Just Stop It, Jo Knowles

Come on, Jo Knowles.

Stop pretending to be a grown-up.

Because I know better.

You are a teenager.

You MUST be. 

Because you just NAIL the teen voice in your amazing new book.

Read Between the Lines

I mean, no grown-up I know writes:

"Simon!" I yell, just to harsh his mellow.

 or can create such achingly realitic teen characters...
....like Sapphie...

Whatyoulookinat
She said it loud and tough. Fast. Like the four words were one.
Whatyoulookinat

 I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK.

 Jo Knowles and I go way back.

We knew each other online and then at a conference somewhere (they all moosh together for me)....

she was going down the escalator...

...and I was going up the escalator.

We recognized each other and smiled and waved and that was the best we could do.

But then at an NCTE conference in 2009 we finally got to meet properly. (Or maybe it was the same conference. They all moosh together.)

Jo Knowles (right) and me

THEN in 2011, we were on a panel together at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA.

We corresponded by email about our presentations and we each confessed that we were freaking out a little bit.

Ever since then, we have affectionately referred to ourselves as the Freak Sisters.

And, by the way, we survived that presentation.
 No freak-out necessary.

[Note: I blurred her signature because I don't like to post signatures online.]

Read Between the Lines is AMAZING.

I loved it SO much.

From the flap copy:

The voices of seemingly ordinary teenagers speak loud and clear of the complex dance that is life in a small town. Over the course of a single day, these characters orbit one another in their innocent attempts to understand and be understood.

So run, don't walk, and get this book.

And, yo, Jo....high five, Freaky!!!

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Conference

This past weekend, I had the honor of speaking at the Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Conference.

Unfortunately, it was held at a place that had a really lousy view:

But I got over my disappointment and had a lovely dinner with members of the committees:

And I finally got to meet, play with, dine with, laugh with the amazing, Grace Worcester Greene, Youth Services Consultant for Vermont Public Libraries. (Thank you, Grace, for everything.)

Grace Worcester Greene (left) and me

AND, I finally got to meet the UBER talented author Kate Messner. (Kate, HOW do you do it all???)

Kate Messner (left) and me

Signing books with Kate Messner (left)

Me looking kind of stupid at the signing.

Me saying some really deep, intelligent and important things (like redneck jokes).

Me with some of the great kids who did presentations at the conference.

And I took some pics of some of this year's nominees for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award (I'm looking at YOU, Scattergood, Pyron, Knowles, Hunt...and others):

You can see the complete list HERE.

Many thanks to the Vermont gang who made that day so special.

Pearl is a gem

Pearl by Jo Knowles

Jo Knowles has an amazing gift for writing emotionally raw, true characters. I adored Pearl, aka Bean. I adored Henry. I adored Sally. I adored Gus.

This book wowed me on so many levels. I loved the attention to detail that put me right there in that kitchen, on that sofa, under that bed, in that boat, drinking that vodka.

A gem of a book. (My favorite of Jo's, and I love them all!)

Simmons College Summer Institute

Saturday I got to spend the day immersed in children's literature at Simmons College's Children's Literature Summer Institute.

So much fun.

I got a chance to listen to and chat with lots of talented folks, including David Small, Jack Gantos, and my Freak Sister, (a little inside joke) the sweet, smart and talented Jo Knowles.

One highlight for me was finally meeting my friend, the uber-talented, smart, kind, friendly, lovely, author Helen Frost.

Here we are looking a little blurry. We are much sharper than this.

NESCBWI Recap

A great recap of the NESCBWI event at the Eric Carle Museum on Saturday from author, Jo Knowles.

NCTE Conference

A picture is worth a thousand words...

which is a good thing because I'm not writing a thousand words.

The beautiful Philadelphia train station:

Farrar, Straus & Giroux exhibit booth:

FSG marketing team extraordinaire: Katie Halata (left) and Jeanne McDermott:



Me and Lauren Wohl (right), Associate Publisher FSG/Roaring Brook/First Second:

(l to r) Me, Peepy, Lisa Yee:

Me and author Jo Knowles (right):

Karen Terlecky (left) and me:

Everyone rushing to get to my author blogging panel. (Actually, it's the Philadelphia marathon. I think Laurie Halse Anderson is in there somewhere.)

The Author Blogging panel, organized by Denise Johnson, Associate Professor of Reading, Language and Literacy at The College of William and Mary (l to r) Justine Larbalestier, Laurie Halse Anderson, me, and Lisa Yee:

Because she's always late (hey, that's what Justine said), she missed the photo pose above, so here is a very blurry Maureen Johnson (she's much sharper in person):

Lisa telling the audience how many drafts she does for each book:

A great time was had by all.