Splashing about new books...The Ballad of Jessie Pearl

Happy March! Spring is on the way...at least, we all hope so.
I've been splashing about my new picture book THESE SEAS COUNT! I'll be at a school Read Across America party tonight and at the Picture Book Palooza at WORDS Bookstore in Maplewood, NJ tomorrow.

A lot of new books to splash about in March and I'm starting today with The Ballad of Jessie Pearl by Shannon Hitchcock.

It’s 1922 and Jessie has big plans for her future, but that’s before tuberculosis strikes. Though she has no talent for cooking, cleaning, or nursing, she puts her dreams on hold to help her family. She falls in love for the first time ever, and suddenly what she wants is not so simple anymore.

Here's the splash on Shannon and her new book...

Share a favorite beach memory. 
My big extended family vacationed at Carolina Beach every year when I was growing up. I played in the water all day with my cousins, ate lots of fried seafood, and hit the amusement park every night. It was magical!

If you were an ocean creature what would you be and why? 
A dolphin because they’re social creatures, and have been known to protect human beings from sharks. Sharks creep me out!

Are seas or oceans a part of your new book in any way? 
Yes, my character has never seen the ocean, but she longs to. In one scene, she traces a map of North Carolina with her finger, and wonders about the ocean.

Would Jessie be adventurous enough to do a deep sea dive? Yes, Jessie is an adventurer, but I’m not sure deep sea dives were an option in 1922. I’ll have to look that up!

What causes are important to you besides writing for children and young adults? 
Literacy. I’ve volunteered as a reading tutor for underprivileged children for the past five years.

If you could create a spectacular sand sculpture on a beach what would you build? 
I’m going to cheat on this one. I wouldn’t build anything spectacular. Instead I’d hit the rewind button and spend the day digging a moat and making a regular old castle with my son. He’s nineteen now, and I didn’t appreciate those simple times nearly enough.

Share your favorite ocean character from books, film, or T.V. – Madison, Darryl Hannah’s character from the movie, “Splash.” The young man who took me to see that movie later became my husband. I have fond memories of that night.