Reading and Writing Links
These discussions between Mac Barnett and John Klassen are phenomenal. This one has me itching to (finally!) take Dear Genius off my shelf, a collection of letters between Ursula Nordstrom, most influential children’s book editor of all time, and her authors.
Good Books for Bad Children :: Looking at Picture Books
Several readers have asked about a recent addition to my website: My Brother is Away, a book I published in 2022 under the pseudonym Sara Greenwood (and which is also available in Spanish). You can find out more about this book (the most important I’ll ever write) in a few places:
Sara Greenwood’s My Brother is Away :: Betsy Bird’s Fuse 8 Production (School Library Journal)
Sara Greenwood on Writing from Real Life & My Brother is Away :: Cynsations
Sara Greenwood on My Brother is Away :: Uma Krishnaswami
Not sure what an option novel or sub rights are? This list is a good place to start.
Quick Primer on Publishing Terms :: Agents and Books
I often check Online Etymology Dictionary when writing historical fiction. That’s where I first learned O.K. is an abbreviation of the slang-y “all korrect” and was first used in the mid 1800s (!). Here’s a fun article on the word.
Which one is correct: O.K. OK, ok, or okay? :: LitHub
I love how A Swim in a Pond in the Rain continues to make me think as a reader and writer. And I love that in sharing it I’ve continued to learn from my friend, Uma Krishnaswami.
Chasing the Revision Butterfly :: The Broken Tusk
“In Barnett’s view, if we are to really respect the taste and intelligence of kids, we should also be venerating their art as highly as any other literature. He’d put books such as Frog and Toad, In the Night Kitchen, Where the Wild Things Are and Freight Train up there in the annals of literature right next to The Great Gatsby.”
Are picture books undervalued? This new ambassador of children’s literature thinks so :: NPR
Oh, I loved this! “Hubbard (Ohio) Public Library’s oldest patron, Lily Walter, who celebrates her 105th birthday in May, stopped by the library last month to renew her library card. She told the library she has loved reading and libraries for 101 years—as long as she can remember.”
A Lifelong Love of Books and Libraries :: I Love Libraries
Is childhood literacy close to your heart? Want to inspire kids to write? Looking for a worthy cause to support? Kwame Alexander has launched a nonprofit called One Word at a Time. His aim is to provide virtual school visits to 1000 Title One and underfunded schools for free. Learn more here: onewordcampaign.org
Absolutely take Dear Genius off your shelf. Open it to a random page and read the letter there. Then read what came before it, and finally, any replies. Whenever you have the time, read the correspondence with Sid Hoff about Danny and the Dinosaur. I read something from this book every year. Another book that works this sort of magic is Children and Books by May Arbuthnot, especially if you consider it in tandem with the Zena Sutherland revision.
That would be Syd Hoff, not Sid. Begone, autocorrect!