“Who wants to become a writer? And why? Because it’s the answer to everything. … It’s the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build up, to create, to be astonished at nothing, to cherish the oddities, to let nothing go down the drain, to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it’s a cactus.” —Enid Bagnold Today is the day that The Ethan I Was Before finally arrives in the world as my debut novel! And last night I found myself thinking: how many times in life will I get to experience my first book being published? Answer: Just this once. So I thought it fitting to take some time to reflect on what this momentous day feels like. It’s something I’ve alway
Last fall, I wrote a post about the role that children’s literature professionals should be taking on in our post-election society. Now, with the inauguration looming near on the horizon, I want to write some follow up thoughts. Earlier this month, President Obama bade adieu to the American people in a stirring farewell address. Inevitably, the speech drew criticism from conservatives and liberals alike. But political leanings aside, Obama pulled off a masterful rhetorical balancing act, and those of us in the children’s literature industry should take a cue from our soon-to-be former president. The speech was somber, as well it should have been. President Obama will leave a deeply uncertain
