The Many Travelers through
The Hundred Acre Wood

Through­out my child­hood, my father and I trav­eled to the local library with a wag­on. He insist­ed that I fill the wag­on as high as we could with books. We went on hun­dreds of jour­neys with some of the most spe­cial char­ac­ters in children’s literature. The adven­tures of Win­nie-the-Pooh and friends in The Hun­dred Acre Wood was and con­tin­ues to offer excit­ing adventures.
more

Pigs Galore

Gracie LaRoo on the Big Screen
This past Sep­tem­ber, after years of writ­ing and teach­ing the writ­ing of real­is­tic YA fic­tion, I was pleased to launch into the world a set of four ear­ly chap­ter books. Not sur­pris­ing­ly, the chal­lenge of telling a sto­ry in 1000 words instead of 60,000 was huge. It was not the only challenge. Instead of focus­ing on a teen girl in tur­moil, I was now writ­ing about a talk­ing pig.… more

Skinny Dip with Barbara O’Connor

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