The one day of the year I hate the most

....the day we close the porch for the winter.

Hate that!

A picture is worth a thousand words

Thanks for the projects

Many thanks to Milton Academy in Milton, MA for the great projects with How to Steal a Dog!

Highly scientific survey

I love kids

This is so funny.

Only four things

I only have four things to say today:

T. G. I. F.

I love kids

From a student:

I loved it when you showed us a writing piece with markings from your publisher. I never knew that a publisher could say so much about one single page in a book.


I love kids.

A book playhouse!

A playhouse made out of discarded children's books at the Iowa City Public Library!

Thanks to Bookshelf Blog for this one!

Six feet of books

I love this wallpaper.

It reminds me of my beloved father-in-law.

When he moved into a new house that had a lot of built-in bookcases, he didn't have enough books to fill them.

So he went to a church used book sale and told them: "I need 6 feet of books."

YOU GOTTA LOVE THAT!


(This post in memory of my father-in-law. We miss you!)

Now THIS is how to review a book

From a young reader:


If you have not read this book than you are CRAZY! If you are in 3 or 4 grade then read this book NOW!

I love kids

From a fan:

I love your book How to Steal a Dog. It truly is the best book in history.

I'm so proud

I recently heard from a librarian in San Diego who helps run a children's book club.

After reading How to Steal a Dog, the club was inspired to brainstorm ways to help The Monarch School, a school that provides an accredited education to homeless and at-risk kids.

I'm really proud to know my work has inspired such thoughtfulness and helped focus on this dire need.

She will be blogging about it soon on her terrific blog, Libraries Matter.

A nice greeting

Thanks so much to John F Kennedy School in Canton, MA, for this lovely greeting!

Some fans

Aren't they great?!

The journey continues

I've gotten all tangled up in my work in progress and found myself spinning my wheels.

I like the writing.

But it's just that: writing that I like.

It doesn't feel like I'm writing to a goal.

And actually I'm not. I don't have an ending and it's becoming obvious in the writing.

So I spent a day trying to sort out the plot by making a chart. I've NEVER done that before!

The problem is that I have multiple viewpoints and they weave in and out, so I was losing track of what was going where.

There's still one element of the story that has me stumped:

I even drew a little map of the setting. (Good artist, huh?)