Rosemary Wells considers herself a Professional Illogical Thinker, given that creative career-people (like writers and artists) are opposite of logic-based career-people (such as professors and lawyers).

PICTURE BOOKS
-How does she get her ideas? She has a 'junk drawer'. If she throws all the junk together and puts in a kaleidoscope, it becomes something marvelous. WRITING IS ADDING LIGHT TO JUNK.

-Wells loves art stores. She loves to buy everything.

-In a picture book, THE STORY IS IT. It must be strong enough to be read 500 times without boring the reader. Other genres do not have to withstand this test. Only a small percentage can write for children.

-Maurice Sendak's editor at Harper once said, "I am a former child, and I have forgotten nothing."


PUBLIC SCHOOLS
-Children come to school with various amounts of pre-knowledge. Just as a mechanic cannot fix a car without the right parts, a teacher cannot help a child without the right basis for learning.

-The US is seriously in trouble because parents are not proactive enough.

-In a recent study, 60% of teachers in the midwest said that the #1 problem they deal with is parental involvement.

-Wells does not write about issues, but she hopes to share her passion for family and the importance of reading through her speaches.

-She has a new book coming out, A Shining Star. It is a companion book to Read to your Bunny. A Shining Star has 10 characteristics Rosemary Wells believes are crucial to a child's learning.
1. Respect
2. Listening
3. Patience
4. Trust
5. Work
6. Honesty
7. Children spell love T-I-M-E
8. Reading
9. Writing/Drawing
10. Good Habits/Schedule

These are things that must be learned at home to prepare a child to learn at school. School can open up the world to a child at age 5, IF PARENTS HAVE PREPARED THEM AND CONTINUE TO BE INVOLVED.

If you would like to know more about how Rosemary Wells feels about this topic, read her speech HERE.


A COUPLE RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ROSEMARY WELLS
-She hates TV/video games. Surround children with books.

-She is working on a new mid-grade called Father Abraham. It is about Abraham Lincoln as a father.

-She loves the Maisy books, Margaret Wise Brown, Babar books, Tomie dePaola and David Shannon's Fergus.

On Saturday, I was able to hear Stephenie Meyer speak at the gorgeous Library at Academy Square. Now that I have devoured both of her published books, I have time to type up my notes.

-Stephenie Meyer believes that writers should be disqualified from public speaking because they are crazy, sleep-deprived people who make faces and hear voices.

-Everyone she meets wants to write a book, except her husband.

-Be a writer, not an author. If writing isn't the good part, quit now. Letting people read what goes on in your head is scary. BUT, if you really love your characters, you'll want to share them with the world.

-Get an agent because people in Manhattan don't speak English. She was a mom of 3 who had absolutely never published anything in her life, when she started to query agents. She received a few rejections...just because someone tells you NO, doesn't mean they're right. Sometimes a book doesn't fit neatly into a certain genre. This makes it harder to place, but it also makes the book special, different, unexpected.

-CONTRACTS=LONG TIME, NO PAY.

-EDITING=AGONY/ECSTASY (but mostly agony.) Editing letters made her cry. They started extremely complimentary, but then proceeded to tell her everything she should change. She had to fight hard for her characters. Editors didn't like Bella's mom. They suggested that maybe she should die. They were also convinced that sex sells (and had the stats to prove it), but Stephenie Meyer refused to have any type of sex scenes in her books. That's just who she is. An author must learn when to listen to herself and when to take the advice of editors.

-It's hard to get your way until your a New York Times bestselling author, then suddenly everyone thinks you're brilliant.

-She received a note that said, "It's so great to have a book I can let my mother read."

-Write your book so YOU can't put it down. Don't spoil the writing by worrying about the readers or publishers.

-You must distance yourself from decisions you can't control, like the look of your book cover.

-While growing up, Stephenie Meyer loved to read huge books, the fatter, the better.

-She loves characters like Lois Lane/Bella. How does a normal person look at life when surrounded by superhero supermodels?

-Book Three, Eclipse, will be released in August. She is working on Book Four, which is tentatively called Breaking Dawn.

-She tried to write a chick-lit once, but she got bored with it. "Humans are not enough for me," she said.

-Meyer doesn't like dark, goth, or scary books/movies. She had never read a vampire book or seen a vampire movie. She enjoyed writing action scenes, however. Her books are inspired more by her love of superheroes than monsters.

-Before submitting a story for the first time, make it as good as you possibly can.

-Stephenie Meyer's current favorite books: Enthusiasmby Polly Shulman and The Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld.

-Her books are loosely tied to classics. Twilight=Pride and Prejudice, New Moon=Shakespaere, Eclipse=Wuthering Heights (although she doesn't like WH because it's too sad.)

Children's Picture Books
WEEK OF JULY 24, 2006

Bestsellers » Children's Picture Books

1 Pirateology. Steer, Dugald
Candlewick, $19.99. ISBN 0763631434.

2 Pirates. Matthews, John
Atheneum, $19.95. ISBN 1416927344.

3 Oh, the Places You'll Go!. Dr Seuss
Random House Trade, $17. ISBN 0679805273.

4 Bats at the Beach. Lies, Brian.
Houghton, $16. ISBN 061855744X.

5 Olivia Forms a Band. Falconer, Ian
Atheneum, $17.95. ISBN 141692454X.

6 Owen and Mzee. Craig Hatkoff
Scholastic Press, $16.99. ISBN 0439829739.

7 Fancy Nancy. O'Connor, Jane.
HarperCollins, $15.99. ISBN 0060542098.

8 Dr. Ernest Drake's Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons. Steer, Dugald
Candlewick, $18.99. ISBN 0763623296.

9 Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Sharks and Other Sea Monsters. Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart
Candlewick, $27.99. ISBN 076362229X.

10 Lilly's Big Day. Henkes, Kevin
Greenwillow, $16.99. ISBN 0060742364.

11 Fairyopolis: A Flower Fairies Journal. Cicely Mary Barker
Frederick Warne, $19.99. ISBN 0723257248.

12 Wizardology. Steer, Dugald
Candlewick, $19.99. ISBN 0763628956.

13 Egyptolology. Emily Sands
Candlewick, $19.99. ISBN 0763626384.

14 Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!. Mo Willems
Hyperion, $12.95. ISBN 0786837462.

15 A Family of Poems. Kennedy, Caroline
Hyperion, $19.95. ISBN 0786851112.


I can't believe Dr. Seuss is still #3! Wow.