like my books on Facebook.

awards

• Fall 2006 Book Sense Pick
• New York Public Library Book for Reading and Sharing 
• Friends of American Writers Literary Award Winner 
• 2007 Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year
• 2007 Amelia Bloomer Book    

Tweeter? Feeder? Or In-box Reader?

Email Address:

Powered by Feed My Inbox

 

reviews

"This years must read book." E.R. Bird (Fuse #8 Production, SLJ)

"Lucy Moon is one of the most original characters I've come across in a long, long time." Nikki Grimes, award-winning author of Dark Sons and Bronx Masquerade 

 "A wonderful coming-of-age story for young girls that deals with issues such as fitting in when going from elementary school to junior high." Book Sense

"Lucy's a winning character, whose native fierceness and sudden uncertainty will resonate with readers." Kirkus Reviews 

 "This book will have readers cheering as Lucy Moon grows in her commitment to activism." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

 

hardcover

« the whole world underwater | Main | project & discussion guide »
Saturday
Apr102010

my sledding hill  

 

Wiggins Hill, from That Girl Lucy Moon, is based on Coon's Hill in Hudson, Wisconsin. What a hill it was. 

Here's some quotes from a Feb 2009 The Hudson Star-Observer article written by Doug Stohlberg. (Also, the historic photos in the slideshow are scanned from the same article):  

...Many Hudsonites describe their first venture down the hill with words ranging from "fun" to "sheer terror."

...The huge sledding hill once covered about 10 acres of land and offered a wide expanse for sleds and skis. ... It wasn't just a sliding hill in the old days. There was a version of a ski jump, or a ski slide, for many years and in 1949 a new jump and rope tow were installed. 

...One of the early accounts of Coon's Hill came in the Dec. 15, 1932, edition of the Star-Observer when it was reported: "The first ski tournament of the season will be held on the new runway on Coon's Hill next Saturday afternoon. The hill and slide has been greatly remodeled." 

Taken from the same article, here's Willis Miller (Hudson's truly loved, local historian) reminiscing about the hill in 1946:

After I was of school age, Christmas always meant the annual two week's vacation, which was well taken up with little parties, sliding, skaing, and tobogganing out on Coon's Hill.

What did I write in That Girl Lucy Moon about Wiggins Hill?

Sledders dreamed about that extra slide, when the air turned so blue that the whole world looked like it was underwater, and the only light came from the reflection of the dusk moon on the blue-white snow. Those blue-lit runs were crazy, out of control, rushing, rushing, with roots of trees, clumps of snake-grass, and gopher holes taking on different shapes.

Loved that hill.