skinny dip - Bookology Magazine

Skinny Dip with Kara LaReau

October 30, 2018August 16, 2018 by Vicki Palmquist

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

Skinny Dip with Lee Bennett Hopkins

August 4, 2017August 1, 2017 by Vicki Palmquist

You cannot be a part of the children’s literature community without knowing his name. Lee Bennett Hopkins has been writing for children and adults since 1968. His Books Are by People (1969) had a profound effect on me. With his anthologies, he has kept our eyes focused on poetry, knowing how much children love the images and emotions evoked by well-chosen words.… more

Skinny Dip with Cathy Camper

August 15, 2017July 18, 2017 by Vicki Palmquist

Are you fans of the Lowriders graphic novels? We are! And we can’t wait for the next one. The author who thinks up those great stories is Cathy Camper. We invited her to Skinny Dip with the Bookologist … and she said yes! When we asked her pointed questions, here’s what she had to say. Favorite breakfast or lunch as a kid?… more

Skinny Dip with Suzanne Costner

July 6, 2017June 20, 2017 by Vicki Palmquist

We’re thrilled to Skinny Dip with outstanding educator Suzanne Costner, Thanks to Suzanne for answer our questions during her very busy end-of-the-school-year hours. Who was your favorite teacher in grades K-7 and why? My favorite teacher was Mrs. Hill in 4th grade. She read to us every day after lunch: Stuart Little, Where the Red Fern Grows, James and the Giant Peach.… more

Skinny Dip with Aimée Bissonette

July 6, 2017June 6, 2017 by Vicki Palmquist

We’re thrilled to Skinny Dip with Aimée Bissonette, who is the author of two acclaimed picture books so far, North Woods Girl (Minnesota Historical Society Press) and Miss Colfax’s Light (Sleeping Bear Press). Thanks to Aor taking time away from writing and work to answer Bookology’s questions! When did you first start reading books? My best friend, Lyn, taught me to read when I was 5 years old.… more

Skinny Dip with April Whatley Bedford

March 2, 2017 by Vicki Palmquist

We interviewed April Whatley Bedford, lifelong reader, currently the Dean of the School of Education at Brooklyn College. Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop? Can I choose two? I would love to have coffee with Michelle and Barack Obama, either together or individually. I’m sure I’m not alone in this answer, but there are no two people I admire more in the world, and I also believe we would laugh a lot during our conversations.… more

Skinny Dip with Linda Sue Park

March 1, 2017January 18, 2017 by Vicki Palmquist

We interviewed Linda Sue Park, veteran author and Newbery medalist, whose books have inspired children in many ways, appealing to a wide range of readers with books like A Single Shard, The Mulberry Project, Keeping Score, Yaks Yak, and A Long Walk to Water. Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop?… more

Skinny Dip with Caren Stelson

January 3, 2017December 20, 2016 by Vicki Palmquist

We interviewed Caren Stelson, first-time author, whose nonfiction book Sachiko: a Nagasaki Bomb Survivor Story has received a good deal of positive recognition, including the longlist for the National Book Award and inclusion on many Best Books of 2016 lists. (Her name is pronounced just as you would say Karen.) Which celebrity would invite you like to invite to a coffee shop?… more

Skinny Dip with Janet Taylor Lisle

January 18, 2017December 7, 2016 by Vicki Palmquist

For this interview, we chat with Janet Taylor Lisle, Newbery Honor-winning author of Afternoon of the Elves, the Scott O’Dell Award-winning The Art of Keeping Cool, and the thriller Black Duck, along with many other reader favorites. Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop? I’m quite sure Emily Dickinson, shy and secretive as she was, would never invite me to a coffee shop, but perhaps I could slip a note under her door in Amherst, Massachusetts and beg for a visit.… more

Skinny Dip with Ed Spicer

December 7, 2016November 22, 2016 by Vicki Palmquist

For this interview, we visit with Ed Spicer, educator, author, curriculum guide writer, and ALA committee member many times over. Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop? I would love to spend some time in a confidential, friendly chat with Michelle Obama. Which book do you find yourself recommending passionately?… more

Skinny Dip with Candace Fleming

December 24, 2015December 9, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What’s the first book you remember reading? The first book I remember reading on my own is E.B. White’s Stuart Little. I was seven years old and it was the Saturday before Christmas – the day of St. John Lutheran’s annual holiday party. I loved that party! The potluck. The carols. The visit from Santa Claus (really Pastor Frankenfeld in a red suit). … more

Skinny Dip with Vicki Palmquist

September 30, 2015September 16, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What do you wish you could tell your 10-year-old self? A good many things, but most emphatically I would tell myself to not listen to the comments about being too smart or showing off by using big words or being too curious. I have always enjoyed learning about new things and sharing what I’ve learned. I love discussing ideas and unknown-to-me corners of the world and people who have accomplished great things and shown great imagination.… more

Skinny Dip with Augusta Scattergood

September 17, 2015September 9, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What is your proudest career moment? My proudest career moment? Being invited to the American Library Association’s mid-winter conference to introduce my new book. As a career librarian turned middle-grade novelist, it doesn’t get much better than that. I was also honored to have my first novel, Glory Be, which takes place during Freedom Summer, chosen by several groups highlighting the fiftieth anniversary of that event.… more

Skinny Dip with Avi

August 26, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What keeps you up at night? Meeting deadlines. What is your proudest career moment? When, after fourteen years of trying to write, I published my first book, Things that Sometimes Happen (1970). In what Olympic sport would you like to win a gold medal? I don’t know if the game of Squash is part of the Olympics, but if so, that would be it.… more

Skinny Dip with Lynne Jonell

August 19, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

Favorite holiday tradition? One of my favorite things ever is when we sit around the table at Thanksgiving and take turns telling what we are particularly thankful for, that year. I get a little choked up, especially when I listen to my sons. Were you a teacher’s pet or teacher’s challenge? I was a teacher’s pet up through sixth grade, and then teacher’s nightmare thereafter.… more

Skinny Dip with Virginia Euwer Wolff

June 24, 2015June 17, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What’s your favorite holiday tradition? I have so many favorites. One of them is the hanging of the Christmas stockings. My aunt made felt and appliqué stockings for my two tiny children in the 1960s. Thirty years later, my daughter made felt and appliqué stockings for her husband, their two children, and me. She designed the appliqué motifs to reflect each family member.… more

Skinny Dip with Maryann Weidt

December 13, 2015June 10, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What’s your favorite holiday tradition? I love getting together with my children—all grown-ups now—at Christmas. My daughter-in-law majored in ‘entertaining’ and she always has ‘Poppers’ and we always play games. One year she taped a question on the bottom of each plate. Questions like these: What is the best Christmas present you ever received—and we each had a chance to answer the question.… more

Skinny Dip with Nancy Loewen

December 13, 2015May 20, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What keeps you up at night? At various times: Panera’s iced green tea; the sound of my 18-year-old daughter raiding the fridge; playing Sudoku on my phone; and, as with everyone, a head full of this-and-that. What is your proudest career moment? I’m going to reach way back for this one, more than 20 years ago.… more

Skinny Dip with Karen Cushman

June 6, 2015May 13, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What’s your favorite holiday tradition? Phil is Jewish so we celebrate Hanukkah. I light the house with candles—one hundred or so white candles of all sizes and shapes. It looks beautiful but makes the house very, very warm. Were you a teacher’s pet or teacher’s challenge? Oh, teacher’s pet, without a doubt. I was too nervous to misbehave, smart enough to learn quickly, and quiet enough not to show off (see question #5).… more

Skinny Dip with Marion Dane Bauer

June 6, 2015May 6, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What is your proudest career moment? My proudest career moment I suppose should be the day in 1986 when On My Honor won a Newbery Honor Award. But though that was the moment that changed my career more than any other, it’s not my proudest. My proudest was when I was just beginning writing, had finished my first novel and had no idea whether what I was doing had any value at all.… more

Skinny Dip with Sharon Chmielarz

June 6, 2015April 29, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What keeps you up at night? Nothing keeps me up at night (knock on wood). I have a couple of glasses of red wine, then shower (usually), hit the mattress, do some leg exercises, and I’m a goner until the next morning. If I slip from that routine and drink something with caffeine too close to 6:30 pm or so, then it’s a different story.… more

Skinny Dip with Elizabeth Verdick

June 6, 2015April 22, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What keeps you up at night? Reading much, much too late! What is your proudest career moment? In 2005 I won the Henry Bergh Award, which honors books that recognize the need to treat animals with kindness and caring (for my book Tails Are Not for Pulling). I got to stand on a stage in New Orleans with Norman Bridwell, author/illustrator of the Clifford books.… more

Skinny Dip with Margo Sorenson

June 6, 2015April 15, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What is your proudest career moment? My proudest career moment was doing my first author visit at Hale Kula Elementary School, Wahiawa, HI, the Schofield Barracks elementary, where I spoke to 200 kindergarteners and their parents, many of whom were in cammies, about Aloha for Carol Ann. Tears came to my eyes as I watched the parents and kids interact in the activity the librarian (SLJ Librarian of the Year Michelle Colte) had designed for them, based on my book.… more

Skinny Dip with Joanne Anderson Reisberg

June 6, 2015April 8, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What is your proudest career moment? I entered a Writer's Digest Contest and received an Achievement Certificate for having placed 37th out of 100 in 'picture books." I felt thrilled to be included, and then I read the contest had received 11,000 entries in 5 different categories. Woo Hoo. Describe your favorite pair of pajamas ever When I was ten, I received an outrageous pair of silk pajamas from a childless aunt in Chicago.… more

Skinny Dip with Lisa Bullard

June 6, 2015April 4, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What keeps you up at night? I don’t need anything to keep me up at night—I am almost always up at night no matter what! When I have morning obligations, I force myself to go to bed at a reasonable time. But when I have a few days in a row where I don’t have to get up “early,” my bedtime slips to a later and later time—until I am regularly staying up until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning.… more

Skinny Dip with Melissa Stewart

June 6, 2015April 1, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What keeps you up at night? Nothing. I fall asleep the instant my head touches the pillow, and I’m probably the world’s soundest sleeper. Describe your all-time favorite pair of pajamas. When I was in college, I spent a term at the University of Bath in Bath, England, and rented a room at a house nearby.… more

Skinny Dip with David LaRochelle

June 6, 2015March 25, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

Favorite holiday tradition? Without a doubt my favorite holiday tradition is carving pumpkins. It has become such a trademark of mine that people start asking in September what I plan to carve for the upcoming Halloween. I’ve learned to jot down possible pumpkin ideas in my sketchbook throughout the year, but it usually comes down to crunch time (the week before Halloween) before I finally decided on the 4-6 pumpkins I carve each year.… more

Skinny Dip with Nikki Grimes

December 13, 2015March 11, 2015 by Marsha Qualey

What keeps you up at night? My brain! I can't shut it off. I'm constantly bombarded with thoughts about what's on my to-do list (I live or die by the list), what arrangements I need to make for the next conference, book festival, or school visit; what work I need to do to elevate the relationships of my characters or ways to make them more authentic; what manuscript I need to concentrate on next (I'm always juggling three or four at one time).… more