Hello to Students, Teachers,
and Friends,
I can't believe another year
has rolled by, and we are in the second month of the second decade of
the 21st century. Wow! Einstein was right. Time is relative, and right
now my perception is that it's flying!
2009 was a big year. I welcomed
the birth of my first grandchild, Jackson Scott Beasley on March 19th-the
highlight of the year. Of course he's adorable, smart, and definitely
the best baby ever. What else would you expect a grandmother to say?
But trust me, I'm telling the truth.
On a far different note,
2009 also brought another event, not nearly as joyous as the birth of
a grandchild. During the summer I discovered that a book of mine, Stocks
and Bonds, Profits and Losses had been posted on Scribd.com and
downloaded over 100 times, without my permission. After careful thought
and in consultation with my attorneys, I decided to file a federal law
suit against Scribd, citing copyright violation. Filing a lawsuit is
serious business, and I take this lawsuit very seriously. I look forward
to having a jury make a decision--based on the law--on this unlicensed
use of my work and by extension, the unlicensed use of the works of
other authors as well. When I visit schools, students and I talk about
copyright, and the value of their words, how they belong to them and
no one else. Most seem to understand that it isn't right for them to
"borrow" the words and work of another without permission. I only wish
some adults in our society understood that concept as well. I mention
the lawsuit here, because it has taken up several pages on the Internet
and was written about in the Wall Street Journal. I thought those of
you who visit this site deserve a comment from me.
Now it's 2010 and time to
start on two new books. They are tentatively titled Our Moon: Exploring
Luna (Clarion Books) and Dollars and Sense (Charlesbridge
Publishing.) NASA's exciting discovery of water on the moon suggested
the new moon book to me, and while I've been thinking about another
book on economics for some time now, our country's current situation
made the Dollars and Sense title more timely than ever. I'm looking
forward to working on both books. And there are a couple of novels partially
completed, too. Maybe I'll even get one of them off my desk in 2010-who
knows?
In the interim, I always
welcome your questions and comments. Just
click here.
Warmest wishes,
Elaine Scott
Honors and Events
Secrets of the Cirque
Medrano has been
named one of Bank Street College's
Best Children's Books of the Year!
The Texas
State Reading Association awarded When is a Planet Not a Planet?
the 2008 Golden Spur Award for Children's Literature (now called
TSRA Literature Award for Children, Young Adult and Illustrator).
When is a Planet Not a
Planet? won the 2008 Texas Reading Association's Literature Award.
It
was also named as a PBS
Recommended Book, a 2008 Teacher's
Choice book, and was
also named to the Maine
Student Book Awards list for 2008-2009.
Elaine was a featured author
at the International
Reading Association Conference in Phoenix, AZ, February 21-25, 2009.
Elaine was a featured speaker
at the 2008 Texas Library Association Conference in Dallas, TX.
Elaine was a featured author
at the 2007 Texas Book Festival in Austin, TX.
Poles
Apart was named a finalist for the prestigious Teddy Children's
Book Award in 2005. The Pennsylvania Library Association named Poles
Apart to its YA
Top 40 list! Chicago Public Library names Poles Apart one
of its Best of the Best
Elaine was one of a select
group of children's authors invited to participate in Laura
Bush Celebrates America's Authors, part
of the extended Inaugural Activities on January 19, 2001.
Read about her experience in the Special Events section of the site.