17th Annual South Carolina Writers Workshop Conference

Melinda Long

http://www.melindalongbooks.com

Melinda Long is the author of WHEN PAPA SNORES and HICCUP SNICKUP, both published through Simon and Schuster.  Her third book, HOW I BECAME A PIRATE is published through Harcourt Brace.  It was chosen by Children’s Book of the Month Club as a main selection for September 2003, and has also been translated into twelve languages including Spanish, Greek, Hebrew, Norwegian, and Japanese.  In addition, it is the winner of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award for 2004, a Nick Jr. Magazine Best Book of the Year and is a New York Times Children’s Number One Bestseller.  It was chosen as winner of The Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, Booksense Best Book of the Year, and Southeastern Booksellers’ Association (SEBA) Best Book of the Year.  Melinda’s newest book, is PIRATES DON’T CHANGE DIAPERS, also illustrated by David Shannon.

Melinda, a long-time pirate fan, lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her husband, Thom, and her children, Cathy, age 19, and Bryan, age 15.  She was a middle-school teacher for 23 years.  Melinda loves acting, yoga, reading, and of course, writing.  She really enjoys going to schools to talk to kids about reading and writing because she likes kids as much as she likes pirates.  Melinda started her own writing career on a boring rainy day when she was only six!

How I Became a Pirate
When Braid Beard's pirate crew invites Jeremy Jacob to join their voyage, he jumps right on board. Buried treasure, sea chanteys, pirate talk--who wouldn't go along? Soon Jeremy Jacob knows all about being a pirate. He throws his food across the table and his manners to the wind. He hollers like thunder and laughs off bedtime. It's the heave-ho, blow-the-man-down, very best time of his life. Until he finds out what pirates don't do--no reading bedtime stories, no tucking kids in. . . . Maybe being a pirate isn't so great after all.
Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator David Shannon teams up with witty storyteller Melinda Long for a hilarious look at the finer points of pirate life.

Pirates Don't Change Diapers
When the pirate crew turns up at Jeremy Jacob's house and accidentally wakes his baby sister, that wee scallywag howls louder than a storm on the high seas. Sure, there's buried treasure to be found, but nobody's digging up anything until Bonney Anne quits her caterwauling. So, quicker than you can say "scurvy dog," Braid Beard and his swashbuckling pirates become . . . babysitters? Blimey!
This hilarious companion to How I Became a Pirate reveals that minding the nursery can be even more terrifying than walking the plank--especially if you're a pirate.

Saturday: Openings and Closings in Children's Literature
Sunday: Humor in Children's Literature