3 Things You May Not Know About Me

Howdy, Campers, and happy Poetry Friday! (My poem, the links to PF and to my upcoming classes are below).

We in the TeachingAuthors treehouse 

decided to get personal this 'round, so hold onto your hats as we blog about the 3 Things You May Not Know About...

Carmela started our 13th(!)-year with a bang: 3 Things You May Not Know About TeachingAuthors and a Trimeric Poem which details our new posting schedule, new calendar, and her terrific trimeric poem; Mary Ann reveals the famous children's author/illustrator she kissed, a shocking newspaper interview, and the book series she--a former children's librarian--has never read. 

And here are 3 Things You May Not Know About Me:

1) About 700 years ago at a conference far away, Nikki Grimes and two of her friends I'd had dinner with, knocked on my hotel room door past midnight. 

I was in my pajamas. 

They plopped down on my bed. 

I did my best to wake up. (I felt as if I were thirteen again, this time with the "in" girls who wanted to talk to me...in my pjs...on my bed!) 

Three older white men had had dinner with us--possibly publishers or book sales reps--I don't remember now. Nikki asked if I was aware of the racial slurs they had flung across the table at dinner. 

Now I was wide awake. Whaaa...? 

Those remarks had flown invisibly past me. 

These women were sitting on my bed, in the middle of the night, to open my eyes.

Maybe those remarks were dog whistles, meant only for the ears of the three black women at the table. 

Or maybe I was focused on the salmon, maybe I was dying for another roll but didn't want to look like a glutton, or maybe my monkey mind was buzzing from the conference.

They did their best to help me see that night, but I don't think I really understood. Though my family--grandparents, uncles, aunts, mother, father, sister and I--had been activists first and foremost in our lives, I'd never endured what Nikki and her friends had.

I look back with embarrassment. But also with gratitude. 

Thank you, Nikki, for trying that night, though I didn't understand. 

I am just beginning to understand, 700 years later.

[Addendum posted 2/9/22: I appreciate Heidi Mordhorst's comment below (and our subsequent correspondence): The stories that we white people can tell each other of our ignorance, our safety, our privilege are really important, April. Thank you. I'm so interested in how you characterized the "dog whistles" as meant for Black ears, when usually they're meant from white mouths for other white ears. Some of the ignorance of us "good white people" is that we don't suspect others of being racist; we don't hear what they're really saying. Let us be owls in all seasons, listening for what's underneath the surface.  

I now realize that it may be hardest for those of us from activist families to shift from believing that not being blatantly racist is enough. It's up to me to become anti-racist, an upstander and an ally.]

2) My picture book, MORE THAN ENOUGH ~ a Passover Story, illustrated by the wonderful Katie Kath (Dial Books), is coming out as a paperback and an audiobook on 2/22/22 🌞What a happy date🌞 (You can pre-order it from an indie bookstore now!)

(For those of you with an iron stomach, here's the whole, bloody creation story behind More Than Enough...which you can wash down with these delicious reviews.)

3) I recorded the author's notes for the audiobook in a fancy Santa Monica studio!  (The author's notes are just seven sentences long.)

Moi, after reading the author's notes

from More Than Enough...stoked with coffee

4) A bonus fact you may not know about me: my intention this year is to be present. So my word for 2022 is presence. When we're truly present, our  presence is a present 🎁

About a year ago I learned something (which you'll read in the backstory) that made me appreciate how focused owls are...how present they are, which inspired today's poem:

OWLS
by April Halprin Wayland

They are a special breed,

those focused listeners

who block out all

 

as if they're owls,

who hear

a mouse's heart

 

beat 

under

snow.

poem © 2022 April Halprin Wayland
=====================
Backstory:

I heard on the radio that "Owls can hear a mouse's heartbeat under a foot of snow"!  Isn't that MARVELOUS?

I did a virtual cartwheel when I heard that.
======================
Thank you for stopping by today! One final note:

I'll be teaching Introduction to Writing Children's Poetry on Saturday, March 26, 2022 12 noon-3pm PST, and Introduction to Writing a Children's Picture Book on Saturday, April 9, 2022 12 noon-3pm PST. Both are virtual classes; enrollment is limited to 20 students.

Thank you, Elisabeth, for hosting Poetry Friday at Unexpected Intersections

posted by April Halprin Wayland, with love

1 Day, 2 shots, 3 teachers: So Grateful!

Howdy, Campers, and Happy Poetry Friday! (The link to PF are below)

This round, we’re sharing “Matters of the Heart”💕. Esther starts us off in her characteristically generous, loving manner, offering three books that keep her heart beating;: Of, By and For Our Reader’s,Writer’s and Teacher’s Hearts; as she takes time off from this blog (I miss her already), Bobbi shares a song I’ve fallen in love with, Baba Yetu, in her very short post, Song of the Week: Here’s to You!;  Mary Ann, who always writes honestly from her heart, shares old family photos as she chronicles her process of returning to writing in Welcoming Home the Prodigal Heart; and Carmela shares two original haiku inspired by a prompt on Storystorm in her post, #TwoHaikuFromTwo.

And me? As a spring breeze of hope blows across my face, three things come to mind when I hear the word "heart"...

1. Heartbreak: March 7, 2020 ~ the last time I taught in person at UCLA.💔

I thought I was so clever putting up this sign to keep our classroom safe that day     :

Pl                                                Please read the exciting tale of
                                   ALCOHOL AND KLEENEX ~ A LOVE STORY 
· Pour a small amount of alcohol in your palm.
· Wash" your hands the same way you would with soap and water (the classic love story you may be more familiar with). 
· Let your hands air dry completely.  Do not rub them on your clothes to dry. 
                                          Thank you.

(We live and learn: I quickly stopped using alcohol. Anyone need a bottle? I have extra.)

There are many markers for when, exactly, the pandemic began in the US. The consensus is March 11, 2020. I was haunted recently, thinking back...it felt as if it had been at least two years. Or ten. I wrote this poem March 11, 2021:

THIS DAY

by April Halprin Wayland

This day.

This day a year ago

(or maybe more? Am I remiss?)

We stood upon a precipice

and knew not this:

this day the route was stayed, dismissed.

We thought it was the way but no—

it was the cliff.

2. 💕Take Heart: Two shots!💕

Now, thanks to the policies of a human, humane POSTUS, I’m double-vaccinated, as is my husband. And though we know democracy is not and has never been a spectator sport, still, my heart beats with hope for our country. Soon we may have a big, warm hug with our son and his beloved (he's an ER doc in Albuquerque, we live in Southern California)!

3. 👪From Heart Burn to Open Hearted: Three Musketeers teach a three-hour class👪

In the writing/teaching realm, my heart is filled with affection and appreciation for... 

                             

Alexis O'Neill ~ photo by Sonya Sones

and 

                                                                 

Barney Saltzberg

...two dear friends with whom I've been teaching intro to picture book class for absolute beginners each spring for many years. This quarter, UCLA Extension Writers' Program asked us to condense our one-day eight hour class into a one-day, three hour class.

Did you catch that? From eight hours down to three.

How were we going to teach everything a beginning picture book writer wants to know but is afraid to ask in THREE hours?

ACK! There's so much students won't be getting. 

But as every seasoned teacher knows, that's nothing new, right? Learning what to leave out is part of teaching. It's just that remote classes gobble up time like bears gobbling blueberries. 

Once we agreed that stuffing eight hours into three was like stuffing a dictionary into a thimble, we ripped up our syllabus and our carefully paced 8-hour schedule, created a tear in the space-time continuum,

...and crawled through.

And now it feels as if we've birthed something new. It's exciting!  So...if you know someone who doesn't know ANYTHING about picture books but is curious, please tell them about our class ~ just $30 for 3 hours. It'll be an adventure. Tell them to join us!  

Here's our flyer with Barney's fabulous illustration:

UCLA EXTENSION WRITERS' PROGRAM PRESENTS:

INTRODUCTION TO WRITING CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS

A BASIC WORKSHOP FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS

Saturday, April 3, 2021, 12-3pm PST

$30

You have the dream~ I've always wanted to write a children's picture book. 
But how? This inspiring class offers you practical tools to help you realize that dream. It includes writing exercises, examples of current picture books and behind-the-scenes stories and advice from award-winning authors. By the end of this class you'll have tools to guide you in this vibrant field.

Instructors:
Seasoned teachers and award-winning children's picture book creators
Alexis O'Neill, Barney Saltzberg and April Halprin Wayland 

Please understand that learning to write a picture book in three hours
is like speed-dating a cheetah on roller skates. Downhill. 
Still, the chase will be quite exciting!

Enrollment is limited.
https://ucla.in/3eUCzWU
...................................................................................................

Many thanks to RhymeZone and its "find phrases with the word heart in it" option.

Now it's your turn: if you were to list 3 things that changed your heart this past year, what would they be?

Thank you to Linda for hosting Poetry Friday at TeacherDance this week!

posted by April Halprin Wayland with the help of Sheldon, our 20-year-old tortoise, who came out of hibernation today to assist with all his heart.

Summer Books in Three Words: a 2:06 minute Video!

.

Howdy, Campers and happy summer!

I thought you might be interested in a fun video to inspire summer
reading some of my California author friends and I cooked up.  We're
all members of The Children's Authors Network (CAN!)

Take a gander:

C'est tout!

Love and peace and justice for all,

April Halprin Wayland

Writing Across America

A co-worker called me on Friday en route to Target.  I was jealous (I unabashedly adore Target) until he told me the purpose of his trip -- to get materials for his kindergartener's "Dr. Seuss book costume."  Being a practical parent, he was going the simple route -- posterboard to make green eggs and ham. 

Of course all the teachers among us know that tomorrow marks Dr. Seuss' birthday and the NEA's annual Read Across America Day.  How many parents have been scrambling for materials to make extravagant tributes to Dr. Seuss? 

As a kid, I was never (sacrilege, I know) a huge Seuss fan.  Neither are my own children, though "Dibble dibble dop" is one of our very favorite nonsensical things to say.  However, Green Eggs and Ham was the basis of one of the most moving television scenes ever, IMO -- on St. Elsewhere -- so I am probably the only person I know who thinks of Dr. Seuss and instantly wants to cry.

My daughter, at age 4 and 11/12, just last night read a whole REAL book at bedtime for the first time.  Oh, the excitement in our household!  Of course no one was more excited than she.  (Once upon a time, she worried that learning to read would mean that she would no longer be READ TO.  I think she has finally overcome this fear.) 

Kate goes to a Montessori school, and one of the precepts of the curriculum, I recently discovered, is that kids typically learn to write before they learn to read.  Perhaps some of you early childhood educators could shed some light on this concept.  At any rate, Kate has been using a "moveable alphabet" to sound out words since she was three.  Her spelling is atrocious, but her sense of phonics is pretty impressive.  Just this week she brought home her first story:

Translation:
Then, the fire-breathing dragon put her in a cage.  Later, the princess saw a police.  Finally, the police put the princess out of the cage.

I'm so proud of my little author!

My mother had to point out the anachronism of police and fire-breathing dragons co-existing, but she didn't seem to have a problem with the amusement park. :)

I will tell you what I love about Kate's school.  I love that her teachers don't correct her spelling.  I love that they encourage creativity and allow her to think for herself.  And I really, really love this exercise.  It teaches beginning, middle, end.  First, next, last.  Story structure!  The rule of threes!  It gives encouragement and prompts, but it leaves the bulk of the imagining to the child.  Between fire-breathing dragons and princesses, what four-year-old boy or girl would not be engaged in the topic?  The next day, Kate had to create an advertising slogan for a perfume for skunks.  The result was unprintable, but again -- genius!

I don't know when it is that writing -- and often reading -- start to become a chore, something to be dreaded.  But for some kids, obviously the joy persists.  I pray that my daughter will always come home and say, "I need a pencil.  I want to write a story!"

--Jeanne Marie