Singing with My Son

Last month I was asked to be the Parent Guest Speaker at Ithaca College. I graduated from I.C. in 1973 and my son Johnny is now a senior in the Music School which was also my major. I was thrilled to be asked to speak and it was very exciting. My Marketing Assistant – also an Ithaca College graduate- suggested I talk to the other parents about how my experiences at Ithaca shaped my career so we put together some old pictures of my days at I.C. At the end of my talk, Johnny and I sang together- a wonderful song called “Get Ready to Share” that I wrote with composer Mike Levesque for my new book series The I Believe Bunny. We got a standing ovation! It was a moment I will never forget.

The Research Process

Since 1996, I have been writing The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library and one of the things I like most about writing this line of books is doing the research. I love taking the books out of the library and filling notebooks with fun facts that I think kids will really enjoy, which often I didn’t know myself. Did you know that all kittens are born with blue eyes? That there are more breeds of dogs than any other mammal? That armadillos have four babies at the same time all boys or all girls? I like to imagine some of the kids wowing their parents at the dinner table with these fun facts and I’m sure they do.

The Business of Writing

Somehow it turns out that I need to get new business cards made every year. I’m never exactly sure why since I haven’ t moved in a long time, but invariably my website or my blog site or my phone number or something needs to be changed so I’m at it again.

This time, I’ve decided to put both of the major characters I write for on one card. Over the years, I have written for cats, dogs, monkeys, bears and Disney Princesses, but the two characters nearest and dearest to my heart are The Cat in the Hat and The I Believe Bunny so here they are, together for the first time. I can’t wait to see who ends up on my new cards next year!

Where Do Ideas Come From?

During my classroom visits, I get asked all the time where my ideas come from and I honestly don't know. For one thing, I get ideas at the most oddball times... it's one of the reasons I always travel with a pen and paper with me- except when I drive and if you know how well I drive you'd know that's a good thing.
But what do you do when you can't think of any ideas? For instance, last week I couldn't think of one idea for this blog so I admit- I let last week pass by without one. But I think if the kids start asking me what I do when I can't think of idea I would honestly answer that I just wait. Get away from the computer, go do something else, forget about writing and 9 times out of 10 something will pop up. Like this blog- ten minutes ago I didn't have an idea and now- here it is.

When Back To School Is In The Air

It is true that both my children are in college. My son is a senior at Ithaca College and my daughter is a junior at Northeastern (you can see them singing with me at www.ibelivebunny.com). Even though I no longer watch them get on and off the school bus, it always feel like September is a time to start the calendar anew. The air is crisper and the days a bit shorter and it feels like its time to take a fresh look at things and jump back into work after the warm, summer months. When I do my Author Visits at schools, I encourage my students to always carry a Writer's Notebook with them just like I do. For me, these are one subject spiral bound notebooks I buy in a myriad of colors. I always wonder as I put them in the cart what will eventually be written on all those blank pages. Will the blue one be a book on oceans? Will the red one be a new book for the Cat in the Hat? Will the pale green one be a new story for The I Believe Bunny? As I stand at the check out line I watch moms with their kids holding pens, paper, and notebooks like mine. Soon those pages will be filled with notes, ideas, scribbles and squiggles. About what? We'll soon find out. It's a wonderful time of year.

When Children's Characters Jump from the Page to the TV Screen

Over the years, I've been part of the production team on a number of television shows that have been spun off of classic children's books. I was at Random House when we produced a Christmas special for HBO Family of "The Country Mouse and City Mouse". Not only did the book come to life onscreen, but it starred John Lithgow as the suave, sophisticated City Mouse and Crystal Gayle as the charming, sweet Country Mouse. I wrote three songs for the show that Ms. Gayle recorded and I was spell bound when she walked into the studio with hair that truly did sweep the floor! A few years later I became the Head Writer on "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures" which was a rollicking good time. Later, I was asked by Scholastic Productions to help bring the best-selling "I Spy" books to television. It was so challenging to duplicate Jean Marzollo's rhymes that we spent hours doing what she seems to do so easily. I was also part of the writing team for "Clifford" and "Clifford's Puppy Days" and am delighted that yet again that children's books that are near and dear to my heart, "The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library" have become a television series that begins airing this Monday, September 6th on PBS Kids. It's a thrill, to say the least.

Mystic Book Signing

Last week I signed some of my children’s books in Mystic Connecticut at a one-of-a-kind book store called Bank Square Books. I often wander into book stores to take a look at their children’s section and I remember the first day I walked into this welcoming store. The books were beautifully arranged and you truly could see everything. There was a fantastic variety of titles to choose from and I especially noticed the local authors that were featured and, as I was getting ready to move to the neighborhood, this was very good news. Leon (pictured with me here) is the children’s book buyer and I was immediately impressed by the number of children’s titles he had and it was fun to watch the kids as they took time deciding which book to buy. This store almost makes you wish for a rainy day when all there is to do is curl up with a good book. The sign in the store window says “Eat, Sleep, Read,” so to thank Leon and everyone at Bank Square Books I offer this:

At Bank Square books
You see “Eat, Sleep, Read”
With a book from this store
That is all that you need.
Thanks Leon!