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Geez, it's looks like there's all kinds of dog-stealing going on!

Remember that kid who made that great video for How to Steal a Dog for his school project?

He got an A+!

Here's what he wrote to me:

"As I said before, I loved the book. Originally, I just got it from the library, but I just bought it earlier this week. By the way, I got an A+. Thanks for writing such a good book!"

For your viewing pleasure, his video [note: the sound takes a couple of seconds to kick in]:

Well, this is pretty cool!

A librarian from Texas came up with a great idea: for kids in a book club to create a trading card for a character from the book they are reading.

This is one she made for Georgina in How to Steal a Dog.

Mr. Cage: I have a feeling that mean ole Kathleen Turner is telling a big fat fib.

I mean, you, stealing a dog!?

It can't be true.

I read your response: I have never been arrested for anything in my life, nor have I stolen a dog.

I believe you.

But, um, just in case you are thinking of stealing a dog, I'm sending you a copy of How to Steal a Dog.

It might give you some good tips.

Sincerely yours,
Barbara O'Connor

P.S. to all blog-readers: This is giving me a big ole case of deja vu. I read a book not long ago with a character (Irish?) who had a crush on Nicholas Cage and wrote him letters. She lived beside (over?) a diner. Now it's driving me nuts that I can't think of the name of it. Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

Interesting post on hand selling from Alison Morris.

A little horn-tooting here:

How to Steal a Dog has been selected for the 2008 NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies bibliographic list.

Books selected for this list emphasize human relations, represent a diversity of groups and are sensitive to a broad range of cultural experiences, present an original theme or a fresh slant on a traditional topic, are easily readable and of high literary quality, and have a pleasing format and, when appropriate, illustrations that enrich the text.

Toot, toot.

Hey you authors out there:

This website is a great way to find out if your books have been nominated for state children's choice awards.

They sell sets of each state's books. I've found out about quite a few nominations before my publisher did.

As a matter of fact, I just found out that Taking Care of Moses is on the 2008-2009 Iowa Children's Choice Award list and How to Steal a Dog is on the 2008-2009 South Carolina Book Award list.

....on the red carpet?



From yesterday's Los Angeles Times (copied below in case you have to register to read the Times article):

BOOKIT
Barbara O'Connor's 'How to Steal a Dog' Finds Hollywood Home
Small proves to be in the eye of the beholder.
By Josh Getlin
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

January 17, 2008

The deal

Les Franck (co-producer of "Loggerheads") and Tracy Kilpatrick (local casting director for "The Great Debaters") option Barbara O'Connor's children's novel "How to Steal a Dog," the story of a homeless girl in rural North Carolina who steals a dog to pocket reward money and get her family into a real home.

The players

O'Connor is represented on literary rights by Barbara Markowitz and on film rights by Sean Dailey of Hotchkiss and Associates. The book is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

The back story

When it comes to adapting books for film, small is in the eye of the beholder. Dailey was instantly struck by the cinematic potential of O'Connor's book, and he pitched it to a dozen studios and production companies. Although the novel was aimed at young readers, he described it as a timeless story about making the right choices -- and the scourge of rural homelessness -- as seen through the eyes of a plucky fifth-grade girl.

Hollywood deal-makers gave him the same answer: "It's too small." Producers loved the story but didn't bite because O'Connor's novel had no wizards or gremlins. Nor did it hold out the promise of "Harry Potter"-like profits. Never mind that low-budget adaptations of dog-friendly novels make money. ("My Dog Skip" cost $6 million and had a domestic gross of $34 million; "Because of Winn-Dixie" cost $14 million and earned $33 million.)

Franck and Kilpatrick didn't think the book was small, either. They decided the novel was a perfect fit for their production company, Going Again Films, which specializes in low-budget, Southern-based movies that appeal to wide audiences. "I'm from the South, not Hollywood, and I know this is a powerful story," Franck said. "It doesn't have a fairy tale ending. It's about larger truths."

O'Connor was also puzzled by the notion that her book was too small for the movies. "I wanted to get inside the head of a child and tell a story that would resonate with adults too," she said. "Every author has red carpet fantasies, but I can hear the soundtrack music. I really can see this as a film." To Markowitz, the Hollywood verdict was bizarre: "Too small?" she asked. "I guess they'd say the same thing today about 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' "

[Note from me: This is an option. Who knows how it will end up...but, hey, a girl can have a fantasy, can't she? So, what shall I wear?]

This is what happens after 1: overdosing on two drinks, linguini with white clam sauce, and a Veal Francaise at the The Park Side Restaurant in Queens, where tuxedos and GODFATHER-types meet, 2: a sinus headache, 3: a snoring husband ruining any chances of a good night's sleep and 4: the curse of having a television in your bedroom and a remote control to keep you company, jumping from channel to channel until your eyes rest upon a 4 AM showing of THE GRAPES OF WRATH and you know you're not going anywhere until the credits roll.

I think, therefore I write.

You have anything better for me to do with my time in the middle of the night?

Don't answer that unless your thoughts are PG-rated. ;>

And hell if I didn't think so hard that I turned to keyboard and screen. Damn you, wretched and tempest-tossed writers. Can never keep these things to yourselves, can you? ;>

Great Characters Make Great Stories. These are the books we remember. The characters that transcend the page. The iconic voices we carry with us, speaking to us from beyond the confines of the novel and remind us, time and again, why literature is a powerful link between generations. These are the voices that inspire me to write. To paint words into life, to connect reader to reader, to be "a little piece of a big soul." Not just for today but for tomorrow.



citycatinwindow introduced me to ARTISTS FOR LITERACY, an organization that promotes music inspired by great characters and great literature. Their mission is to make literature more accessible, to marry music and the written word in order to "open doors" to a more critical analysis of a book that might otherwise be daunting to a young reader.

TOM JOAD from John Steinbeck's GRAPES OF WRATH stands tall in my pantheon of literary heroic characters. His "I'll be there" soliloquy has moved many to tears, to action-- and to music. I know. Woody Guthrie was right there, compelled to create a homage to Tom Joad after Guthrie saw the movie, THE GRAPES OF WRATH. Fast forward to another great writer who found truth and beauty in this quintessential American literary hero. Enter Bruce Springsteen. (Ah, there's always a tie that binds my words to Mr. Springsteen.)

It may not be the first question I ever ask should I have the chance to have a one-on-one moment with my muse (and, should that day ever come, I highly doubt any intelligible sounds would make it past my quivering lips), but this writer would love to ask that writer what about Steinbeck's Joad inspired him to paint his musical portrait of the Joad character in Bruce's GHOST OF TOM JOAD. Steinbeck's novel identifies a cultural war that is seeped in the soul of the American dream. After stuttering and stammering for 23 minutes in Bruce's face, telling him what hismusic has meant to me (everything), oh how I would love to ask him: "How do you see your music as a source of characters questioning what is wrong and what is right in America? Who are your characters speaking to? The choir or the disenfranchised- the believers or the estranged and alienated? Are your characters uniquely American and why? Would you rather sing to the church or a confused, wandering congregation?"

I suspect this would be his answer:



Then I would fall faint to the floor.

And... end scene!

Speaking of Page Turners: Here's to 2008-- and to you and your characters and the life you give them. (Or is it the other way around?)

Check out Fuse #8's annual Golden Fuse Award for best cover!

I usually enjoy each phase of a book's life. But there's something about getting that package in the mail saying, "Enclosed herewith is the dead matter" that gets me every time.

... the champagne cork, that is.

How to Steal a Dog has been named a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.

Woohoo!

And.....that's not all.....

....it has also been named an ALA Book Link's Lasting Connections for 2007. (This is Book Link's annual roundup of the year's best books to tie into the curriculum.)

Woohoo again!!!

How to Steal a Dog has been nominated for the 2008-2009 Texas Bluebonnet Award.

Giddyup!

My new favorite fifth grade teacher has posted a really nice review of How to Steal a Dog over on her teacher blog.

Thanks, Megan Germano!

I'm recycling a blog post from back in April.

I know, I know....there's probably a rule about that in the blogger's handbook somewhere.

But I'm doing it anyway -

retelling the story about the REAL dog, Willy - who got lost (sniff) and whose owner posted a reward sign (sniff) and..... well, here it is.

This is Willy, the dog in How to Steal a Dog.

He's made out of a work glove.

He was made for me by a total stranger!

She made him to thank me for signing two of my books for her daughters.

Isn't he just the cutest?!

A Year of Reading has some nice things to say about How to Steal a Dog.

Thanks, Year of Reading!

I received a letter from a teacher yesterday that made my day. It's wonderful when one of my books is appreciated by adults - but even more wonderful to know that children love it - because, after all, to quote the ole Hokey Pokey song: that's what it's all about.

I'm so glad that she shared this with me. Those kids are pretty darned lucky to have a teacher like this.

Her letter (appearing here with her permission):

Thank you for writing such a wonderful book! I stumbled upon How to Steal a Dog while perusing Borders. I was looking for a book that addressed poverty, but I knew my students loved "dog" books, so I picked it up. I bought one copy and thought I was going to use it for a read aloud, then I realized that it addressed poverty. A month prior, I received a grant to purchase books about poverty and How to Steal a Dog was perfect! I ended up ordering 25 copies.

I know a book is "good" when it can hold my students' attention on the last day of school. We were using the book as a class novel (they read it outloud, with partners, independently...), but time slipped away from us and we only had 2 days before school ended to finish the last few chapters. I had to take over and read the remainder of the book aloud. Another teacher walked by my room on the last day and was shocked when she saw all of my students sitting and only heard my voice from the classroom. Throughout the building there was the normal chaos the end of the year brings, but in my classroom, students were deep in thought worrying about Willy and Georgina and Carmella and of course about a new home for the family.

I teach in a school where 93% of the students live in poverty. Some have been homeless on occassions. I think the students understood how Georgina felt. They have been embarassed when others see them at the food bank. They have been angry when their mother doesn't have the $3.00 for a field trip. And they have been ashamed that they couldn't afford the "in" clothes and shoes. I applaud you for writing a book that doesn't portray the ideal life, where everyone lives in suburbia and the biggest problem is a divorce. Thank you as a teacher for writing literature that addresses real social issues!

I am going to use the book again next year, and for years to come. We had a lot of discussions as we read the book, and the students often wrote about how Georgina felt or they tried to explain why stealing is sometimes an "ok" thing to do. Do you have any other ideas or suggestions that I should try out next year? I have read your discussion guide, but am wondering if you have any other ideas, or insights that you would like to share.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

A grateful teacher,

My article for the spring 2007 edition of the Journal of Children's Literature - a publication of the Children's Literature Assembly.

I've been waiting, waiting, waiting on School Library Journal's review of How to Steal a Dog. It finally came yesterday. I got a star! Woohoo!

"...the unfolding events will keep youngsters totally engaged....Though set inside a heavy topic, this novel's gentle storytelling carries a theme of love and emphasizes what is really right in the world."

Now I'm still waiting on the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books - and I'll be done with the big guys. Phew!

“O’Connor blends her usual poignancy and insight in another tale set in a small North Carolina town….Speaking with at times heartbreaking honesty, this likable young narrator convincingly articulates her frustration, resentment and confusion as she comes to her decisions. O’Connor once again smoothly balances challenging themes with her heroine’s strength and sense of humor.”
--Publishers Weekly

“Georgina’s…how-to journal will have kids anticipating her misconceptions about the realities of theft and deception. A powerful portrayal from an innocently youthful perspective.”
--Kirkus

“O’Connor knows how to spin a touching story, and reading this novel is its own reward.”
--Horn Book