I love history, and always have for as long as I can remember. It is a love fostered by my mother, who for years dragged her children to every stately home, castle, cathedral and landmark she could find, with the full conviction that this was simply THE most fun we could possibly be having on […]
October
26
Cover Reveal: Sarah’s Solo by Tracy Brown, illustrated by Paula Wegman
posted by donalynm
My new book Sarah’s Solo is about the unexpected joy found in the midst of disappointment. In the story, Sarah’s parents make a difficult choice for their busy family. They decide that everyone will attend a family wedding rather than their daughter’s dance recital. As parents, we have all experienced our children’s disappointment at being […]
October
23
Cover Reveal: Soosie: The Horse That Saved Shabbat by Tami Lehman-Wilzig, illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt
posted by donalynm
There is no common denominator between bakeries, horses, and Israel, but for me, each one has a special connection. You can imagine my excitement of being able to thread the three together into one book! But first, here’s my quirky backstory. Growing up, once upon a time, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a bakery was […]
October
22
Finding Answers in the Mysteries Around Us by Rebecca K.S. Ansari
posted by CBethM
Saying goodbye to summer this year is unquestionably harder than in non-pandemic times. However, I still can’t suppress my love for autumn, with its campfires, ruddy cheeks and Halloween shivers. It’s the season to walk through crunchy leaves, drink cider and hide under a blanket with a flashlight to indulge in the best kind of […]
October
21
About The Mysterious Disappearance by David Levithan
posted by CBethM
When I started writing YA, I was writing into an absence – creating the books I wished I’d had, and summoning stories that I wasn’t seeing on the shelves. By doing this, I inadvertently made myself a writing career, and have been very gratified to see that the absence I was writing into no […]
October
20
Cover Reveal: Not So Fast, Max: A Rosh Hashanah Visit with Grandma by Annette Schottenfeld, illustrated by Jennifer Kirkham
posted by donalynm
I am thrilled to reveal the cover for Not So Fast, Max: A Rosh Hashanah Visit with Grandma on The Nerdy Book Club! The characters in the story are near and dear to my heart and I hope they will become your friends as well. The Story Idea The seeds for the story were planted […]
October
19
The Magic of the ABCs by Michelle Blanchard Ardillo
posted by CBethM
Can you actually remember learning to read? Can you remember the sheer magic of decoding the strange marks on a piece of paper or a page of a book? I don’t exactly remember it either, but I have been fortunate enough to experience it through the eyes of others. As a former middle school English […]
October
14
What Magical Stories Do by Hayley Chewins
posted by CBethM
Magical stories have a superpower: they make the abstract concrete. In real life, depression, shame and loneliness hold a painful paradox. They are both extremely real and entirely invisible. They shape our reality forever, then slip away from us, evasive. But magical stories can give depression, shame, and loneliness physical form. These real […]
October
13
A Grandmother’s Birthday, A Granddaughter’s Gratitude on Pub Day by Victoria Bond
posted by CBethM
In 1942, in Newark, New Jersey, a pretty, petite Black girl named Dolores Hill tested into an honors English class. A high school sophomore, an excellent dancer, and an avid reader, Dolores felt uncomfortable in the course. Her new classmates, who had been on the same college preparatory track for at least a year were […]
October
12
When Reality Isn’t Enough by Shannon Takaoka
posted by CBethM
Ever since I was young, I’ve always been drawn to stories that are a bit off kilter and weird. Stories that depart, in some way, from the “real world.” Give me all the kids raised in graveyards, the mysterious doppelgängers, the characters who slip in and out of time. I don’t know why this is, […]
