The Rule of Thirds by Elana K. Arnold

June 14

When A Boy Called BAT was published five years ago, I hoped for the same things I hope for all my books—that readers would find it, and that it would have a big and beautiful life. And in the time between then and now, my hopes for BAT have come true. More than any of […]

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A Place, A Name, A Story by Elana K. Arnold

January 31

I was a kid who frequently felt—and frequently was—displaced. Isn’t that a wonderful word—displaced? It says so exactly what it means: “dis” means “not,” or “the opposite of,” and “placed,” of course: “to put something in a particular position.” By the age of eleven, I’d moved at least that many times. In addition to moves from one part of […]

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Who (and What) Lives in the Spaces Between Us by Elana K. Arnold

March 28

When I wrote A Boy Called BAT, I knew what I hoped: I hoped that it would reach the kids who needed it. What I didn’t expect was the response from readers. Over the past several years, I’ve received hundreds of emails from kids, parents, teachers, librarians, and grandparents, telling me how and why they […]

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Cover Reveal of The House That Wasn’t There by Elana K. Arnold

July 09

All my life, from the time I was two years old, my Nana and Papa lived on a street called Rollingwood Drive.  It was a skinny, winding sort of street, with narrow sidewalks and lots of trees. Theirs was Number 33—halfway down the block, on the left-hand side. I drove down that street as a […]

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An Ordinary Day Gives Birth to an Extraordinary Story By Elana K. Arnold

March 08

  Five years ago, two things happened. My father died; my friend gave birth.     My father died first. He had been suffering with two illnesses, and he went into the hospital for a surgery we hoped would ease his pain. He did not come out.     His death was very hard for […]

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The Strange, Wonderful Experience of Being Seen by Elana K. Arnold

March 26

Dear Nerdy Book Folks, Maybe you will find this hard to believe, but when I first imagine a character, a setting, or a plot, and when I set to work, I don’t think about who will read the book. In fact, I’ve been known to form a tiny tunnel by cupping my hands around my […]

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Bat’s Growing Circle by Elana K. Arnold

March 20

Recently, I heard this concept, and though I’ve forgotten almost all of the details, I sort of remember it being called a “Circle of Seven,” though when I google that term, none of the stuff that comes up is related to what I was searching for (though I did browse through lots of interesting, unrelated […]

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Cover Reveal for BAT AND THE WAITING GAME by Elana K. Arnold

June 28

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 […]

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Creature Comforts and A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold

I was seven years old when my heart was broken for the first time, by a girl named Nona who didn’t want to be my friend anymore because I was “weird.” It was my cat Sabrina who absorbed my tears in her thick black pelt, who purred and licked and butted me with her head […]

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A Boy Called Bat Cover Reveal by Elana K. Arnold

June 29

The first character I remember loving was a little girl with straight brown hair who lived on Klickitat Street. I loved that she was stubborn and imperfect. I loved the way she saw the world from the particular angle that only she, Ramona Quimby, occupied in her family, her school and her community. As I […]

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