Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. The cultural origin of zombies may surprise you. While there's mention dead rising up to eat the living as far back as the Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100 bc), stories much closer to our modern zombie emerged in Haiti during the 200+ year enslavement of Africans on the then-French-controlled island.
Read MoreWelcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Snuggly mummies? Maybe not snuggly, but mummies are nothing new. They've been around for more than two thousand years. But while the mummy (ceremonially preserved body) isn't new, the Legend of the Mummy is.
Read MoreWelcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Night three features the werewolf. The werewolf legend is considered one of the oldest of all monster myths. Apparently tales of humans who shape shift into wolf form (called lycanthropes, which is a cool little tidbit) go all the way back to ancient Rome.
Read MoreWelcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Night two features the trick-playing Wood Imp! The wood imp is thought to be a small (less than two feet) human-like creature, once a part of the fairy people. But unlike fairies or pixies, imps are usually not very attractive. Wood imps particularly prefer woodlands and often hide in dank, rotting vegetation which as you might expect isn't so good for the complexion.
Read MoreWelcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Mythologically, the Globster is a creature imagined based on huge gelatinous masses that occasionally wash up on ocean shorelines across the globe. And here Globsters are like many other Halloween creatures: there's an element of history behind the myths.
Read MoreSeptember's Ivy Kids box (made possible by our Hamilton Schools homeschool partnership!) featured Chicka Chicka 123, a book about counting! My first surprise: the format sent was a board book.
Read MoreSaturday marked another release event for my first book, Halloween Good Night, and once again, we had amazing fun. Schuler Books in Grand Rapids set up everything from tables with crafts to treat bags to a cup of water for the visiting author (what, for me?!?).
Read MoreYes, I managed to collect the corniest yet entirely appropriate jokes available. I added them to my book release goodie bags, but I'm sure they'd go over with a groan at any Halloween occasion. And here they are for you! Forty jokes in total on five printable pages. Enjoy!
Read MoreWay back in July I was arranging events to welcome Halloween Good Night into the world, but it didn't occur to me then that all the great plans I made meant I'd actually have to do things and go places. At 32 weeks pregnant, as a homeschooling mama of five already, this doing and going get complicated.
Read MoreMy first book release included another first: the first piece of fan art I've received! After the reading and food and crafts, one sweet girl came to get her book signed, and to show me the ADORABLE picture she'd colored and decorated (one of the coloring pages available here). She agreed to allow me to share it (her mom, too), so here it is!
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