Children's Book Week

Happy CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK!

The 2013 Children's Choice Book Awards were just announced on Monday.
John Green's THE FAULT IN OUR STARS was selected Book of the Year.
Robin Preiss Glasser of FANCY NANCY fame was chosen Illustrator of the Year.
For a complete list of the winners, click on the link above.

Do you have a favorite book you think is worthy of an award?
I hope you've been reading some terrific stories of late--I know I am always at work trying to write them.

The Missing Cookbooks

Yesterday, I posted an article about May being MYSTERY month--celebrating mystery books. Well, today I read about a real-life book mystery.

In Buck's County (PA), the Southampton Free Library has a mysterious problem in the children's department. 100 children's COOKBOOKS have disappeared--including four brand new ones, bought to replace some of the missing cookbooks!

Hopefully, the guilty party will return the cookbooks, but at this point the Library has no suspects. I'd call this culprit a low down dirty worm, and not the tasty type you can stir up yourself if you go to the Recipes section on my site.

Everyone knows library books are for sharing--not for taking. If you have a recipe you'd like to share, send it to me and I'll share it here on my website.

Happy reading and cooking!

Mysterious May

Happy May Day!

While May brings warmer temps and colorful flowers, it also brings mystery.
That's right, May celebrates mystery books.

BOOKLIST provides a sampling of mysteries for younger readers, along with ways to incorporate elements of the books that emphasize Common Core State Standards.

Older readers might enjoy my friend, Jody Feldman's THE SEVENTH LEVEL, a middle school secret  society keeps readers guessing until the very end.

As for real-life mysteries, I'm still trying to find where the yellow circle from my grandson's shapes box has disappeared to. And while the elephant puppet claims he doesn't know anything about it, I have my suspicions. You see, he now has a rather large, round lump in his trunk...

Poetry Month Give-Away

One of my writing friends, Peggy Archer--a gem of a poet, is featuring other children's poets on her blog this month. Check out the details below and a chance to win one of her delightful picture books!

To celebrate poetry month I'm posting Wednesday interviews with four teriffic children' s authors who write poetry. This week I posted an interview with Heidi Roemer from Illinois. Coming up are interviews with Amy Sklansky, from Missouri, Judith Roth, from Indiana, and Donna Bateman, from Missouri.

I'm also giving away two of my picture books (poetry collections) , FROM DAWN TO DREAMS and NAME THAT DOG, in a drawing at the end of the month. To be entered just leave a comment on any of my April blog posts at http://www.peggyarc her.com/blog. htm

Happy Poetry Month! 

St. Patrick's Day Shenanigans

Are you all ready for a St. Patrick's Day celebration this weekend?

Try your luck at this Leprechaun puzzle.

Or if you'd like to discover how to write a Limerick, check out this information and write an example on a shamrock, no less.

And of course, there are always fun Irish stories to read. In A POT OF GOLD by Kathleen Krull, you'll be sure to find plenty of entertaining shenanigans.

Thanks to illustrator, Kit Grady, for this lovely fairy picture. She's the awesome illustrator for two of my Pet Grammar Parade books, DOGGIE DAY CAMP and HAMSTER HOLIDAYS.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A SUPER Writing Contest for Kids

If you are in grades 3-6, you can enter the BE A SUPER HERO, READ! contest sponsored by Capstone Publishing and DC Comics. All you have to do is write about a super hero in your life--a real one, that is.

Winners get an exclusive tour of DC Entertainment Offices, a tour of Warner Brothers Animation Studio, and a set of Capstone Man of Steel chapter books.

Who is the Wonder Woman or Man in your life? Write about him or her and you may have the chance for some SUPER prizes.

A Nutritious and Delicious Treat

The March issue GUARDIAN ANGEL KIDS magazine is available free online. This month it features stories, articles, and crafts on nutrition. The online magazine is in a flipbook format, so it's fun and easy to take a peek inside.

For a yummy, nutritious treat you can make yourself, try this recipe for Southwest BLT Rollups. You'll enjoy making them as much as eating them.