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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

A to Z: Quadrireme





I am sure there are some people in this A to Z Challenge who won't be able to come up with a word for the letter "Q".  I am also sure there are some people who will take the easy way out and pick a word like quirky, or quick, or even quaint and make a delightful post about their letter "Q" word.  But not me.  I went all out and picked Quadrireme.  The picture is a wee bit off, but gives a good hint as to what the word means.  Quadrireme is another word for an ancient ship with four sets of oars...although this picture shows many more.  And how can I tie THAT into my writing?  Funny you should ask...

I think of my picture book stories as the ship itself and the four sets of oars as the four parts that make up the whole. One set of oars is PLOT because we all know without that, there IS no story.  One set of oars is the CHARACTERS who must struggle and overcome great obstacles. One set of oars is ILLUSTRATION or the very pictures supporting the story line.  The last set of oars is AUTHOR'S VOICE which identifies the story as my own.  With these sturdy oars my ship can sail calm seas until it finds a safe harbor at some nice little publishing house...




Quiet!  There's A Canary In The Library
Written by: Don Freeman
Illustrated by: Don Freeman
Ages: 3-8
ISBN: 0670062308
Teaser:  Cary daydreams one day of being a librarian so she can invite all the animals to the special bird and beast day at the library.  But what happens when mice scamper in and upset the elephant?  How will Cary restore order?  And who is her little helper?
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19 comments:

  1. Angela BrownApril 18, 2012 at 10:51 PM

    You definitely went all out. I ducked safely behind "Questions" for my "Q" word.

    This was very good and I love it. Great A to Zing!

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    Replies
    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveApril 19, 2012 at 7:06 AM

      Hi, Angela, and welcome to my blog! There is nothing wrong with playing with everyday words and there are a lot of fabulous posts today using them...I was just feeling "Q" challenged and thought I would go out on a limb today...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
  2. Crack You WhipApril 19, 2012 at 12:37 AM

    I love how you tied everything in together. Looks like a great picture book! I did one myself a few years back.

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    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveApril 19, 2012 at 7:27 AM

      Hi, Tracie, and welcome to my blog! I was checking out your blog and had to laugh at your latest post...very funny! I am a Cajun...born and raised in the swamps of Louisiana...lived in/near Dallas for eight years and now live in Tennessee so I can soooo relate to your post! I see you are a published author of children's books...wanted to give you the link to the promotion I am providing for any published PB, MG, or YA author interested in participating in the Children's Festival of Reading in my city on May 19th....you don't have to be present...just your books...;0)

      Here is the link with more information..http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/03/calling-all-authors.html and here the link to the latest update..http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/04/calling-all-authorspart-two.html

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
  3. Anjali KrishnaApril 19, 2012 at 7:42 AM

    What a great post! Liked the blog title you chose and the parallels you drew between something as simple as a boat and a story!
    Good luck for the rest of the challenge!

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    Replies
    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveApril 19, 2012 at 11:20 AM

      Hi, Anjali, and welcome to my blog! I returned the favor and am a new follower of your blog as well...great post for today by the way.

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
  4. Cindy DwyerApril 19, 2012 at 12:25 PM

    Sounds like a great story. And what a fun way to make a connection to Q.

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    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveApril 19, 2012 at 1:23 PM

      Hi, Cindy, and welcome to my blog! I checked out your post today and left a comment...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
  5. MonicaApril 19, 2012 at 2:05 PM

    This is a great post...I had never before heard the word "quadrireme"...very interesting and I liked how you tied it all together! Q was definitely a tough letter.
    Monica, Older Mommy Still Yummy

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    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveApril 19, 2012 at 2:13 PM

      Hi, Monica! Thank you for your kind words...I'm not sure how I'm going to handle "U"...I will have to wait and see...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
  6. HollyApril 19, 2012 at 3:08 PM

    Thanks for teaching me a new word

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    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveApril 19, 2012 at 3:42 PM

      My pleasure, Holly!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
  7. AnonymousApril 19, 2012 at 6:28 PM

    Yup. You did it. Mission accomplished. If we really wanted to, and it wasn't a Q thing, we could probably think up more story elements for all the oars in the picture and then some!

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    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveApril 19, 2012 at 8:23 PM

      Hi, Genevieve! Lol...I'm glad my actual quadrireme only has FOUR sets of oars because I wouldn't have been able to think of other points to talk about for all of them by myself...I would have needed my lovely writer friends to help me...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
  8. clarbojahnApril 19, 2012 at 8:14 PM

    Great post, Donna. Yep the oars are definitely important. :)

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  9. Think Positive, Be PositiveApril 19, 2012 at 8:24 PM

    Hi, Clar! Without the oars I would either sink or spin around in circles to wherever the ocean wanted to take me...;0)

    Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  10. Hilary Melton-ButcherApril 20, 2012 at 11:37 AM

    Hi Donna .. clever word - and I love your story book with the four Oar parts - cleverly done .. that the whole has to tie together .. Quadrireme = great ship!!

    Cheers Hilary

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  11. Tracy MacDonaldApril 20, 2012 at 12:55 PM

    Donna, what a great way to look at your story writing. It's so good to come back to the basics of writing and have something to visualize along with it. Great post!

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    Replies
    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveApril 20, 2012 at 2:08 PM

      Hi, Tracy, and welcome to my blog! I try my best to keep all my posts inspiring, informative, and entertaining...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back again any time!

      Delete