Storyteller adept Susan Fletcher’s mind has given us The Dragon Chronicles, Alphabet of Dreams, the startling Falcon in the Glass, and most recently Journey of the Pale Bear. As you’ll read below, she has traveled to amazing locations and had enviable experiences as she researched her novels. Susan taught at the Vermont College of Fine Arts’ Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program but now she lives full-time in Texas.… more
To begin our year of Skinny Dippin’ for 2020, and in the coldest month of the year (brrrrr), we interviewed Caroline B. Cooney, the author of so many beloved books.
This month we welcome author Cheryl Minnema to our Skinny Dip tradition, learning more about this Ojibwe author who has published two picture books, Hungry Johnny and Johnny’s Pheasant.
We’re pleased to welcome author and poet Brian P. Cleary for a Skinny Dip this month. His books have made kids guffaw and chortle, all while learning parts of grammar or math! Impossible, you say? Not for Brian, whose brain just works this way.
One of my all-time favorite books is Up North at the Cabin. There is something quintessential about the cabin experience for many people who live in the Upper Midwest. This book, by our Skinny Dippin’ author Marsha Wilson Chall, has engaged readers and listeners for 27 years! Marsha has created many picture books that showcase her storytelling talents, including Bonaparte, One Pup’s Up, and The Secret Life of Figgy Mustardo.… more
We’re pleased to welcome author and illustrator Kenneth Kraegel for a Skinny Dip this month. His newest book, Wild Honey from the Moon, is due to be published on November 5, 2019. School Library Connection said, “The rich and luscious illustrations are what make this book so special; readers will want to examine every detail on every page.… more
Bookology is delighted to welcome author Sarah Sullivan for an October Skinny Dip. Look for Sarah’s A Day for Skating, illustrated by Madeline Valentine (Candlewick Press, available November 5th), a lovely book to read out loud before you go skating or to explain what skating is. Sarah’s picture book Passing the Music Down is a much-praised story about old-time fiddlers inspired by the lives of renowned fiddlers Melvin Wine and Jake Krack.… more
We’re pleased to welcome author Carla Killough McClafferty to our Skinny Dip column. She is known for her fine and carefully researched nonfiction books, such as The Many Faces of George Washington: Remaking a Presidential Icon; Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium; Fourth Down and Inches: Concussions and Football’s Make-or-Break Moment and her most recent Buried Lives: The Enslaved People of George Washington’s Mount Vernon.… more
We’re pleased to welcome author Padma Venkatraman, whose every novel I have found delightful. Her perspectives as a world citizen and an oceanographer and a person who cares fervently about children’s well-being give a powerful depth to her writing. We asked Padma to answer the Skinny Dip questions that appealed to her:
How many bookcases do you have in your house?… more
We’re pleased to welcome author Nicola Davies to our Skinny Dip column. She writes such fine books about our natural world. Her most recent book, The Day War Came (Candlewick Press), relates the story of a refugee child who realizes that war follows her in the closed doors and turned backs. It is through the kindness of other children that she finds hope.… more
We’re pleased to connect you with author (and editor) Kara LaReau, whose two book series, The Infamous Ratsos and The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters, are tickling readers’ funnybones and stirring their sense of adventure. She was an editor for ten years, editing some of our most-loved books such as Because of Winn-Dixie and the Mercy Watson series.… more
Have you read the Quinnie Boyd middle-grade mysteries? The Maypop Kidnapping, Vampires on the Run, and A Side of Sabotage? I discovered them this spring and I stayed up several nights to read them. The author of those books, C.M. Surrisi, is just as interesting as you’d think the writer who dreamed up Quinnie, her friends, and her village in Maine would be.… more
We are pleased to Skinny Dip with Phuoc Thi Minh Tran this week. As a librarian, author, storyteller, and mother, she adds her perspective to the richly textured quilt of books for children.
What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever read a book?
In the hospital, I read my newly released book My First Book of Vietnamese Words : An ABC Rhyming Book of Language and Culture to my 94-year-old father-in-law as a bedtime story.… more
We are so fortunate to have dedicated and inspiring librarian educators working with children in many schools throughout our land. Becky Kruger not only serves as the librarian at Ray Miller Elementary School in Missouri but she also helps organize the annual Truman State University Children’s Literature Festival.
Which book you read as a child has most influenced your life?… more
Pat Schmatz is the smart, well-read, insightful, and talented author of books such as Lizard Radio, Mousetraps, Bluefish, and her most recent The Key to Everything. She occasionally teaches writing, especially to middle school and high school students. If you have a chance, attend one of her classes.
What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever read a book? … more
