Unleashing Readers

Author Guest Post!: “The Star Wars Effect: Bringing Teens to Space” by Ava Jae, Author of Beyond the Red

March 27, 2016March 27, 2016 by Kellee

“The Star Wars Effect: Bringing Teens to Space”

When I wrote the first draft of Beyond the Red back in the summer of 2014, I didn’t dare to imagine that non-dystopian Sci-Fi would become a Big Thing in YA. I hoped, of course, alongside every other YA Sci-Fi writer, but the truth was it hadn’t happened, not really. And with Dystopian novels taking the spotlight front and center, many were already predicting a downturn in YA Sci-Fi once readers got tired of dystopic Sci-Fi worlds.

I knew all that, but I wrote Beyond the Red anyway. It was the book I wanted to read, but wasn’t already out there—it was aliens, and monarchies, and clashing cultures, and endless crimson sands in a faraway world outside our solar system, but within our universe. It was a place where Earth was a legend, even to the humans whose ancestors emigrated from there. It was, ultimately, the book I wanted for myself, so I ignored the trends altogether and when people whispered that YA Sci-Fi was a hard sell, I shrugged and kept writing.

Everything is a hard sell, I reasoned. I’m going to write this book for me.

So I did. And eventually I got an agent, and my agent said those words to me—YA Sci-Fi is a hard sell—but she also said, I love this book and I’m going to do my best.

We went on submission. Heard the book was “too Sci-Fi” in rejections. Kept submitting anyway. And celebrated when it sold.

Even months after it sold, my YA Sci-Fi writer friends told me their stories—how their books weren’t selling, how YA Sci-Fi was so hard to move. Of the new sale announcements, YA Sci-Fi were in the minority—a couple here, a handful there in a sea of incredible-sounding Fantasy stories. Pirates and time-travel were in. Sci-fi was…there. Floating. Barely.

And then Star Wars: The Force Awakens was announced. And then Divergent mega-author Veronica Roth announced her next book: a Star Wars-ish Sci-Fi YA due in 2017. And then super Sci-Fi-ish Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Asher became a big YA buzz book. And then Star Wars: The Force Awakened sold a bajillion tickets and basically blew everyone’s expectations out of the water.

YA Sci-Fi isn’t a Big Thing—not yet—but with the massive success of Star Wars, and a super huge author writing a Star Wars-like YA, it’s not hard to imagine that we’ll see more teens in space over the next couple years. Readers who watch Star Wars are walking away and craving that same kind of adventure in a book. They want aliens, and extrasolar planets, and advanced technology, and complicated, alien politics. They want characters who have grown up in a technological world far away from our own—they want space travel, and vivid settings that remind them of that movie theater experience.

YA Sci-Fi authors like myself, who never could have predicted the existence of another movie in a galaxy far, far away, had no idea that we were actually writing our spacey books at exactly the right time. We had no idea that teens in space would be exactly what readers would be looking for after getting their movie fix. But despite the uncertainty, the books we wrote for us—the books we were told would be too hard to sell—have now become exactly the stories that Star Wars-loving readers are asking for.

Sometimes when the book idea of your dreams comes knocking at what seems like the wrong time, the timing is more right than you ever could have known.

Beyond the Red
Author: Ava Jae
Published March 1st, 2016 by Sky Pony Press

Goodreads Summary: Alien queen Kora has a problem as vast as the endless crimson deserts. She’s the first female ruler of her territory in generations, but her people are rioting and call for her violent younger twin brother to take the throne. Despite assassination attempts, a mounting uprising of nomadic human rebels, and pressure to find a mate to help her rule, she’s determined to protect her people from her brother’s would-be tyrannical rule.

Eros is a rebel soldier hated by aliens and human alike for being a half-blood. Yet that doesn’t stop him from defending his people, at least until Kora’s soldiers raze his camp and take him captive. He’s given an ultimatum: be an enslaved bodyguard to Kora, or be executed for his true identity—a secret kept even from him.

When Kora and Eros are framed for the attempted assassination of her betrothed, they flee. Their only chance of survival is to turn themselves in to the high court, where revealing Eros’s secret could mean a swift public execution. But when they uncover a violent plot to end the human insurgency, they must find a way to work together to prevent genocide.

About the Author: Ava Jae is an author, blogger, YouTuber, college student, and assistant editor at Entangled Publishing. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a BA in English in April 2016, Ava will probably find a bookstore to live in, where she can write her next novel surrounded by the smell of new books and coffee. She can be found on Twitter at @Ava_Jae or at her website avajae.blogspot.com. She resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Thank you to Ava for her fun guest post!

and

**Thank you to Cheryl at Skyhorse Publishing for setting up this post!**

Lousiana State University’s Line 4 Line Program: A Barbershop Literacy Program in Baton Rouge

March 25, 2016March 25, 2016 by Kellee

Last year, I started hearing about barbershops that would cut young boys’ hair for free if the child read to them while they got their haircut. When I first heard about the program, it brought tears to my eyes because I felt that it is such an invaluable service. In February 2011, NEA released “Focus On: Blacks” which states that 42% of Black students attend under-resourced schools and less than 50% of Black male students graduate on time. These statistics show that there is a dire need to help our Black male youth. The barbershop programs are just one way that communities are working on getting books into young Black boys’ hands to increase literacy rates, and thus, increasing success in lives overall.

In December, my father started working at the Louisiana State University Museum of Art, and he sent me this photo:

And my heart melted! I knew right away that LSU must have a program like what I had heard about. Then, I read a CNN article on March 3rd highlighting a similar program in New York, and I knew that I had to share what LSU is doing in Baton Rouge.

The program in Baton Rouge is called Line 4 Line. It grew out of LSU’s Neighborhood Arts Project, the outreach program of LSU’s Museum of Art, as well as the Art Works Program, a program which focuses on bringing kids from low-performing schools to the art museum. The LSU program is so much more than just a reading program at a barbershop. They have worked to add books and reading to so many different parts of their community, including reading programs during museum tours and Little Libraries.

Lucy Perera, the Coordinator of School & Community Programs at the LSU Museum of Art, told me exactly when the idea formed and how it grew into what it is today. The rest of this post features her words:

I usually incorporate reading in all our museum programs for kids. One month we were making books as our project, and the students were reading after the art portion of the program. One 1st grader was just so happy to be holding a book! He was trying to sound out the words, and he was slowly getting it, and I was helping him and said to him to keep working on it. I asked him if he had books at home, and the answer was no. I asked if he could take books out from your school library, and he said no he couldn’t because he lostt one, and they won’t let him take anymore out. So I gave him the book to take back on the bus (I ride the buses to and from the program just to get to know kids/teachers/school community better), and at the end of the bus ride his teacher grabbed it from him saying, ‘That’s not your book!’ He looked at me, and I was so shocked by the whole ordeal as well not wanting to step on the teachers toes, I let this happen. Each month thereafter, Richard, the student, would always talk to me about that book and give me updates on his reading—I just felt he WANTED to learn but he had so many obstacles—from teachers, to librarian, to family—and this happened again and again with other kids—I saw them being intrigued by the books we had out for them to look at when at the museum, but their reading levels were low, and they just didn’t have them at home.”

The next part of my story involves Neighborhood Arts Project (NAP), a summer program where we always had a reading station with a carpet and rugs and a teen instructor assigned to help the kids or read to them. Then last summer, we received a big donation of books which we gave out, and the kids were so excited! They took so many of them! It was such an amazing gift. They mentioned how they would read them to siblings or start a library in their house, and then some of the older boys shared their struggles with reading and how they were now getting in trouble at school. So I decided we needed to get kids books into their houses because while public libraries are great, they are often not accessible. Also, our bookmobile program has switched over to being a digital bus. And the whole issue of getting a library card requires an ID which many of these parents simply don’t have – let alone cars to get them to a library.

So that is where the free Little Libraries came about. I had one of our LSU students (architecture undergrad) who works with me for NAP design a simple structure, and we worked with a few community partners to build them. Then we had kids from our NAP sites paint them — we place one at a NAP site and the other one ended up at the barber shop.

Line 4 Line came about after reading about the Iowa barber who gave haircut for kids in exchange for reading, and I figured it would be perfect for Baton Rouge. It took me a while to find the right barber. I just kept putting the word out to other Black men about the program and finally found O’Neil Curtis at O’Niel’s Barbershop. He is ideal because he is young and gets the importance of reading as well as the importance of being a good role model to young kids who don’t have a positive male figure encouraging them to read at home. So I met with him, and he was excited.. I placed the library and planted a little garden around it, and we kicked off the program in December. Another local school did a massive book drive which gave us around 4000 books which we have been stocking in libraries and giving out—at a food drive, with a Thanksgiving turkey give away in New Orleans (and for these programs the adults were so happy to get the books for their kids and for themselves).

Line 4 Line takes place once a month, and O’Neil and his other barbers come in and volunteer to cut hair of boys ages 2-13 years for a few hours. I have my helpers who work for NAP assist. We set up books in the barber shop — books from my collection which are either art or Black focused, or classics of all different levels — and kids come in, and I find out their grade, assess their reading level, and help them pick a book. They then read the book to me or one of my helpers with the barber assisting and encouraging while getting hair cut.

For very young readers, we have had younger but strong readers do the reading, or I will work one on one to help them decode and sound out words. As the program is still very new I see lots of ways to adapt, and ways to track progress for repeat kids, and I want to set up an in-house library for all ages in the barbershop and maybe a reading list. There is much to be done to expand this program including book groups or short topics discussions and maybe even mentoring/tutoring — right now we also do art projects with the kids who are waiting for haircuts and at the end of the evening they can go take books home from the Free Little Library.

LINE 4 LINE BACKGROUND

Line 4 Line is a community program of the LSU Museum of Art that works to close the achievement gap and foster positive opportunities for Black youth by providing out-of-school reading, art and mentoring programs.

Line 4 Line strengthens community from within through the creation of impactful opportunities that develop literacy and foster positive expression. The program is designed to be easily expanded and replicated.

PROGRAM

LINE 4 LINE is a community-based literacy and arts program that uses barbershops as unconventional learning sites for Black youth. Growing out of the LSU Museum of Art’s Neighborhood Arts Project LINE 4 LINE leverages the cultural and social significance of barbershops in Black communities to help under-served youth identify positively as readers and learners. LINE 4 LINE also creates a safe and dynamic program space that encourages learning, exploration and mentoring for young adults to make them truly literate citizens. The guiding principal of the LINE 4 LINE program is to connect relatable Black men and women to Black youth as positive role models and mentors to encourage, foster and support the concept of lifelong learning.

LINE 4 LINE addresses three important needs of Black youth living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and serves as a program model to expand into other communities.

Provides Black boys with opportunities to interact with relatable adult males in positive healthy role model relationships through the Barbershop Program which gives regular free haircuts to boys in exchange for reading a book, and makes free take-home books accessible to the wider community via a Free Little Library. Books used for this monthly program are considered powerful teaching tools and are selected to be culturally relevant, age appropriate, gender responsive. The reading program works with trained teen mentors who along with Barbers engage and assist children in reading, as well as educators who help track progress.
Establishes in the Barbershop a safe and dynamic creative space for boys to build healthy relationships around reading and experiencing positive relatable adult role models who support reading. Creates additional educational opportunities by including post-haircut hands on art making via the LSU Museum of Art’s Neighborhood Arts Project.
Gets books into the hands and households of children and parents. Plans to create a barbershop library of books for patrons of all ages and levels that focuses on and celebrates Black writers, culture, history and experience. This library will include an honor system lending library, as well as on-site books and take home bibliographies with easy links to where relevant books are available locally at libraries, and/or on-line.

I cannot wait to see how program expands!

Keep up with the Baton Rouge Neighborhood Arts Project and Line 4 Line on Facebook!

Learn more about the LSU Museum of Art on Facebook!

**Thank you again to Lucy Perera and Daniel Stetson of the LSU Museum of Art!
All photographs taken by Simone Schmidt.**

Blog Tour, Giveaway, and Review!: Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley and Lauren Castillo

March 24, 2016March 24, 2016 by Ricki

Twenty Yawns
Author: Jane Smiley; Illustrator: Lauren Castillo
Published April 1, 2016 by Two Lions

Goodreads Summary: Featuring lyrical text and beautiful illustrations, this bedtime tale from Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley and Caldecott Honor recipient Lauren Castillo evokes the splashy fun of the beach and the quietude of a moonlit night, with twenty yawns sprinkled in for children to discover and count.

As her mom reads a bedtime story, Lucy drifts off. But later, she awakens in a dark, still room, and everything looks mysterious. How will she ever get back to sleep?

Ricki’s Review: My son asks me to read this book every single night. (I’m not kidding. Imagine his sweet voice asking, “Twenty Yawns, please, Mama?”) My favorite part about this book is that there are many interactive sections that we can read together. He can’t read yet, but he is slowly learning sight words and loves reading the “Flap! Flap! Flap! Flap!” of the umbrella and each of the twenty “yawns.” He also tells me what Lucy is doing on each page. There are a lot of bedtime books out there, but this book truly makes me sleepy. I’m getting sleepy as I think about it right now! My son and I both yawn as we see each character yawn. Parents, READ: This book will make your child(ren) tired! I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the illustrations are breathtaking. The drawings of Lucy’s stuffed animals capture my attention every time I read this book. I feel lucky to have this book in my bedtime arsenal. My son is falling asleep more quickly. Could it be the twenty yawns?

Kellee’s Review: I love Ricki’s story of how Henry has imprinted on this book! Trent and I read it, and he said “Night, night!” on each of the pages where someone was going to sleep. And like Ricki said, in addition to having beautiful illustrations and a sweet story, this book will definitely make your child sleepy! I cannot help but yawn when I am reading it.

One other thing Trent loves is a promotional piece we received with the book (and you could win below!): a door hanger. One side says, “Shhh…we’re yawning.” And the other side says, “Come in. We’re ready to play.” It is hanging on his door, and we have to flip it back and forth depending on if he is getting up or going to bed. And on the “Shhh” side, he says goodnight to the little girl.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Teachers might use this book to teach figurative language. Kids will enjoy the bold print of onomatopoeias. The illustrations feature aspects of the story that aren’t always present in the text. I love with authors and illustrators don’t match the illustrations and text perfectly because it provides such great opportunities for students to compare and contrast the story and pictures. They might talk about why the text doesn’t include all of the information from the illustrations and how this enhances the narrative. Also, kindergarten teachers and daycare providers can use this book right before nap time! I would have loved to have listened to this book as a child. Check out the Activity Kit!

Discussion Questions: Why doesn’t the author number the twenty yawns? How does this make the story more interesting to read?; What does Lucy do when she is frightened? How might you learn to soothe yourself when you are scared?; What activities do Lucy and her parents do together? What activities do you enjoy doing with family?

We Flagged: “Lucy started to carry Molasses back to her bed. But the other toys were looking at her, even Leonard, the baby Kangaroo. They seemed lonely.”

Read This If You Loved: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown; Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown

Recommended For:

Follow All of the Stops on the Tour, and Don’t Forget to Enter the Giveaway!:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Authors:

Jane Smiley is the author of numerous novels, including A Thousand Acres, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, as well as five works of nonfiction and a series of books for young adults. In 2001 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 2006 she received the PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. This is her first picture book. She lives in Northern California.

facebook.com/janesmileyauthor

Lauren Castillo is the illustrator of many books, including The Reader by Amy Hest. She has also written and illustrated several books, including Caldecott Honor book Nana in the City and The Troublemaker. She lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. To learn more, visit www.laurencastillo.com.

Twitter: @studiocastillo.

and

**Thank you to Barbara Fisch for sending us this book and for allowing us to host the giveaway!**

National Geographic Kids: Celebrate Easter by Deborah Heiligman

March 23, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Easter with Colored Eggs, Flowers, and Prayer
Author: Deborah Heiligman
Photographs from National Geographic
Published February 9th, 2016 by National Geographic Children’s Books

Goodreads Summary: The joyous celebration of Easter is seen through a global perspective in this National Geographic volume featuring over 25 vibrant photographs. Witness the holiest day on the Christian calendar as it is celebrated throughout the world: from the famous Easter Egg Roll at the White House to the traditional bonfires throughout Europe, to colorful customs, to the universally popular dying of eggshells worldwide.

The first-person narrative leads young readers through the origins and traditions of this springtime festival of rebirth and hope. Reverend George Handzo gives parents and teachers a historical and cultural background in his informative note.

Kellee’s Review: This text is a wonderful informative introduction to Easter. It goes through not only the religious aspects of the holiday but also the traditions and secular parts. Although I think it could have gone into more detail about where the traditions came from (answered the WHY a bit more), it did a very good job of sharing all the different things that go along with Easter. I also loved the diversity within the book. The photos were from all over the world. And I am excited about the series Holidays Around the World because that means there are others within the series that will touch on holidays of other religions. This will help with understanding of holidays and religions that the reader may not be.

Ricki’s Review: I completely agree with Kellee’s review! This book taught me a lot, and I enjoyed reading it. I would have loved to have read more about the WHY, but I found this to be quite a fun and interesting read, overall. Kids will really enjoy reading it, and it will be a resource for parents. Readers travel to many places in this single text, and it teaches an international appreciation. Like Kellee, I am really excited to see where this series goes, and I plan to read more books that National Geographic publishes! I love learning about international traditions and diverse cultures, so I appreciated all of the information in this book.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I think it would be a powerful activity in a classroom to have many Holidays Around the World books and use them in both social studies, reading, and writing. Students could read about all of the different holidays, and they could then choose one to further research and share. Then there could be a walk-about in the classroom where different groups would have displays highlighting the different holidays.

Discussion Questions: What is the basis of Easter?; If you celebrate Easter, what are some traditions your family has?; What are some traditions around the world?; Why do you think the author chose to write the text in first person?

We Flagged: “Easter mornings brings special treats, too. Could it be the Easter Bunny was here? We get baskets of eggs–colored, decorated, and chocolate! Yummmm. In Germany, it’s the Easter Hare who brings us eggs. Bunnies, chicks, and eggs are symbols of new life.” (p. 16)

Read This If You Loved: Learning about religions, traditions, and holidays; Happy Easter, Mouse! by Laura Joffe Numeroff; Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure by Kimberly Dean

Recommended For:

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

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**Thank you to Karen at Media Masters Publicity for providing copies for review!**

Top Ten Tuesday: Books We Really Love But Feel Like We Haven’t Talked About Enough

August 4, 2016March 22, 2016 by Ricki

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.

Today’s Topic: Books We Really Love But Feel Like I Haven’t Talked About Enough

Ricki

I decided to highlight diverse books. I highly recommend each of the books below and vow to talk about them more frequently on the blog. These are books that I treasure, and I think you will enjoy them, too!

1. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

Everyone (myself include) raves about The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I love this book, but I don’t think we talk about The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven enough. This book is incredibly lyrical and would be a great text to use in classrooms.

2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

If you missed this book, I highly recommend you get your hands on a copy. This book was life-changing for many of my students, and we had so many phenomenal discussions about humanity.

3. Copper Sun by Sharon Draper

Even experienced readers of slave narratives will learn so much about this book. It is told in two perspectives: Amari, who is torn from her village in Africa, and Polly, an indentured servant. I connected deeply with this text and think about it often.

4. The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon

I read this book about six years ago when it came out, and I still remember how frustrated I felt while I read it. I connected with the characters and wanted to urge them in certain directions. This is a great story, and kids will learn a lot from it.

5. Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes

When I think about writing and poetry, I think about this book. I love the way the teacher engaged the students in writing about their personal lives and wish I’d had students do poetry slams when I was teaching.

Kellee

These are middle grade books that I adore, but don’t book talk and share with my students enough.

1. Hazardous Tales series by Nathan Hale

For my graphic-novel-loving class, for some reason they are scared off by the nonfiction aspect of this series. I need to book talk it and share it more with them to show them how much fun AND informative they are.

2. Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes

This was the book I book talked the most when I taught 6th grade, but then I moved to 7th and 8th and students were not as interested; however, I have moved back to having one 6th grade class, so I need to share it with them. It is a fantastic (and sad) coming of age story.

3. The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

Sharon Creech is a favorite author of mine. I love how she writes and the stories she tells always touch me in some way. My students read Walk Two Moons in 6th grade and Love That Dog in my class, but I need to share more of her titles, including the adventure-filled The Wanderer with them.

4. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

This book is one that I have never forgotten. Billie Jo is a character that just stays with you, and I often wonder what happened to her next. However, historical fiction is just a hard one to sell, and I forget to book talk this amazing book in verse that is one of the books I say helped me to return to reading.

5. How to Speak Dolphin by Ginny Rorby

Ginny Rorby is another one of my favorite authors because she has a way of telling animal and human stories within the same book that are both equally important, and although we read Hurt Go Happy at the end of the year, I forget to book talk her books throughout the year and by the time we’re done with HGH, the school year is over! I need to remember to share the importance of her books earlier in the year.

Which books do you love and wish you talked about more frequently?

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 3/21/16

March 21, 2016 by Kellee

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.

CONGRATULATIONS
DECLAN F.
FOR WINNING A COPY OF THE TYPEWRITER!

AND

CONGRATULATIONS
JOLIE I.
FOR WINNING A COPIES OF GOOD MORNING YOGA AND GOOD NIGHT YOGA!

Last Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Ten Books on our Spring To Be Read List

Wednesday: National Geographic Kids: Farm Animals and Rascally Rabbits!

Thursday: Blog Tour, Author Guest Post, Giveaway, and Review!: Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee
Giveaway open until Wednesday!

Friday: Kiki and Jacques by Susan Ross

Sunday: “Getting Students to ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ Their Writing” by KW Penndorf, Author of Freya and the Dragon Egg

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

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: Spring break is here! So far, I haven’t done a ton of reading because Jim and I went on a date weekend at Disney, and I focused on just hanging out with my husband. Earlier in the week, I did finish two books that I loved so much!

First, I read The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling which really filled a Harry Potter void. Though it wasn’t a Harry Potter story per se, it was just the touch I needed. I also listened to Upside-Down Magic by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins. It was funny and smart and cute and had a great theme–the perfect audiobook for the last week before spring break.

Ricki: As I promised you last week, I didn’t get any reading done this week! I finished my manuscript for the AERA conference, and I am very excited to present it! I also wrote an essay for my Human Rights and Social Justice class (my last class of my doctoral degree!). I’ve been reading some articles about the ways that feminism and social class intersect, but I haven’t read any books this week. Next week, I will read more fun stuff, I promise!

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am currently almost done with Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier, and I am enthralled! I cannot wait to finish–I have the second book waiting in the wings. I also have Red Planet by Eddie Pittman to read this week which is a sci-fi adventure graphic novel.

Ricki: I just started Kristen-Paige Madonia’s Invisible Fault Lines, an ARC from S&S, and I love it so far!

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday

Tuesday: Books We Really Love But Don’t Talk About Enough

Wednesday: National Geographic Kids: Celebrate Easter

Thursday: Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway!: Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley

Friday: LSU’s Line 4 Line Program

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “The Star Wars Effect: Bringing Teens to Space” by Ava Jae, Author of Beyond the Red

So, what are you reading?

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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“Getting Students to ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ Their Writing” by K.W. Penndorf, Author of Freya and the Dragon Egg

March 20, 2016 by Ricki

“Getting Students to ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ Their Writing”

I love books that read like a ‘movie in my mind’ with words capable of producing visions and feelings and experiences; basically, a world in which I could step into. So when I learned good authors write what they like, I knew immediately FREYA AND THE DRAGON EGG should read like a movie in my readers’ minds.

Unfortunately just because I sat down to pen and paper didn’t mean that movie was coming to life. If anything, the words I was writing were flat, stale, boring, and matter-of-factly.

Luckily, I found an editor who explained my problem: the words in my book didn’t play out like a movie in my mind because they were written in a way that told and didn’t show. “Show, don’t tell,” she said. Again and again and again. Show, don’t tell. Show, don’t tell. Show, don’t tell.

But how? How do I go about converting what I had already written in ‘telling’ words to ‘showing’ words?

Simple: close your eyes.

And so I did and still do. I visualize the scene, the action, the interaction, the transitions, the lull points, the fast-paced points, you name it, I visualize it. Then I write it.

In speaking with teachers, students, and writers, I find the irony about learning how to show don’t tell is precisely that: show the lesson, don’t tell the lesson.

Step 1

I open my workshops and school visits be doing a sort of warm up activity. Using two paragraphs I found on Scholastic’s website (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/show-dont-tell-whiteboard-writing-lesson) I ask everyone to decide which paragraph created a movie in their mind when they read it. It’s amazing how many are spot on. I let them know that their correct choice is an example of “showing” whereas the other paragraph depicts “telling.”

Step 2

I hand out a worksheet of several ‘telling’ sentences. The number of sentences is dependent upon age range of the audience and amount of time for the event/lesson. Typically I have 6-8 sentences for a 45 minute block of time. Example sentences can include: He sat; She opened the door; He coughed; The dog barked. Feel free to create your own sentences, yet keep in mind the sentences need to be pantomimed.

Step 3

I invite one student to come stand at the front of the room and I ask them to act out the sentence. So, for example, the student is assigned the sentence “He sat” in which he’s allowed no props nor allowed to make sounds or talk. I ask all remainder students to watch carefully, for when I count to three the actor will perform. He does. I then ask students to tell me what they saw. Perhaps one answers the boy pulled (an invisible) chair near to him before plopping his weight down, or the boy folded his legs as slowly lowered himself into the chair, or he collapsed upon the chair, or he used his hands to steady his descent. Whatever the response, it’s always interesting how many NEVER say “He sat.” For students who get hung up with the action of falling down into the chair, I will often prompt them to answer what they saw the boy do with his hands or his body or what his facial expression was.

Step 4

Once students have replied and responded to a few sentences as a whole group, I’ll have them watch the actor then write what they saw before discussing it. I always love hearing their new sentences probably because what they have learned in 45 minutes about “Show, Don’t Tell” took me years to learn! It’s really that simple.

Freya and the Dragon Egg

About the Book: Freya’s family is wonderful. Just not to her. After all, her older sister loves to talk about “pulling a Freya” – a term for any mistake she makes, her younger sister publicly reads from her diary without ever getting reprimanded, and her parents hardly take notice of her. But that is all about to change when her father, Denmark’s renowned Viking archeologist, asks her to hide a precious artifact where no one will find it. Freya jumps at the chance to prove her worth and suddenly discovers herself transported to a magical forest where she comes face to face with not only a thorpe of real Vikings but with a clan of sprites and a Berserk as well. In search of a way home, Freya unearths a realm of adventure and a path to greatness she is sure her family will revere.

Book Excerpt: “You must hurry. The police are due here any moment to question what I know about the break-in. If they search my office and find this…No! I don’t even want to think about that. It must be hidden. Do you understand?”

She nodded yes, though she didn’t understand at all.

“Yggdrasil is the link between the nine Realms. That Yggdrasil, outside my window there, it’s growing stronger because someone, or something, has tampered with the Realms. Could you imagine if the Realms were open in the modern day? If all the creatures, along with their powers, were unleashed…here?”

About the Author: Story time had always been KW Penndorf’s favorite ‘subject’ in school. But when her second grade teacher opted to read from a tattered old diary, KW’s view on books changed forever. Books were now alive, with adventures, dilemmas, far away locations, heroes, villains, drama, and quite frankly, story. Everything was so real, well at least in her imagination at any rate. She wanted to live in those stories… and she has.

In her senior year of high school KW interned at CBS three days a week, making sure to keep her grades up or the gig would be off. By sheer nature of the job, stories surrounded her there. In college, she spent a semester abroad living with her sister and brother-in-law in Denmark – where, yes, one can only imagine the crazy stories two sisters conjured up! Then after college, she moved to Germany and at the age of 25 she opened her own company – a language school, full of (you guessed it) stories abound. At 29 she moved back to the States, bringing home with her the greatest story and souvenir ever – her husband.

On a train ride into NYC, a vision came to KW’s sleepy commuter mind: a girl finding a dragon egg in the middle of a Viking graveyard. Presto! The premise for her debut novel was born. A story, which KW hopes, will change a child’s view on books forever.

Thank you to K.W. for this wonderfully insightful post!

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