Today I have the pleasure of having the talented and amazing Laura Ripes with me. Laura's picture book The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent is now available and for a limited time for every one of her books that's purchased, one will be donated to a child in Africa. Read on to learn more about this great program and how you can get your hands on The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent. (I just love saying that!)
Please help me welcome Laura Ripes.
Cherie: Tell us about your
picture book, The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent.
Laura: I know this may come as quite a surprise, but The
Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent is an alliterative picture book featuring the
“Oh so slippery ‘S’ Sound”! It’s a tongue twisting mystery about a boy named
Sammy Sanders who can’t sleep. He’s 77 percent sure that a spaghetti-slurping
serpent lives in his sewer. So Sammy and his sister Sally set out with their
slobbery dog, Stan to see this serpent for themselves.
I’d love to share some exciting news about my book with you! From
December 1st-24th it’s being featured in an amazing program.
For every one of my books that is purchased during this time, one will be
donated by myself and Amazon Children’s Publishing to a child in Africa. There
are tons of books that are participating in this program, so if you need some
books for the holidays or teachers gifts, check out this link: http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=6066980011
Links to my website & glog (the group blog I’m part of)
Cherie: What a fun book and a great cause! Where did you get the idea
for your book?
Laura: There were definitely a few things that went into this
book. For one, I’m a voiceover talent
(the people you hear talking in
commercials who you do not see in the commercial) articulation and diction play
a very important role in that industry. I always work on tongue twisters before
I record, so I thought it would be fun to write a story that was both
entertaining and would also help kids with the tricky ‘S’ sound. The serpent in the sewer part came from my
childhood. We had a park by our house
that had a huge drainage sewer. I was sure I could hear sounds coming out of
the sewer. The fact that my brother used to tease me and tell me something
lived in there did not help! I can promise you I kept my distance after he told
me that. I was not as brave as Sammy, if something was living in there, I was
going to let it be!
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| Photo provided by author |
Laura was kind enough to share with us a page from the book.
I can so see a big brother teasing his little sister about what's in the sewer!
Cherie: It must be fun to be
a voiceover, and I love the story from your childhood. Are you working on
anything new right now?
Laura: I have lots of stuff in the hopper, but since The
Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpents’ release, I’ve had several teachers and
speech therapists, ask me if I have any stories focusing on other sounds as
well. So I’ve been working on another alliterative story, that has several
“tongue twisting chunks” (I like to call them) each featuring a different
sound.
Cherie: I can’t wait to see
what you come up with! Now for some fun questions.
Favorite animal?
That’s easy. . .Dogs! They’re loyal, lovable, patient, forgiving and
soo darn cute! I could squeeze ‘em all day.
M & M or Skittles?
M & M’s for sure. My favorite way to eat them, is with popcorn! I
love the salty and sweet combo, YUM!
Name one picture book you’ve
read so many times you know it by heart?
That would have to be The Going
To Bed Book by: Sandra Boyton. My three daughters LOVED that book. They are
now 15, 13, & 12 and my husband and I still know it by heart from reading
it so many times when they were little! I can even remember the inflection we
used when we read it *sigh*, oh how I miss those days of snuggling in their
beds reading to them L
Favorite movie or television
show?
I have to preface this by saying. . . I love to dance, when I was
younger I danced Ballet, Tap, Pointe and Jazz for 9 years then did 4 years of
Poms in High School. If I could go back and do it again, and be anything in the
world I wanted, I would love to be a professional dancer on Broadway!
That being said. . . I can not get enough of Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition.
I can not stand the mom drama, or the way Abby treats them at times,
but when I watch those kids dance, I’m transported to a magical place.
What book are you the most
excited to read?
A sequel. I hate when a book ends, I get so wrapped up in the
characters lives, I’m sad when I don’t get to hear about them anymore. So I
love to dive into a book 2 or 3 (or however long it goes), just to jump back
into that familiar world. Love it!
I’m
glad I’m not the only mom who missing the days when the children were little
and wanted to be read to before bed. It’s been wonderful having Laura here
today.
To find out more about Laura and her books,
