I had the great fortune to “meet” Jamie Hogan through the Institute of Children’s Literature, when I was an instructor there. I don’t remember if I was helpful to Jamie, but I certainly remember how her good heart shone through her work. I’m thrilled to be celebrating her return to the author/illustrator role with her… Read more »
In 2013, I went to a literary arts festival in Portland and ended up with a new friend: Susan Hill Long. I’d taken the train down so was able to read Sue’s novel, Whistle in the Dark, on my way home. It, my friends, is a perfect novel and was my favorite read of that… Read more »
As much as I love celebrating my friends’ work for Friend Friday, it is an especial delight to celebrate a debut book. And it is a delight to be reminded that authors (and other artists) have a superpower that goes beyond a way with words, as Colleen Paeff does in her essay below. Her debut… Read more »
I will confess, upon reading Amy Butler Greenfield‘s essay below, my stomach lurched. Give up a project that was “one small revision” away from a sale? Whoa. Yes, Amy’s story has a happy ending in that she did indeed sell the project. But my takeaway from the turn of events surrounding The Woman All Spies… Read more »
As someone who also does a daunting amount of research for my books, I completely relate to Rob Sanders’ experiences, shared below. Not only do we writers need to answer the question of why a certain story matters, we have to figure out how it matters to our young readers. I love the way Rob… Read more »
On her website, Beth Anderson describes writing as mining — “digging deep for memories, emotion, and meaning.” Her essay below about creating her latest picture book feels like a miner’s headlamp, illuminating the path to rich story-telling. If you want to learn more about Beth and her newest book, Tad Lincoln’s Restless Wriggle: Pandemonium and… Read more »
What a way to kick off a new month: a joint Friend Friday post from two gifted creatives, Liz Garton Scanlon and Kevan Atteberry. Liz reminds us that the creative work we do depends on play and Kevan reminds us that our play can have its ups and downs. If you want to hear even… Read more »
One of my passions is to tell little-known stories of the past; clearly Shari Becker and Louisa Jaggar share that passion. They went to incredible lengths to tell the story of determined flyer James Banning and now we are the beneficiaries of their hard work. It’s a pleasure and honor to host them today in… Read more »
What a pleasure to celebrate author/illustrator Don Tate today! The experiences he shares below remind me a bit of the cruel experiments that inspired Gennifer Choldenko’s Orphan Eleven, where kids were berated for the way they spoke until some gave up speaking altogether. Today’s readers are so grateful Don did not give up and that… Read more »
I so appreciate Suzanne Kaufman for many reasons, two of which are her perseverance with getting this post to me despite the cyber-imps working overtime to keep it from happening, and her honesty. Because picture books are so beloved and so slim, there is often the stereotype that writing them is all rainbows and unicorns…. Read more »