tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-251444882024-03-12T12:25:58.092-05:00Rebecca J. GomezTales, Tips and Inspiration for Readers and WritersRebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.comBlogger520125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-28605270093187382852024-03-12T12:24:00.001-05:002024-03-12T12:25:27.110-05:00Preorders are open for MARI IN THE MARGINS <p><em>Mari in the Margins</em>, my middle grade novel in verse (and doodles) is now available for <a href="https://www.bandersnatchbooks.com/store/p/mari" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">preorder</a> from <a class="_mention_1qvs5_1" data-attrs="{"name":"Bandersnatch Books","id":196090634,"type":"user","url":null,"photo_url":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9323ccb8-b5bf-48da-bae4-245778a90b28_3048x3204.png","uuid":"9e7a5417-904f-47a7-8a4a-ee6e36c1b056"}" data-component-name="MentionUser" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Bandersnatch Books! </a>AND…the first 100 people to preorder will receive a small, original “Mari sketch” with their book. You can get a glimpse of me working on the drawings in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C4a5QmmgYC-/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">this instagram reel</a>.</p><p></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e810cc23-6ffa-4cac-b7f4-7c8f58e360d9_2721x3495.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":1870,"width":1456,"resizeWidth":308,"bytes":362191,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/jpeg","href":null,"belowTheFold":false,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null}" height="320" sizes="100vw" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe810cc23-6ffa-4cac-b7f4-7c8f58e360d9_2721x3495.jpeg" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe810cc23-6ffa-4cac-b7f4-7c8f58e360d9_2721x3495.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe810cc23-6ffa-4cac-b7f4-7c8f58e360d9_2721x3495.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe810cc23-6ffa-4cac-b7f4-7c8f58e360d9_2721x3495.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe810cc23-6ffa-4cac-b7f4-7c8f58e360d9_2721x3495.jpeg 1456w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="250" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why an owl? Read the book to find out!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="image-link is-viewable-img image2" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe810cc23-6ffa-4cac-b7f4-7c8f58e360d9_2721x3495.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><source sizes="100vw" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe810cc23-6ffa-4cac-b7f4-7c8f58e360d9_2721x3495.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe810cc23-6ffa-4cac-b7f4-7c8f58e360d9_2721x3495.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe810cc23-6ffa-4cac-b7f4-7c8f58e360d9_2721x3495.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe810cc23-6ffa-4cac-b7f4-7c8f58e360d9_2721x3495.jpeg 1456w" type="image/webp"></source></a></div><div class="image2-inset"><picture></picture></div></figure></div><p>Who would enjoy <em>Mari in the Margins</em>? Well, it’s a middle grade novel, but it’s a story that can appeal to a wide range of readers. Anyone (any age) who enjoys verse novels, for one. But also anyone who’s ever struggled to figure out where they fit in their corner of the world or what unique gifts they have to offer. It’s for anyone who can relate to feeling overlooked or who’s worried about being forgotten. Anyone who likes classic stories about family, friendships, and the awkward years of middle school. But really, <em>Mari in the Margins</em> is a story for anyone who can relate to normal people—especially young people—overcoming everyday challenges that help them to become who they are.</p><p>If that’s you or someone you know, consider <a href="https://www.bandersnatchbooks.com/store/p/mari" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">ordering <em>Mari in the Margins</em></a> today!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bandersnatchbooks.com/store/p/mari" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvNjvK9JbDa_rYliLPuP07yq5yo3Kim_0X5fL_EeX_trgUxgm9qZIOUwQAr_YXOHP2Ap52BvkOc2DE8OJ0th5u3cSjlAEKGJ4CTHwS6dEMBsJA0iLA9PTOgnwPbBYp9ww8sMpO3jvv_o6VYFEnZffU-Im_FSiaiOL8jgeG4RC5GBxISqvmD5w/s320/Mari_Cover_Front.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p>Need help deciding? <a href="https://www.rebeccajgomez.com/2024/03/what-advanced-readers-are-saying-about.html" target="_blank">Read this post </a>to see what early readers are saying about the book so far!</p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-53252620169274335212024-03-04T10:49:00.000-06:002024-03-04T10:49:03.086-06:00What Advanced Readers are Saying about MARI IN THE MARGINS<p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">The publisher of <i>Mari in the Margins</i> has started to hear from advanced readers, and here’s what they’re saying:</p><p><a href="https://carolinestarrrose.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Caroline Starr Rose</strong></a><strong>, author of the verse novels <em>MAY B. </em>and<em> Blue Birds: </em></strong></p><p>“A celebration of family and creative expression. Marivel finds her voice and discovers herself through the transformative power of poetry.”</p><p><a href="https://srachelshort.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Summer Rachel Short</strong></a><strong>, Author of <em>The Legend of Greyhallow:</em></strong></p><p>“Mari in the Margins is a heartwarming story that celebrates the chaos, noise, and love of a big family. Watching Mari find her place in the world was a joy!”</p><p><a href="https://ellieterry.com/books/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Ellie Terry</strong></a><strong>, Author of the middle grade verse novel <em>Forget Me Not:</em></strong></p><p>“I wish I'd had this book when I was twelve! Mari's charming doodles are a delightful addition to her already charming poetry. Kids will relate to Mari's desire to step out of the margins and become her own self. An encouraging story that captures the joys, frustrations, and chaos of growing up in a big family.”</p><p><a href="https://emmafoxauthor.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Emma Fox</strong></a><strong>, Author of <em>The Carver and the Queen </em>(who wrote a review in the form of a Mari-inspired poem):</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This review</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">is a friendship poem</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">for Marivel,</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">who thinks that no one sees her</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">—but—</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">that's only because</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">she goes so deeply into the heart of things</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">that she becomes a part of you</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">and you of her.</span></span></p><p>If you’re interested in reading <em>Mari in the Margins</em> or purchasing it for a young reader in your life, it will be available for preorder from <a href="https://www.bandersnatchbooks.com/books/mari-margins" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Bandersnatch Books</a> on March 12! The book is set to release on May 14, 2024.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmEAtfFQFSstWOWnwjtFl39xTHuwFonqCioJBPsAfA0kVPrT2bbobrT7NhV-PiOK2fPKo_3dY_JfW-420OWmaRR-Q1SGT3Nu9Bw4alz_lLWoxc6l7vAEevEByzrMATzhhOlE9DaVuMq1MjyvwXiQyk8qZABC3S97g0hsumKXK2Blthc57Ia1m/s2700/Mari_Cover_Front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmEAtfFQFSstWOWnwjtFl39xTHuwFonqCioJBPsAfA0kVPrT2bbobrT7NhV-PiOK2fPKo_3dY_JfW-420OWmaRR-Q1SGT3Nu9Bw4alz_lLWoxc6l7vAEevEByzrMATzhhOlE9DaVuMq1MjyvwXiQyk8qZABC3S97g0hsumKXK2Blthc57Ia1m/w426-h640/Mari_Cover_Front.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-74301597066915255222024-01-11T10:45:00.001-06:002024-01-11T10:48:22.486-06:00MARI IN THE MARGINS HAS A COVER!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemcJqrg-2SMF8WVweLW5zjZABtWaohCGeRENWoqmatLO__id5DxfsfErcrZYfK1vBJNhkxstJNGAgfVzW9V42qfAqj82ehrJbl3kx8Ceemeo-z_idpvaUFxMniqkQLZ3kusyk4gSy28S0WcYfzMy0ItRQ9_dkGEQEWVnRHa65kY5x1YZ7heZ4/s2700/Mari_Cover_Front.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemcJqrg-2SMF8WVweLW5zjZABtWaohCGeRENWoqmatLO__id5DxfsfErcrZYfK1vBJNhkxstJNGAgfVzW9V42qfAqj82ehrJbl3kx8Ceemeo-z_idpvaUFxMniqkQLZ3kusyk4gSy28S0WcYfzMy0ItRQ9_dkGEQEWVnRHa65kY5x1YZ7heZ4/w426-h640/Mari_Cover_Front.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Spectral, serif, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #404040;">When I had my first meeting with the folks at </span><a href="https://www.bandersnatchbooks.com/" rel="" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white;">Bandersnatch Books</a><span face="Spectral, serif, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #404040;">, I was offered the opportunity to design the book’s cover. Because I’m the book’s author as well as the illustrator, you may think that it was perfectly logical for this task to fall to me. But, here’s the thing: I was still in a little bit of a state of panic and shock about creating the illustrations (at the time, just a few doodles and some art journal entries) for this book. Design a cover? I’ve never designed a cover before. What did I know? Who was I kidding? I’ve never had a stronger feeling of “imposter syndrome” than in that moment.</span></span><div><span face="Spectral, serif, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol" style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Spectral, serif, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #404040;">But I immediately said yes. Because…duh. I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity. I could do scary things. I had already done the scary thing of sending this manuscript out into the world </span><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #404040;">with my art in it</em><span face="Spectral, serif, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #404040;">. And they wanted to publish it! So, I could do this. And I did! And here it is!</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #404040;"><span face="Spectral, serif, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #404040;"><span face="Spectral, serif, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol" style="font-family: inherit;">If you'd like to read more about how this cover came to be, you can <a href="https://gomezwrites.substack.com/p/the-mari-in-the-margins-cover-reveal" target="_blank">read about it on my newsletter, Snippets and Sketches</a>. While you're there, subscribe so you don't miss any updates!</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #404040;"><span face="Spectral, serif, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #404040;"><span face="Spectral, serif, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol" style="font-family: inherit;">MARI IN THE MARGINS, a middle grade novel-in-verse, releases in May. <br /></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p></div>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-24093013118581577172023-08-25T16:09:00.002-05:002023-09-21T11:33:52.514-05:00An Announcement of Poetic Proportions<p>If you've got 40 seconds to spare, I'd like to tell you about the middle grade manuscript that I've been working on since 2014, which will soon be a published book!</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzWYEUbSjpciyglKeDBaB30vNUsUnRUlj_gYyjCaQFKG-H_K0_uqsBqCWdwq-daq1tLUq0ynjt9b5o' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p>I <a href="https://www.rebeccajgomez.com/2021/02/art-poetry-and-scary-new-things.html" target="_blank">wrote about it a couple of years ago</a>, when my agent at the time started submitting it. The manuscript made its way to so many editors' desks, and even earned a request for me to revise and resubmit. That didn't work out. And my agent and I have since parted ways. But now it's going to be published, and I couldn't be more excited about it!</p><p>If you'd like to keep up to date with all the details about this book and other news, <a href="https://gomezwrites.substack.com/about" target="_blank">subscribe to my newsletter, Snippets and Sketches,</a> which is now on Substack. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9sGD968RG6mzV4A6AsB9kAPxwJ-M9QtaDeoY-fB_QrSncj2zGCuSq0pk5BHH_ZegAaFhZwbcVYDNdCunUrmLME48D1rja-g5_WDYR8twnwbUhbdPgIRlc0JORykBZKhL5d4jotsomRZTfAe541UoNVD8MSYv5sJ-f6aSWw_OWlqoYKzPRdHvI/s1080/Mari%20Mood%20Board.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9sGD968RG6mzV4A6AsB9kAPxwJ-M9QtaDeoY-fB_QrSncj2zGCuSq0pk5BHH_ZegAaFhZwbcVYDNdCunUrmLME48D1rja-g5_WDYR8twnwbUhbdPgIRlc0JORykBZKhL5d4jotsomRZTfAe541UoNVD8MSYv5sJ-f6aSWw_OWlqoYKzPRdHvI/s320/Mari%20Mood%20Board.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A mood board I made for <br />MARI IN THE MARGINS</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-87791289915592713612023-07-13T09:08:00.000-05:002023-07-13T09:08:46.086-05:00I Have a New Newsletter!<p>I'm moving to Substack! </p><p>Due to circumstances beyond my control, the platform I was using for my author newsletter is no longer available to me. So, I've decided to change things up a bit by creating a new newsletter/blog. I'm calling it <a href="https://gomezwrites.substack.com/" target="_blank">Snippets and Sketches</a>, and it is a newsletter for people who like art, poetry, and children’s books, especially when all three of those things come together. In this new newsletter I will not only be sharing updates about my books, but also snippets about what I'm reading and writing, short poems, tips on writing concisely and poetically, and sketches and other forms of art that I create as I work toward my goal of being a children's book illustrator (if you've followed me for a while, you know that's a dream of mine that, up until recently, I've been too chicken to consistently pursue). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTUs2o6ZCBpgw8xmRp_0RJraqUyaiEQmUlkQWPY1vC8dn0sW6WAQ4bnAA-HaZBm_w4ZGWe3jFQY2jg1j3c1m17D8Zm1guU5GxNn5IhjOpYdKcLBNDIOpSvZOJikzCJH3x0AsJ57la0LyH1D3mrlhTTttb3Lb_mkU3SWPz9HJF7SodXVcMlPVw/s500/Snippets%20and%20Sketches%20Blackbird%20Logo%20Transparent%20(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTUs2o6ZCBpgw8xmRp_0RJraqUyaiEQmUlkQWPY1vC8dn0sW6WAQ4bnAA-HaZBm_w4ZGWe3jFQY2jg1j3c1m17D8Zm1guU5GxNn5IhjOpYdKcLBNDIOpSvZOJikzCJH3x0AsJ57la0LyH1D3mrlhTTttb3Lb_mkU3SWPz9HJF7SodXVcMlPVw/w200-h200/Snippets%20and%20Sketches%20Blackbird%20Logo%20Transparent%20(1).png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p>What does this mean for my current blog? I'm glad you asked!</p><p>This website will still be a place to easily find information about me and my books. It will simply be more focused and simple. And it will be getting a make-over in the coming weeks. </p><p>So, why should you subscribe to my Substack? </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>You won't miss out on important updates like you might if you only follow me on social media, which is unpredictable and always changing.</li><li>The newsletter will not only be fun and informative, it will also be SHORT. Like, you can read most posts in a minute or two short.</li><li>I'll share regular tips for children's books writers, children's books that I love (and why), original poems and art, excerpts, and more.</li><li>Occasional photos of my dogs, grandkids, and homemade bread!</li></ul><div>What more could you ask for? </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you will join me. <a href="https://gomezwrites.substack.com/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to find out more and to subscribe! </div><p></p><p><br /></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-1392407219608087362023-06-14T12:14:00.000-05:002023-06-14T12:14:07.599-05:00See what's happening with the Read, Discuss, Do! Summer Challenge!<p> Summer is in full swing, and over at Read, Discuss, Do! that means the Summer Challenge is underway. Check out the fun stuff we've had going on so far this summer. It's all about pairing books with summer fun, connecting with kids, and preventing the dreaded "summer slide" (just don't tell the kids that). It isn't too late to join the fun over at <a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com/">readdiscussdo.com</a>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com/2023/06/summer-challenge-week-one-time-to-chill.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9gDqGLgfgveBCUO1KEAS0GGR-d0WllrIGFbFejc2rzwFov-QN7BJE6RlQinRcebdIoXf_BuaAI3Ucl3lZUx8sK1W6y9IExthozibTV4urmrAMk6k-Mk4ULef_iNTeEtsIZPDBA6lY7M5RH5q-QUwZWHzY8RFEL5WdgvzhWjawKSRSIHByg/s320/Summer%20Challenge%202023%20-%20Time%20to%20Chill%20-%20Week%20One.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week One: Time to Chill</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com/2023/06/story-time-tea-inspired-by-lets-do.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkE8O14R9fRYBbz00GGMYdN88YZ-WQl66_r1RKtos3MZckpojq0Ek71MfbMrlKW7IDQjnRL_8qgBbW6FMmoALCX8jAu_6IQ7W0-bEOA9NjCysD8r_7u0rxDc3bBMTYr-ydQ9DYaBq51DuU6OSP8H23tlIDt6w34cze7c1WtsHETmtr9gayCw/s320/Story%20Time%20Tea%20RDD%20.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Story Time Tea</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJ_T-b5FGZnaRYbvqFH6ftMw9OlxrM8BPtyCbvLRHQxXLmzuaMIkKznAPY8nn-3v4AFm3pYiFV42fuKUnXCJOaA-_CvHTtaVp_ZKFbMlCC45KkwDzAISY_XASBNxQ5l1Iqn8PpMEtYBN9ikJUQQ5Xbmfa2yvxx1a26q6qVi2fEo-mCRVckQ/s1080/Story%20Time%20Tea.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJ_T-b5FGZnaRYbvqFH6ftMw9OlxrM8BPtyCbvLRHQxXLmzuaMIkKznAPY8nn-3v4AFm3pYiFV42fuKUnXCJOaA-_CvHTtaVp_ZKFbMlCC45KkwDzAISY_XASBNxQ5l1Iqn8PpMEtYBN9ikJUQQ5Xbmfa2yvxx1a26q6qVi2fEo-mCRVckQ/s320/Story%20Time%20Tea.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com/2023/06/summer-challenge-week-two-inspire.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdPZWMTWWwLM_86D70PZCszWxlGndV6An35mibVbb_Ms0twRp1jsvD6XoAgeWfBP4gWjUFeu_tntrqHj4UfTGESBHXJGQF1Ac7im9FfIQ1WEjnfxBIUB7RU18UVLaMl2c3o4M7KE0M_Y1JXGAhNQk3fIX8oQ0ZUXnt1MM_jGN_SmY1GY5Dw/s320/Interesting%20Inventions%20RDD%20Summer%20Challenge.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week Two: Interesting Inventions</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com/2023/06/a-build-it-challenge-inspired-by.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMf4yQr-P84sAOMGOlNgH_aiTJPapPSvicVVTtm-Eb21gq4ucX7pJJpPhBvHsXgFNoI938oP7uERMlNA8kjC2AE2mO8XAPqljGmNV6hA7ASkYte1tGgOZbOR7K9wvf6HlgZtB9dLtLF9FNf12U60DEpOhkupcZ0JDjNrR8jCxM06m9rRPMg/s320/A%20Build-It%20Challenge%20RDD.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A challenge for little builders!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-74203066910492133302023-04-03T13:18:00.001-05:002023-04-03T13:18:50.850-05:00National Poetry Month<p>It's National Poetry Month! Did you know? Over at Read, Discuss, Do! we are hosting a <a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com/2023/03/coming-soon-april-poetry-challenge.html" target="_blank">Parent and Child Poetry Challenge</a> throughout the month of April. Each week we'll be featuring a different form of poetry and challenging you to explore and write with your children (or grandchildren, nieces, nephews, your own parents...). The fun begins today with <a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com/2023/04/parent-and-child-poetry-challenge.html" target="_blank">acrostics</a>! So I thought it would be appropriate to share an acrostic I wrote about National Poetry Month several years ago.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7cvVDWkYjQkTAaIpVBA0kKtqnN_l-wsQa2nx29KWabgaouruy5d4z0KGZzYccvQQo5SHfp6BXVYvh-f0X0jgM0WsqFJ3qhYS1OJIbw3JuPHS1v05VgTNddYXX1os18NW854OmI8bZyyGADP0YDN_MgQMu0fcLKuHe7quzLtnLz4TcTBe1-w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7cvVDWkYjQkTAaIpVBA0kKtqnN_l-wsQa2nx29KWabgaouruy5d4z0KGZzYccvQQo5SHfp6BXVYvh-f0X0jgM0WsqFJ3qhYS1OJIbw3JuPHS1v05VgTNddYXX1os18NW854OmI8bZyyGADP0YDN_MgQMu0fcLKuHe7quzLtnLz4TcTBe1-w=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>I hope you will head over to <a href="http://www.readdiscussdo.com" target="_blank">Read, Discuss, Do!</a> and join in the fun, even if you don't have any kids to write with. Poetry is for everyone, after all! </p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-50066073649702765532023-03-04T19:42:00.001-06:002023-03-04T19:42:23.541-06:00Laughing through Pain<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBea_VYkNrsFfWWRrM2X1ipfVdy5eL7nNU3o19sSjlFC4BZ48Dv_kYPPbaYZ3MawbWPu1H6PGJdVl-cCNZX2zRGJHHWVg2dmZQYi0yUIs5IY3f9awH5jf0D2pOl1WenO6RgD4TaV84gt56BGo_jaLRc_AMUlngfBMGzo64MfJLgOOs7CbOmg/s3088/IMG_2393.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBea_VYkNrsFfWWRrM2X1ipfVdy5eL7nNU3o19sSjlFC4BZ48Dv_kYPPbaYZ3MawbWPu1H6PGJdVl-cCNZX2zRGJHHWVg2dmZQYi0yUIs5IY3f9awH5jf0D2pOl1WenO6RgD4TaV84gt56BGo_jaLRc_AMUlngfBMGzo64MfJLgOOs7CbOmg/w400-h300/IMG_2393.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is me being happy on a day out with my hubby, despite a lot of intense pain from my herniated disc. I heard that physical therapy can make things worse at first. And…yikes.</span></p></span><p></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Still, I’ve enjoyed this day. My hubby and I went grocery shopping. I made Belgian waffles topped with strawberries and whipped cream for lunch. And we went to see the new Ant-man movie (it was a hoot). I had to stand up and do some exercises for my back half way through—so glad there was a half a row of empty seats to the left of us at the back of the theater!</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I admit that there were a few times when the pain made me want to cry or spew expletives (okay, one not so nice word escaped my lips at an especially painful moment), but mostly I was able to laugh through it. One of those kind of nutty laughs that, if you heard it, might make you wonder if I were sane (especially if you saw the pained expression on my face). Maybe I was able to laugh because my husband was by my side all day today. Maybe it’s because I’m much more likely to laugh than cry in moments of stress. Or maybe it’s because the good of the day overshadowed the bad. Maybe it’s all of the above.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There’s more to it, though.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was able to laugh through the pain and enjoy my day because I know that the same hands that created the world are sustaining me through this challenging time. There is joy and peace that comes from knowing and trusting in Jesus that goes deeper than any pain, physical or not.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Don’t get me wrong. There have been days when the joy has seemed distant, and all I could feel (besides pain) was desperation for healing or even a good night’s sleep. I’ve broken down sobbing while standing in my office trying to focus, and in the middle of the night when crawling into bed after the short walk to and from the bathroom.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s in those moments that God has reminded me of his presence and, with his still, small voice, to trust that he is working. That voice has come in the form of a Bible verse suddenly remembered, a perfectly timed phone call, even notes and texts from friends.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">God is there. He is working in all of this. He will get me through this and I will make a full recovery. I believe it. I believe it because I trust in Jesus’s words from John 16:33: “<b> </b>I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I suppose Jesus wasn’t talking about herniated discs when he said those words. But…he’s overcome <i><b>the</b> <b>world</b></i>. He can handle this too.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-89830877580676387222023-02-04T08:58:00.000-06:002023-02-04T08:58:15.285-06:00Weekend Wisdom: C.S. Lewis on Heroic Courage<p>Wise words from C. S. Lewis about the impact of heroic characters in children's books. I shared this on the <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/readdiscussdo/" target="_blank">Read, Discuss, Do! Instagram account</a></u> a while back, and thought it worth sharing again. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RiMueN_BW3VKW1tKBHJytnzBQhyoPNm08_LPPEW-jpacUcDBKhQjP2f8KS7hzQL_g7-Pgz-Pcl1jjvHrOYF9Uf5vkWMRyBn6sUL_CTVLRwfIrM2gJ8BkBD20GTgZJAtB_3UZ7ajxGBIaNGGpC2n8rvEQYamKbTeP3juRN3r-E6e39cTPSA/s1080/C.S.%20Lewis%20brave%20knights%20quote.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RiMueN_BW3VKW1tKBHJytnzBQhyoPNm08_LPPEW-jpacUcDBKhQjP2f8KS7hzQL_g7-Pgz-Pcl1jjvHrOYF9Uf5vkWMRyBn6sUL_CTVLRwfIrM2gJ8BkBD20GTgZJAtB_3UZ7ajxGBIaNGGpC2n8rvEQYamKbTeP3juRN3r-E6e39cTPSA/w400-h400/C.S.%20Lewis%20brave%20knights%20quote.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-57135414951365344622023-01-07T16:10:00.000-06:002023-01-07T16:13:10.072-06:00Putting Away Christmas <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWiTzNetDeaQWEqz3kAknrCVVdm32QwGvugavFWoYh4MEtU-PiqKeDu5HyuD6O0zFMr14B-89PW1bnNXPk8uVn1hGc8O7Vi_SxT9VyK5uLJ45YdhIeZjdNPHMJwACs8wOT5u5a0qxDHi2k7dyEze_QsGoi-xWrp7iEGGEjev8QXUId9TdrGw/s4032/IMG_1887.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWiTzNetDeaQWEqz3kAknrCVVdm32QwGvugavFWoYh4MEtU-PiqKeDu5HyuD6O0zFMr14B-89PW1bnNXPk8uVn1hGc8O7Vi_SxT9VyK5uLJ45YdhIeZjdNPHMJwACs8wOT5u5a0qxDHi2k7dyEze_QsGoi-xWrp7iEGGEjev8QXUId9TdrGw/w400-h300/IMG_1887.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br />It's well into January and most people have moved on from Christmas by now. Me? I just got all my Christmas decorations put away, always a bittersweet time for me. I'm a little sad to tuck all my favorite ornaments into their wrappings and boxes, but am already looking forward to next year when I can take them out again! And that is what prompted me to update this post that I originally shared in 2015! A lot has changed in my life in those seven years, but some things have stayed the same, including my thoughts about why Christmas can never really be put away.<div><br /></div><div>The wrapping paper hadn't even been thrown away yet before I started getting emails from retailers announcing their amazing post-Christmas sales. "Christmas is over!" they say, and that means bargains for anyone who hasn't had their fill of shopping for the last few weeks.<br />
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By December 30 there were posts all over social media about people undecking their halls, but I never "put away Christmas" so early. I like to enjoy the festivity of the Christmas season until after New Year's Day.<br />
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But as they say in the books and movies, the feeling of Christmas can last all year. And, ironically, the reasons go way beyond any sappy movie line.<br />
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Books and movies try to sell you the idea that Christmas "doesn't come from a store" and it's "the season of perpetual hope." They say you can be kind and giving and full of hope and peace beyond Christmas as long as you keep Christmas in your heart all year long.<br />
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The problem with keeping Christmas in your heart all year is that it keeps Jesus in the manger. And pretty soon that manger scene is made out of <a href="http://whyismarko.com/the-62-worst-and-weirdest-nativities-the-2015-revised-list/" target="_blank">cats or marshmallow snowmen</a> and nobody has any idea why the baby was in the manger in the first place. Or what happened to him after that Silent Night was long past.<br />
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People love to quote from Luke chapter two at Christmas, exclaiming the "good news of great joy" and "peace on earth, goodwill to men." That's a nice sentiment to have at Christmas, and it makes a lot of people a little more cheerful, a little more giving, a little more hopeful. But all too often it gets swept away with the paper scraps and pine needles.<br />
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Imagine, though, if the story of Christmas swept us away instead. What if we took a closer look at that baby in the manger, and let him and his story into our hearts? What if we could accept that Jesus gave us the manger so that he could give us the cross, and he gave us the cross so he could give us an empty tomb?<br />
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That is where the Christmas story leads, if only you would let it sweep you away.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you have a happy and blessed New Year. <br />
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<br /></div>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-38658859564728486512022-12-31T10:20:00.002-06:002022-12-31T10:20:07.103-06:00The Best of 2022<p>As is tradition, I've written a blog post celebrating the highlights of the past year. This time, it's in the form of a "best of" list. 2022 was filled with a lot of great moments with family and friends, personal and professional accomplishments, laughs, and more. These are the best of them all.</p><p><b>Best day: </b></p><p>There have been a lot of great ones (trick-or-treating with my grandson for the first time, Christmas Day with three grandkids), but I think the day that gets the title of BEST is the day we surprised my husband for his 50th birthday. We brought him to a pizza place with an indoor arcade and rides, and spent an afternoon playing like a bunch of kids. </p><p><b>Best personal accomplishment:</b> </p><p>I read the whole Bible in less than a year! I've tried this so many times in the past, and always fell behind. This time I used a <a href="https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/234-discipleship-journals-book-at-a-time" target="_blank">Bible app with a one year reading plan</a>, and it made such a difference! I was able to read along while listening, and it helped me keep my focus. </p><p><b>Best writing accomplishment:</b> </p><p>Finishing draft two of my latest middle grade verse novel. </p><p><b>Best adult book read:</b> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18hQG0cFFoEiKcWmnwxgnbh1gM6bOblqGWpvWgd8ocZVNlILxP7_R_Sv5kSf9G6cJAw1H4HPB5Lg8_2lWbd8R-AzAL55VIKp_han4gk_-AuZl5wOCSVTVPHXv9-bmq0iVZ018W0WwO3rOWuU4dCUVe-seb34baIsG0gDqG45bPerQQh0XDg/s500/That%20Hideous%20Strength.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18hQG0cFFoEiKcWmnwxgnbh1gM6bOblqGWpvWgd8ocZVNlILxP7_R_Sv5kSf9G6cJAw1H4HPB5Lg8_2lWbd8R-AzAL55VIKp_han4gk_-AuZl5wOCSVTVPHXv9-bmq0iVZ018W0WwO3rOWuU4dCUVe-seb34baIsG0gDqG45bPerQQh0XDg/w200-h200/That%20Hideous%20Strength.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p><i>That Hideous Strength</i> by C.S. Lewis,<i> </i>book three in the Space Trilogy. I read (meaning listened to the audiobooks) this series for the first time ever this year, and enjoyed each of the books, but book three is my favorite. I found this book to be profound, engaging, and surprisingly funny. </p><p><b>Best children's book read:</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6hAvtXl1bfyJn4sC2v4EuGYXQMEepmJlfQ6PoYb4GmyTORI65RklsrUq-QpwOR-dRzIE8Aqj4DemMtvxRfLXeD0TZo-bLOHumcVRL4WjrJh2aIlv05kOrV1od1mSocLq05gom6MqJH72hoBV94sW9IypDTpynCS6KJDp3AqzeRNUbYxTDow/s500/North%20Woods%20Girl.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6hAvtXl1bfyJn4sC2v4EuGYXQMEepmJlfQ6PoYb4GmyTORI65RklsrUq-QpwOR-dRzIE8Aqj4DemMtvxRfLXeD0TZo-bLOHumcVRL4WjrJh2aIlv05kOrV1od1mSocLq05gom6MqJH72hoBV94sW9IypDTpynCS6KJDp3AqzeRNUbYxTDow/w200-h200/North%20Woods%20Girl.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><p><i style="font-style: italic;">North Woods Girl</i> by Aimée Bissonette, illustrated by Claudia McGehee. I love this book for its warm story, its vivid illustrations, and the way it reminds me of my own grandmother, who was also a north woods girl. </p><p><b>Best movie watched:</b> </p><p>The Tomorrow War starring Chris Pratt.</p><p></p><p><b>Best family moment: </b></p><p>This is a tie between the birth of our first granddaughter in February and the birth of our second grandson in July. Our family is growing fast!</p><p><b>Best friendship moment:</b></p><p>Meeting my friend and fellow children's book creator Jessica Linn Evans in person for the first time when she came to Nebraska for an SCBWI event!</p><p><b>Best road trip:</b></p><p>Going with my guys (husband and son) to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City.</p><p><b>Best food: </b></p><p>I made Butter Chicken for the first time ever, and my husband and son said it was as good as what we've had at Indian restaurants!</p><p><b>Best laugh:</b></p><p>On April Fools Day, when I successfully tricked my husband with a fake dog poop!</p><p><b>Best "kodak moment": </b></p><p>Getting this picture of all three of my grandkids together on Christmas Day. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBwzqEAtucU8-eJU7gJnnjUoEi22YmFqj8GBAGyryg4Zr_SWaT9nhXdkUIqY0cNeGG7OZMUFKMF3P36OMruaJa9GyJGrVhxhbrxT4AxNBe4IejdJBCWM8IWCBsSLu5jv41Ulm4zNCE6Mcj37MdGgX_L1AVfqYwWI446peNKJkknnPP4NkQw/s4032/IMG_1776.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBwzqEAtucU8-eJU7gJnnjUoEi22YmFqj8GBAGyryg4Zr_SWaT9nhXdkUIqY0cNeGG7OZMUFKMF3P36OMruaJa9GyJGrVhxhbrxT4AxNBe4IejdJBCWM8IWCBsSLu5jv41Ulm4zNCE6Mcj37MdGgX_L1AVfqYwWI446peNKJkknnPP4NkQw/s320/IMG_1776.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Do you have a "best of" memory from 2022 to share? I'd love to hear it!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-70359866987204349102022-11-19T08:48:00.000-06:002022-11-19T08:48:52.087-06:00Weekend Wisdom: Jerry Spinelli on writing for children<p> I write picture books, and often times that means that when I'm invited to a school for a visit, I meet with kindergarten through second grade. But if I'm asked, I say I like to meet with all the grades! And I make it a point to remind the fourth and fifth graders that picture books are for everyone. That really goes for any book that is written "for kids." Picture books and children's novels contain some of the best stories ever written. Don't miss out just because they are for kids!</p><p>Wise words, Jerry Spinelli!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0QlO_aUQaHH3xfI0P30sPpcHmUtUKVoZfJzq4JMxdVcpI1gn4NCeTOfHwckjSkVB0N6YdpdPCcgdTbZXctEdRBAbgHk-q-D85P9NMTVQCGseE3fUKVRRhaZn2Amu8Wjc6j6pcjpJ8NpPPYG1e1Ub66c6VQG_sZe8NSuNcjIBQgBqzLx5QGg/s1080/Jerry%20Spinelli%20-%20I%20write%20for%20everybody.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0QlO_aUQaHH3xfI0P30sPpcHmUtUKVoZfJzq4JMxdVcpI1gn4NCeTOfHwckjSkVB0N6YdpdPCcgdTbZXctEdRBAbgHk-q-D85P9NMTVQCGseE3fUKVRRhaZn2Amu8Wjc6j6pcjpJ8NpPPYG1e1Ub66c6VQG_sZe8NSuNcjIBQgBqzLx5QGg/w400-h400/Jerry%20Spinelli%20-%20I%20write%20for%20everybody.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-2194255575880563152022-11-12T16:49:00.000-06:002022-11-12T16:49:14.288-06:00Weekend Wisdom: Ted Kooser on Keeping A Journal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWJ_i0wJWTcgsrYfLZwTKs0e2xhJ1VhDwF_J_uJBjpt6wndVbF4CgayZYiwz7pTQBLt0hJ-kKb3biXxmJO28ILcQFbCQIFl1nF0gWWzzueiO1j3pftQZDusmHGLMH9i1_wr4riP3O2tNqyrM-rMCM2bdfoR0WnVORlS3rKIGMZWPxup81-g/s1080/Ted%20Kooser%20quote%202.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWJ_i0wJWTcgsrYfLZwTKs0e2xhJ1VhDwF_J_uJBjpt6wndVbF4CgayZYiwz7pTQBLt0hJ-kKb3biXxmJO28ILcQFbCQIFl1nF0gWWzzueiO1j3pftQZDusmHGLMH9i1_wr4riP3O2tNqyrM-rMCM2bdfoR0WnVORlS3rKIGMZWPxup81-g/w400-h400/Ted%20Kooser%20quote%202.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Wise words from one of my favorite poets. Do you keep a journal? <br /><p><br /></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-62312884959519313092022-10-28T08:00:00.001-05:002022-10-28T08:00:00.199-05:00Read this if You're Wondering Where I've Been<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZt6rGw0OkY_G_iuArQjsyoUMBRXU3_q7WSZkLRwP06d-ZNOq5x5uwUgacD86eAavcQbM0epjJ0NT4JHK2pHD1MKHt3qqYfJXq6xeJuS2ByWeckiPv_YZpGh2-a3AnCBfREujSqYGWRTRgtBQaeNpNi9GKSjWUSlY8M38zLLmB58GGvauyhg/s3024/DCC17469-4403-4A11-A73E-7F3A326E0731.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZt6rGw0OkY_G_iuArQjsyoUMBRXU3_q7WSZkLRwP06d-ZNOq5x5uwUgacD86eAavcQbM0epjJ0NT4JHK2pHD1MKHt3qqYfJXq6xeJuS2ByWeckiPv_YZpGh2-a3AnCBfREujSqYGWRTRgtBQaeNpNi9GKSjWUSlY8M38zLLmB58GGvauyhg/w400-h400/DCC17469-4403-4A11-A73E-7F3A326E0731.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p><p>Lately I have felt like I could do almost anything...</p><p>...except write a post for this blog. </p><p><br /></p><p>So I thought I would jump back in with a few simple updates. </p><p>Since the end of summer I have:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>finished the second draft of my latest verse novel</li><li>revised a couple picture book manuscripts</li><li>drafted a few new picture book manuscripts</li><li>read a lot of picture books</li><li>read one verse novel</li><li>planned several school visits</li><li>spent a lot of time with my kids and grandkids (I have three now!)</li><li>gone apple picking </li><li>done apple cooking</li><li>written and edited for <a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com/" target="_blank">Read, Discus, Do!</a></li><li>and more</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>Throughout the fall I plan to do much of the same, but also:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>revise an old verse novel manuscript based on my agent's feedback</li><li>polish a new picture book manuscript (rhyming, non-fiction) and show it to my agent</li><li>put together a book dummy for a concept book</li><li>make several handmade Christmas gifts</li><li>finish my Christmas quilt</li><li>LOT'S of baking</li><li>blog more often</li></ul></div><p></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-17471990460122428442022-08-09T08:00:00.003-05:002022-08-09T08:00:00.194-05:00Review: CHRISTIAN Q & A BOOK FOR KIDS<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/christian-q-a-book-for-kids-amy-houts/1141638842" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="270" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYRacLVUXfHtqqbgGyQ_KZ93Xc6N2Z9YVAg3Pczr38rLplhvt83TiLNqeyjxErbaJz1nVMAdda7rdDTPC9SZvhMKMYDIuK-88Bwtdc-ulivXgnpx1C4kIwAfVg9vldj6A9pbzpwVlmFSeg2jnLb6ytEIp65crU3qv4nPlkCWQmRLt1awKeg/w213-h320/Christian%20Q%20&%20A.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div>I recently received a review copy of CHRISTIAN Q & A BOOK FOR KIDS: 100+ QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT GOD AND THE BIBLE by <a href="http://www.amyhouts.com/" target="_blank">Amy Houts</a> and found it to be a mostly straightforward resource that could help foster discussions about the Christian faith. The questions and answers in this book cover a wide range of topics, such as the nature of God and Christianity, worship practices, salvation, prayer, and more. Some topics are deep, like “Who created God?” Others, like “Is it wrong to pray for toys?,” may seem superficial or silly, but are relevant to a child.<br /><br />Amy Houts uses simple, child-friendly language to answer each question, and includes a passage from the Bible to support each answer. The answers are fairly short—no more than one page each, printed in a large font—and easy to understand. Though there are a few answers that come across a bit like textbook entries (see “What is Christianity?” and “Is Christianity like other religions?” on pages 48 and 49, for example), for the most part the book reads like a series of personal notes. That, and the short entries, make this book accessible even for a more reluctant reader.<br /><br />CHRISTIAN Q & A BOOK FOR KIDS is written to be inclusive of a wide range of Christian beliefs so that children of any Christian background (Catholic, Protestant, and of varying denominations) can get answers to their questions. I think that’s a worthy goal, and mostly successful. However, because of this book’s inclusive nature, some of the answers seem a bit flimsy and at times even contradictory. <br /><br />For example, on page 47, the question is “Will my friend who doesn’t believe in Jesus go to heaven?” Houts answers in part that “your friend’s salvation is up to them,” but then later says that “A loving God will show compassion to your friend.” These two statements seem to contradict each other, though admittedly the latter is a bit ambiguous. Also, the Bible passage referenced, John 12:47, is taken out of context. In that verse, Jesus says:<br /><br />“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.”<br /><br />But Jesus continues in verse 48:<br /><br />“There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.”<br /><br />I think that by treading too carefully with this answer, Houts gets it wrong. A basic tenet of the Christian faith is that Jesus is the only way to get to Heaven. The Bible says about Jesus in John 3:16 that “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” And John 14:6 says, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.’”<br /><br />Later in the book, Houts says, “Believe in Jesus, and you will be saved,” (page 53). Agreed! A better answer to the unbelieving friend question may have been: Your friend may not believe in Jesus now, but could come to believe in him because of your Christian example and prayer. Don’t despair! The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”<br /><br />The question of salvation is THE foundational question of Christianity. Without the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ and his resurrection, everything else about Christianity becomes just a good way to live.<br /><br />There is another key answer in the book with which I disagree. On page 24, Houts writes that Jesus had “human parents: a mother named Mary and a father named Joseph.” This implies that Jesus was conceived in the ordinary way, but Scripture tells us he was born of a virgin. This is another important core belief of Christianity. There is an opportunity for Houts to clarify this later in the answer to the question, “Did Jesus’s mother know He was God’s son?” (page 27), but she does not address it.<br /><br />There are a few other points on which Houts and I disagree:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The most important thing Jesus taught (page 36) is not that we love each other, but that we love God and our neighbor (see Matthew 22:34-40). Though, the answer to the question “What did Jesus say was the most important commandment?” (page 85) addresses this. These two questions could have been combined into one.</li><li>The answer to the question, “Is Christianity like other religions?” implies that it doesn’t matter what religion you are. But it does!</li><li>I believe being “born again” (page 54) is not a renewal of faith or a form of baptism, but the salvation experience itself, spiritual rebirth, aka being “saved” (page 53).</li><li>The answer for “What is Hell?” could have been more definitive (eternal separation from God) without fussing about specifics (where it is and whether Satan gets to punish people).</li><li>I’ve personally never heard of the belief that Jesus was laid in a manger as a symbol for him being food for our spirits (page 103). I believe that his lowly birth was the beginning of a life of humility, complete surrender to the Father, and service to those he came to save (see Matthew 20:28).</li></ul>Despite these disagreements, I think CHRISTIAN Q & A BOOK FOR KIDS can be a good resource for families to use to jumpstart conversations about the Christian faith with their children. However, because of the ambiguous nature of a few of the key answers, I would not recommend it for kids to read on their own. If every answer is examined closely and held up against Scripture as a whole, this book can lead to a deeper understanding of Christianity and the Bible.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-40239375330387254342022-05-27T08:00:00.001-05:002022-05-27T08:00:00.212-05:00Poetry and Summer Reading<p>Wow, summer is almost here again! In my part of the world, high school graduations are happening and the last day of school for most other students is this Friday. And it's been nearly two months since I've written an update! So here are a couple things I've been meaning to write about combined into one short post.</p><p>1. Poetry! In my last post I mentioned that I had planned to write a poem a day for National Poetry Month. And I did! Well, I wrote at least part of a poem every day during April. By the end of the month I had 32 new poems, most of which still need some polish. During that self-imposed writing challenge, I was intentional about trying some new poetic forms, and one of them even inspired me to write a whole collection! </p><p>I also read a lot of poetry, mostly collections written for children. Here are a few of my favorites:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqnnNRS36g0nLr8QavGAdqW4QeAvShXlxIvzxMFsZtCUe2sWXiSrY5RymeXT-nM6ok51cr-D3FEqAYkj_PDm20TRU3JC8WGOvwIzKl7xVXDhNhJscldsrYrxeq9EFF7dFs1ejHniEu2jxmKRW3Y8IPkdNmgCl1tR8unPPYizrp5BayhPoTA/s1000/Clackety%20Track.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1000" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqnnNRS36g0nLr8QavGAdqW4QeAvShXlxIvzxMFsZtCUe2sWXiSrY5RymeXT-nM6ok51cr-D3FEqAYkj_PDm20TRU3JC8WGOvwIzKl7xVXDhNhJscldsrYrxeq9EFF7dFs1ejHniEu2jxmKRW3Y8IPkdNmgCl1tR8unPPYizrp5BayhPoTA/w200-h183/Clackety%20Track.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><p><i>Clackety Track: Poems about Trains</i> by Skila Brown, illustrated by Jamey Christoph. This is an engaging, varied, fun-to-read book about the various types of trains, and includes back matter that describes each type of train featured in the book. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2jAebhGCeZHgsdBIl98ptxerCtSedhUKEVfHvKl0t8I5v-F5relvrLwqLvq7tZEPRgB7yKPhV7VNtiPT-kmWGZjOxLMdxiBfPZZ0euKu5SMDyWiHDQ5R2BrIGoRdZuZ0l191zpr9dC76Z3VvNaQqfIHnYNGTzrvgqP6HP1bE5n4F_9xxSxg/s500/Beastly%20Verse.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="428" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2jAebhGCeZHgsdBIl98ptxerCtSedhUKEVfHvKl0t8I5v-F5relvrLwqLvq7tZEPRgB7yKPhV7VNtiPT-kmWGZjOxLMdxiBfPZZ0euKu5SMDyWiHDQ5R2BrIGoRdZuZ0l191zpr9dC76Z3VvNaQqfIHnYNGTzrvgqP6HP1bE5n4F_9xxSxg/w171-h200/Beastly%20Verse.jpeg" width="171" /></a></div><p><i>Beastly Verse</i> by Joohee Yoon, <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">a wonderful assortment of poems about various "beasts," with vivid illustrations that are sure to catch any young reader's eye.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAd4nTsI0O_bX6ErzE1M4YOcwsX5uaUM2JjjDREiC-2oNJCmVpxPHe3_vKp5MdfOjmJGu8KgFWF2OKo_Mka43-kDNpW-0LViOWBmkyy5a7ZKlDMJYnxAGOU5IS05XQUcJ-LYgqdaYOSdGdRVCFAs0rwjLX6XmVaLSsaAgVOVoiiBH6dpF6nw/s500/After%20Dark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="500" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAd4nTsI0O_bX6ErzE1M4YOcwsX5uaUM2JjjDREiC-2oNJCmVpxPHe3_vKp5MdfOjmJGu8KgFWF2OKo_Mka43-kDNpW-0LViOWBmkyy5a7ZKlDMJYnxAGOU5IS05XQUcJ-LYgqdaYOSdGdRVCFAs0rwjLX6XmVaLSsaAgVOVoiiBH6dpF6nw/w200-h163/After%20Dark.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p><i>After Dark: Poems About Nocturnal Animals </i>by David L. Harrions, illustrated by Stephanie Laberis.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> This is a lovely book that is creative, educational, and a delight to read aloud. </span></p><p><br /></p><p>2. Summer reading. My kids are all grown up, so I'm not planning to sign them up for the local library's summer reading program and bring them to the library at least once a week this summer. But I am an advocate for reading, and it's almost summer, so that means that it's almost time for the second annual Read, Discuss, Do! Summer Challenge! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com/2022/05/summer-challenge-sign-up-and-giveaway.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUlD3Qtvm-jHKINsd2Bfbqc_QLW6-AqgeEb9s5JacDlOLhWYIJ9-nyyYLctRo37YYQJQJXhWcJwFOjUuWXIQLqk_KZ53QvzK5fZ1VZp1RUulIDZSmFqoVEC8zeFvK9OYAQPjGE_hqghiqIIPkAECe2l53EXVosKhlJjDxwqj9Rqpyj9Lx9Dg/w200-h200/Summer%20Challenge%20Square%20Blue.png" width="200" /></a></div><p>Read, Discuss, Do! began several years ago as a simple graphic I created and shared on social media aimed at simplifying the idea of story time. From there it became a social media campaign, then a series of blog posts, and now it has its own website. Last year, my team and I launched the website with the Read, Discuss, Do! Summer Challenge aimed at helping parents, caregivers, and educators connect with kids by reading (and discussing and doing) with them over the summer. </p><p>It's not your typical summer reading challenge. There's no page-counting or book logging required. It's all about pairing books with summer fun! The fun officially begins on June 3. If you would like to be involved, you can out more at <a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com/">readdiscussdo.com</a>!</p><p>What are your summer plans for summer reading?</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-39348452599547549792022-04-01T21:30:00.001-05:002022-04-01T21:30:56.428-05:00My National Poetry Month Plan<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHv9kvz0Pk-iejpoWQbgWxvnLSOrCr0r_qMRBbdHef1VUMGKFXfq9JKtFuUSk07yNKfmDVFfgVt7fC0sz2U2x-EXaM2bOg3n-2eaG_r_kziu6vux1ksuiVtzwrb8pNfdLMP8cz4uMj0NaJbg5G8vghwVwvOLyM7JwrSTvAmjHyCjit2VI9OQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2774" data-original-width="2774" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHv9kvz0Pk-iejpoWQbgWxvnLSOrCr0r_qMRBbdHef1VUMGKFXfq9JKtFuUSk07yNKfmDVFfgVt7fC0sz2U2x-EXaM2bOg3n-2eaG_r_kziu6vux1ksuiVtzwrb8pNfdLMP8cz4uMj0NaJbg5G8vghwVwvOLyM7JwrSTvAmjHyCjit2VI9OQ=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>It's National Poetry Month again, and to celebrate I have decided to write one poem each day of April! I made this little journal especially for the occasion. The cover is made out of repurposed cardboard, and the pages are made from copy paper.<p></p><p>My hope is to try as many new forms of poetry as possible over the next thirty days. But as long as I manage to write a poem each day, I will count that a success!</p><p>If you'd like to follow my progress, I'll be posting regularly on my social media feeds. You can find me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/gomez_writes/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rebeccajgomez/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/gomezwrites" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</p><p>Also, I hope you will hop over to <a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com/2022/04/a-read-discuss-do-national-poetry-month.html" target="_blank">Read, Discuss, Do!</a> to see what we've got going on over there. We're celebrating with special weekly National Poetry Month posts meant to help you read, discuss, and do (write) poetry with the young people in your lives.</p><p>Do you have any specific plans for Poetry Month? I'd love to hear about them!</p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-1155989038709548432022-03-11T10:38:00.000-06:002022-03-11T10:38:39.289-06:00My Mother's Voice<p>My mother was known for her voice.</p><p>I often say that my mother is the voice of poetry in my mind. I have a special memory of her reading "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service. I think it stands out to me because it was clear that the poem was one her favorites. Something about the poem's rolling rhythm, vivid imagery, and dark theme appealed to her. It was lovely and strange, and she made sure that we learned to appreciate it too. To this day, I can't think of that poem without hearing her graceful voice reading it aloud in my mind.</p><p>She enjoyed reading lots of things aloud. Dr. Suess, Shel Silverstein, snippets from articles or magazines, eventually even social media posts. One time I gave her a copy of one of my verse novel manuscripts to read, and she sat at my dining room table and started reading it aloud to anyone who could hear. At one point she stopped and looked up at me to make a prediction about one of the characters. There was such a look of motherly pride in her eyes. </p><p>I dedicated my first book to her, of course. She is the reason I'm a writer. A poet.</p><p>Mom had a lovely singing voice too. I don't think there was ever a day, when I was with my mother, that I didn't hear her singing at some point. She would often belt out some praise song in the middle of the living room or kitchen with a special gleam in her eye. A gleam that seemed to say, "Why don't you join me?" Music made her happy. And she used music to make other people happy too. She often sang at church, either leading the congregation in worship or performing a special solo. She performed at weddings. And at funerals. Even her own funeral, odd as that sounds. </p><p>Several years ago, Mom decided to do something people had been telling her she should do for a long time: make a professional recording of her singing. She chose five of her favorite gospel songs, and gave a CD with those songs on it to each of her children. I remember listening to it once, and thinking about how lovely her singing voice was, even in her sixties. But I didn't need that CD to hear my mother's voice. I still had my mother. </p><p>I didn't listen to that recording again until her funeral in December, but I've listened to it a few times since. At first, it brought all the pain of losing her to the surface. It was my mother's voice, and I would never hear her singing or reading to me again, not on this side of eternity. </p><p>Now, when I play that CD and hear her singing her heart out, I can't help but feel the joy she put into it. I see that gleam in her eye saying, "Why don't you join me?" and I sing along.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-27653941123564532032022-03-02T14:07:00.003-06:002022-03-02T14:08:34.505-06:00Review: BUNNY FINDS EASTER by Laura Sassi and Ela Jarzabek<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMfBySDlBhfRvA8Y7wrOr0YQn6DjxIWPGRGLA-Z8ldqbfWtb1deo6ix9LtWVKJ6wyUuIZ8dsHzts3FpVUy1nk6vKfeolCE_Q4mNawrOPyILM7l0D7GvlhYJdV5B9O47RAcEh7co2DHRImZ_UfMGVXTmMDcVxto82CUncAoDJphSGYl6Nh5Jw=s2538" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2538" data-original-width="2538" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMfBySDlBhfRvA8Y7wrOr0YQn6DjxIWPGRGLA-Z8ldqbfWtb1deo6ix9LtWVKJ6wyUuIZ8dsHzts3FpVUy1nk6vKfeolCE_Q4mNawrOPyILM7l0D7GvlhYJdV5B9O47RAcEh7co2DHRImZ_UfMGVXTmMDcVxto82CUncAoDJphSGYl6Nh5Jw=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div>I recently had the opportunity to read <i>Bunny Finds Easter</i> by Laura Sassi, illustrated by Ela Jarzabek, to my 14-month old grandson. He sat across the room from me, surrounded by toys, as I read, and looked up and smiled every time I showed him the pictures. When I was finished, he crawled over and took the book to "read" it himself. He laughed, he smiled, he babbled, he held the book up for the others in the room to see. <br /><br />He seemed to like the book a lot, and it's no wonder. It's an adorable, rhythmic story about the true meaning of Easter, with bright, colorful (and super cute) illustrations. The spread showing an Easter Egg hunt is especially colorful and fun. Kiddos will enjoy finding all the eggs on the pages! Not only does this book rank high on the adorable scale, but it's also a charming introduction (or reminder) of why we celebrate Easter: to remember that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead!<p></p><p>You can't go wrong by adding this sweet book to your family's or Sunday School's collection. It would make a great addition to an Easter basket!<br /><br />I suggest using this book to talk with your little ones about why we celebrate Easter, perhaps pairing it with the story of Christ's resurrection from the Bible. Don't forget to stop and count all the eggs and babies that you find in the pages. Then share in a favorite Easter activity from the book! </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780310734192" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="403" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-EsDKaedKVHwM0jr5NbUaM_CMgo5wwFH_fcnSJb1ctLANgGnD6MZNbK8kZ2b88dXPS85GdMtVW6UjHI1GQ-GU5lnMD7ncL4KfRlNNGFiVxv_NL5VgyTaP2UJ5Epy_HrPPkQwmK_wywNfq-x6noIG89fPnc6Z97X_PENxyqUNyUfZ9QEivQQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Thank you to Zonderkidz for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.<p></p><p><br /></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-77855559116914753382022-01-08T09:00:00.004-06:002022-01-08T09:00:00.231-06:00Popcorn, Pink, and Poetry<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4MM4XyFaQMDYAxsJw_rEC87u-x_4y3KHPCSonj91BjV5p5eogv8JbdhsZI83nmlYKglyA_2aK278a9y7_cfM6u_m-Hpzq2pPF0zuraNLSqtLyrvQFfLfkE6-I7MG_tvvQFbs/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4MM4XyFaQMDYAxsJw_rEC87u-x_4y3KHPCSonj91BjV5p5eogv8JbdhsZI83nmlYKglyA_2aK278a9y7_cfM6u_m-Hpzq2pPF0zuraNLSqtLyrvQFfLfkE6-I7MG_tvvQFbs/w400-h400/Popcorn%252C+Pink%252C+and+Poetry.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />I used to say that I was terrible at picking favorites. And I suppose that's true for some things. Choose just one favorite book? Impossible. Favorite movie? Same. Favorite thing to have for dinner? I don't know!<p></p><p>But for some things, I think I just needed to experience life long enough to figure out which one made me the happiest. And I finally have to admit that there are some clear winners.</p><p>Take snacks, for example. There are lots of snacks I enjoy. Chips and salsa. Twizzlers. Peanut-butter filled pretzel bites. But there's only one snack that draws me in every time. One snack that would be an absolutely necessity in a doomsday bunker. Popcorn.</p><p>I love popcorn. I've never met a popcorn I didn't like. Give me a bowl of popcorn and you probably should also have one for yourself because I am unlikely to share. Not because I don't like you, but because when I have a bowl of popcorn in front of me I just keep on snacking! Popcorn makes me happy. It's simple and crunchy and addictive. Popcorn is my favorite. Preferably freshly popped at home on the stove, with olive oil and a little salt. Perfect!</p><p>Let's talk colors. I love colors. There isn't a color that I don't like, at least in its proper context (poopy diaper brown doesn't belong on a house, for example). But there's only one color that I consistently return to. One color that I'm almost certain to wear on a day when I feel like I need a little colorful pick-me-up. And that's pink! Especially hot pink. Pink is the happiest color, if you ask me. And it's not because it's "girly," though I guess that could be part of it. I like girly things, after all. But pink just makes me feel good. Not that I'd paint my house the color of Pepto or anything. Probably.</p><p>And if you know me at all, you know I love to read. But what is my favorite? If I listed all my favorite books, you might not ever get to the end of it. But there is one kind of thing I love to read more than anything else. Even more than epic fantasy by Brandon Sanderson. And that's poetry! My favorite kinds of novels? Verse novels. My favorite kinds of picture books? Rhyming or free verse! And poetry collections, of course. My bookshelves don't lie. </p><p>Poetry, by the way, is also my favorite thing to write. It's even better than blog posts! Except for poetic blog posts, maybe.</p><p>A few other favorites:</p><p>Weather? Thunder snow! </p><p>Room in the house? My office.</p><p>Flower? Purple coneflower.</p><p>Place to be out in nature? The woods, especially when it's snowy.</p><p>Favorite fictional world? Narnia.</p><p>Maybe choosing favorites isn't so hard after all. </p><p>How about you? What are some of your favorites? </p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-44542536361418218722021-12-21T11:32:00.002-06:002021-12-21T11:32:27.107-06:00A Poem for Mom<p>I lost my mom in the beginning of December, and my mind is still trying to come to terms with the fact that she's not going to be around any more. I miss her random texts, her hugs, her little nuggets of wisdom that she was always quick to share. One of those nuggets of wisdom was when I was fifteen and heartbroken over a breakup. "Write about it," Mom said. Thirty years later, heartbroken over losing my mama, I tried to write about it, and I began with the first few lines of the poem below. But there was just so much--too much--to condense into a poem. Then my brother asked me to speak at Mom's funeral. I thought, what better way to honor my mom than to finish the poem and read it aloud to those who knew and loved her? So I did, with a little help from my daughters when it got too hard. This is <b>A Poem for Mom</b>, written primarily to my six siblings.</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">A Poem for Mom</span></b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What can we say</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">about losing our mother?</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We are not unique in our</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">grieving,</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">in our loss.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And yet</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">we are.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Countless before us have lost their mothers.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But no one has ever lost</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">OUR mother.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our mother,</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">this big-hearted, song-filled woman</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">whose voice was the sound of poetry</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">and praise,</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">of soft-spoken words of encouragement.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of scoldings,</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">of sobs.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And laughter too.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The kind that sometimes disguised itself </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">as crying.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There was no denying</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">for her</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">how she felt</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at any given moment. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was always as clear</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">as her bright blue eyes,</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">as evident</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">as the laugh lines</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">on her cheeks.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mother was not one</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">for subtlety. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And yet,</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">she left quietly</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">with all of us wondering</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">how she felt</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">what she was thinking</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">our own hearts</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">sinking</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">as she left us behind</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">to enter her heavenly home,</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">arms raised,</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">blue eyes shining with happy tears</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">and on her lips</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">a joyful</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">boisterous</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">song.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg62kRNi0i1cl98_JRuqtjEexjDUTTPTam-TZOC1dLx_IQqUOUTdB_jPQst4AID-d7vJebuXKboK2w96DtWg6SEpNkpFDeVHOPXCVtvvRYWDQbVhRkv9VytxrAL4el4JFIePPq6zSHkp-1SmeZOScISor5tDnkazOeYCrRdDMskOkBXKnbz3Q=s2560" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg62kRNi0i1cl98_JRuqtjEexjDUTTPTam-TZOC1dLx_IQqUOUTdB_jPQst4AID-d7vJebuXKboK2w96DtWg6SEpNkpFDeVHOPXCVtvvRYWDQbVhRkv9VytxrAL4el4JFIePPq6zSHkp-1SmeZOScISor5tDnkazOeYCrRdDMskOkBXKnbz3Q=s320" width="180" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><p></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-19702628336546708902021-09-30T10:21:00.001-05:002021-09-30T12:36:29.138-05:00My Sister, the Giver<p>Not long ago I received a package in the mail. It contained a pair of earrings that had been shipped all the way from the U.K. to my little house in Nebraska.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hVyum47smhM/YRbEbukOLkI/AAAAAAAAEjg/AiibLVa1c5U6klXNi6NUshmq-wRofMVhwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chili%2Bearrings.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hVyum47smhM/YRbEbukOLkI/AAAAAAAAEjg/AiibLVa1c5U6klXNi6NUshmq-wRofMVhwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chili%2Bearrings.png" width="240" /></a></div><p>Fun, aren't they? I can't wait to wear them out in public!</p><p>What's the significance of the chili peppers? </p><p>Recently my sister Elizabeth and I were shopping together. As I looked through a rack full of quirky earrings, I mentioned that I had been searching for a pair of chili pepper earrings ever since FEDERICO AND THE WOLF came out. I explained to my sister that a new pair of earrings was one way I liked to celebrate the publication of each of my books. I have moose earrings for WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?, fox earrings for HENSEL AND GRETEL: NINJA CHICKS, and cactus earrings for TWO TOUGH TRUCKS. But so far, I hadn't had any luck finding a good pair of chili pepper earrings to celebrate my latest book. </p><p>Later that same day, Elizabeth texted me to say, "I ordered you chili pepper earrings."</p><p>Well, of course she did! My sister has always been a thoughtful giver. </p><p>But here's the thing. When we were shopping that day, it was to fill some time between two of her many recent doctor appointments. Here Elizabeth was, worried and stressed about her recent diagnosis of stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, listening to me grumble that no one sold chili pepper earrings. But she didn't mind. In fact, I can imagine her making a mental note to look for chili pepper earrings online as soon as she got home. </p><p>In case that doesn't impress you, there's more.</p><p>The VERY SAME DAY that Elizabeth had learned that her cancer had spread, she came by my house to visit with me and our parents, who were in town for my daughter's wedding. She had stopped by the store, and while she was there she bought me candy! White Chocolate Lindor Truffles. One of my favorites.<br /></p><p>This is the kind of person my sister is. Even through the hardest times, she finds reasons to laugh. To give. To enjoy every little blessing life has to offer, and to be a blessing herself. She even got me to try sushi for the first time recently. And, wonder of wonders, I didn't hate it! </p><p>I'm blessed to have Elizabeth in my life. And proud that I can call her sister.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-p8wf6WjL_zS5zeVbmd8FTd7wYUGKoDdDHUZGt8FhuOtwfjbypxRhk_4ia4jPBXXfpxEC_WhR7nm80El6ak7tx2ppYO_rrpmQItMr795xKQsX27yzaI9PC0qaaTJHHODnaYDN/s2048/IMG_7558.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-p8wf6WjL_zS5zeVbmd8FTd7wYUGKoDdDHUZGt8FhuOtwfjbypxRhk_4ia4jPBXXfpxEC_WhR7nm80El6ak7tx2ppYO_rrpmQItMr795xKQsX27yzaI9PC0qaaTJHHODnaYDN/s320/IMG_7558.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elizabeth and I out for sushi after one of her many<br />doctor appointments.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-73297553962399531152021-06-30T10:34:00.002-05:002021-06-30T10:34:51.985-05:00The Whirlwind that has been My Life<p>Wow! It's been over a month since I shared anything here. And that's not due to laziness or willful neglect, but because my life has been a whirlwind for the past several weeks.</p><p>What it is that has kept me so busy that I've neglected to update my faithful blog followers?</p><p>Well...</p><p>I've been busy with the new <a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com" target="_blank">Read, Discuss, Do! website</a>, which launched on June 2! If you haven't see it yet, be sure to check it out and subscribe to the mailing list if you're so inclined. We've got so much great stuff going on over there, including a super fun summer reading challenge for the whole family!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.readdiscussdo.com" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="309" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jOJ4lM_rWdw/YNyKCHvbs3I/AAAAAAAAEXs/UZu693oaQ-oEV80WxTbRFV2kCcjDG7D2ACPcBGAYYCw/w400-h309/RDD%2BSummer%2BChallenge.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>And then there's the <a href="https://justincolonbooks.com/2021-mentorship/" target="_blank">#PBChat mentorship</a>. I volunteered to be a mentor again this year, and it took a long time to read through all the potential mentees' applications and manuscripts. There were so many talented writers applying to be my mentee, and choosing just ONE from the 60 that applied was a challenge!</p><p>I'm also co-teaching a nine-month picture book masterclass through my local SCBWI chapter beginning July 10. </p><p>As busy as all those things have made me, the real whirlwind was because...</p><p>My daughter Julia got married! The past three months have been dominated by wedding planning, which was great fun, but was also incredibly demanding. DIY weddings are no joke! But the day turned out to be every bit as beautiful as we hoped.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hPrhZUJ-2TE/YNyI2DYTZAI/AAAAAAAAEXk/5mTcxmFun9gHNMG9qoPSdSxc7fFbemkzACPcBGAYYCw/s6000/72C60734-D7BF-43D7-9920-C3CA6055E63A.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hPrhZUJ-2TE/YNyI2DYTZAI/AAAAAAAAEXk/5mTcxmFun9gHNMG9qoPSdSxc7fFbemkzACPcBGAYYCw/w400-h266/72C60734-D7BF-43D7-9920-C3CA6055E63A.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Add to that the handmade quilt that my sister and I made for the happy couple, and that left almost no time for writing or revising. Not even for my blog.</p><p>So yeah. That's what's been up with me. </p><p>If you don't hear from me again for a while, it's probably because I'm working on revising my verse novel. Again!</p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-19958255137390486712021-05-22T08:00:00.001-05:002021-05-22T08:00:00.218-05:00The Best Clever and Funny Fractured Fairy TalesFairy tale retellings are one of my favorite kinds of stories. Whether written as picture books for the very young or novels for middle graders and young adults, there is something about fractured fairy tales that appeals to me as a reader and a writer. Certainly the magic and adventure at the root of the original stories is part of it. But it's fun to see how different writers make those classic stories their own. In picture books a clever twist or a new setting can give a classic tale fresh, new life even while the story follows the original plot closely.<div><br /></div><div>Here is a list of some of my favorites (plus two of my own) to read if you enjoy fractured fairy tales that are clever and funny. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tgOK-O131PWWy4WgB9z00bngsxKWbsJsYPgr9M46ZlRaOv9_AOyfDDY1IAtOAKmFI4VG4XjXtapvvG4-FXTq8B_UH9fkLX8uMjaURM4LYx0iaMm4Dm2TDKXuYV2QsBJUxGDw/s1080/Fractured+Fairy+Tales.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tgOK-O131PWWy4WgB9z00bngsxKWbsJsYPgr9M46ZlRaOv9_AOyfDDY1IAtOAKmFI4VG4XjXtapvvG4-FXTq8B_UH9fkLX8uMjaURM4LYx0iaMm4Dm2TDKXuYV2QsBJUxGDw/s320/Fractured+Fairy+Tales.png" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><b><i>The Great Gran Plan</i> by Elli Woollard, illustrated by Steven Lenton</b><div><br /></div><div>A funny story that blends Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs, with clever and hilarious results. <br />
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The True Story of the Three Little Pigs</i> by Jon Sciezka, illustrated by Lane Smith</b></div><div><br /></div><div>A classic that should be included in every library. This version of the story, told from the perspective of the wolf, just might convince you that the wolf was the victim. Or will it?<br />
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Twinderella</i> by Corey Rosen Schwartz, illustrated by Deborah Marcero</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This clever and charming retelling is twice the fun of the original story!<br />
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Little Red Gliding Hood</i> by Tara Lazar, illustrated by Troy Cummings</b></div><div><br /></div><div>If you enjoy puns and fairy tales, you'll enjoy this delightful romp!<br />
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Interstellar Cinderella</i> by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Meg Hunt</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Cinderella in space! What more of a reason do you need to read this charming and empowering story?<br />
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Falling for Rapunzel</i> by Leah Wilcox, illustrated by Lydia Monks</b></div><div><br /></div><div>If you like mixups and misunderstandings--and hilarity--you'll love this delightfully silly fractured version of Rapunzel. <br />
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Goldilocks and Just One Bear</i> by Leigh Hodgkinson</b></div><div><br /></div><div>More of a sequel than a retelling, this clever story takes the original and gives it a switcheroo!<br /><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion</i> by Alex T. Smith</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Little Rid Riding Hood set in Africa, with a delightful new twist on the traditional ending. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>A Cooked Up Fairy Tale</i> by Penny Parker Klostermann, illustrated by Ben Mantle</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This clever mash-up is sure to make you chuckle (and might make you hungry too!). </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And, naturally, I had to include my own books:</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Hensel and Gretel: Ninja Chicks</i> by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Rebecca J. Gomez, illustrated by Dan Santat</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Hansel and Gretel, but as ninja chickens outwitting a fox rather than a witch!<br />
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Federico and the Wolf </i>by Rebecca J. Gomez, illustrated by Elisa Chavarri</b></div></div><div><br /></div><div>A gender-swapped, Mexican-American retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>What are your favorite fractured fairy tales?</div>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25144488.post-78186441872333204662021-05-08T07:43:00.003-05:002021-05-08T07:43:00.264-05:00A Note to My Followers<p>If you follow this blog by email, you'll want to know that the "follow by email" feature will no longer be supported beginning in July. </p><p>So, that's a bummer.</p><p>But there are a few options. One is to simply remember to visit my site once or twice a month. If you're a Blogger user, you can follow by adding my blog to your reading list (but you have to remember to actually go <i>read</i> the blogs on your reading list). Also, if you follow me on social media, you may see when I share links to my new blog posts, but with the way social media algorithms work, this is iffy.</p><p>So, the best way to make sure you see my content is to subscribe to my newsletter! For your convenience, here is a link that will allow you to do that:</p><p><a href="http://list.mailigen.com/subscribe?u=b9548de4f59c0168cead98d23a2ffa3b&id=620a2d8a" target="_blank">Rebecca J. Gomez's Newsletter</a></p><p>If you do that, you'll not only see my regular blog posts, but you'll get some exclusive newsletter content and bonus entries when I do giveaways! Just be sure to confirm your subscription, then check your spam folder if you don't see a welcome email right away (those spam filters can get <i>hungry</i>).</p><p>Whether you've been with me since the beginning (in which case, wow!) or this is the first of my blog posts you've ever seen, thanks for reading! I hope you stick around for a while.<br /><br /><br /></p>Rebecca Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842712720778708758noreply@blogger.com1