I can’t believe I haven’t written about this book already! I found it several years ago, and it’s been a favorite to give as a gift to my nieces. Title: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Author: Grace Lin Genre: fantasy/folklore Age group: middle grade Summary: Minli lives in a small village in the shadow […]
This is one of those books I’m really happy to blog about because I enjoyed it so much, and I think adults can feel confident handing it to the teens and preteens in their lives. Title: The Running Dream Author: Wendelin Van Draanen Genre: contemporary realistic fiction Age group: YA Synopsis: High school junior Jessica […]
Today I have the pleasure of helping YA author Melanie Dickerson reveal the cover for her upcoming novel The Captive Maiden due out October 22. Isn’t it gorgeous? The Captive Maiden is a re-telling of the Cinderella story. Melanie is one of my fellow American Christian Fiction Writers, so you can be sure this story […]
Yesterday, I received an email from the firm handling publicity for my upcoming Chicken Soup for the Soul book. (You’ll notice how I call it my Chicken Soup for the Soul book even though my writing only takes up four pages. 🙂 ) I have to admit I never really thought about publicity much before. […]
Like many of the books I’m reading this summer, this novel is on the summer reading list at my school and is also on the 2014 Rebecca Caudill nominee list. I’ll admit that I judged the book by its cover: Viking/pirating ships on a stormy sea are not my usual go-to sort of reading material. […]
I had the pleasure of hearing Ms. Woodson speak at the International Reading Association conference in May 2012. She spoke during the young adult literature luncheon, a time for those of us who love YA books to hear one of our favorite authors speak while eating a delicious lunch. Title: Feathers Author: Jacqueline Woodson Genre: historical fiction (1971) […]
Yesterday a large box was waiting for me at my door. (Isn’t that an exciting thing to find, ripe with possibilities? What’s inside? Did I order something and forget? Did someone send me something?) Yes, someone did send me something. It’s my advanced author copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul: From Lemons to Lemonade. My story […]
This book is on the summer reading list for the incoming seventh graders at my school. The teacher picked it out because the students will be studying medieval England during seventh grade. Title: Crispin: The Cross of Lead Author: Avi Genre: historical fiction Age group: middle grade Synopsis: The year is 1377. A thirteen-year-old boy, known only […]
I picked up this book because it’s on one of the summer reading lists at my school. The teacher who chose it did so because it’s on the 2014 Rebecca Caudill nominee list. When I saw it at the bookstore, I looked at its cover and thought, “Oh, this looks like it will be a […]
For the last two Wednesdays, I’ve been posting about Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Campbell studied stories from mythologies around the world and found that the hero stories had certain common elements. The first phase is the separation phase. This is followed by the initiation phase. Today we’ll discuss the third and […]
