Years ago, I met Jerry Spinelli at a conference. He was warm and helpful. In between workshops one afternoon, while sitting on the steps in the sun, he told me about a manuscript he had spent a long time writing and that he thought had terrific promise. He had sent it to his editor, sure [...]

The Tassy Walden New Voices in Children’s Literature Awards ceremony is a stellar event. I mean it, this hard-earned recognition for a writer is a moment when the clouds clear and the stars shine and shimmer not on everyone, or that one, but on you.
I was a finalist, and after a friend suggested I try [...]

I love to write poetry with children. At a super fun after-school workshop with K-5th graders at Tabor Community Center, I chose spiders as a topic. I took the children on a spider walk (hunt) outside.  We came inside and did a group warm up by building a yarn/string spider web between us. As each [...]

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Foul language, to be precise.

I write for children, so I stay clear of all those Bad Words. You know, the ones George Carlin used for a whole comedy routine. Plus many more. But the thing is, despite our desire to keep those Bad Words out of sight and sound, kids see them, hear them and [...]

There’s always that moment in writing a piece, when I’m stuck. I know where the story’s been. I have a sense of where I want it to go. But somehow, I can’t get past that middle.
I’ve stalled.
I blame it on the story arc. You know, a story is supposed to build, reach a climax, and [...]