I'd like to introduce you to Gabi Greenberg, the star of my new picture book, The Hanukkah Trike. To read more about Gabi and why I wrote about her, ride over to Albert Whitman's Boxcars, Books, & a Blog .
The Hanukkah Trike
August 18 2009
It's Tuesday. Mostly sunny here in Iowa. The kind of late summer day that makes one feel empowered enough to think this might be the day to meet all sorts of goals that would seem down right foolish on a gray, rainy day. A goal like maybe updating one's website.
I did try. I did make one change. But this blog has become my escape route, my backdoor. Visit me here, I wrote on what became the only entry I made on www.michelledwards.com/ I had wanted to write something about my book Alef-Bet, now back in print after many years. The above illustration is from the book. Ah well, you did see it here. And it's on Amazon. And wherever fine books are sold, as my husband is so fond of telling those kind enough to inquire.
Knitters, check out this week's Lion Brand Newsletter for my latest story, Back to School.
Other news to report has to do with owls. The one who showed up in the woodpecker's tree the other night. A glorious specimen. Huge. Commanding. And I think maybe a sign of something grand to come. When I was rewriting Jackson Friends, hoping that Harcourt would finally offer me a contract, I spotted an eagle on my walk. Now an owl. I know what I hope it means. Stay tuned.
Enjoy the last days of summer.
The five authors – Michelle Edwards, Carol Gorman, Jacqueline Briggs Martin, Claudia McGehee, and Anne Ylvisaker - are the members of the Tall Grass Writing Group, an ensemble dedicated to promoting children’s literature by appearing together across Iowa to share the joy of reading. All five live in eastern Iowa.
Jacqueline Briggs Martin’s Snowflake Bentley (Houghton Mifflin, 1998) won the 1999 Caldecott Medal; it’s an illustrated biography W. A. Bentley, a scientist who photographed individual crystals of snow. She has written 15 picture books; her most recent book is Chicken Joy on Redbean Road (Houghton Mifflin, 2007).
Carol Gorman is the author of over forty books for young and younger people, including Games (HarperCollins, 2007) and, most recently, Stumptown Kid (Peachtree Publishers, 2007), a story about baseball, prejudice, and honesty, co-written with Ron J. Findley. Many of Gorman’s books are popular with middle school readers.
Anne Ylvisaker’s most recent book, Little Klein (Candlewick, 2009), won high critical praise. Her earlier novel, Dear Papa (Candlewick, 2007), made Booklist’s Top Ten First Novels for Youth; she has also written numerous non-fiction books for youth about science and the natural world.
Claudia McGehee’s Woodland Counting Book (2006) and Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet (2004), both published by the University of Iowa Press, feature illustrations inspired by our local natural environment. A forthcoming book will focus on birds.
Michelle Edwards wrote and illustrated Chicken Man (New South Books, 2009), which won the National Jewish Book Award. She is also the author of the Jackson Friends series, starting with Pa Lia’s First Day (Harcourt, 2005) and most recently adding Stinky Stern Forever (2007).
Refreshments will be provided and additional copies of several of each author’s books will be available. This is the Haunted Bookshop’s third author event since reopening at 203 North Linn Street earlier this year.
April Showers and Children's Books
I meant to post this several weeks ago. Here's what I have learned about blogging, though. Work comes first. This has been a busy time for me. I'm working on a new book. A huge undertaking. More about that in the coming months. And then there's a new knitting essay, Knitting for Soldiers, which will appear in this weeks Lion Brand Yarn Company Newsletter. On my needles at the moment is a hat for the Ships Project. Also the cardigan from the Mason Dixon Knitters, Knitting Outside the Lines.
Back to the the post I had intended for weeks ago. And children's books. My friend and great supporter, Natalie Blitt, has a blog, Reading Kids are Dreaming Kids. And her last post about my book, Alef-Bet.
Writing and illustrating books can be a lonely buissness. And there's a long wait between when a book is finished and when it comes out in print. I know it may sound a bit trite and over used, but a great review, or any acknowledgment of a book, always means a lot to me.Thank you, Natalie.