The Children's Book Guild of Washington D.C.

Margaret Meacham Box 402 10430 Falls Road Brooklandville, MD 21022 mmeac@aol.com Hi Readers, Thanks for stopping by my web page. Whenever I go to schools to talk to kids about writing, they always have a lot of questions for me. I'm going to try to answer some of those questions here on my web page in case I don't get a chance to come to your school. If you just want to get some information about my books, you can skip all this stuff and scroll down to where it says BOOKS BY MARGARET MEACHAM
My Vital Statistics: Date of Birth -------February 15, 1952 Place Of Birth ------Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Married--------------June 16, 1973 to John Meacham Children------------- Peter, March, 22, 1979; Jenny, March 28 1982; Katy, Nov.11, 1985. Pets------------------Two dogs: Panda and Sacham; one cat: Charlie Current Residence--Baltimore, Maryland Favorite Food-------Broiled lobster and Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream FAQs: Q. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? A. A long long time ago when I was in second grade (you do the math). That year I had a very strict teacher who insisted on perfect handwriting and perfect spelling. Since I have messy handwriting and I'm not that great a speller, I spent most of the time thinking I was going to flunk second grade. The thing that got me through that year was that at the end of the day our teacher would read to us. She read Charlotte's Web, The Secret Garden, and lots of other terrific books. When I listened to her read, I felt as if I had been transported right out of that classroom on to the farm, or to the garden in England, and the characters in those books became as real to me as the kids sitting next to me. That's when I thought it would be great to be a writer, and to create whole worlds out of nothing more than little black marks on a piece of paper. Q. Did you flunk second grade? A. Almost, but I managed to make it and went on to high school and college where I was an English major. After college I became a librarian, and that's where I fell in love with children's books. Q. What do you do besides write? A. I read a lot, teach a little, usually just one course a semester, and I spend a lot of time in the car driving my kids around. I also like to ski, hike, cook, and travel when I get the chance. Q. How much money do you make? A. Not enough Q. What advice do you have for kids who want to be writers? A. Read read read. Write write write. Don't expect it to be easy, and don't let anyone discourage you.
My Books
A Mid-Semester Night's Dream Holiday House, 2004; Ages 10-14; ISBN 0-823-41815-4 Morgan Yates has fallen for Ben Hennigen, but he doesn't know she exists. Then a teenage fairy godmother-in-training named Gretta Fleetwing comes to stay in Morgan's dollhouse. Gretta promises she can help Morgan with magic, but the fairy's spells have disastrous and hilarious results. The course of true love definitely does not run smooth in this wacky contemporary version of a A Midsummer Night's Dream. Quiet!You're Invisible Holiday House, New York, 2001; Ages 7-11; ISBN 0-823-41651-8 Hoby Hobson has problems. The neighborhood bully, Hammerhead Jones, is waiting for the perfect chance to clobber him. Hoby's mother is pregnant and she's been acting strangely, and to top it off, he's just discovered an invisible boy named Zirc living in his backyard hammock. "Hoby is resourceful and realistic, and Zirc's futuristic slang is amusing." School Library Journal "A dictionary of Zirc's jaunty future -millenium vocabulary caps this entertaining story." Booklist Oyster Moon Illustrated by Marcy Dunn Ramsey; Tidewater Publishers; Ages 8-12; ISBN O-87033-459-X An exciting blend of mystery and history, Oyster Moon is the story of Anna Shipherd, a waterman's daughter who must save her twin brother Toby from a cruel oyster boat captain in the height of the oyster wars on Maryland's Eastern Shore in the late 1800s. "Gripping… the author adroitly develops the ambiance of the time period without overshadowing the plot." School Library Journal. Call Me Cathy Archway; Pocket; Ages 12up; ISBN 0-671-87272-9 Seventeen year old An-ying has lived in America for ten years and wants to be treated like any other American teenager, but her Chinese parents just don't understand. "Meacham's characters - especially An-ying are lifelike and sympathetic, and the scenario she depicts indeed seems a slice of real life." Publisher's Weekly. The Secret Of Heron Creek Illustrated by Lynne Lockhart; Tidewater Publishers; Ages 8-12; ISBN 0-87033-414-X William meets and befriends Chessie the Chesapeake Bay sea monster, but when the evil Mr. Harrigan kidnaps her, William must risk his life to save her. The Boy on the Beach Illustrated by Marcy Dunn Ramsey; Tidewater Publishers; Ages 8-12; ISBN 0-87033-441-7 When Jessie and her little brother find an injured boy on their beach, they want to help him, but they soon find out their problems have just begun. Love In Focus Berkley Publishing Group; Ages 11 up; ISBN 0-441-49630-X When her family moves to a new town, fifteen year old Jenny Whitlock is miserable, until she meets a great looking guy named Mark who shares her love of photography. Vacation Blues Berkley Publishing Group; Ages 11 up; ISBN 0-441-18984-9-X All Jessie's friends are away and she is stuck at home. It looks like a long summer until she meets Clay Wheeler, and realizes that he's staying with his grandparents who live right across the creek from her house. My Links To work with Maggie Meacham, see our Speakers Bureau.