grumpy

‘Tis the season to head to the movie theatre, and that’s exactly what I did on Xmas day.  I finally saw Precious, and won’t give a long, detailed review but will say a few things I’ve noticed lately about the writing profession. I’ve felt this way for a while now, really, but every so often [...]

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from the heart

I love it when students write me letters, even if they’re forced into it by their teacher or principal. I got a ton of letters today from the Bronx school I visited a couple of weeks ago…Fredrick wrote, “I can really relate to some of the situations that you provided for us. Continue [...]

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grow up

I’m hoping you already have the good sense to subscribe to Neesha Meminger’s blog.  If not, swing by today and read yet another provocative post about power dynamics in the publishing industry.  Neesha links to an article by MJ Rose on the lack of transparency in publishing and the unwillingness of writers, editors, and agents [...]

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Diversity Roll Call ~ Holiday Books

I realize this is probably illegal, but I wanted to share my favorite Xmas picture book. My mother bought The Very Special Baby to share with us (and her kindergarten class); it was published in 1968 but is now out of print and I couldn’t find any images online. So I scanned all [...]

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getting ready

Are you ready for the holidays?  I haven’t even gotten my tree yet…which is unusual for me, much as I love Christmas.  Last night I went to Neesha’s holiday party, which was great fun; I ate delicious food, met beautiful children with *relaxed* parents, and had a fascinating conversation with a man about ending domestic [...]

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the ARCs are here!

ALL DAY I stayed in my apartment, waiting patiently for the first box of advance reader copies of Wish to arrive…and finally, after 6pm, the doorbell rang: it wasn’t UPS, it was the guy delivering the manuscript showing the re-designed interior of the book…and can I just say, so far, it’s GORGEOUS!  I’m not a [...]

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the power of suggestion

I gave two readings today: first, I was invited to read BIRD to a group of parents, students, and educators who were attending a workshop led by master teacher and author Cathie Wright-Lewis.  Cathie’s a member of the Adelaide Sanford Institute, and works with other educators, politicians, and community members to improve the education of [...]

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better late than never…

Well, Wish now has its first professional review in Canada.  From what I can tell, CM Magazine is one of the only journals that reviews children’s literature up north; the reviewer gave Wish three and a half stars out of four, calling it “highly recommended.”  You can read the complete review here.
I was taken aback [...]

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say “no” to Kindle?

The Child_Lit listserv always has interesting links and discussions.  Today I found this video of Sherman Alexie debating the demise of book culture with Stephen Colbert (Alexie’s latest book is NOT available in digital form). Do you feel that way about the future of books? Personally, I don’t know anyone who has a [...]

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Read Out Loud!

There will be FREE books for kids at this Saturday’s event in Harlem, sponsored by the Morningside Area Alliance.  Meet Gordon from Sesame Street!!!!  I’ll be doing a reading, signing books, and there will be art activities related to all the books…find out more by looking at the lovely flier I can’t seem to upload:
Flier_ROL [...]

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