Thank you for stopping by to visit my website. If you are a teacher looking for teaching ideas, a librarian looking for author visit details, or a student working on a book report -- you've come to the right place. Be sure to take a look at the special gallery of student artwork and writing related to my books, if you have a little extra time.

Put on your gold Elvis shades and check out my newest book, All Shook Up (ages 9 - 14)! It tells the humorous story of a 13 year old boy named Josh whose life gets "all shook up" when his dad becomes an Elvis impersonator. BookPage called it "...alternately wry, silly, thoughtful, and laugh-out-loud funny."

Other book news... Trouble Don't Last has been selected as a 2009 "Choose to Read Ohio" community reading book by the State Library of Ohio. Hopefully, this will enable readers of all ages to share in the Underground Railroad journey of Samuel and Harrison. Click here if you'd like to preview the curriculum ideas and teacher's guides for this novel and my other books. Crooked River is available in paperback with a special Reader's Theater script included. The paperback edition of All of the Above (2007 ALA Notable) includes classroom discussion questions and a tetrahedron model to copy.

Looking for an author visit or writing workshop in 2009? Visit my current schedule (see my schedule here) for openings. I have workshops and assembly programs on the writing process, the Underground Railroad, Native American poetry, reading in the math classroom -- and even Elvis. Last year was a whirlwind with 54 days of school and library visits in five different states, so be sure to schedule early.