Imagine a Classroom
The creative and thoughtful and marvelous second graders of Barrett Ranch Elementary School created a wonderful project–their own version of Imagine a Day. Theirs, however, is Imagine a Classroom. Now I want to go to school where there is a giant waterslide on the roof and giraffes in the classroom, where magic paper instantly corrects my mistakes and no one ever feels left out!
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Funa Yurei
These funa yurei are more robust and less skeletal and spooky than the ones Kata meets in Deadly Wish. Note the headgear, however. A white, triangular headdress such as that used in an ancient Buddhist funeral ceremony is a dead giveaway (pardon the pun) of a funa yurei.
If you are sailing off the coast of Japan and the fog sweeps in, beware…you might be approached by a funa yurei.
The spirits of sailors who have died at sea, funa yurei sometimes try to sink boats and sometimes to snag an unlucky soul to take their own place on a ghostly ship. Often a funa yurei will demand a bucket or a ladle from its victims. If they refuse the ghost will sink their ship in vengeance. If given a bucket, the ghost will pour water into the ship, swamping it. How to get out of this hopeless situation? Hand the ghost a bucket or ladle with the bottom removed. It will futilely try to scoop water up with the bottomless vessel, leaving you free to sail quickly away.
(Kata, the heroine of Deadly Wish, did not know this trick. She was forced to try and come up with other ideas to defeat the funa yurei she encountered.)
Read MoreOut of the Fog
I went for a sail on Portland Harbor last week, and this is what loomed up out of the fog. It looked just like a scene from the upcoming Deadly Wish. Next thing you know we’ll hear a drumbeat booming across the water and funa yurei will show up, demanding a new soul to take their place on their ghost ship….
(What are funa yurei, you ask? Stay tuned!)
Read MoreImagine an Art Project!
The students at John Norquay Elementary School in Vancouver, Canada did something truly extraordinary! Classes often do art projects based on the Imagine series of picture books, in which my poems were paired with magical realistic art by the remarkable John Gonsalves, but rarely are they are stunning as these enchanting sculptures. The effect is of a magical forest. How I’d love to stroll through it!
What I’ve Been Reading
Delightful fan art of Monty and the love of his life, Percy.
Or rather, listening to–a stunning audiobook, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue (such a great title) by Mackenzi Lee, and narrated superbly by Christian Coulson.
It’s the 1700s, and Lord Henry Montague–Monty to his friends, of which he has many–is a rake. A charming and delightful rake, who loves wine and cards and women and boys and who won’t let anything, including his stern father, get in the way of a good time. Especially if the good time involves his best friend, Percy.
Monty and Percy are off on their grand tour of Europe, and Monty is determined to make Percy fall in love with him by the time they head back to England. Events intervene, of course, as they always do, and there’s a villainous French duke and a spooky Catalan alchemist and some truly marvelous pirates, plus a tender and hilarious love story. The ending contains some supernatural elements that I had a bit of a hard time with–I was quite prepared to accept that these 18th century characters believe in alchemy, but startled to discover that alchemy actually works. Still, I’d forgive any author anything for the relationship between these two boys, who flirt and fight and break each other’s hearts from England to France to Spain to Italy. Can’t wait to listen to it all over again.
Read MorePlesiosaurs On Bookshelves!
It’s here! The latest in the Ancient Animal series, Plesiosaurs, releases today. Not the Loch Ness Monster–these are the real thing. A early reader with clear, simple language describes the hunting habits, family life (Did they look after their young? Where did they lay their eggs?), and eventual extinction of these dinosaur relatives. Fun and fascinating!
(Check out Terror Bird and Saber-Toothed Cat for more prehistoric delight.)
Reviewers say:
“Thomson describes in short sentences and simple language how plesiosaurs hunted, got about with their flippers, gave birth to live young, and succumbed at last to an extinction event 65 millions years ago. Details both tantalize (the “smooth stones” in a plesiosaur’s stomach “may have helped to crush food”) and enlighten through concrete example: “Some plesiosaurs were only a bit longer than a broomstick. Some could’ve stretched halfway across a basketball court.” Plant juices up the presentation with dramatic (labeled) portraits of thrillingly toothy predators leaving trails of blood in the water as they eat and are eaten.
Tempting fare for young dino-devotees.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Thomson brings a third book in the series to life with an entry on the plesiosaur. A title worth purchasing to round out a prehistoric animal collection.”
—School Library Journal
The Secrets the Seven
Living descendants of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence recite it!These folks seem like characters from The Secrets of the Seven. If we cast the movie, this is what it might look like. (Except we’d need to add in some kids, of course.)
Read MoreSarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Readers will treasure the blossoming friendship between opposites in this whimsically illustrated tale. Short chapters and plenty of action make for an accessible and appealing reading experience. . . . Touching and inspiring.”
—Kirkus Reviews