Maribeth Boelts's Blog, page 7

Books That Heal Kids

Nice review, awesome website if you're looking for books that help and heal children. I'm making a new book list for summer, based on Roxanne's wisdom and expertise.

http://booksthathealkids.blogspot.com/

Authentic Dialogue

No posts for 2 weeks, then 2 posts in one day. Sorry for the blogging rule-breaking! I'm always on the hunt for authentic dialogue-- in books, movies, out and about as I eavesdrop on conversations on occasions. Okay, lots of eavesdropping, particularly when it involves conversations between little kids.

Yesterday, a friend sent me a video from an NPR feature called Story Corps. The video is 4 minutes, and it records a conversation between a mother and her 12 year old son who has Asberger's...

Old friends, Buzz and Woody

Tomorrow I'm heading off to see Toy Story 3 with a gaggle of kids. I think I'm more excited then they are since the Toy Story movies are in that rare category of "never get sick of them" movies. The list is short...Raising Arizona, The Sound of Music, Beauty and the Beast, While You Were Sleeping, The Little Princess and Toy Story, 1,2, and hopefully 3! There are plenty of other more "important" movies that I appreciate- such as the well-acted, very well-written Crazy Heart we just saw and...

"If you have two pennies, buy bread with one, and a lily with the other" Chinese Proverb

I found out a few days ago that The PS Brothers is a Junior Library Guild selection. According to their website (www.juniorlibraryguild.com) "The Junior Library Guild is a literary review and selection service for children's and young-adult books serving schools and public libraries, established in 1929, and used by more than 17,000 librarians today."

Cheery news, according to my editor and agent.

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I was introduced to the Etsy website by a talented artist friend of mine (

Book Signings

How I can relate!

Favorites

To cap off the celebration of Children's Book Week, I'm curious what everyone's favorite books was as a child? Mine was...

The Dragon In The Clock Box by M. Jean Craig

On another note... it's a two week countdown until our oldest son, Adam and his fiance, Janelle get married! Let the festivities begin!

Quote Of The Month

Two posts in one day... I met with a friend a few weeks ago who shared a story from a conference she attended. The speaker talked about a surgery that corrected club feet in children in third world countries. Before being educated about this particular birth defect, most mid-wives said that that they had not seen it before in the babies they had delivered. The mid-wives were then taught more about club feet, and about the surgical correction. A year or so later, most reported that they ha...

Babies

The family and I went to see "Babies" this weekend in Iowa City, and it was the most riveting, inspirational, beautiful movie I've ever seen. What really struck me was the intimacy of this movie, and all the little moments that made you hold your breath, laugh, feel your heart nearly burst out of your chest (not sure Darwin and Will would describe it the same way) as you watched the babies explore their unique environments, face challenges, interact with their families, and grow and develop....

Feedback Time

Starting today, I'm reading "The PS Brothers" to a class of 5th graders at our local elementary school for a half hour each day until we finish. I'm feeling vulnerable about this, truth be told, but excited to hear their thoughts, get their feedback, figure out what they do or don't like or understand. Their teacher is a dog-person, Rottweilers in particular, so that's definitely a bonus.

Sleeping Bootsie/Little Bunny

I love finding out who the art director has chosen to illustrate a new book. For my Step Into Reading book from Random House, "Sleeping Bootsie", it will be artist Patricia Cantor. Checking out her website, she looks like a wonderful fit for this manuscript. http://www.patriciacantor.com/Childrens_Illustrations.htm.

In other news, a new Little Bunny board book will be released this September! Originally written in English, but published only in Germany for a company that has partnered wit...