School Visit

I want to say for the record that going to school was as much fun as I predicted it would be. Wait! No! It was TEN times more fun! When Mom and I arrived, everybody was working in groups to invent their own original math games. We were impressed. These kids sure do love to learn!

The first place I discovered was the shelf with the lunchboxes. Mom said, “We are NOT staying for lunch.” and “Don’t even think about it.”

Then I saw a poster that looked a lot like me. but I noticed it said the word, “Listen Up” which clearly has nothing to do with my life.

The whole time I was there, I was kissed and held and cuddled and touched and hugged and carried and petted like crazy.

The kids showed Mom and me the picture books they wrote and illustrated. Now Mom is worried because they are definitely steep competition for her.

They even gave Mom and me a thank you card with lots of words inside and cupcake stickers on it. Perfect.

After all that fun and love, I was exhausted, so I rested in the car and then took a quick street nap when we got home.

Mom has another school visit on Thursday. I wonder what I should wear…

Sharing

Mom went to a school visit last week to share her book with some 5th graders.

They were a wonderful audience and asked lots of fun questions. They are also writers and are working on writing their very own pictures books! Mom wasn’t too surprised by this because their teacher used to be one of Mom’s students, way back when Mom was a teacher. She was a smart little girl and lots of fun. Now she is a smart 5th grade teacher and still lots of fun. Here she is when she was little – she’s the one in the pink dress standing right next to Mom.

In fact – when that 5th grade teacher was in Mom’s class, she brought a praying mantis egg case to school for show and tell and it opened up and released tons of praying mantis babies all over Mom’s classroom! And THAT’S what Mom wrote about in Humpty Dumpty Magazine this month in her story called Show and Tell Surprise.

She shared that story with the 5th graders and gave them a copy of the magazine to keep in their classroom.

Mom loves sharing. Sometimes she shares with me. We share the big chair in the living room,

we share the bed,

she shares her coffee,

and her car.

And if I beg hard enough, sometimes she shares her food with me.

On Monday, Mom will share ME with the 5th graders! Yes, it’s true. They invited me to come along for the ride when Mom goes back to visit them and deliver some books. Road trip!

Finally!

It’s FINALLY spring around here – complete with warm air and tulips at the park. Actually there are some crazy thunderstorms and flash floods, too. Next stop – Butterflies.

Soon it will FINALLY be tennis season. Actually, I don’t play and Mom doesn’t either, but I’m pretty sure that other people do. I have a tennis dress and a tennis ball, so I will look good while I’m not playing.

Next stop – Mom will probably try to teach me to hold a racket.

And by the way… FINALLY, Mom has Book #2 out for people to read.

Actually, it’s not the Book #2 she was hoping for. It’s her story in Humpty Dumpty Magazine! They made it the May/June Build a Book Activity.

When kids tear out the page and follow the directions – cut the dotted lines / fold the solid lines – bing, bang, boom, Book #2. Yay!

Next stop – Book #3. Wait. What??

Five Word Friday

Today’s five words are about important parts.

1. Eyes. When my eye opens, it can look out for danger and treats and toys ….and mischief. When a story opens, it determines whether a reader will continue reading or say, “Whatever…” and go on to something else.

2. Nose. My nose is always on the move – twitching and sniffing and nudging all day. It tells me where my friends are, and helps me find crumbs on the floor, treats in Mom’s pocket, and goose poop. Yum. A story has to keep moving, too. Every single word has to make something happen otherwise, it’s gotta go.

3. Nails. Nails are a problem for me. It’s not just the two-tone colors of them, but also the fact that they keep growing. A story needs to have a problem, and the problem has to keep growing, too. The characters have to spend the whole story trying to make it better, but the problem has to get worse….just like my nails.

4. Ear. My ears stay alert, in case I hear any of my favorite words: dinner, treat, car, out, park, go-get-it, wanna-go, bacon, and kisses. Words in a story need to be playful and sound smooth. They need to tell the story, but show more than tell.

5. Tail. My tail has a mind of its own. It smacks Mom in the face, wags when I see friends, and hides underneath me when I’m afraid. The tail end of a story needs to wrap up what happened, and make the readers feel good.

All those parts (and about ten million more – including a lot of heart) need to fit together just right to make a perfect story. Or a perfect dog.

I Didn’t Do It

My toy bumble bee is broken. I don’t know how it happened, but one thing I know for sure is – I didn’t do it. Mom said, “What’s this?” and “Did you rip your new toy?” and “Why are you naughty?” and I said (inside my head), “My bumble bee’s leg.” and “I don’t think so.” and “I don’t really know what naughty means.” (I do of course, but I can’t help it.)

When Mom goes to her writing group named DavidLaurieandOtherDavid, they always ask her questions like, “Whose story are you telling?” and “What is this character thinking?” and “Is this enough conflict?” and Mom says, “I’m not sure.” and “I don’t know.” and “I don’t really know what conflict means.” (She does, of course, but she doesn’t like it.)

The problem is – once she starts writing a story, the characters take over and start doing things and saying things and thinking things that Mom can’t control. So when one of her characters does something odd or boring or out of sequence or simplistic, Mom says, “I didn’t do it.” And she’s telling the truth! The problem is – she is the one who has to fix it.

I wonder if she can fix my bumblebee…..

Unexpected

Picture books and poems work better if they have something unexpected in them. Besides originality, an opening that captures the reader, complex characters, conflict, cause and effect, solution, setting, wordplay, rising stakes, humor, a satisfying ending, and a dog….

… (OK. I made that last one up.), a story needs a surprise. It could be a dragon who likes to cook, crayons that make magic drawings, baby birds hatching inside a motorcycle helmet,

 Photos courtesy of Gemma – http://firstandfabulous.wordpress.com

a super hero baby, or a dog who paints like an artist….. Unexpected surprises. They help make stories and poems more FUN.

I found an unexpected surprise outside by the laundry room stairs, yesterday.

A hairbrush. Why?

Wait! What??

Why is there a hairbrush in the grass outside? Were neighbors fixing their hair before doing laundry? Was a student walking to school doing her hair because she was late? Is the groomer from Petco hiding behind a tree waiting to brush my fur?

What will happen to the hairbrush? Will spiders move in between the bristles and build webs? Will grasshoppers walk through and think they’re in a forest? Will a baseball fly over the garages and land on top of it? Will the lawn guys mow it?

If it’s still there tomorrow, I am going to taste it. I hope the super doesn’t come by and put it in the garbage when he cleans up…. That would be NO FUN.

Countdown Wednesday

Spring has finally sprung around here, so Mom took me to the park. Today, we will count down what we learned there.

What I Learned at the Park

3. Cigars are delicious. At the baseball field, I found a cigar butt. It was all crushed and stepped on, but I liked it anyway. Mom said the word, “Don’t you dare eat that.” She says that a lot. I sat and guarded the cigar for a little while, and I managed to lick it once or twice when she wasn’t looking.

2.  Bats smell good.  There was a dead bat behind one of the benches. I sniffed him and wanted to sit with him (taste him), but Mom said the word, “Get away! Get away! Get away!” She says that a lot, too.

1. Flowers are pretty. We saw some little flowers that looked like stars. They were pretty, but they got even prettier when Mom added me to the picture.

 

What Mom Learned at the Park

3. Pick and choose.  The dead bat, crushed cigar, and yellow flowers reminded Mom of her idea list on her phone. Some of the ideas are dried up and petrified, some stink, and some look like stars. She tries to always pick an idea that seems like a star.

2. Sit with the stars. When Mom starts a new story, with a star idea, she mind-writes with it for a while. She needs to add lots of good stuff to the idea till it becomes a story. She added ME to the star flowers at the park, but she doesn’t add me to all of her stories. I wish she would….

1. Get away. After a story is finished, Mom has to get away from it for a while. She doesn’t think about it or look at it or work on it for a week or two.  After she’s away long enough, she can see the story more clearly – what’s good, what needs work, and what stinks.

If I stay away from the park for a week or two, maybe I can go back and see what stinks.  Yay! I can’t wait!

 

ABC

One of Mom’s newest manuscripts is an alphabet book named The Naughty Dog ABC Book. 

It is NOT about me.

It’s about dogs that are naughty.

Not me!

Lots of publishers don’t like ABC books. Mom looked around and saw that Charlesbridge, The Creative Company, and Capstone still kind of like them, though. So when The Naughty Dog ABC Book is ready, that’s where she’ll send it.

These three lines are not in the book, but I think they should be.  They are about me.

A is for Action – which is the opposite of this!

…And this.

B is for Ballerina – wearing the tutu makes me want to twirl! (with a couple of Cheerios to keep my core strength up…)

C is for Cupcake – that’s me!

Inspirational Quote of the Week

It’s not always about looking forward to what’s ahead of you. Sometimes it’s all about looking back at the things that define you.
~Amina Tabasum~

Mom likes looking ahead – to the next idea, the next manuscript, the next book, the next poem. But sometimes, she HAS to look back. It’s her worst part of writing. She gets ideas all the time, mind writes, writes on the computer, and takes her characters from the beginning to the end – not always in that order.

Then it’s time to revise. *gulp* She is forced to look back at the story she liked (loved) a lot and start deciding what she hates about it. There are even some rules to follow. Like the rule of three, building conflict, and making the ending special by solving a problem, bringing a twist, or circling back. Nobody likes rules. Ugh. Even though looking back is difficult, it has to be done because it makes stories better. So she looks back at every single story she writes, and fixes and fiddles and cuts and corrects and tightens and turns things upside down. Mission accomplished.

Mom looked back in her rear view mirror while we were driving to the Veteran’s Home on Saturday. This is what she saw.

It’s because of this!

I was heading to work to get petted, eat treats, cuddle, give kisses, and make people smile.

Mission accomplished…

Side by Side

I learned to walk nicely at obedience school. I walk slowly, side by side with Mom. I don’t run ahead, pull her in one direction or another, or zig and zag all over the place trying to trip her.

Sometimes people say, “What a good girl.” and “Nice walking.” and Mom says the word, “She has her moments.” I think she means that even though I walk like a good girl a lot of the time, once in a while, I go mental and start running around in circles until I’m almost airborne on the end of my leash. Then I flop down for a rest, even if I’m in the middle of the street.

  

Mom’s two stories are going along nicely side by side, too. She writes a little of one story and then she writes a little of the other. Both stories are close to being finished, and so far, neither story is zigging or zagging, trying to trip her, running around in circles, or taking a nap in the street.