UP!–A BRILLiant Book on BULLYING & BRAVERY

If there’s one thing I feel very strongly about—it’s bullying. I hated it when I was a kid, even more when my son was in school (I wrote a poem inspired by an incident that involved his friend), and I witness it on a daily basis, especially now. Bullying takes forms in countless ways, and not just by kids or on school playgrounds, that’s for sure.

Unfortunately, we live at a time when this abhorrent behavior is actually encouraged by some, so it’s that much more important to address the subject in ways that have the best chance to have positive impact. That’s why I was thrilled about Darlene Beck Jacobson’s middle grade novel in verse Wishes, Dares & How to Stand Up to a Bully. Continue reading

UP!–The Afterglow of Our 2015 NJSCBWI Conference :D

SCBWI-GirlinChairwithDog

I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again: KidLit events are WONderful! For me, spending time around kindred spirits, regardless of what we’re doing, is very energizing, uplifting, inspirational and just plain FUN!

I’m a big believer in research and being super-organized for an event of this magnitude and importance (certainly for me), and this year I had the added task of creating a new dummy book. I had less time to do it than I would’ve liked, including the development of 9 characters, but I’m happy to report I did finish and was able to Continue reading