Nikki Grimes: A Hurricane of Change

Meet one of my writer-mentors, Nikki Grimes, a NY Times bestselling author and Coretta Scott King award winner. She is brilliant and fierce and 100% heart.

She called me last night to check in on me, shored me up with some solid advice, and then told me her chilling story. Just nine days after speaking at a school in Arkansas, the entire town was leveled by a hurricane. "Cherish every day," she told me. "Every day."

Nikki is a woman after my own heart. She is singlehandedly spearheading her own Operation Teen Book Drop by trying to replenish that school's devastated collection of young adult titles. So if you didn't rock the readergirlz drop and still have YA books lying around that are in need of a good home, consider sending a few of them here:

Jimma Holder
Literacy Specialist
Mena Public Schools
501 Hickory
Mena, AR  71953

Today, I am grateful to be surrounded by friends who are changemakers. Who are forces of nature. Who live by their words and actions.

Operation TBD: The Contest!

Dear readergirlz, the time has come for a contest! Actually, five weeks of contests!

Here's the deal: each week from now until Support Teen Literature Day on April 16th, we'll be awarding a package of books to one winner. To enter, you just comment at the readergirlz blog (comments on older posts count - a point for each comment!) and get an extra ten points for taking up the week's challenge. Get ten more any time by becoming one of our blog followers!

Report your post at the readergirlz blog with the URL (and get eleven points!). We'll keep track of the comments and urls and award the winners each week. Books! Prizes! And you'll be supporting teen lit and hospitalized teens across the country.

This week's challenge:

Post the Operation TBD trailer on your blog (trailer below). Spread the word about Operation TBD!

Remember, for your posts to count toward the contest, you must post at the readergirlz blog. Hope to see you there!