Hooray! Nominated for a Liebster Award!

Thank you so much to Maureen Roble of Eating Kids' Media for nominating Brianna's Book Stop for a Liebster Award! The Liebster Award is for blogs that have less than 200 followers and need more love. Pass it on!

Here are the questions Maureen asked me and their answers:

Going Beyond the Book!

Building our own "Magic School Bus"
was one recent fun project around here!

Happy Monday or, as I like to call it around here, Keep Reading Fun Day! I love reading to kids and I love reading with kids. But today I want to talk about how wonderful it can be in those special times when our shared reading experiences become so powerful that we actually go beyond the book.

A simple example of this could be seeing a movie or a play of the book we just watched. This is always fun! We loved seeing the movie of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (Gene Wilder Version) and I am looking forward to taking my son to JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH at Seattle Children's Theater later on this year.

But today I wanted to share some fun examples that go even further. Ways in which we have lived the books we love:

Welcome to The Picture Book Diner!

Today I am excited to welcome everyone to the newest feature on my blog: The Picture Book Diner. This feature was inspired by Jeffrey Duckworth's awesome illustration at the top of my blog. Originally, on my website, this image was a wonderful truck stop (also drawn by Jeff) for the launch of my picture book, Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?.

When I launched this blog, I wanted to use the same wonderful image, but I asked Jeff to help me change it up a bit. Now it was transitioning from a truck stop into "Brianna's Book Stop" and all the building titles changed accordingly. The mini-mart became a library (Jeff even changed the original shelves of food behind the frosted glass to shelves of books!) and "Digger's Diner" became the Picture Book Diner.

Good News Day Tuesday: An Interview with Debut Author Tara Lazar (in celebration of her recently released picture book, THE MONSTORE!)

Happy Good News Day Tuesday! Today I am thrilled to be celebrating with debut picture book author, Tara Lazar.

Not only is Tara an incredibly gifted picture book author (with two more upcoming picture books in addition to THE MONSTORE!), she is also an incredibly giving, helpful and talented member of the kidlit community. And she is the founder of the super-awesome PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) which I'm sure I will be blogging about as November approaches!

Hope you enjoy this informative interview with Tara!:

"Read it again, Mommy!" (and why it's important... even when it drives me a bit crazy! :o) )

Happy Keep Reading Fun Day! Before I forget, please remember to read this interview with Chieu Anh Urban and enter for a chance to win a copy of her newest book!  That will certainly help keep reading fun!

My son's latest favorite book to say,
"Read it again, Mommy!"

Also thanks so much to illustrator and writer, Dani Duck, for her lovely review of Brianna's Book Stop on her own wonderful blog!

And now on to today's "keep reading fun day" topic... "Read it again, Mommy!"

Have you ever heard these words? I have. Many times.

And, while they bring joy to my heart. I also have to admit that they can also drive me a bit...

Good News Day Tuesday: An Interview with Novelty Book Author/ Illustrator Chiêu Anh Urban (And a Giveaway Too!)

Happy Good News Day Tuesday! Today I am excited to be celebrating with Chiêu Anh Uban. Chiêu's novelty board book, AWAY WE GO!, was recently published by Scholastic Cartwheel. What a clever concept!

Thanks so much to Chiêu for these very informative answers! And hope you enter for a chance to win a copy of Away We Go!. Details about the giveaway are at the end of this post!

Enjoy the interview!:

Motivating Young Readers: Rewarding Reading with... Reading!

Happy Keep Reading Fun Day!  Today I'm going to talk about fun ways to motivate young readers.

As mom to a beginning reader, this is a topic that is frequently on my mind. And it was also a topic that was on my mind a great deal when I was a classroom teacher and when I taught reading in private practice.

Before I begin talking about motivating young readers, I have to talk about how I don't try to motivate young readers. I don't offer pizza parties for reading or points or prizes. I'm sure these motivations can work for some young readers and their parents and teachers, but they don't match with my philosophy of teaching reading.

I want my kids and my students to know that reading is its own reward. But, when readers are at the very beginning stages, reading isn't as rewarding as it will be when they are a bit more advanced. They can't yet just curl up with a good book and get lost in the world of a story.

So I have found a variety of other ways to reward reading with.... reading!

Here are just a few of the ways I've found to motivate young readers:

Good News Day Tuesday: An Interview with Author/Illustrator Joyce Wan (in celebration of her TWO about to be released books!)

Happy Good News Day Tuesday! Today I am so excited to be celebrating with the fantastic author/illustrator Joyce Wan! 

Joyce creates some of the most adorable board books I have ever seen! In fact, she is busy creating lots and lots of amazing books! (Just read the interview to see all that she's working on.) 

And, just like Tina Kugler (the awesome author/ illustrator I interviewed last week), Joyce is also represented by that super-awesome agent, Teresa Kietlinski. :o)

A sketch by author/illustrator Joyce Wan 

Hope you appreciate Joyce's insights into her creative process as much as  I do! Enjoy the interview!:

Keep Reading Fun Day: Why We Love Bedtime Stories (and a list of some of our favorites)!

We love many, many bedtime stories,
but  WHERE DO DIGGERS SLEEP AT NIGHT?
is sort of a favorite around here.
Don't know why? ;o)

Yes, I'm a fan of bedtime stories! I think they're awesome (and not just because I wrote one :o) ).

Bedtime stories are such an easy and wonderful way to keep reading fun for young readers.

But a recent study showed that many kids and parents are not cuddling up with bedtime stories on a regular basis (or even at all).  So, for today's "Keep Reading Fun Day", I want to talk about the many benefits of bedtime stories (and to list just a few of our favorites)!: