~CONGRATULATIONS TO LINDA SMITH & MARLA FRAZEE!~

Click on this link to read a recent review with illustrator Marla Frazee

*MRS. BIDDLEBOX wins the 2002 Border's New Voices Award!*

*MRS. BIDDLEBOX wins the 2002 SCBWI Golden Kite Award for illustration!*

    _{Linda Smith's Page}      

This page is dedicated to the books of my good friend, children's author, Linda Smith. Linda died of breast cancer in June, 2000. She did not get to see any of her contracted books in print. Linda left behind a husband, Russ Hendershott, and eight beautiful children. It is Angella, Danny, Kali, Annie, Christopher, Benjamin, Charlie, and Alex that I think of while I create this page.

Read more about Linda, and what she meant to me, in the 2002 edition of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market.

MRS. CRUMP'S CAT                                           

By Linda Smith

Illustrated by David Roberts

HarperCollins--ISBN: 0060283025                   

*NEW! Teacher's Guide for When Moon Fell Down CLICK HERE!  prepared by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

WHEN MOON FELL DOWN

By Linda Smith

Illustrated by Kathryn Brown

HarperCollins Juvenile Books; ISBN: 0060283017

From Publishers Weekly
In this episodic fantasy, the moon topples from his perch and lands in a farmer's lawn: "The rye smelled sweet,/ The night winds whirled,/ Circling Moon in a misty wreath,/ And he beamed in awe/ At this wondrous world / The stars above and earth/ beneath." ...Reminiscent of both e.e.cummings and "Hey Diddle Diddle," Smith's rhythm and phrasing create a fanciful entertainment for bedtime fun. Ages 4-8/ ©2001Cahners Business Information Inc.

From Booklist

...Smith's text is soft and lilting, with a bit of humor tucked in here and there. © American Library Association.

ALA BOOKLIST's "Books for Youth Editors' Choice 2001"!

 

*HarperCollins is donating a portion of the proceeds of this book to breast cancer research.

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*NEW Teacher's Guide for Mrs. Biddlebox CLICK HERE!  prepared by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

_{MRS. BIDDLEBOX}                              

_{By Linda Smith}                                           

_{Illustrated by Marla Frazee}

_{Harcourt  ISBN:} 0152063498

When the fog gave her the whiffles / She held her broomstick steady, / Stabbed the dreary lot of it /And swirled it like spaghetti!

From Horn Book

Smith's verse skips along with good-humored determination, while Frazee's energetic illustrations reinforce a meaning that goes beyond the conventional "make lemonade." © 2002 The Horn Book Magazine

From School Library Journal

Frazee's dramatic illustrations slather the pages in black and gray with subtle color highlights and eerie swirls of white...Mrs. B. is a determined little witch with a great shock of frizzled ponytail.  She gleefully struts around the baking bad day and devours it greedily...its overarching theme is one of empowerment by facing one's troubles squarely. © 2002 Mary Ann Carcich, Mattituck-Laurel Public Library, Mattituck, NY

From Publishers Weekly  

The jaunty rhythm of Smith's words captures the energy of her protagonist s out-of-the-box thinking and sheer determination. Young readers may well come away with a new zeal for their own endeavors.©2002 Cahners Business Information Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews  

Smith's posthumous text displays the animated rhythm and rhyme of her debut, When The Moon Fell Down; Frazee (Everywhere Babies, 2001, etc.) gets not only Mrs. Biddlebox's evil mood just right, but her ultimate "witchety delight" too as, with a full belly, she throws open her window (a door in the verse, but let's not quibble) to a moonlit night aswirl, this time, with flower-like stars.
 

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 Lisa and illustrator, Marla Frazee, winner of the SCBWI 2002 Golden Kite Award for Mrs. Biddlebox!

There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Boot

Illustrated By Jane Manning

HarperCollins Juvenile Books;

Excerpt:

There was an old woman who didn't like children,

She lived in a musty old, crusty old boot.

She had an old cat who didn't like kittens,

who didn't like anything little or cute.

See what happens when the old woman gets new neighbors -- a remarkable mother and her many, many children who 'roll in in a rumble-down tumble-down shoe...'. When the old woman decides to take matters into her own hands, hilarity ensues. I'm not sure when the release date is on this book. It was the last book Linda wrote, and I also feel it is her funniest. Be sure to keep an eye out for it, and when I get the release date, I'll update this page.

                                                 Forthcoming Books by Linda Smith

The Inside Tree

Illustrated by Kathryn Brown

January 2002, Harpercollins Juvenile Books; ISBN: 006028241X

When Mr. Potter sees his outside dog tied to the tree, he feels that something isn't quite right, and brings the dog inside. Problem is, now the tree looks lonely, and there is only one solution for that! See how Mr. Potter compounds his problems when he decides that an inside dog needs and inside tree. A hilarious look at what happens when man can't leave well-enough alone.

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