Slice of Life: Delightful Distraction!

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Tuesday Slice of Life (SOL) community.

Thanks to Stacey, Betsy, Beth, Kathleen, Deb, Melanie, and Lanny

 for hosting this meeting place each Tuesday and nurturing our writing lives.

It's not unusual for me to find myself getting distracted.  Actually, I'm a pro at getting distracted.  And my latest distraction has led me to some delightful new learning about an illustrator.  

I'm sorry to report that I cannot name the moment or the place or the blog post that started me down this slippery slope, but it was when I read about a new book, The Shape of the World:  A Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright by K. L. Going and illustrated by Lauren Stringer.  One of my all-time favorite books to read aloud is Going's The Liberation of Gabriel King, but I didn't know she wrote picture books.  And the blog post I read mentioned another book written and illustrated by Lauren Stringer, Yellow Time, which I fell in love with last year.  

That's when I decided to see what else Lauren Stringer had illustrated.  I was delighted to discover that several of my favorite picture books are illustrated by her (I really should pay more attention to the illustrator):  Mud, by Mary Lyn Ray; Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant; Winter is the Warmest Season by Lauren Stringer; and Snow by Cynthia Rylant.   While shopping our library book sale, I discovered and purchased a new-to-me book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Lauren Stringer, Tell Me About Your Day Today.  

My morning's distractions continued as I explored an interview with Lauren Stringer at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Don't miss the pic of Buster, the only cat of the three she owns who is allowed to visit her studio.  This interview includes a detailed glimpse into Lauren's process that she uses when she is beginning to illustrate a book.

When you visit the book section of Lauren's blog, you'll be amply rewarded with a short description of each book she's written and/or illustrated with three additional links:  

• The Story and A Personal Note
• Praise and Reviews
• Extras

While some may view my distractibility as a liability, some days it's pure bliss.  Today was one of those days!