When I first queried her years ago about a manuscript that she eventually bought, it was near Halloween. Her reply to my query was a brief note in perfect penmanship that read, “Yes, please send it!” followed by a smiley face pumpkin Go here to see the original:  cynsations - Craft, Career & Cheer: Mary Hershey

Go check out the Friday roundup at Cynsations for information on how you can enter to win one of three signed copies of Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo! Then stay at Cynsations and read Rita Williams-Garcia's account of her National Book Award experiences. And, then, if you haven't already, go read my review of Rita's JUMPED, from way back in February.

Here is a trio of great links from the past week around the Kidlitosphere: 7-Imp met up with Yuyi Morales over desayuno this week… Cynsations has a guest post from author/illustrator Elizabeth O. Dulemba about Writing Bilingual Books… Uma Krishnaswami has a commentary on racial stereotyping over at Writing with a Broken Tusk, following up on an article by Binyavanga Wainaina, &# ...

... with a loved one serving overseas. You could pair it with Rosanne Parry's Heart of a Shepherd for a very different type of story about a ranching boy dealing with family members in the military. Check out more reviews at Readingjunky's Reading Roost and A Patchwork of Books. Read Suzanne Morgan Williams's guest post at Boys Read and author interviews at Cynsations and Shelf Elf.

... interest in children's literature! Worth Your Time: Interviews: Interview with Agent Mark McVeigh at the Hunger Mountain Journal of Arts. Agent Interview: Mark McVeigh on The McVeigh Agency at Cynsations. Interview with Mark McVeigh at Robyn Schneider's blog. Q&A with Mark McVeigh on Alice Pope's CWIM Blog. Videos: Mark answers three questions, a video ...

... long do we dare go on about our hemorrhoids, he asks? Yes, we have to write for us. But we have to remember there is a reader out there who will toss our book aside for another if we are too isolated, too acute in a personal agenda, too insensitive to his or her needs as a reader." Repeat the part about "too isolated, too acute in a personal agenda." Found by way of Cynsations.

... known. Blessing's story is as captivating as her great- grandmother's. She slowly begins to understand the strength of her name and find the rhythm to an Inupiaq dance buried deep inside her consciousness. Blessing's Bead was a real joy to read. Edwardson's writing is straight forward kind of beauty. I loved it. The author's interviewed @ Jacket Knack The author @ Cynsations

... Boys Read, you can find Norse Gods, King Arthur, and Kick-Butt Superheros! Here's an interview with David Lubar (author of Cybils nominee Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie) at Cynsations. And finally, here are the thoughts on middle grade fantasy from Brian, aka MrChompChomp, fellow mg sff Cybils panelist. Did I miss anyone? Please let me know in the comments! And if you review or ...

... books for children and young adults: Air Raid–Pearl Harbor!: The Story of December 7, 1941 by Theodore Taylor. A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Harry Mazer. Interview at Cynsations with author Harry Mazer. Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salibury. A Japanese-American boy in Hawaii, Eddy Okubo, experiences the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, lies about his age, and joins the Army. ...

The prolific and fabulous Cynthia Leitich Smith, whose book blog Cynsations is a must-read, is here today to share the Cover Story behind ETERNAL, her second YA Gothic fantasy novel (TANTALIZE was the first). This one comes by special request from Ari of Reading in Color (another fantastic blog). Here's Cynthia! "I had trouble imagining what the cover of ETERNAL (Candlewick, 2009) ...