Gone Fishing!

We here at the Sidewalk will be taking a few weeks off to enjoy our summer. We will return in August with some great interviews, book reviews and maybe a few cake recipes.

See you in a few weeks,

Sarah and Suzanne

Writing on the Sidewalk

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Visiting Comic Con? Stop By and See Some Friends

It’s that time again here in San Diego when Batman and Superman hang out with Princess Leia and the Black Widow. Yes, it’s time once again for Comic Con, and I’m happy to report that two people we have featured here on the Sidewalk will be in attendance.

James Burks, author of Gabby and Gator and Beep and Bah will be at table E1 at the end of row 700 with his friend and fellow children’s book author/illustrator Mike Boldt.

Terry Naughton, illustrator of My Personal Panther will be  in the autograph area Thurs., Fri., Sat., and Sun.  He will also be at A32 from 10:00 am till 2:30 pm everyday.  

**Special Bonus** Terry has a special gift for anyone who stops by and says “Suzanne sent me,” so be sure to stop by and say “Hi.”

Suzanne Santillan

Writing on the Sidewalk

 

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Why Life Really Isn’t Like a Children’s Book

Our local market is sponsoring a huge game for the summer. It’s simple to play; the store will give you game pieces each time you make a purchase and if you collect all of the tokens for a particular item you win that item. At this moment I am one token away from winning any of these fabulous prizes:

$250 Grocery gift card

$250 Weekend Getaway

$1000 Gas Grill

$500 REI Gift card

$200 Kindle Fire

$100 Grocery Gift Card

$50 Gift Mall Gift Card

$20 Grocery Gift Card

$10 Cash

$5 Cash

$2 Cash

$25,000 Harley Davidson or Boston Whaler

and finally

$1,000,000 (Yes, 1 million dollars!)

I was walking the dog the other day when I spotted in the gutter one of the game tickets. It had been smashed by a car and slightly damp in the corner, but I was convinced this was going to be my winning ticket. I felt like Charlie Bucket in Roald Dahl’s, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this was going to be my lucky day.

I rushed home dragging the dog behind me in a hurry with visions of how I was going to spend my million dollars or where I would ride my Harley. I opened the ticket and found chocolate  just a repeat of numbers I already had. I didn’t even win the $2 let alone the $1,000,000. I laughed at myself and realized how silly I had been, then I washed my hands (the ticket was in the gutter after all ) and went on with my day.

Two days later I was leaving the market when I found another ticket in the parking lot near my car. After searching for the owner and finding no one nearby I put it in my pocket to check it out when I got back home. As I went about my errands I thought about Charlie Bucket again. He didn’t get the golden ticket the first time around. Wouldn’t this make a great blog post if I could tell people how my fabulous win was just like a children’s book? And while I don’t have four grandparents sleeping in one bed in my home, I could sure use a little extra cash. I was deserving right?

I opened the ticket and what did I see? The same numbers that I had before. I was still one ticket away from all of the fabulous prizes on my game card. No Harley, no gas grill or weekend getaway, I laughed at myself and realized that I did get one thing that I was looking for… something to blog about and the knowledge that life really isn’t like a children’s book and I think that’s okay.

Suzanne Santillan

Writing on the Sidewalk

 

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Book Thoughts: Tracing Stars by Erin E. Moulton

It’s July … and there are still three more weeks of the school year. It’s simply not right. As our principal had to deal with three separate shenanigan incidents yesterday it occurred to me that these kids should be on summer vacation!

For those of you enjoying summer already, I have a perfect summer read.  Tracing Stars by Erin E Moulton, ideal for middle grade readers, takes place in a coastal New England town. This story is funny and sweet and full of action. There is a lost pet – a soda loving golden lobster – The Lobster Monty Cola, behind the scenes peeks at working in a theater, a treehouse, and true conflict. (And! The funniest scene ever with a nod to the movie Alien.) It’s a story about friendship and family – and being true to yourself.

Indie Lee Chickory is a spunky heroine not afraid to take action. Even when her action leads to various messes and problems. There is also a great cast of interesting characters – Bebe, Indie Lee’s older sister desperate to be “perfect”; Owen, the brainy curious new friend; Sloth, the scary prop manager; as well as the various neighbors of Plumtown – and each character has their own agenda and own story arc evolving throughout the simultaneously funny and sweet story.

Enjoy!

 

Sarah Wones Tomp

WRITING ON THE SIDEWALK

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