A Role Model to Help Her Build Her Library

The blond twin has been talking about how to build her own library. She wants to keep writing books until her bookshelf is full. As if by magic, Last Laughs Animal Epitaphs, a new book by J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen, arrived for review.
I pulled all the Jane Yolen books we own and showed the blond twin that building your own library isn't just about writing chapter books. It wasn't until we went to the Jane Yolen website that we realized how many of her books we owned including Owl Moon and several of the "How do Dinosaurs" series. Long before I received any of her books for review, we were Jany Yolen fans. We just didn't realize it until we pulled all her books together.
Now the blond twin is fascinated with Jane Yolen. She realizes she can write chapter books, poems and picture books as an author. On her website, Jane suggested writers keep a journal with story ideas. Of course the blond twin started one immediately. She had ideas on scraps of paper all over the house, so I was thrilled that she started a journal. I won't say that I suggested it previously. When I say start a journal it's about cleaning up the mess. When Jane Yolen says she keeps a journal with ideas it's about the creative process. The blond twin doesn't care about the mess, but she does care about the creative process.
The girls enjoyed reading Last Laughs a lot. They laughed and giggled and then spent some time making up their own animal epitaphs. All I kept thinking about was the tombstones at the Disney World Haunted Castle. Our family favorite growing up was "Dear departed brother Dave. He chased a bear into a cave." At least we all thought it was funny. My brother Dave wasn't as amused.
When they were done, I made them clean out their bookcase to find Take Two! another poetry book by J. Patrick Lewis and Jany Yolen. I read it as soon as it arrived and enjoyed it a lot. Now that the girls were so fascinated with Jane Yolen, I wanted them to read it as well. They enjoyed the poems because they were about twins. And, of course, the blond twin already wrote a poem to her twin, so she felt connected to the poetry.
I bookmarked the Jane Yolen website so the blond twin could visit whenever she wants. As literary inspirations go, I think Jane Yolen is a good one.