Thought for the Day:
“Wanting to meet an author because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like paté.”
~ Margaret Atwood ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
I always learn something when I read an author interview. HERE Robert Lee Brower writing for Writer’s Digest has an article titled 21 Authors Share One Piece of Advice for Writers. Maybe this will spark something for you.
K. M. Allan has 7 Tips for Creating Awesome Characters HERE to help you out. It’s a good one.
“Your setting is the ‘spooky background music’ of your novel.” Janice Hardy always has great stuff for writers. HERE she tackles setting with How the Setting Raises Tension in Your Novel.
My new desktop computer was installed on Friday. YAY! It was a painless process for me. Best Buy sent a Geek Squad guy (thanks, Zachery!) who moved all my files and photos and falderal from my old to my new computer and set my old computer to factory settings. I have a family who needs it, and I’m happy to give it to them. My new computer has a big enough screen for me to put up two full-size pages next to each other. That will be great for editing and page layout. I do the layout for the newsletter of the local chapter of the California Writers Club. I haven’t had much time yet to play with it, but I have to do the newsletter later today, and I am busy editing a couple picture books and one of my novels. Oh, and it is fast, fast, fast! I think I’m going to love it.
This is a week we all spend a lot of time thinking about food. I read a wonderful non-fiction book recently, one that will make readers really think about food. It is written by Peggy Thomas, someone I met at a Highlights Workshop some years ago. She is really a pro in the non-fiction category and has even written, with her mother Margery Facklam, the seminal book on writing non-fiction for kids — Anatomy of Non-Fiction: Writing True Stories for Children. If you are considering writing non-fiction, you need to have that book. Anyway, I ran across Hero for the Hungry: The Life and Work of Norman Borlaug by Peggy on the review list for Seattle Book Review and grabbed it. It is fascinating! Here is the review I wrote for SBR.
Norman Borlaug grew up on a farm in the Midwest in the early 20th century. His grandparents came from Scandinavia when the potato blight chased them from their home. Norman grew up knowing hunger could devastate, and he vowed he would see as little hunger as possible. He was able to attend college largely because he was great at sports, but he focused on science and became a plant scientist.
He was hired to help find ways for Mexico to increase their crops to match the increase in their population. He worked hard to develop disease-resistant wheat and to teach the farmers in Mexico to make their fields healthier and use more successful methods. When famine struck in Pakistan and India, Borlaug fought hard to improve things there, saving millions of lives.
Peggy Thomas has really done her homework, and her impeccable research and beautiful writing have led to a biography that will excite young readers and keep them engaged. The story is a compelling one. Illustrator Sam Kalda has populated the pages with realistic illustrations to complete the story. In addition, there are plenty of sidebars and some back-matter to give readers even more information.
Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.
Rosi Hollinbeck 
The kids, and all of us, will come away from reading this book wanting to help the people of our country and our world. I’d love to read it!
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It is well worth your time. He was a fascinating man. Thanks for the comment.
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Norman Borlaug is SUCH an important person! He was once the cerdy showoff subject of President Bartlett on The West Wing. He received the Nobel Prize because he truly saved millions from starvation in Pakistan and India.
Congratulations on your new computer, Rosi. It sounds wonderful.
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Yes, his is a remarkable story, and this book tells it well. I am loving my new computer! I had a need for speed. Thanks for reading and commenting and sharing my link.
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This sounds like a fascinating biography. And glad your new computer got installed.
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Indeed it is fascinating. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
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As a food gardener, I love books about plants and growing food – especially ones for kids. Thanks for the awesome suggestion…and the writer’s tips.
Out of curiosity, what computer did you end up getting?
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This is a great book for you, Linda. I hope you get to read it. Glad you like the writer’s tips. I bought a 2020 refurbished Mac desktop with a 27-inch screen. I guess they have stopped making that size screen, so I had to get a refurbished one. I am a Mac person, and I love that all my devices talk to each other and share data. Thanks for the comment.
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I love stories about people who find ways to improve life — food production — and then devote their lives to helping others in faraway countries improve their crops and save their communities from starvation. Such a meaningful story! Thanks for sharing!
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He certainly made great strides in that area. Amazing man. I hope you get to read the book. Thanks for the comment.
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As soon as I started reading this, I remembered the statue of Borlaug in DC. I have friends from Iowa, so remembered that he was their entry for the hall of statuary. Such an interesting career. Hope that your new computer does well– I haven’t had a desktop for a dozen years, so it sounds very luxurious!
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Borlaug was really an extraordinary person. Fascinating biography. I love having a desktop. Yes, it is a luxury. It’s where I do all my writing. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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Congratulations on the new computer. A new toy to play with! The links were great today and I had time to read them all in one sitting. I appreciate the time you spent putting the list together.
I was fascinated by this book and all I didn’t know about Borlaug and his work feeding the world. Perfect choice for this upcoming week of eating. Happy MMGM!
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I really didn’t know much about Borlaug, so this was a great book for me. Glad you found the links to your liking. I am having fun with my new computer. Thanks for always reading and commenting.
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Hooray for new computers! And hooray for Peggy’s newest book. I love her books, regardless of topic, and have Anatomy of Nonfiction on my shelf right here (reaches over to grab, spills coffee….) well, you get the picture.
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Haha! Hope you really didn’t spill your coffee. I do love my new computer. It’s always a treat to find a book by Peggy. I always have her Anatomy of Nonfiction at hand as well. Thanks for stopping by.
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Yay! You’ve got your new computer!! It’s going to make such a difference! I’ve heard rave reviews about Macs. Some day I will take the plunge! This sound a super book, a great one for kids, hopefully inspire them (and adults too!). Thanks for sharing!
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I do love my new Mac. I’ve been a Mac girl for a long time — since they were little beige boxes. The book is worth reading. Great story. Thanks for the comment.
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