I received the exciting news that America Is Under Attack won the William Allen White Children’s Book Award for 2014. The award was established  by Emporia State University in 1952 to honor the memory of one of Kansas’s most distinguished citizens. It is meant to encourage children to read and enjoy books. During the  awards celebration […]

I spoke at the Dublin Literacy Conference in Dublin, Ohio. The conference is more than 25 years old. The participants and organizers were top notch and I had a great time. (Apart from a nightmarish trip there due to our never-ending winter travails.) Marylee Hahn ran the conference this year. She was a terrific host […]

Nice review in the Times for the Great American Dustbowl. Find it here.

Art from my Henry & the Cannons is included in 2013 Society of Illustrator’s Original Art Show. Me, at the Opening (my art on bottom):

I was at the Boston Bookfest on Saturday, Oct 19, sharing in a panel discussion about non-fiction graphic novels. I discussed my book, The Great American Dustbowl. One of my co-panelist was the extremely talented, funny, and nerdy (in a good way) Maris Wicks, the illustrator of Apes The other panelist was award-winning author Jane […]

I gave the opening keynote speech at the Joy of Children’s Literature at the College of William & Mary. My great thanks to Denise Johnson for inviting me, as well to her gracious and helpful staff. The teachers I met there were a joy.

The Times says I’m keen. Here

School Library Journal: STARRED REVIEW Gr 1-4–As the American Revolution was getting underway, George Washington knew he needed cannons to defeat the British. Unfortunately, he was camped outside British-held Boston, and the nearest big guns were 300 miles away at Fort Ticonderoga, New York. They were thought to be impossible to retrieve, until Henry Knox […]

Junior Library Guild Selection for America is Under Attack.

For sometime I’ve believed the future of ebooks was not fiction but non-fiction. In a carefully considered article in Salon, Laura Miller makes the same argument. But they are expensive endeavors, requiring the contributions of many talented people – illustrators, animators, photographers, videographers, and interface architects to make a good one. I’m convinced the economic model […]