NEWS AND EVENTS

My classic picture book,
MAGGIE AND THE MONSTER
with illustrations by the beloved Tomie dePaola
now available from G. P. Putnam

COUNTING ON GRACE (ISBN: 0553487833) IS OUT IN PAPERBACK!

COUNTING ON GRACE has won the Jane Addams Peace Prize Honor Book and the 2007 Massachusetts Honor Book in addition to the following:

NCTE Distinguished Book for A Global Society
ALA Notable Book
Notable Trade Book in Social Studies
IRA-CBC Children's Choice Selection
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Nominee
VERMONT READS Selection

COUNTING ON GRACE Audio Edition Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award

Listening Library has released the unabridged reading of COUNTING ON GRACE by Lili Gamache in CD (ISBN: 0739339028). This edition includes an up to date afterword by the author that tells the whole story of the search for Addie. The reading, originally produced and read in its entirety on Vermont Public Radio, has received a coveted Earphones Award from AUDIOFILE Magazine.

“Lili Gamache creates a remarkably resourceful and sympathetic character in Grace Forcier, a 12-year-old girl who leaves school to work at the mill in a Vermont town in 1910. Grace is a wide-eyed girl who wants so much to help her family earn more money, to learn to read with her teacher on Sundays, and ultimately to become a teacher; and that enthusiasm and frustration are faithfully translated. Another highlight is Gamache's interpretation of Grace's mother as a proud French-Canadian mill worker and a force to be reckoned with.”
--AUDIO FILE Magazine, the only magazine devoted to audiobooks

Click here to listen to a selection.

COUNTING ON GRACE, now available in paperback, is the 2007 VERMONT READS Selection and we’ve updated my website with useful information especially for teachers. Please visit my Vermont Reads page: http://www.elizabethwinthrop.com/grace-vtreads.html.

You'll find a (hand drawn by yours truly) downloadable map of the site in North Pownal, Vermont and a comprehensive Curriculum Links Guide for teaching COUNTING ON GRACE to all ages and across all disciplines.

You can click here for a list of the communities all over the state of Vermont that are participating in this state reading project.

http://www.vermonthumanities.org/index_files/vtreadstowns.htm

2007 Appearances

(Keep checking back here or you can email Elizabeth@elizabethwinthrop.com for further details.)

Thursday, September 27th:: 7:30 pm, The Kellogg Hubbard Library, Montpelier, A presentation free and open to the Community, ages 8 up. For more information, please contact info@kellogghubbard.org

Monday, October 1st: :7:00 pm. Robinson Elementary School, Starksboro. A presentation free and open to the Starksboro, Lincoln, Monkton, New Haven, and Bristol communities, ages 8 up. For more information, please contact Harriet Szanto, piszant@pshift.com.

Saturday, September 15: 10:30 am, Williams Inn, Williamstown, Massachusetts, “Researching COUNTING ON GRACE” as part of a full day of genealogy lectures by esteemed experts entitled, “The Berkshires, Life in the Past Lane IV,” presented by The Friends of the National Archives in Pittsfield.

For complete information and registration form, visit www.narafriends-pittsfield.org or call 413-236-3600 to have a conference packet mailed to you.

Fall Appearances in Vermont in connection with Vermont Reads COUNTING ON GRACE

Tuesday, September 11^th: 7:30 pm, A presentation free and open to the Community, ages 9 to 90, in the Horse and Carriage Barn at Fisk Farm, Isle La Motte. http://www.fiskfarm.com/ For information, please call 802/928-3364

Thursday, September 27^th: A.M. South Burlington High School Auditorium, 4^th-5^th Grades and the Community, South Burlington, Vermont,

Check the Orchard School web site in late August for more information - http://orchard.sbschools.net/

P.M. Orchard School 2^nd-5th Grades, a talk on the Creative Process, by invitation only,

Friday, September, 28^th: 10:30 am -12:00 pm, FROM PHOTO TO FICTION, A Workshop for the Community History Project of the Vermont Historical Society, by invitation only.

3 to 4 p.m. Talk and Book Signing at NRG, Hinesburg, Vt., open to the Hinesburg Community, for further information, please contact, Anna Grady, ajg@nrgsystems.com

(NRG Systems, a global leader in Wind Measurement Technology is an underwriter of the Vermont Reads Program.)

Saturday, September 29: VERMONT READS Counting on Grace Day, Winooski Middle High School, Winooski, Vermont

Be sure to check the official Vermont Reads page for time, place and event details: (www.vermonthumanities.org/index_files/vtreads.htm)

Monday, October 1^st: Monday, October 1st: Appearance in Lincoln, Vermont, A presentation for the Community, free and open to all ages, details to follow

Tuesday, October 2^nd:

A.M. Mettawee Community School, 4^th-6^th Grade, by invitation only.

P.M. An evening presentation for the Community, open to the public.

For further information, please contact Kelly Ahlfeld, Librarian, Mettawee Community School, (802) 645-9009, ext. 215, kahlfeld@mettawee.k12.vt.us

Back to Massachusetts:

Thursday, October 4^th: North Adams Public Library, 7 pm, a reading from my memoir-in-progress sponsored by INKBERRY, www.inkberry.org, open to all.

Down to New York:

Friday, October 19^th: the Jane Addams Award Ceremony, 777 United Nations Plaza (2nd Floor), 44th St. and 1st Ave.

http://home.igc.org/~japa/

NCTE CONFERENCE, NEW YORK CITY

Saturday, November 17^th:

9:30-10:30 am – Autographing, Henry Holt Booth

4:15-5:30 pm - Author Presentation, COUNTING ON GRACE

Sunday, November 18^th:

A.M., Autographing, Random House Booth

http://www.ncte.org/profdev/conv/annual)

And further South:

May 4-8, 2008: IRA (International Reading Association) Conference, Atlanta, Georgia.

http://www.reading.org/association/meetings/annual.html

So many exciting things are happening with my books that I can barely keep up!

In a list of The Best Children’s Books of the Year by the Children’s Book Committee at the Bank Street College of Education, THE FIRST CHRISTMAS STOCKING, An Original Fable for All Ages (ISBN # 0-385-90855-5) http://www.elizabethwinthrop.com/christmas.html

Was selected for outstanding merit.

A poignant and original tale that explains how stockings came to be hung by the hearth at Christmas, this book will appeal to adults and children alike and most especially to the knitters on your Christmas list. The pictures by Bagram Ibatoulline, who most recently illustrated Kate DiCamillo's THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE, are luminous and haunting.

"Ibatoulline illustrates Winthrop's mid-length tale with snowy scenes in appropriate soft-focus, featuring a very small child huddled in a dim, sparsely furnished room knitting brightly decorated stockings as her mother—and later on, her loving father—hover in the background. A tale of kindness recompensed." -Kirkus Reviews

"Wrapped in a handsome package—a tall, slim format that provides plenty of space for the dreamy, full-page colored-pencil pictures. A lovely Christmas miracle."

-Booklist

SQUASHED IN THE MIDDLE (ISBN:080506497), pictures by Pat Cummings

Click here to go to the special teachers page for this book!

http://www.elizabethwinthrop.com/squashedteachers.html

* Nominee for the 2007-2008 Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award in the Kindergarten – Grade 3 category

* American Library Association NOTABLE BOOK

* BANK STREET BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

* ONE OF THE BEST NEW BOOKS for the CLASSROOM, BookLinks

"Beginning with the up-close, downcast face on the jacket, this direct picture book personalizes the frustration of a middle child wanting to be heard. Daisy's courage surprises her family into finally understanding how she feels. Cummings' recognizable robust style and intense palette give Daisy and her African-American family a modern, familiar look."

-Starred Review, BOOKLIST

THE BIGGEST PARADE, (ISBN 0-8050-7685-9, ages 4-8), A Second Fred and Harvey story, illustrated by Mark Ulriksen,

This man's best friend STILL knows what's best for his owner!

A companion to DOG SHOW by the same winning team revisits the long suffering basset hound, Fred, and his irrepressible owner, Harvey, on the day of the biggest parade the town has ever seen. As usual, Fred saves the day!

"Winthrop weaves a gentle tale about appreciating one's uniqueness and spices it with an air of dry wit. Ulriksen matches the mood with droll, kickily colored acrylic paintings of man and his best friend...Fred's wry expressions, relayed via sleepy eyes, low-hanging ears and expressive mouth could well take Best in Show."

-Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

THE RED HOT RATTOONS in paperback. ISBN:0-8050-7986-6

In a column called CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS, Rob Reid in Booklinks selects THE RED HOT RATTOONS as a Great Read Aloud. Not to be missed for its “flowing text, engaging storytelling and interesting topics that appeal to a wide range of students."

The FULL CAST AUDIO unabridged version (ISBN #1-932076-47-6) of THE RED-HOT RATTOONS in cassette tape or CD version is available. The author narrates the story while live actors play each of the 79 characters. Ask for it at your local bookstore or you can order it direct at www.fullcastaudio.com or by calling 1- 800-871-6152.

"The young cast of rattoons proves a fine-tuned troupe, conveying childlike naivete and lots of comic moments...solidly entertaining adaptation of Winthrop's funny and adventure-filled tale."

-PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"The rats of NIMH have nothing on Benny, Fletcher, Ella, Woody and Monk, five young jazz and tap dancing rats who set out for the fabled Big City in hopes of seeing their names in lights. Rat Hollow, which mirrors the thinly disguised New York aboveground, provides a side-splitting backdrop to this engaging tale of life on (and beneath) the boards." -SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

SHORT STORIES

Here’s a link to my first online web publication, a short short story called WHAT THE DOG DRAGGED IN.

http://www.kcoldiron.com/10x10x10/issue1/dogdragged.html

NEWS AND EVENTS Contact Elizabeth Winthrop at
home the author bookshelf reviews and honors teachers page school visit guide advice for young writers guestbook news & events	My classic picture book, MAGGIE AND THE MONSTER with illustrations by the beloved Tomie dePaola now available from G. P. Putnam COUNTING ON GRACE (ISBN: 0553487833) IS OUT IN PAPERBACK! COUNTING ON GRACE has won the Jane Addams Peace Prize Honor Book and the 2007 Massachusetts Honor Book in addition to the following: NCTE Distinguished Book for A Global Society ALA Notable Book Notable Trade Book in Social Studies IRA-CBC Children's Choice Selection Dorothy Canfield Fisher Nominee VERMONT READS Selection COUNTING ON GRACE Audio Edition Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award Listening Library has released the unabridged reading of COUNTING ON GRACE by Lili Gamache in CD (ISBN: 0739339028). This edition includes an up to date afterword by the author that tells the whole story of the search for Addie. The reading, originally produced and read in its entirety on Vermont Public Radio, has received a coveted Earphones Award from AUDIOFILE Magazine. “Lili Gamache creates a remarkably resourceful and sympathetic character in Grace Forcier, a 12-year-old girl who leaves school to work at the mill in a Vermont town in 1910. Grace is a wide-eyed girl who wants so much to help her family earn more money, to learn to read with her teacher on Sundays, and ultimately to become a teacher; and that enthusiasm and frustration are faithfully translated. Another highlight is Gamache's interpretation of Grace's mother as a proud French-Canadian mill worker and a force to be reckoned with.” --AUDIO FILE Magazine, the only magazine devoted to audiobooks Click here to listen to a selection. COUNTING ON GRACE, now available in paperback, is the 2007 VERMONT READS Selection and we’ve updated my website with useful information especially for teachers. Please visit my Vermont Reads page: http://www.elizabethwinthrop.com/grace-vtreads.html. You'll find a (hand drawn by yours truly) downloadable map of the site in North Pownal, Vermont and a comprehensive Curriculum Links Guide for teaching COUNTING ON GRACE to all ages and across all disciplines. You can click here for a list of the communities all over the state of Vermont that are participating in this state reading project. http://www.vermonthumanities.org/index_files/vtreadstowns.htm 2007 Appearances (Keep checking back here or you can email Elizabeth@elizabethwinthrop.com for further details.) Thursday, September 27th:: 7:30 pm, The Kellogg Hubbard Library, Montpelier, A presentation free and open to the Community, ages 8 up. For more information, please contact info@kellogghubbard.org Monday, October 1st: :7:00 pm. Robinson Elementary School, Starksboro. A presentation free and open to the Starksboro, Lincoln, Monkton, New Haven, and Bristol communities, ages 8 up. For more information, please contact Harriet Szanto, piszant@pshift.com. Saturday, September 15: 10:30 am, Williams Inn, Williamstown, Massachusetts, “Researching COUNTING ON GRACE” as part of a full day of genealogy lectures by esteemed experts entitled, “The Berkshires, Life in the Past Lane IV,” presented by The Friends of the National Archives in Pittsfield. For complete information and registration form, visit www.narafriends-pittsfield.org or call 413-236-3600 to have a conference packet mailed to you. Fall Appearances in Vermont in connection with Vermont Reads COUNTING ON GRACE Tuesday, September 11^th: 7:30 pm, A presentation free and open to the Community, ages 9 to 90, in the Horse and Carriage Barn at Fisk Farm, Isle La Motte. http://www.fiskfarm.com/ For information, please call 802/928-3364 Thursday, September 27^th: A.M. South Burlington High School Auditorium, 4^th-5^th Grades and the Community, South Burlington, Vermont, Check the Orchard School web site in late August for more information - http://orchard.sbschools.net/ P.M. Orchard School 2^nd-5th Grades, a talk on the Creative Process, by invitation only, Friday, September, 28^th: 10:30 am -12:00 pm, FROM PHOTO TO FICTION, A Workshop for the Community History Project of the Vermont Historical Society, by invitation only. 3 to 4 p.m. Talk and Book Signing at NRG, Hinesburg, Vt., open to the Hinesburg Community, for further information, please contact, Anna Grady, ajg@nrgsystems.com (NRG Systems, a global leader in Wind Measurement Technology is an underwriter of the Vermont Reads Program.) Saturday, September 29: VERMONT READS Counting on Grace Day, Winooski Middle High School, Winooski, Vermont Be sure to check the official Vermont Reads page for time, place and event details: (www.vermonthumanities.org/index_files/vtreads.htm) Monday, October 1^st: Monday, October 1st: Appearance in Lincoln, Vermont, A presentation for the Community, free and open to all ages, details to follow Tuesday, October 2^nd: A.M. Mettawee Community School, 4^th-6^th Grade, by invitation only. P.M. An evening presentation for the Community, open to the public. For further information, please contact Kelly Ahlfeld, Librarian, Mettawee Community School, (802) 645-9009, ext. 215, kahlfeld@mettawee.k12.vt.us Back to Massachusetts: Thursday, October 4^th: North Adams Public Library, 7 pm, a reading from my memoir-in-progress sponsored by INKBERRY, www.inkberry.org, open to all. Down to New York: Friday, October 19^th: the Jane Addams Award Ceremony, 777 United Nations Plaza (2nd Floor), 44th St. and 1st Ave. http://home.igc.org/~japa/ NCTE CONFERENCE, NEW YORK CITY Saturday, November 17^th: 9:30-10:30 am – Autographing, Henry Holt Booth 4:15-5:30 pm - Author Presentation, COUNTING ON GRACE Sunday, November 18^th: A.M., Autographing, Random House Booth http://www.ncte.org/profdev/conv/annual) And further South: May 4-8, 2008: IRA (International Reading Association) Conference, Atlanta, Georgia. http://www.reading.org/association/meetings/annual.html So many exciting things are happening with my books that I can barely keep up! In a list of The Best Children’s Books of the Year by the Children’s Book Committee at the Bank Street College of Education, THE FIRST CHRISTMAS STOCKING, An Original Fable for All Ages (ISBN # 0-385-90855-5) http://www.elizabethwinthrop.com/christmas.html Was selected for outstanding merit. A poignant and original tale that explains how stockings came to be hung by the hearth at Christmas, this book will appeal to adults and children alike and most especially to the knitters on your Christmas list. The pictures by Bagram Ibatoulline, who most recently illustrated Kate DiCamillo's THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE, are luminous and haunting. "Ibatoulline illustrates Winthrop's mid-length tale with snowy scenes in appropriate soft-focus, featuring a very small child huddled in a dim, sparsely furnished room knitting brightly decorated stockings as her mother—and later on, her loving father—hover in the background. A tale of kindness recompensed." -Kirkus Reviews "Wrapped in a handsome package—a tall, slim format that provides plenty of space for the dreamy, full-page colored-pencil pictures. A lovely Christmas miracle." -Booklist SQUASHED IN THE MIDDLE (ISBN:080506497), pictures by Pat Cummings Click here to go to the special teachers page for this book! http://www.elizabethwinthrop.com/squashedteachers.html * Nominee for the 2007-2008 Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award in the Kindergarten – Grade 3 category * American Library Association NOTABLE BOOK * BANK STREET BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * ONE OF THE BEST NEW BOOKS for the CLASSROOM, BookLinks "Beginning with the up-close, downcast face on the jacket, this direct picture book personalizes the frustration of a middle child wanting to be heard. Daisy's courage surprises her family into finally understanding how she feels. Cummings' recognizable robust style and intense palette give Daisy and her African-American family a modern, familiar look." -Starred Review, BOOKLIST THE BIGGEST PARADE, (ISBN 0-8050-7685-9, ages 4-8), A Second Fred and Harvey story, illustrated by Mark Ulriksen, This man's best friend STILL knows what's best for his owner! A companion to DOG SHOW by the same winning team revisits the long suffering basset hound, Fred, and his irrepressible owner, Harvey, on the day of the biggest parade the town has ever seen. As usual, Fred saves the day! "Winthrop weaves a gentle tale about appreciating one's uniqueness and spices it with an air of dry wit. Ulriksen matches the mood with droll, kickily colored acrylic paintings of man and his best friend...Fred's wry expressions, relayed via sleepy eyes, low-hanging ears and expressive mouth could well take Best in Show." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review THE RED HOT RATTOONS in paperback. ISBN:0-8050-7986-6 In a column called CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS, Rob Reid in Booklinks selects THE RED HOT RATTOONS as a Great Read Aloud. Not to be missed for its “flowing text, engaging storytelling and interesting topics that appeal to a wide range of students." The FULL CAST AUDIO unabridged version (ISBN #1-932076-47-6) of THE RED-HOT RATTOONS in cassette tape or CD version is available. The author narrates the story while live actors play each of the 79 characters. Ask for it at your local bookstore or you can order it direct at www.fullcastaudio.com or by calling 1- 800-871-6152. "The young cast of rattoons proves a fine-tuned troupe, conveying childlike naivete and lots of comic moments...solidly entertaining adaptation of Winthrop's funny and adventure-filled tale." -PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "The rats of NIMH have nothing on Benny, Fletcher, Ella, Woody and Monk, five young jazz and tap dancing rats who set out for the fabled Big City in hopes of seeing their names in lights. Rat Hollow, which mirrors the thinly disguised New York aboveground, provides a side-splitting backdrop to this engaging tale of life on (and beneath) the boards." -SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL SHORT STORIES Here’s a link to my first online web publication, a short short story called WHAT THE DOG DRAGGED IN. http://www.kcoldiron.com/10x10x10/issue1/dogdragged.html