Welcome to The Sugar Quill
An archive of Harry Potter fan fiction! The site also offers art based on the Harry Potter books, technical editing help for writers, and an online forum.

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty (0-439-49881-3)
Cassie, Emily and Lydia are best friends who attend a private school, then their English teacher gives them an assignment to write to a student at the local school. All three girls get boys as penpals and relationships start to build as letters are exchanged.
This book is entirely captured in letters, emails and the girls’ private writings. Their voices stay unique and interesting throughout as do the voices of the three boys. The story is continually morphing and changing as it goes on.
This one was definitely worthy of the multiple starred reviews it received. With its multiple male and female protagonists, both boys and girls should enjoy it.

Children’s Writing – Suite101.com
This is a very nice section of the Suite101 site. It offers recommended books as well as links to great sites on children’s lit. The top feature of the site is that on the first of every month, a children’s book author is interviewed. June’s author is Jeanne DuPrau, author of The City of Ember and The People of Sparks.

Jennifer Donnelly
Here is Jennifer Donnelly’s official website. It has the really nice feature of a special page for each of her books, including the award-winning A Northern Light.

Alex Flinn
Official site for this author of YA novels, including her newest Nothing to Lose that has been getting a lot of positive attention.

Downhomebooks
This site offers much more than a link to a zShop at Amazon. It has interviews with some of the hottest names in children’s and YA literature. It also has a fab list of recommended links and several lists of recommended books for kids.

Couple produces Afro-centric books for young readers
An article about Wade and Cheryl Hudson, founders of Just Us Books, a publishing house that specializes in African-American children’s titles. Perhaps their most famous are the Afro-Bets books and Bright Eyes Brown Skin.

The Crying Rocks by Janet Taylor Lisle (0-689-85319-X)
Joelle doesn’t know much about her past. She was adopted at age five after living in a box with an old lady. Joelle looks just like the ancient Native Americans in the area, and with her new friendship with Carlos hikes through the woods to some of their sacred places. As they travel, Joelle begins to connect with both the Native Americans and her own past, until she finally is ready to face the truth.
This book is permeated by a strong sense of mystery. The reader may think that they have figured it all out already, but they almost certainly have not. A strong, difficult young woman, Joelle is a fascinating protagonist.

Original Content
I was going to call this a new blog on children’s lit, but it sure isn’t! It looks like Gail has been going strong since early 2002.