86!!

Okay, T.S. found this list of the 100 best children's book on the National Education Association's page (from 1999, I think). Same rules as last time. I put a star if I liked it as a kid, even if I may not like the book today:

*Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
*The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
*Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
*The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
*Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
-Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch (creepy, toilet on cover...)
*The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
*The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
*Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (this is the book that made me cry the hardest as a kid)
*The Mitten by Jan Brett
?Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
*Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
*The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
*Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein
*Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
*Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
*Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss
*Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
*Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
*Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr.
*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
*The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
*A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
*How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
*The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
?Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault
*Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
*The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
*The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
*Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
*Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
*Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
*Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
The BFG by Roald Dahl (one of the few Roald Dahl books I haven't read)
*The Giver by Lois Lowry
?If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
*James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
*Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
?Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (to be honest, I can't remember 100% if I've read this...)
*The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
*The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
*Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
*Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien
*Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (probably my all-time favorite book)
?The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
*Corduroy by Don Freeman
*Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
*Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
*Matilda by Roald Dahl
-Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
*Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
*Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
*The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
*Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman
*The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (read all 7--many times)
*Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
*One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
*The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
*The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (my favorite picture book from childhood)
*The Napping House by Audrey Wood
*Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig (another childhood favorite)
*The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
*Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
* The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
*Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
*Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
?Basil of Baker Street, by Eve Titus
*The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
*Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey
Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
*Arthur series by Marc Tolon Brown (only some)
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson (this has been on my to read list for a very long time)
*Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
*Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
?The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
?Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish (these books annoyed me when I was a kid)
*Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
*A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
?Stuart Little by E. B. White (when I was a kid, I hated the open-ended ending)
*Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
*The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Art Lesson by Tomie De Paola
*Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
*Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
*Heidi by Johanna Spyri
*Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
?Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
*The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch

86%, baybee! I was kinda hoping for 100%, but oh well.

Home again, home again

I'm back home in NY, flew in on the redeye that landed yesterday morning. I usually go into work after taking a redeye flight, but this time I decided to take a personal day for a change, which was good timing because my cousin Jeanne is in town and I was able to have lunch and coffee with her.

But about Oregon...this might be a boring post, but I wanted to briefly (somewhat!) get down my experiences there. And I have lots of pictures, too!

When I landed in Portland, I had two messages waiting for me on my cellphone. One from Sachin telling me that a plane crashed into a building a block away from my apartment, and another from my roommate Rose telling me that she had been home at the time, heard a strange noise, then sirens, but thought it was just a car accident until her mother called her.

It was a bit of a startling way to start the trip. But my author Gretchen Olson (I always feel funny saying "my author" but someone pointed out that authors say "my editor" so what the heck) picked me up at the airport and whisked me off to lunch at one of the many McMenamins--this one was Edgefield Manor, a renovated Poor Farm. There was wonderful art everywhere, we walked around the grounds under clear blue skies, I became obsessed with taking pictures of the water tower (above), and then we sat down for a beer sampler.
I spent the night at my cousin Julie's--she moved to Portland just about a month ago to study Classical Chinese Medicine. Thai food dinner, decadent desserts at Pix. I was also able to meet another of "my" authors David Greenberg (Slugs, Skunks, Snakes, Bugs, The Book of Boys for Girls & The Book of Girls for Boys, etc.) for lunch the next day. I've worked with David for a long time but have never met him face to face. We had a nice lunch and stroll along the waterfront.

And then SCBWI member Cliff picked me up at the restaurant to drive me the hour or so to Silver Falls where the SCBWI retreat was being held.

It was at an isolated conference center, and I have to admit that I wasn't quite prepared for how bare-bones it was going to be--no cell phone service, no tv, no internet, just a small cabin with two twin-sized beds, a small desk, a clock radio, and a bathroom. It was all fine and good in the end, but I hadn't mentally prepared for that, and also hadn't told anyone that I would be unreachable. But no worries--it was absolutely beautiful, green everywhere with hints of flame-red leaves peeking through. And the weather was still gorgeous, too: sunny with a perfect, clear blue sky, 70s during the day. Very unlike-Oregon-in-the-fall weather, everyone said.Thursday night was the dinner and welcome, and the faculty was given welcome gift bags filled with all kinds of goodies. Mine held some surprise marathon swag--I love the note that was included: There was the burning of the rejection letters (none from me, thank goodness!), and then I escaped to my cabin to finish up with my critiques and prepare for my talk. Oh, but first, the stars! I could see stars!

I went for a run early Friday morning with my whistle and bell that was given to me the night before to ward off bears and cougars (yikes), and came across a clearing where I saw two tawny-colored foxes. It was awesome, but then I got a little creeped out (what if they ran towards me and ripped my throat out?!?), so I took off running again.

The conference overall was wonderful. As always at SCBWI conferences, everyone was so friendly and welcoming and warm. The speakers were interesting and thought-provoking, the food was great (especially the desserts), and the after-parties surprising, complete with angst-ridden songs about writing and rejection letters sung to the tune of London Bridges, Moon River, and more. I wrote my own song to add to their collection--from the editor's point of view, or "payback" as they say. It's sung to Mary Had a Little Lamb and the first line is "Editors are people, too..."

I think my talk on Saturday morning went well--everyone laughed at the right spots, and I was able to expand on my parent's love story and talk about my own path to publishing. And yes, Cheryl and others, please comment on my blog! And I still want that spinach and tofu recipe...

Cliff took us on a hike to two waterfalls after my talk:The number of attendees (60 people) and length of time (almost three days) allowed me to really get to know a lot of the people there, and when it was time to say good-bye, I felt a pang--it was like saying goodbye at Kindling Words, except knowing that I probably wasn't going to see most of the people again. But I hope to hear from most of them, maybe even via this blog! And I've never actually bought anything as a direct result of a conference, but perhaps this one will be the first. Experiences like this always make me want to work with everyone, but of course I know that's not possible.

After the conference I got to have a lot of quality time with my author and incredible host Gretchen Olson--I stayed with her for a night out on her blueberry farm in Amity, Oregon in her absolutely beautiful, custom-made home. She prepared an incredible brunch on Monday, and we hung out in McMinnville all the next day where I tasted some wine, and we checked out the Hands and Words are Not for Hurting Week and her Purple Pail Partners. Particularly moving and eye-opening was a trip to the local jail, but I think that's going to take a whole post of its own.
And now I'm back to the real world. Sigh. Oh, to be sitting in a cafe in Portland sipping chai again.

Do you know your own mind?

In a previous post, I talked about racism, and mentioned the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. This book explores how we think without thinking--in the blink of an eye. How our instinct oftentimes take into account our lifetime of experience. He talks about a psychologist who can predict with 95% accuracy if a couple is going to end up together 15 years from now after watching a tape of them interacting for an hour, and 90% accuracy after just 15 minutes. He describes the tennis coach who knows when a player will double fault before the racket hits the ball. And part of the reason why they can do this (they weren't born with this skill) is that they have become experts, with experience and training, their minds have been honed to do this. Although I'm not sure if I can really call myself a children's book expert, I think if I'm an expert in anything, that's it. And in my job, I often know if I'm going to turn down a manuscript after reading one sentence, (Of course I read more than that just in case!), and it comes from reading so many books and manuscripts and knowing what I like and what I don't.

Well, Gladwell also explores when perhaps we shouldn't trust our instincts, and one situation is when racism or preconceptions come into play. He talks about this test, which I had coincidentally taken before reading the book, because a friend had forwarded it to me. It's completely fascinating, so I highly recommend checking this website out and taking a few tests: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

This is how the tests are described on the site:
It is well known that people don't always 'speak their minds', and it is suspected that people don't always 'know their minds'. Understanding such divergences is important to scientific psychology.

This web site presents a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious divergences much more convincingly than has been possible with previous methods. This new method is called the Implicit Association Test, or IAT for short.

According to Gladwell, over 80% of people taking the Race IAT end up having pro-white associations. Even Gladwell himself showed a "moderate automatic preference for whites"--and he himself is half black! I showed a preference for whites as well after taking the test, and considering I'm a minority myself, I don't consider myself racist (although since I've taken these tests before, I know that everyone is, a little bit...).

Gladwell says, "The disturbing thing about the test is that it shows that our unconscious attitudes may be utterly incompatible with our stated conscious values...of the fifty thousand African Americans who have taken the Race IAT so far, about half of them, like me, have stronger associations with whites than with blacks. How could we not? We live in North America, where we are surrounded every day by cultural messages linking white with good." (p. 85)

But what I found MOST amazing (and please bear with me, I know this is long, but thanks for reading this far!), what I found most affirming and hopeful was this section of one paragraph:

"...believe it or not, if, before you take the IAT, I were to ask you to look over a series of pictures of articles about people like Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela or Colin Powell, your reaction time would change. Suddenly it won't seem so hard to associate positive things with black people. 'I had a student who used to take the IAT every day' Banaji says, 'It was the first thing he did, and his idea was just to let the data gather as he went. Then this one day, he got a positive association with blacks. And he said, 'That's odd. I've never gotten that before,' because we've all tried to change our IAT score and couldn't. But he's a track-and-field guy, and what he realized is that he'd spent the morning watching the Olympics.'"

I found this hopeful and affirming because one of my goals of being in publishing is to make sure that minorities and other unrepresented groups are featured more in children's books, because I know from personal experience that it really troubled me as a child to not see characters that looked like me in the books I was reading (let alone magazines, television, and movies). I was so thirsty for characters that were like me that whenever a character had black hair, I would think hopefully, "Maybe she's Asian!"--I even wanted Snow White to be Asian. And I think this is also partially why I loved the Emily books by L.M. Montgomery more than the Anne books (although of course I loved those, too!)--because Emily had black hair. This is normal--we all know that kids want to see themselves in the books their reading. That's why we buy books like Eloise for little girls named Eloise, and Fancy Nancy for girls named Nancy (alas, not Alvinas in any of the books I was reading, either! Although as an adult I did find a D.H. Lawrence book The Lost Girl with an Alvina in it and of course read it even though it was not very good).

And especially for minority kids growing up in mostly white communities, the positive "examples" of people who look like them are even less. And when white children aren't seeing any kinds of depictions of kids of other ethnicities either, that's problematic as well. I often realized that I was oftentimes the only example of an Asian person that some people ever met, and I certainly don't think I'm a great representative of my ethnicity!

So, to have this confirmation that seeing positive, diverse images in children's books can make a psychological difference, a subconscious difference, to lessen the bias against people of color, well, this was so affirming for me. It is important. It does make a difference.

Take the tests here, see how you do.

BAD Kirkus, GOOD Booklist, Good Dog!

So, last week I got the good news that Chowder by Peter Brown got a STARRED REVIEW in Booklist: "Everything works here. The tongue-in-cheek humor melds delightfully with Brown's distinctive acrylic-and-pencil artwork...Inventive is the best word to describe the design...But along with the glitz, there's also a real story here, starring a very winsome protagonist."

And at the same time heard that there was a not-so-good review of it in Kirkus. Well, I just read that review now and couldn't help but rant a little about it. This was the last part of the review: "Chowder himself is not a particularly appealing character. He has mean eyes and a scary coutenance, particularly on the cover, where he looks like he'd like to bite an unsuspecting reader."

WHAT?!?!?

First of all, mean eyes? You can't even SEE his eyes on the cover! And does he look like he wants to bite someone? His tongue is hanging out, for Pete's sake.

It's all subjective...it's all subjective...it's all subjective...

But really. C'mon. "Mean eyes and scary countenance"?!?!?!?

Okay, I'll go back to the STAR. "Everything works here."

Yay!

new post and still sick

Okay, not to whine but I actually felt sicker today, so I stayed home even though there was so much going on at work. I managed to take care of at least one thing that needed to get done, in between trips to my bed. I had no energy at all today. I hope TWO days at home in a row will help me feel better by tomorrow! I really hope to make it in to work. Partially because there's lots to do, but mostly because I have the awful feeling that I left a mug with a used tea bag in it on my desk, and if I don't make it in until Monday, I dread what it'll look like. I could ask my assistant to clean it for me tomorrow, but I don't like to ask assistants to do stuff like that.

In the meantime, check out my new post about In the Break by Jack Lopez over at the Blue Rose Girls site.

Chowder and Friends

My new favorite dog has a great website and a new blog. Check them out! The book is not officially pubbing until September, but I saw books in a bookstore already in MA when I was up there a few weeks ago. I also found Hippo! No, Rhino, so I was happy.

I want one of those

Just a quick post before doing yet more work--I'm back in NY! I had a fantastic time in LA and at the conference, but I'm totally exhausted, too, and work is bearing down on me, hence why I'm procrastinating. This week (what's left of it) is already totally packed, I'm hosting a baby shower at my apartment on Saturday (yay for Tanya!), and I'm feeling anxious about getting at least a 10 mile run in before the half marathon on the 27th. But I'll try not to think about that right now, and instead will share a quick funny story from the conference (and there are many--including one of Mo and Jarrett sitting on the toilet together on the bus).

Jarrett was showing me this great website made by some of his fans, and as he was scrolling down there was this picture of an adorable kid wearing an adorable My Buddy, Slug T-shirt.

me: "I want one of those!"
Jarrett: "Yeah, me, too--I can't wait to have kids."
me: "Uh, I was talking about the T-shirt."

Hahahahahaha.

Okay, more later if I can come up for air. I'm drowning!

Self-defe...er...deprecating

I recorded my audio recordings last week (at my company, all editors make audio recordings of our book presentations for each list and make CDs to distribute to our Sales force so they can listen to them in their cars to get more familiar with the books), and used the word "self-deprecating" to describe the writing in one of my YA novels. I ended up having to do this particular recording three times because I kept messing up, and the more I said "self-deprecating" the more I thought I had it wrong. I'm always paranoid about that word because once my friend said "self-defecating" by accident and we endlessly made fun of him. But I've said it jokingly that way so many times that now I'm paranoid that I'll say it at the wrong time. And on a Sales CD would definitely be the wrong time. Then again...I wonder how many people would actually notice?

Greetings from beautiful Diamond Bar, CA. I never thought I'd be coming to Southern CA to escape the heat!

No Blueberries for Al

So, we didn't go blueberry picking, but I didn't mind--and I had all the fruit I could eat: fresh strawberries, peaches, apples with cinnamon, bananas. The weekend in Boston was chock full of good food (mostly home-cooked, including a 6 hour brunch of fruit and riccota crepes, frittata, fruit, and more fruit), nice walks from Davis Square to Harvard Square, jogging around Jamaica Pond, and children's book talks with my fellow Blue Rose Girls. It was fun to be there with Sachin, too, and I only wish we had more time there.

One business thing that came out of the trip is a new blog that will focus on children's book publishing. We'll try to post something every day, so please visit us here! I'll still be posting my random musings here, too.

And now I'm off to the SCBWI Annual Summer meeting in LA. Two nights at my parents' house in Diamond Bar first, and then off to be surrounded by children's book professionals. Say hi to me if you see me, and come to my workshops!

Another star

I'm very happy with how the books I've edited have been received so far. This year I had four starred reviews for four books: Year of the Dog by Grace Lin, Sound of Colors by Jimmy Liao, Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies) by Justina Chen Headley, and Firegirl by Tony Abbott. I got more good news last week: Firegirl got its SECOND starred review!

So I'll take this opportunity to write about Firegirl just as I've written about Year of the Dog, Nothing But the Truth, and others.

This one came to me the traditional way, from an agent, but the interesting back story to how that came about is that it was sent to me because the agent, George Nicholson (a legend in the children's publishing field) was impressed with the work I had done to acquire Flight of the Dodo by Peter Brown, which was represented by his then assistant, Paul Rodeen. So I would never have gotten the opportunity to work with Tony if I had not met Peter at that illustrator party so many years ago. I like thinking about what events and connections had to have been aligned in order for something to happen.

So George sent Firegirl along to me. Tony Abbott is fairly well-known for his commercial, paperback-original series with Scholastic, The Secrets of Droon, but Firegirl was something completely different. I don't remember what George said when he sent it over, but I do remember sitting in bed one night and starting to read the manuscript. I had no idea what it was about (I generally don't like to read cover letters before diving into the manuscript, which sometimes has proven problematic because there is oftentimes a due date or other pertinent information in the cover letter)--and I actually thought it was going to be a science fiction or fantasy novel, partially because of the title, and partially because the agent must have mentioned that his previous series was fantasy. At any rate, I had that delicious feeling of anticipation when you start to read a book or watch a movie that you know will be good but you have no idea what it's about. I distinctly remember feeling my heart beating faster because I was realizing the manuscript was special from the first few pages, even before getting to the part where Jessica joins the narrator, Tom's, seventh-grade class. I remember actually laughing out loud at Tom's fantasy sequences and thinking, wow, that's what I do. That's how I think. And then came the part where Jessica joins Tom's class, and that sealed the deal for me. Jessica, you see, is a severe burn-victim, and ultimately this book is about how her presence, even though she's only there for a short time, changes Tom's life forever.

My initial impression was right--this manuscript was special, from beginning to end. I found it to be compelling and quietly powerful, most of all because it was a novel that showed that even the smallest of gestures can make a powerful difference in a person's life. I brought it that week to our editorial meeting, where another editor wholeheartedly and passionately loved it as much as I did (thanks, Sara!), propelling it to our publications committee meeting where it went on to easily be approved. It was really interesting to see how much the novel touched everyone, and more than one committee member recounted a similar instance in their childhood that affected them.

We signed Mr. Abbott up to a two-book deal, and I hope Little, Brown will be his home for his literary fiction. Firegirl took very little editing on my part--my comments were all very small ones, and the changes that Tony made were subtle. It came to me in almost perfect shape, so I cannot accept any of the praise that it has been getting, except to say that I recognized this beautiful, wonderful book. Aside from its two starred reviews, it's received many other glowing reviews, including this one. Some say it has Newbery potential, but I'm not even going to dare to hope, although I certainly think it deserves it! (Then again, I think all of my books deserve Newberys and Caldecotts. Someday, someday... it's on my list of things to do before I die.) Oh, and since I'm talking about this (literally) beautiful book, I would also like to give props to the designer Tracy Shaw for the perfect jacket design.

Tony is working on his second novel now which is due out next Fall of 2007, and I'm very excited to say that although it's completely different, it's wholly as wonderful. I have no doubt that he is a future Newbery winner many times over, and I know he has a long, incredible career ahead of him. I'd be honored to be along for the ride!

Do you remember your first...

Firsts are special. First steps, first word (mine was "hammer"), first kiss, first relationship, first you-know-what, first job, first baby, first spouse (haha). My first book acquisition is special in so many ways, least of all because it was my first. It's special because it was the perfect book to BE my first. It was a book I absolutely loved, and even though the first draft (that I read--not the author's first draft!) was so different from the published book it became, I loved each manifestation of it along the way. The book is Blow out the Moon by Libby Koponen. It's a book about a feisty young girl who moves with her family (by ship!) to England, where she deals with dreary grayness, prejudice, and unpleasant change. She eventually ends up at a boarding school in the English countryside where she finally finds her bearings, learns to ride a horse, learns proper manners, and grows up just a little bit. It's a charming, wonderful book that reminded me of all my favorite books growing up: LITTLE WOMEN, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, LITTLE PRINCESS, CADDIE WOODLAWN, etc etc.

The manuscript originally came to me after my boss at the time, Megan, received her own imprint at L,B: Megan Tingley Books. She decided to open up our submissions guidelines somewhat and allow unsolicited query letters, and I was in charge of reviewing these letters, as well as the manuscripts I requested to see. I liked Libby's description of the book and sent a letter that I'd like to see the whole manuscript, and the letter was returned to us as "address unknown." Luckily, we also had a conscientious intern who took the time to track down the author's email through her website which was (also luckily) on the original letter. It turned out that Libby had a major typo in her return address!

Well, I read the manuscript, loved it, my boss read it and saw something in it as well and told me I could ask for a revision, which I did. After I believe two revisions, we took it to our acquisitions meeting where it was well-received, but unfortunately several key members of the committee were not in attendance, and they were not as enthusiastic about it. So, I went back for another revision. Happily, though, because my boss saw my passion for this project and was willing to give it a chance, we were able to sign it up, and I made my first-ever call to an author to make the offer. That is still one of the highlights of my career so far.

Libby and I met for the first time for lunch at Silvertone (the BEST mac and cheese EVER) for my first expensed lunch. We had, of course, talked on the phone and had many correspondences since then, so we were already dear friends, but that was confirmed when we met in person. Libby is a kindred soul!

At this point, our relocation to New York was taking place, so again things were a bit in limbo in terms of its publication date, but after many more revisions and several moving of lists, it was finally published in the Spring of 2004. Its first review was from Booklist--a star!

"The word delightful is overused in reviews, but it's difficult to find one that's more appropriate for this novelized memoir -- though warm and cozy would do in a pinch."--Booklist

It's since received many other glowing reviews, was picked by the NYPL as a Top 100 Title for Reading and Sharing, and was a Massachusetts Honor Book. It has just come out this Spring in paperback (with a newly illustrated cover!), so I'm hoping that it will reach a whole new audience.

This was a very sweet first for me, and also Libby's first published book. But the best part of all of this is that I gained a new friend for life in Libby. She wears glitter on her face, cooks a kick-ass meal and is a wonderful host, has traveled the world (and isn't done yet!), reads voraciously, and has a unique view of the world. Her personality really shines through in her writing, and I hope to work with her on many more books to come. But she and I will always remember our first time.

Happy Year of the Dog!

I have every intention of blogging about Thailand, but as more time goes by, I'm not sure if I'll get to it. I'll try. I kept up with my journal while I was there, so I can always refer back to it. I also wanted to talk about the Kindling Words retreat (http://www.kindlingwords.org/) that I attended this past weekend. But first, I wanted to blog about THE YEAR OF THE DOG before Lunar/Chinese New Year is too far in the past.

All of the books I edit are my babies and I love them dearly, and I know you aren't supposed to pick favorites amongst your children, but this one is so near and dear to my heart. It's a very special book about friendship, identity, and finding one’s passion in life, and for many reasons is exactly the book I wished I had growing up, and exactly the book I hoped to publish when I became a children’s book editor.

As childhood friends when I lived in Upstate NY, Grace and I were two of the few Asian children living in our small town. We bonded over our love of books, and devoured any book with Asian American characters (at that time, there weren’t many!). Grace and I remained close even after I moved away, and twelve years later, we were roommates in Boston just as we were both starting out in the children’s book industry: Grace as a children’s picture book author and illustrator, and I as an editorial assistant at Little, Brown. As the years passed, we both progressed in our careers, and at the same time, Grace’s picture book audience was growing older and asking for older books. Little, Brown was also looking to publish more novels, and I kept asking Grace if she'd ever considered writing one. One day (at Kindling Words in 2004, in fact) she told me, “I wrote it.”

I read it in one sitting, and imagine my surprise and delight to find that I was a character in the book! (My name is Melody in the book, because I thought it would be weird to edit a book with a character of my same name. When my parents were deciding what to name me, they narrowed it down to either Alvina or Melody, which is why Grace chose that as my name.) Many of the stories in this novel are based on events that really happened to us as children: our struggles with our ethnic identity, as well as school issues, friendships, and crushes—it isn’t too often that an editor gets to work on a book that tells her story, too!

THE YEAR OF THE DOG is both hilarious and poignant, and very powerful in its own way. I am thrilled to have played a role in introducing it to the world. Please go out and buy it, for yourself, for a friend, for a relative. If you do read it, I'd love to know what you think! It's gotten rave reviews so far, including a starred review, which is a rare thing. I'm hoping it'll sell a bazillion copies and becomes a classic. It deserves it!

And yes, this year is the Year of the Dog. It's a good year to discover your passion in life, if you haven't already.

You can check out grace's website at: http://www.gracelin.com/. She also has a great blog here: http://pacyworks.blogspot.com/