Buddy wanted to be a Cowboy, one that rode a horse, not herd cows by foot. When the neighboring rancher, Caleb Hyman, told the boy he would be hired once he could lasso prairie dogs, Buddy worked and practiced for years to be able to catch one. The day he finally roped one of the quick rodents, two of his older brother's friends watched from the road and ridiculed Buddy, calling him a prairie dog cowboy. Facing the hard life of homesteading in the late 1890s and early 1900s, Buddy didn't have an easy life, made worse by a mother who didn't love him or accept him. However, with the help of the Hymans, he developed into a strong, decent person who struggled to find his place in his world.
This is the story of Praire Dog Cowboy, a historical fiction for young teens by V. Gilbert Zabel. To read my interview with the author, please click here to visit my other blog. In the story, Buddy learns to lasso prairie dogs. Not an easy thing to do! I thought it would be fun to post some interesting things about these little critters ...
There are actually 5 species of praire dogs --
Blacktail Praire Dog -- living in centra Texas up into Canada
Whitetail Prairie Dog -- living in the western US (WY, CO, UT, MT)
Gunnison's Prairie Dog -- living around the Four Corners
Mexican Prairie Dog -- living in only in Mexico
Utah Prairie Dog -- the smallest of all the species
Prairie dogs are from the rodent family and they are usually chubby with a grizzled look to their fur. They have round heads, hairy tails and short legs. Praire dogs weigh an average of 1.5-3 pounds and are only 11-13 inches in length. Roping one of these little critters was definitely a challenge, but Buddy could do it. Other interesting facts about prairie dogs include ...
Praire dog burrows are called towns.
Most prairie dogs hibernate during the winter.
Prairie dogs are born blind and hairless.
They have lived up to 8.5 years in captivity.
Prairie dogs have a high-pitched bark.
So now you know a little about prairie dogs. In the turn of the century, when Prairie Dog Cowboy took place, prairie dogs were way more abundant than they are today. In one section of land in Texas, over 400 MILLION prairie dogs were reported. Now we know why Buddy was so darn good at roping the little critters!
To order Prairie Dog Cowboy, please visit 4RV Publishing or Amazon. Also, for everyone who leaves a comment with a valid email on my blogs, you will be entered in a drawing for a free tote bag. To find out what Buddy is up to next and continue on with the tour, please click here.
And finally, please join me in wishing Vivian & Robert Zabel a happy anniversary. Today is their 47th wedding anniversary -- congratulations!
1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland/world 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped. 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill... 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Gotten flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check/cheque 69. Saved a childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book (soon!) 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee 100. Been to the Panama Canal.
Today I'm honored to host Elysabeth Eldering's book blog tour. I've been looking forward to this for a long time. Elysabeth is the author of the Junior Geography Detective Squad, 50-state, mystery, trivia series.
Elysabeth -- Thanks for having me here with you today, Rena. I must say you really made me put on my thinking cap.
Rena -- What was your inspiration for writing State of Wilderness? Elysabeth -- The first story I wrote, Train of Clues, and entered in a contest in 2005 was the inspiration for the series. I had never really written anything before and when I received a shared second place win, I felt that the story had potential to do more.
Rena -- Did you see it as a series when you started or a single book idea? Elysabeth -- After winning the shared second place mentioned above, I saw this as a series. I wanted to do something on the lines of the first story, Train of Clues, by giving clues for each state. First, I sent the story to an editor with the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and asked for her opinion on how to expand the story out as a series. She sent me some great advice. After receiving her advice and the directions she suggested I could go, I started doing research to find info that could be used for the "clues." I found some clues on the Educational World ® website and then I found a website, quite by accident, that had some trivia type of information for landmarks in every state. I gathered my information and let the idea brew, trying to figure out the best format for the series, that the reader's wouldn't get tired of and that would really be what I wanted from the series.
Rena -- How often will new books in the series come out?
Elysabeth -- According to my publisher, Vivian from 4RV Publishing, one book every three months. But we've had a few setbacks recently and so it looks like books 2, 3, 4 and 5 might be pushed back a bit further than they already are.
Rena -- About how long does it take you to write one of the books?
Elysabeth -- Once I decide what info to use as the clues and sit down and concentrate on the writing process, I probably can write the story in a couple of days. Unfortunately, I don't work that way. But, no worries, the books will be done on my part as they should be.
Rena -- What gave you the idea to make the stories like a game?
Elysabeth -- It was an accidental finding. I had thought of writing the stories for a 5-minute mystery site and I played around with different ideas. I originally was going to do the series like a journal, where the kids would be in a year-round school and would have to keep track on a weekly basis of all in the info given to them to figure out which state was being described. When I saw a posting asking for submissions for the 5-Minute Mystery, I thought maybe my stories would work out for that. I tried to make it as the state being the character and giving each state a personality to give the trivia info to the kids, but that didn't work. I tried making it like a game host asking the questions - kind of a Jeopardy!® type game, but that wasn't turning out the way I wanted. And, then the produces of the 5-Minute Mystery site wanted the stories to be more "geographical" in the story and I was having to either give up story or plot or characters or something and so we weren't meeting in the middle.
When I put it aside for a couple of months or so and after speaking with my illustrator Aidana Willowraven online for a bit, the idea came to me on how to get it across without preaching to the readers. I wanted to make something fun and that the readers would want more of. I have teenagers and figured I could tap into the market that they can relate to, so the Junior Geography Detective Squad game came about.
Rena -- Do you ever tell people not to peek at the end to guess the state?
Elysabeth -- All the time. The first book has a map quiz and flag info and thereby giving the state away immediately. Books 2 through 50 will not have that info, but will have some discussion questions to get the readers thinking caps on and provide more information about the state and clues. I hope the readers will like the information and further their learning by doing the research.
Rena -- How long have you been writing and what inspired you to start?
Elysabeth -- I've been writing about five years, give or take a few months. It all started with a dare on a forum that I frequented. One of my friends dared me to write something and post it for everyone to read and vote on the story. I received some pretty good comments, so wrote a few more stories and posted them. Then, I went off the forums for a while and didn't really write until a friend challenged me to enter the Armchair Interviews fan mystery contest for "Silence of the Loons". Thus, Train of Clues was born.
Rena -- What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Elysabeth -- The end. (laughing) When I put the finishing touches on the story and send it to my friends to edit is the favorite part.
Rena -- How do you market your books?
Elysabeth -- This is tough. I really have just been getting out there and making folks aware of the first book, State of Wilderness, and the series. Everyone who has kids in the age group I'm targeting I try to make sure they are aware. I have JGDS blog and the Junior Geography Detective Squad, so hopefully folks will keep following both and stay interested in the series for the duration.
Rena -- What were some of your favorite books as a child?
Elysabeth -- The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, mysteries or just about anything I was given as a gift to read. My godmother was a firm believer in giving us gifts that would last a lifetime, which meant books for me.
Rena -- I just want to say I've read State of Wilderness. I'm 43 years old and I learned a lot. I was pretty surprised how many clues I had to read before I figured out the state. The clues are tricky and get you thinking of other places. If I can learn so much from this book, kids will certainly benefit from it. Elysabeth, I thank you for joining us here today and I wish you lots of success with your book series.
Elysabeth -- Thanks for having me, Rena. It's been fun.
To follow Elysabeth's blog tour, click here for the full schedule. State of Wilderness can be ordered through Amazon or 4RV Publishing, LLC. The second book, State of Quarries will be released soon. As part of this book tour, Elysabeth is giving away USA map puzzles and a few state related items. The rules are --
1. Each person who leaves a comment and a valid email address in the comment will go into the drawing.
2. Only one entry per stop. If you leave several comments on the same stop, your name will only go in once.
Today is the last day to vote. Check out my other blog here for details.
As it looks now, my books have been pushed back a month and they might never see light of day if this law goes unchallenged. Not only will it affect toy makers, clothing companies and book publishers, it will affect us as parents too. There will be less choices and prices will increase to make up for the cost of this testing process.
I got this in an email today from my friend Anita. I thought it would be fun to include it on this blog. Feel free to add your 4s on the comments and/or your blog.
I finally broke out of my writing slump and wrote another story. After working on my NaNo project all of November, I hadn't done anything since. This story originated from that project. It's a 1020-word picture book about pet loss, so it's something that's close to my heart. I'm not sure why, but it feels good to have completed something brand new. Now let's just hope I can find someone interested in publishing it!
I'm also looking forward to sharing my other book, A New Job for Dilly with everyone soon. It's supposed to be coming out sometime in February, if all goes as planned. I will keep you posted ...
A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.
"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room, just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged. It's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!"
Remember the five simple rules to be happy --
Free your heart from hatred
Free your mind from worries
Live simply
Give more
Expect less
Thanks to my friend Robyn in Australia for sending this to me in an email this morning. It's definitely something to keep in mind.
We're getting pounded with snow right now. I live in northwestern Montana, in what's called the Flathead Valley. We already had about 2 feet of snow and then it started up around 4am and hasn't stopped since. It's absolutely WILD! My husband had to go to work today, but just left the office to come home. He drives a little state issued car and put chains on it before he left. It normally takes him 40 minutes to get home, so who knows how long it will be with the chains and the road conditions. Our road to our house hasn't been plowed since about 5am and it's an absolute mess. I'm guessing we have around 3 feet of snow now. I'll be outside soon shoveling it from our deck and Rick will probably be using the snow cutter to get some off the roof. I live on a mountain surrounded by pine trees, so it sure is pretty. It's starting to come down again pretty hard though, so who knows what we're in for. Wish us luck!
Oh, and check out by other blog here to find out what special day today is!
I've posted about Photojojo before -- it's a great site. This morning I got an email from them with 22 photo-related resolutions. Click here to read about them. Some of these I do already, like backing up pictures, entering contests, sharing them online and so forth. Others I'd like to give a try, like going on assignments and picking certain things to photograph. Check out the link if you like. It's a cool site, even if you just like taking snapshots. The 22 photo resolutions sound like a lot of fun. I hope to try a few. I loved the one about going on a walk and taking a picture of the first thing you see that's your favorite color. Sounds like fun!
We're welcoming the New Year with several inches of snow, and more to come. My husband is out scraping some of it from the roof. I guess I will be spending the rest of my day taking down the Christmas tree and packing up my Nativity collection. I only get my Nativities out for the holidays, so I'm always a little sad to put them away. I display most of them on my windowsills and since it's been below zero so much lately, I've had to keep my blinds down to keep the cold air out. I feel a little cheated that I didn't get to see my collection that much. Oh well -- next year.
Happy New Year and I wish you the absolute best for 2009 -- God bless.
I put this on my Blogger site, but wanted to share it here too. I picked one photo for each month of the year. I hope you enjoy seeing what we did and saw over 2008. I also hope everyone has a safe New Year's Eve and that 2009 brings much peace & happiness to you all. God bless.
Inbetween Christmas and New Year's is another holiday most people probably don't know even exists. It's called Tick Tock Day. Click here for proof I'm not making this up. Tick Tock Day is the day you should do something you've wanted to do all year. Time is running out and today is the day to get something accomplished. Can you think of something you've wanted to do all year, but have kept putting it off? I can think of LOTS of things, sadly. One in particular is loading up a digital photo keychain I got for Christmas LAST YEAR. Yep, how sad is that! My goal for Tick Tock Day is to load that keychain up finally. So, what are you going to accomplish today?
Also, if you want to see some fun snow pics, click here for my other blog entry.
This picture is of my nine-year-old son, Nathan. Is it any wonder my kids are an inspiration for me to write children's books? I have been thinking about my writing and realized I haven't written recently. The entire month of November was focused on NaNoWriMo. I was able to reach my goal of 50,000+ words. I wrote about my cat, CJ and the difficult life he had after being hit by a car. It was a story dear to my heart and I spent many nights in tears as I tried to get the words out. He was a once-in-a-lifetime pet. I managed to get 3 different stories out of it -- CJ's story, a picture book about the loss of a pet and a fictional version of CJ's story.
However, I haven't written since. I feel the need to write -- something, anything. I usually make New Year's resolutions and I'm pretty good at keeping the realistic ones. This year I want to resolve to go snowshoeing and learn how to XC ski better. My writing will have some resolutions too. I'd like to work through the 3 stories from my NaNoWriMo project and see if I can come up with something I could submit. I also have a middle grade novel I'd like to get out. I've only sent it out twice so far. I've heard from one publisher, so it's time to start sending more manuscripts out.
4RV Publishing has been so gracious to me and I will have 7 books published by them in the next few years. The last one I submitted, Critter Groups, actually turned into a series of 3 different books. With the illustrators we have, I know these are going to be adorable picture books. I'm so excited about the books I have coming out with 4RV Publishing, which include the following titles --
A New Job for Dilly -- illustrated by Lisa Oakman
A New Friend for Dilly -- illustrated by Lisa Oakman
A Dinner Date for Dilly -- illustrated by Lisa Oakman
The Marshmallow Man -- illustrated by Stephen Macquignon
Lemur Troops & Critter Groups -- illustrated by Nikki Shoemaker
Stork Musters & Critter Clusters -- illustrated by Nikki Shoemaker
Pony Strings & Critter Things -- illustrated by Nikki Shoemaker
So, I feel 2009 is going to be a busy year for me. Not only with marketing the books I have coming out, but also revising the ones I've already written and starting the submission process for others. Still, it's hard to fight that urge to write something NEW, even when I have so much else to do. I hope I can reach my goals for 2009.
Also, if you've ever wondered why animal's eyes glow in pictures and human eyes turn red, check out my other blog here.
This is what my front yard looked like this morning. My outside Nativity is just about covered up and Jesus is totally buried. We got a late start to the snow this year, but it seems to be going just fine now. It's still coming down and it looks like we have more on the way too! Even my little bear windchimes are getting hit.
I, of course, am loving it. But then again, I'm not out driving or working in it, so that makes a big difference. When we moved to Montana I made a New Year's Resolution to learn how to cross country ski. I've gotten to do that a few times and think it's a lot of fun. This year what I really want to do is snowshoe. Unlike with skiing, I can take pictures while snowshoeing, so I'm hoping to give that a try.
Carol of the Bells is my all-time favorite Christmas song. In fact, I love it so much that I have a playlist on my iPod that has over 30 different versions of this very song! So many artists have covered it and I've tried to keep my playlist really varied. I have all sorts of versions including jazz, piano, harp, fiddle, heavy metal, surf, kids and even cats and babies! This band here, Straight No Chaser is absolutely awesome. I've just added their version to my collection. If you're looking for a new Christmas CD, check these guys out. I just bought their CD on iTunes and it's fantastic. Carol of the Bells is such an amazing song and I never tire of hearing it.
ENTRY DATES: All entries must be postmarked between January 1, 2009, and January 31, 2009.
RULES: No entry form or fee is required. *Entrants must be at least 16 years old at the time of submission. We welcome work from both published and unpublished authors. All submissions must be previously unpublished. Stories may be any length up to 800 words. Stories for beginning readers should not exceed 500 words. Indicate the word count in the upper right-hand corner of the first page of your manuscript. No crime, violence, or derogatory humor. Entries not accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope will not be returned. Manuscripts or envelopes should be clearly marked FICTION CONTEST. Those not marked in this way will be considered as regular submissions to Highlights.
SEND ENTRIES TO: FICTION CONTEST Highlights for Children 803 Church Street Honesdale, PA 18431
WINNERS: The three winning entries will be announced on Highlights.com in June 2009. These stories will become the property of Highlights for Children and will be published by Highlights. All other submissions will be considered for purchase by Highlights.
* We're sorry that we cannot consider contest entries from children under the age of 16. Young writers are welcome to submit their work for consideration elsewhere in the magazine. Guidelines are available on HighlightsKids.com.
Good luck to all who enter! Oh, and one more thing, I posted a slideshow of snow pictures on my other blog today. You can view them here.
I think I've posted pictures of my back yard, but this is my front yard. This picture was taken two years ago when we first moved to Montana. It's one of my favorite sunset pictures that I've taken. We don't have this much snow yet, but we have a little and are expecting more tonight. There was an awesome sunset last night, but I didn't get any pictures of it unfortunately.
