Ordinary is Extraordinary

I find that the most ordinary events like attending a mother daughter pool party, having family over for a cook out, or finding a rabbit in the weedy flower bed is cause for celebration. Even making homemade granola in preparation for Farmers' Market brings joy. I don't always remember, but I try really hard to appreciate all the moments in each week because each moment is a blessing.

 
My ability to go to the local library, come home armed to the teeth with children's books, and my opportunity to share what I read with others is also a blessing. The fact that each of you tune in to share in my week and my literary ramblings is most amazing.  I ask myself if it gets any better then connecting with readers all over the globe that I might never have had contact with otherwise. I think not.

So this week as I looked over my massive reading pile, I was drawn to three books in particular. The first was a beautiful Jan Brett book called The Turnip. The badger family find a enormous turnip which they wish to harvest for winter, but they can't seem to pull it out of the ground. Neighbors and friends keep trying to help them pull the turnip out, but to no avail. Eventually the turnip is is y6anked front he ground by a homeless rooster. Or is it? I guess you will just have to read The Turnip for yourself to find out.

The next book I read was Pirates On the Farm. Yes, I know there is a vegetable/farm theme going on. Just chalk it up to my excitement about farmers' market season. Any how, this book is a delightful and funny story of a group of pirates who buy a farm and attempt to fit in. Told from the point of view of the neighbor child, it is also a tale of making new friends and celebrating differences. This book is definitely worth checking out.

And the last book I read was one I have seen the cover of on many other book blogs. An intriguing cover that draws you in and makes you want to know just what is going on in-between the front and back covers. It is called The Night Gardener. First of all, I have to tell you about the truly magnificent, extraordinarily spectacular art work in this book. It is old timey in feel. Something classic that you will want to cherish for years to come. And the story, it is a bit mysterious, but happy and shiny at the same time. This book is written by the Fan brothers,Terry and Eric, and I don't know how they came up with this beautiful collection of pictures and words, but it is definitely a book to be cherished and shared.

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 Musings Monday Blog Hop 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 early grade Fern Valley chapter book series and my Quack and Daisy picture book series. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

  

The Hudson Children's Book Festival

I love to travel. I love to catch up with friends. I love to make new friends. I love books. So just imagine how much I love participating in the Hudson Children's Book Festival which occurred this past weekend!
This festival takes place each year in lovely Hudson, New York which is on the banks of the Hudson River and is quite a ways from my Shelby, Ohio home. So I set out on Thursday morning and drove many hours until I reached the home of my friends Barbara and Victor Mojica. They invited me to stay at the guest cottage behind their home and a lake view was included. Two more gracious hosts you will never find.

Victor is the creator of the CrossBones Comics and Eugenics as well as the illustrator of Barbara's Little Miss History Books. They both love, love, love history, which is evident in the fine books they produce. And if you happen to be visiting the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island, be sure to check the gift shops for their books.

 

Victor and Barbara weren't the only authors and illustrators I was already acquainted with. I also had a blast with David Biedrzycki and his new selfie stick. David is the author and illustrator of several books including the Breaking News Series.

David and Me

There was also the Fabulous Susan Hood whose latest book released just days before the festival and David A. Kelly who writes the Ballpark Mysteries for all you baseball lovers. I particularly like book #6 The Wrigley Riddle because it reminds me of when my dad and I used to watch the Chicago Cubs together when I was a kid.

Beth Ferry, Me, and Susan Hood

There was Diane DeGroat a superb illustrator/author of the Gilbert books as well as illustrator of Ree Drummund's, Charlie books, the husband and wife team of Wendell and Florence Minor, and the creator of the Monster Needs series, Paul Czajak.

David and Diane DeGroat

David with Florence and Wendell Minor

David and Paul

 
I also met brand new author Katherine Gardner who is a pre-k teacher as well. She is just as cute as can be and the type of teacher every pre-ker dreams of. I met Beth Ferry, the author I mentioned last week, Daniel Mahoney, author of Monstergarten, and one of my table mates, Bianca Rell, who turned out to be with my very own publisher Tate.

Katherine Gardner and Me

Daniel Mahoney and me

Bianca Rell and Me

And did I mention I met Kwame Alexander, author of many books, including my favorite, Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band. For kids interested in the history of Jazz, this book is a must. It turns out, that Kwane is as sweet as he is tall and handsome!

Kwame Alexander and Me

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 Musings Monday Blog Hop 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 early grade Fern Valley chapter book series and my Quack and Daisy picture book series. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Summer Fun!

This summer we have been having tons of fun. No long vacations, just day trips and local events. This past week involved lots of water. First, we rented our local pool for the evening and hosted a pool party for several of our friends. It was a great success with snacks like watermelon, strawberries, grapes, chips, cheese, and so forth. The kids had fun diving, swimming, and sliding, and the adults got to chat and catch up on everyone's goings on.

The very next day was my husband's company picnic which was held at Zoombezi Bay water park at the Columbus Zoo. We floated in the lazy river, hopped waves in the wave pool, rode the water rides, and of course I took pictures.

When it came time for my book review, I grabbed a book from my library stack and smiled. One of the books I grabbed just happened to fit right in with all the water fun we had been having. It was called Who's A Clever Girl by Rose Impey. It's a tale of a clever girl who tricks some pirates into making her the captain of their ship. She's an adventuresome girl and leads them on some merry chases after other pirates. She soon grows tired of the escapades and tells them they are going back to raid and loot her school. The pirates are none to happy about that, but she's the boss so they go along. What happens when they enter the school isn't quite what you might suspect, but is mighty interesting. To find out more, grab your own copy and start reading with your own little scallywags!

The next book I read didn't include water, but it did bring back great summer memories for me. It was called Take Me Out to The Ballgame. The book not only tells the story of two girls whose grandma takes them out of school for a special day at the ball park, but it also shares the famous tune of that same name. I remember singing that song as a youngster. I remember attending Cleveland Indian games. And now, my daughter sings that song as well. There is just something about baseball that implies summer fun.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my soon to be released sequel, Return To Fern Valley, coming September second! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.