Category: Puffling Patrol

Summer Short And Sweets – Week 7 – And The Give Away Winner!

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I can’t believe it!  We’re up to week 7 of Short & Sweets already!  That means there’s only one more week to go (and boy is next week going to be awesome!!!) but it also means that summer is drawing to an end.  It has flown by so fast!  And I still haven’t updated the backlog of Perfect Picture Books that I was sure to get done with so much time…. Better get cracking! 🙂

But I’ve been hard at work on some other things…. which maybe I’ll tell you about one of these days… 🙂

badge by Loni Edwards 

For today’s Short & Sweet, we’re taking a field trip!  It can be anywhere you want – and anything that fits into what you’re already doing – no special outings necessary.  Going out with your kids to the beach, the zoo, a museum, the playground, the library?    Going shopping at the grocery store?  Washing the car?  You don’t even need to leave the house – the kitchen or the back porch will be just fine!

Your challenge today is to describe a setting – any setting that tickles your fancy.  In 50-100 words (more or less if you like, that’s just a ball park) make us feel like we’re there.  Take a careful look at your surroundings – whatever they are.  What does it look like? sound like? smell like? feel like? taste like?
BUT – here’s the trick 🙂 – you can’t use the actual word of the place!  So if you’re describing the kitchen, you can’t use the word kitchen.  We have to be able to guess!
For an extra challenge, describe it from a kid’s perspective – try to look at it through the eyes of the average 5 year old – the typical picture book age target.  Places can look a lot different to a five year old than they do to an adult.  Different features stand out, and kids’ react to things differently.
Although we don’t devote a lot of words to setting in picture books because that part of the job is done by the illustrator, it is helpful to you as a writer to envision your setting clearly.  Certain select details will be necessary, depending on your story, and this is good practice in focusing on the details that really matter.  If you write for older readers, setting description is very important to make your reader feel like they’re there – but you can’t ramble on indefinitely.  MG and even YA readers are not going to have a lot of patience for long-winded descriptions.  So this is a chance to practice picking out the part you really need to say!
Here’s my example (which, as per Short & Sweet instructions I am writing in 5 minutes off the top of my head because this day is WAY too packed for me to have any more time than that!)

Weathered wood.  Dutch doors.
It smells like summer, warm and sweet, but with a hint of molasses and clean leather.  Dust motes hang in the haze of late afternoon sunshine slanting through the barred windows.  The brass nameplates on the leather halters wink in the golden light – Jasmine, Pennywhistle, Thumbelina.
Clip-clop-clip-clop.  Snowflake’s unshod hooves thud lightly on the aisle as Ginny leads her in from the pasture.  She lowers her muzzle to her bucket and takes long swallows, then lifts her head, dark eyes soft, drops of water bejeweling her whiskers.
Whuufft!
A few feet away, Blackjack sneezes into his hay.
Ginny runs a hand over Snowflake’s satin shoulder.  She reaches up and straightens the silver forelock between her ears, smoothing it down.  Snowflake rubs her cheek against Ginny’s arm, almost knocking her down.
“Silly girl!”  Ginny laughs, then steps back into the aisle and rolls the heavy door shut.
It is quiet but for the occasional rustle of a hoof drawn through straw, the rhythmic munching of horses nose deep in alfalfa and timothy.
This is Ginny’s favorite place to be.
(Okay.  So mine is 181 words.  I never claimed to be succinct 🙂  And I hope you didn’t have too much trouble figuring out where Ginny is :))

So, are you ready to give it a try?  I can’t wait to read all your setting descriptions and see if I can guess where you are!  And I have no doubt that many of these descriptions will serve as story sparkers for readers, who feel themselves transported to that time and place and are suddenly inspired by a character who pops into their head and onto the scene! 🙂
OH!  And I almost forgot!  The winner of the giveaway from Monday – a hardcover copy of Puffling Patrol by Ted and Betsy Lewin, courtesy of Lee & Low Books – is PAMELA!!!!  Pamela, please email me and let me know your address so I can mail it out 🙂

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!  There will be a birthday party going on at my house – YUM!  MORE CAKE! 🙂

Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Puffling Patrol by Ted and Betsy Lewin (with a giveaway!)

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Good Morning, everyone!  I hope you all had excellent weekends!  In case you’re dragging a little at the thought of Monday-after-the-Olympics-are-over, I have a special treat for you 🙂

It just so happens that today is my mom’s birthday!  To celebrate, we shall have cake!  Of course I can’t use pictures from google images anymore, and I don’t have a photo of the actual cake at this writing because I haven’t baked it yet, so you will have to use your imaginations just a little…

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doesn’t this look like a cake?

Please help yourself to as much as you like – it can be any flavor you want 🙂

Not only do I have cake for you, but a few weeks ago, maybe because of Perfect Picture Books, I got an email from Lee & Low Books.  Would I like to review a new book from Ted and Betsy Lewin?  But of course I would!  I’m afraid I’m not as familiar with Ted’s work, although of course I’ve heard of him, but I think we all know Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type illustrated by Betsy! 🙂

So here’s a little peek at their new book, which came out this spring but is of special interest now because of the topic – the rescue of pufflings as they head for the sea each August.

used with kind permission of publisher

Puffling Patrol
Written & Illustrated by: Ted & Betsy Lewin
Published by: Lee & Low Books, March 2012
56 pages
Recommended for: grades 2-4/ages 7-10
Theme/Topic: puffling rescue off the coast of Iceland, nature, caring for wild animals in need, kindness
Opening:  “It is the end of August.  Soon the adult puffins will be gone to spend the winter in the cold northern seas.  The pufflings in the dark burrows will then be on their own.”

In April, hundreds of thousands of puffins flock to the Westman Islands off the coast of Iceland.  They nest in the cliffs, digging burrows into the soil where they lay their eggs, then hatch and raise their chicks, called pufflings.  By August, the babies are ready to leave the burrows and head out to sea, but some of them become confused by the lights of the town and land in the streets instead.  Puffins are too chunky to take off without wind and space, so if the babies land in town they can’t get back to sea by themselves – they need help.  The children of the Puffling Patrol search the streets, finding the frightened babies, placing them in cardboard boxes in their homes overnight, and returning them to the ocean in the morning.

baby puffling
image used by permission of publisher

This story is about Ted and Betsy’s experience visiting the Westman Islands and witnessing the puffling patrol firsthand.

rescued pufflings safe in a cardboard box
image used by permission of publisher

The book is full of interesting information about the birds, their habitat, and the annual patrol that keeps the pufflings safe.  Some of the paintings are whimsical, very reminiscent of the style of Click Clack Moo.  Others are beautiful watercolors showing the wild, rocky terrain and the wide sky, so lovely you can almost feel the wind.  The book is heavy on text, so perhaps not the best choice for very young listeners or those with limited attention spans, but excellent for readers interested in animals and the natural world.  It would be a nice addition to elementary school study of migration, wild birds, animal rescue, or nature, and an interesting read for children interested in these subjects.  In addition to the story, there is a nice introduction which explains where and why the story takes place, and several pages of facts at the end about Atlantic Puffins, the volcano of 1973 which formed part of the island, and puffins today, along with a bibliography, a glossary, and a pronunciation guide.  I think this book would make a lovely addition to any school or home library.

image used by permission of publisher

Lee & Low was kind enough to send me a hardcover review copy, which, now that I’ve reviewed I have permission to give away to one lucky reader!  If you would like it, please leave a comment below saying why you’re interested or who you’d like it for.  Random.org will be responsible for picking a winner Thursday evening (August 16) so please leave your comment before then!

Enjoy your cake 🙂 and tune in Wednesday for Would You Read It – the July pitch pick and Sharron with the 53rd pitch as we swing into year 2!  And now, I’m off to Pennsylvania with a banjo on my knee 🙂