Maribeth Boelts's Blog, page 5
October 1, 2010
My mom was crafty...
My mom had a creative, make-something-out-of-nothing gift when we were growing up and still does today. To celebrate the first of October, here's an example of our Halloween costumes. I was the particularly raggedy Raggedy Andy. : )
September 17, 2010
First Review for The PS Brothers
Gearing up for the October 4th pub date...here's the first review from Kirkus!
"Russell and best friend Shawn do everything together and share a dream of having a dog of their very own. Their perfect dog would be big and aggressive and inspire fear in the many bullies that plague the twosome at school. When the boys spot a sign advertising Rottweiler puppies for sale, they hatch a plan to earn $200 for one, and the PS (Pooper Scooper) Brothers business is launched. All seems to be going well u...
September 15, 2010
Write for Yourself
Warning: This post is too long but I can't help it.
About 5 years ago, I watched a PBS "American Experience" episode about a man named Vivien Thomas. Thomas was an African-American man working as a surgical tech at Vanderbilt and then at Johns Hopkins who developed a procedure used to treat a fatal heart condition in children called "Blue Baby Syndrome". Having planned on going to college, Vivien Thomas lost his savings with a bank failure during the Depression. Instead, this brilliant man...
September 14, 2010
Happy 300th book, Jane Yolen!
Yes, it's true. The prolific and legendary children's book author Jane Yolen, will have her 300th book be published next month. "Switching On the Moon" is the latest--may be the #299th? Isn't that incredible??
September 13, 2010
Selling young adults short
I read a book over the weekend that has me full of fury and passion today. I'm not going to name it because I don't believe in ever giving bad book reviews. So, hopefully I'm vague enough that you'll have no idea of this book's title or author.
This young adult book was an award winner, and it's premise was a good one. One character witnesses something and has to decide if she is going to share what she's seen and heard, or let another character suffer the consequences. In the end, she does...
This young adult book was an award winner, and it's premise was a good one. One character witnesses something and has to decide if she is going to share what she's seen and heard, or let another character suffer the consequences. In the end, she does...
September 10, 2010
Slush Pile
For the writers out there, you know all about the slush pile. For anyone unfamiliar, the slush pile describes the home for unsolicited manuscripts at a publishing house. The author sends a manuscript to a publisher, and it becomes friends with all the other manuscripts in a ginormous (gianormous? gynormous?) stack that the editor(s) will eventually and hopefully sift through. With electronic submissions, the slush pile is otherwise known as the inbox.
John Cusick is an agent and the newly p...
September 9, 2010
Writers Make Books
Hats off to the authors of a blog I follow at http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com. Educators Ruth Ayres and Stacey Shubitz have created a huge resource for teachers, parents, and all who have a passion for developing young writers and readers. But the application goes beyond the classroom. Take this clip for example. Here, Ruth Ayres is presenting a simple lesson to kindergartners, "Writers Make Books". If you get a minute, and you're interested in either writing for children, or hel...
September 2, 2010
Little Bunny
Happy pub date, Little Bunny!
August 31, 2010
Reviews
Amazon reviews can be terrifying, particularly the ones written by kids, which may be coming with "The PS Brothers". Kind of like getting your body parts rated in front of a really big crowd. Okay, that's exaggerating, but still.
Here's one example of what I'm talking about. The book is "A Chair For My Mother". I saved the review because it was something else, particularly the last line. I happen to adore this wonderful, touching, timeless book in every way. Award-givers did, too.
...
