I did not want another cat. Not even a little bit. This house is too small. But we didn’t find her. She found us. She followed the boys home from a walk. And so we have a new member of the family, it would seem. She’s a licker. Read More »

Hey! Because I have way too much time on my hands and nooooo writing to do (groan)… My friend Rebekah (writer, teacher, musician, mom, all around clever girl) and I have started a new blog over here, at CITY WE LOVE! The idea is to capture, in moments and pictures and daily descriptions, what we find so wonderful about southeast Atlanta. Read More »

And then sometimes you figure something out, and defrost some chili, and keep at it… Read More »

And then sometimes… You have a book due in a week, and you are going around and around in circles, trying to Figure. It.Out. Read More »

Okay, so I’m writing this book called Seven Stories Up. A fun middle grade romp! (as you can see from the related illustration above) In it, a girl named Annie is living in 1987 Atlanta. Until, through a strange series of events, she isn’t anymore. Suddenly she’s living in 1937 Baltimore. Read More »

I don’t know a single writer who hasn’t got a drawer full of manuscripts, books that won’t be published for one reason or another. One of my own such books is “The Neglected Holiday Songbook.” A book of tiny silly songs for all the holidays that don’t have enough music to celebrate them. Groundhog’s Day, Thanksgiving, Arbor Day, etc. Read More »

I just got UNSHELVED!!! Read More »

Because I am physically incapable of walking past a political debate, whether I know anything or not (this is a crippling disease, people), I feel the need to chime in on this brouhahahahahahaha , concerning the fact that the ALA very often awards the Caldecott to men. I am, generally, a raging knee-jerk feminist. Read More »

I tend to add the edited-out-words back in. Just so you know…   (me, reading a chapter from Bigger than a Bread Box, at the Sanibel Island Writers’ Conference. Read More »

When writing a book, I almost always have a quote I stare at. For Bigger than a Bread Box we weren’t allowed to use the quote in the front matter of the book. It was: “Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true?” (Springsteen) For the new book, Seven Stories Up, I’m staring at three quotes now. Read More »

I got an email recently, from a high school student. She was interested in writing for kids, and wanted to ask me questions about college, grad school, and publishing. I cheered her on with her writing, and warned her of the perils, as one must. Then she wrote back, asking if I would be willing to answer a questionaire for a project at school. Read More »

I woke up this morning to see that the Sydney Taylor Awards had been announced. Recently, the National Jewish Book Awards were also announced. And I love the books on these lists, I do! I love that we have these awards. Read More »

  Today is my birthday. I was born 38 years ago today, in Baltimore. It was snowing. I don’t remember it at all. I had a lot of birthday parties as a kid. All of them in Baltimore. One year my California-grandfather brought a pinata to our house in Govans. One year, in a rowhouse on TV Hill, I had a taffy pull, just like in Little House. Read More »

  I know I’ve talked about my skype visits on this blog. Here’s what it looks like, from where I sit. Read More »

Okay, so I have to begin by saying that I AM NOT A TEACHER. There are brilliant people out there in the trenches (to whom we owe a great debt) who are , and they know a lot about this stuff. I fear what I am about to say will seem stupid to them. Read More »

Just in case you’re here because you followed a link from SLJ about Walter Dean Myers, I thought you might like to read the full quote …. here it is: The most problematic thing to me about this kind of article is that it sets the “urban experience” in opposition to “quality books. Read More »

I am… I am predicting the Newbery and Caldecott. Why is that hard to believe? Well… See, here’s the thing… When you are an author of books for kids, you spend a lot of time at festivals and conferences with other writers (and illustrators). You get to know and love these great people, who also happen to also be your heros. Read More »

As I type this, I’m sitting beside a window, still in my pajamas, drinking coffee. On the other side of the window, Mose and Lew are playing “football” with their dad. I can hear them all hooting and screaming and running. At one point a little while ago, they “paused the show” to catch a snake. The snake is now inside, with me. In a box. Read More »

2012? It’s about to be 2012? How is that remotely possible? Every year moves faster, doesn’t it? Decades seem to be flying by. My babies aren’t babies anymore. My new house is no longer new. It’s insane… And yet, so what? Each year is different, wonderful in its way. 2011 was pretty great. Nothing hugely major happened. THAT was noteworthy. Read More »

  Our “Judaica” collection includes a lot of things made from play-doh, two menorahs upcycled from old bike chains, and Mose’s famous “wax museum. Read More »