Worms. Need I say more?

Posted in Uncategorized by juliamace2015

Max with his friends the worms.

April showers bring May flowers and…… worms. My boys have been digging worms since they were two. They seek them out, especially when it rains or when in the woods. I asked them why they like worms so much and they told me, “They are squiggly.”

Worms have long had a place in children’s literature. There is the most well-known worm, Richard Scarry’s Lowly, who not only has adventures but is stylish with his outfits and one shoe. When I was in the fourth grade, my teacher Ms. Shomburg would read us Thomas Rockwell’s How to Eat Fried Worms and laugh so hard she would put her head down on the desk.

Elise Gravel’s The Worm is both scientific and funny. While learning about the worm, her illustrations make comments like, “I am NOT disgusting.” Gravel’s artwork explains that earthworms are useful as recyclers and delicious for fish.

“My favorite part is when the worms have a party in the dog’s stomach!”

Her coverage of some of the more icky facts about worms delight Max and Calvin most. “My favorite part is when the worms have a party in the dog’s stomach!” said Max. It’s true. Parasite worms are shown having a meal in a dog’s table and saying, “Pass the salt, please!”

Next time you are out in the woods, pick up a rock and say hi to your friends the worms!

Where to find the book and other info

Gravel has written several other awesome kids books about slugs, head lice, spiders, and my least favorite, rats. (That’s a story for another day.) They are all part of her Disgusting Critters series. Learn more about her and buy The Worm and more on her website.

Another great book about worms is Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer by Carol Brendler; illustrations by Ard Hoyt.

29Apr2015

Goldfish Memories

Posted in Uncategorized by juliamace2015

Bernadette drops in on Paul.

We returned from vacation and our black goldfish was orange. My brother let out a wail, “Blacky!” Our babysitters/pet sitters had kindly replaced my brother’s fish when he met his maker. They just forgot to keep it the same color.

You can’t blame them. They were teenagers and our pets seemed to always implode when we traveled. Our hamster escaped, pooping all over the house, chewing things up. Our cat threw up, strayed from his litter box, and set off the burglar alarm. Once we arrived home, our neat freak dad would, well, freak out.

At least the Kleinfeldt girls replaced the fish. When I went to college, my family forgot that my goldfish, Fred and Ginger, were in my room where they were left to a sad fate. I learned about it on a call home.

These goldfish memories attracted me to Rosy Lamb’s book Paul Meets Bernadette, a story about fish. (And my brother’s name is Paul.)

Bernadette shows Paul the world.

The jacket description alone pulled me in. It states that Lamb “painted the pictures for this book while her baby daughter slept by her side.” And the painter and sculptor, “lives in a studio with tall windows on a quiet street in Paris.” These idyllic descriptions match Lamb’s lovely paintings.

The story is not only pretty – it’s funny. Paul swims around in circles, until Bernadette is dropped in and shows him a different way of looking at the world. As they swim around the bowl, they examine items on the breakfast table and Bernadette incorrectly identifies objects. A banana is a boat. A teapot is an elephant feeding her children. Reading glasses are a butterfly. Max and Calvin find this hilarious. They howl, “That’s not an elephant!”

But the sweetness of the story isn’t lost on them. Paul loves Bernadette and thinks, “Bernadette, you are my star.”

“He loves her,” Max points out. “Do fish kiss?”

Where to find the book and more info
We found this book at the Public Library of Greater Cincinnati at the Clifton branch. You can buy it here and watch a video reading of the book. Visit Rosy Lamb’s website to see her sculpture and paintings.

Speaking of local libraries, our branch is moving right around the corner from us in May into the Parkview Manor!

17Apr2015

Things have been gross but we’re still reading

Posted in Uncategorized by juliamace2015

The cow takes a ride.

When the plague hit our house last week, my blog took a backseat. Ok, it wasn’t the plague but the throw-up bug the boys and I got sure felt like it. At least to me; they seemed to recover so quickly.

Right after I got sick, Calvin wanted me to read him a book. He carried it into me as I slumped on the bathroom floor. Max was a little more sympathetic, telling me, “Mama, I take a deep breath when I don’t want to throw up.” However, the next day he was over it and asked me, “Why are you lying around so much?”

As Max and I sprawled on the couch after he caught it, he asked me to get him some olives.

“Olives? Baby, that might upset your stomach,” I said.

“Just get the puke bucket,” he shrugged.

Grossness aside, here’s a quick recap of the books that are on our minds this week.

Moo! written by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka. LaRochelle wrote one of our favorites, How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans. (Read about it in a previous blog post.) LaRochelle successfully uses one word all the way through a book (moo) to depict a cow going on a joyride. The only other word used is baa when the cow tries to blame crashing the car on an unsuspecting sheep. The boys like it because it’s funny, they know the word moo, and can read it themselves.

These kids invite their large friend to tea.

If you were having a tea party what would be better than inviting T. Rex? I selected Tea Rex written and illustrated by Molly Idle because Max loves dinosaurs. The mishaps of the tea party are funny and in the end the kids get invited to T. Rex’s house for tea. They also meet his friends! Of course Max points out, “Those dinosaurs didn’t live in the same era!”

Ah, my little scientist.

Where to find the books and other info

You can find Tea Rex at Powell’s. Idle has a great website and another dinosaur book, Camp Rex. And here’s an awesome interview about Tea Rex and the process of creating it on Debbie Redpath Ohi’s blog. (She’s a great illustrator too.)

Check out Moo! The Moo-vie on LaRochelle’s website. And you can find Moo! and more on Mike Wohnoutka’s site. They won the 2014 Minnesota Book Award for “Moo!”

Here’s some other info: I’m happy to say that I had a piece published in The Mid. Please click on this link to take a look. If you’re wondering what it’s about….it’s an essay on my return to aerobics and Jazzercise. Like what you read? Please share it!

1Apr2015

Glasses are cool

Posted in Uncategorized by juliamace2015

Paige says she can see just fine.

If your kid brought home a skunk, thinking it was a stray cat, you’d probably have his or her eyes checked. This is what happens to Paige in I Can See Just Fine by Eric Barclay.

I picked this book up at the library when we found out Max needed glasses. Believe me, he wasn’t having trouble adapting. There was a fight at our house about the glasses. As twins, my boys always want what the other one has. So, Calvin wanted glasses too.

“But you don’t need them,” my husband and I would explain. “But I want them!” he’d protest. Calvin is stubborn. He used to whisper, “I do,” thinking he could bend us to his will with his Darth Vader voice. He wasn’t going to give up on the glasses.

After several hilarious antics, including the skunk, wearing two different socks, walking into the boys’ restroom (my boys LOVE this one), Paige’s parents decide to have her eyes checked. She picks out her frames out of wall of glasses. That’s where Calvin found his glasses too. “I want those,” he said, pointing to a pair of pink cat eyes.

Paige and Calvin like lots of options.

Paige got her glasses and could see. Max got his glasses and could see. And Calvin, poor buddy, had tubes put in his ears. “Will they stick out of his ears like straws?” Max asked. Calvin could hear just fine but he still wanted the glasses.

One night during the holidays, I popped into a local shop and there on the wall were child size, pink, cat eye sunglasses!

Everyone’s happy!

I’m not sure Calvin can see just fine – he wore his new specs for a while on cloudy days. But hey, he’s happy!

Where to find the book and more info

You can buy I Can See Just Fine from Eric Barclay’s website. His book Hiding Phil looks funny as well.

Another great book about glasses is Calvin, Look Out! A Bookworm Birdie Gets Glasses by Jennifer Berne and illustrated by Keith Bendis.

22Mar2015

Ode to Mr. Frank and sunglasses are a pillar of civilization

Posted in Uncategorized by juliamace2015

If you dropped your keys in the sewer and had two choices: go get your dad or your dad’s best friend next door, what would you do? Me? I got the friend.

Words of wisdom from Mr. Frank, “The two pillars of civilization: sunglasses and pick-up trucks.”

Facing the two houses, I went to the one where Mr. Frank lived. Mr. Frank amiably got a hanger to help me fish out my keys. Unfortunately, my Dad noticed us and came outside. As expected, he was irritated. But Mr. Frank was an expert at fixing all things – he got the keys out and calmed down my Dad. Did I mention I was in my 20s when this happened?

Let me tell you about Frank, or Mr. Frank to his wife and friends. He lived by his own code and had a lot of sayings. Here are some telling Frankisms: “The two pillars of civilization: sunglasses and pick-up trucks,” “Your true character is whoever you are in the dark,” “There are two kinds of people in this world, cat lovers and morons, ” and “What do you mean, what do I mean?”

If you knew him, he would do anything for you. Frank and my Dad moved me multiple times. He could and would fix anything. He brought a calm demeanor to awkward situations. He would loan you his truck. Feed your cat. I’ll never forget when he looked me right in the eye and said, “You can do anything you want.” I believed him because I always believed Frank.

Mr. Frank died last June in his early 60s; it pains me to write it. That’s why, standing in the Vero Beach Book Center on vacation, the title Mr. Frank caught my eye. I flipped through it, thought it looked charming and bought it for myself. The story, written and illustrated by Irene Luxbacher is based on her father. It’s beautiful.

Mr. Franks sews through the decades.

Mr. Frank, an elderly tailor, gets a phone call asking for the most important order of his career. Luxbacher takes you through the decades of his work and the fashion trends he worked on.

My boys love it. I first read the story to Calvin and when he saw what Mr. Frank was working on – a superhero outfit for his grandson – he gasped, “Maxy will LOVE this!” He continued to be delighted by Mr. Frank’s other costumes and said, “I wish he would make me a metro bus costume.” (Calvin is obsessed with buses.)

Max did love the costume and asked for the book three nights in a row, “I want to read the book where the guy makes all the clothes.” He was fascinated with Mr. Frank’s process, “Look, he had to find just the right thing and then draw lines before he would cut it,” Max said.

Snuggled into bed on vacation, the three of us savored the last page showing Mr. Frank and his grandson sewing together.

My boys love the last page of Mr. Frank.

I love this book. I love it for the vacation memories it helped cement. I love it that the title and story remind me of my Mr. Frank. It’s funny too, since Frank’s fashion statement was “Brown is the new black.”

Max has asked me if I’m still sad about Mr. Frank. “Yes, I am Max,” I try to explain. “I’ll always be sad but I’ll always have good memories too.”

Everyone should be so lucky to have a Mr. Frank.

In loving memory of Frank Wilson Reinig (May 28, 1953 – June 28, 2014)

“Well to be perfectly Frank…which I am…”

Where to find the book and more information
Check out your local bookstore for Mr. Frank or you can order it from Anansi Press. I recommend looking at Luxbacher’s website to see more of her gorgeous work. I plan on checking out The Imaginary Garden and she has several art books too. (Max will be happy!)

13Mar2015

Fly High! and be somebody. The amazing story of Bessie Coleman

Posted in Guest bloggers, Uncategorized by juliamace2015

Throwing it way back. Me, Mary Mac, and Eloise abound 2002.

Throwing it way back. Me, Mary Mac, and Eloise around 2002.

Have you ever been on vacation with someone else’s kids? It’s a lot easier when they aren’t yours. I used to be that single friend, enjoying the kids but not being responsible.

I remember picking my friend Eloise’s daughter Francis out of her crib, thinking I was helping. “Once she’s up she won’t go back to sleep,” Eloise moaned. Who knew? I thought.

I also recall her daughter Mary Mac asking me why I took so long in the bathroom. “Well, I’m not used to someone being in here with me,” I said. If I only knew that someday privacy would be a memory.

On one of my trips with Eloise, I brought Mary Mac the book Fly High! The Story of Bessie Coleman. Mary Mac, soon to be 16, was five at the time.

The book is by Cincinnati writers Mary Kay Kroeger and Louise Borden. (Kroeger is a former coworker of mine.) Teresa Flavin’s illustrations compliment the story about Bessie Coleman, the first African-American female pilot.

Eloise recently shared with me that she still has the book and uses it in elementary school classrooms.

Bessie walked four miles to and from school every day.

What do you love about Fly High?

As the mother of four children, three of them girls, I most appreciate the repeating lines and resonating message of Fly High! – work hard, dream big and “be somebody.” I also appreciate how the authors make a strong point that it was Bessie’s love of reading that gave her the desire and motivation to “be somebody.”

I never heard of Bessie Coleman until you gave Mary Mac Fly High! back in 2003. Harriett Tubman, Josephine Baker, Rosa Parks – these were the women I often read about and heard about during Black History Month. And what an amazing woman she was! A true pioneer, a dreamer, a hard worker, an adventurer, and according to this authors it all began with her love of reading as a small child laboring in the cotton fields of Texas. What are the odds of a daughter of illiterate farm hands becoming the first African American female aviatrix in America?

Brave Bess told kids, “You can be someday. You can fly high, just like me.”

Do your kids like it? Is that why you’ve kept it all these years?

I kept the book because I love it. In fact I keep a lot of children’s books. Some to bequeath to my children when they grow up and have children of their own. Some because they never get old like Munro Leaf’s Ferdinand the Bull or all of Kevin Henkes‘ mice books. I wish I was an elementary school media specialist. I love children’s literature board books, picture books, early readers, young adult, classics and new.

I also store books in categories to pull and place in a basket by the fireplace each month. In February I fill the basket with books relating to Valentine’s Day and Black History Month.

Mary Mac especially loves this book because it is inscribed to her by one of the authors, Mary Kay Kroeger. But all the children love it. Even my son loves the idea of being a barnstorming pilot.

Tell me about the kids you’ve read this book to and the props you use?

When I was invited to Guilford County School’s Community reader day and found out I was assigned to a third grade class, I immediately picked this one. I thought the book was both interesting, inspiring, and the pictures were good.

For props I brought in the book, a picture of my children, a stuffed Snoopy dog, a wall clock with a picture of Snoopy in a biplane and dressed in a leather aviator hat, and a world map with Texas, Chicago, Illinois, and France highlighted on it. (Bessie travels to these destinations.)

I began by introducing myself, the book and then showed the children a picture of my children. I wanted them to know who I was – a mom – and why I chose the book. I wanted them to know that all of them and all of my children could “be somebody” just like Bessie Coleman.

Eloise uses these props while reading Fly High!

I brought Snoopy and the clock because I wasn’t sure if third graders in 2015 would know what pilot or biplanes looked like in the early 20th century. Thankfully Snoopy remains popular today and is even gaining a resurgence of popularity thanks to the expected release of The Peanuts Movie this year. I had to laugh when I asked the children if they knew who the stuffed animal was and one boy responded, “Snoop Dogg.” But I was really amazed at their interest in the picture of Snoopy in the wall clock. That was by far the most interactive, fun part of our open discussion time. When I asked what they noticed about the biplane compared to today’s planes I got all sorts of great answers, “Two wings” “Open top” “Like a Convertible” “Cool leather helmet and goggles” “Propeller driven” and my favorite, “In the Peanuts’ movies, Snoopy imagines his dog house is a biplane” … and that was the question I used to begin reading the book.

After reading the book I shared the map I had printed out to show them just how far Bessie Coleman’s dream, hard work and desire took her. She traveled from the cotton fields of Texas to the big city of Chicago to the airfields of France. And I encouraged all of them to “Fly High” through the power of books, their imagination, hard work and their dreams.

When I left I heard the teacher say to her classroom, “Doesn’t that book just make you want to try something new or do something crazy?” I hope the 20 minutes I spent with them planted seeds … just like Bessie’s mother did so long ago by giving her access to books as a child.

Thanks, Eloise!

Where to find the book and more information

Kroeger and Borden also collaborated on another historical book, Paperboy. This story is based on Kroeger’s father, a paperboy in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine (OTR) in 1927. The story is during the time of the famous Jack Dempsey/Jim Dempsey fight. Ted Lewin’s images of OTR are excellent and Max and Calvin love recognizing parts of their city.

Borden is a prolific, well-known writer. Check out her website to explore her work, favorite authors, school visits, and more. One of my favorites is The Journey that Saved Curious George illustrated by Allan Drummond (another recommended site.) This true story about George’s creators, the Reys, is for adults and kids. Did you know the Reys escaped the German army during World War II on a bike? It’s an incredible and beautiful book.

3Mar2015

Eat your vegetables. (And see Max act.)

Posted in Uncategorized, Video by juliamace2015

Avoiding vegetables is a childhood art form. Growing up, I would spit vegetables into my napkin when my parents weren’t looking. (I also enjoyed making my brother laugh when he had milk in his mouth. He would spit it all over the table much to the outrage of our dad.) It was the 70s and on babysitter nights, we had TV dinners with the pea, square carrot and corn combo. This made me gag and reach for my napkin. My husband said he and his siblings would put unwanted greenery on a little ledge under the dining room table.

These green beans are mean.

Not eating your vegetables pays off in one of our favorite books. In How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans, Martha refuses to eat her green beans every Tuesday night. “Green beans are bad. Very bad,” Martha thinks. The author is David LaRochelle and the book is illustrated by Mark Fearing.

Martha’s refusal to eat green beans is rewarded. When mean green beans with beady eyes, long curly mustaches, hats, and pointy boots swagger into town terrorizing anyone who has ever eaten a green bean, they leave Martha alone. They make rude noises, hoop and holler, and take Martha’s parents captive.

At first, Martha enjoys it. She doesn’t have to clean her room! She stays up late, eats cookies and sugary cereal for dinner, and watches bad TV. It’s a little like she’s in her 20s but she’s a little girl. But she misses her parents (what you won’t admit in your 20s) and decides to rescue them in the morning.

The leader of the beans is not scared when she threatens to eat them. “You’ve never eaten a green bean in your life,” he sneers. (See Max act out the scene in a video clip.)

Martha faces her fears.

Gulp. Martha eats all the beans, rescues her parents, and settles into a life of eating less threatening veggies. But does she? That nice leafy salad looks menacing.

Little Pea
Little Pea written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace, is about the culinary habits of vegetables. Little Pea is a happy little guy, except at dinner. Did you know peas eat candy for dinner? And his parents make him eat it.

For some reason, I like to read this story sounding like Tom Haverford, Aziz Ansari’s character on NBC’s Parks and Recreation. I know I’m weird but it works.

Yum. Yum. Extra Yum.

My boys crack up at the image of little Pea eating his candy. “One. Yuck. Two. Blech. Three. Plck. Four. Pleh.” This is a line my family often repeats in daily life.

Little Pea finally gets dessert. Spinach! “Yum. Yum. Extra yum.” (Another great line we repeat.)

“But candy is dessert and spinach is regular food,” Calvin said. “It’s all mixed up!”

Little pea and his parents live “hap-pea-ly ever after.”

How to find these books and more info

After checking out How Martha Saved Her Parents From Green Beans about 20 times from the library, we bought it. You can find it at Cincinnati’s Blue Manatee or order it from Powell’s City of Books. Author LaRochelle is also a pumpkin carver! Check out his designs and other books on his website. Mark Fearing offers green bean coloring pages on his website. His blog features mean green beans and other cool stuff.

You can find Little Pea at Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s little books at Chronicle Books or Rosenthal’s website. She’s also the co-author of another wonderful book that we love, Exclamation Mark with Tom Lichtenheld. My husband and I discovered it at Carmichael’s in Louisville, Kentucky. Lichtenheld is also the author of the Max and Calvin approved Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site.

Take a moment to peruse Rosenthal’s site. She has adult books, art projects, the works. I also found the illustrations on Jen Corace’s site beautiful.

Shout out to Melissa Currence for helping and inspiring me with this blog!

21Feb2015

Kissing cousins and being weird is cool

Posted in Uncategorized by juliamace2015

How do you know a book is a hit? Ask a six-year-old if they like it. If their eyes get big and they retell you the entire story at a fast pace, complete with dramatic hand gestures, I’d say it’s a win.

This was my niece Margot’s response to the book Two Speckled Eggs written and illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann. Calvin and I love this book so we got it for Margot for Christmas.

Margot and Calvin love each other. They also love Two Speckled Eggs.

Let me tell you about Margot and Calvin. These first cousins have a soft spot for each other. When they kissed on vacation last year, Max proclaimed, “They’re married!” (The boys were four and Margot five at the time.) This made us all laugh, except maybe my brother. Fast forward a few months and Calvin started wearing a fake ring. When someone asked him where he got it, he seriously said, “I got it when I married Margot.” When I tried to tell him he really wasn’t married to Margot (and it’s not the Civil War era) he got mad so I let it be.

The love continued. At our family reunion in Columbus, Ohio, Calvin tried to kiss Margot in front of all MY first cousins. My husband Eddie told them, “That’s how we do it down south.” On Christmas Day, I overheard Margot say to Calvin, “I know you like me the best because you always try to kiss me.”

Calvin came home from school the other day and said he was “over Margot” because he now likes two other girls. It’s ok, because unbeknownst to him, Margot told her mom she doesn’t want to be married. As for Max, he told me he wants to “live alone in an apartment.” (And yes, I know they will be mad at me for sharing this someday. But it’s too good!)

Lyla gives Ginger the best gift of all.

Back to the book. I think most of us can relate to remembering the weird kid at school or maybe we were that weird kid. In Two Speckled Eggs it’s Lyla Browning, the kid who smells funny and brings a tarantula to school. Then there is Ginger who is having a birthday party and doesn’t want to invite Lyla. Ginger’s mom, like all moms everywhere, insists that she invite Lyla to her birthday party.

This book puts a special twist on the message that the person you think is weird is surprisingly interesting and fun. I love everything about it: the story, the illustrations, and the descriptions.

Ginger’s friends don’t end up listening to her at her birthday party and they don’t appreciate her special “silver and gold cake.” Except for Lyla Browning. Lyla also gives Ginger the best present – a homemade nest with two chocolate eggs in it. After everyone leaves the party, Ginger and Lyla pretend to be birds and peck at the beloved silver and gold cake.

Calvin and I love reading this book together. We love reading about the tarantula, the cake, the chocolate eggs, and we really love the part where they pick at it like birds. (I have to admit that in a house full of boys, this feminist makes sure we read about girls.) But it’s not a book for girls it’s just a great book.

Where to find the book and other info

We discovered this book at the Clifton branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. You can buy it directly from its publisher, Candlewick Press. Mann has another book I Will Never Get A Star on Mrs. Benson’s Blackboard coming out in June. It looks awesome. And who doesn’t remember not getting stars at some point in school?

Special shout out to Leslie Cannon for serving as my Editor At Large.

14Feb2015

My friend published a book! (It has butt in the title)

Posted in Author Interviews, Uncategorized by juliamace2015

The title of this book would make my boys laugh. Little boys love the word butt.

On a serious note, Smart Butt: Scenes from a Bold-Faced Life (starring Earlene) is a novel especially geared toward middle grade readers (grades 4-6). I’ve read it twice, I so enjoyed it. My friend Erin Fitzgerald wrote this marvelous book. Erin is a renaissance woman. Service coordinator, mom to teenagers, she’s also a creative force as a writer, musician, and radio personality in Louisville, Kentucky.

Earlene is just turning twelve-years-old and she grabs my heart. She’s figuring out the life of a preteen, a mean girl at school, a mom that’s recovering, and a dad on sabbatical (jail). She has a loving family, has made friends with a homeless dog and can make anything out of duct tape.

Erin, who I met on a writing retreat, answers questions about her book:

Erin Fitzgerald. Photo by Becky LeCron.

Erin, how did the character Earlene come to you? Or what inspired you to write about her?

Earlene came to me – in a way – during the 2011 Writers’ Workshop at Hindman Settlement School in Hindman, KY. She was not yet named Earlene, but that is where the idea came for the first story written in that voice, which later was adapted and became a chapter in the book (“The Broken Give-a-Darner”). I think I was mostly inspired by some of the writing prompts we were doing in the Writing for Children classes, led by George Ella Lyon. She has a wonderful way of making you go back into your child self, and remember what the world was like through that filter. That whole week, it seemed I could not help from viewing everything around me from a child’s eyes. It was exhausting, but inspiring. The following year, Earlene grew into a full-blown character and took over, eventually demanding inclusion in more than just a few stories. She had more to say, so she kept hanging around, riding shotgun everywhere I went. (Or maybe I was the one riding shotgun . . .)

Is there any of yourself in Earlene? Why a novel for children?

Earlene is not me, by any stretch, but I do see some of myself in her for sure. I think it is hard to write from where you are and to write what you know, as they say, without putting elements of yourself – and people you have encountered some way or another – into your stories. But she is definitely a fictional character, and has a personality all her own. Some of that personality I think I determined early on, and then much of it presented itself to me over time.

Erin is a singer-songwriter. Photo by Kim Torres.

As for the format, I did not have any plan to write a novel. (This could be considered a short novel, because of its intended audience, but is more the length of a novella – about 80 pages.) My intention was always just to write a series of short stories, or “snapshots” about Earlene. I was not sure at the time how interconnected they might be – I was just enjoying the short format. As Earlene’s stories continued to unfold, it became evident that her plan was different from mine, and hers eventually won out.

My compromise, once I realized this was going to be a novel of sorts, was twofold: to make each chapter have some standalone element to it, and to keep both the chapters and book short, so that it might be accessible to different types of readers. I also wanted to be sure and include subject matter that reflects some of the types of situations I see kids navigating in real life all the time. Kids of all ages experience challenging situations regarding family, friends, neighborhood dynamics, school, etc. – and while the more intense content is frequent in books for young adults, I do not see it as often in fiction for middle grade readers. I worry that some people feel that difficult subject matter is “too much” for kids in that age range, but I find it is relevant to a lot of kids’ real-life experiences. So many kids are already dealing with these things at younger ages, so I think it is only fair to see them included in the books they read.

Tell me about the duct tape. Do you make things out of duct tape?

Good question, and the short answer is: I do now! I am honestly not sure where the duct tape thing came from. When I was in grade school, there were various things we did that were similar, such as glue bracelets, friendship bracelets, friendship pins, things like that. I knew I wanted Earlene to have a quirky creative outlet of some sort, and it ended up being duct tape. Since then, I have really enjoyed dabbling in duct tape myself.

Have your kids read the book? Any reaction?

Yes, they read it and said they liked it, but it is hard to gauge reactions from them. (Part of that is likely due to them being my kids, and part due to their age at the time. They were almost 15 when they read it, which is just a little bit older than the intended audience.) The most positive feedback I have gotten has been from kids ages 9-12, and from adults.

You mentioned you were using the book in school settings or at work. Can you tell me about that?

I am currently using bits and pieces of the book, along with related games and activities, in a community-based program with families in transition. I am also working with a couple of local actors to develop a small-scale stage adaptation to present to school and community groups.

Can you tell me a favorite children’s book that you read with your kids and why?

When they were very little, we read together all the time. They loved books with rhyme and rhythm most of all. Some of our favorites at the earlier ages were: Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb (written by Al Perkins, illustrated by Eric Gurney); Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (written by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert); and anything by Dr. Seuss. As they got older and began to read independently, they devoured all chapter books, though often chose to read on their own. And though I was glad they were so interested in books, and so independent in reading, I quickly grew to miss the days of reading picture books with two kids on my lap. During their middle grade years, our reading time diminished significantly, though we did still read passages to each other and discussed the books we were reading, even when we did not always share in the reading time itself. Now that they are teenagers, we sometimes pass books back and forth, and that is a nice feeling. I miss it when we go too long without some sort of shared reading experience.

Can you tell me more about the play adaption you are working on?

Earlene makes art out of duct tape.

The play adaptation is a very simple version of the Smart Butt stories. I am working with two local actors, and the three of us are taking turns in each scene playing the part of Earlene, as the other two do some scene acting and creative movement in the background. As I said, it is a small-scale project, and kind of a pilot project at this point. Our plan is to do one performance in a traditional school setting, one performance in a non-traditional educational setting for kids, and one community performance, open to the public. The timeline is still being negotiated, but should all take place during this school year, so by the end of May at the latest. I am grateful we have had enough supporters to do this pilot project, and we are having fun with it so far.

Thanks, Erin!

Where to buy the book and other info

You can buy Erin’s book published by Motes Books from her website. Two of my favorite Kentucky bookstores also sell it, The Morris Book Shop in Lexington and Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville. Visit Erin’s website to find out more about her music, writing, and teaching.

Erin mentioned attending a George Ella Lyon workshop. Max and Calvin were gifted two of her books that they love. (Thanks, Kate!) We recommend Planes Fly! and Trucks Roll! Planes Fly! has beautiful art and was a great read before the boys’ first flight. Trucks Roll! uses fun rhymes and visuals. Of course, Calvin gives it a thumbs up because it includes transportation and signs. If you are a teacher, Trucks Roll! has a lesson plan available with it.

7Feb2015

Wicked good books

Posted in Uncategorized by juliamace2015

One of Stacey’s birthday parties. She’s holding up something. I’m on her left in the white dress and bowl cut. (I’m still friends with some of these girls!)

When I was a kid, all the girls in my class wanted to get invited to Stacey’s house. Her home was complete with lots of rooms, teenage siblings, a beautiful mom that wore Dr. Scholl’s, a silver Trans Am, an outside playhouse, guinea pigs, and a secret passageway that led to a secret room.

I’m happy to say Stacey and I are back in touch. She’s a vet and mom to two kids. They gifted us two of their favorite books hailing from their former home of Maine.

The Circus Ship
In 1836, a side-wheel steamer ship set off with an unusual cargo – circus animal, people, and a band. A festive crowd gave it a big send-off. Tragically, the boat caught fire, people perished, and rumors lingered that the animals made it to islands on the Maine coast.

Chris Van Dusen was inspired by these true-life events when he wrote the gorgeous (and happy) The Circus Ship. His ship capsizes off the coast of Maine and the animals swim to shore and begin living among the people. At first they are seen as pests but in a plot twist, “the animals weren’t bothersome, the animals were kind!” the villagers come to love them.

This isle of Maine is crazy for animals.

During our last reading, Max pointed out, “Well Mama, in real life, I don’t think the lion would get along with the people because of his sharp teeth.”

When the evil circus owner comes back to claim the animals, the townspeople disguise their new friends. This page of the book never fails to be fun; you have to find the hiding animals. My boys never tire of it.

The Wicked Big Toddlah
If you’re a parent, you’ve experienced the beauty and stress of toddlerhood. Everything is a joy and a death trap. Imagine if your baby was a giant. This is the premise for Kevin Hawkes’ The Wicked Big Toddlah. Toddie, a Maine baby, is so wicked big he comes home on the back of a flatbed truck. The antics of Toddie and an entire town trying to care for him are hilarious.

“How do you think that toddler got those big clothes and that big hat?” Max asked.

“This caution tape is holding the people back because that diaper is the stinkiest thing in the world!” said Max.

A favorite page for my family is when he gets his diaper changed; a helicopter hovers with talc. Poop never gets old with this crowd.

My memory of having two wicked big toddlers is pretty sharp, through a sleep-deprived lens. Thinking of a giant toddler gives me a wicked big stomach!

Where to buy these books and other info
Buy The Circus Ship from Van Dusen’s website and he’ll direct you to Indie bookstores. I’ve been meaning to check out his book about Cincinnati native President William Howard Taft. President Taft is Stuck in the Bath looks hilarious.

I’ve bought The Wicked Big Toddlah from Cincinnati’s Blue Manatee Bookstore and deCafe. If they don’t have it, they will order it. If you buy it off Hawkes’ website, he will sign it. My boys also love The Wicked Big Toddlah Goes To New York.