Monday, April 29, 2013

SPELLBINDER Book Launch & Giveaway!


Spellbinders Logo






April 29, 2013

Our very own Spellbinder Book Launch - just in time for
Spring and Summer Reading!  
SPELLBINDER author, Kimberley Griffiths Little's new book, WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME, is out from Scholastic this month! Just in time for planting your very own summer butterfly gardens.

Everybody thinks Tara Doucet has the perfect life. But Tara's life is anything but perfect: Her dear Grammy Claire has just passed away, her mom is depressed and distant, and she and her sister, Riley, can't agree on anything. But when mysterious and dazzling butterflies begin to follow her around after Grammy Claire's funeral, Tara knows in her heart that her grandmother has left her one final mystery to solve.

Tara finds a stack of keys and detailed letters from Grammy Claire. Note by note, Tara learns unexpected truths about her grandmother's life. As the letters grow more ominous and the clues harder to decipher, Tara realizes that the secrets she must uncover could lead to grave danger. And when Tara and Riley are swept away to the beautiful islands of Chuuk to hear their grandmother's will, Tara discovers the most shocking truth of all, one that will change her life forever.

Kimberley Griffiths Little weaves a magical, breathtaking mystery.


Of course, there are gorgeous, magical purple butterflies in the story.

In fact, there are many *unusual* species Tara's Grammy Claire is researching in her secret laboratory. . .

The book takes place in the swamps and bayous of Louisiana.

And on an island in Micronesia in the South Pacific.

Tara must solve a series of clues inside a stack of mysterious letters with keys . . . and save her Grammy Claire's butterflies even as she finds herself and her sister, Riley, in grave danger.

The stunning book trailer for WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME will be in a post later this week. Final music edits were delayed due to unforeseen events so stay tuned for a marvelous book trailer.

But here is the gorgeous cake from the launch party at Alamosa Bookstore earlier this month.


Please join Kimberley and all the SPELLBINDERS in celebrating!
Kimberley will be doing another presentation & reading at:
Bookworks Bookstore in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saturday, June 22, 2013 at 10:30 a.m.
4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW  Albuquerque, NM 87107
505-344-8139
(And there will be cake!)

Every attendee will be able to make a butterfly necklace like these:



*******
Your SPELLBINDERS are giving away an autographed copy of
WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME to one lucky winner!!

To Enter, please leave a comment at our blog - and please officially follow our blog right here ---> SPELLBINDERS BLOG
The Winner will be Announced on May 13 -
which will be our last post
before the summer holidays begin and we go on summer hiatus.

 Black Stripes

Monday, April 22, 2013

Caroline's Classroom Connections: Historical Fiction

Spellbinders Logo




April 22, 2013
Caroline's Classroom Connections:
A VOICE FOR KANZAS

A VOICE FOR KANZAS - Debra McArthur
middle-grade historical fiction (ages 8-12)
Authenticity supported by her previous juvenile nonfiction works, McArthur has created a believable and fast-paced tale of life in the Kansas Territory. 
- Kirkus Reviews

Although the book is intended for young readers, it's not hard to imagine folks of all ages will enjoy the thrilling yet accurate historical events told in A VOICE FOR KANZAS. 
- The Landmark Newpaper
 



Please tell us about your book.

A VOICE FOR KANZAS tells the story of Lucy Catherine Thomkins, a thirteen-year-old poet from Pennsylvania whose father takes the family to Kansas Territory in 1855. Although her father is driven by his desire to vote in the territorial elections and make Kansas a free state, Lucy doesn't understand the importance of that, and she is miserable in her new home, where they are constantly threatened by Border Ruffians from Missouri who want to ensure that Kansas will become another slave state. When Lucy learns that her best friend's family is secretly helping slaves escape, she makes a decision that could have dangerous consequences for herself and her family. She struggles to find her place-and her voice-in Kansas.

What inspired you to write this story?

I learned a little about Kansas history and the struggle for statehood when I taught high school in Leavenworth, Kansas. I found the story fascinating, and I thought about how difficult daily life must have been for the early settlers. In 2001, I wrote a nonfiction book about territorial Kansas, and my research rekindled my interest in the era. A few years later, I began to imagine the story from a young girl's viewpoint, and I decided to use 1855 Lawrence as the setting for a novel.
A Voice for Kanzas
A Voice for Kanzas

Could you share with readers how you conducted your research or share a few interesting tidbits you learned while researching?

I knew most of the important events of the period from my previous research on the nonfiction book, but I really needed to know more about the daily life of the people in Lawrence. Through the Kansas State Historical Society I obtained the weekly newspapers from Lawrence in 1855. I found articles about neighbors, church dinners, weddings, funerals, band concerts, and all the wonderful tidbits of small-town life that really bring a place to life. That really helped me build a whole world for Lucy.

One day I ran across the 1855 brochure Information for Kanzas Immigrants published by the New England Emigrant Aid Company. The description of "Kanzas" in the brochure was intended to draw Easterners to the territory, and made it sound much more settled and civilized than it actually was. Many settlers were pretty unhappy when they arrived in the territory and found that it was not at all as it had been advertised. That document led me to the real meaning of the story.

What are some special challenges associated with using a historical setting?

I thought I had a really good handle on the historical details until I began writing. Every day I had new things to learn: What kind of pen would Lucy use? What kind of shoes would she wear? What kinds of things would be in her father's store? How much would they cost? Each detail I learned led to three more I needed to investigate. I had to do some kind of research every single day as I wrote the first draft.

What topics does your book touch upon that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom?

The Civil War is a major topic of study in schools, but many people don't know much about the years leading up to the war. In 1855, a newspaper writer predicted "Kansas will probably be the first field of bloody struggle with the slave power," and he was correct. Few people outside the state know the story of "Bleeding Kansas." The book gives readers some idea of the working of pre-Civil War politics, the Underground Railroad, early feminism, and the power of the newspaper to influence events. All of these are topics students may wish to explore more through their own study.

You can learn more about Debra and A VOICE FOR KANZAS at her website and blog.
  
 


 Black Stripes
Meet the Spellbinders

Caroline Starr Rose Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in New Mexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time. 

To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to her website, stop by her blog, or follow her on Twitter.

  




Carolee Dean
Carolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a master's degree in communicative disorders, and she has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a

Comfort Paperback Cover
speech-language pathologist.

Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list. Take Me There is a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.
Take Me There Cover

She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Act of Haiku."



 Follow me on Twitter 
  
  
  

Kim Bio PhotoKimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs, as well Circle of Secretsas two more forthcoming novels in 2012 and 2013.
  
She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences.


Please visit her website to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides. 
  
Follow me on Twitter 

Upcoming Events

Kimberley Griffiths Little
April 27th
New Mexico Battle of the Books (Guest Author)
WUNM campus
Silver City, NM

May 3-5 
Presenter/Critiquer
Niagara Writer's Conference

May 9-11
LDStorymakers Conference
Publication Primer
The Marriott in Provo, Utah

 Caroline Starr Rose
July 27
19th Annual Norfolk Public Library Literature Festival,
Norfolk, NE

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

The Secret Language of Stories by Carolee Dean

Spellbinders Logo

  April 8, 2013
The Secret Language of Stories by Carolee Dean
CITY OF BONES - STORY ANALYSIS

The Secret Language of Stories is a twelve step story analysis system I've devised both to plot my novels and to teach story building to adults and kids. It's based on Joseph Campbell's classic work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, with strong influences from The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler. In the past few years I've seen Vogler's work referenced more and more in the classroom, but for the struggling readers and writers I work with, some of the ideas are still a bit abstract. My impetus for creating The Secret Language of Stories was to come up with imagery and vocabulary my students could understand, but with concepts deep enough to be a challenge in adult creative writing workshops. A complete description of my system may be found at my BLOG.

When I give presentations at conferences and workshops, I provide numerous examples for each of the twelve points in the story analysis, but teachers frequently ask if I can give them any examples of an analysis of an entire book. Some of my older Spellbinders posts contain outlines f picture books, but I recently complete reading a novel that was so well plotted, it was easy to see the structure.

City of BonesCity of Bones is a fabulous New York Times Best Selling novel by Cassandra Clare. It is the first book in The Mortal Instruments series and it tells the story of Clary Fray, who seems to be a typical teenage girl until she starts seeing demons and Shadowhunters.

SPOILER ALERT: The following analysis contains several spoilers so I strongly advise reading the book before proceeding. I will attempt to avoid talking about the wonderful twists and turns while focusing on the spine of the story. I don't want to ruin the fabulous revelations and family secrets that are uncovered. On the other hand, the book is so well written, that it's a total delight, even if you know how it ends. 

  
THE OLD WORLD: Clary is a typical teenager hanging out with her best friend, Simon, hanging out at a club called Pandemonium. She sees an attractive young man slip into a back room with a girl and becomes concerned when he is followed by two young teens (Shadowhunters) brandishing knives. When she goes to investigate she sees the Shadowhunters kill the young man (aka: demon shape shifter) who shrivels into nothing and disappears. 
THE CALL TO ADVENTURE: Clary receives a frantic phone call from her mother telling her not to come home because it isn't safe. Clary rushes to their house to find her mother has disappeared. She is then attacked by a Ravener demon who nearly kills her and is whisked away by Jace, one of the Shadowhunters from Pandemonium.

Jace Wayland MENTORS, GUIDES, AND GIFTS: Jace serves as a mentor in the ways of the Shadow World. After Clary is poisoned by the sting of the Ravener, Jace must get her past the Du'sien demons disguised as police offers. Jace "hides" her temporarily by marking her arm with a mendelin rune. Throughout the story he gives her weaponry and other items she will need to fight off demons.

THE CROSSING: Jace carries an unconscious Clary to the Institute, a building in the middle of the city that looks like an old abandoned church on the outside because it is hidden by a glamour. On the inside, it's a large and beautiful research institute capable of offering lodging and safety for up to two hundred Shadowhunters. Only four currently reside there; Jace and his friends Alec and Isabelle, along with their teacher and mentor Hodge.

THE NEW WORLD: At the institute, Clary meets Hodge, the mentor, teacher and guardian of the three young Shadowhunter residents. Throughout the story he will give her information and guidance. This is the stage in the story where Clary becomes aware of the rules of the new world she has entered, a world threatened by demons and occupied by the slightly less dangerous Downworlders; creatures like vampires, werewolves and fairies.

THE PROBLEM, THE PRIZE, AND THE PLAN: Clary and the Shadowhunters uncover a plot by Valentine; rogue Shadowhunter, to find the Mortal Cup. He plans to use it to create an army of Shadowhunters under his control whom he plans to use to annihilate the Downworlders. The majority of Shadowhunters have formed a tentative peace or Accord with the Downworlders. Valentine has turned against his own kind because he believes the earth must be purged of Downworlders. He kidnapped Clary's mother because he thought she had the Mortal Cup or at least knew where to find it. In order to find out where her mother has been hidden, Clary must first understand who has erased her memory of the Shadow World and learn her true part in it.

City of Bones Movie Poster 
MIDPOINT CHALLENGE: Clary, Jace, Isabel, Alec, and Simon (who has also joined the group) go to a party at the home of Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn. There Bane reveals that it was Clary's own mother who paid him to erase her memories, for Clary's protection. As she and the others start to leave, Isabel informs them that Simon has imbibed in a blue drink that has temporarily changed him into a rat. A group of vampires takes him to the Hotel Dumort, thinking he is one of their own.  Clary and Jace battle the vampires at the abandoned hotel and just when it appears they are terribly outnumbered, werewolves intervene to create a diversion.

CHASE AND ESCAPE: Narrowly escaping death, the three teens find a flying motorcycle on the roof of the hotel. They get away, but just as they are starting to relax and take pleasure in their joy ride over the city, the sun rises and the motorcycle crashes. Apparently the demons energies that power the bike don't work during daylight.

DOWNTIME: Safely back at the Institute, Jace and Clary share a romantic moment on the roof which is interrupted when they return to her room and a jealous Simon emerges. With both boys upset with her, Clary settles on her bed to mope and draw and think. She then has a revelation about where the Mortal Cup is hidden, a location I will leave out just in case you haven't read the book. If you have read it, then you already know.

DEATH EXPERIENCE: Jace and Clary retrieve the mortal cup with the help of their friends only to have it stolen by Valentine with the assistance of someone they thought they could trust. Along with the cup, Valentine also takes an unconscious Jace with him and Clary fears that the evil Shadowhunter plans to kill him.

CLIMACTIC SHOWDOWN: Clary, with the help of family friend Luke, travels to a remote location on Roosevelt Island where they battle dozens of Forsaken. Clary finds her mother, unconscious, confined to a bed with hands and feet in manacles. She then finds Jace who is completely unharmed. Valentine has convinced Jace to go with him to Idris. Clary confronts Valentine about his evil plans and convinces Jace to stay with her, which is much more difficult than it sounds, but I don't want to disclose too much in case you haven't read the story. Valentine escapes through a mirror portal with the Mortal Cup, but Clary saves Jace and rescues her mother. Those are her main objectives. She will leave the Clave to deal with Valentine.

REWARD: Back in the everyday world, Clary visits her mother in the hospital. She is in a coma, but for the present she is safe. Clary's friendship with Simon has been mended and they reflect on coincidences versus "fortuitous occurrences." Clary returns to the Institute where her tense relationships with Alec and Isabelle have softened. She meets Jace up on the roof where he shows her the flying vampire motorcycle that Magnus Bane recently gave him as a gift. He then takes her on a ride and she marvels at how different the city looks. Jace points out that the city is just the same. Clary is the one who is different.

Understanding the basic plot structure of stories can be an invaluable way to start getting story ideas of your own. When young writers understand these patterns that are repeated across genres, they start to recognize them in movies and books. Remember, for a more detailed discussion of each of these twelve steps, go to my BLOG..

 The City of Bones will be released as a major motion picture in theaters August of 2013. When it comes out on DVD I hope you show it to your students. It would be a great topic for a story analysis discussion.

But be sure to read the book first!

 Black Stripes
Meet the Spellbinders
Carolee DeanCarolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a master's degree in communicative disorders, and has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a
Comfort Paperback Cover
speech-language pathologist.

Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list.
Take Me There is a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.
Her paranormal verse novel,
Forget Me Not, was published by Simon Pulse in October of 2012.
Take Me There Cover
  
She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Act of Haiku."Forget Me Not


 Follow me on Twitter 
  
  



  
Caroline Starr Rose
Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in NewMexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time. 
 
 
To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to my website.



  


 
Kimberley Griffiths Little has won the  Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and
Circle of Secrets published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs
  


Circle of Secrets  She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting
"The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences.

Please visit her website to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides. 
  
Follow me on Twitter 






Upcoming Author Events


 Caroline Starr Rose

April 19
New Mexico Library Association Youth Luncheon
Albuquerque, NM

July 27
19th Annual Norfolk Public Library Literature Festival,
Norfolk, NE















This email was sent to kglittle@msn.com by spellbinders@peifercomputing.net |  

Friday, April 05, 2013

Must see Harpercollins "How to Make a Book" videos to watch this weekend!

My YA trilogy will debut with Harpercollins Fall of 2014 and HarperKids recently launched this amazing series about How a Book is Made AND Revised, Edited, Designed - and BORN. All with the real people at Harper doing the videos and talking about their jobs (inside their offices in NYC) and what they do. It's fascinating. Of course, as a writer, I'm pretty familiar with the first few and had heard a lot about the rest of the in-house process, but the Production video was especially interesting to see the pieces of the book and how it all goes together. I've read about that process, but it was fun to actually *see* it.

These videos were created and narrated by the amazing writer, Lauren Oliver. I love her MG books.

There are 8 total, between 3-5 minutes apiece.

If you're in the book writing and publishing business, you'll enjoy these.

1. How a Book is Made: Developing Ideas w/ Lauren Oliver
2.Writing the Story w/ Lauren Oliver
3. Editing the Book w/Editorial Director Rosemary Brosnan
4. Creating the Art w/ Harper Art Director
5. Proofing the Story w/ Harper Managing Editor
6. Printing the Book, w/ Production Director
7. Reading the Book w/ Lauren Oliver




Enjoy! 

~Kimberley

P.S. If you start the first one, they will automatically take you to the next one in order on Youtube. :-) 

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

The Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller, Part 3!

Spellbinders Logo




April 1, 2013
An Interview with Donalyn Miller, author of THE BOOK WHISPERER
Part III

Links to parts one and two.

What is a typical day in your classroom like?

Loud! I joke that it sounds like beehive. We talk constantly about books and writing. My students spend the first 30 minutes reading while I confer with individual students about their reading and help students preview and select books. After reading time, we talk with partners about our reading experiences that day and I present a few book commercials about new additions to the class library or books I think students will enjoy based on what they are reading now, or books I think will stretch them. 

After reading time, I teach a lesson and students practice the skill or strategy I have taught using a common text like an article, poem, or short story for the first few encounters with this topic. As often as possible, I ask students to apply what they have learned to their independent reading, writing, or inquiry when they have mastered the skill or strategy after whole group instruction.

We write every day. Sometimes, we write about reading and sometimes we develop essays or reports. We are currently engaged in an author study about Seymour Simon. Students are reading several of his books, exploring his website, and creating reports of information based on one research topic. I am teaching lessons on sentence fluency, taking notes, combing information from several sources, and organizing information logically.

I try to integrate reading and writing as much as possible, so some students could be reading or writing during our daily work periods depending on their individual progress and needs that day. I circulate and confer with children during these work periods.

After a work period, students share bits of their writing and solicit feedback from their peers. I facilitate these discussions.

During the last ten minutes of class, we gather for a read aloud. Right now, we are reading WONDER by R.J. Palacio. We are keeping a running list of Mr. Browne's precepts on the board and discussing the book and its messages each day.

You don't use the terms struggling or reluctant readers but instead identify readers as developing, dormant, and underground. Could you define for us what these readers are like and what they most need?

Developing readers lack reading confidence, experience, or ability, but are somewhere on the path toward developing reading self-efficacy. I prefer this term to struggling readers because development implies progress and effort instead of failure.

Dormant readers possess the grade and age levels abilities expected from them at school, but don't find reading personally meaningful beyond school expectations. I find that most of my students are dormant readers. They haven't experienced enough pleasure or engagement with reading.

Underground readers are avid readers who live two reading lives--one at school and one outside of school. These children are often avid readers who may underperform on school reading assignments because they don't find them meaningful. They may not fill out reading logs, participate in whole class discussions, or complete reports, then excel on reading tests.

I think there are other types of readers who don't express these marked habits and abilities, but I chose to write about these types because these the students that benefit most from free choice voluntary reading and more classroom choice.

"Students need to receive encouragement for the skills and knowledge they do have and be allowed to make mistakes as they work toward mastery." What are some "mistakes" you've seen kids afraid to make? How have you helped liberate them from this fear?

Reading is hard because so much of it involves subjective interpretation. Kids who want to get it right struggle when I push them to determine their own meaning for a text. They want me to tell them what it means. They want explicit answers to every question. When we read shared texts, we look at the basic plot events or main ideas first, then delve into the deeper meanings or implications of a text. This assures everyone understands the universal meaning or key points before exploring personal connections and meanings. I think this values all of the learners in my class.

I also share my mistakes and misconceptions with students. They don't realize that even the most experienced readers and writers need to reread, revise, and mull over ideas. 

Your principal sounds like a phenomenal person -- giving you the room to teach reading this way, encouraging fellow teachers to examine "classroom practices and institutional policies that are so entrenched in school cultures" as to be ineffective, the afterward he wrote for your book. How does someone who doesn't have the support you do go about making effective changes in their classroom community?

It is hard to teach in a culture that doesn't get what you are doing. I keep Stephen Krashen's and Nancie Atwell's books on my shelf. I want colleagues, parents, and administrators to know that I have a research basis for what I am doing. If anyone questions me about my methods, I refer to the research. You can disagree with me all you want, I am just one person, but how can you discount decades of research on our field? I cannot think of any administrator who would tell a teacher to disregard research.

It helps to make a list of your core beliefs about teaching and learning and look at it often. What do you believe is right for children? What do you believe is important for them to learn? How is your daily instruction leading students to a better life beyond school? It is easy to get bogged down in the daily grind of school, and it helps to remember these long term goals.

I was not treated well by many of my colleagues when I first changed my practices. It was hard. I sought out the teachers in my building who were most progressive and open-minded (and our librarian), and I developed collaborative relationships with them. I spent a lot of time with my students, which helped me focus on them. My students' test scores were good and I walked into school happy every day. My students and their parents were happy, too. Eventually, people were curious. I suggest that teachers implement as much as they can, document the results and share it with administrators and colleagues. Talk about what you are doing in your classroom and the positive results. Better to talk about what you are doing and not what you wish you could.

Learn more about Donalyn and her book at www.thebookwhisperer.com. Join us next month for the fourth part of the interview.  

 Black Stripes
Meet the Spellbinders
Caroline Starr Rose Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in New Mexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time. 

To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to her website, stop by her blog, or follow her on Twitter.

  



Carolee Dean
Carolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a master's degree in communicative disorders, and she has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a

Comfort Paperback Cover
speech-language pathologist.

Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list. Take Me There is a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.
Take Me There Cover

She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Act of Haiku."


 Follow me on Twitter 
  
  
  

Kim Bio PhotoKimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs, as well Circle of Secretsas two more forthcoming novels in 2012 and 2013.
  
She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences.


Please visit her website to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides. 
  
Follow me on Twitter 

Upcoming Events

Caroline Starr Rose
April 19
New Mexico Library Association Youth Luncheon
Albuquerque, NM

July 27
19th Annual Norfolk Public Library Literature Festival,
Norfolk, NE

  

 
This email was sent to kglittle@msn.com by spellbinders@peifercomputing.net |  
Spellbinders | 3 YAF Authors | Albuquerque | NM | 87181

MY PUBLISHED BOOKS

MY PUBLISHED BOOKS

Winner of The Southwest Book Award!

Time travel, war, love, rattlesnakes, magic . . .

Blog Archive