Characters

Writers pretend a lot. Mom deals with pretend characters every time she sits at the computer. Characters can be tough to pin down. Just when Mom thinks she knows them, they take off in directions she didn’t expect. They can go caveman,

nurturer,

superhero,

evil,

or sweet.

I can also go off in unexpected directions. I can go lazy,

friendly,

relaxed,

happy,

confused,

or annoyed.

Why?

Mom keeps me on a leash everywhere we go, so I won’t go off and get lost. She does her best to keep me under control. Even though I am unpredictable, she does a better job with me than she does with her story characters.

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Birthday

Yesterday was Dr. Seuss’s birthday. He would’ve been 111 years old. That’s a lot of red fish and blue fish and a ton of hops on pops, and a million cats in a billion hats old.

Humans celebrate Dr. Seuss’s life by reading stories to little kids all over America on his birthday.

I can’t read, but I’m celebrating my own way.

Mom loves Dr. Seuss. And reading stories. And little kids. So she is on board with this. Yesterday, she left me alone while she read her ebook What If I Don’t? (MeeGenius, 2014) to some super cute kindergarten kids.

I was worried the whole time she was gone, because once when Mom visited a school, she was approached by a giant cat! In a giant hat!

GAH!

Yesterday, she was only approached by one of her favorite teachers and giant bunch of kindergarten kids in giant hats.

Whew!

Mom had fun reading and talking and laughing with the kids. They were great listeners and laughed at all the right times, gasped at all the right times, repeated some of the words from the story, and made funny faces whenever Mom asked them to.

They also answered a bunch of questions and asked a few of their own. Mom’s favorite question was, “Once I drew a picture of King Kong on the Empire State Building.” which isn’t actually a question, but it was fun anyway.

I waited at home and was mostly a good girl……

Cat in the Hat

Dog in the Hat

Something I’m Not

On Halloween, people and pets pretend to be something they’re not. I’m not a ladybug…

or a nurse…

or a Halloween prisoner…

or a turtle…

For the past couple of months, Mom has been trying to be something she’s not. Since nonfiction picture books seem to be getting more and more popular, she thought she’d dip her toe into the nonfiction water.

She started out by reading a few nonfiction picture books each week. And she wracked her brain trying to think of a topic that she could actually write about.

She read and read and – UGH. She thought and thought and – NUTHIN’. Some of the nonfiction books were actually pretty good.

Super-cute nonfiction!

But still, the only things she really wanted to read were fiction books, and the only things she really wanted to write were fiction stories.

…maybe a fairy tale about a dog princess!

So this Halloween week, Mom decided to stop trying to be something she’s not. She’ll be what she is – a writer of fiction picture books.

And I’ll be what I am – the witch in the rearview mirror headed to the library for Read to a Pet Night….

Ugh!

Countdown Wednesday

It’s a new season around here. Fall. Also known as Autumn. Also known as Pumpkin-Freaks-Are- Everywhere-Trying-To-Kill-Me.

They’re watching me…aren’t they? *shiver*

Today, we’re counting down about seasons.

What I Know About Seasons

3. Napping. Something I like about fall is that it’s still warm and sunny enough for street naps and sun-puddle naps. I love a good nap.

2. Next. The next season will be winter. That means jackets (Mmmm. Toasty.)

and boots (*gulp*)

and snow (Yikes! I hope it doesn’t touch my belly!).

1. Halloween. Fall is Halloween time. ‘Nuff said.

What Mom Knows About Seasons

3. 9-Months. Fall means Mom is 9 months into her 12×12 challenge. She could’ve had a baby in all that time. Maybe a book-baby…?

2. Visiting. Back-to-School-Season means Back-to-School-Visits-Season. I’m still not allowed to go along, but I’m getting better at watching and waiting for Mom to come home.

1. Clothes. Sweaters and sweatshirts are warm and cozy and Mom will wear them a lot this season. Ditto boots and jackets. I sure hope Mom can walk better in her boots than I do in mine.

Help me….

Otherwise, no matter how many book-babies she has, she’ll never even make it to a school visit!

Characters

Mom writes about characters – human, animal, bug, and imaginary characters. Usually they’re silly or funny or goofy. Sometimes, she tells me that I’m a character. That’s a good thing, right…? Everything Mom’s characters do and say helps us get to know them. We also learn about characters by their body language, gestures, speech patterns, and how they look.

How I look helps people learn about me, too. My face speaks volumes. There’s my happy face,

my other happy face,

and my face at the vet waiting for my rabies shot. Go figure…

My favorite way of showing my personality is by the things I wear. People ask how I feel about dressing up. Whenever Mom dresses me, I get very excited because I know that something fun is going to happen. Sometimes, we’re going to work at the VA

or the library.

Sometimes, we’re getting company. And sometimes, she’s just going to take pictures of me and give me lots of treats.

This week, I was featured on a blog called Dear Bliary. If you visit there, you will see a lot of my best looks, and also a couple of looks from Mom’s old dog named Smoki (who lives inside me). You can get to know more about both of us in just one click!