BURSTIN' THROUGH THE CATTAILS

By Kristyn Crow -



"Then OUT of the darkness stomped my dear old MA! She burst through the cattails and she cried, 'AHA! I've been tryin' to get you children home to bed, and I find you a-hidin' in this tree instead!"





(If you haven't read "Bedtime at the Swamp" you won't get that.) Anyway, we went camping this week and slept in a tent by a number of enormous ponds, where dragonflies darted around and frogs croaked, catfish slurped, and cattails grew. Kinda swampy.


It was a fun getaway from everything...and kinda strange to only have one child in my charge instead of seven. Although, my youngest daughter can be quite the drama queen at times. Five kids in one.





GOOD TIMES.

Comments

Anonymous said…
She is so freakin' cute. You guyz look great in these pictures. How fun.
July 27, 2008 at 7:45 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Congratulations to the 2009 ALA Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, King, Geisel, etc. Award Recipients

By Kristyn Crow -
ALA Awards 2009 John Newbery Medal: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman John Newbery Honor Books: The Underneath by Kathi Appelt The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle Savvy by Ingrid Law After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson Randolph Caldecott Medal: The House in the Night illustrated by Beth Krommes Randolph Caldecott Honor Books: A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet Coretta Scott King Author Award: Kadir Nelson, “We Are the Ship” King Author Honor Books: Hope Anita Smith, “Keeping the Night Watch Joyce Carol Thomas, “The Blacker the Berry” Carole Boston Weatherford, “Becoming Billie Holiday” Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: Floyd Cooper, “The Blacker the Berry” King Illustrator Honor Books: Kadir Nelson, “We Are the Ship” Sean Qualls, “Before John Was a Jazz Giant” Jerry Pinkney, “The Moon Over Star” Coretta S
Read more

Plan A FABULOUS Literacy Night!

By Kristyn Crow -
Creating enthusiasm for reading is one of the greatest things a school can do for its students. Well-planned Literacy Nights, where parents attend with their children, can boost that enthusiasm enormously. As a picture book author, I’ve had the opportunity to attend numerous literacy events at elementary schools. Some were a raging success, and others fizzled. I’ve paid close attention to what I feel worked and what didn’t. Without naming any particular schools, I thought I’d share my observations. Ideas that Worked : 1. Cheap Dinner : Serve a free dinner at the school to start off the night – such as hotdogs and chips. The most recent literacy night I attended offered this cheap hotdog dinner on a first come, first-served basis. The response was overwhelming, and the school was packed. Food, especially food based on a literacy theme (see themes below) will draw more people to the event. 2. Attendance Prizes: Prior to the evening, announce that there will be prizes awarded f
Read more