Hunter believed that the foremost job of teachers was decision making, and that each teacher makes thousands of decisions each day.

All the decisions a teacher makes can be put into one of three categories: (1) content category—what you are going to teach; (2) teaching behavior category—what you as a teacher will do to facilitate and execute that learning; and (3) learning behavior category—how the students are going to learn and how they will let you know that they’ve learned it.

Following my author visit to Scandia Elementary School on March 28, 2018, third grade teacher Kelly Duncan asked her students to write “reflection papers” about my visit.

Their first-draft reflections provided the teacher with valuable information about how well her students can articulate a shared experience visually and in writing. The papers provided me with valuable information that I can use to plan effective classroom presentations in the future; a continuous cycle of teaching and learning.

I would have liked to have displayed copies of every child’s reflection in this blog post; each was unique and special in its own way. The three I chose nicely illustrate how the students put their hearts and minds into what they saw and heard during my presentation.

Other favorite observations written by these delightful third graders were:

• She told us about how to write a book, and make sock monkeys. I think I’m going to do that when I get home.
• She carries a journal everywhere she goes.
• She gets her character ideas from her life.
• We saw all her artifacts.
• She said to use your imagination.
• She showed us it’s pretty much like putting together a jigsaw puzzle to make a book.
• I asked her a question about why the judge (Annaliese’s father) is mean.
• She talked about how she came up with ideas. She writes whatever comes to her mind, which I like that.
• My favorite part is when Annaliese makes a costume for Great-Grandmama’s 90^th
• She is a grandmother. She was fun!
• The book is great so far. I wonder what the end will be like.

*PS: Spring has finally arrived in Minnesota! Purple crocuses are pushing through the last layers of snow. A wild turkey spent the morning wandering about our backyard. The little girls from next door rode their pastel pedal bikes with sparkly streamers for the first time. Baby birds and rabbit kittens will be here soon. Enjoy!

About six weeks earlier, Tiffany had contacted me on Facebook Messenger; she wondered if I had any public author events scheduled in the Twin Cities area this spring. Audrey, who adores sock monkeys, had read The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea and she’d loved it.

I have a couple of school visits scheduled, I told her, but nothing that is open to the public. Then I asked, off the top of my head, whether she and Audrey ever went to Wild Rumpus bookstore in south Minneapolis. I said I’d be happy to arrange a “meet and greet” there sometime in March.

We agreed to get together on Saturday, March 17th, at 10:30 in the morning. Located in the Linden Hills neighborhood, Wild Rumpus is always busy on Saturday mornings. I checked the store’s online calendar in advance and didn’t notice any special events planned.

The store was especially crowded when I arrived. Two elaborately costumed people wearing silver masks nudged past me. Rambunctious toddlers darted between the shelves chasing clucking chickens. The cats—Booker T., Trini Lopez, and Walter Dean—had gone into hiding. The caged cockatiels were squawking.

I told Tiffany in advance how to recognize me: I’d be the woman carrying a sock monkey. It worked. Audrey spied me first; the rest of the family followed. We tried to visit in a corner of the bookstore, but found it too loud and distracting. With Audrey again in the lead, the seven of us exited through the little purple door toward two sun-drenched benches on that chilly spring day.

Each member of the family wore a touch of green; they were Irish and looking forward to a meal of corned beef and cabbage. Audrey had a green and white shamrock scarf tied around her neck and a shy, but delightful smile on her face.

Looking back on it, I remembered that a few weeks earlier on a flight home from Newark, I sat down next to an attractive, well-dressed woman, perhaps in her early fifties. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she said in a calm, all-knowing voice.

Her professional name, I discovered, was Guru Mata. She is a Hindu spiritual healer from New Jersey who was returning to her birthplace, in the Twin Cities to celebrate her widowed mother’s 70th birthday. I rarely speak to strangers on airplanes; however, much to my surprise, she and I engaged in a wide-ranging conversation about matters of spiritual faith and healing that lasted almost the whole flight. “In life,” Guru Mata asserted, “there are no coincidences.”

Perhaps not …

A few days later, there I was … sitting on a bench with a young reader who loved sock monkeys. Ironically, Audrey’s sister’s name, McKenna, is that of a main character in my earlier book, Tango: The Tale of an Island Dog. Dangling from Ellia’s fingers was a shiny plastic, silver link necklace with a silver heart charm. (The plot of Tango turns on the loss and discovery of a silver link dog collar with a silver heart identification tag.)

On the bench Audrey told me what she’d liked most about The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea: ALL the sock monkeys, the details, the mystery, and the fact that the ending wasn’t a fairy tale’s happily-ever-after ending, but happy enough.

“During all the years I struggled to write this book,” I told Audrey, “I held out the hope that someday, some way, a child just like you would love the story of Annaliese Easterling and Throckmorton, her simply remarkable sock monkey, and I’m so pleased that you did.”

The family thanked me for coming. I signed Audrey’s copy of my book and also the copy of Tango I’d brought along for McKenna. I suggested that the story of the little dog’s adventures on Prince Edward Island might be a good family read-aloud. In my imagination, I can picture this book-loving family doing just that.

I walked away smiling, and waved goodbye, feeling blessed.

frame copyright: tanais / 123RF Stock Photo

In Chapter 23 of The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea, “Tea Party,” Annaliese hosts a tea party for her three cousins and their sock monkeys. Nora, Nadine, and Nell Ann have a surprise for Annaliese … their mother gave their sock monkeys away! So how will the cousins be able to attend Great-Grandmama Easterling’s birthday party? Only the sock monkeys received invitations. 

It was a lovely tea party that Annaliese and Miss Pine set out for their guests. Throckmorton sat at the sock monkeys’ table, covered with a lace tablecloth and Throckmorton’s favorite doll dishes, “the ones with daffodils and aqua rabbits.”

“On a larger table, also set for four, a three-tier silver serving dish held dainty petit fours and finger sandwiches cut into hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Devonshire cream, lemon curd, and rosy-red jam accompanied a basket of freshly baked currant scones.”

“Serving the catty cousins,” illustration copyright Sarah Jane Wright from The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea, Beach Lane Books

One of the sources that provided inspiration for this tea party is The Anne of Green Gables Treasury (Carolyn Strom Collins, Christina Wyss Eriksson, Ruth Macdonald and David Macdonald, Penguin Books Canada Limited, 1991,) Chapter Five, “Tea Time.”

“The teas that are described most fully in the Anne books are of the special-occasion variety that consisted of treats such as sandwiches, fresh or preserved fruits, cheese, breads, cookies, cakes, pies, tarts, and other desserts. “A splendid tea,” as Anne described one of her Sunday School picnics, would have included those kinds of dishes as well as more substantial fare—meats, salads and vegetables. Extra-special treats such as ice cream assured the success of such occasions.”

The authors go on to say:

“A variety of tiny sandwiches served with the first cup of tea is a fitting beginning for any tea party. Finely textured white bread is most often used for tea sandwiches, but you can also choose whole wheat or light rye or a combination of breads. Slice the bread as thinly as you can—about 1/4 inch slices are ideal.”

Here’s a recipe for finger sandwiches from this cherished book.

_____________________________________

CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES

From: The Anne of Green Gables Treasury

1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and finely chopped
1 Tbsp finely chopped sweet pickle or sweet pickle relish
1 tsp finely chopped green onion
2 to 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
6 thin slices bread
Butter, at room temperature

1. In a bowl, mix together the chicken, celery, egg, pickle, and green onions. Stir in the mayonnaise until you have a nice moist mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep the mixture in the refrigerator, covered, until you are ready ot make the sandwiches.
2. Butter each slice of bread on one side. Spread the filling on three of the buttered slices and top with the remaining slice of bread. Trim the crusts off the sandwiches and cut each sandwich into shapes.

Makes 3 whole sandwiches

In Chapter 23, The Tea Party, the food Annaliese serves is described this way: “A three-tier silver serving dish held dainty petit fours and finger sandwiches cut into hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Devonshire cream, lemon curd, and rosy-red jam accompanied a basket of freshly baked currant scones.”

Yum.

What are petit fours? They are small, square cakes, sometimes frosted on all sides, sometimes only on the top so you can see the layers of cake inside, just right for a scrumptious tea party.

Here’s a step-by-step photographic recipe for making petit fours from Rose Bakes.

If you’d like to follow along with video instructions, then here’s a how-to from Martha Stewart.

Will this inspire you to make your own petit fours? Send me a photo in the comments!

_______________________________

18 March 2014

Hi Eileen!

How are you? I hope this finds you well! I had a quick question from the illustrator that I wanted to run past you—she’s just working on Miss Chickadee’s look and posed this query:

“Miss Chickadee Finch wore a sleek, silver-gray tuxedo 
with feathered coat tails. Tied over her white shirt was
a small black bib. Her black cap sported a pointy brim. The
cap extended just over her nose, making her eyes appear
dark and beady”

I envisioned this kind of hat….yes? [link to a now-defunct website referring to a bowler hat]

Can you let me know if that looks right? And if not, can you send some reference for what you picture?

Thanks Eileen!

Best, Lauren

_______________________________

18 Mar 2014

Hi Lauren,

I was able to google the 10/29/13 article about hats in the Bangor Daily News, but I didn’t have a bowler hat in mind, if that’s what you’re asking.

What I did envision was more like a “tilt hat” popular  in the 1940’s — a hat, that when drawn down over the eyes, almost resembles a bird’s beak.

On the website [Village Hattery, since defunct] there’s a “1940’s Black Felt Tilt with Purple Plume” in the “hats with feathers” section that is most like the shape of the hat that I pictured — or, the one in the photo next to it, with the light blue plume. (Miss Chickadee Finch’s tilt hat could also be illustrated with a small plume, if Sarah Jane prefers.)

I hope this is helpful. If not, let me know, and I’ll keep looking.

Thanks for asking!

Eileen

_______________________________

The Beautiful Miss Chickadee Finch, from The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea, illustration copyright Sarah Jane Wright

Here’s an article from Vintage Dancer about vintage hats from the 1940s, the time during which The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea is set. There were many hats with many different names! 

Which hat in the article do you feel resembles the hat Sarah Jane Wright drew on page 199 of the hardcover of my book?

This is just one of the details an author researches for a fiction book. We want the details to be as accurate as possible.

While authors aren’t typically a part of the illustration process, art directors and editors are good about checking what was intended. I’m so glad!

The Beautiful Miss Chickadee Finch, from The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea, illustration copyright Sarah Jane Wright

I recently received a couple of questions about Olivia, a character in The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea, and the music that she sings. If you haven’t read the book yet (and you really should), this won’t give away too much. Maybe it will even entice you to read this book about two families (one human, one sock monkey) and the mysteries that surround them.

Here are six inspirations from my life that are woven into the book. Don’t hesitate to do this in your writing—details make books come to life.

• During the 1930’s my parents, who lived in the Milwaukee area, often drove to Chicago on weekends to the dance at the Aragon Ballroom. It’s still open.
• For years, I admired a peach satin dress in a dress box in our attic at home that my mom said she always wore to the Aragon. That dress found its way into the book.

Aragon Ballroom, circa 1935

• To learn more about the Aragon Ballroom in its heyday as a place people went to dance to jazz bands, read “Aragon Ballroom History – Jazz Age Chicago,” “Aragon Ballroom: Gorgeous Bit o’ Hispanola for Uptown Dancers,” and “Aragon Ballroom: Northside to Get $1,000,000 Ballroom” (remember this was in 1925). I wasn’t old enough to go to the Aragon when my parents did, so this is the kind of research that helps a writer, especially being able to see photos or paintings of the building’s interior.

Dick Jurgens and His Orchestra

• The kind of music Annaliese’s mother Olivia sings in The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea is from the big band era: Wayne King, Dick Jurgens (listen to a video of his orchestra playing “Elmer’s Tune”), Tommy Dorsey, Freddy Martin, etc. These bandleaders and their Big Bands played at the Aragon, and my parents danced to them all.
• The kind of Big Band singer I imagined Olivia to be is like one of the solo/lead singers featured in this blog.
• I’ve always loved music, except during the five years my mother forced me to take piano lessons, something I was absolutely terrible at, having no natural talent whatsoever—except a strong sense of rhythm, which is why I’ve always loved to dance; all through high school and college and into my late 30’s/40’s when I (and later, my husband and I) took professional ballroom dancing lessons. I have always loved the Big Band sound, perhaps because our family watched The Lawrence Welk Show faithfully each week when I was growing up. His show was one of the most popular on TV from 1951 to 1982.

Writing letters to family and friends is a way of saying how much you care about someone, taking the time to write your thoughts on paper, in your best penmanship, and sending it by post.

Here’s a moving TED Talk by Lakshmi Pratury, The Lost Art of Letter-Writing.

Millie Dosh, the seamstress who created my sock monkeys

When I wrote The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea, I often thought of my own sock monkey. There are many sock monkeys in the book, of course, so I asked my friend Millie Dosh to sew more monkeys for me. I have quite a group. Some nights I could swear they’re having a party.

Are you inspired by my sock monkeys and Cece Bell’s (link to prior week’s blog article) to make your own? Here are two books of patterns that will help you.

How to Make the Original Rockford Red Heel Sock Monkey, Friends, Puppets and More! from Fox River. This book has ideas not only for sock monkeys but also for a sock pig, sock dachshund, sock raccoon, and another 46 patterns!

Sew Cute and Collectible Sock Monkeys: For Red-Heel Sock Monkey Crafters and Collectors by Dee Lindner (Creative Publishing International, 2015) is another book that includes patterns, ideas for dressing your sock monkey, and ways to give your sock monkey just the facial expressions you’d like.

Have fun with your imagination!

In an interesting article, Cece Bell shows photos of the sock monkey she made from a kit her grandmother gave her back in 1975, the sock monkey and other soft-sewn animals who have inspired her.

But this season, don’t just wrap your book with sparkly paper and brightly colored ribbons. Add a second, more important gift: carve out the time and space to read the book aloud to your special child. Even if your “read-aloud” session has to be conducted remotely, using Skype or other technologies, add your unique, expressive voice and undivided attention to this year’s gift exchange.

The benefits of reading aloud to a child are indisputable. Check back on this site over the next few weeks as I remind myself and others of the many reasons why.

If you would like a personalized copy of one of my books, please fill out the contact form on my website, with the requested inscription (how you would like the book signed). I will sign the book, gift-wrap if requested, and mail the book USPS book-rate, by the following day to the name/address provided. Shipping would be free; you would pay the cost of the books:

The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea hardcover: $15.00

The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea paperback: $8.00

Tango: The Tale of an Island Dog paperback: $7.00

By return e-mail, I will provide my home address to which a personal check can be mailed upon receipt of the book.