Category: #PictureBook

Illustration by Wanda L. Brown
brownhouse_art

 

My name is Polly Pepper

And I live on Orchard Lane.

My house is very organized.

It’s rustic, clean and plain.

 

I love to pick ripe peaches                                      

And bake pies to give away.                           

I always have a perfect plan,

At least until today.  

 

NOW-

There’s a cricket in the peaches

And a turkey in my trunk!

A goat came down the chimney.

And she’s dancing on my bunk!               

 

—-

Yes, it rhymes. Rhyming is good. Rhyming is fun. Rhyming makes us happy! And the increasing annoyance of the chirping cricket soon becomes apparent.

Polly Pepper lives a quiet life picking peaches and baking pies. One day a chirping cricket arrives on the scene causing her animals to start behaving in unpredictable and extraordinary ways. Polly must learn to focus in spite of the distractions so she can bake her pie. THERE’S A CRICKET IN THE PEACHES is a picture book complete at 500 words for children ages 4 to 8.

How could I not write this story? After searching everywhere for the source of that annoying cricket, I finally found it, and literally exclaimed, “The cricket’s in the peaches!” to my daughter-in-law while on the phone. That led to me remembering that time I put our last surviving turkey in the trunk of my car to take into town to live with the chickens. There were my first two lines! And yes, our chickens can swing and pump with their tails. They also fly for bananas, but I digress. A squirrel did come down the chimney into the basement, and jump up to a high window sill and essentially fly across the room  onto a freshly-made bunkbed. But, alas, “squirrel” is not an appropriate rhyming word due to pronunciation variations, so, the squirrel is now a goat! Problem solved. And, I did indeed chase our daughter’s horse down a county road in 110 degree temperature (heat index higher). Fun times. Not. But I knew the horse had to figure into my story. My cats and dogs are always doing crazy things and I did rescue a beaver once, but he wasn’t fishing. 🙂

If you are interested in the status of my current projects, I’d love to hear from you at bclark@iowareflections.com

Barbara

Rose woke up and looked around
Down at her greenery in the ground,
Over at the house not far away
Up at the sky on this beautiful day.

It’s always the same, she thought to herself
I might as well be a book on a shelf.
Nowhere to go, not a thing to do
I’d sure like to see some sights that are new.

Why can’t I move?
Why can’t I run?
Why can’t I ever get out of the sun?

—-

Yes!  It rhymes. Rhymes are so much fun!

A WALKING ROSE is a rhyming picture book complete at 490 words for children ages 4 to 8. Rose is a climbing rose impatient to grow up and see the world, only to be told by her good friend, walking Miss Iris, that she is supposed to only climb in a neat and tidy manner.  Not interested in living her life as others think she should, Rose teaches herself to walk and spread, with dreams of climbing high, but on her own terms. 

If you are interested in the status of my current projects, I’d love to hear from you at bclark@iowareflections.com

Barbara

A little girl is devastated when a tree branch falls on her bike during a thunderstorm. Her older sister helps her understand  this event is not the tragedy it seems by gently guiding her through a series of other possible outcomes that would have been much worse. In this way, the older sibling is able to help her sister put her disappointment into perspective. I was inspired to write this story after helping my granddaughter through a similar event. IF IT HAD TO HAPPEN not only provides insight into the endearing relationship between sisters, it also provides a gentle lesson on the concept of gratefulness.

IF IT HAD TO HAPPEN is a predictable picture book complete at 310 words. The suggested illustrations, repetitive phrasing and word patterns allow children ages 3-7 to anticipate certain words, such as in PLEASE TAKE ME FOR A WALK, by Susan Gal. The overarching theme of gratefulness is comparable to the theme in “JUST SO THANKFUL,” by Mercer Mayer.  

If you are interested in the status of my current projects, I’d love to hear from you at bclark@iowareflections.com

Barbara