At last

I've had a little orchid plant for five years. When I brought him home there was a big white blossom hanging heavy from the stem. When the blossom withered and died the plant sat lifeless on my sill for many years. Five to be exact. And then suddenly, a month ago, another blossom started to grow. I can't help but think it is a good sign of things to come.

Furball Friday

First review for Abigail Spells

"Abigail, a young chicken, and her best friend, George, a bear, have all kinds of fun together. They like to cha cha, and George enjoys the stories that Abigail tells. But there’s one thing that Abigail does very well all by herself: spell. After Abigail hears about a school spelling bee, all she does is practice spelling. One of the neat things about this book is how it uses every opportunity to show Abigail spelling words—while brushing her teeth, eating her lunch—all of which might get children interested in spelling, too. When the big day comes, though, Abigail’s nerves get the better of her, and with a misspelling of “elephant,” she’s out. She is in a funk, and George despairs, until he tells her a story about two friends. What makes this different from so many happy-enders is that the story recognizes that defeat is part of life. The pictures, executed in acrylics and simple shapes, neatly capture both actions and emotions."

--Booklist

In bloom

Bruno made a flower out of a twist tie. So clever that fellow.

A Tale of Two Hollyhocks

Benjamin Hill over at Dave's Garden blog wrote a lovely article about Priscilla and the Hollyhocks, click here to read. Makes me wish the parking lot behind our building had even the tiniest place to garden. I'll just have to save my hollyhock seeds for the day when we have a yard.

Virginia Festival of the Book

This March, I'll be returning to the Virginia Festival of the Book in my hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia to visit schools and give talks about my work. This will be my third trip down for the festival, which is by far one of the best organized, well run festivals I've been to.

This year in addition to visiting local elementary schools (I've had the amazing experience of going back to schools I actually attended- there is nothing like walking the halls of a school etched in your childhood memory), the festival is sending me to visit several Head Start classrooms, which I am really excited about. Makes me miss teaching the little guys.

Here is a clip from a tv ad for the festival, if you look closely they are reading my book The Three Little Kittens! Woohoo!

Furball Friday

Yes, he was just sleeping like that.

Blue Rose Girls gathering in Mystic

In honor of high tea at Libby's on Sunday, some pictures from the day:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Furball Friday

Cat pile #1.

Read, Romp & Rock

Look, I'm a celebrity! *blush* And right next to Julie Andrews. The life of a children's book author is sooo glamorous.

Old Red Shoe web site goes live!

At last, the web site I put together for my new book What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe? is up and running! I wanted to put together a web site separate from my main site to help teachers, educators, and parents use the book in an easy way. There are tips for doing the activities, a curriculum guide to help teachers use the book in a classroom, and details about how the book was made.

Click here to take the new site for a test drive! And stay tuned for events to celebrate the book's release in late March...

Post about Priscilla

Author Anne Broyles wrote a lovely post about our book Priscilla and the Hollyhocks recently for the Charlesbridge Publishing blog.

Click here to read!

Furball Friday

Mornin' George, rough night huh.

Ready for our close-up

So when friend and fellow author/illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka recently called up the Blue Rose Girls and asked if we would make a cameo in a little movie he was putting together, we were totally flattered to be part of what was bound to be yet another fun and ingenious project (his Monkey Boy video from a few years ago was a total riot).

So we got together and brainstormed a spoof on Sex and the City (I'm Charlotte, can you tell?), only with cupcakes instead of Manhattans... we are of course pretty bad actors, but we had a blast doing our skit.



When we saw the final product, we were blown away by the absolutely hysterical movie he put together, featuring such book legends as Tomie dePaola, Jane Yolen, Mo Willems, Jon Sciezka and Tony DiTerlizzi. Jarrett played the movie at the SCBWI conference in NY this past Saturday.

Watch the full video here.

I especially love Tomie dePaola's part and Jarrett jumping around on the beach at the end, so funny!

Advance review from Booklist for SHOE

Just got the first review for What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe? from Booklist, yippee!

"Recycling becomes lots of fun in this sprightly activity book. Alter offers 13 projects, and unlike some craft books, green or not, the finished projects are usually items kids will want to use. Each chapter begins with the question 'What can you do with . . . ?' From one flip-flop to a ripped shower curtain, from used wrapping paper to empty berry baskets, useless things become transformed: the flip-flop into a stamp for making art, the shower curtain into an apron, the wrapping paper into greeting cards, and the baskets into possession-holders . . . The instructions are clear and simple (adult help is noted when required), and what really makes this a a standout is Alter's adorable artwork featuring a coterie of animals at work and play. Short poems introduce each project."

ps. There are actually 12 projects, but who's counting : )