Six Picture Book Biographies Show the Joy of Longer Lives by Lindsey McDivitt from A Is for Aging. Peek: “…these picture book bios offer huge benefits to kids—showing them adventure, creativity, and enjoyment, not only over the course of an evolving life, but well into old age.”
Compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith
On Neutral Characters and Relating to the Specific by Shannon Hale from squeetus blog. Peek: “Why can’t someone like Maisie be worthy of a story too? I’ve encountered similar opinions over the years and began to come to an uncomfortable understanding, one that others before me have also discovered.”
Check out the cover of Camp Boyfriend by Cynsations YA reporter Karen Rock (under her partnership writing name J.K. Rock)(Spencer Hill, 2013).
Nine Tips for Finishing That Novel from Anna Staniszewski. Peek: “If you’ve never written ‘The End’ before, it can feel like a daunting task.
Find out Allen’s fictional dream date.
Author Insight: Fictional Matchmaking
from Wastepaper Prose. Peek: “If your character was best friends or in a
romantic relationship with a character from another book, who would it
be?”
C.K. Kelly Martin on Reconnecting with Your Lost Love of Writing from Adventures in YA and Children’s Publishing. Peek: “…no matter how much we love to write, rejection can take a heavy toll, riddling us with doubt and draining our creative energy.”
Just Begin It by Brian Yansky by Brian’s Blog: Diary of a Writer.
Compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith
The Ongoing Problem of Race in Young Adult Literature by Jen Doll from The Atlantic Wire. Peek: “Coe Booth…hated reading until she discovered Judy Blume. ‘Those made me into a reader,’ she said, ‘because the books we were forced to read that had black people in them,
Dead Girl Walking (Book #1 in the Dead Girl series) by Linda Joy Singleton Price Drop for Nook Readers: now available for $2.51. Note: you can also order a paperback copy from Indiebound. Read a Cynsations interview with Linda Joy Singleton about Dead Girl Walking.
Things I’ve Learned from Beverly Cleary by Caroline Starr Rose from Project Mayhem: The Manic Minds of Middle Grade Writers.
Congratulations to 2010 debut author Lisa Railsback on the release of her debut novel, Betti on the High Wire (Dial, 2010)! From the promotional copy:
Ten-year-old Babo and the other “leftover kids” live on an abandoned circus camp in a war-torn country. Babo believes her circus-star parents will come back for her any day now,
Cover Stories: Alibi Junior High by Greg Logstead from Melissa Walker at readergirlz. Peek: “My publisher asked for ideas, and unfortunately, all I could come up with was my very vague ‘it should be really cool’ suggestion. Which in retrospect isn’t much help at all.”
Enter to win copies of To Be A Slave by Julius Lester and Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin from Lee Verday at By Pen or By Sword…a blog about books,
Congratulations to the children’s-YA authors and illustrators of 2009! And thank you to everyone who discussed and debated and cheered and championed this year’s books! Just for fun, here are a few of my favorites.
Picture Books
All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee (Beach Lane,
