Get Ready for International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Here's a Pirate-Themed Sign Language Sing-Along Lesson Plan

Hi friends! I’ve been busy, busy, busy developing resources to celebrate the upcoming release of my two latest picture books: Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? and Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty? Since International Talk Like a Pirate Day is just around the corner, (it's September 19th, every year), I wanted to be sure you have some fun (and educational) lesson plans in hand!



Although these new books don’t incorporate sign language like my Story Time with Signs & Rhymes series, in my experience, most books can be enriched with sign language with just a little bit of advanced planning. You can find several examples and resources here, including a detailed sign language story time lesson plan for folks who are interested in some comic relief while toilet training, and a more general potty-themed sign language story time lesson plan.

Given the titles of my books, I fully anticipate they will appeal to folks in the potty-training age and stage, but they're more accurately categorized as potty-humor books, vs. potty-training books. They are geared for young readers ages 3-8, though I suspect they will bring out the inner-comedian in potty humorists of all ages. Case in point: here is one of the funny photos I received from author, Stephanie Shaw, soon after she received her books via pre-order:

Image Source: Author Stephanie Shaw

The caption Stephanie sent along with this photo: "It's not a strain to love these new books." Bah-ha-ha!!! That cracks me up!

Leaning into the humorous aspects of these books, over the past couple of months, I had the unique opportunity to work with two different musicians to create a catchy children’s song for each book. I couldn’t be more pleased with how the songs turned out!

Kids of all ages love to sing and sign AND they love to laugh. Singing and signing along with these silly songs creates a perfect opportunity to incorporate all three of these fun activities.

I shared resources for singing and signing along with the Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty? song and some of the backstory about my experience working with singer, songwriter, and performing musician, Marshall Mitchell, on a recent guest post on Kathy MacMillan’s Stories By Hand blog.

For the Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? song, I worked with Annie Lynn, AnnieBirdd Music, LLC. Here is a fun photo of Annie Lynn's studio, with performer, Alexander Wilczewski, when our Pirate song was being recorded:

Image Source: AnnieBirdd Music, LLC

You can read the story of how Annie and I met and developed a friendship on Tara Lazar's blog.

Annie licenses her curriculum-based songs for schools, homeschoolers, choirs, radio, TV, etc. More recently, she has started working with members of the kidlit community to bring children’s literature to life through music. She creates theme songs and karaoke-style sing-along songs that authors can use for school visits, and she creates custom songs for book trailers, like the song she created for the Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? book trailer, which was delightfully animated by illustrator, Jacob Souva:



I’ve provided the song lyrics for Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? below, noting in bold some of the words you might consider signing along with. TIP: Don’t feel pressured to sign more words than you are comfortable with. It’s perfectly okay to start by signing only one or two key words, (for example, where or potty) that repeat throughout the song. As your sign language vocabulary (and your confidence) develops and grows, you can add more signs each time you sing. Rest assured, kids are likely to ask you to repeat the song again and again!

Here are the lyrics:

Where Does a Pirate Go Potty?

Lyrics by Dawn Prochovnic

Music written and performed by AnnieBirdd Music, LLC, with Annie Lynn, Walt Wilczewski, and Chris Arms, and starring Red Beard The Pirate, a.k.a. Alexander Wilczewski

(These waves are makin’ me a wee bit uncomfortable!)   

Where does a pirate go potty?

Explorin’ from shoreline to sea.

Where does a pirate go potty?

The pirate who’s wonderin’ is me!

In the sand?

No! 

In a cave?

Oh! 

In a tidepool?

That’s NOT a good spot!

Off a pier?

No!

Bottoms up!

Oh!

Past the lighthouse?

Definitely not!

Where does a pirate go potty?

Blimey, I’m ready to burst!

Where does a pirate go potty?

Waitin’ too long is the worst!

Where does a pirate go potty?

Explorin’ from shoreline to sea.

Where does a pirate go potty?

The pirate who’s wonderin’ is me!

Avast, me hearties!

The pirate whose wonderin’ is me! 


Here are links to some reputable video-based resources for the selected ASL vocabulary words, along with some brief reminder notes to help jog your memory as you are learning the signs:

Burst: https://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/BURST/3084/1 (Hands make exploding motion)
Explore: https://www.handspeak.com/word/search/index.php?id=718 (Palm-down “V” handshapes looks/explores)
Me: https://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/ME/3864/1 (Point to self)
No! https://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/NO/8518/1 (Quickly press first two fingers to thumb)
Not: https://www.handspeak.com/word/search/index.php?id=1515 (Thumb brushes chin)
Oh! https://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/OH/10071/1 (Fist brushes/punches other palm)
Pirate: https://www.handspeak.com/word/search/index.php?id=5287 (Boat + Eye Patch)
Potty/Toilet: https://www.signingsavvy.com/search/toilet (The “T” handshape wiggles)
Uncomfortable: https://www.handspeak.com/word/search/index.php?id=4433 (Not + Comfortable,  hands brush across each other)
Wait: https://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/WAIT/463/1 (Palms up, fingers wiggle)
Where: https://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/WHERE/478/1 (Pointer finger looks/searches)

Note: The sign for potty/toilet (the noun) and the sign for "to use" the potty/toilet (the verb) are the same.

As I mentioned above, I worked with Annie Lynn of AnnieBirdd Music, LLC for the Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? song. Annie Lynn has many award-winning songs about more serious topics such as anti-bullying and STEM-related topics such as the climate crisis. You can learn more about Annie and her work here. If you’re interested in hearing more of Annie Lynn’s music, purchasing and/or licensing her music for personal and/or professional use, or collaborating with Annie to create music for your own creative/educational projects, find out more here.

And, if you loved the book trailer for Where Does a Pirate Go Potty?  check out the book trailer for  Where Does A Cowgirl Go Potty? , too!

Want an early release copy of Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? Comment below, and/or share this post on social media, and tag me @DawnProchovnicAuthor (FB) / @DawnProchovnic (Twitter) for chances to win. I have two early release copies along with classroom sets of bookmarks to share. I’ll give them away sometime after International Talk Like a Pirate Day! 

Pssst....if you live in the Portland, Oregon area, I'll be doing a special Pirate Party story time at Green Bean Books at 3:30 pm on Thursday, September 19, 2019 to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day. I'd love to see you there!

Last but not least, if you're looking for other pirate-themed (and cowgirl and potty-themed) lesson plans and resources, click here, and if you'd like me to visit your bookstore, library, school, or learning community, get in touch via the contact form at the left, or by leaving a comment below or on social media.

Yarrr!

The "Book Launch" Part of the Writing Life, Episode 1

Image Source

If you've been following my earlier posts about "the writing life," (or my Facebook page, or my Twitter posts, or my Instagram account), or if you've seen me at a recent book event, or been waiting in line with me for the restrooms at a concert venue... or at the grocery store check out...you've probably heard that I have TWO NEW BOOKS coming out this year: Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? and Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty? have been long in the making, and I can't wait to share them with you. Can you tell I'm excited?

There are SO MANY fun parts about launching new books into the world. Recently, I got a sneak peek at the cover art for both books. I CANNOT WAIT until it's time for a cover reveal (soon ... soon ...). Suffice it to say that Jacob Souva's artwork is fantastic, and the folks at West Margin Press are brilliant, and I'm beyond enthusiastic for what the future holds for these fun books.

I'm particularly looking forward to themed book events... pirate-themed events, cowgirl-themed events, and, or course, potty-themed events. (In fact, I'll soon be hosting a series of blog posts with ideas for this sort of thing. Please get in touch via the contact form to the left or by leaving a comment below if you've planned/implemented book events (or even parties) in any of these three themed areas--I'd love to gather and share your ideas and experiences in a future interview or via a link to an existing blog post you've written).

Speaking of themed events, I'm also having a hoot of a time exploring themed novelty items, games, craft ideas, songs, interactive links, and swag. Some might call it a waste of time...I call it research! Based on a tip from fellow author, Diana Murray, I created Pinterest Boards for each of these categories: Pirates, Cowgirls and Potty-Humor. You should check them out if you need a good distraction or a laugh.

Image Source

So far, one of my favorite finds is this flushing toilet game. You spin the TP roll to determine how many flushes you get (1, 2, or 3). The flushing sound is spot-on... and for added adventure, every so often, the toilet bowl sprays water onto the person who flushed. I'm trying to decide the best way to use this at book events. I'm thinking it will be great attention getting device at multi-table book signing events, giving passersby a reason to stop for a visit. Everyone who spins the TP and/or flushes can have a book mark, and anyone who gets sprayed on can choose from a fancier selection of potty-humor swag! I'm still noodling other ideas, and would welcome your input. Please feel encouraged to comment below if you have an idea or two for me to consider for this game.

I also love this golden poo, and the story behind it (pardon the pun).

These interactive, online resources are fun:

Toilet Flushing Sound Clip and Burp and Fart Piano .

And, THIS SONG. Please join me in downloading it and supporting the work of Lori Henriques, the musician who created it. I cannot think of a better ditty for a doodie-focused book event than one entitled THE POOP SONG.

I'm also loving some of the potty-training related products I've come across such as the Potty Rider (seriously, go check it out), and potty-training guide books for parents such as, Oh, Crap.

And then there are serious products, like the Squatty Potty, with hilarious marketing videos like this (warning: you will not be able to "un-see" this).

Yes...I have gotten a little carried away...but I am having SO MUCH FUN.

Believe it or not, although my new books don't come out until October, 2019, they are already available for preorder (IndieBound/Cowgirl, IndieBound/Pirate, Amazon/Cowgirl, Amazon/Pirate), and you can ask your local youth librarian to pre-order through their book wholesaler.

Not quite ready to pre-order until YOU can see the cover art? No worries....rest assured I'll be reminding you again. In the meantime, you can start thinking about who in your life has kids (toddlers, preschoolers, school-aged kids), a good sense of humor, a penchant for potty humor, a fascination with pirates or pirate-y adventures, and/or enthusiasm for all things cowgirl. These are the readers who will most enjoy these two new books.

It would also be great if you could take a stroll on over to my Pinterest site and leave me a comment below to let me know your favorite swag items so I'm sure to gather up the right collection of silliness and fun.

Thanks, Pardners! Yee-Ha!

The "Good News" Part of the Writing Life

Photo Credit: Dawn Prochovnic

Last fall I wrote about reading Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Big Magic, and how reading that book inspired me to re-commit myself not only to the craft of writing, but also to the practice of submitting my work for publication. I promised that I would share when I had my own "Big Magic" news to share. That time is now. I am so thrilled to announce that I have recently signed a TWO-BOOK contract with Graphic Arts Books!

When I shared this news with a non-writing friend, she said, "So what exactly does that mean?"

What it means is that I have TWO NEW PICTURE BOOKS scheduled to be published and arrive in books stores October, 2019. 

What are the (planned) titles you say? I'm so glad you asked:

WHERE DOES A PIRATE GO POTTY?

and

WHERE DOES A COWGIRL GO POTTY?

I cannot tell you how excited I am about these two books. The Pirate book has been percolating for quite a few years. This manuscript brought audible laughter when read aloud at writing conferences (thanks for the encouragement, writing friends!), and it received attention from several editors and agents . . . but it didn't bring a contract offer until this past year. Truth be told, I actually had two different contract offers for my potty books this past year (but that's another story for another time).

The Cowgirl book emerged out of a writing exercise I gave myself after meeting the wonderful folks at Graphic Arts Books during a book event for Oregon Reads Aloud on October 2, 2016. Graphic Arts specializes in regional books, and they have a fair amount of western-y themed books. I decided to try to westernize my Pirate story and out popped a Cowgirl story that I fell in love with. Happily, so did the publishing team at Graphic Arts, and as they say, "the rest is history" (or, history in the making, given that the books are progressing through the editorial process as I write this blog post--also another topic for another time).

You can anticipate regular updates about these books and the creative process related to the making of these books. I'm already thinking about ideas for themed book events and swag. These book events are going to be a hoot-hollerin' good time! (Which reminds me: Apologies in advance to those who interact with me regularly. It seems I'm full of potty humor, and I can't help but take on the rip-roarin' voices of me blimey characters as I interact with real-life folk. I'll try not to overdo it, but I ain't makin' no promises.)

Want to help these books be successful? Here are some things you can do, starting right now:

1. Subscribe to me blog.

2. Share me blog.

3. Leave a comment on me blog offering encouragement, tips for books launches, your favorite book store or library branch, ideas for swag (pirate or cowgirl themed), or even just to say "Howdy, pardner," so I know thar be some readers.

4. Send me a note via email or via the contact form on the left of me blog, if ye want to be on the ground floor of me street team.

5. Mark yer calendar for October 8, 2019 (the current scheduled date for both books to release).

Yee-ha!