How to use this Page

This is so neat that I wish I could apply for it myself.  I cannot, but if you’re a member of ALSC, you could (you lucky thing).

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is seeking a personal member interested in representing ALA/ALSC on the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY).

One representative will be selected by the ALA Executive Board to serve a two-year term from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2018. If you are interested in representing ALA/ALSC on the USBBY Board, please complete the online application (http://bit.ly/29S9ojN) and submit a cover letter addressed to the ALA Executive Board, a resume/CV, and one letter of recommendation no later than Tuesday, September 6, 2016.

Required Qualifications

The applicant must:

* Be a current ALSC personal member

* Have demonstrated experience in evaluating, selecting and promoting children’s literature

* Attend all USBBY meetings and conferences during his/her term of appointment. Expenses to attend USBBY meetings/conferences are the responsibility of the individual or his/her institution. USBBY, ALA and ALSC do not provide financial support

* Have knowledge of key ALSC services and resources in order to serve as an effective liaison between USBBY and ALSC’s Board of Directors

* Be a competent user of new technologies, such as wikis and electronic chat platforms, in order to accomplish work in a virtual environment between meetings

* Have demonstrated leadership skills necessary to serve on an organization’s board of directors

Responsibilities of USBBY board members

1. Attend and participate in the three annual board meetings (typically in February at CBC in New York City; in June at the ALA annual conference; and in October/November at the IBBY Regional Conference (in odd numbered years) or the NCTE conference (in even numbered years).
2. Submit USBBY news to newsletters, journals, web sites, and electronic discussion lists of related organizations.
3. Recruit new members, nurture current members, and make the Board and Nominating Committee aware of potentially active committee members or volunteers.
4. Serve as the official liaison between ALSC and USBBY 5. Assist with planning USBBY board meetings at conferences 6. Assist with planning USBBY co-sponsored programs at conferences

Documentation needed

The ALA Executive Board requires that suggestions for nominations be accompanied by a resume/CV and cover letter which indicates:

* A short summary statement of the nominee’s qualifications and indication of present position

* Affirmation that the person can fulfill the meeting attendance and travel requirements

Additionally, the ALSC Board requires:

* A letter of recommendation

Timeline

* Sept. 6 2016: deadline to submit online application and resume to ALSC for consideration

* Sept. 6- 23, 2016: ALSC’s Board of Directors evaluates applications and selects one applicant to recommend to the ALA Executive Board for appointment

* Week of Sept. 26, 2016: ALSC notifies applicants as to the status of their application

* Early October: ALA Executive Board meets and considers ALSC’s recommendation

* Week of October 24, 2016: ALSC notifies nominee of ALA Executive Board’s decision

* Jan. 1, 2017: Appointee begins representation on USBBY Board

2017 USBBY Board Meetings:

*           March 3, 2017: Representatives First 2017 USBBY Board meeting

*           June 22, 2017: Chicago during ALA Conference

*           October 19, 2017: Seattle just before the IBBY Regional Conference

To learn more about USBBY go to www.usbby.org/<http://www.usbby.org/>.

Please contact Aimee Strittmatter ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>) for questions about the ALSC application process.

Aimee Strittmatter, MSI, CAE

Executive Director

Association for Library Service to Children a division of the American Library Association

50 East Huron Street

Chicago, IL 60611

312-280-2163 | fax: 312-280-5271

[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>

Morning, folks.  Here in the frozen tundra they call the Chicago area (a hot toddy to anyone who can explain to me why the wind blows TO the lake and not from it) we’re huddled in our homes dreaming of spring.  So while you shiver and shake (obviously this does not apply to you tropical climate denizens) warm yourself over some truly goofy links today.

• First up, Travis Jonker wins.  He wins for the best Finding Winnie post of all time.  What’s it about?  Here’s a hint: Baby got back.

• Many things changed when I moved from NYC to Evanston.  My commute is shorter.  The air is clearer.  And I’ve actually joined two (count ’em) two online mom groups.  I had sort of heard of them before, but the idea of joining one for NYC moms was too daunting.  With that in mind, this 10 Little Monkeys parody called to me.  It speaks truth.  Thanks to brother-in-law Steve for the link.

• So, uh, what’d you do this week?  Did you start a campaign to collect #1000blackgirlbooks?  A woman by the name of Marley Dias did that.  Marley is also 11.  Marley is clearly going to rule the world someday and I welcome that day when it comes.  In the meantime, those authors and illustrators amongst you that have something to contribute, you might want to learn more.  The address on where to send the books appears at the end of the article. Thanks to mom for the link.

• There are many places to go if you’re in the mood to see what precisely people are talking about when they discuss A Birthday Cake for George Washington.  I’ve very much enjoyed the comments on Read Roger’s recent post A Bumpy Ride.  Also enjoyable is Mitali Perkins’ blog where she considers what a different biography of Hercules might consist of.  Food for thought.

• Look what Bob Staake’s next book looks like!! Look familiar?

• It came out a little while ago but the Chronicle post So You Want to Work In Publishing: Advice from a Chronicle Books Editor could be of use to either you or any student you happen to know with an interest in joining publishing’s ranks.

Every year USBBY (the United States Board on Books for Young People) creates a list of Outstanding International Books.  They recently released their 2016 Outstanding International Books and it’s well worth a gander.  If you feel that your knowledge of international children’s literature is lacking, boy are you in luck! The list is also available in bookmark form and as a Google Map form with annotations and cover art.  Looking at it, you get a real sense of which countries are producing the most interesting children’s book imports. Wouldn’t mind an uptick in the number of African nations and South America is fairing poorly.  I remember from my time visiting the Bologna Book Fair about 5 years ago the lack of South American books.  If I recall, they mostly import and translate titles.

• They’re turning a YA novel into an opera.  Cool, right?  Let’s just go and see which one it’s gonna beeeeYAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!  THAT one?  They’re turning THAT novel into an opera?  The novel that takes huge bites out of my soul every evening since I read it?  THAT one?

Cool.

Daily Image:

This is for you teachers and parents out there.  The V&A Museum has come up with this amazing design-your-own-wig feature on their website.  Informative and fun and kind of disgusting all at once.  What’s not to love?  Consider this my ode to Seuss.

Many thanks to Alison Goodman for the link.

Día: Diversity in Action (image courtesy of ALSC)

Established in memory of Arlene Pillar, an educator who served USBBY as newsletter editor from 1984 until her untimely death in 1990, the Bridge to Understanding Award formally acknowledges programs that use children’s books to promote international understanding among children. The responses of many of the families who participated in the Día Family Book Club show just how successful this program has been.

For more information about the Día Family Book Club program and to download the club toolkit and lesson plans please visit: http://dia.ala.org/content/start-book-club.

The post ALSC to receive 2014 USBBY Award #alamw15 appeared first on ALSC Blog.

The following are a few good ways to get involved in the dynamic world of YA.

ALAN, the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE, is seeking applicants for the position of editor of their journal, The ALAN Review.  To apply, interested persons should submit the following: a letter of application detailing qualifications for the position and the applicant’s vision for the journal, a current vita, one sample of published writing, and a letter of general support from appropriate administrators at the applicant’s institution. Classroom teachers are eligible and encouraged to apply. Applications should be sent via email, using the subject line, ALAN Editor, to Teri Lesesne, Executive Director of ALAN ([email protected]). Please send files as Word attachments. Applications must be received no later than October 1, 2013. Finalist interviews will be conducted at the NCTE conference in Boston.

Note that the TAR editor receives complimentary registration to the ALAN Workshop and a stipend of $2,000 a year.

Click here for further information about the position from ALAN’s Policy & Procedure Manual.

There is still time to register for the United States Board On Books International Conference in St. Louis MO, Oct. 18-20
Speaker highlights: Ashley Bryan, Mem Fox, Gregory Maguire, Pat Mora, Katherine Paterson, Peter Sis, Jacqueline Woodson
Breakout Session highlights (and there are many more):
“Bringing the World to Your Library: Incorporating International Books into Everyday Practice”
“Diverse Voices, Digital Narratives: Connecting Children, Books, and Digital Media  to Promote Bookjoy Around the World”
“PictureBookJoy: Humor in International Picture Books”
“Depictions of African American and Black Culture in Graphic Literature”
“Hair in Children’s Literature around the World”
“BookJoy for Middle School: Poetry in Many Voices”

___________

YALSA is seeking program proposals and paper presentations for its 2014 Young Adult Literature Symposium,Keeping it Real: Finding the True Teen Experience in YA Literature, to be held October 31 – November 2, 2014 in Austin, TX.   YALSA’s 2014 Young Adult Literature Symposium will gather together librarians, educators, researchers, authors and publishers to explore what’s ‘real’ in the world of teen literature.  In what ways is young adult literature reflecting the real and amazing diversity of today’s 42 million teens and it what ways has it fallen short?  Who are today’s teens, really?  What are the ‘real’ issues that they want and need to read about, and how do they want to read about them?  Why are realistic teen experiences in books sometimes controversial when they accurately portray a young person’s life? How are the evolving areas of identity and sex(uality) being explored in YA literature and nonfiction?  Join YALSA as we explore what is ‘real’ in young adult literature.

YALSA invites interested parties to propose 90-minute programs centering on the theme, as well as paper presentations offering new, unpublished research relating to the theme. Applications for all proposals can be found at http://ala.org/yalitsymposium  (click “Propose a Paper/Program”). Proposals for programs and paper presentations must be completed online by Nov. 1, 2013. Applicants will be notified of their proposals’ status the week of Jan. 12, 2014.

Important news from IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People)

In international children’s book news,  the 2013 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award,  sponsored by the Swedish government and currently the world’s largest award for children’s and young adult literature, has been presented to Isol, the Argentinian writer and illustrator of children’s books.  According to the ALMA website:  ” Isol’s great talent as a picturebook author is apparent in the overall experience created by the dramatic composition, the choice of colours and the intensity of the drawn line.”  (wwww.alma.se)

IBBY has selected the next editor for Bookbird .  Dr. Bjorn Sundmark will edit the journal from 2015- 2018.  He is Associate Professor of English at the Faculty of Education, Malmo University, Sweden, and serves on the board of the Swedish National  Culture Council.

We are excited about the upcoming IBBY Regional Conference in St. Louis,  October  18-20, 2013.  Early bird registration ends June 16.  Please spread the word so people can save $35-$40 if you are a member or non-member.  The line up of general session speakers is quite amazing and includes:  Ashley Bryan, Pat Mora, Katherine Paterson, Siobhan Parkinson, Peter Sis, Klass Verplancke, Mem Fox, Jacqueline Woodson, Bryan Collier, Gregory Maguire and more.  Conference details and registration/hotel information can be found at:  http://www.usbby.org

This month we wanted to share information about children’s book awards in Canada.  Here are some of the highlights from the 2012 Canadian children’s book awards.
 
The Governor General’s Literary Awards are given by the  Canada Council of the Arts.  A text and illustration award is given each year in both French and English.  The 2012 recipients:
Children’s Text Winner
Nielsen, Susin.  The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen (Tundra)
Daigle, France. Pour sûr (Éditions du Boréal)
Children’s Illustration Winner
Maclear, Kyo.  Virginia Wolf.  Illustrated by Isabelle  Arsenault (Kids Can)
Gravel, Élise.  La clé à  molette (Éditions de la courte échelle)

The Canadian Children’s Book Center awarded six major children’s book awards in 2012.
TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award:  Kent, Trilby.  Stones for my Father (Tundra)
Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award.  Côté, Geneviève.  Without You (Kids Can)
Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction:  Vande Griek, Susan. Loon (Groundwood)
Geoffrey Bilson  Award for Historical Fiction for Young People:  Cayley, Kate.  The Hangman in the Mirror (Annick)
John Spray Mystery Award:  Mills, Rob.  Charlie’s Key (Orca)
Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy:  Collins, P. J.  Sara. What Happened to Serenity? (Red Deer Press)

The most recent recipient of the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children is:  Pearson, Kit.  The Whole Truth (HarperCollins; awarded April 2012).

This content originally appeared in an email from USBBY to Edith Campbell.

Before we begin I would like to have a few words with the publishers on behalf of catalogers nationwide.

Ahem.

Hi, guys.  How’s it going?  Heckuva weird weather we’ve had lately, right?  Yeah . . . so . . . here’s the thing.  You know how you’ve been rereleasing a couple classic children’s books recently like Slake’s Limbo and all the Ramona Quimby books?  That is just awesome of you.  Seriously, new covers were desperately needed.  But, you’re kind of doing this weird thing that’s messing everything up.  See, for some reason you’re changing the covers but you’re keeping the old ISBNs.  And we wouldn’t really mind if it was just the jackets you were changing, but in the case of the Ramona books you have new interior illustrations.  This is a HUGE disservice, not only to libraries, but to your new illustrator, Ms. Jacqueline Rogers.  If you keep the same ISBN then in records across the country previous illustrators will be listed in the system.  Not Ms. Rogers.  So, I know we’re supposedly going to go through some crazy crisis where we run out of all the ISBNs, but do a gal a favor and change the ISBNs on rereleases if you have new interior art (or, also in the case of Ramona, new pagination).  It just makes good clean sense.

Okay!  Moving on.

• If I say that Travis Jonker fellow at 100 Scope Notes is a nice guy I’m not exactly telling you anything you don’t already know.  But how nice is he?  Well, in his awesome 10 to Note: Spring Preview 2013 do you know what book he led with?  MINE!! I’m thrilled and flabbergasted all at once.  Ye gods!  I hit the big time, folks!  Now I just need to get my hands on that cool looking Lauren Myracle early chapter book and that new Charise Mericle Harper graphic novel.  Woot!

• You know you’re cool when the National Coalition Against Censorship collects cool birthday wishes for you.  You’re even cooler if those birthday wishes come from folks like Jon Scieszka, Lois Lowry, and the aforementioned Lauren Myracle.  And if you happen to be Judy Blume?  Icing on the cake, baby.

• On the one hand, it’s awfully interesting to hear folks speculating on what really made Mary Ingalls blind.  On the other hand  . . . . NBC News linked to me, linked to me, linked to me me me!

• In case you happened to missed it, I hosted a helluva Literary Salon the other day.  Yup.  Jeanne Birdsall, Adam Gidwitz, N.D. Wilson, and Rebecca Stead all gave up their precious time to stop by old NYPL for a Children’s Literary Salon where they debated why pop culture at large tries to label middle grade fiction as YA.  The whole conversation was, for the very first time, recorded for posterity.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that the audio feed is lousy.  Not sure what I did but it’s a bit mucked up.  Clear enough that you could make a transcript from it (casts meaningful looks into the nethersphere) but not so clear that you could actually enjoy listening to it.  A little later in the podcast some folks stop speaking into mics.  That actually helps.  Rear in Gear reports on how it went from  the frontlines.  By the way, the title “Why YA” is a good one.  I might shorten it to Y.YA, then proclaim that to be the newest bestest trend without explanation.  Cause that’s how I roll.

• Speaking of my Children’s Literary Salons, I’ve one in early March on the topic of Diversity and the State of the Children’s Book that will prove to be most fascinating (and better recorded, I hope).  Much along the same lines is a truly fascinating post over at Ms. Yingling Reads.  The post concerns those book jackets that do not reflect the ethnicity of the characters within, but brings up a very interesting p.o.v. from that of the smaller publisher reliant on stock images.  This post is your required reading of the day.  Many many thanks to Carl in Charlotte for the heads up.

• The post on 10 Fictional Libraries I’d Love to Visit is a lot of fun, but I would add the library featured in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman books most certainly.  That would be the library that contains every book conceived of but never published by the world’s greatest writers.  The in-jokes alone are worth it.  Who doesn’t love Psmith and Jeeves?

Thanks to AL Direct for the link.

• Nerd that I am, I cannot help but be thrilled that the Bologna Book Fair has just established a new prize for the Best Children’s Publisher of the Year.  What a fantastic idea, and why has no one else come up with it before?  Now THAT is something I can get behind.  Boy, yeah.

• Flavorwire’s Conspiracy Theories About Classic Literary Characters doesn’t tell you a lot you haven’t already heard about your classic books (Nick Carraway = gay, Holden Caulfield = gay, yadda yadda yadda) but there are some fun exceptions on the children’s literature side.  I think I’ve heard the Winnie-the-Pooh theory before, and I certainly heard the Harry Potter one (Rowling herself even addressed it) but the Wizard of Oz one is actually entirely a new one on me.  Huh! Thanks to Annie Cardi for the link.

• I like it when authors reveal the covers of their upcoming books.  I especially like it when those authors are folks I’ve heard of before and have enjoyed thoroughly.  I met Matthew Kirby (The Clockwork Three, Icefall) at a SCBWI event recently and now I find out that he has revealed his latest title The Lost Kingdom.  Yep.  I’ll be reading that one.

• The other day I spoke on a panel for some young publishers about the library’s role in the pursuit of Common Core.  I was on that panel with Scottie Bowditch of Penguin and John Mason of Scholastic.  After the fact I learned that Scholastic has been working to get their hands on all this Common Core schtuf by creating the site Common Sense for the Common Core.  It was created to help parents through this tricky time, but no doubt we librarians would benefit a tad as well.  FYI!

• You may have heard that tornadoes recently ripped through Mississippi on Sunday causing untold devastation in their wake.  They hit in a number of places, including Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  Why do I mention this?  Well, are you aware what resides in Hattiesburg?  That would be the University of Southern Mississippi.  And what is the University of Southern Mississippi home to?  If you answered that it was the de Grummond Collection “one of North America’s leading research centers in the field of children’s literature” you would also be correct.  So did the collection survive the storms?  We are happy to report that they did.  And on the de Grummond’s Twitter feed they assured everyone that they were safe and sound.  Whew!

• Look me in the eye.  Right here!  Right in my beady little eye and tell me that this is not the smartest use of The Pigeon you’ve seen in a long long time.  The crazy thing?  I thought they melded together a bunch of different Pigeon books.  Not true!  Instead, all these panels come from The Pigeon Wants a Puppy.

• Remember when NPR started that program they called NPR’s Backseat Book Club?  They said they would pick a new book for kids every month and discuss them.  Well, the whole “every month” part of that plan has been spotty and the selections have been even spottier.  Seems to me NPR isn’t taking full advantage of the field.  I mean, Black Beauty and Wimpy Kid?  Is that the best you can do?  Fortunately it looks like they’ll crank things up a notch when they discuss Gary Schmidt’s Okay for Now.  In fact, kids are encouraged to submit some questions to the author ahead of time.  Got yourself some kids?  Then go to it!

Lotso hotso news today, folks.  I hardly know where to begin.  Let’s start with the big news that the illustrious editor Margaret K. McElderry passed away recently.  I had mentioned The McElderry Book of Greek Myths in my Valentine’s Day post earlier this week.  Maybe she was on my mind.  In any case, there’s a great New York Times piece from 1997 on her.  I’m fond of it, not least because Eden Ross Lispon mentions four books McElderry edited right off the bat and they are ”The Borrowers”, ”Ginger Pye”, ”The Dark Is Rising”, and ”The Changeover.”  The Changevoer!!  The book I keep hoping will be reprinted soon so as to leap on the Twilight train while there’s still time!  In any case, I was unaware that Ms. McElderry worked in my own children’s room for years.  Good to know.  Fellow librarian and novelist Sara Ryan offers her own remembrance of Ms. McElderry and The New York Times wrote up one as well.  Dunno that they needed to include the idea that We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is “un-P.C.”  Um . . . maybe if you’re Stephen Colbert, but what precisely is “un-P.C.” about that book again?  It’s not like Oxenbury depicted the kids packing heat, after all.

• In other news the Cybils Awards (the only awards awarded by bloggers) for children’s and YA literature were announced this week.  The Cybils strive to balance great writing with child-friendliness.  With those in mind I think their selections were top notch.  You can see all the winners here.  This year none of the books I nominated made the final cut, but I see that frequent commenter on this blog Eric Carpenter got TWO of his books on there!  Well played, Eric.  Well played indeed.

• I like it when my favorite folks end up linking to one another.  I couldn’t have been more shocked, though, with a recent posting by Kate Beaton.  She was writing a comic about Ada Lovelace (and where is the children’s biography on the fact that the first computer programmer was a woman, by the way?) and then mentioned in her notes that there were some Jules Verne illustrations out there that were “definitely worth a look”.  I love me my Verne, and lo and behold who did Kate link to but none other than Ward Jenkins, he of this season’s Chicks Run Wild (by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen).  Ward speaks of Jules Verne: The Man Who Invented the Future by Franz Born, illustrated by Peter P. Plasencia circa 1964.  Worth your time.

• Carbon dating jackets with headless girls and cupcakes.  The book that proves that kids will buy a hardcover to infinity if they like it (and no, it’s not Wimpy Kid).
  10 Comments on Fusenews: “Compare and contrast Goodnight Moon with The Sun Also Rises”, last added: 2/18/2011
  Display Comments
  Shannon Knowlton said, on 2/16/2011 9:38:00 PM
  

  Thank you, Betsy, for contributing to the latest StorySnoops blog post!

  jules said, on 2/17/2011 5:46:00 AM
  

  My husband, in his mind, named our second daughter for Ada Lovelace. In my mind, we got it from the novel Cold Mountain. Oh well, at least she’ll have two stories to tell.

  And, yes, she needs a biography. Lovelace, not my daughter.

  Dennis said, on 2/17/2011 9:46:00 AM
  

  thank you! as a long-time, hardcore fan of The Changeover, where do I sign up for that campaign?

  Nathan Hale said, on 2/17/2011 9:50:00 AM
  

  I remember entering the Margaret K. McElderry Picture Book Contest year after year in the 90’s. The winning book would get a publishing contract. I can’t seem to find much info on it now, but it kept me submitting stories.

  Jonathan Auxier said, on 2/17/2011 2:57:00 PM
  

  LOVE the Verne illustrations — thanks for putting them on my radar! Also, thanks for the mention of the mentor post (fitting, really, as the whole thing was sparked by your FACTOTUM review.)

  Denis Guignier said, on 2/18/2011 6:54:00 AM
  

  video witch doctor

  Denis Guignier said, on 2/18/2011 7:02:00 AM
  

  video witch doctor

  video witch doctor

  Ruth McNally Barshaw said, on 2/18/2011 1:06:00 PM
  

  Nathan — I entered that contest, too! (in its last year, 2002) I didn’t win the contest, but I won bigger: working on my entry gave me both an appreciation for kids’ books and also a new career. I wish I’d thought to thank Margaret herself. Thanks for another juicy post, Fuse.

  Joanne Fritz said, on 2/18/2011 5:48:00 PM
  

  Betsy, that’s a lot to digest. Thanks for all the great links! I already read COLLECTING CHILDREN’S BOOKS and PW CHILDREN’S BOOKSHELF, but I hadn’t seen the others.

  Unfortunately, when I tried to click on your link to Audrey Wood’s new blog, I got a 404 error.

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 2/18/2011 6:55:00 PM
  

  Blast. I shall correct immediately. Thanks for the heads up!

  Add a Comment

Anahita’s Woven Riddle
Author: Meghan Nuttall Sayres
Publisher: Amulet
ISBN-10: 0810954818
ISBN-13: 978-0810954816

Anahita is a nomad teen aged girl living in early 20th century Iran who loves riddles. She’s also just a little too independent and innovative for her time and culture which causes dissent and trouble within her tribe. One day her father tells her that the Khan, an older man who’s had three wives all of whom have died under mysterious circumstances. Anahita is horrified and has absolutely no interest in marrying this man, but her father is under pressure by the Khan.

Anahita manages to convince her father and the mullah of the tribe to allow her to have a contest in which she will weave a riddle into her wedding carpet. The man to guess the riddle will have her as his bride. This causes more trouble within the tribe as well as jealousy. Why does Anahita get to choose her husband? Why is she so willful? The angry and overbearing Khan is determined to have Anahita and threatens the tribe with one thing after another, even going so far as to block their water which they desperately need. Anahita’s contest goes on however and the suitors start trying for her hand. There are three interesting men in particular vying for Anahita’s hand in marriage – a schoolteacher, a shepherd, and a prince.

Anahita’s Woven Riddle is an incredibly beautiful story rich with Persian culture. The descriptions of Anahita’s everyday life are so detailed and colorful. You can feel yourself on those mountains and hillsides, see the carpet she is weaving, smell the sheep and feel the wind.

I’m fascinated by the art of weaving so I loved the descriptions of her traveling with a caravan into the markets and picking out dyes for the dyemaster of her tribe.

Anahita’s Woven Riddle is a completely engrossing, different and fantastic tale. Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in expanding their world, learning about the history and culture of another land or anyone who just loves a good story.