I was going to dress up in a honey bee costume today, then sing and dance for you in celebration of honey bees and the release of THE HIVE DETECTIVES … but then someone sent me this video. I don’t want to be redundant, so, hey, here you go; these drones are better dancers than I am anyway …
© Freaky Films!
One of the things I like most about my job is variety. Some days I sit at my computer and write; on others I take a blanket and a manuscript to the couch and revise. Often I hang out in libraries, and occasionally I visit scientists in their various fields to watch and learn and wonder. And then, as if all this weren’t variety enough, I pop into schools here and there, meeting students of all ages, sharing my stories, hearing theirs.
Last Friday was one of the latter, and I spent it at Marlborough Intermediate School talking to kids about oceans and science. As they did last year, the Marlborough sixth graders inspired me with their thoughtful questions and wowed me with descriptions of their independent researches. These kids are testing bridge designs, studying earthworms, wondering about organic vegetables, and helping people like me know exactly how long a tea bag should steep.
A hearty thank you to all my friends at Marlborough Intermediate Middle School (soon to be Marlborough 4-7 School), most especially my lovely hostess Cathy Rosenstock, for another great visit. I look forward to seeing you all again in 2011. And an extra-special thank you to the C.I.T.Y. Kids, who created the welcome posters (see sample above) decorating my office this week!
What does the average children’s book author do on the day her new book is released? This one will be planting strawberries. (The plants arrived last Wednesday and they simply cannot sit in the crisper drawer another day. They can’t!) So, drizzle or not, out to the garden I go. But first, some buzzy delights, in honor of the day ….
These lovely photographs were sent to me by readers over the last few weeks. These readers happen to be my friends and family, but I like to think that complete strangers will soon be getting the same pleasure from holding and reading (and building Lego beehives around!) THE HIVE DETECTIVES.
Also, some happy THE HIVE DETECTIVE review tidbits:
“A fascinating book from the Scientists in the Field series.”
Booklist, Starred Review“Readers … will be well served by this example of a scientific mystery still unsolved.”
Kirkus, Starred Review“In yet another excellent entry in the series, Burns tells … a dramatic scientific mystery, carefully leading readers through the unfolding of the crisis and the attempts to solve it”
The Horn Book“Ellen Harasimowicz’s photographs are vivid and revealing; and Loree Griffin Burns’ text is clear, engrossing, and easy to follow. Given the ease to which the next epidemic of Colony Collapse Disorder might so quickly plunge us all into the midst of a planetary food supply catastrophe, THE HIVE DETECTIVES is certainly the most important children’s book I have so far read this year.”
Richie Partington, Richie’s Picks
And, finally, a flashback to the release of my first book, TRACKING TRASH:
My goodness, a lot changes in three years!
More formal release festivities for THE HIVE DETECTIVES are coming soon to two marvelous central Massachusetts libraries. You can find out more about those celebrations here. I wish every single one of you could join us.
Happy Monday!
Buzz! Buzz!
Edited to add: Just look at what Jama Rattigan has done. Just look! Thank you for all of this lovely buzzy-ness, Jama. You have made my drizzly book release day a smashing success, honey. Thank you!
Congratulations to Lee (aka Anonymous), Laura Jacques, Anne Marie Pace, and Jane Moore Houghton … you’ve each won a signed copy of TRACKING TRASH in softcover! Zap me a private email at lgb (at) loreeburns (dot) com letting me know where to send your signed copy and to whom you would like it inscribed. I will get them all in the mail by the end of the week.
And if you didn’t win a copy but wanted to, don’t despair. I am giving away two more over at Goodreads. If you’re a Goodreads member, click this link and try again!
I plan to give away some copies of THE HIVE DETECTIVES soon, too, so stay tuned.
In non-book news … it is 85 degrees here today. Ooh la la!
The softcover edition of TRACKING TRASH is officially released today!
Yes, it took three years. But let’s focus on the positive, shall we? You can finally buy a copy of my first book for under ten bucks! This will please my thrifty friends (I’m looking at you, John McD; go get those kids a copy now, will you?), and will help schools and libraries who want to use the book in a large group setting.
In celebration, I’m going to give away FOUR copies of the softcover edition here, right now, today. Simply post a comment below, either on LiveJournal or on Facebook, before midnight EST tonight*. I will draw four winners at random from all the entrants and mail signed copies out by the end of the week. And if you already own a copy, then send some of your friends over here, would you? Pretty please? It would totally stink to have less than four entrants.
(Although if that happens, John, I’ll send all four copies to you. Ha!)
* Fine print: Entrants must live in the continental United States and be over eighteen years of age. I will contact winners by whatever means of contact are provided in the comment in order to get a mailing address; anonymous commenters, please keep in mind that I will have no way to reach you if you don’t leave me some clue as to who you are!
© Loree Griffin Burns
Saturday, and Sunday were the loveliest spring days ever. EVER! I spent a good part of them in the yard, raking leaves (found the garlic I planted last fall), turning soil (oh, so many earthworms), planting lettuce, and generally getting filthy. It was heavenly.
The flipside of that, of course, is sitting at my desk this morning and wondering where to begin. Bills? Business paperwork? That challenging and long-ignored work-in-progress? Adding baseball and softball team schedules to the family calendar? Book launch planning? A grocery list? Egads … the laundry?
Deep. Breath.
I eventually decided to start here, at my e-home. Things are tidier here, and there is less that needs doing. I’ve got two posts for today. First, this dirty check in. Next, a trashy announcement. Stay tuned.
Happy Monday!
© Loree Griffin Burns
In a recent New York Times Op-Ed piece, scientists Marcelo Aizen and Lawrence Harder called for clear thinking about honey bee population declines:
”It’s true that some crops like raspberries, cashews, cranberries and mangoes cannot reproduce without pollinators. But crops like sugar cane and potatoes, grown for their stems or tubers, can be propagated without pollination. And the crops that provide our staple carbohydrates — wheat, rice and corn — are either wind-pollinated or self-pollinated. These don’t need bees at all.”
This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t worry about honey bee decline, of course, just that we should worry about the right things, like what is causing them. You can read the entire article here.
In related news, THE HIVE DETECTIVES, my look at honey bee population decline through the eyes of four scientists scrambling to understand it, releases in five weeks. Five weeks! When you’ve been working on a project for three years, five weeks seems like a snap of the fingers.
Got any plans tomorrow night between 8:30 and 9:30pm? How does a candlelit dinner sound? or maybe Monopoly by flashlight? On Saturday, March 27, 2010, the hour between 8:30 and 9:30pm has been designated Earth Hour. Across the world, individual citizens, entire communities, and even municipal governments will unite in a simple and symbolic act of global camaraderie: turning off the lights.
Check out the video below or visit the Earth Hour website to learn more.
Today I am thankful for birds. All of them. But especially this tiny Brown Creeper who’s been hanging out at our place all week…
EHS Field Hockey, circa 1987
We’re talking books for girls again over at Chasing Ray this month. What books can you think of about famous female athletes in history? Do we honor them on the same level as male athletes? And what about game playing girls in Middle Grade & Young Adult novels? Can you think of some great ones and do familiar teen girl tropes (like mean girls and romance) play into those novels? In other words, is a book about boys playing ball crafted the same as one about girls playing ball? Is the sport enough when selling a book about girl athletes?
Check out what the panel had to say … and tell us what YOU think.
