Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Mary Quattlebaum
Mary Quattlebaum is known for her pirate stories, such as her 2011 book, Pirate vs. Pirate, a blustery adventure pitting Mean Mo against Bad Bart to determine who has the most impressive pirate skills. Other titles celebrate nature or...
Reading Rockets
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"...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Chris Raschka
Chris Raschka has written and illustrated more than 50 books for children. Raschka has received several awards, including a Caldecott Honor Award for Yo? Yes! His lively illustration style captures the experiences of young children, the...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Eric Rohmann
Eric Rohmann believes that each story needs illustrations that match its tone, content, and sensibility. As a children's book illustrator, this means knowing how and when to use different media and techniques, such as oil paints, wood...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Erica S. Perl
Erica S. Perl is the author of the wonderfully silly picture books about Chicken Butt. Perl's other titles for young readers include Dotty, a gentle story about school days and imaginary friend,s and Ninety-Three in My Family, a lively...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Lynne Rae Perkins
Lynne Rae Perkins writes and illustrates picture books for young children and novels for middle and high school kids. Her stories explore family, friendships, and the many small but meaningful moments that shape childhood and...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Linda Sue Park
Linda Sue Park is the Newbery Award-winning author of A Single Shard. In this video interview, she compares writing to sports, questions animal sounds among different countries, and says that young writers need to practice writing. Watch...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Katherine Paterson
Katherine Paterson is the Newbery Medal-winning author of Jacob Have I Loved and Bridge to Terabithia. In this interview, she talks about her childhood, raising a family, the challenges and joy of writing historical fiction, the...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Jack Prelutsky
Jack Prelutsky writes wonderfully wacky poems that children find irresistible. In this interview, he explains why he used to equate reading poetry with eating liver and considered writing poetry a hazard to his health. Watch the...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Herman Parish
Herman Parish has been writing fresh Amelia Bedelia stories since 1995, inventing new adventures for the character his aunt, Peggy Parish, created all those years ago. Amelia Bedelia knows how to "dress" a chicken (in tiny clothes), and...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interviews: Jewell Parker Rhodes
Jewell Parker Rhodes is the author of books for middle-grade readersIn this interview, Jewell talks about writing stories that explore tough topics like racism and violence, finding an authentic voice for her characters, how her books...