Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 2

A wonderful story about a guinea pig in a Canadian class for special needs students.

Teacher's pet: Oreo the guinea pig brings calm, comfort to special-needs classroom | CTV News

Our guinea pig, Cookie, approves!

Amazing! This school in North Carolina celebrated Rules as its "One Book/One School" title and did all kinds of great activities, even including the students and faculty playing wheelchair basketball and having some guinea pig visitors. :)

Brunswick, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

Next week begins my spring speaking schedule. Here's where I'll be in March! Most of these are school visits, but the book signing at The Blue Bunny Bookshop in Massachusetts is open to the public.

Monday, 2, Neary School, Southborough, MA

Wednesday 4, Skowhegan Library, Skowhegan, ME

Thursday, 5, Lincoln Street School, Exeter, NH

Wednesday, 18, McKelvie Intermediate School, Bedford, NH

Thursday, 19, Tyngsborough Elementary School, Tyngsborough, MA

Tuesday, 24, Weatherbee School, Hampden, ME

Friday, 27, Tenacre Day School, Wellesley, MA

Saturday 28, The Blue Bunny Bookshop book signing, Dedham, MA

I craved open water today after looking at only snow and ice for so long. So I went to the ocean to see the loons. I saw 10 of them, and lots of ducks, including this cute common goldeneye.



Brr! I got a touch of frostbite through my gloves, but it was worth it!



Loons



This loon caught a crab!



Common Goldeneye duck

I've had a quiet snowy time away for the past few days finishing my draft of Paloma (Shelter Pet Squad #3). I picked a place where I had spent a few days a year and a half ago. It looks very different in February than in June!

But it's beautiful in its own way.



Yesterday it snowed all day. It was beautiful because I was warm inside. Not like this skier who crossed the lake.



Brrr!

We've had two major snowstorms this week and a third coming on Monday. Here's what my town looked like after the first snowstorm.



Poor Milo. The snow is well over his head!



But one day the snow will end again and it will be. . . .

Halloween!

Sorry, I know it's early, but publishing does work months ahead! This is the cover for our third reader, available at the end of July.

Come on, Cindy! That revision is not going to write itself!

The cover for the second Shelter Pet Squad book is going online soon, and my editor gave me permission to share it here first!



In this story, a ferret named Merlin arrives at the shelter. A woman bought him on impulse at a pet store, thinking he was cute but not knowing very much about ferrets. When she got him home, Merlin started acting like a ferret: taking things and hiding them, digging a hole up under her couch, etc.

None of that was Merlin's fault, so Suzannah and the rest of the Shelter Pet Squad kids have to learn about ferrets so they can make sure that Merlin gets a second chance in a home that's ready for a ferret--a home that needs a ferret. But in her desire to help Merlin and to keep up with the older kids in the squad, Suzannah makes a mistake that could cost Merlin everything.

Kids will learn lots of fun facts about ferrets (a group of ferrets is called "a business of ferrets"), and that being a responsible pet owner means taking the time to learn about your animal so you can give him what he needs to be happy and healthy.

And that sometimes we have to ask for help ourselves as well as give it.

It comes out in August!  (The first book in the series, Jelly Bean, is available now)

Half a Chance is in paperback in the Scholastic Book Clubs this month. So I got a box of author copies.

Cookie is unimpressed with the books but thrilled with the paper tubes they use for packing. Thank you, Scholastic for sending books *and* toys!

This week is the book birthday for Hot Rod Hamster and the Awesome ATV Adventure! ATVs, mud, a rescue--what more could any hot-rodding new reader want?

Thank you, Jen Robinson for this wonderful review. "Hot Rod Hamster and the Awesome ATV Adventure! is bright, engaging early reader that features a picture book character beloved by many preschoolers. Hamster in this new adventure retains his trademark enthusiasm for everything (especially speed), with only modest tweaks required to make the book work in an early reader format. Highly recommended for fans of the series, and a must-purchase for libraries and classrooms serving new readers."