Kate DiCamillo's Blog, page 26
May 2, 2013
Twice now, I have been lucky enough to receive little Hope Senders in the mail....
Twice now, I have been lucky enough to receive little Hope Senders in the mail. These guys are small, winged pieces of original art. They are laminated. You can put them in your pocket or your purse and carry them with you anywhere. They are good company.
And now that I have two of them, I might pass one on, so that someone else can carry a little hope with them wherever they go.
And now that I have two of them, I might pass one on, so that someone else can carry a little hope with them wherever they go.
April 30, 2013
In the mailbag, this week: Shawn Wilson’s third grade class in Clifton, Colorado...
In the mailbag, this week: Shawn Wilson’s third grade class in Clifton, Colorado read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and made posters detailing Edward’s physical and emotional transformation during his journey.
Under the first Edward, these words: “In the beginning, Edward was . . . “
Under the second Edward: “In the middle, Edward was . . . “
And under the third Edward: “At the end, Edward was . . .”
In each picture, Edward’s face appears more dinged up and dirtied.
Here are the wor...
Under the first Edward, these words: “In the beginning, Edward was . . . “
Under the second Edward: “In the middle, Edward was . . . “
And under the third Edward: “At the end, Edward was . . .”
In each picture, Edward’s face appears more dinged up and dirtied.
Here are the wor...
April 25, 2013
Another picture from my visit to the Candlewick offices: here I am posing with B...
Another picture from my visit to the Candlewick offices: here I am posing with Bink (can you see the resemblance?) and Gollie.
Bink and Gollie, Best Friends Forever came out on Tuesday.
The book features royalty, Stretch-O-Matics and gold paste-on stars.
It is the last Bink and Gollie book, and in the way of last things, it is a little bit sad and a little bit sweet.
Bink and Gollie, Best Friends Forever came out on Tuesday.
The book features royalty, Stretch-O-Matics and gold paste-on stars.
It is the last Bink and Gollie book, and in the way of last things, it is a little bit sad and a little bit sweet.
April 23, 2013
I was at the Candlewick offices in Boston week before last and I ran into Timoth...
I was at the Candlewick offices in Boston week before last and I ran into Timothy Basil Ering, the gentleman who drew the illustrations for The Tale of Despereaux.
Tim is one of the most intensely joyful people I have ever known; somehow he managed to distill that joy into an impossibly small mouse.
So every time I look at Despereaux, I see Tim: his hope and his wonder, his determination and his joy.
Thank you, Tim.
Tim is one of the most intensely joyful people I have ever known; somehow he managed to distill that joy into an impossibly small mouse.
So every time I look at Despereaux, I see Tim: his hope and his wonder, his determination and his joy.
Thank you, Tim.
April 18, 2013
Last week, a friend who grew up in Minneapolis showed me a gap between two large...
Last week, a friend who grew up in Minneapolis showed me a gap between two large buildings . . . a very long, extremely narrow space that she and her friends used to be able to squeeze their way through when they were kids.
It was early evening when she showed me this, and I could see the whole length of the dark space between the buildings. I could see the purple sky waiting at the end of it.
It was a thin place.
No adult could fit in it.
I wished suddenly, desperately, that I were small,...
It was early evening when she showed me this, and I could see the whole length of the dark space between the buildings. I could see the purple sky waiting at the end of it.
It was a thin place.
No adult could fit in it.
I wished suddenly, desperately, that I were small,...
April 16, 2013
I went and visited my brother over the weekend.
I got back to Minneapolis on...
I went and visited my brother over the weekend.
I got back to Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon, and I was walking through baggage claim when I heard Chopsticks.
I looked around and saw that over by the elevators, there was a piano.
A girl (maybe 10 years old) was playing the high parts and her father was playing the low parts and they were both smiling.
When they finished playing, the father looked at the daughter and said, “Again?”
The girl nodded and said, “Again.”
I thought, “Yes, agai...
I got back to Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon, and I was walking through baggage claim when I heard Chopsticks.
I looked around and saw that over by the elevators, there was a piano.
A girl (maybe 10 years old) was playing the high parts and her father was playing the low parts and they were both smiling.
When they finished playing, the father looked at the daughter and said, “Again?”
The girl nodded and said, “Again.”
I thought, “Yes, agai...
April 11, 2013
In the mail this week: a letter I cannot stop thinking about.
Written by an adu...
In the mail this week: a letter I cannot stop thinking about.
Written by an adult, unsigned, no return address.
This person is having a lousy, lousy time; and she (or he) wanted me to know that my stories have helped.
“Thank you for letting Despereaux be a hero and allowing Otis to keep a job and giving the magician a loving wife.”
Something about this just undoes me.
I showed the letter to a friend who said, “Man, that person really needed some hope.”
And I thought: that’s it. Hope.
Katheri...
Written by an adult, unsigned, no return address.
This person is having a lousy, lousy time; and she (or he) wanted me to know that my stories have helped.
“Thank you for letting Despereaux be a hero and allowing Otis to keep a job and giving the magician a loving wife.”
Something about this just undoes me.
I showed the letter to a friend who said, “Man, that person really needed some hope.”
And I thought: that’s it. Hope.
Katheri...
April 9, 2013
This rabbit doll is a gift from my friend, mentor and writing teacher, Jane Resh...
This rabbit doll is a gift from my friend, mentor and writing teacher, Jane Resh Thomas. She gave the rabbit to me as a Christmas gift in 2001. When I asked her what his name was, she told me it was Edward.
I dreamed about the rabbit a few nights after receiving him. In my dream, he was facedown on the ocean floor, stripped of all his finery and waiting for someone to find him.
Edward sits on a chair in my office.
He is one of the best gifts I have ever received.
He reminds me that stories...
I dreamed about the rabbit a few nights after receiving him. In my dream, he was facedown on the ocean floor, stripped of all his finery and waiting for someone to find him.
Edward sits on a chair in my office.
He is one of the best gifts I have ever received.
He reminds me that stories...
April 4, 2013
One of the best things about receiving a letter from a kid is that artwork often...
One of the best things about receiving a letter from a kid is that artwork often (usually) comes along with it.
For instance, here is a picture of Edward Tulane with wings by a third-grader named Ian.
I have had Ian’s art hanging in my office for the last month or so.
Every time I look at it, I think the same thing: man, I like those whiskers; those are some truly excellent wings.
And then I think: when did I stop drawing?
Which makes me remember of one of my favorite quotes from Art and...
For instance, here is a picture of Edward Tulane with wings by a third-grader named Ian.
I have had Ian’s art hanging in my office for the last month or so.
Every time I look at it, I think the same thing: man, I like those whiskers; those are some truly excellent wings.
And then I think: when did I stop drawing?
Which makes me remember of one of my favorite quotes from Art and...
April 2, 2013
I have to say that all your birthday wishes last week surprised and moved me. T...
I have to say that all your birthday wishes last week surprised and moved me. Thank you.
So many observations and worries and hopes that I scrawl in my notebook ultimately make their way here, to this page.
Thank you for letting me think out loud. Thank you for wondering and marveling and hoping with me.
I am grateful for your company.
Included here: the first piece of sidewalk art I spotted this spring.
I think it might be a chick.
But whatever it is, it is most certainly smiling.
So many observations and worries and hopes that I scrawl in my notebook ultimately make their way here, to this page.
Thank you for letting me think out loud. Thank you for wondering and marveling and hoping with me.
I am grateful for your company.
Included here: the first piece of sidewalk art I spotted this spring.
I think it might be a chick.
But whatever it is, it is most certainly smiling.
