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November 12, 2007
Catching Up
My friend, Jaime Temairik, emailed to ask if my ears are burning. Apparently, a heated discussion about gender discrimination on Roger Sutton's site led to mention of my Hot Women in Children's Literature awards.
As the twelve of you reading this blog will have noticed, I have been quite delinquent in posting my Hot Women. But the comments at Roger's blog spurred me back into action. As a reminder, my definition of "hot" is highly subjective but it's my award so I get to make the rules! This is a celebration of women who are hot because they have contributed mightily to the world of children's literature. And, because so many women writers fit that criteria, I can be handing out this award until I'm 99. Assuming I get better about posting entries to my blog than I have been this past year.
So, tah-dah, here is the latest Hot Woman in Children's Literature:
Barbara O'Connor. I have been a fan of hers since I read Moonpie and Ivy, but she absolutely stole my heart with How to Steal A Dog. And, I got a sneak peek at her forthcoming book, Greetings from Nowhere, which you will all love, too. Barbara writes with heart, humor, honesty and hope for the middle grade reader. I hate that she writes perfect first sentences (but, maybe if I was really nice to her, she'd teach me how she does it) but I forgive her because she struggles with first drafts, just like I do (you can read about that on her blog). She's also a fellow bird watcher, though instead of chickadees at her feeders, she apparently gets wild turkeys. I've never had the pleasure of meeting Barbara in person, but I feel as if I know her from her books. She has a generous heart and gets a great big kick out of life, but you can tell she also knows about those times when it can't get much darker. Barbara O'Connor tells a darned good story and, if you haven't read her books yet, get busy.
Posted by kirby at November 12, 2007 09:22 AM