Reading Like a Writer

One of the joys of summer is that I can finally start reading in that stack of "to-be-read" books that keeps getting taller and taller. My thesis-in-progress is about a young girl who is dealing with grief and lots of change in her life.

Two of the books I read this week are about characters that also are dealing with grief and lots of personal change in their lives. I didn't realize this when I picked these books out of the pile.

Bird Lake Moon by Kevin Henkes
Mitch's parents are getting a divorce and he is mad at the world. He and his Mom go to live with his grandparents on Bird Lake. He spends most of his time being angry and wanting his life to be normal again. Then Spencer and his family arrive at Bird Lake. Spencer's family is returning to Bird Lake after many years because this is where Spencer's older brother drowned. It has taken a long time for his parents to feel like they can try to return. Both of these boys are dealing with their own issues, but they become friends.

As I writer, I loved to see how Henkes developed the psyche of these two boys and showed so many details. His use of setting and emotions really helped me to see how a writer can portray grief and emotions through the physical place and objects around them.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
This book is by a Virginia author. I had heard so many good things about it. I knew it was about a girl with Asperger's syndrome, but I didn't realize that it also was about this girl dealing with the loss of her brother who was killed in a school shooting. Like Erskine, I was touched by the Virginia Tech shootings. It was 30 minutes from where I live and I was terrified that something so horrible could happen so close to home. Erskine shows how Caitlin, the main character, deals with the loss of her brother and helps her dad also deal with his grief. Erskine portrays the grief honestly and uniquely as seen through the eyes of a child with Asperger's. There are no quick answers, but Caitlin and her dad began to heal.

As a writer, I was deeply touched by the emotions of this book. I loved how Erskine developed the relationship between Caitlin and her brother. We get to know Devon, the brother, after his death, through Caitlin's memories. Erskin weaves this in piece by piece in little details each time. Once again, like Henkes novel, we see how physical objects also hold great emotional weight.

Both of these novels I intended to read for pure pleasure. I had no idea they would help me see how different writers can approach the same subject. And they gave me momentum for pushing on with my own novel with a character in grief.

Fall in love with Pippi all over again!

Pippi Longstocking
By Astrid Lindgren
Illustrated by Lauren Child
Translated by Tiina Nunnally
Viking, 2007

I love this new translation and illustrated version of Pippi Longstocking. It had been a very long time since I read the “original” Pippi Longstocking, so I remembered very little about it. I was intrigued by this version simply because of the illustrations by Lauren Child. I really like Lauren Child’s style and I wanted to see what she would do with this classic book.

This will bring Pippi to a whole new generation who will fall in love with her and her spunk. It is a new translation. The story line remains the same, but as far as I can tell, the changes in wording are there but minute (from a quick glance comparing the two). It is an oversized chapter book, almost double the size of the original translation I got from the library. It gives Lauren Child room to illustrate and also provides some white space so that the text doesn’t appear heavy. This has great kid-appeal. The text looks manageable and is enlarged and played with in many areas. Some whole pages are illustrations and sometimes the text just goes right around the illustrations.

I loaned my copy to a friend’s second grade daughter and she loved it! If you are looking for a great gift for a 2nd-4th grade girl, I would highly recommend this version.

Check out Lauren Child's website

Virginia Readers' Choice Middle School List

This is the list for middle schoolers for the 2008-2009 school year. I posted the primary and elementary school lists a few weeks ago.

Adam Canfield of the Slash by Michael Winerip

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle

Blue by Joyce Moyer Hostetter

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Lawson (my review here)

Hitler's Canary by Sandi Toksvig

La Linea by Ann Jaramillo

The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman (my review here)

The Mailbox by Audrey Shafer

Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083 by Andrea White

Virginia Readers' Choice Elementary List

Virginia Readers' Choice Elementary list is for Grades 3-5. That means third graders can either read off of the primary list or the elementary list.

Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker

Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop

The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (my review here)

The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman

Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella Hartkoff

Phineas L. MacGuire...Erupts! by Frances O'Roark Dowell

Punished by David Lubar

Rules by Cynthia Lord (my review here)

The Winners Walk by Nancy Ruth Patterson

Cicada Summer

Cicada Summer
By Andrea Beaty
Amulet Books, 2008

Lily won’t speak. She has said a word since the death of her brother because she feels like it was her fault that he died. She doesn’t have a mother, but her dad, who is very caring, is still very involved in her life. The cicadas have come out for the summer and drown out the town with their loud song, but Lily’s summer is filled with mystery and secrets when a new girl comes to town. Lily spends time everyday in Fern’s store where she listens to the men of the town gossip about what’s going on. She spies and puts clues together like Nancy Drew would do. But when Tinny comes to town, she creates trouble for Lily. She accuses Lily of stealing and gets her Aunt Fern to kick Lily out of the store. As the summer toils on, we learn more about the death of Lily’s brother, and about what’s really going on in Tinny’s life that makes her the way she is.

Even though Lily doesn’t talk, we still get to hear the story through Lily’s viewpoint. Readers will be drawn into to loving Lily, her dad, and all of the old ladies in town who want to take care of her family. Cicada Summer draws you back into small-town life where the hub of town is the old country store and where people still have time to sit on the porch.

This is a heart-warming middle grade read. It will be available June 1, 2008.

Get this book--Quick

The Quikpick Adventure Society
By Sam Riddleburger
Dial, 2007

This book is about poop. Well, actually about kids who go to see a poop fountain, but still, if you tell any boy that it’s a book about poop, he’ll read it.

Lyle, Marilla, and Dave are friends and they hang out together, usually at the Quikpick. The Quikpick is a local gas station-slash-convenience store where Lyle’s parents both work. They get tired of just hanging out in the break room at the Quikpick, so they really want to find something interesting to do. Lyle’s parents have to work all day Christmas Day, so they plan to do this really-interesting-adventure on Christmas Day.

They read in the paper that the local wasterwater treatment plant is getting ready to get a new upgrade. They will be closing down their “sludge fountain” and opening new equipment. The timeline for this upgrade? Jan. 2. So they have time for their Christmas Day adventure.

They venture out on Christmas Day to the fountain of poop, as they call it. Yes, there are poop-related disasters. There is messiness. There are several “ooh, gross” moments. I’m telling you…give this to a boy you know!!!

Lyle is the narrator and he types his account of their adventure on his used typewriter his parents bought him for Christmas, but there are handwritten parts to the story too, and Lyle adds handwritten notes to his typed pages. It gives the story such a realistic journal feel.


Why do I love this book?
1) Most kids go on mini-adventures with small groups of friends. At least I did. Even if we never wandered far from home, we were able to create drama out of a mundane event. I even dated a guy once in college who showed me home movies of “adventures” he and his buddies had going from home to the local “Orange Market” (Quikpick-ish).
2) Most kids love to get grossed-out with bathroom humor. This book is not raunchy. The whole thing is not poop jokes. It’s poop--well done. (BTW, I can’t believe I just wrote that).
3) It’s set in Crickenburg, a fictional town based on a real place—Christiansburg, VA. I live only 20 minutes from there, so this book is close to home. And it’s written by a local author (and blogger) Sam Riddleburger (who is married to another local author, Sock Monkey writer and illustrator, Cece Bell). In fact, I got this book at a local Barnes and Noble event with Sam and Cece.
4) The kids write poetry—they even write haiku about their poop experience! Awesome!

Do you know a reluctant boy reader? Then go, buy this book!

Feathers--Newbery Honor

Feathers

by Jacqueline Woodson

G.P. Putnam, 2007

This was the only Newbery book (winner and honors included) that I hadn't read before the big annoucement a few weeks ago. So I bought it and read it last night.

Now I understand Fuse#8's comments in her Predict-0-Rama.

Here's my take:

It's a beautifully written book about a young girl named Frannie. She is learning to think for herself and question her friends prejudices. When a new boy comes to their school, everyone calls him "the Jesus boy" because he reminds them of Jesus. He's white, but insists he's not. Frannie wants to get to know him a little better, even though her friends have many reasons why she shouldn't. It makes a quiet, but effective statement about how we all make assumptions about others that we shouldn't make.

Frannie's momma has had several miscarriages and lost a newborn baby too. She feels like Frannie and her older brother Sean, who is also deaf, are her gifts from heaven. Woodson deals with her Frannie's family so openly and honestly. She doesn't gloss over the reality of the emotions of depression and hope that invade her family. I appreciated Woodson's handling of this matter. Frannie talks openly about death and how her family feels about death, babies, sadness, etc.

As someone who has been personally through some of the same things that Frannie's momma went through, this book was honest, authentic, and deeply touching. But I know that sometimes the Newbery awarded books get branded as ones that are more meaningful to adults but not as kid-friendly. Feathers really does see the whole situation through the eyes of a child. Frannie is honest and open, and shares her kid feelings.

A wonderful choice by the Newbery committee.

The True Meaning of Smekday

The True Meaning of Smekday
By Adam Rex

Hyperion 2007

Once again, this is another Rex title that I just couldn’t resist. The man can come up with some titles! I was intrigued.

The True Meaning of Smekday begins with a girl writing about the invasion of aliens on Earth. Gratuity Tucci’s whole life is different since the Boov (name of the weird looking aliens) came to America. First, they took her mom, then they sent everyone in America to Florida. Gratuity is on her own. Gratuity is looking back on the recent events and writes them down in an essay for school. The government is looking for essays from kids on the Smekday holiday to be placed in a time capsule. Smekday is the day that the aliens landed and took over the United States. Gratuity befriends a Boov and makes a cross-country journey with him.

I’m not big on science fiction, but this one definitely has kid-appeal. It has the occasional picture, a few elements of a graphic novel thrown in, and has funny talking aliens.

My only problem with this book was the length. And I think the length wouldn’t have bothered me if the story was broken up into chapters. There are no chapter breaks, just three different sections of the story. Since the book is over 400 pages, it makes a lengthy read without chapter breaks. I hope that Adam Rex tries a graphic novel.

This book was a finalist for the Cybils science fiction/fantasy category for Elementary and Middle Grade.

Read 7-Imps Interview with Adam Rex.

The Edge of the Forest Reviews

A new edition of The Edge of the Forest is up today. I have three reviews in this issue:

The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles

Iron Thunder by Avi

The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Junior Edition By David Borgenicht and Robin Epstein, illustrated by Chuck Gonzales

The Princess and the Pea--Retelling #3

The Princess Test
By Gail Carson Levine
HarperCollins, 1999

This novella is part of The Princess Tales by Levine. I love the way this book is made. It is a skinny little chapter book and is long and narrow (about ¾ of the width of a normal chapter book page).

The story definitely strays farther from the original than the other retellings I’ve reviewed. But of course, there is more room for elaboration in the middle grade novel format than in a picture book.

Lorelei is just a blacksmith’s daughter, but she has always required a lot of special care. She couldn’t help with regular household chores because she would break out in a rash or get injured. So her parents doted on her constantly, even though as she grew older, she felt somewhat guilty that they pampered her so much. When her mother dies, Lorelei’s father hires a woman to help with the household chores. The woman gets disgusted when she realizes how fragile and inept Lorelei is with everyday tasks. In fact, she gets so annoyed that she begins to set things up to see if Lorelei will hurt herself so badly that she will just die. Yes, this sounds just like an evil stepmother, but this lady never marries Lorelei’s father.

The prince of the kingdom notices Lorelei on many occasions because they knew each other from childhood. As much as he admires her, his parents won’t have him marry anyone except for a true princess. And Lorelei is just a blacksmith’s daughter.

The king and queen are tired and are ready to turn their kingdom over to their heir. But he has to be married to a real princess. Thus, the princess test is created. The royal family designs a series of tests that only true princesses will pass. In the original tale the prince travels worldwide looking for a princess. In this story all of the wanna-be princesses come to the palace to undergo the princess tests. The last of the tests is the pea-under-the-mattress test that is known in the original tale.

Even though Lorelei is not a princess, she still undergoes the tests, even though the prince wants her for his wife regardless of how she fares on the tests. But the king and queen insist that he only marry a true princess. Of course, she passes and they are able to get married.

What makes this retelling unique:
The fact that this is a chapter book meant for older readers make this retelling unique. Girls who are reading novels, but still love a good princess story, will love this book. This retelling keeps some of the familiar elements of the original tale, but also recreates it in such a way that the reader will feel like they are reading a fresh, new story.

Scott O'Dell Award

According to Read Roger, Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis, has won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. As of the time I am posting this message, it wasn't posted on the Award website yet.

I hope it will be a big year for Christopher Paul Curtis. Fuse #8 predicts that Elijah of Buxton will win a Newbery Honor. It was one of my favorite books of 2007 too.

A Passion for Pumpkins

I read this book because A Year of Reading had it on their Newbery Hopefuls From our Reading Friends special series (Day 2). One of my goals that I hope to reach one day is to have read the Newbery book before it’s announced. When the ALA meeting rolls around, and they announce the winner, my dream is to shout, “That’s a great book, I’ve already read it!” Sadly, this has never happened to me. So, this year I’ve read a lot. If someone says they think it’s a Newbery contender, I’ve tried to check it out from the library. When A Year of Reading did their Newbery Hopefuls series, I made a list of books to check out from the library. Here is one of the gems that was recommended.

Me and the Pumpkin Queen
By Marlane Kennedy
Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2007

Mildred was passionate about one thing: growing giant pumpkins. Her friends were obsessed with other things—basketball, cute boy actors—but not Mildred. She had an obsession of a different kind. Mildred’s dad was a veterinarian, who had a soft spot for unwanted animals. Her mother died of cancer (which by the way, is the third book in a row I’ve read with a mother who died of cancer) and her Aunt Arlene feels the need to take her under her wing.

Aunt Arlene wants to buy her clothes, doll her up, and make her think about things that girls her age think about. Mildred wants none of it. She wants to be able to grow her giant pumpkins. Her time, energy, and thoughts all go into winning a prize at the pumpkin show for the biggest pumpkin. She even consults a local farmer, a client of her dad’s, to find out what type of seeds she should use and get any growing tips he might have.

The whole growing season—from the day after the frost free date to the day of the pumpkin show—Mildred nurtures, protects, and worries over her pumpkins, until there is only one left.

This book has amazing voice. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read a book about a girl who loves pumpkins, but Marlane Kennedy made me care about Mildred from the first chapter, and the first chapter was only two very short pages. I worried right along with Mildred and couldn’t believe she took a trip to visit relatives and left her little pumpkins in the hands of her daddy. But that’s what makes this book a good read—that I cared about what happened to those little pumpkins. Mildred has passion and makes the readers of her story share in her passion.

Thanks for the recommendation A Year of Reading!

Read this before the year is out...

Edward’s Eyes
By Patricia MacLachlan
Atheneum, 2007

Edward is the perfect kid and Patricia MacLachlan is the perfect writer to tell his story. This story feels so real and so true. But it’s fiction.

Edward is part of a loving family. The family is big and it is about to get bigger with Edward’s mom expecting another baby. Edward loves to play baseball and is really good at it. Edward loves to speak French and can’t wait to teach French to the new baby. Most important of all, Edward has the most beautiful eyes imaginable. The entire book is set up to introduce you to Edward, make you love Edward, make you imagine you are looking into Edward’s eyes, make you feel like Edward was your brother, and then to let Edward die.

I knew that Edward was going to die, but I just couldn’t quite grasp it, until he did. His family donates his organs and his corneas so that part of him will live on and help someone who really needs it.

The prologue gives you the ending first, but it all doesn’t make sense until the end.

This is one of my favorite novels of the year. Simply, quiet, beautiful, sad. MacLachlan tells a story like no other.

Writing Books for Young Writers

I always find books for aspiring young writers just as fascinating as the books writing for adult who aspire to be writers. Two new-ish titles have been on my “to-read” list for awhile.

Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly
By Gail Carson Levine
HarperCollins, 2006

Levine, the queen of princess stories, encourages young writers to practice their craft and SAVE EVERYTHING. This book is full of writing exercises that she encourages young writers to try and SAVE. There is nothing new or earthshattering in this book. If you have read many writing books before, you will hear some of the same advice. But it’s worth hearing (or reading) again. In fact, the good thing is, Levine gives some of the advice I learned in graduate school and provides it to young writers.

Her first chapter includes Rules for Writing and The Writer’s Oath. She wants young writers to take their writing seriously.
Here is some of my favorite advice she gives:
-Writing: “The best way to write better is to write more.” p. 5
-Details: “The right details plunk us down inside the story and put us in our characters’ shoes.” p. 37
-Your brilliant words: She mentions that sometimes we write beautifully, but it doesn’t always make the story better. She says you should cut even the brilliant words because: “Do not do not DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT bend your story to accommodate your brilliant words.” P. 93
I loved this book, but I must admit, it probably won’t appeal to many adolescent boys. However, adolescent girls who want to write, or love Levine’s books, will probably pour over this book and try her many exercises.


How to Write Your Life Story
By Ralph Fletcher
HarperCollins, 2007
Ralph Fletcher adds to his series for young writers in this book about writing about your own life. He has written other books for young writers: Poetry Matters, How Writer’s Work, and A Writer’s Notebook. All of his books are written for middle grade readers. This is the age when students know how to write but have the developmental capability to really move their writing to the next level.
Fletcher’s recently published memoir, Marshfield Dreams, is mentioned frequently throughout the book because he shares his own writing experiences of how he went from memories to the published memoir. Marshfield Dreams would be a good companion read if teachers of serious young writers really wanted to study his techniques along with his finished product.
Other famous children’s book writers who also wrote memoirs are interviewed in this book. Jack Gantos, Jerry Spinelli, and Kathi Appelt talk about their experiences writing about their lives.
Memoirs aren’t the only genre that Fletcher talks about. He shows kids different genres they can use to write about their life. He teaches them how to mine their memories through neighborhood maps and heart maps (two techniques that I use every year with my fourth graders that I have read about in other writing books). He also recommends writing poetry about your life (like in "Where I’m From" poem by George Ella Lyon—another idea I do with fourth graders every year).
Fletcher gives practical writing tips to young writers. If you like Fletcher’s previous books about writing for young writers, add this one to your collection. It would be great to study along with some of the memoirs he mentions in the text.

More Donavan on the Way!

In a recent post, I reviewed Donavan's Word Jar by Monalisa DeGross, a book I use every year in my fourth grade classroom. Good news from the publishing front, according to Fuse #8, HarperCollins is releasing the next Donavan book in December 2007. It will be called Donavan's Double Trouble.

Aah! The Power of Words: Wordgatherers in Children's Books

Donavan’s Word Jar
By Monalisa DeGross
Illustrated by Cheryl Hanna
Trophy, 1998

One of my favorite stories that I read with my students every year is Donavan’s Word Jar by Monalisa deGross. Donavan collects words, but he realizes that his word jar is too full. He doesn’t know what to do. He has a collection of wonderful words like bamboozle, emporium, kaleidoscope, persnickety, and cantankerous. He asks his grandmother for help. One day he finds that people from her retirement community have taken the words out of his jar and are using them for their own purposes. I love this book because Donavan learns that words have power, and in this case, the power to help. It also is a celebration of words that sound really awesome. Kids love words that have unique ring to them, and Donavan picks out those kinds of words for his collection.
One of my favorite things about this story is that is always helped me lead the way to our own word collections. We always do a Writer’s Notebook entry called “Favorite Words too Fabulous to Forget” where students collect words from themselves and family and friends and write them down. Then we keep a running list of our favorite words. The word “snickerdoodle” makes it onto the list every year. I’ll admit, it is a cool word.
This year, I found two other books that are along the same theme. In fact, it’s uncanny how similar they are to Donavan’s Word Jar. But they each have their own unique qualities.





Max’s Words
By Kate Banks
Illustrated by Boris Kulikov
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2006

Max’s Words by Kate Banks is about a boy named Max who has brothers who have collections of their own, but they won’t share with Max. He decides to collect words. His word collection is not made up of unusual words like Donavan’s though. Max is a younger character who collects common words. My favorite part of this book is the celebration that a word collector doesn’t just have separate words. Max realizes that his brother that collects coins just has a bunch of coins; his brother that collects stamps just has a bunch of stamps. Max, on the other hand, doesn’t just have words. When he puts them together, he can create a story—and the story can change depending on how you arrange the words. This is an excellent celebration of writers who love to collect words.
The Boy Who Loved Words
By Roni Schotter
Illustrated by Giselle Potter
Schwartz & Wade, 2006.

My most recent find is The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter. This book would even appeal to the older audience because of the use of so many large vocabulary words that might intrigue older readers. Selig, the main character, loves to collect words. In fact, others think he is an “oddball” because of it. One night he dreams of a genie who tells him that his word collection needs to have a purpose. He too, learns to share his words and even spreads them out in a word tree, which is stumbled upon by a poet who needed just the right word. The author suggests that Selig might have legendary power. If you are looking for just the right word and you find it, it might be Selig offering it to you.
This books also includes a glossary of all of the large words and their definitions used throughout the story. And there are lots of big, unusual words in the story. I must confess, I had to look a few of them up myself.
I would recommend all three books. All three of them do a wonderful job of acknowledging the power and the breadth of words in our language.
Donavan’s Word Jar is a short chapter book. Max’s Words is a picture book that is simple enough to be enjoyed by children as young as four, but appreciated by a much older audience as well. The Boy Who Loved Words is a picture books, but would appeal mainly to children 8 and older.

Making Money--Pre-Teen Style

Lawn Boy
By Gary Paulsen
Random House, 2007

I read this book early on a Sunday morning before the sun even came up. It was a fun, easy read. I tried and tried to find the main character’s name, but I don’t think it is ever mentioned. The twelve year old narrator gets a used lawnmower from his grandmother. It once belonged to his late grandfather. He doesn’t know how to mow a lawn. In fact, his lawn never needs mowing because it’s always dead. One day he starts mowing it just to test out the mower. He is approached by a neighbor who needs his lawn mowed. He soon has more lawns than he can manage. Then a 70’s-dressing stock-broker wants him to mow his lawn, and instead of paying him cash, he invests the money for him, and essentially becomes the manager of his lawn mowing “company.” He helps him hire employees, whose legal working status might be questionable. But the company grows and grows and grows. So does his stock portfolio. His $40 that he received from mowing the stock broker’s lawn makes returns in the thousands.
Within two months time, this kid, who doesn’t have money to buy an inner tube for a flat bike tire, is rich to the tune of close to $500,000. Unbelievable? You bet. Show me where I can invest $40 and be $400,000 richer in the matter of 2 months. But it’s a fun book. Paulsen uses all of those hard-to-define economic terms in ways that makes good sense. Isn’t it every kid’s dream to mow lawns and get rich doing it?

Rules rules!

I just finished reading Newbery Honor book Rules by Cynthia Lord. I have been reading through a bunch of kids' books because I wanted to use them with my 4th graders. I am working on a presentation called "Reading Like a Writer" for the Virginia State Reading Association conference based on the same idea that I use in class with my students. I use good writing to demonstrate how to learn how to be a good writer. I read stories to them and show them how writers create voice, characters, description, etc. It has made me a more in-tuned reader and has helped me appreciate all of the elements that make a book memorable. I have probably enjoyed "Reading Like a Writer" more than my students have because I have been amazed of the beauty of words out there in kids' books.

I loved this book! Catherine, the main character, has a brother who is autistic, and has become friends with a handicapped boy named Jason while waiting for her brother at occupational therapy sessions. Jason cannot speak, but he uses a book to communicate. Catherine chooses and illustrates words to put in his communication book. I also loved the celebration of words, and how Catherine gives Jason words--that no one else would give him--to really express himself.

This book is so honest. Catherine is not perfect and doesn't always do the "right" thing when dealing with the people in her life who have disabilities. She is still selfish, thinks about what her friends might think, and just struggles with her feelings. That's what I loved most about this book. Catherine felt real.