Jane Sutton's Blog, page 21

Turkeys Are Welcome

While I’m usually posting about chickens here (in honor of What’s Up With this Chicken?), other fowl are welcome, especially this mama turkey and her 12 babies! To my husband’s and my delight, this adorable family showed up in our yard last week.

Cool article!

Cover of Current Issue

The current issue of Colonial Times Magazine has a great article about the varied, interesting offerings at Lexington Community Education, under the stewardship of Director Craig Hall and his terrific staff.

Part of the article talks about the Children’s Writing class I’ve been teaching for many years now and the journey of my star student, Josh Funk, who joined the class as a new writer and now has an agent, an award-winning picture book and four more books on the way. Plus, he’s a really nice guy! Josh’s website

Here’s the article

See the post below called “Cool Conference” for a photo of Josh and other students.

Summer Reading List

Looking for books to read over the summer–for yourself or your children, grandchildren or any kids you know? The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) has published a rich and comprehensive list to choose from! Here it is!

Almost 1400 books from 350 publishers are grouped by US region or other country where the author or illustrator lives. Then they are in alphabetical order under grade levels from K-12. There are wonderful and varied books on the list, and What’s Up With this Chicken? is under the New England region, under K-2. Just saying. Wait, I’ll edit that: Just crowing.

Chicken Receives Well-Deserved Recognition!

Nice to see a chicken engraved in stone! In the small, charming town of Adamsville, Rhode Island this plaque, from 1925, states: “The Rhode Island Red – To Commemorate the birthplace of the Rhode Island Red breed of fowl which originated near this location.” Yes! Power to the chickens!

Cool Conference

The New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Conference in Springfield last weekend was chock full of interesting sessions. I survived giving my first conference workshop ever, on conveying characters in picture books. It’s hard to reveal a character’s traits and emotions when you’re confined to 500-700 words, but I gave tips on how to do so.

Star student Josh Funk holds his debut picture book, Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, (he has lots more in the pipe line!) between me and his classmate, writer-illustrator Doreen Buchinski

My favorite part of the weekend was hanging with lovely & talented students from the children’s book writing class I teach at Lexington Community Education.

Talented writers & lovely students at conference posing with “their teach”: (L to R) Cindy Hutter, Gayle Stern, moi & What’s Up with This Chicken?, Ellen Mayer (author of A Fish to Feed and other books) & Doreen Buchinski

What a Store!

 

How great to have Judy, my friend since before we were even born, in the audience!

It was a thrill to share What’s Up with This Chicken? with an enthusiastic story time audience at the fabulous bookstore created by Jeff Kinney in Plainville, MA–An Unlikely Story.

First, I read the book…

…and the audience listened…

Then volunteers acted out scenes from the book amid giggles from the audience.

Cool exterior of store

Lovely interior of store…I’ll be back!

Waltham Public Library is Awesome!

I had a great time last week talking to kids and grown-ups at the Waltham (Massachusetts) Public Library. It was fun to read What’s Up with This Chicken? and share my own process as a writer, as well as the illustrator’s process. Kids were observant in noticing differences between early sketches and final art and between initial and final drafts of the story.

Plus, it’s a cozy-feeling library with a great book, music, and film collection–with a warm, helpful staff!

 My colleague Doreen and me before the show

 

 

 

 

Reading the book     Explaining how I revise

Diary of a Wimpy Chicken?

That subject line is nonsense, but I couldn’t resist the mash-up. On Thursday, April 21st, I’ll be reading What’s Up With this Chicken? at An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA. This is the totally awesome bookstore renovated by Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series in a historic building in his hometown.

I’m looking forward to reading to kids, running an interactive game in which volunteers can reenact scenes from the book, and answering questions.

The store has been written up in The New York Times and lots of other publications.

Incidentally, Trudy the Chicken, heroine of this picture book, is not at all wimpy.

Quite the opposite!

School April Vacation Week = Book Week

Next week is school vacation week in Massachusetts, so I’m especially pleased to be doing a program on Tuesday, April 19th at the Waltham Public Library! Check out the flyer:

 

 

 

 

 

From The Boston Public Market Kitchen!

Story Time at the Boston Public Market Kitchen was such fun! Adorable, attentive kids listened to me read Don’t Call Me Sidney and participated wholeheartedly in rhyming games. Thanks to my son, Charlie, for coming with me and taking photos!

“Who knows what an author is?”

 

 

 

“This bowl is good; it’s made out of….wood!”

“At night, my friend the spoon looks up at the…moon!”

My son Charlie and me (the book is dedicated to him!)

“This duck drives a…truck!”