Let the 12 Books of Christmas 2013 begin!!
For more moments, visit Amanda’s Soule Mama where she describes her Friday posts this way, “A Friday ritual. A single photo-no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause and remember.”
Read more
Recently, the great people at McSweeney’s McMullens reached out to me and introduced to a few of their children’s titles.
I thought I would choose my favorite to share with you all today.
Meet Crabtree by Jon and Tucker Nichols.
I have read some reviews that compare Crabtree to a Richard Scary book which I think is an apt comparison. That said, I think Crabtree might be more fairy called Richard Scary plus… And the plus is for the grown up readers.
In this story Alfred Crabtree wakes up to discover that his false teeth are missing. Throughout the remainder of the book he sorts through all of his things and puts them in to categories such as ‘everything that started with S’, ‘tools and utensils’ and my favorite, ‘I don’t know what these things are.’ Having recently moved, we have a few just such boxes in our own basement.
Children always love looking through books filled with tons and tons of pictures. This can, though, become a bit tiresome for the adult reader. Enter the genius of Crabtree. If you look carefully, each page has at least one subtle joke.
For example, on the page labeled, ‘small yapping dogs’ you will find a picture of a cat labeled ‘Powder the cat shouldn’t be here’ and on the ‘shells page’ you will find turtle and crab shells but also pasta shells. And of course there is the page where Albert eventually finds his teeth. I am not going to tell you where they are but I will tell you that they are in a pretty funny spot.
Shana and I are both thrilled about all the response we received to our first post in this series last week. During the time we were trying to name our series, my e-mail decided to be very uncooperative so we didn’t chose a similar title. Shana’s post was titled Learning to Like a Social Network (or Facebook vs. Twitter) while I titled my post Facebook and Twitter: A Love Hate Relationship. While our titles were different, our messages were the same. Facebook and Twitter are two different places to be and people’s fears and understanding of both are equally different.
In reading through the comments that readers made on both of our posts (thank you commenters!), I learned some really interesting things. Among them…
1. There are things about Facebook that I never thought to worry about, thank goodness. Because now that you mention it, I do hate it when I post something and get no feedback.
and
2. There are some fascinating trends in likes and dislikes. The most interesting example for me is the fact that the people who like Facebook and are nervous about Twitter tend to also like Instagram while the Twitter users do not.
Now moving on…
Our plan for today was to share dos and don’ts for each of our preferred networks. I have been feeling a ton of stress about this post though because, to be honest, I am really not a Facebook expert. Not at all. It is simply a place where I feel comfortable to share, to learn and to explore. Instead of trying to flub my way through with expert sounding advice I’ve decided to do things a bit differently.
I am going to share a few thoughts but then I’m going to open the floor. After last week, I have ‘met’ so many great new bloggers with tons of information to share, that I want to highlight their thoughts and their advice.
So Facebook lovers, please post your tips and tricks for using FB effectively and I will update this post throughout the day with your amazing suggestions.
For now… My simple tips.
1. For me, right now, keeping my personal space on Facebook and using it to also promote my blog works best. There are so many ever changing rules and algorithms for business pages that it is just not worth it for me. That said, this does limit my use of FB for blog promotion. I do not want my friends and family to be overwhelmed with blog related materials. To be honest, this is part of why I hope to gain a greater appreciation for Twitter. I personally feel more comfortable being there as a writer and sharing my work along with others.
2. Schedule, schedule, schedule. I am still working hard to fit this in to my routine but using a service such as HootSuite makes maintaing a presence on Facebook far easier. When I read an article that I want my friends to see, I hop right over to HootSuite and schedule a post. This not only helps me to stay active on Facebook but it has also helped me to remember all the great information that is out there to share.
3. Don’t worry about your likes and comments. Many of the commenters on last week’s post mentioned that they dislike Facebook for the silence that can often come after a post. I know it’s easier said than done, but I know there are many more people who read my posts than who comment. If I ever get worried about this, I simply think about all the FB posts I have appreciated during the day and did not ‘like’ or comment. Surely, if that is the case for my habits, there are many more people out there just like me.
And now it’s your turn. Please comment with any Facebook tips you might have to share and I will plug them right into the body of this post along with any links to your work that you might want to provide.
Read moreI did a happy dance when I read the Wall Street Journal last week. And no, that doesn’t happy very often.
You see, the cover story of the Arena section was titled “See Grown-Ups Read. Read, Grown-Ups, Read.” And it said pretty much what I have been saying for years. There are really, really good books written for middle grade readers and adults are and should be reading them.
What began as the Harry Potter phenomenon has transcended that series. Adults are now reading more and more books aimed at a much younger audience. But as David Baldacci, an adult author, says “A lot of the most interesting work in fiction is coming out of that genre.” And adults are catching on. The article continues to say that children used to emulate the reading habits of the adults in their lives and now, adults are looking to what children are reading in order to stock their shelves.
If I am in a reading rut, the very first thing I do is find a young adult or middle grade book to read. I am immediately reminded of all that I love about the reading.
In case you find yourself in a rut during this busy time of year, here are some of my favorite ‘children and young adult books for grown-ups.
Paper Boy by Vince Vawter
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Endangered by Eliot Schrefer
Real Boy by Anne Ursu
Read more
I’m not quite sure how it is that I have never read this piece by Erma Bombeck but I haven’t. Fortunately, I was introduced to it today and I plan on printing it out and putting it on my bulletin board immediately.
Lately, I have been saying that ten is the new thirteen. It seems that I must say no more than yes. I must leave unanswered as many questions as I answer. I must give enough space while remaining close. I have been traveling this terrain for a bit now. I hope these words will serve as reminder to me as I continue down this confusing path.
Read more“Someday, when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a mother, I’ll tell them…
I loved you enough to bug you about where you were going, with whom and what time you would get home.
I loved you enough to insist you buy a bike with your own money, which we could afford, and you couldn’t.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover your hand picked friend was a creep.
I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your bedroom, a job that would have taken me 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to say, “Yes, you can go to Disney World on Mother’s Day.”
I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, disgust, and tears in my eyes.
I loved you enough not to make excuses for your lack of respect or your bad manners.
I loved you enough to admit that I was wrong and ask for your forgiveness.
I loved you enough to ignore “what every other mother” did or said.
I loved you enough to let you stumble, fall, hurt, and fail.
I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your own actions, at 6, 10, or 16.
I loved you enough to figure you would lie about the party being chaperoned, but forgave you for it…after discovering I was right.
I loved you enough to shove you off my lap, let go of your hand, be mute to your pleas and insensitive to your demands…so that you had to stand alone.
I loved you enough to accept you for what you are, and not what I wanted you to be.
But most of all, I loved you enough to say no when you hated me for it. That was the hardest part of all.”
-Erma Bombeck
“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” – Jimmy Johnson
For more moments, visit Amanda’s Soule Mama where she describes her Friday posts this way, “A Friday ritual. A single photo-no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause and remember.”
Read more
I had been drafting a post in my head throughout the week about Uri Shulevitz’s new book Dusk. I had read it and thought it was the perfect book for the holiday season. The book tells the story of a boy, his grandfather and his dog as they explore the world at dusk. The reader follows along as the group watches families enjoying Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza traditions, each celebration centering on light.
I was prepared to tell you that Dusk was the go-to read aloud book for class parties. The book to give to any child on your holiday shopping list.
And then I read it to Katherine.
Half way through (and it is a short book!), she asked me to stop. After I made her stick with it until the end, she told me she didn’t like it. When I asked her what she disliked, she quickly replied, “I wanted a story. Not just words.” The words in the book are sparse and while there is a story line, it isn’t exactly a plot driven tale.
I’ve often thought about the fact that many of the children’s books that adults like are not the books loved by children and vice versa. I suppose our experience with Dusk is yet another reminder of the power of choice in a child’s reading life. So here’s to more books with a story in Katherine’s world.
Read more
A few months ago, I met Shana through one of my favorite blog link-ups, Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Twitterature. We have been sharing our thoughts on each other’s blogs since then and I have so enjoyed getting to know Shana through her writing. A few weeks ago, I realized that Shana was often sharing my posts on Twitter and my usual Twitter-angst returned. I have tried on and off over the years to understand what happens in the mysterious Twitter-verse and I’ve been unsuccessful. I get overwhelmed and leave shortly after I arrive.
While I was not able to share Shana’s posts on Twitter because of my own confusion, I knew that I wanted more people to read Shana’s writing, so I hopped on over to Facebook to share there. That was when I discovered that Shana was not on Facebook. And right around that same time, Shana mentioned in a post or a comment that she was hoping to tackle her own Facebook confusion.
What!? I couldn’t believe it. Someone who has mastered the crazy world of Twitter but wasn’t on Facebook? This made no sense to me. I e-mailed her right away and so this mini blog series was born.
Over the course of three posts, Shana and I are going to come clean about our social media strengths and areas for improvement, our questions and what we have learned along the way. I hope that lots of people join our conversation. If Shana is intimidated by Facebook and I don’t ‘get’ Twitter, than I know there are a lot more people like us out there. Both platforms have so much to offer so I hope this conversation will be fun and useful for us all.
I have no memory of deciding to get on Facebook so I had to go back to see when I wrote my first post. According to my timeline, I joined in May of 2008. When I saw this, I thought it must be wrong. I always assumed I had been on Facebook for much longer than that. Turns out though that May of 2008 was five and a half years ago and that actually does seem about right (enter cliche about time passing quickly here). As far as Twitter goes, I joined in March of 2012 during a conference on social media.
When I joined Facebook, I didn’t put too much thought in to the decision. Initially for me, it was a place to stay in touch with friends, to watch children grow and to learn lots of interesting literacy tidbits. Over time though, I began to see that it had possibilities for me as a writer as well. I began to post links to my blog and my readership soared. I find it easy to have conversations with friends and readers after I post and I also find sharing incredibly simple. I enjoy reading other people’s thoughts on posts and am often draw to readers and writers that I enjoy after reading their thoughts on a friend’s Facebook post.I feel comfortable posting on Facebook when something comes to mind but equally comfortable putting a thought aside to post about later.
As I mentioned above, I joined Twitter as part of a homework assignment at a social media conference. I have tried and tried to embrace this form of connecting. I can tweet and I can re-tweet. I can share links. But that is where my understanding ends. I don’t understand how to post a modified tweet. I can never follow a question and answer between two other people. I know that I am missing out on so much information and so many connections that it drive me nuts. I have often heard Twitter referred to as a giant cocktail party. My father always called cocktail parties, “stand up and shouts.” When I was younger this made no sense to me. I loved a fun cocktail party. As I’ve gotten older though I’m afraid I am starting to understand where my father was coming from. When too many people are talking all at once, I find it hard to focus. I wonder if this is what is happening to me with Twitter? I also feel worried about the timeliness of tweets. I feel like I have to be on Twitter constantly to stay connected and that stresses me out.
So. Here’s to the beginning of an interesting conversation. I can’t wait to learn more about the worlds of Facebook and Twitter….
Read more
A ten year old boy in our community lost his four year long battle with cancer last week. I didn’t know him personally but his death has really been felt by all the parents and children here. While I feel incredibly sad, the loss of Michael has also made me so incredibly grateful for each hug I have received from the girls over the past few days. Everything seems a bit more important. I want to pay more attention. I want to slow down. I want to be here. I wish it didn’t take the big stuff to remind us of the little stuff but for whatever reason, it does.
I found this quote earlier today that seems to say what I have been thinking lately.
“There are two ways to live your life- one is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle.”
– Albert Einstein
From everything I have read about Michael, it seems he would believe that everything is a miracle. I think I’ll go with that too…
Read more
This weekend was a first. We have never gotten a Christmas tree in November. In fact, I have always wondered why people would get a tree quite so early. This year, though, because of various commitments in the coming weeks, we chose our tree this weekend. And a great thing happened. We really weren’t in the Christmas spirit at all when we woke up on Saturday and by the time we fell asleep, it felt like Christmas had arrived.
I used to think that you had to be in the Christmas spirit to get your tree but it turns out that getting your tree can instead put you in the spirit.
