Woodies return

Couldn't decide if I should post here, or on my other blog, but finally landed here because I haven't posted for awhile. We've had alarmingly warm weather here in Maine, so the ice on the pond melted very fast, the peepers and wood frogs are going crazy, and the turtles are elbowing each other on the log to soak up the sun. This morning, the wood ducks returned. I love them--they look hand-painted. Very skittish, though, so I have to photograph them through the glass door 60 feet away. There were three drakes and two hens. At one point they flushed, and the hen flew up in a tree.

Last year we had a nesting pair, and thirteen ducklings arrived! Might these be returning woodies? I do hope they stick around and nest again!

From SCOOT! published by Greenwillow Books, 2008.

Summer on the road

Summer time in Maine, and that means getting out and meeting with kids to share books, art and nature. Last week found me in Grand Lake Stream, Maine--way up "down east"--with the Downeast Lakes Land Trust's summer program for children. A few days later I was closer to home--at the North Gorham Library for "stories around the pond." Later this week I'll be at the Friend's School of Portland on Macworth Island for "stories by the garden."

A young hiker

A special find: a robin's egg shell!

After a production of Turtle Splash and some craft activities, Grand Lake Stream kids and parents headed out for a nature walk.

The North Gorham Library kids had a great time making turtle puppets.

UPDATE: We had nearly 50 children for stories on Macworth Island today! And then we made little critter stick puppets. The creator of these was too shy to have his photo taken, but he let me take one of his duck (left) and turtle (right).

Scoot! StoryTrail

We were dodging raindrops through the gorgeous grounds of the Dawes Arboretum in Newark, Ohio for the opening celebration of their third annual StoryTrail installation. This year's book was one of mine! The pages of Scoot! are laminated onto signs that wind through a trail for kids and their families to follow---skipping, scooting, swinging and zinging.

Like Maine's StoryWalk project, StoryTrail is a great way to combine movement and literacy by getting kids outside to read, run, and have fun.

After following the trail, we had more story time inside, followed by crafts that were provided by the staff of the Licking County Library.

More phots are here: Columbus Dispatch, and on my Flickr site.

The StoryTrail at the Arboretum will be up through October.

Scoot! Through the Snow

As part of their Family Wellness Night activities, Narragansett School in Gorham, Maine, set up the Scoot! StoryWalk out on the playground. Kids and their parents strapped on snowshoes to follow the pages of my book. A nearly full moon was augmented by flood lights provided by the Gorham Fire Department. Although the snow was a little crunchy, readers enjoyed their scoot through the book, and a good time was had by all.

Searching the web

I've spotted several of these gorgeous black and yellow garden spiders around this year. Their distinctive markings, as well as their size (torso is about an inch to an inch and a quarter) make them look a bit scary, but they are harmless to humans. The females weave a zig-zag pattern into the middle of their large webs, thus giving them their other name---writing spider. There are lots of theories for why they do this. I wonder if E.B. White was inspired by these clever creatures when he created Charlotte. Look closely: Can you see "radiant" written in this web?

I made one of these lovely ladies from cut paper for my book, Scoot!, a few years ago.

Bzzzzzzzzzz......

A bird feeder that hangs from a pergola post near our back door has become a perfect home for paper wasps. These little critters are welcomed around here because they go after some of the nasty pests that attack my garden.

They also leave behind their gorgeous nests which they construct from plant fiber and saliva to make paper. I've used this lovely material for collage in a couple of my books. The tree branch on the cover of Scoot! is made from wasp nest paper.

I shot this little video of the wasps at work. Sorry for the jerky quality--I don't have a tripod.

Kids Connect to Nature

On a recent visit to Eight Corners School in Scarborough, Maine, I talked to kids about the amazing critters that wriggle, waggle, scamper and scoot in and around my pond. We acted out Scoot! with animal movements and Turtle Splash! with puppets. Mrs. Wood's second graders sent me a gorgeous stack of drawings about my visit. I wish you could see them all! Here's Brendan's awesome drawing of the critters at Frog Song Pond.

Basking

Squirrels may be collecting acorns to store for the long Maine winter, but the turtles of Frog Song Pond are gathering sunlight. Four of them braved a chilly wind today to soak up some rays, reminding me of the illustrations I made for Scoot! and Turtle Splash, with all those teeny tiny pieces of paper. This one looked particularly pensive, perhaps reflecting on summer memories before hibernating in the bottom of the pond.

More frogs and turtles and other critters, are here.

Sunday Heron

I've only seen this amazing creature once this summer--about two weeks ago. I've been watching for him (her?) every day. This morning, while trying, in vain, to photograph a particularly stunning dragonfly, I looked up.....and there was the magnificient bird. I wasn't able to get a photo of his flight, but watched in awe as this huge creature gracefully lifted off the log and flew down the pond.  

Camden Library Illustration Show

The Camden Public Library on Main Street in Camden, Maine, is presenting an exhibition of children's book illustrations by six Maine illustrators. There will be a reception, open to the public, on Tuesday,  August 11th at 6:30 pm. Come and say hello!

Exhibiting in this show: Noah Z. Jones, L.A. Meyer, Garvin Morris, Jim Sollers, and Jay Piscopo ...and me!

This will be an interesting show of diverse styles and mediums. Many pieces will be offered for sale as well.

The show will be up for the month of August. Check the Camden Library site for hours.

Illustrations here are from SCOOT!  written & illustrated by Cathryn Falwell.

Greenwillow Books, 2008

and MORE tree house!

A friend requested a photo of my tree house, so here it is. Note that this is MY tree house---not my children's--and has screens and steps. My carpenter neighbor built it for me two years ago.  This isn't my studio, but it IS a grand place to observe the critters at Frog Song Pond.

The little froggy here is from SCOOT!

Creative Kids at L.L. Bean

School vacation time in Maine, so what better to do than make turtle puppets?

L.L. Bean in Freeport hosted a week of children's book folks to read, make things, and have fun with kids. At least 80 small puppet makers stopped by to make SCOOT turtles with me, and then led their critters down to my portable pond for a splash. 

Photos: Kirsten Cappy, Curious City

Splashin' Around the Pond

Pre-school Story Time at Baxter Memorial Library, Gorham, Maine

March 10th, 9:30 am

We'll gather around the pond for stories, puppets and fun!

Scooting onto lists

I'm delighted to discover that Scoot! appears on several mock Caldecott lists. I know that this has no bearing on the actual Caldecott awards, but it's a real honor to have my book enjoyed by readers in libraries around the country. Here are some that we have heard about:

Fort Wayne, IN

Bergen County, NJ

Wichita, KS

Evansville, IN

Arapahoe District, CO

Cranston, RI 

Butler County, OH

Glendale, AZ

Chicago Public Library

And HERE are some fun projects from Scoot! and Turtle Splash! for kids, placed online by Greenwillow Books.

        At a recent Scoot! book signing event at L.L.Bean in Freeport, Maine, I brought along art supplies so children could create bookmarks and cards. Here is a young artist who stopped by.

Scoot! is also a 2008 Wilde Award book:

"Active language and vibrant collages bring a pond 

and its inhabitants alive in this captivating book to get you over life's little bumps."

Books & Blooms

Authors, illustrators and readers all enjoyed a lovely day at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens on July 12th at Books & Blooms--an annual event sponsored by The Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.  Great work by Wayne Sheridan, Event Chair, and executive director Shonna Milliken, as well as Olympian organization by Barbara Kelly and her staff from the USM Bookstore made this a wonderful success. It was fun to see friends in the "biz" and meet other authors, teachers, parents and kids. Story Walk got lots of positive response as well. Among the more than 60 book folks at the festival was the remarkable Dahlov Ipcar, who was there to sign copies of the recently reissued The Little Fisherman by Margaret Wise Brown.

The folks at the Botanical Garden treated us quite royally, and Mother Nature produced perfect Maine Postcard weather.