Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "49th-shelf"

Wow, my latest middle grade novel is having a great week! The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden is an "On our Radar" choice from 49th Shelf, as a "book with buzz."

Awesome! Here's the link: http://49thshelf.com/Blog/2014/03/24/...

Very honoured, thanks 49th Shelf, and thanks to Danielle Webster, for the lovely review. Here's an excerpt:

"With one of the best opening scenes I’ve read in a long time, Gwendolyn Golden is an absolutely charming read from page one. I was instantly curious about this girl who wakes up on her bedroom ceiling, and I am not ashamed to admit that it had me giggling on more than one occasion."

Thank you 49th Shelf, for comparing my YA book The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden to Judy Blume's classic, "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret." Really honoured at that, especially since Judy Blume's book was one of my well-thumbed favourites as a 12 year old.

AND, also many thanks to Aurora Public Library, for choosing The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden as their "Best of the Month" book in the YA reading corner.

Here's a longer blog post with a few more thoughts about Gwendolyn: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/07/...

How to get kids into storytelling, even the ones who aren't strong writers? This week blogger Allison Hall at 49th Shelf Teachers website has some great suggestions, with "Books to Inspire Storytelling (with tech tools to capture the tales)"!

Allison provides ideas, inspiring books, and technology to help student storytellers with Podcasting, StopMotion Animation, Ebook creation, Animation and Coding, Online StoryTelling, Comic Book and Graphic Novel Creation.

Here's the link to the full blog post on the 49th Shelf Teachers website: https://bit.ly/2LukmBL

In the "Video Creation" section, Allison suggests using my 2018 book, Alex and The Other to inspire kids to tell SPOOKY stories with green screen. Alex's is a doppelganger story, and is the 4th book in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, for kids grades 3-6.


These are great ideas, books, and technology to help inspire kids to tell their stories, however they do it. We need the next generation of storytellers, now more than ever!

Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet is a 49th Shelf Most Anticipated 2019 Young Readers Fall review book! It's also a Dewey Divas and the Dudes fall selection AND a @49th Shelf Book of the Week.

Whew! Can't wait to get my author copies. A-n-t-i-c-i-p-a-t-i-o-n.

This book is an environmental resistance dystopia for middle-grade kids, and is the 6th and final book in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series. Ending with a bang!

Here's more info and how to get a preview copy: https://phdowding.blogspot.com/2019/0...

Happy publishing birthday to Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, which releases into the world today, September 21, 2019!

Quinn is living in the strange Work Centre, where the children make the Blue Brick TM from the rich, blue mountain rocks.

But why are the children making the Blue Brick TM? What IS it, anyway? Why can they snap blue sparks with their fingers for courage, behind the Officer's backs?

AND why are some of the children turning BLUE?

Part dystopia/horror story, part environmental resistance thriller, I hope you'll check out this 6th and final book in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series for kids 9-12!

More on my other blog: http://phdowding.blogspot.com/2019/09...