Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Timothy Basil Ering
Timothy Basil Ering may be best known as the illustrator of Kate DiCamillo's book The Tale of Despereaux, but he has also authored several popular children's books including The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone and Necks Out for Adventure -...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Rosalyn Schanzer
Children's author and illustrator Rosalyn Schanzer views history as series of grand adventures full of fascinating people - stories just waiting to be told. And she loves to tell them, bringing real-life characters like George Washington...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Susan Cooper
Susan Cooper's works weave rich language and contemporary issues with fantasy, history, and traditional literature to create compelling, timeless picture books and young adult novels. In this interview, Cooper talks about becoming a...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Sneed Collard
Sneed B. Collard III is the author of more than 30 children's books about science, nature, and the environment. With a background in biology, his book topics range from beaks to wings to cloud forests to animal dads. Collard encourages...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Vicki Cobb
Vicki Cobb has published over 85 books for grades K-8 that explore physics, chemistry and biology, biographies, geography, and the human body. Her new Science Play series targets kids 3-5 years old, who are already natural scientists...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Stephan Pastis
Stephan Pastis is a lawyer-turned-cartoonist, the creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine, and the author of the Timmy Failure chapter book series for middle school kids. Timmy Failure follows the exploits of the young "defective"...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Sy Montgomery
The Boston Globe once described Sy Montgomery as "part Indiana Jones and part Emily Dickinson" in recognition of her adventurous spirit and passionate voice as a writer. She is a naturalist, devoted conservationist, author, documentary...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Susan Meddaugh
Susan Meddaugh is the author and illustrator of the charming Martha Speaks series as well as other animal-centric stories like Cinderella's Rat and the original fairy tale The Witch's Walking Stick. Her books are loved by kids and their...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Sam Mc Bratney
Sam McBratney has been writing children's books for more than 30 years. His popular book Guess How Much I Love You continues to sell a million copies a year. When his kids were growing up, he told whimsical original bedtime stories every...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Tom Angleberger
Tom Angleberger is the creative mind behind the Origami Yoda series and other delightfully funny stories for kids, all of which he illustrates himself. Angelberger has Aspergers (he calls it his superpower), and many of his stories are...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Wendy Wan Long Shang
Wendy Wan-Long Shang writes stories for the middle grades that look at the experiences of Chinese-Americans with humor, heart, and a sense of history. In this interview, Wendy talks about being the first Chinese-American kid in her...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Tonya Bolden
Tonya Bolden has written more than 20 books for children and young adults, including biographies of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and George Washington Carver. Bolden transforms facts into compelling stories that inspire and challenge her...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Bill Martin Jr.
Bill Martin Jr's Brown Bear, Brown Bear book is almost required reading for parents of young children. In video clips from A Visit With Bill Martin Jr (1996), he talks about his "jazzy" writing. Watch the interview to learn more about...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Audrey Wood and Don Wood
Audrey and Don Wood have collaborated on more than 50 children's books. Their internationally known books - including The Napping House, Heckedy Peg, and King Bidgood's in the Bathtub - have been translated into many languages. Both...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Audrey Geisel
An interview with Audrey Geisel (Mrs. Dr. Seuss) at her San Diego home. In this interview, Audrey Geisel explains how she first met Theodore Geisel, describes their life together, and talks about his classic works. It's a fascinating...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Anita Silvey
The author of 100 Best Books for Children and 500 Great Books for Teens, Anita Silvey has devoted 35 years to promoting books that inspire children to become lifelong readers. She published her own nonfiction book for children about...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Allen Say
Allen Say writes and illustrates picture books about family, culture, creative expression, dreams, and the immigrant experience. His story Grandfather's Journey tells of his father's own journey from Japan to the U.S. and back again. In...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Ashey Bryan
Ashley Bryan uses painting, poetry, music, collage, and prose to tell his stories. Bryan is known for retelling African folktales in a distinct, rhythmic prose that is heavily influenced by African-American poetry. Watch the interview to...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Andrea Beaty
Andrea Beaty is the author of the popular STEAM-themed picture books about curious kids who love asking questions, inventing, and making things. She has also written a rhyming series for very young readers starring Ted the bear, and...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Alma Flor Ada
Alma Flor Ada has written more than 200 books for children. Ada has mastered the art of retelling traditional folktales and nursery rhymes from across Latin America. A native of Cuba who has also lived in Spain, Peru, and the United...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Betsy Lewin
Betsy Lewin, the illustrator of Click, Clack, Moo, takes a playful approach to her work. In this video interview, Betsy Lewin discusses her career goals as a child and the inspiration she gets from exotic trips abroad. Watch the...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Carole Boston Weatherford
Carole Boston Weatherford is a children's book author and poet who has written books about African-American historical figures such as Harriet Tubman, Jesse Owens, and Billie Holiday. Other books recount historical events such as the...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Chris Van Dusen
Author/illustrator Chris Van Dusen brings humor, adventure, lively language, and richly colored, kinetic illustrations to all of his children's books. He's created a number of unforgettable literary characters, including Mr. Magee (and...
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Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Charles Smith
Charles R. Smith is a talented children's book author and photographer. His expressive poetry - frequently about sports and music - has been praised for its playful language and clever rhymes, while his expressive photographs beautifully...