Kate DiCamillo's Blog, page 28

So, it was 10 degrees and dark and snowing and we had caravanned up north to the...

So, it was 10 degrees and dark and snowing and we had caravanned up north to the cabin only to discover that we had no key to the cabin.
There were eight of us. There was a lot of digging in the snow, looking for mythical hidden keys. Window-breaking was considered. So was door-jamb busting. We were hungry and tired. We had all been looking forward to sitting down and eating soup.
We had planned everything so perfectly!
And now we could not get inside.
Eventually, a relative with a key was...

I grew up in Florida and have lived in Minnesota for the last eighteen years. S...

I grew up in Florida and have lived in Minnesota for the last eighteen years. Sometimes, deep in the heart of winter, I think: how did I get here?
It is not, in any way, a complaint.
It is more a question of wonder.
I grew up swimming year-round in fresh water lakes; and now, here I am in middle-age, trekking across a frozen, snow-covered lake.
I am walking in the footsteps of friends who headed out on the lake before me; a friend is following behind me and we are walking in end-of-the-day...

Here is the frost on my front porch window. I have to remind myself that the w...

Here is the frost on my front porch window.
I have to remind myself that the world does this: leaves dazzling little valentines everywhere.
I need to make sure my heart is open, so that I can see them.

I want to tell you about Diane Clements who is a bookseller at Lemuria Bookstore...

I want to tell you about Diane Clements who is a bookseller at Lemuria Bookstore in Jackson, Mississippi; and I want to tell you about hand-selling which is when a bookseller takes a book off the shelf and puts that book in a customer’s hands and says, “Please, please read this book.”
This simple, profound gesture connects people. It makes a book come alive.
So: Diane Clements. Lemuria Bookstore. Jackson, Mississippi.
Some time ago, Diane gave herself a goal of hand-selling 1,000 copies of T...

This is a picture of my Aunt Ann reading Bink and Gollie Two for One. I know th...

This is a picture of my Aunt Ann reading Bink and Gollie Two for One. I know that she would not be pleased with this photo (she is wearing her glasses and she does not like to be seen in her glasses), but I love the picture and keep coming back to it.
I like the light on Aunt Ann’s hands.
I like that she is smiling.
I like how engaged she is with the book.
One of the great pleasures (and there are many) of telling a story is getting to watch someone you love read that story.
Every time I...

A friend received this fortune cookie message last week:“The book should be a...

A friend received this fortune cookie message last week:
“The book should be a ball of light in one’s hand.”
My friend is working on a novel; I am working on a novel; and she and I agree that this might be the best fortune ever.
We both thought that the words were worth sharing.
So here they are.
It is good to be reminded: stories are light.

In the branches of my chinaberry tree, every day now, for the last week: a cardi...

In the branches of my chinaberry tree, every day now, for the last week: a cardinal couple. First the male shows up and then the female. And because they are so extraordinary (he so bright, she so subtle) when I catch sight of them, I let myself stop doing, doing, doing.
I hold still.
I am grateful for the birds’ togetherness, their beauty, but grateful most of all for the permission they seem to grant me: to stand and do nothing but admire.

There were a lot of letters in this week’s mailbag about Because of Winn-Dixie....

There were a lot of letters in this week’s mailbag about Because of Winn-Dixie.
The art is (as you can see) by Jack who lives in Vermont.
And there was this wonderful sentence about Because of Winn-Dixie from Natalie in Minnesota: “I really liked my teacher reading that book out loud.”
Thank you, all you teachers.
Thank you for putting books in the hands of kids.
Thank you for reading out loud to them.
Thank you.

From the Candlewick team: Good news, folks: for the remainder of January, you ca...

From the Candlewick team: Good news, folks: for the remainder of January, you can get 30% off any Kate DiCamillo title now available on candlewick.com with the magical code DICAMILLO at checkout!

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Candlewick Press - Essentials
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From the Candlewick team: Big News! USA TODAY offers an exclusive early look at...

From the Candlewick team: Big News! USA TODAY offers an exclusive early look at Kate DiCamillo's upcoming middle-grade novel Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/01/23/kate-dicamillo-flora-and-ulysses-reveal/1859307/


Exclusive peek: Kate DiCamillo's 'Flora and Ulysses'
www.usatoday.com
Newbery Award-winning author Kate DiCamillo is back with a story of a girl and a squirrel.