1. International Day of the Girl Today is a day for the girls. For reminding them that they can do anything. For getting out of their way so they can get there on their own. This Saturday morning at 10am I will kick off the POWERful Potential event at Barnes & Noble in Burlington, MA. A group of all female authors will be reading or talking about their books, all meant to empower girls and women. A portion of proceeds will go to Taly Foundation for Early Childhood Education. Other authors include: Alice Finn, Erin Mahoney, and Sandra Elaine Scott.
2. Stop. Break it down. Joanna Marple interviewed me a few weeks ago for her blog, Miss Marple's Musings. It's easy for me to plow forward with goals and projects, and this interview was a good excuse to spend some time reflecting on my past and how I arrived at this amazing spot in my career. She also posted a wonderful review of SMALL on her Perfect Picture Book Friday series. Thank you, Joanna!
3. You Can Go Home Again. Last weekend I traveled down to my childhood home town library in Weymouth, Massachusetts. I hadn't been in the Tufts library for probably 25 years. It was a beautiful day on a holiday weekend so I was truly surprised to have such a big group of kids - they made some awesome butterfly crafts, were excellent listeners, and made the whole day a joy. Special thanks to Amy for working with me to set the event up, and to Chris who was generally amazing, took great photos (see above!) and provided extra butterflies when I ran out! And extra special thanks to my sister Michelle and mom for spreading the word about the event and sharing lots of copies of SMALL in the Weymouth public schools.
4. Missile Toe and butterflies? This Saturday at 3pm, Marty Kelley and I will be reading our latest books at Toadstool Bookshop in Milford, NH. Marty's latest illustrated book is Missile Toe: A Very Confused Christmas by Devin Scillian I'm excited to see Marty crack the kids up and I'll be bringing a hefty pile of butterflies (look for a bandaid on my thumb from all the scissor time!).
5. Mmmmm. Yellow Dinner. I love to cook but I battle the reality that is, 'Will my kids eat it?'. It's down to my 6yo daughter being the picky eater in the family. She wouldn't even try new jelly on a cracker this morning. sigh. But! She (and the rest of us) love this yellow rice recipe. I am a total rice cooker junkie, but I pulled out the pot for this recipe and it's totally worth it. I pair it with Nom Nom Paleo's easy tandoori chicken recipe (I use coconut milk, breasts not thighs, and grill it) If you pick corn or summer squash for your veggie, you'll have an entirely yellow dinner. If you have a family of color geeks like mine, this is sure to get you bonus points (but really, we just want them to eat what we cook, right?)