To Authors Who Don't Give Up

Lowji Discovers America by Candace Fleming.

Read it to your early middle graders. Let your older kids read it. Hysterical. So funny. So sweet. I love this book. (Very easy chapter book.)

And a new author to try for older readers and those adults (okay women, not really men),

Norma Fox Mazer.

She is legendary in my master's program, and I just read Girlhearts by her, and loved it. Sad though.

Also, for any of you people struggling through an ADHD kid (which is a huge theme by the way in children's literature right now), have you read any of the Joey Pigza books by Jack Gantos. Great.

And, just in case you haven't read it. (And, okay, I admit it. Not everyone loves these books. But I do. Jonathan Stroud is brilliant. You see if you don't care about Bartimeus and Nathaniel throughout all three of these books. No matter how nasty they both get.)

And last but not least, I must tell you about Scholastic Book Warehouse sales. They are marvelous. I went two weekends ago and got fifty-nine books for one hundred and twenty two dollars. Twenty of those books were hardbacks. All of them are fabulous books. (I used up all my birthday money. He, he)

And for Cindy Lynn, yes, I have read Sharon Creech. She is brilliant. Everyone should read Walk Two Moons, but I also really enjoyed Replay, The Wanderer, Heartbeat (perhaps my favorite), and Ruby Holler. Okay, maybe Ruby Holler is my favorite. And Grandma Torelli makes Soup is also great.

But try Heartbeat first.

And last but not least, I must tell you about Scholastic Book Warehouse sales. They are marvelous. I went two weekends ago and got fifty-nine books for one hundred and twenty two dollars. Twenty of those books were hardbacks. All of them are fabulous books. (I used up all my birthday money. He, he)

Just google Scholastic Book Warehouse sales, and find the one in your area. I promise you there is one. They have big sales in May (you've probably missed the May one), and August, and December, plus some smaller ones throughout the year. Love them.

And, can I just say, it is really, really hard to write books. For anyone who thinks it is not, I will personally tickle-torture you to death, but in a mean way, if we ever meet. It takes months, years to write good books. And knowledge. And courage. And never giving up. And so many drafts you think you will die if you have to write your beginning all over again.

Here's to authors who don't give up!