There’s only 1 month left to enter the Smart Poodle Publishing Kids Travel Writing Contest! We’ve received some of the most creative and interesting entries! But there’s still plenty of time for more.

We have been thoroughly entertained by these young writers’ imaginations. It will be very difficult to choose the winners. Everyone who entered so far can be proud of their efforts.

A Few Reminders:

• Parents, make sure you do not write the entries for your kids, because the experts at Smart Poodle can tell if you do!
• Include the writer’s age on the entry
• Incude a contact email address please

Happy writing everyone! We’re looking forward to more entries.

My daughter’s friend, Ben, is vacationing in Destin, FL. He told Rachel that he saw 2 Speed Limit signs – one was 23 MPH and the other 19 MPH. Sounds strange to me! Rachel didn’t believe him and thought he was just poking fun of her OCD, so he took a couple of photos with his cell phone to prove it. Wonder why the city has such odd speed limit numbers? It cannot be easy to drive 19 MPH!

There are so many smart, kind, funny Mommy bloggers out there I have “met” online. Here are 2 more who happened to really enjoy reading Lilly P Badilly and who also happened to have excellent websites of their own.

1. Val’s Views – Val listened to the book with her adorable son, who has some developmental days. He seemed to enjoy the CD (including Grandpa Willie’s farting!) and the book’s colorful illustrations.

Val of NJ, Mom of 2 boys, offers honest reviews on a variety of useful family type products – everything from soaps and lotions to books and yogurt drinks, and from appliances to clothing. I’d read what Val has to say about a product before I buy it, and so should you! This smart Mom mean business! Also, she offers lots of neat giveaways on her site, so visit often. We appreciate you taking the time to review Lilly Badilly, Val!

2. My Trendy Tykes – Linda reviewed Lilly Badilly and said, “My children loved the CD so much that they had to share it with their neighbor friends yesterday!”

Linda is a stay at home Mom from MS with 3 kids, who homeschools her oldest child. She also makes bows and other crafts. she reviews a bunch of interesting products and offers links to some other great websites for homeschoolers and crafters. Her creativity really shows in her writing, and her straight forward approach is refreshing. Please visit her site! Thank you Linda for your review.

Librarian Susan Roseberry with Rachel at the Lee County Library – Estero Branch

Lilly and Grandma Nellie present the book to preschoolers in Fort Myers

The kids danced with Lilly and Nellie along with the music on the CD

We presented in the afternoon to children ages 6-10 at a Catholic Charity in Fort Myers

We all learned all about peaceful problem solving, reading, Costa Rica and music

I met Susan Roseberry for the first time today, yet I feel as though I have know her my entire life. Susan is an extra special librarian who runs the Bookmobile for the South County Regional Library, part of the Lee County, FL Library System (Fort Myers area). Susan has a heart of gold, extraordinary dedication to her work and more energy than the many of the kids she serves. In addition to her long hours and being a Mom herself, she is going to school to earn a Master’s Degree in Library Science.

Susan has been working in the Lee County Library System for 3 years. Her goal is simple. She strives to get library books to low income and no income kids, many of whom have never owned a book and would never visit a public library otherwise. Many of her young readers are in the foster care system and move from place to place. But they always know when the Bookmobile is on its way, and visiting the moving library is always a special treat.

Susan showed us the photos of the new Bookmobile Vehicle, which was custom-made for her needs. And let me tell you, it is impressive! It holds more than 5,000 titles and is the creme da la creme in moving libraries. “We’ve had the old Bookmobile for more than 17 years now, and it was time for a more efficient one,” Susan explained. Susan drives the huge rig herself (which looks very intimidating to me!) and has a background as a school bus driver. The new vehicle will be delivered any day now.

Susan is one of the lucky ones who has a job that can really make a measurable difference in childrens’ lives. “Every day I tell myself that if I can help just one child to get more interested in reading, then I feel as though I have done what I set out to do,” she said. As an author I can certainly relate to that, since the main reason I wrote and recorded Lilly Badilly was simply to make reading more fun and encourage kid to want to read more. From what I saw today, I can tell you that Susan makes a HUGE difference in many lives every single day.

Running a Mobile Library Unit is not an easy job. Susan drives many miles around Lee County to reach the kids who really need books the most. It is both physically and emotionally exhausting. One of her greatest challenges is getting kids to return the books they check out. Loss is just an unfortunate part of the process. “I try to teach the young readers and their caretakers to be responsible with the books and their library cards, since it is a privilege,” Susan explained. “It is frustrating when the kids show up to check out a book without their cards or fail to return books. But just knowing that we are providing them with reading opportunities – the tools for future success in life, I can deal with those challenges as well as others.”

In addition to running the Bookmobile, Susan creates storytime and craft programs for the kids. That’s why Smart Poode Publishing went to FL’s West Coast today – to present Lilly P Badilly to some of the cutest little people I have ever seen. Rachel and I talked about the book and Lilly’s love of reading, peaceful problem solving, geography, fears and much more. We sang and danced, and I spoke in all my cartoon voices. I can honestly say I have never been with such well behaved kids (ages 3-5) before. We presented to 2 groups of about 30 each in the morning and NO ONE misbehaved. What a pleasure it was!

So please support your local library. It is truly an amazing resource for all Americans and particularly those who cannot afford to buy books.

Click here to learn more about the Lee County Library.

1. The Library of Congress was established in 1800 inside the Capitol building.
2. In 1814 British troops burned the Capitol building destroying much of the library’s collection.
3. In 1815 Congress voted to purchase Thomas Jefferson’s personal library collection of more than 6,400 books.
4. The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world with more than 138 million items! There are more than 32 million books, 2.9 million recordings, 12.5 million photographs, 5.3 million maps, 5.5 million pieces of sheet music and 61 million manuscripts.
5. Approximately 22,000 new items are delivered to the Library of Congress every work day.
6. The collection of the library occupies more than 650 miles of book shelves!
7. The Library collection is housed in 3 separate buildings – Thomas Jefferson Building, John Adams Building and the James Madison Building.
8. The Library houses 100 rare children’s books including a bible from 1763.
9. The largest book in the collection is 5′ X 7′.
10. The oldest item in the library is a tablet dating from 2040 BC.

This information and so much more can be found on the Library of Congress website. If you haven’t visited the library yet, you cannot imagine what you are missing!

Yesterday I recorded a 10 minute radio interview over the phone with Sue Goldstein, known as the “Shopping Diva.” She has a show called the Underground Shopper, which airs on Saturdays in Dallas/Fort Worth. Sue is the ultimate bargain shopping expert, and she makes recommendations to her listeners live and on her website. She’s got the best personality and is upbeat and funny. She asked me questions about the making of the book and the characters. While recording, I used my Lilly cartoon voice, and everyone in the studio was laughing pretty hard. I am not sure when this will air, but possibly next Saturday. Sue gives away tons of great free stuff to listeners. The first 3 callers to the station when this airs will get a free autographed copy of Lilly P Badilly. If you love bargain shopping, check out her site. Underground Shopper

Announcing the Smart Poodle Publishing

What I Wish Everyone Knew About Librarians

Writing Contest

Smart Poodle Publishing knows that librarians can make a world of difference in the lives of readers everywhere from every age and at every reading level! We feel that librarians are sometimes under appreciated or misunderstood. Now is your chance to speak out by entering our contest.

Please take the time to check out our new children’s picture book and CD

The Travel Adventures of Lily P Badilly: Costa Rica

Available online or from Baker and Taylor

Sponsor
This contest is sponsored by Smart Poodle Publishing, PO Box 817468, Hollywood, FL 33081.

Eligibility

• Contest is open only to librarians of public, private and school/university libraries in the United States and who are legal residents of the Unites States.

How to Enter/Official Rules

• No purchase necessary to win.
• Entrants must write an essay describing what they wish everyone knew about librarians. Ideas for your entry: Describe your job, and what it takes physically, mentally and financially to keep a library running. How long have you been a librarian? What kind of education did you get to prepare yourself for this job? Do you have any funny stories about events that have taken place in your library? What kind of sense of humor do librarians have? What type of programs does your library offer? Do you run the mobile library unit? Are you in charge of choosing new titles? Have you experienced budget cuts? Have you helped someone in any special way? Do you have an interesting, touching or hilarious story relating to kids? Do you think librarians are underappreciated? Why? Tell your story.
• Essays can be up to 1,500 words.
• Essays should be typed and emailed to smartpoodle@comcast.net. Text can be copied and pasted directly into the email message area or sent as a Word document.
• All entries must include name, title, library name, address, phone number and email address.
• Please include the phone number where you’d like to be notified if you are a winner.
• Entrants must agree to allow Smart Poodle Publishing to publish their stories online or in print.

Judging
Winners will be chosen based upon content, writing style and originality.

Prizes

• 1 Grand Prize winner will receive $500
• 2nd Place winner will receive $100
• 3rd Place winner will $50
• All 3 winning entries will be posted on www.smartpoodlepublishing.com and may be published elsewhere online or in print.

Contest Deadline
Entries must be received by Monday, December 1, 2008 by 5:00 pm (EST)

Winners
Winners will be notified on or before December 15th via phone call and also email.

OMG. We are overwhelmed here by all the positive book reviews and impressed with all those great Mommy blogs out there. Please check these sites out!!!!

1. Maria’s Space, Chotckies, In the Blink of an Eye – Maria’s review of Lilly Badilly is incredible! This is an author’s dream to get a review like this. Thank you, thank you Maria…Maria is a fabulous writer, offering 3 sites. The first is a Mommy Blog with product reviews and beautiful photos. Maria says, ” I began a blog as a legacy for my kids. I have a interest in so many things so Chotskies will house all my secondary interest.” In the Blink of an Eye is all abut Maria and her product reviews. All of these blogs offer great humor and insight. My question is how does this talented Mommy blogger find the time to keep up all these blogs?!
2. Clan McLeod and Homeschool Blog Review – Gina and her girls were greatly entertained by Lilly Badilly, so they MUST have a great sense of humor. Gina wisely shared the book’s themes for learning with her readers, many of whom are homeschoolers. Thank so much McLeod Clan! Gina is the wife of a preacher who created a delightful Mommy Blog and a product review website for parents, particularly homeschoolers. She herself is a homeschooler of 2 adorable girls and has a a very positive and hopeful message for her readers.
3. Why Are The Calling Me Mom? Hollie and her kids loved singing and dancing with the Lilly Badilly CD, and they Highly Recommend the book! Yeah! Hollie’s website is beautifully laid out and she offers some interesting lists, product reviews and links galore. She is also an avid scrapbooker, so she shares her latest projects with readers. Her easy to read writing style makes this blog a pleasure to visit after a long day of parenting or work!
4. All Because 2 People Fell in Love – Stacey put a perfect teacher’s-view spin on her great review of Lilly Badilly, sharing with parents what their kids can learn by reading the book and listing to the CD. I so appreciate your “educational” review! Stacey writes about any and everything related to parenting. She offers product reviews, shares photo of her darling kids – a son and daughter, shares links for contests of all sorts and much more. She lives in KY in a log cabin and works as a teacher. Her busy life provides her with much inspiration for writing blog entries.
5. Monkey Tales and Mayhem – Tracey and her 2 boys loved the illustrations in the book and got a kick out of the CD. She gives a great summary of the book in her on creative style. She even said her 5 year old keeps listening to the CD over and over again. That’s what we love to hear! Tracey’s colorful blog features product reviews, stories about every day life, manic moments and more. She recommends other blogs and loves to talk about the books she is reading. This is a must read blog for parents everywhere!

My family said goodbye to my Mom yesterday and I wanted to share my tribute to her with you. Thank you to all those who sent us sympathy wishes.

My Mom and I spent a lot of time together in the past 9 years waiting at doctors’ offices and hospitals and observing others of all walks of life in great distress. During that time we had a lot of philosophical conversations about life. We discussed how ironic it is that while you may be receiving bad news or waiting for a life saving surgery, someone else is out there at that same exact time celebrating a big event – like getting married, having a baby or receiving a promotion at work. The truth is that each of us will experience both sides of life’s extremes. When you are filled with joy, you cannot imagine someone else suffering. And when you feel despair, it does not occur to you that there is anyone feeling like celebrating anything. Thinking this way helped both of us enjoy the good times more and just be more grateful.

While spending a lot of time with Pauline one on one, I learned a lot more about her, and I’d like to share my top 10 with you:

1. Mom had a whole lot of patience. She seemed to accept that waiting is a part of life, and this had a calming effect on me. There is nothing worse that waiting for serious test results, but she did so with grace many times.
2. Mom wrote the book on Jewish guilt. Volume 1 (pause) through Volume 10. Debbie, “I know this hard on you, but I need for you to edit this 5th edition of my eulogy I wrote,” she said to me – 7 years ago.
3. Mom had a fabulous sense of humor – There are times when we cracked up when we probably should have been bawling. For instance during her last hospitalization, Aunty Norma and I were waiting for an important procedure to start. The doctors spoke to us in a surgical area and made us all put on these ridiculous puffy blue shower caps with elastic so tight it wrinkled our foreheads. We all had a good laugh and made a scene when I took out my cell phone and started to take pictures of her. After her challenging liver surgery, I recorded a nutty song for her entitled, “I’m Sick of Being Sick,” in my silly cartoon voice and brought it to the hospital. It made her laugh so hard it was painful for her, and she was not very happy with me.
4. Mom practiced a unique combination of determination and ignorance when it came to her illness. This was frustrating for my family at times, but it worked well for her to not really understand – or rather, pay attention to the bottom line. Combine that with toughness greater than you can imagine and what you get is the Bionic Woman.
5. Mom was the most loyal friend, and in return she received the same. Now I am not saying she did not criticize them, tell them they were making bad decisions and lecture them with her hands on her hips. But she loved them unconditionally. Many she knew for 50 years.
6. Mom was the most responsible and reliable person on earth. If she told you she was going to so something – you could bet your life that she’d do it. Now this might sound like a good quality to have. But have any of you ever promised Mom something and perhaps forgot or were just a little bit late on your delivery? If you did, then you’d know why this can be one of those combination blessing/ curse situations.
7. Mom had an impeccable memory. It really was impressive. However, just like point #6 above, this was not always good for the rest of us. “Do you remember that time when you lost my cars keys, and I was late for my best friend’s wedding?” “Mom, I was only 3 years old, and you gave me the keys to play with.” “Oh,” she said. I had forgotten that part.”
8. Mom had a horrendous singing voice and an even worse humming voice. Unfortunately for me, I rode in a whole lot of elevators with her and sat in a whole lot of doctor’s offices with her for a whole lot of hours.
9. Mom was physically a tiny person, which was a great contrast to her toughness. It’s amazing what a little woman can do with big determination, pursed lips and the ability to not blink for a full 90 seconds. My siblings and I each learned by age 1 month to stay out of her way. Survival instincts are one of the great wonders of the world.
10. The last of Mom’s qualities I’ll share with you is her “down- to-earthedness”, as I like to call it. She really did not need fancy things or try to impress others. She was happy to just spend time with friends and family, take a ride in the car and go exploring. She didn’t need fancy cars and posh vacations, just adventure and good company. This teaches us all that if our comfort zones are wide rather than narrow, our lives are far “richer.’ And just knowing her made all our lives a whole lot richer too.

This has been a very challenging week for the Smart Poodle Publishing family. My Mom passed away yesterday after battling cancer for 9 years. Her funeral is tomorrow. Just 2 1/2 weeks ago we were celebrating her 70th birthday with a 4th of July party. I already miss her, and I will share more about her with you when things settle down a bit. I will return to my post in a couple of days. . .