Loree Burns – Page 31

March 19, 2010April 25, 2015

Ship-to-Shore Education

Oh, my. How did it get to be Friday? I’ve had my head focused on other things, I guess. Like water in the basement (uggh) and butterflies in the yard (a mourning cloak, I think!). I’m stopping in to share a few quick notes of interest for teachers using TRACKING TRASH in the classroom.

The Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF), founded by Captain Charles Moore (star of TRACKING TRASH) is gearing up for a new ocean research voyage, this time to the Indian Ocean. Teachers and students are invited to tag along virtually via the Ship-to-Shore program. Here’s a blurb from the AMRF newsletter:

This week AMRF’S Anna Cummins And Dr. Marcus Eriksen will embark on a voyage from Perth, Australia to Port Louis, Mauritius aboard the 250ft Clipper, Stad Amsterdam, crossing the Indian Ocean. They will be joining the “Beagle Project”, re-tracing the path of Charles Darwin famous voyage 178 years ago. Anna and Marcus will collect samples along the way to investigate change in the state of the ocean since Darwin’s voyage.

You and your students are invited to join the expedition online through the Ship-2-Shore Education Program. The research crew will be sending images, videos and descriptions of their experiences while they are at sea conducting research. Students will be able to communicate with the crew by sending questions and comments through the Internet. This opportunity to participate will be during the voyage from:

Indian Ocean: Australia to Mauritius (Mar. 16 – Apr. 4, 2010)

If you are not a student or a teacher we invite you to follow the voyage through our public blog which can be located through our home page at http://algalita.org/

If you are a student or a teacher, the Ship-2-Shore Education Program is free and signing up is easy. Simply send an email to [email protected] and include:

1. Name and location of school
2. # of students participating
3. Grade level

When we receive your registration we will send you more information about this voyage. For more general information about the program please visit Ship-2-Shore Education Program.

In related news, Captain Moore appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on Monday night. Did anyone catch it? Here’s a clip from the AMRF website. Moore has now sparred with Colbert and chatted with Letterman; I wonder what Leno is waiting for?

Okay, back to spring. Have a great weekend!

March 11, 2010April 25, 2015

Big Night in Harvard

In 1891, a man named Henry L. Warner bequeathed $10,000 to his hometown, Harvard, Massachusetts. His hope was that the funds be used to initiate an educational lecture series to keep residents informed of happenings in “scientific, literary, biographical, historic, patriotic, national, educational and moral” spheres. Tomorrow night, Ellen and I will be at the Harvard Public Library to give our very first presentation on THE HIVE DETECTIVES as part of the free lecture series established in Warner’s name. If you live in the area, we’d love to see you there!

To Bee or Not to Bee
A Warner Free Lecture
Friday, March 12, 8pm
Harvard Public Library
4 Pond Road
Harvard, MA
978-456-4114

Why on earth have I illustrated this post with a photo of my cell phone in a bee hive? Well, that photo is in THE HIVE DETECTIVES. (You’ll have to read the book to see why.) And also because I will have that very phone on the podium with me tomorrow night in Harvard, set to vibrate of course, in order that my friend Kris can reach me and let me know if the temperatures after dark stay warm enough to launch Big Night.

What’s Big Night?

Well, around these parts, Big Night is usually the first warm and rainy night of the season. These sure signs of spring can induce hundreds and hundreds of spotted salamanders (and other amphibians) to migrate to their seasonal breeding pools. It is going to pour tomorrow night, and if temperatures stay warm enough, the salamanders will move. In other words, if that phone on the podium starts to vibrate, then yours truly will be doing some late-night salamander watching after the lecture!

* The quote above is from Henry S. Nourse’s HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HARVARD MASSACHUSETTS, 1732-1893.

** My friend Sarah Lamstein has a brand new book on the salamander migration. You can learn more about BIG NIGHT (the book!) at Sarah’s website.

Edited to Add: The fabulous Jeannine Atkins posted a review of BIG NIGHT, by Sarah Lamstein, right here. Enjoy!

Edited Further to Add: Sarah Lamstein tells me that all things Big Night are monitored over at the Vernal Pool Association website. Check it out!

March 10, 2010April 25, 2015

Some Writerly Links

I can’t even bear to mention what project I am working on this week, because I have worked on it for years, because I have mentioned it two-hundred-and-forty-two times before and, most importantly, because it is still not done.

Big. Fat. Sigh.

Rather than dwell on all that negativity, I’ve decided to share some writerly inspiration. These particular links of motivation spoke to me because of the very project I did NOT just mention …

First, an article from the October 2009 issue of BookLinks (Talking with Jonah Winter by Sonja Cole), in which one can learn how to write a picture book biography … or, at least, how Jonah Winter writes a picture book biography. In answer to the question “What is your process for researching and writing your books?” we get a sense of Winter’s sense of humor (“I read a bunch of books, sometimes do online research, then just haul off and write the darn things.”) and, more importantly, his simple, powerful approach to the form. Do check it out.

Next up, an interview of author M.T. Anderson over at Cynsations. His answer to the question “What have you learned from writing in a variety of formats?” delves deep into the heart of what makes a picture book biography sing. Great stuff.

Finally, some good, old-fashioned writing classes. Well, not exactly old-fashioned, because they’re all offered online—but they are very, very good. I know because I took one myself back in 2004. It was called Write a Successful Book Proposal, and my homework became the book TRACKING TRASH. ( I kid you not!.) Patricia Fry is a knowledgeable and inspiring teacher; I highly recommend her online writing courses.

Happy writing!

March 8, 2010April 25, 2015

Countdowns!

Two weeks until SPRING!

That’s a crocus image from last year, but I think this year’s crop will be poking through the snow pack in my front yard any day now …

Four weeks until the softcover edition of TRACKING TRASH is released!

I’m happy that my first literary baby will soon be available in a lower-priced, easy-to-tote-to-the-beach version. (Hey, someone might do it!) To celebrate, I’m going to link back to a series of blog posts I wrote in 2007, when the hardcover edition was first published: The Stories Behind TRACKING TRASH

Eight weeks until THE HIVE DETECTIVES is officially released!

To celebrate, the lovely and talented Kathy Erskine invited me over to her blog. You can read our interview (and see some bee guts!) here. Thank you, Kathy!

March 2, 2010April 25, 2015

Good Stuff

Thanks to author Mitali Perkins, I am getting my goodreads groove on this week. Check it out:

On the top is a widget of books I’ve read and blogged about recently, and on the bottom is a button that brings you to my new goodreads profile page. I’ve posted a few paragraphs from the first chapter of THE HIVE DETECTIVES there, in case you need a little something to read. 😉

If you are an author, I highly recommend you check out all of Mitali’s great recommendations for buzzing your book.

March 1, 2010April 25, 2015

The Great Sunflower Project

“It is vital that we understand how and where bees are declining in order to start to help them. Having healthy pollinators is important for both natural systems and our food supply.”

Dr. Gretchen LeBuhn, a professor at San Francisco State University, is the wise woman behind these words. She is also the creative mastermind behind The Great Sunflower Project, a simple and powerful initiative to get men, women and children outside helping our bees.

How exactly do you help bees?

It’s easy, really:

1. Register yourself The Great Sunflower Project website.

2. Order some Lemon Queen sunflower seeds.

3. When the time is right where you live, plant your seeds.

4. When your sunflowers bloom, watch them for fifteen minutes each week, recording how many bees that visit while you do.

5. Send your data to Dr. LeBuhn and her team.

In just two years, the Great Sunflower Project has recruited over 50 thousand participants, and the data they’ve collected is helping Dr. LeBuhn document bee pollination in the United States and develop strategies to protect and restore native bees where they are threatened.

Do I even need to tell you that I’m in?

And why not? I like to eat, and bees are a pretty crucial part of food production. I’ve also written a book about honey bees; helping bees feels like a fine way to celebrate its upcoming release. As luck would have it, I’m in the process of writing a book about citizen science, too; GSP will be great field research (er, backyard research?) for me. Above all, what’s not to love about fifteen minutes of forced downtime –in my own yard—every week?!

So, what do you say? Wanna join me? (You can say no, of course. But I’ll undoubtedly be blogging about our Great Sunflower Project experience in the coming months. Your sort of in-by-association whether you like it or not!)

February 24, 2010April 25, 2015

What A Girl Wants: Loree Is Missing Edition

No, I did not skip out on the conversation because it had to do with sex. I skipped out on the conversation so I could chase butterflies in Costa Rica. Honest. The panel went on without me, though, and shared their thoughts on books, sex, girls, and double standards. Check out the discussion at Chasing Ray.

Not sure what I am talking about? Read this introduction to the What A Girl Wants discussion series.

Passionate about girls and books? Check out the entire What A Girl Wants archive.

Looking for Costa Rica stories and pictures? Er, sorry. Not ready yet. Come back on Friday!?

February 3, 2010April 25, 2015

What A Girl Wants: Books on Being a Woman

The What A Girl Wants panel has tackled the question of feminism in teen literature. Head on over to Chasing Ray and read all about it. You’ll see why I’ve illustrated this post with CLAUDETTE COLVIN, and you will be forced to think, just a bit, about what the word feminism means to you.

Here’s a bonus link to the What A Girl Wants archive. Seriously interesting reading, that.

February 1, 2010April 25, 2015

Stretching

I spent the weekend in crispy cold Vermont, at a retreat for writers, illustrators, and editors of children’s books. I had an amazing time, although I was forced to stretch myself in ways that weren’t always comfortable. The first night, for example, I was made to write poetry. (Ack!) More specifically, I had to help write a poem in the form known by smarter writers than me as a ghazal .

Our ghazal was to be built around the word “hole” and let me tell you, I squirmed a whole lot during the thirty seconds I had to compose my two line offering. (Okay, we had five minutes. But it passed very, very quickly.) In fact, I was hugely relieved that we ran out of time toward the end of the session; I was able to tuck my couplet away unshared.

But guess what? I was also hugely bummed when our ghazal was read at the end of the night and my couplet wasn’t part of the brilliance. Because somehow a roomful of complete strangers—many of whom quaked, like me, at the thought of writing a poem—composed a thing of beauty. Truly.

There were other wing-stretching group activities over the weekend. We drummed. We painted. (See the photo above; the “hole” gazal group painted it together.) We talked. We dreamed. We worked. We partied a little bit. We shared our stories. I came away with new friends and new ideas, with the start of a new draft, and, most importantly, a new mantra: stretching is good. Stretching will help you reach the cookies on top of the fridge, it will keep your muscles supple and strong, it will help you grow.

So … how will you stretch today? Me, I’m going to start by sharing that little couplet I wrote this weekend. I hope you enjoy it:

Buckwheat turned by hand and hoe and chatter
The blade fell short—just short—of a rabbit’s hole.

January 26, 2010April 25, 2015

News from a Monarch Maniac

If you’ve ever wondered about monarch maniacs—otherwise normal people who get downright giddy at the sight of a simple black-and-orange butterfly—you may want to check out The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies tonight on NOVA. Then you will understand. Trust me.

I am tickled at the timing of this broadcast, because it was one year ago this month that I travelled to Michoacán, Mexico to see the wintering monarchs myself. It was a trip I will never, ever forget.

The show will also jazz me up for a new butterfly adventure: in a couple weeks I’ll be traveling to Costa Rica to live on a butterfly farm. (It’s a rough life, I know!) There I’ll learn how local environmentalists raise caterpillars en masse in order to stock live butterfly exhibits around the world and, by doing so, protect and conserve local butterfly habitat.

(For the record, I’m not really a maniac. Just … um … an enthusiast. Yeah. That’s it. A butterfly enthusiast. With a writing habit. And an extremely understanding family!)