My friend and romantic fiction novelist Penelope Powell interviewed me for her blog.
This month’s theme is CHRISTMAS IN JULY…so Mouse’s Christmas Gift made an appearance.
You can read my post by clicking on this link:
Link to interview on Penelope’s Blog
Penny now has two novels published with Anaiah Press and a Christmas novella on the way, to be released November 16, 2018.
The titles are:
Glen Oak Series — A Powerful Voice
Glen Oak Series– A Furrow So Deep
Christmas Novella — My Christmas Hope
Penny’s website
I’m honored she ask me to visit her website! Thanks, Penny!
I traveled a few miles this June. School let out for the summer, and I left for Spain and Italy with a group of students and co-teachers. We had a blast! Here are a few of my favorite pics:
Next, I hit the road to celebrate my parents’ golden 50th anniversary! Kudos to them for staying together for the long haul. I am proud to be their daughter. We celebrated at my brother’s new home/farm in Springfield, MO.
Next stop, Ohio! Another anniversary–my husband’s parents celebrated a 60 year milestone which Google tells me is the “diamond” anniversary. Amazing. We spent the weekend swimming, barbecuing, and eating homemade ice cream. A lot of it.
Finally, my family and I went to Michigan–to Macinac, Island and the Upper Peninsula. This was our first time in the area (except for me when I was six years old so it still felt new). We enjoyed ourselves! I can’t even begin to tell you how relaxing the bike ride around the island was. I loved it!!
I highly recommend it for your next get-away.
I have more photos of my experiences on Instagram at @mindybakerbooks. It is such a treat to travel and see new sights and places with the ones I love. I treasure each moment! Where have you been lately and what have you been up to? I would love to hear about it!
Yesterday marked the first day for pre-orders of Mouse’s Christmas Gift on the Zondervan website. As the days draw closer to the actual release date, I have to admit…I’m so excited!! It is hard to believe this is finally happening!
I’m starting to schedule events for the fall…Story times, Author visits, Meet and greets, and a Book Launch Party. Check out my calendar page for details.
Pre-order Mouse’s Christmas Gift on Zondervan website
Pre-order Mouse’s Christmas Gift on Amazon
Pre-order Mouse’s Christmas Gift on Barnes & Noble website
Analyzing Picture Books for Layers
I go to the library regularly and check out mentor texts. A mentor text is a recently published picture book that I analyze. I try to learn from the techniques that the author used, and apply my knowledge to my own writing.
My latest treasure is a book called EL CHUPACABRAS by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Crash McCreery. The book grabbed my attention because of the Spanish–I am a Spanish teacher, so of course I had to take a look at this book! The Chupacabra is a terrifying creature of Puerto Rico legends, and the word Chupacabra literally means “goat sucker.”
One strength of the story is in the CHARACTER. Instead of a terrifying monster, Rubin describes the Chupacabras a tiny gentleman who wore a bow tie and drank chocolate and ate churros. In the end of the story, he is the one to save the day. This is a huge flip to the usual terrifying chupacabras. I feel that this teaches children that they should get to know someone for who he is, not judge him based on a “rumor.”
The standout strength of the book in my opinion is the unique STRUCTURE.
Rubin first writes a sentence half in English and half in Spanish, then flips and writes half in Spanish and half in English. I adore the flow and the blending of the two languages!
Sample:
“Hector liked goats, pero Carla prefería las bicicletas.
A Héctor le gustaban las cabras, but Carla preferred bicicletas.”
I can definitely see myself using this in the classroom, especially as an example for preterite vs. imperfect, and of course introducing one of the famous legendary creatures of the Spanish speaking world.
Fun book!
More on layers:
Here is the list of layers that Julie Hedlund described in a tutorial video that I watched back in the fall. It has been very helpful to me as I think about the elements that I want each of my manuscripts to contain:
1. Plot
2. Character
3. Heart
4. Rule of Three
5. Pacing
6. Illustrations
7. Voice
8. Structure
9. Language
10. Theme
