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Charlesbridge publishes high-quality books for children, with a goal of creating lifelong readers and lifelong learners. Our books encourage reading and discovery in the classroom, library, and home. We believe that books for children should offer accurate information, promote a positive worldview, and embrace a child's innate sense of wonder and fun. To this end, we continually strive to seek new voices, new visions, and new directions in children's literature.
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 7/23/2010
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 7/13/2010
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JacketFlap tags: The Night Before Christmas, Imagine Publishing, Waking Up Is Hard to Do, Global Babies, Bamboo People, Curiosity Guides series, Delicious Diabetic Recipes, Over the Rainbow, the day-glo brothers, Add a tag
By: Charlesbridge,
on 6/29/2010
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The Book Group was made up of a wonderful range of librarians, writers, illustrators, photographers, reviewer
By: Charlesbridge,
on 6/1/2010
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Charlesbridge publishes high-quality books for children, with a goal of creating lifelong readers and lifelong learners. Our books encourage reading and discovery in the classroom, library, and home. We believe that books for children should offer accurate information, promote a positive worldview, and embrace a child's innate sense of wonder and fun. To this end, we continually strive to seek new voices, new visions, and new directions in children's literature.
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Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap: 38
By: Charlesbridge,
on 7/23/2010
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 7/13/2010
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Watertown, MA, July 7, 2010—Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc. today announced the acquisition of Imagine Publishing of New York, a publisher of unique and eclectic books for children and adults.
Imagine was founded in 2009 by the father/son team of Charles and Jeremy Nurnberg. The co-founders will both join Charlesbridge, effective immediately. Charles, a 40 year industry veteran and former CEO of Sterling Publishing, will become Vice President & Publisher of the Imagine imprint. Jeremy, former Vice President Trade & Institutional Sales at Sterling, brings his 15 years of publishing experience to Charlesbridge as Vice President of Sales.
Imagine’s list includes the Peter Yarrow Books imprint in partnership with legendary singer/songwriter and bestselling author Peter Yarrow of the iconic trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Books in this imprint include the current New York Times picture book bestseller Over the Rainbow, with a CD performance by Judy Collins, and the upcoming October 2010 release of The Night Before Christmas, with a CD by Peter, Paul and Mary.
“Our growing success motivated us to seek a publisher that could handle the needs of our expanding list,” said Charles Nurnberg. “Charlesbridge has the full range of promotional and distribution capabilities that Imagine needs. Their publishing strategy reinforces our own philosophy to publish books that stand the test of time.”
Charlesbridge—an independent publisher of children’s fiction and nonfiction—has grown steadily over its twenty-year history. It currently enjoys critical and commercial successes with books such as Sibert Award Honor The Day-Glo Brothers, by Chris Barton; ALA Notable Global Babies, one of many books published in partnership with The Global Fund for Children; and the newly released Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins, named to the Indie Next List.
“Imagine adds an exciting new dimension to our list,” said Charlesbridge Vice President and Associate Publisher Mary Ann Sabia, “while also leading us in a new strategic direction with our first general trade books, including Delicious Diabetic Recipes, the important new Curiosity Guides series, with titles on the human genome and global climate change, and for kids, Neil Sedaka’s Waking Up Is Hard To Do.”
Charlesbridge President Brent Farmer stated, “With the addition of Imagine we significantly increase our list and range. We look forward to enhancing the enduring relationships established over the years with children’s booksellers, wholesalers, librarians, and teachers, and creating new relationships in the general trade arena.”
Charlesbridge begins shipping Imagine Publishing titles immediately from their Massachusetts warehouse. Imagine customers may call Charlesbridge at (800) 225-3214 for questions pertaining to their orders.
1 Comments on Charlesbridge acquires Imagine Publishing, last added: 7/14/2010
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 6/29/2010
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I was born and grew up in a very small town in the west of Ireland. We were lucky to have a good library. I can't remember joining but I can't remember ever not being a member--so I guess I joined early!
I certainly remember using the library a lot--we didn't have a bookshop in town (though I think I remember the toyshop did stock some Enid Blytons--my mother used to buy me one if I was good at the dentist!) so, even though my parents were teachers and readers, we didn't have that many books.
By the time I was about 10, I had read every children's book in the library, some many times over, and the wonderful librarian, Mrs. Downey, suggested that if my mother approved, she would allow me to have an adult card. Surprisingly my mother said yes--probably knowing that Mrs. Downey would monitor everything I borrowed, which she did. But, in those days before teen and young adult publishing, the adult ticket provided an essential bridge to adult literature--and I did discover some wonderful adult writers like Liam O Flathairte who were perfectly accessible to a young reader. I also borrowed lots of craft books--I don't remember ever making anything, I just looked at the images and fantasised!
Reading was such a joy for me--an escape, an inspiration, educational and challenging, mind-blowing and thought-provoking. It was no surprise that I went on to study English at university and to specialise in Children's Literature as part of my post-graduate teaching studies.
After spending a few years teaching, like so many of my peers in the 1980s, I left Ireland to find work and spent the next 14 years working in children's publishing--starting out as a desk editor, working up to being a publisher, and eventually starting my own small publishing list in 1998. After a very painful takeover and redundancy, I found myself working freelance doing a mix of consulting, writing, editing and project managing.
I have a friend
in Amsterdam who uses the expression 'red thread.' She says that a red thread connects all the little parts of your life--things that seem oddities while you're experiencing them often end up later to be significant steps on the way to somewhere else. Well, one of the things I did while I worked in publishing was some voluntary work for a group called the Working Group Against Racism in Children's Resources--how's that for a snappy title! It was made up of three groups--a book group, a toy group and a child development group (which looked at training materials for childcare workers and teachers). We met on Saturdays, developed training courses and materials we could offer to publishers, librarians and teachers; did training; reviewed books and published booklists and sets of criteria so professionals had guidelines pointing out things to look out for in order to both avoid selecting books which could offend or damage self esteem and to confidently select books which positively represented children from a range of backgrounds.
in Amsterdam who uses the expression 'red thread.' She says that a red thread connects all the little parts of your life--things that seem oddities while you're experiencing them often end up later to be significant steps on the way to somewhere else. Well, one of the things I did while I worked in publishing was some voluntary work for a group called the Working Group Against Racism in Children's Resources--how's that for a snappy title! It was made up of three groups--a book group, a toy group and a child development group (which looked at training materials for childcare workers and teachers). We met on Saturdays, developed training courses and materials we could offer to publishers, librarians and teachers; did training; reviewed books and published booklists and sets of criteria so professionals had guidelines pointing out things to look out for in order to both avoid selecting books which could offend or damage self esteem and to confidently select books which positively represented children from a range of backgrounds.
1 Comments on A Red Thread, last added: 7/2/2010
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 6/1/2010
Blog: Unabridged - Charlesbridge Publishing Company (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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This is a story about a Hellbender. What the heck is a Hellbender, you might ask? It's a nightmarish creature, twisting, bending, writhing in your dreams, sent straight from that netherworld from which it gets its name.
Actually . . . it's a giant salamander. Cryptobrachus alleganiensis is its scientific name. That other, weirdish name comes from obscure origins. One explanation is that early settlers to the eastern foothills and mountains of the U.S., upon discovering the frightful-looking creature, looked to Biblical references for an appropriate appellation.
Full-grown Hellbenders can grow to over two feet long, head to tail, making it the largest salamander in North America and the third largest in the world (just behind the Chinese and Japanese Giant Salamanders).
Hellbenders are in that "extra-ordinary animal" category, which so fired-up my imagination as a kid. It shares the company in my mind with the likes of the newly discovered (thought to be extinct) prehistoric fish, the Coelacanth (See-la-canth), the Black Rhinoceros (relatively unchanged since Miocene times--a living prehistoric animal), and the rare, jungle-dwelling Okapi (in appearance, half-zebra/half-giraffe). The living Hellbenders today are relatively unchanged since they first evolved millions of years ago. They represent those transitional creatures, halfway between fish and mammal, when Life was just getting a foot on the ground...so to speak.
Three years ago, my wife and I bought a little property in Etowah, North Carolina, near the French Broad River. Etowah gets its name from the tribe of Native Americans who once lived and prospered in the southeastern United States. Each morning I get to watch my kids run up to catch the bus with lush, green mountains towering in the distance. On our little stretch we have a donkey farm, a cow pasture, and a meadow full of goats--a long, long way from Brooklyn.
But I have to admit, with all my talk of finally "living the good life," I was starting to get restless. I began to miss the excitement of New York and started to get depressed. Worse still, the recession hit and my new-found career in children's books took a huge hit. I lost a major contract. Seemingly, the rug was pulled out from under me overnight.
I wasn't so happy about the turn of events, but I tried to make the best of it. To bring in more income, I began teaching as an adjunct professor of drawing at Brevard College, a wonderful school near the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, o
0 Comments on On Waterdogs and Renewed Faith as of 6/1/2010 1:13:00 PM
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 5/19/2010
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Children's Review: Bamboo People
Most young people probably don't even know where to find Myanmar (formerly known as the Union of Burma), and if they do, it's because it made headlines when Cyclone Nargis hit its coast in 2008. But Perkins's (Secret Keeper) involving novel about two teens on either side of the conflict at the Burma-Thai border exposes readers to this little-known part of the world and the issues at the heart of the country's great divide. The book begins with 15-year-old Chico reading A Tale of Two Cities in the walled garden outside the home he shares with his mother. She tells him to come inside; a Burmese boy reading English is enough to rouse suspicion with the soldiers who accused Chico's physician father of treason and hauled him away to prison. Determined to help support his mother, Chico answers an ad in the government newspaper about an exam for new teachers--then discovers it's a trap. The army conscripts all the young men who come to apply for jobs. Instead of becoming a teacher, Chico learns some life-saving lessons from a street boy named Tai, and he in turn teaches Tai to read and write. The two new friends, however, become subject to intra-platoon politics, and Chico winds up as a mine-clearer. Enter Tu Reh, a Karenni 16-year-old living in a refugee camp, who finds a seriously wounded teen in enemy uniform: Chico.
Through the perspectives of her two narrators, the author allows young people to see that they--and we--have more values that unite us than separate us. Perkins demonstrates during the course of the book how bamboo functions in a variety of ways for the people in the Union of Burma: as a source of food, fuel, medicine--and as a weapon. When Tu Reh's father, who is leading a mission to take supplies to a Karenni healer, tells his son that he alone must decide the fate of this injured Burmese soldier, the man says, "I'm going to stay like the bamboo, Tu Reh. I want to be used for many purposes." He asks Tu Reh to make a choice: "Leave him for the animals. End his life now. Or carry him to the healer." Tu Reh's choice leads to another and another, none of them easy. The author paints war in all of its gradations of gray, including the people who influence those decisions, both powerful and seemingly powerless. Readers will leave this moving story--half from Chico's first-person narrative, and half narrated by Tu Reh--with the understanding that everyone has a choice, no matter how dire the circumstances.--Jennifer M. Brown
Mitali Perkins will be a featured speaker at BEA's Children's Book and Author Breakfast, Javits Center, Special Events Hall, Wednesday, May 26, 8-9:30 a.m.
0 Comments on Children's Review: Bamboo People as of 1/1/1900
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 5/14/2010
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About a month ago, Charlesbridge received some great feedback from the readers whose opinion matters most--children! Ms. Rosalind Pelletier's third and fourth grade classes at The Tobin School in Natick, MA had some wonderful things to say:
Dear Charlesbridge,
I am Erin and I want to say we love your books. I am in third grade
at The Tobin School. The books I liked that you published are Different Just Like Me by Lori Mitchell and Diary of a Would-be Princess by Jessica Green. I am inspired by your editing, clear prints, and illustrations. I also like how the books were written. I loved how in the book Different Just Like Me everyone was different and it was okay. I loved Diary of a Would-be Princess because it was hilarious and it taught me a whole lot! I also was surprised when Jillian got the school citizenship award.You guys and gals have excellent talent.
Sincerely, Erin
_________________________
Dear Charlesbridge,
Hi. My name is Drew. I am in third grade at The Tobin School. My teacher loves your books! My favorite books are Diary of a Would-be Princess by Jessica Green, Alice and Greta by Steven J. Simmons and illustrated by Cyd Moore, and Our Seasons by Grace Lin. I like them because they're funny, cool, and adventurous. I hope you have a fun time in business!
From,
Drew_________________________
Dear Charlesbridge,
My name is Amelia. I go to The Tobin School. I am in 3rd grade and I'm 9 years old. I loved the way you guys published Diary of a Would-be Princess by Jessica Green. Happy publishing!
From,
Amelia_________________________
My name is Gus. I am in fourth grade. I go to The Tobin School. My teacher Ms. Pelletier really likes your books. My favorite book that you have published is Diary of a Would-be Princess by Jessica Green.
From,
Gus
P.S. I loved the book because it was funny.
_________________________
Dear Charlesbridge,
From,
Dear Charlesbridge,
From,
By: Charlesbridge,
on 5/4/2010
Blog: Unabridged - Charlesbridge Publishing Company (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: nonfiction, Science, Alexandra Siy, Mosquito Bite, Space, Footprints on the Moon, Sneeze, Cars on Mars, writing, Add a tag
By: Charlesbridge,
on 4/1/2010
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Reading this poem now it reminds me of how much I like the feel, the taste of words. I must have just discovered alliteration as a poetic device. I wrote with rhythm, and I was thinking in images. My poems today are not a whole lot different--I look for rhythm. I taste the words and feel the flow of the words physically as I write them. I think about images.
The poem "The Robin Makes A Laughing Sound" grew out of a walk. I was walking home on a March evening, listening to the bird sounds. A funny noise, soft, yet sudden, made me stop. It reminded me of my neighbor's guinea pigs, the sort of noise they make. I looked around and spotted a robin. I began to think about how to describe the sound the robin had made. This was not its song. This was a kind of call, perhaps a warning. The best I could come up with was a laughing sound. "The robin makes a laughing sound. " Those words fit with the rhythm of my walking. By the time I walked all the way home I had four lines, the beginnning of a poem:
The robin makes a laughing sound
Reminding me to look around
At buds on twig tips swelling big
And swelling worms which robins dig.
The words came naturally as I thought about what I had just experienced. I wrote them down in my journal.
A few days later I came back to the idea. More lines came to me as I revised my first thoughts:
The robin makes a laughing sound
It makes me stop and look around
To see just what the robin sees--
Swelling buds on twigs of trees--
A nice
By: Charlesbridge,
on 3/5/2010
Blog: Unabridged - Charlesbridge Publishing Company (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Science, Mary Corcoran, Jef Czekaj, The Quest to Digest, The Circulatory Story, Add a tag
"This is a well-illustrated book that both kids and adults will enjoy. The Quest to Digest is an easy, fun, interesting, accessible, entertaining account of the digestive process."
-- Science Books & Films
Praise for The Circulatory Story:
"An irresistible invitation to go with the flow."
--Booklist
By: Charlesbridge,
on 3/1/2010
Blog: Unabridged - Charlesbridge Publishing Company (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I'd often take our two daughters, Hayley, 12, and Devon, 10, to investigate the pools. We'd creep over the rocks and peer into the still water. The life in the quiet, salty pools fired my imagination. It was like looking into someone's living room. Everyone was home: anemones, barnacles, starfish (now called sea stars), crabs, sculpins, sea urchins. For five days I watched their comings and goings, prying into their private lives. I scribbled notes. I took photographs. I stayed long after the girls got bored. I'd studied tide pool ecology in a Field Biology course in college a million years ago, so this felt like meeting up with old friends.
As a writer, you have to be ready for inspiration when it shows its face. We returned
to Vermont, shook the sand out of our sneakers, and stored our beach gear in the barn. And then every morning for the next two weeks I woke at five, went to my desk, and wrote poems about tide pool creatures. I browsed field guides. I stared at the shells we'd collected. Sniffed the salty carcass of a sea fan. And with the promise to myself that I would keep B.I.C (Butt In Chair) until I had written something, I began to hear the voices of the tide pool inhabitants.
I wanted Ocean Soup to work on two levels: poems that were entertaining and educational, and solid factual information that would enlighten and expand awareness about a beautiful and threatened habitat. Besides a glossary and further resource
By: Charlesbridge,
on 2/16/2010
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 2/16/2010
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JacketFlap tags: The Blue Marble, Sally Derby, Kyle's Island, Add a tag
By: Charlesbridge,
on 2/1/2010
Blog: Unabridged - Charlesbridge Publishing Company (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: nonfiction, Sally Derby, middle-grade, Kyle's Island, novels, Add a tag
By: Charlesbridge,
on 1/22/2010
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 1/4/2010
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JacketFlap tags: Korea, What Will You Be Sara Mee?, culture, Kate Aver Avraham, family, adoption, writing, Add a tag
I am Jared. I am in third grade and I go to The Tobin School. Thank you for publishing all these great books. My favorite one is Dairy of a Would-be Princess. My favorite part is when she wins the speaking contest. Thank you!
Jared
_________________________
I am in 4th grade at The Tobin School. Thank you for publishing all those wonderful books. I especially like Alice and Greta by Steven J. Simmons. I love it because it's so funny and teaches a good lesson. Thank you again.
Sophie
By: Charlesbridge,
on 5/4/2010
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JacketFlap tags: nonfiction, Science, Alexandra Siy, Mosquito Bite, Space, Footprints on the Moon, Sneeze, Cars on Mars, writing, Add a tag
It was the summer of 2007 and I had a book to write. The time had come--no more stalling: "let's wait a little longer and see what happens up on Mars." That had been my excuse for two years. The Mars Exploration Rovers had landed in January 2004, their mission planned to last ninety days. Then I was to write the book. But the rovers didn't break down or even stop, and the mission went on, and on, and on, and on (and it's still going as I write this in 2010).
In 2007, I had plenty to write about. Tens of thousands of images and an immense amount of scientific data had been sent to Earth, and scientists were forming a detailed geologic picture of the planet. All along I had followed the mission, checking in on the progress of the rovers via NASA's websites, press releases, and publications; reading scientific and technical articles; and devouring the latest books by Jim Bell and Steve Squyres (the main guys behind the mission), calling them at their offices at Cornell University.
But enough--surfing, reading, talking, thinking--it was time to write! Trouble was, I had just experienced a major life change that was only going to get more challenging. In June 2007, my family and I moved to New York State after two years in Anchorage, Alaska. My father was terminally ill and needed care. The moment I stepped off the one-way Alaska Airlines flight into Newark, I became his primary caregiver. (Did I mention that I had four children--ages 8 to 18 at the time--who were not thrilled about the move?) Before confronting the overwhelming task of registering children in new schools, organizing medical care, and learning everything there is to know about catheter bags, my family and I went to the beach for a one week vacation. I brought along my Moleskin© with the idea of beginning my book. This is what I wrote:
I am on an island, on a beach, fishing. The sun has set, but the sky is still pink on the edge. A bell rings constantly from the point of the land that curves into the sea. People line the shore, some wade into the channel, casting into the darkness. Behind me the Moon is up, a crescent in the sky, and nearby a bright dot shines steadily--Venus, I think. Mars is somewhere out there, too. I am trying to imagine myself there, on a distant land, where there is no ocean and where the daytime sky is always pink. If I were there, I'd be bundled in a spacesuit with no chance of actually touching the land with my fingers, or feeling its bitter dry wind in my face. So, how do I write about this distant place--my only reference the postcard photographs taken by little cars that carry cameras and rove its surface? How do I write about a place where I have never been, where no one has ever been?
S0 the next day, while sitting on the beach, these words popped into my head: cars on mars. That was it, of course! That was the title--it was so obvious, yet it had taken more than two years to materialize in my mind. Suddenly, I had something familiar to work with. . .the rovers were like cars on a road trip. And I'd had a lot of experience with road trips--Colorado to New York, New York to California, California to New York, all of Ireland, and the biggie--New York to Alaska on the Alaska Highway, through British Columbia and the Yukon.
As one always does before a road trip, I made lists:
things to take on a road trip
good tunes for a road trip
snacks and drinks for a road trip
signs enc
good tunes for a road trip
snacks and drinks for a road trip
signs enc
1 Comments on Going to Mars, last added: 5/6/2010
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 4/1/2010
Blog: Unabridged - Charlesbridge Publishing Company (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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In honor of National Poetry Month I would like to write a bit about how my poems come to be. I have always loved words, and I have written poetry since I was fairly young. I remember writing poems in fourth grade, probably my first conscious attempt to be a writer. I think they were about horses.
Here is a poem I wrote in high school that got published in our literary magazine:
Well
Deep, dark, damp, and dank
Smooth stone on smooth stone;
Hollow cylinder, receptacle of Earth's tears.
Hairy beard so sopped with ooze
Dripping, dripping, dripping, dropped.
Ringed rings rolling, rolling
Strike the mossy walls with silence.
Deep, dark, forgotten, lost;
Stones of earth laid by man
Worn and worn and worn again,
Cold, rejected, forgotten, hidden
at the base of trees' naked roots.
Home of rat, spider, and dead mole.
Dripping drops of liquid rock
Dark, forgotten cylinder, receptacle of Earth's tears.
Deep, dark, damp, and dank
Smooth stone on smooth stone;
Hollow cylinder, receptacle of Earth's tears.
Hairy beard so sopped with ooze
Dripping, dripping, dripping, dropped.
Ringed rings rolling, rolling
Strike the mossy walls with silence.
Deep, dark, forgotten, lost;
Stones of earth laid by man
Worn and worn and worn again,
Cold, rejected, forgotten, hidden
at the base of trees' naked roots.
Home of rat, spider, and dead mole.
Dripping drops of liquid rock
Dark, forgotten cylinder, receptacle of Earth's tears.
Reading this poem now it reminds me of how much I like the feel, the taste of words. I must have just discovered alliteration as a poetic device. I wrote with rhythm, and I was thinking in images. My poems today are not a whole lot different--I look for rhythm. I taste the words and feel the flow of the words physically as I write them. I think about images.
The poem "The Robin Makes A Laughing Sound" grew out of a walk. I was walking home on a March evening, listening to the bird sounds. A funny noise, soft, yet sudden, made me stop. It reminded me of my neighbor's guinea pigs, the sort of noise they make. I looked around and spotted a robin. I began to think about how to describe the sound the robin had made. This was not its song. This was a kind of call, perhaps a warning. The best I could come up with was a laughing sound. "The robin makes a laughing sound. " Those words fit with the rhythm of my walking. By the time I walked all the way home I had four lines, the beginnning of a poem:
The robin makes a laughing sound
Reminding me to look around
At buds on twig tips swelling big
And swelling worms which robins dig.
The words came naturally as I thought about what I had just experienced. I wrote them down in my journal.
A few days later I came back to the idea. More lines came to me as I revised my first thoughts:
The robin makes a laughing sound
It makes me stop and look around
To see just what the robin sees--
Swelling buds on twigs of trees--
A nice
0 Comments on A Poet Makes A Laughing Sound as of 1/1/1900
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 3/5/2010
Blog: Unabridged - Charlesbridge Publishing Company (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Science, Mary Corcoran, Jef Czekaj, The Quest to Digest, The Circulatory Story, Add a tag
With a new book out this spring, Mary Corcoran is finding herself the object of TV interviewers affection. Yesterday she was a guest on Better Connecticut, a local TV program on WFSB Channel 3. The former seventh grade science teacher talked about her two books with illustrator Jef Czekaj, The Quest to Digest (2006) and The Circulatory Story (February 2010). Click here to see the full interview.
"This is a well-illustrated book that both kids and adults will enjoy. The Quest to Digest is an easy, fun, interesting, accessible, entertaining account of the digestive process."
-- Science Books & Films
Praise for The Circulatory Story:
"An irresistible invitation to go with the flow."
--Booklist
0 Comments on Spotlight on: Mary Corcoran as of 3/5/2010 8:22:00 AM
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 3/1/2010
Blog: Unabridged - Charlesbridge Publishing Company (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Once a park ranger, always a park ranger. Fresh out of college, I worked as a National Park Service ranger. I loved "teaching" or interpreting natural history to park visitors.
One August almost ten years ago, our Vermont family piled into our beat-up Toyota Previa van and drove the six hours to the coast of Maine. We landed in a tiny coastal harbor in a village called Blue Hill. The rental cottage overlooked a narrow tidal inlet. We would be there for the week. E.B. White, the author of many books including Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and Strunk and White's Elements of Style, lived in Brooklin, Maine, just up the road.
The tide pools at the edge of this little Maine cape would provide the inspiration for one of my children's books many years later. A half-mile section of tide pools spanned our front yard, less than 100 feet from the deck of the rental house. At low tide, mid tide, and high tide, I would go exploring. I'm a Vermonter. We have no ocean. So this was like Disneyland for a naturalist.
I'd often take our two daughters, Hayley, 12, and Devon, 10, to investigate the pools. We'd creep over the rocks and peer into the still water. The life in the quiet, salty pools fired my imagination. It was like looking into someone's living room. Everyone was home: anemones, barnacles, starfish (now called sea stars), crabs, sculpins, sea urchins. For five days I watched their comings and goings, prying into their private lives. I scribbled notes. I took photographs. I stayed long after the girls got bored. I'd studied tide pool ecology in a Field Biology course in college a million years ago, so this felt like meeting up with old friends.As a writer, you have to be ready for inspiration when it shows its face. We returned
to Vermont, shook the sand out of our sneakers, and stored our beach gear in the barn. And then every morning for the next two weeks I woke at five, went to my desk, and wrote poems about tide pool creatures. I browsed field guides. I stared at the shells we'd collected. Sniffed the salty carcass of a sea fan. And with the promise to myself that I would keep B.I.C (Butt In Chair) until I had written something, I began to hear the voices of the tide pool inhabitants.I wanted Ocean Soup to work on two levels: poems that were entertaining and educational, and solid factual information that would enlighten and expand awareness about a beautiful and threatened habitat. Besides a glossary and further resource
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 2/16/2010
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JacketFlap tags: nonfiction, Cybils, the day-glo brothers, Chris Barton, Add a tag
It's hard not to notice The Day-Glo Brothers--that bio/science book about the two brothers who invented Day-Glo colors and changed the world. So, naturally, the bloggers of the kidlitosphere--an intelligent and talented bunch of writers--noticed not just how the colors pop, but how human this story really is: two brothers, a couple of dreams diverted, and an accident and what you get? A Cybils Nonfiction Picture Book Award.
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 2/16/2010
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On February 2nd, Sally Derby launched the release of Kyle's Island at The Blue Marble Bookstore in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. Dave Richardson, of The Blue Marble, said, "It was fantastic... and even though things were crowded, no one complained."
Enjoy these pics:
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 2/1/2010
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JacketFlap tags: nonfiction, Sally Derby, middle-grade, Kyle's Island, novels, Add a tag
At the outset, let me acknowledge that I have no research to back up the statement above. No scientific studies to cite; I haven't even taken a poll. My only authority comes from my having raised seven boys, all of whom, I'm glad to say, are happily married, gainfully employed, and still speaking to me on a regular basis. (I am also the mother of a lovely, intelligent daughter, but her story will have to come at another time.) I acknowledge, too, that not everything I say here will be true of all boys, and that some of my observations will apply to girls too. Still...
When my first child was born, I was disconcerted to learn, as I swam groggily to consciousness, that I had given birth to a boy. Of course, I'd known this was theoretically possible, but since I had no brothers, no neighborhood boys to play with as a child, and had gone to a woman's college, I kind of assumed that God would know I wasn't equipped to be the mother of a boy. Let alone another boy. And then another, et cetera, et cetera, until my sons numbered five (I'll get to the seven part later).
As my sons grew older and their number increased, I made some interesting observations. Number one: No matter what the intended purpose of a toy might be, a boy would immediately consider it something to take apart, to use as a hammer or a drumstick, or to convert into some sort of military weapon.
Number two: Boys are incapable of holding still. I am convinced that as grade-schoolers, were such diagnoses then available (along with their pharmaceutical remedies), my boys would all have been labeled hyper-active, overly distractible, and possibly of below average mentality. In view of their later achievements and those of a number of boys I have tutored, I've come to the conclusion that boys should always start school a year later than girls, and that they should never be expected to sit quietly for more than ten minutes at a time until they reach the age of maturity, which is usually about forty-six. (Sometimes older)
Number three: Boys occupy at least twice as much space as girls do. Watch a group of three or four girls. They can entertain themselves for hours just sitting on the top of a stoop with books or crayons or dolls. During the same amount of time, boys will need the front and back yards of four or five houses, preferable furnished with trees for climbing, bushes for hiding in, and one or two areas where digging is allowed.
My oldest son was thirteen and my youngest two when I realized that these boys were not meant for suburbia. They needed space to stretch their burgeoning wings. I thought a house surrounded by four or five acres of woods would be just about right. Unfortunately, acreage of that size in or close to Cincinnati was more than our budget could handle and I couldn't convince my husband of the advisability of a move to Australia where there was still that whole lovely Outback to explore.
We compromised by selling our five room ranch-style house at a loss (something IRS agents found unbelievable - obviously none of them had ever seen what five boys can do to a house), and moving to a three-story Victorian on the other side of town.
For a while, exploring a new neighborhood provided sufficient outlet for the boys' ne
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 1/22/2010
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Don't call it Beantown. It's "America's Walking City" and it is our understanding that on Saturday, January 15th, you could walk around town quite comfortably during our January thaw. We wouldn't know. We were tucked away underground in the Boston Convention Center (the fairly new big boy of convention centers), enjoying the warmth of librarians.
While it may have been 40 degrees outside, it was hot in the aisles. And it was wicked hot ("wicked" is a popular word in New England that means "really, really"), at the Charlesbridge booth with authors like Mitali Perkins and Lynn Plourde signing.
At left is a photo of Mitali signing copies of the ARC of her upcoming novel, Bamboo People (July 2010). Notice Angus Killick and friends hovering Zelig-like for photo ops.
(Photo from American Libraries Photostream)
But the most exciting part of all -- as always -- was Monday morning and the awards announcements. This year Charlesbridge got to scream real loud (just like on Pee Wee's Playhouse). The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton and illustrated by Tony Persiani, was named a Sibert Honor Book. Fantastic to be in our own backyard and to be able to have people in the hall to holler (despite the now-bad weather) because it's just sad when it's just the two of you. And what a great dollop of cream filling for a cupcake of a year for that most awesome of books.
Speaking of cupcakes... whenever anything remotely good happens at Charlesbridge -- a book wins a major award, someone has a baby, a brand new episode of Lost -- the staff at the Bridge tends to celebrate. Never met an office-full of people so ready to stop, drop, and gather in the conference room for some chips and dip. Or, in this case, Day-Glo cupcakes. With champagne (surprisingly not a bad combo). There was orange juice for mimosas for those that don't like their alcohol straight up first thing in the morning. We're "rock stars", not rock stars.
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 1/4/2010
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JacketFlap tags: Korea, What Will You Be Sara Mee?, culture, Kate Aver Avraham, family, adoption, writing, Add a tag
Story. Tra
dition. Love. The family of our heart as well as of our blood and bone.
These are what motivated my to write my picture book, What Will You Be, Sara Mee? These are what made and continue to make me want to share my experiences with others.
Family...
When my daughter, whose name really is Sara Mee Jung Kim, arrived at the San Francisco airport from Korea on September 14, 1984, she was exactly, to the day, fourteen months old. Our whole family was there, waiting for the plane to land--all watching out the big window toward the runway. I walked down a long corridor to the door of the 747 jumbo jet. When the escort placed Sara Mee in my arms, she was wearing a light green terry cloth sleeper. And she was crying. I spoke gently to her in Korean, Mee Jung ah, ool jee mah. She stopped crying instantly and looked up at me with a big smile. I carried her back down the long corridor where the rest of her family--Daddy, big brother, Grandma and Grandpa--met her for the first time. There was a lot of hugging and crying, crying and hugging. The story of our life together as a new family had begun. That story, like any story, has had many chapters. Joyful chapters. Funny chapters. Suspenseful chapters. And tragic, sad chapters. But all the chapters tell a story of love that has been enriched by sharing a diverse wealth of...
Traditions...
By: Charlesbridge,
on 12/23/2009
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 12/2/2009
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 11/12/2009
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JacketFlap tags: Publishers Weekly, Day-Glo Brothers, kirkus reviews, buckeye book fair, Chris Barton, Add a tag
By: Charlesbridge,
on 9/24/2009
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JacketFlap tags: magic babushka, bob dylan, folk, Add a tag
By: Charlesbridge,
on 10/1/2009
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JacketFlap tags: magic babushka, bob dylan, folk tales, folk music, Russia, Add a tag
By: Charlesbridge,
on 10/5/2009
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 10/7/2009
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 10/22/2009
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Good Dog, Aggie
What REALLY Happened to Humpty?
(from the files of a hard-boiled detective)
Cars on Mars: Roving the Red Planet
Bubble Homes and Fish Farts
Pippo the Fool
By: Charlesbridge,
on 11/2/2009
Blog: Unabridged - Charlesbridge Publishing Company (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Tony Persiani, Publishers Weekly, Day-Glo Brothers, Best Books, Chris Barton, Add a tag
By: Charlesbridge,
on 11/5/2009
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We were one big multicultural family even before Sara Mee's arrival. A joyful, eclectic blend of European, Celtic, Ashkenazi Jewish, a bit of Native American. When I was in high school, Mariko, an AFS exchange student from Japan lived with us for a year. She and her family became a part of our family and added many more rich traditions and, to date, over forty years of sharing stories and visits, one continent to the other. We celebrated pretty much everything throughout the seasons. With Sara Mee's arrival, Korean culture and customs were woven into the cycle of our lives. Even though she was just past one year old, we decided to have a "Tol," the ritual first birthday celebration featured in What Will You Be, Sara Me? Our dear Korean neighbors, the Yees, helped us plan the Tol and prepare for the Toljabee, prophecy game. Just like in the story, we invited friends and family and neighbors. Just like in the story, everyone ate and talked, laughed and gathered to see what Sara Mee would be. Should I tell what symbolic item she chose? What her prophecy was? No, I think I'll let everyone wonder and only hint that though my story is based on real experience, it is also fiction. And, it is autobiographical like most stories are at lea
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 12/23/2009
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/fashion/weddings/13NAILOR.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
THE STORY
My daughter, Kaaryn Nailor, was married Sunday December 13, 2009 at Bridgewaters in lower Manhattan. Fifty guests came from out of town and stayed at a hotel near the site--myself included.
Ten AM found me in the bridal suite with the bridesmaids for hair, makeup, lunch, mimosas, steaming gowns, waiting for the wedding planner...Then someone came in (the planner?) and announced that the wedding announcement was in that morning’s New York Times. As we were looking at it, the photographer, Kenny Pang, came in and was excited as it was his photo that ran. He said hardly anyone gets their announcement in the paper and of those that do, they rarely get a photo. I used to do the wedding announcements when I was a staff writer on the Women’s Page of the Hartford Courant and knew that he was right.
THE WEDDING
It was held in South Street Seaport, an historic area near Wall Street. It has narrow, winding, cobblestone streets, replicas of 18th century sailing vessels, and quaint shops.
There was a tree, four stories tall, in the center mall with bright red ribbons and we could see it through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
First Lady Michelle Paterson was there. She, like First Lady Michelle Obama, is black. Michelle Paterson’s husband is the Governor of New York State, and the first legally blind governor in US history.
The wedding ended at 10 PM when the DJ played Alicia Key’s “Empire State of Mind.” New Yorkers are in love with that song. Then they played Frank Sinatra's “New York, New York” and all the guests gathered together into a line and did a Rockette’s-style high kick. I think this is all now a New York City tradition.
GROOM
The wedding was beautiful. The only person who cried was the groom (3 times). When the minister announced them man and wife, the groom--nicknamed Bam (from the Flintstone’s character)--grabbed my daughter and said, “I love you so much. I am so happy,” then held on to her and sobbed.
There was a groom’s dinner the night before the wedding. A woman who Bam went to high school with is now a famous cake designer (like those TV shows- “Amazing Cakes," etc.). She and my daughter got together and secretly designed a cake for the groom. It was of his backpack with booklets etc. from his favorite sports team, a lift ticket (they will have a ski honeymoon in Colorado), and a replica of their puppy’s leash down to the weave.
THE END
After the wedding (10 PM) the guests were surprised with cocoa and cookies in the lobby of the event facility. Then we were given sparklers. They were lit and we formed an arch. The bride and groom came out, went under the arch to the waiting white limo, but half way down the arch the groom grabbed my daughter and gave her a long, passionate kiss.
MORE
The next morning--Monday--the bride and groom hosted a breakfast from 10 AM to noon at Freshly Made, a pretty restaurant that made homemade frittatas, bagels, French toast, Vermont bacon, etc...all buffet-style.
I got back to my apartment a few days later and went online to discover that people had sent The New York Times link around. Not only were people reading about my child’s wedding, but they were also reading about my book! The link was on her law school’s page, the websites for the many vendors for the wedding, Facebook, Twitter...Wow.
They are off on their honeymoon and I am a happy mom.
Happy holidays!
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 12/2/2009
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In less than twenty-four hours I am headed to Deutschland to share in my son's experiences with the people of Germany. Christmas markets will be all aglow with booths filled with the Christmas season. There will be music, and happy chatter, scents of cherry and chocolate filled crepes mixed with evergreen and incense, and I think I'll laugh when again no one has heard of the German tradition of the Christmas pickle, said to have descended from a world war when a soldier gave a starving prisoner his dill pickle. The prisoner and those who knew of the story were said to have hung a pickle on the tree ever since--which ascended into a glass pickle ornament and a child's Christmas morning game. When my son asked about the tradition, multiple folks in Germany laughed. "Americans hang pickles on their Christmas tree?"
Meanwhile amid all this festive fun, I feel Aggie's cold nose against my brain wondering what trouble she wants to get into now. I am Aggie smitten. The only dog I ever owned was a collie pup. I was quite young ,we lived in a small Syracuse, New York, apartment where dogs couldn't stay, and Lad became my aunt's dog. I never knew I had a love for dogs until I met Aggie. Then I was dog gone.
My bishop had a dog, a big floppy golden lab. This was Aggie. When I first saw Aggie, she lazed in the summer sun on the back patio of the beach house. We'd brought young single adults from church to their beach house for a day of BBQ and boating. As skis, tubes, and kids were loaded into two boats, our bishop's sweet wife brought bread outside for my young daughter. Ducks waded nearby in the shallows.
Jennifer tore and tossed bread into the lake, and Aggie's head lifted. She picked up her floppy body and bounded toward us. Aggie took a giant leap into the lake right on top of the bread. SPLASH! Ducks squawked flapping for the skies, bread sank to the depths below, and Aggie doggie paddled back with the smirkiest doggie grin.
Instantly she came right to where we were standing, shook her self off, as if her splash wasn't wet enough, and then she went right back to her sun heated cemenet bed and flopped down. I was drawn to this funny dog. I half felt she knew exactly what she was doing. A-G-G-I-E spelled trouble.
Though new to the writing world, I knew she was my character, I just knew it. An excited energy filled me when I simply thought of her. My heart would get all happy, jumpy, and my mind would want to play. I loved this character. I interviewed my owner friends again and again. The more I learned about Aggie, the more she cracked me up. Then , I started to hear Ben. (He actually began as an imaginary young Tony McCasline.) I fell hard for dogs and found myself at the pet store with my children taking pups out of cages just to play. Then, one day I took the kids, and there was a beautiful baby girl husky pup with sky blue eyes. We ran home and dragged in dad. He got the pupster out to play. We all fell in love with a husky and she didn't go back. Daily doggie adventures of garbage, mud, digging and squirr
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 11/12/2009
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JacketFlap tags: Publishers Weekly, Day-Glo Brothers, kirkus reviews, buckeye book fair, Chris Barton, Add a tag
Chris Barton's first book for children wowed 'em in Wooster. Ohio, that is.
Chris recently traveled to the great state of Ohio, the home of the Day-Glo Corporation--which was founded by Bob and Joe Switzer, the subjects of his book--to visit the Buckeye Book Fair. While there, he took the opportunity to visit the Day-Glo plant. Read all about it at his blog, Bartography.
From the photos, this factory looks like the most beautiful place in the world to work. But that broom is mostly useless, if you ask our Irish mother.
The Day-Glo Brothers has enjoyed a great run right out of the gate:
* Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Books of 2009
* Kirkus Reviews' Best Children's Books of 2009
"[T]hese . . . brothers shine even more brightly than the paints and dyes they created. "
--Kirkus Reviews, starred review"Barton takes on the dual persona of popular historian and cool science teacher as he chronicles the Switzer brothers' invention of the first fluorescent paint visible in daylight. "
--Publishers Weekly, starred review"This unique book does an excellent job of describing an innovative process."
--School Library Journal, starred review
Visit Chris Barton online.
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 9/24/2009
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Charlesbridge enters the rock pantheon with The Magic Babushka.
As you can see on this Bob Dylan album cover for Dimestore Medicine, Bob's friend (is that Sara?) is wearing her own magic babushka.
A side-by-side comparison
This photo is from 1965. Dylan is a folk music hero. The Magic Babushka is inspired by Russian folk tales and was originally published in 1998.
The Magic Babushka
by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
ISBN 978-1-58089-225-4
Ages 5-8, Paperback, $7.95
by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
ISBN 978-1-58089-225-4
Ages 5-8, Paperback, $7.95
2 Comments on Finally! A Dylan Connection, last added: 9/28/2009
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 10/1/2009
Blog: Unabridged - Charlesbridge Publishing Company (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: magic babushka, bob dylan, folk tales, folk music, Russia, Add a tag
Bob Crelin will be posting his blog entry soon.
Meanwhile, did you see how Charlesbridge and Bob Dylan have a lot in common in the previous post below? Uncanny. Bob is also of Russian descent, which makes The Magic Babushka even more Dylanesque. Plus it's an Easter story, which Bob mentions in "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" on Highway 61 Revisited.
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 10/5/2009
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JacketFlap tags: author visits, faces of the moon, author readings, moon, Add a tag
Bob Crelin assures me that his blog entry is forthcoming. Meanwhile, as you can see at the left, he's busy sharing Faces of the Moon with young readers who are eager to find out more about a planet's best friend.
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 10/7/2009
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JacketFlap tags: children's astronomy, faces of the moon, moon, Bob Crelin, Add a tag
Faces of the Moon is my new children's book, released this July in time for the United Nations' International Year of Astronomy. Featuring amazing linoleum-cut illustrations by artist Leslie Evans, this book reintroduces the Moon to the young, and young at heart, and helps the reader/listener make sense of her ever-changing face.
I never envisioned myself becoming a writer of children's books, per se. Among other things, I am an amateur astronomer. I enjoy sharing the night sky because we all are curious about the mysteries beyond our world. Learning about the universe also gives kids a tangible appreciation for the fragile nature of our humble planet--orbiting a little star in a VERY big place. And after all, gazing into the great expanse of space can turn even a grownup into a wide-eyed child, when we feel the awe and wonder not only in our hearts, but throughout our entire bodies.
As my friends and family will attest, I have remained in touch with my "child self" throughout my 50 years (this makes me sometimes forget that I don't quite look like the
rest of the kids when I drop into a skateboard half-pipe nowadays). Perhaps this benefits my writing for children, but most of all, several years of teaching elementary astronomy has helped me notice where other books can lose kids' attention and curiosity. Having been a longtime musician, I also understand our natural attraction to rhythm and rhyme, and that's why I write my books in rhyming verse.
There are more books available on the Moon, planets, and space than there are stars in the sky. When I approached writing my books, I needed a more grand purpose for my astronomical verse. For instance, there were no kid's books that explained why it's difficult for us to see all the stars in our night skies nowadays (because of the problem of man-made "light pollution"). For me, this was a perfect challenge: to tell this timely story with a message of hope, instead of just being a downer. There Once Was a Sky Ful
l of Stars wound up exceeding my expectations.
For my latest book, instead of pursuing tantalizing astronomical subjects like black holes, or galaxies that devour one another, I instead chose to focus on an entry level to astronomy: the Moon, which I consider humankind's first "stepping stone" to the universe. I had my sights set on 2009, the International Year of Astronomy, and I thought, "What could better engage the public-at-large in astronomy than the Moon?" For all the knowledge humankind has accumulated to date, most grownups can't even tell you why the Moon goes through different phases--if they even notice it does! The basic story of Earth's satellite seems to have never been told or shown in a way that stuck with the reader. I took my next challenge: to write a book that would make Moon gazing exciting again and help make basic lunar information household knowledge. Fully loaded with the "goods"--lyrical rhyme, die cut pages, and Leslie's beautiful illustrations--Faces of the Moon offers one of the most inviting gateways to astronomy yet.
If you haven't already, I invite you to tatke a look at Faces of the Moon for yourself. In our rapid-paced, plugged-in modern world, which is only getting faster and less organic, it wouldn't hurt for us to raise a whole new generation that can still look beyond it all and connect to the silent grandeur of our universe--even by merely following the Moon in orbit.
Stop by sometime and visit my website.
Posted by Bob Crelin, author of Faces of the Moon.
Check out the Faces of the Moon - Moon Gazers' Wheel
Click here to watch a trailer of Faces of the Moon.
Download the Teachers' Guide.
Listen to podcasts and watch interviews with Bob Crelin at Charlesbridge.com
1 Comments on Bringing the Moon Down to Earth, last added: 10/8/2009
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 10/22/2009
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The Cybils are awesome and they like us. They really, really like us.
Charlesbridge books that have received a nod:
CATEGORY: Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books
Good Dog, Aggie
CATEGO
RY: Fiction Picture Books
RY: Fiction Picture BooksWhat REALLY Happened to Humpty?
(from the files of a hard-boiled detective)
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction - middle/teen
Cars on Mars: Roving the Red Planet
CATEGORY: Non-fiction/Information Picture Books
Bubble Homes and Fish Farts
Pippo the Fool
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 11/2/2009
Blog: Unabridged - Charlesbridge Publishing Company (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Tony Persiani, Publishers Weekly, Day-Glo Brothers, Best Books, Chris Barton, Add a tag
The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors
Chris Barton, illus. by Tony Persiani (Charlesbridge)
The unlikely subjects of this fascinating picture book biography exemplify ingenuity and dedication to chasing one's dreams.
And some other very nice books are on this list and you can find them at PW.com."[T]hese . . . brothers shine even more brightly than the paints and dyes they created. "
--Kirkus Reviews"Barton takes on the dual persona of popular historian and cool science teacher as he chronicles the Switzer brothers' invention of the first fluorescent paint visible in daylight. "
--Publishers Weekly"This unique book does an excellent job of describing an innovative process."
--School Library Journal
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By: Charlesbridge,
on 11/5/2009
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For the longest time, I avoided writing about my family.
My husband, who knew all about my interesting childhood, couldn't fathom why I'd waste "such a gold mine."
He'd shrug, muttering about how "you can't make this stuff up."
I had written three novels for young readers, none about my life in particular, though my first came the closest. That one, How I Survived My Summer Vacation, is about a boy who wants to be an author.
The next two, The Girlfriend Project and Nothing, are, respectively, about a boy who wants a girlfriend and a boy who develops bulimia. (My family, startled by the subject matter of the latter, asked for several assurances that I was not, in fact, writing from experience. I was not.)
But I'd never written a novel about a girl.
Or, more specifically, a girl who was born in Israel, lives in immigrant poverty, and tries desperately to understand the American dream.
And I never thought I would, until I met the late Paul Zindel, renowned author of The Pigman, at a writing luncheon. Offhandedly he commented that all of his books are autobiographical.
"Doesn't your family get angry with you for writing about them?" someone asked.
"Yes," he replied casually. "But then they ask me who's playing them in the movie."
It got me thinking. More than thinking, it got me writing.
I started with the basics: A thirteen-year-old girl, born in Israel, growing up on Staten Island in the 1980s.
I added: She hates gym, watches too much TV, and, most distressingly, can't get her hair to do what everybody else's hair does, that is, feathering into a set of perfect wings.
I kept going, embracing all the cringe-worthy memories of adolescence that are probably best left forgotten, much less broadcast.
I'm talking about the most private, most embarrassing, most personal kinds of thoughts a thirteen-year-old girl could possibly confide to a nonjudgmental diary with a lock firmly around its middle.
Yes, that means observations on boys, body image, desire, and self-esteem, all tinged with a palpable current of longing that could exist only within the peculiar eccentricities of being an outsider, a foreigner in a strange land, with the attendant constant feelings of being excluded, different, and even unwelcome.
Then I added the fiction. Or, more to the point, I added what I would have liked to see in real life if I had been in charge of the story.
A seductive concept, to be sure. Maybe even literary therapy.
I had a finished draft all ready to go in 2004. Little did I know it would be five rewrites and five years before my draft became a published novel.
The responses from editors were surprising, to say the least.
"Not believable."
"This can't really have happened."
"The characters don't seem real."
More and more, I rewrote my autobiography, moving my story further and further away from reality. Finally, it sold.
The Importance of Wings was published in July, 2009.
It's still about a thirteen-year-old girl growing up on Staten Island in the 1980s, born in Israel, who watches too much TV and hates gym and her non-feathered, non-wings hair.
But mostly it's fiction, fiction I would have picked for my childhood story. After all, authors don't just "write what they know"; sometimes they write what they wish they knew.
As publication day drew nearer, I still had two hurdles left to clear: my sister and my mother. I stalled as long as I could, and knowing I was writing from experience, they were getting downright concerned. (My father was in the book too, but he'd always been easygoing about my writing, and not much of a reader, besides.)
I mailed my mother and sister advanced reading copies a few months ahead of publication and hoped for the best.
The verdict came back: Four thumbs up.
Along with indignant "how-come-you-never-told-me?" com
ments.
"I thought you really liked gym."
"Did you really hate your hair?"
"I didn't know you liked Wonder Woman."
"Were you that worried about fitting in?"
"Well," I replied, trying to shrug off the questions and trying to channel Paul Zindel, "You'll just have to wait for the movie."
Posted by Robin Friedman, author of The Imporatance of Wings.
Visit Robin online.
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