Dianna Aston: Will Write for Cookies PLUS GIVEAWAY

Posted on February 14, 2016 by viviankirkfield

WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

Plate of Cookies

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION

FOR WRITERS

TODAY’S GUEST

headshot

DIANNA ASTON

Even before I started writing for children, I knew the name Dianna Aston. Her beautiful nature books for young kids are widely used in the schools. So you can imagine what a thrill it was to connect with her when I joined the kidlit community. And then I met her at the WOW Retreat…and had a one-on-one critique that turned into a two-hour chat where we shared our passion for picture books. I’m honored to have her visiting today…especially since it is Valentine’s Day as well as International Book Giving Day. Make sure you scroll through all the way to the end of the post…to enter the GIVEAWAY of TWO BOOKS. Continue reading →

Lauri Fortino: Will Write for Cookies

Posted on May 16, 2015 by viviankirkfield

WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION

FOR WRITERS

TODAY’S GUEST

LAURI FORTINO

I’m always talking about the wonderful kid lit community I belong to – filled with incredibly talented and dedicated people. And every day I meet more of them. Recently, I discovered a blog which is a super resource for parents and teachers – Frog on a Blog – and I connected with its creator. When I found out the she had a DEBUT PICTURE BOOK coming out this fall, I knew I’d be inviting her to step into the Will Write for Cookies spotlight. And when my May guest, Katie Davis, needed to exchange her May interview for October, I was thrilled that Lauri was ready, willing and able to step in and fill the spot.

Lauri grew up in the village of Canastota, NY with four older siblings and a twin sister. She tried various careers (she was a horse groom for two years and a floral designer for ten years) before becoming a Library Assistant. She is also working hard to grow her career as a picture book author. Her debut book The Peddler’s Bed is set to be released on September 1, 2015 by Ripple Grove Press. The illustrator is Bong Redila. She also has a digital picture book coming out soon with MeeGenius called The Dinosaur Tag Survival Guide. Lauri is a member of SCBWI, ALA, CBI Club House, and the Picture Me Published critique group, and she’s an avid blogger. She lives in DeWitt, NY with her husband and Lhasa-mix dog Java.

I’m so happy to have her here to share her thoughts with us.

Welcome, Lauri!

ME: Who were your favorite authors/illustrators when you were a child?

Lauri:

Hmm…I don’t know that I have favorite authors or illustrators from childhood, but there are a few books that stick in my memory. I loved Maurice Sendak’s Nutshell Library with the four tiny books. Last year, I visited the gorgeous Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts and they happened to have the set for sale in the gift shop, so I purchased one, since my original set is long gone. It’s like having an old friend back again.

Another book that I loved as a child is The Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown. In fact, I loved the pictures so much that I almost cut them out of the book! Luckily, I thought better of it and stopped myself after inflicting just one tiny snip on one of the pages. I wish I still had that copy.

I do, however, still have my absolute favorite book from childhood, Jolly Old Santa Claus. It was published in 1969 by Ideals Publishing Co. Interestingly, there’s no author listed, but the editor was Maryjane Hooper Tonn and the illustrations, which enchanted me then and still enchant me today, were done by George Hinke. It’s just a little slip of a book, and it’s worn, but it’s beautiful and I’ll cherish it forever. Continue reading →

Sunday Post: Black & White…or Do We Parent in Shades of Gray?

Posted on August 20, 2012 by viviankirkfield

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is BLACK AND WHITE

I always love to connect the Sunday Post theme to an aspect of parenting.

As parents, we have many choices to make.

Should we be strict or lenient?

Do we move to the city or the suburbs.

Will our children go to public or private schools…or should we homeschool?

But there are some things about parenting that are BLACK AND WHITE:

Parenting requires organizational skills…kids need routines.

Parenting requires communication skills….kids need you to listen to them.

Parenting requires compassion…kids need your love.

Parenting requires consistency…kids need rules that are enforced.

But setting rules does not means that everything is black and white.

Is stealing wrong? What if your children were starving?

Is killing wrong? What if someone is trying to kill you or your child?

Perhaps parenting is a journey in “Shades of Gray”.

Parenting requires participation…kids need your time.

Practice Positive Parental Participation and your child will have a head-start to a happy and successful life.

Spending quality time with your young children now will have a positive impact on their school performance. It also helps them build stronger relationships later in life.

To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you need to be in their lives today. Show Me How is the book that makes it easy and fun!

Giving back is important to me. Part of the proceeds of each copy sold is donated to several children’s organizations.

Schools are opening all over the country and we’d like to give a free copy of Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking to your favorite school or classroom. Nominate your child’s school or other childcare facility in the Show Me How School Initiative by leaving a comment and telling us why you’d like them to have this book. If you don’t have young children, but know people who do, please tell them about the free book their child’s school can receive! At the end of September, we will be awarding a dozen books to the winning schools.

Last, but certainly not least, I just came back from a local SCBWI meeting…one of the members, children’s author Marty Banks, has a new book out on the market. The Adventures of Tempest & Serena is a wonderful chapter book for readers ages 7 and up. I’ll be reviewing the book here in a couple of days, but I wanted to give everyone a heads-up about the free download that is coming up next weekend. I’ll post the correct URL when I do the review. I think this is a book parents and grandparents will want to buy for holiday gifting!