Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for December 20, 2022

 This New Jersey author's first book, published in 1959, was called "The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo" and described being a middle child. Later books dealt with the onset of menstruation, first romance, and bullying an overweight classmate. Her 29 books have been translated into 32 languages and have sold more than 90 million copies, and the American Library Association lists her as one of the authors most frequently banned. She now works with the National Coalition Against Censorship, and her name is Judy Blume.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for December 13, 2022

 Name the author who wrote his 1936 classic on a yellow legal pad in less than an hour. The story was controversial for its pacifist hero--it was banned in Spain and burned in Germany--but it was based on an actual flower-loving bull. The author is Munro Leaf. His friend Robert Lawson did the illustration, and the book's title is The Story of Ferdinand.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for December 6, 2022

 This British Quaker author injured her ankle at 14 and never walked well afterwards, but she did enjoy the family's horse and carriage. Some felt her novel was preachy as it railed against the evils of drink, but her empathy for the horse shone through in her only book, published in 1877, a year before she died. This was Anna Sewell and her book was Black Beauty.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for Nov. 22, 2022

 This Massachusetts author has written over 400 books and won numerous awards. Her subjects range from dinosaurs to dragons to a toad in space, to a little girl looking for owls with her father in the book Owl Moon. This is Jane Yolen, born in 1939 and still writing and submitting.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for November 15, 2022

 This writer is most famous as an illustrator for other authors' books, such as the Little House series, Bedtime for Frances, and Charlotte's Web. He wrote and illustrated The Rabbits' Wedding in 1958, controversial in Alabama because it featured a white rabbit and a black rabbit marrying. This us Garth Williams, born in New York City on April 16, 1912, the day the Titanic sank. He died in 1996.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for November 1, 2022

 This author's first book is widely accepted as the first contemporary Young Adult novel, and she wrote it when she was a junior in high school. Her main character, Pony Boy, aims to "stay gold." This is S.E. (Susan Eloise) Hinton, and the book is The Outsiders.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for October 18, 2022

 The Jewish husband and wife that created this adventurous character had to cobble together two bicycles to flee Paris and escape the Nazis in 1940.  After 75 miles, sleeping on restaurant floors and in barns, they made it to a train station and then to Portugal, Brazil, and finally the United States. The creators are H. A. and Margaret Rey and their spunky monkey character is Curious George.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for October 4, 2022

  This author/illustrator from Minneapolis had the nickname "Sparky" and was dad to five kids. In 1968, 11 days after Martin Luther King's assassination, a teacher in Los Angeles wrote and asked him to add a black child to his cast of characters, and shortly thereafter, Franklin appeared. This is Charles Schultz, and his canine character is Snoopy.

Pumpkinpalooza--my 2022 Fall Writing Frenzy entry

 

 Fall is my favorite season, and one of my favorite fall events is this writing contest conjured up by Lydia Lukidis, Kaitlyn Sanchez and Alyssa Reynoso Morris. Thanks, ladies!

Pumpkinpalooza (109 words)

    Rhiannon graduated from kindergarten six years ago, but she returned to the classroom every October 1^st. That’s when Ms. Puggle turned her room into Pumpkinpalooza! Dozens of Jack-o-lanterns grinned and grimaced from every bookshelf and table, from every cubby and countertop—but not this October 1^st. Rhiannon learned that Ms. Puggle had strained her back picking pumpkins and wouldn’t be back for weeks. October wouldn’t be the same, for the school or for Ms. Puggle! Rhiannon had an idea and brought it to the principal. She made an announcement to all the classrooms, and later that night, when Ms. Puggle looked out her window, Pumpkinpalooza had come to her!

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for September 27, 2022

 This author's silly rhymes helped countless little ones learn to love books and words. But some of his books were requested to be banned; one, in 1989, because it was "anti-logging," and another in 2014 because it "encourages children to use violence against their fathers." This would be Dr. Seuss, and the offending books are The Lorax and Hop on Pop.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for September 20, 2022

 This author/illustrator from Ohio credits his ADHD with helping him write stories that aren't boring, and his dyslexia with helping him pay close attention to words. He was frequently sent out to the hall in school, where he created his most famous character, which later became a series featuring Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space, Wicked Wedgie Woman, and Bionic Booger Boy. This is Dav Pilkey, and his best-known series is Captain Underpants.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for September 6, 2022

  This Texas author's 1942 novel for older children features a 14 year-old boy, taking care of his family while his dad is away. A stray dog eats all the family's meat, but later redeems himself when he saves the younger brother's life. The book, later made into a movie, is Old Yeller, and the author is Fred Gipson.

Kidlit Trivia for August 30, 2022

 This shy author, born in 1899, wrote from his 18th century farmhouse in Maine. He loved farm life and celebrated the connections bewteen children and animals. He once said, "All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world." And the world loves his stories. This is E.B. White, who srote Stuart Little and my very favorite children's book, Charlotte's Web. 

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for Aug. 23, 2022

 This Polish Jewish author/illustrator, born in Brooklyn in 1928, had a childhood scarred with news of relatives who died in the Holocaust, but he found happiness in his 50 year relationship with his partner, Eugene Glynn. His most famous book told of a boy who tamed monsters and came home safely. This would be Maurice Sendak, and his best known book is Where the Wild Things Are.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for August 16, 2022

 This author's family moved to Florida when she was a child, and her father was to join them later but never came. Her first book in 2000 (discovered in an agency's slush pile) featured a girl who lost a parent but found a dog in a supermarket. The author is Kate de Camillo and the book is Because of Winn-Dixie.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for August 9, 2022

 This American author, born August 6, 1917, wrote or illustrated 110 children's books over 60 years. One of her most beloved characters is an older woman who traveled the world and hurt her back dismounting from a camel, and who made the world a more beautiful place by planting flowers. The author is Barbara Cooney, and her National Book Award winning book is Miss Rumphius.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for July 5, 2022

 This 5 foot 3" Scottish author was born the 7th of 10 children into a poor family in 1860. His most famous book features this quote: "When the first baby laughed for the first time, it's laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies." This is James Matthew Barrie, and the book is Peter Pan.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for June 28, 2022

   This American couple met in art college in Philadelphia and wanted humorous books for their sons to read, so they began to write and illustrate them for the Random House "Beginner Books" series, started by Dr. Seuss. They created an animal family with a bumbling father, wise mother and a brother and sister who sometimes get into trouble. They are Jan and Stan Berenstain, creators of the Berenstain Bears series from the 1960's into the '90's. 

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for June 21, 2022

   Her picture books reflect her childhood in West Virginia, where she had hot biscuits for breakfast and squirrel for dinner. She didn't read children's books until she worked in a library after college. Her first book came out in 1982 when she was 28 and became a Caldecott Honor Book. It is a warm recollection of growing up in Appalachia, "When I Was Young in the Mountains," by Cynthia Rylant.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for June 14, 2022

   One of the most charming moments in the Jubilee celebration for Queen Elizabeth II was the video she made with a beloved English children's book character. That would be Paddington Bear, named for the London station where he was found. The first Paddington book, A Bear Called Paddington, came out in 1958. Art by Eleanor Tomlinson.

Contest Entry about Beans and Feeling Awkward

I'm entering the Kidlit Vibes contest where I had to write a 125-word story onthe randomly chosen word, "Awkward." Here's my story:

Don’t Drop the Frijoles! (124 words)

By Deborah Holt Williams williamsdeborahholt@gmail.com

She said it was too heavy, but I promised my mom I could carry the bean crock to my Abuela’s.

“Hmmm…OK, but be careful and Don’t Drop the Frijoles!”

I carried the crock and almost stumbled down our steps, almost tripped over the garden hose,

nearly slipped on Abuela’s porch. I used my head to knock—and Uncle Jose 

opened the door right into me! SMASH! 

How could I tell my Abuela? 

I cried and told her the truth. 

“Are you hurt, Mijo?” I shook my head.

“But the frijoles?”

Abuela smiled.

“Ever since I broke my leg, Jose has made me beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

You did me a great favor!”

She ordered pizza, and I felt so much better.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for June 7, 2022

 While a lot of childrens books written by celebrities are awful, "Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born," which came out in 1996, is beloved among adoptive families. The author, an actor who is the child of two movie stars, is also a baroness through marriage but chooses not to use the title. This is Jamie Lee Curtis, mom to three adopted children. +

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for May 31, 2022

 His first book, the self-published "Little Squeegy Bug," launched his writing career when Eleanor Roosevelt mentioned it on her radio program. Eric Carle illustrated this author's "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" book, and Lois Ehlert illustrated his "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom." This high school English teacher who wrote books that celebrate rhythm, rhyme and repetition is Bill Martin Jr. 

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for May 24, 2022

 This Harvard-educated writer/illustrator's books featured wordplay with common expressions in "Chocolate Moose For Dinner" and "The King Who Rained," but he may be remembered more for the roles he played on TV as Officer Muldoon and Herman Munster. This is Fred Gwynne, July 10, 1926-July 2, 1993.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for May 17, 2022

 Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for May 17, 2022--This Connecticut author/illustrator is a lifelong animal lover, and his art reflects the rambunctious humor of childhood. His picture books from 1979, 1981 and 1982 featured an energetic Great Dane named Pinkerton, and later books retold classic tales. This is Steven Kellogg.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for May 10, 2022

 Born in Racine, WI in 1960, this author/illustrator was part of a family with five kids who went to the library every week. He wrote his first picture book in high school. His characters were mostly mice, with names like Owen, Lilly, Sheila Rae and Chrysanthemum, but he won a Caldecott for his book about a kitten. This is Kevin Henkes, and his Caldecott winner is Kitten's First Full Moon.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for May 3, 2022

 In 1924, when she was 18, she left her family in Australia and moved to England. She worked as a dressmaker, actor, dancer and writer. She said she didn't create her most famous character, but rather the character entered her consciousness and demanded her story be told. The author is P.L. (Pamela Lyndon) Travers, and her bossy subject is Mary Poppins. Her first Mary Poppins book was published in 1934.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for April 26, 2022

  This British writer was a sickly child, often confined to his nursery, where he imagined swashbuckling tales of pirates and treasure. Many of his poems in A Child's Garden of Verses, 1885, have become classics. This is Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island and Kidnapped, and poems such as "I have a little shadow who goes in and out with me, and what can be the use of him is more than I can see," and "How do you like to go up in a swing, up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing ever a child can do."

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for April 19, 2022

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for April 19, 2022--Her mother gave her unlimited crayons, lots of time to draw, and no art lessons. This author/illustrator, born in Massachusetts in 1949, created richly detailed picture books often based on folktales, such as the Ukranian tale, The Mitten. This is Jan Brett. She says she was a shy child who had trouble saying what she meant, but "happily, when it came time to draw, everything came out right."

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for April 12, 2022

    This beloved children's poet from Chicago worked as a cartoonist for Playboy and won a Grammy in 1970 for the country song "Boy Named Sue." He once said he didn't believe in happy endings. His own ending came in Key West, Florida where he died of a heart attack in 1999. This was Shel Silverstein, whose poems are collected in Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic and Falling Up.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for April 5, 2022

 For years, this author had the idea for a story about a friend of her mother's. When her mother developed Alzheimer's, the author decided it was time to preserve a memory for her mom and write the book about a mail-order bride and two children. The 1985 book won the Newbery Medal and is sometimes called the great American children's novel of the '80's. The writer died this week at the age of 84. The author is Patricia MacLachlan, and her book is Sarah, Plain and Tall.

My 2022 Spring Fling Entry MORE FUN THAN PUDDLES (120 words)

 

Spring Fling entry, 2022 (120 words)

 

The Joyful Splash by Deborah Holt Williams(110 words)

 

Two yellow boots languished, lonely, at the back of the closet. Their world was dark and smelled like wet socks. The yellow boots yearned to play outside.  “Will we ever walk between the flowers again?” asked Lefty. “Remember how we stepped so carefully around worms on the sidewalk?” recalled Righty. At the same time, they asked, “Is there anything more fun than puddles?” and they sighed at the happy memory. Then one day, thunder shook the closet and rain danced on the roof. Small hands grabbed the yellow boots, and soon they were on feet and out the door, into a glorious spring shower. Then, with a joyful splash, into puddles. And even more fun than puddles? Puddles with friends!

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for March 29, 2022

    This Massachusetts author/illustrator created stories for her two little boys that featured a steam shovel and a snowplow who became heroes. Her primary focus was her art. She was working on a book about design when she died in 1968 in Folly Cove, MA. This was Virginia Lee Burton, and her books include Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel, Katie and the Big Snow, and The Little House.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for March 22, 2022

 This author/illustrator's daughter thinks his stories about two male amphibian friends who loved each other but lived separately may have reflected his own life, as he came out to his family as gay not long after the stories were published. Sadly, he was an early casualty of AIDS and died in 1987 at age 54. This is Arnold Lobel and his beloved characters are Frog and Toad.

A Bright Spot in My Writer's Journey--my 50 Word story made the winners list!

     After the heartbreaking loss of my agent the very week she was going to take my story on submission, and not being one of the #PBParty finalists, it was such welcome news to see that my 50 word story was one of the winners in Vivian Kirkfield's #50 Precious Words challenge! Thanks to Vivian for all she does to encourage writers. Out of 749 entries, 57 of us won a donated prize. I was #45! Good news at last. UPDATE--I got a #PBParty honorable mention! More good news!

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for March 15, 2022

 Two male British authors each wrote about bears. A.A. Milne's bear lived with his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. Name the author whose bear came from "Darkest Peru" and landed in a London train station. That would be Michael Bond, who created the bear called Paddington, after the station where he was found.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for March 8, 2022

    Her career as an author/illustrator began with mushrooms, painting and describing numerous species of fungi. She wrote her first children's book at the age of 36 and used her royalties to buy a sheep farm. At 47 she married her lawyer, and when she died at 77 she left 4,000 acres to England's National Trust. She was Beatrix Potter, 1866-1943.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for March 1, 2022

 He earned a PhD in economics, but turned to graphic art. This author/illustrator, born in Amsterdam, began creating children's books when he tore characters from paper for his grandchildren. One of his books features a tiny black fish who organizes other fish to scare away a shark. This is Leo Lioni, and his books include Swimmy and Little Blue and Little Yellow.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for February 22, 2022

   The book started as a Children's Lit class assignment. A publisher had this author change the mice characters to possums, change the setting to Australia and cut the story by two thirds. It became the first of many books by which Aussie author? The book is Possum Magic by Mem Fox.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for February 15, 2022

 Before he changed it, this author/illustrator's unfortunate last name was Peed. He worked as a sketch artist for Disney studios, and in 1970 he created the Wump World, one of the first picture books to address pollution. This is author Bill Peet.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for February 8, 2022

 As a sickly child in Siberia, this author/illustrator spent time in bed cutting paper dolls. She later used her cut paper technique, together with watercolors, to illustrate a folktale about a peddler and some naughty monkeys. This was Esphyr Slobodkina and her classic book is Caps For Sale.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for February 1, 2022

 After the birth of his daughter Sally in 1946, this author/illustrator and his wife moved to an island off the coast of Maine. Both Sally and New England are featured in his Caldecott-winning picture books. This is Robert McCloskey, author of Blueberries for Sal, One Morning in Maine, and Make Way for Ducklings, which is set in Boston.

Tuesdy Kidlit Trivia for January 25, 2022

    Her two little bunny characters represent her own two children, and a kitten named Yoko deals with racism when she brings sushi in her lunch box. This author/illustrator, born in 1943, says that the story and pictures must always touch the heart. This is Rosemary Wells, and the bunnies are Max and Ruby.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for January 18th, 2022

    This Black author/illustrator, who died in 2021, did careful research to get his animal subjects right, even using Polaroids of himself posing as the creature he drew.  When picturing Blacks, he sought to portray "a sense of celebration, self-respect, resilience and dignity." This is Jerry Pinkney.

Tuesday KidLit Trivia for January 11, 2022

 In 1928 this Univ. of Wisconsin/Madison grad left her husband and used an inheritance to buy an orange grove in Florida. Her 1938 story tells of a boy who adopted an orphan fawn. The book, which she wrote for adults but is beloved by children, went on to win a Pulitzer and became a movie. This is Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and her book is The Yearling.

The heartbreak of losing an agent

   What a day! The same day my Jim found out he had Covid, I found out that my agent was moving to a new agency and could not bring her clients with her. So, I am in search of an agent once again. I really felt so close this time! My agent was going to put my Chihuly book on submission this past week, but it didn't happen. I have applied to the illustrator's agent and to the head of the agency, because I won't give up! By the time Jim found a testing site (we had to drive to Gypsum) and waited days to get his result, he was already feeling better. He's almost completely back to normal, and I'm so thankful he was vaxed and boosted. Now I hope I get it and get it over with! We are hoping to visit grandkids in Seattle and Tacoma in March. 

    

Tuesday Kid Lit Trivia for january 4, 2022

 He was born in San Antonio in 1942, and the viola was his ticket out of Texas to the New England Conservatory of Music. But when a hand injury ended his musical career, his doodles led him to create picture books. His most famous characters are two chubby mammals who share the names of a Pres and First Lady.  This is James Marshall, creator of the George and Martha books and illustrator for many more, including Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard.