Of all the places I've traveled, Bora Bora is one of the most beautiful. I can see why Gauguin chucked rainy Paris and moved here.

The island huts, built over the water, made me feel like I was living right on the ocean. Our hut even had a glass coffee table that opened to the water below and lit it up. We could actually feed the colorful tropical fish that swam beneath us.

I painted Matira Beach several times. We could walk out about a mile on velvet white sand in waist-high turquoise water.

The locals were friendly and gorgeous. The French Polynesians are uninhibited, and to my husband's delight, most of the beaches were of the topless persuasion!

I had the pleasure of meeting Jamie Weiss Chilton at SCBWI Ventura / Santa Barbara Writers' Day last fall.  She gave an entertaining and insightful talk about being an agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency. I asked Jamie to give us her insights on being an agent.

When and why did you start representing children’s book authors?

I joined the Andrea Brown Literary Agency as an Associate Agent in January 2008, but my career in children's books started ten years earlier. In 1998, I became Christy Ottaviano's intern at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. On my first day, I knew I wanted a career in children's books.

Working with Christy was amazing, and she continues to be a wonderful mentor to this day. After two years interning, I worked as an editorial assistant, then assistant editor at Random House Children's books (BDD and Knopf) before I moved to Los Angeles and became the SCBWI's conference manager. I loved seeing that side of the business, but missed working one-on-one with authors and illustrators. Then I met with Andrea and you know the rest!

 What is the most valuable advice you can give to a newly published writer?

Keep focused on your craft, and don't worry too much about hype, reviews, or amazon numbers. Great success in our business doesn't usually come overnight. You know that story about the turtle and the bunny....

What is one of your favorite children’s books that you'd like to recommend?

Tough question! Can I give more than one? My childhood favorite from when I was very young is THE SNUGGLE BUNNY by Nancy Jewell, illustrated by Mary Chalmers. I have a pet bunny (yep, a real live one!) and I think my love of bunnies is due to the number of picture books published about them in the 1970s. : )  Recent favorites range from thoughtful, moving stories like YA IF I STAY by Gayle Foreman to reality-based fantasy like THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins to science fiction like UNWIND by Neil Shusterman to picture books by Jon Muth and David Ezra Stein.

How much are the houses buying these days and is it better to wait to submit?

Take time to polish your manuscript to the best of your ability -- take advantage of conferences and critique groups. When your manuscript is the very best it can be, submit! I don't recommend holding on to a manuscript that's ready to go. Houses are more selective than ever, so taking the time to polish your work is extremely important.

What is your favorite dessert and why?

A chocolate souffle with whipped cream. Hot and cold, creamy and crunchy, chocolate and vanilla, it satisfies every craving. Mmm, I want one now.

Fireworks, hot dogs and flags-a-flying is what the Fourth of July means to me.

We are fortunate to live in a great country where our votes count.

Enjoy your family, enjoy the day and enjoy the picnic of life in America.

There is nothing I hate more than those black barbecue covers,  especially when they become weather beaten. So every year or so, I paint mine. This year it is Monet's lily pads.  In five easy steps, you can paint one too!

1. Go to Home Depot and buy an enamel spray can of navy blue paint and small cans of outside gloss paint in medium green, white, pink and medium blue.

Spray the barbecue cover with the navy blue enamel from top to bottom, left to right, in horizontal lines. Don't worry if you leave spaces and it is blotchy in places.











2. Use a small brush to draw the lily pads with the medium green gloss paint. Make narrow circles and overlap. Just draw the outline. Don't worry if it isn't perfect... The Impressionists weren't either!











3. Fill in the lily pads. Use broad strokes and leave it loose.














4. Loosely mix a little of the white and pink paints, and with a small brush make "W" strokes close together on top of the lily pads.  Scatter them throughout.












5. Make horizontal lines between the lily pads with the medium blue paint. With the white paint, "dot" here and there on the blue lines.  Then mix the medium green paint with some white paint and outline all the lily pads. Voila--a beautiful Monet barbecue cover!

Tip:  Leave the back unpainted.  That way you know what side is the back when it is time to put the cover on.

ANY QUESTIONS?  EMAIL ME.

Jane Yolen is a legend in our business. An award winning and prolific writer, she has penned something like 300 books. She was kind enough to give me an interview a few years back and gracious enough to give us the "Writing Tip of the Day."

Really--my favorite tip is BIC. Butt in Chair. (Or Behind in Chair. Or Backside in Chair.) Because if you do not put your time in the chair, you will not get any writing done.

My husband was a birder, and his friends called him a "lucky" birder because he managed to see more rarities and hear more new birds than anyone. But as he explained it, "You have to put your time in the woods, on the shore, up the mountain. If you aren't where the birds are, you won't get any birds."
 

I met Lois Harris at a promotional retreat in Santa Barbara almost three years ago.  Her dedication to children's literature impressed me.  Also, she had written about one of my favorite impressionist artists, Mary Cassatt. I give you Lois Harris's "Writing Tip of the Day."

Joseph Campbell said, “Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you…” Oh Joe, you were so right.

I wrote children’s fiction for several years before I took The Big Step and tried writing nonfiction. Wow. I discovered I loved to do research---what fun to dig for those gems that make your work sparkle. From the moment I saw the Mary Cassatt painting that inspired my book, I was “on a kind of track” which continues to take me to new learning experiences that enrich my life.

Don’t be afraid to try something new. Play with it. Have fun with it. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

When I visited my relatives in Boston, I decided to travel a hundred miles south to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. The Very Hunger Caterpillar illustrator/author Eric Carle and his wife Barbara founded the museum in 2002. It is a fabulous museum honoring illustrators past and present who have worked in children's literature.  With a library, galleries and hands-on art studio for the kids, this is a wonderful place for families.  Here is the mission statement for the museum:

"The mission of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is to inspire, especially in children and their families, an appreciation for and an understanding of the art of the picture book.

In fulfilling our mission, we aspire to build bridges to an appreciation of art of every kind and to provide an enriching, dynamic, and supportive context for the development of literacy. We deliver this mission by collecting, presenting and celebrating the art of the picture book from around the world and by providing interactive experiences and programs that are engaging and educational."

I am so pleased to be part of Pamela Ehrenberg's Tillmon County Fire Blog Tour.  You can read the reviews and track the rest of the blog tour on Pamela's site. I give you Pamela Ehrenberg.

When and why did you start writing for children?
 
In the spring of 1991, because a professor gave me permission.  She returned one of my short stories with the comment, "This sounds like the first chapter of a young people's novel," and I thought, "Really?  That's allowed?"

 At the time, I think most of my classmates in undergraduate creative writing classes wanted to write literary short fiction for the New Yorker--and the idea that I could shift that, that I could say first of all, I'm not very good at writing short stories, my ideas tend to go on all over the place and with any luck eventually find their way back to each other, but not so well within 30 pages--and that second of all, I'm allowed to reconnect with the self I was at twelve or thirteen or fourteen--that was very liberating.
 
That short story became not the first but the third chapter of a young people's novel, "Cheeseburgers and Other Hazards of Sixth Grade," that is probably not ever going to be publishable.  I worked on that book off and on for ten years, and I think everything I learned about writing for young people, I learned by working on that novel.
 
What is the most valuable advice you can give to a newly published writer?
 
To keep writing, so you'll always have an answer to questions like #4 below.  Also, not to be shy about marketing yourself.  The Internet provides all sorts of wonderful marketing opportunities for people who are too shy to actually talk to one another.
 
What is one of your favorite children's books that you'd like to recommend?
 
When my daughter was born in 2005, a friend who didn't yet have kids gave her a copy of Babar. The story seemed impossibly long, and I was shocked to (re-)discover that it began with Babar's mother getting killed in an opening scene. But my daughter was drawn to it, and we read it fairly often, usually with me rushing past the opening to get to Babar's adventures in the big city.
 
Last summer, just after my daughter turned three and a few months before her brother was born, my husband died at age 37. And of all the books that people brought to help us through that time--books about dying and hospitals and feelings and all kinds of things--Babar was what my daughter returned to, over and over again, seeking comfort perhaps in knowing that she was not the first one to experience the terrible loss of a parent. I can't pretend to understand the powers of great literature--but no other book came close to comforting her like Babar.
 
What are you working on now?
 
I'm working on a new middle-grade novel set in 1950s Baltimore. And keeping up with all of the freelance assignments I took on so I could have the "freedom" to write. I'm working on obsessing less over nap schedules, learning how to bake, and trying not to step in the pureed cauliflower often found within a 50-foot radius of my son's high chair.
 
What is your favorite dessert and why?
 
Whatever treat I'm sharing with my just-turned-four-year-old while her brother naps in his stroller. Because it reminds me that infant days don't last forever and that kids keep getting more fun as they get older.  And because her chocolate-covered face reminds me how dessert is meant to be enjoyed.
 
A small bio:

Pamela Ehrenberg is a consultant for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and for Getting College Right.  She and her children live in Washington, D.C., several blocks north of the zoo.
 
Links:
www.pamelaehrenberg.com (includes links to other blog tour stops)
twitter.com/pamelaehrenberg
School Library Journal review of Tillmon County Fire: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6648613.html  (scroll down to Ehrenberg)

Today my Writing Tip of the Day is from my good buddy Barbara Bietz. We've been in the same writers' group since 1994 and I value her precise critiquing, good humor and hand holding over the years.  Not only has she published a successful middle grade novel, Like a Maccabee (Yaldah, 2006) she is on the committee of the Sydney Taylor Book Award and has a popular blog, Jewish Books for Children.  I give you Barbara Bietz's Writing Tip of the Day

“Voice” is an illusive concept, difficult for most of us to define. Over the years I have formed ideas about voice that help keep me from getting stuck.
I think of voice as an extension of the adage, “write what you know.” When a writer is immersed in a world that feels natural and comfortable, the voice will come organically.

When a story is forced or stiff, it is likely lacking the depth needed for the voice to be authentic. If I don’t know anything about boats or the ocean, it’s not likely I can create a believable character who wants to sail around the world.

Voice is not simply the dialogue or a catch phrase the character uses. It is the heart and soul of the character as shown through gestures, actions, thoughts, behaviors, and overall personality. A character must feel real, with strengths, weaknesses, and layers in between.

Creating a unique voice is not like solving a math problem. There is not one right answer or one right way. It can help to read a lot of books in the genre you write. If a story works, and pulls you in emotionally, it’s likely the voice is strong. Take note of specific elements in the story that make the voice unique and meaningful to you as a reader. 

Finally, write, write, write. The more you write, the better you know your character, the stronger the voice!
 

Jess Mowry has been a voice for the voiceless and a champion storyteller for many years. When my agent Mark McVeigh told me he had signed Jess Mowry I was stoked and awed.  Being a huge fan of Jess I immediately asked for an interview and I am so pleased that he agreed.  I give you the legendary Jess Mowry.

When and why did you start writing for children?

I started writing stories for kids at a youth center in Oakland, CA in 1988 because there were very few books and stories the kids could relate to. This was during the first wave of the crack epidemic that had begun to devastate black neighborhoods and it seemed as if no one knew why or how this was happening.

What is the most valuable advice you can give to a newly published writer?

Believe in yourself and keep writing... if that's what you really want to do. If you really want to be published, you will be, but not without a lot of hard work. Writing may be "art," but publishing is a business. Never take rejections personally, they're just a part of the business.

What are some of your favorite children's books that you'd like to recommend?

Wind In The Willows, Lazy Bear Lane, We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea, Captains Courageous, and a lot of long-forgotten "boys stories" from the early twentieth century.

What are you working on now?

A novel for teens, tentatively titled The Bridge. It's about a thirteen-year-old Muslim boy who is questioning his faith, along with many other things that people of his age often question. Matter of fact, I just wrote "END" this morning... which is always a good feeling.

What is your favorite dessert and why?

When I was a little kid my dad used to take me to the Woolworth Luncheonette. I quickly developed a taste for coconut cream pie.

Bio:

Jess Mowry was born in 1960 in Mississippi and raised by his father in Oakland, California. Jess has been a truck driver and heavy equipment operator in Arizona, an engineer on a tugboat in Alaska and has worked on cargo airplanes. Returning to Oakland in 1988, he bought a used typewriter and began writing stories for kids at a local youth center. Today he is the author of twelve novels and two story collections. He also co-wrote the screenplay for a produced, feature-length film based on one of his books. Among his novels are Way Past Cool, Six Out Seven, Phat Acceptance, Babylon Boyz and Voodu Dawgz. His stories have also appeared in anthologies, including In The Tradition, Cornerstones, School Is Not Cool, Follow That Dream, I Believe In Water, Face Relations and Brotherman.

Of his writing Mowry says: "After over thirty years of working with kids and raising four of my own, along with a few strays -- none of whom are in prison or collecting welfare -- not to mention almost twenty years of writing books and stories for and about kids, I've found that it's a lot easier for people to be 'pro-child' about some kids than it is for them to care about and champion 'other' kids. Almost all my stories and books are for and about black kids, who are not always cute and cuddly. My characters often spit, sweat and swear, as well as occasionally smoke or drink. Just like their real-world counterparts, some are 'overweight' and have no desire to be skinny, or may look 'too black,' or are otherwise unacceptable by superficial American values... including some African-American values. Like on-the-real kids, they often live in dirty, violent environments, and are forced into sometimes nasty lifestyles.

"And virtually no one writes books or stories about them -- at least seldom in ways that don't exploit them, and/or don't glorify gangs, guns, drugs and violence. When I first began writing I wanted to write many different kinds of books; adventure novels, and stories about magic and ghosts. These were the kinds of books I grew up reading, though I often wondered why there were no black heroes such as ship captains or airplane pilots... no black Indiana Joneses, Hardy Boys or Hobbits."

From the very beginning, from the birth of our country, men and women have come forward and served. They go, they sacrifice and some never return.  Today we remember them, today we thank them and today we pray for those who continue to serve in the most dangerous of places a safe journey home.

I have known Bruce Hale for many years and I am always struck by how funny, kind and generous he is. He's a huge supporter of the SCBWI and full of great ideas, and I will sit in on any talk or workshop he gives.  Author of the wildly successful Chet Gecko series, Bruce gives us the Writing Tip of the Day.

A CURE FOR STORY STUCK-ITIS
     
Often, I find that when my story bogs down I've lost track of what the character wants or I haven't given her a strong/meaningful enough goal to carry her through. If the character is actively trying to solve a problem, your story will keep moving forward. Of course, it’s one thing to say this and another thing to accomplish it. Here are a few techniques you might try to get unstuck:

• Character journaling: Write journal entries as if you were that main character. Sometimes in the free flow of writing, a new idea will shake loose.

• Interview your character: Write this in Q&A format, with you posing questions and your character answering. Ask what she’s feeling, what she wants – anything that will help you get past the stuck place. The answers might surprise you.

• Brainstorming: It’s vital to do plenty of this before you begin writing.  Sometimes I’ve gotten stuck because I didn’t allow the story idea enough time to gestate before I tried to push it out into the world. Play with the idea before writing. Let it grow organically.

• Dream seeding: Writing is a head game. (And some of us are head cases because of this!) Let your unconscious mind lend a hand. Before you go to sleep, hold the key story question in your mind, whether it’s “What happens next?” “What does she want?” or “How does he get out of this predicament?”
   
And if all that fails, try putting your story aside and working on something else for a week. The brain break may do you good. 
   

If you've got a good manuscript and twenty five bucks and you live anywhere close to Santa Barbara, this is the contest for you.  The prize is full tuition to the 2010 Santa Barbara Writers Conference and a chance to have lunch with an agent.  Here's the information. Note the deadline is June 1, 2009.

SBWC's First Annual Writing Contest 

We're pleased to announce the first annual SBWC Writing Contest in Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry. Winners in each category will receive a
scholarship for tuition to the 2010 Santa Barbara Writers Conference and a grand prize winner will
get a scholarship and the opportunity to have lunch with a top agent during the conference.

Fiction entries can be in any genre. Nonfiction can be essay, article
or memoir. Fiction and nonfiction entries must be no more than 3,000
words. Poets may submit up to five poems, no more than 15 pages total.
Each category will be judged by a team of SBWC workshop leaders and the
winners will be chosen from among the finalists by a noted author. You
can enter as many times as you like in all the categories. If these
guidelines aren't followed, your entry will be disqualified. The cost
is $25 per entry, and the deadline is June 1. The winners will be
announced July 20 and celebrated at a special event later this summer.
 
For fiction and nonfiction, include a cover sheet with author's name,
address, phone number, email address and the title of the submission.
For poetry, please include a cover letter with author's name, contact
information and the titles of all the poems submitted. Stories,
articles and poems should have no identifying information on them
except titles. 

Submission deadline June 1
 
Mail your entries along with a check payable to SBWC to:
 
SBWC Writing Contest
P.O. Box 6627
Santa Barbara, CA 93160

I

When and why did you start writing for children?

In 1985, I wanted to take a detour from my teaching job. I began taking general writing classes at local colleges and at UCLA Extension. I soon discovered that my writing was more appropriate for the children's market.

At first I wanted to write fiction picture books, but after 250+ rejections, my critique group suggested that I try nonfiction. Soon thereafter, I won a third place award for a piece on fireflies. Two years later, that core manuscript was requested by Franklin Watts and eventually became a book entitled ANIMALS THAT GLOW, published in 1993. I was hooked on nonfiction, and I now have twenty-three nonfiction books for readers in grades 3 through 9, issued by three publishers.

What is the most valuable advice you can give to a newly published writer?

Keep writing; try to do school/library presentations. The students and teachers make you feel important. Attend as many conferences as you can.

What is one of your favorite children’s books that you'd like to recommend?

I loved the Nancy Drew mystery series as a child and read most all of them with a flashlight under the covers of my bed. 

What are you working on now?

I have completed, but not sold, a biography on Queen Liliuokalani, last Monarch of Hawaii. I am also working on a series of Skeletons books for elementary school age students, also unsold at the present time.

What is your favorite dessert and why?

I love lemon meringue pie!  It brings back memories of my mom, who made the best!

Judy is a former high school teacher who grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The mother of two grown children, a son and a daughter, she resides with her husband Lance and three cats in Tarzana, California. She earned a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater.

Judy is the recipient of several writing awards and the Jack London Award for meritorious service to the California Writers Club. She has also been a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) for more than 20 years.  Please see Judy's website at www.JudithJandaPresnall.com to view her books.

Jordan is one fabulous place. In traditional Arab fashion, tourists are treated like guests in the homes of Jordanians. When my girlfriends and I were there, we were treated with gracious hospitality by the locals and guides alike.

Jordan is also one of those Middle Eastern countries that has been conquered and occupied  by hundreds of armies over the years. The desert landscape is dotted with castles and walled towns. Qala'at ar-Rabad  is one such castle.  Between Aman and Petra, the ruins still stand tall on the top of a mountain, strategically located for watchmen to spot trouble coming out of the surrounding valleys. Most of this castle was built underground to protect its inhabitants, but I chose to sketch the view from one of the remaining watchtowers.

I met Erica Perl though the Kidlitosphere community. Blogger, author and editor-at-large for Abrams, Erica Perl is one funny lady. Her new book, Chicken Butt, is a scream, and I'm so happy to be part of the Chicken Butt Blog Tour 2009. Erica is also giving away prizes the last day of the tour.  Go to her blog, leave a comment and sign up for the drawing. I give you Erica Perl.

When and why did you start writing for children?

I’ve always written and I’ve always loved children’s books. As a kid, I wanted to be an author-illustrator when I grew up. I’ve had many other jobs along the way (including being a trial lawyer and teaching dog obedience), but I’m pretty thrilled to have accomplished half of what I originally set out to do!

 
For a long time, I wrote but wasn’t sure I wanted to “be a writer” – it seemed too solitary for me. I was pleased to discover that as a children’s book writer, I would have many opportunities to get out and share my work with librarians, teachers, and best of all, children.

What is the most valuable advice you can give to a newly published writer?

Carry your book with you at all times!  You never know who you’ll meet where, and it is very handy to be able to pull it out and show it to people. Read your book wherever people will let you, even if only one kid shows up. Make positive connections with book lovers and purchasers to ensure that people remember you as both a good writer and a genial human being. Because although this is your first book, hopefully it will not be your last!

What is one of your favorite children’s books that you'd like to recommend?

Just one?  That’s hard.  I have a lot of favorites.  Really, I could go on and on.  William Steig’s SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE, Russell Hoban’s BEDTIME FOR FRANCES and all of Arnold Lobel’s books (not just Frog and Toad but OWL AT HOME, SMALL PIG, and GIANT JOHN) are among my favorites from my childhood.  But I love a lot of contemporary authors and illustrators too, like Simon James and Mini Grey and Emily Gravett.  Come to think of it, I have a real affection for the Brits. If I have to pick just one, I’ll say Simon James’s DEAR MR. BLUEBERRY.



What are you working on now?

My first young adult novel, VINTAGE VERONICA, comes out next spring from Knopf.  It’s about a girl working at a secondhand clothing store and getting drawn into the drama of her coworkers’ lives.  I also have a new picture book coming out next spring: DOTTY, illustrated by Julia Denos.  It’s about a girl whose imaginary friend won’t go away. 
Right now I’m working on a series of interconnected stories about two sisters.  If my two daughters ask, please back me up and say that the characters are NOT based on them.



What is your favorite dessert and why?

Meyer lemon tart.  I am drooling at the very thought of it.  Super-tangy and that brilliant egg-yolk yellow.  What’s not to like?

CHICKEN BUTT BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE:

5/4 = Natasha Maw's MAW BOOKS BLOG: http://blog.mawbooks.com/
 
5/5 = Tina Nichols Coury's TALES FROM THE RUSHMORE KID: http://www.tinanicholscouryblog.com/

5/6 = Pam Couglan's MOTHERREADER: http://www.motherreader.com/

5/7 = Kimberly Willis Holt's A PEN AND A NEST: http://www.apenandanest.blogspot.com/

5/8 = Terry Golson's HEN BLOG: http://www.hencam.com/henblog/

5/11 = Elizabeth Bird's FUSE # 8: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1790000379.html
 
5/12 = Shelly Burns' WRITEFORAREADER: http://www.writeforareader.blogspot.com/
 
5/13 = Susan Thomsen's CHICKEN SPAGHETTI: http://www.chickenspaghetti.typepad.com/

Erica S. Perl is an award winning children’s book author. Her first picture book, Chicken Bedtime is Really Early, received a starred review from Booklist and accolades from fans young and old. She followed this success with Ninety-Three In My Family, which received the Reuben Award and was a Book Sense Pick. Erica’s new picture book, Chicken Butt! is illustrated by Henry Cole and has been called “a laugh-out-loud, read-it-again delight for the whole family.” Her first young adult novel, Vintage Veronica, which will be published in Spring, 2010 by Knopf. Erica also writes about children’s books and media for Slate, works as an editor-at-large at Abrams Books for Young Readers and teaches creative writing. Her website is www.ericaperl.com.

The Hunger Games has picked up a ton of awards, including the National Book Award honor, and with good reason. It is one of the best books of the year. It is a fasten-your-seat-belt wild ride that I had to finish in one sitting. I had heard much buzz about this book, but I wasn't prepared for the richness, suspense and emotion of this dark sci-fi/fantasy story. If science fiction isn't your thing, read it anyway. I guarantee you will love it.

Spoiler Alert: If you don't want to know how the story ends, read the book instead of the bog!

The story is set a few hundred years in the future in the country of Panem, a shell of what was once the United States, which had been destroyed by floods, famine and war.  Divided into twelve districts, the country is ruled by a tyrannical government doing little to help its citizens. The people, in fact, are starving.

To keep the people in line and to punish them for a long-ago revolt in district 13 (now obliterated), a lottery is held every year to choose a boy and a girl in each district to participate in the Hunger Games. The Games are a fight to the death between the 24 participants, played out over a number of weeks and televised like a TV reality show.

The story is told by sixteen-year-old Katniss, who struggles to keep her widowed mom and her younger sister alive by illegally hunting outside their fenced town. When her twelve year old sister, Prim, is chosen for the lottery, Katniss volunteers to take her place.

Whisked off to the Capital to be trained and "styled," Katniss is overwhelmed by the hypocrisy and the excesses of the people who live there.  In the Olympic-styled event of the Hunger Games, she is constantly aware of the undercurrent of government evil and the knowledge that only one tribute will survive.

Katniss has an ally in her fellow townsman, Peeta Mellark, and  their stylist promotes the two as a lover's team to draw favor from the crowd.  Katniss plays it up, not knowing that Peeta is secretly in love with her. 

The twenty four tributes are thrown into the arena with only their wits to help them survive.  For weeks in the woods, Katniss fights hunger, thirst and other tributes determined to kill her. Meanwhile, the whole country is watching on live T.V. When the tributes seem too safe or are not doing enough to hunt one another, the government creates life threatening obstacles to force them to fight.

Betrayed by Peeta, Katniss finds solace  in her new ally, Ruth, a small twelve year old from district 11 who reminds her of her sister.  When Ruth is killed, Katniss takes revenge and makes her own first "kill."

Through the twists and turns of the games, Katniss and Peeta are reunited and become the last ones standing. In a show of rebellion, they make a death pact and agree to eat deadly berries so there will be no winner of the Games.  

Love, love, LOVE this book and I can't wait until Book Two!

I heard Neil Gaiman speak at the BEA authors' breakfast in 2008. He was paneled with Jon Scieszka, Judy Blume, Sherman Alexie and Eoin Colfer. Anyone who was there will tell you that it was one of the most hilarious mornings of BEA. It is also where I picked up an advance copy of The Graveyard Book. I adore this book and I was so happy that the Newbery committee thought it was worthy of their award.  I contacted Mr. Gaiman soon after The Graveyard Book won the Newbery, and he was gracious enough to grant me an interview. I am thrilled to have this year's Newbery winner, author and screenwriter Neil Gaiman, give us his insights for the blog.

When and why did you start writing for children?

My first book was for children. I was 21, and when it was finished I sent it to a publisher and it came back with an encouraging rejection slip. 23 years later, after CORALINE and WOLVES IN THE WALLS, I found the ms. in a tub in the attic, and read it, at bedtime, to my daughter Maddy.

There was a single page about 2/3 of the way through that sounded like me, and might have been written by me, but the rest of it was a sad mash-up of J.P.Martin and Noel Langley and others, and it wasn't very good, so I put it back in the attic.

What is the most valuable advice you can give to a newly published writer?

Don't stop now. And listen to advice, but go your own way. (Also, make a point of ignoring any advice  that comes prefaced with the phrase "This is for your own good." It never is.)

What is one of your favorite children's books that you'd like to recommend?

The 1967 edition of Noel Langley's The Land of Green Ginger. I don't know why the 1971 edition happened (it is half a chapter shorter, regularises the capital letters and removes a great deal of the wit) nor why the 1971 edition is the one that occasionally gets reprinted. And you can skip the 1933 edition too, although the pictures are nice. But the 1967 edition was a children's classic.

What are you working on now?

In all of the Newbery/Coraline movie madness I'm now late on 2 short stories, a comic, a film script and a TV script. And I don't know which one of them I'm going to get on with when I stop doing email.

What is your favorite dessert and why?

I love strange fruit -- when you're in a foreign country and someone brings you some fruit you've never seen before because it doesn't travel.

And ice cream. You can't go wrong with ice cream. Well, unless you go to those places that start mashing cake and sweets and whatnot into it.

Biography

Bestselling author Neil Gaiman has long been one of the top writers in modern comics, as well as writing books for readers of all ages. He is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers, and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama.

His New York Times bestselling 2001 novel for adults, American Gods, was awarded the Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stoker, SFX, and Locus awards, was nominated for many other awards, including the World Fantasy Award and the Minnesota Book Award, and appeared on many best-of-year lists.

Gaiman's eagerly awaited new novel for adults, Anansi Boys, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list in September, 2005. About Anansi Boys Gaiman says: "It's a scary, funny sort of a story, which isn't exactly a thriller, and isn't really horror, and doesn't quite qualify as a ghost story (although it has at least one ghost in it), or a romantic comedy (although there are several romances in there, and it's certainly a comedy, except for the scary bits).” An audio version of the entire text of Anansi Boys, as read by UK comedian Lenny Henry, has also been published by HarperAudio in both regular CD and MP3-CD formats. 

The Sundance Film Festival premiere of Mirrormask, a Jim Henson Company Production written by Neil Gaiman and directed by Dave McKean, took place in January 2005. The film was released from Goldwyn/Sony on September 30, 2005. Mirrormask, a lavishly designed book containing the complete script, black and white storyboards, full-color art from the film, and augmented by notes and observations by the creators is published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Mirrormask, a picture book for younger readers, also written by Gaiman and illustrated with art from the movie, was published by HarperCollins Children's Books in October 2005, and The Alchemy of Mirrormask was published by CollinsDesign that same month.

With Roger Avary, Neil Gaiman wrote the script for Beowulf, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie.

Gaiman is co-author, with Terry Pratchett, of Good Omens, a very funny novel about how the world is going to end and we're all going to die, which spent 17 consecutive weeks on the Sunday Times (London) bestseller list in 1990 and has gone on to become an international bestseller. In March 2006, Morrow published a new hardcover edition of the book, including an introduction and other ancillary material from the authors. 

Gaiman was the creator/writer of the monthly cult DC Comics horror-weird series, Sandman, which won nine Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, including the award for best writer four times, and three Harvey Awards. Sandman #19 took the 1991 World Fantasy Award for best short story, making it the first comic ever to be awarded a literary award.  Norman Mailer said of Sandman: "Along with all else, Sandman is a comic strip for intellectuals, and I say it's about time."

His six-part fantastical TV series for the BBC, Neverwhere, aired in 1996. His novel, also called Neverwhere, set in the same strange underground world as the television series, was released in 1997. It appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Locus. Film rights to Neverwhere were bought by Jim Henson Productions; Gaiman has written a draft of the script for the film.

Gaiman's first book for children, The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish, illustrated by Dave McKean, came out in May 1997, was listed by Newsweek as one of the best children's books of the year, and was reissued to acclaim by HarperCollins in 2003.

Stardust, a prose novel in four parts, began to appear from DC Comics in October 1997. Illustrated by Charles Vess, it is a fairy story for adults. The collected DC version appeared in late 1998, and in January 1999 Morrow/Avon released the all-prose unillustrated version of Stardust; it received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, appeared on a number of American bestseller lists, was listed by Publishers Weekly as one of the best books of the year, and was awarded the prestigious Mythopoeic Award as best novel for adults in August 1999.

His most recent collection of short fiction, Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions, was published in 1998. It was nominated in the UK for a MacMillan Silver Pen award as the best short story collection of the year.

Gaiman's 1999 return to Sandman, the prose book The Dream Hunters, with art by Yoshitaka Amano, won the Bram Stoker award for best illustrated work by the Horror Writers Association, and was nominated for a Hugo award.

Two Plays For Voices (2002), an audio adaptation of two of Gaiman's short stories, and starring Brian Dennehy and Bebe Neuwirth, was awarded a 2002 Audie Award by the Audio Publishers Association.

At the end of 2002 Gaiman wrote and directed his first film, in association with Ska Films: a short, dark, funny work called A Short Film about John Bolton, which is available on DVD. In 2006, Gaiman directed his first feature length film, based on his graphic novel Death: The High Cost of Living for New Line Films.

His children's novel Coraline, published in 2002, was also a New York Times and international bestseller and an enormous critical success; it won the Elizabeth Burr/ Worzalla, the BSFA, the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Bram Stoker awards. Henry Selick directed the film Coraline, in theaters now, with music provided by the band They Might Be Giants.

In 2003 The Wolves in the Walls, illustrated by Gaiman's longtime collaborator Dave McKean, was published, and it was named by the New York Times as one of the best illustrated books of the year. It is currently being made into an opera by the Scottish National Theatre. 2003 also saw the appearance of the first Sandman graphic novel in seven years, Endless Nights, which was published by DC Comics and was the first graphic novel to make the New York Times bestseller list.

In 2004, Gaiman published the first volume of a serialized story for Marvel called 1602, which was the bestselling comic of the year, and is currently a Quills Award finalist in the graphic novel category.

Gaiman's work has appeared in translation in dozens of countries around the world. His journalism has appeared in Wired, Time Out London, The London Sunday Times, Punch, The Observer Colour Supplement, and he has reviewed books for the New York Times Book Review and the Washington Post Bookworld.

Tori Amos sings about Neil on her albums Little Earthquakes, Under the Pink, Boys for Pele, and Scarlet's Walk; and Neil has written songs for the Minneapolis band The Flash Girls ("the find of the year and perhaps beyond" -- Utne Reader), for Chris Ewen's The Hidden Variable, and for the band One Ring Zero.

In August 1997 the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a First Amendment organization, awarded Gaiman their Defender of Liberty Award. In 2000 he did the final series of "Guardian Angel" readings, which he began doing for the CBLDF in 1993, and replaced the retiring Frank Miller on the CBLDF Board of Directors. In September 2005 he was one of 17 bestselling authors who, in support of the First Amendment Project, auctioned off the chance to name a character in an upcoming book.

Gaiman's official website, www.neilgaiman.com, now has more than one million unique visitors each month, and his online journal is syndicated to thousands of blog readers every day. Currently, more than 2,500 websites link to his website.

Born and raised in England, Neil Gaiman now lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has somehow reached his forties and still tends to need a haircut.
 

The Pocket Guide to Mischief is Bart King's hilarious how to drive everyone mad with your antics book.  From rubber band duels to mischievous foods, the Pocket Guide is loaded with clever, witty and very naughty fun.  Bart talks directly to the reader as he explains harmless pranks, amusing slights and friendly jabs. 

The art director did a fabulous job, using cool graphic art in red and black. The book expresses Bart's unique sense of humor throughout. It made me roar with laughter,  and I love that it really is the size of a pocket.  It's very entertaining and a great "boy book,"  though I would think twice before unleashing it on some unsuspecting parent. After the kids get hold of it I can't help but think chaos will abound--but much laughter, too.

Here's a photo of Bart that he sent me when he gave me an interview last year.  If gives you a good idea of his sense of humor.

Happy Easter,

Passover,

Spring Break

or whatever

you celebrate

with family

and friends.

I have known June Sobel for many years and was thrilled when she joined my writing group a few years back. Kind, fun and a master critiquer, June agreed to give us a "writing tip of the day."


My writing tip of the day is "Let go!" Letting go is the one of the hardest tasks a writer has to face.

It's hard to let go of a text that still seems forced after six months of rewrites.

It's  hard to let go of that perfect sentence that doesn't move a picture book story along.

It's hard to let go of that character who can't find a place in the world of pages you originally imagined.

It is hard to let go of the time and energy invested in any creative project. This is the pain and the joy of editing. Once you "let go," you are probably closer to your goal than you ever imagined!

June Sobel, a Westlake Village, CA resident, grew up in the Long Island suburb of Oceanside, New York. A graduate of Skidmore College and Stanford University, she renewed her love of the read-aloud magic of children’s books when her son was born. She is the author of 3 picture books: B IS FOR BULLDOZER, SHIVER ME LETTERS and THE GOODNIGHT TRAIN.

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The father leaves home in a quest to find a safe haven for his family, which is living under tyranny--cleverly expressed by the shadows of dragon tails to represent the regime. Through hundreds of illustrations, Shaun shows the father traveling to a new land and going through an Ellis Island type of exam. Then he travels further into this gleaming country and encounters many new friends, also immigrants escaping dangerous countries.

When these new friends describe to the father the terrible places from which they have escaped, Shaun brilliantly changes the color tones of the illustrations from warm sepias to dark,cold grays, expressing visually the emotional angst of their tales.

The passage of time is also expressed visually, through the seasonal changes of a tree.

Eventually the father finds work and saves enough to bring his wife and daughter to live with him. Shaun depicts their arrival with a double page spread, a touching aerial view of the family embracing.

The Arrival has the pacing and drama of a movie and the artwork of a master illustrator. It reminded me that almost all of us living in the United States are immigrants, and that at some point in our family past, our ancestors came here to find a better life.

Buy this fabulous book for yourself and  someone you love.

Today I am hosting posts for Kidlitosphere on Non-Fiction Monday.  Kidlit bloggers and others will offer their best posts for non-fiction. Keep checking back as I update posts all day.

Mary Farrell at StoryForce http://storyforce-storyforce.blogspot.com reviews Matthew Henson, Polar Explorer, a forceful biography by Carole Boston Weatherford and Illustrated by Eric Velasquez.

Ventura Museum, 89 South California Street, Ventura http://www.venturamuseum.org
SHOW RUNS UNTIL JULY 5TH.

 I met Kathy Landwehr at the Ventura/Santa Barbara Mission picturebook retreat this year.  Kathy was gracious and generous with her critiques of first pages.  I am always pleased to interview an editor.  I give you Kathy Landwehr.

 Why? I love the challenges of children’s books. Someone once said that simple isn’t easy, and that’s particularly true of children’s books. Every single word has to count; I like to say that there’s nowhere to hide the mistakes! I love the relationship between the text and the artwork, and the process of figuring out which will convey what sort of information and how. And I love the final product—there’s nothing more wonderful than holding a finished book in my hands and knowing that I played a role in its birth.

What is the most valuable advice you can give to a newly published writer?

Write. Write more. Read. Read more. Talk to other folks. Talk more. It’s so important to keep the balance between the essential solitary time spent writing, and the equally essential time spent figuring out what’s going on out in the world. Each part informs the other.

What is one of your favorite children’s books that you'd like to recommend?

Can I cheat and pick a series? I absolutely adore Harry Horse’s Little Rabbit picture books (www.littlerabbit.net <http://www.littlerabbit.net/> ). The artwork is so marvelous and Harry catches the voice and mindset of a toddler just perfectly.
 
I have a preschooler myself and have probably read Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus approximately ten million times. I never get sick of it and neither does my son. Mo Willems is another person who’s got that voice just right.

What are you working on now?

A marvelous fall 2009 picture book called Mind Your Manners, Alice Roosevelt!, written by Leslie Kimmelman and illustrated by Adam Gustavson. They’re a terrific team—Leslie’s text is hilarious and informative, two of my favorite qualities, and Adam’s artwork… well, let’s just say that Adam sees the world differently from anyone else, and I’m really glad of that. I love his cockeyed view of the world. This title is just about to go to the printer and I can’t wait to see the finished book.

What is your favorite dessert and why?
 
My husband makes something we call Daniel Cake. He found the recipe when I was in the hospital delivering our son Daniel. Tom got so bored waiting for the baby to come that he read every single page of the newspaper—even the food section, where he found this terrific recipe. The original name of the recipe was something like “World’s Best Chocolate Cake,” but it will always be Daniel Cake to us.