How a Book is Made according to Mac Barnett

This weekend at the Gaithersburg Book Festival, I had the pleasure of hearing Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett speak together in a talk called Picture Book Fun. (Read more about their talk and the festival HERE.) The audience LOVED seeing them and Mac Barnett shared how his first book was made. I wish I had a video of this because the pictures don't do justice to how funny and engaging his explanation was! 

But, without further blabbing from me:

How a Book is Made according to Mac Barnett 

(paraphrased by yours truly.)

Here is how Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem was made. This is a picture of..... right the United States as it looks from space. This red dot is me in California. I came up with the story and after about the 5th draft sent it to my editor....

 in New York. (See the Statue of Liberty?) An editor is like a teacher and tells you what to fix and what jokes aren't funny. So I changed to the ideas of hers I liked and sent it back.

"But you didn't change this."
"Well, I didn't think it was a good idea."
"I think it's a good idea."
Back and forth and back and forth. (That would be all the red lines crossing the US.)

Then around the 10th draft it was ready to go to the illustrator.

Adam was the illustrator (shown here by the glasses near the Statue of Liberty) and he sent me a few pictures of monsters.

"But these aren't whales?"

"Yeah, they're for my book."

"But what about MY book??"

"I'll get to that.... after I move to Arizona....and write a novel."

(Apparently while moving to Arizona, Adam took a wrong turn and went to Canada and then hiked through the mountains. His move is noted by the green dots from the glasses to the cactus which Mac says looks quite a bit like Adam.)

Finally, the book has pictures and it's sent back to NY where it is ready to be printed. 

Now if you were going to print something that needed to be sent all over the country where would your print it? Exactly, in the middle (see the X.)  And they print it really close to there, over here in CHINA. (big red circle on the bottom of the board.) This is just what China looks like from space. 

Then they print stacks and stacks of my books. You can see them from space, just like the Great Wall of China. (great likeness in the picture too...)

So after they are all printed, how is the fastest way to get them here? Right, by boat...

The boat sails through the sea is then boarded by pirates, who don't care about books since they don't read, and then the boat goes on past a sea monster and into the Bermuda Triangle. Finally, after months and months it pops out up by NY. But all the words are backwards. So they have to sail back through the Bermuda Triangle to POP back out with the words the right way. 

Then they send them out all over.

And that is how a book is made. 

As I said, it would have been great as a video. But now we know why it takes so long to get a book published, printed, and out to the readers!

The Aftermath of the Food Fight!

Thank you so much for everyone who participated in the FOOD FIGHT last week! And thank you for allowing me to participate. Definitely glad I plunged in!

I had a great time working on this story as well as all the other wonderful food fight wars. Such a fun, creative way to get some ideas flung around! I am really looking forward to reading the finished stories and I know the Politician and PT are excited to hear them!

Here is my finished Food Fight Story! I would love to hear what you think. Thanks and enjoy!

On the Way Home From Grandma's

Everyone was tired,

cranky and upset.

And from the back someone yelled,

"why aren't we home yet??"

Mom was looking frazzled,

as Dad stared at the road,

these long drives back from Grandma's

were always worse when it snowed.

SCREECH! SHWOMP! KAPOOM! and HISSSsssss?!?

The windshield went solid white!

One look at Mom and Dad

said it'd be a longer night...

First, Dad pulled out his phone

to get a tow here right away.

But, "I'm sorry dear," he murmured,

"it'll be an hour or more delay."

"WE'LL STARVE!" Moaned sis behind me

through the baby's high pitched howl.

With Mom lost in a silent stare,

Dad's face began to scowl.

"At least we have the turkey,

with the fixin's, sides and sweets!"

As these words came out my lips,

Mom's stare turned on the backseats.

It's a look I've never seen before,

that one in my Mom's eyes,

still sis and I cannot forget her smirk

as she started throwing fries!

.                
Let’s get her!” I said laughing,

.                Then unwrapped the jello slow.


.                POP – Sis ripped off a lid.


.                I flung first – But Mom ducked the blow. Jennifer Young

.                 

.                
It met the windshield with a THWACK!


.                And slid down to the dashboard.


.                Before dear Dad could catch one bit


.                It hit my magnetic chessboard.

 Julie Rowan-Zoch

.                 

.                Dad tried to steer through jello smear


.                and narrowly missed a truck.


.                KERSPLAT, sis launched her chocolate Mousse,


.                Mom gasped and prepared to chuck.
 Joanna

.                 

.                I rolled the stuffing into


.                a gooey ball of attack


.                And let it fly at Mom's head But - WHACK –

.                it bounced right back!
 
Lauri Meyers

.                 

.                That must be some tough hairspray;

.                here Mom, my juicy juice will get through

.                 that beehive SQUIRT!
 
DonnaLouise

.                 

.                But Mom was the pro,


.                She was the one who made the food,


.                KERSCHLOOP, she scooped up her pie


.                And aimed it at her brood.
 Sylvia Liu 



.                 

.                Having started the day dry,


.                now all covered in pie,

.                we the children began to cry.


.                SPUTTER! SNORT! HONK!
 
Anonymous 



.                 

.                 
Whaa, whaa, wait a minute,

.                 I'm not wasting this." I wiped the pie from my face

.                 and PLOPPED it on a plate.

.                 Then I threw a radish at my sis-BOINK.
 DonnaLouise

.                  

.                 
A radish sticking from her face,

.                 Her scowl proved I was in disgrace;

.                 I ducked, she threw turkey innards

.                 SCHLEPPED, ooh Patricia Nozell

It was then, I’m sad to say it,

that dear Dad opened the door,

with big, wide eyes in a young man stared

and got more then he did ask for.

He said, as he stood dripping,

those turkey pieces all on the snow,

“I’m here to help and pull you out.”

It was finally time to go.

Sis and I cheered in triumph

the battle had been such fun

as we squeezed out into the cold

we each felt that we had won.

Silently, we all stood

sticky and gooey from the fight

while the tow truck hooked up and pulled

our car was stuck in that snow tight!

We thanked the young man quickly

as one by one climbed in our seats.

He nodded once and winked as he turned,

“those looked like real good eats!”

The car filled up with laughter

while Dad pushed it into drive.

“And we still have some safe for dinner,”

if there is any left when we arrive!”

SMACK!

FOOD FIGHT!!

In celebration of World Read Aloud Day this week, a fellow 12X12er and blogger, Marcie Colleen, has started the Inaugural FOOD FIGHT through her blog The Write Routine. So, as part of my dive into picture books this year, I am super excited to participate.

The rules for stories:

1. Begin a story and post it on March 4th
2. Your story should have a clear setting and at least one clear character.
3. Write your story up to the moment where the food fight begins. THEN STOP.
4. Get creative!

Rules for Food Fighting Participation:

1. Add to my story (and others linked here) in the comments through March 8th.
2. Read the story and all the comments that precede yours.
3. Post your comment
1. Your comment should build on and further the existing story.
2. The story should read as written by one person from beginning to end.
3. Your comment must include at least one word of onomatopoeia that has not already been used in the story (examples: SPLAT! SQUISH!) and one piece of food thrown.
4. You can comment more then once on a story, but you may not fight with yourself. Meaning you have to wait until someone comments after you to comment again. 

Over the weekend, I'll wrap the story up here and we will have a had a wonderful week of food flinging fun!

Let's get to the main event! Have fun!!

On the Way Home From Grandma's

Everyone was tired,
cranky and upset.
And from the back someone yelled,
"why aren't we home yet??"

Mom was looking frazzled,
as Dad stared at the road,
these long drives back from Grandma's
were always worse when it snowed.

SCREECH! SHWOMP! KAPOOM! and HISSSsssss?!?
The windshield went solid white!
One look at Mom and Dad
said it'd be a longer night...

First, Dad pulled out his phone
to get a tow here right away.
But, "I'm sorry dear," he murmured,
"it'll be an hour or more delay."

"WE'LL STARVE!" Moaned sis behind me
through the baby's high pitched howl.
With Mom lost in a silent stare,
 Dad's face began to scowl.

"At least we have the turkey,
with the fixin's, sides and sweets!"
As these words came out my lips,
Mom's stare turned on the backseats.

It's a look I've never seen before,
that one in my Mom's eyes,
still sis and I cannot forget her smirk
as she started throwing fries!

High Heeled Run (aka Miss Piggy goes to Annapolis)

I added in an extra fun run in November because a high heel run is something I have wanted to do. Luckily, they seem to pop up a lot in October and November with October being Breast Cancer awareness month and high heel runs generally raise funds to support organizations working to fight breast cancer.

Healing in Heels Dash for Breast Cancer was on November 11 at the Annapolis Towne Centre. The race was an up and back on one side of the boulevard. By the time I got to the turn around, I was done with running in heels! 550 doesn't seem so far until you're about 200 in and wondering why this was a good idea. Haha. It is much more difficult to run in heels then I thought it would be. Yes, I knew it would be difficult, but I didn't think about how off all the running mechanics would be. The Dad and the kids came to watch (and enjoy some post race food) and the Dad told me the two first place finishers (both guys...yup) had definitely practiced how to run in heels. They apparently had better form then the rest of us. Haha.

Bad form, great fun!

There was a costume contest associated with the run and the winner received a year supply of Saucony shoes (four pairs!) So I decided to run as Miss Piggy. She's always so classy in her heels.

Got Squeezed?

To keep with the year theme of raising support and awareness from the Colon Cancer Alliance, I added a decal to the back of my shirt also. During the month of October, the CCA promotes "Screen THIS too!"

Piggy and Barbie

Sadly, I didn't even come in second in the costume contest! I knew there would be at least one guy in drag in the top two, but I didn't count on Barbie showing up in her box to run. Nice Job! Barbie won. As it turned out, Barbie in a Box is the director of Breast Cancer Center at Anne Arundel Medical Center which was the beneficiary of the race.

As we finished the race, Save the Coconuts had a few fun items for racers: a shot glass and a treat.

Yup.

This race had the best post-race food of any race yet! A few of the restaurants in the Towne Centre were out with food samples for the racers and spectators. While listening to the live band, Gordon Biersch provided beer to those with a race number (the Dad drank mine,) Cadillac Ranch had some delicious sliders, Philly & Flash offered up some amazing loaded fries, and Paladar served creamy coconut flan and thick hot chocolate. And of course there was water for everyone. So filling we almost didn't need to go to dinner! It also looked like there were a few boxes of "usual" post race food that they didn't need since the restaurants really provided a great spread!

Things I learned/relearned from a High Heel Race:

1. Don't run in heels without practice unless being chased by something/ someone or one of the kids is about to fall off something way to high.
2. Feather boas are a very popular accessory at this race. Boas and tall socks.
3. I really enjoy dressing up for a race! This was so much fun. But it is hard to see over that nose and impossible to eat or drink with it on! I'm taking suggestions for next year. Any ideas???
4. Having spectators you know (husband and kids) makes the race even more fun. I love to hear them cheering on the side. And then the "Mom, you weren't very fast" at the finish is always nice too. Haha.
5. Post-race food will make me sign up to run in heels again!

We had told the kids we would eat out at a restaurant after the race, so we moseyed up to Cadillac Ranch for dinner. I still had most of my costume on and was recognized but some other spectators who cheered a bit. Now that was nice!

I also ran this race as part of the Virtual Run for Sandy Relief. A couple of bloggers put together a Virtual Run for the month of November to help raise funds for the Red Cross to aid with Sandy Relief in New Jersey and New York. According to an email at the beginning of December, the effort raised $1,426! Awesome!!

Will Run For Flesh! (Zombie Transformations and Turning Humans)

In February of last year, the Dad and I signed up to be Zombies on October 27th at the Saturday RUN FOR YOUR LIVES race in Darlington, MD just north of Baltimore. The Dad was SUPER excited, which is why we signed up so early. I'm glad we did too because the zombie shifts are what sell out first from the race. They had so many people signing up and on the "wait list" they opened a second race day on Sunday. Which unfortunately was canceled by Howard County due to Hurricane Sandy.

One of the perks of being a zombie this year was a free race which we ran with a friend of the Dad in the 11 am wave. (All about my race recap here.) So we all started our zombie transformation with a freezing cold PVC pipe shower to rid ourselves off the thickest layer of mud and gross from the race. Refreshing.

Undead Only

Then it was back over to the Zombie Transformation Center, the ZTC, to change into our zombie costumes and get in line for make up. The Dad and I just pulled old clothes from our closets but our friends came prepared with scrubs. There were zombies dressed as doctors and nurses, prom queens and brides, a farmer, a few nuns, some in fatigues, and even Princess Leia.

We heard about one of the zones before us all dressed as a wedding: bride, groom, bridal party, officiant, and even a baker with a brain cake. So creative! Not only the zombies dress up, we saw some very creative racers as well. A banana, a panda, super heros, guys in tutus, but the best by far was the group of guys dressed as King Arthur and his sidekicks from Monty Python, complete with coconuts and galloping. I'm told they didn't break character through the whole race! I wish I had a camera while zombing.

Stumbler

Standing in line for make up, you can have parts of your zombie outfit shredded and even pick from their zombie wardrobe if you don't have your own zombie attire. After adding holes and shredding shirts and the bottoms of pants, we waited to move on to make-up. They brought in a team of professional make-up artists to help apply all the zombie faces. Some people had plastic wounds attached to their faces and neck, but none of our little group did. There were two separate make-up tracks, the stumblers and the chasers. Chasers, like the Dad, had a base coat and red accents and then blood splatter. Stumblers (this was me) received an airbrush base coat to dull and flatten out the face and then airbrushed contours around the eyes, cheeks, and mouth. Then it was on to spot splatter where they used a thick bristled brush and flicked the bristles towards my face so the make-up would splatter. And like the chasers, the stumblers had blood flecks and wounds added.

Chaser

After our faces were all made up, they hoisted a blue tarp between two trees and zombies lined up to be sprayed with light and dark mud and have handfuls of blood tossed on us. The guy tossing the blood seemed to be having a pretty good time pelting all of us with handfuls of goopy, red syrup. The blood looked really great against those zombies in white, especially the zombie brides.

Bloody and Gross!

I like how it looks like my hand is going to reach out and get you.

Even Zombies need love, right?

Since we were they last group of zombies for the day, and they had a bit of blood left over, before we headed out to our zones they had us stand in a big huddle and flung the remaining blood on the group as you would toss a bucket of water after washing your car. A poor lady in front of us got an eye full and finding a clean sleeve to wipe some away was harder then you might think.

Each zombie received two bottles of water and a bag of snacks for during our 3-3.5 hour shift. We were scheduled from 2:40 to 6, but being the last group we were out there until the last person finished through our section and I have no idea what time that was!

While in our zone, zone 12, our goal was to take as many final flags as we could. There were a few people who had more then one flag (I saw one guy with all 3 still,) but most people had one or none by the time the reached us. Those people in groups would try and protect their friends who still had flags and it was always great when you could grab one of those. Some people didn't want to play by the rules and would roll their flag around the flag belt, a few tied the flag to the belt and there were many who had shirts long enough that they hid all but the tiniest tip of the flag. Add on all the water and mud and those flags were hard to get! There was a lot of karate chopping while people tried to smack zombie hands away from their flags. One guy I tried to take a flag from swung his arms so violently he hit me in the face. I think he made my nose bleed, but with all the fake blood it was hard to tell. (He did apologize though, he didn't mean to hit me.)

By the end of the shift, I had pulled about 20 flags and felt quite accomplished as a zombie.

Cleaning the make-up off without running water wasn't happening. We were able to get the top layer or blood off, but all the flecks and most of the black around my eyes needed more scrubbing then I could do in the fading light and with a wet paper towel and baby wipes. (We looked great heading in to WaWa to grab a drink on our way out of town, haha. The cashier told us he had been busier then usual that evening and he didn't look at us that strangely so I'm sure he had seen a few other zombies before us.)

After stopping to get our free beer (well the guys got beers, not my thing so much,) our plan was to head out to a restaurant for dinner, looking all zombie-fab, but the bus line back to the parking lot was LONG. So the guys got a spot in line and we ladies went to the food vendors to get some hot food. They had a lot of choices and the prices were pretty reasonable. I was so hungry (lunch was a bag of goldfish crackers, I could have planned that better) and the cheeseburger and fries were delicious. I'm sure they weren't as wonderful as I remember, but it was just what I needed!

The bus line moved relatively quickly, they had a great system in place and plenty of buses to keep the line moving. It wasn't long after we finished eating that we got on the bus. Let me tell you sitting down on that bus was amazing. I didn't realize my legs were so tired!

In the days and week after we were all a bit sore, but we had such a great time and we are already thinking up some costumes for next year!

AMR 10 Running Related Questions

The wonderful ladies at Another Mother Runner, Dimity and Sarah, started this 10 question game and I felt urged to join in. They are hoping this goes very viral so I thought I would help them out! You should too! 

1. Best run ever: This is by far the hardest question for me. I don't think I have had that run that is head and shoulders above all my other runs. My best race would have to be the Valentine's 5k in Lewes, DE, also known as the Frostbite 5K. It was the first time I ran the whole distance without stoping. (Maybe because it was so cold and if I slowed down I would freeze.) I felt really great after that run. Like I could accomplish anything because I was crazy and ran in the freezing cold. I think part of it was rounding the corner to the finish and hearing the Politician and the Dad cheering me on. The Politician was so excited! That is something I won't ever forget. 

2. Three words that describe my running: Release. Therapeutic. Empowering.

3. My go-to running outfit is: Vibram Five Fingers, Skirt Sports Gym Girl Ultra in Black Vinyl, and if it's a race day a Ut Prosim/ Montani Semper Liberi Shirt

I still have some if you want one!

4. Quirky habit while running: There are times, I'm sure, that I look like I'm having problems running. For example, when a fantastic song starts up and I begin "boogieing down" or fist pumping the air. I'm sure that looks really great. 

5. Morning, midday, evening: Morning, morning, morning. My day seems to flow so much better when I am up and out before the kids get up. Just a bit of time for me to get the day started. 

6. I won’t run outside when it’s: I haven't found weather yet I won't run in, but I have been lucky. Though thunderstorms with intense wind and rain do not appeal to me, I would be hitting up the bike at the gym on those days.

7. Worst injury—and how I got over it: I'm still working on my left knee/hip strain from before the Pittsburgh Half. I just started some physical therapy for it which is loads of fun let me tell you. I'm sure it hasn't been helped by carrying the Enforcer on my left hip. He's a big guy!

8. I felt most like a badass mother runner when: I finished my first run in the rain. There is something about getting out and doing something that goes against smart logic (sure let's go out in the rain at 6 am, good times,) that just gives me an I can accomplish anything attitude for the day. 

9. Next race is: Undy 5000 in DC to Support the Colon Cancer Alliance. Check out my race schedule here.

10. Potential running goal for 2013: I haven't even thought about 2013 yet! I would like to do another half marathon, maybe the ZOOMA Annapolis. I have been thinking about one of the Disney Half Marathon's too. I would love to dress up for a race like that!


Now it's your turn! Answer the questions yourself on your blog and post a link in the comment's below (and on Dimity's or Sarah's questions, links are above.) Don't have a blog? Feel free to link to your Facebook note, send me an email or even leave your answers in the comments! 

Not Ready to Race it? Volunteer!

I have thought a lot about where to go from here after this year of races once a month. Maybe another half marathon, but not a full, not yet anyway. Perhaps a triathlon. A swim, bike, run. That's would be a change. And with the pool at the gym could be a great way to stay on top of my exercise over the winter. (I really, really don't like running on the treadmill.)

With this idea of a triathlon in mind I searched the area, like I do for any running race, and discovered the Iron Girl Triathlon in Columbia, MD on August 19th. A women only race definitely appeals to me especially for a first triathlon. Since I wasn't going to race this year, but I was interested in the idea of a triathlon, I signed up to volunteer.

Because I had no idea what to expect and I have never volunteered for a race before I asked the coordinator for a suggestion on where to sign up. She suggested the swim finish/run start water station staffed by Team in Training volunteers. (If you have ever seen groups of people in purple at races it was probably Team in Training. Check them out here.)

They asked we arrive at the venue around 6 as they were starting road closures at 6:30. The drive was easy and the park simple to find. I was not prepared for the vast number of people pulling into the parking lot/field. After venturing of the road, volunteers directed us through patches of trees to the end of lines and lines of vehicles. (I loved seeing all the bike racks. It made me smile so early in the morning.) Families, racers and volunteers were all arriving bright and early on this Sunday morning.

It didn't take long for me to find the water station, have some introductions, and get my first Team in Training purple race crew shirt. The directions were pretty simple, hand out water and gatorade while yelling out to the racers what you had to hand them an/or fill more cups and place them on the table. I had a chance to do it all! It is hard to hand off those little cups. No matter how I held it I always felt like I was ramming the cup into her hand.

The spot we were in had a lot of action as racers passed by on both sides at different times during the race. I was able to see the ladies come out of the water and into the transition area, where the bikes are, and also after they finished the bike ride seem them off on the last leg of the competition, the run. The weather was really great for a race a little cool, but not cold if you were moving around. A few of the spectators had jackets and blankets though. A speaker in the transition area kept us up to the minute on the starting and finishing lines. The winner finished in just under an hour and a half. That's a 0.62 mile swim, 17.5 mile bike and 3.3 mile run. Wow. She was one of three professional triathletes in the race.

Over the speaker, we heard about a gentleman in a suit waiting at the finish line to propose. She said yes! Though we were wondering if she could hear what we were hearing of the speakers because if she could she knew something was coming before she reached the finish.

One thing I noticed was due to the wave start of the race (you can only have so many ladies swimming in that narrow strip at once) the water station doesn't get over run and backed up the way it does in a run only race. With 3-4 people handing out cups we had more then enough hydration for the racers that wanted it.

Me at the nicely filled water/gatorade station, lots of little cups...

I had a great time working with Team in Training. I can see why so many people work with their organization. They were all welcoming, cheerful, supportive of the racers (loud trumpting followed by a chorus of "GO TEAM" every time a Team in Training member passed was quite nice,) enthusiastic and excited to be there. It was  a wonderful atmosphere.

Being a part of the race this year as a volunteer, excites me to sign up for a triathlon next year. The energy of the participants, the supporters and the other volunteers was fantastic. I loved the atmosphere of the race and community feeling and the sense that everyone was invited and if you wanted to take part you could. This is definitely a race I would enjoy participating in.

So if you are on the fence about signing up for a race, any race, try volunteering for one or even just coming out as a spectator and cheering the racers on. It's a great way to give back, even if just a little, and it allows you to test the waters of a race before getting your feet wet. And then maybe you'll be ready to jump in.

A Simple Marvel of Modern Life

Do you remember the first time you had an ice cream cone? Nope, me neither. But I will remember the Politician's first cone. Such a simple joy that he hasn't had before (he'll be five in September) because of his dairy allergy. His summers have been full of those confections frozen on a stick, but this was his first drippy, sloppy cone. And I will not forget the excitement and joy on his face when he had eaten enough of the ice cream to dive into the cone itself.

The Enforcer is back there with a Nunna Cookie. Treats all around.

Politician: I can eat this?
Mom: Yup, it's like a cookie.
Politician: A cookie?

Upon hearing this, PT skips the ice cream and goes straight for the cone with a look of amazement when she realizes there is ice cream in there too! The Politician chows down and squeals with enjoyment.

Politician: Can I eat the bottom too? (pointing to the tip of the cone)
Mom: Sure, you can, but it might drip.

At this point PT discovers that with a hole in the bottom she can suck the ice cream out and the Politician follows suit. I was pleasantly surprised that they figured that out with out any hints from me or the Dad.

Growing up, I had an aversion to dairy also as did a few of my siblings. I can have dairy in small doses now, but since I cut back to almost no dairy while nursing the Enforcer (he seems to have the same problem,) I have switched most of our diet to soy, almond and coconut milk. (PT isn't affected at all and she has no problem letting her brothers know when they can't have something because it has "cow milk" and will make them sick.)

It seems that most grocery stores have dairy free products and organic markets have an even larger selection. Dairy-free ice cream, yogurt, cream cheese, pudding, sliced cheese (for grilled cheese sandwiches), and, of course, milk for drinking are all easy to pick up during a normal shopping trip. No need to make a detour for these "specialty" products. Thanks to this convenience of modern life we have soy ice cream on hand as a frozen treat. It definitely doesn't taste as creamy or decadent as some traditional ice creams can, but our older two didn't seem to mind one bit. It wasn't long before the only evidence of ice cream cones was sticky hands, messy cheeks, and great big smiles.