Author

“Inviting Student Wonder in the Diversity of the World’s Languages”

When I was a child, I read my way through the Golden Book Encyclopedia. In the volume for E, I became entranced by the entry on Esperanto, a language created in the late 19^th century to be a universal language that could be shared by speakers all over the world. How wonderful it would be, I thought, if everyone in the world could speak the same language! I was wild to find a way that I could start learning Esperanto myself.

As the years went by, however, I began to appreciate the amazing diversity of the world’s languages; I no longer valued the search for one single language everyone in the world could speak. When I learned that Earth’s treasury of languages was becoming increasingly endangered by the forces of globalization, I thought how I would have felt if I had known this as a child. Just as, decades ago, I had wanted to learn Esperanto to promote universal understanding, today I would have wanted to learn an endangered language, to save it from utter extinction. This was the seed from which my recent verse novel, The Lost Language, grew.

In the book, my protagonist’s mother is a linguistics professor who does field work to study endangered languages and document their vocabulary and grammar. When my protagonist, Betsy (AKA Bumble), tells her best friend, Lizard, about this, Lizard asks, “What if instead of WRITING about dying languages, like your mom, you and I SAVED one instead?” The girls choose the endangered language of Guernésiais, a distant cousin of French, spoken by just a few hundred remaining speakers on the Isle of Guernsey, in the English Channel between France and England. Lizard and Bumble decide that if they can learn Guernésiais, and teach it to other kids at their middle school, at least a few more people in the world will know this language and be able to speak at least a little bit of it. Of course, this is not how languages in the real world get saved, because language is inextricably tied up with a culture, and a people, and a place. My two characters learn this in the course of the story in a devastating way.

But I hope the book will inspire young readers to become interested in learning about the wealth of the world’s estimated 7000 languages, 40 percent of which are currently endangered through globalization, as young people choose to speak languages that allow them to participate more fully in life outside of their small communities. The website the girls use in The Lost Language is based on the Endangered Languages Project website (endangeredlanguages.com), which features a map of the world where students can click on different countries to learn which languages are endangered there. The website offers resources on how to learn some 3450 endangered languages.

Here are some questions to spark student discussion.

• Do you think it would be a good thing if everybody in the world spoke the same language? Why or why not?
  • Possible answers for why this would be a good thing might include: it would be easier to understand people and avoid miscommunication, and so easier to work together for common goals. Possible answers for why it wouldn’t be a bad thing might include: it would be boring! Why would we want to have sameness instead of diversity?
• Do you think there are any endangered languages in the United States? Which languages might be endangered here and why?
  • The Endangered Languages Project website reports 167 endangered languages in the USA, primarily Indigenous languages, lost through deliberate attempts to force assimilation of Indigenous people by extinguishing Indigenous culture, including both religion and language.
  • One reason to preserve languages is that each language has some words or expressions that convey something difficult to translate into any other language. For example, in German, there is the word schadenfreude, which means “pleasure in somebody else’s misfortune.” In Japanese, wabi-sabi means “finding beauty in imperfection.” The French verb flâner means “to wander aimlessly in a city.” Is there anything you think there should be a word for in English that isn’t a word now? Can you create a new word for it?
• Which language or languages would you most like to learn? Why? Would it bother you if you had to stop speaking in your own language, the language you grew up with, and start speaking in a completely different language? Of course, learning a language is not easy! But even if you could learn the new language effortlessly, what do you think might be lost by speaking only the new language now?

Publishing October 12th, 2021 by Margaret Ferguson Books

About the Book: Betsy is the one who informs her best friend, Lizard, that thousands of the world’s languages are currently threatened by extinction; Betsy’s mother is a linguistics professor working frantically to study dying languages before they are lost forever. But it is Lizard who, gripped by the magnitude of this loss, challenges Betsy, “What if, instead of WRITING about dying languages, like your mom, you and I SAVED one instead?”

As the girls embark on their crusade to learn as much as possible of the near-extinct language of Guernésiais (spoken on the Isle of Guernsey, off the coast of France), their friendship faces unexpected strains. With Lizard increasingly obsessed with the language project, Betsy begins to seek greater independence from her controlling and charismatic friend, as well as from her controlling and charismatic mother. Then tragedy threatens Betsy’s life beyond what any words can express.

Written in verse, The Lost Language takes its characters on a quest both to save the words of a dying language and to find the words to save what may be a dying friendship.

About the Author: Claudia Mills has published over 60 books for young readers, including the middle-grade novels The Lost Language, Zero Tolerance, and Write This Down, and several chapter book series, most recently Franklin School Friends and After-School Superstars. Her books have been chosen as Junior Library Guild selections, named Notable Books of the Year by the American Library Association, translated into half a dozen languages, and nominated for dozens of state readers’ choice awards. She has written all her books between 5 and 7 in the morning while lying on the couch and drinking hot chocolate.

Thank you, Claudia, for this great conversation starter with students and for introducing us to your new book!

“Tech Timeout, a Playwriting Lesson”

An irritated parent accosted me in the parking lot. “Don’t make my son do that assignment,” she pleaded.

Some years ago I taught playwriting to middle schoolers. The class was an elective so all of them had chosen to be there. Yet when it came time to start writing, all I heard was “I can’t think of anything.” or “I don’t have any ideas.”

That’s when I came up with an idea to help them come up with ideas. Prior to beginning the playwriting process, their homework was to ‘Just say no.’ to electronic entertainment. No broadcast or cable television viewing. No computer games or internet browsing. However, using the computer for responding to email, using the internet for teacher-assigned projects and attending movies or plays at a theater were permitted. (This was before cell phones became so pervasive.) And that’s why this mother grabbed me in the parking lot. “You’re punishing the whole family,” she said. “To prevent him from doing it, we have to not do it, too.”

This mother was a lady I liked. She knew I was an author and had aspirations for writing fiction herself but hadn’t gotten around to it. Life in the big city keeps you pretty busy, after all. I would try to encourage her to sit down and write but somehow her schedule would never allow for it.

Despite her impassioned objections to the no TV, no internet rule, I held firm. The assignment required students to abstain for four consecutive days. They could use the computer for homework in other classes, but not for fun. Parents had to sign a sheet documenting that their children had complied. I also sent home a list of things they could do besides watch television or play video games. Among the things I suggested: practice a musical instrument, go to a friend’s house, ride a bicycle, fix that thing that’s been broken forever, sort out a closet, play outdoors. The first item on the list was: start writing your play.

After the experiment, they also had to write about the experience. Some of their comments:

It was okay living without TV. I don’t really watch a lot of television anyway, except on weekends. I went outside for bike rides, went for some ice cream, and played sports…   I also read a lot, and wrote e-mails, letters, essays and poems.  —Alicia K.

It was a nightmare going without TV… I thought I was going to die. Living without TV for four days was not as bad as I thought it was but it was still a little boring. Life went on and I and everybody around me lived.This might sound a little abnormal but I held it in. The temptation was there… I mean once in awhile I felt like getting up and turning on the TV.  —Colby J.

Going without [technology] was not hard. It was actually kind of fun. I got all of my homework done (that is not usual.) I was able to read a book and enjoyed it. I had free time to myself. I was able to work on all my projects and turn them in on time. —Jamela S.

After this period of abstinence, students ‘magically’ had great story ideas to put down on paper. It was easier for them to get their plays underway. Emptying their minds of electronic clutter seeded and strengthened their imaginations.

Although I, too, am guilty of spending too much time bouncing between You Tube and the boob tube, sometimes I actually act on my own advice.

I distinctly remember an occasion when I jumped in the car and reflexively reached for the radio. But before my hand could make contact with the tuner, that still, small voice said “No.”

I stifled the urge to fill the car with noise and stayed silent. As I drove in the quiet, I began thinking about my MG novel JAYLA JUMPS IN, which was still in progress. As I mused about my plot, I was able to work out several scenes. Being willing to put the tech in check enhanced my creative process.

Julia Cameron, creativity guru and author of THE ARTIST’S WAY, calls this practice ‘media deprivation’ when you deliberately call a time-out from consuming all forms of artificial amusement to give your brain a re-set.

Not long after the assignment to temporarily go screen-free so that her son could write a play, that same mom stopped me again in the parking lot. This time she wasn’t angry, she was bubbling over with excitement. “Guess what!” she said. “I finally started my short story!”

Would your students benefit from a technology break?

Would you?

Jayla Jumps In
Author: Joy Jones
Published September 1st, 2020 by Albert Whitman & Company
Paperback releasing Fall, 2021

About the Book: When eleven-year-old Jayla finds out that her mother used to be a Double Dutch champion, she’s stunned. Her mom, who’s on doctor’s orders to lower her blood pressure, could move like that?!? Jayla decides to follow in her mom’s footsteps, thinking that maybe double Dutch can make her stand out in her big, quirky family. As she puts together a team at school and prepares to compete, Jayla finds that Double Dutch is about a lot more than jumping rope–and it just might change her life in ways she never imagined. Full of hilarious family dynamics and plenty of jump rope action, Jayla Jumps In follows one girl’s quest to get her mom healthy and find her place in her community.

About the Author: Joy Jones is an author, trainer, and playwright.  Her play, Outdoor Recess, won the Promising Playwrights’ Competition by the Colonial Players in Annapolis, MD. Among her children’s books are the acclaimed picture book, Tambourine Moon, and Fearless Public Speaking, a how-to for teens. Her newest book, Jayla Jumps In, an MG novel, will be released in paperback Fall, 2021.Jayla Jumps In was inspired by the multi-generational double Dutch program she founded, DC Retro Jumpers. Visit her on the web at: http://www.joyjonesonline.com.

Kindly, Joy Jones has offered readers of Unleashing Readers a gift!

If they enter this code on my website, they can download these free ebooks:

For kids – the Jayla Jumps In Activity Book – http://joyjonesonline.com/freebies/ In order to complete the download, they need to enter the code  895$230

For adults – Not Everybody Likes to Exercise, But Everybody Likes to Play –  http://joyjonesonline.com/freebies/. In order to complete the download, they need to enter the code 248#795.

Thank you, Joy, for this awesome activity and for your generous gifts! We are thankful for you!

“7 Ways to Get Your Child Who Reads Less Frequently to Read More”

1.  LEAD BY EXAMPLE

If your children see you reading, they will be more inclined to read themselves, especially if they see that you are genuinely engrossed in a book and will to share your experience by talking about what you are reading and expressing to them what it is about the story or subject that fascinates you. By explaining what you like about a particular story, whether it is the mood, the setting, or an interesting plotline or character, in essence you are encouraging them to pick up a book without having to force them to read. Plenty of studies have shown that forcing students to read something that they have little interest in is likely to result in students not reading books at all. The enthusiasm that you show for a book alone could spark a child’s interest, if not in the same book you’re reading, then perhaps in a different one. But it is not a bad idea to read books yourself that are written for the age of your child. You might even be pleasantly surprised how well-written and entertaining many young adult, middle grade, and even children’s book are for any age reader.

2. THE BROCCOLI PRINCIPLE

Similar to foods children don’t like to eat, like broccoli, or whatever vegetable it might be, the best way to get them to eat it is by giving them small portions. It makes sense. You can’t put a plateful of broccoli in front of them and expect that they are going to eat all of it. Whatever they eat will be better than nothing, so give them a small portion to start off. Even a little bit will benefit them. Take the same approach with reading. Set aside some time every day for reading. Keep in mind, it doesn’t have to be a significant amount of time. However long it might be, five minutes, ten, fifteen, it is better than nothing. It’s a starting place, and it can only grow from there. You may be surprised what even this minimal effort will accomplish over time. Maybe it’s just a chapter at night, but after a few weeks, or a month, if a book really takes root with your child’s imagination, they may want to read multiple chapters each day to find out what will happen next, and before you know it, fifteen minutes a day could quickly extend to twenty minutes, twenty-five, or more on certain days. And that is something you have to look at as a victory.

3. CHOSE BOOKS WITH A SUBJECT MATTER THAT INTERESTS THEM

This may be obvious, but it’s really important. Everybody has an interest or two, and you know your child better than anyone. Find out what they are into. Whether it is a nature, animals or magic, plots in stories involve a wide variety of subjects and interests. It doesn’t even have to be fiction. A nonfiction book that become an enjoyable experience achieves the goal you are seeking, which in this case is getting your child to go from not reading at all to reading something on a regular basis.

When my son was younger, it was a challenge to get him to read anything that wasn’t required. For me, as a writer, this was a real dilemma. Like any parent in this situation, I had to find ways to get him to read more. I knew the two things he liked more than anything was baseball and creepy stories, anything in the Goosebumps and Scooby-Doo vein. My new novel, THE GOBLIN PITCHER, is a kids’ book that I wrote with him in mind. Hopefully, it will be of interest to other finicky readers.

4. VISIT LIBRARIES AND BOOKSTORES

Visit as many as you can, chain and independents alike. Finding topics that your child is interested will be a cinch if you show them that there are ample books on whatever subjects that matter most to them. Seeing shelf after shelf spreading out in all directions might just be a source of inspiration, showing your child how books are revered, old and new titles alike. Watch them explore and see what sections they gravitate to. The library/bookstore experience is made easier these days with the children-friendly themes and attractions you are likely to find inside as well as outside, where there is often a playground. For the parents, coffee is usually available because it could turn into a long afternoon. But it is well worth it if your child finds a hidden treasure to take home.

5.  START SMALL

Lengthy books can be intimidating and a turn off for young people who do not read a lot. Start with chapter books or short novels. It doesn’t matter if they read one long book or a couple of shorter works. It tends to be easier to draw beginning readers into narratives of shorter stories. Everything happens faster, and there are few if any subplots to detract from the main action, which was why they chose the book to begin with.

When I began writing, I eased into it by writing short stories. This is not something all writers do, of course, but for me it was easier than jumping into writing a full-length book my first time out. Graphic novels are a great way to introduce young readers to books. They are illustrated, but there are story lines and plots to follow just as there are in traditional novels.

6. BASED ON A NOVEL
Take your child to the movies. Yes, that’s right, the movies. Whether in the theater or at home, on Netflix, or whatever platform you prefer. Pick a movie that your child likes and has seen before, or one you know they will enjoy. The only thing you must do is make sure the movie was based on a book, the more popular the better, and preferably one that can be enjoyed at any age, such as The Wizard of Oz, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Willy Wonk and the Chocolate Factory, or Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events. There is bound to be a movie or two they have seen that they did not know had been a book first. If your child liked to film, it might just be enough to get them to seek out the original source to learn even more about the characters and storylines that did not make it into the film.

7. READ, READ AGAIN

It’s okay to read the same book twice, or even multiple times. If a child enjoys a book, there’s nothing wrong with them reading it as many times as they want. It’s all about reading and enjoyment. In rereading the story, they are liable to discover things about their favorite characters and the story that they did not know before, and they might end up seeking out another book by the author. And today, with so many books that are part of a series, odds are there are other adventures with the same characters that they can follow.

These are my humble suggestions to get young people interesting in books. You might have some other ways, but whatever it takes to ease children onto that road to discovery and fascination, you will be initiating an experience that they will enjoy for a lifetime.

The Goblin Pitcher
Author: Paul Lonardo
Published April 11, 2021 by PL Publishing

About the Book: The one thing eleven-year-old Jake Lupo loves more than anything else is baseball. However, despite his father being a professional pitcher, Jake’s fear of failing has kept him from competing against children his own age. When his father, who has recovered from a serious arm injury, is invited to pitch for an independent team, Jake and his parents move to Pine Barrows, a far flung forested mountain outpost. Jake is excited about his father’s chance at a comeback, but he soon learns that he is not the only one in Pine Barrows who loves baseball. Goblins love to play baseball, too, and Pine Barrows happens to be chock full of them. Then Jake discovers that the region is occupied by two factions of warring goblins.

Seeking to take control of the goblin kingdom, the leader of the evil goblins kidnaps Jake’s mother and bans baseball, a game which itself is a natural source of power for the goblins.

It turns out that Jake has a secret kinship with the legendary beings, and he is the only one who can save them, their kingdom and his mother. However, Jake must believe in himself and play a winner-take-all game against the best goblin players in Pine Barrows.

About the Author: While this is my first book for young people, I have authored both fiction and nonfiction books in a variety of genres, from true crime to romance. As a freelance writer, I often collaborate with people to help them write and publish their biographies, memoirs, or to tell of a particularly compelling personal experience.

I studied filmmaking / screenwriting at Columbia College – Hollywood. I earned an A.S. (Mortuary Science) from Mount Ida College and a B.A. (English) from the University of Rhode Island.

I live in Lincoln, RI with my wife and son.

Thank you, Paul, for sharing strategies to encourage kids to read more!