PB Biographies – Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams
I added Lesa Cline-Ransome’s and James E. Ransome’s Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams to my first bookstore orders of pb biographies, and I am so glad I did. Picture book biographies of one person require the author to wander through mounds of research, sort out big stories and little stories, delve […]
Review: Just Right – Searching for the Goldilocks Planet
I have a bit of an infatuation with nonfiction picture books. Yes, I love them, but infatuation implies a sense of distance, of something out of reach. At this point, writing a nonfiction picture book feels out of my reach. In a good way–yes, someday I might write one–but for now I get to experience that […]
Review: The Remember Balloons
I don’t remember why I put The Remember Balloons on my to-read list. I’m very glad I did, though. The book, written by Jessie Oliveros and illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte, is a lovely story that does an absolutely beautiful job depicting the magic relationship that can exist between a child and their grandparent, what it looks like […]
Keith Negley’s MARY WEARS WHAT SHE WANTS
I love good nonfiction picture books, but I don’t purchase a lot of them–I’m writing fiction, and so most of my book budget goes toward good examples of that genre. Every now and then, though, I come across a nonfiction book I can’t leave at the store. Keith Negley’s Mary Wears What She Wants was […]
Humiliation in Joe Abercrombie’s Shattered Sea Trilogy
I know, right? Humiliation? But I have been hunting for the right word as I try to explain to my husband what these books are like, and, really…the thing that is making them feel like something new is the way Joe Abercrombie humiliates his heroes. Or, if I’m looking at it from more of a […]
Story Genius’ Misbelief in Paul Acampora’s HOW TO AVOID EXTINCTION
I’m blogging about the writing craft in one of my newest favorite books today over at MG Lunch Break. Check it out.
Peter Brown’s THE WILD ROBOT: Seeing Yourself in a Book that is Totally Not About You or For You
I just read Peter Brown‘s The Wild Robot. By the time this post is live, I’ll have discussed it in a virtual book club this weekend, but we come at our books as writers looking at the craft and I don’t think that discussion and this post are going to overlap much. Because, as good as it […]
Ann M. Martin’s BETTER TO WISH
As usual, I’m a little behind. I found Ann M. Martin’s Better to Wish, Book 1 in her Family Tree series, on the bookmobile shelf, but apparently, Book 2, The Long Way Home, already came out in October. Which makes me happy, because I can keep reading that much sooner. I didn’t have huge expectations […]
Friday Five: What I Love about Linda Urban’s HOUND DOG TRUE
Quick note: If you’re interested in guest-blogging here about your critiquing experience, or your thoughts on critique groups, check out my earlier post here. It’s kind of like Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me…: You win for yourself AND another person. Okay, it’s not Carl Kasell’s voice on your answering machine, but it is a copy […]
THE PENDERWICKS AT POINT MOUETTE: Problems That Do Matter
I just finished reading The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, by Jeanne Birdsall. I love all the Penderwick books–they take me back to reading Edward Eager’s books and Mary Nash’s Mrs. Coverlet books when I was young. They also make me think of Elizabeth Enright’s books, which I didn’t find until I was in my forties […]
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