This season, if you visit Minneapolis’ Midtown Farmers Market, you’ll stroll by a harvest of picture books by Minnesota authors: Picture Book Parade—a new initiative by children’s authors Sarah Warren and Catherine Urdahl.
It’s been a month since I’ve seen my grandchildren, who live five hours away—a month since we’ve snuggled up with our favorite books. For me, a month is a long time.
As a child, I was shy and scared — of other kids, dogs, almost anything outside my fence. My parents enrolled me in preschool, hoping I’d blossom. I refused to get out of the car. I had everything I needed at home, including a mom who loved reading to me. My first book memory is Three Bedtime Stories: The Three Little Kittens, The Three Little Pigs, The Three Bears, illustrated by Garth Williams.
World War II spy Virginia Hall was born and raised on a farm in Maryland. Her parents took her abroad when she was three, awakening a life-long fascination with travel and adventure. She was in France when Hitler was recognized as the threat he was. When Germany overtook France, she became a part of the French Resistance. She used the skills she learned on her family farm to disguise herself as a humble milkmaid who couldn’t possibly be a spy.… more
What’s your proudest career moment?
I had just started doing author visits and was at a small school that serves a high-risk population of students from preschool through eighth grade. I started with the little ones, and it went well. I had this. Then a group of TALL sixth through eighth graders sauntered in. They slumped in their seats and looked away.… more