Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata
Cracker starts out life as a championship show dog, but then a broken leg sends her to twelve-year-old Willie and his family as a pet. But when Willie can’t keep her, she becomes a U. S. Army dog, assigned to newly-enlisted teenager, Rick Hanski. And there, [...]

With its moody, atmospheric cover, When the Whistle Blows may not be the first book boys and kids will reach for. Mr. E was skeptical when I first brought it home as our next read-together. But it didn’t take much convincing. As soon as I mentioned football championships, tricking the nasty school principal, and Halloween [...]

One of our editors at Lerner blogged about Don and me and our Follow That Food Chain series today over on the Lerner Publishing blog. Here’s the link. I’ll be posting there in the next couple weeks about the story behind our series.
I was especially exicted to see the photo of us signing our books. Mr. [...]

The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Out of the huge stack of books my boys collected at the ALA conference last week, this was the very first one that Mr. E (10) picked up and devoured. I know why. With science gadgets you wish were [...]

Mr. E: [crunching breakfast] You know how boys aren’t smart at school?
Me: [slightly panicky and defensive] Huh? What do you mean? Boys are just as smart as girls.
Mr. E: Well, you know how boys in books are never “the smart ones?”
Me: Hmmm.
And this little conversation has got me thinking. He’s kind of right. You know, [...]

My mom’s a genius. (Most moms are—it just takes a while for us to realize it). Look what she made my kids for the lake.

Mr. E and the Critter Keeper
We’re calling it a “critter keeper.”
Some background: our cabin is very much a “cabin” and not a “cottage”. In other words, there’s no carpet, cutesy northwoods [...]

That’s a camping headlight he’s reading by. I’d scold him about getting to sleep, but I was exactly the same way when I was nine.

This is the face of one happy kid. For an early birthday treat, Mr. E and I took a road trip to the Red Balloon Book Store in St. Paul to see Rick Riordan and pick up a copy of the final Percy Jackson, The Last Olympian. We got there early, but the room (it [...]

I always think it’s funny when people say they neglect housework for their writing. About the only time my house is clean is when I have a deadline hanging over my head. The more pressure, the more I dodge. And polish, and clean out closets, and bake, and just plain goof off. Here’s what ended [...]