In the course of my lifetime, the printed, hard-bound book has undergone a massive transformation. It is still a codex, but the quality of the book itself, the binding, the paper, the design, and the printing has, in my mind, greatly deteriorated.
Little is known about Lambert Simnel. Who was he really? Where did he come from? How did he come to be chosen as a legitimate pretender to the English throne?
One of the key questions a writer must come to terms with right from the beginning is—how is the story to be told? What is “the Point of View,” also known as POV? Is it me or he/she?
When you win a Newbery award one of the questions you are often asked is, “How did you react when you learned of your award?”
A recent article in the New York Times, Daniel Bessner reports on the massive falling off of the study of history, the teaching of history, and, inevitably, the decline in the learning of history.
Starting this week, I will be reading a new book to a class of 6th graders. I’ll be reading it even though it is not truly finished.
A good number of years ago, when living on the East Coast, I spent leisure time during many a weekend wandering about flea markets looking for old children’s books and British 18th-century prints.
Can one separate the book from the person who wrote it? I want to. But it troubles me.
As we approach a new year perhaps it’s time to answer a reader’s question: “In what years,” she asked, “do your books take place?”
Christmas can mean many things to many people. For my part, I greatly enjoy Christmas, in particular the Christmas books I love.