Poetry Friday

What Is Green?

Green is the grass

And the leaves of trees

Green is the smell

Of a country breeze.

Green is lettuce

And sometimes the sea.

When green is a feeling

You pronounce it N.V.

Green is a coolness

You get in the shade

Of the tall old woods

Where the moss is made.


--Mary O'Neill


Happy Leap Day. . .Won't be long now!

Brain Strain Rewarded

My brain seems to be in need of some muscle memory. Picasso said, "Inspiration only comes when you're working." For me, working without inspiration involves some sort of figurative vice grip, resembling an ancient torture device, which I then use to keep myself in the chair. This produces a feeling akin to sitting in church as a child, waiting, waiting for it to be over so I could stand up and wiggle. There is a lot of involuntary twitching and swinging of the legs.

I resist this vice grip and turn to vices, M&M's, for example, until it becomes clear that nothing is going to be accomplished, inspired or not, until I strap myself in front of the computer. Finally, I take Ole Picasso's advice. I figure he is something of an authority on inspiration. Sometimes it takes a few days, but it always produces results. Whether it's because the kinetic energy from my typing fingers stimulates the lazy corners of my brain, or because I simply expect success, it works every time. I mean, at this point I have tried everything else (M&M's, watching creative people on Project Runway). Actually Project Runway is an inspiring show--if only it could solve the problems in chapter eleven.

So, here's to doing the hard work, and remembering the hard lessons. Sheesh, I love chapter eleven now. Onward to the disorganized mess that is chapter fifteen, and may the muse not slip out the door again. Ah, well, I know what to do if she does. I've put my M&M's back in the fridge, for now.

Book Review: Ellie McDoodle: New Kid in School

By: Ruth McNally Barshaw

Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

Ages 8-12

July 2008

Cheezers, Ellie fans don't have long to wait now. The sequel to Barshaw's May 2007 debut, Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel, has all the fun of the first book, with a fresh helping of problems for Ellie.

The story begins at "The End," for, according to Ellie, her move away from what is familiar is surely "the end of everything good."

Barshaw's trademark loose, sketchbook style is in clean lines and black and white. Her gift lies in the smooth flow of visual storytelling, complemented by always humorous and sometimes poignant reflections from Ellie. Under a picture of herself gazing skyward in the woods, she says, "Looking up, the trees and the sky look like jigsaw puzzle pieces that don't quite fit. Funny, that's how I feel: like I don't quite fit." Of course, there are surprises along the way in what is ultimately a funny, warm story about friends, family, and finding your voice.

With Ellie McDoodle: New Kid in School, Barshaw has secured herself as a "perfect fit" in the genre of graphic novels, and in the hearts of Ellie McDoodle loving fans.