Fifteen years have gone by since the release of Bronx Masquerade. I’ve published many books in that time span, but none have diminished the pull of Mr. Ward’s classroom. Through the magic of literature, mere months have passed since we were last in Mr. Ward’s room, where open-mike poetry readings changed the culture of the […]
Category Archives: Book News
August
03
Cover Reveal for Elephant Secret by Eric Walters
posted by CBethM
People love elephants. I love elephants. Raise your hand if you’d like to just run off today and hang out with elephants . . . I know your hand is up. I got to do that. I hung out with elephants. I had a little baby, Hannah, who repeatedly tried to steal my hat and […]
June
28
Cover Reveal for BAT AND THE WAITING GAME by Elana K. Arnold
posted by CBethM
I wrote A BOY CALLED BAT for the same reason I write all my books: because I felt compelled to. He came to me one night as I was driving: a boy with autism, whose initials spell “Bat,” who loves animals and vanilla yogurt. I felt Bat as clearly as I felt my own babies […]
June
20
Fenway and Hattie Up to New Tricks – Cover Reveal By Victoria J. Coe and Olivia Van Ledtje
posted by donalynm
Do you judge a book by its cover? I do. And I wonder if kids do, too. Because they’re always asking me if the covers of the first two Fenway and Hattie books are real. As if Fenway is out living these stories somewhere and all the Penguin design team did was snap a picture. […]
June
02
Cover Reveal of In Sight of Stars by Gae Polisner
posted by CBethM
“Daubigny’s Garden.” I say this aloud to Dr. Alvarez — Daubigny’s Garden – for no other reason than it’s there. Or maybe I say it because it’s art, and sometimes that’s all there is. Dr. Alvarez turns to where its blue-roofed house rises into yellow and blue clouds. “So that’s what it’s called?” “Yes. But […]
April
07
What I Love About the Cover for THE WAR I FINALLY WON by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
posted by CBethM
So—drumroll, please—today is the day you I have been waiting for: the official cover reveal for my forthcoming novel THE WAR I FINALLY WON. Cover reveals are kind of funky in that they assume that readers are waiting in such breathless anticipation of the release of the book that the first sight of the cover […]
March
14
The Help that Finds Us by Jack Cheng
posted by CBethM
At the beginning of See You in the Cosmos, my eleven-year-old protagonist, Alex, sets off for a rocket festival in the New Mexico desert accompanied only by his dog. What he doesn’t know yet is that his quest to launch his iPod into space will turn into a sprawling journey across the American Southwest—a […]
March
01
Throwing Stories off the Cliff by Julie Falatko, illustrated by Tim Miller
posted by CBethM
Snappsy the Alligator and His Best Friend Forever is the first book I wrote where I knew who the illustrator was going to be. I usually don’t imagine what the illustrations are going to look like while I’m writing, but this time I did. And I usually don’t include art notes, but I had […]
February
28
The Beauty of Mud (and Books) by Emma Ledbetter
posted by CBethM
At my fifth birthday party, there was a hole in the backyard. A really, really big, muddy hole. I distinctly remember my parents having to navigate all my little friends around it, keeping curious five-year-olds in party hats from peering too far into the abyss that would become our living room. It’s my first clear […]
February
24
Cover Reveal for Halfway Normal by Barbara Dee
posted by CBethM
When people hear that your son has cancer, they say a lot of dumb things: I’m so sorry (as if it’s their fault). Is there anything I can do? (You mean besides curing cancer?). Be strong (Sure. Because what’s the alternative?) When they know you’re a writer, they say this: Well, maybe you’ll write about […]
