Peggy Archer
Children's Author

Do you remember doing connect-the-dots pictures when you were small? It was usually with numbers, but sometimes it was the alphabet. There were a few squiggles on the page that were a part of the picture and you drew a line from number one to two and so on, until you reached the last number and completed the picture.

Dot-to-dot wasn’t really my favorite art activity as a child. It was kind of neat to find out what the picture was at the end, but it wasn’t very rounded out. You drew straight lines between the numbers, so there were no curves where curves should be. I suppose it might have been more interesting if you liked modern art.

I started to compare connect-the-dots to writing a picture book. It would be great if you could just connect the parts of a story and come out with a great finished book—going from character to setting to plot and resolution. But without the curves—rich language, attention to detail, action, dialogue, rhythm, repetition, and especially emotional connection—it falls flat.

I’m thinking that connecting the dots of the story are like my first draft. In my revisions, I add the curves. Maybe if you like modern art, dot-to-dot could work for you. But for me, I’ll take the curves.

Check back next week and help celebrate Poetry Month with author interviews and book give-aways. See you here!  Read More 

I admire those authors who blog two or three times a week. You would think that writing a blog post once a week, or even every two weeks, would be a ‘piece of cake.’ Maybe a ‘walk in the park’ would better describe it, depending on what kind of walk you take. A stroll? Not quite. Maybe more like a power walk, or a jog.

So what do I get out of blogging? And what does it have to do with writing?

When I blog I practice my writing skills. It’s on-the-spot, spontaneous— the kind that, like writing picture books, is not wordy and leaves you with something to think about.

Blogging gives me a deadline, which is the real challenge for me. My ‘spontaneous’ writing is not always my best.

I remind myself of goals, strategies, and good advice when I blog about them.

I keep up on things better when I blog, because I look for topics about children’s books and writing them to blog about. I find out which books have received awards or honors and which are on the best seller’s lists. I find events like Read Across America, Picture Book month and PiBoIdMo and other ways to celebrate writing and get motivated.

I check out other author blogs, and discover new things. I learn and get writing tips from their posts. And I connect with other children’s writers.

I guess it’s a good thing that I wrote this blog today, because I needed this reminder to keep up! I miss some weeks, but each new week is another chance to start over.

Poetry month is coming up, and I’ve got plans to celebrate with you here, including some author interviews in the works. So hang in there with me! I hope to see you next week!  Read More 

"Grab your Hat and Read with the Cat" is the 2013 theme of the National Education Association’s (NEA) Read Across America celebration. The program, which is in its 16th year, focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.

Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program which coincides with the birthday of children’s author, Dr. Seuss, March 2nd. Since the date falls on a Saturday this year many schools are celebrating on Friday, March 1st.

So what will you be reading this week-end? Some schools, libraries and communities hold special events in honor of this day of reading. Will you celebrate with your child’s school or at your local library? Are there any book fairs or author readings in your area? Or are you ‘snowed in’ this week-end? Maybe you’ll make it a family event.

You can find lots of ideas for planning your own reading celebration at the NEA website. Here are some of my favorites from the list, along with some of my own ideas.

--Bake a Dr. Seuss birthday cake. Or make some cookies shaped like a hat that you can decorate to look like ‘the Cat’s’ hat.

--Have a pajama party where reading books is the main focus. It can be at night or even during the day. Have everyone wear their favorite hat.

--Act out the books that you read and let the others guess what your book is by clues that you give. If you do it charade style, there’s no ‘talking’ allowed when you give your clues!

--Tape the name of an author on everyone’s back, but don’t tell anyone whose name they have. The idea is to guess which author you are by the clues others give you. For example, if you are Dr. Seuss, someone might ask you “Do you really like green eggs and ham?” Or if you are Doreen Cronin, someone might say to you “Did your cows ever get that air conditioning in their barn?”

--Vote for your favorite Dr. Seuss book.

--Make up some crazy ‘Seuss-like’ words and have the others guess their meaning.

--Cook up a Dr. Seuss meal. There are some great ideas on the NEA website under the link for ‘Seuss-inspired recipes.’

Whatever you do, have fun reading! I definitely will!  Read More 

The 2013 announcements of the ALA Youth Media Awards took place at 8 a.m. PT on Jan. 28, from the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.

The winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children is “This Is Not My Hat,” illustrated and written by Jon Klassen, and published by Candlewick Press.

Five Caldecott Honor Books also were named:
“Creepy Carrots!” illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

“Extra Yarn,” illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett and published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

“Green,” illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger and published by Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press

“One Cool Friend,” illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group

“Sleep Like a Tiger,” illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue and published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

The winner of the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature is “The One and Only Ivan,” written by Katherine Applegate, and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.

Three Newbery Honor Books also were named:
“Splendors and Glooms” by Laura Amy Schlitz and published by Candlewick Press

“Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon” by Steve Sheinkin and published by Flash Point, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press

“Three Times Lucky” by Sheila Turnage and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

For a complete list of ALA awards for youth media, go to ALA Awards

If you’d like to see what other reviewers have chosen as the best children’s books of 2012, check out the following lists.

Looking for some laughs? Check out this list of children’s lit in 2012 from SLJ.
2012 Children's Lit: The Year in Miscellanea
School Library Journal

For a more serious look at children’s books in 2012, check out the Horn Book's picks.
Horn Book Fanfare: Our Choices For The Best Books of 2012
Horn Book

And more from three major review sources.

Publishers Weekly
Booklist
Book Page
 Read More 

This year celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Caldecott Medal for illustration of a children’s book. The winner for 2012 will be announced on Monday, January 28th.

The Caldecott Medal was first awarded in 1938. An annual award presented by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), it is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children during the previous year. Any picture book by a citizen or resident of the USA and published in the United States is eligible, but only one picture book receives the award each year.

So what exactly is a Mock Caldecott? I looked for that answer on line and found much more.

The Mock Caldecott is a fun way to predict which picture books will be given the award for 2012 on Monday. It’s your chance to recognize outstanding artistic merit in a children's book. Here are some other benefits to participating:

• Learn about the history, terms, and definitions of the Caldecott Medal
• Participate in book discussions
• Look at the evolving nature in children's picture books and its impact on the Caldecott selection process
• Become familiar with how the medal impacts librarians, authors, publishers and children
• Develop skills in holding mock Caldecott discussions with children and other programming ideas
• Form the skills to look at picture book art more critically

The Mock Caldecott follows the same selection process that is used by the Caldecott committee. But with so many children’s picture books published each year, what makes picture book illustration distinguished? You might be surprised to see that the criteria used focuses on both illustration and writing in a picture book!

A picture book has a collective unity between text and pictures. Narrative elements include character, plot, theme, setting and information. Art elements include medium, style, composition, color, line, space and shape. When considering their selections, committee members need to consider all of this through the pictures. Sounds a little harder than I imagined!

Some questions to consider when evaluating a picture book for the Mock Caldecott award are these:

Does the story appeal to kids?
Is this an outstanding use of the artistic medium?
Is the artwork critical to the story being told?
Can the story stand alone without the support of additional media?
Is there an appropriate balance of text and illustration?

There are some wonderful websites that I visited while doing my research.

Visit Matthew C. Winner’s blog, The Busy Librarian at http://www.busylibrarian.com/2012/12/mock-caldecott-stage-1.html to find a mock Caldecott evaluation chart.

Find a Mock Elections Toolkit slide show on Steven Engelfried’s site at http://www.slideshare.net/stevene/mock-caldecott-criteria-power-point

Or check out the authors blog, Books Around the Table, for a discussion on the Caldecott selection process, and see the different art forms used in picture books being considered for the award at
http://booksaroundthetable.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/the-word-distinguished-a-mock-caldecott-discussion/

Learn about the 75th anniversary logo and its many characters at the official ALSC site at http://www.ala.org/alsc/Caldecott75#preconference. Scroll down to the bottom. Can you name all of the characters?

The 2013 Caldecot Medal announcement will be made on Monday, January 28th at 7:45 am. You can watch a free live webcast of the award presentation from the link at the American Library Association (ALA) website at http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/presskits/youthmediaawards/alayouthmediaawards.

Congratulations to all illustrators being considered, for the official Caldecott and the Mock Caldecott as well!  Read More 

It’s been said that most New Year’s resolutions are broken by mid January. So how are you doing with yours so far? If you’re getting discouraged already, rather than giving up, this might be the time to re-evaluate and make some revisions to those resolutions. Are your goals within reach? Have you set up a reward system for taking baby steps toward reaching those goals? Give yourself some slack, and remember that each day is a chance to begin again.

In regard to my writing, I decided to focus on just a couple of things this year and really try to follow through. I picked reading and marketing.

Reading is two-fold. First I need to keep up with what kids are reading. I also want to know what books are already out there on the topics that I’m writing. Second, I need to read books for the grown-up in me. For pleasure. And for direction. As I read, my mind picks up clues on how the writing draws me into the book, what it is that keeps me reading, and makes me not want to stop.

Marketing is my second major goal. I have poems and stories that are completed, or nearly completed, that should be out looking for a home instead of sitting in my file cabinet. I need to take time to decide the best course for those manuscripts and get them on their way! I also need to finish, or revise, those that are oh, so close, to being ready to send out.

So far this year I think I’m doing okay. I've given myself a month by month schedule. I’m close to reaching my goal for January. But if I fall short during the year, I’ll just start over again the next month.

A friend sent me the following quote which I’d like to share with you. I hope it reminds you of your accomplishments in the past year, and encourages you to celebrate every step that you take toward your goals in 2013!

Time for—

This is a time for reflection as well as celebration.

As you look back on the past year and all that has taken place in your life,
remember each experience for the good that has come of it
and for the knowledge you have gained.

Remember the efforts you have made and the goals you have reached.

Remember the love you have shared and the happiness you have brought.

Remember the laughter, the joy, the hard work, and the tears.

And as you reflect on the past year, also be thinking of the new one to come,
because most importantly, this is a time of new beginnings
and the celebration of life.

—Taylor Addison
 Read More 

Need some last minute gift ideas? Think books!

Yesterday I visited Vicki Erwin at her bookstore, Main Street Books, in downtown old St. Charles. I love this store. It has such a cozy, friendly atmosphere. People come in and out, calling out greetings by first name, like family.

When our children were small, one of their Christmas gifts was always a book. But books make wonderful gifts, for any age, at any time of year.

There are many perks to reading a book. Here are just a few.

1. Reading reduces stress and helps you relax. Psychologists believe that reading eases the tensions in muscles and the heart. A person only needs to read, silently, for six minutes to slow down the heart rate and ease tension in the muscles. So take some time to read when you come home from work. Or fall asleep at night reading a good book.

2. Reading makes you smarter. Reading is an active mental process. It stimulates your mind. Books make you use your brain. By reading, you think more, and become smarter.

3. Reading increases vocabulary. Your brain determines meaning through repetition and context. Language in children’s books is likely to be more sophisticated than your average conversation.

4. Reading improves concentration and focus. Reading books takes brain power. It requires you to focus on what you’re reading for long period. Since you must concentrate when you read, you will get better at it.

5. Reading improves memory. Reading requires remembering details, facts and figures, and helps you stretch your memory muscles.

6. Reading improves analytical thinking. Readers improve their general knowledge and are able to spot patterns quicker, which in turn gives your analytical skills a boost.

7. Reading builds self-esteem. By reading books, you become better informed which translates into higher self esteem.

8. Reading helps you socially.The more information you gather the better conversationalist you will become.

9. Reading helps writers. The more you read, the more ideas you have.

10. Reading is an enjoyable, inexpensive form of entertainment. A visit to the library or your local bookstore is sure to fill your need on any topic of interest.

Here are some reading recommendations for children from Vicki at Main Street Books.

Children’s Fiction
THIS IS NOT MY HAT, by Jon Klassen, Candlewick, HC, 15.99.
PETE THE CAT SAVES CHRISTMAS, by James Dean and Eric Litwin, Harper Collins, HC, 17.99. Pete has many other adventures in his other books also available.
SNOWMEN AT WORK, by Caralyn and Mark Buehner, Dial, HC, 16.00.
Children Non-Fiction
SAFARI, by Dan Kainen, Workman Publishing Company, HC, 24.95.

Youth Fiction
THE THIRD WHEEL, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, by Jeff Kinney, Harry N. Abrams, HC, 13.95.
LIAR & SPY, by Rebecca Stead, Wendy Lamb Books, HC, 15.99.
EVERYDAY, by David Levithan, Knopf, HC, 17.99.
SON, by Lois Lowry, Houghton Mifflin, HC, 17.99.
THE FALSE PRINCE, by Jennifer A. Nielsen, Scholastic, HC, 17.99.
WHO COULD THAT BE AT THIS HOUR, by Lemony Snicket, Little, Brown Books, HC, 17.99.
ELEMENTAL, by Antony John, Dial, HC, 17.99.
VENOM, by Fiona Paul, Philomel, HC, 17.99.

Adult Fiction
ART FORGER, by B.A. Shapiro, Algonquin, HC, 23.95.
SUTTON, by J.R. Moehringer, Hyperion, 27.99.
THE BOOKSELLER, by Mark Pryor, Seventh Street, PB, 15.95.
PIGEON PIE MYSTERY, by Julia Stuart, Doubleday, 24.95.
PARIS WIFE, by Paula Mclain, Ballantine, PB, 15.00.
SECRET KEEPER, by Kate Morton, Atria, 26.99.
MRS. QUEEN TAKES THE TRAIN, by William Kuhn, HC, Harper, 25.99.

Adult Non Fiction
BITTER BREW, by William Knoedelseder, Harper Business, HC, 27.99.
ONE LAST STRIKE, by Tony LaRussa, William Morrow, HC, 27.99.
THOMAS JEFFERSON, THE ART OF POWER, by Jon Meacham, Random House, HC, 35.00.


Main Street Books
307 South Main Street
St. Charles, MO 63301

www.mainstreetbooks.net
636-949-0105

Twitter:@mainstreetbooks
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mainstreetbooks

Merry Christmas to all!
And to all, a good book!  Read More 

Meet your local authors, and do some Christmas shopping for the book lovers on your list!

What better way to spend an evening than to browse through books at the library. Better yet is to meet the author (or illustrator) of books by authors from your own neighborhood! Check your local library or bookstores for author events and programs planned for your area this holiday season.

In O’Fallon, MO, the place to be on Thursday evening is at the Middendorf-Kredell (MK) Branch Library on Route K for the Local Author Open House. I will be one of 49 participating authors who will be there that evening.

My picture books include NAME THAT DOG!, Puppy Poems from A to Z, Dial Books for Young Readers; FROM DAWN TO DREAMS, Poems for Busy Babies, Candlewick Press; and TURKEY SURPRISE, Dial Books for Young Readers.

Children’s authors who will be joining me there on Thursday evening are:

Margo Dill, author, FINDING MY PLACE, White Mane Publishing Company
Nicole Hardison, author, FARMHOUSE SECRET, Aberdeen Bay Publishing
Angela Sage Larsen, author, FIFTIES CHIX: KEEPING SECRETS, FastPencil Premiere Publishing
Patty Mund, author, NOT JUST A PONY, CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Dawn Bensen, illustrator, NOT JUST A PONY, CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Audrey Munsch, author, THE TALE OF THE RED RIBBON, Strategic Book Publishing
Leah Scott, author, TIN CUP AND THE TORNADO, Outskirts Press

Click under the banner on the right to visit the St. Charles County Library site, then click on November 29th on the calendar to see a complete list of participating authors. There's no need to register!

Stop by and say hello! I’d love to meet you. Bring your kids or pick up a free coloring page from NAME THAT DOG!

Go to http://www.youranswerplace.org/ to see a list of up-coming library events and programs.

For a list of local author signings and events at independent bookstores in St. Charles County, MO, go to: http://www.stlindiebook.com/.
 Read More 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my blog friends!

Download a TURKEY SURPRISE coloring page from my website—just click on ‘My Works,’ then on ‘Turkey Surprise’ and click on the link to the coloring page on the left.

Or click under the picture for links to my coloring page and other Thanksgiving activities.

Earlier this month I attended the MO-SCBWI conference in St. Louis. The high point of attending a conference is, of course, the speakers and all that they have to offer to both aspiring and published authors. Here are some high points from this particular conference:

from Emma Dryden, consultant and former editor—Your website is key. Editors and agents check your web presence. If you’re not published yet, at least secure your domain name, which should be your own name.com, then create a simple page with your bio.

from Ellen Hopkins, YA author and poet—novel writing is ‘story-telling,’ and is not didactic; poetry is ‘painting pictures with words.’ She talked about writing bravely.

from David Harrison, author, on poetry collections—Know the common core state standards and what kids are studying in school. Choose a theme and make a list of possible poems to go with that theme.

from Will Terry, illustrator—The story is most important, then perfect your craft. The ‘tides are changing’—he does illustrations digitally now, and gathers his audience on places such as blogsites, facebook, flickr, twitter, UTube, and eblogger.

from Joyce Ragland, MO-SCBWI Regional Advisor— find a critique group; go to conferences and national conferences; network with other authors and editors.

Some other perks of attending conferences for children’s writers and illustrators—gathering together with others who understand what writers really do; meeting with old friends and making new ones; networking—sharing experiences and learning from each other’s past; getting face-to-face with editors, agents and authors and having an opportunity to ask those ‘burning’ questions.

Some perks of volunteering to help at a conference—spending one-on-one time with speakers as you drive them to the airport or time their critiques, and schmoozing at dinner the night before the conference starts.

There’s always so much to absorb and follow through on following a conference! Look for conferences for children’s writers and illustrators in your region at the SCBWI website at www.scbwi.org.
 Read More