Classic Librarian Cartoon

Some of My Favorite Christmas Books for Children

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite "true" Christmas stories. It is set on the western front on a Christmas Eve during World War One. It relates a magical night when the soldiers laid down their arms to celebrate the spirit of the season. When I teach this book, usually to fifth graders, I also play the song. This is a deeply moving tale.

 

 

 

I absolutely love the illustrations in this animal oriented telling of the Christmas story. The handling of the Jesus story is very gentle and deft. The animals express nearly human thoughts and feelings about miracle of Christmas.

WEAU TV 13 interview on Calvin the Cookie Maker

http://www.weau.com/hellowisconsin/headlines/Local-auther-pens-Wisconsin-inspired-childrens-book-283970351.html

Featured New Release by Fire and Ice author Alice J. Black

Blurb:

When she is moved halfway down the country during the summer holidays, Amanda finds she's stuck in a place that she not only hates but where it never seems to stop raining. Godfrey Hall, their new home, is a dark, cold place that she can't seem to adjust to. The worst room is the dining room where a set of mosaic doors seems to draw her in despite the fact that she despises it. The first day her parents are both out, Amanda finds out the true secret of the mosaic doors and nothing will stop her opening the shrine made for a man hundreds of years before her.

About the author:

Bio: Alice lives and works in the North East of England where she lives with her partner and slightly ferocious cat. She writes all manner of fiction with a tendency to lean towards the dark side, but also likes to challenge herself and write out of her genre too. Dreams and sleep-talking are currently a big source of inspiration and her debut novel, The Doors, is a young adult novel which originally sprouted from a dream several years ago and grew from there.

Contact:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/alice.j.black.doors
Wordpress: http://alicejblack.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @AliceJBlack
Purchasing links:

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doors-Alice-J-Black/dp/1680460080/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416422823&sr=8-1&keywords=the+doors+alice+j+black

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Doors-Alice-J-Black-ebook/dp/B00PN0GR7W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416422868&sr=8-1&keywords=the+doors+alice+j+black

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/493282

Calvin the Cookie Maker Book Trailer

Calvin the Cookie Maker Book Trailer

Calvin the Cookie Maker Book Giveaway

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Calvin the Cookie Maker

by Caroline Akervik

Giveaway ends December 31, 2014.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Cover Reveal for Calvin the Cookiemaker! Please let me know what you think!

Press Release for Calvin the Cookie Maker

                            

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Caroline Akervik

Web site address: http://www.weecreekpress.com/

Blog: http://carolineakervik.blogspot.com/

Calvin the Cookie Maker will soon be released by Wee Creek Press.

Calvin the Cookie Maker, a middle grade Christmas story with a distinctly Midwestern feel, will soon be released by Wee Creek Press. The author is Caroline Akervik, whose writing credits include White Pine: My Year as a Lumberjack and a River Rat and A Horse Named Viking, and the illustrator is Nina Maria Rothfus.

Eau Claire, Wisconsin, October 6th

Wee Creek Press will soon be releasing Calvin the Cookie Maker by Caroline Akervik.

It’s December in Wisconsin and not quite Christmas, which means it’s already cold and snowy and all Calvin Greene can think about is Christmas. After watching a cooking show on TV, he is inspired to make a glittery Christmas Cookie book that he tries to share with his parents, but they’re too busy to pay attention. Adding to Calvin’s holiday blues, two of the best players on his hockey team want him to play with them in the Pond Hockey Tournament, but his best friends, Perry, who’s not a very good hockey player, wants Calvin to play with him, too. What should Calvin do? A snow storm is coming, so who knows if the Pond Hockey will even happen? Life is crazy and Christmas is around the corner. Will Calvin and his family and friends have time to take a breath and enjoy the holiday season?

Calvin the Cookie Maker is a charming, soon-to-be holiday classic with a distinctly Midwestern feel to it. It is sure to appeal to reluctant readers in the middle grades. The illustrations and cover art are by Nina Marie Rothfus, whose other book illustrations include Melanie Gets a Nanny  and Mr. Poots and the Scary Baby series.

Calvin the Cookie Maker will be available in both paperback and in eBook format.

carolineakervik.blogspot.com | #CAkervik

 

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Procrastination and final edits

I love to write... Well, I'm not sure that that is entirely accurate. I think it would be more honest to say that I feel anxious and frustrated if I don't write. I am compelled to write, but I must admit that, almost on a daily basis, I put off writing through a variety of rituals. I check email, work on my blog, read the news, check on Twitter. I waste at least a half an hour in preparation for writing. But it seems premature to jump into writing. To feel ready to write, I need to go through these steps. Sometimes, I even try to trick myself to get more writing completed by getting up extra early to get these steps done.

This past Saturday, I got the edits of Calvin the Cookie Maker back from the editor. This book has to be completed and released by October 1st, as it is a Christmas story. I was thrilled to finally get the edits. I had campaigned to get them back in time for the book to be released this year. But it was almost physically painful to make myself sit down and work on the story one more time.

It's always surprising to read one's own work after stepping away from it for a while. The time and distance gives you perspective to evaluate the story. I think that's why I sometimes hesitate to get to work on edits. Or, maybe the truth is that final edits are simply polishing what is already there. There is not a lot of room for creativity. Final edits require real concentration and close reading. I tend to be more of a big picture person, so this work is challenging for me. Also, this final reading is what gives me closure on a story. I am about it set it free, for it develop a life of its own, for it to develop its own connection with its readers, one that will not include me, the author.

Hitting the "The End" is definitely a bitter sweet feeling. The story has grown up, achieved maturity. Now, though I know what led to this story, how ideas, memories, and experiences came together to generate it, it is no longer my project, my creature. In a way, it has gained a life of its own. Perhaps, this is fanciful, but it is a feeling that I have every time I finish a story.

Yes, now I can say, I truly like Calvin the Cookie Maker. He is my gift to my children and my husband, Andy. I do not bake, my Christmas decorations are far from tasteful and are definitely more of a holiday explosion. But Calvin captures some of my favorite family memories and emotions.

Sneak Peek of Calvin the Cookie Maker illustrations - Hopefully to be released in October of this year!

At Spectrum West for the WPR Central Time Interview

Public Radio Interview - Tuesday, August 12th from 4:00 to 4:15 PM

I will be interviewed by Veronica Rueckert for Central Time on Wisconsin Public Radio on Tuesday, August 12th, from 4:00 to 4:15 PM CT. We will be discussing White Pine. Please listen in.

Thanks!

The best view from my writing desk

I debate bringing my laptop with me when we go camping. I worry that I am taking away from my family by taking the time to write. Sometimes, it's too hot for the dog to go on the boat, then I stay back at the campsite and write. It's very pleasant listening to the wind in the trees, very inspiring...

"Timber Tales" by Tom Giffey

 Photograph by Andrea Paulseth

Spectrum West Interview with Jim Oliver, July 3rd, 2014

I am a huge fan of public radio and, recently, I had the great pleasure of being interviewed by Jim Oliver on Spectrum West about White Pine. This program is devoted to the Arts and Culture of Wisconsin. Here is the link to the archived program: Spectrum West for July 3rd, 2014.

Review of Ken's War by B. K. Fowler

Over the weekend, I had the great pleasure to read B. K. Fowler’s Young Adult coming-of-age story, Ken’s War. As a school librarian and the mother of two boys (and a girl), I am always on the lookout for books that will appeal to boys, particularly adolescents. I believe that Ken’s War will hold great appeal for teenaged boys who are looking action and adventure and want characters to whom they can relate.

The story line of Ken’s War is complex. Set in the Vietnam era, Ken Paderson and his father have moved to Japan because his father, who is in the military, has been reassigned there. Ken is out-of-sorts. Struggling with culture shock, Ken is angry with his father for uprooting him and keeping him in the dark on many issues, including his grandparents’ death. His mother is, at first, out of the picture.

There is a secondary story line about a budding but forbidden relationship between Ken and Yasuko, a young Nisei woman. This flirtation proves as fragile and as rare as a white macaque monkey.

Ken, like many young men, is struggling to construct an identity and make sense of his world. Adding to this heady brew of hormones and clashing cultures, are a smuggling ring, a martial arts master, and a revelatory trip home to the states.
Ken, like many adolescents, particularly ones whose families are going through changes, is at war with nearly everyone and everything, including himself. In the course of the novel, Ken comes to empathize with others around him, including his father, and to see the world through other’s eyes.

The strength is B. K. Fowler’s writing lies in her ability to capture the essence of an image or a moment. Ken’s War, like the potent taste of dried tea leaves on the tongue, lingers in one’s mind.

What if? The birth of a story idea

I was speaking with a third grade class yesterday and one of the children asked: "Where do you get the idea for a story? How do you start a new book? "

I answered the question somehow. It was only later, when I went for a walk, that I truly thought out my answer.

For me, a story starts with an image and then with a What if? 

White Pine began with a visit to the Chippewa Valley Museum. I was sitting on a bench in the bunk house with my then third grader and he pointed out the lumberjack socks dangling from rail by the stove. The idea popped into my mind: What if a boy, one older than my son, had to go to work at a logging camp in the 1880s? Other questions followed that What if? Questions like:  Why would he have to go? How would the other men treat him? And, would he want to go home after a winter in the Northwoods?

Once the kernel of an idea for a story starts to develop in my mind, I often stumble upon other images or moments that develop the story. I remember going geocaching with my kids one Saturday afternoon and one of the clues that led us to our cache was a historical marker. The marker stood by an old brick building which turned out to once have been a lumber company office and was one of the few remaining lumberjack era buildings left in the city of Eau Claire. So, the idea for the story continued to grow in my mind. For me, it is as if a story asks to be told, gives me frequent reminders, and if I don't jot them down in my Writer's Notebook, the entire thing can slip away and be lost in the cobwebs in my mind.

So, my advice for new or young writers is to be open to the What ifs that pop up around you. A story, once it starts in your mind, has a life and power all its own. Your characters will demand that certain things happen to them. They will make their own choices and choose their destinies. But you have to jot down the ideas, hold fast to threads of inspiration which slip through your mind, or you risk losing these inspirations.

It all starts with a What if.

Logging camp photo of one of the last lumberjack camps in Wisconsin

Here is a photo of one of the last logging camps in the state of Wisconsin. The picture was taken by Myles Smith in 1924 and the camp was near Park Falls, Wisconsin. White Pine is set in the 1880s, but I imagine the camp to have looked much like this with the buildings of the camp set around a central clearing. #whitepine

Interview and White Pine giveaway at the Fire and Ice Blog

Please check out my interview and sign up for the White Pine giveaway by commenting on the Fire and Ice blog. I greatly appreciate your thoughts and comments!

How my husband and the WWE saved Easter at my house

This year, the Easter Bunny left my ten-year-old son a WWE figurine (Kane, for those WWE fans out there). My son pointed out that he already had this particular wrestler and so my teen aged daughter helpfully pointed out that the Easter Bunny had left gift receipts in the baskets (clever rabbit). I pointed out that Kmart had a direct relationship with the Easter Bunny.

So, after Easter dinner, the kids and I went to Kmart to make the exchange. My son located the character he wanted (The Undertaker) and we went to the Service Counter where I handed the receipt to the cashier. 

My boy became immediately suspicious: "How come you have a receipt?"

"It's the gift receipt. Remember?"

"Can I see it, Mom," he asked suspiciously.

"No, the cashier needs it," I responded, winking at the cashier, encouraging her to play along. For, I certainly didn't want my boy to see the miscellaneous Easter candy purchases. 

"Come on, Mom."

"No, son, the lady needs that receipt."

"When she's done," he offered.

We went back and forth for a few seconds and then, responding to a subtle cue from me, the cashier tore up the receipt and tossed the pieces.

As we headed outside, it became immediately obvious that my boy was suspicious. "Mom, do you and Dad bring the candy? My friends say that they do?"

John is ten. He is heading to middle school next fall and as we approached the car, it seemed that the moment for coming clean had arrived. I knew that it was going to hurt, like ripping a band aid off a wound, but it had to happen.

So, we had "the Talk." We soon arrived at the big question: "What about Santa? You and Dad don't have the money to buy all those Christmas presents."

I hesitated and then answered the question, well aware of diminution of magic that was occurring in his world right before my eyes.

He swallowed hard, but didn't protest. I did see some tears welling up in his eyes. He was quiet for most of the ride home,

When we got there, I directed John in to my husband, so that he could offer some moral support to our boy.

We talked through the whole Santa issue, gave John the "spirit of Christmas spiel." Then, inspiration struck my husband. He said something, "You know how the WWE is entertainment, right, that it is not real?"

"Yes," John nodded, his eyes, distressingly full.

"But it's still awesome? You love watching it even though it's staged. It's magical, right?"

John nodded again.

"Christmas is like that. It doesn't work exactly the way you thought it did. Santa may not deliver the gifts. But there was a real Santa and his spirit inspires your mother and myself, and most other parents, to act like Santas for you. So, Santa is real. He acts through us. It's just like WWE. It may not be as it first appears, but that doesn't diminish how cool it is."

Amazingly, it worked. My husband is a genius. This explanation satisfied my boy and rendered slightly less painful this step in the maturation process for my son. 

It is bittersweet that are no more "believers" in my house. But maybe the trick is in understanding that we all just have to shift our beliefs a little bit, that the magic is, in fact, still there.

John is handling the new information well, is seemingly proud to be "in the know." However, he did ask me: "What about leprechauns? And, do the animals really speak at midnight on Christmas Eve?" 

I nodded my head and said "Yes." For, I do believe in magic and in miracles and I want that for my child as well.

These are royalty free images from

http://www.canstockphoto.com/stock-photo-images/easter.html.

White Pine is featured on Sue Cover Reveals and Book Promotion

Sues Cover Reveals

I am featured on Mrs. Mommy Booknerd - Interesting Questions

Mrs. Mommy Booknerd Showcase

Review of White Pine by a K-12 Library Media Specialist

Review

Amazon Gift Card Giveaway on the Fire and Ice Blog

Sign up for the Amazon gift card giveaway on at the Fire and Ice Blog. It's at the bottom of the blog.
Do check it out!

Fire and Ice Blog

White Pine is now available from the publisher!

White Pine is now available from the publisher in print and ebook format!

Book Trailer for White Pine

White Pine Word Cloud

Here's a very cool White Pine Word Cloud created by Sharon Bestul, a truly fabulous Library/Media specialist.

Middle Grade Novel Scavenger Hunt for World Read Aloud Day

http://www.bonbonbreak.com/wrad-scavenger-hunt/

White Pine Giveaway at Goodreads

Goodreads Book Giveaway

White Pine

by Caroline Akervik

Giveaway ends May 03, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Look what just came in the mail!

Coming Soon! White Pine - Check it out on the Fire and Ice coming soon page

White Pine is coming soon!

 

 

 

Thoughts on releasing White Pine into the wild

Whew. I just finished what I believe are the final edits for White Pine, which should be released before the end of this month. I find myself somewhat out of sorts. I reread the story over the past few days. Again, I experienced that strange distance that a writer gets from his or her work once it is complete. I remember the creative process of writing the story. I know what inspired it, and I vividly recall all of the work that went into it, but now the characters and the tale have gained a life or an identity all their own. I guess I read the book as a reader not as the writer for the first time. I recall reading that a story comes to life through its connection/interface with readers. I believe this to be true.

I find that sometimes I struggle when discussing characters or events in my books. It's kind of like thinking about a friend whom you haven't seen in a while, qualities about them or memories of them come back in spurts. It was like that for me when reading about Sevy's adventures. Of course, I knew everything that was going to happen to him, but there were moments when I got a little choked up, when I was really invested in his life and his adventures. I must admit that I want to be a little teary eyed or feel my heart is full when I complete a work.

I have a love/hate relationship with Ernest Hemingway, but once when  asked about how he wrote, he responded something to the effect that he cuts himself open and bleeds all over the page. I find writing to be a similar experience. The weird thing is that you pour yourself into a book, you bleed all over that page, and then that story and those characters sort of take off on their own, leaving you, the writer behind. And this is as it should be.

Two New Books in the Works!

It's been an exciting morning! I just got publishing offers from Wee Creek Press for two works. The first one is middle grade fiction entitled "Calvin the Christmas Cookie Maker." It has the flavor of Northwestern Wisconsin and is about recapturing the magic of Christmas. The other work is my first attempt at nonfiction. It is entitled  "Rescue Dog" and is about my family's experience adopting a pet from Minnesota Boxer Rescue. Minnesota Boxer Rescue will receive half of the royalties from this work. I am super excited and thankful to Wee Creek Press! I can't wait to see these two books.

http://weecreekpress.com/