Save the Date! STORYTIME and BOOK SIGNING, Sat, April 8, at Once Upon a Time bookstore, Montrose, CA

Celebrate spring with me at Once Upon a Time family bookstore in Montrose, CA, on Saturday April 8th at 11:00 am where I will be doing a book signing and presentation of HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 and some of my other books. There will be a simple craft for kids.
I hope you will be able to come! (Note: this is a correction to my earlier post. The bookstore is in Montrose, CA not Montclair, CA.)

 

Once Upon a Time 

2207 Honolulu Ave. Montrose Shopping Park, Montrose, CA 91020

Phone: (818) 248-9668 | Email: Maureen@onceupona.com

Sunday & Monday 10 am - 5 pm, Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 8 pm

Egg-Citing Activities for Kids, Part 1: Eggshell planter

In celebration of spring and my new book Hatching Chicks in Room 6, I will be posting a series of egg and chicken related projects and activities for kids. I'm starting with a repost of my Eggshell Planter project from June 2014:

One of my first illustration assignments was for a book about gardening activities with children.  At that time, most books for children were illustrated with black and white art so I made pencil drawings.  Here is one of the activities meant for younger children.  It would work well with pre-school or kindergarten children.

EGG HEAD PLANTER

Break away 1/4 of the pointed end of an egg shell, and empty the contents.  Have the children draw a face on the shell using felt pens, then fill the shell with moist soil and plant chives or wheat seed.  Make a stand from a cardboard egg carton. Place the egg head in the stand.  Water lightly each day.

Materials needed: Cardboard egg carton, eggs, felt pens, soil, chives or wheat seed.

From Children’s Gardens: A Field Guide for Teachers, Parents and Volunteers by Elizabeth Bremner and John Pusey, Illustrations by Caroline Arnold

MIXED UP ANIMALS and MORE: Four Fun Writing Activities

Yellow cards were provided for each writing activity at the Santa Barbara Author-Go-Round

At the Santa Barbara Author-Go-Round in January, students spent the morning with four authors-- Kristen Kittscher, Lee Wardlaw, Eugene Yeltsin, and me. Before the program began the students could do four short writing activities, each based on one of the author’s books. Then at the end of the morning, students who wrote the most creative piece in each category received a prize of an autographed book by the author. We were impressed with their creative imaginations. Here are the four activities they did.

Create a Mixed-Up Animal (Based on The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers by Caroline Arnold).

Describe a place you might go to Solve a Mystery (inspired by Kristen Kittscher’s book Tiara on the Terrace),

Invent a Wacky Disease (inspired by Lee Wardlaw’s “101 Ways to Bug...” series.)

Create a setting for a story in Another Country (inspired by Eugene Yeltsin’s book The Haunting of Falcon House.)

HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 is a Junior Library Guild Selection

I am pleased to learn that HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 is a Junior Library Guild selection for March 1917.
"The JLG editorial team reviews more than 3,000 new titles each year, in manuscript or prepublication stage. We’ve developed a keen sense for finding the best of the best. Over 95 percent of our selections go on to receive awards and/or favorable reviews. And, according to statistics provided by Collection HQ, from 2013 to 2014 JLG Selections circulated 81% more than other books published for children and teens."

Find out more about the Junior Library Guild HERE.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS! Celebrate Read Across America Day

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! Today would be his 113th birthday! And in honor of him, people are celebrating Read Across America Day all across the nation! Hurrah for books and reading!
What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book? I have fond memories of reading The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins when I was growing up. It was originally published in 1938 and is illustrated with black and white drawings. Only the hats are red. I still have a copy!