Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick (Scholastic, 2004)(read excerpt). Thirteen-year-old Steven’s life is all about playing drums for the All-Star Jazz Band, worshipping queen bee Renee Albert, and enduring the annoying attentions of his baby brother Jeffrey. But then Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, and everything changes–the family routine, family finances,
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Congratulations to one of my Vermont College/UI&U MFA students, Marguerite Houle, recipient of the Houghton Mifflin Scholarship, as well as to Stephanie Green, recipient of the Anita Silvey Scholarship and Sarah Sullivan, recipient of the Harcourt Post Graduate Scholarship!
Congratulations to Tanya Lee Stone, whose upcoming novel, A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl (Wendy Lamb/Random House,
Doña Flor: A Tall Tale About A Giant Woman With A Great Big Heart by Pat Mora, illustrated by Raúl Colón (Knopf, 2005)(look inside). In this heartwarming and humorous original tall tale, Doña Flor is a giant woman living in a tiny southwestern village. She shows great kindness to her neighbors,
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Geography Club Banned! The Final Chapter from Voices in My Head, author Brent Hartinger’s blog. See Dec. 16, 2005 update post. Read a recent related cynsations author interview with Brent.
“JK Rowling in Full:” the full transcript of Jeremy Paxman’s exclusive interview. Broadcast on BBC Two in June, 2003.
Biography quoted from Jane Yolen Official Web Site: “Jane Yolen is an author of children’s books, fantasy, and science fiction, including Owl Moon [Philomel, 1987], Devil’s Arithmetic [Viking, 1988], and How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? [Scholastic, 2000]. She is also a poet, a teacher of writing and literature, and a reviewer of children’s literature.
Josie’s Gift by Kathleen Long Bostrom, illustrated by Frank Ordaz (Broadman & Holman, 2005). From the flap copy: “This Christmas will be the most difficult one for Josie, her mother, and her little brother, Bobby Joe. It is the first holiday for this Depression-era family since the death of their father and husband. Papa had always taught this simple family that ‘Christmas is not about what we want.
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One Splendid Tree by Marilyn Helmer, illustrated by Dianne Eastman (Kids Can Press, 2005). From the catalog copy: “With Daddy away fighting in the Second World War, Hattie, Junior and Momma have had to move to the city so Momma can take a factory job. Money is tight, and this year a Christmas tree is a luxury the family cannot afford.
Continue Reading Author Interview: Marilyn Helmer on One Splendid Tree »
The Blue Review: a monthly newsletter from Boost4Writers.com aimed at helping children’s writers of all experience levels. In addition to articles about craft, it features regular columns that include: Children’s Market News, Q&A, Inside Scoop, The Write Way, Bragging Rites, Writing Non-Fiction, New Member Welcome, Contest Corner, and Book Talk. See sample articles, “Continuing Your Education: The Low-Residency Model”
Congratulations to Anjali Banerjee, whose novel Imaginary Men (Downtown Press, 2005)(grown-up novel, which I read and found adorable!) has won the 2005 Book of the Year Award (romance) from Thabiz.com, an Urban Entertainment, Celebrity Interview and Pop Culture Website. Anjali also is the author of Maya Running (Wendy Lamb Books,
What a year in books it has been!
Young adult novels in particular really shined (so many of them in pink that I’ve labeled one of my bookshelves the Malibu Barbie YA Fiction Collection).
Across the age ranges, humor was strong, and, hopefully, will finally receive some overdue critical recognition. What’s more, debut voices were among the brightest and best.