My daughters love anything relating to princesses, so we have a super fun guest today who wrote THE BOOK on how to become a princess. Lindsey Leavitt’s debut novel, Princess for Hire, released in March.

Hi Lindsey. Welcome to Mom 2 Mom Connection. I heard you just returned from the American Library Association conference in Washington, DC. What was it like being there as an author?

Man, it was amazing. Every aspiring author has a list of publishing dreams, and this was big on mine.

Librarians are amazing, open, thoughtful, funny, smart people and it was great having book conversations. I love book talk. Plus, it was very surreal to have a few KNOW WHO I WAS (sure, the name tag helps, but I like to pretend I’m a Diva sometimes).

Sounds like a blast! What was the highlight for you?

Newbery/Caldecott dinner. The speeches were pitch-perfect, the chicken breast wasn’t even dry, and ten-year-old Lindsey felt like she’d arrived at the book Olympics.

Your debut novel, Princess for Hire, draws readers into the world of real-life princesses. Did you have to do any research on foreign cultures or customs as you wrote your book?

Research! Yes, I did tons — much more than I would have thought, but fun nonetheless. Pretty legit when you get to buy the PEOPLE Royals Addition and count it as work.

I wanted the scope to go beyond Europe, so I looked at royal traditions around the world. I didn’t want to lock myself into one country, though, so I went with a geographical region and tried to create a general atmosphere. The Amazon one was especially fun to research, as most of what happens to Desi (except for the magical stuff) is based on real customs.

I did a few library visits, looking at those basic country books used for elementary school reports. This gave me an idea where to start, then I researched a handful of countries in depth. I wrote two princesses that never made it into the story, but might in later books, especially since I was so fascinated with Eastern Asian culture. I want a ninja princess in there. Ninjas are awesome.

A NINJA PRINCESS — that will definitely be a hit! Did your previous job as a substitute teacher help you any as you wrote your first novel?

For sure. I never really felt like I knew what I was doing as a sub. Every day, it was a different school, different grade, different kids, all with their own challenges and problems. Often, I would have one page of notes that didn’t help much.

And, let’s be honest, lots of people think subs are idiots. Although I had a degree AND had a couple of years of teaching experience, secretaries would often talk really slow, or the teacher would write “Have them read for an hour” in the sub plans, like actually teaching was a massive improbability.

So I really tapped into that as I threw Desi in all these new situations. Not to mention, I would often write during teacher prep-time, lunch, etc. Nothing publishable, mind you, but it got me interested in writing.

What has been the most surprising aspect of being a first-time novelist?

I guess I thought getting a book deal would be all the literary validation I needed. I was surprised that there was still so much angst on the other side of the publishing rainbow — revisions, reviews, follow-up books, covers. BUT, having a real-live book in print sweetens all the strife. It’s something concrete and real and, in my case, sparkly.

Being the mother of three daughters, I’m sure your home is immersed in the world of princesses! What do your daughters think of all the excitement surrounding their mom’s new book?

They want pictures. They are begging for a book with pictures and not all these boring words. So the princess thing gives me some street-cred, but I’m no Jane O’Conner (Fancy Nancy). My three-year-old also asked why I can’t be a dog groomer, because then she could pet a dog instead of a book.

So I gave her a tiara, and I’m cool again.

Oh yes, life is always better when wearing a tiara. My daughter has tried to sleep in hers. Do you think it’s helpful for writers to be part of an online network of fellow writers, such as your Tenners blog? How did this group come together?

The Tenners have been invaluable. When I sold my book, I wanted to join the Debs (2009 debut group we are modeled after), but I was winter 2010. I was lamenting this with a friend, and she said, “Uh, start your own group.”

So I did, with the help of Heidi R Kling (SEA, Putnam). At first, I just googled around, finding other 2010 authors, and once word got out, people wrote asking to join.

How many authors are in the group now? Do you have plans to stick together beyond the year 2010?

We had to cut it off last October, when our numbers were almost 100. I’ve made some wonderful friends there, and I think we’ll have the group going for a long time. It’s a great resource for all the questions that come up, like “I don’t like my cover, what do I do?” or “I’m doing a signing in New York, who is in?”

Now that Princess for Hire has made her grand debut at the ball, what you do have coming up next?

I have a YA contemporary called SEAN GRISWOLD’S HEAD that will be out with Bloomsbury in March 2011. It’s a story with first love, first loss, and spandex. But not too much spandex. I have to keep it tasteful.

Well, for us 80s moms, Spandex is always in. We just can’t be seen wearing it in public.

And, of course, the next book in the PRINCESS FOR HIRE series will be out in early May. More scandals, more Desi, and yes, more princess.

We can’t wait! Here’s one last question — How do you get yourself into the writing groove, when kids, house, husband, and everything else demand your attention? Do you have a special time or place in your house where you can be alone to write, or can you pretty much write anywhere?

My very best writing still happens at night, when it’s totally quiet and there is nothing else I have to do. It’s still a challenge, even with this being my job now, to prioritize writing over all the family goodness.

I usually write in spurts, like take a weekend and write non-stop, then don’t write for a week. I can write anywhere — couch, bed, library, Starbucks — but I have this weird thing about having my feet up when I write. Yes, they’re up right now. I want to hire a foot rubber when I hit it big. Now accepting applications.

Couldn’t we all use one of those? Lindsey, this has been too fun. Do you have any parting words of wisdom for parents who’ve been bitten by the writing bug?

Do it. As much as you can, as often as you can. When you aren’t writing, read. Read, read, read. Write, write, write. And enjoy your kids, because they are not only the best part of life, but they offer some wonderful material.

That’s so true! Thank you for this refreshing interview, Lindsey. We look forward to keeping up with you and your books!

Thanks so much for having me Heather and Heather’s wonderful blog readers!

Lindsey Leavitt can be found hanging out at her sparkly website and blog. Her royal book even has its own home, so be sure to stop by and check out the bling.

We’re in for a treat today — a visit from Georgia author, Deborah Wiles. I cannot begin to tell you what an influence this woman has had on my desire to write for kids. She was the keynote speaker at the 2008 SCBWI conference in Atlanta, and ever since then, I’ve wanted to share some of her advice with you. This month marks the release of her newest novel, Countdown!

How did you get started writing a trilogy about the 1960s?

I started one story that took place in 1962, and then another that took place in 1966. They weren’t related, although they both took place in the sixties.

At some point, I realized that, with one more story — I chose 1968, it’s such a rich year — I would have a look at the entire decade, so I proposed a trilogy of connected novels about the sixties to my publisher. This evolution took place over several years. I had lots of stops and starts. I started Countdown as a picture book in 1996, while freelancing and being a full-time mom as well. It grew up as my children (and I) did.

What do you hope kids will learn about the ’60s while reading your book?

I hope they see themselves in these novels. I hope they understand that history is really biography — personal narrative — and that their stories are important.

I always say that all stories come from three places: what you know and remember, what you feel, and what you can imagine. I hope kids will understand that, in the sixties (and in all of history), there is context for the life they live today, that there is choice, that they can make choices in their own lives today and tomorrow, that make a difference in the world.

I also hope that they laugh and love, right along with Franny.

Some people have referred to Countdown as a graphic novel or a documentary novel. What are they talking about, and how do you use the images to enhance your story?

As I wrote Countdown, I began collecting primary source materials in my research, and I started a file, a Word document, to house all these photos and sayings, newspaper clippings and song lyrics, etc. Soon, I discovered that I was using them to help me tell the story, and I could see that they belonged in the story, and — more than that — they were an actual part of the narrative. So I began to use them in that way, and you’ll find that Countdown is full of photographs and clippings and the social and political commentary of the early sixties.

Did you enjoy growing up in the ’60s?

I loved growing up in the sixties. Of course, I wasn’t aware that it was “the sixties,” but I surely knew that things were changing fast, right under my nose. One day Elvis was in, the next day it was the Beatles. The same with fashion and food and movies and culture — it was an exhilarating time to be alive.

Our kids today are surrounded by bad news — wars, terrorists, bombings, natural disasters. Yet, each generation must find reason to hope. How does learning about our past give students a better vision for the future?

The 1960s was one of the most turbulent, changing, challenging, and defining decades in American history. There was so much dire news then, as well, especially surrounding the war in Vietnam and the civil rights movement. There was cause to be afraid. And there was always hope.

And love. With Countdown, I hope to grab the reader’s imagination and heart and let her know that there is always cause to be afraid in the world, and yet, there is always, always hope.

There are heroes. And we are they. Each of us, individually, can be heroic in our own ways. And are. The way we live through hard times is by coming together.

Do you have an idea for what the next book in the series will be about?

Oh, yes. The next book takes place in 1966 and revolves around the civil rights movement in this country, and the escalation of the war in Vietnam. That’s the larger history arc. The story involves two girls, cousins, who are making a trip from Mississippi to Memphis to find Elvis Presley, whom one of the girls is convinced, with reasonable proof, is her father.

One last question. Many of us here are parents trying to balance a desire to write with managing our homes and families. You didn’t start out as a novelist, did you? Can you share how your writing journey evolved and give us a couple of tips for hanging in there when we’re jotting stories on the back of the box of animal crackers at the playground?

I love this question. It speaks to the heart of my writing life. I knew, when I was in my twenties and had two young children, that I wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t understand what I had to write about — the desire was so strong, but I didn’t have a story. Or, more accurately, I didn’t understand my story.

In the library, I stumbled across the great essayists — E.B. White was my favorite — and began to see that I could write about my everyday life and turn that into story. I read and practiced for a long, long time. I wrote with a toddler holding onto my leg and saying, “Play, Mommy!” and I wrote at 2am. I wrote with a kindergartener doing his homework beside me. I wrote in fifteen-minute snatches.

I also read what I wanted to write — I checked out bags of books from the library and studied them as I read them to my children. Two books that meant a lot to me were WHEN I WAS YOUNG IN THE MOUNTAINS by Cynthia Rylant and HONEY I LOVE by Eloise Greenfield. I took those books apart, to see how they were structured. I so admired Molly Bang’s TEN NINE EIGHT, that I took it apart as well, and — years later — wrote ONE WIDE SKY.

I studied writers I admired. I took a writing class from a good teacher at the local community college, and then another one. I sent stories to New York publishers for ten years before someone was willing to work with me… and then it took another five years before FREEDOM SUMMER and LOVE, RUBY LAVENDER were published.

In those ten years, and in the ten years before that, I freelanced. I wrote essays and magazine features, and I was largely self-taught. I worked for free at first, in order to gather clips. I took those clips to larger papers and magazines, and eventually got paid. I got into a routine that had me up at 4am, writing, every day. It’s a habit I still adhere to today, and it serves me well. No one was awake at 4am, and I could get in two good hours of writing time before it was time to make breakfast for four children and see my husband out the door.

Wow. That’s an amazing schedule. I admire you for being able to get up that early.

A good friend told me once, “you have to want it more than sleep.” I’m not sure about that. What I do know that I was compelled to tell my story. I needed to tell it. Over and over again. And I still feel that compulsion today. I’m still writing out of my life, telling my story. I appreciate the chance to tell some of it here, at Mom2Mom. Thanks very much.

Thank YOU, Deborah, for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak to us here and encourage us in our reading, writing, and parenting journeys. You have blessed us here more than you’ll ever know!

You can read more about Deborah Wiles’ novels on her website. And here’s a book trailer where you can also SEE an interview with the author:

Those of you who’ve been around me in real life know I’ve been on a Harper Lee kick lately. For a while, I managed to bring her name into just about every conversation.

It looks like rain today. Hey, that reminds me of the weather in Monroeville where Harper Lee lives.

Are you going on the field trip next week? Hey, did you know Harper Lee was from Alabama and moved to New York in her 20s?

Have you read any good books lately? I’m reading To Kill a Mockingbird again. Have you ever read it?

I can blame it on my local public library. Back in March, they hosted the first annual BIG READ event, inviting the whole town to read To Kill a Mockingbird together.

I couldn’t believe it. People of all ages reading the same book together! (Can you hear the harp music now?) Our library used some grant money to buy dozens of copies of the book, as well as DVDs of the movie, and recent biographies of Harper Lee by author Charles Shields.

If that weren’t enough, there were special speakers and events every week. I almost made it to everything. It was heavenly for me, since everything was local and FREE.

The first major event was a public showing of the movie, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” starring Gregory Peck. I gathered a group of friends and their kids, and we all went together. It was my third time seeing the movie that month, since I’d watched the DVD twice already, with and without the director commentary. So you see, I was a little obsessed.

At the movie night, we listened to guest speaker, Mary Badham, the actress who played Scout in the movie. Oh, she was wonderful. She told us funny stories about how she got chosen to play Scout and how she and Philip Alford, the boy who played Gem, used to fight and tease each other with squirt guns.

Before the movie started, she signed a copy of the photograph below for us, which I’ll always treasure:

Mary Badham was so gracious. I know she has been answering the same questions over and over for decades, but she made it so fresh and new for all of us. She did tell us that she can’t watch the movie anymore “because everybody in it is gone now. It’s just me and Philip (Gem) who are left.” Gregory Peck passed away in 2003.

A couple of weeks later, we were visited by Charles Shields, the author of the best biography you can find on Harper Lee. She really is a mysterious writer, refusing to do any interviews since the ’60s. Shields took four years writing his book about Harper Lee, completely without any cooperation from her. He conducted over 600 interviews, which make this a thoroughly fascinating read.

She only wrote ONE BOOK, by golly. It took her ten and a half years to finish it. She moved from Alabama to New York to be near her friend, Truman Capote (who is the character Dill in the novel), and to start a writing career. She lived in a tiny apartment with no hot water and wrote on a homemade desk made from a closet door.

Shields told us, at one point, Lee became so frustrated, that in the summer of 1957, she threw her manuscript out the window! She called her editor and said, “I give up.” Her editor told her to get out there and collect the pages of her manuscript or she’d have to pay back her advance. Lee couldn’t afford to do this, so she finally turned it in.

To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960, and it became an instant success, earning her the Pulitzer Prize. The movie version, with a screenplay by Horton Foote, won four academy awards in 1962. It has never gone out of print, has sold 30 million copies, and still sells a million copies yearly. The book is required reading by nearly every public high school in America.

Yet she never wrote another book. She’s in her 80s now and still lives a quiet life in Monroeville, which is now known as “the literary capital of Alabama.”

Since 2010 marks 50 years since the publication of Lee’s world-famous novel, Monroeville is hosting a 50th anniversary celebration in July. There will be all kinds of literary tours and events, and even a giant birthday party for the book. You can read all about it here.

Harper Lee did publish a few essays in magazines in the 1960s. If you’re curious, here are a couple of links:

Love–In Other Words, published in Vogue Magazine in 1961

Christmas To Me, published in McCall’s magazine, December 1961

I recently found out our BIG READ book for next year will be The Great Gatsby. Good thing, because I’ve also been on a Zelda Fitzgerald kick lately. But that’s a whole ‘nother story.

Her debut novel, Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different, made me laugh and want to know more about her. So here she is, coming to chat with us all the way from Nashville, Tennessee.

Welcome, Kristin! How did you come up with the idea to write your first novel?

I grew up in Athens, Tennessee, about an hour and a half south of Cades Cove. We visited the park dozens of times when I was a kid, when my cousins would visit from Chicago.

But in 2002, I went on a tour of the Cove, and was standing in John Oliver’s cabin when the tour guide mentioned that at one point, 12 people lived in the tiny log dwelling. Twelve people! This place had no running water, a handful of windows, and was slightly larger than a luxury closet. How in the world did they live?!

It occurred to me that this place that I’d visited dozens of times as a tourist had once been someone’s home. I wondered: how does one’s home become a national park?

I’ve visited Cades Cove many times, but once I got the idea to set a novel there, I returned and took dozens of pictures and many notes. Too, I came across a research goldmine: in the basement of the Sugarlands Visitor’s Center near Gatlinburg, there is a library/archive that is solely dedicated to preserving the culture and artifacts of the people who lived in the areas that are now part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

They’ve collected everything from recipes and church hymnals to school textbooks and photographs. Land deeds, descriptions of school-yard games, farming techniques — it’s all there. Heaven for an historical fiction researcher!

Are there any locals still around who remember what it was like when the government came in and turned their homes into a national park?

All around East Tennessee, there are people who were born in Cades Cove and spent their childhoods there. I’m constantly amazed at how many people tell me part of their family is from there.

One such person is Dr. Durwood Dunn, a professor at Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, Tennessee. Dr. Dunn was very patient, answering several of my questions while I wrote the book. He’s considered one of the foremost scholars on the history of Cades Cove, and his book, Cades Cove: The Life and Death of a Southern Appalachian Community, 1818-1937, was one of the most useful books I used in the research stage.

Have you always had an interest in writing historical fiction?

Absolutely! I love reading historical fiction, and research is one of my favorite parts of the writing process.

Are you anything like your main character, Autumn? Do you like to “do things different” as well?

I wish I were more like Autumn! She’s spunky and spirited and creative, and she definitely does things different! I’m much more of a rule-follower than Autumn.

Autumn is so funny. Did you ever crack yourself up while writing?

Thank you! Actually, yes, I did crack myself up a few times while writing this book. (I also cried near the end — but NO SPOILERS from me!

I think if you’re immersed in the writing that much — so much that it makes you laugh and cry and feel so deeply — your readers are much more likely to get that from the story, too. At least, I hope so! Of course, anyone who knows me knows I laugh and cry VERY easily!

What was your favorite scene to write?

Probably the opening scene. I’d been researching Cades Cove for several months, and I was itching to begin the writing process. A contest was coming up, and I wanted to enter it. I pounded out the opening scene, title of the book included, in about an hour. (Of course, it went through MANY — manymanymany — rounds of edits after that!)

Something that strikes me as odd about the writing process: I can remember exactly where I was writing, what I was thinking and feeling, when I reread sections of the book now. It’s like listening to an old song, one that transports you to a specific place and time. Just one more thing I love about writing!

That’s all so interesting, especially for an adult reader to know more about your writing process. OK, here’s a question on a different subject. I heard that you actually got to INTERVIEW one of my all-time favorite authors, Madeleine L’Engle. Can you share with us how it all happened? That is truly amazing!!

I know, right?! When I was in sixth grade, my fantastic elementary school librarian, Sheila Rollins, instituted a wonderful program: any student could read three of an author’s books, then interview that author by telephone. I remember exactly two things about the interview:

1. The interview was conducted via a speakerphone! It was the coolest piece of technology my 11-year-old self had ever seen. Very Charlie’s Angels.

2. When I told Ms. L’Engle that I, too, wanted to be a writer, she responded, “Good for you! Keep reading and you can do it.”

Wow! I’m sure she’s inspired many of her readers to become writers. Well, Kristin, after reading your book, some friends and I are trying to plan a family trip to Cades Cove. Do you have any recommendations for places we should visit?

You absolutely need to visit the Arts & Crafts Community, a loop just outside Gatlinburg about 8 miles long with dozens and dozens of artists working and living in a gorgeous, creative community.

If you have time, check out the Arrowmont School and see if they’re offering a craft class that you’d be interested in taking. There are always festivals and celebrations in nearby Gatlinburg, so check with the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce to see what might be going on while you’re there.

And of course, you’ll want to hike the many trails throughout Cades Cove and in other sections of the gorgeous Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Thanks for all these great tips! Can you tell us a little bit about your next book?

Sure, here’s the jacket copy for Selling Hope, which will be released November 9 from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan. I wish I could share the cover with you, because it is SOOOO PRETTY!

It’s May 1910, and Halley’s Comet is due to pass thru the Earth’s atmosphere. And thirteen-year-old Hope McDaniels and her father are due to pass through their hometown of Chicago with their ragtag vaudeville troupe. Hope wants out of vaudeville, and longs for a “normal” life—or as normal as life can be without her mother, who died five years before. Hope sees an opportunity: She invents “anti-comet” pills to sell to the working-class customers desperate for protection. Soon, she’s joined by a fellow troupe member, young Buster Keaton, and the two of them start to make good money. And just when Hope thinks she has all the answers, she has to decide: What is family? Where is home?

Our family loves Buster Keaton! Here’s one last question: do you have any tips for parents who are trying to carve out a little time and energy to write while shuffling kids into carpools and packing school lunches? How do you manage to squeeze it all in?

I wish I could say that I have this amazing time-pause button, or a clone machine, or an inherited gene that allows me to stay awake for weeks on end. But in reality, I have a wonderful husband who knows that when I’m starting to look stressed, a little writing time will go a long way toward curing that.

I also have a sitter who watches my youngest (a very active 3-year-old boy) a couple of times a week while I write and promote. I have a voice-recorder app on my iPhone, and I record ideas on it when I can’t get to a pen (which is almost always).

So yes, CARVING out time is exactly what I do. Writing is a priority for me, and I treat it like a career. The best career in the world!

Thank you so much for your inspiration, Kristin, and for sharing with us your behind-the-scenes process of writing!

You can read more about Kristin O’Donnell Tubb on her website and her Do Things Different blog. And here’s a really fun video I found about Cades Cove, in case you’re feeling the itch to travel to Tennessee.

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.

Last Sunday, our preacher recited this entire book from the pulpit. He does this every year, and every year I cry. It’s embarrassing. My kids worry about me when my face gets all crumpled and I start plowing through my purse for tissues.

The occasion is always graduation. We had nine high school seniors graduate from our church this year, and we wished them well, sending them off to great places. As soon as we got home, I pulled this book off our shelf and read it again. It was published in 1990, the last work of Dr. Seuss.

We have a little graduate in the Class of 2010 this year. Our youngest daughter finished her preschool years. This means we’ve finished out an entire decade of preschool. Our oldest started in 2000, same school, same wonderful teacher. I can’t believe this season is behind me.

OK. When I get sad, I try to remember another quote, also attributed to Dr Seuss:

As I reread Dr. Seuss’ Oh the Places You’ll Go, it made me realize we’re all in the Class of 2010, aren’t we? We’re all on the move. Nothing ever stays the same. All of us are finishing up something and starting something new. Or we WANT to be starting something new, but we’re scared. We’re scared of failure; we’re also scared of success.

It’s time. Let’s graduate together. I’m holding up my mug of coffee to you. Cheers!

In high school, I used to be a cheerleader, holding up my green megaphone encouraging fans to cheer on our school team. If I were cheering now, I’d have Betsy-Tacy written all over my uniform! Go Team Lovelace!

I’ve written the people at HarperCollins Children’s Books to thank them for bringing the Betsy-Tacy books back in print, and you can too! And today I found out my post about the Betsy-Tacy houses being recognized as National Literary Landmarks made the Betsy-Tacy Society News Page!

YAY! I feel like my feet are in Georgia and my heart’s in Mankato today! Thank you, Betsy-Tacy Society, for all of your hard work!

My oldest daughter started wearing her hair in braids recently, and I wasn’t surprised to see she’d tucked a Betsy-Tacy novel into her backpack. I love it that she’s reading this series for the second time, and in the world of Betsy, cell phones haven’t been invented yet.

For anyone who is a fan of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series, you can rejoice along with me that there’s a big celebration going on this week in Mankato, Minnesota. After years of publicity efforts, fundraising, and restoration, both the Betsy and Tacy houses will be dedicated as National Literary Landmarks in a ceremony Thursday, May 20th starting at 6 pm.

If I lived anywhere near Minnesota, this is where I’d love to be.

I started reading the Betsy-Tacy books only a few years ago, after I discovered a copy of Betsy and the Great World in a used book store on St. Simon’s Island. I recognized the series from Gladys Hunt’s wonderful book, Honey for a Child’s Heart.

I’m so happy that HarperCollins Children’s Books has brought all ten of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy books back into print. The Harper Perennial Modern Classic editions, published in 2009, are gorgeous, with covers illustrated by the original artist, Vera Neville.

I’d love to gather a whole set of these books for my three daughters to take with them someday when they leave home. I hope HarperCollins will continue to keep these books in print for fans like me who are raising the next generation of Maud Hart Lovelace readers.

Here are the ten books of the series:

1. Betsy-Tacy
2. Betsy-Tacy and Tib
3. Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill
4. Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown
5. Heaven to Betsy
6. Betsy in Spite of Herself
7. Betsy Was a Junior
8. Betsy and Joe
9. Betsy and the Great World
10. Betsy’s Wedding

There are three other companion novels set in Deep Valley (Mankato). I especially enjoyed Emily of Deep Valley. HarperCollins is due to release these new editions in October 2010. You can pre-order your copies here.

1. Winona’s Pony Cart
2. Carney’s House Party
3. Emily of Deep Valley

The Betsy-Tacy Society has a whole upcoming calendar of events, including a Victorian Lawn Party, Ice Cream Social Concert, Neighborhood Walk, and Victorian Christmas.

In her introduction to the new Betsy Was a Junior/ Betsy and Joe 2009 edition, author Meg Cabot writes:

How could a series of novels in which the heroine has neither red hair, a tiara, magical powers, a boyfriend who is a vampire, or a cell phone be so bewitching? Well, Betsy won my heart not just because of the humor, vivacity, and realistic emotion with which her creator, Maud Hart Lovelace, imbued her, but also because of her believable struggles to find her voice as an author…not to mention true love (both of which echoed my own struggles not just at Betsy’s age but through my twenties and even beyond.)

These books do so much toward preserving a beautiful time period of American history. I’m thinking a field trip to Mankato would be a nice way to help bring literature to life!

Update: If you’d like to contact HarperCollins Children’s Books to show your support for bringing the Betsy-Tacy books back in print, you may contact them with this email address: feedback2@harpercollins.com. Let’s keep these books in print for the next generation!

The Children’s Book Council, in association with Every Child a Reader, announced the winners of the third annual Children’s Choice Book Awards at a gala in New York City last evening.

Children across the country voted for their favorite books, author, and illustrator at bookstores, school libraries, and at Book Week Online, casting over 115,000 votes.

Below are the finalists and winners. I think this is exciting for kids to know they have a voice in sharing their favorite books!

Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year

* The Birthday Pet by Ellen Javernick, illustrated by Kevin O’Malley (Marshall Cavendish)
* Lulu the Big Little Chick by Paulette Bogan (Bloomsbury USA)
* Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban, illustrated by Henry Cole (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
* The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett (Simon & Schuster)
* Opposnakes by Salina Yoon (Little Simon/Simon & Schuster)

Winner: Lulu the Big Little Chick by Paulette Bogan (Bloomsbury USA)

Third Grade to Fourth Grade Book of the Year
* The Book That Eats People by John Perry, illustrated by Mark Fearing (Tricycle Press)
* Coretta Scott by Ntozake Shange, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins)
* Gonzalo Grabs the Good Life by Janice Levy, illustrated by Bill Slavin (Eerdmans)
* Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Knopf/Random House)
* Oceanology by Ferdinand Zoticus deLessups (Candlewick)

Winner: Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Knopf/Random House)

Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year
* The Adventures of Benny by Steve Shreve (Marshall Cavendish)
* Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster)
* Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca (Atheneum/Richard Jackson/Simon & Schuster)
* Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee, Sam Hart, and Artur Fujita (Candlewick)
* Zoobreak by Gordon Korman (Scholastic Press)

Winner: Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster)

Teen Choice Book of the Year
* Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, Book 4) by Richelle Mead (Razorbill/Penguin)
* Blue Moon (The Immortals, Book 2) by Alyson Noel (St. Martin’s Griffin/Macmillan)
* Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)
* City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, Book 3) by Cassandra Clare (McElderry/Simon & Schuster)
* Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic Press)

Winner: Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

Author of the Year

* Suzanne Collins for Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) (Scholastic Press)
* Carl Hiaasen for Scat (Knopf/Random House)
* Jeff Kinney for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw and Dog Days (Amulet Books/Abrams)
* James Patterson for Max (A Maximum Ride Novel) (Little, Brown)
* Rick Riordan for The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book 5) (Disney Hyperion)

Winner: James Patterson for Max (A Maximum Ride Novel) (Little, Brown)

Illustrator of the Year

* Peter Brown for The Curious Garden (Little, Brown)
* Robin Preiss Glasser for Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire! (HarperCollins)
* Victoria Kann for Goldilicious (HarperCollins)
* Susan Roth for Listen to the Wind (Dial/Penguin)
* David Soman for Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy (Dial/Penguin)

Winner: Peter Brown for The Curious Garden (Little, Brown)

Congratulations to all of the finalists and winners!

From The Children’s Book Council website:

The CCBA program, launched in 2008, was created to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them and to help develop a reading list that will motivate children to read more and cultivate a love of reading.

About the CBC:

The Children’s Book Council, established in 1945, is the nonprofit trade association of publishers of trade books for children and young adults in the United States. The CBC promotes the use and enjoyment of trade books for young people.

I know this is supposed to be a blog mainly for women, but I can’t help sharing with you this awesome story about a father whose home-grown bedtime stories for his son became New York Times best-selling books and now movies.

I somehow ended up on author Rick Riordan’s Myth & Mystery blog the other day, and as I searched through his early archives, I came across this story. His words sent delicious chills up my spine, and I knew I wanted to share it with you!

In his post from September 2005, The Learning-Disabled Hero, Rick shares how he came up with the hero, Percy Jackson, for his son:

As Haley struggled through second grade, his saving grace was Greek mythology. He loved those old stories. He would actually read them willingly in class. He knew I’d taught Greek myths for years in the middle school, and so every night he would ask me to tell him a bedtime story about the Olympians.

One night, as we were lying in bed for story time, I realized I’d run out of myths. We’d done all the gods, the heroes, the monsters. I was fresh out of Minotaurs.

‘Well, make something up!’ Haley said, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

I thought about that.

I thought about Haley’s struggle with ADHD and dyslexia. I imagined the faces of all the students I’d taught who had these same conditions. I felt the need to honor them, to let them know that being different wasn’t a bad thing. Intelligence wasn’t always measurable with a piece of paper and a number two pencil. Talent didn’t come in only one flavor.

Then I thought about the heroes in the old myths – sons and daughters of gods and humans – and all the troubles they’d had to overcome because of their mixed heritage. Off the top of head, I began a story about a 12-year-old boy named Percy Jackson, the modern-day son of the Greek god Poseidon, who among his many other problems has ADHD and dyslexia. He struggles in school. He’s constantly being labeled a lazy troublemaker. Yet Percy finds that his learning disabilities are actually indicators of Olympian blood. He is a hero – a child of the gods.

It took me three nights to tell of Percy’s epic quest across the United States to retrieve a lightning bolt stolen from Zeus. When I was done, Haley told me I should write the story down.
I took him seriously. I spent a year on the manuscript, not sure anyone except Haley would ever want to read it.

I was wrong. The story seems to have struck a chord.

To date, The Lightning Thief is being published in seven languages and the film version is underway. I’ve gotten a flood of appreciative emails from readers, many of them ADHD/dyslexic kids who usually dislike reading. It’s tremendously gratifying, and yet the book remains a very personal story from a father to a son. Like the Greek stories of old, The Lightning Thief is an attempt to explain a natural phenomenon — a myth to help my son make sense of who he is.

Oh, I just love this! The creator at work, inspired by his own son. According to wikipedia, Rick Riordan finished writing The Lightning Thief in 1994. It was initially accepted by Bantam Books in 1997 and later sold at auction to Miramax Books before being released on July 28, 2005.

Five years later, the five-book Percy Jackson & the Olympians series is a huge hit! For this dad, his mission of telling a great story to his son was accomplished on a grand scale!

And then there’s me. In February, I ended up in a big pack of moms and kids going to see “The Lightning Thief” at our small-town theater. I think I was the only one of our group who had never heard of these books. Embarrassing to admit! (I read mostly girly novels, OK?)

The movie was fantastic, and I thought I’ve got to get these books for my son, who wasn’t able to come to the movie with us. Well, they were completely sold out at Borders, so I ordered a boxed set, and we had to wait a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I’m hearing the buzz that everybody is reading Percy Jackson books — and this is in a Christian school where parents are careful about what they let their children read.

Finally, the books arrived, and my kids DEVOURED them. Then we had to go see the movie again, all of us! I enjoyed it even more the second time around because I wasn’t so scared of the action parts, and I could enjoy the humor so much more. We’ll be eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Reading this story on Rick Riordan’s blog reminds me why our children can be our greatest inspiration to write! If you have a minute, here’s another interesting Myth & Mystery post full of advice for writers, The Well-Written Life.

I love this poster. In honor of Children’s Book Week, why don’t you pull your favorite children’s book off the shelf and read it again — to yourself or to someone you love?

It does my heart and mind good to know that people are celebrating children’s literature around the world this week. You can read more about official events going on here.

I think tonight I’ll surprise my five-year-old daughter by reading HER favorite books — the three that I’ve hidden because I can’t bear to read them for the 101st time. Surely, I can find some new detail to keep me energized while reading Victoria and Elizabeth Kann’s PINKALICIOUS, PURPLICIOUS, and GOLDILICIOUS. They really are cute books, well-illustrated, and oh-so-popular with the preschool girl crowd.

What will you be reading this week?