Recently in an interview about BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! on the Mom Read It Blog I was asked –
MRI: You’ve also written a book called ALL THROUGH MY TOWN that features animals as the main characters. Do you think these two books could take place in the same storytelling universe? Could the kids from All Through My Town come and play at the new playground built in Busy Builders, Busy Week?
And I answered –
JR: Oh my goodness! What a brilliant idea! I love unexpected connections, surprises and meta moments in storytelling. So let’s play that out. ALL THROUGH MY TOWN is loosely modeled after the Chicago suburb in which I grew up—a self-contained town with its own shops, library, gardens, fire department and only thirty miles from Chicago. The Chicago and Northwestern train line—now called the Metra—whistled through multiple times each day, taking commuters to and from the Windy City. BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! takes place in an urban area where the characters transform an old empty lot. So yes, let’s have our town characters hop on their train and visit their city friends—all meeting up at that brand new playground. Bloomsbury, how ‘bout it? Readers, toss me a title! Let’s do this!
Heck yes, this IS a brilliant story idea. But it would be much more fun coming from a classroom of young writers, wouldn’t it? So for all you teachers out there, consider this. Can your students write stories – and if they’re illustrated even better – somehow combining or inspired by the characters or setting from ALL THROUGH MY TOWN with the characters or setting of BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK? Then how about a Skype date so that your students can read their stories to me? I promise to offer them my “What I love most!” critiques!
Ready to set up our Skype date? Everything you need to know – including other visit ideas – is right here on my Time Out for Teachers page.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Whether it’s through quiet, cuddle time, conversation or comic relief, engaging the picture book crowd is a delightful task. I like to tell young readers that when we read a picture book, we don’t just decipher the words. We talk about it. We explore it. We discover it. We relate to it. We might move to it. We might even make a little noise. Because picture books aren’t just about words on a page. They’re about sounds and rhythms and poetry and language and voice and life and … pictures!
I rarely read a picture book straight through. I ask a lot of questions. I ask kids to predict what comes after a page turn. I ask them to look for clues as to how the story might end. And, most importantly, I ask them questions that might help them connect a book, in a personal way, to what they know, what they’ve experienced and the world they live in.
I’m thrilled to be featured on so many fabulous teacher, librarian and mommy blogs over the next two weeks. I hope you can stop by to say “hi” and to read reviews, news and interviews.
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Today, for every blog comment, Tweet, Instagram, Facebook message or social media post with a link to my blog and the hashtag #BusyBuildersBusyWeek, I will donate $1 to 
Today, for every blog comment, Tweet, Instagram, Facebook message or social media post with a link to my blog and the hashtag #BusyBuildersBusyWeek, you’ll be entered for a chance to win a tree of your choice from 
Thursday! Fill it day! Build it, nail it, drill it day.
Here are some tweets to get you started –
Don’t forget to request BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! at your local library. And if you can’t find a copy at your favorite bookstore, just ask them to order one for you. They’d be happy to. And I’d be more than happy to send you an autographed book sticker to go with it!
Plus, today, for every blog comment, Tweet, Instagram, Facebook message or social media post with a link to my blog and the hashtag #BusyBuildersBusyWeek, you’ll be entered for a chance to win an autographed copy of BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! for your school or public library.
Here’s what one happy teacher had to say about my virtual visit –
