Danitra Brown, Class Clown by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

Danitra Brown, Class Clown by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by E.B. Lewis (Amistad/Harper, 2005). It’s back to school for best friends Zuri Jackson and Danitra Brown, and Zuri’s full of worry–about the new teacher, about the note Luther snatched, about her mom’s health, her math homework, and more. But Danitra is always there–loyal and true.

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Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Ho Baek Lee

Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Ho Baek Lee (Clarion, 2005). An exuberant, rhyming picture book told from the perspective of a hungry young girl during her family’s preparations to eat bee-bim bop (rice topped with vegetables and meat or “mix-mix rice”) for dinner. Lee’s illustrations are warm and add humor,

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Author Interview: Kerry Madden on Gentle’s Holler

Gentle’s Holler by Kerry Madden (Viking, 2005). From the flap copy: “The sixties may have come to other parts of North Carolina, but with Mama pregnant again, Daddy struggling to find work, and nine siblings underfoot, nobody in the holler has much time for modern-day notions. Especially not twelve-year-old Livy Two, aspiring songwriter and self-appointed guardian of little sister Gentle,

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An Interview With Greg Leitich Smith at Smartwriters.com

I had the pleasure of interviewing my very cute husband, author Greg Leitich Smith, for Smartwriters.com (click link and scroll to read).

Greg talks about writing companion books, alternating point of view, his diverse casts, writing comedy, and his upcoming projects. He is the author of Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo (Little Brown,

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“Dated” Language

From my recent post on the childrens-writers list serv at yahoogroups.

As a writer of “contemporary” stories, I’ve found it impossible not to date my books somehow.

A complete lack of current slang is often said to result in a “timeless” story, but in reading such prose, I often find myself thinking, “Wow, you can really tell a babyboomer wrote this.”

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The Humor in Multicultural Literature: A Bibliography

Prepared by the EMIERT Children’s Services Committee
June 27, 2005 Chicago ALA Annual Conference

This selected bibliography represents a sample of humorous or light hearted picture books and fiction for children. Books selected for this list include multicultural and multi-racial literature. Stories with animals as main characters and folklore are not included.

Allie,

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Cubanita by Gaby Triana

Cubanita by Gaby Triana (HarperCollins, 2005). Unlike Mami, Isa is no Cubanita. Of course she loves her family, but the U.S. is the only home she knows. What’s more, Isa has broken up with her boyfriend, is busy teaching kids art at a summer camp, and is not getting involved with any boy so as to leave for the University of Michigan with a clear head.

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