Joanne Rocklin's children’s books have garnered starred reviews, as well as awards, including The SCBWI Golden Kite, Parents’ Choice Gold Medal, Sydney Taylor Notable, ALA Notable, California Library Association Beatty Award, and others. They are also on many state lists.Here Rocklin shares some insights about an adaptation of her new middle grade novel, Love, Penelope:
Love, Penelope is told in letters to an unborn sibling by a young girl who lives in Oakland with her two mamas.Watch the Love Penelope video trailer, and visit Joanne Rocklin's website.
It was inspired by the proximity in time of two major celebrations: the June 19, 2015 parade in Oakland (where I live) for the Golden State Warriors’ 2015 National Basketball Association championship; and the joy following the June 26, 2015 Supreme Court decision making same-sex marriage legal across the U.S.
Those two events are especially meaningful to my main character, who loves both the Warriors and her city. She also wishes her parents would marry. She has always felt angry when people call San Francisco The City, as if Oakland was not as important. So too, the “domestic partnership” of her mothers doesn’t carry the weight and honor of a marriage, in her mind.
I see these two events as the highpoint of any movie of my book, as they would emphasize Penny’s growth and acceptance and joy in her own identity.
I have no idea who could play Penny, or who would direct. However, the voice of Penny as read by the actress, Maia Kolosky, in my book trailer, is absolutely perfect.
The Page 69 Test: Fleabrain Loves Franny.
Coffee with a Canine: Joanne Rocklin & Zoe.
--Marshal Zeringue
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