Tales from the Rushmore Kid

You can help the animals of the BP oil spill - Kelly Light

I met illustrator Kelly Light at the SCBWI National convention last summer.  We both have the same agent, Mark McVeigh.  Over this past year we have kept in touch.  I was moved by her commitment to stand up to the horrors of the oil spill and do something about it.  So I asked Kelly to guest blog and tell us about her project, Ripple to house the effort.

On June 3rd, the 44th day of the Deep Water Horizon oil spill, I was supposed to be finishing up my book dummy. Two thirds of the way there.... my lovely agent nudging me along... my pencil stopped. I sat in front of CNN--frozen--watching footage of a pelican with its wings outstretched and its huge, suitcase sized beak gaping, trying to take off and fly. It couldn’t fly because it was stuck in the oil soaked marsh. Its feathers were too heavy and clumped together. It looked so confused, and it broke my heart.

Book Blips - Class of 2K10 - Shari Maurer

Another debut novel from author Shari Maurer, Change of Heart. WestSide Books.  Here is the summary and I love where she got the inspiration from.

When you’re 16 years old, it never occurs to you that you might die. Emmi Miller’s got a fabulous life. She has tons of friends, does great in school and is an all-star soccer player who played in Europe last summer. It even looks like Sam Hunter, a totally cute baseball player, might be interested in her. And then she gets a virus. No biggy, right? Until the virus goes to her heart and weakens it so much that, without a transplant, Emmi will die.

"Happy Birthday": The Story of the World's Most Popular Song

It is true that I'm a nut for non-fiction--especially creative non-fiction that is kid-friendly. "Happy Birthday": The Story of the World's Most Popular Song, is just that. Nancy Kelly Allen tells this tale, with illustrations by Gary Undercuffler, of the Hill family living in Louisville, Kentucky over 100 years ago. The parents were unique for the time. The mother gave her four girls and two boys creative freedom to become who they were, and the father thought even the girls deserved a college education to support themselves. The family members also spent time with their piano to feed their soul.

Barbara Bietz - Writing Tip of the Day

Barbara Bietz is my long time writing partner, chairperson of the Sydney Taylor Book Awards and a writing teacher. Barbara also has a popular kidlit blog, Jewish Books for Children. At a recent Barnes & Noble event, I asked Barbara to give us the Writing Tip of the Day.

SCBWI costume contest 2010 - Heart & Soul

Well, it's red again this year. I always wait to hear the theme before I start working on my costume for the SCBWI National Conference's big Saturday night party. This year the theme is Heart & Soul.  I love this contest, whether I win or lose. It gives me and my buddies, Greg Trine and Yuki Yoshino, a chance to dress up and feed our inner hams.  I  look at the event as my performance art piece of the year. I've been working on our costumes since April. This is one of the many bags of red stuff that I've purchased. I thought maybe I would tone it down this year due to me being on the faculty, but after a quick poll on Face Book I decided to be my usual goofy self.

Diane Browning - Blog Tour 2010 - "Signed Abiah Rose"

I have known Diane Browning for many years.  She has been attending local and national SCBWI events as long as I can remember.  Diane honed her craft, learned the business and finally was  published as a writer/illustrator.  I am honored that Diane asked me to kick off her blog tour for her first book, Signed Abiah Rose.  Comment on the tour and you could win an autograph copy of the book. 


How long have you been an author/illustrator?

I’ve been a writer/artist all my life.  I won my first writing honors as a child at the Dallas library’s creative writing club.  At age seven I won a Siamese kitten at an art show (I did a painting of a kitten).  I went on to become an illustrator, designer and painter, writing in my spare time.

Book Blips - Class of 2K10 - Rhonda Hayter

The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams is another novel from the class of 2010 by Rhonda Hayter.  Here's what Rhonda had to say about the book and what inspired her to write this, (all you mom's will relate to this one!)

The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams
By Rhonda Hayter
Dial Books for Young Readers, April, 2010

Abbie Adams is a regular eleven-year old girl with normal problems like a really strict fifth-grade teacher. (Meet Miss Linegar.  Rhymes with vinegar.) She’s chronically behind in homework, forced to keep a big secret from her very best friend and hoping like heck she can remember all her lines in the drama club play. But Abbie also happens to be a witch