Over the years, I’ve often had a tote bag on the passenger seat of my little red truck that held a pen, notebook, and current reading book. But cloth tote bags are too flimsy and usually become grungy. Then I bought a canvas garden tote from Cracker Barrel because it was sturdy, had several pockets
Last night, I wrapped a box of the Boxcar Children books I’d written for a friend’s granddaughter. She is nine and into the Boxcar Children. I autographed each title, added a note as to why I am not Gertrude Chandler Warner, the original creator of the Boxcar Children, but a ghost writer, revealed a secret
Dear James Daunt, Some people don’t think you can save Barnes and Noble bookstores, but I’m cheering you on. You turned around Waterstones, that gem of a bookstore chain in Britain. You understand that we need bookstores, even Barnes and Noble, often the only bookstore in some areas in America. A good bookstore is
You wait years to take an important trip, saving money, carving out time from work and obligations, reading up on your destination. You finally go and see the places on your list and more besides. And then you come home, and friends and co-workers ask, “How was your vacation?” Because you know people aren’t really
Our farmhouse front porch needed refreshing. Changing the chair cushions and plunking down a few potted plants didn’t seem enough. I’d written a column for Bookology Magazine, “Richard Adams Gave Me Rabbits,” about how Watership Down was the last book that changed my life. That gave me the idea to makeover our porch with a
It has been said that a map isn’t a journey. But sometimes–especially in books–it is. The first map I remember was flashed briefly on TV, part of a commercial for Story Book Land. It aired on “Captain Tugg,” a local kiddie program. I adored Captain Tugg, so anything he endorsed must be gold. Like the
Some years ago, when the director of Hollins University’s graduate program in children’s literature asked me to teach a critical class on the history of children’s book illustrators, I said no. Even with an MFA in writing for children from Vermont College, an MA in children’s literature from Hollins, scores of published books, and years
I love winter indoors. Outside, not so much. I’m not a fan of snow, bitter temperatures, ice, chilling rains, and many gray days in a row that constitute a Virginia winter. Even as a kid, I didn’t like winter sports. So, every January and February I escape Virginia and head to Britain. I read British
Once upon a time, I sold a million books. Most of my books landed on bestseller lists. Every Saturday was devoted to answering fan mail. Readers figured out where I lived and came to my house. What? you’re thinking. Not Candice Ransom, author of a lot of books, but who has hardly set the world
In late September of 2018, I stood at the corner of 37th and Madison Avenue in New York City and gazed longingly at the elegant pink marble building that housed J.P. Morgan’s library, now the Morgan Library and Museum. I’m willing it to be January 25, 2019, the opening of the Morgan’s exhibit: “Tolkien: Maker
In exercise class this week, various instructors asked us if we’d made resolutions, or had goals for the new year. At 66, I am over resolutions. How much of my life can I meaningfully change at this stage? It’s enough to keep moving forward and maintain goals made in the last few years. Watch my
I’m a huge fan of Jennifer L. Holm’s books. I’ve taught her Newbery Honor historical middle grade, Turtle in Paradise, in my writing classes. And The Fourteenth Goldfish will be a mentor text in my week-long middle grade writing intensive (next summer, Hollins University). I loved the idea of a scientist grandfather who finds the