Welcome to my Blog!
This is where I put my musings that don’t make it into my paper journal. I try to write about things that might interest other writers and readers, including reviews of MG books I’ve been reading.
“Prairie Lotus” a New Take on Laura Ingalls Wilder
Anyone who loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books will want to read Linda Sue Park’s latest story, “Prairie Lotus.” Park is a Newbery-award-winning author who grew up in the Chicago area. She, too,...
A Tiger in the Basement: Tae Keller’s Amazing Book Wins the Newbery!!
“When You Trap a Tiger,” by Tae Keller, is for middle grade readers on the older end of the category. For those readers, I predict this story will whack many of them in the heart. It’s a story that...
Pauli Murray VS the Proud Boys
I have been working on a biography of Dr. Pauli Murray (1910-1985) for middle-grade readers for several years now. Dr. Murray was a remarkable human being who confronted white (male) supremacy all...
Thou Shalt Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Dog, Except…
Recently I’ve read two books that have dogs in their center. I realize dogs are not a new literary device, but these books made me especially appreciate the power of a dog in a child’s life and in a...
More To The Story: Saving Savannah
Savannah Riddle is bored, she is discontent. Fancy dresses, fine dining, charming young men paying her attention, none of it thrills her as it used to. Her parents expect her to be an ornament in...
The Power of Poetry: Nikki Grimes’s Latest
Nikki Grimes’s latest book, “Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance,” has many outstanding elements to it. Grimes features poems written by women during the Harlem Renaissance (roughly...
A Fresh Start! January = Time to ReBoot
This started out as my November newsletter, but election news distracted me. Then it was my December newsletter, but holidays distracted me, and so here we are, not only in a new month but in a new...
Lift As You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker
“Lift As You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker” by local author Patricia Hruby Powell and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, just came out this spring and is the latest addition to a growing and...
How Writing is Like Sailing
Sailing in the Flying Scot North American Championships Writing well is hard. So many elements go into it: pacing, structure, vocabulary, voice, not using filter words (words like feel/smell/saw). I...
A Sporting Chance: How Ludwig Guttmann Created the Paralympic Games
“A Sporting Chance: How Ludwig Guttmann Created the Paralympic Games,” by Lori Alexander, is an outstanding book about someone who made a phenomenal difference in countless lives. Although I was...
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