Beth Stilborn: Books ~ Encouragement ~ Teaching ~ Hope
July 2, 2018
In the first half of this year (how can we be halfway through the year already?) I benefited from several webinars about different aspects of writing. A few were free, a few had a fee, but all were worthwhile. Among them were an Agents Day hosted by SCBWI Wisconsin, a webinar about writing first pages in middle grade and YA novels hosted by SCBWI-SouthWest Texas, one on writing the middle…
May 29, 2018
I read an all-too-brief article on Broadway World, with an equally brief — but delightful — video, and I wanted to share them with you (in an equally brief blog post!) Those of you who’ve been following my blog for some time may recall my previous posts about illustrator, costume designer, set designer, director Tony Walton. I featured Tony as a “Wednesday Worthy” back in 2012, and in October 2013,…
February 26, 2018
Title: Sam and Eva Author/Illustrator: Debbie Ridpath Ohi Publisher: New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017 Genre: Picture book, fiction Audience Age: 3 to 8 years old Themes/topics: friendship, art, cooperation, teamwork Opening Sentences: Sam had just begun to draw when Eva arrived. Synopsis: I loved this book! Debbie is so good — she can convey so much emotion in a smile that’s just one line across…
January 8, 2018
For the balance of this time of alphabetical blogging, I intend to focus on recommending books I’ve read that have particularly touched me. Thanks for joining me in this reading journey. You might also be interested in following my personal challenge to read a picture book every morning, which I’m posting about on my Facebook page (link in the sidebar.) Today’s book is one that has been around for nearly…
December 4, 2017
Oops! This went live before it was finished! Sorry! Since I posted about artist James McMullan in my last post two weeks ago, it seems only fitting that I post about children’s writer, Kate McMullan, this week. Jim and Kate have been married for 38 years, and they make a marvelous team personally and creatively. Kate has written over one hundred books for kids, including (but not limited to) a…
November 27, 2017
There’s a fabulous article in the December 2017 issue of Vanity Fair magazine that I want to draw your attention to. It is about artist extraordinaire James McMullan — as Vanity Fair calls him, “Performance Artist.” That moniker is a tribute to the many posters he has done for Lincoln Center productions over the past 30 years. (Yes, you read that right.) Each of his posters shows his deep commitment…
May 15, 2017
You may have heard of the impresario Flo Ziegfeld (Flo was short for Florenz.) You may have heard of the Ziegfeld Girls from the early days of movies. You may be wondering why I’m posting about them today. It turns out that the Ziegfeld Follies aren’t the only thing that the Ziegfelds were involved in. Billie Burke, Flo Ziegfeld’s wife, founded the Ziegfeld Club in 1936, originally to provide support…
May 8, 2017
Jane Yolen is one of the wonders of modern writing. She has written and published over 300 books, most — but not all — for children (of all ages). She is a poet and a master of many genres. She is a mentor and teacher to many. One of the keys to the prolific nature of her writing can be found in her moving memoir in verse, Ekaterinoslav: One Family’s…