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Button Down is here!

 

Short chapters, simple yet meticulous language, a wholesome feel and the universal story of a boy with a dream combine to give this one widespread appeal. -Kirkus

Details and a sample chapter here


Indie Next Selection

   

It'll stick in your brain long after you've read it, this one, and you'll be glad that it's in there. -SLJ blog

Hear a sample here.


 

Winner of the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award

A boy, his dog, a raft, a river, the falls...


 

Booklist Top Ten Youth First Novel

Can writing a letter mend a heart, unite a family, help a girl grow up?

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News and Guest Blogs

Thanks to the Monterey County Weekly for this feature article, including an excerpt from Button Down. 

I'm honored to be November's Star Author for Christchurch New Zealand Library's Kids Blog. Find writing tricks and treats, ideas for using pictures as story starters, and small collections any writer can start. Tiny Collections and Growing a Story: The art of doing nothing are also posted here on my website. 

Just Launched is the Children's Literature Network's spot to read the behind the scenes scoop on newly released books. Here's my contribution about Button Down. 

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday's Barbara Watson and I chat about the writing process in a post she calls Buttoning Down. 

In the Children's Literature Network's Bookscope, I look back at how Little Klein came about. I've made some lucky mistakes in my day, and this is the story of one of them. 

Novel and Nouveau is Barbara Watson's excellent blog about writing and reading middle grade lit. She generously reviewed The Luck of the Buttons recently, and asked me to write a guest post about process as well. 

Bruce Black, author of Writing Yoga, interviewed me about process on his wonderful blog wordswimmer. Thanks, Bruce!

To celebrate The Luck of the Buttons release, there was a pie party on Amy Alessio's excellent Vintage Cookbooks and Crafts blog! Read and bake here: Memory Pie, It's All About the Crust, Pie Worthy, and Launch Day Pie. Then try Amy's excellent pie craft. 

Children's Literature Network interviewer Tom Owens asks me, What's right with children's literature today? Libraries, that's what!

Find books at:

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  • Button Down
    Button Down
    by Anne Ylvisaker
  • The Luck of the Buttons
    The Luck of the Buttons
    by Anne Ylvisaker
  • Little Klein
    Little Klein
    by Anne Ylvisaker
  • Dear Papa
    Dear Papa
    by Anne Ylvisaker

Titles also available as audio and e-books! 

 


 

 

 

 

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« Why Iowa...inspiration | Main | Have a Listen »
Monday
Apr252011

Why Iowa

DateMonday, April 25, 2011 at 6:54AM

When I moved away from the Midwest, I was surprised at how many people confuse Iowa with Ohio and Idaho. It’s true that the vowel-laden names sound similar to ears that don’t hear them frequently, and all three are land-locked states, so what sets Iowa apart?

Today I’ll share why I set The Luck of the Buttons in Iowa. Learn more about Iowa by checking back in the following days as several authors, artists, and others answer the question, Why Iowa?

Young Corn - Grant WoodI was living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa when I got the inspiration for The Luck of the Buttons. (Read about Tugs Button here.) But the reason for setting the fictional town of Goodhue in Iowa goes deeper than that.

Iowa has at once a wideness of space and a closeness of community that is enticing.


New Road - Grant Wood
Waiting for the Parade - Marvin ConeThe paintings of Cedar Rapids natives Grant Wood and Marvin Cone illustrate the sense of wideness and closeness of landscape and people that captivated me. I visited their work at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art as I settled my imagination into the atmosphere of Iowa, 1929. I could see Tugs, Ned, and the rest here.

Stone City - Grant Wood

Do you have a Why Iowa thought you’d like to share? Add a comment below. If you’d like to write a guest post or share an image on this topic, email me here.

AuthorAnne Ylvisaker | Comment5 Comments |
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Reader Comments (5)

We got a lot of that when we moved to Iowa.

"Oh, potatoes, eh?"

Ah well. At least the polticians (most of them, anyway) remember the difference. ;)

April 25, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterBecky

I enjoyed reading the Why Iowa? posts, Anne.
I still have to read your new book!
PS. I also love the Grant Wood paintings

April 30, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterJill McElmurry

Thanks, Jill! Oh, I hope you like The Luck of the Buttons.
And...would you like to write a Why ABQ (or Why NM) guest post?

April 30, 2011 | Registered CommenterAnne Ylvisaker

Hmmm, your Whyowa posts did make me think, Why NM?
I might like to give it a try, although it will take a while. My plate runneth over.

May 1, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterJill McElmurry

There is no time pressure, Jill! I will look forward to your thoughts whenever they strike. I hope everything on your plate is very tasty.

May 2, 2011 | Registered CommenterAnne Ylvisaker

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