Sunday, April 24, 2016

Life's Small Pleasures: dog walk, coffee, & McD's fries

My husband and I walked in a beautiful park this morning in Meridian, Idaho, with ponds and fountains and a view of the mountains. When a tribe of tiny goslings waddled through the grass Poppy was so surprised, she forgot she was a bird dog-- fortunately! That would've been a mess.

On the way home, we snagged McDonald's coffee-to-go and, for me a decadent haul of crispy, salty fries.

Tomorrow starts a new week of writing and random stuff to juggle, but I hope to find lots of Small Pleasures. Mainly, I'll be giving Poppy lots of pets. It makes both of us happy! 




Wednesday, April 20, 2016

the Jedi Readers, a boys book club!


David, a Jedi reader!
This is so cool! A mom in the City of Falls Church, Virginia sent this photo of her seven-year-old son David reading The Clue at the Bottom of the Lake, #2 in the Cabin Creek Mysteries series. I'm honored and thrilled by Trish's wonderful letter:
     My 2nd grader, David, asked me to start a book club for him. I was delighted. David is not a big reader – so I jumped at the opportunity to set up a fun way for him (and his wonderful group of friends) to start reading together.  Our very first meeting was yesterday at our little park across the street under the Gazebo. 
     The weather was perfect for us – no clouds, wonderful sunshine, and in the 70’s. 
     Since David came up with the idea for the club – he was tasked to pick the first book. He asked his older brother Ben to help him out. Together they decided on the Cabin Creek Mysteries – Book One – The Secret of Robber’s Cave.  The boys LOVED the book.  Since David and I hosted the first gathering, I acted as ‘moderator’. I asked each child what their favorite part of the book was (and why), and which character they liked most (and why)….I asked them to try and use descriptive words when describing their favorite locations (i.e. was the cave dark, was it damp, were the walls slimy..etc). 
     The kids then picked a ‘club name’ – they came up with the Jedi Readers.  They’ll meet again in June.  Most are already going to start on ‘The Clue at the Bottom of the Lake’.   
     So the point of my email – to thank you. You have reached a group of very rowdy 2nd graders – and you have ‘caught them’ – started a love of reading.

Yay!! Thank you, Trish.

Friday, April 8, 2016

Young reader loves mysteries

Young readers warm my heart!

Katelin in Colorado just turned eight and is excited about birthday gifts from her great-grandparents [PHOTO, left]:  a sweet little jewelry box and a Cabin Creek Mystery: The Case of the Spying Drone.

Happy Birthday, Katie! I hope you have fun reading about Jeff, David, and Claire as they investigate the mysterious quadcopter.