Welcome to my new blog, which now includes content from many of the blogs I’ve created over the years. You can now also access content via category from this one page instead of having to search for my individual blogs, which were scattered over various platforms and websites.
I read middle grade novel THE NEST (written by Kenneth Oppel and illustrated by Jon Klassen) in one sitting last night. Totally lives up to the hype. I’m a horror fan and this was genuinely scary, with tension and dread gradually building to a nightmare-inducing climax. Yowza.If you or your 8-12 year old are looking . . .
LOUD LULA launches from Two Lions today! Written by Katy Duffield and illustrated by Mike Boldt, LOUD LULA is southern-flavored tall tale about a little girl with a big voice. “…Little ol’ Lula’s big ol’ voice wreaks ten kinds of havoc from the day she’s born, and that doesn’t change one smidgen when Lula . . .
Looking for some new Halloween books to share with young readers? Here are two recent releases that would make fun read-a-louds: BOO-LA-LA Witch Spa, written by Samantha Berger and illustrated by Isabel Roxas (Penguin Random House): and THE GHOSTS GO SPOOKING, written by Chrissy Bozik and illustrated by Patricia Storms (Scholastic Canada):
With a slightly creepy feel appropriate to Halloween coming up, I’ve added one of my favorite Grouch Marx quotes about books to For The Love Of Reading as a free print-ready poster. For all my free, print-ready material, visit Debbie’s Print-Ready Archive For Teachers, Librarians, Booksellers and Young Readers.
Also see Three Questions With Katy Duffield, author of LOUD LULA. Mike Boldt has been illustrating for kids for the last 16 years. Over that time he’s worked on puzzles, video games, comics, and even toy design. He now spends most of his days writing and /or illustrating picture books such as . . .
Katy Duffield is the author of twenty books for children including the picture books FARMER MCPEEPERS AND HIS MISSING MILK COWS (illus Steve Gray Rising Moon), LOUD LULA (illus Mike Boldt, Two Lions) and the forthcoming ALIENS GET THE SNIFFLES, TOO (illus K.G. Campbell, Candlewick). Also see Three Questions with LOUD LULA’s . . .
Be aware when research & prep becomes a crutch. At some point, you need to jump in & WRITE. I love creating found object doodles and post them on Instagram, “Found Object Art” gallery on Flickr, Pinterest, Tumblr and in my Found Object Art portfolio.
Registration opens tomorrow for the SCBWI Winter Conference! You can follow the pre-conference excitement virtually via the #NY16SCBWI hashtag on Twitter as well as the SCBWI conference blog. Do read Jennifer Laughran’s recent “Ask The Agent” post about SCBWI-NYC. I’m excited about rooming with my friend Hazel Mitchell again this year. Hazel’s also my agency sister! Both of . . .
