test test test Continue reading

I've been thinking a lot about covers lately. When I was a kid I used to listen to music a lot with my mom, who was partial to female vocalists and musicians. It was important for me to know whether the person performing had written the song or not. I... Continue reading

It always baffles me that people who seem so tuned into books, movies, art and literature, and have strong opinions about each that they can articulate, claim to be so adrift in the world of children's picture books--and so demonstrably so. I have received some really wrong-headed gifts for my... Continue reading

"We never give up a pleasure absolutely, we only barter it for another." --Iris Murdoch Last Thursday I gave up caffeine. This morning I had a shot of espresso and an ice coffee. I feel good about this lapse. Over the past year I have given up, for various durations... Continue reading

Right now there's a lot of hand-wringing going on in the world of publishing. Lots of keening and tearing out hair and all those other things that real people don't actually do, but that we use to indicate anxiety. Folks are worried. And because everyone's worried, well, picture book creators... Continue reading

My parents were folkees and played loads of music when I was growing up. So I seem to have either a gift or a curse for memorizing lyrics. Sometimes this is lovely. I am a fairly capable singer and love to sing along with my favorites and even my not-so-favorites.... Continue reading

What you mostly hear from children's book editors (and agents, and probably from adult editors and agents) are dismal submission pile horror stories...or brilliant success stories. Based on the tales from the editorial trenches, we slog our way through the drek and every once a millennium, under the layers of... Continue reading

Those of you who know me know that I'm well, a bit of an Elliott Smith fan (ahem) to say the least. He's my favorite songwriter. If I think about that too much I'll start second guessing myself, but there's no one else whose music I've listened to as intensely... Continue reading