Dear readers of my blog: As most of you know, after many, many years of running this feature, today is my very last Friend Friday. Don’t worry — I haven’t stopped shining the spotlight on fellow book creators and their work. I’m just doing it in a different form, over on Instagram, every Thursday at… Read more »
I so appreciate Margo Sorenson’s insights below, about the need to take a story from “oatmeal” to something special and unique. She does it through aloha spirit and puns, resulting in a charming picture book, Little Calabash, illustrated by Anneth Lagamo, about overcoming obstacles. And if you want to hear more about Margo’s work, see… Read more »
I am so pleased to host Kristin O’Donnell Tubb today in celebration of her newest novel, Luna Howls at the Moon — and not just because she’s a fellow dog lover. She’s a generous spirit, as you’ll read below (be sure to comment quickly to enter to win a copy of Luna!) and tender-hearted as… Read more »
Beth Bacon is one of the hardest working writers I know. One who is not dismayed if the road to publication takes several circuitous routes. I will confess that when she told me about her books for kids who (think they) don’t like to read, I was, “Oh, that’s. . .interesting.” But Beth’s faith in… Read more »
Oh my goodness: I love Dana Middleton‘s post today and its reminder that stories do indeed chose us! I’m sure many of us can relate to Dana’s story of wanting to wiggle out of being tagged “it,” and, like me, you will admire how Dana turned her desire to run into a connection with her… Read more »
Susan McCormick should probably buy a lottery ticket. Or perhaps a hundred. When she set out to write a medical fantasy that would catch young readers’ attention the way Rick Riordan’s mythology series has, likely she had no idea that we’d been spending a year or two or a thousand dealing with a pandemic. Her… Read more »
I always enjoy hearing the story behind the story and Vicki Conrad’s story behind her newest picture book biography is full of twists and turns, not unlike the swampy Everglades themselves. A Voice for the Everglades: Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Albert Whitman and Company) led Vicki on a several year “scavenger hunt” (to borrow her phrase)… Read more »
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 »