Sleepy Hollow Books

A little bit of Asia

2012-01-29T16:24:00.024-05:00

If you haven't been to Sara P. Duke Gardens' Culbertson Asiatic Garden... Go!
Open the gate and walk into the courtyard of an authentic Japanese teahouse. Serenity abounds.
A formal Japanese Tea Ceremony occurs monthly, by reservation. For more info.: http://www.hr.duke.edu/dukegardens/pdfs/SPDG-1-12-Japanese-Tea.pdf

If you have a youngster who is fascinated by Japan, check out Yuri's Brush with Magic, for ages 9-12. Available on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0982454252/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

The Palace Within

2012-01-27T10:52:00.014-05:00

I was driving to pick up dog food at Costco, when I starting thinking about this blog post. My thoughts drifted to the parquet floors of Peterhoff, the summer home of the tsars.

I had been on a study abroad program to Leningrad. We had visited the Bolshoi Ballet; the Hermitage; the place where Pushkin had studied. We had inspected Mon Plaisir, where royals would lunch while enjoying spectacular views of the Gulf of Finland. (Good for the digestion.) After each course, the royal table would disappear into floor below, where servants would remove dishes and plate the next course. Then, whoosh, the table would rise again to waiting guests with forks poised.

It was all lovely. Really. Palaces, gardens, fountains, grand halls, amber brooches, malachite urns. Yes, there were diamond-encrusted clocks, delicate jeweled birds in golden cages, flattering oils, voluptuous silks, overstuffed beds. And there was I, traipsing through the Summer Palace in clumsy, felt strap-on sandals, when a funny thought entered my head. "Where is MY palace?"

Just days before, we students had visited the Leningrad Blockade Museum. Affixed to a piece of board was the recipe and proportions the bakers of Leningrad had used to make bread while the Germans were busy blockading their city for nearly 3 years. The wartime bread was made, in large part, of sawdust, shoe leather, and other detritus that could be consumed. Until that day, I did not know you could eat shoe leather.

And just miles away -- *snap* -- we found ourselves in this palatial estate, Peterhof -- (it is magnificent, you should really go there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterhof_Palace) -- where we had to remove our shoes (but thankfully, not eat them), so that we wouldn't scuff the parquet floors.

The timing of this served to tick me off. Why does one girl get to be a princess and one a pauper? Why does one get to walk in slippers in royal gardens and one is born into circumstances where life is spent barefoot -- not in Eden, but in poverty.

I wondered why, why, why. "And where is MY palace?" I asked the museum gods, wagging my finger at the fat little cherubs on the frescoed ceilings.

Granted, I have lived a life of luxury relative to the world's population. I have always had enough to eat. I was educated. I own a home and drive a car. I can afford pets.

But WHY don't I have a palace? I wondered, as I channeled my inner Eloise, the storybook heroine of the Plaza Hotel. I wondered this as I slid the length of the parquet ballroom floor in my government-issued slippers, turning the royal hall of masterpieces into an existential slip and slide. The museum guard chided me in Russian for my lack of decorum.

But before I heard his words, I heard my own. And the voice said: "Build your palace within."

Hmmm. I thought, "Build your palace within. What the heck does that mean?" I was still a teenager who liked pretty things.

As I was walking into Costco today, I passed the pyramid of Whey Protein Powder Shakes, the Jack LaLane Juicers (only $89 dollars!) and past cases with diamond bracelets and Lladro figurines. It was starting to feel just a little too much like a museum... and a slip-and-slide.

The photograph above was taken on the night of Dec. 4, 2010. (The launch of Sleepy Hollow Books and the debut of Maureen Wartski's novel, Yuri's Brush with Magic.) Here is my winter palace: the Regulator Bookstore in Durham, North Carolina. Although it may not be stately or ornate -- you might even call it modest -- it holds a jewel greater than the Tiffany Yellow Diamond. This simple building holds a heart and soul, the vortex of community, within its walls. It is run by a fellow named Tom Campbell and another gentleman named John Valentine; they feed the soul and warm the heart.

Happy Valentine's Day to one and all. May your palace within glow brightly this year.
xoxo Amy

(Photo credit: Caperton Morton Andersson)

Holding Up the Sky

2011-12-08T14:27:00.022-05:00

We know Aesop’s fabled tortoise won the race, but what if hare and turtle were to take to the sea? The sea turtle would be my odds-on favorite. Sea turtles can cross oceans and swim in bursts of up to 30 mph when evading predators. Sea turtles are one of the few species so ancient that they watched the dinosaurs evolve and become extinct.

Sea turtles have survived for 150 million years. Now we are stewards of the Earth. Sea turtles have become endangered due to climate change, poaching, development, and pollution. If they go extinct, who will hold up the Sky?

My wish is that parents, librarians, and teachers use the novel Yuri’s Brush with Magic by Maureen Wartski in book clubs and middle-school classrooms to open discussion about these ancient sea creatures and how kids can help protect our environment.

Would you like to...

"Adopt" a sea turtle and track its progress on the computer? Click here: http://www.seaturtle.org/adopt/

Visit a sea turtle in person? Start here:
North Carolina Aquariums http://www.ncaquariums.com/
Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rehab. Center http://www.seaturtlehospital.org/

Spend summer at a Sea Turtle Camp?
Check this out: http://www.seaturtlecamp.com/

Find a great holiday gift for your tween? Order a copy of Yuri’s Brush with Magic here: http://www.amazon.com/Yuris-Brush-Magic-Maureen-Wartski/dp/0982454252. For bulk orders, please contact amy@sleepyhollowbooks.com; (919) 724-0250

Tweet us: https://twitter.com/#!/sleepyhollowboo
Watch us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvT1rEkxN0M
Friend us: http://www.facebook.com/sleepyhollowbooks

“Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.” -- Alex Haley

(Photo credit: Joe Tansey)

Another reason why I love North Carolina...

2011-10-10T13:52:00.009-04:00

(Photo credit: Amy C. Spaulding)

Love the ones you're with

2011-09-20T10:36:00.013-04:00

Yesterday was Respect for the Aged Day in Japan. People bring meals to the elderly; everyone has the day off, presumably to celebrate and help the elder citizens of their communities.

It got me thinking about my grandparents. I never knew my maternal grandfather, Al Smith. He died shortly after my parents were married. But his memory loomed large and he was a good friend and advocate for my mother. My paternal grandfather was a big personality – fun, smart, playful and loving. I would give anything to spend one more day on his front porch looking out at the mountains with his arm around me. There are some things that are indelible to the memory – like the feel of shirt fabric on a young arm or the gnarled thumbnail of a man who retired but never quit working.

My grandmothers were as different as night and day. One knit baby booties, brushed little girls’ cornsilk hair for hours until the tangles were out, and then sat us down for a proper bowl of ice cream with a silver spoon and one – only one! – cookie. She went to college in the early 1900s, but stayed home to raise her 4 (!) boys -- and actively showed her support of women's rights by holding up signs by the side of the road for the first female political candidate for Vice President.

My other grandmother, Moms, (yes, she was married to “Pops”), was born of Prussian immigrants to Wisconsin. She grew up on a dairy farm and the Bubolz clan of 15 had a family orchestra. My mom tells me that they used to play classical music to the cows so they would give sweeter milk; each cow had a sign above its stall with its own name. They treated the cows like family.

But Moms was a sharp business woman – she did not suffer fools and had a sharp tongue. After being widowed at a young age, she took in boarders, she owned college rental properties and did not think twice about throwing graduate students into the street who didn’t pay their rent on time. She founded a local church of her favorite denomination and was a greeter at the church until she died at age 100. So there.

My message to kids – to ANYONE who has a grandparent on this Earth: Be kind to them. Listen to them. Sit close to them. Rub their feet (if they like that). Give them as many hugs as you can. Tell them that you love them. Write them letters. (Especially thank you notes.) Believe me, you will miss them when they are gone.

(Photo credit: Joe Tansey)

Medicine Show

2011-09-10T16:34:00.024-04:00

John Bemis of the Clockwork Dark Trilogy had an old-fashioned medicine show in Hillsborough, North Carolina, to celebrate the launch of his new book, THE WHITE CITY, available from Random House. It was a well-attended revival and fun was had by all! Here are some pictures of the day. I'm feeling better all ready.

Doc Leonard offers his "Nosy Sister Potion"...

Red Rover plays along...

Finding a quiet moment to read amid the elder Ramblers...

Superstar storyteller John Bemis delights the crowd...

(Photo credits: Sleepy Hollow Books)

Summer Reading

2011-08-19T17:10:00.004-04:00

HI, Folks!

I had a great visit above the Mason-Dixon line with family and friends.

We stopped by the Harry Potter Movie Exhibition at Discovery Place in Times Square, and I had the pleasure of taking my niece to the American Doll Store (We had tea! We ate tiny cookies! The dolls had a place at the table! It was actually fun.)

Then I had the honor of meeting with Tracy van Straaten, VP of Trade Publishing Publicity at Scholastic. We talked niche markets, publishing cycles, and author-friendly promotions. I left with great notes and a copy of the YA novel Cleopatra's Moon and the MG novel The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, which I devoured on planes, trains and automobiles. Check them out. They are both stellar.

Then I had a great talk with Laura Blum Guest who distributes books in France to English-language bookstores.

Did a little swimming, a bit of boating, and back home. Whew!

What did you do this summer? Which books did you read and love? Let me know!

Amy

The Freedom to Learn

2011-07-04T22:37:00.024-04:00

Happy 4th of July!

Maureen Crane Wartski, author of Yuri's Brush with Magic, shares her thoughts about the gift of freedom. You can follow her blog at: http://maureenwartski.wordpress.com/ Enjoy!

The Freedom to Learn by Maureen Crane Wartski

This past week our grandson, Ben, graduated from Durant Middle School. Sitting amongst the crowd of proud parents, grandparents, relatives and friends, I watched as row after row of children from 6th to 8th grades rose to claim certificates and trophies: honors, high honors, awards of distinction. This beautiful grouping of young people made me think of one of our most precious freedoms: the freedom to learn.

At this time of year we are likely to think of Freedom, its implications, its precious legacy. Still, beyond those that are outlined in the constitution, beyond even the sacrifices that are made by dedicated men and women in the defense of our country, there are other freedoms which we as a democratic people too often take for granted. Education is one of them.

All right, I can hear the younger generation stirring. I can hear muttered protests that Grammy must finally have lost it. Since when has school equaled freedom? But though nowadays it is taken for granted, education wasn’t always available for all. Who can forget that in the poisonous days of slavery those in bondage were forbidden to learn to read or write? Or the ‘separate but equal’ laws or the shameful, segregated schools?

In the world today there are many impoverished communities where education is an unaffordable luxury and other lands where girls are not allowed to go to school because men fear that knowledge will empower them. There are totalitarian regimes that only allow their twisted version of the truth to be taught and which ruthlessly suppress and punish any who think otherwise. Yet even in those repressive places there are groups of young women who teach other women no matter what the consequences, and there are educators who speak out, students who dare to question, even though they lose their freedom…or worse. The thirst for knowledge is so strong, the need to learn so great, that it will not be denied.

Ben’s classmates wear their Freedom with ease. Why not? It is their birthright, after all. Theirs is a society in which all citizens are guaranteed the right to go to school. Granted, there have been agonizing cuts in education and the system of allocating schools is hardly perfect, but this is still a far cry from countries where the nearest school … if there is a school at all… is a five or ten mile walk away or where youngsters drop out of school at age nine to help support their families. All that is asked of our children is that they learn. And learn they do, these beautiful young people, discovering facts that my generation could only imagine. At their fingertips lie worlds of knowledge yet undreamed, and from them one day will come amazing new achievements.

They come, smartly dressed

Hair combed, shirts pressed, bright-eyed…

Sunny day in June.

Not so long ago, many women, forbidden to become doctors, endured slights, insults and countless difficulties to become healers. Now, there are women in every field: medicine, engineering, the arts, the sciences, education, politics… the list goes on and on. Not very long ago enslaved African Americans secretly learned their letters. They braved brutal punishment in doing so because they knew that without learning there was no understanding and without understanding there could be no hope for dreams.

And the freedom to dream— the knowledge that any one of us can make those dreams a reality— has to be one of the sweetest gifts of freedom.

Meet Maureen Crane Wartski at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts (121 N. Churton St., Hilllsborough, NC) on Thursday, July 14 at 6pm. Maureen will read from Yuri's Brush with Magic and discuss the integration of fairytale into contemporary juvenile fiction. All are welcome.

Book Expo America -- Notes from the Field

2011-06-05T16:14:00.065-04:00

I grew up around some heavy hitters in Publishing. Granddad - HMCo. Uncle - Scholastic. My Dad-- probably the only man inducted into the Educational Publisher's Hall of Fame AND the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. (Ask him about it sometime.)

But May 24 was the first time I ever set foot in the Javits Center in NYC for Book Expo America (BEA). It felt like Mecca.

I was trembling with fear and shivering with delight. There were a bajillion people in there --- and even more books. There were bright lights, big signs, mascots, inflatable snow globes, all sorts of paraphernalia -- they were giving away free Tintin bags, for goodness sake!

There were jigsaw puzzles with the covers of the New Yorker, t-shirts emblazoned with old classics -- and highly paid, world famous authors giving away their books for free to all comers -- and then signing them!

Did the folks back in Kansas know about this? I felt like I had won the golden ticket to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. I didn't want to get to greedy... (Remember what happened to Augustus Gloop?) But I drank in the atmosphere and went window shopping. And merrily engaged everyone I met.

Here are some of the folks I had the pleasure of meeting... Enjoy!

Meet Lisa Manzione. She is the creator of The Bella and Harry series of children's books.These two Chihuahuas travel the world exploring a new city in every book. Manzione was the daughter of a parent in the airline industry and was a globe trotter from an early age. This, and the birth of her own children, inspired her to create this series to help young readers explore the world.

Manzione has a great marketing team, headed by Elizabeth Hickman (left) of Trimarkpress, who helped plan and design the exhibit. The other gal's name escapes me, but she was equally talented and gracious. Great teamwork! Check out the pawprint scarf that the author is wearing and the logo'd polo shirts. These gals thought of everything.

Wolf Hoelscher is the founder of Pubmission.com. This is a free site for publishers to find their next great book. Pubmission is the online submissions hub for writers and publishers. Wolf has 15 years in the trenches of publishing. He studied the system and then streamlined it -- and came up with a platform to help writers and publishers find each other easily. (Think keyword submission searches and inhouse editorial reviews). Brilliant! I signed up post haste! Check out their site.

Next up was my favorite mother-daughter team at the show: THE COUNTY FAIR GAME folks. You know how you agree on a meeting place when you go into a big event -- like, say, a county fair -- or BEA? Well, this was my "home base" for the show. Joanne Zwingler Farinnacci has cookie-baking energy -- and her daughter Leslie is as nice as can be. (You can check out Leslie's amazing photo portraits at: http://www.lesliejean.net.) Her mom's COUNTY FAIR Board Game was named the 2010 Creative Toy Award Game of the Year from Creative Child Magazine.

Here are some other exhibitors I really loved. Check them out. Great products, nice people:

Todd Lawton, Out of Print Clothing: Classic book covers on soft tees. Each shirt purchased sends one book to a community in need. Very cool shirts.

Bonnie Ward Simon Maestro Classics -- Classical Music CDs; you have to check this out. Bonnie was the Executive Director of the Washington Chamber Symphony; her husband, Stephen Simon was the Music Director and Conductor of the Washington Chamber Symphony at the Kennedy Center and was the Music Director of the Handel Society of New York. Bonnie and Stephen have channeled their love of classical music into audio cds that marry children's books with classical music. When I listened to Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel, I nearly fell off my chair (ok, I was standing). It was transcendent. It was brilliant. I don't have words. Incredible. Check them out. They combine storytelling classics with classical music and include extra tracks about the author, the composer and more. Holy cow, this is a good idea.

Last, but not least, a shout out to the guys at The New York Puzzle Company -- perfect for a rainy New England (or Seattle) summer: classic vintage magazine covers (New Yorker, House Beautiful, Gourmet) on jigsaw puzzles. Check them out at http://wwwnewyorkpuzzlecompany.com/ or call: 580-789-9535.

And I must mention the charming "Chief Doodler" of Doodlemark.com. David Keefe has created the "world's only bookmark and doodle pad." Made in the same factory that produces Etch-a-Sketch, DoodleMark attaches to a book with a clip and then kids can write their page number on the doodle pad, write down difficult vocabulary to look up -- or draw their favorite Wimpy Kid character.

Did someone say Wimpy Kid? I met a daring duo at Abrams Books -- Christopher Blank and Chad Beckerman. They were big guns manning the booth and waiting for the champagne corks to fly (Risk Management probably asked them to be on hand to keep corks from popping patrons in the head, they did look agile) to celebrate Abrams' launch of Oprah's new book, The Oprah Winfrey Show: Reflections on an American Legacy. They also had a really nice book on John Lennon and Strawberry Fields that I loved. You can get STRAWBERRY FIELDS: Central Park's Memorial to John Lennon by Sarah Cedar Miller for me here: Abrams Books
Almost like being there.

So that's it, my friends. More about IBPA and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards (the reason I went up to NYC) in future posts. Now to soak my aching feet. And read a good book.

Cheers!
Amy C. Spaulding
Publisher, Sleepy Hollow Books
http://www.sleepyhollowbooks.com

P.S. -- This might be one of my favorite stories from the Show. I was walking along in the Javits Center and a woman sticks out a book and says, would you like a copy? I looked at the enormous book of traditional folk tales written by an author from the Ojibwe tradition and said, "Yes!" She ushered me up to the author, Tamarack Song, who was signing copies of his book Whispers of the Ancients: Native Tales for Teaching and Healing in Our Time.
There was something special about this guy. I asked to have my picture taken with him. I thanked him for writing this book, because native wisdom and folk traditions and tales are so important to pass along. There is magic in these stories. That's why I published Yuri's Brush with Magic by Maureen Wartski. Her character Aunt Yuri weaves magic in the Japanese folktales that she tells -- and the act of reading these tales and stories -- and sharing them -- is magical.

So I accepted this gift from this gentle man, and packed up my books (suitcase heavy) -- and headed for the shuttle to the airport. On the shuttle I struck up a conversation with a woman from Vancouver who had returned to Eastchester for the christening of her grandson Ethan who is 1/2 Ojibwe. I handed the book to my new friend and said, "A present for Ethan for his christening. Share these stories with him. This is his." (The book was dedicated to Amy, but no matter.) I love when stuff like that happens. Be well, my friends. -- AMy

Why I love living in North Carolina

2011-05-20T18:34:00.009-04:00

A writer on every block...

Serendipity!

2011-01-12T16:49:00.018-05:00

Serendipity |ˌserənˈdipitē|
noun
the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way : a fortunate stroke of serendipity | a series of small serendipities.

I had a wonderful interview with Frank Stasio on The State of Things program on WUNCFM 91.5 on Monday. We talked about Sleepy Hollow Books and my family’s history of promoting literacy and a love of books among young readers.

LISTEN NOW!
Click the link to hear the program.

Yuri's Brush with Magic is available from these fine booksellers... I hope you will patronize them.

Regulator Bookshop, The Gothic Bookshop, Flyleaf Books, Purple Crow Books, and Quail Ridge Books and Music
Also available on Amazon.com.

Have a serendipitous day!

Amy

Happy New Year! あけましておめでとうございます

2011-01-03T16:55:00.024-05:00

I hope the new year finds you and your family well and happy!

To celebrate the end of 2010, I attended the year-end Mochi-Tsuki (rice cake pounding) event hosted by the Nippon Club of the Triangle.

Boiled sticky rice (餅米 mochigome) is put into a shallow stone bowl and patted with water and then pounded with a large wooden mallet. Mashing the rice, it forms a sticky white dumpling -- and can be eaten with all sorts of delicious toppings.

Mochi is also made into a New Year's decoration called kagami mochi (鏡餅), formed from two round cakes of mochi with a bitter orange (橙 daidai) placed on top. The name daidai is supposed to be auspicious since it means "several generations."

To write "Happy New Year" in Japanese: あけましておめでとうございます

To say "Happy New Year" in Japanese: Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu

10:10:10!

2010-10-13T01:44:00.006-04:00

My friend Grace has a lovely quote on her website:

"Act each day as if the good that you do will change the world forever. Just as the sands of the Sahara blow across the Atlantic and sparkle a Caribbean sunset, your smile today can cross the oceans and provide a little goodness to a stranger on the other side of the world."

What a lovely sentiment. I had the great honor of traveling to the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC this past weekend. We had a series of lectures by NC Sea Turtle Biologist Dr. Matthew Godfrey, and scientists Campbell, Piniak, Boucquey, Bjorkland, and Ramus. I know so much more about sea turtles now!

Did you know that sea turtles are considered "living dinosaurs"? Fossil records date their species back to the time of the dinosaur. There are five remaining species of sea turtles on earth -- and all five are on the endangered list.

So it was a pleasure to help the folks at the Duke Marine Lab release three of the green turtles that they had rehabbed back to health -- into the wild.

On Sunday, October 10, 2010, we traveled on the Susan Hudson research vessel out to a good spot in the ocean and set the turtles free. This little turtle took off like a shot. It must have been the big smooch I gave him. Swim well, little fellow. Enjoy the Carribbean sunsets. Think of me. You certainly put a big smile in my heart.

White Sea Turtle

2010-10-11T13:37:00.015-04:00

I went behind the scenes this weekend at the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. We got to see this cute little guy close up, along with other rescued hatchlings that are being cared for by Michele Lamping -- one of the world's leading experts of sea turtle husbandry. Here is the link for more information about this special little fellow:
http://www.ncaquariums.com/what-would-you-name-a-white-sea-turtle
The NC Aquarium is running a contest to help name the turtle... give it a try!

Maureen Crane Wartski -- YURI'S BRUSH WITH MAGIC

2010-06-04T23:55:00.002-04:00

HALLOWEEN!

2009-09-21T13:41:00.039-04:00

Why do we love Halloween?

At Halloween we can be playful AND spooky without being too serious. We can play with our darker impulses during the holiday without acting on them. We can bring our shadows into light.

Books are a good place to grapple with the shadow. Peter Pan had his shadow. When he lost it, he returned to Wendy so she could sew it back on. GOOSEBUMPS has long been a series favorite. Now vampire tomes for teens and young adults flood the market. Our cultural shadow continues to morph and each generation draws its outline differently.

I have always enjoyed Halloween. I loved dressing up in costumes and looting neighborhood candy bowls. “Arghhh. Hand over your Snickers, Matey!” One Halloween I dressed up as "Laura" from LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE in a sunbonnet and gingham dress. Another year I was a hobo. More creative costumes usually involved wearing a painted cardboard box.

In retrospect, my favorite costume was the one my Mom made 5 minutes before my bus came.

“Mom--- Mom---Mom. I have a Halloween parade at school today. I need a costume.”

Mom headed to the linen closet. She grabbed a white sheet and her pinking shears. She cut out eyeholes, threw the sheet over my head, tied a red yarn ribbon around my neck and pushed me out the door.

“There, you’re a ghost. Go catch your bus.”

“But, Mom, I don’t wanna be a ghost,” I whined.

Slam. Door shut, case closed.

“Yay. Boo.” I said as I dragged my dingy gray Chuck Taylors to the bus stop wearing my sad little ghost costume.

Mom never had a problem with her shadow.

(Photo credit: "Halloween in Sleepy Hollow, 1978", by Emilie Spaulding)

The Hokey Pokey: What I Learned at the 2009 NC Literary Festival at UNC

2009-09-14T10:36:00.009-04:00

Kids love funny. They love spooky. Kids love characters that make them laugh and shriek. If it’s going to be spooky – it better be funny spooky.

The two rock stars of the Children’s tent on Saturday at the 2009 NC Literary Festival were R.L. Stine and Judy Schachner – the authors of the Goosebumps and Skippyjon Jones series respectively.

Both were amazing presenters. They were highly interactive with their audience and involved the children in the telling of their stories. They had their programs well-rehearsed. They were playful, spontaneous and professional. They had the mastery of an unruly crowd that rivaled that of any elementary school teacher.

One author did highly personalized dedications and the line extended and snaked on at the book signing for over two hours. Now that’s the way to create a buzz. Everyone who passed asked, “What’s the line for?” like they were ready to jump on it – whether for winter boots or ice cream sandwiches.

It was totally worth the wait, because this author is a talented, lovely, and magnetic creative genius. I noticed, however, that the 12:00 noon hour for book-signings was torture for hungry and hot toddlers who have the patience of three-year-olds. Or for me.

The other author did not do personalized dedications, but simply signed, and took pictures with adoring fans. There was a two book maximum for signings and the crowd moved much more quickly through the book-signing process. We felt equally happy and attended to.

What I couldn’t get over was how darn nice and talented these authors are. Their patience and good-humor bordered on saint-like. Maybe the most important thing I learned from watching them work the crowd and do their thing is that, above all, they knew that children want to laugh, or shriek, and be entertained. These authors are great entertainers – on paper and in person.

Both authors voiced their belief that when a kid falls in love with a book or a character, that kid wants to read more and more – and that’s what it’s all about.

SHOUT OUT: Clay Carmichael read from her YA book, WILD THINGS. Zoe, her 12-year-old protagonist, has the sassy charm of Tatum O’Neal’s “Addie” in Paper Moon; she says those things you’d wished you’d thought of and is made for the silver screen. Catch WILD THINGS at a local bookstore near you…before Zoe goes Hollywood on us.

Musica Universalis

2009-08-10T16:55:00.015-04:00

There can never be too much silence for me.

I hear everything -- the refrigerator rumbling, the cicadas clicking, the truck changing gears down the street. I hear the dogs sighing in the heat. I hear the tick-ticking of the wall clock, the crick of an ankle changing position. I hear a leaf falling to the ground, the scritch of bird shifting on a branch as it eats its berries outside my window.

I hear spiders singing to their children as they roll their egg pouch in silks. I hear the banana tree grow, the earthworm move and wriggle and tell all its friends about the time I dissected his great, great... great uncle in science class. I hear mosquitoes think about biting me.

I hear snakes shed their skin and new layers of bark slowly being added to the dogwood. I hear the mosses clinging to the hill and the rock mumbling "sorry" to the patch of grasses it has lain on for the past centuries.

I hear the spokes of a bike whistling in the wind and the frog's leaping toadstool slowly decaying in the crunchy wood. I can hear the trees thinking, dolphins playing, the sprites gathering in a cloudless form above me, waiting for me to talk back. I hear meadow heather whispering on purple plains -- they are very nearly shouting in their silence.

The Sunflowers in Tuscany are practically a riot of color and business -- stretching for miles and miles as we shoot past them on the train -- all yelling in unison -- "Slow Down. What's your hurry? You are so small. We -- so vast. What is so important anyway? We are here. Stay awhile and we will swallow you up."

I hear the waves lash the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee at night saying, "Nevermore, nevermore," over and over. Death is coming and they will keep talking and singing and humming. "Life is short. Slow it down a bit. And Listen. We have something to tell you that only we can tell -- and you will never be this way again."

I can hear butterflies flap their wings and pollen shouting "Wheeeeeeeee!" on the breeze. I can hear asphalt sizzle and water seep into the thirsty earth. I can hear the whole Earth humming and rocking and rolling and working and breathing and it is a symphony -- a cosmic kazoo -- a tissue-papered comb -- a planetary musical -- the music of the spheres.

Even my eyes can hear things not spoken. My ears can smell things and taste them and feel them. My ears are magic and bring me the intelligences of all sound.

My favorite movie as a child was DUMBO. Dumbo had the world's biggest ears and could fly. I always loved that -- that one's ears could set oneself free -- unchained from gravity.

I don't hear people talking to me when I am thinking. Can't listen to 2 conversations at once. I can't talk and listen to the radio at the same time.

But I can hear the moon spinning and that's enough for me.

Photo credit: Sleepy Hollow Books

Wealth

2009-04-13T16:05:00.019-04:00

I grew up in a town of great wealth -- wealth of bygone days.

The Rockefellers lived up on the hill on their country estate -- sprawling farmland that overlooked the Hudson River. Nelson Rockefeller had his sculpture garden hidden away and all the private Rockie homes were off limits but the family opened the grounds to joggers and bikers and horseback riders -- even though they were really the only ones ever on horseback.

John D. Rockefeller used to ride his horse down the hill into town I was told, and give out dimes to the townspeople in the early 1900s. The town was famous for being the place about which Washington Irving, another resident, wrote THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW -- the tale of the headless horseman who scared the poor itinerant teacher, Icabod Crane, by brandishing a false pumpkin head on a blazing steed. I always imagined John D. Rockefeller also haunting the town -- also on horseback -- hopefully doing good deeds -- or at least leaving little dimes on the pavement.

I spent my girlhood in Warner Library -- a grand Italianate library with pillars and palladian windows and high celings. The ornate bronze carved door, depicting Poseiden and the sea nymphs, was brought back from Italy. Although you could push it open or closed with just one finger because it was perfectly engineered, it probably weighed half a ton. Oil paintings of society ladies -- the Warners -- looked out over me as I sat in the wingback chairs reading Ranger Rick magazines or LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. It was like sitting in someone's really fine library at home, but anyone could come in and pick up a book and read.

When I went back on my last visit to Tarrytown, I visited the library and said a little prayer to the ladies in the oil paintings and thanked them -- the mother and daughter-- for creating a sanctuary for me as a girl.

I would come in from school each afternoon. I'd walk down to the library and Carol B. Caro, the white-haired but young children's librarian, would greet me. She knew me by name. "What are you looking for today, Amy?" she would say in the most cheerful, but library quiet voice. She was always happy and knew everything about books. She wasn't very tall so a kid could see eye-to-eye with her.

She would lead me down aisles of open shelving in the Children's Reading Room and pull off Little Women, Robinson Crusoe, Wuthering Heights, A Wrinkle In Time, I don't recall all the titles and authors -- Judy Blume -- everything a girl could want to dive into. I don't know if Carol knew I wasn't very happy and didn't fit in. She didn't really chat much. Her job was to feed me books to occupy my mind and to divert it from sadness.

I see Carol all the time -- maybe once a year -- at big occasions -- usually at weddings. I think I have told her what she meant to me back then -- how she saved me by being caring and interested but never too close. She let me do the discovering, the reading, the returning, and she was always there -- constant as the proverbial Northern Star and ready to turn over another page.

#42 - Pet a dog

2009-02-20T10:48:00.013-05:00

STRESS BUSTING 101: What do I know about stress? EVERYTHING!

If you are feeling pressed, stressed, or blue, you can use this list as a stress-busting oracle: Close your eyes, blow out your breath slowly, and think of a number between 1-50.

Now look at the list and consider doing the following…

1. Take a bath (add Epsom salts for a good soak)
2. Have a cup of tea
3. Go for a run
4. Go for a walk (and do soothing self talk; flip the worry -- see if you can see the POSITIVES about why the roof leaks: The sound of soothing raindrops eliminates need for plug in feng-shui fountain; better view of the sky; cute repairperson; good time to add on an addition/solar panels...)
5. Draw a cartoon about the issue...include a positively outrageous solution
6. Put on music
7. Dance, dance, dance
8. Hit the heavy bag
9. Call your sisters
10. Call a friend (put their name on your stress-busting list with phone number)
11. Do a load of laundry; take out the garbage; unload the dishwasher; sort the sock drawer
12. Go swing outside; preferably in a park around kids; do not wear trenchcoat
13. Pull weeds
14. Transplant something
15. Lie in the hammock and read
16. Write a letter to someone
17. Go outside. Now.
18. Crouch down and touch the earth with your bare hands and feet
19. Hug a tree
20. Swim
21. Stretch; do yoga
22. Breathe out slowly
23. Have a drink of cold water
24. Splash cold water on your face
25. Write down your complaints and worries
26. Read a book under the covers and and take quiet time
27. Write a gratitude list of 10 things that make your life better. Now write 10 more.
28. Go for a bike ride
29. Yell in the car (preferable alone)
30. Color, draw or paint
31. Hit a tennis ball against a backboard; go to the batting cage
32. Call a therapist or smart, unflappable friend
33. Call Mom
34. Recycle something
35. Say or write positive affirmations -- put the really good ones on your bathroom mirror
36. Say a prayer (Lord’s prayer; Buddhist or Jewish blessings)
37. Sing Christmas carols to yourself (my favorites are Silent Night and Here Comes Santa Claus)
38. Have a green drink (a fruit smoothie or Odwalla Superfood green drink)
39. Take your medicine or vitamins – Vitamin B
40. Take flower essences (Bach’s rescue remedy)
41. Meditate
42. Pet a dog or cat
43. Hold a child
44. Go ice skating
45. Lie down
46. Go to the movies and see a COMEDY
47. Water the plants
48. Vacuum or sweep
49. Walk, walk, walk – take the dog with you
50. Get bodywork; massage; or ask a pal for a hug
51. Turn off the news; turn on the music -- and sing

(Remember, always take your own preferences and needs into account. Check with a medical professional before you get too wiggy. This is my personal list. Make your own list of 51 things you can do to soothe yourself when you are feeling upset or stressed.

Let me know what works for you!

(Photo credit: Joe Tansey Jr.)

The Gift of Time

2008-12-04T15:34:00.006-05:00

If you have not had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with an 80-year-old, I highly recommend it. I don’t know what their secrets are – but I do know they seem to have shed much of the worry that clouds the mind and takes the attention of youth. They take care of their needs, know their limits, and seem to be undauntedly cheerful. Is this the secret to getting to 80?

I saved a clipping about a woman who was interviewed at 98 years old. She said her secrets to longevity were: drinking lots of water, walking regularly, and getting rid of “stuff.” She said the more things you hold onto, the more it weighs you down the older you get. A friend of mine told me about her mom. When my friend’s mother reached her eighties, if someone visited her and admired a lamp, her Mom would say, “You like it? Take it!” She wished to lighten up, and it delighted her to know her things would go to someone who loved them.

I recently talked with another friend. She said, because of the economy, she was going to go Christmas shopping in her house. I told her about gifting in the Soviet Union. Because people did not have a lot of disposable income in the USSR, they would give you something they already had – something their grandfather had owned, or something that was part of their lives or homes that they wanted to share with you. My Russian friends were also great at making things – a picture from dried flowers grown at the dacha, a pair of child’s mittens, a crocheted swan. I wonder if we will soon get to the point in this country when we exchange gifts not out of pressure – but out of joy and delight.

Somebody told me that gems like to travel – to circulate from one person to another. Maybe things do, too. Karen Kingston, the author of CLEAR YOUR CLUTTER WITH FENG SHUI, said that even things can have a purpose – and when we stuff all our “things” in the attic – we are frustrating their purpose.

This inspired me to venture up into my attic. It made me think about the toys I was stashing away up there. I kept some of my favorites -- for my imagined future grandkids. The rest – I wanted to see them played with now. I brought them out of the shadows -- and sent them along. I look forward to doing more of this. Hopefully the “letting go” will become easier – and fun.
(Photo credit: Unknown; Esther, Ethel and Gertrude Bubolz)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T18:50:00.003-05:00

Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving from Sleepy Hollow Books.

(Photo credit: Joe Tansey Jr.)

Happy 1st Birthday!

2008-11-02T15:03:00.007-05:00

Today is Sleepy Hollow Books's first birthday!

To celebrate we went to Tomie dePaola's book signing of his new pop-up book, BRAVA, STREGA NONA!, at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC.

(Photo credit: Amy C. Spaulding)

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T19:00:00.006-04:00

Happy Halloween from Sleepy Hollow Books!

Wherever you go

2008-10-17T17:28:00.004-04:00

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."
-- Confuscious

(Photo credit: Joe Tansey Jr.)

Watching the Skies

2008-10-14T17:57:00.005-04:00

Cloud angels overhead in Durham, NC (Hwy 70) at 4:30PM.

(Photo credit: Amy C. Spaulding)

Morning Has Broken

2008-10-13T13:02:00.014-04:00

I was raking the leaves in my yard today. I stopped to listen to the noon bells ringing through the woods from the church down the road.

I started thinking about Camp Sloane – a YMCA camp in Lakeville, Connecticut. Each summer, in August, I went away to sleep-away camp for a month. The first summer, I wanted to go away to camp because my best friend, Michelle, was going. The following summers, my PARENTS wanted me to go.

It was kind of scary being away from home for a month, but I liked living in a big tent with 7 other girls.
I loved waking up to reveille played over the loud speaker.
I loved swimming lessons in the small lake with fish that would nip you if you stayed in one place for too long.
I loved flipping our canoes over.
I loved the ritual “sing-offs” at meal times ("We are the PIONEERS, the mighty, mighty PIONEERS!)
I loved drinking “bug juice” (kool-aid) and eating pancakes covered in sugar.

Fifth-grade freedom is a great thing …

This afternoon’s autumn bells through the woods reminded me of the camp’s Sunday services in the woods.

At Camp Sloane, there were log benches that lined a shady grove. We would go down there, as a group, on Sunday mornings. Some of the counselors would bring their guitars. They would say some profound 16-year-old words and sing some songs. I think “Kumba-ya” was a regular number. (It was the ‘70s). My favorite hymn was “Morning Has Broken.” Camp church spoke to me because we got to worship outside. I could feel and understand in my bones that God is everywhere.

It is funny, because when my husband and I had just married and moved into our new home, we decided to go "shopping" for a church together. One Sunday, we decided to stop in at the little church down the road. We opened the doors and the whole congregation turned and looked at us. Then the first hymn they played was “Morning Has Broken.”

(Photo credit: Joe Tansey Jr.)

Last Words

2008-10-10T09:28:00.013-04:00

Have you ever had a book drop off the shelf at your feet in the library – or a scrap of paper fall from your desk – and it is was just what you were looking for?

A four-paged book fragment with the engraving “Aspiration” by George Frederick Wattson has appeared in my papers. If you are familiar with the engraving and the origin of the passage below please send me an email.

The page attached to this engraving reads:

_________________________________________
Beatrice. 59
------------------------------------
"... and the angels cannot tell God from
man or man from God. And Beatrice showed
Dante this great mystery. And he stood still,
looking, with the great light shining into his
eyes.

Although he does not tell us what he saw,
we know it was Florence, where he lived,
and that he was looking at all the people with lov-
ing eyes, and seeing them just as those who
live with God see men.

Heaven is here, little children. Let us
love one another."

My uncle, Donald T. Spaulding – “Big D” -- had a great last line.

When he was dying, I asked him -- as delicately as I could -- for his words of advice to me.

He was a great corporate strategist; he helped transform IBM into a blue chip company. When he asked you a question, he wanted to hear "yes" or "no" -- not the extended version. His last words to me: “Do what makes the most sense.”

A couple of weeks later, he died. And the face fell off the craggy "Old Man of the Mountain" in New Hampshire where he lived. In October -- after an 80+-year drought – the Red Sox won the World Series. My uncle never lived to see the Red Sox win a Series in his lifetime – but when he got to heaven, I am sure he had something to say.

Because I was not able to attend Uncle Donald's memorial in New Hampshire, my aunt sent me a program of the church service. It contained the typed eulogies from his friends and family with his picture on the cover.

Below his picture were Big D’s last words. I cried when I read them -- because now I knew just how damn smart he really was. His last words:

“I finally figured it out. It is all about love.”

(Photo credit: Unknown; John P. Spaulding and Donald T. Spaulding)

Naked Lunch

2008-10-09T19:44:00.007-04:00

My folks called at breakfast time. They were gathered around the kitchen table with my sister, Susie and Kristiana. They are selling our old childhood home in Sleepy Hollow, New York. They close on the house tomorrow.

I wasn't able to join them this week to help pack up and say goodbye to the house. So they put the portable phone in the middle of the kitchen table and all starting talking at once. We each shared one of our favorite memories about the house.

When it was my turn, I told them it wasn’t the house I remembered so much as the time spent OUTSIDE the house. I remembered riding bikes through the neighborhood, climbing the tree in our yard, sledding down the vacant lot, and practicing figure eights on Fremont Pond.

I remembered out loud about visiting with my favorite “second Moms” in the neighborhood -- Merle Rickles, Annegret Rice, and Margaret Jing-Mei Ho.

And then – like a burst – one of my favorite "house" memories returned to mind:

I am 5 years old. We have just moved to 19 Hemlock Drive from Brooklyn Heights. We each have our own room and a new big backyard. My sister, Susie, and I – and one other pal -- dig a HUGE hole in the yard and fill it up with water. We strip naked and cover ourselves with mud.

Just then the Nolan boys show up. They are wearing Catholic school uniforms. Apparently, they are accustomed to cutting through our yard on their way home from school.

We crouch out of sight in our nakedness. Then I spring up – covered with nothing but mud from head to toe -- and yell in full five-year-old voice -- “Get out of our yard!” I was a tribal priestess casting foreign missionaries from our soil.

The Nolan boys never cut through our yard again. But they did have a good story to tell at supper that night. They plotted their revenge 10 years later in the valiantly fought rotten crabapple skirmish. Mud and rotten apples -- that is the stuff of a happy childhood.

(Photo credit: Joe Tansey Jr.)

Our Hearts Are With Galveston

2008-09-23T13:43:00.003-04:00

Our thoughts and prayers are with Galveston and the Gulf Coast during this challenging time. -- Sleepy Hollow Books

Going to Galveston

2008-08-27T14:08:00.007-04:00

A clairvoyant friend of mine recently said, “Right now is the time for JOY. All our decisions and actions must be guided by joy.”

I wondered aloud, “Is joy really possible these days? Isn’t being happy now and then good enough?” Then I started examining when and how often I felt joyful during my day. And it reminded me of a funny story my mom would tell me…

When my mother was a young lady, she and her sister and aunt and uncle were musing over where to go on vacation. Someone suggested Galveston, Texas. So they all hopped into their car and started driving. They traveled through Alabama, then Mississippi, and Louisiana. After a series of mishaps, and overtaken by fatigue, someone said, “Whose bright idea was this, anyway – going to Galveston?”

This led to a heated discussion.
“ I didn’t really want to go to Galveston,” said my mother.
“Neither did I,” said sister.
“Me, either,” said her Uncle.
“Hold on a moment,” said the Aunt to her husband, “ You’re the one who said Galveston was nice this time of year.”
He replied, “ I said it was nice -- I didn’t say I wanted to GO there!”

Today, when my mother says, “Make sure you’re not 'Going to Galveston',” she means, be sure your heart is in it, before you jump into something you think will please others.

When we look at our lives searching for JOY– we may have more choices than we think. If we slow down and take time to listen to our hearts –- and seek those things that truly make us happy -– we can find directions to Joy.

(Photo credit: Unknown; Janet and Emilie Smith)

Our Favorite Books

2008-06-11T15:46:00.023-04:00

The book I remember most fondly from my childhood is Stuart Little. My father, who traveled a lot, read one chapter a night to us before bedtime. Dad read from his own boyhood copy - a brown, hardback copy with illustrations; his mother had dedicated it: "To Dickie from Mother, Christmas 1945."

My sisters and I would beg my Dad to read "just one more chapter" but Dad would refuse. He would make us wait until the next evening. We would grumble and then close our eyes so it would be tomorrow. It was agony having to wait. Some nights I would lie awake trying to figure out how Mrs. Little, Stuart's mom, could have given birth to a real mouse, and whether my mother could give birth to a puppy.

Other childhood favorites of mine were: Goodnight Moon, Meet the Circus, by H. A. Rey, and Make Way for Ducklings. One series especially close to my heart were the books called The Witch Next Door and The Witch's Christmas. The witch hung a wreath on her door made of bats, and the snow that fell on her roof was black. Eventhough the witch was living in suburbia -- and was, well, a witch -- the kids still loved her. The books were written with a light touch by Norman Bridwell who also penned Clifford, the Big Red Dog.

As I grew older, I remember devouring Charlotte's Web, the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the original Cheaper by the Dozen, and The Stars Under the Tent. As I grew older and life became less dreamy, I got into the Judy Blume books and I read all the "boy adventure" books -- Kidnapped, The Red Badge of Courage, The Call of the Wild, and Treasure Island. I also read Mao's Little Red Book, and stayed in for an entire day to read The Secret Garden in one sitting.

You see, my parents had a little bookshelf that was built into the wall. It had blue doors with brass nobs. The shelves were just deep enough to hold paperback books -- and it was along the hallway to my room. I would sit in that hallway for hours and read. My parents could have put anything in that bookcase and I would have read it.

I decided, when I became a Mom, that I wanted my son to have a secret bookcase, too. I took a narrow closet with sturdy shelves and removed all the towels and linens. Then I loaded the shelves up with books. I put a blue cushion on the floor of the closet and added a flashlight. It didn't take long for Nick to find it. He would hide in that closet and when the house became very quiet, I knew he was there. Which favorites Nick will remember? I don't know -- but I can't wait to find out!

(Photo credit: Amy C. Spaulding)

How to Prepare Our Children For the Future

2008-04-23T13:34:00.008-04:00

This is an excerpt from "Messages from Matthew" (www.matthewbooks.com) that I would like to share with you. He writes on the topic of HOW TO PREPARE CHILDREN FOR THE FUTURE: 

When asked, "What is the best way to prepare our children for the future?", Matthew wrote:

"My reply -- By Example.
LIVE fearlessly;
BE honest;
EXPRESS your thankfulness for the blessings  in your life and the beauties of Earth;
SHARE generously with  persons in need;
SHOW reverence for all life;
BECOME involved in  measures to preserve or restore the environment;
KEEP your mind open  to new perspectives;
BE discerning in your decisions;
BE resilient,  LEARN from failed efforts, and try again;
DUMP emotional garbage,
LAUGH and smile often;
FORGIVE those who hurt you, and
FORGIVE yourself for hurting others.
To this I add: LISTEN.
LET the children's voices be heard.
ENCOURAGE them to talk about their  ideas, fears, plans, hopes, dreams, disillusionment and  disappointments;
ENCOURAGE them to set realistic but not limiting  goals;
ENCOURAGE them to emulate but not compare themselves with  individuals who inspire them.
And above all,
LOVE them.
By how you live, you show them the power of unconditional love for themselves,  all others and Nature." -- MATTHEW, through his mother, Suzanne Ward (www.matthewbooks.com).

This serves as a great reminder of other words of advice I received at a parenting workshop I attended in Chapel Hill, NC several years ago.

Tammy Hughes, a founder of the first Waldorf nursery in China, opened the parenting workshop with this question:
"What is the best thing you can do for your children?" We replied, "Read to them." "Feed them healthy foods." "Love them."

Her answer: "The best thing you can do for your children is... Work on yourself.” We all laughed.

Then she asked us: “What is the second most important thing you can do to help your children?" We were silent this time.

Her answer: "Work on your marriage.”

Dr. Mark Eisen, our family doctor, was also leading the workshop that evening. One of my favorite sayings he has is, “Your children will love you for your striving.”

Whenever I would confess to a mistake I had made in parenting and admit the guilt I felt, he would say, "Your child will love you for your striving." He saw how much I wanted to do better, and that I was motivated to improve by my love for my child. This striving to be a better person and parent is what would imprint my child -- not my mistake.

As we strive to be better parents, and to learn from our errors -- we live by example. As we make our mistakes, apologize, forgive, and plan on how to do better next time -- and eventually -- laugh at our foolish ways -- we teach our children how to be kind to themselves -- and that their parents have the courage to get up, stand up, and be human.

The Gift of Sensitivity

2008-04-15T13:40:00.004-04:00

I was exquisitely sensitive as a child. Luckily, my mother has the gift of intuition and a strong sense of what is healthy for children. She quickly learned that certain fabrics, loud sounds, scary stories and images, and unfamiliar social situations caused me distress. Soon Mom was choosing cotton clothes for me, rather than synthetics. She cut the labels out of my clothes so they wouldn’t scratch my skin. She would wash hand-me-downs from other families before I wore them so they smelled like me. And Mom tried to help me adapt to those challenging situations that she could not change.

As an adult I have learned how to manage the gift of sensitivity. As a sensitive person, I am finely tuned to the world and the people around me. A good friend once likened me to a Stradivarius violin – a magnificent instrument that may easily go out of tune, but with the right care, is capable of masterpieces.

You might have been a sensitive child, too – one who is highly intuitive and self aware, who feels emotions deeply, and is open and connected to the natural world.

Our mission at Sleepy Hollow Books is to serve children with tender hearts and big imaginations. We may be the “world’s smallest publishing company,” but we have a big aim – to publish highly imaginative books that spark the creative imagination of children in a loving way. If you have a manuscript for a children's book that you would like to be considered for publication, you can send it to me via email at: Editor@sleepyhollowbooks.com.
Sincerely, Amy Spaulding
Sleepy Hollow Books
Editor@sleepyhollowbooks.com

Seeking Original Fiction

2008-03-09T11:46:00.009-04:00

Sleepy Hollow Books is currently accepting manuscripts of original fiction for young children.

Our Mission:
We publish highly imaginative books that spark the creative imagination of children in a loving way. Our books help nurture our connection to nature and the spirit of the Earth. Because books are born of trees, we seek to use our resources respectfully and responsibly; we print on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

Our Audience:
Young children who are self-aware, possess heightened sensitivity and intuitive abilities, and are open and interested in the natural world.

Topics of Interest: Stories that...
• address the natural and unseen world and other imaginative topics;
• are life affirming, and possess a sense of wonder;
• support a connected and compassionate world-view;
• provide children with insight into their sensitivity or intuitive capabilities.

To send manuscripts via email, please follow these guidelines; we will consider simultaneous submissions:

1. Attach your manuscript as a double-spaced WORD document.
2. Put the working title of your manuscript and your full name in the "Subject" line of your email.
3. Include your full name on each page and use page numbers.
4. Please include a brief cover letter as the first page of your manuscript -- with your full name, contact information, a brief biographical sketch, and anything else you would like for us to consider when reviewing your manuscript.
5. Send your manuscript to: Editor@sleepyhollowbooks.com

We look forward to hearing from you!