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Books from my Childhood

I’ve been reading the Harry Potter series to my kids, and it’s been awesome. And not just because I can get them to do their chores with the promise of reading another chapter. They’ve loved it!

But doing so has really brought back memories of my childhood. Curled up on the floor or in my bed, listening to my mom read stories to us. I even remember staying home sick from high school (HIGH SCHOOL !!!), and laying on the couch listening to her read to me. She has been a long-time lover of children’s literature, and I directly attribute my obsession with it to her.

—–> This is me way back then, so you can better imagine me sitting on my mom’s lap, listening to stories.—->

There weren’t nearly as many choices back then, but what there was, she found them. I wanted to mention a few, because not only have all of these amazing books have influenced who I am, but these authors were the pioneers that made what I’m doing even possible.

As a little kid, my mom read picture books to us. A few stand out in my memory as ones we made her and my dad read over and over and over. THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK by Jon Stone was the BEST.

Fear of the unknown was a real thing for me back then. (Okay, it still is.) I remember hating to go downstairs on my own, because WHO KNEW what might come out of that big pot-belled wood-burning stove down there??? And it was dark. And it smelled funny. And the carpet had this crazy brown and orange pattern that could start spinning and might HYPNOTIZE me, and what would I do then???

Point being, I got Grover. I understood! I sympathized with his fears. But I still laughed every time we turned that page, and the story got messier and messier, and the pages got rattier and rattier (both figuratively and literally because we read that book so much). I LOVED being part of the story. It was all so real. Even though of course I knew it wasn’t.

And I don’t want to ruin the ending for any of you who might not have read it (and if so, watch out for the Goodreads link above . . . they aren’t so careful), but this book made me braver. It helped me step up my courage, and you know what? I dared go downstairs on my own (okay, maybe not at night, but baby steps, people). I dared press forward into the unknown. Because lets face it. Life is full of A LOT of unknown. This book was a real part of my childhood. One that influenced me big time. So thank you, Jon Stone for writing it! Thank you, Sesame Street Creators for making such a great character!

And I realize this is all going to take more space than one blog post can handle, so I’ll just have to blog about this again. In the mean time, tell me about a book that influenced your childhood. I’d love to hear!

Speak up:

3 comments

| TAGS:

books, childhood, fears, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Jon Stone, Sesame Street, The Monster at the End of this Book

Fancy Nancy Festivities (a fancy word for “parties”)

I was first introduced to Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor almost 6 years ago when I discovered the original book on display in the library. Even though I was never a Fancy Nancy, I thought it was brilliant! My daughter was an infant at the time, but I read it to her (and my boys who also thought it was very fun).

And who knew that my daughter would turn out to be the fanciest of Nancies?

So when my local library threw a Fancy Nancy party, I was all over that. And so was my daughter.

We RSVP’d, and my daughter dressed up in her fanciest clothes. She even borrowed a hat from our neighbor.

At the party we decorated tiaras.

We ate cookies and punch.

We listened to Fancy Nancy books.

And when it was over, we decided that we simply must throw a Fancy Nancy party of our own. The plans are in the works.

What I love about this book is that it encourages individualism, and that it finds a sneaky and fun way to introduce new vocabulary. Kids are tricked into learning! It doesn’t get much better than that. 😉

How about you? Who is one of your favorite characters from a book?

Speak up:

2 comments

| TAGS:

books, Fancy Nancy, Jane O'Connor, local Libraries, Party

In Which the Ten-Year-Old Takes Over

Today, I am going to turn my blog over to my ten-year-old. He is a devourer of books, and tells me he could talk about books for days and days. So without further ado, here he is:

I find books very fascinating because they are able to take you to places you wouldn’t be able to go in real life. And when you are focused on a book, it starts to come alive in your mind. Pictures soaring through your thoughts. Personally, I prefer realistic fiction, and fantasy, and historical fiction.

I also enjoy mystery books. A to Z Mysteries are especially enjoyable. I find it quite interesting because in the mysteries they start asking the questions about who it could be and then they take their thoughts into an experiment and go through it like the scientific method.

My favorite book is called ICE FIRE by Chris D’Lacey which is the 2nd book of the Last Dragon trilogy. It is a very enjoyable book and when you read it, it feels like you are entirely swept away to another world.

For generations a family has created clay dragons that live and breathe fire. They can create these dragons because they are descendants of the last dragon. Then one day, a young boy comes to them as an exchange college student, and he discovers their secret. Later on during ICE FIRE, a witch tries to force the family to create her a real dragon, unlike the clay ones. The young boy is caught up in an enchantment by this witch and has to find his way out and save the day.

The reason I like ICE FIRE is because it doesn’t reveal everything that’s going on in the beginning. It kept me turning pages because I wanted to find out what was going on.

What is your favorite book? Why?

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7 comments

| TAGS:

A to Z Mysteries, books, chris D'Lacey, guest blogger, Icefire, Last Dragon trilogy, Ten-year-old

What I’m Reading: 10-y.o. Edition

We make frequent trips to the library at our house (luckily it’s super close), and 10-year-old always leaves with stacks and stacks of books. I try to limit him to what will fit in the library bag–but it doesn’t always happen that way. I think it’s really interesting to see what others are reading, so here is a snapshot of just a few of his recent selections*:

What does your TBR (to-be-read) pile look like?

P.S. Don’t forget to enter for your chance to win a signed copy of Gaby, Lost and Found. You can find the Rafflecopter HERE.

*I may have read some of these, too. 😉

Speak up:

10 comments

| TAGS:

books, library books, Peggy Eddleman, reading, Sky Jumpers, TBR pile, Transformers

Your Fortune is Changing

Since it’s Labor Day here in the USA, I’ll be brief.

We had Chinese take-out on Saturday and my fortune was so good I wanted to share it with you all:

So what book do you go to for rest and escape?

Speak up:

13 comments

| TAGS:

books, Chinese food, Fortune cookie, fortunes

Happy News and High Heels

Before I cut you a slice of my humble pie humiliation, I wanted to share some great news:

Angela Cervantes, one of the amazing writers in my critique group just had her book announced in Publisher Weekly!

So very excited for her! You can check out Angela’s website, or congratulate her on Twitter: @AngelaCervantes. Yay Angela! Doing the happy dance for you. 😀

Now, on to that other thing. Video #4.

(For those who don’t know, Leigh Moore and I  were doing a 30K in 30 days challenge, and the pennance for missing a day was posting a Hacky Sack Club video. I missed 5 times!!!)

For the record, I sustained an injury in the making of this video. Darned high heels gouged me! I guess this’ll teach me not to skip out on writing.

And if you haven’t entered, and want a chance to win one of those books, you still have time! Just CLICK HERE. (Wow. Writing it in all caps like that makes it look kindof spammy. But it’s not. I promise.)

So can you walk with a book on your head?

Speak up:

17 comments

| TAGS:

Angela Cervantes, books, High Heels, Leigh Moore

Humiliation With a Side of Awesome

As promised, video #3. Here I reveal some of my lesser-known talents. What are they? You’ll have to watch to find out! *cue evil laughter*

(For those who don’t know, Leigh Moore and I were doing a 30K in 30 days challenge, and the pennance for missing a day was posting a Hacky Sack Club video.)

Oh! The subterfuge of it all!! Sneaky little beggar.

Despite appearances, the side of awesome I mentioned is not my son (though even I have to admit it was pretty funny). The side of awesome is that I am giving away a boatload of books!

Since we are moving, I’m trying to clear off my shelves. Rather than give my precious books to just anyone, I thought I would offer them up to my lovely followers. Unfortunately, and I hate to do it, but since there are so many, I just don’t think I can afford the international postage on that many items, I’m going to have to limit it to US/Canada.

Okay, but now I feel too bad, soooo, I will draw the name of one international commenter and send them a book. So here are the rules:

1. You must be a follower.
2. Leave a comment with your e-mail and please mention if you are international or US/Canada.
3. For international participants, you have until May 29th to enter, and hopefully I’ll have the winners posted by Thursday.
4. For the rest of you, the contest is on-going until the books are gone and I announce the end. I’ll start picking winners at random very soon. Tomorrow maybe? Don’t you just love the randomness of it all?

No extra entries for tweeting or passing on the word, but I would love it if you did!

There will be as many winners as I have books to give away (which is a lot), and as a thanks to pay it forward (NTM, you’re the best!), one lucky random person will also win a $10 Starbucks card (I don’t drink coffee, so when my husband won it at work, I knew just what to do with it!).

Please note, the books are used (read at least once), but they are all in very good shape, and most are pretty recent. Most.

And since it will be a media mailer, there won’t be a warm, fuzzy note with it, but know it’s there in spirit.

Love you guys! Thanks for reading my posts, and laughing at my crazy videos (you DID laugh, didn’t you?!!!). Thanks for your support and for generally keeping me sane in this Wonderland World we call Publishing.

Speak up:

11 comments

| TAGS:

books, Giveaway, Hacky Sack Club, Leigh Moore, Starbucks

Let It Snow!

Yesterday we finally got some snow. Kids got out early from school, and my kids didn’t want to come in.

I couldn’t help smiling at the memories of my own childhood. . . . Making snow angels, throwing snow balls, building snowmen, pink frozen noses and cheeks. Then coming in to hot chocolate and toast.

We read “The Snowy Day,” by Ezra Jack Keats, and the afternoon was a perfect little picture of a childhood winter.

So what is your favorite winter book? What are your favorite memories of a childhood winter?

Speak up:

15 comments

| TAGS:

books, childhood, Ezra Jack Keats, Snow, snow angels, The Snowy Day