Quick: how many books have you read where the main character has autism or autism spectrum disorder? Now: how many of those books were written by an author who openly speaks about their own autism spectrum disorder? For me, I realized that while I could come up with a few titles answering the former question,…
Welcome to anyone reading this who attended the New Mexico Library Association’s pre-conference on middle grade literature and library services this past Wednesday as presented by me and Ellie Simons! I hope you enjoyed yourself and learned at least a few new things to try in your library. Let me apologize for the technical difficulties…
What, exactly, is the ever-elusive “middle-grade” novel? Oh sure, that seems like an easy question, doesn’t it? It’s a novel written for middle-school audiences. But middle-school isn’t even the same everywhere. In my community, middle-school is seventh and eighth grade only. This is a great example of the larger question: where does “middle grade” fiction begin anyhow? …
As most of you know, I LOVE CANADA. Oh, how I love Canada. (Canadian publishers and libraries looking for employees: hit me up.) The past two years I have spent my annual long vacation in Toronto, attending the Toronto International Film Festival and wishing I lived there. I spend a lot of time waiting in…
