Nancy Raines Day

A is for Alliguitar: Musical Alphabeasts will be available everywhere by February 15. If you’d like a book label signed to someone special (including yourself!), contact me at nancy@nancyrainesday.com.

To get your copy of A is for Alliguitar sooner, hot off the press from the publisher, send $16.95 plus $.75 for handling for each copy, plus $3.00 shipping to Pelican Publishing at 1000 Burmaster Street, Gretna, LA  70053.

Events in 2012

Amelia Island Book Festival–February 18, 9 – 4:30 at First Presbyterian Church, 9 North 6th Street at corner of Alachua Street, Amelia Island, FL.

E. Shaver, Bookseller - Launch event for A is for Alliguitar: Musical Alphabeasts. February 25, 1 – 3 p.m. at 326 Bull Street  at corner of E. Harris Street, Savannah, GA.

G.J. Ford Bookshop – Signing March 3, 1 – 3 p.m. at 600 Sea Island Road, St. Simons Island, GA.

Jekyll Books - Signing March 10, 2 -4 p.m. at 101 Old Plantation Road, Jekyll Island, GA.

Hattie’s Books - Signing April 6, 5 – 8 p.m. for First Friday in historic downtown  Brunswick, 1531 Newcastle Street at corner of F Street, Brunswick, GA.

Stop by and say hi!

Outside the Waldwick Library with daughter Meghan Day, children's librarian extraordinaire

A great story time was had by all!

Play it if you dare!
(Click on the lower right corner for the full effect.)

Many thanks to the very talented Neal Jonas for putting this all together!

Sometimes  I come across a picture book that delights me–one where pictures and words have been put together with such mastery that I feel inspired. 

If Rocks Could Sing is such a book. Author Leslie McGuirk combed a Florida beach for years until she found rocks that resembled each alphabet letter–which required admirable patience–and a word that starts with each letter–which required admirable inventiveness. Her arrangement and photographs of these rocks are artful wonders as well. For example, “J is for Joy” shows a big fish-shaped rock nose-to-nose with a little one, both smiling, causing big and little readers to smile with joy, too.  Tricycle Press was the publisher, and its quirky, offbeat selections will be missed.

This is the kickoff of a blog series I will add to as I come across more such picture books–especially titles that may have escaped mainstream notice. Fellow children’s writers, librarians, and teachers, I hope you enjoy a look at these worthy new entries in the picture book genre! Stay tuned.

On a Windy Night has been included in the CCBC Choices 2011 booklet, the annual best-of-the-year list of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center! The CCBC is a resource library at the University of Wisconsin in Madison for librarians, teachers, students, and anyone else interested in children’s literature. Read the complete list here.

Rush deGuzman trick-or-treated as a boomslang snake (a venomous African tree snake) this Halloween. Hands down, his was the scariest–and funniest– costume submitted, as well as most original! The costume was a labor of love on the part of his dad, stepmom, and her mom. Congrats–and a free signed copy–go to Rush and his family!

If you’ve ever wondered how an illustrator sees the picture book process, you’ll enjoy George Bates’ account on his blog here.

For more, click here for an interview with George Bates.

The illustrations in On a Windy Night show how young children’s imaginations can turn something real—an tree, a cornstalk, or a pumpkin—into something scarier. Two- to four-year-olds are able to imagine monsters, but are unable to reason them away as imaginary.

First, don’t tell children they’re being silly or babyish to be afraid. Assure your child that being afraid sometimes is normal—for people of all ages. Then support them in facing their fears for what they are.

Help your child experience whatever he or she fears in a safe situation. If he is afraid of the dark, let him sit on your lap looking at stars in the night sky as you point out constellations with a flashlight or visit the planetarium together. A dimmer switch can make his bedroom darker by degrees each night. Gradual is the way to go!

Fear can strike any time, not just at Halloween. Reading a book like On a Windy Night together provides an opening to talk with your child about her fears. LISTEN! Share with your child similar things you were afraid of as a child, but got past. Tell her that, in time, she will, too.