New Voice: Peggy Eddleman on Sky Jumpers

New Voice: Peggy Eddleman on Sky Jumpers

Educator Guide

By Cynthia Leitich Smith

Peggy Eddleman is the first-time author of Sky Jumpers (Random House, 2013). From the promotional copy:

Twelve-year-old Hope lives in White Rock, a town of inventors struggling to recover from the green bombs of World War III. 

But Hope is terrible at inventing and would much rather sneak off to cliff dive into the Bomb’s Breath—the deadly band of compressed air that covers the crater left by the bombs—than fail at yet another invention. 

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Guest Post: e.E. Charlton-Trujillo on Your Book, Your Niche from the Trench

Guest Post: e.E. Charlton-Trujillo on Your Book, Your Niche from the Trench

By e.E. Charlton-Trujillo

I’ve spent several months on an unconventional book tour for my latest YA, Fat Angie (Candlewick, 2013)–workshopping with at-risk youth who have affectionately tagged me as the tattooed, rockstar, Wexican (whitest Mexican American) YA author/filmmaker.

This whirlwind tour, where I stuffed my belongings into storage and traveled by rental car,

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New Voice: Sam Bond on Operation Golden Llama (Cousins in Action) & Self-Publishing

New Voice: Sam Bond on Operation Golden Llama (Cousins in Action) & Self-Publishing

By Cynthia Leitich Smith

Sam Bond is the first-time author of Operation Golden Llama (Cousins in Action)(Volume 1)(Bound, 2013). From the promotional copy:

Dumped at their eccentric Grandma’s, Cagney, Olivia, Aidan, Lissy and Tess are convinced they’re in for a boring summer. But when Grandma gets a series of mysterious phone calls and a highly unlikely pet sitter arrives,

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New Voice: Susan Signe Morrison on Home Front Girl: A Diary of Love, Literature, and Growing Up in Wartime America

New Voice: Susan Signe Morrison on Home Front Girl: A Diary of Love, Literature, and Growing Up in Wartime America

By Cynthia Leitich Smith

Susan Signe Morrison is the first-time editor of Home Front Girl: A Diary of Love, Literature, and Growing Up in Wartime America by Joan Wehlen Morrison (Chicago Review Press, 2012)(author blog and facebook page). From the promotional copy:

This diary of a smart,

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New Voice: Colleen Gleason on The Clockwork Scarab: A Stoker and Holmes Novel

New Voice: Colleen Gleason on The Clockwork Scarab: A Stoker and Holmes Novel

By Cynthia Leitich Smith

The Clockwork Scarab: A Stoker and Holmes Novel (Chronicle, 2013) is Colleen Gleason‘s debut young adult novel. She has previously published novels for grown-ups.

What inspired you to choose the point of view featured in your novel? What considerations came into play? Did you try the story from a different point of view at some point?

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New Voice: Stephanie Watson on Psyching Yourself Up to Write, the Craft of Picture Books & The Wee Hours

New Voice: Stephanie Watson on Psyching Yourself Up to Write, the Craft of Picture Books & The Wee Hours

By Cynthia Leitich Smith

Stephanie Watson is the first-time author of The Wee Hours, illustrated by Mary GrandPré (Disney-Hyperion, 2013). From the promotional copy:


What if the wee, small hours of the morning weren’t just hours, but playful creatures instead? 

And what if those creatures came out in the early-morning hours,

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