Archive | July 2016

KidLit Love: Otto the Owl Who Loved Poetry

This book has three of my favorite things – owls, poetry, and the moon – so how could I not pick it up?

“Otto the Owl Who Loved Poetry” is about an owl who is far more interested in pretty words than he is in doing… well, just about anything owls would normally do. And wouldn’t you know it, all the other owls think he’s weird for it.

This is Vern Kousky’s first children’s book, published in 2015 and suggested for ages 5-8. I think it is a sweet introduction into poetry and would be great for kids who want to make the next leap from simple fun rhymes (Feline in the Bonnet, anyone?) to something a bit more classical without going over their heads. I like that Otto quotes bits of familiar poets like Eliot and Dickinson, but he and some of the other characters make up their own poems too.

When it comes to picture books, the art makes or breaks it for me, and I really enjoyed Kousky’s art in this as well. Though do the other owls remind you of the Fireys from Labyrinth, or is that just me?

*Is there a children’s book about poetry, books, or creativity that you want me to check out? Make sure to leave the suggestion in the comments!

Thoughts on Rejection

Jul14

We are now over the hump of the first half of the year and this is right about the time I’d love to be announcing “Guess what? I had work accepted for publication!!” Unfortunately… that’s not the case. And it’s awful easy to feel down about it.

Some rejections I expected. Big publications that accept a very small volume of work. But hey, pie in the sky, right? The answer is always no if they don’t even see your work.

Other rejections I had hoped not to see, felt like I had a better chance of finding placement, but in the end it was not to be. Once again… small volume of work accepted. Maybe I just wasn’t a good fit for the editor.

But at the same time my feelings on the matter are still bolstered this year. Continue reading →

Getting Back to Postcrossing

Jul5

‘Postcrossing‘ is one of my favorite hobbies. I love snail mail and postcrossing helps to satisfy that love, especially in a world where so many people don’t even send birthday cards or Christmas cards through the mail anymore. It’s as easy as uploading my mailing address to the site and creating a basic profile. I request an address from someone else in the world, write them a post card, and once they have registered it as received, someone else is given my address! (Your address is only seen by the people who are given your address as someone to write to. The general public cannot see it.) You never know who you will write to or receive from next.

The nice thing about this hobby is you can easily put exactly however much time and money into it you want. When we hit a rough patch in finances and were saving for some big expenses, it was easy for me to simply stop requesting new addresses and thus put the hobby on hold.

I’m happy to say that I’m actively postcrossing again. I’ve missed it dearly.

Here is the first one received after nearly a year of taking time off…

To be honest, I didn’t even know postcrossers really had meet ups. This one of course had already occurred and this was just a commemorative card they had made.

For me, I think, I prefer to stick to the snail mailing side of things. I think it is awesome any time a group of people can get together over a hobby they share (assuming that hobby is, you know, non-detrimental to themselves or society). But for me when it comes to postcrossing it feels a bit odd. I like the slight anonymity and briefness of a postcard and leaving it at that.

Do you still send snail mail?