Rickshaw Girl and Jane Addams Award

Had to come out to the Fire Escape and savour the moment. (For some reason, I prefer the British spelling I learned as a child for "or" words like savour, favour, saviour, and flavour — it just seems to work better with those words. Don't ask for left brain analysis of this foible.)

Judy O'Malley of Charlesbridge just called and told me that they want to acquire Rickshaw Girl for their Spring 2007 list. Judy worked hard with me on the manuscript, and we transformed it from a picture book to a short novel for younger readers. I am so excited to share the story of Naima, a girl with big dreams growing up in a Bangladeshi village — a village much like the one I'd be living in were it not for Britain dividing up India in the 1940s.

Lest this blog end up being about me, me, me, I invite you to read more about this year's best books about peace and justice as selected by the Jane Addams Peace Association.