(Ahem) I've been asked to do a Guest Blog. My first one e-v-a-h.... So, this means I'm famous, right?!

Ha! Not quite, I know... BUT, I AM super-fabulously excited to have been asked to be a part of PiBoIdMo over at Tara Lazar's blog, Writing For Kids (While Raising Them).

Tara has really knocked herself out this month focusing on creative ideas and how and where to find them for picture books. Every day there has been a new, novel way of looking at the generation of ideas that I hadn't thought of before. Every day. Tara is amazing- we need to create a Major Award for her or something...

Today, in my GUEST POST (woo-hoo!), I let you all in on the secret way I find my best ideas. I'll be upfront: it's kind of weird. And it's not the most positive way of looking at this common conundrum of finding the Next Best Idea... but I think of it as "looking on the bright side" to make me feel better about it. Or "how to make lemonade from lemons". It is simply how my brain works and I firmly believe that once YOU can figure out the way YOUR brain works best, you are well on your way to success. So, go check it out already!

And please, while you're there, make sure to thank Tara in the comments for all she's done for our children's writing community this month! The woman r-o-c-k-s!

:)

There's a great guest post over at Maw Books Blog by Bonny Becker, the talented author of this book (among others):



I love A Visitor For Bear- a simply charming book that is so much fun to read aloud. But I don't think that I would have guessed, from that lovely book alone, that Ms. Becker and I have more in common than our names. Ha! Who knew? Her topic is whether or not we've gone too far in "stripping the bad things" from children's books.

If you've read my book, or many of the posts on this blog, or ever talked to me for more than two minutes in person, you KNOW which side of that debate you'll find me on. Now, go read what Bonny Becker has to say- she's far more eloquent than I on the topic (or likely any topic for that matter- terrific post!)

:)

It takes a lot for me to LOVE a mid-grade. I'm kind of picky. I grew up enraptured with certain books that other books just never lived up to. Why can't every book make me feel like I did when I read Charlotte's Web or From The Mixed Up Files... or Little Women or A Wrinkle In Time or bunches of other books?

Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of books- but it's all percentages when you're an avid reader. And you can't make a book give you that fantastic feeling, no matter how much you want it to. The feeling that this is the best book ever and you don't want it to end, and when it does, you are sad but yet want to make every person you know read it. Immediately. And you can't stop thinking about it.

In the last five years since I became a writer, I've fallen hard for several mid-grade books:


(These last two are probably closer to chapter books, but whatever. It's my list.)



There are others, but I'm forgetting them at this very moment and it's late, so there's a sampling.

Oh, yeah, and now here's one more, a new one, to add to the list:


A lovely, lovely book. It gave me THAT feeling. I think I'm the last person to read it this year, but if you HAVEN'T read it yet, go read it this weekend. Enjoy THAT feeling. And then cross your fingers come Newbery time.

:)

Tomorrow is the last day of our elementary school's book fair, of which I am the obsessively control-freak-y Chairperson.

It has been All Book Fair, All The Time around here for the last two weeks. That's why I have been virtually AWOL. While I love the book fair, I miss my writing/online life! So I will be glad when things return to normal. Sad, but glad.

It is positively ridiculous that we are almost at the middle of November already, but I hope you are visiting Tara Lazar's super-fantastic blog every day this month. Better yet, are you participating in her Picture Book Idea Month? She is knocking herself out providing some of the best content for picture-book writers I've ever seen.

Go there. Participate. Enjoy! Seriously.

:)

Check out 100 Scope Notes this week- he's doing a whole week dedicated to book covers. So cool! Tomorrow he's interviewing "cover-designing wiz Chad Beckerman" (who just so happens to be the genius behind my own book covers!), but today we're creating book covers. Specifically picture-book covers, much to my delight :) I had so much fun making the YA cover we did a while back that I couldn't wait to try my hand at this one.

Ta-da! Here's what I came up with:



CREATE YOUR DEBUT PICTURE BOOK COVER

1 – Go to “The Name Generator” or click http://www.thenamegenerator.com/

Click GENERATE NEW NAME. The name that appears is your author name.

2 – Go to “Picture Book Title Generator” or click http://www.generatorland.com/usergenerator.aspx?id=243

Click CREATE TITLE! This is the title of your picture book.

3 – Go to “FlickrCC” or click http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php

Type the last word from your title into the search box followed by the word “drawing”. Click FIND. The first suitable image is your cover.

4 – Use Photoshop, Picnik, or similar to put it all together. Gettin’ creative is encouraged.

5 – Post it to your site along with this text.

(I don't think those links are copying correctly, so just go to Scope's blog and use his links :) And have fun!)

The New York Times has posted their Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2009. I haven't yet seen Only A Witch Can Fly or White Noise or Tales From Outer Suburbia, so I can't weigh in on them, but I agree on most of the others.

I'm particularly happy to see A Penguin Story, Yummy and Moonshot on there.

A Penguin Story came out at the very beginning of the year and I was worried it might be forgotten on these year-end lists. Lovely book- I hope it's being considered by the Caldecott committee as well.

It hasn't been too funny around here lately. Or writerly! I'm busy playing Nurse Mom this week (and last week too! flu... pneumonia... bring it on...), so I'm sending you to funny blog posts by funny writers who are actually writing and not playing Nurse Mom.

Not sure who the right audience is for you? Should you be writing chapter books or YA? Check out this post on "finding your genre" over at the ICL. Hilarious!

And do you follow Deborah Freedman's blog? She is so talented AND creative with her posts. Today, her blog sounds like my brain lately. Very funny- and don't click through till you have some time to spend over there- every post she makes is interesting in some way. She thinks outside the box! Most excellent.

:)