There Might Be Lobsters & Pilar's Worries

How do you face a big, roaring ocean if you’re just a tiny dog? Or what if you love to dance, but can’t muster the courage to audition for the big ballet performance? Today, we’re reading two books about facing fears. Author Victoria M. Sanchez drops by the library for a visit. Plus, Andres Gonzalez from the Holistic Life Foundation teaches us to conquer anxiety with just our breath.

Get There Might Be Lobsters: | |

Julie's Library: There Might Be Lobsters — THERE MIGHT BE LOBSTERS. Text copyright © 2017 by Carolyn Crimi. Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Laurel Molk. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.

Get Pilar’s Worries: | |

Julie's Library: Pilar's Worries — “Pilar’s Worries” written by Victoria M. Sanchez, illustrated by Jess Golden. Copyright © 2018. Used with permission of Albert Whitman & Company. All rights reserved.

PICTURE THIS: MORE FROM THE ILLUSTRATOR

Lauren Molk, illustrator of “There Might Be Lobsters” — Laurel Molk

“While I was working on pictures of Suki (the dog) I had a new puppy under my chair (or snoozing in my lap) so he was a wonderful inspiration. Here is a picture of my dog Calvin with his own Chunka Munka enclosed. He’s a 68 pound dog now!” -- Laurel Molk, illustrator of “There Might Be Lobsters”

THIS WEEK’S ACTIVITY: DRAW YOURSELF FACING YOUR FEARS!

Maybe you’re afraid of aliens, or the dark, or lobsters... if you had to draw yourself overcoming those fears, what would it look like? Would you be having a dance party with a bunch of aliens? Would you be spelunking in a dark cave with a bright headlight on?

When we draw our fears, they hold less power -- because we’re the boss of them!

THE BACKSTORY

Carolyn Crimi, the author of There Might Be Lobsters, has a dog too! Find out how her dog inspired today’s story:

“My pug Emerson was once gently pushed over by a four-inch wave in Lake Michigan, and ever since that day he avoided the water. I’d bring him to the dog beach every afternoon, desperately hoping that he’d splash about in the waves like the other dogs. Instead, he’d trot over to the nearest person and sit in his or her lap. The experience gave me the idea for There Might Be Lobsters. Of course, like all my books, I realized after I wrote it that it was really about me and my many fears, one of which is the idea of fish swimming beneath me while I paddle around in Lake Michigan. I hope to one day conquer that fear as bravely as Suki did!” -- Carolyn Crimi, author of “There Might Be Lobsters.”

And Victoria Sanchez’s story was inspired by her desire to champion quieter children like her own daughter.

“When my daughter was little, I used to comb my local library looking for picture books with quiet characters like her. When I found books with quieter characters, they would often change by the end of the book, and stop being shy or nervous. Almost as if they needed to be cured. That made me want to write a book about a brave and passionate kid who also happened to be shy and a worrier. I hope Pilar's courageous story will show children that everybody holds a whole lot of wonderful things inside them. And with a little support, love, and some hard work, everybody can do great things.” -- Victoria M. Sanchez, Author of “Pilar’s Worries.”