REVIEW Monarch Publishing welcomes a new middle grade novel to the reading repertoire called Angels in the Sand by Lori Keating. This novel is a touching story about a contemporary family choosing joy amid hard circumstances. Jess and her mother Darlene make the annual East Coast trek to Grandma’s house during the Christmas holidays. Jess and Grandma… Continue reading Angels in The Sand: A Great MG Review by Kate Lundeen
I wouldn't have believed that a book about matter and energy would be read by the picture book crowd, except that my third-grade and kindergarten grandkids are studying physics at school right now. Go figure. At their age, I would have had no idea that a catapult uses a fulcrum---or even what a fulcrum was--let alone build… Continue reading PUSH-PULL MORNING: Dog Powered Poems About Matter and Energy
Congratulations to Susan Rice who won One Red Sock on last week's blog. REVIEW I'm a pretty big Avi fan, so when I found The End of the World and Beyond in the Recorded Books catalog, I knew it was a book I'd want to pass along. (I heard Avi speak at the SC Reading Association conference… Continue reading The End of the World and Beyond by Avi: A Review and Audiobook Giveaway
Congratulations to Deb Allmand who won SCAR on last week's blog. Introduction I first introduced my husband's uncle, Robert Toupal, to middle grade historical fiction by giving him Joyce Hostetter's book, BLUE. Since then he's often my first reader when I receive an ARC. A man of definite opinions, I wondered what he would think… Continue reading EMPTY PLACES: A Review and ARC Giveaway
My apologies if you received an email on Saturday evening with a link to an old blog post--blogger error! Rory's Promise was given away 5 months ago. I'm sorry for the confusion. Last week Jo Hackl, long-time member of SCBWI-Carolinas, shared the pitch and background of her debut novel, Smack Dab in the Middle of… Continue reading You Heard it Here First: Jo Hackl's Path to Publication – Part II
Congratulations to Sheri Levy who won an autographed copy of Lisa Kline's book, Eleanor Hill from last week's giveaway. For those of you who didn't win last week, here's another chance! ********** I've been a fan of Nikki Grimes' poetry ever since reading Bronx Masquerade; I love how she juxtaposes words and images. This is her second… Continue reading Words With Wings – Audio Book Giveaway!
For the last three weeks in my "Writing for Children" class at Central Piedmont Community College, my students were treated to visits from authors I know through SCBWI Carolinas and WNBA: Emily Smith Pearce, Tameka Brown, and Christy Allen. In the next three blog posts I'll share some of the highlights of their talks plus… Continue reading Guest Instructor: Emily Smith Pearce and a Giveaway!
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Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Last spring I met Chris Woodworth, a middle grade author who had recently moved to North Carolina from Indiana. I… Continue reading Behind the Scene with "Ivy in the Shadows" and a Giveaway!
I have been a Karen Cushman fan ever since reading The Midwife's Apprentice , Catherine, Called Birdy, and Alchemy and Meggy Swann. Since all her books feature spunky characters in medieval England and are expertly written, I was excited to hear of the release of her new book, Will Sparrow's Road. From the opening of this middle… Continue reading Will Sparrow's Road