tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83694635187873032292024-03-14T15:10:24.154-04:00AScattergoodAugusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185014694721868127noreply@blogger.comBlogger1270125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-48950566424645019522024-02-16T09:37:00.002-05:002024-02-17T08:36:07.277-05:00Books! Books! Books!<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Happy 2024, everybody. Okay, it's a little late but it's been a busy 2024 already.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">One fun thing I did last year was write about my three favorite books for the <a href="https://shepherd.com">Shepherd For Authors </a>website. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Picking THREE was impossible, of course.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I read constantly. True confessions: Some of the titles that pop up on my Kindle are downright embarrassing. Others are shareable. Some are unfinished. You know, that Life's Too Short to Read All the Books thing?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQWvQuBlf_lnP-oB6jPLGJf3_hHBb-XxyYO4anpTUj3Rq48saALVlkro4RcEI5LZg55wGHxDV8-tWYKJ5qOE9QWxVsiW6y33ajOH2PgJAb-EXERvTLY2RQwwKIPwvKeGbbLk8Zh2_lOYuE0yLMWvSJdR3cBSsXwitRXfu6uvZDLg57Q7RZxRmietn0SVN/s225/books.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQWvQuBlf_lnP-oB6jPLGJf3_hHBb-XxyYO4anpTUj3Rq48saALVlkro4RcEI5LZg55wGHxDV8-tWYKJ5qOE9QWxVsiW6y33ajOH2PgJAb-EXERvTLY2RQwwKIPwvKeGbbLk8Zh2_lOYuE0yLMWvSJdR3cBSsXwitRXfu6uvZDLg57Q7RZxRmietn0SVN/s1600/books.jpeg" width="225" /></a></div><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><a href="https://www.rd.com/article/book-puns/"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>https://www.rd.com/article/book-puns/</a><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> (Aside: I'm living in a new place- Washington DC! And I've started a Fiction Book Club. So far we've read COVENANT OF WATER, LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY, THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE, ATONEMENT and a couple of others, including the Claire Keegan title, mentioned in my favorites.) <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I totally loved thinking back and writing about three stand-outs. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here's the LINK to my T<a href="https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/augusta-scattergood">HREE FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023</a>.</span></p><p> <span style="font-size: medium;">I'd love to know what you've been reading. Feel free to leave me a comment.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">(And Author Friends, reach out to Shepherd and add your own three books.)</span><br /></p><p> </p><p><a href="https://shepherd.com/book/small-things-like-these" style="--bs-link-color-rgb: var(--bs-link-hover-color-rgb); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(var(--bs-link-color-rgb),var(--bs-link-opacity, 1)); flex-grow: 0; flex-shrink: 1; font-family: Oxygen, Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><picture style="box-sizing: border-box;"><img alt="Book cover of Small Things Like These" height="378" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hzpwrwfdi/image/upload/w_220/media/covers/81gWVJOBK7L_sr3su2" style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.16) 0px 8px 16px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; vertical-align: middle; width: 220px;" title="Book cover of Small Things Like These" width="245" /></picture></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-45504863417076821512023-10-02T09:27:00.000-04:002023-10-02T09:27:55.975-04:00Quaker Motto Calendar<p><span style="font-size: large;"> The 2024 Quaker Motto Calendar is now ready to order!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Please use the information on this order form, and we appreciate your support.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Questions? Use this email:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Scattergoodmotto@gmail.com </b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGS2DIdz8sRIwLxNik6xt6nKx6g90QCTLQzVIl0iOrww5u-y_JGfpG4kegBl1NRXOnnCX8Gr0Ydnn8z019va4P3zQcsgnSIPrKvLBWkk33u60Va9i7Mc9P826jVD5EO1Kyy8WywVTa64AyowrsVE8g8PHRM3gm0OeGwTcRLEdBm83VnXCc4DHNBfldSZk/s4032/Motto%20Calendar%202024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGS2DIdz8sRIwLxNik6xt6nKx6g90QCTLQzVIl0iOrww5u-y_JGfpG4kegBl1NRXOnnCX8Gr0Ydnn8z019va4P3zQcsgnSIPrKvLBWkk33u60Va9i7Mc9P826jVD5EO1Kyy8WywVTa64AyowrsVE8g8PHRM3gm0OeGwTcRLEdBm83VnXCc4DHNBfldSZk/w326-h457/Motto%20Calendar%202024.jpg" width="326" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /> </b><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-61223616253562459572023-03-07T10:16:00.001-05:002023-03-07T10:16:56.238-05:00Try to Remember...<p>It's been so long since I posted here that I had to figure out how to sign into Google to open the proper browser.</p><p>(Not sure what that says about someone who used to love to write updates. Are blogs obsolete? Does anybody read them? Or have I said all I need to say?)</p><p>BUT I did dig up my password just to be able to share the photos of a new bookstore at the Short Hills Mall I visited last week. </p><p>I lived near this lovely mall for over twenty years. I'm not really a Mall person, but this is where I met friends for coffee, walked many a mile when it was too cold/snowy/ icy in New Jersey to be outside, and okay, maybe made a few purchases.</p><p>I vaguely remember a bookstore there when we first moved to nearby Chatham, NJ in the 80s.</p><p>But this new store - WOW.</p><p>This is an INDIGO bookstore, a Canadian company. <a href="https://shopshorthills.com/stores/indigo" target="_blank">Here's the link to the NJ store,</a> with a great photo of the front. I was so excited when I stepped inside that I didn't take pictures of the entrance.</p><p>The store is large, tremendously well-organized, and filled with great books. Even the "stuff" that bookstores have to carry was beautifully curated, with tons of holiday items on sale. </p><p>Of course, I did what every friend-of-authors does and searched for familiar books. INDIGO's holdings are vast, however, and maybe I missed some. </p><p>The entire back of the store is for young kids' books, including by my good friend Aimee Reid, herself a Canadian.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMU-Wv-m97feW3PXgEPKKFiDMGsh4Oj1XEjnCjc3scEIxxB_jN6h-jCZCTS-1nUsSDQzDMFhy7n98mcjKUiUZ5zu30u181y3L20BiB4FpvAxDers_iRc4IJqdxugN_SxyymasDQYzycAamwDee_yxAXX4iwB3gQgUskbtWk3ikDrVopDzzpV0_A4_7qA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMU-Wv-m97feW3PXgEPKKFiDMGsh4Oj1XEjnCjc3scEIxxB_jN6h-jCZCTS-1nUsSDQzDMFhy7n98mcjKUiUZ5zu30u181y3L20BiB4FpvAxDers_iRc4IJqdxugN_SxyymasDQYzycAamwDee_yxAXX4iwB3gQgUskbtWk3ikDrVopDzzpV0_A4_7qA" width="180" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Check out the middle of the YA and Middle Grade books section. Cool, no?<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJI-Rh0bAN7o6p3bt0nCnqsEdhS1YyQaNhJ1TpI3MD-LrWMZXv77Yzhm_eu_xYXTsFMfcml1l4SY4SO6qdZ5tVaH_P6Z0eCwRXqr1VO65TKQKSClk3OgDVqdqqx-eyoDUuCgAUNK8jF6NHxzYlBlfTyKkKSZ1AZ_nO_WVAyzbs-PUxB902cAGMgqL4AA/s4032/IMG_6729.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJI-Rh0bAN7o6p3bt0nCnqsEdhS1YyQaNhJ1TpI3MD-LrWMZXv77Yzhm_eu_xYXTsFMfcml1l4SY4SO6qdZ5tVaH_P6Z0eCwRXqr1VO65TKQKSClk3OgDVqdqqx-eyoDUuCgAUNK8jF6NHxzYlBlfTyKkKSZ1AZ_nO_WVAyzbs-PUxB902cAGMgqL4AA/s320/IMG_6729.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Barbara O'Connor's books were lined up in the "O" section, and my friend snatched one up.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic20J0fpTJU7YHBYSruPjRJ07GRrvc3cenQ4yhBE8EAHDRSOLbX9w5n-Wspcw7WQXYmyRXz7-3kALtVyBfDpjdIiFXIFBCZTpmuvtuCq8oI54CqZ30EFrNn258g2e8HMtFTo2BG_rs7uK_Jm7OJkBJebURXItdP4f1FJdgbbXNOJnu-a-n71cciuJ1cg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic20J0fpTJU7YHBYSruPjRJ07GRrvc3cenQ4yhBE8EAHDRSOLbX9w5n-Wspcw7WQXYmyRXz7-3kALtVyBfDpjdIiFXIFBCZTpmuvtuCq8oI54CqZ30EFrNn258g2e8HMtFTo2BG_rs7uK_Jm7OJkBJebURXItdP4f1FJdgbbXNOJnu-a-n71cciuJ1cg" width="180" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>Shannon Hitchcock, I turned your newest book facing out, just for the photo op!</p><p>Be sure to tell your New Jersey friends to hustle on over there and check it out. <br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifL1q0ynHbJChMQa9m6w-p3u69uo67SsJqPn_yZkMZhpcHL1G7mncW5F7nWKFkJdQmBVpwTnvhNOX-HDrKuRzHZ6k29IZgefaqjv_HZSlYiO6IP2IqRgzenSTOv0jSbvZ1ioVG15GALVZMB3ztOPNH8CZEgU9rqTcbcwHFoPqiHOW3S6J3w-SisLphkw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifL1q0ynHbJChMQa9m6w-p3u69uo67SsJqPn_yZkMZhpcHL1G7mncW5F7nWKFkJdQmBVpwTnvhNOX-HDrKuRzHZ6k29IZgefaqjv_HZSlYiO6IP2IqRgzenSTOv0jSbvZ1ioVG15GALVZMB3ztOPNH8CZEgU9rqTcbcwHFoPqiHOW3S6J3w-SisLphkw" width="180" /></a></div><p></p><p>This greeted us as we walked in the front door. </p><p>Bestsellers, Staff Picks, etc etc etc. </p><p>So many ways to look at books. <br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiD4wiI9FRk1IZZ6fRAcGs71mPQL15AtjojWWM95Qkl2rigUMIKCCbqwNQr_laNp4_SQRfTbh4YbVEYqeh1ggfNQ1pWN0pIZSPrPonVnRC83I2Ry_H7OQtAJqD1A6vwMzLBBpDQiolcqIHOrUs9MUQAqcIvhL2IFjLHGaaUpwtvAF5f_p2w55FL7LPPtw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiD4wiI9FRk1IZZ6fRAcGs71mPQL15AtjojWWM95Qkl2rigUMIKCCbqwNQr_laNp4_SQRfTbh4YbVEYqeh1ggfNQ1pWN0pIZSPrPonVnRC83I2Ry_H7OQtAJqD1A6vwMzLBBpDQiolcqIHOrUs9MUQAqcIvhL2IFjLHGaaUpwtvAF5f_p2w55FL7LPPtw" width="180" /></a></div><br />A perfect day. <p></p><p>Bookstore with a friend. </p><p>Cold and grey outside. </p><p>Nice shopping bag. </p><p>Who could ask for more?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5Gek_ePP-7VNL3t0nBDNMNzfJQqoYYbM_vDDX8bm2eZH-a36nAnly-c6dXduKXXDgHuxfHVH8bBihs0hXJQU2xo8ztTxynSZ9OQmjBRUdQk_hGE3LPtFmXMXS_yV9HBb5PK3aBBeG0AyAjegvJj8gS2V4g21SxhzN5clOszGTRyhR3SkSNoUklIn5g/s4032/indigo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5Gek_ePP-7VNL3t0nBDNMNzfJQqoYYbM_vDDX8bm2eZH-a36nAnly-c6dXduKXXDgHuxfHVH8bBihs0hXJQU2xo8ztTxynSZ9OQmjBRUdQk_hGE3LPtFmXMXS_yV9HBb5PK3aBBeG0AyAjegvJj8gS2V4g21SxhzN5clOszGTRyhR3SkSNoUklIn5g/s320/indigo.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><i>I've moved to Washington DC now, home of Politics and Prose and other delightful bookstores. </i></p><p><i>I left a favorite, TOMBOLO BOOKS, back in St. Petersburg, FL. </i></p><p><i>I don't think I could live in a place that didn't have at least one good bookstore and a very strong public library system. </i></p><p><i>I'm sure most of my blog readers, and all of my bookish friends, would agree, right?</i><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-28909595687550411232022-09-06T07:48:00.000-04:002022-09-06T07:48:41.104-04:00Quaker Motto Calendar<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Just a friendly reminder: </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">IT'S TIME TO ORDER YOUR MOTTO CALENDARS!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Here's the order form. If you'd like more information, please email:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Scattergoodmotto@gmail.com </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiELvtI6-wFK1zyPsK-aFe2T8fqR6HtyScwFPA9m7YKEhl2gS5uPhVteILTC3f4Cok6MFEMeJS8ppCiCwpuukVLVnd5S1K6i6tp5rqUz_z58QxmMulf6xRSCNrcyhxEMM3XyjaMQ5YdV7qc6hq7kbSpn5M6LVJQQTCyA4lPYd_jF0MU81U9brXTXeVUGw/s4032/motto%20calendar%202023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiELvtI6-wFK1zyPsK-aFe2T8fqR6HtyScwFPA9m7YKEhl2gS5uPhVteILTC3f4Cok6MFEMeJS8ppCiCwpuukVLVnd5S1K6i6tp5rqUz_z58QxmMulf6xRSCNrcyhxEMM3XyjaMQ5YdV7qc6hq7kbSpn5M6LVJQQTCyA4lPYd_jF0MU81U9brXTXeVUGw/s320/motto%20calendar%202023.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>The (newish) address for the printer, where you'll mail your order form and checks:</p><p><b>BROWN & ASSOCIATES</b></p><p><b>c/o THE MOTTO CALENDAR</b></p><p><b>9687 GERWIG LANE</b></p><p><b>SUITE F</b></p><p><b>COLUMBIA MD 21046 </b><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-49661717512974791672022-07-25T08:08:00.001-04:002022-07-25T08:08:00.189-04:00Monday Books, again<p><span style="font-size: medium;">With apologies to all the I<a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/search/label/IMWAYR#axzz59UhXzdZ3" target="_blank">T'S MONDAY WHAT ARE YOU READING consistent bloggers, </a>I submit my occasional Monday books today.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">(My blogging skills have taken a hiatus but I do love hearing about and sharing books with others who dig more deeply than I do.)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">That said, I've read some excellent books during my absence from Monday sharing.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Both of these came via friends who know how much I love to read and share.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1L5zMugl-lB3UJefXH8EGfkCQ6LkqcTDn3rL958pakXwbRiVyxDK7f9WtLCySDSYyI-WIoJ2VuItlye-a3CSrmY_Z9Hc0L68bgoWHnDlKy61tIjl-6XkRTandu0VDTpdoBbIEfGoBRvlTX-73dqSK2Wgi0z1kSN5Kyamg3Nhxho7uKCAtS9WKBL0PA/s500/nour.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="397" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1L5zMugl-lB3UJefXH8EGfkCQ6LkqcTDn3rL958pakXwbRiVyxDK7f9WtLCySDSYyI-WIoJ2VuItlye-a3CSrmY_Z9Hc0L68bgoWHnDlKy61tIjl-6XkRTandu0VDTpdoBbIEfGoBRvlTX-73dqSK2Wgi0z1kSN5Kyamg3Nhxho7uKCAtS9WKBL0PA/s320/nour.jpg" width="254" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781646862924" target="_blank"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>(Publisher's Weekly review )</a><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The illustrations, the lovely and very descriptive words, and the helpful Author's Note and backmatter make this picture book the perfect introduction to a war, a part of the world, and a story young readers may not know. Loosely based on both the author's experience and the "real" secret library during the Syrian civil war, NOUR'S SECRET LIBRARY inspires empathy, a love of books, and a very special friendship.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Hot off the press, <a href="https://findingmoonrabbit.com/" target="_blank">FINDING </a><a href="https://findingmoonrabbit.com/">MOON RABBIT </a>is taken from the true stories of families faced with internment during World War II. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://findingmoonrabbit.com/" target="_blank">Click on this link for JC Kato's f</a>abulous website. I think kids are going to learn a lot and enjoy the process. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Girl Scouts, friendship, intrigue, and history, too-- What could be better for a summer read?<br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MjBqWcrK6TLSGWRf_ycKfXscSnT3riHUy-zbIdOOh1QBuoTkBPda-fwzDaXjzr9F-RavKh2UuYQjvfnt5C7nWLKMViUTcH13xa_14s6F9hzwMkWuAJkFZSA_Bjl8LUiJ86etq4-rfvrPpKn7jGS7i2knJKdnpbjIfNbHNdaXqBhsT_7TA3UlUInZ_Q/s1500/moon%20rab.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="964" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MjBqWcrK6TLSGWRf_ycKfXscSnT3riHUy-zbIdOOh1QBuoTkBPda-fwzDaXjzr9F-RavKh2UuYQjvfnt5C7nWLKMViUTcH13xa_14s6F9hzwMkWuAJkFZSA_Bjl8LUiJ86etq4-rfvrPpKn7jGS7i2knJKdnpbjIfNbHNdaXqBhsT_7TA3UlUInZ_Q/s320/moon%20rab.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">JC and I go way back and I know how hard she's worked on her marvelous middle-grade novel. She's traveled to camps, interviewed family members, applied for and won an SCBWI Karen Cushman grant and now the book is out in the world! I'm proud to know her and honored to have read the early versions of FINDING MOON RABBIT. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jc-kato/finding-moon-rabbit/" target="_blank">Click here </a>for a glowing Kirkus review.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">For my own personal edification, I've been reading picture book biographies. Reading a book as a librarian brings different skills and experiences from reading as a writer. With a push from my friend Shannon Hitchcock (<a href="https://www.shannonhitchcock.com" target="_blank">Check her website </a>to see how many excellent books she's recently published about little-known storytellers and artists), I've explored picture books about both artists and sports figures. So much fun!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I'll share just one because I really could go on and on. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I've v<a href="https://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2011/10/southern-literary-trail.html">isited Flannery O'Connor's house in Milledgeville, GA</a>. (aside: don't you love visiting writers' homes?) This book takes me back to that afternoon wandering around her backyard, and it takes my breath away, visually. It's also a compelling story, so well-written. I love how the author of this picture book incorporates some of O'Connor's themes into statements kids can understand. Or at least ponder. "There was something about strangeness that made people sit up and look."</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCmXg0JEIcH2kdSVpH-YDStrQ78-T9TcWSpmdINd4NQXmML-gNRSCHSgwvj-2AdsylJoTSk1TORixhvXRjyiWRzoOCAEU43bqpTU13jrBs3HxqMkXYrFECVnDMCK9Fws-gC--_GBUW8I-me3BCrgoSOYyYCvHg2NvQufEG-RqWPgb5X_os-7Ic_eEEg/s350/flannery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="346" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCmXg0JEIcH2kdSVpH-YDStrQ78-T9TcWSpmdINd4NQXmML-gNRSCHSgwvj-2AdsylJoTSk1TORixhvXRjyiWRzoOCAEU43bqpTU13jrBs3HxqMkXYrFECVnDMCK9Fws-gC--_GBUW8I-me3BCrgoSOYyYCvHg2NvQufEG-RqWPgb5X_os-7Ic_eEEg/s320/flannery.jpg" width="316" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Fun reading, no? I can't wait to read all the books my #IMWAYR buddies will share today.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-90020504101654080722022-05-30T09:07:00.001-04:002022-05-30T09:07:42.798-04:00Poetry and Other Distractions...<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">As previously noted, my friend Beverly and I memorize poems. Her choices are better/ harder/ longer than mine. But that's the way my mushy brain is working these days. Beverly understands and lets me delight over Mary Oliver, stumble over Wordsworth, laugh when Billy Collins makes fun of torturing a confession out of a poem.</span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">This week she chose <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45564/the-world-is-too-much-with-us" target="_blank">"The World is Too Much With Us</a>." And how prescient of my friend to recite that this sad week. </span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">So, what have I been reading to share on this Monday, Memorial Day? <br /></span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVivSBGihfT38x51IHEsnRqIG1q-gLIRaFJ3mipVbV49n-4jmGH72wzBwnK7pWYIZCz7Cj2iqtI99lYxwqvPx6RolfWdrvx5IArmfn4PZ_5DS9agoROlV8gRgOI9I3-cszNMEktSjTjmqPddd2499V3p_DZqFgzjK1a5Ua4XmE1KAfy3GL--N2MqwD4A/s320/IMWAYR%202015.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVivSBGihfT38x51IHEsnRqIG1q-gLIRaFJ3mipVbV49n-4jmGH72wzBwnK7pWYIZCz7Cj2iqtI99lYxwqvPx6RolfWdrvx5IArmfn4PZ_5DS9agoROlV8gRgOI9I3-cszNMEktSjTjmqPddd2499V3p_DZqFgzjK1a5Ua4XmE1KAfy3GL--N2MqwD4A/w320-h201/IMWAYR%202015.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /> I've mostly been reading grownup poetry, but I pulled this one off my shelf and delighted in it all over again.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QtzLjhiZXYymzDy4PUoFZJO2X1JLGDdnJGh70s3oHiRBkaR6HS-zs9qlSO1wmpBvXzHqjkj2CBTpdU9INlfvs0nKZbrGhX1dkHZ3vWQt3GIEfwEsix6kO4WccIYhb3AvyvSOpDqA-XgiG8ot3pJI_iQYP289ecWZBbFGfyNu7U95BVHb8VrmWklrCQ/s470/voices-in-the-air-side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QtzLjhiZXYymzDy4PUoFZJO2X1JLGDdnJGh70s3oHiRBkaR6HS-zs9qlSO1wmpBvXzHqjkj2CBTpdU9INlfvs0nKZbrGhX1dkHZ3vWQt3GIEfwEsix6kO4WccIYhb3AvyvSOpDqA-XgiG8ot3pJI_iQYP289ecWZBbFGfyNu7U95BVHb8VrmWklrCQ/s320/voices-in-the-air-side.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I'm going to <a href="https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/view/28649/voices-in-the-air" target="_blank">link to THIS </a>because it says so much about the book, and the poet.</span><p></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Much more than my mushy brain (see above) can articulate this morning. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As always, middle-grade novels continue to (mostly) hold my attention.</span><br /></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">This might be one of my favorite book cover images in a while. (Except the author makes a point that the narrator is slightly overweight, maybe she used the word dumpy. I'm going to overlook that in favor of the notebook paper filled with words.)</span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">It says a lot about the story. True confessions, I haven't finished </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><a href="https://jenniferziegler.com/books/worser/" target="_blank">WORSER</a></b> but I'm going to make it my number one To Do
thing today- finish WORSER. I'm getting close and loving almost every word.<br /></span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Yesterday I had a conversation with a
retired school counselor who believes, not surprisingly to anybody working in education today, that bullying is a huge issue, maybe <i>the</i> issue. I'm going to keep reading this one before I comment more. Bullying, so far, is not <i>the</i> theme, but it is prevalent and the kids in Worser's world are slightly on the fringes, susceptible to all sorts of teasing.</span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3_ieiV2ggACVFKFz7yYlOd8wXq1xKLUJkuCmljvhv8pQKSPJ44JWB_NUncjX6KhMjPm3RweI-i0IG-2uhj8FAbNLkD7vqivcRyO4OqsxEkIPdWrCrekKyfpIKCdlu5mwCJd4NsU4pSN8fwMkPpPE0-UyPOLPlUR_SMovhPtl_ghT5T8hv19zThL09Q/s400/worser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3_ieiV2ggACVFKFz7yYlOd8wXq1xKLUJkuCmljvhv8pQKSPJ44JWB_NUncjX6KhMjPm3RweI-i0IG-2uhj8FAbNLkD7vqivcRyO4OqsxEkIPdWrCrekKyfpIKCdlu5mwCJd4NsU4pSN8fwMkPpPE0-UyPOLPlUR_SMovhPtl_ghT5T8hv19zThL09Q/s320/worser.jpg" width="214" /></a></span></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /> </span><p></p><p>My life is kind of complicated lately, but reading makes me happiest so although I continue to retreat from sharing too much, frequent blogging, posting meaningless trivia, I'll stick to poetry, mysteries, middle-grade novels and puppies.</p><p> <b>Cheers to all the teachers pushing through these days, holding their students in the light. </b></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>And, on this Memorial Day, bless the families whose soldiers have died fighting for our country. </b><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></p><p><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-16524095327146025912022-04-21T07:47:00.002-04:002022-04-21T07:47:51.278-04:00April is Poetry Month<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> When I lived and worked in New Jersey, one of the (few) things I loved about April was celebrating poetry. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span>Put a Poem in Your Pocket</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span>a Poetry Assembly</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span>Reading all the fun, funny, poignant poems shared here and there. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">That and a few forced forsythias kept me smiling through what was often dreary weather.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Fast forward a few years and we've found ourselves back on the East Coast in a more southerly spot, Washington DC.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Where the weather is more agreeable and the flowers are earlier. So April is fast becoming a favorite month. And there's still POETRY to be shared. Now I'm sharing it with one of my dearest friends.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The idea came when J<a href="https://poets.org/poet/judith-viorst" target="_blank">udith Viorst </a>addressed a group I was part of. At the end, a questioner asked her how she kept so sharp. Sudoku? Crossword puzzles? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Nope, she memorizes poetry!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was all over that. So now my friend Beverly and I memorize a FEW VERSES AT A TIME of a favorite poem. We both agree that this was something we did in Mrs. Glassco's senior English class, from Robert Burns to William Wordsworth, and a lot in between (not so much after, however). </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Her first poem contained many stanzas. Christopher Marlowe! She learned them all! (But I have too much fluff in my brain! Like how to drive to the nearest CVS, or the library, or Beverly's house! Driving directions, among many other new things, are clogging my brain.)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">So mine was a more modest attempt, Mary Oliver.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ol0rQKaNUGs/V-Bjq_En2gI/AAAAAAAAFuc/8DEGmvuvAVY7AXbW49kT3DSWWqmtaQJmACLcB/s400/Freshen%2Bthe%2BFlowers%2BMary%2BOliver%2BWhy%2BI%2Bwake%2BEarly.jpg" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ol0rQKaNUGs/V-Bjq_En2gI/AAAAAAAAFuc/8DEGmvuvAVY7AXbW49kT3DSWWqmtaQJmACLcB/s400/Freshen%2Bthe%2BFlowers%2BMary%2BOliver%2BWhy%2BI%2Bwake%2BEarly.jpg" /> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">My new choice is a short, wonderfully metered Emily Dickinson verse. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">(Note to self. Easier to memorize poems that rhyme.)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh, and I didn't find this week's selection, "Hope is the thing with feathers" this way but I loved reading t<a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/67591-the-10-best-emily-dickinson-poems.html" target="_blank">his, about her poetry</a> just now in Publisher's Weekly.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It's been a long time and not-so-many words since I last blogged. But I
want to keep up with these poems so I'm going to attempt to track them
here. Stay with me if you'd like and tell me your favorite poem. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Have
you memorized anything lately? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Do kids even do this in school? </span><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-27502524059849904222021-11-29T15:24:00.005-05:002021-11-29T15:24:56.084-05:00A New Resource<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Yes, it's still MONDAY and you may be asking WHAT AM I READING?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> It's been a while since I posted for #IMWAYR.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But that doesn't mean I'm not reading like crazy!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Today I'll share a new resource you teachers and librarians out there might not know about. But it's fun to play around with. Booklists on all sorts of topics. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This is my contribution:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://shepherd.com/best-books/kids-baseball-books-about-more-than-baseball" target="_blank">https://shepherd.com/best-books/kids-baseball-books-about-more-than-baseball </a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Baseball books!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">So, what else am I reading?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I just finished my friend Susan Hill Long's latest, <a href="https://shepherd.com/best-books/kids-baseball-books-about-more-than-baseball" target="_blank">THE CARE AND KEEPING OF FREDDY.</a></span></p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gB1T51L3kE/YaUYG4KGCiI/AAAAAAAAIK8/3jCkiWfCvCIKMndHAXE383lZepyk6gLbwCLcBGAsYHQ/s900/2the-care-and-keeping-of-freddy-9781534475199_xlg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="596" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gB1T51L3kE/YaUYG4KGCiI/AAAAAAAAIK8/3jCkiWfCvCIKMndHAXE383lZepyk6gLbwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2the-care-and-keeping-of-freddy-9781534475199_xlg.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh what fun this brand new middle-grade novel is. But fun with heart. So much heart.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It made me smile but it also made me think. There is so much to discuss with kids in this story.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">What would a young girl do in a family like Georgia's? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">How do friends help us make important life decisions when we're young? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And for those writers among us: How do you develop a character like Georgia's mother and make her believable?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Sue is brilliant at craft and characters. I love this book.</span><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-13401850220273617202021-09-20T18:52:00.000-04:002021-09-20T18:52:01.657-04:00QUAKER MOTTO CALENDAR 2022<p> <b><span style="font-size: medium;">It's time!</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The new Motto Calendars are in production. I'm proud of our family for carrying on this tradition for so many years. Hats off to our daughter who continues to work on keeping the Quaker Motto Calendar going for another year when we all thought the long-standing tradition had ended. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">If you missed getting yours last year and don't have an order form, here it is.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hR3L0McEHtE/YUkN1dMkGSI/AAAAAAAAIHk/_6uObhohohk8JgScugllkD1H7213HYtCACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4886.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1388" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hR3L0McEHtE/YUkN1dMkGSI/AAAAAAAAIHk/_6uObhohohk8JgScugllkD1H7213HYtCACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_4886.jpeg" width="217" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Want to know more about the history of the calendars?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2010/09/quaker-motto-calendar.html" target="_blank">CLICK HERE </a>for one of my earliest posts!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">If you aren't familiar with these little gems, here's a sample page, with quotes ranging from Buddha to Disney. (AND they're small enough to tuck into a holiday card.)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rNTGfB-slEI/YUkPrEe7DQI/AAAAAAAAIHs/gpoQjrNMv2cXmO-diCvLusUDucu_FdUIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/sample.jpg" imageanchor="1" 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/-rNTGfB-slEI/YUkPrEe7DQI/AAAAAAAAIHs/gpoQjrNMv2cXmO-diCvLusUDucu_FdUIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/sample.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><br /></p><br />Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-8426972084720217132021-05-31T07:59:00.001-04:002021-05-31T08:11:05.399-04:00What I'm Reading and Recommending<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I've been sadly lacking in my reading of kids' books lately. Haven't read a middle-grade novel or even a picture book in a while.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Ah, life, right?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But we have a family birthday coming up- with party!- and the Birthday Boy loves books. <b><a href="https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/book/accidental-archaeologists-by-sarah-albee/" target="_blank">When I saw this one, I had to have it. </a></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LAYXfqs5N9M/YK50IAOWrPI/AAAAAAAAIAM/5FdQItUEu7Ea9spS9ooy8F9MRZOudjVCACLcBGAsYHQ/s600/archae.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LAYXfqs5N9M/YK50IAOWrPI/AAAAAAAAIAM/5FdQItUEu7Ea9spS9ooy8F9MRZOudjVCACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/archae.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm only a little bit into it but I LOVE THIS BOOK.</span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">First of all, Pompeii. Then a strong man who literally lifted heavy objects and moved them to safety. Or at least to where they could be looted more easily. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm sure all my librarian friends already know this and other cool-sounding titles by <a href="https://www.sarahalbeebooks.com" target="_blank">Sarah Albee.</a> But for those of us who don't read a lot of kids' non-fiction (anymore! I read a lot of it when I was a school librarian), this would be a fun place to start. Her turns of phrase (turn of phrases?), her sense of humor, her deep digs - pun intended!-have kept me glued to the book.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Okay, glued may be too strong. I'd be glued if I could.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But I do dip into it every day and often find myself reading more than I'd planned. Plus, deadline- Birthday Boy needs the book!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm reading a lot of thriller/ detective/ mystery books still. My escape into the world of adults. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250790767" target="_blank">This book is getting rave reviews</a> and I'd love to know if anyone else has read it. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--jOOT2WOJFs/YK523ADuy4I/AAAAAAAAIAU/mA3sld_uSUIbQA81Fp9De5lkTwJZDT3bwCLcBGAsYHQ/s532/plot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--jOOT2WOJFs/YK523ADuy4I/AAAAAAAAIAU/mA3sld_uSUIbQA81Fp9De5lkTwJZDT3bwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/plot.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> It was a page-turner all right. Great writing, good story. BUT...</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">(not exactly a spoiler alert coming up, but you can avert your eyes if you're reading or about to read)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Did anybody else see the plot twist coming? Maybe it's because I've been reading waaaay too many "thrillers" during the past year. Maybe it's the writer in me. But the breadcrumbs were there for the following and that's all I'm saying. Feel free to comment!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Even so, the excellent writing made it worth reading. I appreciate NetGalley for giving me an early read. It's just out and available for purchase.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">My friend <a href="https://www.shannonhitchcock.com/" target="_blank">Shannon Hitchcock</a>- who's written a few books herself!- posted a <a href="https://www.mcbeaton.com/us/books/a_house_for_the_season/the_miser_of_mayfair/" target="_blank">picture of a book </a>she'd found in a vacation rental that she said was a perfect distraction, or at least a very good beach read. This is not a genre I read much of but if you're looking for short and funny and even surprising in its own way, check out this series. </span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-anG_iu-y0B4/YK54KQ5Ix5I/AAAAAAAAIAc/9PdqEp7kquEW9Byp7P92JsTsDGDEsJWPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/miser.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-anG_iu-y0B4/YK54KQ5Ix5I/AAAAAAAAIAc/9PdqEp7kquEW9Byp7P92JsTsDGDEsJWPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/miser.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I think there about a zillion books by this author listed at my library.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Speaking of my library. Thank you, <b>Libby App</b>! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I would not have survived the past year + without you, my friend. <br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Funny aside: One summer I worked as a library intern
for the Mississippi Library Commission. Wow, talk about eyes opening!
But one thing I learned is that these "Regency Romances" were very, very
popular. Took up a huge bookcase and they traveled in and out of the
library with great speed. All the little old ladies loved them. </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh dear.</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Have I become a little old lady?</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u4CUdnEkhzU/YLTSS4mntHI/AAAAAAAAIA4/s5pM__iOddc0m0QuY7cmgKT0kNh5LNU8QCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/img_7497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u4CUdnEkhzU/YLTSS4mntHI/AAAAAAAAIA4/s5pM__iOddc0m0QuY7cmgKT0kNh5LNU8QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/img_7497.jpg" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span></i><p></p><p><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-61395729584308720082021-05-21T16:04:00.001-04:002021-05-21T16:04:27.011-04:00Iowa and Other Stops Along the Road<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;">Do you play the "map" game where you count up all the states you've visited?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;">Do you think about how different places might have influenced the way you talk, what you like to eat, what you think even? I've lived so many place I'd have to stop and re-count them!<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;">Possibly the first faraway place I ever visited was in high school when our Mississippi school sponsored an Exchange Trip with a town in Iowa. There were all sorts of reasons they chose Spencer, Iowa for us to visit. Weather, demographics, etc etc. We went there in February, they came to us in the early spring.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was a trip I haven't forgotten. According to a now-destroyed diary, we stayed at the U-Smile Motor Hotel along the way. (Must file that name away but it sounds slightly risque, doesn't it?)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;">First blizzard.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;">First kids who talked differently from everybody I knew.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;">First visit to a packing plant. Eeew. How have I ever eaten beef again.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was the only time I ever set foot in Iowa. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;">But the world has shrunk since those days. Now you can visit almost anywhere, in person or virtually. You can have friends who are nothing like you, yet everything like you.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can have a refrigerator magnet, a special gift from a friend- complete with his #truefriend heart- and be transported back to high school, and a blizzard!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qi_avBV94EM/YKgOuBHptjI/AAAAAAAAH_Y/UQXdo0dGOUcAktATLS-KPlvN0axQRBLAgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4612.JPG" imageanchor="1" 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/-qi_avBV94EM/YKgOuBHptjI/AAAAAAAAH_Y/UQXdo0dGOUcAktATLS-KPlvN0axQRBLAgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_4612.JPG" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In case you're wondering, here's a photo. Note: not too many of us had real snow boots. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">(I'm not in this picture so I assume I was behind the camera.) <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The snow got a lot deeper. We were stranded there a few extra days but nobody complained!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zc3if6tW_qY/YKgPU6uku3I/AAAAAAAAH_g/dZvbqS9cO4wOVcQ1R9sWr7AIbaY0r-8hwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_0067.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zc3if6tW_qY/YKgPU6uku3I/AAAAAAAAH_g/dZvbqS9cO4wOVcQ1R9sWr7AIbaY0r-8hwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_0067.jpeg" /></a></div><br /> What places do you remember that were so different they made your eyes open wider or your attitude change or your idea of where you could live flipflop?<br /><p></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-60467847792775394162021-05-03T10:49:00.004-04:002021-05-03T10:49:29.782-04:00Things I Love<p>This used to be a THING. </p><p>I shared "Things I Love," blatantly copied from my buddy Barbara O'Connor's blog. </p><p>I think she calls hers <a href="https://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2015/07/things-i-love-thursday.html" target="_blank">Things I Love Thursdays.</a><br /></p><p>It was a thing I did with some regularity. </p><p>But when you move, many things go by the wayside, including some things I love(d).</p><p>(and writing in my blog kind of took a nose-dive, too!) <br /></p><p>But I kept this.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E2gTX4E54T8/YJAMqko6YnI/AAAAAAAAH-s/sOUwL4jexD87SeojzPzC9xJ9g1JjGkKtQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4575.jpg" imageanchor="1" 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/-E2gTX4E54T8/YJAMqko6YnI/AAAAAAAAH-s/sOUwL4jexD87SeojzPzC9xJ9g1JjGkKtQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_4575.jpg" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>Because it has a story.</p><p>My husband brought three of these from a Navy deployment in Rota, Spain. They are olive jars. I filled two with flour and sugar, back in the day. I filled the third with shells we'd collected from beaches everywhere! And he turned it into a lamp.</p><p>Then we moved to Florida. All three became shell jars. One held a large conch shell, a gift from my first-born granddaughter's Great Godmother on her baptism!</p><p>When we moved again, I gave her the jar and the shell.</p><p>I brought one with me to our new home, the one filled with shells from beaches everywhere.</p><p>The stories our THINGS tell, right?</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://lindasuepark.com/books/books-poetry/one-thing/" target="_blank">Linda Sue Park </a>has a new book I haven't read but keep reading about. </p><p>I bet it would make a great writing activity, for young and old.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OYZXjAwBs0g/YJALTgn2mAI/AAAAAAAAH-k/lZ3kiFDuJ1wyJ68XKZj_EPBbCzmev0zgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s296/bk_one_thing_238px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="238" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OYZXjAwBs0g/YJALTgn2mAI/AAAAAAAAH-k/lZ3kiFDuJ1wyJ68XKZj_EPBbCzmev0zgQCLcBGAsYHQ/w161-h200/bk_one_thing_238px.jpg" width="161" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-24882224029630718832021-04-18T09:00:00.002-04:002021-04-18T09:00:00.288-04:00The Year in my Journal, and Facebook...<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I know, I know. Some of you are not fans of Facebook. And I get that. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But I love the memories I get every day. Today Facebook reminded me that on this date in 2016, my friend Eileen Harrell, artist and designer extraordinaire, re-did my blog title and graphic. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Maybe I should pay more attention to that blog.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Even though the posts have been few and far between this Quarantine Year, I have kept a journal. Call it my Covid Journal.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It's a very special book. A gift at NCTE 2016, from our panel's moderator, the brilliant and great and all-around fun guy, Patrick Allen. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DRa8a0p02aY/YHs4M-fNjFI/AAAAAAAAH9I/vsBm-jWbS_8f1F_bF33QIVOFnHwMSTWJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4222.JPG" imageanchor="1" 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/-DRa8a0p02aY/YHs4M-fNjFI/AAAAAAAAH9I/vsBm-jWbS_8f1F_bF33QIVOFnHwMSTWJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_4222.JPG" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">He presented blank journals to all the #TrueFriends, Sue Long, Kirby Larson, Barbara O'Connor and me. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LR16tKMkWb0/YHs4iDuzn4I/AAAAAAAAH9Q/DKEufd2k0dcGZs6I6AlA099MQTGCIMVaACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/allen%2Bncte.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LR16tKMkWb0/YHs4iDuzn4I/AAAAAAAAH9Q/DKEufd2k0dcGZs6I6AlA099MQTGCIMVaACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/allen%2Bncte.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>(Here we all are! In Atlanta! Having a great time talking about books.)<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I loved my journal. I'm bad about saving things I love. Saving them for "someday."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Why? I asked myself as I searched my box of journals for the blank pages to remember this year with, March 2020. Someday is now!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Don't you think I chose the perfect book?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Page ONE- My sticker from Sarah Frances Hardy. She designed a whole packet of these. She's such a fun illustrator! <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tC0KZAWgE5k/YHs49dO9KEI/AAAAAAAAH9c/ZR-c0T7VxTkOM-ltIsBx2KbXGYYSdJaHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/mask%2Bup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tC0KZAWgE5k/YHs49dO9KEI/AAAAAAAAH9c/ZR-c0T7VxTkOM-ltIsBx2KbXGYYSdJaHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/mask%2Bup.jpg" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BF5PgBVZLao/YHs44ZT7QqI/AAAAAAAAH9Y/Y31DlCZ3qLYJk1UBRHMsiHVh6am_ev1UgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/hair.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BF5PgBVZLao/YHs44ZT7QqI/AAAAAAAAH9Y/Y31DlCZ3qLYJk1UBRHMsiHVh6am_ev1UgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/hair.jpg" /></a></div></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> A very recent entry. Though many of my days featured HAIR as an issue...)<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pVjaEhtxPEw/YHs4_ujnoyI/AAAAAAAAH9g/kkx2YFt_FA4Pqzi6zVHOwFCPpuMTp6xBgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/ivy%2Bjournal.jpg" imageanchor="1" 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/-pVjaEhtxPEw/YHs4_ujnoyI/AAAAAAAAH9g/kkx2YFt_FA4Pqzi6zVHOwFCPpuMTp6xBgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/ivy%2Bjournal.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">My best friend forever had so many fascinating fun things she learned and did during Covid. We formed a group of three, called ourselves The Quarantiners, and we texted almost daily. She sent me this, from one of her many projects.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And then, a vaccine at last. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LciygNc1eZk/YHs6ufawvSI/AAAAAAAAH9s/xLGHqqd_7fMbu5_dJhq0EiCR14UVCPfVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/quarantiners.jpg" imageanchor="1" 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/-LciygNc1eZk/YHs6ufawvSI/AAAAAAAAH9s/xLGHqqd_7fMbu5_dJhq0EiCR14UVCPfVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/quarantiners.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Did anybody else keep a journal during Quarantine? Did your kids? Your students? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I don't know if anybody but me will ever see this. It's not exactly filled with earthshaking nuggets of brilliance. But for now, almost every page is full, and I may just keep it forever.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-62389102462004926482021-02-01T07:13:00.003-05:002021-02-01T07:13:00.472-05:00Time to Read!<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A better title would be: TIME TO WRITE ABOUT WHAT I'VE BEEN READING.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But that's way too long.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Happy February, everybody! <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mondays always remind me that there's a whole group of you out there carefully documenting your week's reading. #IMWAYR days are fun!</span><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OXszVNsx5cU/W51cbVgllhI/AAAAAAAADrs/-KWPl2n-Qq4pUXAn583oD5REzIKKXXhJACPcBGAYYCw/s320/IMWAYR%2B2015.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="168" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OXszVNsx5cU/W51cbVgllhI/AAAAAAAADrs/-KWPl2n-Qq4pUXAn583oD5REzIKKXXhJACPcBGAYYCw/w200-h168/IMWAYR%2B2015.png" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And what I've been reading is fun, too. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Although I'd read the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) and I'd heard earlier versions as Barbara worked on this one, in honor of its true launch date, I reread Barbara O'Connor's latest middle-grade novel, <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374314460" target="_blank">HALFWAY TO HARMONY</a>. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh, those characters!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And her writing. Such a perfect ear. Such an economy of words. Every little detail belongs exactly where she's put it.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I dare you to open the first chapter, meet Walter, then his new neighbor Posey, and not be hooked. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HUuZ9Xdu4xI/YBPvXcoWAFI/AAAAAAAAH5E/6c2i-lNb-bs0V7uDlYNGGv1JTkMQsoIWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s541/harmony%2Bb%2Boc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HUuZ9Xdu4xI/YBPvXcoWAFI/AAAAAAAAH5E/6c2i-lNb-bs0V7uDlYNGGv1JTkMQsoIWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/harmony%2Bb%2Boc.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When I watched the launch party interview with Amy Cherrix from <a href="https://www.malaprops.com/event/live-stream-barbara-oconnor-launches-halfway-harmony-conversation-amy-cherrix" target="_blank">Malaprops</a> in Asheville, I remembered so many great writing tips! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I've heard Barbara say it before but the next time I sat at my desk, I tried hard to put one into practice:</span></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">RESIST THE URGE TO EXPLAIN.</span></span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Many years and many critique groups ago, my friend Leslie Guccione created a little note, beautifully drawn and decorated, for my bulletin board. </span></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">R.U.E. </span></span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Way back when, Barbara's blog did a series of Writing Tip Tuesdays. If you're a new writer, or heck, even if you've written forever, they're great reminders. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's one: <a href="http://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2012/08/writing-tip-tuesday.html">http://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2012/08/writing-tip-tuesday.html</a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And another: <a href="https://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2008/02/writing-tip-tuesday_26.html">https://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2008/02/writing-tip-tuesday_26.html</a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> (</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">On the subject of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">repetition</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">, Barbara reports, Sol Stein says, "One plus one equals a half."</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">If you think the reader won't "get" something unless you repeat it, then maybe you haven't written it right the first time.)</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So I've always known this important bit of writing advice. Barbara's the champ at doing it and at explaining it. Read her novels and you'll see!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The <a href="https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/Just-Like-That/9780544084773" target="_blank">other middle-grade</a> novel, JUST LIKE THAT, skews to the upper end of MG and had me slowing down, re-reading, putting sticky notes on pages, and marveling at Gary Schmidt's skill in storytelling. I always pick up <a href="https://bookpage.com/reviews/25852-gary-d-schmidt-just-like-that-childrens#.YBPz0y2z2fU" target="_blank">BookPage</a> at my local library and I almost always agree with their reviews.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Forewarned, somebody dies at the very beginning. Somebody, if you know and love Schmidt's books like I do, you'll grieve right along with his friend. But the book is such great storytelling, such amazing writing, so gripping in many places, that grieving didn't detract from my loving this book.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If I'm honest and attempting to read like a kid, or even like a school librarian, my prior self, I did have a couple of issues. One, I wondered if it would have been a better book if there weren't two narrators whose stories, though often intersecting, were very different. But I think stronger readers will just go with that flow.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And some very minor plot points- like would a middle-grader, even back in the 60s and even at boarding school, be allowed to come back to school before it begins? And, yes, she's staying with the headmistress (though she kind of bailed on the two kids in her care.)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><side note for copyeditors: <a href="https://www.dailywritingtips.com/bail-out-vs-bale-out/" target="_blank">https://www.dailywritingtips.com/bail-out-vs-bale-out/ ></a> <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8EX64VxOG_M/YBP0uzpVVzI/AAAAAAAAH5Q/LRkivM_M6m02Wsxji346CrxKox45QTFaACLcBGAsYHQ/s600/schmidt.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8EX64VxOG_M/YBP0uzpVVzI/AAAAAAAAH5Q/LRkivM_M6m02Wsxji346CrxKox45QTFaACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/schmidt.jpg" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Other good grownups books I've loved since last posting for #IMWYR :</span></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Hamnet </span></span></b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(five stars! *****)</span></span><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Another (I've read several during this too-long pandemic) Laura Lippman novel- my warm-glass-of-milk at bedtime books</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3. The Keeper of Lost Dreams, which I mostly enjoyed though I'm not a fan of ghosts/ spirits, even when they take a minor role.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-52281240827336735562020-12-27T13:33:00.002-05:002020-12-27T13:36:05.855-05:00Sweeping out The Old Year(s)<p> </p><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span>What else does one do on a cold-for-Florida Sunday afternoon but clear out files, right?<span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span> </span>Most of our neighbors with kids have boxes and boxes piled in their recycling bins. I have pages and pages.</span></span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OVlT06bbviQ/X-jPreuP9MI/AAAAAAAAH3A/r_CRgVJRhs8HezcLKoqxKpLqBBcwXErmQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4120.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OVlT06bbviQ/X-jPreuP9MI/AAAAAAAAH3A/r_CRgVJRhs8HezcLKoqxKpLqBBcwXErmQCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/IMG_4120.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /> </span></span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span>I sent a lot of the more interesting ephemera from my books to the <a href="https://www.degrummond.org/" target="_blank">University of Southern Mississippi's deGrummond Children's Literature Collection</a>. But I kept a few "gems." </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Like a whole file of rejection letters for GLORY BE. The original title was Junk Poker. No wonder it was rejected. </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Actually, it was rejected also because </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">1. The time wasn't right. </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. Historical fiction wasn't selling. </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">3. Nobody wanted to read about the 60s. </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">4. That editor who requested your manuscript has left the publisher. etc etc etc. </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span>I also found many, many chapters with comments from various writer friends/ critique partners/ cold readers. It was like a walk down memory lane as well as a reminder that this journey didn't happen overnight. Or even over-a-year. </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">But I loved that story a lot so I refused to give up. That, I suspect, was the trick. That's how you have to feel about what you've written. You have to feel in your heart that it's a book kids need to read. A book teachers will want to share. A book families can read together. And a book that, with a new title like GLORY BE, will end up in school libraries and classrooms. You'll get letters from kids telling you they love it, telling you what you messed up, telling you you need to write more stories about Glory, her sister, her sister's boyfriend, and Emma. Even if you can't do that, the letters make you feel like a million dollars.<br /></span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span>So for all you writers out there. Turn the calendar page to a new and glorious year and write like kids are waiting. You never know what 2021 will bring. </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jC3bV1XEdr8/X-jRl5TWw9I/AAAAAAAAH3M/HBcdGgeCSkUV4c8C53sV1_LEmrnSjuG1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_0137.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jC3bV1XEdr8/X-jRl5TWw9I/AAAAAAAAH3M/HBcdGgeCSkUV4c8C53sV1_LEmrnSjuG1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_0137.jpeg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On one of my favorite, ever, Author Visit days, a boy gave me his very realistic drawing of the fabulous cover art. He told me he'd originally left out the "L" in Glory. But not to worry, he said, and he laughed, "It's fixed now." It makes me smile every time I remember that day. Titles are pretty important. Not sure Gory Be would have caught an agent's eye any better than Junk Poker.</span></span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bS6PyGGJgZ4/X-jS8pLNHCI/AAAAAAAAH3Y/kZ-P-izm3HUawv6jUR-h5Ch6uqxwqybDgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1224/Glory%2BBe%2Bcvr2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="824" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bS6PyGGJgZ4/X-jS8pLNHCI/AAAAAAAAH3Y/kZ-P-izm3HUawv6jUR-h5Ch6uqxwqybDgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Glory%2BBe%2Bcvr2.jpg" /></a></div><br /> </span><br /></span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></div>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-78759763104394497082020-12-07T07:21:00.002-05:002020-12-07T07:21:31.574-05:00MONDAY READING<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ItHuTuQCrns/X84UnMKXo4I/AAAAAAAAH1s/W-WmiR98XtcaFejLF5vSTrMopLsvHBz_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMWAYR2020.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ItHuTuQCrns/X84UnMKXo4I/AAAAAAAAH1s/W-WmiR98XtcaFejLF5vSTrMopLsvHBz_QCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h200/IMWAYR2020.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It's been a very long time since I posted any IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING? reviews. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> But that doesn't mean I haven't been reading.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hats way off to my teacher and librarian friends who've managed to read, review, and blog about so many books.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Two middle-grade novels stand out in my reading month. The first is a novel told in two voices by my friend Shannon Hitchcock and her co-writer, N.H. Senzai, <a href="https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/book/flying-over-water-by-n-h-senzai/" target="_blank">FLYING OVER WATER</a>. I bought this one at their launch party, complete with a signed bookplate. (I think you can get the same by checking with our fabulous local independent bookstore, <a href="https://tombolobooks.com" target="_blank">TOMBOLO BOOKS </a>in St. Petersburg, FL.) I bought it for a young reader who's a competitive swimmer and I've already mailed it off so I can't quote from it, but it was a very fast-moving story, with excellent depictions of real kids. The Florida middle-grader in the book (Shannon's voice) is a swimmer whose family supports a newly-arrived Muslim family, refugees from Aleppo. The telling feels real, it's fast-moving, and the background of the 2017 immigration restrictions takes the story even deeper. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The second fascinating, couldn't-wait-to-read Middle Grade novel finished this week is by a favorite author, Shelley Pearsall. I've read a couple of her other books and heard this one recommended by lots of bloggers and readers. THINGS SEEN FROM ABOVE lived up to the hype! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Such an unusual and interesting topic. Lots of Food for Thought and character growth and the kids mostly turn out to be just fine. There are two voices in this one also, but Pearsall writes them both. The two characters interact, mostly on the playground, as April fulfills her duties as Buddy Bench volunteer. JoeyByrd (his preferred way of signing his name) is a fascinating kid with much to teach his classmates. I particularly loved the school maintenance guy, Mr. Ulysses. And April's new friend, Veena, from the Buddy Bench, who started out as a shy newcomer and found her way and a friendship. Shelley Pearsall has the perfect touch with her secondary characters. My copy gets returned to our library today where I hope it will be snatched up by a young reader. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vqd0m9bLwDE/X84aUEV1ifI/AAAAAAAAH2M/bHv86dRxJiEBoUit4I4ZUKHz3HyVB8hoACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/pearsall.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vqd0m9bLwDE/X84aUEV1ifI/AAAAAAAAH2M/bHv86dRxJiEBoUit4I4ZUKHz3HyVB8hoACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/pearsall.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I was assigned a Winter Round-Up of picture books by the Christian Science Monitor so I got to read a few picture books these past few months, something I don't do often enough. <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2020/1201/Cozy-up-for-story-time-with-these-delightful-picture-books" target="_blank">My reviews are HERE</a>. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One wasn't exactly a picture book but I fudged my assignment and sneaked in a book I loved, suitable for younger kids. :)Hey, it had wonderful illustrations and I was absolutely delighted by the words, too. Have you read Amy Timberlake's SKUNK AND BADGER? Yes, that <a href="https://www.amytimberlake.com/" target="_blank">Amy Timberlake,</a> the one who's written mostly for older kids. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-McTELXkcAOA/X84V6HvkTEI/AAAAAAAAH14/BJJajR0aJjIBN9BWfcTlcR6SZcM2_bYjACLcBGAsYHQ/s900/skunk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="249" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-McTELXkcAOA/X84V6HvkTEI/AAAAAAAAH14/BJJajR0aJjIBN9BWfcTlcR6SZcM2_bYjACLcBGAsYHQ/w374-h249/skunk.jpg" width="374" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Also included in that round-up was SWASHBY AND THE SEA. Yes, it has a summer feeling (if you don't live in Florida, like I do, you might not think of beach books in December). But the twist near the end made me smile and the book has so much going on in so few pages that I think young kids will love hearing this one read aloud. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8IkOqnochZ4/X84W9jsIBCI/AAAAAAAAH2A/Gh_qaN2osps9eNUyI0yFiitODySbUQcCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s900/swashby.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8IkOqnochZ4/X84W9jsIBCI/AAAAAAAAH2A/Gh_qaN2osps9eNUyI0yFiitODySbUQcCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/swashby.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Enjoy December, everybody! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Buy lots of books for everyone you love. Happy reading!</span></span><br /></p><p></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-71636624759951660332020-11-24T18:34:00.001-05:002020-12-04T19:09:57.709-05:00QUAKER MOTTO CALENDAR<p> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Good news!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There will be a 2021 Quaker Motto Calendar.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For this year, we're asking if you'll send your email address to</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><a class="o_h J_x mq_CZ G_e r_BN C_Z281SGl S4_n ac_CI rtlI_dz_sSg" data-test-id="contact-card-email" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; align-self: flex-start; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; cursor: default; direction: ltr; font-family: YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; overflow: hidden; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; text-transform: none; white-space: nowrap; word-break: keep-all; word-spacing: 0px;" title="scattergoodmotto@gmail.com">scattergoodmotto@gmail.com</a></b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">to receive an order form and an address to send your checks.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You can also leave a comment with your email address on this blogpost and I'll send the mailing address for payment and orders. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Because of the scramble to get the calendars ready ASAP, the checks will go to Katharine Scattergood Marino this year. As soon as she receives your payment and order, the printer will get them to you. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> Here is some information you may want to know:</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hlURGdDV5JY/X72WmXJTJoI/AAAAAAAAH1M/ihRYX1goaTsQU5WyNL3HJ4SlxVDZII_agCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Quaker%2BMotto%2BCalendar%2BOrder%2BForm%2B2021.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hlURGdDV5JY/X72WmXJTJoI/AAAAAAAAH1M/ihRYX1goaTsQU5WyNL3HJ4SlxVDZII_agCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Quaker%2BMotto%2BCalendar%2BOrder%2BForm%2B2021.PNG" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Hearing how much everyone loves these little gems really made us try very hard to keep them going.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>For those of you not familiar with the calendars, here's a page from yesteryear!</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6VJ6QrKcBiw/Ur8dOmYHpYI/AAAAAAAAA1g/aiawghAXkl8TtdDsBhpAJsJFxwyGvikrQCPcBGAYYCw/s1902/calendar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1902" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6VJ6QrKcBiw/Ur8dOmYHpYI/AAAAAAAAA1g/aiawghAXkl8TtdDsBhpAJsJFxwyGvikrQCPcBGAYYCw/s320/calendar.jpg" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /> </b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></span></p><p><br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-69945785283646566312020-11-10T08:30:00.001-05:002020-11-10T08:30:00.330-05:00Learn from the Best<p> <b><span style="font-size: large;">Writing Tip Tuesday(s)</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yesterday was my buddy and NYT-bestselling-author, Barbara O'Connor's birthday.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For a completely non-birthday reason, I happened upon this quote on her blog:</span></span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">The core of the writer's challenge is to tell a fresh story. As William M. Thackeray (Victorian novelist, author of Vanity Fair), summed it up: "The two most engaging powers of a good author are to <b>make new things familiar and familiar things new."</b></span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>(via </b></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Philip
Martin, the editor of The New Writer's Handbook)</span> </b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I love how she puts on her teacher face and shares such good advice.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Like- go all zen into your character's head and BE the character. <br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oKkL_ne1Fq4/X6mra7Aoj-I/AAAAAAAAHz8/VoUr0YXJztkbBHQf1zydgBBkSMYNJ3xiwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/teacher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="305" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oKkL_ne1Fq4/X6mra7Aoj-I/AAAAAAAAHz8/VoUr0YXJztkbBHQf1zydgBBkSMYNJ3xiwCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/teacher.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">(Note:Even though she's older today than she was yesterday, this is not even close to how Barbara looks or how she teaches. But it is an image I borrowed from her blog because it made me smile. There's lots there that will make you smile, too.)<br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing%20Tips?updated-max=2013-05-28T05:30:00-04:00&max-results=20&start=12&by-date=false" target="_blank">If you click over to Barbara's blog</a>, you'll find a whole bunch of her Writing Tips. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For a long time, she actually called them Writing Tip Tuesdays and every single Tuesday, I learned a whole lot.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, happy birthday, Barbara, and thank you for passing along your amazing, funny, helpful writing advice.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh, and if for some reason, you and your kids, ages 9-12-ish, haven't read <a href="https://www.barbaraoconnor.com/pages/books/novels.html">Barbara's fabulous middle-grade novels yet,</a> you are in for a treat. A <span style="font-size: large;">HUGE</span> treat.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's hard to pick just a favorite, but <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250062802" target="_blank">this is one </a>I've read more than once. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lfL-jjgeOyg/X6mtDp0KFXI/AAAAAAAAH0I/Jz20rwWIQV4ASsu67O7YBSNDXWQlbR8IgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/greetings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="680" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lfL-jjgeOyg/X6mtDp0KFXI/AAAAAAAAH0I/Jz20rwWIQV4ASsu67O7YBSNDXWQlbR8IgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/greetings.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">BTW, I loved the original cover, but this new one, wow! <br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></p><p><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-41288496568773956362020-08-15T09:11:00.006-04:002020-12-04T19:13:03.292-05:00It's Been Too Long<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span><b>11/3/2020</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span><b>UPDATE TO QUAKER MOTTO CALENDAR INFORMATION! <br /></b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> We have a calendar for 2021. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Check out my latest blog on the topic for ordering info!</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>https://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2020/11/quaker-motto-calendar.html<br /></b></span></p><p> </p><p>It's been way too long since I blogged. Almost the entire pandemic, it seems. </p><p>There's nothing left to say about Quarantine/ masks/ social distancing/ homeschool so I won't even try.</p><p><strike><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>But I did want to say that, sadly, there are no more QUAKER MOTTO CALENDARS.</b></span></strike></p><p>The Scattergood family has produced these lovely gems for generations. But for various unanticipated reasons, 2020 is their last year. </p><p>I'll try to share a few quotes here, as that was my favorite part of these perfectly-sized calendars.</p><p>Here's one the family loves. Perfect for late summer and early fall.</p><p>Enjoy your trees, wherever you are!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kfmDeNHYMnY/XzfeFJjBhZI/AAAAAAAAHs0/u43OfCqSOhUHV4a2hbZSdruoxucZuCywgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/time%2Bis%2Bnever%2Bwasted.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1024" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kfmDeNHYMnY/XzfeFJjBhZI/AAAAAAAAHs0/u43OfCqSOhUHV4a2hbZSdruoxucZuCywgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/time%2Bis%2Bnever%2Bwasted.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>"Time is never wasted listening to the trees;</p><p>If to Heaven as grandly we arose as these.</p><p>Holding to each other half the kindly Grace,</p><p>Haply we were worthier of our human place."<br /></p>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-70435813955568324482020-04-16T13:33:00.000-04:002020-04-16T13:33:16.631-04:00Poem of the Day<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This morning I woke up determined to get more accomplished than a jigsaw puzzle (no judging! It's keeping us sane.) or baking cookies (ditto).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Outside my window the rain is drizzly and grey, but after weeks of temps in the 80s and high humidity, I welcome the rain. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A perfect day to dust, right? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I'm dusting and tidying up my bookshelves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And I ran across this gem. A skinny book, it was hiding between my thick Flip Dictionary and a very old guide to using Scrivener. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I rescued GETTING THE MAIL by Cathy Cultice Lentes to read again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And I found the perfect poem for today.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N954hX69aQg/XpiUaqqOYXI/AAAAAAAAHhM/inMunbkQvyUKy7ZBHt0LJdT9f8lXB3o3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/POEM%2BWASHING%2BWINDOWS.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N954hX69aQg/XpiUaqqOYXI/AAAAAAAAHhM/inMunbkQvyUKy7ZBHt0LJdT9f8lXB3o3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/POEM%2BWASHING%2BWINDOWS.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first line made me put away my dust cloth: "I will never have clean windows."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The last lines made me roll up my sleeves:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"I dry my hands, reroll my sleeves, for the real work to be done."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And Cathy isn't talking about washing windows. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She has the heart of a poet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's the book:</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ndz9VF5g8o/XpiUXVpLOOI/AAAAAAAAHhQ/hCzQBg5UU_ov3Uoyqy_ObYEsXWY-i2vkwCEwYBhgLKs0DAMBZVoCuJtv1-dU35x-Ozh2x1isyFST7OF8OFNlz-HVbBP_TuAn14PL-VmXfZJjPF3FRvVgF1PzSi9V7d9PyR_FxNr7XcKJ_NydpSQwnRrGw9ZYfxov64B5D60s0Qy60nO0z7ibSAw0qhMc_LDX544Ycx-2OQDO4LEmQ4Q71yQTw5giYNLMhJEGhLgAB8OL-N_jGyrokb07eg5Q4Z_6o0PZ4zscYc-laYZGG95_tg5lviDIpvgPURc9xwkNtU_hy4Tu2qWs_UBnfcH2Y6E6UPDvTSqQM49LkkYOJY-eiCwKcvLzVg2eKaI7dHZ9ElCUVPHSYxmZckldDqmeg9y9e2-9i38aAUGd7ekBzwlz0Pk5UlRWkLIxT8PM0FuhOAv9aiSoY5WCHyFFTMSKg70pkB6-exLrEwXH0YKzqjuUNc_H2RsFMv_c4eTfTae0b6F10dCKhIvH-ixkZ_DQ7k5oVzt-S2nIn0li3wx8rN3PnmckWPIsbh7tEceHw4dE1WLTBvcHXumSnyZbhYS728nYq6R4VcPAA7EhAvHtZ6pI07hv6c3d11GNjTFI09tawocNrvtxFo-lH9kcXZNnPioPIfei13jxJXFxpdm4CgWgw767i9AU/s1600/cover%2Bcathy%2Bbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ndz9VF5g8o/XpiUXVpLOOI/AAAAAAAAHhQ/hCzQBg5UU_ov3Uoyqy_ObYEsXWY-i2vkwCEwYBhgLKs0DAMBZVoCuJtv1-dU35x-Ozh2x1isyFST7OF8OFNlz-HVbBP_TuAn14PL-VmXfZJjPF3FRvVgF1PzSi9V7d9PyR_FxNr7XcKJ_NydpSQwnRrGw9ZYfxov64B5D60s0Qy60nO0z7ibSAw0qhMc_LDX544Ycx-2OQDO4LEmQ4Q71yQTw5giYNLMhJEGhLgAB8OL-N_jGyrokb07eg5Q4Z_6o0PZ4zscYc-laYZGG95_tg5lviDIpvgPURc9xwkNtU_hy4Tu2qWs_UBnfcH2Y6E6UPDvTSqQM49LkkYOJY-eiCwKcvLzVg2eKaI7dHZ9ElCUVPHSYxmZckldDqmeg9y9e2-9i38aAUGd7ekBzwlz0Pk5UlRWkLIxT8PM0FuhOAv9aiSoY5WCHyFFTMSKg70pkB6-exLrEwXH0YKzqjuUNc_H2RsFMv_c4eTfTae0b6F10dCKhIvH-ixkZ_DQ7k5oVzt-S2nIn0li3wx8rN3PnmckWPIsbh7tEceHw4dE1WLTBvcHXumSnyZbhYS728nYq6R4VcPAA7EhAvHtZ6pI07hv6c3d11GNjTFI09tawocNrvtxFo-lH9kcXZNnPioPIfei13jxJXFxpdm4CgWgw767i9AU/s320/cover%2Bcathy%2Bbook.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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(note my dust cloth, at rest)</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">GETTING THE MAIL, published by Finishing Line Press. You may order from your favorite independent bookstore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Take time to enjoy a poem today. After all, it's April and that's Poetry Month, you know.</span><br />
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<br />Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-73210057895335331642020-03-30T06:43:00.000-04:002020-03-30T06:54:02.143-04:00TO BE READ<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Today's Monday, though sometimes it's hard to keep up. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But this is not really a #IMWAYR post. It's more of a It's Monday and I want to Remember What to Read. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#bookstoread</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#TBR</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#socialdistancing</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#LibbyList </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#hunkeringdown</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I've seen the word HUNKER used more in the past two weeks than I have in the past two years. (Though, honestly, it never left my vocabulary, but maybe that's a Southern thing.)</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://wordsgoingwild.blogspot.com/2017/08/hunkering-with-harvey.html">https://wordsgoingwild.blogspot.com/2017/08/hunkering-with-harvey.html</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So I'm hunkering down and escaping into books.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is a post to list books everybody's recommending.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Just a list. I'll never read them all!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Possibly I'll be the only person reading the post. It will be messy. I don't really remember where most of these suggestions came from (from whom they came...), but if I do, there's a little note/ name by the book title that will mean nothing to anybody but me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'll keep adding and maybe comment as I read. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'm not attempting to pretty it up. Or verify the titles, unless I can't help myself. (All that librarian training and experience may kick in, who knows.) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Some are books to reserve though I've maxed out my Libby reserves. (Thank you public library people for an App for e-books and saving readers during hunkering down times.) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'll add links that have really touched me, made me laugh, made me want to read that book! Like these!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://claudiamillsanhouraday.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-perfect-book-for-pandemic.html">https://claudiamillsanhouraday.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-perfect-book-for-pandemic.html</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://readinginplace.blogspot.com/2020/03/keeping-it-light-in-dark-world.html#more" target="_blank">https://readinginplace.blogspot.com/2020/03/keeping-it-light-in-dark-world.html#more </a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now, here goes my own PANDEMIC BOOKLIST (ouch, that was hard to type, sounds much too light-hearted, but I guess we have to maintain our senses of humor while hunkering).</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The first few books on my list were from a social media post by </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tracy Winfield Holczer<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(56, 88, 152); color: #385898; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span>asking for something easy and fun to read. I find my British mysteries do the trick. I couldn't resist jumping in with TANA FRENCH. I'd also recommend <a href="https://www.anncleeves.com/" target="_blank">Ann Cleeves</a>. And the <a href="http://www.kateatkinson.co.uk/jackson_brodie.php" target="_blank">Jackson Brodie books by Kate Atkinson. </a>But since I've read almost all of the novels by those women, they aren't on my #TBR/ reserved list. And some might not think they're exactly "fun" or light! My definition of fun and light (granted, this is a stretch) is anything that keeps me turning pages and doesn't creep me out so that I can't sleep.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, everybody, what are you reading right now? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">BOOKS for my Corona quarantine</span></span></b> </span><br /><br />Eleanor Oliphant is Completely fine </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Goodnight, June</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Princess Bride</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Rachel's Holiday<br /><br />Evvie Drake Starts Over<br /><br />Nothing to See Here<br /><br />Corduroy Mansions<br /><br />Sookie Stackhouse novels<br /><br />Goodnight June<br /><br />Bridge of Clay<br /><br />Winter Solstice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Walter Moseley. The truth of fiction <br /><br />Never have I ever. Joslyn Jackson <br /><br />Joanna Trollope </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">if the creek don’t rise. <br />Peter Swanson <br /><br />Len Deighton <br /><br />Blum. What I learned?? (Ron)<br /><br />Eliz Stroudt. Short stories. Anything is possible <br /><br />Others by OVE. (Lyn) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />The good thief<br />Engineer of beasts</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Owl in love<br /><br />Flight behavior. Audible <br /><br />Jiles <br />News of the world(Monika)<br />Gesture life. <br /><br />Gift of rain. (Suzanne) <br /><br />In the garden of beasts. Larson. Before WW2 <br /><br />Gary Paulson. Winter dance<br /><br />Miss Jane<br /><br />Recommended books<br /><br />James Sallis. Drive<br />Willnot <br /><br /><br />We love you Charlie Freeman<br /><br /><br />Almost Famous Women. Short stories<br /><br />Thunderstruck. Elizabeth McCracken<br /><br />Cool beautiful world<br /><br />The Wangs vs the world. </span></div>
Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-83387271312654432452020-03-20T14:23:00.004-04:002020-03-20T14:23:36.630-04:00Read My Book, please! Read Aloud Permission and LinksFor teachers navigating the new normal, here's the link Scholastic has shared with information about reading our books to your students.<br />
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<a href="https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/books/digital-read-aloud-permissions/?linkId=84639174">https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/books/digital-read-aloud-permissions/?linkId=84639174</a><br />
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I read Chapter One of GLORY BE here: <br />
<a href="https://www.augustascattergood.com/assets/audio/GloryBe_HelloReaders_Full_new.mp3" target="_blank">https://www.augustascattergood.com/assets/audio/GloryBe_HelloReaders_Full_new.mp3 </a><br />
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If you'd like:<br />
<a href="https://www.augustascattergood.com/books/bk_destiny.html" target="_blank">Here I am, reading a chapter from THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY.</a><br />
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There are many resources <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8369463518787303229#editor/target=page;pageID=4846976414856008352;onPublishedMenu=pages;onClosedMenu=pages;postNum=0;src=pagename" target="_blank">on my blog</a> and my website. I'll continue to post here if new ones turn up. <br />
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Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-14857642812510047322020-03-16T09:15:00.001-04:002020-03-16T09:15:06.592-04:00Monday Again!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This has been my week for reading, and hiding from the world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The world has slowed down here in Florida. Yes, we still have our share of spring-breakers, mostly families, but the roads don't seem as crowded, the shops are empty, and spring training has shut down. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's a tough time for so many.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My heart goes out to all you teachers and librarians with plans for your kids that are on hold.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">SO, with all the craziness in the world, let's read some good books!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">First up- a perfect Middle-Grade novel. Such kid-appeal. The clever math connections, the friendships, the strong writing and plot- all make it an easy, fun, and interesting read. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Perfect sweet spot for MG, ages 9-12. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.stacymcanulty.com/mlg" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.stacymcanulty.com/mlg" target="_blank">Here's a link to Stacy McAnulty's website with reviews, activities, a sample chapter. Good stuff! </a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another terrific middle-grade with a hint- okay more than a hint!- of a ghost story is <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Just-South-of-Home/Karen-Strong/9781534419384" target="_blank">JUST SOUTH OF HOME</a>. This is Karen Strong's debut, and I'll be on the lookout for her next book. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Again, this is a story with a lot of kid-friendliness. (Is that a thing?)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Family dynamics in a small southern town, some serious civil rights history woven in, kids who aren't perfect but figure things out pretty well. I loved that the narrator has a strong sense of right and wrong. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't miss this one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not quite finished with Leslie
Connor's newest novel, <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062796783/a-home-for-goddesses-and-dogs/" target="_blank">A HOME FOR GODDESSES AND DOGS,</a> but I'll add it to today's collection. The publisher's suggested age level is
10 and Up, and I agree. Mostly because (at least so far) though there's
nothing too advanced about the topic, the language feels older. Lydia, the narrator, is 13 and has recently lost her mother, but she lovingly grieves in the care of her aunt and her aunt's wife. I love the animals, Lydia's lovely memories, the winter setting. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's quite different from Leslie's previous two books (<b>All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook</b> is as good as- or better than!- any middle-grade novel I've ever read). Her newest novel may appeal to different kids, those special readers willing to invest in a quiet-ish story with heart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not sure what made me reread SARAH PLAIN AND TALL. I hadn't read it since I worked as a librarian and that was too many years ago to count!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What a perfect book. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If it's been a while since you read this Newbery winner, do yourself a favor and find your copy. It will make your day. A perfectly lovely, small gift of a book that takes us away from the world swirling around us.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not much of a Young Adult reader, but that may change now that I've read this one by STACIE RAMEY. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So good! The main character is a bright girl with cerebral palsy, a crush on a boy, a mostly/usually amazing family, and a best friend. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40597252-it-s-my-life" target="_blank">IT'S MY LIFE</a> will have teens turning pages and then searching for Stacie's other books.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last but not least, may I recommend a fun book about words, and writing, and grammar and all the things you never have time to think about?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This one's been on my shelf since Christmas, when my brother gifted it to me. So happy I had time to organize bookshelves!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our lovely little public library just announced it's closed "for the foreseeable future" so I'll be using their Libby app even more and tidying up my own bookshelves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sending love and great reading vibes to all my #IMWAYR pals! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span>Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-33262232674682927942020-03-05T13:56:00.000-05:002020-03-05T13:56:33.548-05:00What Great Kids!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was like Old Home Week, with new people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">THANK YOU, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Petal-Elementary-School-151134091650099/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARD0mGmUeqQd-__A-USY2DdhsM6J0CInPWAOk6RhaebEIsgKno5kmL98YzUxmLCQySLa4B8WlJzy6zuP" target="_blank">PETAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL</a>, FOR INVITING ME.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few of the fabulous moments </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">from my short two days in Mississippi.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Packed and ready!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My new buddy, Heather Wood, super librarian, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">stacking books for me to sign!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Front and center- lots of smiles!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Photo over the booth where we ate lunch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, the terrific music teacher at Petal Elementary played all Elvis tunes as the kids came into the auditorium. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One 3rd grader on the front row knew all the words to Hound Dog!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Petal is just outside Hattiesburg, MS, the place my mother grew up and a town where I spent lots of summers. My grandmother took us to the zoo on the bus! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the church where my parents were married and a few beautiful flowers just now blooming all over Hattiesburg. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It wouldn't be a trip to Mississippi without food! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My brother, sister and I did some seriously good eating. But I practiced enormous restraint and didn't buy those fig preserves. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I feared the TSA agents would grab them at the New Orleans airport.</span><br />
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<br />Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8369463518787303229.post-2372466132086995312020-02-22T09:27:00.002-05:002020-02-22T09:33:36.786-05:00Happy Birthday to my Blog!February 22, 2008<br />
My very first post!<br />
<a href="https://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2008/02/begin-at-beginning.html" target="_blank">https://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2008/02/begin-at-beginning.html </a><br />
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Did I ever expect, some 1,245 posts later, I'd still have a thing to say?<br />
Okay, that was a rhetorical question. No need to comment. ;)<br />
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What was fun while scrolling back a little bit was remembering all the books I'd read and reviewed. And all the friends I've made along the way.<br />
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<a href="http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2008/12/what-im-reading-now.html" target="_blank">Danette </a>and our Insomniacs Club. She and I accept parallel parking challenges. I first wrote about her book in 2008 and I still love her books!<br />
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A few years ago, my buddy Eileen redid my logo. All these clicks later, I love it as much as when she designed it.<br />
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I met Rosi Hollenbeck at a Highlights Foundation Workshop, also a while back. Now I love reading her blog and she kindly comments on mine.<br />
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Just a few friends who've made this writing thing so much fun.<br />
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I started this blog before I'd published a book. But I had a dream!<br />
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Thanks, everybody, for reading! Hope you'll stick around!<br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Birthday Thought for the Day:</b></span></span></div>
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Augusta Scattergoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00046256908305921351noreply@blogger.com2