Our book – The Travel Adventures of Lilly P Badilly: Costa Rica – was honored as an Award-Winning Finalist in the Children’s Picture Book: Hardcover Fiction w/ Audio CD” category of the National Best Books 2008 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News.

A complete list of winners can be found at  http://www.usabooknews.com/bestbooksawards2008.html.

USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists of THE NATIONAL “BEST BOOKS” 2008 AWARDS (NBBA) on October 20, 2008. Over 500 winners and finalists were announced in over 140 categories covering print and audio books. Awards were presented for titles published in 2008 and late 2007.

Jeff Keen, President and CEO of USABookNews.com, said this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries, which were then narrowed down to over 500 winners and finalists.

Keen says of the awards, now in their fifth year, “The 2008 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States.

As an executive in the publishing PR and marketing industry and president and CEO of JPX Media, I wanted to create an awards competition that recognized books in their publication year rather than months after the original launch window. With a full publicity and marketing campaign promoting the results of NBBA, this year’s winners and finalists will gain additional media coverage for the upcoming holiday retail season.”

Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, Tarcher/Penguin, HarperCollins, Hyperion, St. Martin’s Press, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons & hundreds of independent titles contributed to this year’s outstanding NBBA competition. Keen adds, “NBBA’s success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”

USABookNews.com is an online publication providing coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the world online community. USABN Magazine Online is the monthly electronic magazine e-mailed free to a large cross-section of the book buying public. JPX Media, in Los Angeles, California, is the parent company of USABookNews.com.

I just returned from watching my daughter’s school play – Cinderella. Rachel is the accompanist for this play and all the other musicals at the school. The actors were so creative, and this got me thinking . . .

What makes kids more creative? Without a doubt it has a lot to do with having creative a parent(s). If children grow up in an environment where they are allowed to think for themselves and do their own work, they will be more creative. Creativity is certainly suppressed in children who have parents who schedule so many activities for them that they have no time for their imagination to stir. Also, creative people like to laugh a lot and have fun often, and often say things that are a bit off the wall. So if children are part of a family that likes to laugh it up and be silly, they will be more inspired to create.

When I was very young, I loved to write poetry, and a lot of it was extremely crazy. I also recall being drawn to art in many different forms from a very young age, and taking long periods of time to look at paintings, sculptures, photographs and other forms of art (and then think about what they mean). My sister and I also loved to perform for family members, making up plays and putting together our own props and costumes. We’d have a fake stage and set up chairs and invite family and friends to come to our theater. Neither of us could hold a tune but we were always singing. (I still feel sorry for the family members who had to listen to our horrid voices all those years!) Those day were so much fun.

I am certain that everyone on earth is creative in some way or another. Each person must simply make sure his or her environment is conducive to creativity. Parents can do that for their children and for themselves. We can never have too many creative minds in this world!

I had to get a new A/C Unit installed at my Mom’s townhouse yesterday so we can sell the house. The Unit is on the roof, making it very tricky to maneuver – thus the crane. Naturally I brought my camera. It was a perfectly sunny day…

In my book, Lilly P Badilly is afraid of thunder, darkness, elevators and millipede-chomping spiders. In real life, I am finding that the kids I speak to, when I visit schools, are most afraid of thunder, darkness, monsters, spiders and snakes – in that order. I tell them that it is perfectly normal to be afraid of different things. But if they use their brain power to learn about whatever it is they are afraid of, they may not be as afraid of it any more. What I mean is, read about what thunder really is, and when you understand that, you will feel better. I also suggest they speak to an adult about their fears, because it will make them feel better.

Kids need to know that adults have fears too. But I would not give them too many details or you may create a new fear for them. I myself got stuck in an elevator during an office building fire in 1989 at night. Naturally the elevator stopped between 2 floors when the alarm went off. It was just my luck that I got stuck in there, knowing there were few people left in the entire building to help me. I had to pry open the doors and climb up and out in a dress and then run down 5 fights of stairs. Luckily for me that fire was contained and did not spread. However, I did not know that when I was stuck by myself, listening to a blasting fire alarm while smelling smoke.

When my Grandma Nellie was alive, I used to push her wheelchair to the elevator in her building put her in the elevator, press the button for her and then run out of the elevator, down the stairs and meet her outside of the elevator. I just could not go in there without hyperventilating. What a terrible granddaughter I was! (I’ve made up for that now by writing about her in my book.) Yet, Granny understood and did not mind. She’d say, “Well, if I get stuck at least you’ll be out there helping me get outa here.” I am so glad Granny understood.

I have tried to take my own advice and research elevator fears to feel better. But years ago my husband could not wait to tell me (See how husbands punish their wives after many years of marriage?) that a man’s head got cut off by elevator doors, and a woman was standing inside the elevator when it happened.  She had to ride with his head for 5 stories and wait in there until someone could get her out. Unfortunately this is a true story. And there are others.

To this day, I walk or run up and down stairs whenever possible to avoid elevators. I will NOT get in to any elevators that are in parking garages. They are hot, poorly ventilated, small and slow, and I panic.

My apologies if I made you afraid of elevators. But the good news is that walking up and down stairs is fabulous exercise.

Okay. We can all agree right now. 1st graders are beyond adorable no matter what they do or say! I shared my program with 110 1st graders at Coral Sunset Elementary School in Boca Raton, FL. These little people were eager to learn and participate. I just adore the way their eyes light up when you speak to them. And they were very attentive too. They asked me a lot of questions and shared many of their own thoughts. There’s nothing more satisfying to me as an author than 6-year-olds asking questions about my book and about the world.

Today we learned that many of them are afraid of wild animals and spiders. And a lot of them told me they can cook! I am very impressed.

As usual, the kids loved it when their teachers came up to answer geography questions. It always gets the kids laughing and cheering. And all the teachers knew the answers too.

Thank you 1st grade teacher, Christina Yarbrough, for inviting me to your school and sharing Lilly Badilly with your students. I so appreciate the fact that you shared the book with your classes before I arrived. It helps them get a lot more out of the experience. “Lilly loves visiting your school. Actually she adores it!”

I attended the Westchester Elementary School during their Book Fair tonight. We had a great time learning about the Costa Rican Rain Forest and what it takes to publish a book. I am proud to say that the 2nd-4th grade students here are fabulous with their knowledge of geography! They know their states and Great Lakes.They were very curious in general and asked me some excellent questions about the plants and animals of Costa Rica and about publishing a book.

At each school I learn from the children as much as they learn from me. There are so many creative, polite and well behaved kids out there. Sadly we hear mostly about the negative stuff. But if you ever have the opportunity to participate in an elementary school program, you’d see all the promise our country’s future holds in these bright, inquisitive children.

I thank Ms. Nixon, the Media Specialist for inviting me and the kind Principal Raymond LeFevre, who helped me drag my books and equipment into the school. Everyone was very kinnd and friendly.

FYI-The first photo here is of this beautiful mosaic wall at the school.

Had I not been a writer for cruise lines for 15 years, I would never have known as much about geography as I do. Now I am sharing my knowledge with elementary age kids when I visit schools with my book. If you are a parent of an elementary age child, I recommend you start teaching geography to your kids. Don’t expect the schools to do it alone.

A great way to start is to visit the book store and buy a huge map of the USA. I bought 2 laminated maps – one of the US and one the World – for $14.95.

You can start with kids ages 5-6 or older, stand in front of the map, and make sure they know:

• Where their home state is located
• The capital of their state
• The bodies of water where their drinking water comes from
• The location of any famous landmarks in their state
• States where other family members live or came from
• The location of places your children have visited on vacation
• Where Washington DC is located (and that it is the capital of the USA)
• The location of New York City (and that this is home to the Statue of Liberty)
• The location of LA in CA, where most of our movies are made
• The locations of Alaska and Hawaii
• The names and locations of the Great Lakes
• The location of the Mississippi River
• The location of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
• The location of the Gulf of Mexico
• The Location of Canada and Mexico
• The location of some of our National Parks (Everglades, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore)

Kids love maps and will enjoy learning about the USA with you.

If you have a map of the world also, you can start out with some basics:

• Point out the different continents
• Show them countries where their ancestors came from
• Show them places you have visited
• Find Beijing to show them where the Olympics were held this summer
• Point out where the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt are located
• Find the Great Barrier Reef of Australia
• Look at the North and South Poles
• Ask them to show you places they would like to visit

Read this article from CNN about American students and their lack of geography knowledge. You can make sure your children (and you) know better by exploring the world with them.

In South Florida, we plant our tomatoes in the fall and enjoy our harvest after January 1st. I planted 12 buckets of tomatoes today and nearly broke my back. The worst part was buying the 10 humongous bags of potting soil, which must be lifted into the cart, then into the car, then out of the car, then into the pots. That is certainly not my favorite part of gardening, but it must be done.

Sometimes I think I should not bother with planting the tomatoes, because it is a lot of work and upkeep. But then all I have to think about is how those pesticide free, vine ripened tomatoes really taste, and I don’t mind all the work. You cannot compare the home grown taste and texture to those gas-ripened Styrofoam tomatoes at the grocery store that have NO flavor. Plus I am helping clean the air by planting so many plants in my yard.

The greatest challenge is keeping insects, namely hornworms and mites off the plants. I spray the tomatoes with a concoction I make in the blender. It contains a dash of crushed red pepper and garlic. I grind it all up, let it sit for a while and then strain it. Then I put it in a spray bottle and make sure I get all the fruit with it. That seems to work well most of the time, and it rinses off well when you are ready to eat the tomatoes.

By the way, did you know that there are almost 40,000 acres of tomatoes grown in Florida every year? It takes well over 30,000 workers to pick those tomatoes. So be grateful for your tomato pickers!

Today, Oct 11, was one of the hottest & most humid days here all year. I just got back from a short walk with my poodle, and I am miserably hot. I am jealous of all the northerners who are enjoying the fall foliage and cool autumn temperatures. I guess those of you in cooler climates will be jealous of me in a couple of months when you are freezing, and I am enjoying a walk along the beach and am picking tomatoes in my garden.

Here are some of my favorite things to do when it is too hot (or too cold for others) to go outside:

1. Read a book I’ve been dying to get to but haven’t had the time.
2. Watch Alfred Hitchcock movies.
3. Call someone on the phone I haven’t talked to in a while – usually an out-of-towner
4. Play Scrabble with the family.
5. Make iced tea and just hang out.
6. Do a craft with my daughter.
7. Surf the web and find bizarre or interest websites.
8. Write an old-fashioned letter to my friend in Finland.
9. Cook or bake something special.
10. Play with the dog.

I am looking forward to the days when it is a bit cooler and I can spend as much time enjoying it outside. For now, I guess I’ll make iced tea and maybe just pour it over my head.

Fragments are simply incomplete sentences. In order to be complete, a sentence must contain an independent clause. That simply means that the words must contain a subject and a verb, and together they must make a complete thought.

Examples

Example 1 – When she went to the store to buy some eggs to make Lilly a pie.  Incomplete – There is a subject and a verb here, but the thought is incomplete. The phrase above is what is known as a dependent clause. It needs an independent clause to finish it off. When she went to the store to buy some eggs to make Lilly a pie, she realized she forgot her wallet. Complete – The last part of this sentence is an independent clause, making it compete.

Example 2 - Unable to ride on the train. Incomplete – The verb is fine here, but there is no subject. Who is unable to ride on the train? Nellie Badilly is unable to ride on the train. Complete – Nellie Badilly is the subject.

Example 3 – One of the young readers, asking about the story. Incomplete – Ing verbs cannot stand on their own. They require a helping verb. One of the young readers, asking about the story, wondered why the spider was so mean. Complete – “wondered” saves the day here.

So teach your kids to make sure their sentences are complete – not run on sentences, but concise and complete, containing independent clauses.

If not you be not happy. If yes, you happy. All of us happy.