Good Quotes on Life, Writing and Art

"Plan for tomorrow, but live for today." © 2013 Sylvia Liu

Some of my favorite quotes to inspire you today:

Fish Finelli: Seagulls Don't eat Pickles & More Pirate Stories

Awhile ago, I did a roundup of pirate picture books. Now it's time to review some pirate chapter books and graphic novels.

Chapter Books (Younger Readers)

Fish Finelli: Seagulls Don't Eat Pickles, by E.S. Farber, Illustrated by Jason Beene (Chronicle Books, 2013). In this illustrated middle grade story, Fish Finelli is a smart, adventure-loving boy who sets off to find Captain Kidd's legendary lost treasure buried in a small island in Long Island sound. He and his buddies get into scrapes and near-disasters as they find a treasure map, avoid a Mystery Man on a similar quest, and arrive at Lyons Island to search for the treasure. What I liked about this book was the many factoids and illustrated side bars that gave interesting information, such as the history of pieces of eight or Nikolas Tesla. Fish Finelli also includes scientific tidbits in conversation, such as the definition of amps, the principles of photosynthesis, and the fact that seagulls don't like pickles. My one criticism was that the ending came abruptly and seemed a bit too pat. This review was based on an Advanced Reader Copy that I won through Library Thing. 

Doodles for Doodle Day August

 For the past couple of months, I've been sporadically but happily participating in Alison Hertz's Doodle Day challenge, which began on her blog but has since moved to a Facebook group. A daily prompt is posted and the goal is to spend 15-20 minutes doodling the prompt. Here are few of my doodles:

COG:

© 2013 Sylvia Liu

Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program - Here I Come

Exciting news: I recently found out that I was accepted into the Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program for 2013-2014. In this program, ten notable children's writers and illustrators mentor 2-3 aspiring writers and illustrators each for six months.

The program kicks off with a writing and illustration retreat in October in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. It is followed by six months of assignments and critiques from one's mentor, and it is capped by a final retreat in Virginia City, Nevada, in April.  This year's class of 24 mentees come from 11 states and 4 countries.

David Diaz is My Mentor

My mentor will be illustrator David Diaz. I am really excited to be working with him. He has illustrated over 35 books and won the 1995 Caldecott for SMOKY NIGHT, by Eve Bunting, a book I've had on my bookshelves for over a decade: