Photo: Sue Hylen
Kids! Click onto my kid-friendly blog, Yellow Pencils, for fun writing activities to spark your imagination.
Art by Alyssa L., age 11
Random Thoughts On What I'm Reading--February 6, 2012 When I first started reading We Were Here by Matt De La Pena, I wondered if the first-person diary format would work. It does. In this thoughtful young adult novel, 10th-grader Miguel lives in a group home, serving time for something he did. Something that involved his family. Worse, something that involved his looked-up-to older brother, Diego. We don't find out what Miguel did till nearly the end of the novel, but in the meantime Miguel takes us on a journey. After he and two other boys--the tough Mong and the mentally challenged Rondell--escape the group home, they head south toward Mexico. Their journey, during which Miguel writes down his experiences, thoughts, and philosophies about life, is one that changes Miguel. Their journey may change the reader, too. Ages 14 and up. |
Welcome!I'm a children's book writer, teacher, reader, walker, and bicycle rider on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Jump in and explore my writing world!
About Me I write for children and teens because I still love to take shortcuts through backyards. I’ve written several books for the school market, which are read by kids across the country. I also write short stories and poems. Currently I’m working on a middle-grade novel about a girl who lives on an island a lot like the one where I live. I grew up in the Midwest in a large extended family with over fifty cousins, so reading became a place to explore by myself. It was my first form of travel. Once hooked, I read whenever I could. Later I began to write fiction, and my stories for adults were published in literary magazines. I switched to writing for kids when I realized the audience was more fun. Along the way I sold corn at the Wisconsin State Fair, worked in a drugstore, answered phones at a used car lot, got degrees in linguistics and library science, and worked as a librarian, bookseller, and copyeditor. In the 1980s my husband, Steven, and I heard the call to move west. We convinced our two cats that a trip across the country was a great idea. When the highway ended in Seattle, we drove onto the ferry and landed on Bainbridge Island, one of the most beautiful spots in the U.S. We live a short walk from Hawley Cove, where I like to collect rocks on the beach to take home. Besides writing, I teach writing workshops for children, teens, and adults. This year I started a new class for adults, "Creativity for Writers," which lets me explore music, poetry, collage, and writing prompts with my students. My favorite thing about teaching is learning--I gain something from my students whether they’re 8 or 58. Twice I’ve taught English to kids in Poland, and both times I had an awesome experience. I'm also on the Core Team of Field's End, a writers' community on Bainbridge Island, where I plan classes on the craft of writing. Because I love to learn, I decided to get an M.F.A. in writing. I couldn't think of anything more exciting than writing, reading, and immersing myself in children's books for two years. In 2008 I earned my M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts, where I worked with the amazing Sharon Darrow, Marion Dane Bauer, David Gifaldi, and Sarah Ellis. My family originally came from Poland, and I heard Polish spoken when I was growing up. Alas I didn't learn the language then (which would have been so much easier!), but I'm studying it now at the Polish Home in Seattle. I like the way a new language creates different paths in my brain. I love to walk and bicycle. A few years ago, a friend and I did the Coast-to-Coast walk across England. We soon found out neither of us could read a map, but with the help of friends we trekked from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. Lately I'm more likely to walk and bike around Bainbridge Island and Seattle, discovering quirky neighborhoods and stopping often for coffee. When I’m not bicycling, teaching, taking shortcuts through yards, or trying to master Polish verbs, I’m writing and revising, revising, revising--my favorite part of writing. I’m in an email book club with a few of those fifty cousins. And I still read whenever I can. |
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