Second Annual #50PreciousWords

Vivian Kirkfield is sponsoring #50PreciousWords, an intriguing writing contest in celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday.

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Hop to her blog to read the details, entries, and generous prize list.

The kid-friendly stories are limited to fifty words, which turned out to be a lot easier than I thought once I got the theme in my head. This one is based on research I've been doing for a children's magazine.

Sound like fun? It's not too late. You have until March 6 to post your entry.
 

Here's my offering:

 

The Ballad of Mary Fields

By Joanne Roberts

Mary Fields comes chug-chuggin' from the saloon,

A thundering locomotive,

Streaming smoke from her cigar.

Wolves on the trail,

Four-legged or man-sized,

Won't slow her down.

Slapping the mail sacks across Moses's saddle,

She rolls out of town.

Her smile wide as Montana skies,
 

Freest soul ever born a slave.



The real Mary Fields
courtesy BlackCowboys.com

One Book, Two Book, Red Book, Blue Book

"Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope."
- Dr. Seuss

Available from Designela

Are You My Mother?

Happy Mother's Day!

P. D. Eastman was a remarkable man as artist, author, creator.  His talent was recognized and nurtured by Theo Geisel himself.  As I look over his list of published work, I count many of my childhood favorites among them.  But his books stand the test of sentimentality, for I have read them to my children.  They love them, and read them to their younger siblings.  That they will read them to their children, I have no doubt.  My thirteen-year-old cleaned her bookshelf yesterday, and saved two of P. D. Eastman's books:  they were not put in the charity pile, nor even the home library pile, but the keep-it-in-my-room-a-little-longer pile.  Are You My Mother? was one of those books.


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Dr. Seuss Day

Read Across America celebrates Dr. Seuss's birthday and encourages literacy and love of books.  Read to your favorite someone today.

Here are some of my top picks for every age group:
Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss
Bear Snores On, by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
Six-Dinner Sid, by Inga Moore
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, by Deborah Hopkinson and James Ransome
Judy Moody, by Megan McDonald and Peter Reynolds
The Ghost in the Noonday Sun, by Sid Fleischman
A Long Way From Chicago, by Richard Peck
The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley