Susan VanHecke: Books for Young People

books for young people

Out now!

An Apple Pie For Dinner
Marshall Cavendish, easy reader
Granny Smith wants to bake a pie, but she only has plums. She sets off to find pie apples, winds up trading her plums for a bag of feathers, the feathers for a bouquet of flowers, the flowers for a gold chain, the chain for a puppy, and the puppy for apples. Through her generous giving to others, she finally finds the apples for her pie, which, of course, she shares with all those who helped her. This adaptation of an English folk tale includes a kid-friendly apple pie recipe. Yum!

Find fun activities, links, and teacher/parent resources at AnApplePieForDinner.com!

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Coming September 1, 2009!

Rock 'N' Roll Soldier: A Memoir
HarperCollins, young adult
For Dean Kohler, a teenage soldier in Vietnam, the best way to shield himself from the horrors of combat is to play some rock and roll. So, right there, in-country, Dean and three of his fellow MPs form a fully functional, touring rock band that entertains hundreds of U.S. troops during the darkest moments of the war.

Rock 'N' Roll Soldier (former working title Flak Jacket Rock) is the true story of Dean Kohler's wartime experience, Vietnam as never before seen. One moment Dean and the band are patrolling and going toe to toe with the VC. The next they're trekking to Pleiku, traversing the deadly An Khe Pass, to play "We Gotta Get Outta This Place" for a throng of cheering GIs. Unbelievably, Dean and his group even cut a record there in the jungle, crafting a makeshift sound studio on a war-zone mountainside. Dean and the other members of the Electrical Banana (a name inspired by a Donovan song) create their own bit of order out of chaos, bringing a sense of normalcy to the surreal hell of jungle war. Co-written with Dean Kohler. Foreword by Graham Nash.

Find photos, video, audio, a discussion guide, and more at RockNRollSoldierAMemoir.com!

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Coming in 2010!

Strike Up The Band! Amazing Instrument Makers From Ragtime To Rock
Boyds Mills Press, nonfiction for middle-graders

Take a behind-scenes-tour of some of America's best-known musical instrument manufacturers, from Zildjian cymbals and Fender guitars to Ludwig drums, Steinway pianos, Moog synthesizers, and more. Packed with exciting photos and fascinating info, Strike Up The Band! offers students a backstage-pass look at the enterprising individuals – many of whom weren't even musicians themselves – who became some of the greatest names in the business of making musical instruments.