Author of the deGranville Trilogy, K.M. Grant, offers us the first chapter of her memoir

Are you a fan of K.M. Grant's deGranville Trilogy (Blood Red Horse, Green Jasper, Blaze of Silver)? Would you like to read what possibly might become the first chapter of her memoir? I couldn’t believe it when she sent me this:

From K.M. Grant:

As a writer, historical novels are my thing, but a daughter getting married has prompted something else: I want to write a memoir.  Ok, so everybody wants to write a memoir.  And why not?  We all have our own story to tell, and even if we think our story very ordinary, it's always fascinating to peer into other people's lives.  Here's how I'm thinking of starting my story.  How would you start yours?

Chapter 1:   It Seemed Quite Normal At The Time

Birthdays were never a big thing at home unless our nanny remembered.  Too many of us, I suppose.  With six girls and only one boy – much rejoicing for him – our father found it a bore to remember our names, never mind the day on which we made our first and rather inconvenient appearance.  Our mother was better at our names but whilst sometimes birthdays were a splash, other times she would clean forget.  Perhaps she preferred to.  Childbirth took place at home and the gas and air cylinder had long since run out, though nobody believed her.

My mother didn’t forget my ninth birthday.  On this day there was an envelope on my breakfast plate.  Inside was a card and the card said “I am Brock.  Please come and fetch me.”  I was astounded; Nanny grim-faced.  Brock turned out to be a rough-haired, black and white, dock-tailed, prick-eared Jack Russell puppy.   He was not Nanny's idea of the perfect present.  No matter.   My parents had bought him.  He was mine.

I say ‘bought’, though on reflection I don't believe money exchanged hands and it was soon apparent why.  In the whole of Brock’s life, which was longer than anybody could remotely have predicted or, frankly, desired, I think there was only one person who truly loved that dog:  me.   If you take as a measure those he never bit, I’d say that he himself only loved three people:  me, my mother and Nanny.  Out of we three, only Nanny elicited respect, a respect vastly increased when, years later, she put his head back together after he had attacked an articulated lorry.  All of his head, that is, except for the eye that got left behind on the road.  Even Nanny couldn’t do much about that.

Happy Thanksgiving

 I can't say I'm much of a Disney girl, but NCTE and ALAN were in Orlando this year and, despite every Disney cast member (i.e., employee) wishing me a 'magical' morning-afternoon-evening and the in-your-face promotion of Disney stuff, NCTE and ALAN were wonderful. Great authors and artists, lots of wonderful teachers, and I got tons of in-your-face promotion of Balkin Buddies stuff done myself. As usual, I got home just in time to be too tired to cook a Thanksgiving meal. No matter. That's what Park Slope restaurants are for! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. As a cast member would say, have a magical day!

Stephanie Calmenson’s DINNER AT THE PANDA PALACE celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2011

DINNER AT THE PANDA PALACE, written by Stephanie Calmenson and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2011.  The festivities begin with two reading and book signing events.

December 11th at 11 am -  

OWL Library in Litchfield, CT and Hickory Stick Bookshop in Litchfield, CT

December 14th at 11 am -  

Barnes & Noble, Tribeca Store

To read more about the book, visit her website, and to set up a DINNER AT THE PANDA PALACE celebration event, contact us.

MISS TUTU'S STAR is a star! Lesléa Newman reacts to recent reviews of her book

Lesléa Newman's MISS TUTU'S STAR, published by Abrams, was favorably reviewed in such journals as SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL and BOOKLIST. Hear what the author has to say about a recent starred review:

I was thrilled when MISS TUTU'S STAR received a star in the November/December issue of LIBRARY MEDIA CONNECTION! It was very validating for me, because Selena is not your typical ballerina. She's a bit clumsy, but she works very hard and her perseverance pays off.

Her life is not unlike the life of a children's book writer! (or any writer). We work hard, often in isolation, and then launch our books into the world. First my writers' group reads my manuscripts. After I consider their suggestions, I send the book to my agent (often at this point, the book is in its third, fourth, fifth, or twentieth draft). If she thinks it's ready to go, she will send it to an editor. The editor may or may not have more suggestions.

In this case, my editor did give me feedback. He felt that the manuscript was too long, so I cut it down from 24 stanzas to 17 stanzas. Then he accepted the book and found the very talented Carey Ellis-Armstrong, who inserted her own subplots into the text. I was particularly amused to see the scarf that Selena's mother was knitting grow longer and longer throughout the book, as my own mother is a champion knitter, and used to knit while waiting for me to finish ballet class (not that the book is autobiographical or anything!).

I am very pleased with the way the book turned out. In particular, I love the pink, glittery cover image, and I hope young readers will love it, too.

Thanksgiving News from Alison Jackson includes an award nomination and a new book

Alison Jackson's Thanksgiving classic I KNOW AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A PIE (Dutton 1997) continues to be a top seller on Amazon.com, and her 2008 picture book THEA'S TREE (Dutton) was nominated for the Florida Reading Association Award.

Look for her newest novel for middle graders, EGGS OVER EVIE (Holt, 2010) on bookshelves in November. The story centers around a 12-year-old girl who loves to cook, and it is chock-full of fun recipes and cooking tips from real chefs. KIRKUS REVIEWS describes the book as "sweet and savory."

Do you have a recipe you’d like to share with Alison? Or a comment on one of her books? We hope to hear from you.

Also, Alison lives in Orlando and is happy to do author visits in schools and libraries. Find more information about her authors visits on her website.

My parrot's "Skype" chat with MIRROR, MIRROR author Marilyn Singer

Marilyn Singer's MIRROR, MIRROR, which was recently included in KIRKUS REVIEWS’ 2010 Best Children’s Books, is one of my favorite new picture books, and I was eager to hear her on the Reading Rockets blog. 

It had only just started, however, when my 12 year old caique, Woof, had to get in on the act. Woof has met Marilyn. She and her husband live in my neighborhood and have been by our apartment. Woof also did an online chat with me the time a Florida school asked me to talk to their students about 9/11 (my husband was in the WTC that day and made it out just in time). So it wasn't much of leap for my intelligent little parrot to decide I must be Skyping with his (not my, but HIS) friend.

The interview was great -- funny, conversational, interesting, and it reflected Marilyn's personality perfectly. It also completely fooled Woof. He sat on my shoulder, listening to her and making sounds that are his version of conversation.

Marilyn, we must do a real Skype chat together -- you and your starling, and me and my parrot! I’m sure they would have a lot to say about MIRROR, MIRROR.

The Compound is a 2011-12 Nebraska Golden Sower Award finalist and other November News from author, S.A. Bodeen

S.A. Bodeen's YA novel, The Compound, is a finalist for the 2011-12 Nebraska Golden Sower Award, as well as reader awards in seven other states. She was on a dystopian panel at the recent Austin Teen Book Festival, and in November she will be at the NCTE/ALAN conference in Orlando, promoting her new YA novel The Gardener, which was named a Best Summer Teen Read by Good Morning America. If you see her at NCTE or ALAN, feel free to introduce yourself to her. She always enjoys meeting educators. Her upcoming school visits include trips to Brazil and China, as well as Texas.

If you’re a fan of her books, we hope to hear from you.

Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson, authors and founders of Just Us Books, visit students from Virginia to Louisiana

Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson, authors and founders of Just Us Books, were hosted by the Portsmouth Public Library in Portsmouth, VA on Sunday, October 24, as shown in the picture above. Sponsored by the Gamma kappa Psi Chapter of Alpha kappa Alpha Sorority, the event drew youngsters and their parents as well as teachers and librarians from the Tidewater area. Just Us Books also celebrated its 22nd year in the industry during the month of October.

Today (November 10, 2010), the Hudsons are speaking at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology in New Orleans, LA, which was among the first schools to open following Hurricane Katrina. President Barack Obama paid a visit there in October 2009 and the school was recently featured in a documentary produced and directed by Spike Lee.      

Elaine Landau’s HEAD-TO-TOE HEALTH series was named a Top 10 Health Series – Booklist

Elaine Landau, who has a long list of non-fiction books to her credit, is probably one of the best kept secrets in children's non-fiction literature. Recently her books on kid’s health, Head-to-Toe Health (Marshall Cavendish/Benchmark) was named a Top 10 Health Series – Booklist (October 1, 2010). I hope you'll check them out. The titles in the series include Asthma; Bites and Stings, Broken Bones; Bumps, Bruises, and Scrapes; Burns, Cavities and Toothaches; Chickenpox, The Common Cold; Earaches, Fever, Food Allergies; Head Lice, Nosebleeds, Pinkeye; Rashes, Sprains and Strains; Strep Throat; and Warts.

Eloise Greenfield and Jan Spivey Gilchrist talk about THE GREAT MIGRATION: JOURNEY TO THE NORTH

THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR OF THE GREAT MIGRATION TALK ABOUT HOW THIS BOOK CAME INTO BEING:

ELOISE GREENFIELD:

In writing THE GREAT MIGRATION: JOURNEY TO THE NORTH, I felt that poetry would take me where I wanted to go, to a deep place beneath the surface of facts.  I also wanted to tell two stories simultaneously – that of this important movement itself, and that of some of the individuals inside the movement.  These were people with hopes and dreams, apprehensions, determination, optimism, and most of all, courage.  

The people in the book are fictitious representations of the actual travelers.  I created them in the same way I create characters for a book of fiction.  I asked myself, “Who is this person?  What are his or her feelings about leaving home, friends and family?  About escaping the hazards of his or her present life and facing the uncertainty of the future?”     

In the book’s introduction, I mention my family’s migration, in 1929, from North Carolina to Washington, DC.  My editor, Phoebe Yeh, loved the manuscript and suggested that I close the book with a poem about my family’s experience.  It was a great suggestion. I took her advice, and I am very pleased with the way this poem rounds out the book.  

None of this would work as well, without the powerful collages by Jan Spivey Gilchrist.  I hope children will be moved and enlightened by our efforts.

JAN SPIVEY GILCHRIST:

In THE GREAT MIGRATION: JOURNEY TO THE NORTH, the poetry of Eloise Greenfield was evocative and inspiring. When I received the manuscript, I read each poem over and over again before rushing to the library. Loaded with books containing images of the people and landscapes between 1915 and 1930, I allowed my mind to travel back to a time I had heard about many times growing up a child. My parents and relatives had all migrated from the south to Chicago during those days.

I wanted the art to both depict authenticity and esthetic beauty. It had to be realistic but I also felt the illustrations needed reference material. I chose collage as the medium because of the ability to select actual articles, clippings, etc. I could then manipulate those with my original drawings and paintings. I used clippings and mixed media, portraying an experience for children that would be "cross genre" work. Eloise Greenfield brilliantly uses poetry as nonfiction. The entire collaboration was an exciting use of mixed media. I loved illustrating this book.

GHOST STORIES RUN IN THE RAYMOND BIAL FAMILY

Known for his non-fiction books for children, including ELLIS ISLAND: COMING TO THE LAND OF LIBERTY, which is a companion to TENEMENT: IMMIGRANT LIFE ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE and has been receiving excellent reviews, Raymond Bial is also the author of a ghost story series inspired by the stories he used to tell his children when they were small. “The kids expected me to have an imagination,” he says. His daughter, Anna, now a fashion designer in New York City, especially loved ghost stories. The first book in the series, THE FRESH GRAVE AND OTHER GHOSTLY STORIES, was not only dedicated to Anna, but she did the pen-and-in drawings. THE FRESH GRAVE AND OTHER GHOSTLY STORIES is the second in the series, and the recently released DRIPPING BLOOD CAVE AND OTHER GHOSTLY STORIES, which is the third, is dedicated to his son, Luke, and Anna and her husband did the pen-and-ink drawings and the cover. “I guess we're just a family who can't get enough ghost stories,” Bial says with a laugh.