The Word Chef

My crazy costume idea for the SCBWI national conference in August has taken on a new life.

I went to the SCBWI "Paint the Town Red" gala as "The Word Chef," with the intention of promoting all my author friends at Kidlit Central News. I wore a red chef's outfit with oven mitts, a spatula and a wire wisk tied around my waist and carried a plate of Zingers (red) with tiny book covers stuck in them.

It was fun--and a lot out of my comfort zone. I had the idea at the last minute, so I paid a small fortune to get the embroidered hat and apron sent to me on time. With all that cash spent, I knew I had to get another use out of that get up.

At the same time, I was looking for a way to connect with some young writers I know without seeming like that preachy mom/aunt/neighbor/friend.

From this, The Word Chef was born. The Word Chef offers writing tips for kids, in video and photo essay format. Everything is a cooking analogy, so the lessons are easy (and fun!) to remember.


I hope you'll stop by The Word Chef's blog--and help spread the word.

My regular blog is still at: http://kidlit-kim.livejournal.com/
Also stop by to see all the latest and greatest kidlit news from the Midwest at: www.kidlitcentralnews.com

Kidlit Central News

Hey! I don't know if anyone still checks up on me here, but I'm blogging at Live Journal now: http://kidlit-kim.livejournal.com/

You can also find me on Twitter: kidlit_kim

AND, the super cool news -- We've (me and 30 of my kidlit BFFs) started a new blog, Kidlit Central News, that has really taken off. At Kidlit Central News, we'll keep you updated on all the hottest kidlit news, books, reviews, interviews and happenings in the Central U.S. (www.kidlitcentralnews.com)

Moved!

Hey, I don't know if anyone still checks up on me over here. But, I've been blogging at LJ for a looonnnnngggg time now!

http://kidlit-kim.livejournal.com/

My best posts are friends-locked, but you can still get some of the scoop there :-)

Off to see the Wizard...

I'm off to see the Wizard...

Oh, wait! I'm not in Kansas anymore!

Tonight I'll be at the SCBWI conference in LA. If I have time, I'll do some posts on my Live Journal. Catch it here: http://kidlit-kim.livejournal.com/

Blogging

Obviously, I'm not blogging here much these days! I've been blogging at LJ:

http://kidlit-kim.livejournal.com/

But, for the really good stuff, you'll need to get a LJ account and become my friend :-)

I was double-posting the writing-related stuff, but it's just becoming too time-consuming.

Santa Knows

When Cynthia Leitich Smith found out how much A loved Santa Knows, she linked to my blog entry that discussed A's reaction to the book (See A Young Reader Believer Story on the Santa Knows site). But, that's not all. Because A thought that the Leitich Smiths were elves, Cynthia sent an autographed post card for A's stocking.

When A pulled out the card, she said, "Oh, this must be a letter from Santa." She had written a letter to Santa the night before asking Santa to find her missing stuffed animal, Lammy. She ended the letter with, "I will always believe in you."

She opened the envelope and pulled out the card. She read the card, "Merry Christmas from the elves." She shrieked. "They're real. They're real. They're real elves!"

She finished looking through her stocking and was thrilled with sunscreen, hand sanitizer, goggles (all things the girls will need in the coming weeks :-) and her double dutch jump rope. All this time, S was quietly looking at the contents of her own stocking. A looked at the coffee table and saw the note from Santa. "Oh, here's the note from Santa," she said before she read Santa's letter aloud to the rest of us. Santa thanked her for the cookies and milk and the reindeer treats we threw in the front yard, and for the cheese for Santa Mouse. * He told her Lammy was in her closet, to do her homework and to help clean that messy room (since that was how Lammy disappeared!).

Then...she got down to the part that said, "I hope you enjoy your iPod. Please remember to share and to take good care of it."

She frantically looked around. "What iPod? Where is it?" Then she saw it. Right on the table next to the spot she picked the note up from. "That wasn't there! Santa made that appear just now! That wasn't there before!"

"An iPod! An iPod!" Now S was screaming too!

It was a very special Christmas at home! The girls (and hubby and I) enjoyed waking up in our own home on Christmas morning and creating our own holiday traditions. It has always felt weird to me because our holiday tradition has always been to travel on Christmas Eve and run around to all the relatives homes eating and exchanging presents.

Happy Holidays! I wish each of you a joyous and prosperous New Year.

* Do you know about Santa Mouse? Santa Mouse was my favorite Christmas book as a kid. I found a copy for $5 this year. At my brother's house, stocking presents are from Santa Mouse. The girls thought Santa Mouse sounded like a pretty cool mouse, so this year, stocking presents came from SANTA MOUSE at our house too!

Jump Ropes

I mentioned the new Disney Channel movie, Jump In, in an earlier post. In that post, I also told you where to go to get your double dutch fabric (come on...you know you want new flannel jammies or maybe a pillow!) HINT: Austin illustrator Don Tate is now a fabric designer!!!

Now, here's where to get your double dutch jump ropes: The Jump Rope Store.

I bought ropes for S, A and K for Christmas. These are the old-style gym class ropes. You can choose the length. AND, you can choose the bead colors. A is getting a pink and purple rope. S will get blue, green and purple. K gets a smaller rope in purple and pink. The price is a reasonable $16.95 + shipping for a double dutch (less for smaller ropes). And, mine arrived in just two days!

Yep, we'll be doing double dutch in the garage on Christmas Day!