Wild is the Winter, "Arctic Fox Hunting Fails," & more!
Wishing everyone a warm and wonderful holiday season :)
A couple of weeks ago, Rachel spotted these kid-made Arctic fox ornaments at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens (in Pittsburgh):
I love them both so much, but especially the little fox with bent Q-tips® for feet (on the right)—the pathos in his little red eyes!
Total Snow Struck vibes.
Whenever I read an Arctic fox section from Snow Struck during school visits (or when I’m talking about research), I always tell kids to Google “Arctic fox hunting” or “Arctic fox hunting fails”… and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s totally worth it:
With all the big winter storm warnings and freezing temperatures, I’ve been feeling kind of snow struck myself these days. It’s 2 degrees in Pittsburgh right now and I just waxed our puppy Chaely’s paws with “Musher’s Secret” to get her ready for our next (very short) walk—so far she’s a little like Fang and can’t get enough of the snow.
And we’re not the only ones feeling snow struck!
My in-laws lost power this morning (just like Matty, Elizabeth, and Ashley)… and that seems to be happening all over, so I hope you’re staying safe and warm out there!
Snow Struck is very much my “big Christmas book”—a genre I honestly never thought I’d write—and it’s funny, having a book that’s tied to the holidays. Just this morning, it hit me: some kids are going to get Snow Struck as a gift this year.
It’s already such a privilege to write for kids—I think about that all the time, when I’m writing and during school visits—but to be a Christmas present, too?!
I literally can’t think of anything better. If you’re giving a copy of Snow Struck this holiday season: 1) I hope you let ‘em have it a little early :) and 2) please send pics!
I want to take a second to thank the illustrious Children’s Book Council for featuring Snow Struck in their “Wild is the Winter” quarterly showcase (“featuring books that speak to the magic found in the wild and great outdoors during the winter season” — AKA all the books I wanna be reading right now):
A couple of years ago—when Rachel and I took a big road trip / book tour down to the Louisiana Book Festival—she got me to climb up onto the lap of this enormous Alligator Santa in City Park (in New Orleans), and this picture always shows up as a Facebook memory for me this time of year:
And even though my next books aren’t coming out for a little while (more on that soon!), it’s been getting me really excited for the next book tour / road trip… because Rachel’s debut YA novel is going to be available when my next book comes out and we’re trying to time everything so we can do a big double book tour!
It’s still a while away—I still have to finish writing my next book—but one of my New Year’s resolutions is to start planning that trip… and I can’t wait!
Speaking of New Years and touring, I’ve been thinking back on the last couple of years… and it hasn’t been a super-easy time for anyone (understatement of the century) but it really did throw a couple of wrenches into the works when it came to publishing books for kids, getting out on the road, and meeting readers.
Remember the paper shortage?
Snow Struck didn’t get advanced reader’s copies because of that, so didn’t get a lot of early press or reviews—and the Storm Blown paperback (it was going to be a Yearling!) was put on pause around the same time for similar reasons.
I'll be totally honest, there were moments—when we were all just trying our best on Zoom—when it felt like writing books for kids might not have been the best career choice… so I’m just incredibly grateful to all the teachers, librarians, booksellers, children’s book lovers, kid lit authors and parents who’ve found out about my books and recommended them to the young readers in their lives.
I’m still writing and publishing—and getting out on the road and trying to inspire kids to write and tell their own stories—because of you.
So, truly and sincerely, thank you. I hope you all have a warm and wonderful holiday season… and that you all get to meet our little friend Chaely soon!
Your friend,
