Y

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?

Find downloads here

Y?

If I had to answer in one word the question

Where do ideas come from?

I'd say 

WHY

It's all about the wondering

read more

Ylvi...what?

Ylvisaker = ILL vi soccer

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!

IndieBound

Amazon

Titles also available as audio and e-books!