A silly tale of a little witch named Isabel (not my mother, Isabelle who was never a witch) who cannot spell correctly. That is–her spells go all wonky. In the end she learns that being different makes the difference. Something kids still need to know! Roth’s quirky, pun-filled illustrations seemed ahead
Gwinellen: The Princess Who Could Not Sleep
My very first (and over long) fairy tale, a romp about a princess who can’t sleep and how her father the king tries everything in his power to help her. But of course it takes a gifted outsider to tell her what she needs. This story was fueled by my interest in James Thurber’s fairy tales
See This Little Line
A concept book in rhyme–“See this little line/it’s mine … “–about drawing. My very first picture book. Alas, I never liked the sans serif type or the orange and purple colors. It’s difficult not to like your own first picture book.
Pirates in Petticoats
Non-fiction about women pirates, including Anne Bonney and Mary Read (see Ballad of the Pirate Queens), this was my very first book. But it wasn’t the first time I’d written about women pirates. In fact I’d included two of them (Bonney and Read) in a little book I wrote in 7th grade. The greatest