Kirby Larson's Blog, page 101

Catching Up

In case I haven't been kicked out of blogdom for failing to post daily, here is an update.

A week ago Sunday, I was at Shangri-Lar, building a raised bed frame for our little veggie garden.
Our garden, complete with crab trellis

Mind you, this was the first "home improvement" project my husband and I have ever done together that happened without yelling. I wish I'd taken photos as the bed went together but oh well.

We finished shoveling dirt mid-afternoon and hit the road south. At home, I finis...

My dog ate my blog post

Not really. But Winston the Wonder Dog did eat the Hershey's Kiss I brought home from IRA in Chicago in my carry-on bag and completely forgot about.

He's fine -- really.

But I'm now one more day behind on blog posts.

More tomorrow.

Wow!

I know I'm not the only author to have signed up for google alerts about myself or my books. It's easy to do and mostly fun. Except when I read reviews from teens who give Hattie a 3 out of 5.

Sigh.

But tonight I found a mention I hadn't seen before. Someone has actually compiled quotes from Hattie Big Sky!!!

I feel like I've made it to the big time!!!

The compilers left out one of my favorites, however. It's when Hattie remembers laying out on her aunt and uncle's back lawn, feeling like she "co...

Quote for the Day

From Madeleine L'Engle:

"You have to write that book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for adults, then write it for children."


Delicious!

Arbor Day for Earth Day

Warm and elegant picture books are the specialty of today's guest. Perhaps best known for the much-beloved classic, Laura Charlotte, Kathryn Galbraith is a master of this genre. I have been blessed to have spent a goodly number of years in a critique group with her and am always in awe of her ability to hone in on what's wonky about the shape of my work.

I'm delighted to present this interview today, on the release date of her brand-new picture book,

Pour yourself a venti Americano and get to...

Wordy Wednesday

Here's a word I really like: award. And Mary and I have just found out that



has won its 3rd state children's choice award, this time in North Dakota. The librarian who shared the good news wondered if the kids connected with the Bobs' story because of the horrible flooding in North Dakota in recent years; Grand Forks is only now completely rebuilt. It's such an honor to think the Bobs' courage and our words are giving comfort and inspiration to kids there.

In addition to, "Congratulations," som...

A Whirlwind Trip to New York

I left my CPA husband to deal with April 15 all by himself and instead of being grumpy at me, he made sure there were flowers and champagne in our funny little hotel room at the Roger Smith! What a guy.
Flowers and champagne!

Those flowers were just the morale booster I needed after schlepping myself and my suitcase on the train from Newark, to Penn Station, on the subway to 51st and Lex. I made a few missteps which meant lugging the bag up and down several sets of stairs unnecessarily, but all...

Karen Cushman

I will never forget first hearing Karen Cushman speak years ago at the SCBWI LA conference. She was so inspiring, and yet down-to-earth. The words that stuck in my brain were: find your passion.

Thanks to her well-crafted and compelling historical fiction, I became first an avid reader of the genre and, now, an avid writer of same. I reviewed Karen's newest book, Alchemy and Meggy Swann -- which has received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist and School Library Journal! --, in an earlier p...

Sky High

By the time this posts, I will be high (in a plane) over Kansas, on my way to New York to meet up with partner-in-crime, Mary Nethery, so we can attend the Christopher Awards ceremony tomorrow.

Details and photos TK.

Operation Book Drop- 4/15/2010

The clever divas over at Readergirlz are at it again! For the third year in a row, they're organizing a massive book drop. It's been great fun for me to leave a copy of



someplace here in Washington for a reader to find. But on Thursday, I'll get to leave a copy somewhere in the Big Apple!

It's not too late for you to play (check out the book wish list for two well-deserving libraries) -- go for it!