My husband and I always have loved to read. So it’s no surprise that our three boys are readers, too. Every summer, each one of us has his or her nose in a book, especially when we go on vacation. But this summer, for the first time, our boys are in different places, and we decided that reading the same book would be a way to keep us connected.

It was easy to agree that we’d each read the same book. The hard part was agreeing on a book. But since summer has already started, we decided we needed to get started with something. Now we’re each reading Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann – in paperback for two of us, and on the Kindle for the other three. When we do manage to get together this summer, we’ll talk about the book, but, as most book clubs go, the discussion probably will go in all kinds of other directions.

Our kids are older – 24, 21 and almost 17 – and their favorite book genres are literary fiction and the classics. My husband and I lean more toward mysteries and suspense. But we decided to let our kids take the lead in choosing the title for our first family summer book club. They’re more likely to read something that they’re interested in, and my husband and I will have the opportunity to learn from our kids – as well as to stay connected. Even though two of our sons are a hundred miles – or more – away from home now, we can still be together whenever we read, because we’re all on the same page, so to speak.

My three readers: Brian, Matt and Alex

Your kids are never too young – or too old – to start a family book club. If you’ve read The End of Your Life Book Club, you already know that. Choose something that’s either available in multiple copies at the library, or that you can get in paperback or on an e-reader – you don’t have to spend a lot of money, but it’s important that each family member has his or her own copy of the chosen title.

If your kids have a big gap in age – or in reading levels – encourage your children to read aloud together. You also could turn your book club into meeting to read the book out loud to one another.

It doesn’t really matter what book you choose as your family’s summer book club selection. What’s important is to make each family member feel involved, from researching and suggesting possible titles to deciding on a time or place to meet to talk about the book. (Weekly, monthly, at home, in the park, etc.)

Of course, participation in the family book club should always be optional. Reluctant readers and those who proclaim that books are “boring” (more often than not, they go hand-in-hand) may say they’re not interested. But once they see other people in their family reading – and getting together to talk about reading – they may change their minds, especially if you let them choose the next book selection.

There are so many great books out there – too many to read in a lifetime of summers – but you only have to choose one to start your family book club. I’d love to hear about your experiences – and recommended titles. After all, there’s still plenty of summer left for my family to read!

Apparently, they do. The Japanese translation of my book, “Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal,” arrived in my mailbox while I was out of town. It’s not the first time “Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal” has been translated into a different language. Which makes me wonder…

Do children in other countries experience many of the same issues as kids in the United States? They must. My book about divorce, “I Don’t Want to Talk About It,” has been picked up by several different foreign publishers. I’m sure there are many more books like mine out there, helping kids understand their world a little better.

If you’ve had a self-help book for kids or the adults in their lives published in another language, I’d love to hear about it. Even better, I’d love to see it. Email me a photo and I’ll post it on my blog.

The world is a big place. But when you get right down to it, kids are kids.

On a trip to Iceland last summer, there were lots of new things to try, from rotten shark dipped in something called “Black Death” to walking on a glacier blackened by ash from a recent volcano.

Each time we were presented with something new to try, our guide encouraged us with what would become our mantra for the trip: “Challenge yourself!”

And I did. Until halfway through our river rafting excursion, our guide said we were making a stop to do a little cliff-jumping. I don’t think she really expected many of us – maybe not any of us – to climb up and jump off into what was literally ice-cold water

But as we watched a few brave souls – a very few — from other tours take a turn at the cliff jump, I decided I was going to climb up and “just take a look.” Our guide smiled. “Challenge yourself!” she said. What an understatement.

You see, I am scared of heights. And not just a little bit. A lot of bit. So for me to look over the edge of a cliff, let alone leap off of it, was pretty much the ultimate challenge. It had to be safe, or they wouldn’t let us do it, I thought. So I did.

About halfway down, I thought, “This was a really bad idea.” Shouldn’t I have hit the water by now?

Then I did. And for just a few seconds, I was in over my head.  Then I popped up, swam back to the boat and my smiling guide. “You did it!” she said. I had. And strangely enough, I wanted to do it again.

I doubt I’ll ever get over my fear of heights. But one thing I don’t doubt. I won’t stop challenging myself to try new things, whether on vacation or at home or in my writing. In fact, I started writing my first middle-grade novel soon after my Iceland adventure. It’s a real stretch to write thousands of words when you’re a picture-book author. But if I can jump off a cliff, I can write this book.

And how about you? How will you challenge yourself this summer? Whether it’s biking twenty miles, reading a stack of books, or writing your own novel, I’d love to hear from you!

Rain, rain, go away. We can’t go out to write today

Last week, I was in Paris making snow angels at the Eiffel Tower. Next week, I’ll be in Kansas City, talking with students in the Lee’s Summit school district. But no matter whether I’m traveling near or far, chances are I won’t ever journey as many miles as my books do in the publication process. I’m looking forward to sharing that story with students and teachers at Meadow Lane Elementary and Richardson Elementary this coming Tuesday. And who knows? With the weird spring weather, I may be making snow angels in Kansas City!

I’m not in the habit of visiting my own website unless I’m posting a new blog post or doing some revising. So, imagine my surprise when several people contacted me last week to tell me that my website was gone. Gone? I couldn’t believe it! I’d never had an issue before – my website’s been around for more than a decade now.

I investigated right away, typing in the URL, www.jeanieransom.com, several different times. But each time, the only thing that came up was a blank page, much like the one that writers face when they start a story. I had no clue why this was happening, but I knew someone who could crack this case…

…My husband, Bob Ransom, webmaster, graphic artist, and all-around great guy. Thanks to his technical knowledge and expertise, the mystery of the missing website has been solved! And that means I can get back to the business of revising my new picture book, The Crown Affair, and preparing for some upcoming school visits.

If you’ve been trying to find my website these last few weeks, I’m sorry for any inconvenience. I’m glad you’re here now, and I’m happy to report I WILL be in the habit of visiting my own website more often!

I’m excited to be visiting schools again after the long summer break. Tomorrow, I’ll be at Claymont Elementary in Ballwin, Missouri. Claymont is in the Parkway school district, the same district as my old elementary school, Mason Ridge. Mason Ridge also happens to be where I first knew I wanted to be a writer, thanks to my third-grade teacher!

At Claymont, I’ll be doing several different presentations, including a new addition to the mix: “Think Like a Dog, Write Like a Pro.” Inspired by my two canine “office assistants,” Luke and Nemo, it should be a fun session – even though I won’t actually have the dogs with me!

If you’d like to know more about “Think Like a Dog, Write Like a Pro,” or any of my other presentations, click on Author Visits. And if you’d like to know more about scheduling a school visit, please email me via the Contact button.

Fall has always been my favorite time of year.  The start of a new school year feels like a fresh start for everyone, and the cooler weather is a welcome change from the hot summer– especially this year, with the 100+ degree temperatures here in St. Louis.

Although the heat seemed reluctant to relax its grip this fall, it’s finally what I call  “sweater weather,” perfect for sitting on the front porch with my two “office assistants,” Luke and Nemo.

They’re now able to wear their own “sweaters,” courtesy of a trip I took to Iceland this past summer. I don’t know how long they’ll keep them on, but I know from experience that they’ll keep sitting on the front porch with me until it’s too cold for me to write outside. I draw the line on typing with mittens on!

Every year about this time, my family goes in search of some pumpkins for our front porch. There are five people in our family, so we have to have at least five pumpkins. Somehow we always end up with more!

We usually go to the same farm to pick pumpkins right out of the field. But last October, I decided we’d try a different place – a small, family-owned farm that just so happened to be right around the corner from the big, commercial place we traditionally go. And there we discovered a surprising fact: pumpkins aren’t always orange!

I don’t know about you, but whenever I think of pumpkins, I think orange. So when the farmer took us into his field to look for pumpkins, I was expecting to see lots of orange. I did see orange, but I also saw white, yellow, and blue. Blue pumpkins? Who knew?

The farmer walked us through the field, pointing out the different varieties: Cinderella pumpkins, warty pumpkins, cheese pumpkins, ghost pumpkins, and many more. As you can see from the picture, we found it hard to resist bringing home a few extra pumpkins!

Going the extra mile, literally, to find a new spot to pumpkin pick is much like working a little harder to find a fresh slant on a topic you’re writing about. It takes time to go beyond the obvious when you’re assigned to do a story on a popular subject like, say, Abraham Lincoln. But if you’re willing to search a bit more, chances are you’ll find some quirky, little-known fact that will make the difference between an ordinary story and an extraordinary one.

Ordinary stories, much like orange pumpkins, are easy to find. Are you ready to mix it up a bit? Go find a pumpkin that’s different. Put it where you can see it when you write. Once you go beyond orange,  a whole new world of possibilities awaits you.

Growing up, I loved getting ready to go back to school. Picking out that perfect outfit for the first day, shopping for school supplies (there’s just nothing like a fresh box of crayons!), packing my book bag the night before – just thinking about it brings back that tumble of feelings: anticipation, excitement, and yes, a little nervousness, too.

I still love getting ready to go back to school – as an author. Every year, when kids go back to class, I go back into the class, visiting schools to talk about writing. I still do many of the same things – including picking out that perfect outfit and packing my “book bag” the night before

I feel those same feelings — anticipation, excitement, and yes, a little nervousness, too – every time I step through the door of a school where I’ve been invited to speak. What will the kids be like? What kinds of questions will they ask? (Note: Look for some questions I’ve been asked – and the answers – in a future blog.) How can I make a difference today in the writing lives of each and every person in that room – students as well as teachers?

I’m looking forward to visiting the schools that have already scheduled me this year, and welcome the chance to get your school on the calendar, too. For more information, click on the “author visits” tab, or contact me at ransomink@pobox.com.