Most Beautiful Available as a Digital Book

Most Beautiful is now available on iBooks as a digital book at http://www.rfwp.com/ or by searching "Royal Fireworks Publishing" into iBooks in iTunes. Yay!

Publishing News...

I have a couple pieces of news to report about my writing career.

The Neon Tiki Tribe (recent winners of the Mom's Choice Award) asked me to join their team as a writer. I’m thrilled to be a part of what they’re doing! Their stories are action packed with a positive moral message. Check them out at http://neontikitribe.com/. They’re offering a free app right now. Get it while you can!

One of my picture book manuscripts has been accepted for e-publication by MeeGenius, http://www.meegenius.com/. The book should be out by Christmas. I'll keep you posted.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

This month I read a mid-grade novel that was made into a movie. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine is a fantastical story based on the Cinderella story. The book garnered a nomination for the Newbery Award in 1998. It didn’t win, but I bet it was a close second. The story is clever and witty and digs deep into the classic Cinderella story, answering the question: why did Cinderella obey her step-mother and step-sisters.

The day Ella was born, a fairy named Lucinda gave her the gift of obedience. Lucinda did not intend for the gift to be a curse, but it was. Ella had no choice but to obey any command given to her. “Stop crying.” “Go to bed.” “Hop on one foot.”

After Ella’s mother dies, her father sends her to finishing school, where Ella is tormented by her future step-sisters. Ella embarks on a quest to find Lucinda and break the curse. In the end, she finds out that she had the power to break the curse all along. She just needed love, a power greater than the curse.

I recommend this book to 4^th graders and fairy tale lovers of all ages.

List of Recommended Books by Grade:

Picture books

Alphabet Puke—Monsters’ Medicine A-Z by Quinn Cole

2^nd grade –

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Miss Holly Is Too Jolly, by Dan Gutman

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Time Warp Trio #1: Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka

Time Warp Trio #2: The Not-So-Jolly Roger by Jon Scieszka

3^rd grade –

Who Is J.K. Rowling? By Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

4^th grade –

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The Book of Think (Or How to Solve a Problem Twice Your Size) by Marilyn Burns

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

5^th grade –

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

6^th grade –

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

7^th grade and up –

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byers

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright

The Book of Think by Marilyn Burns

This month I read a nonfiction book for mid-grade readers. The Book of Think (Or How to Solve a Problem Twice Your Size) written by Marilyn Burns and published by Little Brown and Company is a book about stimulating your brain and thinking outside the box.

 

Are your kids sitting on the couch playing video games or watching TV too much this summer? Do you need some activities to get them moving and thinking? Marilyn Burns’ book is just what you need. The book is full of activities about getting to know yourself and your brain that will inspire deep cognitive processes. The kids will have fun and you’ll know that their brains are getting some exercise over the summer.

I recommend this book to 4^th and 5th graders and thinkers of all ages.

List of Recommended Books by Grade:

Picture books

Alphabet Puke—Monsters’ Medicine A-Z by Quinn Cole

 

2^nd grade –

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Miss Holly Is Too Jolly, by Dan Gutman

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Time Warp Trio #1: Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka

Time Warp Trio #2: The Not-So-Jolly Roger by Jon Scieszka

3^rd grade –

Who Is J.K. Rowling? By Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

4^th grade –

The Book of Think (Or How to Solve a Problem Twice Your Size) by Marilyn Burns

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

5^th grade –

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

6^th grade –

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

7^th grade and up –

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byers

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright

Who Is J.K. Rowling? By Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso

This month I read a nonfiction book for young readers. The Who Was…? series, published by Grosset & Dunlap, has a few Who Is…? books featuring people who are still alive. I read Who Is J.K. Rowling? by Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso.

The story tells about Ms. Rowlings’ childhood, personal life, writing life, and Harry Potter, of course. The book is nonfiction, but it’s a modern day Cinderella story. Ms. Rowling struggled to make ends meet and then a decade later she was richer than the Queen of England. Ms. Rowling is not only a gifted writer, she is also a benevolent woman. She gives to charity and lends her support to many organizations that help single mothers and underprivileged people. J. K. Rowling is a fascinating woman living a fascinating life.

I recommend this book to 3^rd graders and Harry Potter fans of all ages.

List of Recommended Books by Grade:

Picture books

Alphabet Puke—Monsters’ Medicine A-Z by Quinn Cole

2^nd grade –

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Miss Holly Is Too Jolly, by Dan Gutman

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Time Warp Trio #1: Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka

Time Warp Trio #2: The Not-So-Jolly Roger by Jon Scieszka

3^rd grade –

Who Is J.K. Rowling? By Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

4^th grade –

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

5^th grade –

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

6^th grade –

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

7^th grade and up –

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byers

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright

Albany Children's Book Festival 2013

I met many talented authors and illustrators at the Albany Children's Book Festival. These are my favorites.

This is Barbara Dee. She has published many mid-grade novels.

Her most recent and very intriguing novel is called Trauma Queen. I'd read this book based in the title alone!

This is Elizabeth Zunon. She is a talented illustrator that has worked on Patricia MacLachlan picture books. Wow!

This is a recent book illustrated by Ms. Zunon. It's called A President From Hawai'i and it's fantastic. I highly recommend this book to readers ages 7-10.

Albany Children's Book Festival 2013

I will be attending the 5th annual Albany Children's Book Festival on April 27, 2013. See the link below.

http://www.albanychildrensbookfestival.com/#!

Come see me there if you can!