Deby Fredericks's Blog, page 101

The Paper Bag Princess, by Robert Munsch

Here’s another classic picture book with dragons. It was published in 1980, by the author of Love You Forever and other great picture books. His illustration partner for this book was Michael Martchenko.

The Paper Bag Princess features Princess Elizabeth and her fiance, the prim and proper Prince Ronald. Alas, a terrible dragon appears and destroys Elizabeth’s castle. It snatches Ronald, and flies away! The destitute princess sets off to rescue her fiance, with no weapons and wearing nothing but a paper bag (the dragon burned all her gowns when it attacked the castle). Elizabeth succeeds by using her wits, but Ronald is shocked at her undignified appearance. The engagement is over.

These days, we’re accustomed to female characters who defend their own interests, but in 1980 this was a startling reversal of the tropes. It won lots of accolades, especially from feminist groups such as the National Organization for Women. Because attitudes have changed over time, the story has lost some of its punch. Still, you could do a lot worse than The Paper Bag Princess for your child’s bedtime reading.

Good Night, Good Knight

Continuing with the grade-school thread, here’s a sweet and funny dragon story for beginning readers. Good Night, Good Knight was written by Shelley Moore Thomas and illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. Penguin published it in the early 2000s and it is still in print.

The title character is the Good Night, who keeps a faithful watch over his “crumbly, tumbly tower.” But one night he hears a great roar. Tracing the sound, he comes upon a lonely cave where three baby dragons can’t get to sleep. Rather than attacking them, the Good Knight does everything a surrogate parent could possibly do to help them settle down.

This is one of the first books my kids discovered in the library. We read it many times, and it holds a lot of memories. Like I said, it’s sweet and funny. There are two companion books, Get Well, Good Knight and Happy Birthday, Good Night. I recommend them all for a bedtime read or an easy reader.

Dragon Encounters 15

I’m traveling today, headed for one of the Barnes & Noble B-Teen events. But I couldn’t resist sharing these cute dragon puppets I spotted on a school wall. I’m glad I took this picture when I did, because it’s the end of the year and teachers have started taking their projects down.

These look like a fairly easy, fun craft for grade-schoolers. You take two craft sticks (these are tongue depressors, but any size stick will do) and glue one to each end of a 10″ or so piece of ribbon. Again, you can use any size or style, although 1″ or wider probably makes a more striking effect. Then make a dragon head and tail, using construction paper, thin foam, or whatever else you have on hand. Glue them on. Add paint and glitter, and there you go.

Like I said, these are puppets. You hold onto a stick with each hand and make your dragon swoop and glide. Happy flying, everyone!

Dragon Encounters 14

Here’s a shot from the hotel at MisCon, two weeks ago. The hotel, a Holiday Inn, had a lovely atrium with all these balconies. The convention organizers didn’t let them go to waste.

Balcony decorations at MisCon 2016

In this close-up, you can see Shenron (from the Dragon Ball anime) with seven dragon balls. Chewbacca and Iron Man also kept an eye on things.

Next Saturday I’ll be taking part in Barnes & Noble’s teen reading event in Richland, WA. It would be great to see some of you there!

Olm Salamanders

What’s white and red and slimy all over? A baby dragon!

Actually, it’s a salamander. This amazing creature is a cave-dwelling amphibian found throughout the Dinaric Alps of the Balkan states. Proteus anguinus grow 8 to 12 inches long, with tiny limbs and feathery gills below a pointed snout.

Adaptations to its chilly subterranean habitat include nearly white skin and small, primitive eyes. However, it has evolved other senses to help it find prey, typically snails, crabs, and similar cave creatures. It is completely aquatic and resembles nothing so much as a white eel with legs. An olm takes 14 years to reach maturity and they are believed to live up to 60 years.

Olm are also called Proteus, from the scientific name, and Human Fish because of its coloring. In periods of heavy rain, olm can wash out of their caves and appear in rivers and streams. According to legend, people already thought dragons lived in the caves. They reasoned that these unusual creatures must be baby dragons.

Olms are heritage animals in Solvenia, where they have appeared on coins and in tourism campaigns. Because their cave habitats are very fragile, they are listed as endangered and wildlife biologists study them closely. This led to the recent release of a video showing a “baby dragon” hatching. Check it out here.

MisCon follow up

Yes, I’m back from MisCon with a heart full of fire for writing. The last few chapters of Outcast Order await me.

There were frustrations over the weekend, of course. My trusty Nook connected with the hotel’s wireless on Friday, but after Saturday morning it kept telling me there was a network but no Internet. Thus I wasn’t able to tweet during the weekend as I usually like to. On the other hand, the hotel TV had a 24-hour Harry Potter marathon showing, so that was fun for the quiet times.

Friday was my workshop on “Description to Die For.” I was imagining maybe 6 people would show up, but I got a full room — 18 people! All of them seemed to enjoy the writing part and they asked great questions.

Saturday panels were also excellent. We had a lot of fun with elevating dialogue and building worlds. By Sunday I was feeling fatigued, as expected for a con Sunday, and I don’t think I contributed as much to the panel on anthologies. However, I did manage to pin my publisher down on my own anthology’s schedule. Yay for the Green Room!

Also, I found a neat piece of art by Patricia McCracken. Her dragons have butterfly wings and a distinctively insect-like appearance. Check out her gallery here. The print I bought isn’t shown, but you’ll get the idea what her work is like.

MisCon Schedule

MisCon Science Fiction is celebrating its 30th year with a fine convention the weekend of May 27- 30th, 2016. In case any of you will be there, I thought I’d share my schedule for the event.

Friday, May 27th

6:00 p.m, Workshop, Description to Die For. I’m leading this one. It’s just under an hour of actual writing practice, so bring your writing materials.

Saturday, May 28th

10:00 a.m, Writer’s Workshop. Just what it sounds like. You had to pre-register for this one.

Noon, Elevate Your Dialogue.

1:00 p.m, World Building 101

4:00 p.m, Sky Warrior Books Group Reading

7:00 p.m, Open Mic Fiction Slam! Another of my pet projects. Anybody who wants to read, can read.

Sunday, May 29th

2:00 p.m, Anthologies and Collaboration

Things get hectic at school during the last few weeks, so I’m definitely looking forward to visiting my favorite Alternate Reality — science fiction!

Dragonwort

Here’s a truly spectacular flower that will amaze and… well, maybe not delight you. To be honest, it’s kind of stinky.

Dracunculus vulgaris is native to Mediterranean regions from Greece and the Aegean Islands to the Balkans parts of Anatolia. It’s been known since ancient times and has a number of names: Voodoo Lily, Black Arum, Black Dragon, Snake Lily, and so on. Because it is so showy, it has been transplanted to yards and botanical gardens all around the world.

The plant has just a few big, jagged leaves, with the blossom reaching up to 2 meters tall. The single petal is scooped, somewhat like a calla lily, and deep red or purple. At the center is a prominent spadix, which is black. The flower’s sexual organs are deep inside the base of the flower and emit a “perfume” that smells much like rotting meat. Flies and other insects are drawn to the scent and crawl through a narrow gap to the chamber where the actual flowers are. Unable to escape, the insects are forced to crawl back and forth over the flowers, thus pollinating them.

When enough of the flowers are fertilized, the petals wither. This allows the flies to escape and perhaps carry pollen to another flower of the same species.

Tsuro, the Game of the Path

Here’s a good old game I’ve had for years but somehow forgotten about. It was released in 2004 by WizKids, and won a slew of awards. They also released Tsuro of the Seas, which is just like Tsuro except you’re sailing a ship and there are sea monsters. Both sets currently are produced by Calliope Games.

Tsuro is a quick board game for two to eight players. You start at the edge of the board and set down tiles, each of which has pictures of various strings that connect with adjoining tiles. These are the paths mentioned in the game’s title.

The goal is to keep to your own path without going off the edge of the board. However, you must always move forward to the end of the path. So, you can force opponents out of the game by setting down a tile that will direct them off the board. If it happens that two players are on the same path and collide, then both are out of the game. Staying still is not an option.

In addition to the simple rules, the illustration is a major selling point for this game. A beautiful red and gold Asian dragon adorns the box. The individual playing pieces resemble standing stones, each with a similar dragon carved in.

This game is very easy and yet challenging. The board only has 36 spaces, so it fills up fast, leading to a short game. People who want dazzling excitement may not be thrilled with Tsuro, but the game is perfect if you just want to chill for a few minutes with family and friends.

Ryuu, the Collectible Card Game

In my other life, I’m a support staffer in public schools, and I often work with children who are somewhere in the Autism/Asperger’s Spectrum. I was thinking about creating a board game that would help the kids learn social skills, but decided to search first and see if such a think already existed. Am I glad that I did!

Ryuu is a card game that combines collectible cards with features of role-playing games to teach social skills. Players choose a dragon that they identify with based on their own situations. Through role-playing, they recognize Dark Forces that illustrate problematic behaviors, and try to rally Light Forces that embody coping strategies. They begin as eggs and can “evolve” their dragon by practicing social skills. Feel free to check it out here.

A few of the dragon characters include Remota, who feels like a stranger among her fellow dragons, and Oratar, who talks a lot but has a hard time listening. The Dark Forces include Rigidity and Indifference. These are countered by Light Forces of Flexibility and Empathy. Like all card games, there are many details and abilities for players to track, but they still can mix up the deck with different cards and try new things even if they usually play with a small group such as in a school Resource Room.

There are four versions of the Ryuu game, starting with Concentration-style matching of Light and Dark Forces and progressing to full-fledged role playing that demands a lot of preparation by Game Masters and cooperation from players. Thus the game is accessible for all ages, and players don’t have to be diagnosed with Autism/Asperger’s. For instance, an Oppositional/Defiant kid might identify with Xplotar, whose temper runs amok. Play is based on the kid’s behaviors rather than their diagnosis.

Price-wise, the cost is fairly reasonable. The starter set of two decks, rules, and a support CD comes in at $55.00, right in line with a starter Magic set. Booster packs are $20.00, with the actual quantity of cards not specified. However, because this is such a specialty product, you’re not likely to have the issues with price spikes on rare cards that you get with Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, or Pokemon.

So if you have a young family member with social-skill issues, or you work with such kids, Ryuu sounds like it could be a big winner.