I just met a girl named Maria…

I’m not a big fan of musical theater and I’ve never actually seen West Side Story, but I caught a glimpse of the film version last month on PBS. And that song just came to mind because today when I was signing books at the BPL, a young woman wearing the hijab came up to [...]

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listen up

Having a quiet morning in Toronto—as usual, it’s freezing outside but it IS sunny and I’ve been having a pretty great visit so far. I had to run through the airport to catch my flight on Thursday, but my cousin’s wedding was lovely and I got a chance to catch up with relatives I haven’t [...]

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this made my day

Today was EXCELLENT! I thought I might be late, and since I demand punctuality of my students, I was horrified at the thought of being late for class myself. But the insanity on the train subsided, there was no mile-long line for the elevators at school, and all three of my classes were fantastic. I [...]

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quiet

This introvert is taking a much-needed day of silence…yet as I walked around the park this morning, baseball cap tipped against the blowing snow, I marveled at the kindness of others. I did three “meet the author” presentations this week, and every time I left a school, I said a prayer of thanks for the [...]

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great day!

We got some very good news yesterday: BIRD has won the West Virginia Children’s Choice Award! Last year Diary of a Wimpy Kid won, so I’m really honored that the children found merit in our book. The competition is open to books published within the past three years that meet the literary standards adopted by [...]

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give from the heart…

…AND the head.  Many book donation programs don’t take into consideration the racial and ethnic make-up of the group receiving the books.  That’s why I was so excited about the GuysLitWire donation project last year (where Native American teens chose the books they wanted in their library), and now Ari at Reading in Color has [...]

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holding on to history

That *was* the title of the article I submitted to School Library Journal; it’s now called “A Storied Past,” but I’m still happy with how it turned out.  It’s hard having your words edited when you’re used to blogging!  But I’m grateful for the opportunity to write about my commitment to the past and the [...]

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L is for Library

It’s time to start taking down the Xmas decorations, I guess.  I’ve been putting it off because once I take down all the cards displayed on my bookshelf, I’ll have to do some *serious* dusting…never mind all the pine needles embedded in my rug!  But this card came at the very end of the year [...]

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making it plain

After my last post, I realized I could do a better job presenting my rationale for this diversity symposium in Canada.  I think I’ll send out the outline again with this additional preamble.  Since no guests have officially been invited, I’ve removed the names of suggested participants. “Still Searching for Mirrors: Multicultural Children’s Literature in [...]

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I love Xmas, but I hate gifts

“Hate” is a strong word, but a few years ago I really did ask people to stop giving me gifts.  Among my family members, that didn’t go over so well and I still have lovely people in my life who just can’t seem to honor my request.  It’s the holidays, and people get caught up [...]

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