By Anna Cavallo, Associate Editor Recently, our little corner of the Upper Midwest has been experiencing an incredibly early spring warming—temperatures frequently in the 50s and up into the 70s, and mostly sunny. (Often, March is the snowiest month here, offering no signs that the winter doom will ever melt away. It always does, but […]Read more "Dreaming of Summer (Reading)"

[Note that there is no April Foolery here. If you want that, go to Greenwillow. I couldn’t top it so I won’t try.] The Bologna Book Fair is a hopeful, optimistic fair, and I’ll tell you why. First off, a rather shocking number of young illustrators roam the halls, eager to show anybody their portfolios. […]Read more "Hopeful Bologna"

By Domenica Di Piazza, Editorial Director, TFCB Inspired by Elizabeth Bird’s “Top 100 Children’s Novels” entries on her Fuse # 8 blog, I did a little online digging to look at the covers of some of my favorite adult novels. One of the books I reread periodically is Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, first […]Read more "Covering “The Age of Innocence”"

By Carol HinzEditorial Director, Millbrook Press No, no, Elephant in the Kitchen isn’t a variant of the expression “elephant in the room.” I’m not about to bring up some terrible unspoken fact about the editorial department kitchen. Elephant in the Kitchen is, in fact, the name of the first chapter book I read entirely by […]Read more "Elephant in the Kitchen"

I recently had the good fortune to vacation in Mazatlan, Mexico. Not being much of a beach person, I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy this town famous for its resorts and sport fishing. But Mazatlan is a jewel. The turquoise Pacific, long stretches of sandy beaches, and the buttery late-winter sun instantly dissolved my […]Read more "Writers in Paradise"

Actually, I’m in Amsterdam, having left Bologna this morning at the uncivilized hour of 6:50. I’d planned to blog after dinner last night, but I should know better. You see, “after dinner” at the book fair is no earlier than 11:00 and last night it was much later. (Before you have visions of Bolognese bacchanalia, […]Read more "Bologna Briefly (And Late!)"

By Blythe Woolston, author of the forthcoming novel The Freak Observer (Fall 2010): Today I would like to honor Vioalle Hefferan, a citizen scientist whose work assisted in the advance of technology. Vioalle Hefferan wasn’t an engineer, unless a person considers what a feat of engineering it is to inspire dozens of teens to spend […]Read more "Ada Lovelace Day: Guest Blogger Blythe Woolston"

Rebecca L. Johnson (pictured at right) is the author of dozens of award-winning books about science for children and young adults as well as an avid scuba diver. Recent titles with Lerner include Investigating Climate Change and the Microquests series. Her research for the forthcoming Journey into the Deep: Discovering New Ocean Creatures (Fall 2010) […]Read more "Ada Lovelace Day: Guest Blogger Rebecca L. Johnson"

By Elizabeth Dingmann, Publicist Sally M. Walker (pictured at right on an archaeological site where she researched her book Written in Bone) is the author of many books, including the Sibert Medal-winning Secrets of a Civil War Submarine. Her research for the forthcoming Frozen Secrets (coming Fall 2010) brought her into contact with explorer and […]Read more "Ada Lovelace Day: Guest Blogger Sally M. Walker"