Nonfiction Monday is hosted today at Playing By The Book.

As we enter this splendid holiday season, I've selected Celebrations! written by Anabel Kindersley and photographed by Barnabas Kindersley with a forward by Harry Belafonte.

Celebrations! was published in association with UNICEF. The book provides a multicultural look at children's celebrations, both secular and religious, from eighteen countries around the world

This Writer's Wednesday I'd like to express my thanks for...

• A family that respects and supports my need to write.



• Friends who cheerfully read my work and provide thoughtful comments.



• and Fans who read my books and ask for more.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nonfiction Monday is hosted today by Practically Paradise.

My selection is One Grain of Rice: a mathematical folktale written and illustrated by Demi.

Drawing on her experiences from living in India, Demi retells an Indian folktale and illustrates her story in the glowing gold leaf and rich colors of traditional Indian artwork. One Grain of Rice tells the story of Rani who outwits a greedy raja with her clever use of a basic mathematical ploy and succeeds in feeding her starving country. Offered a reward for her honesty, Rani's request is a simple one - a single grain of rice to be doubled the next day - the amount to be doubled again every day for a thirty days. The raja learns a lesson about generosity as his storehouse is emptied and Rani's people are fed with a billion plus grains of rice thanks to her inspired use of math.

Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted this week by Random Noodling.

My offering is Winter Eyes - poems and paintings by Douglas Florian.

Here is a celebration of the simple joys of winter for young children. Homey and graceful watercolor and colored pencil artwork illustrates the forty-eight poems.

Writer's Wednesday

It's Writer's Wednesday and I'd like to share two very different, but valuable posts that I found thought provoking.

From Pen and Ink: I Am Thankful For My Writing Tools by Sue Berger...a post about gratitude. As writers, we often talk about how we struggle with our craft. Here is an opportunity to put that struggle in another perspective.

From Cynsations: Writing Across Formats: Dian Curtis Regan. If you've ever been tempted to venture into a new format, you'll find some great information here about how one format can inform your writing in others.

I began my career writing for adults. Then shifted to children's picture books and even did some screenplays. It was certainly a challenge, but everything I learned has been a positive influence on the other areas of my writing experience.

Enjoy!

Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday is hosted today by In Need of Chocolate.

I'm continuing my "fun with math" by offering Math Appeal: mind-stretching math riddles written by Greg Tang, illustrated by Harry Briggs.

Playful puns and brilliantly colored double page spreads offer readers the challenge of finding strategies such as identifying the pattern in a group of objects in order to count them. Here is an engaging lesson in problem solving that could be used individually or in a classroom. Teacher notes are included at the end of the book.

Poetry Friday

Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted today by Liz In Ink.

My selection is The Tree That Time Built: a celebration of nature, science and imagination.

This anthology of nature-inspired poems is collected by Mary Ann Hoberman, U.S. Children's Poet Laureate and Linda Winston, anthropologist and teacher. The book includes more that 100 poems and a CD with poets reading their work.