In my last post you read the backstory about Kathleen Burkinshaw's middle grade book, The Last Cherry Blossom. Now, here's the review...but be warned, I'm including a spoiler alert! Fears and Mysteries Twelve-year-old Yuriko has become accustomed to daily air raid drills and the sounds of American B-29's flying over Hiroshima. But even though the sounds are… Continue reading The Last Cherry Blossom: Review and ARC Giveaway
As many of you know, I love sharing my fellow writers' good news. Here is an interview with Kathleen Burkinshaw, author of the debut middle grade historical novel, The Last Cherry Blossom. Next week I will post my review. I hope this will get your interest aroused and you'll leave a comment to win my ARC! *********… Continue reading Meet Kathleen Burkinshaw–Debut Middle Grade Author
As promised in last week's blog, Kathy Wiechman agreed to answer a few questions about her inspiration for EMPTY PLACES. CAROL: I believe you used some family history to create this story. Can you tell us a little bit about that? KATHY: EMPTY PLACES is not a family history, but events in family history served as… Continue reading Kathy Wiechman: Behind the Scenes of EMPTY PLACES
Congratulations to Clara Gillow Clark who was over-the-top excited to win Darcy Pattison's book, 30 Days to a Stronger Novel. ****** I am late to the party celebrating WONDER’s impact on the literary world. I’d heard of the book but didn’t cross paths with it until I received a copy at last year's mid-year SCBWI-Florida… Continue reading WONDER: A Review and a Giveaway
Congratulations to Connie Saunders who won Blue Birds from last week's blog. ********* Readers of this blog are no strangers to book reviews by North Carolina author, Alan Gratz. He is well known for historical novels, like Prisoner B-3087 and Samurai Shortstop. But he also writes contemporary books like his newly released, Code of Honor, (Scholastic, August 2015)… Continue reading The League of Seven by Alan Gratz
Congratulations to Linda Andersen for winning a copy of Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling. ********** When I recently completed reading John Bemis' first book in the Clockwork Dark Trilogy, The Nine Pound Hammer, I considered reviewing it here. But then I found this excellent review and figured I couldn't do any better. Instead, John agreed to answer questions about how… Continue reading The Nine Pound Hammer: An Interview with John Bemis and a Giveaway
The minute sixth-grader Theo Thomas gets off the bus and arrives in Destiny, Florida with his Uncle Raymond, I’m right there with him. Award winning author AugustaScattergood, uses great details to pull readers into the character and setting: Theo grabs his bags, baseball mitt and a tattered book, Everything You Want to Know About Baseball; the heat hits… Continue reading The Way to Stay in Destiny- A Review and an Audio CD Giveaway!
Last week I reviewed Alan Gratz's acclaimed Holocaust book, Prisoner B-3087. Today, Alan generously agreed to answer questions about what this book has meant to him both professional and personally. CAROL: I understand Scholastic contacted you first, to see if you were interested in writing this book. Can you share what went into that decision… Continue reading Behind the Scenes of Prisoner B-3087
To be honest, at first I didn't think about historical fantasy being a genre until I read Wonder at the Edge of the World by Nicole Helget and was contemplating how I wanted to review it. But then I realized I've read many books with both historical and magical elements--although typically they take place prior to the 20th century. Set… Continue reading Wonder at the Edge of the World- and a Giveaway!
Congratulations to Sheri Levy who won an autographed copy of "Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat to the Stars." The year is 1942 and for 12-year-old Tomi Itano, a second-generation Japanese-American, life is about to change. Tomi loves everything about her home: the strawberries her father grows on their farm, her Girl Scout troop, her Japanese doll,… Continue reading Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky by Sandra Dallas: A Review and Giveaway