Category: Punxsutawney Phyllis

The Phyllis Week Kick-Off!

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Phyllis would like it to be known far and wide that this is PHYLLIS WEEK!  (She wishes there was a way to make that sparkly!)  Feel free to send fan mail (and strawberries!) to the Weather Prophet Extraordinaire, and bake yourself a celebratory cake in her honor.  Also, she says your boss should be very understanding if you need to take a National Holiday, especially on Wednesday (Groundhog Day)!  Or Thursday (Phyllis’s birthday)!!
So, when was it that weather became such drama?
Maybe with the advent of The Weather Channel.  I’m not sure.  But I get such a kick out of listening to radio announcers and TV weatherpeople turning pretty much any kind of weather into As The World Turns 🙂
“We’ve got a cold front moving in off the Plains carrying dense quantities of moisture mixed with Arctic temperatures driven by El Nino via the Jet Stream.  Batten down the hatches!  Stock up on milk and toilet paper!  Make sure there are fresh batteries in your emergency flashlights and radio!  We may get nearly 1/4 inch of snow with temperatures down near 30!!!”
But this week it appears to be for real.  The weather dramatists are predicting… you guessed it!… A LOT MORE SNOW AND ICE!  And this brings me to an interesting question:  if the entire northeast is supposed to be in the grip of a fierce winter storm on Wednesday morning (and for those of you who don’t live with Phyllis constantly reminding you, that’s Groundhog Day!), it does not seem possible for any of the weather prognosticating groundhogs (from Punxsutawney Phyllis (NY) – or Phil (PA) for traditionalists –  to Smith Lake Jake in AL, Staten Island Chuck in NY, Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia, Wiarton Willie in Ontario, Jimmy the Groundhog in WI, Woodstock Willie in IL, or Buckeye Chuck in OH, among others!) to see their shadows and hideaway for 6 more weeks of winter.  On the other hand, given the winter we’re having, it seems equally impossible (although it would be awfully nice!) that an early spring could be on the horizon.
Wednesday February 2 is going to be an interesting day!
Phyllis would like to celebrate her week by having all of you write comments on:
a) why she is the most beautiful
b) why she is the smartest
c) why her weather predictions are ALWAYS correct
d) what you would like to hear her sing
e) what you would like to give her for a birthday present (her birthday is Feb. 3!) or,
f) all of the above!!!
Now, she and I are off to the Ridgefield Library in Connecticut for story hour.  Woo-hoo!
Happy Phyllis Week, Everyone 🙂

Ouch! A Hard Day for Punxsutawney Phyllis!

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So, how’s everyone doing on yesterday’s contest?  Still hard at work, I hope?

I’ve received 2 attempts so far.  One person got 5 titles, but only 2 complete with author.  The other person got 14 completely correct – well done! (but in order to help you resist temptation, I have not published her post yet :))

Let’s give them some competition!  Remember, there’s a prize up for grabs.  If you win you can give it to a child, donate it to a classroom or library, or keep it for yourself 🙂  And I’ll give you another hint:  one of the answers is a COMPLETE giveaway.  If you don’t get that one, REALLY!

For anyone who didn’t see yesterday’s post, please scroll down and join the fun!  A contest is only a contest if people enter 🙂

Now, I have something truly horrifying to share with you…

(You think I’m kidding, but just wait until you see!)

Only a few days ago, when I was discussing the writer’s club, I mentioned my disappointment that Phyllis didn’t have a stuffedty in her honor.  Well, it turns out I was wrong.  She has one, but not created by me, or Holiday House, or Jeff Ebbeler.  That would have been awesome and cute.

Apparently the Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce has decided to embrace the idea that Punxsutawney Phil has a wife named Punxsutawney Phyllis (I ask you!) and, for the first time ever, has created a plush toy in her honor.  You have to see it to truly feel my pain.  Prepare yourself (seriously!) and click the link below:

Punxsutawney Phyllis doll

Poor Phyllis.  Her name has been besmirched.  Really, I think the only solution is for me (or Holiday House or Jeff) to make a real Phyllis stuffedty.  She should be cute and furry, with her little green overalls with the yellow flower.

Problem is, I have no idea how to go about that.  Anyone?  Anyone?  Phyllis’s honor is at stake.  She needs to be redeemed or she’s going to have a hard time holding her head up in public!

If anyone is interested, there is also an article about the wife.  Please feel free to read it… and then write to the Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce and tell them they’ve got it all wrong!  Phyllis is Phil’s great niece, she’s really cute, she already has a book about her, and she deserves a plush toy that will do her proud!  (And the Chamber of Commerce could get a lot more sales and good publicity out of a children’s book and cute toy… just sayin’!)

Shame on Punxsutawney!  But they still have time to get it right… 🙂

Now, thinking caps on everyone, and back to the contest.  There’s a prize to be won!

Write On.. and On

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Phyllis announced this morning that she wants another story.

Apparently the fact that she’s got a new story coming out in a few weeks has only whetted her appetite for further adventure.

The thing is, I love Phyllis.  I would be more than happy to write her another story.  (No doubt she will bug me until I do, so there’s that incentive as well… :))

The question is, how much is enough?

Fancy Nancy appears to be able to sustain interest book after book after book.  Same with Pinkalicious, Lilly, Harry the Dirty Dog, and Curious George.  For other characters, one story is enough.  You don’t see the continuing sagas of Ferdinand or Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouak, Pack and Quack.

So how does a writer decide whether to revisit or move on?

In my own writing, most picture book ideas are stand-alones.  But Phyllis seems to be a character who doesn’t quit at one story.  When I wrote the first one, I never thought of a sequel, but a couple years later she felt she had more to say 🙂  And now I find a little piece of an idea niggling in the back of my brain, rolling around, turning over and over, investigating itself the way your tongue explores the space where a tooth used to be, wondering if there’s anything to it.

I don’t know yet.  Is the world ready for a third adventure in Punxsutawney?

Phyllis thinks so!!!