Bloom On

 

The Amelia Bloomer Project is one that's close to my heart!  Amelia Bloomer, just like Ellen Prentiss, the heroine in my picture book, Dare the Wind, followed her passion in spite of the gender expectations of her time.  Amelia worked for women's rights in the 19th century.  She was a suffragette and is best known for advocating for less restrictive women's clothing, including the 'bloomers' shown above, consisting of a loose top and a short skirt with pants underneath. Just as Amelia defied expectations, so did my heroine, Ellen.  Ellen learned to navigate clipper ships in an era when most women rarely worked outside their homes.  She eventually navigated the ship, Flying Cloud, on the fastest trip ever made by a clipper from New York to San Francisco. 

The Amelia Bloomer Project is an annual book list selected by a task force of the American Library Association.  The Project honors the best feminist books for young readers.  Dare the Wind was recently named to the 2015 Amelia Bloomer Project.  You can find more great books that celebrate amazing women by looking at the entire list.

Honors for Dare the Wind

Dare the Wind was just named an ALSC American Library Association 2015 Notable Children's Book.  Woohoo!!  I'm so appreciative of this honor.  Dare the Wind holds a special place for me because it's a true story featuring a strong, smart, amazing woman who was truly ahead of her time: what an inspiration for my own two strong, smart, amazing girls!  You can check out the entire list of 2015 Notables here.

I'm also happy to learn that Dare was named a CCBC Choices 2015 selection.  The list of honored books is available here.

More Books Coming!

I'm very excited to announce that I will soon have two new books published by Margaret Ferguson Books at Farrar, Straus & Giroux!  The first is a non-fiction picture book entitled Howard and the Mummy.  It will be illustrated by the fabulous Boris Kurlikov, who also illustrated my books, Barnum's Bones and the forthcoming W is for Webster.  I can't wait to see what Boris will dream up for Howard!  Howard is scheduled for publication in 2018.  The second book is entitled Wild Horse Annie, illustrator and pub date to be announced soon.

I've been working on both of these book manuscripts off-and-on for several years, so I will be especially thrilled and grateful to see these two books in print soon. 

Keep Reading!

I was recently sent a newspaper article about the great summer reading habits of some students at the Crosby Elementary School in Pittsfield, MA.  One fourth grade class had 80% participation in the school's summer reading program: the students' prize was a copy of Barnum's Bones.  Here's the story.  Awesome job, Crosby Elementary, and I hope you love Barnum!

Volunteer State Book Award

I'm honored to learn that Barnum has been nominated by the Tennessee Association of School Librarians for the 2015-2016 Volunteer State Book Award.  You can check out the whole list here. 

A T. Rex for the Smithsonian

There was a great story on NPR this morning about a nearly complete skeleton of a T. rex which was recently donated by the Museum of the Rockies to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

The T. rex that had previously been on display at the Smithsonian was a fake.  Well, actually it was a cast, or an exact replica of a T. rex skeleton.  Now, they will have the real thing! 


You can read and listen to the complete story here.  Barnum would be so proud!

Amelia Bloomer Project

I'm so excited to learn that Dare the Wind has been nominated for the 2015 Amelia Bloomer Project List.  This one is near and dear to me!  The Amelia Bloomer Project is an annual list of the best feminist books for young readers, compiled by a task force of the American Library Association.  The word 'feminist' has all sorts of connotations, all of which I proudly avow.  As the mom of two young women, I'm especially grateful for this nomination.  You can read more about the Project here and check out their past lists for some great fiction and nonfiction books about remarkable women. 

Here's Amelia sporting some of her finery: