Kate DiCamillo's Blog, page 35
July 12, 2012
Henry has several virtues. One of them is that when you say, “Go get in the bat...
Henry has several virtues. One of them is that when you say, “Go get in the bathtub,” he will bestow upon you a single, stricken look, and then turn and slink down the hallway and climb into the bathtub.
Henry is shown here with Agatha, who is still a puppy.
Agatha does not yet know how often she will be called upon to do things that she does not want to do; she is cheerful in her ignorance.
But Henry, as you can see, is long-suffering, resigned.
Oh Henry, you are a good soldier.
I will sa...
Henry is shown here with Agatha, who is still a puppy.
Agatha does not yet know how often she will be called upon to do things that she does not want to do; she is cheerful in her ignorance.
But Henry, as you can see, is long-suffering, resigned.
Oh Henry, you are a good soldier.
I will sa...
July 10, 2012
Sometimes, when I am out walking, I like to visit this old coal chute in Uptown...
Sometimes, when I am out walking, I like to visit this old coal chute in Uptown Minneapolis. I like to rest my hand on the raised letters: MAJESTIC. It’s a little like rubbing a lamp. I don’t expect (or necessarily want) a genie to pop out and grant me three wishes. But there is some magic thrumming in that word, those letters. They conjure a cold winter morning and a boy standing in the basement shoveling coal into the furnace. He stops his work and turns, looks up and out the window, catche...
July 5, 2012
The New York Times obituary for Nora Ephron last week ended with several items f...
The New York Times obituary for Nora Ephron last week ended with several items from a list of things that Ephron knew she would miss:
“Taking a bath
Coming over the bridge to Manhattan
Pie.”
In the last week, I have gone back to read those words again and again. They made me want to write my own. This is how my list begins:
Laughing
The feel of airplane wheels touching down on a runway
Fireflies . . .
I’m just getting started.
“Taking a bath
Coming over the bridge to Manhattan
Pie.”
In the last week, I have gone back to read those words again and again. They made me want to write my own. This is how my list begins:
Laughing
The feel of airplane wheels touching down on a runway
Fireflies . . .
I’m just getting started.
July 3, 2012
Last week, I was walking along next to the creek when I looked up and saw a tree...
Last week, I was walking along next to the creek when I looked up and saw a tree looking back at me. More yarn bombing! The world was suddenly electric, joyous. It made me remember those words from the poet Wislawa Szymborska, “nothing is usual or normal. Not a single stone or a single cloud.”
This is what art does. It reminds us of the singularity of each thing.
We look at the world; and through art, the world looks back.
Photos
This is what art does. It reminds us of the singularity of each thing.
We look at the world; and through art, the world looks back.
Photos
June 29, 2012
From the Candlewick team: Download an MP3 of Kate's interview on Milwaukee Publ...
From the Candlewick team: Download an MP3 of Kate's interview on Milwaukee Public Radio!
Lake Effect: DiCamillo Hopes to Change the World for Her Young Readers
www.wuwm.com
Award-winning children's book author Kate DiCamillo says she relishes the pressure of hooking kids early on her stories, like "Because of Winn-Dixie" and "The Tale of Despereaux."
Lake Effect: DiCamillo Hopes to Change the World for Her Young Readers
www.wuwm.com
Award-winning children's book author Kate DiCamillo says she relishes the pressure of hooking kids early on her stories, like "Because of Winn-Dixie" and "The Tale of Despereaux."
June 28, 2012
Some notes from the mailbag:
A letter from Nick (that’s his drawing of Edward...
Some notes from the mailbag:
A letter from Nick (that’s his drawing of Edward above) who loved The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (“I cried when Sarah Ruth died. I cried tears of joy when Abilene came back at the end.”) Nick wants to know where he can get a china rabbit like Edward Tulane.
A letter from Amanda who wrote about Edward Tulane for a program called Letters about Literature and said, “Every time I read your book, the words were new magic to me, like I had never read them befo...
A letter from Nick (that’s his drawing of Edward above) who loved The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (“I cried when Sarah Ruth died. I cried tears of joy when Abilene came back at the end.”) Nick wants to know where he can get a china rabbit like Edward Tulane.
A letter from Amanda who wrote about Edward Tulane for a program called Letters about Literature and said, “Every time I read your book, the words were new magic to me, like I had never read them befo...
June 26, 2012
Yesterday I walked past this sidewalk hopscotch.
And then I turned around and...
Yesterday I walked past this sidewalk hopscotch.
And then I turned around and came back to it and hopped my way through from beginning to end.
I haven’t hopscotched for at least thirty years.
But somewhere deep inside me there were muscles that remembered exactly what to do.
It felt good to use those muscles. There was joy in it.
On good days, writing feels that way to me, like a remembered-muscle thing, an ancient dance, a path to joy.
And then I turned around and came back to it and hopped my way through from beginning to end.
I haven’t hopscotched for at least thirty years.
But somewhere deep inside me there were muscles that remembered exactly what to do.
It felt good to use those muscles. There was joy in it.
On good days, writing feels that way to me, like a remembered-muscle thing, an ancient dance, a path to joy.
June 21, 2012
THINGS THAT NEVER FAIL TO CHEER ME UP, PART THREE: MINI DONUTS
Just typing the...
THINGS THAT NEVER FAIL TO CHEER ME UP, PART THREE: MINI DONUTS
Just typing the words “mini donuts” is almost guaranteed to cheer you up.
Go ahead; try it.
See?
And saying the words aloud to someone you love (“What do you say we head over there and get us some mini donuts?”) is cause for full-blown joy.
Pablo Neruda could have written a great Ode to the Mini Donut.
What I have are these words: it is summertime, and I am grateful to hold this deep-fried, sugar-dusted reminder of life’s fleeti...
Just typing the words “mini donuts” is almost guaranteed to cheer you up.
Go ahead; try it.
See?
And saying the words aloud to someone you love (“What do you say we head over there and get us some mini donuts?”) is cause for full-blown joy.
Pablo Neruda could have written a great Ode to the Mini Donut.
What I have are these words: it is summertime, and I am grateful to hold this deep-fried, sugar-dusted reminder of life’s fleeti...
June 19, 2012
THINGS THAT NEVER FAIL TO CHEER ME UP, PART TWO: ASSISTANT PIG-KEEPERS
“Most of...
THINGS THAT NEVER FAIL TO CHEER ME UP, PART TWO: ASSISTANT PIG-KEEPERS
“Most of us are called on to perform tasks far beyond what we believe we can do. Our capabilities seldom match our aspirations, and we are often woefully unprepared. To this extent, we are all Assistant Pig-Keepers at heart.”
I wrote down these words (from Lloyd Alexander’s marvelous The Book of Three) eighteen years ago; and every few years, I go in search of the quote again. Yesterday, I opened a book and a scrap of pape...
“Most of us are called on to perform tasks far beyond what we believe we can do. Our capabilities seldom match our aspirations, and we are often woefully unprepared. To this extent, we are all Assistant Pig-Keepers at heart.”
I wrote down these words (from Lloyd Alexander’s marvelous The Book of Three) eighteen years ago; and every few years, I go in search of the quote again. Yesterday, I opened a book and a scrap of pape...
June 14, 2012
A few days ago, I was in the vet’s office and Henry got into a dust-up with a bi...
A few days ago, I was in the vet’s office and Henry got into a dust-up with a big dog. And in the process, the big dog knocked his owner off her feet. She was falling and I caught her.
I do not think of myself as reliable or quick-witted or coordinated or strong. But I caught this woman and balanced her on my knees and kept her from falling.
I am used to people catching me.
I did not know that I had it in me to catch other people.
What I thought as I was balancing her on my knees was: it’...
I do not think of myself as reliable or quick-witted or coordinated or strong. But I caught this woman and balanced her on my knees and kept her from falling.
I am used to people catching me.
I did not know that I had it in me to catch other people.
What I thought as I was balancing her on my knees was: it’...
