“Everyone
is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when
you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them
with dry,
uninspiring books on algebra, history, etc. Being suddenly hit
years later with
the ‘creative bug’ is just a wee voice telling you,
‘I’d like my crayons back,
please.”
~ Hugh MacLeod ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
Has
anyone ever suggested you get rid of one of your characters? (But he’s like my
CHILD!! you scream.) Margo Kelly does a guest post HERE at Fiction University
on just that topic. It’s good!
Writer’s
Digest published an article HERE called 5 Moral Dilemmas That Make Characters
(& Stories) Better. Don’t miss this one.
HERE
you can find an article that lists fifteen classic children’s books that have
been banned and why. Winnie the Pooh an insult to God? Green Eggs and Ham for
homosexual seduction? The Merriam Webster Dictionary? Really. You must read
this. Fascinating.
Last week I offered copies of Leroy Ninker Saddles Up by Kate DiCamillo and Family Ties by Gary Paulsen to one of you. I am happy to announce that Jes@Fairday's Blog is the winner! WooHoo, Jes! It pays to spread the word. Jes got two extra chances in the drawing this week, and it brought her luck. Thanks, Jes. If you aren't familiar with the blog, you can find it by clicking HERE. Pretty interesting reading! I will get the books out to you this week.
I have been at a baseball tournament the last two days, and today was a long, long day. We were gone for twelve hours, and I am simply beat, so I am going to post the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review of a wonderful book I read a couple months ago. This is a good one and I highly recommend it.
It
had always been Grace and Mama, just the two of them, always on the move, never
staying any place for long. Grace knows more about being the new kid at school
than any kid should. By the time Grace is twelve, she really wants a home, a
place to settle and have friends, not just acquaintances. And Grace thinks they
have found the right place. Mrs. Green and Lacey are their whole family just
like Grace and Mama. They rent a cottage from Mrs. Green, and Lacey and Grace
become fast friends. Everything seems perfect, but Mama lets Grace know they
will be moving again. Grace is mad and lets Mama know. The last words she
speaks to Mama are angry ones. But Grace could not know they would be the last
words. And now Mama is gone and a grandmother Grace had never known comes and
takes her away, a grandmother who had sent Grace’s Mama away when she was very
young. Can they ever become a family?
“Everyone
in the class sat there, quiet, giving a moment of silence to the death of
Archer’s dignity, but all I wanted to do was ask him if he’d actually seen that
girl—had I even smiled in the last five days?—or dreamed her up.”
 |
| Tracy Holczer -- Photo: Lisa Williams Photography |
You can win my gently-read copy of this wonderful book. All you need do is have a US address, be a subscriber or follower and tell me that in a comment you leave on this post. If you would like extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet, blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for each that you do. And don't forget to check Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways. Click HERE to visit.
