Whenever I meet people and they find out that I write books for children and young adults, these are the questions they are almost always sure to ask.

And I think they're usually a little disappointed to hear that I can't just stop in the corner store and pick up a bag or a box of ideas, or pull into the neighborhood gas station and ask to be filled up with ideas.

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. For me, at least, ideas are not that easy to come by, and every time I finish a book I wander around the house, whining a bit and telling my husband (and anyone else who will listen) that I'll never again think of anything to write. That I'll never have another idea.

I've learned, through the years, that if I just remember to keep my eyes and ears open, some day, some how, an idea will come, and before long I'll be hard at work on another book. That's because ideas are out there. They are all around, and in the unlikeliest places. I find them in the people I see from day to day, or in an article in a newspaper, a place I've visited, a character that wanders into my head, or in an event that sparks my interest.

Several years ago, while attending a grandson's ball game, I noticed a young boy sitting on a bench and looking totally bored. This led me to write Jason Rat-a-tat, about Jason, the only non sports enthusiast in his entire family. A series of newspaper articles about a boy kidnapped by his father prompted me to write Clay - about a young girl who was abducted by her mother.

An exotic and amazing house I saw only once somehow became Fernhill, the home of Kiara's grandmother Zenobia in my book That Fernhill Summer. Not My Dog came about because of a granddaughter, who desperately wanted a puppy - and got a grown-up dog instead, and Ben and The Sudden Too Big Family (due out in 2007) is a direct result of a family vacation in North Carolina. And then there was "The Next-door Dogs" that I wrote because, years ago, one of my daughters was terrified of dogs.

It's fun now to look back and see how each book of mine got its start. And for all the people who tell me they'd love to write - if only they had an idea - I say, "Keep your eyes open, and your ears. Ideas are everywhere, and they're there for the taking."

Jason Rat-a-tat
Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2002 Hardback $15.00 Ages 5 to 9 ISBN: 0-374-33671-7

In Jason's family everybody plays some kind of of sport - baseball, soccer, tennis. The trouble is, Jason doesn't even like sports. A visiting grandfather helps him discover what he really wants to play.

Clay
Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2001 Hardback $16.00 Ages 8 to 12 ISBN: 0-374-31338-5

Elsie, her mother, and her little brother Tommy have been on the run for over four years - ever since the mother kidnapped the children from their father. When Tommy becomes seriously ill, Elsie must find the courage to make a decision that could drastically change the lives of everyone in her family.

Spindrift
Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2000 Hardback $16 Ages 11 and up ISBN: 0-374-37155-5 Paperback Harper trophy $5.95

Cassie is disillusioned when she discovers that her brother-in-law, Mickey, is cheating on her sister, and in one long summer she finds there are some things that can't be fixed.

Remembering Mog
Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1996 Hardback $14 Paperback $3.99 Avon Flare
7th gr. up
An ALA Notable Book

This is the story of a teenage girl named Annie and how she learns to deal with the murder of her much-loved sister Mog.

Sydney, Invincible
Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1995 Hardback $14
7th gr. up

Sydney faces many challenges during her junior year in high school, including being appointed editor of the school newspaper, her mother's new marriage and pregnancy, and the deterioration of her boyfriend's family.

For a while twelve year old Hannah is afraid that she is the only one who knows a terrible secret that her mother is an alcoholic.

Alone and pregnant, as a result of rape, Lucy runs away to a seaside town where she meets Jake, an aspiring writer, and learns what caring is all about.

It turns out to be a not-so-boring summer after all when Rosie's favorite author moves in next door, accompanied by Sandy the Super Dog.

Sydney, Herself
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1989) paperback $4.50 (Sunburst, FS&G)
gr. 7 up
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Booklist Editors' Choice

Convinced that she is the daughter of one of the famous Australian Boomerangs, Sydney sets out to prove her point, largely by way of her creative writing assignments, and in the process comes to value who she really is.

Fitchett's Folly
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1987) hardback $15
gr. 4 up

Sarey Ann Littleton tells her own story of life on Maryland's Eastern Shore in the 1880's: a time of shipwrecks and loss, and a new-found friend.

Julie's Daughter
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1986) Hardback $15 paperback $3.95 (Aerial, FS&G)
gr. 7 up
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
School Library Journal Best Book for Young Adults

Told in alternating narratives by 17 year old Slug, her mother Julie who abandoned her just after she was born, and an elderly neighbor named Harper Tegges, this book explores the relationship of the three women.

Keeping Time
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1983) Hardback $14
gr. 3 - 7

A time-shift story set in modern Baltimore and 16th century London, this book tells the story of Drew Wakeman and his family of buskers.

H, My Name Is Henley
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1982) Hardback $14
gr. 4 - 7

Henley tags along after her feckless and frenetic mother Patti until she at last finds a place to call home.

The Gathering Room
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1981) paperback $5.95 (Sunburst, FS&G)
gr. 3 - 7
An ALA Notable Book
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
IRA Teachers' Choice

Set in the gatehouse of a cemetery, Mudge looks to the people buried in the graveyard for his friends.

P.S. Write Soon
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1978) paperback $3.50 (Sunburst, FS&G)
gr. 3 - 7

Tanner Maclean, who wears a heavy brace because of a paralyzed leg, embellishes her life in letters to her pen pal and then has to face the consequences.

Jacket illustrations by:
The Next-Door Dogs Amy June Bates
Not My Dog Thomas F. Yezerski
Not Quite a Stranger Susan Gaber
That Fernhill Summer David Chelsea
The Turnabout Shop Nancy Carpenter