author
Skinny Dip with Pamela S. Turner
For this interview, we visit with Pamela S. Turner, children’s book author with two new books out in 2016, Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune and Crow Smarts: Inside the Brain of the World’s Brightest Bird:
Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop?
Sir Richard Francis Burton, the Victorian anthropologist, translator, linguist, and African explorer.… more
Sir Richard Francis Burton, the Victorian anthropologist, translator, linguist, and African explorer.… more
A Bit of Noise
I really do like the coffee shop for writing. That little bit of noise and movement takes up just a little of my attention ...
Marsha Wilson Chall and Jill Davis
I recently had the honor of interviewing Marsha Wilson Chall, the author of the new picture book, The Secret Life of Figgy Mustardo, and her editor, Jill Davis.
Marsha Wilson Chall grew up an only child in Minnesota, where her father told her the best stories. The author of many picture books, including Up North at the Cabin, One Pup’s Up, and Pick a Pup, Marsha teaches writing at Hamline University’s MFAC program in St.… more
Skinny Dip with Mélina Mangal
For this interview, we visit with Mélina Mangal, children’s book author and librarian:
What’s your favorite late-night snack?
My favorite ANYTIME snack is white cheddar popcorn.
Most cherished childhood memory?
Roaming through the north woods, climbing trees with my sister and brothers. I loved being outdoors so much.
Illustrator’s work you most admire?… more
Bluetooth Guy
In which our mild-mannered heroine is pitted against the dreaded coffee shop Bluetooth Guy...
Eileen Ryan Ewen
Miss Colfax's Light is a perfect example of the text and illustrations enhancing each other to make a picture book biography that is more than the sum of its parts. With our interview, we hope to help you look more deeply at Eileen Ryan Ewen's illustrations.
Aimée Bissonette
In this interview with Aimée Bissonette, author of Miss Colfax’s Light, our Bookstorm™ this month, we asked about writing and researching this nonfiction picture book biography.
Aimée, thank you for sharing your experiences and discoveries with our readers. We’re excited about this book that showcases an Everyday Hero, one of America’s female lighthouse keepers.… more
Aimée, thank you for sharing your experiences and discoveries with our readers. We’re excited about this book that showcases an Everyday Hero, one of America’s female lighthouse keepers.… more
Skinny Dip with April Halprin Wayland
Today we welcome author and educator April Halprin Wayland to Bookology. Her most recent picture book, More Than Enough, is a story about Passover. April was one of nine Instructors of the Year honored by the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, Creative Writing.
Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop?
I would LOVE to have coffee (one-shot latte with extra soy, extra foam) with Crockett Johnson, author/illustrator of Harold and the Purple Crayon but most notably for me, author/illustrator of Barnaby, a comic strip that ran during WWII (actually 1942-1952).… more
Skinny Dip with Polly Carlson-Voiles
Today we welcome author Polly Carlson-Voiles to Bookology. Her book, Summer of the Wolves, has been a favorite adventure story with middle grade readers, a recent contender for the Maud Hart Lovelace Award.
Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop?
Jane Goodall.
Which book do you find yourself recommending passionately?… more
Skinny Dip with Eric Rohmann
Today we welcome author, illustrator, and Caldecott medalist Eric Rohmann to Bookology. He agreed to give us the skinny on several topics of vital importance.
Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop?
Darwin, Newton, William Blake … and so many others I’ll need a big coffee shop.
Which book do you find yourself recommending passionately?… more
Skinny Dip with Bobbi Miller
Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop?
My definition of celebrity is someone whom I admire, who I think has contributed to society in his actions or words. To me, celebrity is more than a pretty face. He does more than recite words that someone else wrote, acting out a story that someone else has planned out and directs.… more
Skinny Dip with Barbara O’Connor
Which book do you find yourself recommending passionately?
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant. I read it at a time when I was struggling to find my writing voice. I was so struck by the strong sense of place in that book. It was obvious that West Virginia was Rylant’s heart’s home. So I decided to write stories that were set in my heart’s home—the South—and specifically the Smoky Mountains.… more
Skinny Dip with Caroline Starr Rose
Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop?
Author L.M. Montgomery, of Anne of Green Gables fame. I’ve read all of her books several times over, including the journals she kept from fourteen until the time of her death. In fact, I’ve committed to revisiting Maud’s journals every ten years.… more
Lisa Bullard: My Not-So-Overnight Success
Early on, when people would ask my kid self what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d answer “Shoe Salesperson.” But then I discovered that feet sometimes smell, and I moved on to a different dream: Book Writer.
I could invent a great story and tell you that I crafted a long-term plan to realize my dream. But instead, this is a tale of false starts and misdirected wanderings.… more
Skinny Dip with Michael Hall
What is your proudest career moment?
Several months before the publication of my book, Red: A Crayon’s Story, The Wall Street Journal published an editorial bemoaning the “gender industrial complex,” “cultural warriors,” and books—including mine—“that seek to engage the sympathies of young readers … and nudge the needle of culture.” I had written something good enough to provoke the wrath of the WJS editorial page.… more
Stephanie Greene
Is the “impossible game” something you ran across or is it something you invented?
I read about it on a blog or the Internet, I can’t remember. I try to keep abreast of what six-year-olds are doing by talking to my nieces, who have little girls, or friends who do, or the children on the street where we live – anywhere I can find information.… more
The Classics, Galdone-Style
by Vicki Palmquist
Are you looking for a shower or baby gift that will be appreciated for a long time? A good birthday present for a young child?
The Folk Tale Classics Treasury, interpreted and illustrated by Paul Galdone (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2013), is a good place for parents to start with retellings of western European folk tales.… more