Have you ever wondered why the spacecraft that carried the first U.S. astronaut into space in 1961 was named the Freedom 7? Was George Lucas already planning six prequels, or what?
When my daughter Amy turned 21 years old in July 2014, she was doing summer research in astrophysics at Baylor University.
Illustrators bear witness.
Nothing could be more important.
One hundred years from now, when someone wants to know what it was like to be a seven-year-old girl in New York City on her birthday – or what it was like to be a Mexican-American child growing up in Texas – they won’t go to a reference book and look it up.
Donna Janell Bowman is the first-time author of Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About Kindness, illustrated by Daniel Minter (Lee & Low, 2016). From the promotional copy:
A Horse that can read, write, and do math?
Jonah Lisa Dyer and Stephen Dyer are the first-time authors of The Season (Viking, 2016). From the promotional copy:
She can score a goal, do sixty box jumps in a row, bench press a hundred and fifty pounds…but can she learn to curtsy?
Continue Reading New Voices: Jonah Lisa Dyer and Stephen Dyer on The Season »
Joy’s first full day at Brazos Bookstore
By Joy Preble
Last month, I became the new Children’s Specialist at Brazos Bookstore in Houston. I hadn’t planned on it, but when you stumble into your dream job, well, you take it!
It’s a balancing act: Selling books and buying books and merchandising and creating store events,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Joy Preble on Life as an Author-Bookseller…or Bookseller-Author? »
Hannah West is the first-time author of Kingdom of Ash and Briars (Holiday House, 2016). From the promotional copy:
Building on homages to Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jane Austen’s Emma and the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, Hannah West makes a spectacular and wholly original debut.
Continue Reading New Voice: Hannah West on Kingdom of Ash and Briars »
By Amy Bearce
Confession: I have a terrible time with world-building. So, naturally, I consistently write fantasy, where world-building is critical.
You gotta be kidding me! Credit: Pixabay, mintchipdesigns, CC0
In real life, I’m not very observant about the space around me. I notice people’s emotions, but not what they are eating or what they are wearing.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Amy Bearce on World-Building Woes (& Wows) »
By P.J. Hoover
OMG an author visit! It’s a huge, exciting time for students, teachers, and the author. We, the authors, are honored to be visiting your school.
Aside from the fact that it gives us an opportunity to get out of the house (and change out of our pajamas), there is nothing better than connecting with our target audience about a subject we love: books.
Continue Reading Guest Post: P.J. Hoover on The Awesomeness of School Visits »
By Janet S. Fox
Some of my favorite books ever are the books of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series. The fantasy of leaving home and entering a land where a child can experience talking animals, mythological creatures, desperate (and deadly) battles – where a child can be perceived as making real, respected choices –
Continue Reading Guest Post: Janet S. Fox on Blending History With Fantasy »
Check out the book trailer for Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin (Razorbill, 2015, 2016)–now available in paperback. From the promotional copy:
Peter Stone is a quiet boy in a family full of extroverts, musicians, and yellers.
Continue Reading Book Trailer & Giveaway: Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin »
