Milkweed blooming at Wachusett Meadow
© Loree Griffin Burns

I usually take the summer off, but not this year. I’ll be visiting a handful of public libraries to talk about my books, and also running a hands-on introduction to the Lost Ladybug Project at my local Audubon sanctuary. The library events are free and open to the public, and I’ve included a description of the Audubon event, including the associated fees. I hope some of you can join us!

THE HIVE DETECTIVES had a nice mention in the New York Times Sunday Book Review yesterday; you can check it out here.

Adorable honey bee by Kathy, GFL librarian

This Thursday night I’ll be launching THE HIVE DETECTIVES … again.

I know! Crazy! But here’s the thing: I only get one book launch every three years or so. I should totally make the most of the opportunity, right? Plus, I am re-launching* for a great cause: the Gale Free Library (GFL) in Holden, Massachusetts.

Soooo … if you are free this Thursday, consider joining photographer Ellen Harasimowicz and I for an evening of buzzy celebration. We’ll be sharing some stories from our days researching THE HIVE DETECTIVES, selling copies of the book, and signing them, too. All proceeds will be donated directly to the Gale Free Library. Here are the details:

We hope you can join us! And please spread the word!

* Our first launch raised $380 in honor of the Beaman Memorial Library in West Boylston, Massachusetts. If you're interested, you'll find details here and here.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a town with three libraries … and with the freedom to spend a lot of time in them. I remember all three vividly, and connect certain books with each; I discovered HONESTLY, KATIE JOHN (by Mary Calhoun) on the narrow shelves of the East Everett Branch library, THE PINBALLS (by Betsy Byars) downstairs in the children’s room of the Shute Memorial Library, and JANE EYRE (by Charlotte Bronte) while working as a page at the Parlin Memorial Library. The seeds for my life in books were sowed in these buildings, and nurtured by the librarians who welcomed me into them.

These days, my library loves include the Beaman Memorial Libraray and the Gale Free Library. I couldn’t do the work I do without constant access to their services. My life--the lives of everyone in my family, actually--would be irrevocably changed without them. To celebrate these two havens, and the communities they hold up, I’m launching THE HIVE DETECTIVES in their honor.

So, if you’re in the central Massachusetts area and would like to learn a little about bees, please join Ellen Harasimowicz and I as we launch THE HIVE DETECTIVES, our newest book for your readers, at the Beaman Memorial and Gale Free libraries. Books will be sold at both events, and all proceeds will benefit the two libraries. Here are the deets:

I’d love to see YOU there!

For more about celebrating local libraries, check out the American Library Association's National Library Week festivities.

The softcover edition of TRACKING TRASH is officially released today! You can purchase copies at bookstores everywhere ... or, if you act quickly, you can win a free copy here.

If you live in or around Hudson, New York, consider attending the second annual Hudson Children's Book Festival. Here are the details:

For more information, visit the official festival website, which includes a list of all the participating authors and illustrators. I'll be there!

I'll be speaking at the Harvard Public Library in Harvard Massachusetts tomorrow night; do stop in if you are in the area! Here are the details:

In her new book The Hive Detectives, Loree Griffin Burns provides middle school children and their families a window into the secret lives of bees and the cause of recent disease problems in the honeybee population. This is a rare opportunity to meet this West Boylston author before the book arrives in local book stores in May 2010. Photographs for the book and the lecture were taken by Harvard resident Ellen Harasimowicz, who will also be on hand to answer questions.

TTHE HIVE DETECTIVES was named a Junior Library Guild selection for 2010.


Hip! Hip! Hooray!

I'll be attending the American Library Associations Midwinter Meeting in Boston later this month. The highlight of the conference will surely be the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt banquet on Sunday, January 17. I'll be speaking with other HMH authors about our new spring 2010 books. If you know me and my book love issues, you'll understand how excited I am to be speaking alongside:

Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Jeanne Birdsall
Beth Fantaskey
Russell Freedman
Lois Lowry
Sally Mavor
Linda Urban

There are lots of other exciting events going on at the midwinter meeting, including the ALA Youth Media Award announcements, which take place at 7:45am on Monday, January 18. So many of the books I adored this year are up for awards; best of luck to all the nominated authors!

Hope to see YOU in Boston ...

NCTE Convention 2009

I’ll be at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual convention in Philadelphia later in the week. I’m looking forward to catching up with old friends, and to making some new ones. Here’s my schedule for the trip …

Friday, November 20
4:15pm-5pm
Convention Center, Room 107B, Street Level
Stories and Standards: Pairing Fiction and Nonfiction for Interdisciplinary Connections
Moderator: Teri Lesense
Author Panel: Kate Messner, Tanya Lee Stone, Jenny Moss and Loree Griffin Burns

Saturday, November 21
10am-11am
Convention Center, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Booth (#500)
I’ll be signing copies of TRACKING TRASH*

12:00pm-2:30pm
Books for Children Luncheon
Marriott Grand Ballroom, Salon A
I’m told I am hosting a table at this event. From what I can tell, this means that a dozen of the teachers who come to hear a keynote by the amazing Brian Selznick are going to be stuck with, er, me. But I plan to be very nice to them as we sit together and admire Mr. Selznick, and each will leave my table with a signed copy of TRACKING TRASH, compliments of Houghton Mifflin.

Hope to see you there!

*I’m not sure that F&Gs of THE HIVE DETECTIVES will be ready, but my amazingly talented photographer/partner-in-bookmaking, Ellen Harasimowicz, turned final color proofs of the book into a gorgeous preview, and I’ll be bringing that along. Do stop by and have a look if you are in the vicinity!

My newest book for young readers is on the horizon! THE HIVE DETECTIVES will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in May 2010. Here's a sneak peak at the cover:

Well, what do you think? Drop me a line and let me know!

I’ve been featured on Heather Zschock’s Doodlebuds blog this week, as part of her Author/Artist series. Please go check it out!

This message is for a student named Meredith M., who I met at a Sustainability Fair last fall. I hope she finds her way here, because her project is due very soon and I am at a a loss as to how else I can reach her ...

Dear Meredith,

I have gotten your emails, and I have responded to each and every one. Clearly my replies are not reaching you. If you are reading this, please check the SPAM folder of your email system to see if my errant emails are there. In them you will find the information you asked about.

Best wishes,
Loree Griffin Burns

I just returned from a six-day trip to Michoacán, Mexico, where I visited three monarch butterfly sanctuaries. The trip was in support of a book I am writing on citizen science. You can see photos and read from my travel journal here.

Enjoy!

On Saturday I attended the first New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Salon. It was a fabulous event and I have to start my recap by encouraging published New England SCBWI members to consider attending future Salons. (Find more information here.)

The forty writers and illustrators in attendance were treated to an overview of “Working with Independent Booksellers” by Carol Stoltz of Porter Square Books, Alison Morris of Wellesley Booksmith and Carol Chittendon of Eight Cousins Bookstore.

These women are passionate about books and experienced in the art of connecting books to readers in their community. They freely shared their wisdom with us and I left inspired to find more ways to support independent booksellers … even though I live in an area without one.

So, how can we writers and readers support independent booksellers and other retailers in our communities? It's actually pretty easy, thanks to IndieBound. Check out this IndieBound Declaration:

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for individuals to denounce the corporate bands which threaten to homogenize our cities and our souls, we must celebrate the powers that make us unique and declare the causes which compel us to remain independent.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all stores are not created equal, that some are endowed by their owners, their staff, and their communities with certain incomparable heights, that among these are Personality, Purpose and Passion. The history of the present indies is a history of experiences and excitement, which we will continue to establish as we set our sights on a more unconstrained state. To prove this, let’s bring each other along and submit our own experiences to an unchained world.

We, therefore, the Kindred Spirits of IndieBound, in the name of our convictions, do publish and declare that these united minds are, and darn well ought to be, Free Thinkers and Independent Souls. That we are linked by the passions that differentiate us. That we seek out soul mates to share our excitement. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the strength of our identities, we respectively and mutually pledge to lead the way as we all declare that we are IndieBound!

As writers, we can support this movement by becoming IndieBound Affiliates (much like you can with other online bookstores) and encouraging our readers to buy our books through local, independent bookstores. You can add an IndieBound button to your website and give readers the option to support their own local booksellers at the same time that they support you. I plan to do that as soon as humanly possible. (Read: As soon as my web guy can do it!)

In the meantime, if you need a copy of TRACKING TRASH, just click the link below. You'll be taken to an IndieBound webpage; simply punch in your zipcode and you are hooked up with a bookstore near you that carries my book. Go ahead, test it out!

BUY TRACKING TRASH NOW!

I am thrilled to be planning a visit with students from schools in the Castine, Maine area this spring. Castine is quite a drive from my home in central Massachusetts, so I am reaching out to other Maine schools in that area or on my travel route in hopes of coordinating additional visits.

The visits would happen the week of Monday, April 6 through Thursday, April 9, 2009. Interested teachers and librarians can find information on me, my books, my school visit presentations, my fees, and how to reach me on the School Visits page of this website.

My neighbor called me on Monday and said to my answering machine: “Hi Loree. I’m thumbing through the new issue of Ranger Rick and found an article called ‘Trash Tracker’ by a Loree Griffin Burns. Is that you?”

Tee hee. Can you imagine another Loree Griffin Burns out there writing about trash for young people?!

Anyway, if you have the October issue of Ranger Rick handy, check out the feature article on page 31. It’s me!

I will be participating in two wonderful events on September 20, 2008:

At 10am, I'll be joining volunteers at Salisbury Beach State Reservation to help kickoff the COASTSWEEP season. This important beach cleanup event is part of The Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup, a worldwide effort to record and discard trash and debris from beaches everywhere. EVERYWHERE! Check out the COASTSWEEP website to find a cleanup near you. If you live outside of Massachusetts, you can find a cleanup through The Ocean Conservancy's ICC website.

Also happening on September 20 is a massive celebration of the arts in West Boylston, Massachusetts. The West Boylston Arts Foundation is sponsoring the Arts Festival, and I am thrilled to be part of the festivities. I'll be speaking at 3pm, but there is plenty to see and do all day ... come early and stay late!

I am thrilled to announce that TRACKING TRASH has been included on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award List. Each year a DCF selection committee chooses thirty books for the List, which then serves as a reading guide for Vermont fourth-through-eighth grade students. At the end of the year, students vote for their favorite. You can see the complete 2008-2009 list here.

Thank you DCF Selection Committee ... and Happy Reading Vermonters!

The Boston Authors Club has honored TRACKING TRASH with its Highly Recommended Book designation. You can learn more about the awards here. I'll be attending the annual awards luncheon at the Boston Public Library on May 15.

Thank you Boston Authors Club!

More good news to share!

The International Reading Association has given TRACKING TRASH a 2008 IRA Children's and Young Adult Book Award. I'll attend the IRA convention in Atlanta this May to accept the award.

And ...

The John Burroughs Association has given TRACKING TRASH a Young Readers Award. I'll be at the American Museum of Natural History on April 7 to accept the award. Read more here.

I am thrilled and overwhelmed and very, very grateful to both the IRA and the John Burroughs Association.

More good news for TRACKING TRASH: the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has included it on its list of Recommended Nonfiction. Thank you NCTE!

You can read the complete list of NCTE Recommended books, including the Orbis Pictus Winner and Honor Books here.

TRACKING TRASH was named a 2008 Notable Book for Children by the American Library Association. You can see the complete list here.

Many thanks to the American Library Association and the Association for Library Services to Children for this honor!

The Horn Book website now has video, audio, and print access to the ceremony celebrating the 2007 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children's Literature.

I was thrilled to be part of the ceremony this year; you can see (or hear, or read) my acceptance speech at the links above.

TRACKING TRASH was named a Best Book for Young Readers by Natural History magazine.

Yahoo!

TRACKING TRASH has been named a finalist for the 2008 SB&F Prize. Sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Subaru, this award honors excellence in science books. You can check out the full list of finalists here.

I was interviewed recently for the Winter Blog Blast Tour. It was a thrill to talk to Colleen Mondor of Chasing Ray fame ... you can read our interview here.

TRACKING TRASH was reviewed in the NEW YORK TIMES today! You can read the full article here.

Nice!

TRACKING TRASH was mentioned in the Sunday L.A. Times yesterday. You can read the entire article, which reviews several children's books with environmental themes, here.

Enjoy!

I have been invited to participate in the Fish Tales, Tugs & Sails festival in New London, Connecticut on August 11.

The outdoor, waterfront festival runs from 11am to 6pm and looks to be a blast. I will be arriving at the festival by tugboat (!) and presenting in the Author Tent at 2:30pm.

Click the link above to read more about the day's activities, including the list of fabulous children's book authors who will be speaking and signing books. I hope to see you there!

TRACKING TRASH has been recognized by the 2007 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children's Literature!

The book was designated an Honor Book in the Nonfiction category ... you can read about the award and all the winners here.

You can catch me on Ramona Interviews, a program on Worcester's own cable access station, TV13, during the month of June. Host Ramona Marangos and I discussed TRACKING TRASH, the problem of marine debris, and ways for chidlren and families to become citizen scientists.

The program will air on these dates:

Monday, June 4, 2007 at 10:30pm
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 at 10:00am
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 at 4:30pm
Thursday, June 7, 2007 at 6:00pm

Tune in if you can!

There have been several updates to my website recently ...

• find out what the major review journals are saying about TRACKING TRASH by visiting the Books page
• see where I am speaking or visiting on the Schedule page
• read the stories behind the creation of TRACKING TRASH on my blog
• and if you'd like to hear me on National Public Radio, click here

Not sure how to celebrate Earth Day? Consider a day of family fun and Earth Day activities at the Ecotarium. I will be there!

I'll post more details as they are announced ...

Hear ye! Hear ye!

The publication of my first book, TRACKING TRASH: FLOTSAM, JETSAM AND THE SCIENCE OF OCEAN MOTION will be celebrated on April 18, 2007 at the Barnes & Noble store in Worcester. Mark your calendars!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007
7pm
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
541 Lincoln Street
Worcester, MA

Early reviews of TRACKING TRASH are rolling in. Here's what the big review journals are saying:

"The well-written narration will keep readers engaged, and it's excellent for reports. The science is clearly explained, and the vivid and lively photographs and well-labeled charts and diagrams help to create interest and build understanding."

School Library Journal, Starred Review

". . . engaging description of research involving familiar objects . . . "

Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

"Scientific information builds from chapter to chapter, creating a natural detective story."

The Horn Book

This just in ...

The library journal VOYA has given TRACKING TRASH top marks in both quality and popularity. On their quality scale, the book was rated 5, which means "hard to imagine it being better written"; on the popularity scale the book was also rated 5, which translates to "every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday".

Michele Winship's complete review will run in the February 2007 issue of VOYA.

Stay tuned for more early reviews of TRACKING TRASH!

TRACKING TRASH has been honored as a Junior Library Guild selection for 2007.

Hooray!

I am officially planning my spring book tour! I will be bringing TRACKING TRASH to the Seattle area March 2 through March 10, 2007 (or thereabouts). Tour specifics will be posted as they are confirmed.

Meanwhile, Seattle-area parents and teachers are welcome to browse my new School Visits page ... I'd love to talk to children at YOUR school about researching, writing and publishing children's books!

Kelly A. Bishop wrote a wonderful article about me and my first book for VITAE, the alumni magazine of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. You can read the full article here. (Note: you will need to scroll down to page 7.)

And now you can pre-order copies of TRACKING TRASH from amazon.com. Buy them now for the young scientists-to-be in your life!

I am official! You can now find an entry for TRACKING TRASH: FLOTSAM, JETSAM AND THE SCIENCE OF OCEAN MOTION on the Houghton Mifflin Company web page. To see for yourself, click here.

Back in March I spoke at the monthly meeting of the Society of Professional Communicators in Worcester, MA. SPC member Elizabeth Regan later interviewed me for their newsletter ... you can read her article here.

You can now access my blog from this website ... simply click the "Blog" link on the menu to your right. Voila!

I've added a list of writing books to my Suggested Reading page ... check it out!

If you are in Central Massachusetts this spring you can find me at these events:

On Tuesday, March 14 I will talk to the Society of Professional Communicators about my work writing for children. You can find more details at their website.

On Friday, April 7 I will be presenting at the Mayo School Science Exploration Night.

I am thrilled to announce that I was awarded a Work-In-Progress grant from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). SCBWI offers Work-In-Progress grants annually in four categories and my proposal, WEE BEASTIES, won in the non-fiction category. WEE BEASTIES is a book for middle grade readers, and I will be telling you more about it soon. In the meantime, you can read more about the Work-In-Progress grant awards at the SCBWI website.

I've updated my Research Trips pages to include a summary of each trip and a collection of photographs. I hope you'll check them out!

Highlights for Children will be publishing an article I wrote about Tyler and Dean Orbison, a father and son beachcombing team in Alaska. "Surprises from the Sea" has not been given a firm publication date yet, but I will keep you posted!"