Happy Book Birthday

by

Amie Darnell Specht

and

Shannon Hitchcock

(Rocky Pond Books/Penguin)

In the tradition of Out of My Mind and Rules—and inspired by the co-author’s own life—this is a heartfelt, candid, and illuminating story of a girl learning to live fully with a rare genetic disorder.

Drawing upon much of Amie Specht’s own experiences with FOP—which causes bone to form in places in the body where it shouldn’t—she and Shannon Hitchcock have created a poignant, eye-opening, and uplifting story of finding courage and joy in the face of adversity.

“In this empathetic novel of loss, resilience, and joy, Hitchcock (ONE TRUE WAY) and debut author Specht deftly balance Kate’s diagnosis with middle school drama, creating a deeply relatable telling in which community support and an openness to change lead to Kate’s hopeful visions of a brighter future. Kate’s dealings with FOP are candidly informed by Specht, who has FOP…”

“A Louisiana seventh grader copes with a rare, progressive disease … Authors’ notes explain that Kate’s story is drawn from Specht’s life, and it shows …  Kate’s fear, loss, and anger are vividly portrayed, and others’ awkward or ableist reactions ring painfully true … Educational and encouraging.“

Also available:

Listening Library Audiobook
Narrated by Cassandra Morris

“What a lovely, moving, informative, and inspiring story. Kate and everyone in her orbit were a pleasure to spend time with. Kate’s story not only resonates with kids with health issues, but universally too as she navigates family, friends, and her hopes and dreams. This was written with such care, curiosity, empathy, and light. Young listeners of all swaths and their caregivers are going to love it.”
—Nithya Rajendran|, Producer, Penguin Random House Audio

Listen to a sample here.

Book Giveaway:
Writing and Illustrating
 
Amie:  “FOP is a genetic disease and responds to any sort of trauma to the body. The biggest indicator of FOP is our toes, (big toes are short and curved inward), which is noticeable at birth. If more doctors and nurses knew about this, we could diagnose kids at a younger age and possibly prevent them from some of the trauma.”

Shannon: “My hope in collaborating with Amie is to draw attention to this crippling disease, inspire fundraising for research, and promote empathy for people living with disabilities.”
For more information about FOP visit https://www.ifopa.org.
 

Launched at:

Disability representation: With so many details pulled directly from Amie Specht’s own life and depth of knowledge, DANCING IN THE STORM is an authentic portrait of the experience of living with a progressive disease. It shines a light on a very rare disorder, and on the more general experience of living with a physical disability. 

Amie Darnell Specht worked in tech support for a large computer company for many years. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, step-children, and lots of pets. She has Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP), and this, her first novel, is heavily influenced by her story. Her motto is “I’m not handicapped. I’m handicapable.”

Shannon Hitchcock @ The Library
Learning Experience ‘24

Shannon Hitchcock was born and still lives in North Carolina and grew up in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is the author of four previous acclaimed novels for children, including FLYING OVER WATER and RUBY LEE AND ME.

In addition, Shannon is the author of four picture book biographies—the Storyteller series (Reycraft)—with the latest, OF WORDS AND WATER: THE STORY OF WILMA DYKEMAN, WRITER, HISTORIAN, ENVIRONMENTALIST, 
coming this April.

“Elevates a conservationist who deserves to be far better known.”

Happy Book Birthday

by Sarah Lynn (Scheerger)  

Illustrated by Daniel Griffo
(Two Lions)

“A preschool natural for energetic little ones with cars at the ready, [1-2-3 VA-VA-VROOM] visually races through counting and
action words.”
 

“Counting takes a back seat, so to speak, to the thrills of car racing.”

When Sarah Lynn Scheerger’s three sons were young, they taught her how to race toy cars. Together they used their imaginations to create roads everywhere (couch, kitchen floor, dirt, sand, rug, and the bathtub, just for starters.) The idea for 1-2-3 VA-VA-VROOM! came to Sarah when she was teaching her oldest son to write numbers. They began imagining the pencil as a car drawing its own track. Those vroom-vroom sounds make writing numbers so much more fun, doesn’t it?

More PB’s by Sarah:

Illustrated by Leah Giles
(Albert Whitman)

in Children’s Independence
Day Books

A celebration of military families:
While military parents are away serving and protecting, their children are at home, taking care of themselves and each other.

Just in time for April 15,
Purple Up! Day

A day when Americans around the world recognize and celebrate the children who make sacrifices along with their military parents. Classmates mix the colors of the different military branches to create banners that say,
“Thank you for your service!”