GOOD NEWS: Here Comes a Book That’s Not Crud

May 17, 2026 / / No comments

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For the past week, the children’s book world has been in an uproar (it started off as a kerfuffle, and quickly escalated) in response to critical comments made by author Mac Barnett about the current state of children’s literature. If you don’t know, you can find out easily enough.

Besides being a gifted writer, Barnett is currently the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, appointed by the Library of Congress. For that reason, his dismissive comments stung all the more.

The response to Barnett’s (ill-advised, mean-spirited, condescending) comment has been extensive and passionately articulate, with many creators weighing in at length. There’s even been a widely circulated opinion piece from The Wall Street Journal to further fan the flames.

To me, a week later, it all feels overcooked. But I’ve been in this business for more than 40 years, I know it’s a bunny-eat-bunny world, and I can’t get too worked up about one guy’s opinion. And I am not at all interested in joining the dogpile. There’s far too much of that these days.

So here I sit, after finally figuring out how I want to respond to the notion that 94.7% of children’s books are crud.

I want to talk about books I love, people I admire.

Today I want you to know about a book that I’m really, really excited to see in the world. It’s a true original, with more than a touch of Daniel Pinkwater’s influence. I am talking about Matt McElligott’s exciting new foray into illustrated, middle-grade fiction. The book combines Matt’s offbeat sense of humor with the deep intelligence that has characterized his work through the decades. The debut book in the series is a wild, funny, inventive story; I’m thrilled that soon young readers will get the chance to check it out for themselves.  

Quietly, Matt McElligott is one of our best.

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The new series launches in October, 2026, and, yes, it absolutely comes out of left field — as if it were beamed down from another planet. Where did this come from? Matt’s not jumping on a trend or following the whims of the marketplace. In the age of Artificial Intelligence, here’s an artist creating from the wacky heart, the curious mind, the untethered soul.

Let’s see a robot try that.

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Here’s the description from Matt’s publisher, Bloombury.

 

Project WOOFF was top-secret . . . until now.

Alex Grebert has lived his whole life in the off-grid community of Underland with his nature-loving Aunt Zinnia ever since his parents died unexpectedly. Alex loves his aunt, but it’s not easy being a coder in a place where electricity and internet are practically nonexistent.

When Alex’s best friend Lily Day takes in a stray cat named Fuzzypants, Alex is pulled into an adventure straight out of one of his self-made video games. The cat, whose real name is Professor Fuzzypants, PhD., is a product of Project WOOFF (Weaponized Optimization of Flora/Fauna), a top-secret government project that developed intelligent, speaking animals.

Project WOOFF was supposed to have been shut down a long time ago, but someone is continuing the experiments. Alex and Lily are determined to find out why it all went wrong, especially when Alex discovers that there may be more to his parents’ story than he had ever been told.

Featuring black-and-white chapter opening artwork and full-page black-and-white illustrations throughout, this short series starter will appeal to the young middle-grade reluctant reader.

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NOTE: I hope other creators will take this opportunity to praise books, to talk up the good stuff — maybe the less hyped among us — and put a spotlight on all the wonderful work being done in children’s publishing today. 

Category: Around the Web, Current Events, Interviews & Appreciations / Tags: , , , ,

My Kingdom for a Map!

May 7, 2026 / / No comments

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I suppose that all writers have their own hopes and dreams for the books they write. Little benchmarks and accomplishments. I’m not talking about results — like awards or parades — but things that appear in the books. 

For example, one goal that I’ve never reached is to write a work of true science fiction. It’s on the list! Maybe someday. Another, conversely, is the thrill I felt when there was a fistfight in Bystander. I’d written so many kind and benign stories up to that point, many of them in the Jigsaw Jones series, that it was a heart-pumping moment when I finally induced a character to sock someone in the jaw. Ka-pow!

Today I am thrilled that after 40 years as a published author, I have one more thing I can check off the list: I’m writing books that will have maps included!

That’s right: MAPS!

Who doesn’t love a book with a map? 

Anyway, there’s time to kill before that day arrives. The first two books in my Survival Code adventure series will feature nonfiction elements, a dramatic storyline, awesome illustrations . . . and a map! For the map, the publisher, Penguin, had to hire a different illustrator than the one who was doing (almost!) all the interior artwork. Because map-making is a unique skill. So they brought in an expert. 

As the author, I provided a very rough drawing of a map. Then I backed away. Now we’re waiting for the map-maker to ply her craft. I hope to share that final art sometime down the line. 

The books are titled: SURVIVAL CODE: Wildfire Escape and SURVIVAL CODE: Snow Blind. Two more will be coming in 2028, but I haven’t written them yet. So: Shhh. Never talk about unwritten books, it’s bad voodoo. 

It’s a recurring mistake in my professional life, but I have high hopes for these books. Ack, hope? That’s the bumpy road to heartbreak. And here I go again!

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Category: The Survival Code, the writing process / Tags: , , , , , ,

Forgive Me, I’ve Been Away . . .

April 29, 2026 / / No comments

Hey, hey.

Just got back from a trip. Sorry it’s been quiet. But, of course, I assume you’ve weathered the bloggy silence in fine fettle.

If the root of vacation is to vacate,* I maintain that it requires two full weeks to get the job done. And I did. I vacated that skull of mine, and its crawling ticker of obligations and responsibilities, like nobody’s business.

Note: I will not refer to the Latin origin, vacare — a freedom from, to be empty — because that feels a little pretentious and that’s so not me. Think: vacant, vacuum, evacuate. 

Now back, after driving close to 3,000 miles, I’ve been digging out from under all day. 

Headed into a busy month of school visits. 

No rest for the wicked.

Speaking of wicked, I trust you’ve all been well?

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Category: Happenings / Tags:

Letters from My Father, World War II: June 6, 1945

April 14, 2026 / / No comments

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Sometime back, I came into possession of a large box of letters written by my father during his soldiering years, World War II. I haven’t gone through them all and, in fact, years go by between visits. There’s a lot.

In my family, I might be the most sentimental. My brother Al, more stalwart in every sense, is a better keeper of records, important papers, facts. He’s the one to trust with anything valuable (though I suppose it depends on what you value). I’m the one more likely to marvel & grow wistful over the fact that my mother used to call me a “skinnymalink.” My sisters Barbara and Jean fall somewhere in between, though they are inscrutable to me. What do they think and feel? I’m often not sure.

Anyway, I thought I’d share and type out this one, almost taken at random. It is a letter from a son to a mother, attempting to ease her fears. In general, there are far fewer letters written to his father, my grandfather, but those tend to be more interesting. A little more meat to the bone.

Dad was in the air force, a navigator, not sure of his final rank (he’s second lieutenant at the time of this letter; a little research suggests he received a base pay of $150 per month), staged in the Pacific. When he knew that he’d enlist, waiting for that birthday to come along, he famously stopped attending high school. I mean, why bother? So he skipped 23 straight days, mostly following the horses out at Belmont Park, and then headed off to war. At least that’s the legend as I remember it. 

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Dear Mom,

Well how are you? I’m still making out O.K.

I’d just like to tell you not to worry. Sure things will get tough from time to time but on the whole it doesn’t look so bad at all. I really mean that. 

You see Borneo has a lot of rather easy spots but I guess that every other place does too. But what I’d really like to say is that they make every possible effort to look after you. Boy they don’t miss a thing especially on these briefings. Everything is talked over to the fulled extent. If the tactics look dangerous to someone he says so and then they talk it over. If he can show where it will be even slightly better another way they by all means do it. In short they look after you as best they can. I guess we are sort of valuable to the army. 

Say if you ever read any newspaper items that you think I might be connected with please send them to me. That will serve a two or three fold purpose. I’ll probably get a laugh out of the write ups on our strikes and if I’m not concerned I can keep track of what the rest of the army is doing. The third reason is that I can get an idea of what is going on in your mind. I won’t be able to say anything about them but it will be very interesting to me. 

From time to time I’ll fall behind in my letters but bear with me and I’ll try to make it up later on.

Well how is the home front getting along. We are starting to eat a bit better now. It seems that either supplys come in or else someone is getting generous. Even so we don’t eat bad because we are lucky to have a good staff in our mess hall. 

The natives here sort of remind me of the Mexicans in San Antonio. There doesn’t seem to be much difference except that you can see a bit of oriental in these people.

I’ll write again soon.

What is new at home?

Love Al

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Category: Family / Tags: , , , , , , ,

It’s a Thrill When Books Are Translated

April 13, 2026 / / One comment

I’m in the process of downsizing, moving to a much smaller & as yet undetermined location. One of the painful aspects of that is figuring out what to do with all my beloved books — the ones I’ve read and the ones I’ve written. In fact, I just returned from a quick trip to my neighborhood middle school, where I donated a bunch of books for classroom libraries.

Anyone who has ever moved, knows that it comes with a degree of navel gazing. You come across an old photo album and time stands still. Or, no, time goes in reverse. You lose an hour, happily. Part of that process, for me, has been trying to get a copy of each of my books, across 40 years, packed up for safe keeping. This way my children can throw them in the Dumpster at a later date. Because I sure can’t do it. 

So, yes, I’ve pulled out all my books over the years. Spread them out on the floor. And look at this:

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If you are lucky in this business, some of your books get translated into different languages, almost by pure magic. While this is not a complete record, here are some of those titles: Jigsaw Jones in Arabic, German, Spanish; Scary Tales and The Fall in Japanese; Bystander in Greek; Before You Go in German; and Six Innings in Korean. Each one leaves me agog. 

How cool is that? Which is another way of saying: How lucky am I?

Very, I realize. Very lucky indeed.

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Category: the writing process / Tags:
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