News

2020 News

Interview with former TIMES reporter, David E. Thigpen

2019 News

October 2019: Lara’s Gift lands on some Good Reads Lists!

YA & MG Dog Covers – 6th out of 336 books

Middle Grade Fiction set in the 1910s – 25th out of 164 books

VCFA Student/Alum Books – 29th out of 140 books

Russia in YA & Middle Grade Historical Fiction – 37th out of 100 books

Best Historical Juvenile Fiction/Nonfiction – 10th out of 150 books

Top Dog Reads – 171st out of 557 books

Russia: Middle Grade Reads – 36th out of 101 books

Best Books Ever – 28,209th out of 55,532 books

Fiction books set in or about Russia – 39th out of 62 books

Best Books about Animals – 583rd out of 1,471 books

June 10: 2019 Katherine Paterson Prize for Young Adult & Children’s Writing Finalist for Young Adult Fiction submission of “Butterfly Trap”

2015 News

October 1: Lara’s Gift, a dog book is available at a discount for teachers at Scholastic.

May 1: Lara’s Gift, a dog book is available in Canada!

April 12: Lara’s Gift, a dog book is available in Australia!

April 10: Lara’s Gift, a dog book is available at the Reading Bug!

April 4: Lara’s Gift, a dog book makes Hawaii’s Nene Award 2015 finalist list!

 

2014 News

Nov 14: I have always dreamed of having my dog book on a Scholastic Book Club form! Thank you Scholastic!

August 1: Lara’s Gift, a dog book is a featured Middle School title on Scholastic Book Fairs!

August 1: Lara’s Gift, a dog book is a featured Elementary School title on Scholastic Book Fairs! 

July 22: The paperback format of Lara’s Gift, a dog book comes out.

May 9: Lara’s Gift, a dog book is a finalist for the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award!

Spring: “Lara’s visions add a fantasy element to this peek into a different time.” —The Horn Book

April 24: Lara’s Gift, a dog book makes Hawaii’s Nene Award 2014 finalist list!

April 4Lara’s Gift, a dog book is a finalist for the Northern California Book Award.

April 1Lara’s Gift, a dog book is a finalist for the California Book Award.

January 1: Scholastic buys the sub rights to offer Lara’s Gift, a dog book through Scholastic Book Clubs and Book Fairs.

 

2013 News

December 30: Lara’s Gift, a dog book makes the ACL’s 2013 Distinguished List! So proud to be among so many GREAT books!

December 4: Lara’s Gift, a dog book makes the Penguin Random House 2013 All Stars List! 

October 1: Contact Kathleen at A Great Good Place for Books for a personalized copy of Lara’s Gift.

September 22: Lara’s Gift, a dog book is nominated for the ALA Amelia Bloomer Project

September 20 & 21: East coast book launch in Northampton, MA

September 4: Contra Costa Times article about Lara’s Gift, a dog book.

September 6: West coast book launch at Ellen Driscoll Playhouse, Piedmont, CA.

August 22: “Lara’s Gift is highly recommended for historical fiction collections of both middle school and public libraries.” —Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA), Gold banner rating

August 19: “Compelling historical fiction, Lara’s Gift is also a powerful story about the bond between dogs and humans, fathers and daughters.” —School Library Journal, Starred review

August 10: Purchase a signed copy of Lara’s Gift, a dog book at Books, Inc.

August 7: “O’Brien creates a fully realized setting, weaving many historical, cultural and linguistic details into this compelling story.” —The Association of Children’s Librarians, Outstanding rating

August 6: Lara’s Gift, a dog book ia available on iTunes!

August 6: Lara’s Gift, a dog book is released by Knopf / Penguin Random House and available at a book store near you.

August 5: Interview with Girl Scouts Studio

August 1: “Dog lovers especially will pick up this trail right away and eagerly track the appealing heroine’s adventures.”  —Booklist

June 27: The Book Trailer for Lara’s Gift, a dog book launches on Quirk and Quill!

April 29: The Teacher’s Guide for Lara’s Gift, a dog book launches on Quirk and Quill!

May 30: The story behind Lara’s Gift, a dog book is featured in Sighthound Review.

May 15:Lara’s Gift is powerful and engrossing!” —KIRKUS, Starred Review

May 10: It’s a First! Fresh Fiction from New Voices: Fall 2013