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

Brenda Seabrooke seabrooke@Tulanealumni.net
I grew up in south Georgia in a land of story tellers. People sat on porches and around fireplaces and told stories, often the same story over and over, sometimes exaggerating a little or a lot. My mother read to me until I memorized my picture books, then I pretended to read them myself. As soon as I figured out that books had authors, I knew that was what I wanted to be. The greatest day in my childhood was the day I demonstrated to the children's librarian at the Carnegie Library that I could read and got my own library card at age six. I was only allowed to check out two books at a time on my card and two on my mother's card. Several times a week I rode my pony and later my horse to the library, tied him to the telephone pole outside the children's room and checked out four new books which I devoured. I always hated to let go of the characters in the end. So after I finished a book, I continued the stories, making up further adventures that went on and on. My favorites were mysteries and animal books.
I lived on the edge of a small town and played in the nearby woods, fields, and streams. I had a lot of animals, dogs, rabbits, horses, fish. (My first story, written in pictures when I was four, was about my goldfish that came out of its bowl and had adventures.) Now I live on an island in Florida and I still have a lot of animals, three dogs and three cats who often appear in my stories: Kipling's Raj, the golden retriever in The Haunting of Holroyd Hill and my cat Spike who was the model for the dragon in The Dragon that Ate Summer and its sequel The Care and Feeding of Dragons. My other pets are impatiently awaiting their turns in my books. I write a lot about my childhood because we were always doing interesting things. We wanted to travel so we tried to dig to China, and we swung from trees like Tarzan. We made up our own games involving spies and horses, put on plays without written scripts and a lot of shows using our side porch for a stage. (We didn't have TV in those days - it had been invented but nobody had one.) I have written about my Fitzgerald childhood in Judy Scuppernong and Under the Pear Tree and my walks with my grandfather in Looking for Diamonds. After I graduated from Newcomb College, I married, had children, and taught school. My husband was in the Coast Guard so we moved around the edge of the country and lived in a lot of interesting places including a haunted eighteenth century fort on an island and a 23-foot long trailer. I often write about these places with my children Kevin and Kerria as characters although they are grown now. Even though we have TV and the Internet, I'd still rather read a good book than anything except write one!
My Books
Stonewolf 2004, Holiday House, Inc. At the orphanage, all Nicholas everknew was fear. One day he is whisked away to a secluded castle. Nicholas learns he is a prisoner and can trust no one. He must escape and save Larka and the legacy he never knew he had. -Nominated for the Top Ten Teen Award, 2005.
The Haunting at Swain's Fancy 2003, Dutton When Taylor goes to spend the summer with her dad in an old house in the Shenandoah Valley, she and her new step-siblings learn to get along while solving a mystery that has haunted the house since the Civil War. - BCCB -Nominated for the Mark Twain, WV, and Volunteeer State Awards. -Winner of the 2006 West Virginia Children's Book Award
The Haunting at Stratton Falls 2000, Dutton, $15.95, (ages 8 to 14), ISBN: 0-525-46389-5 "This is a classic spine-tingling ghost story offering just enough drama and suspense for a creepy late night read without being too scarry." - BCCB
The Vampire in my Bath Tub 1999, Holiday House, $15.95, (ages 8 to 14), ISBN: 0-8234-1505-8 Jeff opens a locked trunk in his rented house and finds a man who says he's a vampire and thinks Millard Fillmore is still president!
Jerry on the Line 1998, Silver Burdette Ginn, Paperback, $5.95, (age 8 to 12), ISBN: 0-663-60087-1 Jerry lives for soccer but his new phone friend, Sherita, is getting in the way of his game. "A light-hearted, yet realistic story...Should both entertain and encourage its reader."
Under the Pear Tree 1997, Cobblehill, Hardcover $13.99 (age 10 up), ISBN: 0-525-65213-2 Illustrated by Roger Essley In this sequel to the award-winning Judy Scuppernong, a new subject is introduced: boys, "an exotic species, like Tasmanian Devils or Komodo Dragons", which the three friends learn are "just like us, only different".
Judy Scuppernong, Cobblehill, Hardcover, $13.00 (age 10 up) Illustrated by Ted Lewin "...a delightful, delicate book full of color and light and feelings of childhood quickly caught in strong, specific pictures, tastes and smells." --School Library Journal Horn Book starred, Boston Globe-Horn Book honor, BCBB Blue Ribbon, Chicago Bulletin, Horn Book Fanfare, Library of Congress Books for Children, Chicago Bulletin starred. Looking for Diamonds Cobblehill Hardcover, $14.99 (ages 4 to 8) Illustrated by Nancy Mantha "A fairyland of Memory." ~School Library Journal. In a book that enhances perception, Amy accompanies her grandfather on an early morning walk and finds many gems besides the diamonds from her grandmother's dishwater in the end.
The Haunting of Holroyd Hill 1997, Puffin Softcover $3.99 (ages 8 to 14), ISBN: 0-14-038540-1 Illustrated by Daniel R. Horne A week after moving into their brand-new house Melinda and her brother discover the ghost of a Civil War soldier who needs their help to find peace.
The Bridges of Summer $12.95 www.backinprint.com iUniverse in conjunction with the Authors Guild "Strong, smart, and creative Zarah is a memorable heroine. The secondary characters and the island locale come alive and are set in context with unflinching honesty." ~The Horn Book Magazine NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, Junior Literary Guild selection The Swan's Gift Candlewick, Hardcover $15.95, Softcover $5.99, also available in Gaelic. Illustrated by Wen Hai Ma In an original fairy tale Anton gives the gift of life and in giving, receives it himself. An American Bookseller Pick of the List. The Dragon that Ate Summer Scholastic, $2.95 (age 8 up) Everything seems to be adding up to a hopelessly boring summer until Alastair finds a small blue thing eating his mother's garden - a thing with scales and sharp teeth. A thing that looks remarkably like a dragon. The Care and Feeding of Dragons 1998, Cobblehill $15.99, (ages 8 to 12), ISBN: 0-525-65252-3 In this sequel to the best-selling The Dragon That Ate Summer, Alastair leaves his pet dragon alone for the first time when school starts - with disastrous results. The Chester Town Tea Party Tidewater $8.95 (ages 4 up) Illustrated by Nancy Coates Smith In 1774 when the townspeople of Chester Town, Maryland voted not to buy, sell, or use tea as a sign of their support for the people of Boston, Amanda follows her brother George to a tea party he says is only for men. She borrows her brother's clothes so no one will recognize her and becomes part of an even still celebrated each May in modern Chestertown. The Boy Who Saved the Town Tidewater, $7.95, (ages 4 up) Illustrated by Howard M. Burns Barnaby Sharpe was always climbing trees to practice becoming a ship captain so he could climb masts someday. In the War of 1812, his tree-climbing helps him discover a brilliant way to outwit the British and save St. Michael's, Maryland. Wash Day a poem in Heart to Heart, Abrams, 2002.
My Links
For author appearances and workshops for children and adults contact the Speakers Bureau . Teaching materials for some of the above books are available at: www.childrenslit.com/ft.htm.