THINK QUICK with Author Laura Gehl (Plus a Giveaway!)

11/15/2014

Hi Laura! Congrats on the release of One Big Pair of Underwear! For me, this book is reminiscent of Seussical silliness and rhymes. At first glance, one might think it’s all about underwear. Nay, I say! All of the THINK QUICK themes below appear in your book. Let’s see which way you lean.
Remember, THINK QUICK!

Literary influence:

Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein?

Seuss. But only because I’m in a picture book mood. I adore Silverstein too.

Day to day:

Back packing or constant snacking?

Constant snacking.

On cooking:

Cookbooks or impulsive cooking?

Cookbooks.

On adventure:

Camping or sailing or jet skiing?

Sailing. If someone invents a tent with a bathroom inside, I’ll reconsider camping.

On animals:

Pigs or Cows?

Cows. Although I did once get chosen as a cheerleader for the pig races at the Nebraska State Fair.

Hippos or seals?

Seals.

On sharing:

Books or hugs?

Books. I can always cheer up one of my sick, injured, or grumpy kids faster by reading than by hugging. Reading while hugging works too.

Just because:

Candy bars or sports cars?

Candy bars. Ghirardelli dark chocolate, please.

Nap mats or fat cats?

Nap mats. Boy, do I love napping. If I got to take more naps, I probably wouldn’t need to eat so many candy bars.

Ducks or pucks?

Ducks. Especially the ones in Make Way for Ducklings.

On animal underwear:

Tidy Whities or Colored fun?

Colored fun.

One Big Pair of Underwear or One Big Pair of Underwear?

One Big Pair of Underwear!

Thanks for thinking quick with us, Laura! Now it's your turn, readers: Choose one of the THINK QUICK themes from above, and tell us YOUR choice.

One Big Pair of Underwear REVIEW
Not your average underwear book!
Review by Carrie Charley Brown
November 16, 2014

GIVEAWAY INFO
Laura is offering one picture book critique! Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below to participate in the drawing.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Laura Gehl is the author of One Big Pair of Underwear, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, which released in September 2014. Laura is also the author of several upcoming picture books: Hare and Tortoise Race Across Israel; And Then Another Sheep Turned Up; Peep and Egg: I'm Not Hatching; and Peep and Egg: I'm Not Trick or Treating. Laura eats snacks, takes naps, and reads books with her four kids in Chevy Chase, Maryland. You can visit Laura at www.lauragehl.com and www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraGehl.

44 Comments

Linda Schueler link

11/15/2014 08:23:46 pm

Definitely nap mats. I love naps, and I am grateful that I work out of my house, so I can take them.

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 04:23:33 am

Naps are awesome, Linda! I need to stop working so much and take them. :)

Ellen L. Ramsey link

11/15/2014 10:29:06 pm

I'll choose pigs--because I keep re-reading Charlotte's Web.

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 04:29:11 am

I used to do a huge reading frenzy on Pigs with my students. We compared different Three Pigs stories and went on to read a variety of pig stories like Pigs a Plenty, Pigs Galore, Picnic with Piggins, and Perfect the Pig. That was then, and this is now. The most current pig fav is The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz. Gotta love pigs!

Kirstine Call link

11/15/2014 10:31:23 pm

Can I choose books and hugs? Loved this post!

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 04:31:46 am

Yes...yes you can! (And I know you do!) :) That's too tough to choose, although reading is good book is like a hug. Books fill so many emotional needs.

Mike Karg link

11/15/2014 11:51:38 pm

Backpacking to go camping! And, sometimes in the middle of winter on snow-covered mountains. Eating hot chocolate chip cookies (yes, Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips of course) in the middle of a naked forest under a sea of stars is unbeatable.

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 04:34:28 am

Wow, Mike! I knew you were a nature lover but you are a real trooper! Camping in the middle of winter is where I run into the other direction and look for a heat source to sit by with my favorite blankie. :) However, if hot chocolate chip cookies are involved, I might have to visit your campsite. :) Tell me, do you make them over the campfire?

Cathy Ballou Mealey link

11/16/2014 12:19:35 am

Is there such a thing as an "average" underwear book? I think not! But this one definitely tops them all!

I nodded agreement with Laura's choices all the way down the list until I had to choose fat cat over nap mats. Who knows who might have drooled on that nap mat last?

Fun post Carrie! Great book Laura!

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 04:38:01 am

Drool...ewww. My nap mat is more like a soft comfy bed and I'm okay with my own drool for a while. ;) I have to agree that underwear is generally a fun topic, but not all underwear is created equal. I love that Laura's book is not completely focused on underwear...it's just one fun little component. Thanks for stopping by, Cathy!

Heather Preusser

11/16/2014 12:38:31 am

I had a pet pig named Hamlet growing up (I caught him at a pig scramble), so I vote for pigs.

Can't wait to get my hands on this book!

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 04:42:17 am

There must be a story about Hamlet for you somewhere, Heather! Or the main character's sidekick. ;) Thank you so much for reading and becoming part of the Carrie On...community. I hope you find lots of great resources here.

DonnaCangelosi link

11/16/2014 03:40:08 am

Love your choices and can't wait to read "One Big Pair of Underwear!" What a great title!!!!

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 04:43:17 am

Thanks for stopping by, Donna!

Johnell DeWitt link

11/16/2014 04:56:17 am

I have to go with nap mats-extra fluffy in a quiet, dark room with a gentle fan blowing, unless it's winter of course. The cover art for Underwear is brilliant.

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 05:46:54 am

I agree, Johnell... not only is the text amazing, but Tom Lichtenheld's brilliant humorous artwork makes this such a fun, entertaining book.

Carrie Finison link

11/16/2014 11:15:45 am

I had a chance to read One Big Pair of Underwear the other day - great story, and I loved how she constructed it - true craftsmanship.

I would choose both backpacking and constant snacking - what's better than a snack while backpacking? You can feel all virtuous while you snack, and sometimes can even find berries to munch.

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 02:08:27 pm

Definitely true craftsmanship, Carrie!
While I don't go backpacking, I think it WOULD be much better with a snack! :) No harm in choosing both! And ooo, a nice batch a wild raspberries would be sa-weeet! So nice to see you again, Carrie!

Lauri Meyers link

11/16/2014 11:51:15 am

One Big Pair of Underwear really grabs you right from the cover.
I have to say I thought the cookbooks or impulsive cooking was a tricky question. My answer would be, "suddenly realizes dinner is soon and desperately searches for a match between a recipe and the food in the fridge." I have a hard time planning meals, but straying from the recipe would be a disaster!

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 02:12:13 pm

Ha ha ha ha, Lauri! I totally understand! My kids are all, "What's for dinner, Mom?" Me: "I don't know... what's in the fridge?" You are more sophisticated to think about looking for a recipe to go with what's in the fridge. :) Whatever you can grab and warm up is usually fair game for us. :) Although, I am trying to get better at this and have planned menus the last two weeks.

Penny Parker Klostermann link

11/16/2014 01:05:24 pm

Suess and fat cats.
So...maybe fat cats in hats on rainy days.
And I love ONE BIG PAIR OF UNDERWEAR so much that it was a recent Perfect Picture Book Friday pick of mine. It's delightful :-)

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 02:13:56 pm

Yay, Penny! Fat cats in hats on rainy days are perking up my brainstomer! :) So happy to hear that Laura's book is creating a buzz everywhere!

Romelle Broas link

11/16/2014 03:08:56 pm

Can't help but love the book by its title and cover alone. It is already on my goodreads want to read list to remind me. The quick picks was fun, Carrie and Laura!

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 04:04:21 pm

Thanks, Romelle!

Damon Dean link

11/16/2014 03:32:57 pm

Impulsive cooking! (Love to find what's in the fridge and pantry and create...I will eat it EVEN if it's bad.)

Love this idea for this book, so it's a 'gotta-find-and-read' item.

Carrie Charley Brown

11/16/2014 04:06:53 pm

You'll enjoy the read, Damon! And until you get your hands on it, have fun with the impulsive cooking!

Lori Alexander link

11/17/2014 01:51:00 am

Laura--Congrats on the success of ONE BIG PAIR OF UNDERWEAR. It's adorable!

Carrie Charley Brown

11/17/2014 07:02:30 am

Thanks for stopping in, Lori! Your own book, Backhoe Joe, looks adorable, too, and it's on my "To Read" list!

JEN Garrett link

11/17/2014 04:26:56 am

I'm with Laura on most of those. But I'm a little more partial to hippos. But only because I'm in picture book mode and I just got a hippo of an idea.

Carrie Charley Brown

11/17/2014 07:03:31 am

YAY, Jen! A PiBoIdMo idea! :) I bet you can find more than one from this post. I dare you! :)

Corey Schwartz link

11/17/2014 06:28:50 am

I'll go with pigs, but my real choice is ... chickens!

Carrie Charley Brown

11/17/2014 07:04:35 am

Do I smell a new chicken story, Corey? Ninja Pigs vs. Chickens? No?

PJ McIlvaine link

11/17/2014 10:34:20 am

Cooking chicken is my big pair of underwear?

Carrie Charley Brown

11/17/2014 01:59:01 pm

Do you mean IN your big underwear? Well, I hope you are wearing them! :) Plus, the big ones are probably more comfortable than the little ones, but....wait a minute! How did we get on this topic! PJ? :)

Juliana Lee link

11/17/2014 12:21:29 pm

Naps, chocolate, and snacking! Wait, I do have to make time to write too!

Carrie Charley Brown

11/17/2014 01:59:55 pm

Who can write without naps, chocolate, and snacking?! You hit the nail on the head, Juliana! :)

Rebecca

11/17/2014 12:59:44 pm

The quick writing style made me laugh:)

Carrie Charley Brown

11/17/2014 02:01:01 pm

Thanks, Rebecca! We aim for fun. :) Glad to make you laugh... best stress reliever around.

Erik -TKRB link

11/17/2014 09:43:26 pm

Great interview! I like the answers! ;)

Carrie Charley Brown

11/20/2014 10:27:39 am

Thanks, Erik!

Bridget Magee link

11/18/2014 02:37:57 am

I choose hippos over seals - they're SO chubby! Love the "Think Quick" interview style. This book looks so fun. Thanks for sharing. =)

Carrie Charley Brown

11/20/2014 10:30:44 am

Thanks, Bridget! I hope one of those chubby hippos turns into a super fun main character for you.

Carol Gordon Ekster link

11/21/2014 10:13:23 am

Love the "reading while hugging" comment. And Carrie, I love how you support picture book authors. It is greatly appreciated.

Carrie Charley Brown

11/21/2014 12:22:44 pm

Carol, I love how you support your crit buddy. :) Thanks for reading and sharing! <3

Carrie Charley Brown

As a children’s writer, and a teacher, my goal is to help you carry on. Sometimes learning is challenging, so why go it alone? Your journey will be more meaningful and comfortable with friends to share it with. Together, we'll get up close and personal with authors, illustrators, and the best of picture books. If we work together, great things will follow!