Karen Cushman
Newbery award-winning children’s book author
Yes, I have gone public. In my NCTE talk, I announced that I am writing a fantasy, working title Song of the Wise Woman’s Daughter. I trepidatiously read a few passages aloud and no rotten fruit was thrown so I am encouraged. My fantasy has no vampires or zombies. No one dies. The world is not destroyed or even in
In Will Sparrow’s Road, I found inspiration for the character of Grace Wyse while reading this book, The Marvelous Hairy Girls: The Gonzales Sisters and Their Worlds. Read more about the book at Yale University Press. Learn about the author, Merry Wiesner-Hanks, and her research. You might enjoy reading it, too.
I signed books at the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) booth, including one for the students at Millard Fillmore School. You can see Millard himself hanging out behind us. Afterwards I celebrated with my panel folks: Kirby Larson and Barbara O’Connor and (pictured, left) our panel moderators, Miriam Martinez of UT San Antonio, and Nancy Roser of UT Austin.
My dear friend, Robbie, has once again sent us persimmons from her tree in California’s Central Valley. They will be our Thanksgiving centerpiece. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and not just because of pumpkin pie. I always have so much to be thankful for. I plan to have a splendid day and I hope you do, too.
Our panel, “Constructing and Inhabiting Story Worlds,” drew a room full of fabulous, interested teachers. Barbara O’Connor spoke after me, and she was, as always, splendid. And so was Kirby Larson, who gave us a taste of her brand new book, Duke.
Thank you to the folks at HarperCollins and Goodreads for the galley copy of the new Charles Todd title, Hunting Shadows, starring the absolutely marvelous Ian Rutledge. Here’s the reason I have not been able to read it yet (I do love to see this guy happy).
In a children’s literature class in my first year of graduate school, I discovered Rosemary Sutcliff. She was an astonishingly fine writer of books for young people about ancient Britain. My favorites are three that cover the last Romans to leave Britain, the violence of the Saxon invasions, and finally a growing hope for peace and safety: The Eagle of the
Otis says, “Ahh, there’s nothing better than a roaring fire on a cold, wet day. If only I had a book. Tail of Two Cities, maybe. Or Little Mouse on the Prairie. Or The Color Purrr-ple. Any suggestions?”
For a week or so now, I have been stuck on my new book. My main character needed to be in danger, but from what? This didn’t work, that was unbelievable. What to do? Finally, in frustration, I went back and read from the beginning of the story, and there they were—the vicious “edge dwellers” who had appeared and disappeared
What did one ghost say to the other? “Do you believe in people?” Happy Halloween. Some scholars believe Halloween is a descendant of the Celtic festival of Samhain, or summer’s end, when dead walked the land. Others think it purely Christian, the eve of All Saints, or All Hallow’s Day. No matter. If you celebrate Halloween, have fun. If, like
