This blog is a place that we have created to talk to kids, teachers, librarians, artists, and other image makers about our new books and about writing and drawing. A blog about a book isn't that weird. But the fact that we are doing this together is a little bit weird. We went out looking on the internet to see if any other authors and illustrators had done such a thing and we couldn't find a single site.
Here's why (we think). Did you know that author/poets and illustrators don't usually talk to one another when they are working on a book? True! The author writes the book and the publisher gets to choose the illustrator, who then works with the editor and the art director to make the book the very best it can be. But the author and illustrator don't often talk to one another along the way.
Every book is a team effort, but that doesn't mean that the team gets together in a huddle to talk things over. In fact, it's kind of against the rules for the author and the illustrator to communicate with one another during the development of a book.
This was a pretty hard rule for us, since we are friends. But we were pretty good about not talking while the book was in process. Not perfect. But pretty good.
Sara: Story of my life. Not perfect, but pretty good.
Karen: Me too. I myself have perfected "imperfect."
Now that we are done, we have decided it's okay to break that rule about not talking to one another. And we are hoping that some cool artwork and poems get sent to us through this blog.
Poems and drawings are snapshots of life. Of school life and just life in general. Images, whether they are shaped into a drawing or a poem provide others with a glimpse into the life of the person who put the pen to paper.
You may wish to visit our personal blogs or websites (see links) or you may wish to write to either of us directly. You can do that by writing to sara@saraholbrook.com or ksandstrom@gmail.com.
Kids: We want to see your poems and artwork, so send them along. We intend to have some contests and we want everyone to participate.
Parents and educators: we promise to be vigilant about not letting anything inappropriate get posted, so if you see anything suspect that we missed, let us know.
