Briar’s Journal (July 1 to 24, 2012)

Dream Entry*

January 23, 2004

I can only remember fragments of my dream:

Morzant knitting a Bunsen burner cozy.

Norman teaching three puppies how to whistle.

My friends, a duck, and three whistling puppies skipping books across the lake.

The books BIGFOOT skips:

BLOODY CHESTER by J.T. Petty,

illustrated by Hilary Florido

[YOUNG ADULT—GRAPHIC NOVEL]

First Second-Roaring Brook

July 3, 2012

THE BEST NIGHT OF YOUR (PATHETIC) LIFE

by Tara Altebrando

[YOUNG ADULT]

Dutton-Penguin

July 5, 2012

LUCKY FOOLS by Coert Voorhees

[YOUNG ADULT]

Hyperion-Disney

July 10, 2012

ABOUT AVERAGE by Andrew Clements,

with illustrations by Mark Elliott

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Atheneum-Simon & Schuster

July 24, 2012

The books MORZANT skips across the lake:

IT’S A DOG’S LIFE: HOW MAN’S BEST FRIEND

SEES, HEARS, AND SMELLS THE WORLD

by Susan E. Goodman, illustrated by David Slonim

[PICTURE BOOK—NON-FICTION]

Flash Point-Roaring Brook

July 3, 2012

THINK BIG by Liz Garton Scanion,

illustrated by Vanessa Newton

[PICTURE BOOK—POETRY]

Bloomsbury USA

July 17, 2012

The books PENNY skips across the lake:

DARK COMPANION by Marta Acosta

[YOUNG ADULT]

Tor Teen-Tom Doherty Associates

July 3, 2012

SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE by Joanne Levy

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Bloomsbury USA

July 3, 2012

TEAM HUMAN by Justine Larbalestier and

Sarah Rees Brennan

[YOUNG ADULT]

HarperTeen-HarperCollins

July 3, 2012

ON THE DAY I DIED: STORIES FROM

THE GRAVE by Candace Fleming

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Schwartz & Wade-Random House

July 10, 2012

QUARANTINE: THE LONERS by Lex Thomas

[YOUNG ADULT]

Egmont USA

July 10, 2012

THE UNQUIET by Jeannine Garsee

[YOUNG ADULT]

Bloomsbury USA

July 17, 2012

The books THE DUCK skips across the lake:

TIGER LILY by Jodi Lynn Anderson

[YOUNG ADULT]

HarperTeen-HarperCollins

July 3, 2012

LIES, KNIVES, AND GIRLS IN RED DRESSES

by Ron Koertge, with illustrations by Andrea Dezso

[YOUNG ADULT]

Candlewick

July 10, 2012

SERAPHINA by Rachel Hartman

[YOUNG ADULT]

Random House

July 10, 2012

The books NORMAN skips across the lake:

CAPTURE THE FLAG by Kate Messner

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Scholastic Press-Scholastic

July 1, 2012

FRAMED AND DANGEROUS by Kim Harrington

[MIDDLE GRADE—THIRD IN THE

SLEUTH OR DARE SERIES]

Scholastic Paperbacks-Scholastic

July 1, 2012

DEADLY PINK by Vivian Vande Velde

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Harcourt-Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

July 10, 2012

GUYS READ: THE SPORTS PAGES

edited by Jon Scieszka

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Walden Pond-HarperCollins

July 10, 2012

INSIGNIA by S. J. Kincaid

[YOUNG ADULT]

Katherine Tegen-HarperCollins

July 10, 2012

The book BEVERLY skips across the lake:

CORNERED: 14 STORIES OF BULLYING AND

DEFIANCE edited by Rhoda Belleza

[YOUNG ADULT]

Running Press

July 3, 2012

AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE

by Kat Rosenfield

[YOUNG ADULT]

Dutton-Penguin

July 5, 2012

PERFECT ESCAPE by Jennifer Brown

[YOUNG ADULT]

Little, Brown-Hachette

July 10, 2012

SUCH A RUSH by Jennifer Echols

[YOUNG ADULT]

MTV Books-Simon & Schuster

July 10, 2012

BEFORE YOU GO by James Preller

[YOUNG ADULT]

Feiwel & Friends-Macmillan

July 17, 2012

A WORLD AWAY by Nancy Grossman

[YOUNG ADULT]

Hyperion-Disney

July 17, 2012

The book OLIVER skips across the lake:

IT’S A TIGER! by David LaRochelle,

illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

[PICTURE BOOK]

Chronicle

July 25, 2012

The books LENNY skips across the lake:

A GOLD STAR FOR ZOG by Julia Donaldson,

illustrated by Axel Scheffler

[PICTURE BOOK]

Arthur A. Levine-Scholastic

July 1, 2012

MONSTER MASH by David Catrow

[PICTURE BOOK]

Orchard Books

July 1, 2012

SKELETON CAT by Kristyn Crow,

illustrated by Dan Krall

[PICTURE BOOK]

Scholastic Press-Scholastic

July 1, 2012

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS by Jeff Mack

[PICTURE BOOK]

Chronicle

July 4, 2012

OLYMPIG! by Victoria Jamieson

[YOUNG ADULT]

Dial-Penguin

July 5, 2012

RAT AND ROACH: FRIENDS TO THE END

by David Covell

[PICTURE BOOK]

Viking-Penguin

July 5, 2012

ROLLER COASTER KID by Mary Ann Rodman,

illustrated by Roger Roth

[PICTURE BOOK]

Viking-Penguin

July 5, 2012

THIS MONSTER NEEDS A HAIRCUT

by Bethany Barton

[PICTURE BOOK]

Dial-Penguin

July 5, 2012

WHAT TO DO IF AN ELEPHANT STANDS

ON YOUR FOOT by Michelle Robinson,

illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

[PICTURE BOOK]

Dial-Penguin

July 5, 2012

JACK AND THE BAKED BEANSTALK

by Colin Stimpson

[PICTURE BOOK]

Templar-Candlewick

July 10, 2012

KING ARTHUR’S VERY GREAT GRANDSON

by Kenneth Kraegel

[PICTURE BOOK]

Candlewick

July 24, 2012

The books VIOLET skips across the lake:

ALFIE IS NOT AFRAID by Patricia Carlin

[PICTURE BOOK]

Hyperion-Disney

July 3, 2012

GRAMMY LAMBY AND THE SECRET HANDSHAKE

by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise

[PICTURE BOOK]

Henry Holt

July 3, 2012

MOM, IT’S MY FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!

by Hyewon Yum

[PICTURE BOOK]

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

July 3, 2012

MONKEY SEE, LOOK AT ME! by Lorena Siminovich

[PICTURE BOOK]

Dial-Penguin

July 5, 2012

BABYMOUSE #16: BABYMOUSE FOR PRESIDENT

by Jennifer L. Holm, illustrated by Matt Holm

[GRAPHIC NOVEL]

Random House

July 10, 2012

BEDTIME FOR MONSTERS by Ed Vere

[PICTURE BOOK]

Henry Holt

July 3, 2012

FRANKENSTEIN by Rick Walton,

illustrated by Nathan Hale

[PICTURE BOOK—SPOOF OF MADELINE]

Feiwel & Friends-Macmillan

July 17, 2012

LITTLE NELLY’S BIG BOOK by Pippa Goodhart,

illustrated by Andy Rowland

[PICTURE BOOK]

Bloomsbury USA

July 17, 2012

THE MONSTER WHO LOST HIS MEAN

by Tiffany Strelitz Haber,

illustrated by Kirstie Edmunds

[PICTURE BOOK]

Henry Holt

July 17, 2012

ROCKET WRITES A STORY by Tad Hills

[PICTURE BOOK—SEQUEL TO

HOW ROCKET LEARNED TO READ]

Schwartz & Wade-Random House

July 24, 2012

* The dream entries from Briar’s journal contain premonitions of books that will be published in the future. Briar’s dream self foresees the books’ summaries and knows which will likely appeal to each of her friends. Briar always wakes up before she can see whether her friends will enjoy the books.

Three Minutes around the Campfire

Normanday #35: Pass the marshmallows, please.

It’s your turn to tell a story around the campfire tonight. Write for three minutes…

…about something that’ll scare the socks off your fellow campers.

Email what you wrote to woof at bright dot net by the end of the day July 8 (put “Norman is Incredibly Talented” in the subject line). I’ll post as many of my favorite entries as I want next Monday. Include your first name (or, even better, use a pen name) and age (unless you’re tortoise-old). If you’re a published children’s or young adult writer, include a biography to be posted with your entry.

Here are the entries from last week when I asked you to write for three minutes…

…explaining how you absolutely positively are not up to mischief.

Cranberly

Oh! Hello, human friend. Boy, you look confused. Or it is angry. You kind of smell angry. I hope you are not angry at me. I am not doing anything at all. You see, I was sleeping in the sun that comes in through the window when I smelled something. I thought maybe it was a mouse. I smelled it coming from the kitchen. So, I followed the smell and came to this cabinet. I heard a noise. I thought maybe it was the mouse. I would have barked and alerted you, but I didn’t want to scare it away. I thought if I slowly opened the door to this cabinet, I would catch the mouse. I tried scratching it open, but it didn’t work and it was making too much noise, so I used my mouth on the handle and pulled very quietly. You know, so I wouldn’t scare the mouse. When the door opened, this big bag of dog food fell over. Fortunately, it was closed. But then I had a worrying thought. What if the mouse had already crawled in and closed the bag behind it? Mice can be very clever. So I chewed a hole near the top of the bag and started sniffing for the mouse. Not eating! Just sniffing. And that’s when you came in.

BURP!

Um…I’ll just be in my bed if you need me.

Norman the Incredibly Talented Half-Invisible Turtle

Officer, how can you accuse me of such a thing? A turtle committing acts of vandalism? Never! See, I was walking by when this crazy alien from the planet Zeenton told me that the library had hired him to paint this side of the building. I’m a trusting turtle, and a nice one, so I offered to help him. Where is he? You just missed the spaceship that came and took him away. The eggs? That’s my lunch of course. A carton of raw eggs is a turtle’s favorite lunchtime snack. So, you see? Everything is perfectly normal. I’ll just get back to painting this wall. Yes, it’s a mural. Why yes, I suppose this picture I painted does look a little bit like you with antlers and silly shoes. If you’ll excuse me, I just remembered I’m supposed to be someplace else right about now.

ReRunday: LEMONADE, AND OTHER POEMS SQUEEZED FROM A SINGLE WORD (Poetry)

Originally posted on May 24, 2011.

~

LEMONADE, AND OTHER POEMS SQUEEZED FROM A SINGLE WORD (Poetry)

by Bob Raczka, illustrated by Nancy Doniger

Roaring Brook, 2011

Tuesdays with Morzant:

A Book Review by Morzant the Alien

(An Extraterrestrial Attempts to Write Earth-Style Poetry)

Since I began my studies of Earth literature several authors have encouraged me to attempt writing creatively. Unlike Earth literature, virtually all Zeentonian literature is based on mathematical equations. I pride myself on my mathematical abilities; however, even on my home planet I never attempted a creative endeavor such as writing a novel. For that reason, and because I feel my studies of Earth literature are in their infancy, the notion of writing any style of novel overwhelms me. Still, it’s impossible to ignore the impact experimentation with creative writing would have on my studies of Earth literature. Furthermore, the question of whether a Zeentonian can write creatively without employing differential equations or axiomatic geometry has gripped my curiosity.

A scientist devises small-scale experiments to understand larger, more universal trends. If I apply the same methodology to determining my aptitude for creative writing, I find I needn’t write a novel, or even a short story. Poetry is the ideal medium for my purposes. In addition to being a scaled-down creative writing format relative to a novel, poetry encompasses a wide range of forms, both structured and uncontrolled. These diverse forms offer a wide range of experiment possibilities.

I have determined that trying to write poems in the unusual poetry form presented in LEMONADE, AND OTHER POEMS SQUEEZED FROM A SINGLE WORD will be an appropriate initiation to this offshoot of my studies of Earth literature. The book is comprised of poems that are comprised of words that are comprised solely of the letters contained in the original word. The resulting combination of words illuminates the original word in an imaginative way. The form’s restrictive format appeals to my appreciation for rules and its strict limitations will narrow my creative focus to help reduce the likelihood of my becoming inundated with divergent ideas.

Experiment 808.1: Am I a Poet and I Just Don’t Know It?

Date: May 24, 2011

Subject: Morzant the Alien

(experiment preparation, execution, and report by Morzant)

Attempt #1: Selected a favorite word.

research

Resultant Poetic Configuration:

see

hear

share

Notes:

As required, I restricted myself to the use of letters within “research.” The three words do relate to the selected word, but does this arrangement of three words qualify as a poem? This arrangement lacks concrete imagery. Were the talented artist of LEMONADE, AND OTHER POEMS SQUEEZED FROM A SINGLE WORD called upon to provide a lively and expressive illustration for this “poem” such as the ones she created for LEMONADE, I believe she would be hard-pressed to settle on a specific graphic representation.

Attempt #2: Selected another word.

literature

Resultant Poetic Configuration:

a

rare

tale

a

real

treat

Notes:

Perhaps a more successful attempt, but it still exudes a certain vagueness. When I read it, I don’t feel the sense of wonder and wholeness I experience when reading Bob Raczka’s poems.

Attempt #3: Considered the possibility that I’m overthinking the process. Looked out the window and selected the word that represents what I first saw.

dandelions

Resultant Poetic Configuration:

“lions

dine

on

snails,”

said

a

seal.

Notes:

What does that even mean? Am I allowed to add punctuation? This is more difficult than I imagined.

Threw pencil across the lab in frustration. Woke Mortimer from his nap. Sent him to make me a potentially inspirational pumpernickel smoothie.

Attempt #4: Tried again after ingesting a delicious pumpernickel smoothie.

asteroid

Resultant Poetic Configuration:

stare

at

it

it

is

a

disaster

to

ed

Notes:

Pumpernickel smoothies do not provide significant creative writing impetus. They are, however, quite delicious.

Attempt #5: Programmed computer to produce a poem using a classic Zeentonian literary equation.

pistachio

Resultant Poetic Configuration:

acho

a

cat

is

hip

oh

i

sit

Notes:

Initial studies suggest Zeentonian literary equations are not an effective means for producing this type of poetry.

Attempt #6: Selected the name of a friend.

Bigfoot

Resultant Poetic Configuration:

boot

too

big

Notes:

Perhaps sufficient if Bigfoot wore boots. He does not.

Attempt #7: Considered that I needed more letters with which to work and selected the name of another friend.

Norman the Half-Invisible Turtle

Resultant Poetic Configuration:

Norman

is

not

a

fable

Norman

is

a

teaser

Notes:

I believe this result reflects the spirit of the exercise; however, I arrived at it using dubious means. This result must be disqualified from the experiment.

Attempt #8: Selected a Zeentionian word.

chimstourgney

Resultant Poetic Configuration:

hungry

it

comes

I

run

Notes:

I’m actually quite pleased with this result, but it’s meaning will not resonate with Earth readers unfamiliar with the vicious, fleet-footed chimstourgney. Regretably, this result cannot not be used to support the supposition that an extraterrestrial can write creatively in a style commensurate with Earth writers.

Conclusion: If I’m a poet, I still don’t know it. Further experimentation necessary.

Auxiliary Conclusion: Bob Raczka is a talented poet.

Notes Regarding Future Poetry Experimentation:

• Try a poetry format with less rigid rules.

• Write in a different location than the lab—is there a connection between successful creative writing and location?

• Find out what type of smoothie, if any, Bob Raczka drinks while writing.