Thought for the Day:
“This is how you do it: You sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard.”
~ Neil Gaiman ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
Melissa Donovan has good reminders HERE on Writing Forward with Ten Grammar Rules Every Writer Should Know.
K.M. Allan has a terrific post HERE to help you with Editing Out Your Writing Gremlins. And, yes, we all have gremlins.
There is a very interesting post HERE on The Good Story Company by Joiya Morrison-Efemini that gives The Case for Re-Reading. I have many, many books I would like to re-read, but I never seem to find the time. I guess I should make time.
I don’t know if I have admitted this here or not, but I haven’t been able to write since the pandemic began. It was like I was just frozen by it all. I think back to the beginning months of the pandemic, and I literally didn’t leave my house for months. My daughter would pick up my mail and leave it in the garage, and I wouldn’t look at it for days so the virus could die. She would also bring groceries and also leave them in the garage. Then I would wipe everything with disinfectant wipes or wash them with bleachy-water. Sometimes we would chat a little from a distance, but I didn’t really feel like I could spend time with her or anyone else. It was an awful time, and I kept thinking I should look at it as a gift of time for writing, but I just couldn’t do it. I saw on line that a lot of writers felt this way, and many of them felt that way for a long time. I started writing last week, and it did it every day. Now, I have to remind myself, in a sense I have been writing all along. I kept up with my blog almost every week. I read and wrote reviews of hundreds of books for the four book reviews. But for my own writing, I was just stuck. I wish I could point to something that got me started, but I think it was a culmination of reading so many books and reading so many articles and posts about writing. I read a ton of them to find good links for this blog and for my own edification. Whatever it was, I am writing again. Every. Day. Doing a happy dance here!
So last week I wrote here, “I don’t read a lot of books that have personified animals as characters. It just isn’t my thing.” That really is true, but there are exceptions to every rule — even my own. I never read The Wind in the Willows or Stuart Little or books like that when I was a kid. It just wasn’t my thing. But now and then, as an adult, I love that kind of escape from reality. Just about a year ago, I wrote here about a book called Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake and illustrated by Jon Klassen. You can read my review of it HERE. It was a book that had me laughing out loud, and I thought it was just so clever and smart. I loved every word. When I saw a sequel to it on the list of books available for review from the Seattle Book Review, I requested it right away. I was not disappointed. Here is the review I wrote for them for Egg Marks the Spot: A Skunk and Badger Story.
Badger admires his wall of rocks while he is in his rock room doing important rock work, but his eyes are drawn to the empty spot where his Spider Eye Agate should be, the rock stolen by his despicable cousin Fisher. Skunk suggests they take a camping trip to Endless Lake to find a new agate to fill out the collection. While they are there, a little orange chicken shows up, and Skunk says the two of them are going somewhere. Badger is curious and follows them into a deep, dark cave where they find a dinosaur egg in a wall of amber. It turns out that chickens, descendants of dinosaurs, have been caring for it for a very long time. Suddenly, Fisher and an army of rats show up. This cannot be good.
Author Amy Timberlake has such a fun franchise going with the Skunk and Badger books. This one is clever, smart, and laugh-out-loud funny and exciting at the same time. Her writing is terrific, and the story is compelling. The illustrations by Jon Klassen have just the right sense of fun to them to accompany this terrific story. It’s a good one!
I have a gently-read ARC for one of you. All you need do is be a follower or subscriber (it’s free!), have a U.S. address, and leave a comment below. If you would like extra chances, please share the link to this post on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media outlet and let me know you have done that. And don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at the Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.
Rosi Hollinbeck 
This sounds like a humorous read. Love Klassen’s illustrations. I enjoy good animal stories, because they are a nonthreatening way to teach important topics to kids. Great review!
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Oh, it’s funny all right. If you like animal stories, you will love it. Thanks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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Thanks for including my blog post 😊.
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You’re welcome. Good luck in the drawing.
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This sounds like a delightful book! On another note, I’m so glad you are writing again, Rosi. I want to read those books in print. They are so good. (You know the ones I mean.)
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Thanks, Elizabeth. Very kind of you to say. I do know which ones, and I am working on them. Thanks for visiting.
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So glad you’re writing again. Like you said, many writers had trouble writing during the pandemc. And you were writing your reviews and for your blog. This sounds like a fun book, but I’ll pass on the giveaway.
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Thanks, Natalie. It has been a tough slog for lots of people, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks for stopping by.
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I spent my lunch time with the links and it was well worth it. Thanks for finding these gems. I too have struggled getting back into writing on a regular basis, but now reserve the first hour of each day for this pursuit. I feel back in the groove again.
This book would make a super fun read-aloud and appeal to many young readers. Such and exciting and fun story. I too will have to pass on the giveaway as my reading commitments are close to an all time high. Happy MMGM!
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Hi, Greg. Yes, it would make a great read-aloud. I hadn’t thought of that. I hope you get a chance to check it out one day. Thanks for coming by. Glad you like the links.
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I would love to read and review this book too, so thanks for sharing your ARC. I am trying to get back into writing too–I know I feel better when I’ve spent time writing–but we operated just like you with this ongoing pandemic and I only saw people from afar or on screen. Most of the time now, I’m still doing that. I shared on tumblr, Facebook, and twitter for extra chances.
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The variants are keeping most of us home and being very careful. Someday we will get past this. Thanks for sharing my link. I appreciate it. Extra chances for you. Good luck.
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I haven’t read a good animal story in a while. Hmm… And that title intrigues me.
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It’s a fun one. If you haven’t read the first one, it’s really fun too. They are quick reads and worth the time. Thanks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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YAY—congrats on getting back into writing!!! I can imagine it would have been incredibly hard to write during such a hard time at the beginning of the pandemic, and I’m glad you were finally able to get back into the rhythm of things.
I’ve heard so many reviews of Skunk and Badger (and now this sequel!) that I’m not sure how I haven’t read it, to be honest—literally everyone loves it! I’m glad you enjoyed it too—it really does sound like a lot of fun.
I love the meme and quote you’ve shared as well! I’ll pass on the giveaway, but thanks so much for the great review!
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Yes, you really should get these books. They are so much fun. I’m glad you like the post. Thanks for all your kind words. It is good to be writing again.
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I’m glad to hear you are writing again. I look forward to seeing your work in print as well.
Another fun read! I’ll be sharing on Twitter and Facebook.
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Thanks, and thanks for sharing my link. Extra chances for you. Good luck in the drawing.
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This is my first time here, a friend recommended your site as help for finding good books for my middle schooler. I’m glad I stopped by. Thank you
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Welcome, Katja! Always nice to see a new name here. There are so many choices in middle=grade books. I appreciate your trust in me to lead you to some good ones. You might also check the link at the bottom of the post for MMGM. Several bloggers post reviews of middle-grade books there. Thanks for commenting and subscribing. Good luck in the drawing.
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I am already intrigued by this book. It makes me think of Mom, searching for agates. And it really sounds like a fun book. And we all need more fun in our lives. I am also glad that you are back to your writing.
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Thanks, Myra. I’m glad to be back to it as well. Ah, the rock hounds in the family. Yes, I can see where you’d make that connection. It is a really fun book. Thanks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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Egg Marks the Spot, what a fun title. I can imagine the book is fun too. I just have too many books in my to read list so I’ll skip the drawing.
I’m glad you’ve back to writing. I’ve been looking forward to seeing a couple books in print!
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Thanks for the kind words. I know about too many books. I do love the title too. It shows the writer has a sense of fun, and that shines through in the drawing. Thanks for the comment.
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