Posts Tagged ‘VCFA’

The Map of Me, by Tami Lewis Brown

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

Tami Lewis Brown dazzled the picture book world with her beautiful biography of Elinor Smith, Soar, Elinor!

And now, she has a brand new novel to her name, The Map of Me.

I’ve had the great privilege of working with Tami, both as a student at Vermont College of Fine Arts, and more recently as a colleague.

One thing’s for certain, Tami is a citizen of the world, so when I tried to track her down for a video interview, she was somewhere out there . . . flying, driving, sailing, riding (a horse, a camel, a lawnmower?). Let’s just say, she’s always on the move. The same could be said for her stories. They move in a way that makes them hard to put down.

So without further adieu, here’s a small snippet of The Map of Me.

Calloo, callay, my homies!

Janet Fox Talks about FAITHFUL

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

Greetings!

Fellow author Janet Fox recently dropped in and I was able to convince her that a spin in front of my Flipcam would be a great idea. Once you’ve watched her, I think you’ll agree:

Wasn’t that wonderful?

If you haven’t read Faithful yet, get thee to a bookstore. It’s gotten great reviews. Here’s just a taste of the good news surrounding this book:

Booklist: “Fox combines mystery, romance, and a young girl’s coming-of-age in this satisfying historical tale.”
School Library Journal: “The wilderness of Yellowstone…is lovingly and beautifully depicted…the gradual revelation of the truth about Maggie’s mother, the developing relationship between Maggie and Tom, and the thrilling episodes sprinkled throughout will engage readers.”
YALSA 2011 Nominee: Best Fiction for Young Adults
ALAN: Pick for 2010
Social Responsibilities Roundtable, ALA, 2011: Recommended Title, Amelia Bloomer Project

Check out the book trailer that Janet’s son, Kevin, created for her:

Oh boy, I love it when good things happen for good people. And that’s my friend Janet: Good People.

And soon, very soon . . .

Calloo, callay!

Trent Reedy, New Author/New Book

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

I’m so proud to know Trent Reedy. I met him at Vermont College of Fine Arts when he was a student there.

He enrolled not too long after he served in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. His story is one of bravery and longing and yes, love . . . all the things that surround his unique mentor, the amazing Katherine Paterson.

And now, his new book, Words in the Dust, which draws largely from his experience overseas, is due out in February.

Here’s a two-part interview with his editor, Cheryl Klein:

One of the most important books to come, as well as one of the most beautiful covers ever!

Congratulations, Trent Reedy MFA!

An Accordionist, Painted Cows & Flame Pits

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

Meet Big Joe Burrell

Big Joe was a much loved Burlington jazz/blues saxophonist/singer who passed away in 2005. Big Joe Burrell played in both B.B King’s and Count Basie’s band and moved to Burlington, Vermont in the mid-70s. Here he’s playing his sax forever on Church Street in downtown Burlington.

Ken and I spent a happy afternoon there after we left Montreal. The city elders have very wisely closed off the streets, creating an open air mall lined with shops, bistros, and… cows.

Plus, there is an assortment of street artists, one of whom is the very talented Leanna Therese Inzalaco. We loved watching her perform on her beautiful red and brown accordion.

Isn’t she amazing? Even the dogs agreed!

We loved it that Church Street is named Church Street for the elegant and historic Unitarian Universalist church at the top of the street. Happy 200th birthday! That’s 200, people!

And okay, my last video from my stay in Vermont is too good to not share, even though I didn’t catch the entire song, and the filming is shaky because I was laughing so hard, but here he is, the one and only, the inimitable and daring, M.T. Anderson, singing his rendition of the Delaware State Song in the Chapel at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

You can find out a lot more about Delaware by visiting The Tourist’s Guide to Deepest Delaware. And also by reading the book, Jasper Dash and The Flame Pits of Delaware.

So there you go…

Calloo, callay, my brothers and sisters!

Uma Krishnaswami–”Out of the Way! Out of the Way!”

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

While I was still in Vermont, I was able to catch my colleague, the amazing Uma Krishnaswami, to chat about her brand new picture book, Out of the Way! Out of the Way!, which is illustrated by…ahem…Uma Krishnaswamy. No, they’re not the same person with variations on the spelling of their last names. But they have joined together to create an utterly charming new book, one that has all the makings of a classic.

Uma is the author of several picture books and novels for children. She lives with her family, which includes four cats, in Aztec, NM. She is also the author the wonderful blog, Writing With A Broken Tusk, a blog about “story, overlapping geographies, and the creation of books for children.”

Out of the Way! Out of the Way! is published in nine different languages by Tulika Books in India, and will soon be released by the Canadian publishers Groundwood Books.

Uma teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I’m so fortunate to call Uma my friend.