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So yes, I wandered off for a bit. I’m back now. So there.

The Big Wish has been awarded the Oregon Spirit Book award for Picture Book Literature for 2011, by the Oregon Council of Teachers of English. Did you hear that? Teachers of English. Literature. Oh my. I feel like I got away with something, here. I’m afraid I’ll use improper grammar, or miss-spell something, so this will have to be short.

Oh, and there will be stickers. Yay.

It took me a second to realize. (Hey! That’s my book… oh, hey. Is that…. me?)  Weird  (Photo by Rich Burton. He and Deb and Anna and Kathleen showed up for kindly moral support. Good people) Wordstock was super-fun, in general. And the books! Books, books, books. Also: oompa loompa wicker poofs for your happy sitting pleasure.

Wish I had a picture of the kids stacking them 2 or 3 poofs high…

I’ll be there, mingling with the great book-loving population of Portland. (I love this town)

I’m reading at the Central library on Wednesday at 6 pm,  doing a workshop Saturday morning at 9 am, then reading and signing on the children’s stage between 11am and noon. Stop by if you’re in the vicinity, and if you’re brain isn’t too boggled, bedazzled, and bemused by the people,  booths full of book and reading related goodies, and  books, books, books.

I like books. Surprise? I suppose not. I am a big fan of stories in all formats (especially audio books) and I am becoming strangely fond of  the many  capabilities of various new gadgets which have come into our house and my pocket… though I am trying not to become addicted, or that person in the restaurant who isn’t interacting with real, live companions.  I can see enormous advantages to reading in an electronic format, especially for students, and travelers. But I see these things as useful options. I do not see them as replacements for the book.

I like books because they are real. You can hold a book, clutch it and keep it, or share it. You can tuck things between the pages. I also like them because there are No Updates Required. (Oh, yes, I like that very much)

This is my mom. Her expression (captured and printed and hand-colored by my grandfather) is a reaction to a passage in a book.

This book: The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf, illustrated by Robert Lawson.

This particular copy of this book, given to my mother by a friend of her mother, my grandmother, in 1938. For some reason the fact that my grandmother’s friend, Betsie, miss-spelled my mother’s name only makes me like it more. Maybe because I’ve been known to miss-spell my own name from time to time, especially if I try to talk to people while I’m writing.

This is the actual page that inspired that look:

My grandmother’s friend lost most of her own family in concentration camps in World War II. I didn’t know her well. She was my grandmother’s friend, I was a kid. I might have forgotten all about her except that  she chose this book, wrote a few graceful, kind wishes to my little baby mother, and signed her name.

A small family story connected in small ways to the larger world… but real. My mom loves this book, and I love this book. I remember my grandmother when I read it and share it with my family. It smells like her house. (Not a good smell, exactly, but when I smell it, I’m there.) I remember her friend, Betsie, too.

Another thing I like about books: finding things between the pages. Things tucked away by me and forgotten, or left by others. Grocery lists, notes, checks, money… I have found all these things. Pressed flowers, 4-leaf clovers, drawings… here’s one I like:

In case you can’t read it, the note says : “The world gave her an apple. This is the world. She’s going to eat it.”

Here’s something else I found:

Beat that, (insert major brand-name current e-reading device here)

I’ve always had a sympathy for weeds, dandelions in particular. Why? Because–no matter how you hack, or whack, or chop them, they will grow back. Go ahead! Dig them up. Poison them, chop off their heads, they will survive. Look away for 5 minutes and they’ll thrive, springing up with a head full of wishes to share with anyone who passes by… or the wind.

I have to admire this kind of persistence. Useful in my line of work.

Other interesting facts about dandelions: they are good to eat; chock full of vitamins and minerals and antioxidents. Maybe “good” to eat is a stretch… They have a bite that makes a person feel virtuous (and vigorous, and strong) after eating them. Personally, I like them wilted in a pan with bacon, or with thai chilis, soy and oyster-flavored sauce, and garlic. (Num) Also: They are considered a beneficial weed. That long tap root breaks up hard soils, and makes nutrients available to other plants. This is a good plant! Gooooood.

H’m. Why is a line from Young Frankenstein running through my head…? Hee hee.

Green Bean Books is one of my favorite bookstores. It’s cute, cozy, and has a great selection, too. And they do lots of fun book-related craft classes and programs… Something cool and different all the time. They’re at NE 16th and Alberta. I’ll be reading and signing there tomorrow (Saturday, May 21st, at 2) and making wish cards, too. Like these or different, as you wish.

Or you can draw, or cut and paste, whatever. I’m bringing pretty sky, grass, and dandelion-colored papers, scissors and glue-sticks. Come and make a wish with me!

sketch for Big Wish endpapers

The Big Wish comes out this week. Yay! I think… It’s just starting to turn springy after months of chilly murk and gloom. The gardeners and lawn-fanciers are PENT-UP. I wonder what will happen when these nice people take a break from clipping and edging and weed ‘n feeding to visit the bookstore (perhaps for a nice book on topiary, or water features, or butterfly gardening) and find ME, reading from my book about weeds? The weediest of weeds, the dreaded dandelion. The storyline involves a big-time scattering of weed seeds, too. We’re talking World Record, here. Could be very entertaining.

Here are the lovely book shops (and one gorgeous, super-splendid library) I’ll be visiting over the next few weeks: Saturday May 7th, at 1pm: reading & drawing party & Mother’s Day Wish-card making at Powell’s Cedar Hills Crossing

On Saturday, May 14th at 1pm I’ll be reading and presenting at The Nantucket Atheneum. On Nantucket! Oooooo. Lucky me.

Saturday May 21st at 2pm book-signing and wish-craft at Green Bean Books On Alberta, in NE Portland.

Saturday June 4th at 10 am The St Helens Book Shop (in St Helens, Or)

on June 11th 2 pm we’ll have sharks (With the National Geographic for Kid’s Writer, Ruth Musgrave) and dandelion wishes at  A Children’s Place . What a combo!

Some fun news: Bubble Homes and Fish Farts was voted by the participating students of Pennsylvania as their favorite and is the intermediate level winner of the Keystone to Reading Book Award for 2010-2011. Yay, Bubble Homes! Yay, Fish Farts! (No fooling.)

The Big Wish gets its first public showing here. A sneak peek, as it’s not actually out yet, but I do have advance copies for show and tell. Everybody gets three minutes to present their newest and latest, so it will be friendly and fun and move right along. Lots of other local writers and illustrators will be there. Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Susan Blackaby, Heather Frederick, Barbara Kerley, Trudy Ludwig, Ruth Musgrave, Rosanne Parry, Kaaren Pixton, Dawn Babb Prochovnic, Maggie Rudy, Elizabeth Rusch, David Michael Slater, and Emily Whitman. And me. And snacks! Tasty little cookie snacks…. Yum. Join us! Saturday, April 2nd,  2:00-4:00 at the Multnomah Art Center 7688 SW Capitol Hwy Portland, Or 97219