by author Catherine Bailey & illustrator Sarita Rich

Thank you for hosting us today, Miss Tara. We are excited to be here, and we are excited to celebrate the release of HYPNOSIS HARRY, and we are excited to talk about each other and, well, we are just really excited. So without further ado, here is us interviewing us.

1. Okay, Sarita, Harry’s expressions are some of my favorite moments in the book. Was he, or any of the characters or images, based on your family or home life?

As much fun as Harry was to draw, I really liked having a sister. In an earlier draft, she was older, but I decided maybe a baby/toddler would be funnier, especially on the last page. And I had a (sometimes) cooperative model at home, so that was helpful. I also liked having a cat in the story. I’ve had my share of…

Note: The following advice has been taken from Lesson 8 (Don’t Write in Rhyme) and Lesson 9 (Rhyming Is All About Rhythm) of Josh Funk’s ‘Resources for Writers – Guide to Writing Picture Books’ and from a ‘Mistakes You Can Make When Writing a Rhyming Picture Book’ list on TheListApp.

Also note: Despite everything Josh Funk says below, he is the author of Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast (a rhyming picture book), the forthcoming Pirasaurs! and Dear Dragon (both rhyming picture books), and several other upcoming picture books (nearly all of which are also written in rhyme).

If you’re going to write a picture book, the best advice I can give you is:

Don’t Write in Rhyme

“Why not?” you ask.
“But publishers are constantly printing new rhyming picture books.” True.
“I’ve heard librarians like reading rhyming books at story time.” Also true.
“Children love rhyme, don’t they?” Probably…

In 2011, TIME magazine reported China had plans to establish a breeding colony of black and white rhinos, with the sole intention of harvesting their horn.

Their investigation found that a Chinese arms company – the Hawk Group –  had imported 60 rhino from South Africa to a park called Africa View in the Hainan Province of China. (This was a year AFTER China assured CITES they had no intention of farming rhinos.)

         Rhino farm in China, photo-Al Jazeera

Previously, in 2009, a TRAFFIC report showed that South Africa and Zimbabwe had exported 141 live Rhinoceros to China over the previous nine years.

The “park” Africa View was touted as an African safari themed park. However, when a reporter visited in 2008 he found “No animals were in evidence, save 60 or so rhinos living in rows of concrete pens.”(which he photographed)

    The Sanya rhino farm location. photo: the…

A few weeks back, Hildie and I ventured down to KidLit TV to record a reading of Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep. (Here’s a link to my previous post.) And I’m thrilled to finally say, voilà, here it is. Enjoy!*

THANK YOU, KidLit TV! You made my year—and then some! 🙂

*If you like what you see, please give it a big thumbs up, share it with friends, frenemies, witches, goblins, ghouls, and your favorite zombies on social media, and feel free to leave a comment. Be sure to check out all of the incredible programs KidLit TV has to offer.

So today is the last day of Reading Ireland Month

It’s been a fantastic month of blogging about Irish culture.

I’ve enjoyed reading all the contributions and have found a lot of new favourite blogs.

And I discovered a lot of books I want to read.

Thank you to everyone who was involved, and we hope to see you again next year.

And thank you again to Cathy of 746 Books, a veritable blogging machine, for co-hosting The Begorrathon.