I have enjoyed Christmas class visits. I went to New Durham School in New Hampshire and met all the children, grades 1 -6. They are very fun to puzzle out with about what’s really going on in THE CAT WHO LIKED POTATO SOUP. The children are savvy. They see the truth about the old man…
Paul Winter, of the organization Scottie’s Place, posted this photo on a blog. It is dated December 13, 2012. You can read the post, Life in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Scottie’s Place is an American-based nonprofit organization working to support the education of girls and young women in the camp, as well as…
South Sudanese American rapper OD Bonny opened our launch event for The Good Braider on a blustery night in Maine. Then he stunned us with a new song he has written to tell the story of Viola, the heroine of the novel. OD is still working on the song and is creating a book trailer…
Jeannine Atkins’ poems that recreate the lives of people in history are a part of “Braiding the Verse Novel.” These are a series of interviews I did with writers of novels – and this biography – in verse. I’ve written articles about verse novels that draw on these conversations in different ways.
I gave a talk to students who are studying to become teachers at the University of Maine in Farmington at their annual Diversity Conference. At the same time, the New England Geographical Society was meeting on campus. And a part of that conference was a 20-foot inflatable balloon, hand-painted to look like a globe, and…