Scientist • Writer • Teacher
Next week, I’ll join a slew of local authors for a couple great joint events in Belmont, Massachusetts. First, a book festival at Chenery Middle School (3-5:30pm) and later, a signing at Belmont Books (6:30pm). Both events are free and open to the public, and all sales benefit the Chenery Library. For addresses and a full list of participating authors, check out this flyer:
Here on the third planet from the sun, most of us feel gratitude for Earth’s gifts and concern for her well-being every single day, not just on May 22. That’s certainly true for the authors and illustrators I work with at Authors for Earth Day. A4ED is a team of children’s book creators who commit to donating one school visit fee per year to a non-profit organization that is working to keep our planet and all its inhabitants healthy and protected.
This year, my first as an A4ED author, I’ve teamed up with Oxford Elementary School and an enthusiastic group of fifth graders. These devoted kids have committed themselves to helping me choose a worthy recipient organization for my A4ED donation. Under the direction of their incredible classroom teachers, they’ve spent weeks learning about Xerces Society, Ocean Conservancy, and Maine Audubon. They’ve educated their fellow-students about the work of each organization, and are coordinating a school-wide vote next week in which the entire student body will decide which organization to support.
It’s been a thrill to introduce these kids to stewardship ideas, to watch them explore the good work of organizations I admire, to read their powerful letters of support, and to watch, via the internet, as they reached out to their entire school community today with their ideas. The real highlight of this experience, though, will come next week, when I’ll travel to OES and spend two days talking about the natural world I love so much (ocean movement! butterfly journeys! honey bee mysteries! invasive species! grand new islands!) and, of course, deciding once and for all on where to send our A4ED donation.
STAY TUNED!
HAPPY EARTH DAY!
Postscripts:
For more information on Authors for Earth Day, including a list of hundreds of children’s authors and illustrators who are available to visit your school in the 2018-2019 school year, visit the A4ED website.
For more information on how to be my A4ED school next year, contact me by email.
At last week’s Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club meeting, we discussed funny books. As usual, participants brought a wide range of styles and genres. Here are just a few:
I Feel Bad About my Neck, a collection of essays by Nora Ephron
The Far Side: Unnatural Selections, a collection of comic strips by Gary Larson
Born A Crime, an autobiography by Trevor Noah
Polar Bear’s Underwear, a picture book by Tupera Tupera
We’re loving the variety!
Consider joining us for the next meeting, won’t you? It’s set for Thursday, August 23, 2018 at 6:30pm at the Beaman Memorial Library in West Boylston, MA. Our topic for the quarter is—drum roll, please!—PLANTS. Choose any book in any genre that is in some way related to the topic of plants … read it … come tell us about it in August.
Here’s a sneak peak of the plant book I’ve chosen:
the erratic flight
of mourning cloak butterflies;
letting them sail by
a pink worm wriggles
across the wet patio–
funeral weather
I’m thrilled to have launched my new website this week. Please click over and check out the fun, including …
A page dedicated to my new picture book, Handle with Care;
Teacher Resource pages for Handle with Care;
A page dedicated to my upcoming Scientists in the Field title, Beetle Busters;
As happy as I am about the new digs, it is bittersweet leaving this blog behind. My new site has room for all the things I do here, though, and simplifying my online presence makes good sense. I’ll leave this blog here as I transition some of its content over, but I’ll not be posting anything new.
So, my friends, thanks for reading. And please do come on over and visit me at www.loreeburns.com!
Ellen Harasimowicz and I are kicking off 2014 with the release of our latest collaboration: a picture book about some very special butterfly lives. HANDLE WITH CARE is published by Millbrook Press and was officially released today. We hope you’ll love this story as much as we do.
I can already hear you …
Seriously, Loree? You expect us believe that picture shows two male ring-necked pheasants walking along the road?
Yes. Yes I do. Because I did see two male ring-necked pheasants walking along the road. I did! And even thought I didn’t have my camera and it was pouring rain and I was in the car and my daughter had to take a couple shots through the car window using my cell phone … these pictures clearly show the only thing you need to remember about this post: ring-necked pheasants are worth seeing in the wild.
Have an adventure today. Bring your camera.
(All photos © Catherine Griffin Burns)
Photos © Ellen Harasimowicz
In today’s installment of the Blog Hop, I’m going to answer a few questions about my newest writing project. I’m super excited to start talking about this book, because getting to this moment was–how shall I put this?–WICKED HARD. Of all the books I’ve written, this was the toughest to figure out. But I did, and soon you’ll be able to read it. Below are some questions about the project from the magnificent Sarah Albee, along with my answers. And if you’re confused about this Blog Hop business, just click on over to Part One of this post.
Sarah: What are you working on right now?
I’m working on a new Scientists in the Field book called BEETLE BUSTERS: A ROGUE INSECT AND THE PEOPLE WHO TRACK IT. It’s in design now, so I can’t show you the cover yet. (It doesn’t even exist!) But I can share the photos above, which are just a few of the scads of seriously cool images taken by Ellen Harasimowicz for this book.Sarah Albee: Where did the idea for this book come from?
The subject —Asian longhorned beetles—found me, actually, and it wasn’t easy. Here’s a simplified version of what happened:Sarah Albee: Why do you write what you do?
Because stories about our natural world and the people who explore it thrill me. And when I find a story that particularly intrigues me, I can’t rest until I’ve found a way to share it with like-minded people.Sarah Albee: What is the hardest part about writing?
The first draft. For me, its always the first draft. (*deep, troubled sigh*) I’ve been wondering for a while now why first drafts are so hard for me. I’ve come to think that its not the writing of the draft itself that trips me up, but the process of finding structure. Until I’ve figured out where to start my story, where to end it, and how to carry readers through its middle, I tend to flail about. Once I’ve got a good structure, though, things slip into place. How do I find the best structure for a given story? By drafting and thinking and drafting and tinkering and drafting and drafting and drafting. It’s a slow process, which is why I find it so hard. Thanks for inviting me to be part of the Blog Hop, Sarah!
Blog hops are a thing, apparently. (Since I am just realizing this, perhaps “were a thing” is more accurate? I’m usually a bit behind on social media trends.) Here, gone, no matter. Blog hops are fun, and I’m going to play along …
Back in March, Kathy Erskine tagged me for a hop in which I got to share a bit about my Spring 2014 book, Handle With Care. (Here’s that post, if you missed it.) Last week, Sarah Albee tagged me in a similar blog hop meme. (Here’s her post.) Here’s the deal this time around: first, I tell you a little bit about Sarah, then I tell you a little bit about my next book.
See? Kinda fun. Especially if you are into children’s nonfiction. And guess what? Today is Nonfiction Monday! (Maybe I am actually a social media guru? Ha.)
So, what can I tell you about Sarah?
Get to know Sarah for yourself through her books, by visiting her website or her blog, by following her on Twitter, or by friending her on Facebook.
Thanks for the blog hop tag, Miss Sarah!