Laurel Snyder

 

Z is for Zebra

The Zebra ends most every book,
A swank cebrity,
He really has no special skills,
But starts with letter Z.

We are now in Baltimore, which is (and will always be) home for me. I love it here. I’m very happy. The dogwoods are out and the the azaleas are unfolding.  The boys are delighted to be with “Gammy” and “Gamps”. 

The Seder was wonderful.  Mose had “wine” and sang Dayenu.  Chag Sameach to all.

The husband (who I often leave out of the blog, because he is a more private person than me) is in JAPAN!  And next week he will be in CHINA! 

Fancy!

And I’m writing/ revising/ scrambling to finish this draft of ANY WHICH WALL in time to turn it in for my deadline next Monday, when I head to NY to meet my publicist!!! 

Fancy!

Really, life is pretty fancy these days, if you leave out the poop, mashed nanners, and sleep-deprivation.

How ’bout you?

D is for Dog

The ordinary canine,
Though famous for his trust,
Is rarely called  ”fantabulous”.
In fact he’s often “just.”

I’m driving right now with the boys (well, not at this moment, obvs) through the mountains of Virginny.  Which is pretty much my favorite drive in the world. I LOVE 81!  If ever I had a bundle of dollars, I’d buy a cabin near Harper’s Ferry. 

And so I’m neglecting my quatrains. But here’s a hotel quickie:

I is for (Unidentifiable) Insect

The thing that bit my son last night,
Had better hide, or face a fight!
I paid to get a bug-free bed,
And found his company instead.

And in other news, an absolutely wonderful and appreciated review of Myth of the Simple Machines.

Thank you, Kerry!!!

 

U is for Unicorn

The very naughty unicorn
Grew tired of his life,
And yawned, “I’m through with virgins.
I need a spicy wife!

L is for Leech

The leech’s mommy loves him,
Though anyone he’s sucked,
Will tell you he’s revolting.
They wish he’d self-destruct.

 

 O is for Ocelot
(warning: cheap dumb laugh lurking ahead)

The ocelot’s a kind of cat– bewhiskered, also furry.
But if you try to snuggle him, he’ll give you cause for worry.
He likes to hunt for mousies, as well as  rats and birds.
But show him to the catbox and he’ll offer you –a MESS!

Okay, if these kinds of posts drive you nuts, feel free to ignore.  I don’t mean to be braggy, just EXCITED!  For someone like me, who has dreamed of being an author since the 4th grade, this is crazy. Like going to the ball.

But I mean, LOOK!  Libraries have already ordered my book, which doesn’t come out for months and months!

This is, in some ways, the biggest “Oooh!” of all for me. 

I was basically raised by the librarians of the Enoch Pratt Free Library (the library system in Baltimore).  Every day after school I went to the library and waited for my mom to come and pick me up.  I’d help shelve books, and eat my little snack, and read, and sit on the steps and dream of being a writer. No kidding. The librarians babysat me, knew me by name. I made them birthday cards.

In fact, the Enoch Pratt librarians get a big THANK YOU in my book.

So for me, this is like… like… I don’t know…  BIG! 

I’m going to be in the library!

And *that* means that somewhere (come August) little girls will be stranded at libraries in Calgary, reading MY book, and dreaming of writing their own books someday.

How absolutely amazing…

 

Hey, awesome!

I got an early mention at Kidsreads.com ! 

I don’t know what this kind of stuff means, beyond that someone, somewhere, thought my book looked like fun…

But guess what?! 

Someone, somewhere thought my book looked like fun!

 THANKS, KIDSREADS.COM!!!  Thanks, “Booker T. Worm”!

C is for Crawdad

My good friend the crawdad
Lives down with the fishes.
But often goes swimming
In hot soupy dishes.