Books

Contributed by Bonnye Matthews

I rarely promise, for I agonize when I cannot fulfill a promise. That is even more important to me when the person I promise is a child.

When the Young Writers Conference, organized by Sharon Russell, took place at Sherrod Elementary School annually, I participated as a presenter for several years. One year I had written most of my middle-grade fiction, Arctic Dinosaurs of Alaska, and I decided to share that and have the young writers become a critique group. It was middle-grade fiction. What better opportunity? The young writers came up with significant, mature sug- gestions and they loved the story and illustrations. There was one suggestion I didn’t take. They loved the illustrations but freaked out over my curve in a Nanuqsaurus tail. Nanuqsaurus is a t-rex type dinosaur only about half size. It terrorized my dinosaurs.

I wondered why the tail on the t-rex needed to be stiff in their minds until I saw some reproductions and realized the tail was stiff to stabilize the resin reproduction for standing. I kept the tail image with a curve in the illustration.

I assured the young writers that I’d add their great effort to the Acknowledgements, and, if they wanted their name in the book, write it out for me and I’d put it in there. I’d bring a couple of copies to the Library at Sherrod, if they wanted to see their name in the book.

On January 9, 2023, I finally fulfilled that promise. Arctic Dinosaurs of Alaska launched August 20, 2022 at the Alaska Museum of Science and Nature in Anchorage. I received notice December 28, 2022 that the book had won an Honorable Mention in The Royal Dragonfly Book Award international contest my publisher entered. Usually, contest results don’t arrive until May of the year after publication. My publisher, Connie Taylor at Fathom Publishing, had also entered it in other contests. I competed in the contest where I’ve entered my other books. For those, it’s wait time.

At Sherrod Elementary School, I presented two copies of the Library Edition of Arctic Dinosaurs of Alaska to the Librarian, Sean Williams. Since the books are for a Library, the personal copy “Arctic Dinosaurs of Alaska can be colored” style doesn’t work. You do not mark inside library books! To solve that problem, my publisher put out the Library Edition and has a website where the images can be downloaded for coloring.

It makes me sad that the Young Writers Conference no longer exists. It was a wonderful event for children and presenters. It was a real treasure for the Borough. How special it would be if this could be revived as a state-sponsored event regionally administered with the thought to encourage reading and writing among Alaskan children.