Kate Messner's Blog, page 40

WHITE CAT by Holly Black

Let's see...where to start with this one...

Well, first of all, there is the fact that Holly Black's name looks so cool on the cover of a book called WHITE CAT.  But focusing on that too long is doing the inside of the book a disservice.  Because it's fantastic - one that teachers will want to hand kids looking for a compelling, fast-paced read.

Set in a world where a touch can be powerful and deadly, WHITE CAT is a magical thriller, loaded with curses, organized crime families, and con artists...

Writing Through Fear, Part II: What's a writer to do?

Thank you for your GREAT responses to the middle school author whose email I shared on the topic of writing even when you are afraid.  If you've ever struggled with this challenge, check out some of this great wisdom from the comments...

Delilah Dawson points out that this can be even more of a challenge with a second book:

The first book is written and going out into the world; how will the second book measure up? What if I lose the momentum? Or worse-- the magic? And yet when I actually sit d...

Writing Through Fear: a letter from a middle school author

I am working on a new project right now -- one that is shiny and full of the kind of promise that makes me both excited...and scared. Fear and I  are old friends when it comes to writing; we meet every book, right about now...as I hit Chapter 3 and wonder if this new idea is really is good as I hope it is, and if I'm really a good enough writer to pull it off.

So I was already thinking about that when I got an email this week from a middle school writer whose school I visited a while ago. I wr...

IRA Presentation: Lively! An Author's Take on Virtual Classroom Visits

For those who were at my IRA talk on Skype author visits in Chicago this week (and those who weren't!)  here is my presentation via SlideShare. You'll need to imagine me talking about most of the slides, but the links on the "Resources" pages are all live and should be helpful to teachers, librarians, and authors interested in Skype visits!

More IRA Photos: Author friends, a school visit, and the airport museum

I am home after a whirlwind trip to the International Reading Association Convention in Chicago, and I have a few last photos to share.

After a crazy-busy day of presenting and signing on Monday, I met up with the other Walker/Bloomsbury folks in the lobby to head to dinner. It's always so much fun to chat with other writers & illustrators, some of whom I'd never met or only met online until this week.  Danette Haworth, the author of VIOLET RAINES ALMOST GOT STRUCK BY LIGHTNING and the forthco...

IRA Day Two: Skyping Authors, Signing Authors, and Book-Spotting

This morning started early, with a really great tomato-mushroom-spinach omelet and a cab ride to a convention center that was already swarming with excited teacher-librarian-reader-author-publisher types. My presentation on Skype author visits was part of the Teachers' Choice Symposium; here's our whole crew.


From left to right: Kate Klimo, Shannon Hale, me, Kathy Erskine, Marjorie Podzielinski and Suzanne Jenson from the Teachers' Choice Committee.

Kate started us off with a great talk about w...

IRA Day One: Rain, Dinner, & Big Plans

Technically, the International Reading Association Convention in Chicago starts today, so today should be Day One, but since I arrived in town yesterday, I'm taking liberties.  Getting here itself was a bit of a trick, since Chicago was so rainy and foggy yesterday that the tops of the skyscrapers were swallowed up in clouds. My flight was delayed about an hour and a half, and from what I've seen on Twitter, I was one of the lucky ones. So many tweets from authors & teachers stuck in airports...

Thankful Thursday (with particular gratitude to the ABC!)

Just as I was about to leave school today, I checked my email, and author Katie Davis had forwarded an announcement from the Association of Booksellers for Children.  Her only additional note: "OMG!! Kate!!!"  

I scrolled down and discovered that THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. was one of four books for middle grade readers chosen for the E.B. White Read Aloud shortlist!  The E.B. White Read Aloud Award is a project of the Association of Booksellers for Children, to honor books that are terrif...

WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON by Grace Lin

There have already been many, many amazing reviews of this book, and there's that shiny Newbery Honor seal on the cover, too, so I'll just say this. 

WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON may be the most perfect bedtime read-aloud ever.   The characters, the rich, beautiful language, the magical and quiet moments...it is just a treasure.  My daughter and I have been enjoying it so, so much, and every time we close the book, I find myself glancing at how much is left, sorry that it will be over on...

Good News Tuesday

I am declaring today Good News Tuesday.  (Blogs are lovely that way, aren't they? You can just decide on such things late in the day, and even if no one's reading, it feels official.)  Here's my thought...

Good news comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and sometimes, we forget to celebrate the small stuff.  So this is an invitation to do that. If you have some good news to share -any kind of good news - post it in the comments, okay?  Here's my contribution:

Good News Item #1. The tulips wai...