Will return 4th week of January....

Merry Christmas!

Authors and illustrators of Children’s Picturebooks

“Authors and illustrators of children’s picturebooks serve the needs of a range of readers - their consciousness and capabilities -  far greater in scope than that of the more learned... rest of humanity.” 

-Sage Merriman

The Idea of the Novel

“The idea of the novel is not to create a place for the short story to breathe, but for the reader to forget... to breathe.”

-Sage Merriman

The Idea of the Picturebook

"The idea of the picturebook is not to create a place for pictures, but to create a conveyance for story."

-Sage Merriman

Love This Animated Interview with Stephen King Talking About Childhood

Want everyone to see this. Here’s the link:
http://www.fubiz.net/tv/animated-interview-of-stephen-king-talking-about-childhood/ 

:o )

PIGGIES & TOES is FREE Today - A Book of Toe-Teasing Fun by Sage Merriman

This book is special to me because as a small child I so enjoyed having my toes teased by my grandmother and other adults in my life... always to the sing-song rhythm-rhyme of “This little piggy"....

Which is the takeoff point for the original work in Piggies & Toes.

:o )

Here’s the link to download your FREE copy.

Announcing the publication of HUMAN BEANS - TRUE FACTS ODDLY TOLD

Book by Sage Merriman, Cover art by Vera Kulikovi 

HUMAN BEANS is one side in a serious but fun conversation about what it is to be human... in relation to plants and animals, biology and farming. A book of “True Facts Oddly Told,” it offers a slice of how the world works and is meant to be shared with a child you love.

HUMAN BEANS--TRUE FACTS ODDLY TOLD 

is available here as an ebook from Amazon.   

PIGGIES & TOES - A TRADITIONAL NURSERY RHYME RUNS WILD - Released today by Sage Merriman

New Cover Design Invites Toe-Teasing Fun

Little Toe Threatened - Conquers Fear

:o )

In PIGGIES & TOES, a familiar five-line nursery rhyme runs wild... turns into toe-teasing fun for young and old alike.

 Shoes & socks off...? Let the rumpus begin!

PIGGIES & TOES is available today here from Amazon.

Free Today: ESKIMO KISSES—THE TIME THEY SAW THE GRIZZLY BEAR by Sage Merriman

In ESKIMO KISSES--THE TIME THEY SAY THE GRIZZLY BEAR, two stories converge in an effort to explain the Eskimo way of kissing—by rubbing-noses. 

My motive in writing this was to tell the story of the Eskimo kiss as a cultural tradition among First Nation groups in Alaska and Canada.

What emerged was a work of fiction, which though true to the effort to deal with anthropological facts, leaves some open-ended and unanswered questions.

Suggestion: Share this ebook with a child you love. But be prepared to try Eskimo kissing yourself. It will inspire you both.

It’s that kind of book. 

ESKIMO KISSES—THE TIME THEY SAW THE GRIZZLY BEAR 

FREE today on Amazon.

Announcing the Publication of ESKIMO KISSES - THE TIME THEY SAW THE GRIZZLY BEAR (A Children’s Story of Cultural Anthropology) by Sage Merriman

eBook Available Today from Amazon

Here’s a link.

Among the children’s books I’ve published, to date, this is my personal favorite. 

- Sage Merriman

Craft an Author Business Plan in Ten Easy Steps

My Alter Ego...

...(Ryan Petty, author of AUTHOR BUSINESS PLANS MADE EASY) will be teaching a morning workshop (50 minutes) on this subject next Saturday, November 5th, at the Write in the Harbor  conference, in Gig Harbor, Washington.

Sponsored by Tacoma Community College. 

Registration info here.

MAMA DUCK & THE PROBLEM AT TOWN LAKE - Children’s Book Free Today!

In Time for a Soothing Halloween Distraction

Here’s a link to the Free Kindle ebook.

Adding the Kindle Instant Preview to a Blogger Blog

Sage Merriman

New Skill Learned today....

Learned how to embed the ebook covers of my Kindle eBooks in this blog in such a way that readers can click through to FREE samples.

Amazon has a great tool for this. See sidebar and scroll down for a demonstration.

Took only about 15 minutes to learn how and “get ‘er done."

Access the Amazon Kindle Instant Preview tool here. [For users of Blogger, insert the “embed” URL in the “HTML/Java Script” gadget on the layout page behind the scenes of your blog.]

"A great children’s picturebook is more rare than a great poem.”

Sage Merriman

A great children’s picturebook requires the convergence of two near-perfect performances - whether in collaboration between author and illustrator... or in the pairing of these talents applied by a single, extraordinary individual.

We frequently honor books that fail to live up to this incredibly high double standard.

We should.

But the standard still exists and it is rarely met.

"Grown-ups know they can read children’s picturebooks as fast as they can read reviews about them."

Sage Merriman

Bonny’s Big Day by James Herriot - Nominated for The Grandfather List of Children’s Picturebooks

An Out of Print Classic

The late-great James Herriot left behind a number of classic titles, among them several children’s picturebooks.

This one’s about an old man who reluctantly enters his horse in a local event, honoring the best pet in the village - a contest often the provence of children.

Story and illustrations in perfect harmony.

It’s my pleasure to nominate Bonny’s Big Day for the Grandfather List of Children’s Picturebooks.

The annually updated list will be announced in January 2017.

CARDBOARD BOX - 2nd Edition Published Today (On Learning to See with the Mind’s Eye)

CARDBOARD BOX is a children’s picturebook that nudges a child into noticing and developing further a particular skill set of the imagination. 

Call it the Mind’s Eye. 

It has the capacity to transport, to entertain, to illuminate and to grasp.

From the author’s perspective, things seemed to click into place as a fresh edit unlocked the puzzle of this material.

Recommend for ages 4-6, particularly.

Purchase from Amazon.

The Grandfather List of Children’s Picture Books - New Logo

Sage Merriman

Happy to share the new logo (badge, emblem) for The Grandfather List....

I worked with a designer at www.Fiverr.com at a total cost of $5.50. (Yes, this operation has that kind of limited budget - and Fiverr is worthy of exploration.)

New Logo for the forthcoming Grandfather List of Children’s Picturebooks

The first annual iteration of The Grandfather List of Children’s Picturebooks will be published in January 2017. 

The nominations process is underway with frequent announcements made on Twitter (#SageMerriman). 

Please suggest worthy books in Comments below (and share your thoughts on improving this logo).

A “Worthy” Book: Cynthia Rylant’s THE RELATIVES CAME

Sage Merriman

Not (yet) nominated for The Grandfather List of Children’s Picture Books

But I do want to mention that I read and enjoyed THE RELATIVES CAME and found it “worthy” of grandfatherly attention. 

Illustrations by Stephen Gammell are warm-hearted and won Caldecott Honor Book recognition.

I’m reading more by Cynthia Rylant these days....

THE BEAR ATE YOUR SANDWICH - Nominated for The Grandfather List of Children’s Picture Books

Sage Merriman

Hats Off to Author-Illustrator Julia Sarcone-Roach

THE BEAR ATE YOUR SANDWICH is a book that’s fun to read and, no doubt, to discuss with a lap full of grandkids.

More than that, it is a rarity among picturebooks for its ability to deliver a surprise ending.

I’ll say no more so as not to spoil the effect, but suggest you read this modern classic yourself.


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The first iteration of The Grandfather List of Children’s Picturebooks will be published in January 2017. Final selections will be made from among books that have been nominated.

Please suggest your favorite children’s picturebooks in comments below or by emailing Sage [at] SageMerriman [dot] com.

KNOW WHAT I SAW? - Nominated for The Grandfather List of Children’s Picture Books

Sage Merriman

Aileen Fisher's KNOW WHAT I SAW? is the Perfect Counting Book

Actually, it’s a countdown book since the counting is backwards - from ten down to one.

What makes it perfect (for ages 2-5) is the illustrations by Deborah Durland... combined with a wonderful and effortless pattern of rhymes throughout. 

It’s just the kind of book a grandfather can enjoy reading aloud to a lapful of the next generation.

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The first iteration of The Grandfather List of Children’s Picturebooks will be published in January 2017. Final selections will be made from among books that have been nominated.

Please suggest your favorite children’s picturebooks in comments below or by emailing Sage [at] SageMerriman [dot] com.