Bookbrowse Feature

Hey everyone,

Just want to say hi! I'm sick with a cold now (as is Lil Dude), so we're both taking it easy today. I'm feeling a little guilty for letting him watch back to back Toy Story and Toy Story 2 videos, but honestly, it's the only way I've found to keep him resting.  He's this bottomless well of crazy energy, even when he's sick and coughing up a storm and needs to sit still.

I've done some fun school visits the past couple weeks-- two were focused on Star in the Forest, and if I get photos passed along, I'll post them here.  I love hearing all the ways in which kids connect with that book-- it's really moving.  And it's so inspiring to see the cool activities the teachers plan for the students... one of the most exciting things for an author is to see creative writing and art projects that stem from their story. Thanks, Columbine and Irish Elementary Schools!

Tamara Smith (an author and agent-mate of mine) did a wonderful feature of The Queen of Water on Book Browse.  Here's an excerpt:

This book pulls no punches. It does not sugar-coat María
Virginia's experiences as a servant for a middle class
mestizo family. She is dealt a cruel hand, and Laura Resau
deftly writes about the details of her abuse - both physical
and emotional - and her dreams of escaping her situation.
Not easy stuff to read. But Laura also lyrically writes
about Virginia's courage and determination - to learn to
read, to understand science, to leave her abusive situation,
to become the person she is meant to become - and the
ways in which she slowly achieves these goals. An
amazing story.



Tamara's article also discusses the collaborative nature of this book (between me and Maria Virginia Farinango)... this was one of the most rewarding aspects of writing the book.

Thank you, Tamara!


You can read more here.

Time to check on Lil Dude and have more tea with lots of honey... wish me a speedy recovery!

xo,
Laura

Starred Publishers Weekly review for Queen!

 Maria Virginia Farinango (my co-author and me... happy!!)
Hey guys,

Nice news to start off my week: The Queen of Water just got its *third* starred review-- this one from Publishers Weekly!  I'm over the moon!

* This compelling collaboration between Resau (The Ruby Notebook) and Farinango--who met while Resau was teaching English at a community college--is based on Farinango's tumultuous upbringing in Ecuador as part of an indígena (indigenous) family, forced to live under the thumb of the mestizos (the Spanish upper class). As is common for indígena girls her age, Virginia is sent to live with a wealthy mestizo couple--in her case, Niño Carlitos and his wife, Doctorita--and she babysits their children and serves as their maid for eight years. While the living conditions are an improvement over her family's small farm, she endures physical and verbal abuse and is denied an education. 

Narrating in a singular, authentic voice, Virginia dreams of escape, but her broken identity leaves her directionless. Along the way, though, she employs her imagination, persistence, and hard-won wisdom to recover her strength and freedom. The authors' candid narrative richly depicts Virginia's passage from a childhood filled with demoralization to a young woman who sees her life through new eyes. Ages 12–up.

 Yay!  So happy about this... I didn't even know what starred reviews meant before my first book came out... Basically, it's a system for recognizing the book as having exceptional merit... and the happy consequence is that librarians, book sellers, teachers, and people in the publishing industry pay more attention to the book.... which ultimately gets the book into the hands of more readers... and this, as a writer, is one of my biggest goals... to connect with as many readers as I can.

Okay, I have to wade my way through the heaps of emails that have been building up since I left for Michigan.  I'm in the midst of planning lots of author visits (virtual and actual) with schools and libraries in Colorado-- Broomfield, Boulder, Fort Collins, Basalt, Grand Junction, and more...

(If I owe you an email, don't worry, it'll be coming soon... my apologies!)  Thanks for reading and keeping in touch-- I'm grateful!

xo
Laura

Back from Michigan!

Hello everyone!

Just got back from author visits to Lansing and Ann Arbor, where I had a blast with students from Haslett High, Greenhills School, the International Book club at the East Lansing Library, and the folks at Ann Arbor Library... I loved meeting so many cool teachers and students and librarians and writers and readers... such a treat! 

I also went to my dad's retirement party in Grand Rapids... Lil Dude was with me, which made things extra wild and crazy (he has so much energy he literally bounces off walls).  He was great on the plane ride, but I still feel utterly exhausted at the moment... I'd like to sleep about 20 hours...

More good news has been coming in about Star in the Forest... the latest is that it's an Americas Award Commended Book!  I love the Americas Award... Red Glass was a winner a few years ago, and What the Moon Saw was an honor book.  You can read more about the award here.


I also found out that Star in the Forest is currently a finalist for the Colorado Book Award in the Juvenile category, and The Ruby Notebook is a finalist in the Young Adult Category... yay! Thank you, Colorado Humanities and Center for the Book! 



So excited to go to Aspen again with Lil Dude and Ian for the awards ceremony in June... and the best part is that I'll get to be with my talented, fun friends who are also finalists:

Amy Kathleen Ryan for Zen and Xander (YA, another Fort Collins author and good friend!)

Todd Mitchell for The Secret to Lying (YA--  yet another Fort Collins author and good friend!)
Nancy Bo Flood  for Warriors in the Crossfire (Juvenile, she's one of the brilliant authors behind The Pirate Tree blog!)


Congrats everyone!  I can't wait to cheer each other on in Aspen...

I also wanted to let you know that The Pirate Tree (mentioned above)-- a wonderful new blog about social justice and children's literature-- is featuring The Queen of Water this week. There's a thoughtful review/article on domestic slavery and The Queen of Water and an interview with me... And next week it will be featuring Star in the Forest!  A huge thank you to Lyn Miller-Lachmann and Nancy Bo Flood for their work on this incredible blog (and for their important books)!

Hmmm... I feel like there's more news, but my brain isn't cooperating now... I'll try to remember and write more soon!  Hope everyone's enjoying springtime!

xo,
Laura

Good news

Hey everyone!

I've been busy, busy, busy!  Just got my latest revision of THE JADE NOTEBOOK into my editor-- whew!  The release date is Feb 2012 (and a giant *thank you* to all of you who've been enthusiastically asking me about it...)

I'm in Michigan now, doing author visits to libraries and schools in Ann Arbor and East Lansing... fun, fun, fun!  I'm especially excited because these are the first presentations in which I'll focus on THE QUEEN OF WATER!  Speaking of Queen, here are some links to great reviews:

The Denver Post, which calls the book "tremendously potent" and told with "grace and complexity." Read more here.  I did an interview with the reviewer, Claire Martin, a few years ago, for another book.  She's actually been to the Otavalo region of Ecuador (the region the book is set)-- very cool!)

Scene Magazine-- which gives a really thoughtful analysis:

"The Queen of Water is at once depressing and inspirational, savage and innocent, and is all the more poignant since it is based on the true story of Farinango’s upbringing. The first-person narrative creates an intimacy between Virginia and the reader; it is a glimpse into the personal diary of a blossoming and resilient young woman."  Read more here.

Okay, I have to go now... my Lil Dude wants me to watch him ride his bike around the track in the school down the block.  *proud mama moment... Lil Dude just turned four and he's already a master at riding a bike without training wheels... he's actually been doing it since he was 3 1/2!*

(Okay, sorry, that's it for now....  bye!)

xo, more soon,
Laura

Roundup of pics and news

Hey everyone!

I figured I should post this little smattering of pics and news before my trip to Austin, TX, for the TLA conference and my agent's retreat. I'm sure I'll have heaps of photos to post soon...

Here's a pic from today at The Queen of Water event at Barnes and Noble with some of the lovely ladies (and baby!) who came. (Yes- that's me in the blue shirt-- I got a haircut!  It hasn't been this short since I was 14!  My head feels lighter...)


Here are a few pics from my visit to Irish a couple weeks ago for a cupcake party and Star in the Forest signing. 


The party was thrown by BookTrust, a wonderful literacy non-profit based in Ft. Collins that connects books with kids.  The celebration was in honor of Irish Elementary teacher David Autenrieth, who received the Excellence in Education Award for being a super-awesome teacher.  BookTrust gave beautifully inscribed copies of Star in the Forest to the fourth graders, which I then autographed... very exciting for everyone!


And here are a few pics from my Half Moon Bay trip that the librarians sent me...







It was great to see so many parents there with their kids... what a fun evening!

 

And now for the good news I mentioned-- Star in the Forest has been selected for some nice honors:
  • Bank Street Children's Best Children's Books of the Year *Outstanding Merit*
  • A Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children (Washington D.C.)
  • A Grand Canyon Readers Award Nominee (Arizona)
  • A DCF Award Nominee (Vermont Libraries Children's Selection)

And The Queen of Water has been nominated for the Amelia Bloomer Project-- a list of outstanding feminist literature from an ALA group. 



(*happy dance*)
Okay, time to get Lil Dude to bed!

Cheers,
Laura

Half Moon Bay


Hi everyone!

Just got back from a beautiful weekend in Half Moon Bay, California! I did a library presentation for the community and met fantastic librarians, teachers, students, parents, and writers.  So much fun!  I'd been corresponding with one of the teachers and her students via email and snail mail, and it was wonderful to meet them all in person.


I'd always wanted to go to Half Moon Bay-- mostly because I love the name (it's right up there with Angelfire, NM)! ;)  I also LOVE the coast of California, which is one reason I've read the picture book All the World hundreds of time with Lil Dude-- the breath-taking landscape-- green hills and wildflowers and clay cliffs and gardens and old beach houses and perfect trees-for-climbing and veggie stands and beaches and the big, wide ocean.


I went on long walks along the ocean-- on Saturday in the rain (delicious) and on Sunday in sunshine with my old friend Andrea (from middle school).


flotsam!

My camera wasn't working on Friday, so I didn't get pics of the great students and families (some from Oaxaca!) who came to the presentation.  They were so enthusiastic-- the library had distributed hundreds of copies of What the Moon Saw for students! 

 I did manage to get one photo of the teacher and librarians with me at the amazing family-owned Oaxacan restaurant called Brianna's just down the block from the library.  I ate the best mole oaxaqueno I've had in the U.S.  Mmmmmm.  Muy rico.


Lucia Gonzalez took that picture-- she's a wonderful bilingual picture book writer (and warm, kind person).  She gave my Lil Dude a copy of her book The Bossy Gallito, which we're loving.  (Since he turned four last week, he's been in a major Bossy Rooster stage...)

 I *love* author visits to small towns where the awesome librarians and teachers get the whole community excited.  Thank you, Half Moon Bay!






On a different note, more lovely reviews of The Queen of Water have been coming in.  Maria Virginia and I are really glad that readers have been moved by her story.  It's dream come true...

 A review in The Examiner gave the book five out of five stars and calls it "Remarkable. Layered.  Engrossing." You can read the full review here

Marjolein, a wonderful YA book reviewer, also gave it five stars, and calls the book "gripping."  Read the full review here.

Thanks, also, to those of you who have posted reviews on amazon here and goodreads here and other review sites.  And thanks to everyone who's been spreading the word about our book through word of mouth!  We're really grateful!


Happy spring!

xo,
Laura