A Goldilock's Kind Of A Week

Not often, but sometimes, I have a Goldilock's kind of a week. You know, one that is just right. A week that is not too busy nor too humdrum. This week was a week like that. Emily and I did our home school lessons. She attended choir like normal. And on Friday we took the day off to get ready for her to go to church camp. A little laundry washed, a little packing, and voila, she was ready to go. She was excited to be going with her bestie, her cousin, and other friends, so I took a few pictures to remember the day. It was a happy moment and some photo bombing even happened.

While she was gone, I had the opportunity to work in the yard a bit. I love, love, love my trees, but they do reqire some work.

And of course, I read some kidlit. My first book was by the ever so talented Kwame Alexander. I previously reviewed Kwame's, The Acoustic Rooster And His Barnyard Band,which is an incredibly good book and a perfect addition to any home schooling music curriculum. This time, however, I read, Surf's Up, which is a book encouraging kids to read books. Two frogs are going surfing, but the first frog says he has to finish reading first. The beautiful art shows us the adventure frog one is taking in his mind as he reads his book. Eventually frog two, who thought reading was boring, is enticed into reading the book himself.

The second book I read was a non fiction picture book about a young girl living in the White House during Franklin Roosevelt's term called, Diana's White House Garden. It was war time and Diana wanted to be useful even though she was only ten. She tired many things, all which turned out poorly, but then President Roosevelt decided everyone should plant Victory Gardens. Mrs. Roosevelt put Diana in charge and showed her how to take care of the tiny plants. I generally love biography type picture books and this one was no exception.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Happy Fall Y'all

Fall is here, and along with the vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow, a crispness is in the air. The type of temperature which is quite conducive to having backyard fires in the fire pit. And of course there is also the raking, but i decided to put that off until later. Instead, I spent the week doing everyday things. I visited my hairdresser for a trim. I made some more apple butter. I took my car in to have the oil changed. And, best of all, I spent time with one of my besties and the other half of The Story Sisters team.

So I decided some fallish books would be in order this week. The first book I read called, Animal House, had a beautiful cover of two squirrels sitting in their living room. I had mixed feelings about this book. I loved the artwork. I loved that a different animals perspective of how to build a proper home was delivered on each page. I love the surprise on the last page. But the story was told in rhyme and the rhythm didn't always work as I read along which was a bit distracting. I would still suggest you try to find this book at your library or online because the house they show at the end of the book is pretty spectacular.

The second book I read was How to Catch a Falling Star. This book is adorable both in terms of artwork and story. Eagerly Bear waits for the last star to fall from the tree. He thinks the last star, which is actually a leaf, has magic that he can wish on. As he waits, forest friends join him one at a time. Bear finds out that he can't wish on the star, but what he wanted comes true anyways.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Help This Author, Ten Thousand Followers Campaign

I knew becoming a children's author would be difficult, but when I started this journey six years ago, I never realized just how difficult. I had what I like to call the Field of Dreams mentality. I thought, if I wrote it, they would come. After all, if what I wrote was good material wouldn't it be easy to get an agent, find a publisher, and gain a large following of book loving, book buying fans? Okay, you can stop laughing now. I learned how wrong that idea was the hard way.

 
When I first attempted to write a children's book and to get published, I knew virtually nothing. Having always been the studious type, I began to do research. Everything I read said you needed an agent, so I set about to get an agent. Little did I know at the time that not all agents or agencies are created equal, and I ended up with an unscrupulous agency that nickled and dimed me to death. They did send out my manuscript, however, after over forty rejections rolled in they told me they wouldn't send my manuscript out any more. Needless to say we parted ways.

I then tried sending my first story to small presses that accepted unsolicited manuscripts. That didn't work out so well either. Finally, I found a small press that was a hybrid publisher. They accepted new authors but with a fee. I know some of you are cringing at this point because everyone says publishers don't ever charge unless they are a vanity press or a scam. But after doing thorough research, weighing my options, and counting the cost, I decided to go that route.

Six years and five books later, I have been happy with my publisher. I have even moved from the hybrid contract to a traditional contract where I pay nothing. I have worked hard to build a network of fellow authors and illustrators that I can count on to support me as I support them. I have worked hard to get invited to invitation only book festivals. I have worked to get invited to schools, libraries, and other speaking events. And, I have worked at building my brand and building up my social media following.

 

And yet, through this all, my dream of gaining an agent and a picture book contract with a traditional publisher has remained strong. I have spent the last six years practicing my craft and sending my picture book manuscripts to agent after agent only to be rejected time after time. Ever the eternal optimist, I have continued to write and apply despite those rejections.

Recently I received an email from an agent that said, " I like your concept but I must pass at this time. A strong platform is vital as an agent. Please resubmit the proposal in six months once you have increased followers on Social Media." This is actually the second time an agent has told me this, so I have decided to take him up on that challenge and run a #HelpThisAuthor campaign.
 

Currently I have a little over 3000 twitter followers, and I would like to see if with your help I can reach 10,000 before the allotted six months is up. This is a daunting task, and I can only achieve this if you all are willing to help me. So if you aren't following me on twitter please do. If you have friends with children, friends who like children's books, friends with grandchildren, have friends that are fellow authors or illustrators, or just know nice people who you think might be willing to follow me please share this with them. My twitter handle is http://www.twitter.com/AileenWStewart. 

Field Trips, Wild Chickens, and Dragons at the Library.

Now that Farmers' Market is over, we have had Saturdays free which means Field Trips! The weekend before last, we went to our first ever corn maze which was quite exciting. They had choices of different clue papers so we chose the Bible clues. There was also a petting zoo with a really laid back bunny (really laid back), corn hole, and more.

This past weekend, we traveled a bit farther and visited the Warther property in Dover, Ohio which includes the Warther home, The Button House, the grounds, and The Warther Carving Museum. If you live in Ohio and have never been here, I suggest you visit. It is a spectacular place and the man was probably the world's best master carver ever. All trains and factory models are working models and have thousands of hand carved parts. And when you're done, head on back to Berlin for some great broasted chicken at the Berlin Farmstead Restaurant where, like Emily, you can ride the wild chicken.

 

All this fun and gallivanting around did leave less time for reading, but this week I managed to read a fun book that encourages visits to the local library and ownership of a library card. With both rhyme and repetition, this story, Do Not Bring Your Dragon To The Library, is good selection for both the dragon lover and the library lover in your life. And while it is totally not appropriate to bring your dragon to the library, don't despair, the librarian in the story has a solution.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Looking for Moose

I know we are only in the beginning of October, but I am already super excited and preparing for Emily's and my trip to the Central Massachusetts Children's Book Festival in Gardner Massachusetts November 12th. Last year we took this trip, and we decided this year it would once again be a girls only trip. This time, however, we are taking a few extra days to stop at Hershey Pennsylvania. We are going to stay at the Hershey Lodge which has an indoor water park. We are going to visit Hershey World and learn about chocolate. And if we have time, we might even visit Zoo America. This is the perfect stop since we just studied about the history of chocolate and the history of Milton Hershey.

 

Last year when we made this trip we saw numerous moose crossing signs and although we kept a sharp eye out for moose, we didn't see any. So when I was at the library picking out books last week and I saw a book titled The Invisible Moose, I thought about our upcoming trip and hoped that maybe this year we will see a moose in person. I also thought about my friend Lisa who has two great children's books featuring moose. You see where I'm going with this don't you? And of course you are correct. this weeks reviews are all books featuring moose.

The first book I read and mentioned above, The Invisible Moose, was surprisingly sweet. It was the story of a shy moose trying to gain enough courage to speak to a lovely girl moose. Unfortunately by the time he  gathered that courage and started a conversation a very bad trapper captured her and carted her off to New York City. With the help of a wise owl, Moose traveled to the city and rescued his new love. I don't want to give too  much away so I won't say more, but I am sure kids will love this interesting story.

The second book I read, Moose On The Loose, reminded me of a song by Ozmotli that has the same name. The book was a very silly rhyming story of a missing moose. Every page added another person to help in the search and another rhyming animal they had seen in addition to the moose. Besides a moose on the loose, there was also a chartreuse caboose involved. This book is quite old but definitely worth seeing if your library has a copy; unfortunately I couldn't find a cover photo.

And finally, this post brings me back to the moose books I mentioned by my friend Lisa. I first met Lisa in 2011 at the Sandstone Book Expo where we were signing copies of our books. Her book at the time was a fabulous memoir called My Hero, My Ding about the special relationship between her and her grandfather. Lisa turned out to be a funny, warm, and witty person and I feel blessed to have made her acquaintance. Since that day, I have learned many things about Lisa. She is a teacher from Chicago, she is a talented writer, and she has a penchant for collecting moose. Did I say a penchant? Perhaps obsession is more like it. What ever you call it, that collection is what inspired her to write The Moose at the Manger. So if you like to Christmas shop a little early, I would recommend you check this book. Then you too, can share Muse the Moose's journey as he looses his family, worships at the manger, and finds his family once again. Even if you don't have children who might enjoy this book, snatch up one or two copies for all the moose lovers you know.

Her other moose book, Mark the Missing Moose, was born out of a family friend's tragedy, a suicide to be exact. Both the mother of the deceased and Lisa recognized the need to let children know that they can and should talk about anything bothering them no matter how painful or difficult. Lisa gently and beautifully tells the story of a young boy who recognizes that opening up and letting others in really helps.

 
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Cats, Cats, Cats

I can't believe October is already here and Christmas is just around the corner. And while I have loved managing the Farmers' Market here in my home town, I am ready to take a break. Our last market was loads of fun and my Avon vendor led children in a dance party while our local dj spun us some great tunes!

But, now that market is over I can focus on traveling to book festivals, participating in local craft fairs with my story sister and fellow author, Deborah Boerema, and getting ready for the coming holidays.
 

And speaking of market being over, that also leaves me more time to read books. So this week, in honor of my three crazy cats, I read three cat books. The first book was titled, Holly, and is illustrated and written by Ruth Brown. It is the story of a stray kitten adopted near Christmas time.  and while it is several years old and not readily available online, it is definitely worth seeing if your library has a copy. I liked this book because it reminded me of our first cat Max who was also a stray dumped in our neighborhood.
 

 
The next book I read was Hero Cat by Eileen Spinelli, and author I have read before. It is the story of another stray cat, a momma with kittens. One day while she is out getting something to eat, a fire breaks out endangering her five kittens. Despite the spoke and heat, she manages to rescue them all much to the amazement of one of the firefighters who takes them all to a rescue center. Like the first story, this one is also based on a real cat.

And last, but not least, I read Calico's Curious Kittens which follows the adventures of some curious and sometimes naughty kittens who gallivant  until nap-time. As they explore their world, they make a large new friend along the way and have a few mishaps until momma cat shows up to take them home.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.