I don’t retell fairy tales. They retell me. Over and over again they tell me who I am, how I feel, what I believe. This process of self-discovery happens every time I write a poem, but it seems to happen most acutely when I throw on Red Riding Hood’s cloak or pull up a chair […]
About Christine M. Heppermann
Christine Heppermann is the author of Ask Me How I Got Here, Poisoned Apples, and the Backyard Witch series, co-authored with Ron Koertge (all Greenwillow) and of Backyard Chickens (Houghton).
Review of Crankee Doodle
July 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Crankee Doodle by Tom Angleberger; illus. by Cece Bell Primary Clarion 32 pp. 6/13 978-0-547-81854-2 $16.99 g As concepts for picture books go, it’s hard to think of one cleverer than this absurdist deconstruction of the familiar song. Depicted in spindly lined cartoons, Yankee Doodle and his pony debate their plans for the afternoon. When […]
David Levithan on Every Day
December 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment
From the November/December 2012 issue of The Horn Book Magazine: Reviewer Christine Hepperman asks author and editor David Levithan about writing gender (and the lack thereof) in his YA novel Every Day. Read the full review of Every Day here. Christine Hepperman: Were there specific challenges in writing a character who is both genders and […]
Review of Every Day
December 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Every Day by David Levithan Middle School, High School Knopf 325 pp. 8/12 978-0-307-93188-7 $16.99 Library ed. 978-0-375-97111-2 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-0-307-97563-8 $10.99 “A,” the narrator of Levithan’s brilliantly conceived novel, wakes up in a different sixteen-year-old’s body every morning and has to adjust to different physical characteristics, a different family, a different school, different […]
Whitney and Me: Confessions of a Work-for-Hire Diva
September 20, 2012 by 1 Comment
I would call it a guilty pleasure if I felt guilty. But my subscription to People magazine actually liberates me. Instead of furtively flipping pages in the checkout line, hoping to find the photos of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s baby before it’s time to unload the hummus, I have Blue Ivy Carter (seven pounds) delivered, so […]
Review of Jangles: A Big Fish Story
September 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Jangles: A Big Fish Story by David Shannon; illus. by the author Primary Blue Sky/Scholastic 32 pp. 10/12 978-0-545-14312-7 $17.99 g Shannon takes the one-that-got-away story and spins it out into a big-fish tall tale as recounted by a father to his son. Jangles, the legendary trout of Big Lake, had “broken so many fishing […]
Mini Grey on Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey
July 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment
In the May/June 2012 issue of The Horn Book Magazine, reviewer Christine Hepperman asks Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey author/illustrator Mini Grey about a new favorite character. Read the full review of Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey here. Christine M. Hepperman: Will Beach-Time Brenda reappear in future books, maybe headline a series of […]
Review of Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey
July 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey by Mini Grey; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Knopf 32 pp. 5/12 978-0-375-86952-5 $16.99 Library ed. 978-0-375-96952-2 $19.99 The adventuresome duo from Traction Man Is Here! (rev. 3/05) and Traction Man Meets Turbodog (rev. 9/08) hits the beach for a manly day of scuba diving, picnic security duty, […]
Five Questions for Melissa Sweet
November 3, 2011 by 6 Comments
The first helium-filled creatures to bob through Manhattan on Thanksgiving morning were brought to being by master puppeteer Tony Sarg in the 1920s. Now master illustrator Melissa Sweet, a prolific artist and winner of a Caldecott Honor for A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant, has created an effervescent […]
Review of Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade
October 26, 2011 by 1 Comment
At Macy’s department store, marionette maker Tony Sarg started inside and worked his way out. He designed mechanical storybook figures for Macy’s window displays before inventing the giant balloon characters that would become the signature feature of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Sweet’s whimsical mixed-media collages, embellished with little dolls she made herself out of odds and ends, reinforce the theme that, for Sarg, work was play. He loved his job just as much as the cheering crowds loved his balloons (one of Sweet’s watercolor illustrations shows open-mouthed children fairly dancing with delight).
