Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 106

Cynsational News & Giveaways

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Interview with Sharon Gibney by E.M. Kokie from The Pirate Tree. Peek: "As a teen, I didn’t see very much at all being written about mixed race identity — particularly in fiction that teens are reading. And I definitely didn’t see transracial adoption being dealt with in a nuanced, complex way that felt real to me as a young person living through that experience."

Writing Enslaved Narratives by Don Tate from The Brown Bookshelf. Peek: "...as a kid, I never...

Guest Post & Giveaway: Greg Leitich Smith on Time Travel & Tracking Dinosaurs

Borrowed Time launch party at BookPeople in AustinBy Greg Leitich Smith
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

There’s a line from the first "Jurassic Park" movie to the effect that the place has all the problems of a major theme park and a major zoo.

I sort of feel the same way about writing time travel fiction: You have all the major problems of historical fiction and all the major problems of science fiction/fantasy.

And in writing a dinosaur time travel novel, I found, to my surprise, that of...

New Voice: Christine Hayes on Mothman’s Curse

Mothman Selfie SheetBy Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Christine Hayes is the first-time author of Mothman's Curse, illustrated by James K. Hindle (Roaring Brook, 2015). From the promotional copy:

Josie may live in the most haunted town in America, but the only strange thing she ever sees is the parade of oddball customers that comes through her family’s auction house each week. 

But when she and her brothers discover a Polaroid camera that prints pictures of the ghost of local recluse...

Guest Interview: Author Eric Pinder on Writing Picture Books & How to Share With a Bear

By Gayleen Rabakukk
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

Eric Pinder is the author of four picture books and four adult nonfiction books. His most recent release is How to Share With a Bear, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2015). From the promotional copy:

The perfect thing to do on a chilly day is to make a cave. But comfy caves never stay empty for long….

What can you do when a bear takes over your cave? Try to distract him with a trail of blueberries? Some hone...

Book Trailer: My Dog Is The Best by Laurie Ann Thompson and Paul Schmid

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Check out the book trailer for My Dog Is The Best by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Paul Schmid (FSG, 2015).

From the promotional copy:

What do you get when you combine one energetic, enthusiastic little boy with his sleepy but tolerant dog? Unconditional love. 

Using simple words and spare illustrations, My Dog Is the Best celebrates the special bond that exists between a young child and a beloved family pet. It's the heartwarming story of two bes...

Cynsational News & Giveaways

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Five Questions for Tim Wynne-Jones by Elissa Gershowitz and Sam Bloom from The Horn Book. Peek: "For years I had wanted to write a World War II book to honor my father, whose experience of the war in Europe scarred him."

Someone Is Publishing Your Idea by Mary Kole from Kid Lit. Peek: "...you can’t really know a book from a paragraph of description. The voice, the tone, the plot, the sense of humor, the lightness or darkness, the literary quality. All of t...

Author Tonya Bolden to Receive 2016 Nonfiction Award from Children's Book Guild of Washington, D.C.

From The Children's Book Guild of Washington, D.C.

The Nonfiction Award Committee announces the selection of noted and prolific author Tonya Bolden as the award's next recipient. The Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award is presented annually to an author for a body of work that has "contributed significantly to the quality of nonfiction for children."

Tonya Bolden has created works of nonfiction that appeal to children and young adults, both in her topics and her accessible writing style. She...

New Voice: Danica Davidson on Attack on the Overworld

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Danica Davidson, welcome back to Cynsations and congratulations on the release of Attack on the Overworld(Skyhorse, 2015)! 

What inspired you to choose the particular point of view--first, second, third, omniscient (or some alternating combination) featured in your novel?

Usually I don't decide what point-of-view I want to use, because the story comes to me with the point of view already intact, if that makes sense.

My new book, Attack on the Overworld...

Book Trailer: Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies by Carmen Oliver, illustrated by Jean Claude

By Carmen Oliver
for Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Cynsations

In 2012, I was working on a nonfiction picture book project about white and black spirit bears in Canada and the boy Simon Jackson who was trying to save them from extinction.

At the same time, my daughter was in fifth grade and was given the awesome task of being a reading buddy to an incoming kindergartner.

And I thought to myself wouldn’t it be funny if the teacher assigned reading buddies to a class of students but one student piped up a...

Author Interview & Giveaway: Angela Cerrito on The Safest Lie

"The Power of Poetry," an award-winning play!By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Welcome back, Cynsations reporter Angela Cerrito, and congratulations on the release of The Safest Lie (Holiday House, 2015). Could you tell us a little about the novel and what inspired you to write it? 

The Safest Lie follows the fictional Anna Bauman attempting to hide her Jewish identity and pass herself off as Anna Karwolska in Warsaw Poland during WWII. She confronts many of the same hardships and hor...