Mailbox Monday - 2/14/2011

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme started by Marcia at The Printed Page.  You can read all about it at the Mailbox Monday blog.  Well, the mailbox has gone on tour.  This month's host is Library of Clean Reads. 

I love this meme because it lets me take a peek into other bloggers' mailboxes and find out what they received over the last week.  I will warn you, it does lead to more books as you will find many that you want because of others mailboxes.  If you'd like to join in on the fun, post about your books and link up!

The week started off with a bang as I received an awesome package from Simon and Schuster.  You can read about the excitement of Wither in the blog post, Thank You Simon & Schuster!

Here's what else came in the mail this week:

Lucky's Little Feather  by Peggy van Gurp, from Clavis Publishing
Crinkle Animals: Garden & Crinkle Animals: Jungle by Guido Van Genechten, from Clavis Publishing
The Moonlight Message by Denice Barlow Brown, from Cypress Productions

 

West of Here by Jonathan Evison, from Algonquin Books

A Mountain of Crumbs by Elena Gorokhova, from Simon & Schuster

The Weird Sisters (audio) by Eleanor Brown, from the author (won at Jenn's Bookshelves)

What books did you get?

The Sunday Salon - Valentine's Day

Yes, tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  Whether you enjoy this day or not, you can not ignore it, because there are signs of this upcoming day everywhere you look, in the stores and on the television.  In fact, as I'm typing this, they are doing a piece on Good Morning America about which chocolate people like better, Hershey's or Godiva? 

I have always enjoyed Valentine's Day, because my mom made it a special day for us.  We always got chocolate truffles, cupcakes, heart shaped cookies, or some other chocolaty treat my mom had made.  My dad used to give us board games or other things to keep us occupied.  While I don't have kids, yet, this day has continued to be full of wonder for me since I work in a school and little ones are so excited to exchange valentines with their friends and teacher.  To me, not only is it about love, but it's about friendship as well, which is a different kind of love.  Try explaining that to little ones who think love is only the mushy gushy, kissy kind of love.  It can be funny at times.

When I was in the classroom, I always read lots of Valentine's Day books to my kids, for the entire week leading up to Valentine's Day.  Then, unbeknownst to them, I would ask the parents to write a love note to their child, and send it to me before Valentine's Day.  Before our class party, I would read Love You Forever to the class.  The children love the repetitive text and seeing the mom care for the little boy and then the roles reverse.  The book itself makes me cry, but afterward, I would read aloud each letter from the parents.  The kids loved hearing those special words from their mom or dad, and the rest of the class cheered for whomever's letter was being read.  Some of the letters were long and some just a simple, "Happy Valentine's Day; I love you!"  It was truly a special time.  I don't have a class to do this with anymore, but I will be writing my own letter this year, to my husband.  I prefer to do simple, from the heart things for him on this day rather than buy a big gift.  So, today I will be writing my letter so that he has it when he wakes up tomorrow.  Who could you send a love note to?

If you're looking for books to give kids for Valentine's Day, I recently read a couple that I think would be great!

Thumb Love by Elise Primavera
Lulu was a thumb sucker. She and her thumb were very happy together—in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, Lulu and her thumb were best friends.

Despite the urging of her family and the teasing of her friends, Lulu just would not give up her thumb-sucking habit. That is, until one day . . . when Lulu made up her mind to stop. And to help herself and thumb suckers all over the world, Lulu developed a program—one with steps. Twelve steps, to be exact. Join Lulu in her quest to kick the habit as she goes through the steps in this funny and insightful picture book.
 

This is such a cute book!  Lulu is makes up her own twelve step program, which is very unexpected, from a little one.  The illustrations add so much to this picture book.  They are bright and full of detail.  I gifted this one to one of my teacher's children, who is in kindergarten and still sucks her thumb.  She loves Lulu!  Mom said that the first night they read it, she sucked her thumb all the way through and even had to get her blanket while they read, just like Lulu! 

Ruby Valentine Saves the Day by Laurie B. Friedman

It's Valentine's Day and Ruby won't let anything spoil the celebration! In this follow-up to the popular Love, Ruby Valentine, Ruby's favorite day of the year rolls around again, and she and Lovebird work feverishly to plan the perfect party for everyone in Heartland. But when Valentine's Day arrives, an unexpected snowstorm threatens to ruin all of Ruby's plans. Will Ruby find a way to save the day, or will everyone in Heartland have to wait until next year to celebrate Another heartwarming tale of a girl who discovers the true meaning of Valentine's Day. 

The cover just looks like Valentine's with all the hearts everywhere!  Ruby loves Valentine's Day and wants to share it with her friends, but a snowstorm tries to ruin that.  So, Ruby decides to take the party to them, but all of her decorations get scattered in the snow.  She thinks Valentine's Day is ruined, but her friends help her to see that it is not about the presents, cards and cake, but about being together.  The rhyming text and fun illustrations make this book a fun one for young and old. 

So, what are your thoughts on Valentine's Day?  Is it a day you enjoy, look forward to, or just dread all together?  Do you give gifts to your loved ones?  If so, are they store bought, handmade, or some of both?  I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

Snapshot Saturday - February 12

So, I haven't had a picture of my nephew on the blog lately and I couldn't resist posting this one!  I debated even posting it because of what he's doing, but most of you, my readers, have or have had little ones and you know that they can put themselves in some strange places. 

My sister-in-law was taking clothes out of the dryer the night before our big winter storm.  She was standing there folding them and she and my brother were discussing whether or not he would get up and drive to work in all the ice.  Well, you can guess how my nephew ended up sitting in the dryer!  He threw his ball in there and when he couldn't get it out, he just climbed in to retrieve it and had a seat!  I laughed so hard when my brother texted this picture to me along with a note, "we can't take our eyes off him even for a minute."  All my mom could tell him was, "After all you put me through, I just have to laugh."  My brother didn't think any of it was very funny!

For those of you who are worried, no, he can't open the dryer door by himself as it locks and is hard even for adults to open.  Yes, my sister-in-law and brother watch him like a hawk, but even hawks have their moments!

You can join Saturday Snapshot by posting a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at Alyce's blog, At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see.

Friday Fill-Ins - 2/11/11

 1. Family should lift you up.

2. I've endured some of life's ups and downs.

3. Trust in yourself.

4. Hope for the best.

5. Parents are what we want to be.

6. I forgot what was said.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include walking in the Black History Parade with some of my students and Sunday, I want to read!

Guest Post - Molly Harper

If you are a follower of my blog, you know that I live in south Texas, and if you live here or know about south Texas weather, our winters aren't usually that bad.  Well, this year has been an exception.  We've had bitter cold, lots of rain, some snow, and ice that caused schools and businesses to close and people to have accidents.  Well, according to the weather man, tonight is supposed to be our last hard freeze.  I'm not sure I believe him.  I mean after all, this is Texas and our weather is crazy at times.  Many of you have experienced an even worse winter than we have or ever will for that matter.  I know that I would like to see the snow, but my heart goes out to those of you that have been snowed in and sometimes miserable during this winter.

I am appreciative to Ayelet Gruenspecht, Associate Publicist at Gallery Books Publicity, for sending me this guest post by author, Molly Harper.  It's appropriate for this winter we're having, and I hope you enjoy it!

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Pocket author based new book on 2009 ice storm experience

An ice storm. Stranded in a strange, isolated place without power. Children with an unsettling ability to win staring contests. This is how horror movies start.

Watching the news coverage as cities across the Midwest are pelted by the much-touted historic blizzard, I’m having strange sympathy pangs. In January 2009, an ice storm ripped through Kentucky, taking out power and phone lines for thousands of homes, including mine. The first night I spent camped out in my in-laws’ darkened living room with my two young children, I was sure this was just a temporary blip. It was going to be a funny story we could tell the next winter. As in, “Remember that night we had to sleep on an air mattress in front of Grandma’s fireplace and cook on a gas grill in the garage?”

By the sixth night, I was no longer amused.

Over the next week, Kentuckians were cold, cranky and progressively ill-groomed. I returned to my dark, cold house to forage for supplies one afternoon, only to find my neighbor shaving his head in his driveway. I sincerely hoped that was related to the lack of electricity and not just a personality quirk I'd never noticed before. Neighborhood block parties have been stilted and awkward since.

But I managed to channel my cabin fever, before going the full fire-ax-through-bedroom-door and elevator-full-of-blood route. I started writing. Having recently published the Nice Girls books, a vampire romance series about an undead librarian in small-town Kentucky, I’d already decided that I wanted to write a werewolf story. And being isolated, in the dark, in an increasingly crowded, enclosed space, I decided to set the story in the frozen regions of Alaska.

While we waited for the power to come back on, I wrote about twenty pages of notes by candlelight. What emerged was the story of Mo Wenstein, a woman who moves across the country to escape her intrusive hippie parents and make a life for herself in the remote town of Grundy, Alaska. Cantankerous neighbor Cooper has been giving Mo a hard time about her place in her new community since day one. But when Cooper stumbles onto her porch, naked, with a bear trap clamped around his ankle, she realizes there’s more to him than a surly- though attractive- surface. A series of werewolf attacks, for which Cooper may or may not be responsible, dysfunctional werewolf clan drama, and romantic hijinks ensue.

The manuscript grew over the next few months and became HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED WEREWOLF, which is due to be released by Pocket Books on Feb. 22, wherever books are sold. The sequel, THE ART OF SEDUCING A NAKED WEREWOLF, will follow on March 29.

So, while the encroaching claustrophobia is frustrating, make the best of your snow days. Use the milk, eggs and bread you hoarded to make French toast. Plow through the To-Be-Read pile of paperbacks on your nightstand. Write journal entries about the sights, sounds and emotions you’re experiencing as a blizzard survivor.

You never know. You could turn this experience into your first manuscript.
 

"Waiting On" Wednesday - Entwined

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Entwined
By Heather Dixon
Publication: March 29th 2011 by Greenwillow Books

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

So, when I read this synopsis it immediately reminded me of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which I read as a child.  I was fascinated by the "other world" that was beyond the wardrobe.  I am anxious to see what kind of "world" the Keeper lives in!

Because of A Book with Sylvia LaFair

Joining me on the blog today is author, Sylvia LaFair.  Many thanks to her for stopping by and sharing thoughts on leadership through Mrs. Piggle Wiggle.

Sylvia Lafair, PhD, is a business leadership expert, President of CEO – Creative Energy Options, Inc., a global consulting company focused on optimizing workplace relationships and author of the award winning book, “Don’t Bring It to Work”.

She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, USA Today, Time, New York Times, many radio, and TV programs.

As an executive coach and leadership educator, she has more than 30 years of experience with all levels of management.

Her quick-witted humor, charisma, and energy are infectious and her knowledge gives substance and depth to all presentations.

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Because of a Book

By: SYLVIA LAFAIR, PhD

It’s amazing how a pudgy lady who lived in an upside down house, baked amazing cookies, and was married to a pirate can help point you in the direction of a future career.
This woman, a combination of Antie Mame, Mary Poppins, and Maria from the Sound of Music was a major influence for me to choose psychology as a major in college. I remember when my third grade teacher introduced us to Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. She told us the book was a classic. I had no idea what that meant, it just sounded important.
So we gathered on the floor and entered the fantastic world where kids learned about life without being yelled out, where they became accountable for their own behavior by experiencing what matters and what doesn’t.
The “cures” this jolly lady had for bad behavior always made sense to me. There was no lecturing, no finger pointing, and no time outs on stools in corners. Like the boy who had tons of toys and never wanted to pick them up; he didn’t have to. Sounded good to me. It also made sense that he soon had blocked his way out of his room and eventually learned, in his own time about consequences of behavior.
She took the plaintive cry of the “waddle-I-doers” and made an indoor treasure hunt the action of the afternoon. What fun! And the “don’t-want-to-go-to bedders” learned about the importance of sleep by staying up late, later and very late.
Somehow, the behavior modification and reinforcement for positive ways of responding made sense to my nine year old brain.
Here is where it gets really interesting. I have morphed my career from family therapist to leadership development expert. I now teach people that the behavior patterns they learned in their original organization, the family, are what they bring into their present work organization.
I started to relook at Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and see that she also had great lessons for high potential and emerging leaders in all types of work settings. It’s about accountability, learning to understand your own boundaries and how to be good and kind to others. And so much can be learned about solving problems as you taste the cookies that are always a part of the reward for choosing wisely and treating others with respect. That’s core to leadership, isn’t it?
I am now a grandmother and when my daughter feels like tearing out her hair when her three year old sets sassy or her five year old gets bored she has an old friend of mine to rely on.
Books that touch the human universals in all of us are truly classics. When I wrote “Don’t Bring It to Work: Breaking the Family Patterns that Limit Success”, I reread the stories from my old friend to help me stay true to what I wanted to say.
So, thank you Betty MacDonald for conjuring up Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. And thank you for all the wise “cures” that everyone on the planet can relate to.

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About Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Farm

Ms. Piggle-Wiggle's left her upside-down town house and has moved to a farm in the country. With the help of her cows and pigs and horses, she's still curing girls and boys of their bad habits. So whatever the problem-from pet forgetter-itis to fraidycat-ness-the parents all exclaim, "Better call Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle!"

Buy it at Amazon
Buy it at IndieBound
Buy it at Powells

About Don't Bring It to Work

How can you get to the bottom of workplace behaviors that simply don't work for you or your organization?
Don't Bring It to Work explores what happens when patterns originally created to cope with family conflicts are unleashed in the workplace.?This groundbreaking book draws on the success of Sylvia Lafair's PatternAware program Total Leadership Connections. Throughout the book she shows how to break the cycle of pattern repetition and offers the tools that can turn unhealthy family baggage into creative energy that will foster better workplace associations and career success.
Lafair identifies the thirteen most common patterns that correspond to characters familiar to anyone who has ever worked in an office: Super Achiever, Rebel, Persecutor, Victim, Rescuer, Clown, Martyr, Splitter, Procrastinator, Drama Queen or King, Pleaser, Denier, and Avoider. To help overcome destructive behavior problems, she maps out the three main steps for becoming aware of patterns and finding the way OUT:

• Observe your behavior to discern underlying patterns
• Understand and probe deeper to discover the origins of these patterns
• Transform your behavior by taking action to change

The book includes a wealth of real-life anecdotes and practical, workbook-style exercises that clearly show how anyone can get beyond old, outmoded attempts at conflict resolution and empower themselves to make profound differences both at work and in their personal lives.

Buy it at Amazon
Buy it at IndieBound
Buy it at Powells

The Big Game's On Read-a-Thon Wrap Up

So, yesterday, pretty much all day, I participated in The Big Game's On Read-a-Thon hosted by Jenn's Bookshelves.  I got a lot of reading done, that I'd been needing to do.  My children's books were stacking up and if I was going to review them, I needed to read them, so that's what I did.

What did I accomplish exactly?  Well, I read a total of 28 books.  27 of those were children's picture books that I read and then made notes on so that I can get reviews written.  Then I read the 3rd installment in the Aldo Zelnick series, Cahoots.  Like Artsy-Fartsy and Bogus, it was a good read.  Look for a review in the coming weeks on this one.  My ultimate goal was to finish The Radleys, but that didn't happen.  In between reading, I was doing laundry and cleaning the bedroom, so I lost some time there.

I did watch the game, mostly the commercials because when the commercials weren't on, I was reading.  Yes, I can listen to the game and read at the same time...multi tasking at it's best!  What was your favorite commercial?  I do have to say, I liked the mini Darth Vader...how cute was he?!!

I'm so glad that Jenn decided to host this read-a-thon; I had fun and got so much accomplished!