Lauri Meyers .

I had the best weekend at the NJSCBWI Conference. My brain is so full, I can barely make sentences... but it only takes basic zombie skills to type up a list of the books I heard recommended by editors and agents.  I'm sure many of you are looking for summer reads, so enjoy! (I'm actually looking for some brains to eat...isn't that a weird craving?) Picture Books By Author/Illustrators Green , by Laura Vaccaro Seeger No Fits, Nilson ! by Zachariah Ohora The  Twins Blanket , by Hyewon Yum The Curious Garden,  by Peter Brown Penguin and Pinecone , by Salina Yoon Zombelina , by Kristyn Crow Island: A Story of the Galápagos ,  by Jason Chin LittleTug , by Stephen Savage All Kinds of Kisses , by Nancy Tafuri  Crankenstein , by Samantha Berger Awesome Dawson , by Chris Gall Pirate, Viking and Scientist , by Jared Chapman Me, Jane , by Patrick McDonnell I came home with this beauty from Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen T...

I'm in a frantic period right now - combination of school almost out, summer fun beginning with camping this weekend, and my NJ conference next weekend. For me this is a peak time, where I push myself on revisions, start thinking about summer submissions, and daydreaming about sharing book-love with an agent.   But with the excitement of a conference comes the post-conference-collapse-on-the-couch. And with the excitement of submissions often comes the dreaded-rejection-letter. So I needed to take a moment this morning to remind myself of the journey I'm on and embrace its peaks and valleys. With the help of Sharpie, I present: I had no idea when I wrote that first word what an exciting adventure writing would be! Yes the lows are totally turds-in-the-pool, but the highs make it worth the swim. (Not my best metaphor, but successfully explains the high rates of cholera among writers.) Ahh, take a deep breath, focus on the long term, and write on!

My kids hosted an inspiration session yesterday for me which was much needed to break up the routine of prepping for the NJSCBWI conference in two weeks (squee!!) Sometimes my anal-nerdy-financial-analytic self takes over, and I make binders, research agents, prepare my journal, etc. These steps are important, but if I forget to feed my creative self before a conference, well then it's all for naught. I was sitting in the living room, minding my business, when I realized I was on a tractor ride. "You should buckle up," my 4yo said. "Can you do it by yourself?" "Um, yep. Click. Click . Hmph. I can't get this last buckle."  I had slept 9 hours the night before for the first time in months, so I put a little more into my role play than usual.  "I'll help you. Click. See? It was easy."  4yos have a way of letting you know you've been condescending in the past. "Thank you. Where are we heading?" "...