Have you ever set down a book and thought, I wish I’d written that myself?

It’s not the kind of thing that happens often. After all, there are so many books that are successful, but don’t necessarily connect with my reader within. So many that I enjoy, but don’t speak so directly to my soul. Or perhaps it’s a wonderful, successful title that does tranform me, but it’s not such a precise reflection of my own sensibilities.

So for what it’s worth, I wish I’d written:

picture books

The Moon Came Down On Milk Street by Jean Gralley (Henry Holt, 2004);

What A Truly Cool World by Julius Lester, illustrated by Joe Cepeda (Scholastic, 1999);

novels

Burger Wuss by M.T. Anderson (Candlewick, 1999);

Unexpected Development by Marlene Perez (Roaring Brook, 2004);

Locked Inside by Nancy Werlin (Delacorte, 2000);

The Witch Of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Spear (1958).

But perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe it’s better than I can enjoy them as the reader instead of the writer. That’s such an individual, important relationship. So, to those authors who wrote “my” books, let me just say, thank you.

Cynsational Links

An Interview With Cynthia Leitich Smith by Cheryl Coon from Books To Grow With (PDF file). July 2004 (but I just found it online).

An Interview With Cheryl Willis Hudson, editorial director, Just Us Books from children’s illustrators. “Just Us Books, Inc. is an independent press that publishes Black-interest books for young people.”

An Interview With David Saylor, vice president and creative director, Scholastic Book Group from children’s illustrators.

Smartwriters.com March 2005: features include an interview with author Terry Davis, an article on the Canadian publishing scene, and a look at the Appalachian Authors Guild.