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."

Time to Gather

Happy Thanksgiving!

A couple of ideas:

* In addition to the contributions that your family and guests bring to your feast, ask them to also bring a contribution for your local food bank. Bag up the non-perishables and can goods, and drop them off next week to help replenish supplies.

* Feast on reading! To settle down after the holiday festivities, gather the young and young-at-heart for story time. Drag out old favorites and new additions and take turns reading picture books aloud.

Enjoy the season of Hope and Peace.

Cover: Feast For 10, Clarion Books, 1993

Many Voices

Stop by and say hello! I will be signing books at

Many Voices, a free Multicultural Book Fair for Families

Saturday, November 22,  10 - 1

Breakwater School Gym, 

856 Brighton Avenue,

 Portland, Maine

More information: bamboo@maine.rr.com 

Explore books that take  your child around the world. The fair features children's books depicting cultures of China, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, as well as African American, Native American, Latino American, Jewish American, Muslim American and immigration books. 

Make your own origami butterfly, just like Kiri in  Butterflies for Kiri. There will also be treats, clothing, face painting, balloon tying and more activities for children.

Presented by the Chinese & American Friendship Association of Maine's Chinese School. Titles selected by Curious City and provided by Books Etc.  Discount of 20% for educators.

Oh! And here's a poster you can download: P O S T E R.

Saying Goodbye

Bailey, my loyal friend and companion, died yesterday at 14. His unconditional love cheered me on stressful days, and his persuit of ripe tomatoes and fallen pears made him an eager gardening buddy. He was a gentle soul who I will greatly miss.

Voices for Children

There is a time for silence, and a time to speak out for what you believe. I have joined over 1000 authors and illustrators of books for children in endorsing Senator Barack Obama for President, because we care about the future of children.

Please visit the AIC site for additional information, and for the full list of author and illustrator names.

VOTE! Your voice can help change the world.

Walter at the Library

The new youth services librarian at Baxter Memorial Library in Gorham, Maine, Kathy Stevens, sent me this photo. Walter, a story-loving iquana, visited the library today. He took a particular interest in the Swallowtail butterfly on the mural I painted on the library's wall there several years ago. Here's the other mural, too:

And here are my sunflowers--saying farewell to the garden, now that the season is turning.

It was a good garden year: peas, lettuce, blackberries, basil, tomatoes, peppers, squash, carrots, pumpkins, and a MYSTERY VINE! Which, as it happens, is the name of my new picture book with Greenwillow Books. It will be released next summer. The dog is Bailey, our 14-year-old faithful friend, who has just come from the orchard where he helps himself to pears several times a day. 

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.