Monthly Archives: June 2015

Between Books

Both my new books have gone to copy-editing. That means I have Nothing to Do until I get the manuscripts back, no doubt covered with suggestions and questions (for the record: I bow at the feet of copy-editors. They’re the ones who notice I’ve made a moon go from crescent to full in two days,  or inadvertently renamed a minor character, or used the word “but” to start three consecutive paragraphs.)

When you’re used to writing all the time, every day, Nothing to Do is a strange place to be. It feels a little like being suspended in a hammock—mostly pleasant but also kind of precarious. You want to relax and let your mind go blank, but there’s a nagging feeling that this isn’t natural. You close your eyes and exhale and immediately worry that you should be describing this experience, taking notes and interpreting and connecting and seeing what you can make of the breeze, the flickering leaves, the mosquito who’s come to whine at your ear. Shouldn’t those happy, bare feet be on the ground? Shouldn’t you be beginning The Next Book?

Writing becomes more than a habit. It’s a  muscle that wants exercise. It can be hard to remember that it needs to be rested, now and then. We need to let the world flood in, un-interpreted, purely experienced. When Alice Munro announced that she was retiring from writing, she said she wanted to “live  life on the surface”. I think I know what she meant. In that open-ness, that receptivity to the world’s wonders and terrors—that’s where the next stories lurk, where they dodge and duck. That’s where they wait for me to try and catch them.

Munro, to our immense loss, may not make any more stories, but I hope I will. So here I am, suspended. Start that Something New too soon, or wait too long, and I’ll topple out of my hammock and hit the ground with an ignominious, not to mention painful, thud. I’m counting on knowing when it’s time to  climb out.

Till then, please hand me my Charles Dickens, and another glass of peach Izzy.

***

My new books have names now. Next year, HarperCollins will publish “Every Single Second” and Candlewick will publish “Cody and the Mysteries of the Universe”.  Who’s the world’s luckiest writer?

Circle

Today at the pool I saw a girl (with Dottie-red hair) reading “What Happened on Fox Street”.  I flew back to the summer I was writing it, when I’d come to the pool after hours at my desk, to swim my laps and ponder  Mo and Mercedes and Dottie and Da.   Crawl-backstroke-crawl, hearing their voices, puzzling over who they were and what they wanted–once I climbed out of the water to grab a (dry) kickboard and use it as a lap desk to scribble some notes (never go anywhere, even swimming, without paper and pen).  That summer, as I swam up and down, back and forth, day after day, the book was still a secret dream  belonging only to me.

And now to see it,  held tight in two small hands,  a real book out in the world! It startled me. It was  as if Mo Wren and her story had always existed, as if she’d just been waiting, between the sunbeams, on the sparkling surface of the water, to be made visible.  Now her story belongs to that red-haired reader, too.  Happiness and gratitude flooded through me.

Some Are Silver and Some Are Gold and Some Are Invisible! A post from SLJ

By  on June 9, 2015 Leave a Comment

If keeping friends is difficult, making them must seem insurmountable for some kids. The truth is that friendship is a work in progress. Best friends move away. Sometimes friends are busy with weekend activities. From time to time, two pals may not see things eye to eye. An occasional child may have a companion you can’t even see. The following intermediate chapter books selected by the editors at Junior Library Guild offer all kinds of situations that will make readers laugh, cry, and feel as if they’ve found new friends.

ImaginaryHARROLD, A.F. The Imaginary. illus. by Emily Gravett. 224p. Bloomsbury. 2015. ISBN 9780802738110. JLG Category: A+ : Intermediate Readers (Grades 3-5). LiveBinder Resources

“Without Amanda to think of him, to remember him, to make him real, he was slipping away. Rudger was being forgotten…Then a quiet voice said, I can see you. And Rudger opened his eyes.” In a Neil Gaiman/Roald Dahl–like world, Amanda Shuffleup has found a friend. Of course, only she can see him. When the sinister Mr. Bunting appears to be stalking them, fate drives the two friends apart. Now Rudger fights for his life, too.

A visit to Harrold’s website reveals a video on the writing process, as well as Gravett illustrating characters from the novel. A teaching guide is posted on Bloomsbury.

Friends of a FeatherMYRACLE, Lauren. Friends of a Feather. illus. by Jed Henry. 144p. (The Life of Ty: Bk. 3). Dutton. 2015. ISBN 9780525422884. JLG Category: I+ : Independent Readers (Grades 2-4). LiveBinder Resources

Ty returns in the third chapter book of the series. Best friend Joseph is out of the hospital and back to school, but things haven’t gone back to normal. Everyone wants to be his friend now, and Ty has a hard time adjusting to that. Maybe he’s even jealous of the attention. He knows Joseph is on his side; it just doesn’t feel like they’re on the same team.

Myracle, who also writes for teens and tweens, blogs, tweets, and maintains a Facebook page while she travels around the country. Follow Henry on Tumblr.

Adventures with WafflesPARR, Maria. Adventures with Waffles. illus. by Kate Forrester. 240p. Candlewick. 2015. ISBN 9780763672812. JLG Category: I+ : Independent Readers (Grades 2-4). LiveBinder Resources

For best friends Trille and Lena, every day is an adventure. When Lena wants a dad, they write an advertisement. Inspired by the story of Noah’s ark, they fill a boat with small animals until Lena has a thought. “It’s time we got a cow.” Seemingly fearless, the two pals move from one disastrous idea to another, with Trille’s grandpa to help save the day. But then sadness comes to Mathildewick Cove, causing Trille to wonder if Lena is his best friend after all.

Listen to an audio sample or read an excerpt on the publisher’s page. Readers hungry for waffles will enjoy following the recipe by Alton Brown on the Food Network.

Frank Einstein and the ElectroFingerSCIESZKA, Jon. Frank Einstein and the Electro-Finger. illus. by Brian Biggs. 178p. (Frank Einstein: Bk. 2). Abrams/Amulet. 2015. ISBN 9781419714832. JLG Category: A+ : Intermediate Readers (Grades 3-5).LiveBinder Resources

Blending science with humor, Scieszka and Biggs continue the “Frank Einstein” series. Pals Frank and Watson experiment with electricity, hoping to continue the work begun by Nikola Tesla. If they are successful, free wireless energy will be available to their entire town. Behind the scenes, however, arch enemy T.E. Edison races to complete his diabolical plan to monopolize all energy, leaving customers at his mercy.

Scieszka’s fun website is not to be missed for its links to Guys Read and his Favorite Answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Check out the amazing illustrations on the illustrator’s website. You can follow Scieszka and Biggs on Twitter. A teaching guide with extensive vocabulary and CCSS questions is available on the publisher’s website. The series now has its own website, full of activities and resources for adults and children. Additional resources are posted in the Fall 2014 LiveBinder, such as theWonderopolis lesson “Do Robots Wonder?” and Tobey’s Robot Workshop at PBS.

Cody and the Fountain of HappinessSPRINGSTUBB, Tricia. Cody and the Fountain of Happiness. illus. by Eliza Wheeler. 160p. Candlewick. 2015. ISBN 9780763658571. JLG Category: I+ : Independent Readers (Grades 2-4). LiveBinder Resources

It’s the first day of summer vacation, and there’s not a minute to lose when Cody realizes everyone is too busy to spend the day with her. A little boy named Spencer and a lost cat change everything. “There is a certain kind of sadness that belongs to someone else, but feels like it belongs to you too.” Cody is determined to find the cat and help young Spencer out of his own doldrums. After all, that’s what friends are for. “Only this is real life. Where things are not so simple. At all.”

Award-winning novelist Springstubb’s charming and diverse new characters are sure to delight young readers. You can find out more about the author and her work at her website, on Twitter, and onPinterest. Share the book trailer or read the first chapter which is posted on the publisher’s website.  Read her advice for aspiring writers in an interview on colleague Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s blog. For more on illustrator Wheeler, visit her website, where you’ll find more of her gorgeous work. Readers will fill their own fountains of happiness when they learn that Cody and her pals will return in the new independent reader series.

WARNER, Sally. EllRay Jakes the Recess King! illus. by Brian Biggs. 176p. (EllRay Jakes: Bk 8). Viking.EllRay Jakes the Recess King2015. ISBN 9780451469113. JLG Category: I+ : Independent Readers (Grades 2-4). LiveBinder Resources

When EllRay’s little sister suggests that her big brother needs a spare friend, the eight-year-old uses his list-making skills to narrow down the possibilities. Then, armed with carefully researched ideas for recess activities, EllRay spirals down a path that is loaded with good intentions but results in disaster. How can he make a new friend by Thursday if his efforts to be the Recess King continue to fail?

Read about the author’s favorite books and the answers to other questions in Deborah Kalb’s interview. For ideas about recess activities, visit Pinterest or BHG. You’ll find 15 indoor recess games on the Cornerstones’s website. Looking for a lesson plan? Wonderopolis posts an informational text article, “Do You Like to Play Tag?” which includes a short video, vocabulary, and a quiz.

Additional Resources

The resources for the above titles have been organized in JLG Booktalks to Go: Spring 2015 LiveBinder. Titles are sorted by interest level, PreK-3, 3-6, 5-8, and YA. All websites are posted within each LiveBinder, along with the accompanying booktalk. As I write more columns, more books and their resources are added. Everything you need to teach or share brand new, hot-off-the-press books is now all in one place. Booktalks and resources are also included on JLG’s BTG Pinterest board.

For library resources, tips, and ideas, please visit JLG’s Shelf Life Blog.

Junior Library Guild (JLG) is a collection development service that helps school and public libraries acquire the best new children’s and young adult books. Season after season, year after year, Junior Library Guild book selections go on to win awards, collect starred or favorable reviews, and earn industry honors. Visit us at www.JuniorLibraryGuild.com. (NOTE: JLG is owned by Media Source, Inc.,SLJ’s parent company.)

On the road…

(Author! That would be me)

The visits continue after I got home, with letters like these:

(huge orange cat–that would be Habibi*, who the kids meet in my slideshow)

(two cats–that would be Habibi* and Billy–they have a way of stealing that slideshow!)

(from your lips to God’s ear, Dylan!)

I’m home now, happy to have traveled, happy to be back at my desk. Someone * seems to want to make sure that I don’t hit the road again without bringing him…