Court Green #10 Release Reading

Christine will be reading some of her poems at the release reading for the tenth issue of Court Green on Thursday, March 21, at 5:30 p.m. The reading will take place in the Ferguson Lecture Hall, 600 S. Michigan Ave. Room 101, on the Columbia College campus in Chicago. The theme of Issue #10 is "sex."

Local Girl Makes Good

Christine's latest poem to be published is "Local Girl Makes Good" in Court Green #10. The theme of the issue is "sex."

Local Girl Makes Good 

I agree with Susie Bright who said
the first time she used a vibrator was like
getting out of the world’s worst small town...

To read the rest, purchase Court Green #10 here.

"Poisoned Apples" to be published by Greenwillow Press

Today Publishers Marketplace announced that Greenwillow Books has acquired Christine Heppermann's collection of poetry for young adults.

The collection, entitled Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty, is made up of dark, powerful, and provocative poems that bring classic fairytale tropes and characters into the modern teenage girl's life, exploring body image, friendship, love, and the media.

Greenwillow Press is a division of HarperCollins. No publication date to announce yet, but we will pass it along as soon as we know.

Holiday Guide to Kids' Books

Christine makes some recommendations for those of you who think books make excellent holiday gifts for the kids. From the Chicago Tribune's Printers Row Journal.


Book a fitting holiday gift for your children

Chicago Tribune
December 02, 2012
By Christine Heppermann

Books for children and teens are not Snuggies. One size doesn't fit all. So when choosing books for young readers this holiday season, it helps to know their style. Maybe he likes roomy epic fantasy novels he can get lost in, whereas she prefers the more tailored fit of a contemporary story with realistic characters and situations. He loves the retro flair of historical fiction, while she craves the space boots of sci-fi. And everybody enjoys a funny book, right? Well, what kind of funny? Slapstick humor—the literary equivalent of a squirting bow tie—or more subtle, sly wit, like a pair of SpongeBob boxers under a three-piece suit?

Fortunately, the closet is deep. There's a book (or two or twelve) on the shelf to suit the pickiest recipient in every age group, even those who claim they hate to read because they've tried on books that pulled or bunched or itched or bored them to sleep. The gift of the right book at the right time can transform a child into that most estimable of fashionistas: a reader.

So check out our shelf, grouped by age recommendation. (Click here to read the rest.)

Confessions of a Work-for-Hire Diva

Christine's latest article for the Horn Book Magazine, Confessions of a Work-for-Hire Diva, is now up on their website. Take a look: http://www.hbook.com/2012/09/creating-books/whitney-and-me-confessions-of-a-work-for-hire-diva/.

Signs of Spring - A Poem

Signs of Spring

my first love,
the actual boy
next door,
and Bunnies Under
the Bed.
All the games since, all
have tried to complicate
what up in his room
was simple
as we slid inside
the darkness,
displacing the monsters
not to mention
the killer
from Channel Eleven,
pressing our softness
together
because that’s what
newborn animals
do.

First Interview As a Published Author

Jacqueline Briggs Martin, who won a Caldecott award for her book Snowflake Bentley, interviewed Christine Heppermann on her blog today. Christine talks about how she came to write City Chickens:

JBM: What attracted you to this story? 

CH: I’m always drawn to stories about people with uncommon passions or perceptions. Also to stories that show me something ordinary in an entirely new way. Most of us view chickens as commodities, valuable for what they give us—their meat and their eggs. But why shouldn’t we see them the way Mary and Bert at Chicken Run Rescue do—as living beings deserving of the same level of care and compassion that we give to dogs and cats? Truthfully, Jackie, your Snowflake Bentley stayed in my mind the whole time I was writing and researching City Chickens, because Wilson Bentley and Mary and Bert have a lot in common.  Bentley took an amorphous mass of white stuff and showed us the beauty of each individual flake. Mary and Bert want people to recognize the beauty and uniqueness of each individual bird.

Read the rest of the interview here.