Check out this blog from "one happy, healthy bookworm who sure loves to read."
She's twelve-years-old! Pretty amazing....
Friday, February 29, 2008
New England book event
Mark your calendars for this terrific book event:
Belmont Children's Picture Book Festival March 29, 2:00-4:00 p.m. First Church in Belmont, 404 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA
Six local children's authors and illustrators will share their latest picture books with the community. Come meet the authors, hear the stories behind their stories, and enjoy a variety of performances and activities. Fun for the whole family!
Authors are:
Melissa Stewart tells me that a documentary will be made of the event. Pretty cool publicity!
Free and open to the public
Belmont Children's Picture Book Festival March 29, 2:00-4:00 p.m. First Church in Belmont, 404 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA
Six local children's authors and illustrators will share their latest picture books with the community. Come meet the authors, hear the stories behind their stories, and enjoy a variety of performances and activities. Fun for the whole family!
Authors are:
Melissa Stewart tells me that a documentary will be made of the event. Pretty cool publicity!
Free and open to the public
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The O'Connor Oscars again
Remember that kid who made that great video for How to Steal a Dog for his school project?
He got an A+!
Here's what he wrote to me:
"As I said before, I loved the book. Originally, I just got it from the library, but I just bought it earlier this week. By the way, I got an A+. Thanks for writing such a good book!"
For your viewing pleasure, his video [note: the sound takes a couple of seconds to kick in]:
He got an A+!
Here's what he wrote to me:
"As I said before, I loved the book. Originally, I just got it from the library, but I just bought it earlier this week. By the way, I got an A+. Thanks for writing such a good book!"
For your viewing pleasure, his video [note: the sound takes a couple of seconds to kick in]:
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Georgina trading card
Well, this is pretty cool!A librarian from Texas came up with a great idea: for kids in a book club to create a trading card for a character from the book they are reading.
This is one she made for Georgina in How to Steal a Dog.
New FSG address
As of March 3, Farrar, Straus & Giroux will be located at
18 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Same general phone number (212.741.6900)
Moved out of that wonderful, funky building at Union Square. Sniff...
18 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Same general phone number (212.741.6900)
Moved out of that wonderful, funky building at Union Square. Sniff...
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Greetings from Inida
Here's the entry for the Greetings from Nowhere drawing for author Annette Gulati. The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, is one of her favorite places.
Deadline is Feb. 29!
Deadline is Feb. 29!
Greetings from Thailand
Here's the entry for the Greetings from Nowhere drawing for writer, teacher and lover of children's literature, Marcie Atkins. She grew up in Thailand.
Writing Tip Tuesday
Writing for kids is different than writing for adults.
Sure, much of it is the same - those "rules" of writing, like show, don't tell, resist the urge to explain, etc.
But writing for children has its own unique challenges.
I've often compared writing for children to writing scripts.
But it's also much like writing short stories.
I recently found a quote that puts into that into words perfectly:
From Off the Page, quoted by author Walter Mosley:
And so, when writing a short story [or children's book], you have to know everything behind it - everything that led up to there, everything about those characters. But you don't have the leisure to talk about it at length. You only see that very upper tip, as with an island compared to the mountain that lies underneath it.
My point?
It's imperative that you know the background of your story and your characters.
But you don't need to - in fact, you probably shouldn't - write about it.
It should be "invisibly present" - like a rippling undercurrent beneath the still waters.
How you accomplish that is a matter of personal taste. Some writers do exercises like interviewing their characters or making lists of the characters' favorite foods and hobbies and what's in their backpacks.
But me?
I just think a lot.
So by the time I sit down to write, I know my characters inside and out.
I know what happened the day before the story started.
But I don't write about it.
Sure, much of it is the same - those "rules" of writing, like show, don't tell, resist the urge to explain, etc.
But writing for children has its own unique challenges.
I've often compared writing for children to writing scripts.
But it's also much like writing short stories.
I recently found a quote that puts into that into words perfectly:
From Off the Page, quoted by author Walter Mosley:
And so, when writing a short story [or children's book], you have to know everything behind it - everything that led up to there, everything about those characters. But you don't have the leisure to talk about it at length. You only see that very upper tip, as with an island compared to the mountain that lies underneath it.
My point?
It's imperative that you know the background of your story and your characters.
But you don't need to - in fact, you probably shouldn't - write about it.
It should be "invisibly present" - like a rippling undercurrent beneath the still waters.
How you accomplish that is a matter of personal taste. Some writers do exercises like interviewing their characters or making lists of the characters' favorite foods and hobbies and what's in their backpacks.
But me?
I just think a lot.
So by the time I sit down to write, I know my characters inside and out.
I know what happened the day before the story started.
But I don't write about it.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Greetings from North Carolina
This entry for the Greetings from Nowhere drawing is from author Tracie Vaughn Zimmer. It's Brevard, North Carolina, one of my favorite places.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Problem solved
Here's where I spent my weekend:
My husband wanted me to "smile for the camera", but believe me, I was in no smiling mood. My laptop is a Mac, which I love and adore. My family computer is a Gateway PC, which I hate and abhor.
My internet connection went down Saturday. (Although if I took my laptop into the bathroom, I could pick up my neighbor's wireless router.)
I was on the phone with tech support a gazillion hours. I crawled on the floor, in the dust, under the desk.
And then....
I gave up.
Problem solved!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Greetings from Paris
Here's the postcard entry for the Greetings from Nowhere drawing from author/illustrator Jennifer Thermes (who creates the most awesome and beautiful maps you ever saw):
To enter the drawing for a signed copy of Greetings from Nowhere, just email me a postcard: barbaraoconnor AT mac DOT com. Deadline: Feb. 29
Greetings from Paris
To enter the drawing for a signed copy of Greetings from Nowhere, just email me a postcard: barbaraoconnor AT mac DOT com. Deadline: Feb. 29
Friday, February 22, 2008
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