Nana Hannah helps Sonny play the piano and tells him that he will be good at whatever he does, and when Nana twists her ankle and needs some cheering up, they watch the World Series together, and Sonny realizes that he has room in his life for both baseball and the piano.
Barbara Bottner began writing for children in the 1970's, when she broke her leg doing off-Broadway Theater and decided to consider a different career. Having gotten a degree in painting, she began to hang out in the children's book section of libraries and bookstores. She was amazed at the originality of the art and fell in love with picture books. Slightly fickle, she also wrote I Can Reads, eventually middle grade and YA novels. She stretched out into writing for television and film and also published essays and short stories in national magazines. She returned to writing books for children and Bootsie Barker Bites, illustrated by Peggy Rathmann, a classic, was translated into eight languages and animated for television. Barbara prevailed upon her MD husband, Gerald Kruglik, to co-write Wallace's Lists, illustrated by Olof Landstrom, which was also animated, (Weston Woods) is translated into Swedish and is forthcoming in French.
Barbara collaborated with Michael Emberley, resulting in Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don't). Anyone who's ever struggled with falling in love with reading, or is the parent or teacher of a picky reader will rejoice in the way Miss Brooks handles a curmudgeon of a first grader. Miss Brooks Loves Books has appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List and is nominated for the prestigious Bill Martin Jr. Award. Barbara teaches writing and consults with writers all over the country; she was honored to receive the New School Distinguished Teaching Award in 1990.
