June 10th, 2009
June 7th, 2009
I am told this honor comes with a swanky dinner at the incredible Boston Athenaeum and an engraved silver plate, so I guess it's time to buy a new pair of shoes!
April 2nd, 2009
So in honor of National Poetry Month, here are Thirteen Little Pilots.
February 27th, 2009
Good news stuff:
Sandy's Circus has been chosen as one of 10 Red Clover books for 2009-2010. That means that 20,000 kids next year will read the Red Clover books and pick their favorite!
Elizabeth Leads the Way has been named an Amelia Bloomer book, ALA Notable, Notable Social Studies, and Kansas State Reading Circle.
And Almost Astronauts, which came out on Feb 24 has gotten 3 starred reviews so far. Wowza. As Glinda would say, "I couldn't be happier!"
In honor of Almost Astronauts and Women's History Month, my awesome publisher (Candlewick) is sending me to DC for a mini-tour in which I'll be speaking at the--gulp--National Air & Space Museum. At the nose of a space shuttle, no less! And doing two events at the fantabulous Politics & Prose. I hereby promise to try to blog about this trip. See how noncommittal that was?
January also saw our annual retreat, Kindling Words, which was somehow even better this year. Great fun was had by all, as well as serene writing time with writer pals, and Ashley Bryan in rare form, charming us with his poetry and his personality.
Happy Spring? Well, not yet, but I can hope. It was 50 degrees here today and lovely--until it started raining. But I ain't complaining! Have a great weekend, everyone.
December 21st, 2008
Ok, so I'm cranky. But I'm right.
;-)
December 12th, 2008
It seems a high school in New Rochelle assigned Girl, Interrupted to an English class until--Gasp--one person decided there was a scene that was inappropriate for teenagers to read. (Full story here.) Was the decision to stop teaching the book? Nay, it was not. It was instead decided to defile; I'm sorry, "bowdlerize" the book in question and make it sanitary for young ears and eyes to partake.
Let's examine said term "bowdlerize," shall we? Bowdlerize is a term that means to expurgate by omitting or modifying parts (generally in a book) considered vulgar. The word was coined to immortalize Thomas Bowdler, an 18th century doctor (who never actually practiced medicine) whose father used to read Shakespeare to the family and leave out the scandalous bits unsuitable for women and children. You won't get any argument from me that a parent has the right to make these choices for their own children. But when young Thomas was grown and had the means to take it upon himself to better the world, he decided that it would be a tragedy if only his clan could benefit from his father's genteel ways and that lesser readers without the intelligence to edit on the spot for themselves should really be given the chance to be bettered by his father's expurgated Shakespeare. So Thomas assembled a collection of Shakespearean works, edited them similarly so as not to offend the ladies and littles, and published a volume entitled Family Shakespeare. Well done, lad, well done. Instead of bastardizing--sorry, bowdlerizing--Shakespeare, he could have just written his own clean little stories, but I suppose that would not have been as noble an undertaking. Or as easy.
So that is how censorship came to have a synonym in "bowdlerizing." Sounds much better, doesn't it? Methinks I'd like to delve a bit deeper into the life history of Thomas Bowdler and see if I can't find an un-expurgated version of his days on god's green earth. There may be some really juicy parts to leave in so those of us who detest censorship can live Happily Ever After.
December 5th, 2008
November 15th, 2008
Sandy's Circus made the Kirkus 2008 Best Books for Children list. Bam! And the NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing. Ya! Go Mr. Boris Kulikov. Your art is Spectacular!!
And...Marjorie Priceman is going to illustrate my next picture book! Hip-Hip Hooray!
November 2nd, 2008
First stop: Pillow Elementary School. And it was Halloween! Even though I couldn't breathe, all those dragons and princesses and spider-men fired me up! They were a great audience and asked fantastic questions. And I can't describe what it feels like to hand out 600 books, one by one, as all these costumed cuties filed past and thanked me for coming. I even got hugs! Yes, the Texas Book Festival bought a book for EVERY SINGLE KID IN THE SCHOOL! Then it was off to a lovely luncheon for all the Reading Rock Stars (I think there were 10 of us) and the incredible volunteers who did many things to pull off such a well-coordinated day. The highlight of lunch for me was getting to know the twinkly and wise Ben Saenz.
That night there was a party at Clay Smith's house, the literary director of the festival, who is about as smart and savvy as they come. I can't say enough about how well-designed this festival is, and we have Clay to thank for that. It was great catching up with old friends like Lauren Myracle and Varian Johnson, and meeting new ones--Jenny Ziegler, Paula Yoo, Margo Rabb, Heather Vogel Frederick (we knew each other online only), Don Tate, Melissa De La Cruz, and more!
Okay, must get tissues now. Can't breathe. Links not working! Will post about Saturday later.
Did everyone remember to turn back their clocks?
October 17th, 2008
So, the writer asks her community--how can a writer benefit from this very timely media attention of Calder and his circus and help her book be noticed by the masses? If anyone has suggestions to share, shout 'em out! Not just for the sake of this picture book, but to perhaps help each other with similar situations. It takes a village, right?
August 6th, 2008
Sandy's Circus
Meet Alexander Calder, the man who invented the mobile and set the art world on fire with his magical, moveable Cirque de Calder. With incredible illustrations by Boris Kulikov.
Starred Review, Kirkus: "The lively text shines with apt details....spritely, noteworthy"
Horn Book: "Stone's narrative is as animated as Calder's figures...Kulikov's [art] vibrant with energy and color...would pair interestingly with Selznick's Hugo Cabret."
Booklist: "beautifully illustrated...spare, direct...Kulikov's elegant, fanciful multimedia collages extend the story...will ignite curiosity in Calder."
A Junior Library Guild Selection.
July 22nd, 2008
If you need a smile, go park your fanny in some theater seats and sing along.
July 15th, 2008
I. Hate. Lawnmowers. Or more precisely, I hate the constant, obsessive, non-stop drone of lawnmowers that seem to be all around me. In the winter, it's snowblowers. In the summer, you guessed it. Can't it ever be QUIET! Doesn't anyone else want to hear the chipmunks and the barking dogs and the twittering birds. Even a distant phone ringing would be better than first one person mowing their lawn, then someone else, then someone else, then someone else. Couldn't they all just have a meeting and decide that on Monday at 1 pm everyone will mow the lawn at the SAME TIME?
Is this really too much to ask?
Okay, I will try to concentrate on my manuscript now. Nope, there goes another one!
June 24th, 2008
So here's the scoop.
On Saturday, June 28th at 5:30 pm, Laurie and I will be hanging out in the lobby of the Grand Californian hotel together, ready to chat about our new picture books about some truly spectacular women in American history--INDEPENDENT DAMES and ELIZABETH LEADS THE WAY. Please feel free to stop by and talk about these books, and any other writing-related topics you care to spark. We've got all kinds of behind-the-scenes juicy details to divulge (yeah, those early American women were a crazy crew!). And if we run out of things to say we can always channel Coffee Talk and discuss my hometown--New Haven. It's neither new, nor a haven. Discuss!
And now, the full schedule (so Mom and hubby can find me)
Sunday, June 29th, Newbery/Caldecott Banquet
(I guess I'd better put on a dress!)
Monday, June 30th, 8:00-10:00 am
Research Fuels the Author's Fire
Tanya Lee Stone, Jacqueline Briggs Martin, and Carol Gorman; Sharron McElmeel moderating
Anaheim Convention Center 304 A/B
Monday, June 30th, 11:00 am-Noon, Penguin Young Readers Booth 2617
Signing Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald and Sandy's Circus (f&gs)
Monday, June 30th, 2-3 pm, DK Booth 2625
Signing Amelia Earhart & Abraham Lincoln
Monday night Printz reception
(another night to dress up!)
Thank You to the wonderful folks at Penguin Young Readers!
June 19th, 2008
June 5th, 2008
Full disclosure: The book I am about to tell you of is the same book causing me to suffer from extremus flatterus. I mean, in my YA, I refer to an author by name (Ms. Judy Blume), as well as one of said novelist's novels that hit home with me. Now, in living color (well actually, in black and white) there is a new novel, SPLIT BY A KISS by Luisa Plaja, that in its pages refers to ME by name, as well as an aspect of A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl that apparently hit home with this author. Full circle. I am honored. Truly. Seriously, I haven't been this verklempt since I heard from the teenager who wrote her heart out in the back pages of her Bad Boy copy, ala my Josie, put it in the library stacks at her school, and revisited it to find lots of scrawled messages from other wronged girls. This is that feeling you get when you realize: I have been heard. I wrote something and they get it. It's why we express ourselves. To be understood. To make a connection. To communicate with others and make the world a closer place instead of a more distant one.
I digress. The real reason for this post is to tell you about SPLIT BY A KISS, a great romp that mixes romantic comedy with split personalities with across the pond humor. This is a vair, vair cute book. And it has its heavier, more profound moments, to boot. In all the best ways, it reminded me of one of my favorite movies--Sliding Doors. I don't want to give anything away, but I'm proud of that main character. Go Jo, Go! Or should I say Josie? Well, I'll never post a spoiler here, so go check it out and find out what all the snogging is about!
And to Luisa Plaja, I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
May 21st, 2008
Now, back to work...I'm trying to finish a new biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder by...big gulp...June 16th. Ok, now I want a Big Gulp. Root beer, please.
More importantly, she is the sweetest, smartest pup I've ever had. She won my hubby's heart when she adapted her playing style for the youngest--dropping a sock as gently as could be on her tummy, for a calm game of fetch, if you can call it that.
And to top it all off, I can no longer get away with sitting on my butt and writing for hours on end. This girl gets me up and OUT.
Yes, I'm vair, vair happy.
April 26th, 2008

Thanks for touring Sara, and congratulations on your debut!

