Artwork From the Cutting-Room Floor
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade | 1 Comment »Greg Ruth, illustrator of A Pirate's Guide to First Grade, recently shared a piece of art that never made it into the book. Don't you love it? The thick brushstroke of blue, the off-kilter headlong forward whoosh of the whole thing. ...
Booklist Online Gives PIRATE’S GUIDE a “Twins’ Thumbs Up!”
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade | 2 Comments »Thank you Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan, writing for Booklist Online, for the kind comments about A Pirate's Guide for First Grade. Cindy and Lynn take a collaborative, two-headed approach to book reviews, giving the traditional book review the old Siskel ...
An Author Thanks the Stars
Friday, August 20th, 2010 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade | No Comments »I formed my diabolical master plan back in 1989. At the time, I still worked at Scholastic on the book clubs, and Is Your Mama a Llama? was a huge seller. Now no offense to the book's author, Deborah Guarino, but ...
Guest Blogger at Mackids
Monday, July 26th, 2010 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, the writing process | No Comments »I contributed to the cyber-clutter by posting over at the Mackids blog. Kathryn Hurley had asked me to write something about A Pirate's Guide to First Grade. I mulled that over for a week or so, and came up with ...
Another Starred Review for “A Pirate’s Guide”
Monday, July 26th, 2010 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »This makes me happy. A Pirate's Guide to First Grade earned a second starred review, this time from Publishers Weekly . . . "This rambunctious first day tale is fit for any young buccaneer. Leading an imaginary crew who are drawn ...
Starred Review from SLJ!
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade | 2 Comments »This Just In: The first mainstream review for my new picture book, A Pirate's Guide to First Grade, illustrated by Greg Ruth. The review appears in the August issue of School Library Journal, and was written by Jasmine L. Precopio. What ...
Kirkus Reviews “A Pirates Guide to First Grade”
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade | 1 Comment »"Good fun, me hearties!" -- Kirkus Reviews. Ahoy, lubbers! Here's the first review for A Pirate's Guide for First Grade: "A little boy with pirates on the brain navigates the first day of school. Narrating in a vigorous piratespeak, he takes readers ...
When That First Copy Arrives in the Mail: Shiver Me Timbers!
Friday, May 7th, 2010 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, the writing process | 2 Comments »I don't do happy dances. I'm not a fist-pumper, chest-thumper, or rump-bumper. It's just an inward satisfaction, and pure pleasure; the culmination of something that's been brewing for years. In the case of this book, A Pirate's Guide to First ...
What I’ve Been Working On: A Brief Sample
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, Justin Fisher Declares War!, the writing process | 6 Comments »In college I had a teacher, Dr. Pat Meanor at Oneonta, who said something that I've always taken to heart. He said if you want to write, then you had better shut your mouth. Don't talk about it. Otherwise all ...
Arrrrr: Greg Ruth’s “52 Weeks Project” Revisited
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, Around the Web | No Comments »One of life's little pleasures is the email I receive each week from illustrator Greg Ruth, as part of his second annual "52 Weeks Project." Each weekly missive includes a brief note from Greg -- who has a writing style, ...