I had the pleasure of reading another great book by an Oklahoma author recently. Barbara Lowell’s nonfiction picture book, George Ferris, What a Wheel!, tells the story of a man who made an “impossible” dream come true.

From the book’s description on Amazon: Have you ever ridden a Ferris wheel? You go up, up, up and can see for miles! But when the inventor of the Ferris wheel, George Ferris, first pitched the idea, everyone thought he was crazy. A 250-foot bicycle wheel that goes around and around and carries people in train cars? Can’t be done, they said. But George proved them wrong. Read about how George’s hard work, courage, and imagination created one of the most famous fair rides today.

I went into this book knowing nothing about George Ferris. I didn’t even know the Ferris wheel was named for anyone! I did know, however, that I love Ferris wheels – even though I’ve never ridden in one with train sized cars, made to hold more than two thousand people!

George Ferris, What a Wheel! includes actual pictures of the construction and operational wheel, along with art by Jerry Hoare that makes you feel like you’re almost in the story.

It’s published by Grosset & Dunlap as part of their Penguin Core Concepts line, and covers the concepts Imagination and Problem Solving.

I’m always fascinated at nonfiction picture books – the way the authors cover the true stories completely, while still keeping things relevant and fresh for kids – really impresses me. George Ferris, What a Wheel! is no exception.

Author Barbara Lowell lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband Jim and their fabulous collie, Phil. She is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, a runner-up for SCBWI’s Barbara Karlin Grant and a winner of the Katharine Patterson Prize at Hunger Mountain in the picture book category.

Valerie Lawson did a great interview with Barbara when the book came out this summer, but I asked a few questions too!

Do you know Tammi Sauer?

I do.

Since I’m a cool member of the Oklahoma Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, I got to meet Tammi about a year ago. She’s incredible, and published, and comes to Schmoozes, and is possibly the most currently-in-demand famous person I know.

I mean, I’ve met/know some other people I consider well-known, but Tammi is the one who might actually comment on something I’ve posted on Facebook, or if I called her up and said, “Hey, this is Regina Garvie,” she would know who I was. (Yes, I would definitely still say my last name. We are friendly but not besties or anything.) (And yes, I wanted to put we are “friends” but then I got scared that she would read that and say that we’re totally acquaintances but no, not friends so I changed it.)

Anyway, Tammi is awesome, and this month, she received the Oklahoma Book Award for her new picture book, Nugget & Fang, which I love and have already talked about on here. Here’s a picture of all the award winners for this year.

She’s the cute one with dark hair in the front row. I like how she’s holding her medal with both hands.

I don’t have much else to say about that, except for to mention that I hope that one day I’ll be in a picture holding a medal like that (except I will totally get into the back row if I can help it, because I’m a back row kinda gal.)

Oh, and Nugget & Fang is also a finalist for the SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards, which is also a huge deal, so good luck vibes for Tammi, please!

In related news, I did read Tammi’s book, Chicken Dance, this week, after seeing it mentioned on a Sequoyah Award poster at the library. Somehow I’d never read this one, even though I read the sequel, Bawk & Roll, more than a year ago.

I read this one to my six-year-old today, and she immediately demanded that I “read it again!” so that’s obviously a positive review.

From the book’s description on Amazon: Meet Marge and Lola, chickens on a mission: to win tickets for the Elvis Poultry Show! But their toughest competition—a pack of menacing ducks—sneers that “all a chicken can do is bawk, flap, and shake.” Can our two feisty chicks show those quackers how to rock ’n’ roll the barnyard? Tammi Sauer and Dan Santat have whipped up a giddy, goofy romp where cows fly over the moon, ducks surf in a water trough, and one very familiar-looking rooster gets all shook up!

This was a really cute book. Having been a chicken and duck owner for many years, I enjoyed all the little jokes…especially when the chickens starting doing “what chickens do.” Good thing, too, since I’m sure I’ll have to read it several more times for my youngest. This is the kind of book that I don’t have a problem repeating. And repeating.

Doing good. Got a new car (after the old van died in our driveway after critique group). End of the school year is pressing into us from every direction. My to-do list has thirty-some things on it, not including writing. So of course writing comes first. At least I’m successfully ignoring the siren song of tumblr.

I’ve been reading a little lately. I started A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin and began reading the manuscript of my friend Jeannie. (And that reminded me that I’ve been meaning to order Jeannie’s published book from Amazon, so I just now did that.)

I also read My Girlfriend Bites, by Doug Solter, which has been chilling on my kindle FOREVER.

My Girlfriend Bites puts a new twist on the paranormal young adult theme. Instead of the male character being the vamprire/werewolf/zombie/whatever, it’s the girl who is the werewolf. The story starts out being told from the guy’s point of view, which is a refreshing change from the books I normally read. Later, it transitions to the girl’s viewpoint. It was fun to get in her head, both in her human form and as a wolf.

Book description, from Amazon: After his “dream” girl rejects him, 16-year-old Aiden tries to commit suicide, yet mysteriously survives. Now the teen feels like a loser with zero possibility of finding a girl. Then during a rainstorm, the creepy teen girl at school with too much hair offers him a ride home. Bree Mayflower’s act of kindness surprises Aiden as the two teens feel an attraction to each other that sparks a romance. Bree soon reveals her deep, dark secret to Aiden. Her family are werewolves hiding from the Demon Skins, a mysterious new enemy killing all the werewolf packs on earth. Aiden struggles with his girlfriend being a shifter while Bree struggles with helping her boyfriend whose lack of self-worth and cowardice puzzles a girl werewolf. Can she rely on him if the Demon Skins ever discovered her family? Will Aiden be there when she needs him? It would be so easy to just turn him into a fearless werewolf. But that bite thing is only a myth. All Bree can do is hope that the boy she loves will be strong enough to believe in himself when the time comes.

This was a fun read and passed by quickly. It was quite a bit different from Doug’s other YA novel, Skid, but I enjoyed both of them. I don’t read a lot of indie authors – since you generally have to order them sight unseen, it’s a gamble to spend money on these books. I’ve gotten a few that didn’t have a real grip on grammar, or that didn’t have fully developed characters. But Doug’s books are worth reading.

Doug’s from the Tulsa area, so we’ve seen each other at a couple of statewide conferences and we’re online friends. Because of that, I know that he’s currently working on a sequel for Skid, which I’m looking forward to. I also notice that on Amazon, My Girlfriend Bites has Volume 1 after the title. I don’t remember that being there before, but it’s good news to me. It’s always a pleasure to spend more time with characters you’ve enjoyed.

Anyhoo…recommended.