What I’ve Been Reading: Boy
Gulp. All I have to say is, no wonder Roald Dahl’s books are so dark and so full of horrible teachers and sadistic adults.
Read MoreWhat I’ve Been Reading: A Great and Terrible Beauty
My experience with Libba Bray’s books has been up and down. I didn’t care much for Going Bovine, which got a lot of attention, but I adored Beauty Queens–sharp, funny, dead-on satire. So I’ve been meaning to get around to A Great and Terrible Beauty.
Some good stuff here, no question; I like the meld of historical fiction and fantasy, although her dialog tended to run a bit modern to my ears. And the weaving of past history into present drama is very deft. But I must say that this falls into a category I invented when I was growing up: “books where the main character does stupid things.” I dislike spending the book mentally yelling at the protagonist, “Don’t do it!” I want to identify with the character, not feel myself inclined to lecture her, or bop her over the head in hopes that it will shake up her thinking.
Read MoreWhat I’ve Been Reading: Hope Was Here
Not too many writers can turn out genuine poetry about waitressing in a diner the way Joan Bauer can.
Read MoreThere’s soemthing about diner setup that soothes the soul. Something about making good coffee in a huge urn glistening in fluorescent light, something sweet about filling syrup pitchers and lining them on the back counter like soldiers ready to advance. It gives your courage to face another day.
What I’ve Been Reading: Guys Read
For a long time I’ve been convinced that both readers and writers are badly served by the fact that children’s lit is such a female-dominated industry. (And so heavily white, too, but more about that later.) Yes, there are some great male editors, but not too many. Librarians? Teachers? Also skewed toward the female. That has to have an effect on what books get read, published, given awards, and handed to kids.
So this series seems like a solid idea. I was a bit disappointed at first glance, however. The stories seemed so boyish as to be stereotypic. (What do boys like? Fart jokes! All boys! All the time!) It was redeemed for me, however, by David Yoo’s quirky and deeply unsettling “A Fistful of Feathers.” Nice to see that there is more than one way of being a boy. Plus I won’t be enjoying a turkey sandwich for quite some time.
Read MoreWhat I’ve Been Reading: Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux
I have been making a concerted effort to discover exactly what everybody loves so much about Kate DiCamillo. Nope. Didn’t find it.
Read MoreWhere Do Your Ideas Come From?
A Young Girl Reading, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, c. 1776
For some reason a lot of writers hate this question. I’m not sure why. Myself, I don’t mind it. I can usually track down where my idea for a particular book came from. (Dragon’s Egg came from a conversation with my nephew, Cub’s Big World came from the moment I learned that polar bear cubs are born in snow dens and don’t see the outside world until they’re a few months old).
But for everyday purposes I have a short and simple answer: From other people’s books.
I don’t mean copying, I don’t mean stealing (Who was it who said that if you steal, always do it from at least three different sources and call it research?); I mean inspiration. If I stopped reading tomorrow, I’d stop writing next week. Filling myself up with stories, characters, settings, facts, and discoveries is the only way to allow my subconscious to come up with new ideas of my own. The trouble is, it’s been tough finding enough time for the last several years to read as much as I’d like to.
So I am declaring a summer sabbatical. For a good part of the month of August, I am not going to write; I am going to read. Award winners, classics, new and popular stuff that I haven’t kept up with, books people recommend or books that just catch my eye. Anything you think I shouldn’t miss? Please let me know.
Read MoreHistory Lessons
Thomas Jefferson: President and Philosopher by Jon Meacham, adapted for young readers by Sarah L. Thomson
Exciting to receive in the mail recently an advance reader’s copy of Thomas Jefferson: President and Philosopher. I got to adapt this young reader’s version of Jon Meacham’s amazing bio of Thomas Jefferson, and it will be out in September.
Lovely to see all the art in place–portraits of all the major figures, political cartoons from the day, photos from Monticello. It’s going to be a gorgeous book as well as instructive.
Writing and adapting books is how I get my history, these days, and it’s as good a method as any, although a little haphazard at times. (I know a lot about the Elizabethan theater, for example, but only up till 1593, when my book The Secret of the Rose was set. At the moment I’m busy getting a grasp on feudal Japan.) One of the great results of adapting Meacham’s work is that I have a new understanding not just of Thomas Jefferson, but of the American Revolution as a whole, and the way our history fits into the struggle between France and England for dominance of the New World.
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Sarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Thomson focuses on newfound connection, magic, and suspense to conjure a fast-paced, heartwarming mystery. Thomson’s world is populated by resourceful protagonists, fanciful creatures, and quirky supporting characters.”
—Publishers Weekly