Good Karma

And the winners are…..

Karma — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:01:19 +0000

Congrats! I should be getting these in the mail within the week! I use media mail so it may take awhile. I’ve sent you all requests for who to sign the book to. Keep in mind I mail using the USPS so make sure your address is recognized by the postal service. Thank you!

Diana Murray

Wendy  BooydeGraaff

Tia Svardahl

Julie Hedlund

Cheryl Mansfield

Sheila O Lindsay

Diandra Mae

Jbass

Kerry Aradhya

Corey Schwartz
Pascale Mackey

Holly from St. Cloud

Genevieve Ford

Liz Wagner

Wini Bell

Angela Moorad

Amy Kelly

Vera Smetzer

Kristen Dobler Stewart

Kelly schiavoni

Abigail LaLonde

Jesalyn Cole

Charity Cree

Jenn Geringer

500 FB Likes Giveaway! CONTEST CLOSED

Karma — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:29:11 +0000

~~NOTE: You can’t enter the contest in comments here! You need to use the contest entry form: www.karmawilson.com/contest.php~~

Thank you all so much for liking my professional FB fan page! It’s such a great honor to connect with my readers and I love social media for making that so much easier. We have reached 500 likes which means it is time for a HUGE giveaway that I promised.

To enter go to my contest page and read the rules. http://karmawilson.com/contest.php Then answer this question (information can be found here on my blog and also on my facebook fan page):

What two gorgeous cities did I recently visit during a whirlwind northwest book tour?

Two dozen lucky winners will be chosen via random number generator to receive a signed book. (Sorry, I can’t honor special title requests as I give away what’s on hand). Thank you! Contest open for one week!

Up for grabs:

12 Signed board book editions of Bear Stays Up for Christmas

6 Signed hard cover copies of my poetry book, “What’s the Weather Inside”.

What's the Weather Inside

6 Signed copies of my newest release “Bear’s Loose Tooth”.

Bear's Loose Tooth

Back from my NW book tour!

Karma — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 02:02:51 +0000

Portland and Seattle were amazing! So many wonderful people. I want to thank the booksellers and educators who went out of their way to bring me to the schools. And I would also love to thank the children, who listened with such wide eyes and open ears. Hugs!

Now it is back to writing and reading and getting situated for winter. I want to fill the kitchen with good smells, fill my mind with new ideas, and fill my computer with new stories and poems.

Signing at Powells in Portland!

Signing at Barnes and Noble!

Win cash for your local library!

Karma — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:45:58 +0000

JetBlue Airlines is sponsoring a contest that could land your local library $10,000 in cash for books! You have exactly ONE day left to enter your local library in the JetBlue Soar With Reading contest! Nominating your local library also enters you into a sweepstakes for a family vacation to Atlantis, and who doesn’t want to go there?! I like seeing companies that support literacy and literature. Thanks JetBlue, for supporting libraries and books!

Alliteration: Spices stories subtly!

Karma — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:39:06 +0000

WRITING TIP: Alliteration is the Jalapeno of writing. A little bit can add spice and interest to your story, but too much can overwhelm the reader and give them indigestion. Sprinkle a few sentences of alliteration in, only when it feels natural and doesn’t stop flow. If you find yourself thumbing through the thesaurus looking for a Z word you may be pushing the limits. Example from Bear Snores On, “Mouse squeaks, “Too damp, too dank, too dark!” Also “pitter-pat”, “tip-toe” and “creep-crawl”. Alliteration is a marvelous phonetic addition to your story. So, as aptly as able, alliterate!

Helping Children Anticipate and Predict

Karma — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:34:56 +0000

Storytelling/Writing Tip

I am a firm believer that storytelling in the early developmental years is one of the keys to literacy and literacy efforts. I am not just talking about reading a story to a group of kids, I am referring instead to the art of storytelling, which is more of a performance and less of a recitation. I will share storytelling tips here which are great for writers too, because tips for good storytelling often can directly correlate to tips for good story writing. First tip: Helping kids make predictions while story telling.

Don’t you just love feeling smart? Kids aren’t any different, and storytelling is a great opportunity to make kids feel like little budding Einstiens. Remember, when children feel clever while listening to stories they feel less intimidated by “literature” which makes them more receptive to books and reading. And books and reading make kids smart, which in turn begins the circle anew.

With the right kind of book and the right kind of body language, you can help kids predict lines, story developments, upcoming rhymes, etc… As my example, I will use one of my stories that I regularly perform, Frog in the Bog–rhyming books. In that story I have a repeating, but unrhymed line, “And the frog grows a little bit bigger.” My aim with any repeating line in a story is to get the kids to anticipate the upcoming line and say it, in rhythm, with me.

To help kids anticipate the line I need to firmly set the pattern the first time I say the line, and cue the listener in to what they need to listen for to join in. This means that there is a definite dramatic pause before I say the line, then I scan the audience making eye contact as I sweep my eyes from one side of the room to the other. This lets them know, “Oh, something interesting is going to happen.“ Then as I say the line I emphasize the most important word (bigger) by saying it louder. For Frog in the Bog the cadence is almost like a scale, going higher and louder as the sentence flows: And the frog grows a little big BIGGER!

(Writers tip: Include font cues in your manuscript to indicate when there should be a change in flow, inflection, etc…: In Bear Snores On my font size changes and formatting were written by me into the manuscript.)

The vocal qualities are important, but so is body language. As I say the line I use one of my hands to demonstrate the frog’s growth (palm flat, outstretched, and I raise it up as I speak).

Usually by the second line the audience has come to recognize what to look for (I pause, look across the room, and widen my eyes). They often hesitantly join in. If that happens it is my job to reward their participation with a head nod and a smile signaling approval (kids aren’t always encouraged to speak out during stories–so they need to know in this case it‘s okay).

But if they didn’t quite get it, I have to cue them in that I want them to join. I do this by holding my hand up to my ear as I say the word “bigger”. I have never read the story in a school and had them not join in by the third time I say the line.

But later in the story the line changes to the “And the frog grows a whole lot smaller”. This gives us another opportunity to make children feel ahead of the story. Since I want my reader to be able predict that the line changes, I wrote it so that this time the reating line DID rhyme with the preceding line (holy tongue twister Batman!). In this case:

And right in the middle of his holler,
That frog grows a whole lot smaller!

To further emphasize the change from “bigger” to “smaller” I hush my voice a bit, and bring my hand lower to indicate shrinking. Most audiences guess the word smaller with these cues.

Rhyming books are great for helping children predict, but there are other types of story patterns that also work. Circular stories, unrhymed stories with repeating lines, etc. And of course, when reading picture books you can always point out clues in the art to help clue in your reader, or dramatically pause when you read a line that offers a plot clue.

I’m sure many of you are much better story tellers than I, but breaking down the process can help us understand what makes a great read aloud so successful and hopefully nail it in our own writing endeavors. And there is a special thrill in hearing an auditorium full of eager, bright-eyed little learners yelling your story at the top of their lungs!

2010 Cybil Finalists: The Cow Loves Cookies!

Karma — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:21:44 +0000

I am so amazed and honored that my book The Cow Loves Cookies has been chosen as a 2010 Cybil Book Award Finalist! I am always a little awed when I see one of my books mentioned in a blog. It’s this reminder that people are out in the world, reading my books and taking time to comment about them—either positively or negatively.

It makes me so grateful for the people in the world still taking time to value books for children. Ultimately they are the people responsible for making sure good literature keeps getting published. So to win an award created by bloggers really is an honor! Thanks so much!

The Cow Loves Cookies! Illustration process

Karma — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:12:05 +0000

This is a link to the blog of Marcellus Hall, illustrator of The Cow Loves Cookies. He posted a comparison of the beginning art samples for the book to the end pieces. The transformation from concept to final art is amazing, and I think it’s interesting to those of you wondering about the illustration process.

Booklist seems to appreciate the efforts of the talented Mr. Hall . The Booklist review said, “The big, clear watercolor pictures with thick ink lines leave lots of white space, and the simple rhyming lines, with descriptive words and messy action, will encourage preschoolers to join in.”

Well deserved praise. Bravo!

They said some very lovely things about my writing as well.

The Cow Loves Cookies can be preordered on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Summer!

Karma — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:36:47 +0000

I’m back after an embarrassingly long absence. I’m in this difficult adjustment period leading up to “empty nest syndrome”. My oldest is almost 18 and we are helping him prepare for college, navigate high school, etc… Add to all that the fact that I am almost 40. Oy. Can anybody say, “Big life changes”. I have struggled this last year with inspiration (or should I say “lack of inspiration”).

But summer is here now, a sunny respite from the hurry and worry of life. And with the summer months has come a refreshing rush of creativity and renewed sense of purpose. Part of that purpose is staying more connected with my readers and focusing on creating.

Tomorrow I will post some news about my upcoming book “The Cow Loves Cookies” which will be released in early July. I am very excited about this book, and I hope you all enjoy it. It is fast becoming a favorite read aloud during school visits. Kirkus gave it a starred review!

Hey honey! Pumpkin pie!

Karma — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:39:33 +0000

I’m posting my favorite pumpkin pie recipe just in time for Thanksgiving! And it’s fitting because the sweetener used is honey, which of course Bear loves.

I want to start by saying that I *recommend* you use fresh pumpkin. I know, I know… I can hear you now. “My snarky relatives are coming, there are a million things to cook, and who has time to process pumpkin for pie? This this isn’t the Plymouth Plantation ya know!”

If you have no time, then canned pumpkin is fine, but really processing pumpkin is easy. So easy you don’t even need pumpkin! Any hard orange- fleshed squash will do, including the readily available butternut. Jack-O-lantern pumpkins will work, but Sugar pumpkins especially grown for baking are optimal. And get this—no peeling or boiling required.

How to Process Fresh Pumpkin

Stab the pumpkin or squash a few times(pretend it’s your snarkiest relative and relieve some pent up frustration), and throw it on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 until a knife inserted goes in easily. Let cool. Cut pumpkin or squash in half, and carefully scoop and discard seeds. Scoop out the flesh away from the skin and pop it in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. You now have the most beautiful, bright orange pumpkin you’ve ever seen in your life.

If you used regular Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins you may want to put the pumpkin in a fine strainer set in a bowl for a few hours. Jack pumpkins have high water content. Squash or baking pumpkins don’t usually require this step. You are now ready to bake a pie. If you skipped this step and opened a can of Libby’s I won’t be mad, but I will insist you are missing out on a real treat. Fresh pumpkin is better than canned. Trust me.

Honey Pumpkin Pie

I don’t bake too often with honey. The added liquid content can throw off a recipe. The flavor isn’t compatible with everything (though it’ works for quick breads absolutely marvelously). But honey and pumpkin are literally made for each other. The first time I made honey pumpkin pie I swore I would never go back and I haven’t. My whole family raves. So does anybody else who tastes it.

This Honey Pumpkin Pie recipe makes two large pies.

Ingredients
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 6 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or spice to taste)
• 1.5 cups honey
• 2 deep dish pie shells
• 3.5 cups pumpkin or 1 29 oz. can of pumpkin puree.

Preparation
In large bowl mix all ingredients except pie shells until smooth. Pour into shells. Bake at 400F for 15 mins. Turn oven to 350 and bake for about 30 more minutes until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Be sure to cover with tinfoil tent if pie browns too quickly.

Serve with Honey Whipped Cream, if desired. (To make honey whipped cream just whip up heavy cream and carefully fold in a few tablespoons room temp honey and a small splash of vanilla or almond extract—I prefer the latter).

I leave you with a picture. I don’t have a picture of pie, but I do have a cute picture with a pumpkin in it. Two if you count the adorable child.