Unless we are involved in creating a book, we’ll never know all the twists and turns the book took to live on a shelf. I thought it might be interesting to share the journey story of REAL PRINCESSES CHANGE THE WORLD. Following is an interview from the SCBWI Michigan Mitten blog series, Book Birthdays. The… Read more »
It took me all of a second to answer award-winning author Patricia Newman when she asked if I would like to contribute to her highly effective and well-read blog, LitLinks. (See the post below.) I selected a post date in November, the perfect time to talk about animal adaptations to cold and how my worry… Read more »
So happy to be invited to be part of Nancy Castaldo’s blog series on researching STEM kidlit. Nancy is an award-winning author, photographer, and environmental educator and it is an honor to know her. From her website: Nancy Castaldo has written books about our planet for over 20 years. Her 2016 title THE STORY OF SEEDS:… Read more »
Am I weird because I love researching? I do enjoy the hunt, following the twisted trail of information, and snatching an unsuspecting tidbit perfect for slapping on unsuspecting victims (usually my children who are held-captive audiences). For instance, “Did you know that some mammals without sweat glands urinate on themselves for the evaporative cooling effect?” Despite the reaction — “That’s just gross, Mom”… Read more »
The research for my article (for a history magazine about the role of the Holy Family Orphans’ Home in Operation Pedro Pan) has been so interesting. I’ve been to the Catholic Diocese of Marquette archives, I’m a regular in the historical files at the Peter White Public Library, and I’ve searched every piece of information I can find online. (I’ll use this… Read more »
Not much blogging because I’ve been busy talking on the telephone… Do you remember that quaint way of communicating in which the receiver can actually hear inflection, gasping, snorting, and real live air moving in and out of a voice box? When “LOL” had a noise attached to it — and I don’t mean a clicking sound on a keyboard? Recently, I’ve had the… Read more »
The more I learn and talk about the Pedro Pan mission, the more incredulous I become about how many Americans have never heard this part of our history. Fourteen thousand forty-eight children (14,048!!) flew clandestinely to the United States UNACCOMPANIED by any adults to be cared for (by complete strangers in many cases) until their parents could join them here… Read more »
Middle daughter woke me at 2:00am with a persistent cough. We cured the cough, but not my excitement about interviewing the last American orphan in Holy Family Orphanage in Marquette. I tossed and turned until 3:53am when I finally gave up and parked myself at my desk to prepare for the interview and do some… Read more »
Sharing insights on writing children’s books and the publishing industry, and offering trinkets for creators and educators because you rock.
