October and Susanna Leonard Hill's Halloweensie Contest is trick or treating with a story hop. Join the crowd and find Halloween fright and fun. Contest begins October 26th at 12AM and ends October 30th at midnight. Stir the caldron and meet the spooks on Halloween night!

Arabella’s Web
by
Charlotte Dixon
Halloween morning and Arabella, the house spider, skittered up the living room curtain.
In the corner of a window, she wove a silky web as fine as Venetian lace. 
Her eyes sparkled as she scurried to gather...
orange sequins...
glossy yellow buttons...
and twinkling lights.
She twisted, curled, and twined her treasures into a creation with...
an orange sequined body...
glistening yellow eyes, nose, and mouth...
and lights shimmering like stars in the sky.
As darkness folded over the old haunted house...
costumed children giggled...
happy eyes danced...
tiny fingers pointed...
to Arabella’s pumpkin web.

Registration for PiBoIdMo 2015 will open on October 25th at taralazar.com. When you get there, click “blog” in the menu bar or type “registration” in the search bar in the left column.) Registration will remain open through November 5th. What is PiBoIdMo? Why, it's Picture Book Idea Month!​

I just finished Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann's Course: From Prose to Pictures to Publication. This is a terrific workshop offered by Jodell Sadler at Kidlit College. It was refreshing to see Candace's writing process and Eric's fab illustrations. Together, they explored the PB form with great examples and tips. Each of the 4 weeks, they gave a webinar and opened up for question and answers. If you are up to honing your skills or finding answers, this is the course for you. Check it out: http://www.kidlitcollege.com