Walter The Giant Storyteller’s Giant Book of Giant Stories by Walter M. Mayes, illustrated by Kevin O’Malley (Walker, 2005). Those colossal lies about “evil” giants are all just a gigantic misunderstanding. You’ve heard all the stories of mean and bloodthirsty giants: David and Goliath, Jack and the Beanstalk, Gilgamesh. Imagine you found an unconscious giant on the shores of your tiny ravaged village—what would you do?
Category: General
Rain Is Not My Indian Name Featured on Red Tales, Aboriginal Voices Radio, the Earth 106.5 FM
The audio production of Rain Is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith, read by Jenna Lamia (Listening Library, 2001) is the November book of the month on Red Tales, Aboriginal Voices Radio, 106.5 FM, The Earth (based in Canada).
“Red Tales shares stories from Aboriginal Peoples – First Nations,
Bruchac, Smith Featured in Perma-Bound 2005 Author and Illustrator Birthday Calendar
Thanks to everyone who turned to the November page of their Perma-Bound 2005 Author and Illustrator Birthday calendar and wrote to say how excited they were to see me there. I never thought I’d qualify as a “Miss November.”
That said, I’m hononored to share the page with Abenaki author Joseph Bruchac. His featured books are Skeleton Man (2001) (read excerpt) and The Dark Pond (2004).
Author Interview: Norma Fox Mazer on What I Believe
What I Believe by Norma Fox Mazer (Harcourt, 2005). When Victory Marnet’s dad loses his high-paying executive job, the family tries to remain hopeful. But after a while it becomes clear that no equivalent opportunity will arise. So, her mom decides they’ll sell the house and “extras” to begin again in a small, city apartment. But the adjustment is ongoing and involves continued financial tension,
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“Building a Brighter Future for Our Children and Our Community”
A poster featuring a photograph of me and my first three books–Jingle Dancer, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu (Morrow/HarperCollins, 2000), Rain Is Not My Indian Name (HarperCollins, 2001), and Indian Shoes (HarperCollins, 2002)–has been published by the Equal Employment Opportunity division of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
It is one of three posters in celebration of Native American Heritage Month.
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Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
I was pleased today to receive my hardcopy of the October 2005 (Vol. 49; No. 2) issue of the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy.
It features positive reviews of Tofu and T. rex by Greg Leitich Smith (Little Brown, 2003)–“captures the quirky eccentricities of small private schools, especially in the way they seem to foster and nurture quirky and eccentric (and highly intelligent if quixotic) personalities.
Three Good Deeds by Vivian Vande Velde
Three Good Deeds by Vivian Vande Velde (Harcourt, 2005). Howard shouldn’t have taunted the old witch, but he didn’t know she really was a witch until she turned him into a goose! Now he’s stuck that way until he does three good deeds. Meanwhile, the male geese want him away from their females. The female geese want him away from their eggs.
Authors of Teen Books Support Intellectual Freedom
A private school in Texas recently returned a three million dollar donation rather than submit to the donor’s request that a controversial book be removed from the school’s reading list. A group of teen book authors was so impressed by the school’s actions that they gave themselves a name, Authors Supporting Intellectual Freedom (or AS IF!), and are now all donating signed copies of their books,
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Kathi Appelt, Tammar Stein Win Writers’ League of Texas Teddy Awards
Last night Kathi Appelt won the Writers’ League of Texas Teddy Award in the short works division for Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers: How a First Lady Changed America (HarperCollins, 2005), and Tammar Stein won in the long works division for Light Years (Knopf, 2005).
The event was held in the Texas Governor’s Mansion on this,
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Author Interview: Hope Vestergaard
Weaving the Literacy Web: Creating Curriculum Based on Books Children Love by Hope Vestergaard (Redleaf Press, 2005). From the catalog copy: “provides a framework for developing engaging, developmentally appropriate curriculum in the preschool classroom based on books children love. Six comprehensive chapters provide an introduction to book-based webbing and ideas for activity planning, including math, science,