Nancy Raines Day

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.

Fright-free Friday countdown is now complete. Hope these tips on how to make Halloween less scary for young children help your family have a Happy Halloween!

#1–Cracklety-clack, what’s in your sack? Let children new to trick-or-treating bring a favorite stuffed animal and/or a flashlight in their Halloween bag for reassurance.

#2–Encourage your child to dress up as something that can conquer what he or she is afraid of. Ghostbusters can take care of ghosts, and superheroes can take care of bad guys.

#3–Reading a Halloween book like On a Windy Night together provides a way in to talk with your preschool child about his or her fears. LISTEN! For school-age kids, it’s a springboard to talk about what is real and what is imagined.

#4–Halloween art can be therapeutic. Encourage your child to draw–and tell you about–what he or she is afraid of.

Had a blast blowing through west coast stops with On a Windy Night! Here, I’m signing books at Whittier Elementary School in Seattle.

Hope to see you at one near you!

September
24 - Late Night Reading at Southern Independent Booksellers Association conference in Daytona Beach, FL
28 - Visit at Presentation School with Readers Books, Sonoma, CA
29 – Program at Woodland Public Library, Woodland, CA

October
4 – Story time at Mockingbird Books in Seattle, WA
5 - Visits to Queen Ann Community School and Bryant Elementary in Seattle
6 - Visits to Whittier and Wedgwood Elementary Schools in Seattle
16 - Halloween fun at E. Shaver, Booksellers in Savannah, GA
23 – Halloween party at G.J. Ford Bookshop in St. Simons Island,  GA, food, fun, and book signing, 1-3

26 – Story time at Brunswick-Glynn County Public Library in Brunswick, GA, 10:30. I’ll be reading several of my books.

27 – Visiting Christian Montessori School, St. Simons Island

28 – Halloween party at St. Simons Public Library, 11:00

Story time, crafts, food, and fun. Come in costume if you dare!

30 -Reading at Halloween carnival, College of Coastal Georgia, 10-11:30 Signing at Books-a-Million in Brunswick, GA, 1-3

November
5 – Signing at Hattie’s Books for First Friday in Brunswick, GA, 5-8 p.m.

December

4 - Reading and signing at Holiday Market, Lord of Life Lutheran Church, St. Simons Island, GA, 9-4

At the Southern Breeze SCBWI booth, Decatur Book Festival 2010

So many youthful and enthusiastic book lovers here! Made me feel the future of books is bright indeed.

At the Abrams lunch with my editor, Susan Van Metre, and my daughter, Meghan, a children's librarian

The high point of ALA for me was Abrams picture book luncheon at a lovely historic home. Got to show On a Windy Night to some super librarians from all over, along with fellow Abrams authors Erica Perl, Daniel Kirk, Tameka Brown, Cheryl Willis Hudson, and S.D. Nelson. I enjoyed my two signings at the Abrams booth as well.

Also want to give a shout-out to Mary Ann Hoberman, U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate, who gave a great poetry workshop and signed her latest book there. I was lucky enough to have her as a neighbor in my growing-up years, and her work has been a life-long inspiration to me.

Much of what I’m writing now has an environmental theme, and I work in a bookstore as well. One of my missions is connecting kids with nature through books. Here are some standout nature titles from other authors:

For very young kids, nothing beats In My Nest. The original in this adorable board book by Sara Gillingham and Lorena Siminovitch has now been joined by In My Pond, In My Den, In My Tree, In My Flower, and In My Meadow. For more on this, see my post on the “Interesting Nonfiction for Kids” blog.

Picture book readers will love Kevin Henkes’ newest wonder,  My Garden. This story, full of imagination, is definitely fiction. But it may spur kids to get out there and try their hand at gardening!

Plant Secrets by Emily Goodman and illustrated by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes offers a different—and beautiful—nonfiction take on plants from seed to flower to fruit.

Older elementary kids will be fascinated by How the World Works: A Hands-On Guide to Our Amazing Planet by Christian Dorian and Beverly Young. Tabs, wheels, flaps, and absorbing graphics make basic life and earth science come alive.