Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Storyfaire

My buddy, children's book author Marni McGee, is passionate about Storyteller Children's Center:  http://www.storytellercenter.org  This fabulous charity provides tuition-free, early education for homeless and at-risk kids as well as support for the families in need in Santa Barbara County.

Marni told me she wanted to do something positive with her book launch so she started a family-friendly event for the center.   

STORYFAIRE  Sunday, May 20, 2007   2-5PM,
Crane Country Elementary School.

Marni asked a few of her children's book author friends to also participate; Mary Hanson, Ellen Kelley and Marni will  be there to launch their new books, additional author, Val Hobbs, will also be signing her books, the proceeds going to the center.  Bring the kids!  Admission, food, crafts and arts are FREE!  

Keep reading for Marni's wish list and more information, and here's my pitch: 

GIVE MONEY, DONATE BOOKS AND GOOD STUFF FOR THE RAFFLE, COME AND  HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME GIVING BACK. WE ARE LUCKY, WE ARE BLESSED, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

   

Art for Cat's sake.

This is part of my cat series.  I like to think of cats as party animals  My friend Michelle had these two goofy cats that met you at the door.
Fanny, who my husband wanted to take home with him every time we visited, was the most outgoing, in- your-face, love-me kitty. 
We all enjoyed her for years before she became a kitty angel and went to pet heaven.
Cat picture book to recommend: Edna's Tale by illustrator/author Lisze Bechtold.

The Getty Center

I am embarrassed to write this, but I just went to the Getty Center for the first time.

When I lived in town, I was a member at all the museums.  I was forever atteneding an opening, performance or a new exhibit.  But seven years ago we moved far out to the beach and I find I have to schedule in the museum visits.

What a cool place the Getty is.  You park underground and take a beautiful tram ride up to the top of Brentwood overlooking the entire basin of L.A.  And what a treat it is to see what the richest museum in the world can buy.

April Halprin Wayland

In honor of National Poetry Month, I asked poet/childrens book author April Halprin Wayland to answer a few questions.

When and why did you start writing for children?

I was always a writer, always writing poems and stories late at night, especially as a teen, and then hiding them in the bottom right drawer of my desk.  I began to write picture books and songs for fun when I was about ten.  I loved the blending of words and illustrations, words and music—I still love the interweaving of words and other art forms.

The Zen of a children's book author.

I’ve always run on one gear ahead of everyone else.  This gets me into trouble sometimes.  I work hard to exhibit patience, but I must admit this is not a trait that is easy for me.  The long suffering of waiting to hear from editors is over, for now, so there's no more stalking the mailman or weeping to my husband about yet another returned manuscript.    

Now that I've passed over into the promised land of published authors, I find I am now waiting for a book to be in my hand; I am waiting to promote it to every one I know and I'm desperately waiting to do school visits.  I just adore the kids.

Thank goodness for yoga and chocolate.  And I must say my mailman is very happy since I don’t jump him everyday. 

Rushmore story

Fact not in the book: Gutzon was an all-time promoter.  It soon became apparent to him that more funding and publicity would be needed to support the carving of Mount Rushmore.  As luck would have it, President Calvin Coolidge was visiting South Dakota in the summer of 1927.  Gutzon, with Lincoln in tow, hired a local pilot to fly them low over the game lodge where the President and Mrs. Coolidge were staying.

Art for Music Sake

I worked in the Music business for years.  Album covers, trade adds, liner notes...stuff like that.  It was fun and exciting, but the best part is that is where I met my husband Al, who ran a record label.  I spent many hours in recording studios listening to songs being written, being produced and being recorded.

Like everything in my life it spilled into my work.  I did a series on musicians.  Some for cash and some art for art sake, like all series are.

This is an oil painting of the studio musician Ernie Watts.
I sketch him at a gig to paint later. He can play a mean sax.

Children's book on Music to recommend, The Jazzy Alphabet by Sherry Shahan.

L. A. Writer's Day 2007

Writer's Day in Los Angeles is always a blast and this year was no exception.

Arthur A. Levine Book editor,
Cheryl Klein, entertained and informed us, by writing and photo illustrating a picture book.  With 5 different drafts, she showed us the problems with the manuscript and how the rewrites solved the problems.  I have never seen an editor laugh so much and have such fun as she charmed us all.  I just wanted to hug her.

Clean Studio

I must admit that public acknowledgment creates a guilt that can lead to results.  I confessed on an earlier post to this Blog that I needed to do a thorough cleaning of the studio.  Hot oil poured into my ears was more appealing.  But all my readers knew my studio was in chaos, so I was stuck.  Of course, now I wish I had done it sooner.  I've found that inspiration flows much more freely without all the clutter.  Blog confessionals work!!  Maybe we should have a look at my sock drawer. 

House Art

House painting is akin to Art for Art's sake.  I see a wall that needs a painting and I design for it.  Sometimes it is for a client, who wants to fill a space, but sometimes it is just for me.  I needed a perfectly square piece to hang above my kitchen table.  After much consideration I painted the scene at the left. This is the Queen's motu looking at Bora Bora.  I went to the orchid show in Santa Barbara to take research photos for the flowers surrounding the scene.

Lee Wardlaw

Award winning author, fashion plate and talented teacher, Lee Wardlaw has graced our region of the SCBWI for years. Always helpful and caring, Lee graciously agreed to answer a few questions.


When and why did you start writing for children?

In second grade.  I wrote my first story at age 7 for all my friends (who were, of course, children!) to read.  The main character was a little girl who looked an awful lot like me, except that she was only one-inch tall.  She had 14 baby brothers and 14 baby sisters, all in diapers. She runs away from home (with her best friend, who is a grasshopper), because her mother wants  help with diapering the 28 siblings.  My youngest brother had just been born, so it isn't hard to figure out my inspiration for this story.   

Mary Montgomery Borglum

The problem with writing historical picture books, especialy for children, is that you are limited to the amount of words you can put in them.  So many stories and facts are lost to the word count.

Beside the actual story of building Mount Rushmore, which is the theme of my book, there is the story of the artist Gutzon Borglum and his very accomplished wife Mary Montgomery Borglum, Lincoln's mother. She was a fascinating American woman.

Happy Easter

For Easter I thought I'd recommend a book that has a bunny in it. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by the talented Kate Dicamillo, is a wonderful story of a spoiled toy rabbit whose attitudes are changed by the love of a sick child.  This is one of the most beautifully illustrated books by Bargram Ibatouline and the binding is fabulous.
I lent this one out and never got it back.  I guess I'll have to just go out and get another copy for my library.

Richard Peck-Happy Birthday

Happy  Birthday  Richard  Peck!

Yesterday was Richard Peck's birthday and I have to admit I’m in love with him, not jump on Oprah's couch sort of love, but his  stories  have warmed  my  heart  and  soul..

At left  is  a picture  I took with him at the SCBWI National one year.  He is my Hero in all of children’s literature.  I keep at least one of his books on my desk at all times.  When I need a laugh, when I’m stuck on writing, when I just want to look how he crafted a scene, I find what I need in his books.  He has it all.  I enjoy  all  his  books, but  here  are  a few  of  my  favorites. A Long Way to Chicago, A Year Down Under, The River Between Us, Fair Weather and The Teacher's Funeral. 

Happy Birthday Mr. Richard  Peck,  Thank you for  all  your  wonderful  stories.  Thank  you, thank  you, thank  you.

 

Golf Art

When I was just Al's girlfriend and not yet his wife, he bribed me into learning his favorite past-time, golf.  I thought it was a game for old folks who had nothing better to do, but, boy, was I wrong.  It is a sport of discipline, etiquette and skill. 
It took me nearly five years to finally beat him at his own game.
Naturally, like all things in my life, it spilled into my work.  I did a series of giant wall size golf landscapes. 

Greg Trine

Greg Trine has been a buddy of mine for many years.  We came up through the ranks together of the SCBWI and for 12 years I saw him at every workshop, Writer's Day and critiquenics.  He worked on his manuscripts and learned his craft.  A couple of years ago, in a writing class, he read Melvin Beederman, Superhero, a hilarious story of a newly graduated superhero who is posted to L.A.  After languishing in the slush pile at Holt for awhile, it was discovered and, lo and behold, Greg now has a deal for an 8 book series. Today is the release of the 4th book in the series, Terror in Tights.

When and why did you start writing for children?

I had been a life-long non reader up until about age 33, when I began to notice books.  About this time I received a post card in the mail from The Institute of Children's Literature, advertising their correspondence course. The course took me two years to complete.  In that time I sold my first five magazine stories.  A few years later I discovered the SCBWI and have been immersed in the field of children's books ever since.

Theodosia's Launch

Last Thursday, Houghton Mifflin and Storyopolis, kicked off the release of Robin L. LaFever's new book, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, with a launch party.  Family, friends and colleagues were there to cheer Robin and her fabulous illustrator, Yoko Tanaka, as they signed books for us all.

Here's Robin with her Houghton Mifflin publicist Jennifer Taber.   Robin thanked her publishers for all the love and support.  Jennifer told the story of how everyone in the publishing company passed the book around as a must read.