Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. Today we are featuring Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed. Amal lives in a quiet, ordinary Pakistani village. An excellent student who dreams of being a teacher one day, she loves school and hanging out with her family and friends. But … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: AMAL UNBOUND
Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. Today we’re featuring Front Desk by Kelly Yang! Fifth-grader and immigrant Mia lives with her Chinese parents in a small room at the Calivista Hotel. When they arrived in America, they expected to work hard but they had … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: Kelly Yang’s FRONT DESK
Dear The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, I’ve been working on a series of posts on books that shaped me, and this month, I want to highlight Dana Alison Levy’s THE MISADVENTURES OF THE FAMILY FLETCHER. The Fletchers are a two-dad, four-son, two-to-four-pet household. The brothers are all adopted. Two are white, one is African-American, and one is Indian. The best part is that all … Continue reading Dear The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher
I’ve been a fan of Stacy McAnulty’s picture books and chapter books for years now. Last September, I got the opportunity to read the manuscript for her latest book, The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl. I set aside the other books I was reading and devoured it in exactly 1.0000 sittings. Lucy, a.k.a. Lightning Girl, is a once-struck-by-lightning middle-school math savant with a serious case of OCD. … Continue reading Stacy McAnulty Interview: The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
Publisher’s Description Will didn’t plan to eat a stinkbug. But when his friend Darryl called new kid Eloy Herrera a racial slur, Will did it as a diversion. Now Will is Bug Boy, and everyone is cracking up inventing insect meals for him, like French flies and maggot-aroni and fleas. Turns out eating bugs for food is a real thing, called entomophagy. Deciding that means … Continue reading Recommended: BOY BITES BUG by Rebecca Petruck
Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. Today we’re featuring Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring by Angela Cervantes. Before we get into this fun and wonderful story, I have to give a shout out about the cover, designed by award-winning artist Rafael … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring
It’s here! The cover of the third BRAVE NEW GIRLS anthology. The newest edition, titled BRAVE NEW GIRLS: TALES OF HEROINES WHO HACK!, is a collection of twenty-three short stories featuring teen girls who hack not only computers, but any puzzle they encounter. And I’m fortunate to have one of my stories included: The Experiment Called Life. These anthologies, created and edited by sci-fi authors … Continue reading Cover Reveal! BRAVE NEW GIRLS
I’m working on revising one novel and pre-writing another, and one thing keeps coming up with both projects: friendship. I have two teen daughters, and I can tell you that EVERYTHING revolves around friends. And I remember that from my own teenage years – friendships were all-consuming, intense, up and down, and central to my daily life. So as I’ve worked on these two projects, … Continue reading The Magic of Friendship
Welcome to Windows & Mirrors where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. Today we’re celebrating Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson! Ilyasah Shabazz is the daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. She’s the author of several books about her revolutionary family, including the critically-acclaimed adult memoir … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: Betty Before X
I’ve been writing love letters to books that shaped me, as a person and as a writer, and for this month, it’s Karen Foxlee’s Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy. I so enjoyed this book, a dreamy and beautiful retelling of the Snow Queen. What I want to talk about today, though, is how it influenced my writing. I write contemporary fantasies, and love to come … Continue reading Dear Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy
The shadows that surround us aren’t always as they seem… Shadow Weaver, by MarcyKate Connolly, is a middle grade fantasy story of family, friends, belonging, and betrayal – all woven together with beautiful magic. Emmeline has grown up with a gift. Since the time she was a baby she has been able to control shadows. And her only friend and companion is her own shadow, … Continue reading Book Recommendation: Shadow Weaver
Oh, this strange, wonderful, wise book. Every month, I’m writing a love letter to a book that has shaped me, and this month, it’s The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. For those poor souls who haven’t yet read this classic, it’s the story of Milo, who comes home from school one day to find a tollbooth addressed to him. He drives his toy car through … Continue reading Dear The Phantom Tollbooth
