Last week, Meghan Cox Gurdon’s article “Darkness Too Visible” denounced YA lit as trying to “bulldoze coarseness or misery” into children’s lives. Gurdon gets YA wrong on so many levels, and the kidlit world noticed. Massively. Most responses have been smart … Read more
Another rant. Liam turns ONE year old in about two weeks, and since he was born, we’ve been trying to get his name recorded properly on his birth certificate. We’ve been all over the place and even had an ACLU … Read more
Yeah, yeah, you know you wanted to see my list after that tantalizing post about the must haves and the can’t stands. So here it is. BTW, Arnulfo is wonderful in about twenty gazillion more ways than I could ever put … Read more
This is a rant. So forgive me for putting aside my usual lovable self to be a horrible cranky pants. I think I’d be forced to either quit writing or disown “The Road Not Taken” if I were Robert Frost. … Read more
It turns out that April is both poetry appreciation month and sexual assault awareness month. This conjunction made me think of a Barbara Kingsolver poem that maps reflections about sexual assault onto a description of the aftermath of a burglary… Read more
While we go about our business, life is still very broken for many in Japan. The Kidlit4Japan auction is the product of many authors teaming up to offer signed books and services for auction to raise money (UNICEF receives all … Read more
I do certain things hoping that they will make the world a little better, or at least… less bad. But I also worry a lot. For example: if it takes a lot of water for me to wash a peanut … Read more
Dying sucks. And saying, “dying sucks” is a way of trivializing my terror. Because I am really, really afraid of dying. Also, I would prefer for all my loved ones to continue to live. I recognize that this goes against … Read more
Y’all hop over to the Diversity in YA blog for my guest post today on cussing, cockroaches, and my audience. It’ll be grand!
Also, don’t forget: Launch party for What Can’t Wait on Saturday, March 26, from 7-10 p.m. at … Read more
Today I remember—and try to redeem—my not-always-loveable maternal grandmother, Martha Jean Schock.
My grandmother had drawn-on eyebrows and a permanent frown. She was tall and cast a long shadow when she walked past the hall night light. She hated being … Read more
