Creatures, Creatures Everywhere
I got to spend a lovely weekend in New York City a little while ago, including a great trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Pro tip: when you are overwhelmed and exhausted by culture, a visit to the East Asian wing is quite soothing.)
I found these delightful legendary creatures who would have been quite at home in the menagerie from The Griffin’s Boy–it was like finding old friends peering from plinths and creeping about in carved stone archways.
(The image in the middle is officially a “chimera” which is museum-speak for “we don’t know what the heck this is supposed to be.” I believe that’s a lion’s head with wings along the back–perhaps an entirely new type of legendary beast?)
Read MoreA Life Lived in Stories
Four hundred and fifty books.
Poetry. Nonfiction. Realism. Fantasy and fables. Anything that told a story, that connected writer and reader, that spun a thread of information, emotion, hope and entertainment and moral choice, between two minds and hearts.
It feels like a pillar somewhere has fallen, and the world is a little less steady than it was.
Thank you, Jane Yolen, and farewell.
Read MoreThank You Again
!["I like the part of the book how the girl to[ok] the egg from the Dragon and she thorugh it was gold also bring it in her room inside her home but very important about for me is that [it] was so interesting the book. Love: Phillip"](https://i0.wp.com/www.sarahlthomson.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Philip.jpg)
Another sweet thank-you note from a writing workshop. What I love about this note is how genuine it is. I didn’t think that the chapter where the heroine of Dragon’s Egg takes a dragon’s egg and hides it in her room was particularly dramatic or exciting–but for this reader it was!
Read MoreNo, Thank YOU!
Doing writing workshops in schools is one of my favorite parts of writing for children. One of the most delightful parts is reading the thank-you notes afterwards. Sometimes these are funny, sometimes they are touching, and sometimes they show kids truly are listening–like this one!
Read MoreHome of the Brave
I’m looking forward to November, when the graphic nonfiction work Home of the Brave will be hitting shelves! This is a compilation of true stories collected by StoryCorps, giving us personal stories of the American experience from the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights era, the AIDS epidemic, and more.
I’ve just had my first glimpse of the jacket and am excited to share!
Read MoreThe End of the Ride and the Start of a War
Paul Revere’s ride ended at Lexington, where he was captured by British soldiers. (They let him go later.) Samual Prescott carried the word on to his hometown of Concord while the militia of Lexington gathered on the green at dawn of April 19, 1775, to face the British troops marching their way. The youngest member of that militia was the Johnathan Harrington, the piper.
Give us a song, Jon
they say
and I do
but how can I give them
a spray of notes
a wisp of melody
how can I give them something
none of us can hold?
When that dawn breaks
my tunes float out
into the chill gray air,
carrying the captains orders
to every soldier’s ear:
Gather here Stay together Stand fast
and I hope I’ve given them something
all of us can hold
The Night It All Began
Two hundred and fifty-one years ago today, a stable boy tore through the streets of Boston to bring a warning to Paul Revere. We don’t know the boy’s name or exactly what he said, but he was one of many who helped set a midnight ride into motion and set the stage for a brand-new country to arise.
When Paul Revere Rode tells the story of that night, and the very first poem in the book tells the story of that stable boy:
The patter of hooves
like the roll of a drum
like the thump of a heart
like a fist of the door
A good horse will run
like speed is his soul
and wind is an enemy
he can defeat
That’s how I run
through the alleys of Boston
cobble and brick
a track for my feet
to burst in the door
to be first with the news
for time is an enemy
speed can defeat:
The soldiers!
The Regulars!
They’re on the march!
Sarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Thomson focuses on newfound connection, magic, and suspense to conjure a fast-paced, heartwarming mystery. Thomson’s world is populated by resourceful protagonists, fanciful creatures, and quirky supporting characters.”
—Publishers Weekly