{"id":8047,"date":"2020-08-05T06:00:37","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T10:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/?p=8047"},"modified":"2020-08-05T19:54:23","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T23:54:23","slug":"blog-blitz-i-am-here-now-by-barbara-bottner-excerpt-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/blog-blitz-i-am-here-now-by-barbara-bottner-excerpt-giveaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog Blitz: I Am Here Now by Barbara Bottner (Excerpt + Giveaway!)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ubb-blog-tour-banner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/xpressobooktours.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IAmHereNowBlitzBanner.png\" alt=\"Blog Blitz: I Am Here Now by Barbara Bottner (Excerpt + Giveaway!)\"><\/a><\/p><p>Happy Wednesday and welcome to my stop on the I AM HERE NOW blog blitz! I&#8217;m so excited because today I have an excerpt of the book to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I&#8217;m so so excited to for you to find out more about I AM HERE NOW and Barbara Bottner!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Triangle-Banner-Summer-2020.png\" alt=\"Divider\" \/><\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/i-am-here-now-cover.png\" alt=\"Blog Blitz: I Am Here Now by Barbara Bottner (Excerpt + Giveaway!)\" title=\"Blog Blitz: I Am Here Now by Barbara Bottner (Excerpt + Giveaway!)\" class=\"ubb-cover-image alignleft\"><strong>I Am Here Now<\/strong> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/authors\/barbara-bottner\/\">Barbara Bottner<\/a> <br><strong>Published on<\/strong>  August 4, 2020 by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/publishers\/imprint\/\">Imprint<\/a> <br><strong>Genres:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/genres\/ya\/\">YA<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/genres\/historical-fiction\/\">Historical Fiction<\/a> <br><strong>Pages:<\/strong> 352 <br><strong>Add to <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/46223362-i-am-here-now\" target=\"_blank\">Goodreads<\/a> <br><blockquote class=\"ubb-synopsis\"><p><b>Set in the 1960s, Barbara Bottner's I Am Here Now is a beautiful novel in verse about one artist\u2019s coming of age. It\u2019s a heartbreaking, powerful and inspiring depiction of what it's like to shatter your life\u2015and piece it all back together.<\/b><br \/>\n<i>You can\u2019t trust Life to give you decent parents, or beautiful eyes, a fine French accent or an outstanding flair for fashion. No, Life does what it wants. It\u2019s sneaky as a thief.<\/i><br \/>\nMaisie's first day of High school should be exciting, but all she wants is to escape.<br \/>\nHer world is lonely and chaotic, with an abusive mother and a father who\u2019s rarely there to help.<br \/>\nSo when Maisie, who finds refuge in her art, meets the spirited Rachel and her mother, a painter, she catches a glimpse of a very different world\u2015one full of life, creativity, and love\u2015and latches on.<br \/>\nBut as she discovers her strengths through Rachel\u2019s family, Maisie, increasingly desperate, finds herself risking new friendships, and the very future she's searching for.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n\t\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t\"@type\":\"Review\",\n\t\"datePublished\": \"2020-08-05T10:00:37+00:00\",\n\t\"description\": \"Happy Wednesday and welcome to my stop on the I AM HERE NOW blog blitz! I'm so excited because today I have an excerpt of the book to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I'm so so exci\",\n\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\"name\": \"Kait Plus Books\"\t},\n\t\"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\\\/books\\\/blog-blitz-i-am-here-now-by-barbara-bottner-excerpt-giveaway\\\/\",\n\t\"itemReviewed\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Book\",\n\t\t\"name\": \"I Am Here Now\",\n\t\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\"name\": \"Barbara Bottner\",\n\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"\"\t\t},\n\t\t\"isbn\": \"125020769X\"\t},\n\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\"name\": \"Kaity\",\n\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\\\/books\\\/\"\t},\n\t\"reviewRating\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Rating\",\n\t\t\"ratingValue\": false,\n\t\t\"bestRating\": \"5\"\n\t}\n}\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Triangle-Banner-Summer-2020.png\" alt=\"Divider\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7753\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Read-an-Excerpt-Summer-2020.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Read-an-Excerpt-Summer-2020.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Read-an-Excerpt-Summer-2020-300x59.png 300w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Read-an-Excerpt-Summer-2020-768x150.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The City<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tiny fire escape is our private spot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My dad says he\u2019s sorry he\u2019s gone so often.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do I remember when I was six<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and he took me into the city?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I wore a red coat, red shoes,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and perfect white leather gloves<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">embroidered with tiny blue buds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I recall watching the road into New York:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">billboards, telephone lines, bridges,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">muddy sky.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The parking garage man said,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSo you\u2019re the boss man\u2019s little lady<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ve heard so much about?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The elevator man, Jimmy,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">knew my name!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My dad\u2019s corner office had the most windows,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the biggest desk, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My father bragged, \u201cYour daddy runs this joint!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From his window, as it got dark,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">we could see Manhattan laid out in front of us<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">like a glittering tablecloth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How could I not remember?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was a perfect day,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">until he turned the key in our front door.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mother was waiting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We were in for it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A breeze pushes the fumes against my face.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He snuffs out a butt, then lights another,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">says, \u201cLook, kid, smoking\u2019s a dirty habit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m going to quit soon.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTeach me to smoke!\u201d I say.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His eyebrows meet above his nose,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and as the tip of the cigarette burns,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">it sends smoke into the clear night<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">like a signal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe, across the Harlem River<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">someone will see it,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">realize we are signaling: Help!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cLet me try it, please? I want to be like you!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNo, you don\u2019t! Not now, not ever.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBut, Dad, at least I should know<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what I\u2019ll be missing for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He smiles so wide, I can see his molars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWell, you\u2019ll never know about the future,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he says, ominously.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I grab his arm.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTell me the truth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are you thinking of leaving?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cLeaving what?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDad!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUs! <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please! Please don\u2019t leave!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can\u2019t. I mean it!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She hates me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCalm down, Maisie,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My voice crackles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m just telling you, if you go,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">she\u2019ll put me in the ground.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He ruffles my hair<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as if I am being amusing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I want to scream.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou think I\u2019m a rotten kid, too?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou\u2019re a great kid, Maisie.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m trying to reform, Dad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMaisie, honey,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I like you exactly the way you are:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">spirited, smart, your own person.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBeing my own person<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is treacherous,\u201d I say.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He turns to me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAre you working me over?\u201d he asks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I know not to answer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOkay, you poor kid, one puff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ll give you <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> shot at it<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but you have to do exactly what I say.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You have to learn how to inhale, okay?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I do have to learn how to inhale.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to breathe,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as if I belong here on the earth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0I look at his face,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">think how I\u2019m glad that he breaks the rules.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He says we\u2019re alike.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That must be why I\u2019m the way I am,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as my grandma likes to say,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">always flirting with disaster,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as if disaster were my middle name.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhen you smoke,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you take in the deepest breath<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as if you have to last underwater<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">without air.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, you keep it in<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as long as you possibly can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBut you don\u2019t do that, Dad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019ve been smoking a long time, kid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ready?\u201d he says, and lights a fresh one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I sit up tall under the stars,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">put my feet on the bench,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">straighten my back<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">so I can always remember<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this moment, me and my dad,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on the same wavelength.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Me, trying to figure out<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if he wants to protect me<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">while he\u2019s teaching me to smoke.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How about telling me about school?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He sighs, offers the cigarette.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt has its moments,\u201d I say,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and close my lips around the tobacco,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inhale really, really deeply.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am about to show him the bruises<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I still have on my arm,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but then the smoke curls in my chest,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which immediately wants to explode.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHold it in,\u201d he commands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDon\u2019t let it out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally my mouth opens<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">because I\u2019m coughing and gasping.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It feels like some kind of torture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The taste is nasty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s awful!\u201d I cough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt tastes horrible, feels horrible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m practically crying.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSo disgusting! How could you?!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My dad laughs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWell, now you never have to do it again!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I dash inside, refuse to speak to him<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for the rest of the night.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m done with you, Dad!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He laughs!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Later he knocks on my door,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">takes my hand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBetween you and me,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if anything ever happened\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not that it will\u2014in the leaving department,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">wherever I\u2019d go,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you\u2019d be coming with me, kid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I promise.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I throw my arms around him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Later I will drift off wondering<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how much warning he\u2019d give me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And what about my brother?<\/span><\/p>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I Am Here Now<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0 Copyright \u00a9 2020 by Barbara Bottner and reprinted by permission of Macmillan\/Imprint.<\/span><\/h6>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Triangle-Banner-Summer-2020.png\" alt=\"Divider\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7693\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/All-About-the-Author-Summer-2020.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/All-About-the-Author-Summer-2020.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/All-About-the-Author-Summer-2020-300x59.png 300w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/All-About-the-Author-Summer-2020-768x150.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-8053 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Barbara.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<div><strong>Barbara Bottner<\/strong> has written about 50 books for children of all ages. In May, her first YA novel in free verse,\u00a0<span class=\"il\">I<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"il\">Am<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"il\">Here<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"il\">Now<\/span>\u00a0is coming out from Macmillan (Imprint)\u00a0She&#8217;s written a NY Times Bestseller, as well as staffed prime time sit-com, sold screenplays, published essays and short stories in both national and literary\u00a0magazines and reviewed children&#8217;s books for both the NY and LA Sunday Book Review. Many of her works have been multiply translated and animated, and adapted\u00a0for short plays. When she was an animator, she won &#8220;Best Film For TV&#8221; from the Annecy International Animation Festival. When very young, she briefly appeared on\u00a0stage and in Europe with La Mama Plexus and in television movies. She teaches writing for children privately but won The Distinguished University Teaching Award\u00a0from The New School For Social Research. Her papers are collected in the Arne Nixon Center for Children&#8217;s Literature at Fresno State.<\/div>\n<div>Former students include: Lane Smith, Robin Preiss Glaser, Peggy Rathmann, Bruce Degen, Barney Saltsburg and Antoinette Portis.<\/div>\n<div>She feels blessed to have a passion that seems to stick with her no matter how the larger world goes out of control.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7694\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Follow-the-Author-Summer-2020.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Follow-the-Author-Summer-2020.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Follow-the-Author-Summer-2020-300x59.png 300w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Follow-the-Author-Summer-2020-768x150.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/us.macmillan.com\/books\/9781250207692\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/21702.Barbara_Bottner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Goodreads <\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">| <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/barbarabottner\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Triangle-Banner-Summer-2020.png\" alt=\"Divider\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7695\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Enter-the-Giveaway-Summer-2020.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Enter-the-Giveaway-Summer-2020.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Enter-the-Giveaway-Summer-2020-300x59.png 300w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Enter-the-Giveaway-Summer-2020-768x150.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rafflecopter.com\/rafl\/display\/d04251233802\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Enter here to win a print copy of I AM HERE NOW by Barbara Bottner!<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>(US Only!)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Triangle-Banner-Summer-2020.png\" alt=\"Divider\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7697\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Tell-Me-Your-Thoughts-Summer-2020.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Tell-Me-Your-Thoughts-Summer-2020.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Tell-Me-Your-Thoughts-Summer-2020-300x59.png 300w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Tell-Me-Your-Thoughts-Summer-2020-768x150.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Doesn&#8217;t this book sound amazing? It&#8217;s been on my tbr for months and I&#8217;m so excited to read it! Is it on yours yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7699\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Well-Wishes-Candy-Fishes-Kait-summer-2020.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Well-Wishes-Candy-Fishes-Kait-summer-2020.png 600w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Well-Wishes-Candy-Fishes-Kait-summer-2020-300x160.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Happy Wednesday and welcome to my stop on the I AM HERE NOW blog blitz! I&#8217;m so excited because today I have an excerpt of the book to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I&#8217;m so so excited to for you to find out more about I AM HERE NOW and Barbara Bottner!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[509,484,1001,27],"tags":[2071,2097,537,489,651,540,2098,462,516],"reading-challenges":[],"class_list":["post-8047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-blitz","category-book-tours","category-excerpt","category-giveaways","tag-august-2020","tag-barbara-bottner","tag-blog-tour","tag-book-tour","tag-excerpt","tag-giveaway","tag-i-am-here-now","tag-kait-plus-books","tag-xpresso-book-tours","book-author-anna-birch","book-author-barbara-bottner","book-author-victoria-ying","book-publisher-imprint","book-genre-historical-fiction","book-genre-poetry","book-genre-ya"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/I-am-Here-Now-Featured.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8047"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8052,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8047\/revisions\/8052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8047"},{"taxonomy":"reading-challenges","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-challenges?post=8047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}