Smithsonian magazine

Hi All,
What a great Christmas gift! I found that Perfect Soup made the Holiday Gift Guide for the Smithsonian Magazine. And the best part? My best friend, Sara Akin, had her book, Three Scoops and a Fig featured, too! How cool is that?

Here's the link if you want to check it out:
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/food/2010/11/30/holiday-gift-guide-new-childrens-books-about-food/

New book announcement: Squirrel's Fun Day

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! I just signed the contract for my book Squirrel's Fun Day with Candlewick Press. This will be the sequel to Squirrel's World, and the wonderful Valerie Gorbachev will do the illustrations, again.

I absolutely love writing about this character, and so I feel overwhelmingly blessed to be able to add the next book in Squirrel's adventures.

Hope everyone is staying cozy and warm. And I wish everyone the brightest, merriest Christmas. May God's peace envelope you and bring you great joy.

Love,
Lisa

I'm very excited about the upcoming story time and book signing for Perfect Soup.

Join me Saturday, November 20th at 10:30 a.m.

The Next Chapter Bookshop

10976 N. Port Washington Rd.

Mequon, WI 52405

I'll be presenting and signing with my best friend, Sara Akin, who also has a wonderful book out called Three Scoops and a Fig.

Children and adults will love it as we'll do a few craft activities, read some stories, and eat delicious gelato. Then take time to browse the beautiful Next Chapter Bookshop. It's an extraordinary book store and the people are absolutely, positively wonderful!

Hope to see you on Sat., Nov. 20th!

Wishing everyone happy friendships and warm soup!

Perfect Soup

Great news! My new picture book Perfect Soup (illus. Ben Mantle, Random House) was released today. I'm so excited because I absolutely love how this book turned out.

Murray the mouse likes everything perfect- especially his soup. So when Murray discovers he's missing a carrot for Perfect Soup, he sets out to get one. But getting a carrot isn't as easy as it seems. The farmer wants him to haul wood. The horse wants bells to feel fancy, and that's just the beginning of the list Murray must fulfill. Just when things are bleakest, Snowman gives him a gift without asking for anything in return, and Murray discovers that friendship is much more important than perfection.

Ben Mantle did an extraordinary job with the illustrations, adding exquisite color and detail on every page. Every single time I read it-and I've read it a lot, believe me-I find something new and exciting in the pictures. One time, I'll follow the little bird throughout the story. Another time, I looked at how Murray's hat mimics his mood-enthusiastic, downtrodden, and surprised. I love to look inside the houses to see what kinds of things are in Murray's kitchen, Mrs. Wooly's teapot-shaped house, and so much more. Every turning of the page is an illustrated treasure.

I feel such gratitude for all the blessings that come with each book- the joy of writing it, the tremendous appreciation for the artist and illustrations, my wonderful, wonderful editor, the bookstores and libraries who will put it on their shelves, and the children and adults who will read it and hopefully laugh along with it. I thank God and Jesus for this dream come true!

Happy Reading All!

Love this quotation

"God doesn't look at how much we do, but with how much love we do it." - Mother Teresa

Sheboygan Children's Book Festival

I am so excited about presenting my program "Just Like You" at the Sheboygan Children's Book Festival. Through a Power Point presentation, I will talk about my stories, how I get my ideas, and how my writing process exactly mirrors the way children write at school. This program is geared for elementary students, parents, and anyone wanting to write for children. So, please, come and join me at the Mead Public Library in Sheboygan, Wisconsin from 1:30-2:30 in the Story Garden.

Also, please check out all of the wonderful authors attending and presenting at the Sheboygan Children's Book Festival. Their website is http://www.sheboyganchildrensbookfestival.org/ Come, listen, and learn from children's writers Avi, Keiko Kasza, Renae Graef, JoAnn Macken, and many others. What could make it even better? It's FREE!

Let's all gather for a literary event that everyone will celebrate.

A Thank You for the Breakthrough

I'm always amazed at God's gifts. They seem to come at just the right time and in just the right way.

I've been struggling with writer's block for quite a while, now. Maybe 9 months, minus the 2 1/2 months I take off during the summer. I just could not, could not, could not generate any new story ideas. Even the older stuff I was working on seemed to be mired in a standstill traffic jam.

And worse. . . I wasn't finding any joy when I wrote. Just this terrible pressure to produce. It doesn't get any worse for a writer.

So, I found myself praying to God and Jesus to let me find the joy again. I always pray as I write asking for Them to let me bring goodness to children through my stories. But I found myself needing the goodness from the writing.

And hours after the prayer, I found the gift. A story- fresh, new, never pondered before- opened up right before me. And there was joy.

Thank you, God and Jesus, for hearing us, leading us on when we are tired and joyless, helping us find the way.