Grace Lin may not know it yet, but she can heal a tortured heart. This is a power that the best creators of books for children all have, however Ms. Lin’s work, and two books in particular, have stepped in at a moment when help is most needed. The world seems turned upside down, but […]
At the library I borrowed two middle grade/ YA books, both of which are astonishing. One deals with a realistic cultural issue frequently in the news, the other with nature rendered in a Gothic style. Each portrays a boy main character who is involved in something seriously scary, but who acts in courageous ways. Imagine young […]
by Joyce Audy Zarins In my small collection of children’s books from around the world, some help explain ways of thinking to the young. The world can be a scary and sometimes puzzling place, so clues are always useful. In Les Mammouths, Les Ogres, Les Extraterrestres, et ma petite soeur, as the title suggests, creatures […]
This is a review of two books with different target audiences that have one mission: to share some of the treasures and history of the Forbidden City in China with the world. They are voices from the other side of the globe. Can you hear them? Bowls of Happiness: Treasures from China and the Forbidden […]
Post #1: Morris Award Finalist Blog Tour Week YALSA’s Morris Award honors the year’s best young adult novel by a debut author. The Morris Award winner for 2014 will be announced at the upcoming ALA 2015 Midwinter Meeting in Chicago. Writers’ Rumpus is honored to host a week of posts about the Morris Award Finalists. […]
This article is a post I wrote for the fabulous Writers Rumpus blog today, September 30th. While recently reading John Green’s Looking for Alaska, I was surprised by the shape of the story. I’ll get to that in a minute, but it reminded me of other authors who played with the structure of their narratives. […]
 What is Writers Rumpus? Marianne Knowles, who runs the writers critique groups I belong to, started a blog for children’s book writers and illustrators that is chock full of great information in twice weekly (Tuesdays and Fridays) by our crit group members and guest posters. I’ve written a few of these articles myself. One, titled […]
This simple story with bright, clean artwork will appeal to any very young child impatient for Christmas to arrive. But is Little Chicken anxious for the reason you think? Or does Little Chicken have a plan to make someone else happy? The hints begin on the title page and continue under Little Chicken’s funny, egg-shaped […]
Kristine Asselin has been juggling many talents. She is the 2014 NESCBWI Conference Director, writes non-fiction books for the school and library market, has intriguing YA and MG fiction projects in process, and her first picture book was just released. Worst Case of Pasketti-itis, which was illustrated by Luisa Gioffre-Suzuki, tells the tale of a […]
Three powerful books about kids dealing with major issues. Troubled kids, wise and compassionate kids. Be Someone’s Hero is the message on a sign that foster child Carley finds in her borrowed bedroom. She’s in need of a hero herself, having just been released from the hospital after being severely beaten by her mother’s boyfriend, […]
This charming book by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch, which I bought in Zurich, cleverly presents its theme on the cover as a title: “Vom kleinen Maulwurf, der wissen wollte, wer ihm auf den Kopf gemacht hatâ€. Egils translates this as “From small Mole, who wanted to know who dropped this thing on his head.†[…]
John Flanagan’s strengths are dramatic action, innovative conflict, and complex male characters who breathe and sweat. This fantasy adventure trilogy with a Middle Ages setting combines humor, intelligent language and complex characters to propagate a fast-paced, engaging tale awash with daring plot twists. Although mostly promoting good morals, the level of violence over these first […]
On May 24th, after going to a magical book launch party on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, I did a post about the book Willow’s Walkabout: A Children’s Guide to Boston by Sheila S. Cunningham and illustrated by Kathie Kelleher. Kathie, who is an endlessly fascinating and Bookmark
For a number of years I have been collecting children’s picturebooks from other countries when I travel or friends and relatives do. It is good to be aware of the visual voices from other lands, so now and then I will post images of a few. The first entry in this series was Bookmark
Willow’s Walkabout: A Children’s Guide to Boston had a fabulous launch at the Agonquin Club on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston recently. This picturebook, written by Sheila S. Cunningham and illustrated by my friend Kathie Kelleher, is about a wallaby named Willow who goes on a walkabout from the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA to explore […]
History does begin with yesterday, after all. Nineteen seventy one, when cigarette ads were banned from TV, The Rolling Stones’ Brown Sugar topped the charts, and Clockwork Orange and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory were playing at the movies, does not seem so very long ago. Then again, gasoline was forty cents a gallon. […]
For last year’s NaNoWriMo I laid the groundwork for What Else is There?, my YA historical novel about Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir. It is set in Iceland, Greenland, and America about 1,000 A.D. Approaching the end of the story, I am meanwhile exploring references to Norse mythology in books and other media. In the past two days […]
By JULIE BOSMAN Published in The New York Times: August 9, 2011 “The publishing industry has expanded in the past three years as Americans increasingly turned to e-books and juvenile and adult fiction, according to a new survey of thousands of Bookmark
En route to a two week trip around Latvia, during a layover at Keflavik airport in Iceland, I experienced Directions, a sculpture installation by Steinunn Thorarinsdottir. Four life casts in aluminum are mounted on columns of basalt, a hard volcanic stone common to this seismic island. The figures face outward, toward the four compass points […]
Large scale sculpture is expensive to make, a challenge to move and difficult to sell, none of which deters Dale Rogers. His business acumen and energy level have propelled his career as a successful sculptor, allowing him to make an excellent income doing the work he loves. His work has been purchased by sculpture parks […]