craft review by Erin Nuttall Linda Urban’s stories are studded with angst, anguish, and hope, as well as problems, pathos, and humor. She is stellar at structuring stories so that something small, seemingly insignificant, becomes the integral to the climax and the protagonist’s understanding of the situation. In Talk Santa To Me, surprisingly, it’s a gaudy silver Christmas wreath that takes this hefty role. The Wreath in Context Fifteen-year-old Francine is facing a lot of changes: she’ll be driving soon, her beloved Grandpa Chris recently died, her relationship with her BFF is tricky now tha ..read more

interview by Anne-Marie Strohman We’re so pleased to welcome Amy Dixon to the blog! I met Amy a couple decades ago through friends when we both lived in San Luis Obispo, California. It’s been delightful to reconnect over the last few years through writing for children. Amy’s writing journey began with picture books, and I was interested to find out more about her transition into middle grade. You’re having a busy writing year. Can you tell us what’s happening at the moment? This year has definitely been busy in the best way! My newest picture book, Maurice the Unbeastly, came out with Sterling ..read more

Guest Post by Mae Respicio Recently, my son was excited to dive into his first book report of the year—a “character sketch” on any novel of his choosing. In our household such firsts are cause for celebration, so we took a fun trip to our favorite indie bookstore and perused covers. After several minutes of looking, he finally landed on one that piqued his interest. He held it up for me to read: I AM FARTACUS. We both cracked up. One way my son has always chosen books is by his funny bone, and this one hooked him right from the title. Mark Maciejewski, author of I Am Fartacus (Aladdin 2017 ..read more

craft review by Kristi Wright Flora and Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo, Illustrated by K.G. Campbell (Candlewick, 2013) There are a myriad of things that Kate DiCamillo does brilliantly as a writer—let’s face it, she didn’t win two Newbery Medals for nothing—but with FLORA & ULYSSES, I’m going to focus on her marvelous command of character and situations to write laugh-out-loud comedy. FLORA & ULYSSES is a buddy story about a young girl who insists she is a natural-born cynic and the unassuming squirrel who becomes a superhero through a near-death experience. Together they discover frien ..read more