Author Ellen Oh

 It was a great honor to attend a talk held by Ellen Oh last month.

Ellen has written many books for both middle grade and young adult readers.  I adore her stories.  I've read most of her books, and each time I find a new one, I feel like I've found an undiscovered treasure.  My most favorite book of hers is Finding Junie Kim.  While Ellen was born in New York City (also where she grew up) her parents were from South Korea.  This book tells the tale of her mother as a little girl.  During the Korean War, her parents disappeared.  Junie Kim and her siblings began to walk across the countryside.  The story is captivating.  It is haunting.  It is a beautifully written tale of human resilience.  

I have always read a lot of Fantasy.  I love the world building. It is difficult to write a captivating fantasy novel, and when an author does it well, it can change your world view.  During Ellen's talk, I learned of a Young Adult Fantasy novel that she wrote that I have never read.  (And I thought I was pretty good at keeping up with Fantasy, so I am ashamed to admit that I missed this title. It was published in 2013.  How did I miss it?)  It's called Prophecy - it's a novel of the Seven Kingdoms. I put the book on hold at my local library - but it is only available as an e-Book.  I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive.  Rest assured, once I finish devouring that book, I will review it here!

Ellen is also the founder and CEO of We Need Diverse Books.  How to sum up the mission of WNDB in a quick sentence when an entire hour would not be enough to talk about what they do?  I know - I will copy and paste directly from their website: At WNDB, we’re creating lifelong readers and a more compassionate world through the power of diverse books. We support marginalized creators, publish inclusive stories, and provide readers with books that reflect our world.

website: https://www.diversebooks.org/

Ellen Oh Author Website:  https://www.ellenoh.com/

Founding Mother

I went to a book launch party earlier this week for the book Founding Mother, by Laura Kaye and Stephanie Dray.  Set in Revolutionary America, this book follows the life of Abigail Adams, who was the wife of second president John Adams and mother of sixth president, John Quincy Adams.  The book is based upon thousands of hours of research into her papers and letters.  The book was officially released on Tuesday.  

The authors spoke to us about their book, their research, and Abigail Adams.  I learned more about Abigail than I had ever known before in my life.  I am enjoying the book!  It's a good read!

Below are a couple of pictures from the event.

Both photos were taken by Park Books on Main, the sponsor of the event.

Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary!

If you're of a certain age, I'm certain that you have read at least one of Beverly Cleary's books.  These timeless classics not only capture the essence of childhood, the highlight timeless themes: friendship, family, love, perseverance, and laughter.

I was introduced to Beverly Cleary's books by my 4th grade teacher when she read "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" out loud to us after lunch.  When I became a teacher in my own right and had my own 3rd grade classroom, I read the children Ramona Quimby, age 8 in that cool down time right after lunch and recess. 

Today is the 100th Birthday of Beverly Cleary.  She is still active, engaged, and her mind is still sharp.  From the information I could find online, She has been publishing since the early 1950's, and her most recent book was published in 2005.  (When she was 89 years old.)  I hope that I can remain that active and relevant when I am her age!

In honor of Beverly Cleary's birthday, I challenge you to find a copy of one of her books and read it - either to yourself, or out loud to your favorite little people.  Enjoy the opportunity to spend some time together and to be taken back into a time that (to me) seems a little bit simpler.

Books Authored by Beverly Cleary:
(List from Google)

Beezus and Ramona
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Ralph S. Mouse
Ribsy
Ramona the Pest
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Dear Mr. Henshaw
Ramona and her Father
Ramona and her Mother
Ramona's World
Ramona Forever
Ramona the Brave
Henry and Ribsy
Ellen Tebbits
Henry and Beezus
Henry and the Clubhouse
Henry Huggins
Muggie Maggie
Henry and the Paper route
Fifteen
Otis Spofford
Socks
Strider
A Girl from Yamhill
Mitch and Amy
The Luckiest Girl
Emily's Runaway Imagination
Two Times the Fun
Jean and Johnny
My Own Two Feet
Sister of the Bride
Janet's Thinamajigs
Runaway Ralph
The Real Hole
The Growing Up Feet
Petey's Bedtime Story
Lucky Chuck
the Hulabaloo ABC
Henry and Ramona


A few links to some websites and news stories about her:

Beverly Cleary's Website
The New York Times Article:  Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary!
The Today Show: Beverly Cleary is Beloved by Generations of Readers

Harper Lee

Disclosure Notice: This post contains Affiliate Links.

It's taken me a while to be able to pull my thoughts together about this amazing author, who passed away on Friday.  Even after multiple revisions, I really can't write an homage to her that is worthy of her writing, her ability, and her passion.  For me, her work defined my ninth grade year of high school.  Out of all the books we read that year, Mockingbird still stands out as THE book of that year.   I loved Scout's family, and I loved Atticus and the impact he made on the world around him.  She made it seem as if we could change the world - one person, and one battle at a time, by standing up for what we know to be right. 

image: amazon.com

To this day, To Kill a Mockingbird remains a literary milestone.  Set in the South in the 1950's, Lee explores race relations from the point of view of a young child whose father is defending a black man in a racially charged case.  In the year 2016, this book is still as relevant to American Society as it was when it was originally published.

I've done research about Harper Lee over the years.  Up until last year, she had only ever published one book.  Did you know:  she grew up across the street from Truman Capote?  Did you know: she helped write and do research - but never received credit for - In True Blood, Capote's seminal work?

I have said for years that she probably has many other books that she has written, but was afraid to release because of the fear that she would not be able to live up to the success of Mockingbird. If they are squirreled away somewhere, I hope that the estate will look seriously at the works and consider publishing them. 

In the meantime, I leave you with her own words:

Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.   -Harper Lee


My Reviews on other books written by or about Harper Lee:
On this blog: Go Set a Watchman

On my Books for Teens Blog: I am Scout, the Biography of Harper Lee

Vera Williams

Vera Williams, prolific children's author died on Oct. 16 at the age of 88.  

Image: Publisher's Weekly

She was a well-known author and illustrator who wrote and illustrated many children's books, including "A Chair for My Mother",  "More, More, More Said the Baby!",  "Lucky Song",  "Amber Was Brave", and "A Chair for Always".

She has one final book, which will be published posthumously: Home At Last.  While she wrote the manuscript, she didn't feel that she could adequately illustrate the book.  Chris Raschka is the illustrator of the book, and it will be published next year.

You can see her full obituary from Publisher's Weekly here.