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I've been deep in the depths of revision for the past few weeks -- polishing up a picture book and a middle grade mystery.  They are both done (*pause for cheering & confetti here*) and on submission now, and I have big plans for a post-revision reading binge. But before I do that, I want to talk about a handful of books I've read lately that you might like, too.  Ready?



Amy Ignatow's THE POPULARITY PAPERS: RESEARCH FOR THE SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT AND GENERAL BETTERMENT OF LYDIA GOLDBLATT AND JULIE GRAHAM CHANG is the book to hand to your girls who are fans of the Wimpy Kid series.  It's that same diary/graphic novel blend that keeps even reluctant readers turning pages and laughing like crazy.  Interestingly enough, the main characters in this are in fifth grade, but it's going over really well with some of my 7th grade girls, even though they're a bit older.  (Due out from Amulet April 1st)



I can't keep Lisa Schroeder's CHASING BROOKLYN on my classroom library shelf - it's one of those books that gets handed from kid to kid in the cafeteria and never makes it all the way back to my classroom, and that's just fine.  I understand why the kids love it, too.  Set at the same high school as Lisa's I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, her latest YA novel-in-verse is about love and loss, remembering and moving forward. It left me in tears, but they were good ones - the kind you cry when you've just read an amazing book that's full of sorrow and beauty and hope all at once. It's a a beautiful, beautiful book. (Available now from Simon & Schuster)



Fans of Jerry Spinelli's MILKWEED and Lois Lowry's NUMBER THE STARS will love ONCE by Morris Gleitzman.  One of my 7th grade students absolutely devours historical fiction set during the Holocaust, and she was waiting for this ARC, standing at my desk, tapping her foot as I turned the last page.

The main character, Felix, begins the story as a unique (and heartbreaking) unreliable narrator. He's a Jewish boy, hidden in a Catholic orphanage, and utterly unaware of the danger he's facing. When he sets out to find his parents, he sees evidence of the Nazis destruction but misinterprets much of it, placing himself squarely in harm's way. Ultimately, though, he's faced with too much reality to go on believing the stories he's told himself, and from there, the book chronicles his loss of innocence and his coming of age in the worst of times. It's beautifully written and though like many books set during the Holocaust, it's tough to read at times, it's certainly not without hope.  Highly recommended, it comes out from Henry Holt March 30th.



Two days after turning the last page of NOTHING by Janne Teller, I'm still struggling over what to write about it. I can't really say that I liked it, since I read most of it with a pained expression on my face. But is it brilliantly well-written? And smart? And incredibly thought-provoking? Yes, yes, and yes.

The premise is simple and kind of horrifying: A 7th grader climbs up into a tree and says he's not coming down because there's really no meaning in life anyway. His classmates, u

I thought it would be interesting to post a photo of my bulletin board in my office once a month to see what I am working on. I usually post up covers that I am designing or art directing to 'live with them' for a while an see if they are working. Some title on my board are The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Meanwhile, The Popularity Papers, Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies, Fizzy Whiz Kid, Sisters Grimm, Bear In the Air and Anxious Hearts. So the beginning of every month I will make a posting "Scenes from my Bulletin Board".