I’d like to begin today’s post with a Public Service Announcement.

As you all (may or may not) know, January is National Bath Safety Month.

Yes.  It’s true.

And I’m concerned this may be something you don’t take seriously enough, potentially risking life and limb.

So please.  If you’re going to have a bath, keep this in mind:

Baths, especially the young ones, are extremely vulnerable to attack by toddlers with rubber duckies, siblings engaged in splash wars or games of “Kickie”, and dogs that have met the wrong end of a skunk (dog hair, tomato juice and skunk oil are a triple threat – I beg you!  Think of your poor little bath!)  Princesses with excessively long hair should NEVER be allowed near a bath – they should just be hosed down outdoors (the necessary shampoo required may cause a dangerous build up of soap scum and the excessive hair itself may lead to the dreaded condition of Clogged Drain! – you mustn’t – you simply mustn’t!)

A threatened bath is an unpredictable bath which may lash out in self-defense.

A safe bath is a happy bath.

Be a responsible bath owner!  Keep your bath (and yourself) safe!

Thank you.

(This message has been brought to you by the Blueberry Hill Coalition For Bath Safety, which meets weekly under the guise of providing a public service but is really just using the meeting as a reason to eat large quantities of coffee and donuts.)

Phew.  I’m so glad we shared that important Public Service Announcement, aren’t you?  I feel much better knowing that the care and safety of baths everywhere has received some much-needed attention!

Now then, if you’d all quit lolling about in the tub, we’ve got all kinds of high jinx and shenanigans lined up for today.

First, the November Pitch Pick!  (Yay!  At long last! :))

Here are our 4 pitches, all spiffed up and improved thanks to your very helpful feedback.  Please read through them and vote below for the one you think most deserves a read by editor Erin Molta.

#1 Maria – Just Like Us (PB ages 2-6)
As children frolic through and around a park playground, glimpses of two bear cubs mimicking their fun can be seen, partially obscured on each page. Both the bears and children roll down a hill, play on the equipment, and dig for treasure. But in the end, who is watching whom. 

#2 Heather – Hubert’s Dreadful Allergies (PB ages 4-8)
The harpsichord is dusted, the tea is poured, the vases are arranged on doily laces, and Hubert the pug is settled calmly on the rug. Lottie Dobson is ready for her fancy luncheon party. But when the members of the Grandview Rose Society arrive with even more blooms, poor Hubert’s allergies kick in. What happens next is a riot of mishaps that gets him banned from the room. But when a wily rat sneaks in, steals the cheese, and dangles from the chandelier, it sends the proper party guests on a crazy chase–with a sneezing Hubert in the lead. One big sneeze will save the day! Too bad for Hubert, the sneezing doesn’t end there. 

#3 Gail – Knights Of The Kids’ Table (PB ages 4-8)
Most of the Knights of the Kids’ Table found Flooted funny. After all, when he got nervous, Flooted tooted. But cranky Hugh couldn’t stand the smell, so he hatched a plan to get rid of Flooted…for good. When Hugh’s scheme flopped, the little knights giggled, the big knights enjoyed silly sword fights, and the grumpy little knight got exactly what he wished for.

#4 Jean – Got Your Nose (PB ages 4-8)
Jack loves playing ‘Got Your Nose’ with his mom, but when bedtime comes, and Jack’s not ready to quit, he turns to his sleeping brother and steals the nose right off his face!  When Jack hears approaching footsteps, he nervously tosses his brother’s nose into the dirty laundry basket, sending it on a harrowing adventure faced with drooling dogs, hungry owls, and stinky skunks that will have you holding your breath, and your nose a little tighter. Will Jack succeed in finding his brother’s nose before morning?    

Please cast your vote by Sunday January 18 at 5 PM EDT, and I will announce the winner on next week’s WYRI.  Many thanks!!!

Today’s pitcher personally selected her Something Chocolate, and I must say, she has EXCELLENT taste!  Help yourselves!!!

Find the recipe at The Sweets Life HERE http://www.thesweetslife.com/2012/05/salted-caramel-chocolate-shortbread.html

YUM!  Anyone else need a cup of coffee to go with that? Or maybe a bath?  (Just kidding :))

Today’s pitch comes to us from Bekah who says: “Wife, mom to a ten and seven year old, and teacher, I’ve been stealing time to write poetry and stories for over a decade and using my family as my “willing” critique group.  Recently, I’ve entered the online writing community, through partipation in PiBoIdMo 2014 at taralazar.com (thanks, Tara!) and the 2014 March Madness-style children’s poetry contest at thinkkidthink.com (thanks, Ed!).

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: The Penguin And The Pelican
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-7)
The Pitch: A penguin and a pelican try to fix their awkwardness on land by learning to dance gracefully. When they discover, embarrassingly, that dance lessons can’t cure their clumsy gaits, new friends convince the birds to keep dancing joyfully. In the end, the penguin and the pelican’s gracefulness in the water and in the air amazes their friends.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

Happy New Year, Everyone!!!

It’s so lovely to see you all again!

I hope all your holidays were festive and joyful!

And now, here we are at the front end of a brand new year.  Just like a blank page, it’s full of possibility.  Who knows what great ideas we’ll have this year, what wonderful new stories we’ll write, what hare-brained schemes we’ll come up with?! 🙂

It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?

I have already had two happy surprises – well, one surprise and one much-looked-forward-to occasion.

The surprise was that the lovely and talented Stacy Jensen, out of the pure kindness of her heart, took time out of her Lego Pirate war to try to solve the problem of updating Perfect Picture Books.  Her idea is a good one, and she’s done a beautiful job (if you need web work, contact her at once!).  More exploration is required before we see whether it’s something the Truly Tech Challenged (er, that would be Yours Truly) can actually manage, but either way it was incredibly kind and generous and thoughtful of her, and really that is what so many people in this kidlit community are like that it just reinforces my gratitude to be part of it.  Thank you, Stacy!!!

The much-looked-forward-to-occasion (which was only a surprise because we managed to pull it off at long last!) was that I got to have lunch with the wonderful Elaine Kearns, writer, and creator of Kidlit 411 (which, in case you’ve been under a rock somewhere, is celebrating it’s First Birthday this week and you should definitely hustle on over and check it out because it’s fantastic and there are all kinds of amazing prizes on offer!)  It was such a pleasure to meet her in person, after all this time of knowing her online.  And we only live about 20 miles from each other so really, what took us so long???!!!  I apologize for no photographic evidence of our meeting, but it was too cold to take pictures outside, and too dark inside.  (Anyway, that’s the story I’m sticking to :))

I think all that wonderfulness calls for a little Something Chocolate, don’t you?  (And no, of course I’m not trying to distract you from the glaring lack of photographs!  Why would you think that?!)

Since it is 0 (that’s ZERO, folks) here, we need a warm Something Chocolate, so how about…

… warm pain au chocolat?  (which, for our English-speaking audience is plain ole chocolate croissant :))

Mmm!  Flaky pastry… warm dark chocolate… who notices the temperature now? 🙂

So, we were supposed to have the November Pitch Pick today, but what with holiday busy-ness and such, not everyone was ready.  So we’ll have to do that next week.

Meanwhile, let’s get onto today’s WYRI!

Today’s pitch comes to us from Jeff who says, “Though I’ve come to popular writing late, in a sense I’ve been writing all my life.  I’ve enjoyed a career in science and as a military health officer. In 2005 one of my journal articles won a prize and award as ‘best new research paper,’ which inspired me to try other genre.  

Here is his pitch:

Working Title: Stormy With A Chance Of Pizza
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 3-7)
The Pitch: Grandpa’s creative problem solving saves the day (or at least their dinner) when ‘can do’ perseverance triumphs over challenges of a new recipe and Mother Nature’s threats, showing  his storytelling grandchild the value of self reliance.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?