If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

The beloved children's book, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie," by Laura Numeroff, came out when I was two years old. I remember thinking it was a practical guide book for a very tangible situation. A mouse in overalls might show up at my house and extend his stay with every idea that pops into his head. . . . It could happen. Some kids leave out cookies for a mythical bearded man in a red suit on Christmas Eve. Why not for a mouse in overalls? Actually, I have seen mice in my house, but they were not wearing overalls and they were being batted around by my fluffy fiendish cat, Simone. I rescued one of them and released it outside, so my mouse karma is good.

It must be good, because today I went to hear Laura Numeroff give a reading at Annie Blooms Books in Multnomah Village. I was the only adult there without a child, but I wouldn't miss this reading for anything, not even a really big molasses cookie. When Numeroff told the audience, "I grew up in New York and now I live in Los Angeles," one kid announced, "I live in the United States of America." Then Numeroff responded with, "Everyone here lives in the United States of America. Isn't that amazing?" Then another kid yelled, "Everyone except me." Kids are so cute. I suppose learning what country you live in is a big concept  for kids who are mainly familiar with their houses and their friends' houses, maybe their dogs' houses.

I found it endearing that Laura Numeroff could barely complete one sentence without kids in the audience offering random bits of information about their lives. She read everyone her new book, "Otis and Sydney and the Best Birthday Ever," which was very sweet. When she read, "If You Give A Mouse a Cookie," she purposefully made mistakes and kids corrected her. They had heard the story so many times they memorized it. I think that is really wonderful and the mark of a real children's classic.

Now I have a signed hardback edition of one of my favorite books. Laura Numeroff and I chatted briefly and I discovered that we both love the actor/writer, Stephen Fry. Something else in common, besides the fact that we both enjoy writing for children. :)            

Allen Say

Two children's books by Allen Say, "Erika-San" and "Kamishibai Man," have detailed and dimensional cover illustrations accentuated by silver and golden borders. The covers are what grabbed my attention and compelled me to read these books.

Allen Say lovingly depicts ordinary yet interesting characters. Erika-San is a woman who teaches English in rural Japan and the Kamishibai man is an artist who travels around on bicycle and entertains children with stories. The books are so realistic, I think readers will be able to recognize and better appreciate their own lives in these stories.

I took a class in children's book publishing at Portland State and the instructor, Michelle McCann, told everyone that adult characters in children's books should never act like adults. I found examples of these childish adults in classics like "Millions and Millions of Cats," "Enemy Pie," and "Bea and Mr. Jones." But the adult characters in "Erika-San" and "Kamishibai Man" are very mature. Both books take place in Japan and are about adapting to changes and following your dreams. Those are themes I believe kids can relate to, so it is not necessary to inject the adult characters with rejuvenating drugs.

I was excited to learn that Allen Say lives in Portland, Oregon. Maybe I'll get a chance to meet him. I have a feeling he would be just as amiable and interesting as one of his characters.

Fun fact: I learned from the afterword in "Kamishibai Man" that in the 1950's, movies in Japan were called denki (electric) kamishibai, after the popular tradition of story telling.

George's Secret Key to the Universe

I wish "George's Secret Key to the Universe" was available when I was a kid. But unfortunately, it was published in 2007, so little Meriwether, who was so wary of science growing up, never learned that science can be fun and interesting . My science teachers were all a lot like Mr. Reeper, the antogonist in this book. It's sad, but my first science class was in the 5th grade. (Just like foreign languages, kids in this country get a late start with science.)  I began to notice an insanity pattern in all my science teachers that just pushed me deeper into my world of art and books: a world that fiercly rejected anything science-related.

George, the young hero, combats his evil science teacher to save his friendly neighbor from a black hole. His parents are anti-technology hippies, who, just like our protagonist, completely change their stance on science. George goes from being an average kid to a science superstar, offering a positive message to kids who have low self-esteem in certain subjects.

The writing style is very scene-driven and fantasy-based, a lot like the Harry Potter books. But unlike the Harry Potter books, George actually has to earn his heroic reputation. He doesn't just have a lighning bolt on his forehead that makes him special. He surprises even himself with his capabilities and delivers a diplomatic speech at the end, combining his parents' environmental beliefs with his own scientific beliefs.

Lucy Hawking wrote this book with her father, Stephen Hawking, who wrote "A Brief History of Time." This book explains Stephen Hawking's theories to a younger audience. Fun facts about the planets and blackholes and lovely photographs are interspersed with the story. Most adults will gain knowledge from this book, so no one should consider it beneath their intelligence level to delve into this book.

One giant flaw which I couldn't ignore, even if I tried, concerns George's pet pig. The book begins with the pig disappearing. Then the pig initiates the encounter between George and his scientist neighbor. But when the pig is no longer needed, he is forgotten, just like a female character in an Alfred Hitchcock movie.  I always thought writers should try to blend in as much as possible characters who only exist for one purpose. I would have enjoyed the book more if the pig went into outerspace or helped George fight his evil science teacher. But maybe the pig will have a bigger part in the sequel, "George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt." I liked this book enough to read the sequel. I recommend "George's Secret Key to The Universe," despite the pig negligence and George's almost plagarized resemblance (in my opinion) to the Little Prince.

Dodsworth

I am in love with Dodsworth and his crazy friend, the duck. The duck doesn't have a name. He is simply "the duck" but still, I love him. If I were to write a missed connection for the duck, it might sound like, "I saw you on top of the Eiffel Tower. You were wearing an acorn on your head. You were making paper airplanes out of Euros and throwing them off. I thought you were so adorable, but you being a fictional character, I couldn't talk to you."

I read all the Dodsworth books by Tim Egan and they are all absolutely brilliant. My favorite so far is "Dodsworth in London." This book will be great to read aloud to children, especially if you can do funny voices and accents. I was thrilled to discover that a fourth book, "Dodsworth in Rome," is coming out in the spring. I can't wait to see what kind of crazy adventures Dodsworth and the duck will have in the Colosseum, or riding around on vespas.

Something to look forward to! Tim Egan is a genius.

The coolest website

Everyone must check out http://www.sharyn.org/. Teachers, writers, illustrators, parents, librarians, EVERYONE!

Sharyn November is an editor of YA fiction. I have nothing to send her right now, but when I do, I will keep her in mind. She seems very tough, a little intimidating as an editor, but her website is a great resource.

I am so excited. She even has a link to a library hotel in New York City. In Newport, Oregon, we have the Sylvia Beach Hotel, where each room is dedicated to and named after a famous writer. It's great to learn about more hotels for book lovers. There's nothing like a bunch of books to make someone feel at home while traveling.

The Hunt For Early Chapter Books

Today, I visited the Lake Oswego Library and discovered the children's section takes up the whole basement. This was exciting and reminiscent of the old Hillsdale Library of my youth, but even more exciting was listening to a hyper little girl rave about how much she loves to read. I was surprised to hear her carry on about the Dick and Jane books. She told the children's librarian in a very pseudo-adult voice "Sometimes Dick and Jane do very boring things, but I just love them!"

I've been looking for interesting early chapter books, books that are easy enough for early readers to tackle on their own, but enthralling at the same time. I would not have put Dick and Jane in that catergory. It's been a hit-and-miss search. I often pick up early chapter books and want to hurl them across the room because the story and word choices are so boring.

Today, I started thinking, "What ever happened to books like 'Frog and Toad Are Friends,' 'Mouse Soup,' 'Owl At Home'" You know! The classics! Just as I was about to give up, I found one called, "Look Out, Jeremy Bean!" by Alice Schertle. This book is so cute. My recommendation is as high as a giraffe on top of the Empire State Building. It was published by Chronicle Books, which explains the strange design of the book. It is really three books in one, and I know kids will love it.

I'm all about goals

Yesterday, I had coffee with my good friend Jill at the St Honore. We sat outside and marveled at how quickly time flies. We hadn't seen each other for 6 months. I had to fill her in on my awesome boyfriend, my trip to Korea, my many frustrating rejections from agents and publishing houses . . . Well, that last one actually is a continuing saga. C'est le vie d'ecrivain, n'est pas? Anyway, it was refreshing to learn that Jill and I are more alike than I had thought. We both are extremely motivated people, but we have so many projects going on at once that we find it hard to finish them.

I proposed that we meet for coffee once a week and give ourselves a project to focus on each time. This is quite a transition from meeting every 6 months, and I think it will be an interesting experiment. Jill and I both expressed an interest in reading Ulysses by James Joyce, so I think that might be a formidable project in the future. I'm afraid to tackle that one alone. Obviously, that will take us longer than one week, but I'm sure with my trusty goal buddy, we can come out feeling triumphant and scholarly.

For this week, I am going to turn my picture book "Wormsworth" into a short chapter book. An editor at Disney, Tamson Weston, told me that's what I should do, and I've been putting it off. I met Weston at a Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference in New York two years ago. Now I have a plan to expand this book, and I'm finally going to do it. So, here's to setting goals and accomplishing them. Cheers!