About Novel

Author

Artist

Endorsements

Acknowledgements

Resources

Excerpts

Youth Dream Team

Endorsements Page

Many of our YOUTH DREAM TEAM members are foster youth and cannot be photographed or listed on this website. If you know a foster youth who is interested in our projects, please contact us. Being listed on this website is not required.



Endorsements Page

Julie (Maryland, USA)

"I read The Loose End of the Rainbow twice and it's sooo good! I don't have a favorite part though! Cause it was just really really good!"

"But my favorite characters are White Eagle and his horse Thunderbolt! I also like how White Eagle can talk to animals! I really like the book!"

"It was so interesting and exciting! I loved every part of it! Thanks for letting my read it! It is definitely one of my favorite books so far! It's amazing! I also like the names you used! Like the bug named Sky Dancer- I love that name! I really like the story, its SO GOOD!"

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Julie is thirteen-years-old. She loves horses and dogs. She has a horse named Jenny and a dog named Annie. Julie loves reading, and has read many of the Harry Potter books. English is her favorite school subject. She loves animals and wants to be a veterinarian when she gets older.































Dallas Woodburn
(California, USA)

"The Loose End of the Rainbow is one of those rare books that intrigues you with its title, captivates you from its opening paragraph, and never lets up until its colorful and unexpected end. Vividly drawn and expertly crafted, readers cannot help but sink into the world Pacini illuminates, in a time before America was called America. I relate to the vibrant, strong, and intriguing characters. They seem like people I know even though they live in an ancient world much different from our modern world of today."

"Young readers will benefit from this remarkable story -- not only does Pacini empower and uplift youth and young adults with the promise of hope and equality, she also subtly provides interesting information about American Indian people. Additionally, she gently communicates environmental concerns (particularly about global warming) and addresses earth protecting responsibilities that we all should share with her."

"I especially enjoyed learning about American Indian tee-pees, different types of native roots and medicinal herbs used by native peoples, and the beautiful Apache wedding prayer. Most of the novel's main characters are children and young adults. Every teacher should order this book for his or her class!"

"I'm already itching to read the second novel in this Universal Knights trilogy where Pacini will take us to ancient Tibet and introduces us to young Tibetan characters that I trust will be as compelling as her American Indian characters."

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Author Dallas Woodburn is a 21-year-old senior at the University of Southern California. She has also studied writing abroad at Cambridge University and the University of East Anglia in England. She has been a guest on the CBS Early Show, with host Hannah Storm. She is the youngest author ever featured on the nationally-syndicated PBS book talk show, Between the Lines. Her short fiction has been published in Cicada and The Hudson Valley Literary Magazine. Writing awards include a Gold Medal in The Scholastic Art and first place in both the national Byline Magazine Short Story Contest and Let’s Write Short Fiction Contest. In addition, she has written articles for: The Los Angeles Times, Ventura County Star, Family Circle, Writer's Digest, The Writer, CO-ED, Listen, Justine, Encounter, So, You Wanna Be a Writer?, and four issues of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, including Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul IV, and Chicken Soup for the Girl's Soul. She wrote a feature-length play for her high school production, and is writing a one-act play script for the USC One-Act Play Festival.

In her spare time she teaches online writing courses for teens at: http://learning.absynthemuse.com and she is coordinator-workshop instructor for the Young Writers Program at the prestigious Santa Barbara Writers Conference.

In 2000, Woodburn established her nonprofit foundation, "Write On!" to encourage youth to discover the joys of reading and writing. The website features essay contests, book reviews, helpful writing prompts, author interviews, and pages for young authors to showcase their writing. She holds an annual Holiday Book Drive and in the past few years has collected thousands of new books that she donates to underprivileged kids.

To sign up for her free "Write On!" monthly e-newsletter, or to receive information about starting a "Write On!" chapter in your community, please send an e-mail to: dallaswoodburn@aol.com

http://www.zest.net/writeon

http://dallaswoodburn.blogspot.com











TrenchTown (Jamaica)

Roslyn Ellison, Co-Founder and Director of TrenchTown Reading Centre in Jamaica, took The Loose End of the Rainbow to youth at the Centre. We are hopeful that some of these young people will become members of the Youth Dream Team.

The TrenchTown Reading Centre was founded in December 1993. It is part of Kingston's ghetto enclave. It is a non-profit, secular, community-based development, started from the roots up and created with the desire to find a postive path forward that will lead out of the cycle of violence and lack of opportunity.

The Centre focuses on knowledge, the exchange of ideas, literacy, and the development of critical thinking skills. It is also a lending library with the primary goal of providing a comprehensive book collection for all ages, as well as providing educational and community activities, including child centered reading activities to make life-long readers. In addition, the Centre provides children and adults with materials that are relevant, current, and otherwise unavailable.

A place where life is enriched by reading and learning.


TrenchTown Reading Centre


Endorsements Page