Author of over 400 Books for Children and Adults
During the time that my husband’s cancer returned (see The Radiation Sonnets), though his death, and up to five years later, I wrote poetry. Some of it was to keep me sane. Some of it was to record what happened and how it affected me. And some was in the hopes that what I wrote might go out there and help others.
I have always loved Chagall’s bizarre, colorful flying-in-the-sky-fiddler’s-on-the-roof pictures. And so when Pat Lewis (now Children’s Poet Laureate of America) and I started talking about doing some books of poetry together, I offerred Chagall and his action-packed life to Pat as a prospect. We had
Back before 2000, I wrote a short story of the same name and it was published by anthologists Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow. The story was about five pages long, a West Virginia take on Snow White. It was always a story I thought could be expanded into a novel one day.
Every dino has a birthday!
Editor Bonnie and I came up with the birthday idea more or less at the same time. But I struggled with it for several years, kept putting it aside and bringing it out again. Nothing rhymed with party (except farty and smarty) or birthday. It was a good idea with a decided lack of easy …
One of my favorite Scandanavian folk tales is “The Cat of the Dovrfell” and when Linda Graves, a member of WMIG, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators’ (which I’d started years ago) showed a folktale picture of a Finnish/Danish girl in full costume with a white bear cub at one of our meetings, I found my inspiriation for this retelling.
If some of you think the basic plot of this graphic novel (my second graphic novel ever—and how I love the form!) sounds familiar, give yourselves an A+. It is based on, expanded from my novella, “Dragonfield” first published in 1985 in my collection of the same name.
To say I am astonished that this book is finally coming out is an understatement. It literally took years to find the right editor and when it did, she (Heidi Kilgras of Random House) became so lovingly invested in the story and in finding the right artist for it, my own investment was returned
More bird poems, all of them written to respond to Jason’s brilliant photographs, and with an introduction/appreciation by the world’s greatest birdsong expert, Don Kroodsma. These books are always a labor of love, mainly because I think the photographs should be seen by everyone.
My daughter Heidi and I wrote this little rhymed book for Little Simon, which is the novelty imprint of S&S. A novelty book has other features than just words and pictures. This is an enlarged board book with a soft cover. We wrote and rewrote it till the two of us were happy enough, sent it to