The monthly Carnival of Children's Literature is UP! Click on over to see the goodies that Zoe has gathered for you to explore -- books and essays about all things KidLit. I love how she has displayed the book covers clipped onto clotheslines. (Does anyone use clotheslines anymore in this age of electric dryers?)
And to add to the fun, Today is also Nonfiction Monday. You can find that roundup of children's nonfiction books over at Prose and Kahn. More links will show up all during today, so keep checking back to that blog -- or wait until tomorrow to see them all.
Enjoy your last day of 2012 and don't stay up too late tonight celebrating the advent of the New Year.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Friday, December 28, 2012
The Turning of the Tide
I love being on the beach when the tide turns.
When the water stops retreating and begins attempting to eat up the shore again. Lapping higher and higher.
Some years ago I was at Nags Head, North Carolina at the turning of the tide. For several minutes there were NO Waves. The sea's edge remained still and the ocean looked like a lake.
However, I've not seen this at Del Mar beach in California. Probably because I do my walking where the San Dieguito River pours into the ocean, pushing the waves further and further away from the shore until there is only the river streaming into the ocean.
However, the ocean fights back. The tide always returns, pushing back, fighting back, sweeping over the newly exposed sand where dogs and people are playing. This isn't a gradual creeping up the sandy slope. No. It's surge and retreat, surge a bit more and retreat, throwing a Surprise Wave (yes, it's really called that) or two way up the sandy beach then dragging whatever it found back into the sea. For the next time. For the next wave, which tries to reach even higher.
At low tide, the beach is 50 to 100 yards wide.
At high tide, the waves lash against the pilings and rocks protecting the seaside homes, curling over the first four, the first six steps leading from the houses (or from the public access road) down to the sand. At high tide the waves have conquered the river and are roaring up stream, under the bridge to splash against the Coastal Railway embankment where the river turns.
The best time to go to the beach is at low tide, so you can dance with the waves coming ever closer and closer, higher and higher up the beach.
We did this today.
The 13-year- old was taking pictures of the sunset with her brand new camera.
In bare feet.
I was standing further away from the waves, warning her when a big one was coming, hoping she could dance away from the cold, cold water sweeping higher and higher.
She had bare feet.
I had shoes.
I didn't get wet, but she did. She did.
And she didn't care.
At all.
(You should see the wonderful sunset pictures she got.)
When the water stops retreating and begins attempting to eat up the shore again. Lapping higher and higher.
Some years ago I was at Nags Head, North Carolina at the turning of the tide. For several minutes there were NO Waves. The sea's edge remained still and the ocean looked like a lake.
However, I've not seen this at Del Mar beach in California. Probably because I do my walking where the San Dieguito River pours into the ocean, pushing the waves further and further away from the shore until there is only the river streaming into the ocean.
However, the ocean fights back. The tide always returns, pushing back, fighting back, sweeping over the newly exposed sand where dogs and people are playing. This isn't a gradual creeping up the sandy slope. No. It's surge and retreat, surge a bit more and retreat, throwing a Surprise Wave (yes, it's really called that) or two way up the sandy beach then dragging whatever it found back into the sea. For the next time. For the next wave, which tries to reach even higher.
At low tide, the beach is 50 to 100 yards wide.
At high tide, the waves lash against the pilings and rocks protecting the seaside homes, curling over the first four, the first six steps leading from the houses (or from the public access road) down to the sand. At high tide the waves have conquered the river and are roaring up stream, under the bridge to splash against the Coastal Railway embankment where the river turns.
The best time to go to the beach is at low tide, so you can dance with the waves coming ever closer and closer, higher and higher up the beach.
We did this today.
The 13-year- old was taking pictures of the sunset with her brand new camera.
In bare feet.
I was standing further away from the waves, warning her when a big one was coming, hoping she could dance away from the cold, cold water sweeping higher and higher.
She had bare feet.
I had shoes.
I didn't get wet, but she did. She did.
And she didn't care.
At all.
(You should see the wonderful sunset pictures she got.)
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Merrie Christmas
I hope everyone had a Happy Christmas Day.
We began with opening presents with my oldest daughter, her husband and almost 2-year-old son. Then they went north to Oceanside to have Christmas Lamb dinner with her father-in-law.
Meanwhile my younger daughter brought her husband over to our house to have Christmas Roast Beast dinner with the 13-year-old (yes, she had a birthday) and me.
The topper was when my oldest daughter shared leftover lamb with us in the evening. We had the best of both families this year.
I hope your day was stress-free and full of joy.
wo
We began with opening presents with my oldest daughter, her husband and almost 2-year-old son. Then they went north to Oceanside to have Christmas Lamb dinner with her father-in-law.
Meanwhile my younger daughter brought her husband over to our house to have Christmas Roast Beast dinner with the 13-year-old (yes, she had a birthday) and me.The topper was when my oldest daughter shared leftover lamb with us in the evening. We had the best of both families this year.
I hope your day was stress-free and full of joy.
wo
Monday, December 24, 2012
Nonfiction Monday
Each blogger list the books in their roundup collection differently -- The Jean Little Library blog has listed them in Dewey order! But you don't have to be a librarian to appreciate that arrangement.
And if you want to see every last Best Of list available for 2012 children's books, check out this post at Chicken Spaghetti.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Happy Festivus
Today is Festivus
which means it's also time for the annual Airing of the Grievances.
MotherReader has the skinny on this over at her blog.
There's also info about it in another blog entry of mine.
You can add your grievance to her blog -- or post it right here if you wish.
I'll start:
My biggest gripe right now is teenagers who think they can stay up at night watching Charmed or some other TV show playing on their iPhone and think they'll be able to get up in the morning in time for school.
or in time to go Christmas present shopping.
or in time for anything any event happening the next day.
What's yours?
which means it's also time for the annual Airing of the Grievances.
MotherReader has the skinny on this over at her blog.
There's also info about it in another blog entry of mine.
You can add your grievance to her blog -- or post it right here if you wish.
I'll start:
My biggest gripe right now is teenagers who think they can stay up at night watching Charmed or some other TV show playing on their iPhone and think they'll be able to get up in the morning in time for school.
or in time to go Christmas present shopping.
or in time for anything any event happening the next day.
What's yours?
Friday, December 21, 2012
The end of the World -- NOT
Well, if this is the end of the world, it didn't work.
Instead, it was the shortest day/ longest night.
Which means that everything will get brighter from now on.
(days getting longer/ sun getting stronger, etc.)
It's actually the winter solstice -- time to celebrate new beginnings.
Instead, it was the shortest day/ longest night.
Which means that everything will get brighter from now on.
(days getting longer/ sun getting stronger, etc.)
It's actually the winter solstice -- time to celebrate new beginnings.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
What happened this year in Children's Literature?
Travis Jonker has gathered up ooooodles of miscellanea about the events in Children's Literature this year and has posted it on his blog, 100 Scope Notes -- with pictures!
Click on over and enjoy.
(Being a guy, he begins with a gross picture book illustration, but keep on keeping on -- it gets better.)
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
What makes you think you can write for kids?
Another thoughtful post from Marion Dane Bauer on her blog: Just thinking.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Gifts for Writers
This time it's Gifts for Writers over on the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults' blog. (all posts written by the faculty -- check it out -- it's called Write At Your Own Risk.)
I see that she recommends a dog, but if you don't like the doggy smell and all the training involved with living with a dog, I recommend a cat, myself.
And for another list of good books, check out the NonFiction Monday roundup at the Wrapped in Foil blog.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Happy Birthday Sweet 13
Yup.
The 12-year-0ld is finally officially a teen.
She turned 13.
She is old enough to have a Facebook Account.
(However, when she tried to get an account, she got the same answer that I got when I first tried -- Facebook thinks that anyone with such a short last name must be giving a fake name.
Sorry Facebook.
Our name is real.
What a birthday party on Saturday!
It's been years since I drove a bunch of teens to a movie.
The noise of happy chatter in the back seat was almost overwhelming.
But the Movie complex was nice and easy to move around and to find where we needed to go, and the movie -- Rise of the Guardians -- was fantastic. We highly recommend it.
The rest of the day the teens talked (naturally), ate ice cream cake and pretzels, talked, watched videos, played board games (remember them?), played the piano, and talked and talked. Since it was a multinational group of teens, the videos varied from Bollywood dancers/ singers to clips from Les Miz. (another movie that the teens can't wait to see.)
Happy Birthday Sweet 13-year-old.
The 12-year-0ld is finally officially a teen.
She turned 13.
She is old enough to have a Facebook Account.
(However, when she tried to get an account, she got the same answer that I got when I first tried -- Facebook thinks that anyone with such a short last name must be giving a fake name.
Sorry Facebook.
Our name is real.
What a birthday party on Saturday!
It's been years since I drove a bunch of teens to a movie.
The noise of happy chatter in the back seat was almost overwhelming.
But the Movie complex was nice and easy to move around and to find where we needed to go, and the movie -- Rise of the Guardians -- was fantastic. We highly recommend it.
The rest of the day the teens talked (naturally), ate ice cream cake and pretzels, talked, watched videos, played board games (remember them?), played the piano, and talked and talked. Since it was a multinational group of teens, the videos varied from Bollywood dancers/ singers to clips from Les Miz. (another movie that the teens can't wait to see.)
Happy Birthday Sweet 13-year-old.
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