RINDA'S WRITING
ONLINE:
 Alibris: Find copies of
Rinda's picture book, "Mycca's Baby" here.
Children
up to sixth grade, both girls and boys, enjoy this often funny story
about a new baby! "Mycca's Baby" came out to excellent reviews
in School Library Journal, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, etc. Rinda now owns
complete copyright to the text. Mint copies are rare. If
you obtain one, keep the book away from light and heat because
the cover fades easily.
View more art here by David Tamura, the illustrator.
Seattle Public
Library: Rinda's library when she was writing "Mycca's
Baby." Check out photos of the new building--a dream of a library
if ever there was one! If your library does not have a copy of
"Mycca's Baby," you can always request it via inter-library loan.
Better yet, request that your library order a copy of "Mycca's
Baby," through Alibris. Yes, libraries do buy used and
o.p. books!
rindawriter: Rinda's online blog that also serves
as her newsletter. Lots about Rinda here, including a photo album
and a handful of poems.
Poetry on the
Buses: An excellent
contest for poets in Western Washington with no contest entry fees
and blind judging. Winning poets retain full copyrights to
their poems and receive a cash award! Read "Marketplace" here, a
poem by Rinda. Her earlier wins in this contest ocurred in years not
listed on this site. Before you leave, also check out the charming
"HedgeHoggy Poem" by Sophia Francine Hope-Wight, who was only five
years old when she composed her winning poem. She had to stand
on a chair to read it for the rest of the winners!
Rinda's
Promotion Materials: You may use the photo of Rinda on the
splash page of this web site. The photo is one of her at about age
two-and-a-half, and she is playing with mud in a bucket. Rinda
uses this photo because it is expressive of so much about
her and her creative work. She is a word person, a hand person, a
heart person--not a movie star! How she looks is not
important. What she writes and creates is all that matters.
Besides, grownup author photos are well, er, ah, sort of boring,
don't you think? Also, see New Things for a few more fun facts about
Rinda. Look at her blog, rindawriter, for
more biographical information.
READER HELPS:
The best reader helps are book reviews! Comparing and contrasting book
reviews from reputable reviewers are the fastest routes
Rinda knows to finding high-quality books:
RINDA'S BOOK REVIEWS:
Rindaviews tend to
focus on well-established and/or classic books that deserve a
second look. They appear occasionally in her blog, rindawriter.
BOOK
REVIEW MAGAZINES: These still are your best bet for finding
high-quality new and old books! You should be able to read these
magazines on the computer in your local library (here's where
I go at my local library). Some of these have online
features for free.
The Hornbook: "Independent,
opinionated, stylish." Also see the Hornbook Guide, in which virtually
every book recently published for children is reviewed and
rated. Free
features on this site include some articles and book
lists. Check out the Hornbook blog where starred and/or interesting new
books are often highlighted.
Publishers Weekly: Weekly"Bible" of the
publishing world. Editions devoted to children's books
come out in February and July. Get their newsletter about children's books free by
e-mail every week--a great resource. Nice blog also.
Booklist: Official book review
magazine of the powerful American Library Association. Keeps
a list of banned books. The Bible is one of those books! Check out their issues and advocacy links and
resources.
School Library Journal: "The world's
largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for
children and teens." Has an interesting wiki project, a handful of official SLJ blogs, and a larger selection of book review blogs as well. Also maintains
a huge selection of interesting links with a focus on information
technology.
Kirkus: The bane of many an author
and/or illustrator, this independent review magazine
does publish the occasional, very negative review.
Stimulating. Lots here, to study and to think
about.
VOYA: Independent publisher. " Devoted to
the informational needs of teens." Just about everything
you would want to know about excellent, new books for teens.
Reliable source.
Children's Literature: Highlights high-quality,
recently-published books.
The
Children's Book Committee: Publishes "The Best Children's
Books of the Year."
BOOK REVIEW BLOGS: This is a
good area in which to exercise your thinking abilities!
Children's book review blogs are proliferating exponentially
on the Internet under the illusion, perhaps, that a published
opinion automatically contains power to mold the thinking of
others. However, be aware that many book review blogs from
other authors and/or illustrators are of poor quality and of
little help to the hapless reader desperate to find
interesting, new books. Blogs from librarians and other
literature specialists are your best helps in finding truly
useful reviews of new books. Also be aware that book
review blogs from booksellers focus on selling books
regardless of the actual quality of the books being promoted!
You must evaluate and make decisions on these matters
yourself. Get a good start on the best book review blogs
here:
Jacketflap: You can keep
somewhat up-to-date here on the ever-increasing numbers of
blogs that contain children's book reviews (including
middlegrade and YA fiction), although the interface is
somewhat awkward. Explore the blogs first. You can then
choose to make a list of your favorites. Return to the site
frequently to get updates on all your favorites and to
discover new ones!
For more literacy and learning disability
("differently-abled") links, please see Book Helps for Teachers and
Librarians: Parents will find useful information here
also.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE TRULY
UGLY:
Scams, shams, and slam-dunks in the world
of creating books for young readers with a focus on
writing-for-young-people links. Here's why. And thank you, Clint, who starred in the movie that first
contained this title.
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