My granddaughter loves books, and she especially loves balloons. In last week’s blog post, I featured a list of Ofelia’s favorite books from the third year of her life; I was surprised by some she selected. This week, as I reviewed the list of books she’s had read to her, or has looked at, over… Read More
It seemed fitting to end my journey to British Columbia visiting the house where Emily Carr grew up; to knock on the front door and be greeted by Jan Ross, curator of this National and Provincial Historic Site; to sit in the very parlor where Emily once sat; and learn more about this visionary whose art and life I so admired.
Tango, my beloved dog who passed on last year, the model for one of the main characters in Tango: The Tale of an Island Dog, was a Yorkshire Terrier. Do you know much about this breed? Do you realize that it has been a popular pet since Victorian times, first being recognized by the American… Read More
Tango is traveling by boat on the ocean with his person, Marcellina, and her boyfriend Diego when Tango is washed overboard! In the months that follow, his fondest wish is to find his way home to Marcellina. He does everything within his power to make that wish come true. He has a lot of help… Read More
In the Teachers’ Guide for Tango: The Tale of an Island Dog, I’ve suggested that you develop a script for Chapter 34—“A Fair Fight”—and act out the scene. Start the scene at the point that Beau hears a voice call into the night: You’ll find good dialogue to work with and it’s a tense scene,… Read More
In the midst of the coziest time of year to share books, I posed the question to several Minnesota writers, “Describe a time in your life when a special person read out loud to you.” Here’s how three of them answered. I’ve included my own memory as well. Under the Stairs Janet Graber (who grew up… Read More
Beau Fox sent me a note last week. He’s such a reading advocate that he wanted to share a list of books about foxes with you, dear readers. “When asked, I’m partial to my own story of course, Tango: The Tale of an Island Dog, in which I impart a good deal of wisdom to… Read More
It was June, 1974, and the lupines, I remember, were in bloom. Six months earlier, on the way home from a party near dawn, I’d totaled a white Volkswagen Beetle. Somersaulting through the convertible’s rag-top roof, twenty-three years of life flashed before my eyes; and I didn’t like what I saw. Too late, I thought.… Read More
Early on the morning of Friday, January 29, 2015—a bitterly cold, snowless and windy day in Minneapolis—I sat at my kitchen table and signed multiple copies of my two published novels for middle-grade readers: Tango: The Tale of an Island Dog and The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea. I packed the books in boxes, put the boxes… Read More