The ALA Conference in Chicago this past week and weekend reminded me of why I feel so lucky to be part of the children's literature community. Librarians from every state stood in long lines and laughed while they waited for their favorite authors to sign personal copies. These librarians are my heroes. They are the … [Read more...] about Unpacking from the ALA: Part One
Blog
Inviting Doubt to the (Writing) Table
Here in Maine, with my family, at my sister Laura's place, I picked up the most recent New Yorker magazine. This article by Malcolm Gladwell seems as if it was written for me, or other writers who have doubt bouts. Albert O. Hirschman, whose biography Gladwell is reviewing, believed it is our mistakes, not really … [Read more...] about Inviting Doubt to the (Writing) Table
The Word From Owls
The crows in this part of Madison (where I am with the "grands") were making a ruckus this morning, which often means one thing--great horned owls, specifically the pair that have made a home in a willow tree in Sarah's back yard. So I went out searching and watched one fly over my head and land in the tree, sit right … [Read more...] about The Word From Owls
Children’s Book People Know How to Have Fun
One of the most fun things a children's book writer can do is meet the audience--the kids who read the books. I've had two very special "meet the audience" days recently. In early April I went to the Meskwakie Settlement School, and visited with children of the Meskuaki Tribe in Tama, Iowa. The Settlement School … [Read more...] about Children’s Book People Know How to Have Fun
Life on the Back Porch. Life in the Street.
Regular life feels somehow frivolous, undeserved, when friends in Boston have been recently locked inside their homes, waiting for the next round of firing, when we have all witnessed via television, bombs, explosions, shootouts, lives thrown into grief and chaos. A blog about writing for kids almost feels like playing … [Read more...] about Life on the Back Porch. Life in the Street.
Heard and Seen in Illinois
Last weekend I was in Springfield Illinois for the Illinois Reading Association Conference and was fortunate to be in the audience when Eric Rohmann gave his acceptance speech for the Prairie State Award for Excellence in Writing for Children. He spoke with warmth and grace: The imagination doesn't require much: a … [Read more...] about Heard and Seen in Illinois
