Margo's Musings: Feeling Wild?

On a recent visit to The Hickory Stick, a lovely local bookshop, we spotted Wendell and Florence Minor signing books. It’s exciting to meet authors and illustrators, and we had fun learning more about their stories. It was hard to decide which one to buy with so many great titles, but Margo and I love animals, so Daylight Starlight Wildlife won. 

This book has gorgeous illustrations that depict animals in the day and at night. It’s a wonderful way to learn about wildlife, and there are interesting things to search for in the realistic illustrations. We played “I Spy” while reading, and the game was super fun because there's so much to see in every picture.

Where are they going? What are they doing? 

Has anyone else read Daylight Starlight Wildlife? Or have you read another book written or illustrated by Wendell or Florence Minor? 
We'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Happy Reading!
~F

Tune in Saturday to catch our illustrator spotlight

Artists' Corner: Featuring an interview with Wendell Minor, hosted by David SanAngelo

Florence & Wendell Minor signing books at
The Hickory Stick bookshop

Answer to Monday's Riddle: Nature's Mask

Here's a clue for our review: Illustration by Wendell Minor

Excellent guessing, Riddlers. Birds count! Wildlife comes in many forms. Friday, Margo has a wonderful children's picture book to share, and Saturday we'll be featuring a special interview from the Artists' Corner, so stay tuned! See you all around the book block. ; ) ~ F

Untamed in a real world; talons stretched, wings unfurled. 
Eyes alight behind the trees, many more than than one first sees. 
As above, so below; day and night sing songs we know— 
Crickets chirp, peepers peep, owls swoop low, hares dig deep. 
On matter in space, this paints Mother Nature's face.

What am I referring to? Answer: Wildlife!

Fairday's Riddles: Volume I 

Make time to riddle and rhyme!

62 original riddles and illustrations
Available in all e-book formats

Monday's Riddle: Untamed Heart...

Hello, Riddlers! Can you guess our theme this week? Since I've moved to Connecticut, it's been amazing to watch the activity in my backyard. ; ) ~ F

Untamed in a real world; talons stretched, wings unfurled. 
Eyes alight behind the trees, many more than than one first sees. 
As above, so below; day and night sing songs we know— 
Crickets chirp, peepers peep, owls swoop low, hares dig deep. 
On matter in space, this paints Mother Nature's face.

What am I referring to? Stop by Wednesday for the answer.

I gave you a clue!

Margo's Musings: It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk!

When we walked into the Ashpot Library my little sister, Margo, was immediately drawn to the cover of It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk. I thought the cover looked great too. I'm a big fan of fairy tales (and not simply the Disney ones, but the real fairy tales), so I was excited to get reading.

This book is a twist on the traditional version of Jack and the Beanstalk that most people are familiar with, which is what makes it such a blast. While the reader is being told the story by the narrator, Jack comments with his thoughts on what is happening. Some of the classic elements are included, but the reader can expect a different ending. 

Margo loved this book because she thought it was funny. I totally agree! Jack’s comments made me laugh, and they put a hilarious spin on the story. Edwardian Taylor's bright illustrations really pop off the page. All of the colors and details give the reader a lot to look at, this was especially interesting when we read the book a second time.

The book even inspired us to do some planting. Although the ground is frozen, and we can’t grow anything outside right now, we did plant some bean seeds we bought at the store. They are on the windowsill in the kitchen, and Margo has made sure to use all kinds of magical phrases to help them grow. Of course, she used the spells from the book on our beans! While I don’t think we'll grow a magic beanstalk since they were regular seeds, it will be fascinating to see what happens. I'm guessing there will be more readings of this book in the future!

Has anyone else read It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk? Or have you read another book by Josh Funk? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
~ F

Birthing A Book

STORY SEEDS
By Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson

It could happen anywhere: when you’re talking on the phone, cooking pancakes, out with friends- time and place never matter. It’s what happens in that space that’s important, and it begins with your inner voice saying,

  

“Wait. What did I just think?”

The burst of knowing you had a brilliant idea for a story stops you in your tracks. You don’t want to forget it, so you shift your sight from out to in- that’s the moment when light sees dark, and insight snaps a picture, like the flash of a camera lighting up a room. When the image comes together, what was unknown becomes known, and voila! 

An idea is sparked.

Peering into the event horizon of infinite possibilities, you’re likely to choose that which suits you- meaning every story has an audience. If you like the idea and it makes you excited, let it flow and the creative process begins.

Words spring from the deep well of thought, lining up in rows, pouring onto blank pages. When the clicking keys stop and the writer's eyes read over them, that flash of insight is realized, and a new book is born!

Cultivating story seeds is serious business though, and not for the faint of heart. As a creator you must be fierce in your conviction to bring your story to life, for a harrowing adventure awaits those who decide to birth a book.

Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson
Co-authors of the Fairday Morrow Series

Catch our feature articles on 

WRITING MYSTERIES

I See Dead Quotes

Critique, Editing your MS

Weaving in the Backstory

Working with editors, Collaborating using Google Docs

BOO-K Bones

Skeleton's poetic interpretation on formatting a book