Learning, learning, learning...

This past weekend I attended a conference for writers and illustrator's of children's books. It is the annual Northeast Region's conference of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. If you write for children, you need to belong to this group as it is the leading professional organization for children's writers.

The keynote speaker on Saturday was Cynthia Lord from Brunswick, Maine. Cynthia wrote Rules, A Newbery Honor book. Don't miss a chance to hear her speak as she is a wonderful presenter and quite inspiring. The workshops were some of the best I've attended at this conference and I now have some direction for some of the projects I have in mind.

The big trip is coming up soon. After two more school visits here in Maine, I will be off to Pennsylvania and Minnesota. The school and library visit in PA are all set and I have Googled all the directions from one destination to the next. Now the question is - what to wear?

Enjoy the beautiful spring weather!

Kids and Books - love them!

What a wonderful time I had last week at the Tremont Consolidated School in Bass Harbor, Maine. The students were eager participants in my visit and kept me smiling -and on my toes - all day! We wrote wonderful poems together and they asked very insightful questions. This is a very involved school. The day I visited, scientists from the Jackson Labs in Bar Harbor were working with the second grade finding germs in their classroom and a visiting artist was teaching dance with various other grades. As I left the building, older students were preparing the compost bins and gardens for the growing season. Thanks, Tremont, for a great day!

A little news from the second grade class where I volunteer: they won this year's Read-a-thon and were each awarded a gift certificate to the Bath Book Shop. They walked up to the book store yesterday and stopped to see me at the quilt shop on the way back to school to show me their purchases. I am so proud of them!!! Kudos to their teacher, Mrs. Michaud. It is an honor to help in her classroom.

I am off to a writer's conference next weekend and look forward to learning more about writing for children in the current economic climate and about marketing. It is always inspiring to be around other authors and to hear about the projects they are pursuing. I recently purchased a digital voice recorder and am finding it quite useful. I "write" as I am walking and the results are encouraging. Now to save up to buy the software that will convert it to text. Right now I must listen and type - not very efficient the way I type!

We have been enjoying beautiful spring days, I hope you are, too.