the month of December and came home to a pile of mail including an envelope with wonderful cut-paper art and note from Jenny Hales, the Education Coordinator at Coastal Grove Charter School in Arcata, California. I had visited the school in October as part of the Humboldt County Author Festival. After my visit, the fifth grade students were inspired to create their own cut-paper art in the same manner I use for my books. I absolutely love the art--the students did a fantastic job of making the animals realistic and colorful. I especially like the texture of the paper and the use of watercolors to create various color shades.
Thank you so much for sharing!

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

CYBILS Literary Award: Hatching Chicks in Room 6 is a Finalist

GOOD NEWS!
Happy New Year! I am back at my desk after a month away and opened my email this morning to discover (via a post on Facebook from Melissa Stewart) that Hatching Chicks in Room 6 is a finalist for the Cybils Award in the elementary/middle grade nonfiction category. http://www.cybils.com/2017-elementary-middle-grade-non-fiction
I wasn't aware of the Cybils Awards before, but they are nominated by people who blog about children's books. I am so pleased that my book is on the list!
Thanks so much to Claire Annette Noland for the nomination and to Ellen at On the Shelf 4 Kids for the excellent review:
You don’t need an egg tooth to crack this book open! Caroline Arnold’s photography documents the hands-on science happening in Jennifer Best’s kindergarten classroom. The book is organized chronologically by key days in the 21 day process of hatching chicks and once the hatching has occurred, the learning continues. The layout of the book includes full size photos and “eggs” of information. The backmatter includes online resources such as videos of different steps of the process and suggestions for further reading. Hatching Chicks in Room 6 offers an opportunity for students who might not have an incubator in their own classroom to get a close-up look at the life cycle of a chicken. Readers will scramble to get their hands on Hatching Chicks in Room 6.

Congratulations to all the Cybils finalists!