Had she not given birth to her son, journalist Marie Bradby may never have written any of the remarkable children’s books she’s published over the past fifteen years. But she did…and she did. Bradby’s critically acclaimed titles include the picture books More Than Anything Else (Richard Jackson/Orchard Books, 1995); The Longest Wait (Orchard Books, 1998); Momma, Where Are [ Read the full article… ]
28 Days Year: 2011
2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012 · 2013 · 2014 · 2015 · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019 · 2020 · 2021 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024
Day 10: Vanessa Brantley Newton
For this interview, I studied Vanessa’s website and sorted through her artwork, looking for just the right words to use in an introduction. I failed, big-time. Words like “charming,” “fresh,” and “retro” came to mind—boring words that didn’t do her art justice. I fretted for days. I care about my work here, and I wanted [ Read the full article… ]
Day 9: Artist Arthur
I think in my next life I want to be a paranormal or horror writer because I’ve always loved reading those genres. Yet my mind simply has never gone there when I sit down to write. Guess some of us just have a knack for putting a supernatural or fantastic spin on things. While YA [ Read the full article… ]
Crystal Allen
Crystal Allen has one of the best author bios ever: I was born in a military hospital in Germany because my dad was in the Army. I’m the youngest of five children. I spent lots of my young years in New Albany, Indiana where I was corn-shucking and multiplication queen of my third grade class. [ Read the full article… ]
Day 7: Christopher Grant
Christopher Grant is the debut author of Teenie (Knopf, Dec 2010). Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Christopher earned degrees in Economics and Human Resource Management from Stony Brook University. In addition to being an author, Christopher also works as an equities trader in New York. School Library Journal praises Teenie, calling it an “enjoyable [ Read the full article… ]
Day 6: Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson
More than two decades ago, Wade and Cheryl Hudson began creating stories for kids that spoke to African-American heritage and experiences. One, the AFRO-BETS ABC Book, celebrated the alphabet and affirmed Black children like their own. When a publisher told them there was no market for such a book, the Hudsons knew what they had to do [ Read the full article… ]
Day 5: Renée Watson
Renée Watson is an actress, poet, and author of the children’s picture book, A Place Where Hurricanes Happen (Random House, 2010), which was featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Her middle grade novel, What Momma Left Me (Bloomsbury, 2010), earned her recognition as the New Voice for 2010 in middle grade fiction by The Independent Children’s Booksellers Association. When [ Read the full article… ]
Hope Anita Smith
Hope Anita Smith is the author of three lovely, compelling, and highly acclaimed books for young readers: MOTHER, THE WAY A DOOR CLOSES, and her most recent, KEEPING THE NIGHT WATCH. In KEEPING THE NIGHT WATCH, “so many unanswered questions weigh down thirteen-year-old C.J. as he struggles to understand why his father walked out. His [ Read the full article… ]