Mostly Monsterly

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Mari Farthing

Do you have a little monster at home? I sure do. So when I got my hands on the new book by Oklahoma author Tammi Sauer, it charmed me.

I wanted to learn more, so I asked her a few questions that she was kind enough to answer.

How long have you been writing children’s books?

I began dabbling in writing books for children back in 1997. I would write one day. Stop for 36 days. Write again for a week. Stop for four months. I didn’t make a commitment to writing until the spring of 2003 when an illustrator visited my daughter’s preschool. Seeing someone who was actually in the business inspired me to get serious about writing. That day I decided to devote my kids’ much-beloved-by-me nap time to writing. Even if my mom called. Even if Oprah was on. One year later, I got the offer for my first book—Cowboy Camp.

Who was the inspiration for Bernadette?

When I decided I wanted to tell a humorous story about love and friendship, I went to the library and read every Valentine’s Day story I could find. They were mostly about cutesy things like mice, kittens, and puppies. I knew I wanted my story to be different so I thought as un-cutesy as possible. And came up with Bernadette. Once her personality evolved, though, I discovered my little monster was adorable. What a stinker!

Out of the main monsterly qualities of lurching, growling and mayhem, at which do you feel you excel?

Although I am an excellent lurcher and growler, I feel I excel at making mayhem. You should see my closet. It looks like a monster convention took place in there.

Bernadette gave her monster friends some interesting greeting cards; have you received interesting cards like this from your friends (or children)?

So far, I haven’t received any cards filled with toenails, snot, or fur balls from anybody. I do, however, get some fun fan mail from young readers. This is one of my all time favorite letters:

Dear Mrs. Sauer:

Your [sic] the best. Your [sic] my hero and roll [sic] model. My dream is to right [sic] a book. Do not tell her this but I like you more than Kelly Clarkson.

Love,

Elizabeth

Find your copy of Mostly Monsterly at Tammi’s website (where you will also find Bernadette the Monser’s recipes for cupcakes and frosting - nom!).

In Memoriam

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Anne Greenwood Brown

Are you a collector? Are your bookshelves loaded with Hummels, tiny spoons, Franklin Mint commemorative plates? No? Me neither. Nothing makes me shudder more than a marathon episode of Hoarders. Not even books clutter my shelves.

The reason? Every book I’ve ever bought has sprung a pair of legs and walked off to my girlfriends’ houses. The only books that stick around are the ones I didn’t like. And they only leave by force, like reluctant children off to camp.

But there’s an exception to every rule.

There is one book that I’ve loved for thirty-five years and is never allowed to leave. Its binding is loose. Its pages, soft and limp. There is a purple crayon scribble on page seven. I can recite every line by heart, and I weep as I turn the last page.

My grandfather gave me MISS TWIGGLEY’S TREE in 1974 when I was a little girl. It wasn’t my birthday. It wasn’t Christmas. He gave it to me on a Tuesday in June after Grandma finished washing my hands with Ivory soap. He said it was just because he loved me.

It is all I have left of him now. I read it to my own children. It does more to tell them about their great-grandfather than any worn photograph ever could, and it’s that lesson that I remember:

Before giving a child a figurine, or a stuffed animal that will only litter a book shelf, I try to find that one special book that will speak to that child.

And when in doubt, I look for that funny Miss Twiggley who lived in a tree “with a dog named Puss and a color t.v.”

Lookybook.com

Posted on June 3, 2008 by malenalott

If you’re looking for a picture book for your children, look no further than lookybook.com, the ultimate site for previewing entire picture books. The site lets you build your own bookshelf, rate books and buy them from your preferred book seller web site. The site is clean, easy to navigate and the simple click feature to read the books is addictive. I highly recommend Little Pea.