Abe Turns 200! (Willard Scott reports longevitiy due to Emancipation Proclamation and the top hat)

You may have heard that Abraham Lincoln turns 200 today, say, on numerous radio broadcasts, the Today Show, the New York Times Book Review, CNN, etc. But you also may be struggling to remember any specific facts about this illustrious president. You know he ended slavery, was shot in a theater, was born in a log cabin, and was tall and wore an unusually large top hat, but you may not have known the following:

• He was afraid of dentists because a dentist broke his jaw bone when pulling a tooth.
  
• He was color-blind.
• He was the tallest U.S. president at 6'4".
• His footwear had to be custom-made.
• He was the first president to be assassinated.
• Only one of his four children survived into adulthood.
• He was the only United States president to hold a patent for a device to help steamboat buoyancy in 1849.
• The Lincoln Monument was created by a young, female sculptor named Vinnie Ream. Read more about her in the book Vinnie and Abraham by Dawn FitzGerald.
• His birth mother died from milk sickness. Apparently the family cow ate poisonous mushrooms and she died when she drank its milk.
  
• He was the first president to have a beard.
• Lincoln's brother, half-brothers, and brothers-in-law fought in the Confederate Army
• Lincoln and his wife held seances in the White House. They had great interest in psychic phenomena.
• Lincoln loved the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

We've also created a downloadable poster celebrating Abe's Birthday. Click here to download.

There Were No Strangers

Attending the Inauguration of Barack Obama

It was all about the people.

Two million of us made our way from all across the country to D.C., all of us with one thing in common: the need to be there for the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama.

My husband, O.B., and I drove the ten hours from Maine, campaign signs in the windows – “Obama ’08,” “Obama for ME,” and “One Nation” – attracting thumbs-up, beeping horns and other signs of enthusiasm.

We stopped overnight with friends in Philadelphia to attend a “Toast Obama” party. One guest told of his college-age daughter spending her own money to fly round-trip from Chicago just to vote when she discovered her request for an absentee ballot had been lost. Our host read a poem by an 8-year-old African-American student from Detroit with this exuberant ending: “Grab your potential/ Reach for the sky/ Barack Obama made history/ So can I!!!!!!!!!!”

We arrived in D.C. on the afternoon of January 19, just as the “We Are One” concert was beginning at the Lincoln Memorial. Eager to jump into the action, we parked our car and gear at the home of O.B.’s god-daughter in the Columbia Heights neighborhood and caught the Metro downtown.

Stevie Wonder sang from the Jumbotron as we wove among the enormous crowds on the Mall in the company of four young teachers-- Sherrine, Lynn, Nichelle and Jim--who we met on the subway. They helped us with directions and a recommendation of a soul food restaurant; we took photos together and exchanged emails. It was the first of many lovely encounters when strangers in the crowd became instant friends.

Just as we crested the hill under the Washington Monument, Obama came to the podium. The throng, filling the space all the way to the Memorial, went quiet. As our president-elect spoke of “seeing ourselves in each other” and proclaimed that “there is no obstacle that can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change,” O.B. and I gazed around in awe, exclaiming over and over, “This is so amazing!”

For the next sixty hours, we spent most of our time in that blessed state. It was all so amazing. After walking among the streaming crowds for nearly two hours just to find a place we could get on the Metro, we devoured sweet potatoes, greens and smothered chicken at Oohs & Ahs on U Street. We stopped for a drink at a restaurant bar where we met Kelly, Sarah and Kendra, three young lawyers working in D.C. When they found out we didn’t have tickets to an inaugural ball, they invited us to their sold-out charity dance.

On Monday while O.B. was at a luncheon hosted by a Maine legal firm at the New Zealand Embassy, I attended the Martin Luther King celebration at the National Cathedral where the rousing singing of the multicolored young members of the Urban Nation Hip-Hop Choir had us on our feet, tears on our cheeks. That night at a Peruvian restaurant, El Chalan, with O.B.’s convention roommate and his friend, spontaneous conversations broke out among adjoining tables about the fabulous food and, most of all, the fabulous occasion. The inhibitions which normally would have kept us to ourselves had dissolved.

The encounters continued, on the Metro, in the waiting lines, in restaurants, on the streets. “It’s like Sesame Street for grownups,” O.B. remarked. A young Palestinian man wearing a kaffia, born in Damascus, now living in the U.S., told us that Obama’s election was the most hopeful sign he’d seen for peace in the Mideast. White and black Americans marveled together at what had come to pass and how we were all connected. There was a look exchanged as we noticed the newness of the connection, the joy we shared freeing us for the moment from the painful divisions of our history.

Rising at 5:45 on Inauguration Day, we waited in line for two hours in the freezing cold with Carla and Marlon from Florida and Diane and Bob from Washington. By the time we got through the Orange gate, we’d bonded so deeply that we just had to sit together for the ceremony.

It was all so amazing. Two million jubilant, open-hearted people. Sharing snacks and hand-warmers with each other and with those seated in the handicapped section. The moment when we first saw Obama’s image on the Jumbotron as he lined up for the ceremonial procession and we realized it was real, it was really going to happen! The roar of the crowd as he appeared – “O-Ba-Ma! O-Ba-Ma!” (Since when do the attendees at an inaugural ceremony chant the name of the president-elect?) The view behind us, the million or so people filling every space, as far as the eye could see.

We’re all back to our regular lives now, whether we viewed the inauguration in person, on television, or after-the-fact. We still have all those problems and challenges to deal with. But we also have the vision of what it can look like when we drop our defenses and across all our differences, reach out to each other. One nation.

It’s all about all of us.

_______________________________________________________

You can see a sketch Annie drew at the ceremony and a poem she wrote about the experience at her blog, “Coloring Between the Lines.”

Posted by Anne Sibley O'Brien, author/illustrator of After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance and The Legend of Hong Kil Dong.

Pass the Peace

Inspired by the children's book After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance, the Pass the Peace campaign is an effort to promote worldwide peace, tolerance, and nonviolent forms of protest.

Charlesbridge has distributed posters to local companies, started a blog chain with a Pass the Peace widget, and donated money to Wangari Maathai's organization, The Greenbelt Movement, to spread the messages of the peacemakers profiled in the book.

We urge you to participate by posting this widget to your blog, website, or social networking site, and forwarding it to others who may also wish to be involved.

The Story Behind
In November of 2004, Perry O’Brien accomplished what most consider an impossible feat in the military: he was granted an honorable discharge as a conscientious objector. Three years into a four-year enlistment in Afghanistan, Perry began having questions. “When you see a three-year-old child blown up, it forces you to ask yourself, ‘What would ever justify this?’” After long discussions with his unit’s chaplain and intensive study of philosophy and Eastern religion, Perry came to the conclusion that war had never, and would never, solve conflicts. At the age of 21, Perry was one of 31 servicemen granted conscientious objector status in 2004.

Upon his return to the U.S. Perry continued to campaign for peace. His mother, renowned children’s author Anne Sibley O’Brien, suggested that they combine her artistic ability with his knowledge of philosophy and history. Their collaboration resulted in the book for young readers, After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance, which highlights fifteen activists who chose nonviolent resistance as the path to change.

Today Perry continues to promote nonviolent paths to change through his work as a labor organizer in New York City, and through his website peace-out.com, where he provides information about how to obtain conscientious objector status to exit of the military with honor. Anne also continues her work as an activist, writer, and artist.

“The core of my activism,” says Anne, “is the knowledge that, across race, culture, class, and all kinds of differences, we all belong to each other.”

Travels with Priscilla

500 miles is a long way for anyone to walk. Let alone a child. Let alone, in the dead of winter. Priscilla of Priscilla and the Hollyhocks made that long journey in 1838 as part of the Cherokee Trail of Tears. 170 years later, Priscilla and the Hollyhocks was published, making Priscilla’s story accessible to thousands more people than had ever heard of the slave girl. Priscilla may have ended her long walk in Mulkeytown, Illinois, in 1838 when Basil Silkwood bought her freedom and adopted her, but in some ways, she’s still traveling. In the months since publication, I’ve shared her story at eleven bookstores, three blogs, one writer’s club, three author festivals, a literary podcast, four schools, an intergenerational book group, the Belmont Picture Book Festival, several newspaper articles, Merrimack Valley Magazine, three inner city after-school programs, and the Charlesbridge Spring Open House. North Andover, Massachusetts, chose Priscilla and the Hollyhocks as the book all elementary students in town read as part of the town-wide “One Community Reads” program. Illustrator Anna Alter has also taken Priscilla “on the road” in numerous events. In addition:

• Priscilla has traveled to meet readers who discovered her story in bookstores, libraries and schools. One man wrote of his own connection to the book:

My parents own a farm near Mulkeytown (R.R.#1, Mulkeytown), and they and I grew up there. My school bus went by the Silkwood Inn every day when I was young, though I'll admit I wasn't well aware of its history then. I do remember my maternal grandfather talking about the turkeys that would roost in the trees when the handlers would stay in the Inn on their way to St. Louis.

When I mentioned your book to my father, he was well aware of the story of Priscilla and the legendary connection to red hollyhocks in the area. I had heard the Priscilla story before as a child, but did not remember this until a friend mentioned your book, which I purchased for myself and my parents.

My great grandfather and his siblings were orphaned and taken in by families in the area. Some were treated as farm laborers, but my great-grandfather’s brother was taken in by the Silkwoods and treated kindly, according to my father. I'm not clear on the dates. I believe he would have been decades younger than Priscilla. But if it's true that she lived in and then near the house until her death and helped care for the younger children adopted by the Silkwoods, then it must follow that they knew each other.

• Priscilla has traveled to people who heard me speak about the book or visited my web site or blog. I’ve received cards and letters from numerous readers who have been inspired by Priscilla’s courage and resilience. One child recognized me at an unrelated community event and said, “I’m so glad I learned about Priscilla!”
  

  A United Methodist Church in La Jolla, California planted a hollyhock garden in Priscilla’s honor. A member there wrote, “When our flowers are in bloom next spring, we will once again think about you and of course about Priscilla.”

• Priscilla has traveled to viewers who heard of her story on cable television. I’ve been interviewed for TV stations in the Merrimack Valley, Belmont, Wellesley, and Cape Cod. Who knows how often those shows are broadcast, or who connects to Priscilla because they hear me tell her story in that format? Here’s an excerpt from an email I received recently:

I am probably one of the maybe 10 (?!) people who watch Belmont Cable TV regularly. There I was depressed on the sofa staring at the screen when your happy face appeared reading from and talking about Priscilla and the Hollyhocks. The next day, I got the book out from my daughter’s school where I volunteer in the library. What a beautiful book. Allegra is only six and just starting to understand slavery, but she was engrossed in the story. We talked about Priscilla and how brave she was and how she saw the beauty around her even when she had so many terrible things happen to her. And of course Allegra (an only child) loved that she ended up in a HUGE family with lots of brothers and sisters.
Congratulations!
Keep writing and sharing and dreaming and hoping. And know that people in the most unlikely places are listening and thankful for your voice.

• Priscilla has traveled to people who were guests on a popular Hollywood talk show on which a good friend of mine was a producer. She gave copies of the book to Jimmy Carter, Henry Louis Gates, Anne Lamott, Angela Bassett, Lawrence Fishburne, among others. I also sent copies of the book to the Obama family (nine months before the presidential election) and to Massachusetts Governor Patrick’s family. (He sent a lovely hand-written thank you.)

• Priscilla has traveled to Basil and Mariah Silkwood’s descendents, as evidenced in this email I received:

Hi. I'm descended from the Silkwood family, and I have been looking for seeds for Priscilla hollyhocks for years. Do you have any idea where I might get some? I was delighted to find the book you wrote about her story. It is a good story. I'm glad it's being told. Basil was my great-great uncle, but even with that loose connection I'm still proud of him. Thanks for spreading the tale. Good luck. I hope it is very successful for you.

As an author, it was a privilege to learn and write about strong, brave Priscilla who, like Miss Rumphius or Johnny Appleseed, carried seeds of beauty wherever she went. The more I have presented about this book, the more deeply I have come to appreciate the courage of both the African-American slave child who never gave up hope and the white businessman who flouted societal conventions to make her part of his family. What a great opportunity to remember the strength of the human spirit. Who knows where Priscilla and I will travel together in the future?

Posted by Anne Broyles, author of Priscilla and the Hollyhocks.
Visit Anne online at www.annebroyles.com
Keep up with Anne at http://annebroyles.livejournal.com

Ominous Warning for 2009?

A dreary Wednesday morning (holidays are over, no more sweets left in the kitchen, sleet pelting down outside) was broken up by, who woulda thunk, a submission from the slush pile. A manuscript, author to remain unnamed, was accompanied by a . . . um, a piece of foam art? Intrigued by this art, staff gathered around editorial assistant Lynne Mehley's desk to ponder its meaning. A consensus was made--it looks like a tombstone. With daily news from other publishers about mass layoffs we felt this may be an ominous sign for Charlesbridge's future, and decided that if layoffs do occur within the company, this should be used as the pink slip.

However, note to authors with unsolicited manuscripts: sending in items like this may not get your book published (although no decision has been made on this particular one), but it will certainly help the team at Charlesbridge get through hump day.

Sales Assistant, Gina Choe, was kind enough to model the tombstone in these pictures. (Note: Gina is still employed).

Posted by Taylor.

Kids Heart Authors Day!

Before this ingenious campaign by our own Mitali Perkins (of Rickshaw Girl fame), Valentine's Day was merely the annual homage to unlabeled and often surprisingly gross pieces of chocolate that you ate out of obligation, or to fill that lonely place in your heart. Now you can save your palate and your sense of dignity by marching down to your local independent bookstore and hanging out with children's authors and illustrators. You may even get a couple of hugs!

Kids Heart Authors Day is a new campaign to support literacy, children's authors and illustrators, and independent bookstores. What else could you want? Here's how it works: authors, illustrators, and bookstores from around New England can sign up to participate at www.kidsheartauthors.com. They will then be paired up and on February 14th, kids can show up to the bookstore nearest them to get signed copies of their favorite books and meet the people that created them. The events will take place from 10:00 a.m. til noon. More details are at the website, and we'll keep you up-to-date about Charlesbridge authors and illustrators who plan to attend.

Mitali Perkins talks about life between cultures

Check out this wonderful interview with Mitali Perkins, author of Rickshaw Girl, at Kabiliana, the fantastic blog about books by Valentina Acava Mmaka.

Posted by Donna

Did Galileo Really Have a Dog?

This is a question children ask me over and over when I visit their classrooms to talk about the great scientist/inventor/- musician/astronomer/all-around Renaissance man Galileo Galilei. You see, there is a picture of Galileo with his dog "Luna" on the cover of my book, Galileo's Journal, which was published in 2006. Putting Luna there was not a frivolous decision, I can assure you. Galileo loved nature and, seemed to have a fondness for animals. In letters to him written by his daughter, Sister Maria Celeste, from her cloistered convent, there is communication about a small donkey kept on his property, as well as doves. And research showed that certain types of dogs were pets in Italian households during Galileo's lifetime. So we put Luna in the book and readers really connected with her. I always assure students that, while I don't know for sure whether he had a dog, Galileo was a gregarious sort of guy and liked companionship. So he might have had a dog like Luna. Kids seem to be okay with this reply.

I Heart Your Blog

Children's book editor, volunteer librarian, mother of two, and choir singing superstar, Emily Mitchell of the blog Emily Reads, hearts our blog! OMG! (In the spirit of journalistic integrity I must disclose that Emily also works for Charlesbridge.) Nevertheless! Someone actually reads this thing!

Now it is our turn to spread the blog love to others. The decision was tough and heart-wrenching, but we finally came up with seven (but not nearly all) of our favorites. All we had to do was write them a little love letter, post the links to their blogs, and voila! We heart these blogs:


Three Silly Chicks (For the silliest and funniest kids books around)

7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast (Reviews by grown-ups about kids books--but don't worry, these grown-ups are still a little childish--in a good way!)

Bartography (Of course we have to throw in a little nepotistic shout-out to our author of the upcoming book, The Day-Glo Brothers, Chris Barton. Yo what up Chris!?--that's was the shout-out part)

Guys Lit Wire (Wait, what? Guys read? Well according to this blog they do, and they do it a lot)

Poetry for Children (Helping to keep children's poetry alive and well. Thank goodness for this blog!)

Planet Esme (The coolest place for those who love kid's books, written by a professional readiologist!)

I.N.K-Interesting Non-fiction for Kids (This pretty much sums up half of Charlesbridge's back list)

Poetry Friday

Two Writing Teachers is hosting Poetry Friday today!

One of our favorite illustrators, Grace Lin, joined by author Ranida McKneally, didn't just celebrate autumn (and the other seasons) in Our Seasons, they told us how the weather works and how it effects us humans. Pretty haikus are accompanied by scientific explanations.

Here's one perfect for today:

Punching the blue sky,

The wind shows off its poer.

Ki-Ki almost flies

Then we learn what makes the wind: "Air moves when there's a difference in air pressure from one area to another. Air pressure is the weight of air pushing down from above. Most differences in air pressure are caused by the sun's heat. Because the sun heats the earth unevenly, the air is warmer insome places than in others. Warm air doesn't press down as much as cold air, so we say it has low pressure. Cold air has high pressure--when air is cooled, it shrinks and sinks.

When air is heated, it expands and rises. As warm air rises, cold air flows in from surrounding areas to replace the rising air. Air always moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. When air moves you feel it as wind."

Posted by Donna