Novel – Page 61 – Unleashing Readers

Author Guest Post!: “Visiting Schools” by Iain Reading, Author of The Dragon of the Month Club

March 6, 2016 by Ricki

“Visiting Schools”

I know, I know… it’s been said a hundred times before… One really great way to get kids in schools interested in reading is to invite some authors to come in and talk to them. But at the risk of beating a dead horse by raising this topic again for the hundred-and-first time, let me just say that one of my absolute favourite things in the world is visiting schools and talking about my books and how I ended up writing them.

When I visit schools I have a checklist of things that I always bring with me:

– Many copies of my books to give away. Check.

– Dragon of the Month Club membership cards to give away. Check.

– Trading cards for each of my books to give away. Check.

– Wristbands for my books to give away. Check.

– Pendants from designs from my books to give away. Check.

(As you can see, I always bring lots of stuff for giveaways. Kids love it.)

But even with all the free stuff the kids get I think the most memorable thing for them (although they never really show it – you know how kids are) is when the story in the books I’ve written actually take place right there in their own hometowns and neighbourhoods. One of my own most memorable visits was to a small school in rural Ireland where the kids were amazed to hear that one of the books in my Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency had several scenes that took place just a few miles away. And they couldn’t believe that the boring tiny little village where they lived was actually one of the most favourite places in all the world of some writer they never heard of from Canada.

On visits like these I always have a great time and so do the kids and teachers too. There are writers everywhere in the world. And writers tend to write what they know, so they’ve probably written something about every corner of the world where there’s a school. And I bet they’d love to come out and talk to students about their books.

And if not…. well, give me a call… maybe I’ll be in your corner of the world sometime and I can drop in and give away a bunch of stuff.

The Dragon Of The Month Club, by Iain Reading, was published in February 2015 and is available for sale.

Synopsis:

The Dragon Of The Month Club is the exciting first installment in a new book series that tells the story of Ayana Fall and Tyler Travers, two best friends who stumble across an extraordinarily magical book and soon find themselves enrolled as members of a very special and exclusive club – The Dragon of the Month Club.

On the thirteenth of every month a new dragon conjuring spell is revealed and the two friends attempt to summon the latest Dragon of the Month. The varieties are almost endless: Air Dragons, Paper Dragons, Fog Dragons, Waterfall Dragons, Rock Dragons, Tree Dragons – not to mention special bonus dragons for all the major holidays, including a particularly prickly Holly Dragon for Christmas.

But one day when a conjuring spell somehow goes wrong Ayana and Tyler find themselves unexpectedly drawn into a fantastical world of adventure based on the various books scattered all across Tyler’s messy bedroom. Travelling from one book-inspired world to the next with nothing to rely on but their wits and a cast of strange and exotic dragons at their disposal they must try to somehow find their way home again.

Drawing inspiration from some of literature’s most memorable stories – from 19th century German folktales to the streets of Sherlock Holmes’s London – the adventures of Ayana and Tyler bring these classic stories to life in delightfully strange and unexpected ways. Filled with fascinating detail and non-stop action these books will spark the imaginations of readers of all ages to inspire a life-long love of reading and seeking out books that are just a little bit off the beaten track.

Praise for The Dragon of the Month Club:

“No other book bonds together so many stories in such a fashion that is actually readable and enjoyable at the same time. With the title being The Dragon of the Month Club, many might think this is a book strictly about magic and dragons, yet you will find that what’s inside this book will leave you awe struck.” – Red City Reviews

“Iain Reading has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I started reading his Kitty Hawk books and now I’m introduced to a fantastical world. This is the type of book I would have spent hours in my room, wishing I could slip into the pages and have an adventure.” – Sandra Stiles

“The Dragon of the Month Club is a very enjoyable read. I’m a grown adult and I enjoyed it. It reminded me of a Harry Potter meets Goosebumps (the part where the books come alive) meets Sherlock Holmes. I found the book to be engaging and kept me wanting to read on. This is a wonderful series for any young reader.” – sgebhard

Contest:

There is an ongoing contest for readers to win a one-of-a-kind hardcover version of The Dragon of the Month Club with their artwork as the cover.

“Draw a picture! Write a story! Take a photograph! Bake some cookies! Mold a dragon out of clay! Knit one out of yarn! Make one out of LEGO! Whatever you want! Just let your imagination run wild because anything goes – the more creative the better! Send your dragon in and then on the 13th day of every month one entry will be chosen at random and featured on the official Dragon Of The Month Club website. Each month’s lucky winner will also receive a free one-of-a-kind personalized hard-cover edition of The Dragon Of The Month Club book featuring their winning artwork (or other creative content) on the cover or inside the book itself,” says Iain.

To learn more, go to http://www.dragonofthemonthclub.com/

About the Author:

Iain Reading is passionate about Root Beer, music, and writing. He is Canadian, but currently resides in the Netherlands working for the United Nations.

Iain writes middle grade and young adult books. His published works include the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series, The Wizards of Waterfire Series, and the dragon of the month club. To learn more, go to http://www.amazon.com/Iain-Reading/e/B00B0NGI6Q/

Connect with Iain on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

**Thank you, Iain, for this fantastic post!**

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A Tyranny of Petticoats Blog Tour with Author Q&As by Caroline Richmond, Lindsay Smith, and Robin Talley

March 4, 2016 by Kellee

A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers, and Other Badass Girls
Authors: Various
Published March 8th, 2016 by Candlewick Press

Summary: From an impressive sisterhood of YA writers comes an edge-of-your-seat anthology of historical fiction and fantasy featuring a diverse array of daring heroines.

Criss-cross America — on dogsleds and ships, stagecoaches and trains — from pirate ships off the coast of the Carolinas to the peace, love, and protests of 1960s Chicago. Join fifteen of today’s most talented writers of young adult literature on a thrill ride through history with American girls charting their own course. They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos. They’re making their own way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals. And they all have a story to tell.

With stories by:
J. Anderson Coats
Andrea Cremer
Y. S. Lee
Katherine Longshore
Marie Lu
Kekla Magoon
Marissa Meyer
Saundra Mitchell
Beth Revis
Caroline Richmond
Lindsay Smith
Jessica Spotswood
Robin Talley
Leslye Walton
Elizabeth Wein

A Tyranny of Petticoats Blog Tour!

The authors of this anthology are as diverse as their characters, so to give readers a better sense of their diverse processes and experiences writing for this anthology, the following three questions were asked of each contributor:

1. What inspired you to write about this particular time and place?

2. What was the most interesting piece of research you uncovered while writing your story?

3. Who is your favorite woman in history and why?

Today we are happy to host Caroline Richmond, Lindsay Smith, and Robin Talley as they answer those questions for us:

Caroline Tung Richmond
Story title: “The Red Raven Ball”
Story setting: 1862, Washington, D.C.

About the Author: CAROLINE TUNG RICHMOND is the author of The Only Thing to Fear and the forthcoming The Darkest Hour, a YA novel set in Occupied France during World War II. A self-proclaimed history nerd, Caroline lives with her husband and daughter in the Washington, D.C., area — not far from several Civil War battlefields.

What inspired you to write about this particular time and place?
- As a kid growing up in the Washington, D.C., area, I’ve always been fascinated by the Civil War. It always struck me how D.C. — the capital of the Union — butted right up against the Confederate border. The city was well-fortified, but it still must’ve been scary to live in the capital during the war, with Confederate troops looming nearby. So when Jessica Spotswood kindly invited me to contribute to A Tyranny of Petticoats, I immediately wanted to set my short story in Washington during the Civil War, and that’s how “The Red Raven Ball” came to be.
What was the most interesting piece of research you uncovered while writing your story?
- Finding an old photo of my husband’s ancestors! My husband is related to a famous nineteenth-century politician named Robert Ingersoll — dubbed “the most famous American you never heard of” by the Washington Post — and I wove a few details of his life into “The Red Raven Ball.” While researching Ingersoll, I came across a photo of him with his family. It was such a treat to study their faces and know that their blood runs in my daughter’s veins!
Who is your favorite woman in history and why?
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton, hands down! Stanton dedicated her life to fighting for women’s suffrage in the United States, and she was basically a nineteenth-century badass lady. One example of her awesomeness? Prior to her wedding, she instructed the minister to omit the phrase “promise to obey” from her vows. She also raised seven kids while working tirelessly as a suffragette, abolitionist, and social activist. She’s truly an inspiration to me.

Lindsay Smith
Story title: “The City of Angels”
Story Setting: 1945, Los Angeles, CA

About the Author: LINDSAY SMITH is the author of the Sekret series of paranormal spy thrillers set in Soviet Russia, and Dreamstrider, a high fantasy adventure. She grew up watching far too many movies from the 1940s — from Abbott and Costello comedies to musicals to anything dazzling with old Hollywood glamour. Not one for California weather, however, she lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and dog, and writes on foreign affairs.

What inspired you to write about this particular time and place?
- I’m deeply drawn to twentieth-century history — that sense of immediacy while still being at a slight historical remove is fascinating to me. When Jessica Spotswood mentioned she hadn’t gotten any story proposals set during World War II, I knew I wanted to pick that time period. The idea of a home-front drama really appealed to me because of the significant roles women got to play in the war effort that they had rarely been offered before the 1940s. Evelyn’s and Frankie’s characters just grew organically from that setting.
What was the most interesting piece of research you uncovered while writing your story?
- I fell down a rabbit hole researching all the tiny details of munitions and airplane factory life for women during World War II. They could earn the right to fly particular banners over their factories, for instance, if they sold enough war bonds. All of the home-front stories I read as research were inspiring, though — that curious mix of patriotism, determination, and sisterhood these women felt as they tended victory gardens, rationed meat, and collected scrap metal for the war effort.
Who is your favorite woman in history and why?
- I love disruptive women in history! Catherine the Great, Alice Roosevelt, Empress Dowager Cixi — all women who cared nothing for others’ opinions of them and didn’t let others stand in their way when they set out to accomplish their goals.

Robin Talley
Story title: “The Whole World is Watching”
Story setting: 1968, Grant Park, IL

About the Author: ROBIN TALLEY is the author of Lies We Tell Ourselves, a finalist for the 2015 Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children’s/Young Adult, as well as the contemporary novel What We Left Behind and the upcoming thriller As I Descended. Robin lives in Washington, D.C., where she enjoys being surrounded by history, though she’s glad to be living in the twenty-first century.

What inspired you to write about this particular time and place?
- Nineteen sixty-eight was a time of massive protests across the United States — much like the present day. I was interested in exploring the history of antiwar protests in the 1960s and how they intersected with the ongoing civil rights movement, the burgeoning feminist movement, and the very early days of the movement in support of equal rights for LGBTQIA+ people. As an added bonus, the sixties had some truly amazing clothes, hairstyles, and slang that were fun to think about.
What was the most interesting piece of research you uncovered while writing your story?
- The antiwar protests at the Chicago 1968 Democratic National Convention were crushed by what were then considered extreme police tactics, and there was a national outcry after video of the police brutality was shown on live TV. Hundreds of demonstrators were injured by police and National Guard officers who dramatically outnumbered the protestors and who didn’t hesitate to use violence against them. In my research I learned that the police tactics used were unheard of at the time, such as the use of military-style weapons like tear gas and the wearing of protective gear like riot helmets over their regular clothing. But today many police units combating protests in places like Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, have taken much more extreme approaches, including the use of advanced military gear and weaponry. It was interesting to learn how things have progressed in terms of police tactics, and the public’s reaction to them, over the past few decades. What was once considered extreme would be considered commonplace, maybe even tame, by today’s standards.
Who is your favorite woman in history and why?
- There are way too many to pick just one favorite! So I’ll name the woman who I think is the obvious choice to go on U.S. currency (preferably the twenty-dollar bill so we can get rid of Andrew Jackson) — Harriet Tubman. Through sheer determination and a lot of skill she took the biggest risk imaginable — and she succeeded, changing the lives of so many and changing the world at the same time.

Don’t miss the other stops on the blog tour!

Wednesday, March 2 A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust
·         J. Anderson Coats
·         Andrea Cremer
·         Y. S. Lee

Thursday, March 3 Charting by the Stars
·         Marissa Meyer
·         Saundra Mitchell
·         Beth Revis

Friday, March 4 Unleashing Readers
·         Caroline Richmond
·         Lindsay Smith
·         Robin Talley

Monday, March 7 Teach Mentor Text
·         Katherine Longshore
·         Marie Lu
·         Kekla Magoon

Tuesday, March 8th YA Love
·         Leslye Walton
·         Elizabeth Wein
·         Jessica Spotswood

Tyranny of Petticoats is on sale March 8th!

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**Thank you to Kathleen at Candlewick for having us as a part of the blog tour!**

Author Guest Post!: “Stories are Everywhere” by Wendy Terrien

February 28, 2016 by Kellee

“Stories are Everywhere”

Stories are everywhere. And there’s no one right way to discover them.

This probably isn’t a profound statement to adults. But maybe, just maybe, it might spark something in a kid.

THE RAMPART GUARDS was borne out of an hour of easy-going, not-too-intellectual television viewing. Television! That which we should all spend less time doing. If we want to better ourselves, we should be reading, or writing poetry, or exercising, or calling our parents or siblings, or hanging out with friends. Those are the things that make us better, more well-rounded people. Right? Television certainly isn’t going to do the trick.

But I watched television. And then I wrote a novel.

I was already immersed in the idea of writing a novel, and I’d been busy attending conferences and workshops, and exploring the world of publishing. I had some ideas for stories I could write, but nothing excited me. And then I watched an episode of Bones, and that night’s murderer appeared to be a chupacabra. What is a chupacabra? That’s exactly what I asked myself. A moment later I heard the word cryptozoologist and again found myself wondering what the characters on the show could possibly be talking about. Off to the Google I went.

For those of you who don’t know, a chupacabra is a creature, rumored to exist, that enjoys attacking and drinking the blood of goats. Lovely, no? Because its existence is not proven, the chupacabra falls into the category of cryptid. And the study of such creatures, which also includes things like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Mongolian Death Worm, is the job of the cryptozoologist.

One Google led to another. I soon discovered that there were many unknown creatures that may or may not exist, and I was fascinated. This was the spark for me, that thing that triggered the “what if” questions, and research, and story development. And now THE RAMPART GUARDS exists.

What if I hadn’t been watching Bones that night? Would I have ever written THE RAMPART GUARDS? It’s tough to say. But if I hadn’t connected with this story, I believe something else would have found it’s way to me through some channel. My point being, it’s important for us to hold open every possible door for our kids to create, to think, to question. Yes, television can be mindless, and there are times when that, too, serves a purpose, in my humble opinion. But if we’re engaged, if we’re thinking, there is learning in everything.

By using activities and other things kids love to do every day, we can help kids stretch their minds in new ways. Ask them: what if a character from their favorite television show met someone from their favorite game? What would happen? Would they like each other? What kinds of things would they do together?

Maybe there’s a funny or unusual commercial running that everyone’s talking about. Ask what happened before those thirty seconds, or what happens afterward, or even how they might make the commercial better. (And if anyone can explain why Paul Giamatti is in that family’s home talking about Xfinity while they direct his performance, please enlighten me. I really don’t get it. At all. But I digress.)

What if iPhone’s Siri met Android’s Cortana?

What if we really lived in Candyland? What would each student’s house look like? Or where would they want to live on the Monopoly board and why?

What would happen to Bert and Ernie if Bert got a new job out of state?

What can be mixed up in their world right now, and envisioned in a different way? Can the students take a character out of a book the class is reading, and invent a new story for them? One that happens away from the story they’re reading? Or maybe it’s a person from history, or an event, or even one of those made up holidays like National Peanut Butter Day (which was January 24^th, by the way)—why was it important to someone to establish National Peanut Butter Day? What is their story?

Is some of this silly? Sure. But I bet it made you think just a little bit differently, even for the brief moment when you read and wondered about National Peanut Butter Day, didn’t it? It opened you up, pushed you ever so slightly out of the box, and engaged you with a creative part of the brain that might otherwise sit dormant. Offer this to kids, too. Encourage them to be silly, and think differently about stories, and create their own new versions in the best, fun way.

As we know, learning is everywhere. And there’s no one way to discover, and love, learning.

The Rampart Guards: Chronicle One in the Adventures of Jason Lex
Author: Wendy Terrien
Published February 26th, 2016 by Camashea Press

Goodreads Summary: After his mom disappears, Jason Lex and his family move to a small town where he has no friends, no fun, no life. Things get worse when he’s chased by weird flying creatures that only he can see—Jason thinks he’s losing it.

But when Jason discovers new information about his family, he’s stunned to learn that creatures like Skyfish, Kappa, and the Mongolian Death Worm aren’t just stories on the Internet—they’re real and they live unseen alongside the human race. Many of these creatures naturally emit energy capable of incinerating humans. An invisible shield keeps these creatures hidden and protects the human race from their threatening force, but someone, or some thing, is trying to destroy it.

Unsure who he can trust, Jason is drawn into the fight to save the people closest to him, and he finds help in surprising places. Confronted with loss, uncertainty, and a devastating betrayal, Jason must make a gut-wrenching decision:
Who lives, and who dies?

About the Author: Wendy Terrien has been writing stories since she was in grade school. Her debut novel The Rampart Guards (February 26, 2016) is the first in her urban fantasy series.

Raised in Salt Lake City, Wendy graduated from the University of Utah and soon transplanted to Colorado where she completed her MBA at the University of Denver. Having applied her marketing expertise to the financial and network security industries, it wasn’t until a career coach stepped in that she fully immersed herself in her passion for writing. Wendy began attending writers conferences, workshops and retreats.

Wendy lives in Colorado with her husband Kevin and their three dogs: Maggie, Shea and Boon. All three of her dogs are rescues and Wendy is passionate about promoting shelter adoptions. If you’re ever in Colorado, you may even be able to spot her by her “Adopt a Shelter Pet” license plates.

Make sure to check out the rest of the blog tour!

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**Thank you to Wendy and Sami for providing the guest post and having us be part of the blog tour!**

Author Guest Post! by Sue Duff, Author of Sleight of Hand

February 21, 2016 by Ricki

The Weir Chronicles is based on my love of earth and space sciences. I do extensive research and use what I can relate to modern science for the basis of the Weirs powers. If I take any liberties, it’s minimal, and extends from my belief of what might be, yet remains unproven or unexplained.

What area of science do you believe shyfting — disappearing from one location and reappearing in another — might be explained? Does this phenomenon have scientific basis, or is it merely the author’s belief?
The Weir’s ability to heal themselves comes from what’s found in nature. Calcium to repair broken bones, proteins for torn ligaments, etc. Name examples of homeopathic practices found today. What countries embrace those practices more than others? Choose one type of homeopathic method and research it. How old is it? What is used? Is it regionally based, and if so, why?
Lightning plays a major role in SLEIGHT OF HAND. What elements and reactions are needed to create lightning? How hot does it get? Can the human body withstand a direct strike? What happens to the body when lightning is absorbed? What part of the body can actually melt? What are common ailments reported by those who have been struck and lived?
The Weir believe that unless the energies found within the planet are in harmony with the energy housed across the surface, the planet will be out of balance and slowly self-destruct. Give an example of this occurring in present day earth. Can it be controlled, and if so, how?
As the series unfolds, the plot encompasses Earth’s twin in an alternate dimension. There are countless books, television shows and movies based on similar beliefs to mine. What scientific basis is there to suggest there are parallel dimensions? Discuss your personal theories or beliefs about this. Would they be exact, or mirror images of each other? How many would there be? Would there be significant differences between them? Why or why not?

Whether or not you’ve read The Weir Chronicles, I hope the class discussions gave you a sneak peek into the extensive world building research that I did for the novels. Look out for the final two books in The Weir Chronicles series, Stack the Deck, coming in late 2016 and Dim the Lights, appearing in 2017.

The Weir Chronicles series follows a young man, Ian Black, as he finds purpose in the world and discovers his inner strength. He is the last born to the Weir, a magical race of beings who have kept the energies of earth in harmony. The Weir are dying out, and Ian is their final hope to prevent the planet from self-destructing. But Ian isn’t born with the Prophesized powers and in desperation, the Weir elders torture him, trying to bring his powers to the surface.

In book one, Fade to Black, Ian has abandoned his people and hides among humans as an illusionist. A nosey reporter uncovers his secrets and unwittingly exposes him to those who would kill for his connection to the earth. Ian fights to keep them both safe, and uncovers a Weir traitor bent on bringing about Earth’s destruction. In the second installment, Masks and Mirrors, Ian stumbles upon a band of rebels, fighting alongside the Weir to keep Earth safe, but the rebel leader gives Ian cause to question their motives for safeguarding the planet and he risks everything to discover their true agenda. The third book, Sleight of Hand continues the battle to protect Earth. The rebels poison Ian, and it’s up to his friends to find a cure before Ian succumbs and the planet is left in the hands of those intent on taking control of the resources that Earth has to offer.

Sue Duff has dreamed of dragons and spaceships before she could even read, so it’s only natural that she now combines both fantasy and science fiction as her favorite genre. Having written since high school, Duff never took it seriously until a skiing accident laid her up for an entire summer and she turned on the word processor to combat the boredom. A couple years later, her first urban fantasy novel, Fade to Black, was one of five finalists in the RMFW Colorado Gold Writing Contest and in 2015, Duff’s writing earned her the PEN Award. She is the second oldest of six girls with an avid reader mom and her dad, the family’ single drop of testosterone in a sea of estrogen. By day, Duff is a dedicated speech-language therapist at an inner city school district, a career she pursued much in part to her aunt who got her hooked on stories of the profession when Duff was younger. She is passionate about the work she does and regularly works to help those students that need it the most.

Sue is a member of the R ocky Mountain Fiction Writers and T he Pikes Peak Writers. She calls Colorado home and when not saving the world one page at a time, she can be found walking her great dane, getting her hands dirty in her garden, or creating something delicious in her kitchen.

Catch up with her through her website. www.sueduff.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sueduffwriter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sueduff55

Instagram: sueduffauthor

Email: sueduffauthor@googlemail.com

Thank you for this post, Sue, and thank you to Sami for connecting us with Sue!

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Not if I See You First by Eric Lindstrom

February 11, 2016 by Ricki

Not If I See You First
Authors: Eric Lindstrom
Published: December 1, 2015 by Poppy

GoodReads Summary: The Rules:

Don’t deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public.

Don’t help me unless I ask. Otherwise you’re just getting in my way or bothering me.

Don’t be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I’m just like you only smarter.

Parker Grant doesn’t need 20/20 vision to see right through you. That’s why she created the Rules: Don’t treat her any differently just because she’s blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances. Just ask Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart.

When Scott suddenly reappears in her life after being gone for years, Parker knows there’s only one way to react—shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough on her mind already, like trying out for the track team (that’s right, her eyes don’t work but her legs still do), doling out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn’t cried since her dad’s death three months ago. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened—both with Scott, and her dad—the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem. Maybe, just maybe, some Rules are meant to be broken.

Combining a fiercely engaging voice with true heart, debut author Erid Lindstrom’s Not If I See You First illuminates those blind spots that we all have in life, whether visually impaired or not.

Review: The story is about a girl who is blind and a runner. I feel like I learned so much for this book from the physical and mental strength of this young girl. Frankly, I can’t quite find the words to express how much it taught me about life. The narrator is feisty, and I appreciated her candor about her disability. I came to realize how incredibly frustrating it would be to deal with the same reactions from strangers every day, particularly when she feels perfectly capable. This is a great book to teach empathy.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: We don’t talk about disability in literature enough. I would love to put students in literature circles, with all of the texts focusing on disability. It would be interesting to have whole-class discussions about the way disability is present in each text. It might be particularly interesting to include texts that feature mental and physical disability. This might lead to good discussions, like: What is disability? Is a disability always visible to others? What is normal?

Discussion Questions: The narrator of the text is unlikable. How does this add to the story? Why might the author have written the text in this way?; Do you think Parker’s rules are fair? Why do you think she has this list of rule?

We Flagged: I flagged this section because it shows Parker’s dry humor:

“‘So you’re blind, huh?’

I cock my head toward the unfamiliar male voice coming from the seat directly in front of me. Low-pitched a bit thick around the vowels. The voice of a jock, but I just keep that as a working hypothesis awaiting more evidence.”

Read This If You Loved: The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, Girl, Stolen by April Henry, Blind by Rachel DeWoskin, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Recommended For:

Author Guest Post!: “Cross Curricular Integration of Climate Change Education Using Middle Grade Fiction” by Michael J. Bowler, Author of Warrior Kids

February 7, 2016 by Kellee

Cross Curricular Integration of Climate Change Education Using Middle Grade Fiction

With pollution and climate change being, arguably, the most serious issue facing the youth of this century, I authored a book, Warrior Kids, that’s suitable for middle grade through high school. The storyline educates and empowers kids to lead the way in solving this crisis. Included within the plot, and added to the back of the book in the form of Extension Activities, are numerous ways kids as young as elementary school age can take an active role in ensuring a healthier planet for themselves and their own children far off in the future.

Teachers need to implant the belief in students that they can be the change they want to see in the world. When dealing with the environment, adults need to give kids hope and not preach that the sky is falling, which is the message of so many environmental groups in their pursuit of donations. I wrote an entire post about how kids need hope, not fear. Fear paralyzes us, while hope encourages us toward action. My book is filled with hope and positive solutions to the environmental crisis that kids and teens can readily embrace.

I’m sharing cross-curricular ideas that almost all teachers can utilize, whether or not they incorporate Warrior Kids into their classes. Warrior Kids does, however, contain a plethora of ideas that middle and high school students should find of interest discussing and debating. The eBook of Warrior Kids is free for any teacher who requests it.

SCIENCE: At all grade levels, classes can plant gardens around school and have the students tend them. Each grade level can have a different garden or a different responsibility in maintaining one larger garden. Organizations like Common Vision can help you get started. Especially in big cities, kids have little contact with nature and don’t really have a sense of what will be lost if we destroy it. Having them nurture living things and spend time in a garden is an easy way to reawaken their innate connection to the natural world.
MATH: there are so many “numbers” issues your students could work on computing. For example, take plastic water bottles. Based on America’s current annual disposal of water bottles (each of which can only be recycled once) how many acres of land will be needed in the form of landfill to hold all the discarded bottles, both those recycled and turned into a then-non-recyclable item, or those initially tossed into the trash? These calculations can be done for five years into the future, ten years, twenty years, etc. In this way, the students will become tangibly aware of the negative impact of buying water in plastic bottles. The same principal can apply to the numbers of trees we cut down versus how many trees there are worldwide, and to a host of other environmental concerns.
CHEMISTRY: have the students learn in greater depth the ingredients that make up the various kinds of plastics and why certain ones are chemically unhealthful. (There is a section at the back of Warrior Kids that breaks down the different plastics based on toxicity.) Your students can also explore the new biodegradable plastics that are currently available, and others that are still experimental, and debate the pros and cons of each. Chemistry students can also study the effects that “fracking” chemicals have on the environment. Fracking is a method of digging for oil or natural gas. Over six hundred chemicals are added to water during the fracking process – toxic chemicals like benzene and formaldehyde. What is the physical impact on the eco-system when these chemicals leak into groundwater or dissipate into the air? What is the impact on human, animal, and plant life?
BIOLOGY: have your students explore the scientific data that sets two degrees Celsius as the threshold over which the planet cannot safely become any warmer. Have them consider random factors like major volcanic eruptions and how those might affect global temperatures and the climate as a whole. Have them calculate various temperature increases on sea levels and existing plant and animal life. What species are more likely to survive higher temperatures and why? Will parts of the earth become uninhabitable for humans due to heat levels? If so, at what temperature might that occur?
EARTH SCIENCE: students can study the link between heavily fracked areas like Oklahoma and an increase in seismic activity. Is there a direct or indirect connection, and does proximity of wells to known and unknown earthquake faults pose a serious threat to people?
ENGLISH/ELA: have your students go through Warrior Kids and break down the various speeches given by Lance (the eighteen-year-old leader of the youth movement) as examples of persuasive writing. Does he back up his words with evidence? Does he use effective rhetoric? Which aspects are the most persuasive and which are the least and why? If teachers don’t want to use the book, students can use this technique with real activists in the climate arena who speak to the United Nations or other bodies. Are their words substantive, or just platitudes with no specifics to back up their arguments? Take one of their speeches and re-write it to make the message more meaningful and powerful.
SPEECH/DEBATE: students can analyze the effectiveness of Billy’s “Alien Invasion” analogy in his address to the joint session of Congress (or any of Lance’s speeches, as noted in number five, or real speeches delivered by climate activists.) Have students write their own speeches to congress, the UN, or even their parents about why our behaviors need to change so the planet can heal. They can practice their speeches on each other, in front of the class, and even in front of other classes throughout the school. They could attend a school board meeting and attempt to persuade the district to become more sustainable.
BUSINESS/ECONOMICS: have your students calculate the costs of having the school run on solar power. What would be upfront costs to the district and what would be the savings over time? They can pitch their ideas to the principal and the school board. They can even write a grant to obtain money and make the project a reality.
HISTORY: have students explore and report back on the taxpayer subsidies that have been given to fossil fuel companies over the decades. What were the lobbying efforts based on? Which party or politicians have been most in the pocket of these industries, and what would happen politically if all such subsidies were cut off?
GOVERNMENT: have students study up on campaign finance laws – why is it illegal for 501(c)(3) non-profits to campaign for or endorse candidates for public office? They can explore environmental activist groups that have 501(c)(3) status to see if they have ever campaigned for a candidate. If so, did that violation of law affect their non-profit status in any way? If it didn’t, do your students think it should have? Why or why not?
MUSIC: have students compose songs that address the climate issue from the perspective of youth. Put these songs on YouTube and share them with like-minded young people around the world.
ART: create posters/paintings that promote recycling, sustainability, and renewable energy. Enter these works into art contests. There are a number of contests that promote environmental artwork and offer prize money that can be used for eco-friendly projects.
DANCE: interpretive dances that illustrate the negative impacts of pollution and climate change could be an amazing way for the student who isn’t a great writer or speaker to express his/her ideas.
ALL CURRICULAR:
- Start an Earth Warriors Crew with your class (EW is the fictional group in my book) and get other classes involved. It’s a great community service opportunity and the kids can actively help the move toward sustainability.
- Each class can have a FB Group page, and link it to the Warrior Kids FB Group Page, if they so choose. They can share their accomplishments rather than selfies (a theme in the book.)
- They can order t-shirts like the ones worn in the book (I’m happy to share the logo or even order the shirts for you.) They can also create their own shirts with whatever slogan they feel works for them in their community.
- Have cool giveaways to your students who come up with the most creative idea for sustainability, recycling, reusability, or even creative ways to get the cooperation of reluctant adults (either people they know or politicians.)
- Organize petition drives for needs in your school or community.
- Have your class start paper collections. The students can sort all the paper by colors for proper recycling.
- If there isn’t already a strong recycling program for bottles and cans, have them start one.
- Where I taught high school, the maintenance staff would throw old computers into the trash. Have your kids make sure all old electronics around the school site are e-waste recycled. If there isn’t a city location nearby, Salvation Army takes e-waste and makes sure it’s recycled properly.

These are just a few of the activities I present at the conclusion of Warrior Kids. There are others, including a list of fifty simple things we can all do to help save the planet. Kids in every curricular area can take almost any of those fifty activities and turn them into a class or school/wide project. I also provide a list of organizations that students can explore in order to learn about climate change and become more involved in making a difference.

Thematically, Warrior Kids posits that we need to shift our human consciousness away from “me” centered thinking over to “we” centered thinking if the earth, and the human race, are to truly heal. When we focus on seemingly small things – like cutting plastic waste, for example – we are taking a huge step toward shifting that consciousness because our actions have a global impact. Just by each of us, and our students, reducing the use of plastic, we improve the entire world and become one with teachers and students in other countries who are doing the same. It’s simple, it’s unifying, it’s elevating, and ultimately it’s a major step toward preserving a healthy planet for the next generation. The time to act is now. As Billy says to his crew in Warrior Kids: “Earth Warriors, assemble!”

The future looks bleak unless eighteen-year-old Lance and his New Camelot Earth Warriors can save the planet from catastrophic climate change.

Spurred by twelve year-olds Billy, Enya, Itzamna, and his ten-year-old brother, Chris, Lance creates a branch of Earth Warriors, a youth-led movement designed to save the earth from its greatest enemy – greed.

His involvement leads to Earth Warrior crews springing up all across America. Millions of kids leap into action, paralyzing the country and alarming the rich and powerful.

Having adopted his father’s philosophy of doing what’s right, rather than what’s easy, Lance makes serious enemies when he calls out New Camelot donors who represent fossil fuel or other polluting industries, and then barely escapes a series of “accidents” designed to kill him.

When he challenges the United States Congress to step up and act immediately on the climate crisis, the attacks on him escalate. With the majority of America’s kids on his side, Lance and his young Earth Warriors prepare for the United Nations Conference of the Parties in Paris, where they will call upon world leaders to stop talking about sustainability and start acting on it.

But whoever wants him dead isn’t giving up. Will Lance and his crew live long enough to even get to Paris?

Warrior Kids is a standalone tale set within the Children of the Knight universe.

About the Author: Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of nine novels––A Boy and His Dragon, A Matter of Time (Silver Medalist from Reader’s Favorite), and The Knight Cycle, comprised of five books: Children of the Knight (Gold Award Winner-Wishing Shelf Book Awards; Reader Views Honorable mention; Runner-Up Rainbow Awards), Running Through A Dark Place (Bronze Award Winner-Wishing Shelf Book Awards), There Is No Fear, And The Children Shall Lead, Once Upon A Time In America, Spinner (Winner Hollywood Book Festival; Honorable Mention San Francisco Book Festival; Bronze Medal from Readers’ Favorite; Literary Classics Seal of Approval; Runner-Up in Southern California Book Festival; Honorable Mention in the Halloween Book Festival), and Warrior Kids: A Tale of New Camelot.

His horror screenplay, “Healer,” was a Semi-Finalist, and his urban fantasy script, “Like A Hero,” was a Finalist in the Shriekfest Film Festival and Screenplay Competition. He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II.”

He grew up in San Rafael, California, and majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University. He went on to earn a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master’s in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

He taught high school in Hawthorne, California for twenty-five years, both in general education and to students with learniag disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook.

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to eight different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a thirty-year volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles.

He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed him and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.

He is currently writing a novel based on his screenplay, “Like A Hero.”

His goal as an author is for teens to experience empowerment and hope; to see themselves in his diverse characters; to read about kids who face real-life challenges; and to see how kids like them can remain decent people in an indecent world.

You can find him at:
www.michaeljbowler.com
FB: michaeljbowlerauthor
Twitter: BradleyWallaceM
Blog: www.sirlancesays.wordpress.com
tumblr: http://michaeljbowler.tumblr.com/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/michaelbowler/pins/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Michael-J.-Bowler/e/B0075ML4M4
Instagram: StuntShark

Thank you to Michael for his great cross-curricular post! These activities will be wonderful for the classroom and even would work well around Earth Day in April!

and

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

February 4, 2016February 4, 2016 by Ricki

More Happy Than Not
Authors: Adam Silvera
Published: June 2, 2015 by Soho Teen

GoodReads Summary: In his twisty, gritty, profoundly moving debut—called “mandatory reading” by the New York Times—Adam Silvera brings to life a charged, dangerous near-future summer in the Bronx.

In the months after his father’s suicide, it’s been tough for 16-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again–but he’s still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he’s slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely.

When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron’s crew notices, and they’re not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can’t deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can’t stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute’s revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is.

Why does happiness have to be so hard?

Review: After Aaron’s father commits suicide, he finds it difficult to find his place in the world, and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist is just one reminder of this struggle. Aaron considers turning to an institute that has the capability to alter his memory—because he wants to forget that he is gay. The text is heart-wrenching, emotionally profound, and deeply moving. Weeks after I read it, I found that I was still referencing it in daily conversations with teacher friends. I also designed a conference proposal based on a concept from this book. This is an important book that belongs in classrooms.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Students will enjoy debating the ethics of the Leteo Institute’s procedure. My book club had a heated debate, and at the end, I still didn’t know where I stood! Teachers might bring in other examples from the media of people who have experienced trauma and ask students—would it be okay for this person to have the procedure done? When is it ethically okay (if ever)?

Discussion Questions: How does the author unfold the plot for the reader? How does this impact the telling of the story?; Which of Aaron’s friends are loyal? Why?; What does this procedure say about humanity? Do you think people would undergo the procedure? Who might be most likely to undergo the procedure?; How does the author end the novel? What does this teach us?

We Flagged: “Memories: some can be sucker punching, others carry you forward; some stay with you forever, others you forget on your own. You can’t really know which ones you’ll survive if you don’t stay on the battlefield, bad times shooting at you like bullets. But if you’re lucky, you’ll have plenty of good times to shield you.”

Read This If You Loved: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

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