Karen Cushman

Karen Cushman

Newbery award-winning children’s book author

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Karen Cushman

Karen Cushman

Thank you, Kurt Vonnegut

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library“I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.

“So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.”

― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

I’m ba-a-a-ck.

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After a long, sometimes difficult summer, the rains are back and so am I.

Back yard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it starts to rain, Otis spends a long time looking out at the backyard, trying to decide whether or not to lick the dirty water off the paving stones instead of drinking fresh, clean water from his bowl.

Otis looking outdoors 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dirty water always wins. Go try and figure out a cat.

Lapping up water outdoors

Southern Oregon

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South Oregon vineyardsWe just returned from visiting my brother and his wife who live near Ashland, Oregon. They drove us to see magnificent vineyards ringed by mountains.

And we went to the animal shelter where he volunteers (a lot) to see the dogs waiting and waiting for someone to take them home.

If you can have a dog, please consider adopting one from a shelter. They need us and are so grateful.

Shelter dogThis is how my lovely brother closes every email:  

“It came to me that every time I lose a dog; they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog that comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and maybe I will become as generous and loving as they are.” 

—Unknown

 

Bambi’s Mother?

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pregnant deerWe have had daily visits from a very pregnant deer. I can’t get a better picture for she runs away if I get too close, but I can see the knobs and angles of a fawn inside. The deer on the island can be destructive to plants and flowers, but I won’t shoo this one away. Let her eat all the grass and tender new shoots she wants and make a beautiful, sturdy spotted fawn.

I’m no Ansel Adams

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Writers at Oregon SCBWIHere’s a crummy picture of an amazing group of writers at the Oregon SCBWI conference in Portland last weekend. All 201 of them were full of questions, ideas, and enthusiasm, and they welcomed me most warmly. I hope their passion is contagious as I once again dig into the draft of my new book.

Late Bloomers!

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Leo the Late BloomerNot yet traditionally published? Over 50? SCBWI members can apply next year for a Work-in-Progress grant and have your manuscript considered for the Karen and Philip Cushman Late Bloomer Award, $500 and a scholarship to one SCBWI conference. This award was established to encourage and celebrate late bloomers like me, who didn’t start to write until age fifty. But then I bloomed, and I’d love to see others do so as well.

What’s Gnu?

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Minnesota in AprilPhilip and I were just in Minnesota where I spoke at the Spotlight on Books Conference. Here’s a view out our window of April in northern Minnesota. The conference was fun and the snow was lovely.

Afterwards we were driven to Minneapolis where the splendid Margi Preus (Heart of a Samurai and Shadow on the Mountain) invited us to sit at her table with Steve and Vicki Palmquist of the Children’s Literature Network for the Minnesota Book Awards gala. Here we are, looking a little weary after a loooong day but having a great time. 

Bug Off!

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We were just in Portland with our daughter, Leah. My science-nerd daughter took us to see a presentation on insects to celebrate her birthday. Here are some of the beauties. Makes me glad I don’t live in the tropics.

It does not make me want to write about bugs. I’ll leave that to Jane Yolen and Jason Stemple. I hear their Bug Off! Creepy, Crawly Poems is delightful.

cushmanbugs

Keep Vashon Weird

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Bicycle TreeI am often—well, sometimes—asked if there is really a bicycle grown into a tree on Vashon Island. Yup, there is, and here is my photo to prove it. My shoes got muddy but it was worth it. There is a bogus story around about a boy leaving his bike in the woods and going off to fight and die in World War One, but actually the bike dates from the 1950s and the kid who left it leaning on a tree went on to be a King County Sheriff’s deputy. Or so it is said. We may never know.

 

 

 

 

  

Outdoor Gym

And here is our outdoor health club overlooking Puget Sound. Eleven working exercise bikes were there for years. Last year they disappeared but were replaced quickly, anonymously and under cover of darkness.

 

Karen in the Big Easy

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I have been on a school visit to New Orleans. My favorite parts of that terrific city? The bright, curious girls of the Academy of the Sacred Heart:

Academy of the Sacred Heart

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the amazingly beautiful, enormous, somewhat spooky live oak trees:

live oak tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and beignets and chicory coffee at Café du Monde, of course:

chicory coffee et beignet