Welcome

If you like to read, write, blog, talk or just share ideas and info about good books, welcome to my blog. Let your friends know about me and my books - and let me know what you'd like to read about!

Monday, December 31, 2018

Monday, December 10, 2018

MORE TRIVIA!
In the book IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE, what does the mouse ask for?

Monday, December 3, 2018

What is the name of Mary Lennox's sickly cousin in Frances Hodgson Burnett's THE SECRET GARDEN?

Monday, November 26, 2018

Monday, November 5, 2018

Which of the following children's book illustrators was also a well-known avant garde  artist?

Margaret Wise Brown
Esphyr Slobodkina
Alvin Tresselt
Wanda Gag
Ludwig Bemelmans

Monday, October 29, 2018

In BREAD AND JAM FOR FRANCES, what meal finally convinces Frances to eat something other than bread and jam?

Monday, October 15, 2018

What book actually beat out CHARLOTTE'S WEB for the 1953 Newbery Medal?

Monday, October 1, 2018

In honor of  "Banned Book Week", can you name six titles by Dr. Seuss that have been banned in recent years?

Monday, September 24, 2018

Only one author has been awarded both the Newbery Medal and the Newbery Honor in the same year. Name the author and the two books.






Monday, September 10, 2018

Which two titles are the only picture books to win the John Newbery Award?

Monday, August 27, 2018

NAME THAT CHARACTER:
I'm good at digging. I'm not good at reading. I once got a piggyback ride from a friend. My friend's name is Stanley and he also taught me how to read. Who am I?

Monday, August 20, 2018

Here's another Newbery Trivia Question:
Who are the six authors who have won the Newbery Award more than once?

Monday, August 13, 2018

Time for more trivia!

Which of the following books was NOT awarded the John Newbery Medal for best children's book?

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman
HOLES by Louis Sachar
CHARLOTTE'S WEB by E. B. White
THE GIVER by Lois Lowry
THE WHIPPING BOY by Sid Fleischman

Monday, August 6, 2018

Time for this week's trivia question:
In the novel CHARLOTTE'S WEB, what size what Charlotte the spider?
A gumdrop
A dime
A marble
A jellybean
Send your answer to pieauthor@aol.com!

Monday, July 30, 2018

Time for another weekly trivia question: 
What famous children's author also published three picture books under the pseudonym Golden McDonald?

Monday, July 23, 2018

This week's trivia question is:
What is the name of Hiccup's dragon in HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON? Don't forget to email your answer to pieauthor@aol.com for a chance ho have your recipe featured in my next book!

Monday, July 16, 2018

Here is my trivia question for the week:
What does the L stand for in L. Frank Baum, author of the WIZARD OF OZ?
Good luck!

Monday, July 9, 2018

Time for my weekly trivia question! Which of the following Mo Willems titles was NOT awarded a Caldecott Honor Medal?

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity
Leonardo, the Terrible Monster
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Answer the question for a chance to have your recipe appear in my latest novel NEW YEAR'S EVIE!

Monday, July 2, 2018

SOMETHING NEW: I am posting a trivia question each week! Anyone who sends the correct answer to pieauthor@aol.com wins the chance of being featured in my new book. Scroll down to the bottom of this blog page for more details. So...are you ready? Here's the question. What Dr. Seuss book was written using only 5 words? Find out next week!

Monday, June 25, 2018

Christy Ottaviano at Henry Holt chose to pass on I SWALLOWED A WORM. I will look into other publishers who might be interested.

Monday, June 11, 2018

My editor at Henry Holt really liked HOW TO CATCH A CROCODILE and is seriously considering it! In the meantime, I am sending her I SWALLOWED A WORM. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Monday, April 23, 2018

Just completed a picture book entitled I SWALLOWED A WORM, about a young bird who swallows his first worm and then imagines all of the terrible things which might befall him as a result. A wily wolf has a few suggestions but the bird ends up having the last word!

Monday, April 2, 2018

I am still searching for a literary agent! Sent FAMILY IN A JAR to Erica Rand Silverman at the Stimola Literary Studio and am waiting to hear back. Fingers crossed!

Monday, March 26, 2018

Just sent HOW TO CATCH A CROCODILE to my editor at Henry Holt. Wish me luck!

Monday, February 19, 2018

I recently sent FAMILY IN A JAR to Liza Fleissig at the Liza Royce literary agency in New York. She is interested in taking a look at it!

Monday, February 5, 2018

Just got back from the Huntington Beach Author Festival, where I spoke to over 700 children at Oak View Elementary School. It was a wonderful visit!

Monday, January 8, 2018

Have just completed another picture book manuscript entitled HOW TO CATCH A CROCODILE. As a young girl reads to her dog about crocodiles, the two of them embark on an imaginary journey to catch one of these giant reptiles. Her stuffed animals begin to grow, and the room gradually transforms into a scene from the Australian outback. The girl, however, is so busy making rules for their expedition and spouting facts and figures from her book, that she doesn't notice the dog is actually experiencing very real crocodile encounters. And in the end, it is the dog who realizes that it would be wrong to take a mother crocodile from her babies.