Write Now! An occasional day in the life of children's author Erin Dealey

Revisions, Revisions! Authors & Editors on the fourth R.

I have been knee-deep in revisions lately, in between school visits.  And for the longest time I couldn't think of a good blog topic. (You've been very patient, @Grade1 ) Then I looked around--literally--and there they were: revisions, revisions--all over my office!

I tell students at school visits that sloppy copies are not something teachers make up to torture you. It's what authors do. But in our microwave society, kids want their popcorn NOW. Revision is as painful as watching tv commercials. Can't we fast forward to recess?

I was so thrilled when Westwood Elementary kindergarteners shared their sloppy copies with me recently!

Sloppy copies don't need to be perfect. I show my sloppy copy of Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox to kids as proof. (Below left) That's where you get the story out.

And then the revisions begin. 

Author Maureen Johnson (Scarlet Fever, Devilish, 13 Little Blue Envelopes and more) says on her web site, "Books aren’t written once—they’re written five, a dozen, twenty, fifty times." If you teach high school, consider sharing her archived August 2007 post about How To Revise a Book because A.) This woman's funny, and B.) Revision and the Professional Writer will give your students an inside look of the process from manuscript to book.  If you have time for Twitter, @MaureenJohnson is equally hysterical in 140 characters. (Witness her gazillion followers...)

Author Mitali Perkins, (Bamboo People , Secret Keeper, Rickshaw Girl and more.) says she gives herself "permission to write garbage" in her first draft because her "strength is in revision."  On her blog, Mitali's Fire Escape. Mitali has Teachers' guides for her books (Click here .) You can also follow her at @MitaliPerkins like I do. (Important digression: I've discovered cool things from Mitali like the contest on diversity at I Am This Land. Check out the videos. Share them with your students.)  

Twitter is an instant school visit. Seriously. One of my all-time favorite authors, Sharon Creech (Do I even have to mention Love That Dog, Bloomability, Walk Two Moons, A Fine, Fine School and the others?) is now on Twitter( @CiaoBellaCreech ), and her latest blog post was on--you guessed it, Revision. At the beach. She talks about the need for "think time" during the revision process. Check out the beach where she thinks, and also her writing space.  (Mine will never look this clean!)

OK I hear you, teachers. Teaching this 'Beach" step in the Writing Process would open a can of "I'm Thinking!" worms. But wouldn't it be great to take Language Arts/English field trips to the ocean...?    

Back to Revision. Jane Yolen's blog this week is about revising the titles of her latest picture books. ( For teaching guides to her books, click here.) Do you think she went with WARTY MONSTERS, SPORTY MONSTERS or GRUMBLY MONSTERS, TUMBLY MONSTERS for her sequel to the forthcoming CREEPY MONSTERS, SLEEPY MONSTERS ?

Co-Authors, Ellen Potter ( @EllenPotter ) and Anne Mazer ( @AnneMazer ) have written a terrific book called Spilling Ink for the young writers in your class, based on letters from fans asking for writing advice. It's full of writing prompts, anecdotes, and guidance on voice, developing characters and plot, revisions, and writer’s block. Ellen Potter admits to "feeling squeamish" about revisions. "Make the easiest changes first and save the really hard ones for last," she says.

Last but not least, one of the blog posts I've saved in my Favorites and have read countless times, is by Scholastic's Harry Potter editor, Cheryl Klein ( @Chavelaque ). I can't wait to read her book, Second Sight, An Editor's Talks on Writing Revising and publishing Books for Children and Young Adults, due out on March 11, 2011. Until then, your students (and YOU) will LOVE her blog post, A Few Things Writers Can Learn From Harry Potter .  

As for my elementary teacher friends, my dog Max's video, Ruff Drafts, featuring my driveway lined with actual rough drafts, will show them that writing is revision. Dog-gone it.  

No More Picture Books? You might as well not believe in Santa!

Season's Greetings!

Last fall, when the New York Times declared picture books were "so unpopular these days," I was surrounded by eager readers at the Oakland Parents Literacy Project's Family Night where, after teachers and volunteers read aloud to different age-groups, each child received an age appropriate, NEW book. Yes there were chapter books and middle grade novels, but imagine dozens upon dozens of PICTURE BOOKS clutched tightly in the hands of young readers as if they were made of gold.

Fast forward to our local Santa Parade this December, where I got to be a BookMobile Elf.  @ (Yes, Virginia-- a Bookmobile Elf) Thanks to our wonderful public LIBRARIES and the generous donation from Raley's, we elves  handed out NEW children's books--one for each kid along the parade route--instead of candy! Imagine 1.5 miles of happy children with a new book in hand, hundreds of which were PICTURE BOOKS and BOARD BOOKS. Several young mothers exclaimed to their tiny newborns, "Ooh, look! It's your very first book!"  

The recent article by Karen Springen in Publisher's Weekly, is a fabulous rebuttal to the NYTimes' no-good-very-bad assertion, including picture book opinions of editors, book sellers, publishers, authors, and librarians. As Springen points out, todays' parents grew up on PICTURE BOOKS and want to share that experience with their kids. And there is a place for PICTURE BOOKS in the lives of older readers too.

I would like to add that there is a place for PICTURE BOOKS in the classroom as well. Students who read below grade level must still read biographies and do state reports. Cross-age tutoring where upper grades read PICTURE BOOKS to the younger kids, not only improves reading but increases self-esteem and teaches cooperation and diversity. Can these experiences be just as successful with e-readers? Possibly--if your child attends one of those rare schools where teachers don't already shell out their own money for boxes of tissues and school supplies no longer in the "budget." And watch a teacher cringe just thinking about how they would monitor a class set of e-readers so nothing gets broken. I'd opt for PICTURE BOOKS any day.

No more PICTURE BOOKS?  Bah Humbug! Ask the parent or grandparent who treasures each snuggle-up-and-read moment with their little ones. And yes, even the tiniest fingers love to play with your iPhone, but they can't pocket call your friends with a PICTURE BOOK.

Consider this quote from another very famous 1897 newspaper article by Francis Pharcellus Church in the New York Sun, with just one or two changes...: Yes, VIRGINIA, there will be PICTURE BOOKS. They exist as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no PICTURE BOOKS. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Hopefully, some time in the next eight days, you will settle down with excited little ones, and you or a friend or family member will read aloud a holiday favorite, like 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS or THE CHRISTMAS STORY, or perhaps something new like Kim Norman's TEN ON THE SLED, or Anna Dewdney's LLAMA LLAMA HOLIDAY DRAMA . And then you'll know   PICTURE BOOKS are here to stay.

 

Happy Holidays

May 2011 be filled with peace, good will, and books for all.

Teaching Writing--from an author's viewpoint

This post is about how I teach writing differently these days--now that I get to hang out with children's authors like Ashley Bryan (pictured), attend SCBWI conferences, and keep up with editors and publishers.

For example, every Fall, I would give my high school creative writing students a handout about 50 Ways of Saying Said--until I learned that said is the invisible word preferred by editors, so that readers aren't thrown by stronger verbs like exclaimed, remarked, answered, and (I got his one more than once:) articulated. Take a look at some of the stories in your classroom. Yes, you'll find words like mumbled, whispered, boomed, barked, blubbered, and more but they are used sparingly when writing dialog.

That being said (sorry--couldn't resist!) here are some other insights that might change the way you teach young writers:

To outline or not to outline: Many published authors like to outline, or use a story map, but many do not. Our students work in various ways too. I remember as a student, creating my required outline after I'd written my essay--not before--, so I could get full credit. Here are a few other author opinions:

I outline and then I don’t stick to the outline. As new possibilities emerge, I outline again. If I follow the first outline, the book stinks. If I don’t outline at all, the book stinks. The key is to find the nice-smelling ground between.      

Gennifer Choldenko    

 

Before I write, I know exactly what the emotional resolution will feel like; know what the climax will be.     Marion Dane Bauer

 

Have a map. Know where you're going but get off the beaten path sometimes...

   Agent Ken Wright

 

I can’t work from an outline. If I have an idea for a novel, I mull it over while I’m writing something else. I have to let it grow in my subconscious. Once I’m committed to start the novel, I brainstorm ideas and create a loose outline—a series of possible scenes—in my journal document, on my computer. Marisa Montes

 

I don't normally outline when I write. Rachel Vail 

Rachel also told writers at a recent SCBWI conference she tried using the one act play structure--but that didn't work out either. Her advice (sure to be a hit with your middle grades kids:) "Barf out your first draft."

 

And speaking of Rough Drafts:

I've included my most recent video ROUGH (ruff!) DRAFTS by MAX the Dog below, if you'd care to show your students my driveway full of sloppy copies. Yes, these are truly my rough drafts. Keep your fingers crossed that some go farther than the recycle bin...

 

REvisions:

When you're at a plot juncture, list 12 options--even the bad ones---stay away from easy morals and endings. Gail Carson Levine

 

I'll never forget what I heard at an SCBWI conference, where Christopher Paul Curtis talked about his Newbery Award winning novel, The Watsons Go To Birmingham. He told us that in his first draft, the Watsons went to Florida! “When I got them to Florida, nothing happened so I had to rethink.” His son brought a poem home from school that he was supposed to memorize, called The Ballad of Birmingham. The rest is history.

 

Writing Groups, Writing Circles, Editing Groups:

I've read some discussion on EnglishCompanion.ning.com recently about this, and I agree with author Gennifer Choldenko that, "writing groups aren't for everyone." Even though I am lucky to be part of a great group of published authors, I don't always bring chapters to the group for critique. Sometimes, I prefer to trust my gut. Some of my writing friends avoid Critique Groups entirely.

 

Your young authors know the story they're trying to write, and it's hard to figure out which crit group suggestions will help their story--and which will take it in another direction entirely. If you do use writing groups or writing circles, consider telling students to sift through the student comments and use the ones they feel will help their story.  

 

This post is long enough so I'll save the rest for another day. But just for fun, check out two of my favorite quotes from the recent SCBWI conference in LA:

 

It's amazing to me that everyone thinks they can write children's book--my dentist, my golf buddies, neighbors, ...the Pope...I mean come on--I don't read on his turf! Jon Scieska*

  * rhymes with Fresca... : )

 

Why don't we teach humor? Which do we use more in life--humor --or the ability to recognize foreshadowing?    Gordon Korman

 

Happy Back to School, everyone. (No, that is not an oxymoron! You can do this!) Have fun sharing these with your students:  

The Writer's Rap

ROUGH (ruff!) DRAFTS by MAX the Dog 

Teaching Voice: Interview with a Grandparent (Did you think I was going to say vampire?)

  This blog is about two fun (and easy ) lessons to use next week to help your students learn about voice.

But first, congratulations to my writing pal (and Co-SCBWI RA), Patricia M. Newman on her new picture book, NUGGET ON THE FLIGHT DECK, (Walker 2009), an adventure story packed with words and phrases straight off an aircraft carrier--and a perfect example of Voice.

Try this easy lesson for students of any age: List the Air Force vocabulary (and definitions) featured in Newman's book. Choose two volunteers. Direct them to try to use as many phrases as possible in a conversation in front of the class.

Ask the class what they noticed about each student as they acted out the conversation.

Did the tone of their voices change when they used the phrases? Did they stand differently?  

Ask the two students how it felt to speak that way. Did they use their normal voices? Or did the words make them want to add an accent or different voice? Now have each student write a dialog between Newman's characters, or between the student and a character who might use this same vocabulary in speaking. Compare the two voices.

Another one of my favorite assignments during the holidays not only teaches Voice, but brings generations together. How? Have your students interview a grandparent or relative or older friend of the family--preferably someone with at least two decades or more between them. Tell them to plan to spend at least 30 minutes with him/her. If possible, have a ape recorder or video camera handy. 

1. Ask a grandparent or relative/friend to choose one of the following topics: (The best topics are those that will bring back vivid memories.) A childhood prank; any games played back then that are not played now; special holiday customs; the most magical holiday memory; weather: a winter when they were snowed in? a drought when times were hard; How they learned to drive; an unusual family nickname and how they got it. 

2. Ask the grandparent or relative/friend to retell the story as if it was happening right then, including sensory details they remember, and any unusual phrases or slang used during that era. If possible, record the interview--or at least part of it. If not, try to write it down just as the relative/friend tells it. In his/her voice--not yours.

3. Polish and include the slang/phrases in dialog in the story. Add any other details to smooth out the story. Share with the class. Compare the voices.

And speaking of voices, it's time for me to pbic and get back to my manuscript! : )

 

Editors and Egg Hunts: a thank you to my awesome AGENT : )

     Last weekend at the Kiwanis Easter Egg Hunt I realized that children at an egg hunt are very much like writers searching for publishers. We all want to fill our baskets. 

Picture a football field covered with color-coded plastic Easter eggs. (within view of the stage I might add, where authors Lynn Hazen and Phil Silver (photo below R) and I were scheduled for Storytime. Not the easiest gig, but fun just the same.) OK back to the field. Each color of egg had age appropriate goodies inside. A perfect match for all, right?

The littlest kids went first and they were instructed to pick up the yellow eggs ONLY. But many were so eager to fill their baskets, they grabbed whatever eggs (ie publishers)they could find while patient Moms and Dads (ie agents) dropped the blue and orange eggs back onto the ground for the next round of egg hunters. "Why can't I have that one?" one confused toddler (ie writer--You getting this metaphor?) asked. "Because the yellow ones are for you," mom/agent said. 

Picture the next two age groups chomping at the bit. Their eyes on that special egg /editor of their dreams. "I want that blue one!" one 6 year old boy announced with such Hands-off-It's-mine detrmination a few fellow egg hunters backed away. But alas, the blue ones were earmarked for the oldest kids. "When our turn comes, we're heading for those cool orange ones over there!" his Dad/agent said, knowing the best deal for his client--err son. Note: a meltdown over the right egg is not an easy parenting gig. We all want the kid to succeed.  And sadly, blue-egg boy's tunnel vision (and yeah, the meltdown) kept him from seeing that. "Trust me, dude, the orange ones are the best," Dad tried again.  (somebody give this agent--err Dad--a medal!) And, when it was their turn, the blue-egg guy followed Dad's lead. Happy Easter, right? 

Picture the very sad child arriving late to find an empty football field.  No eggs at all. The writer--oops--child had taken so long getting her basket ready, they'd missed the whole thing. Well, except for the petting zoo, and our author tables--which have nothing whatsoever to do with this over-extended  metaphor.   

The moral of the story? You decide--I was over signing books when the kids plopped on the grass to open their eggs. 

The message? A sincere thank you to my wonderful agent, Deborah Warren of East/West Literary who always makes sure I get the right eggs in my basket. : ) And hugs to those weary Egg Hunt parents. You rock. The kid won't remember the melt-down--only the chocolate kisses inside his egg. 

     PS Thanks also to my high school helpers (Jordan and her pals) for manning the booth during my storytime!

THANK YOU, PTA!

  One of the best parts about doing Author Visits at schools is the opportunity to encourage kids to read and write. Thank you to all of the wonderful students and teachers, and amazing Librarians I've met recently. As you can see, my golden retriever MAX likes to read the fan mail, which comes in various shapes and sizes. (Thanks Mrs. Gee and her 22 sheep! See other photos for a look inside their book...) But here are some letters that Ridgeview Elementary students wrote to the often unsung heroes, their PTA, who sponsored my visit.

Thank you PTA for having Erin Dealey. She is so cool and fun and nice. Please let her come again. She is fun to watch. I like her noises and it is fun to listen to her. she is wonderful. She made LITTLE BO PEEP CAN'T GET TO SLEEP and GOLDIE LOCKS HAS CHICKEN POX. I like her books. They are cool. She is a cool author.        Love, Hannah

Thank you PTA for having an author come in....One thing I learned is that your sloppy copy is your friend. Write your story. (How do you make those noises?) Jack and Jill were funny. I had the best assembly ever.        Fondly, Tejbir

Dear PTA, ...thank you for raising money. I'm going to write a book about you. I love Erin Dealey.     Love, Zak

Dear PTA, the author was pretty funny. I wish she would live here. My class and I will do our best and work the hardest. All the graders will do their best. The more the teachers keep teaching us, the more we will do. Erin Dealey's book was amazing!     from Jabari

Here's one for me: Dear Mrs. Dealey, Good morning! How are you today? Your books are the greatest! You're AWESOME! You made us really smart! Thank you for coming to our school. Will you come back sometime? Your big fan, Liam

: )  THANK YOU, PTA!!!!! You rock!

 

I LOVE To Read! (I lv 2 Txt!)

Some schools are already gearing up for

I LOVE to READ month, which is January or February, depending on who you talk to, OR March if you celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday (March 2nd) by READING ACROSS AMERICA. And I'll be doing my part with school visits from Sacramento to Southern CA. : )  Which in turn got me thinking about the fact that what we READ is WRITING, and while some kids say they don't have time to read, and hate to write, I bet they love to TEXT....

Admittedly, when I took this photo (Yes, this is me in 4th, 5th, or 6th grade?) a text meant textbook, which meant reading at your desk and probably answering a bunch of borrrring questions about it after. Nothing like the 13 year old girl in Orange County who sent 14,528 texts in one month! (** HEY!!!--It must have been I LOVE to TEXT Month! lol!) Folks have estimated this equals 484 text messages a DAY while she's awake. Hmmmm....no time to READ, you say? Here's my theory: TEXTING IS POPULAR BECAUSE IT'S SOCIAL. When I was 12, (Yes, I actually remember...) reading was a great escape, but it was something you did in a quiet corner--or at your desk. That is UNTIL my 6th grade teacher (Thank you Mr. Markey!) decided I should go down the hall to the kindergarten once a week and read to them and BINGO, READING was suddenly SOCIAL! Sitting in a chair with all those adoring kinders at my feet (an added plus) and making books come alive for them was magical for all of us. It also got me hooked on reading. YES, I know most teachers have had to cut out all of the fun stuff to make sure NO child is left behind. (Don't get me started on this topic!) BUT....in celebration of I LOVE to READ month, let's make reading a social event.     

HOW? Pair up your sixth graders (or 4th or 5th) with a class from the lower grades. Week one, have them meet and talk about their interests, maybe even go to the library to pick out a picture book together. Why Picture Book? Even if they won't admit it, the big kids still love them and some may have never been read to when they were younger. The younger kids may be advanced readers but picture books are short enough so they can be read in one Library Visit,(After all we can't miss too much "Instructional time!") even by some of your ELL kids. Plus, and I don't just mean Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox or Little Bo Peep Can't Get To Sleep, picture books these days are awesome!

Week two, have the older kids pick out the book. Week three, the younger kids pick out the book and the two take turns reading it aloud together. I've paired up my middle grades students with elementary kids. I've taken high schoolers back to Kindergarten and second grade. They not only read to their buddies but wrote their own picture books for them based on the younger student's interests. And providing opportunities for older students to feel like POSITIVE role models is PRICELESS!   PS  I LV 2 TXT 2 ; )

Novels and Editors and Bears, oh MY!

 

Fall

came early this year, or so it seemed, with the brisk mornings and chilly nights at SCBWI Nevada's September NOVEL IMMERSION weekend at Granlibakken, near Lake Tahoe.

Yes, this pb author stepped out of the box! I'm currently working on a 4th grade boy series (thinking positively here) inspired by my librarian pals at school visits to Rocklin Unified School District last year. Also in the works, a middle grades novel and a YA, both of which have taken what seems like centuries! Definitely a different learning curve from picture books. : ) 

 Mountains of thanks go to Co-RA's Suzanne Morgan Williams (Look for Suzy's novel  Bull Rider --Margaret K. Mc Elderry/Simon & Schuster) and Ellen Hopkins (think NEW YORK Times Bestseller CRANK) and their committee, who put this wonderful event together--in the middle of their OWN busy writing lives!    

Highlights included two very knowledgeable editors, Nancy Conescu from Little, Brown (above right), and Jill Santopolo ( above left) from the relatively new Harper Collins imprint, Balzer and Bray. Speaking of busy, Jill "moonlights" as a middle grades author, herself, now that her first Alec Flint Super Sleuth mg novel, THE NINA,THE PINTA, AND THE VANISHING TREASURE was released with Orchard Books/Scholastic last July. Jill asked participants, "How well do you understand your character? Can you predict how she/he would act in situations NOT in your novel?" Other tips: Does the Antagonist have something good about them? Are your minor characters stereotypes? And my favorite: CONFLICT IS NOT OPTIONAL.  Author Heidi Ayarbe, who read a riveting excerpt from her upcoming YA novel FREEZE FRAME, edited by Santopolo, called herself "Arc-impaired" and credits Jill as her "Raider of the Lost Plot." : )

And seriously folks, if Little, Brown editor  Nancy Conescu doesn't write a book soon on her hillarious household tips, I will be truly disappointed. She had us laughing so hard at breakfast, my abs hurt for days. And yet, make no mistake, this editor really knows her stuff. Recent tiles include the Prophecy of the Sisters series by Michelle Zink (Spring 2009) and the Vampirates series by Justin Somper. Conescu agrees character voice is key. In a hardcover series, book one is treated as a stand-alone, book two--the sequel, and book three launches the series. Conescu is looking for distinctive, break-out voices and authors who will keep growing in the future. In addition, may I add that she is now quite well-educated in the various techniques of scaring away those not-so-LITTLE, BROWN bears.... (So THAT's what pots and pans are for!)

More wonderful authors included (L to R next to Ellen Hopkins: Terri Farley, Lynda Sandoval, Susan Hart Lindquist, and (in photo at right with my writing pal Linda Joy Singleton (check out Linda's Dead Girl Walking. A perfect Halloween read!), Terry Trueman (Stuck in Neutral ). But hey, if I'm gonna keep up will all of these talented authors, I'd better get back to my manuscripts! Happy writing! 

What Did You Do This Summer?

Back to school always seemed to include a prompt from my English teacher about "What I Did During Summer Vacation."  True confession: I have been known to give my own high school students the same assignment.

So here's a photo essay of my summer fun, starting with Zip-lining in Mexico, a huge lesson in letting go. This is something I can use when I send manuscripts off to publishers (or kids off to college!). I'm learning to turn those moments when the world has you dangling in mid-air into What-the-Heck moments and enjoy the ride!

Which brings me to whitewater rafting on the American River in June.  (I'm  the second blue hat on the right near our trusty river guide.)  Another writing lesson: Keep paddling through the rapids and the slows--to get where you want to be. And what a rush when you finish that chapter or scene, or make it through Troublemaker!

Speaking of trouble...4th of July found me INSIDE AN ELEPHANT pushing water balloon "poop" out of the rear end in the annual Mammoth (no pun intended) 4th of July parade.  Get this: the mammoth (ie elephant) was so mammoth (ie large) we had to lower the top part to get under the telephone lines as we paraded through Mammoth (ie Mammoth Lakes, CA). Is there a metaphor for writing in this scenario too? Tossing the "poop" was liberating--like trimming the excess "poop" from my manuscript. But enough about that... 

On to two wonderful weeks at Sugarloaf Fine Arts Camp where I head the Theater Dept. each summer. Second session we had fun with Shakespeare (no that's not an oxymoron) and first session with physical movement and clown noses. (Don't judge a person until you walk a mile in his shoes--or his nose!)  AND I took a flying leap on the Slip & Slide for the first time EVER! Talk about TRUST. Makes me think about the times I took a flying leap and sent manuscripts out.  And what a thrill to conquer those fears of rejection--or possible bruised bones on the slip & slide : )  I am happy to say I sailed through both.

Next flying leap: dropping our college freshman off at the dorms this August. Wish me luck!

Bo Peep and Goldie in ALASKA

Alaska Gateway Schools rock! I had such a wonderful time at their Young Author Conference!

Did I mention that the school district is twice the size of New Hampshire? Our eager young authors, grades 3-8, came from all over: Dot Lake, Tok, Tanacross, Katie John School in Mentasta Lake, Walter Northway School, and Tetlin. By the end of the conference, all had written sloppy copies (yay!) and final drafts of their own books of original poems. Hopefully I will be able to share some of the poems in my next blog. But let's back up a bit...

Wednesday: The flight from CA to Fairbanks included two stops, and a seat mate on pain meds (too many...) who would have passed out in the middle of the SeaTac airport if I hadn't flagged down an attendant and propped her up in one of those mini-trams to get her to her connecting flight. (Nice woman. NEVER mix alcohol with pain meds...). The highlight: an amazing sunset at 10:20 pm (11:20 pm, CA time, on my Elmo watch.) off the left wing of the plane. Ink black sky off to the right at the same time!

When I landed in Fairbanks snow flurries had just begun, which was perfect because when I think of  Alaska, I think SNOW. I was expecting COLD too but 28 degrees in Alaska felt warmer than 40 degrees in California. Seriously. And I NEVER expected to ask people to turn the heat down! (Maybe they'd cranked it up for the CA woman...)

Thursday Morning 6:45am: Met Rich, my fabulous "chauffeur," (who subs as a bus driver, school cook, tour guide, and from what I can tell, mentor/parent) in the lobby the next morning. Made sure I knew his last name ahead of time so I wouldn't have to go up to strange men and ask, "Are you Rich?" !!!! For the visual, he showed up in a regular cotton t-shirt and jeans--no jacket, mittens, hat, gloves--nada. Impressive.

On our three hour ride to Tok, we passed through North Pole--smart folks built a post office there--and I had Santa send my nephew a post card to make sure he was eating his dinner and being a good big brother.    

Saw miles of Pipeline sending oil (146 degrees!)  to the "lower 48."

And voila! The sun came out as we headed up the Alcan Highway to Tok. 

Check out these mountains! Isn't it amazing where books will take you? Ifelt so blessed!

Thursday afternoon I did an assembly in Tok for the K-2 kids and then we headed to Dot Lake to meet the young authors! (Side note: The kids go out to play at recess even when the temp is below zero here. Teachers make sure they all have hats, mittens, jackets, etc. before they head outside! In winter, when they're down to a few hours of sunlight, those hours are during the school day, so they don't have to play in the dark.) 

Kicked off the Young Author Conference with a keynote, a little elbow tag, and some ice breakers before heading back to my hotel in Tok for the night. [My other option, sleeping on the gym floor with the kids--been there, done that. : )  ] Rode back with a couple of our authors and "Pink" and I had a contest to see who had more items of their favorite color.(Mine:green. Pink's: guess.)

I was hoping to get a glimpse of Aurora Borealis but the sky was overcast both nights. (Bought this post card instead. Doesn't look real, does it?) Guess I'll have to come back to see it another time!

Friday: Didn't see a moose either (I'd heard tales of dodging moose on the highway.) but we did come across crazy caribou on our way back to Dot Lake for the conference. (Actually, the caribou came across us.) These gangly dudes look like someone put together random body parts from moose, deer, and possibly the brain of a squirrel...(Check out the middle one who couldn't make up his mind which way to go after two of his buddies went one way and one went the other.)

The halls of Dot Lake School were decorated with posters by Tanacross teacher Bonnie and her talented students-- clever takes on nursery rhyme characters--in honor of Goldie and Bo Peep! Aren't these fun? (Click on thumbnail to get a larger view.)

The Alaska Gateway Young Author Conference was a fabulous way to encourage young writers. (And there were some good ones!) Four other teachers and I taught poetry workshops and the kids rotated through each. We wrote poker poems  and 1st line/last line poems in mine. At the end of the conference, each writer went home with a conference t-shirt, photo button of their group, medal, certificate, their original book of poems, and big smiles! An added plus--they made new friends from the other schools!

Congrats to the teachers and all who organized this successful event. You are making such a difference in the lives of your students!   It was an experience they'll never forget--and I won't either! Even if the only moose I saw was on this postcard  : )

Friday after the conference, my "chauffeur" and his wife drove me back to Fairbanks, retracing our route through North Pole, and past rivers beginning to thaw from the long winter.

An Alaskan tourist web site call Tok, "The coldest inhabited town in Alaska, with the warmest friendliest people."  They got the second part right anyway.

I had a 1:30 AM red-eye to catch Saturday morning so I passed the time Friday night at the Fairbanks airport working on my middle grades manuscript. Met a guy from Oahu, and another who was flying to Okinawa, slept 3 hours (I think) on the plane (1:30-4:30 am) then stretched out for two more in the Sea-Tac airport (6:30-8:30 am) before my flight home. would you believe I came home to 90 degree weather?  Crazy! There's no place like home. And you know what? There's no place like Alaska!