The (Final?) Tiny Thing

It's been a year since we began this blog and we've received tinies from all over the world as well as from very close to home.

We've been delighted with the wonderful things you've discovered, and so glad you've chosen to share them with us.

Exciting things have happened for the book Ten Tiny Things. It has been used in Walk to School programs, by the Heart Foundation, by fun-run organisers, by crafters and home schoolers, by teachers and librarians. It has been read by many, many kids.

It won the 2013 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for the Australia/New Zealand region and was shortlisted for the 2013 Environment Award for Children's Literature.

There is a possibility that it may be adapted into a short animated film! And that it may be translated into Turkish! If such things come to pass, we will surely let you know.

However, for now, we are sending this blog to sleep. There is writing to be done and a world to be walked. 

We leave you with one final tiny, found on a small, tucked-away door on a sidestreet in Singapore.

If you should ever see a sign like this, we recommend opening the door with gusto. Meg is reminded of a line from the song "Wildflowers" by the band Things Of Stone and Wood:

If you see a strange door to your left/then drop your things and run for it!

We hope to see you out in the world some time — seeking secret doors, tracking tinies.

If you want to track us down instead, Meg can be found via her website and in other social media-ish places, and Kyle likes to hang out on Instagram.

One Crystal Thing

It's a break in our (ir)regularly scheduled tinies to bring you some news of the not-so-tiny kind ...

Ten Tiny Things has just been announced as the winner of the Australia/New Zealand division of the SCBWI 2013 Crystal Kite Award!

The Crystal Kite Award is peer-voted by members of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, a global organisation to which Meg and Kyle both belong.

Here is an excerpt from the notification we received yesterday:

As you know, members voted for the book they felt represented excellence in children’s literature, and you came out on top.  We here at SCBWI headquarters are thrilled for you, as are all your friends and associates in the SCBWI.

As Meg said in the media release which followed shortly after, SCBWI is an organisation that has meant a lot to her over the years, both personally and professionally and it’s really lovely to have her work awarded by this wonderful community.

Kyle observed that illustrating a children’s book has been a dream since he was a child, so to be recognised by people in the industry on his first attempt is very humbling.

We are both thrilled that Ten Tiny Things has found such a receptive audience. Although you can't consciously write for the zeitgeist, we really believe it's a book whose time is now, and it's wonderful to know that readers and colleagues feel the same.

To read the official media release from Fremantle Press, click here.

To see the complete list of winners and learn more about the Crystal Kite Awards, click here.

To view lots of really cool tiny things from all over the world, keep exploring this blog.

To find lots of really cool tiny things from your own backyard, step outside and look around you ... (no link is available; you will have to find this for yourself!)

Travelling Tinies

Tinies are travelling and here are some curiosities all the way from Mexico and Arizona. Some are tinier than others, but they all have tiny detail you would never notice if you were whizzing past in a splendiferous machine...

One way!

Arizona cowboy

Colourful wall in Bisbee, Arizona

Oaxaca corner ... what does it mean?

New Mexican door

  

Wall in Oaxaca ... more than ten tinies here alone!

Virgin of Guadalupe, with followers

A curious object

Wall made from jalapeno tins!

Metal bull in a field

What a fabulous range of tinies. You can travel far and wide to find them, or you can spot them in your own backyard. Either way, we approve! Keep on keeping your eyes open; we promise to do the same.

Transforming Tinies

Today we're highlighting a different sort of tiny, or perhaps a different way of seeing tinies.

As it happens, Meg is a bit shortsighted, and that means that from a distance, things aren't always what they seem.

Being shortsighted brings its own problems, but it also provides a shortcut to an unexpected angle on things, which is very useful for a writer. And sometimes it's not exactly shortsightedness but perhaps more like 'shortmindedness'; it's that Meg seems to view things from a wacky angle anyway - misreading, misconstruing, unintentionally overlooking the obvious in favour of the odd. Some of her most interesting ideas have had their beginnings in misunderstanding and misinterpretation.

Here are some misunderstood tinies - some of them kickstarted ideas, while others just made Meg smile. None of them could have been seen in this way - or perhaps at all - if Meg had been driving.

From a distance, this was a cravat-wearing gentleman. Up close, we have no idea what it is!

A viper makes its way across the local park.

A red-haired creature is trapped in the footpath, and it's not happy ...

If you open the lid, you might hear a tiny choir!

  

A ship's mast! A crows nest! There must be a shipwreck in this sea of grass!

"Shipwreck" from a closer vantage point. Not sure what this is; still happy with mast. Tiny pirates could be buried down there somewhere!

Meg's daily reminder to not let too much noise into her head, to not let 'stuff' weigh her down. It probably isn't what the Water Corporation intended, but she'll take it all the same.

So those are some transforming (transformed?) tinies. We bet there are hundreds all around you; if you don't have the gift of shortsightedness, just blink a bit, tilt your head on an odd angle, and let your imagination take over.