Guest Post

This semester, I have been interning with a local indie-publishing house, Audrey Press, known for The Fox Diaries and The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Audrey Press also runs in conjunction with the blog jumpintoabook.com, which reads and reviews Kidlit and then finds fun activities and crafts to bring the story to life. I was lucky enough to be asked to write a guest post for the book of my choosing, and in a way, I think I knew what book I wanted to do even before Mrs. Budayr asked me. I've always been a big fan of Holes by Louis Sachar, and I saw this book had plenty of activities that were just waiting to be explored. Well, now my Holes post is well and alive on jumpintoabook.com, so check it out and let me know what you think.

Holes on Jump Into a Book

A Little About Sarah Dessen

            I might be the only teenage girl in several countries that has not read a Sarah Dessen book. I know; I’m awful. But don’t worry—I’m working on reading her newest book, The Moon and More, now, and I should come out with a review here in a couple of weeks.

            Anyway, I was lucky enough to attend a Q&A that included herself, Lauren Morrill, and Jennifer E. Smith. (Their posts are yet to come). She was very interesting to listen to and very much inspiring for a young writer such as myself. One of the great aspects of these Q&A’s with authors is that they can become very personal and share a lot about their background.

Lauren Morrill, Jennifer E. Smith, Sarah Dessen

            When Mrs. Dessen was in high school, she fell in with the wrong crowd. She wasn’t great at school or anything else for that matter, and as she says, books are really the only thing that got her through high school. She was blessed to live in a town that flourished with published authors that encouraged her to follow her writing dream. When she went off to college, she wrote a couple of unsuccessful books while working at a Mexican restaurant, which she continued to work at through the publishing of her first book. Now, she’s just published her eleventh book, ironically writing about the one time in her life that she would rather forget.

            I got to ask her a few questions myself, and here are her answers:

1. What do you think is the biggest misconception people have of you?

            That I know what I’m doing. People think now that I’ve written eleven books, that I must know everything there is to know, but that’s not true. Every book is a new experience.

2. Do you have an inspiration food?

            I keep two pieces of chocolate on my writing desk every day.

3. What are you passionate about besides writing?

            Good Morning, America, which I was blessed to be on—a dream come true, and my family.

Fun Facts about Sarah Dessen:

Ø    For those of you that are regular Dessen readers, you might have noticed that several of her characters have a strong aversion to mayonnaise. This stems from her work at the Mexican restaurant. Every morning she would have to prepare dressing for the restaurant—that’s a lot of dressing. And what does dressing have a lot of? Mayonnaise.

Ø    She’s a control freak about everything except her writing.

Ø    She is a creature of habit, who always has to write in the afternoons.

Ø    She always wanted an exotic name like Veronica…Sarah just wasn’t enough.

Tips for writers:

• Figure out what works for you and stick with it.
• Don’t think too much about your second book—it’s not as natural.
• Trust your editor.
• Your opinion of your work is the most important.
• Pick your snits, as my dad always said.

Herman Parish at Amelia Bedelia’s 50th Anniversary

          We all know and love that wacky, literal housemaid known as Amelia Bedelia. This year, she is celebrating her 50^th anniversary, or birthday, and I had the opportunity to listen to her nephew talk today. As you may know, Peggy Parish passed away in 1988 (coincidentally Amelia’s 25^th anniversary) at the age of 61, and her nephew has continued his aunt's legacy.

Her grandparent's home

                                                                                              We all wonder where brilliant children’s authors such as she come up with these beautiful characters that captivate the world. I now know. It seems that much of Ms. Parish’s inspiration came from her own life. Every Sunday, her entire family would take a short drive down to her grandparent’s, the Rogers, house for dinner. There in their big, beautiful home, they had a young maid who was hopeless in household matters. When told to dust around the room, she dusted the edges of the room and not in the middle. Ms. Parish herself was her very literal person. When asked what his favorite memory of his aunt is, Mr. Parish responded, “One day we drove past a sign in her hometown—‘Manning, South Carolina. Matchless for Beauty and Hospitality.’ She then said to me, ‘I’ve always thought that sign was funny. People in Manning have plenty of matches.’ That’s when I knew that I’d known Amelia Bedelia all along.” Do we all remember Amelia’s black purse that she carried at the most random of times? Well, that was actually Ms. Parish’s purse, and true to the reputation, she never put it down.

            For five years after his aunt died, Herman did not write, yet he continued to get thousands of letters from children asking what was going to happen to Amelia Bedelia next. Ms. Parish must have known that her character was going to live long after her.

            His first Amelia Bedelia book without his aunt was Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia. The inspiration for this book came from a road trip with his wife. When they came to a stop sign with only a left or right turn, he asked his wife, “Left?” and she said, “Right.” So instead of turning left, he turned right. When he got yelled at for going right when she said right, she had to scold him, for she meant right, as in correct, not right the direction. Read Good Driving, and you might just find a similar instance happening to Amelia in a fork in the road.

            In my belief, you’re never too old for a good children’s book, especially the crazy, literal world of Amelia Bedelia. So delve back into the world of drawing drapes, undusting, dressing chickens, and delicious lemon-meringue pie, and remember the laugh-out-loud fun that you had as a child.

First Amelia Bedelia Sketch

Fun Facts:

Peggy's memorial in Manning

• Peggy’s real name is Margaret. She liked the alliteration of Peggy Parish better.
• After she retired, she acquired eleven cats in two years. That is why Amelia Bedelia’s statue in Manning, South Carolina has a cat paired with it.
• When Herman Parish asked a school if they knew what Amelia’s famous pie was, a boy raised his hand and said, “I know. She made lemon…orangutan pie!” 

Southern Festival of Books Day 1

Line up for today:
Herman Parish (nephew of Peggy Parish) discussing Amelia Bedelia's 50th anniversary
Jennifer Smith, Sarah Dessen, and Lauren Morrill (from my hometown) discussing YA romance lit
Kathryn Lasky and Hannah Barnaby discussing Kidlit
Aprilynne Pike, Teal Haviland, and Sonia Gensler discussing YA supernatural Novels.

Even the birds came out for the festival!

Nashville Public Library

Features and more pictures to come!

For those of you who are already planning your trip for the 26th Annual Southern Festival of Books, I have scouted a couple yummy restaurants to fill your stomaches with delicious treats!

Puckett's: amazing, good ole down-home barbeque. Not only is it a delicious restaurant, but it is also a grocery and a music venue for aspirings singers. Come enjoy delicious meals and a thorough southern experience at the intersection of 5th and Church St.

Tazza: this restaurant has an assortment of food choices, but they are most famous for their italian dishes. While the food was delicious, I think I enjoyed the atmosphere the most. Our waiter made us feel like we were important to him. Plus, they have killer desserts!

We're Going on an Adventure!

This last weekend of my fall break, I'm headed to Nashville for the 25th Annual Southern Festival of Books. This marvelous event hosts hundreds of fiction and nonfiction authors that we all know and love! Some simply hold book-signings while others give talks about writing and about their books. I am focusing my attention on YA and children's authors: Rick Riordan, Sarah Dessen, Aprilynne Pike, Kathryn Lasky, Lauren Morrill, Herman Parish (Peggy Parish's nephew), among others.

For one thing, I just want to meet Rick Riordan. He's amazing. But I do have a purpose, do not mistake me. This semester I have been participating in an internship with jumpintoabook.com/Audrey Press. When I told my boss who all was going to be at this festival, she was excited for me to go and encouraged me to try to talk to as many of them as I can.

For those of you who are not familiar with Jump into a Book, this is an extremely successful blog that not only promotes the books of Audrey Press but also works in conjuction with several authors and indie publishers to promote beautiful children's literature. They constantly jump into a book, which means they read the book and find activities to bring the book to life. I asked my boss if they had ever done a book jump on one of the Kathryn Lasky's books, and she said no. This is the perfect opportunity for me. I love Lasky's Guardians of Ga'hoole series, and I think every child should have the opportunity to read them. If I can get a small interview with her, maybe the guardians will be next on Jump into a Book's list.

However, there will be a feature on each of the author's listed as I go through my weekend, so stay tuned!

National Coffee Day

I'm making a confession: I love coffee. I'm making another confession: I like chocolate coffee. If that makes me a wimp, I am sorry. But every week, I look forward to the one day that I get to go with my friends to bible study at our local coffee house. I know it's not wonderful to become addicted to coffee, but let's face it. Would a mother rather her teenage daughter be addicted to Cafe mochas or Monsters and other energy drinks that contain alcohol?
Midterms are coming up...tomorrow. This weekend, I spent my days curled up in a booth in the coffee shop, sipping my mocha as I poured over European history and oceanography. No matter how long the hours were and how complicated the material became, I took a sip of my coffee, and the day just felt better.
The perks to a coffee house:
1. People watching (interesting characters always come into the shop, and one might overhear some very curious topics on occasion)
2. The smell of coffee (it's everywhere! And by the time you leave, the delicious scent is stuck to your clothes)
3. The music (I don't know why, but whatever station they have the radio on is always great. But if you get tired of their music, you can always pop in some earbuds and jam to your own tunes).
4. The art (When you get completely frustrated with your study material, take a break, look up, and admire the wonderful art. I had the treat of watching them strip the walls and replace them with new paintings that had a central theme: coffee :D)
5. No judging (At the coffee house, everyone is allowed to be who they want. There are weirdos, teachers, hipsters, preps, professionals, musicians, the like.)
6. The snacks (Brownies, cookies, cakes, and muffins galore. Pick from the wide variety of options and settle in for the afternoon).
7. THE COFFEE (If you are lucky enough to have a genuine coffee shop, not a starbucks or Java Joes, take advantage of it. I guarantee that the coffee will taste ten times better!)

So today, on this day of celebrating coffee, show your coffee houses how much you appreciate them by marching on those creaky wooden floors and purchasing a cup of steaming coffee and a nice cookie to complement it.

You already know my favorite coffee. What's yours?

How to Survive the ACT

I consider myself a champion of the ACT…not because I have the perfect score, but merely based on the amount of times I’ve taken this dreaded test of intelligence. I just completed my fourth and final test, and now I look back on it…I would say fondly, but then I would be lying. Let’s face it; the ACT is not easy. It wasn’t meant to be easy. If you’re one of those people who can just walk into the test completely unprepared and walk out with a thirty-five by just plugging and chugging, I applaud and envy you. For those of us who over think everything and like to take the time to analyze and understand our reading or really work through the math problem, this test is our worst enemy. So here are a few helpful hints to help get you through the test that I’ve picked up from my two prep classes.

1. ALWAYS bring a watch, and not a digital watch. Ask your grandparents for a watch if you’re that updated.

2. Answer ten, mark ten. Write the answers in the book then go back in fill them in.

3. For English, unless it has a big box for the last question, don’t read the entire passage. It’s not a comprehensive test.

4. For math, don’t over think the question. Look at it calmly, and if it can’t be plugged in, work it in.

5. In reading, read the questions before skimming the passage. You’re timed, remember?

6. In science: five question sections refer to pictures; six question sections refer to pictures and passages/knowledge; seven question sections refer to passages.

7. Make sure you have plenty of pencils.

8. Studies show that chocolate and mint are the most stimulating for the brain, so pop a York Peppermint Patty before each test to get your brain cells going.

9. Don’t just not study. Trust me, it doesn’t work.

Yes, this is my painting. I'm sticking to my day job

10. BREATHE. In the end, it’s just a test. It’s not the end of the world.

So now that you’ve managed to survive and you have three weeks to wait before you get the results, why don’t you take this opportunity to relax and commend yourself for having the courage to take the monster test. Make yourself some bubbly. Pop in your favorite movie and veg out. Paint even if you’re an awful artist. Bake…for someone or for yourself. You deserve a little treat. Go on a refreshing walk with the dog, or cat, or whatever other critter you m

ight have lounging around the house.

Believe me, once you get through this test, this is all your going to want to do. Why not just indulge yourself?