Month: January 2019

Author Guest Post!: “The Student Body: Fostering Positive Body Images Among Students” by Leanne Baugh, Author of The Story of My Face

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“The Student Body: Fostering Positive Body Images Among Students”

I recently read a survey on StageofLife.com about how teens view their bodies. The article included the following statistics that are alarming but, sadly, not surprising.

  • 20% of teens are either rarely or never happy with their bodies
  • 31% of teens have at least one body part on which they would like to get surgery
  • 56% of teens feel that media’s advertisements are the main cause of low self-esteem

As a teenager (many, many years ago), I struggled with negative body image and pretty much fit into all the statistical categories above. Needless to say, it was a traumatic time in my life. As a Young Adult author, I wanted to find a story thread to explore this theme without writing an “issue book”. I asked myself the question: In a society that is obsessed with beauty, how would my protagonist, Abby Hughes, a seventeen-year-old with a severe facial disfigurement, overcome obstacles and navigate her way to self-acceptance? In the past months since The Story of My Face was published, I have been gratified to hear from readers—both teens and adults—who have been inspired by Abby’s journey.

Organizations such as Be You, Dove Campaign for Self-Esteem, Common Sense Media, and The Body Positive Site have tried to change the conversation about society’s beauty ideal. But, like Abby’s story in the novel, youth are still bombarded with unhealthy images and societal and media pressures about how they “should” look. And it’s taking its toll. Negative body image may contribute to academic problems, disordered eating, poor self-esteem, abandoning physical and social activities, and depression.

What can teachers do to promote positive body images among their students? Here are a few tips from nedic.ca:

  • Be a positive role model who is accepting of your own body.
  • Examine your own values and beliefs about body size and health.
  • Compliment students on their abilities, character, behaviour and other areas that they excel in, rather than their appearance.
  • Show students a variety of images that reflect diverse physical abilities, body sizes and outward appearances.
  • Reinforce the message that bodies come in all shapes, sizes, colours and weights.
  • Engage students in discussions that challenge messages regarding what society deems are desirable physical appearances.
  • Choose respectful language when discussing bodies and health.
  • Encourage students to accept and care for their bodies.
  • Promote physical activity because of its mental and physical health benefits—not to alter shape or size.
  • Teach students how to challenge body-based bullying.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that teachers have the ability to change students’ lives. Encouraging students to accept themselves, just as they are, could make all the difference in the world.

About the Author: Leanne Baugh has been a waitress, receptionist, teacher, stay-at-home mom, and a screenwriter. Leanne is passionate about books, films, beach walks, and hummingbirds. When she isn’t at home in Victoria, B.C., she’s off traveling the world.

About The Story of My Face: After being attacked by a grizzly bear in the Rocky Mountains, seventeen-year-old Abby Hughes’ facial scars are all she can think about, and all that she thinks anyone else can see when they look at her.

It’s now September, and Abby’s months of hiding out at home are over. Returning to high school feels as daunting as enduring seven plastic surgeries. She knew it would be hard to show her new face to the world, but she didn’t expect to be rejected by her so-called friends. If she wants others to move past the surface, Abby has to learn to do that herself. Her love of acting and her return to the drama club may be the key to going on with her new life, or it may be the disaster that sends her back into her protective shell.  Reminiscent to the book and film Wonder, Baugh’s story is full of the relatable struggles that teenagers face in high-school.  A character portrait on the importance of self-acceptance, The Story of My Face is a timely novel in the midst of the ever-growing image driven social media landscape.

Thank you, Leanne, for this inspirational post! All we can say is: YES!!!! Body positivity for young girls is so important and is life changing!

Review and Giveaway!: The Beep and Bob series by Jonathan Roth

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Too Much Space (March 13th, 2018)
Party Crashers (March 13th, 2018)
Take Us To Your Sugar (September 11th, 2018)
Double Trouble (December 11th, 2018)

Author & Illustrator: Jonathan Roth
Published by Aladdin Publishing

Book 1 Summary: Meet space-school attendee Bob and his alien bestie Beep in this start to an outrageously funny and action-packed chapter book series that’s great for “kids who love funny stories but may be too young for books like ­Diary of a Wimpy Kid” (School Library Journal) !

Astro Elementary is a school near Saturn attended by the bravest, smartest kids in the solar system . . . and Bob. Bob never wanted to go to school in space. He even tried to fail the admissions test by bubbling in C for every answer – but ended up with a perfect score!

Then Bob meets Beep, a little lost alien. Beep instantly takes to Bob, even thinking of Bob as his new mother! And with Beep by his side, Bob begins to find his courage. But will courage even matter when Beep and Bob find themselves about to be sucked inside the most terrible wonder of the universe, a super-massive black hole?

Book 2 Summary: It’s Bob’s friend Lani’s birthday, and she’s having her party on a super fancy space cruiser called The Starship Titanic. The cruiser has three water parks, sixteen amusement parks, and 12 million hyper-show channels on TV!

But when Beep and Bob arrive, they realize they forgot to buy Lani a birthday gift! But that’s not their biggest problem. Suddenly, guests’ jewelry is stolen from right under their noses—and Beep and Bob get blamed for the crime!

Things go from bad to worse when Beep and Bob discover that their “indestructible” ship is headed right for the ice rings of Neptune—and then starts plummeting toward the planet below! Can Beep and Bob reveal the true thieves and save the Starship Titanic – or will this be their last birthday party EVER?

Book 3 Summary: Beep and his best friend Bob hatch a plan to save Halloween—and their school—in this third book in the hilarious, action-packed Beep and Bob series!

It’s October in space, and Bob is getting excited for his favorite holiday: Halloween. When Bob tells Beep that soon they’ll get to dress up like monsters and get as much free candy as they can carry, Beep thinks he has gone to heaven. But Lani informs them that Halloween isn’t celebrated at Astro Elementary.

Bob cannot imagine life without Halloween! He appeals to Principal Quark, but with no success. Determined to save Halloween, Bob and Lani organize a secret club: SCARES (Scary Costumes Are the Right of Every Student, or, more truthfully, the Society of Candy Addicts who Rely on Energy from Sugar).

As the secret club grows, Halloween fever invades Astro Elementary. Unfortunately, a horde of grotesque aliens, attracted by the treats, also invades the school on the last day of the month. With everyone in costume, no one can tell who’s who. Beep and Bob may have saved the holiday, but can they somehow use their sugar-addled wits to save the school?

Book 4 Summary: Beep and Bob accidentally clone themselves for the school science fair in this fourth book in the hilarious, action-packed Beep and Bob series!

What’s twice as fun as Beep and Bob? Two Beeps and Bobs!

While up too late working on his science fair project, Bob accidentally points a duplication ray at Beep. To his shock, another Beep appears! Beep decides the more, the better, so he points the ray at Bob and PRESTO: it’s Bob 2 (or Backwards Bob).

At first Bob thinks their clones are creepy, but it doesn’t take long to realize that having duplicates comes with perks: they can sleep in while their clones go to class!

Then the real Beep and Bob discover a hitch: the Beep and Bob clones are EVIL, and are planning to duplicate an EVIL Earth to rule! How will they possibly get themselves (and themselves!) out of this one?

About the Author:

Author-illustrator Jonathan Roth is a public elementary school art teacher in Maryland who likes reading, writing, drawing, cycling, and napping. Though he has never left the Earth, he has met four of the astronauts who have gone to the moon. Beep and Bob is his first series. To learn more, and to download a free Beep and Bob activity kit, visit his website: beepandbob.com.

  • Born: Detroit, MI. He has also lived in Zaire, Africa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, rural Virginia, and Brooklyn, NY.
  • Current home: Rockville, Maryland, where he lives with his wife, two cats, and three (or more!) bicycles.
  • College: the Cooper Union School of Art, New York.
  • Occupation: Public elementary school art teacher by day; author/illustrator by evenings, weekends and glorious summer.
  • Previous occupations: paper boy, house painter, dairy farmer, photographer, cartoonist and library tech.
  • Number of years in school: 1 year Kindergarten + 12 grades + 4 years art school + 1 year teacher school + 18 years teaching = 36. (All the more amazing, because he’s only 29 years old!)
  • Number of students taught: 28 average per class x 25+ classes per week x 40 school weeks a year x 18 years = a broken calculator! Definitely too many enthusiastic young artists to count!
  • Number of Apollo astronauts who have been to the moon he has met: four.
  • Historical figure he would most like to meet: Leonardo da Vinci
  • Childhood favorites (that are still totally worth checking out): Spiderman, Batman, Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, Star Trek, Star Wars, ET, Alice in Wonderland, the Lord of the Rings, The Odyssey, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Pigman, the Beatles, Stand By Me.
  • First Book: Duel in Dimensions, a novel about Batman and Superman in Wonderland; written in sixth grade, still unfinished and unpublished.
  • Elements he feels are most important to his books: humor and heart. He wants kids to laugh, learn and love.

Praise: 

“Pretty sporky, as Bob would approvingly put it.” —Booklist

“A strong addition to any library’s chapter book selection.” —School Library Journal

Review: Trent and I really loved reading about Beep and Bob! The stories combine heart and humor just as the author hopes it would! Beep is a great comic relief yet also adds a wonderful element of heart as he loves his Bob-Mother. Bob is also going through all the same ups and downs that many kids go through in school such as crushes, bullies, mistakes, and successes, so that adds a direct connection between his story and the readers. For Trent specifically, the element of space and the information you learn in the book really pushed it over the edge into awesome in his eyes. Not only did we laugh and want to know what was happen next, we also learned about Pluto and black holes (in book 1) and even more in the sequels! This book is a great addition into the early chapter book collection of any classroom or library!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Beep and Bob books would be a perfect read aloud in an early elementary classroom because there are so many different things that could be done in class that would connect to the book such as students writing their own blogs (or is there a fun name they could name them?) and they could study the science shared in the book.

Discussion Questions: 

  • If you had an alien best friend, what would you hope they’d be like?
  • What did you learn about ___?
  • How does Bob face his fears throughout the books?
  • If you were in space school, where would you look forward to visiting?
  • What mistakes did Bob make that led to a shift in the plot?

Flagged Passages (from Too Much Space, Book 1): 

 

Read This If You Love: Frank Einstein series by Jon Scieszka, HiLo series by Judd Winick, Frankie Pickle series by Eric Wight, Books about space

Recommended For: 

classroomlibrarybuttonsmall 

Giveaway!

Supergalactic giveaway!!

One lucky winner will receive a set of ALL FOUR Beep and Bob titles–Too Much Space!, Party Crashers, Take Us To Your Sugar, and Double Trouble (U.S. addresses), courtesy of Aladdin/Simon & Schuster!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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**Thank you to Barbara from Blue Slip Media for providing copies for review!**

Hush Up and Hibernate! by Sandra Markle

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Hush Up and Hibernate
Author: Sandra Markle
Illustrator: Howard McWilliam
Published August 28th 2018 by Persnickety Press

Goodreads Summary: Leaves are falling, a cold wind is blowing, geese are heading south. Clearly, winter is coming. It’s time for black bears to do what they always do this time of year―hibernate. Kids will get a kick out of this romp of a tale about a black bear cub that finds every excuse imaginable to avoid the inevitable go-to-bed moment. Will Mama Bear finally win? Or will Baby Bear come up with the ultimate reason to skip going to sleep?

Review: As I sit and write this post, it is 9:50pm, and my older child is upstairs not sleeping. The chance of him crafting an excuse to come out of his room within the next 10 minutes? High. So saying that I enjoyed this book is an understatement. I found great joy in reading this book to my son. We first read it a few weeks ago, and I’ve told him to hush up and hibernate a few dozen times. It’s a clever book that parents will enjoy immensely. The illustrations are beautifully done (take a look at the gem shared below!). If you take a look at the cover image (above), you will see the baby bear’s face. The way he’s reacting to his mother is an all-too-familiar look that makes me chuckle. I absolutely adored this charming book. When my son chooses it for his bedtime book, I have a warm, happy feeling. This signifies that it is a good book and one to keep.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: It would be fun for kids to create their own version of this book—imagining an animal that is refusing to do something and giving every excuse imaginable to a parent. I suspect that this would be a fun writing exercise for kids, and they might reconsider their constant excuses.

Discussion Questions: What are some of the excuses that Baby Bear uses? What excuses have you used? What strategies does he use, and do they work?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: Share, Big Bear, Share by Maureen Wright, Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton, Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley and Lauren Castillo

Recommended For:

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  RickiSig

**Thank you to Wiley at Saichek Publicity for providing a copy for review!**

Crow Not Crow by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple

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Crow Not Crow
Author: Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple
Illustrator: Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Published August 28th, 2018 by Cornell Lab Publishing Group

Summary: New York Times bestselling children’s author, Jane Yolen, and her son, Adam Stemple, have teamed up to write a gentle tale of a father introducing his daughter to the joys of bird watching. Using the simple “Crow, Not Crow” method for distinguishing one bird from another, father and daughter explore the birds near their home…and there are so many to see! After the story ends, readers learn more about all the birds that appear in the book with photographs, descriptions, and QR links to bird sounds.

About the Creators:

Jane Yolen has authored more than 365 books, including the Caldecott-winning Owl Moon, loved by children and bird watchers of all ages, You Nest Here With Me, a popular new favorite, and the New York Times bestselling series How Do Dinosaurs…? Jane Yolen’s books have been translated into over 20 languages and are popular around the world. Her husband, David Stemple, was both a well-known bird recordist and professor of computer science who taught his family how to identify birds. Many of Ms. Yolen’s books are about wildlife, especially the winged kind. Jane lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts.

Adam Stemple is an award-winning writer of novels, short stories, graphic novels, and children’s books. He is also an avid bird watcher, taught by his father David Stemple. He invented the Crow Not Crow method of teaching beginning birders in order to teach his city-bred wife to bird. He lives in Minneapolis with his family—all birders—where he is also a working musician and is hard at work on his next novel.

Elizabeth Dulemba has always loved birds. As a kid, she used to run across the yard, flapping her arms, trying to fly. She later became a hang glider pilot in Tennessee. When not chasing birds, Elizabeth loves to draw, write, and teach. She has over two dozen titles to her credit, including her debut, award-winning novel A Bird On Water Street. In summers, she teaches in the Children’s Book Writing and Illustrating MFA program at Hollins University in Virginia. She spends the rest of her time in Scotland, where she is pursuing a PhD at the University of Glasgow. Sign up for her weekly newsletter at www.dulemba.com.

Praise: “…a solid choice for introducing the hobby [birdwatching] to younger readers.” – Kirkus Reviews

Kellee’s Review: My father love bird watching, but I’ve always been intimidated by it. He has books and guides and flyers, all with different information about different birds. But I also have always been fascinated by birds. They are beautiful and just a true testament of the miracles of Mother Nature. Crow Not Crow introduces the reader to a really fun way to introduce birdwatching to anyone interested. The story of a dad spreading the love of birdwatching to his young daughter is a sweet tale filled with interesting bird information. What takes the book to the next level though is the back matter. While the book is full of only “crow” and “not crow,” the back matter has all of the different birds’ names as well as a QR code to listen to the bird. There is even information about two different bird apps! I am excited to read this book with Trent then start with “crow” or “not crow” with him!

Ricki’s Review: I come from a long history of bird watchers. My brother, aunt, and mom are huge bird watchers, and it isn’t unusual for them to stop conversation to name the bird that they hear in the background. I had a very rare bird in my backyard in Connecticut, and they were all incredibly thrilled. So reading Crow Not Crow was an absolute delight. Jane Yolen is one of the best picture book authors alive, so I was particularly pleased that this book did not disappoint me. Like most of her books, it is quiet and has a powerful force behind it. It lends itself to a “crow not crow” type of game with children that would be quite fun. I will be purchasing this book as a gift for several friends. It’s beautifully done.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: First, use the backmatter as a key to a scavenger hunt within the book. Find each bird and discuss what clues were used to figure out that was the certain bird. Also listen to the bird using the QR code. Then, take your class outside! Start with “crow” or “not crow” but then create your own glossary like the back matter in the book to share your “not crows.” Comparison and contrast activities could also easily be weaved in as well as science!

Discussion Questions: 

  • What traits of the crow did the birders use to determine if the bird was a crow or not a crow?
  • What was your favorite bird that they encountered?
  • Take one of the birds and compare/contrast it to a crow.

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Look Up!: Bird-Watching In Your Own Backyard by Annette LeBlanc Cate, Birds by Kevin Henkes, On Gull Beach by Jane Yolen, On Duck Pond by Jane Yolen, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Recommended For: 

classroomlibrarybuttonsmall 

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**Thank you to the Cornell Lab Publishing Group for having us as part of their book tour!**

Teaching Tuesday: A Virtual Book Signing with Alice Faye Duncan

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A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks
Author: Alice Faye Duncan
Illustrator: Xia Gordon
Published January 1st, 2019 by Sterling Children’s Books

Summary: “The combination of biography and Brooks’ own poems makes for a strong, useful, and beautiful text . . . A solid introduction to a brilliant writer”—Kirkus.

Acclaimed writer Alice Faye Duncan tells the story of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black author to win the Pulitzer Prize.

SING a song for Gwendolyn Brooks.
Sing it loud—a Chicago blues.

With a voice both wise and witty, Gwendolyn Brooks crafted poems that captured the urban Black experience and the role of women in society. She grew up on the South Side of Chicago, reading and writing constantly from a young age, her talent lovingly nurtured by her parents. Brooks ultimately published 20 books of poetry, two autobiographies, and one novel. Alice Faye Duncan has created her own song to celebrate Gwendolyn’s life and work, illuminating the tireless struggle of revision and the sweet reward of success.

A Message from Alice Faye Duncan: 

“Dear Teachers and Librarians:

Welcome to my FIRST virtual book signing. In this media presentation you will see AND hear me read my new book A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks. It is the poet’s biography told in 9 short poems. Gwendolyn Brooks and her pursuit of words is lesson in audacity, tenacity and victory.  Her life is a journey that young readers can use to navigate this trying world.”

About Alice Faye Duncan: Alice Faye Duncan writes books for young readers and adults. HONEY BABY SUGAR CHILD is a mother’s love song to her baby. The lyrical text sings and swings just like music. One must read it aloud with LOVE, JOY and SOUL!

MEMPHIS, MARTIN AND THE MOUNTAINTOP (The 1968 Sanitation Strike) is a lyrical combination of poetry and prose that explores Dr. King’s assassination and his last stand for economic justice in the city of Memphis. The illustrator is Caldecott Honor recipient, Gregory Christie.

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS IN TENNESSEE is a child’s travel guide across the Volunteer State (GO VOLS!). Two cousins in ugly holiday sweaters visit important landmarks throughout the state, while traveling in a mini-van called the “Reindeer Express.” The illustrator is Mary Uhles.

A SONG FOR GWENDOLYN BROOKS will debut in January 2019. This is the first picture book biography to explore the life and times of Chicago poet–Gwendolyn Brooks. In 1950, Miss Brooks was the first African American writer to receive a Pulitzer Prize.

Have you heard the name, “Pinkney?” Alice’s book–JUST LIKE A MAMA will make its debut on Mother’s Day (2019). The illustrator is Charnelle Pinkney Barlow. Her grand father is Caldecott illustrator, Jerry Pinkney. Charnelle is a master artist too. Get ready to be charmed with impressive images and a lyrical text.

Thank you so much to Alice Faye Duncan for sharing this amazing reading with us! The Virtual Book Signing, more about Alice and her books, and FREE LESSON PLANS for her books can all be found on her website: https://alicefayeduncan.com/.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 1/14/19

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IMWAYR 2015 logo

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

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Tuesday: Kellee’s Five Star Reads of 2018

Wednesday: Ricki’s Favorite Reads of 2018

Thursday: Final Update of #MustReadin2018

Friday: Kellee and Ricki’s #MustReadin2019 Lists

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Curiousity, Ignorance, and the Big What If?” by Jeanne Moran, Author of The Path Divided

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

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Kellee

I apologize for taking off a Monday right after we got back, but this past weekend was one of Jim’s Disney races, so I took the weekend off to root him on and spend time with family. See you next Monday! 🙂

Ricki

I finished listening to The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed. This book was a finalist for the AEWA award, and I’ve seen it referenced several times. It is going to stick with me for a long time. I leave this book with admiration for the strength of the characters in this book. It takes a different approach to the #metoo movement than I’ve seen in any other book. If you missed this one last year, I recommend it highly.

I listened to Superheroes Are Everywhere by Kamala Harris. I can proudly say that this is the ONE book that I will be putting on my baby registry. My kids listened to it with me while we crafted, and my older son started to respond to the questions posed in the book. It’s all about finding the superheroes around us and being superheroes ourselves. This book just makes me feel like a better person.

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Ricki

I am trying to be better about my #mustreadin2019 list this year. This is the first book I’m tackling (A Land of Permanent Goodbyes). I read most of it last year and loved it, but I didn’t finish it because of a deadline. So I am restarting and listening to it this time. So far, so good.

My older son and I are reading Pelé: The King of Soccer by Eddy Simon and Vincent Brascaglia. Admittedly, I am not a huge soccer fan and I have no idea who Pelé is, but I love watching my son play soccer. He loves the book, and it is enjoyable to read so far.

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Teaching Tuesday: A Virtual Book Signing with Alice Faye Duncan

Wednesday: Crown Not Crow by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple

Thursday: Hush Up and Hibernate by Sandra Markle

Friday: Beep and Bob Series by Jonathan Roth

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “The Student Body: Fostering Positive Body Images Among Students”  by Leanne Baugh, Author of Story of My Face

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Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

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Author Guest Post!: “Curiosity, Ignorance, and the Big What If” by Jeanne Moran, Author of The Path Divided

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“Curiosity, Ignorance, and the Big What If”

My novels were born of my curiosity and my ignorance.

Books I’ve read and movies I’ve seen about Nazi Germany tend to focus on the war and the horrors inflicted on Nazi targets. These stories are typically told from the perspective of either the regime’s victims or the WWII victors.

Enter my curiosity. As a second-generation American of German descent, I wondered about the German experience. If my grandparents hadn’t emigrated, my parents would have grown up in Nazi Germany. Their school curriculum would have been Nazi-designed and approved. They would have been members of Hitler Youth, as was the law. They would have been bombarded with the regime’s version of news through government-controlled media. Perhaps they would have been caught up in the fervor of a torchlight parade or an enormous rally.

I knew the Nazis were good at brainwashing their citizens – they had spewed propaganda into German minds for six years before war broke out. But I wondered, what if a regular teenage German thought for herself? What if he was headstrong and independent and refused to go along with the crowd?

My curiosity led me to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. There, I bought a little brochure in their Victims of the Nazi Era line simply labeled “Handicapped.” As the sister of a developmentally disabled woman and as a practicing pediatric physical therapist, I was curious.

Then I was stunned. There I was, 50 years old, learning for the first time about a Nazi pogrom focused on exterminating people with disabilities. I had literally spent my entire life surrounded by people with disabilities, and yet I was ignorant of this T4 pogrom.

When I asked a few librarians, they spoke of titles that ‘may have mentioned it’ but knew of none that specifically showed people with disabilities as targets of Nazi aggression. Since I couldn’t bear the thought of readers missing that important piece of history, I wrote the YA novel Risking Exposure.

When it was published, I was satisfied that I’d told the complete tale of those characters. Some readers, including my own mother I should add, contacted me to say, “And? What happened next?” Although delighted that readers wanted to spend more time with my characters, I dismissed requests for ‘the rest’ of the story. I needed respite from the darkness of Nazi Germany.

A year later, and I tell you this in full trust that you won’t call the men in the white coats, I awoke with a grouchy old man’s voice in my head. Without knowing who he was, I stumbled to the computer and documented his words. About five hundred words into his dictation, I realized he was an unrepentant Nazi. After another five hundred words, I recognized him as the antagonist from Risking Exposure, but six decades older. The seed for his half of The Path Divided was sown.

When I revisited the character of the antagonist’s sister and found her still in 1938 (I’m not a time traveler, just a writer,) her story grew also. I interwove her historical narrative with his more contemporary one.

My research for The Path Divided turned up some lesser-known Nazi initiatives and events. My poor characters. I allowed her to get caught up in the crowd hysteria of the Nuremberg Rally. I made him participate in the systematic kidnapping of ‘Aryan’ children for the Lebensborn program. Those details not only create the backdrop for a historical tale that ‘could have happened,’ they also give a truer perspective of what it must have been like to be a teen caught in the insidious grasp of Nazi protocols.

I also learned that the Romany people were early targets of Nazi aggression, another seldom-mentioned group for the victim list. When some Romany characters presented themselves to me for inclusion in this novel, they brought their magic with them. How wonderful, I thought as I wove bits of magical realism into the novel, the Nazi era could have used a little magic.

To balance the need for historical accuracy (and a touch of magic) with my own need for hope and decent behavior, I was delighted that my research uncovered a seldom-mentioned effort called the Kindertransport. That international program created a safe means for the mass emigration of vulnerable children from Nazi Germany and its occupied lands. Ten thousand (yes, 10,000!) children who probably would have been killed by the Nazis during the war years were instead saved through this program. Legally and with the cooperation of the Nazi Party and the governments of the host nations, these children were identified and sent to foster homes in England and several other European countries. What an outstanding example of cooperation and kindness before the dark curtain of war fell across the world.

After a decade of research and writing, I can say with some confidence that I am no longer ignorant about the Nazi regime. My curiosity about that era is satisfied. As a writer, I’m done with the Nazis.

But then again, what if…

Book Summary:

Because every choice has its consequence….

When a magical picture frame reveals the danger facing a teenage traitor, her best friend hatches a plan to sneak her out of Nazi Germany. Options are few. Choices are desperate.

Decades later, an aged Nazi hiding under an alias plans to die with his secrets intact. Confronted with his role in the fate of his sister and her best friend, he must decide: maintain his charade or face the consequences of the path he chose so long ago.

In this powerful conclusion to Risking Exposure, interwoven tales of guilt, sacrifice, and hope crack the divide between personal safety and loyalty to those we claim to love.

Author bio:

The author of Risking Exposure (2013,) Mikey and the Swamp Monster (2016,) and The Path Divided (2018,) Jeanne Moran reads and writes stories in which unlikely heroes make a difference in their corner of the world. In her everyday life, she strives to be one of them.

Find her at https://jeannemoran.weebly.com, or connect with Jeanne Moran, Author on Facebook or Instagram.

Thank you, Jeanne, for your post! What a great example of author’s thinking!