News and Link Medley (and link to free e-book)

If you go here, (Children's Book Council Website) you can download a wonderful essay, part of an e-book project, written by Katherine Paterson (National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.) It is free until May 24th.

Blogs:
Kathi Appelt has started blogging! Check it out. Her first post introduces us to her cats and her writing studio.

Recently published books to look for:

Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan
Sisters and sibling rivalry, birthday parties, cultural understanding. The real story behind the story (the actual story and the writing of it) can be found here.
Guess which character is Rukhsana.



I love picture books. I'm glad I bought this picture book!
(I usually buy novels--as my my teens enjoy reading them.)

Keeper by Kathi Appelt
What an awesome cover.

I look forward to reading this, as soon as I get my copy. She is my advisor this semester (of course I'm biased). I'll get her to sign my book when I see her this summer.



Thief Eyes by Janni Lee Simner

Fantasy, Iceland, sagas and Norse myths all combine in one book.
An incredible book. Janni creates real characters, and page turning plots. Plus, I could see the locations in my head when I was reading--she accurately describes real places in Iceland.




Palace Beautiful by Sarah DeFord Williams

An attic, 3 girls, a journal--great middle grade novel, both contemporary and historical. I love the voice and the way the main character comes up with such fun and unique names for colors.






Shadow by Jenny Moss

Fantasy. This book was like chocolate; it was like curling up with my favorite comfort food. What a delight. I love this genre of fantasy.






Panthan's Crucible by Meredith Wood

Paranormal (admittedly not my favorite genre), but this is a story I enjoyed. A lot. Great characters and plot. Those who love fantasy and paranormal will love this book. A sequel is in the works. Hurray!!!




Faithful by Janet Fox

I've not read this book yet, but it is on my list for the next time I order books. This is historical fiction, set in Yellowstone Park.





Is it better when I include the covers?