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Student Voices!: Focus on Villains by Diego, Luis, Elsa, Kaley, Max, Mariana, & Daniela

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The best way to learn what kids are thinking & feeling is by listening to them, so I am happy to share my students’ voices!

Controversial Characters (Are they villains? Or are they heroes?) by Elsa, Kaley, and Max, 8th Grade

  • Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series: Even though J.K. Rowling makes Dumbledore seem like a wise, old guide helping Harry, Dumbledore is often manipulative, selfish, and cold. While Harry saw Dumbledore as a mentor, Dumbledore only saw Harry as a pawn. Dumbledore used Harry’s feelings toward him to make Harry do what he wants. (Elsa)
  • Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series: At the end of the series, J.K. Rowling attempted redemption with Severus Snape. I feel as though it wasn’t enough and if anything it made me not like him more. While he was a villain for the majority of the series, the fact that he was bullied and then obsessed with Harry’s mom is supposed to make the fact that he is a trash person for 6.5 books okay… (Kaley)
  • Tedros from the School for Good and Evil series: Tedros, the love interest of both Sophie and Agatha in the first book, is so self absorbed and ignorant. In the first book, he seemed very fake and would do whatever he wanted. (Elsa)
  • Sophie from the School for Good and Evil series: I totally get that Sophie was supposed to come across as artificial and stupid. It was one of her character flaws that was supposed to be overruled by her good traits like being a good friend to Agatha. I don’t think it did and think the bad outweighed the good. (Kaley)
  • Naomi’s Dad in Two Naomis: Naomi’s dad is a controversial character in my opinion because the author tried to make the reader feel sorry for him and that he was really trying; however, I do not like him because he should not force things on the children. Some children take longer to deal with changes. (Max)

15 of the Most Evil Characters in Books by Daniela & Mariana, 8th Grade

  • Slade from Blood on my Hands
  • The Governor from Stung
  • The Evil Queen from The Land of Stories series
  • The Masked Man from The Land of Stories series
  • Lady Iris from The Land of Stories series
  • Snow Queen from The Land of Stories series
  • Sea Witch from The Land of Stories series
  • The Queen of Hearts from The Land of Stories series
  • Captain Hook from The Land of Stories series
  • Morina from The Land of Stories series
  • The Police from Ghost Boys
  • Hellhounds from Good Dog
  • Aiden’s Dad from Good Dog
  • Secret Murderer from One of Us is Lying
  • Steven from A Girl Named Digit

10 Comic Villains I Wish I Could Fight by Diego, 8th Grade

  • Thanos: I would like to fight Thanos because he is the strongest supervillain. He beat The Avengers!
  • Reverse Flash: I would fight Reverse Flash because he is the archenemy of the Flash and is very fast and super smart.
  • The Joker: I would fight the Joker because he’s a very smart scientist and a criminal mastermind. I think I would lose.
  • Lex Luthor: I would fight Lex Luther because he’s the archenemy of Superman and is very powerful though I think I could win.
  • Catwoman: I would fight Cat Woman because she’s very agile and would be difficult to fight because of her agility and coordination.
  • Harley Quinn: I would fight Harley because she is very smart and is Joker’s partner and would be hart to defeat.
  • Magneto: I would fight Magneto because he’s very powerful since he can control magnets and magnetic fields.
  • Loki: I would want to fight Loki because he is the god of mischief and would be fun but hart to beat.
  • Venom: I would like to fight Venom because when the symbiote turns into Venom, he turns really lethal and powerful, similar to fighting Spiderman.
  • Doctor Doom: I would like to fight Doctor Doom because he is Spiderman’s archenemy and is very mean and knows how to create armor. He also is an intellect, knows sorcery, and is a telepath.

Top 10 Manga Villains by Luis, 8th Grade

  • Blackbeard from One Piece: Marshall D. Teach, also known as Blackbeard, is the captain of the Blackbeard Pirates and is known as one of the baddest pirates in the manga.
  • Piccolo Daimaku from Dragon Ball Z: He’s the main antagonist of Dragon Ball. He’s one half of the No-Name Namekian alongside Kami-sama. He’s known for assassinating innocents during the Martial Arts Tournament and assassinating Master Roshi.
  • Zamasu from Dragon Ball Z: Zamasu is a god of time. He started hating humans after Trunks started messing with time travel. He wants to kill all humans for Trunks’s actions against time.
  • Majin Buu from Dragon Ball Z: Majin Buu is a monster created by magician Vividi and reused by his son. Buu’s only objective is to destroy all living creatures on the planet, even killing Vividi.
  • Frieza from Dragon Ball Z: Frieza is the emperor of the universe, and his only desire in life is to attain immortality.
  • Kars from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Kars is the one responsible for the Villain vs. Human War and killing all of his species except for 3 men. He is right now floating in space not thinking.
  • Dio Brando from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Dio is a vampire. Dio wants to reset the world to his wishes. He’s able to stop time and kills half of the stardust crusaders.
  • Enrico Pucci from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Pucci is a priest but once he meets Dio his believes change. Dio is his god now and Pucci is helping with resetting the whole universe.
  • The Major from Hellsing: The Major is the master evil human in the world since all he wants is war, destruction, and chaos.
  • Madara Uchiha from Naruto: Shippuden: Madara is th descendant of the 2nd son of the sage of sixpathes, part of the Uchika clan, and the first Uchiha to unlock the eternal Mangekyou Sharingan which gave him great powers.

Thank you everyone for your great lists!

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Author Guest Post: “Making Lemonade out of Lemons: Creating Humor out of Sadness” by Naomi Milliner, Author of Super Jake & the King of Chaos

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“Making Lemonade out of Lemons: Creating Humor out of Sadness”

One of the things I’m asked most often about my debut middle grade novel, SUPER JAKE & THE KING OF CHAOS, is the role of humor – specifically how there’s so much in what could be a very sad book. Both the humor and the heaviness stem from truth, because SUPER JAKE is inspired by life with my three sons, the youngest of whom (Jake) had special needs.

Jake’s many limitations were heartbreaking, as was his death at only 28 months. And yet, my family – especially Jake’s big brothers – managed to find, and create, a lot of laughter and joy despite the difficulties. For that reason I tried to balance the inherent sadness surrounding his fragile health with a sense of playfulness and humor throughout the book. Here are five ways to use humor in a sad story, with examples from SUPER JAKE.

  • Establish a fun, or funny, tone from the get-go.

In early drafts, the story opened with the 11-year-old hero, Ethan, being awakened in the middle of the night because of a Jake-related medical emergency. This scene is still in the book; it just comes 155 pages later. Although it was a sure-fire dramatic start, as the main story shifted from Jake to Ethan, it was clear that the book needed to start with Ethan doing his favorite thing: magic. And what could be funnier, and more endearing, than entertaining a dozen 3-year-old girls dressed like Disney princesses? Throw in goofy younger brother, 7-year-old Freddy, and an unexpected appearance by SpongeBob, and you’ve got a fun tone to kick things off. Later in the chapter Jake shows up, too, and a bit of sadness creeps in but – hopefully – the reader already knows this story will have plenty of lighthearted moments.

  • Include a character who provides comic relief.

This, without question, is Freddy, the lovable middle brother. I could always count on him to come to the rescue when things got too sad. Sometimes it was a simple visual gag, like bubble gum exploding all over his face. Other times it was unexpected dialogue, or his interrupting a somber moment any number of ways. And sometimes, it was just his sweet, innocent take on things: he was a great vehicle to lighten tension.

  • Incorporate a sense of play, and playfulness, to mitigate sad circumstances.

There is nothing remotely fun, or funny, about having to “stretch” Jake’s arms and legs because he was unable to do it on his own. And yet in the book, as in real life, his big brothers got in on the act and even managed to turn physical therapy into a good time: Ethan takes a benign teddy bear and creates… Ninja Bear! Another example is how Jake’s unusual hearing creates a funny scene when Ethan plays his trumpet without waking Jake to stir, but Mom’s quiet (and angry) whisper immediately wakes him up.

  • Do something surprising.

This technique is very helpful and can be used frequently and in many ways. Have someone you wouldn’t expect do something unexpected: Ms. Carlin, Ethan’s beloved English teacher, has a crush on Ethan’s hero, Magnus the Magnificent. (Spoiler alert: teachers are human! You heard it here first.) Have an unexpected dialogue exchange, like on p. 23:

Freddy:            I’m doing a huge battle of dinosaurs versus Star Wars. I thought the Star Wars people would win because they’ve got lightsabers. But the dinosaurs were  hungry, so they ate them.

Ethan:              The lightsabers?

Freddy:            The people.

Or create an unexpected, and much-needed, break in tension. This occurs organically in lots of Ethan’s magic tricks. It seems like something has gone wrong, then he pulls it off. Another example of breaking tension with humor is when Ethan tries to convince his frenemy, Ned, that cake will make him feel better. Just as Ethan is about to give up, Ned asks, “What flavor is it?”

  • Switch from tears to laughter.

One of my favorite writers, Paula Danziger, said that her favorite thing to do was switch from tears to laughter, or laughter to tears, “on a dime.” I have tried to do the same. Even if it’s something small, the contrast makes the new, unexpected emotion pack a bigger punch.

Laughter to tears is pretty easy when you’ve got a character like Jake. Here’s bit with Ethan and his buddies at lunch, as they try to figure out how he can pay for a magic competition:

Brian:              Hey! Maybe you could sell one of your brothers.

Ethan:              Nah. I’d have to pay somebody to take Freddy.

Daniel:            How about Jake? Lots of people want babies.

Brian:              Only perfect ones.

Tears to laughter usually happens courtesy of Freddy. In the dialogue below, the truth is the possibility of Jake ever tackling homework is a sad reminder that his limitations are far-reaching and probably permanent. And yet…

Freddy:            Hey, Ethan, you think someday I’ll help Jake with his math homework?

Ethan:              I don’t know. How much is eight plus two?

Freddy:            Twelve?

Creating laughter from tears, or happiness from sadness, isn’t only doable: it’s critical, especially in children’s books. I hope these approaches will show readers that they can find – and make – joy out of even the saddest situations.

More information on the book can be found at: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/naomi-milliner/super-jake-and-the-king-of-chaos/9780762466160/.

Super Jake & the King of Chaos
Author: Naomi Milliner
Published May 7th, 2019 by Running Press Kids

About the Book: A debut contemporary novel about 11-year-old aspiring magician Ethan, who discovers that heroes come in all sizes, and real magic can be found in the most unexpected places.

When life revolves around stressed-out parents and ER visits for his special needs little brother Jake, eleven-year-old Ethan escapes to a world of top hats, trick decks, and magic wands. When he hears of a junior magic competition where the top prize is to meet and perform with his hero, Magnus the Magnificent, Ethan is determined to do whatever he needs to get there–and to win.

His dedication and hard work pay off, and he makes it to the top five finalists: his dream really could come true! Then Jake falls dangerously ill and Ethan’s hopes and plans are in jeopardy. As he searches for any sort of magic that might save Jake, Ethan learns what is truly important . . . and what real magic is.

About the Author: Naomi Milliner has a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Master’s in Screenwriting from USC Film School. As a long-time member of SCBWI, she created the Authors Book Club (ABC) for published authors and illustrators to share their journey with other members. She has also served on the Women’s National Book Association’s Great Group Reads Committee since 2009. She lives in Maryland, with her husband and sons.

Thank you so much for this guest post about how authors mix sadness and humor!

Student Voices!: Favorite Characters by Isaias, Miguel, Max, Kaley, Ellian, Sujan, Mariana, Daniela, Vanessa, Angelina, & Nitya

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The best way to learn what kids are thinking & feeling is by listening to them, so I am happy to share my students’ voices!

Top Ten Favorite Characters by Isaias & Miguel, 6th Grade

  • Rowan from Scythe: We like Rowan because he is thoughtful and caring to his best friends but brave versus his enemies. Rowan is smart and strong and shows these abilities throughout Scythe and Thunderhead.
  • Greg from Diary of a Wimpy Kid: We like Greg because he has very unique characteristics like being funny, dumb, lazy, and irrelevant. These traits make Greg likable.
  • Peter from Peter Nimble: We like Peter because he is smart and so determined to do the thing that is special to him. In the book, he has a friend and he does anything that he can do to protect him. In top of all of this, he is blind. He is very likable and special.
  • Sirius Black from Harry Potter: Sirius Black is brave and strong with his want. He is very unique and helps Harry a lot throughout the series. He does very smart things, and he is often misjudged. He is our favorite character in Harry Potter. He is very interesting and likable.
  • Emily from Amulet: We like Emily because she is very kind to her friends and family. She is very brave against her enemies. She is very determined and if she has a goal, she will achieve it. This is why we put her on our list.
  • Navin from Amulet: Navin is probably the smartest guy in the world. He can manage any electricity without practicing with it. Navin will do anything to protect his family. He is a very caring person to his friends. Never leaves a mission without his friends.
  • Roderick from Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick is kind of the mean and cool brother in the book, but he is funny (mostly when he is doing something stupid). He always makes you laugh mostly when combined with his brother.
  • Citra from Scythe: In the book, Citra is stubborn, so it makes her personality very interesting while he fights her enemies. She is also kind and thoughtful to her friends. Overall, she is a very caring and strong character.
  • James from Explorer: Mystery Boxes “The Escape Option”: James is proud and brave. He decides to leave and help his people. Because of these traits, James makes the list.
  • Dog Man from Dog Man: Dog Man is very brave and kind. He helps so many people that we can’t even count. Dog man is also strong, smart, strategic, and in all the books he is the hero, and that’s why he’s on our list.

Characters We Love to Love by Max and Kaley, 8th Grade

  • Eliza from Eliza and Her Monsters (Kaley): As a person who needs time to recharge my social better a lot, I could sympathize with Eliza who is the poster child for anti-social. Throughout the book, as she made strides with branching out, I rooted for her the whole time.
  • Victoria “Vicky” from The Memory of Light (Kaley): As a young person with sticky relationships with a couple of my family members, I really felt Vicky’s hurt when her dad was a jerk throughout the entire book. I loved watching her step into herself, and she remains one of my favorite book characters.
  • Mark from The Honest Truth (Max): Mark is a character I love because it shows how much he loves his dog. Even in the darkest moments, he only wants his dog to be safe.
  • Brodie from Good Dog (Max): I love Brodie because he shows how much a dog loves you. It also shows that even after death, they will find their way back to you no matter what. That after death, they think about you.

Top 10 Favorite Characters by Ellian and Sujan, 6th Grade

  • Sujan
    • Prince Jaron from The Ascendance Trilogy
    • Nicolas Calva from The Mark of the Thief trilogy
    • Greg Heffley from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
    • Rowley Jefferson from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
    • Chaya Lidner from Resistance
    • Dog Man from the Dog Man series
  • Ellian
    • Emily from the Amulet series
    • Navin from the Amulet series
    • Dog Man from the Dog Man series
    • Greg from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series

10 Book Characters We’d Date by Mariana & Daneila, 8th Grade

  • Peter from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before 
  • Josh from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
  • Olly from Everything, Everything
  • Bowen from Strung
  • Augustus Waters from The Fault in our Stars
  • Adam from Wish You Were Dead
  • John from A Girl Named Digit
  • Conner from The Land of Stories series
  • Percy from Percy Jackson and the Olympians
  • Aiden from Good Dog

3 Fictional Male Book Characters We Would Date If We Were In Their Book by Vanessa & Angelina, 8th and 7th Grade

  • Prince Maxon from The Selection series: His is kind-hearted, understanding, protective, and puts other peoples’ safety before his own. He does whatever he can to make things right. Even though he doesn’t always have the nerve to express his emotions, he still tries to get his point across.
  • Simon from The Traitor’s Game series: Sion is a protective, strong, shy, caring guy who just wants everyone to be safe. He feels like any injuries or issues are his fault and always questions if he should take the blame.
  • Prince Tedros of Camelot from The School for Good & Evils series: Where do we begin…well, Tedros is strong, a prince, and an all around great person. People don’t know what is truly going on in his head; he has never truly been understood until he met Agatha.

Favorite Heroes by Nitya, 6th Grade

  • Alex Bailey from The Land of Stories series: I like her because she has a lot of confidence, and she is outgoing. Also, she is very smart. Lasly, she is stubborn like me.
  • Agatha from School for Good and Evil series: I like Agatha because she is adventurous and simple. She is also very smart and tactful. I want to be clever like she is in the books.
  • Sadie Kane from Kane Chronicles trilogy: I like Sadie Kane because she is mentally strong. Also, she has a lot of talents. Lastly, she has found very good friends that support her.
  • Thalia Grace from Percy Jackson and the Olympians series: I like her because she is very loyal to her friends and family. Also, she is so loving. Lastly, her strength both physically and mentally is unbelievable.

Thank you everyone for your great lists!

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Author Guest Post: “Suspension of Disbelief: Walking the Fine Line” by Tom Alan Brosz, Author of Roger Mantis

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“Suspension of Disbelief: Walking the Fine Line” 

In many works of science fiction or fantasy, books or movies, the reader or viewer is often required to do what’s called “suspending disbelief.”

This means that the reader must gently suppress some of the logical response to features of the story in order to enjoy the story itself. This is not a bad thing, and it happens all the time, particularly in fantasy. That’s why it’s called fantasy. When you read Watership Down, you know quite well that rabbits aren’t intelligent, and can’t talk, but you easily overlook it to immerse yourself in the book. Talking animals in stories predates writing itself, which tells you how long people have been suspending disbelief to enjoy a good yarn, or a fable with a lesson.

It’s not all that easy, though. As a writer of fantasy or SF, you need to encourage the suspension, but not push it too far, and it’s way too easy to push it too far. The last thing you want from your reader is the response, “Oh, come on, now. I’m not buying this!” The response isn’t usually that specific in the reader’s mind, it’s more often just a nagging discomfort that the writing has some big bumps in it that are distracting from the story itself.

My own book, Roger Mantis, is a humorous take-off of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. In this case, the victim of a surprise transformation into a giant insect is an 11-year old boy, Roger McGillicutty. Roger Mantis is about how Roger manages to deal with it, how his friends and family deal with it, and how Roger manages the loss of his baseball dreams and tries to find new ones.

To make the story work, it was essential that the people around Roger accept his transformation into a giant praying mantis much more easily than would probably happen in real life. Otherwise, the idea of Roger talking to friends, going to school, and trying to play baseball just wouldn’t work at all.

If I were totally realistic about the situation (other than the giant mantis itself), my book would have ended at Chapter Two with poor Roger up a tall tree with terrified townspeople waving pitchforks, shotguns, and torches down below. So, a little suspension of disbelief, please.

My first attempt at this was to directly follow the lead of The Metamorphosis, where the characters are almost weirdly blasé about Gregor becoming a huge bug. It’s more of a household inconvenience than anything else. Even Gregor seems more concerned about his work issues than his six legs.

So, I tried this with Roger Mantis. This moved the story along nicely, but … well, here’s an early draft from the start of my story, as Roger the Giant Mantis surprises his mother coming out of his bedroom:

His mother dropped the laundry basket, and clothes fell on the floor as she stared at Roger.

“Mom?  Mom!  It’s me!  Roger!”  Roger tried to hold his evil-looking claws behind his narrow back.  It didn’t really work.

“Roger?  Roger!  What on earth have you done to yourself?” She looked at the floor. “Oh, no! My clean clothes!”

Okay, it’s funny, in a British humor kind of sense, but my editors thought it was a bit over the top as far as “acceptance” went. And if that’s what occurs to the reader first, instead of wanting to see what happens next, then you’ve gone over the suspension line. I had to agree with them, and the beginning of the book now has Roger hiding in the woods first, and his transformation is broken more slowly to his parents.

Okay, the level of acceptance is still a bit unrealistic, but hopefully not enough so that the reader gets pulled out of the book, and we can go on to the fun parts, and the real story of a boy dealing with something that can’t help but change his life drastically.

There were other issues of suspension of disbelief in Roger Mantis. The story depends on an entire town being able to mostly keep the secret of Roger’s existence. I placed the story back in the 70s to avoid the ubiquitous smartphones that make secrecy on almost anything impossible. But even so, it’s probably unlikely the existence of a giant talking insect wouldn’t leak out to a much larger extent than it did in the book. But by keeping it gentle, and having a few small leaks, I think I kept it within the suspension-of-disbelief limits.

And then of course, there’s the science. As one character in the book, Marlene, points out, a real giant insect couldn’t even stand up, and certainly couldn’t fly, but Roger does all these things easily. Weirdly, a character “hanging a lampshade” on something like this often actually helps the writer get across a disbelief hump. It kind of sends a message from the author to the reader, “Yeah, I know about this, but let’s all agree to overlook it together so we can have some fun.” Note to science fiction writers: you have a tougher row to hoe in this area than fantasy writers.

It’s not just about fantasy and science fiction, either. The suspension of disbelief problem can be an issue for any kind of story. Way too many coincidences in the plot? A first-class deus ex machina? A glaring plot hole? Even a mystery or romance book can fall afoul of these problems, and haul the reader uncomfortably out of the story.

Are there hard and fast rules to help with suspension of disbelief? Not really. The borderline between belief and disbelief depends on genre, writing style, humorous or serious, age of the target reader, and way too many other things.

So how do you deal with it? Experience helps, including a lot of reading in your chosen genre and age group, and some good beta readers. And of course, a good editor helps a lot more.

Roger Mantis: The Remarkable Transformation of Roger McGillicutty
Author: Tom Alan Borsz
Published April 2nd, 2019 by Tantrum Books

About the Book: Roger McGillicutty, 11, wakes up one Saturday morning and finds out he has unexpectedly transformed into a five-foot praying mantis.

His parents seem to be coping with it fairly well, and his dog Lou is okay with it, but how will the rest of the town of Highland Falls handle it? Roger has school on Monday, the carnival’s coming to town next week, and his Little League team is playing their biggest rival Centerville next Saturday. Being a giant bug will seriously cramp his style!

Or maybe not. Things begin to change when Roger performs a spectacular rescue of his classmates from a broken Ferris wheel.

Roger McGillicutty: a six-legged freak, or just possibly a superhero?

Roger’s story takes off from the famous beginning lines of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, and then flies in an entirely different direction. Behind the adventure and the humor is a story about accepting who you are—your talents and limitations—and learning how to make the most of it.

About the Author: Tom Alan Brosz actually is a rocket scientist (sort of), having done design and engineering work in the private space industry back before the private space industry was cool. His qualifications for writing this book are that he has experience in raising children who like bugs and raising pet mantises for those children. Normal-sized mantises, of course.

Blog: https://tomalanbrosz.wordpress.com/
Roger Mantis website: https://rogermantis.com/

Thank you so much for this guest post looking at the thought process into fantasy writing!

Student Voices!: Favorite Authors by Emma, Maria, Lisa, Isaias, Miguel, Sujan, & Ellian

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The best way to learn what kids are thinking & feeling is by listening to them, so I am happy to share my students’ voices!

Top 3 Authors by Emma, 7th Grade

  • Chris Colfer: He is the author of a wonderful series, The Land of Stories. He created a fantasy world full of fairy tales. He also has more unknown books like Struck by Lightning and Stranger Than Fanfiction. He is also a character in Glee. Chris Colfer has opened my mind up to other genres.
  • Rick Riordan: Author of many books. He created a mythological region for readers. In his books, Percy Jackson and Magnus Chase and others, he takes Greek tales and turn them into something different.
  • Jennifer Nielsen: Jennifer Nielsen is the author of many amazing books. In her historical fiction books, like Resistance, she takes history and brings it to life. He allows readers to interact and connect to her books.

Top 5 Authors for Middle Schoolers by Maria & Lisa, 6th Grade

Jeff Kinney
Racel Renee Russell
Raina Telgemeier
Lincoln Peirce
Rick Riordan

Top 10 Favorite Authors by Isaias & Miguel, 6th Grade

  • Neal Shusterman: He is creative and very good at making books with themes and ideas that no one has ever come close to thinking about.
  • J.K. Rowling: She is very creative when she things about magic. Her books are one of the most interesting books we’ve read. The ways she writes the books are impressive.
  • Jonathan Auxier: His stories are so page turning. The way he makes his characters and explains everything are interesting.
  • Rick Riordan: He is very good at including Greek mythology which makes his books more interesting and unique. The way his books add up make a good experience which shoes he does more than Green mythology.
  • Kazu Kibuishi: His comics are probably the best we’ve read. He is creative with the creation of the story with magic and Emily and the bad people. It is interesting the way the book becomes a journey.
  • Jeff Kinney: He is probably the funniest author. The way he makes his characters are unbelievably funny.
  • Dav Pilkey: His books are funny and the concepts are so weird which makes it more enjoyable. He is another author whose books make us laugh.
  • Lincoln Peirce: His books are interesting because of the way he describes his characters and what he has the characters do. They’re relatable.
  • Lisa McMann: Her books are so creative, and the things she imagines we’ve never seen before. Such creativity. They are interesting and exciting.
  • Michael Buckley: His books are very funny and exciting. They have lots of plot twists which make his books exciting and fun to read.

Top 10 Favorite Authors by Ellian & Sujan, 6th Grade

  • Sujan
    • Jennifer A. Nielsen: I like this author because she writes lots of adventure books. I loved The False Prince series, Mark of the Thief series, and Resistance.
    • Jeff Kinney: I like this author because he writes my faovrite series for year, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
    • Dav Pilkey: I like this author because Dog Man is one of my favorites of all time.
    • Deron R. Hicks: I like this author because I love mystery books and Deron made one of my favorite mystery books.
  • Ellian
    • Dav Pilkey: Because of the Dog Man series
    • W.C. Mack: Because of Athlete vs. Mathlete
    • Lauren Tarshis: Because of the I Survived series
    • K.A. Holt: Because of House Arrest, Knockout, and Rhyme Schemer
    • Kazu Kibuishi: Because of the Amulet series
    • Jeff Kinney: Because of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series

Thank you everyone for your great lists!

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Author Guest Post: “Understanding Race in a Country Divided” by Barbara Diggs, Author of Race Relations: The Struggle for Equality in America

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“Understanding Race in a Country Divided”

Race and racism can be tricky topics to discuss in the classroom. With so many diverse experiences, perspectives, and opinions on these emotionally-charged issues, it can be tempting to avoid conversations about race to skirt potential conflict.

But if there’s any hope of creating greater harmony and understanding among people of all colors in our society, we have to face these issues head-on. Our kids must learn to discuss racial issues openly, with honesty, empathy–and historical perspective.

To my mind, no fruitful discussion of the United States’ racial issues can occur without having a comprehensive grasp of America’s history of race relations. This long and painful story is key to understanding today’s divisive racial climate and recognizing how America’s past continues to haunt and impact race relations today.

My book, Race Relations: The Struggle for Equality in America, helps put the complexity of contemporary U.S. race relations into historical context. It offers kids the chance to explore race and racism in ways that promote critical thinking about difficult societal problems.

The book begins, not with slavery, but with the creation of racial categories in the fifteenth century. Readers learn, in a fact-based way, how European colonizers embraced and honed these categories to create a racial hierarchy to justify the enslavement and persecution of races they believed to be inferior. Even as some people fought against it, this hierarchy would become codified in U.S. laws and woven into American social codes for the next 400 years, substantially affecting how people of different colors view and treat each other.

Race Relations guides tweens and teens through these four centuries of American race relations. It touches every major era, from colonization and slavery to Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights to the presidencies of Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Links to online primary sources such as narratives, laws, articles, poems, songs, statistics, and even YouTube videos help them explore the nature of American race relations during each era and allow them to consider how relations have changed–or haven’t–over the years.

The book also fosters discussions of contemporary racial issues, such as voting rights, imprisonment rate disparities, and affirmative action, and asks students to reflect on concepts such as racial bias, prejudice, and privilege and how these impact their lives. It further highlights current social justice movements, including Black Lives Matters, and encourages students to consider actions they can take to help improve race relations.

I wrote Race Relations to provide young teens with the tools for recognizing racism and the historical context for talking about it.  Only by addressing these problems can we begin to bridge our differences, understand each other’s realities, and build a more peaceful and unified society.

Here are some activities to get healthy conversations started!

Check Yourself

History isn’t the only factor that can influence our perception of races different from our own. Naturally, having a personal relationship with people of a different race plays a huge role in your perceptions, as does the nature of that relationship with them. But we also receive input from a variety of other sources—our family, friends, neighborhood, community, images on television, magazines, newspapers, books, videos, and music. How do all these factors influence our perception of race?

Write down the different factors that influence your perceptions of these races as listed on the U.S. Census: White, Latino, African American, Native American, Asian American. You do not have to share this list with anyone—it is for you to gain insights into your perceptions of other races and where they come from.

  • Do you know anyone of each race?
  • How many people?
  • Have you ever participated in any social events with someone of each race?
  • What do you frequently hear about people of each race?
  • What three adjectives would you use to describe people of each race?
  • Where do your strongest impressions of each race come from?
  • Can you find any patterns in your thinking? Are your impressions about groups that include people you know personally more positive than those groups that don’t contain anyone you know? What other patterns can you spot?

To investigate more, give yourself an assignment of reading, watching, or listening to books, movies, and music produced by people from each of the different races. Does this change your perception? If so, how?

Mass Depopulation of Native Americans

Before Europeans arrived in 1492, an estimated 54 million Native Americans were living in what is now the United States. Within decades, millions died due to European diseases, war, and displacement. By 1890, the Native American population had dropped to 228,000. Although historians debate whether the devastation of the Native American population was an intentional genocide, they do not dispute that Europeans caused the dramatic depopulation, whether by acting purposefully, accidentally, or with reckless indifference.

Trace the history of one of the Native American tribes. Choose between the Cherokee, Iroquois, Mohawk, Seminole, Sioux, Comanche, Algonquin, or Cheyenne.

Make a timeline of significant events in the tribe’s history. These should include important relationships with colonists or Americans, treaties made with the U.S. government, wars, peacetimes, displacements, and current status.

Research the culture of your chosen tribe. How did the historical events affect that culture?

To investigate more, write a short play or scene about an event in your chosen tribe’s history that affected its lifestyle or population. Incorporate differing views tribe members may have had and how they may have felt looking to the future.

More classroom resources can be found at https://nomadpress.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Race-Relations-Classroom-Guide.pdf.

Race Relations: The Struggle for Equality in America
Author: Barbara Diggs
Illustrator: Richard Chapman
Published April 9th, 2019 by Nomad Press

About the Book: How could a country founded on the honorable ideals of freedom and equality have so willingly embraced the evils of enslavement and oppression?

America’s history of race relations is a difficult one, full of uncomfortable inconsistencies and unpleasant truths. Although the topic is sensitive, it is important to face this painful past unflinchingly—knowing this history is key to understanding today’s racial climate and working towards a more harmonious society.

In Race Relations: The Struggle for Equality in America, kids ages 12 to 15 follow the evolution of race relations in America from the country’s earliest beginnings until present day. The book examines how the concept of race was constructed in the seventeenth century and how American colonists used racial differences to justify slavery, discrimination and the persecution of people of color. Through links to online primary sources such as newspaper articles, letters, poems, and songs, young readers will explore how race relations changed—and didn’t—through the eras of Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights, and under the presidencies of Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

About the Author: Barbara Diggs is a non-fiction writer who has written a range of historical articles for children. Her work has been featured in Learning Through History Magazine, History Magazine, and Renaissance, among others. A graduate of Stanford Law School, Barbara practiced law in New York for several years before becoming a professional writer. She and her family currently split their time between Paris, France, and Washington DC. Website: barbaradiggs.com

Thank you so much for this guest post looking at the history, present, and future of race relations in the United States!

Author Guest Post: “Feminism: Finding Our Way Forward” by Jill Dearman, Author of Feminism: The March Towards Equal Rights for Women

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“Feminism: Finding Our Way Forward”

Do you think men and women are equal? Do you think women around the world enjoy the same rights and privileges as men? What about jobs—can men and women work the same jobs and get paid the same for their work?

Many people believe that all people should be treated equally, whether they’re male, female, or gender nonconforming. But the way our world works doesn’t always reflect this ideal of equality. Women are often treated differently from men. Even today, in the United States, women statistically earn less than men working the same jobs. You’ll find few women heading up large corporations. And women are more likely than men to live in poverty.

This can be a distressing topic to discuss in classrooms! It’s hard for people of any age to learn that their gender might be unfairly counted against them, but perhaps especially for girls in their teens, who are dealing with a slew of messages from society about how women look and behave. However, it’s an important subject to talk about. Only by recognizing what has improved and what needs work can future generations develop their own goals and plans and continue the process of addressing the inequality they see in the world.

An important part of this process is learning the history of feminism. Who was Alice Paul and what did she do for women? How did Queen Elizabeth maintain her power? Why was abolitionism such an important step for feminism in the United States? What is intersectionality and what does it have to do with all women?

As kids start to dive into questions like these and confront their own expectations, biases, and assumptions, they can begin to develop goals and pinpoint ways they can be part of making gender equality a reality for all people. It’s an exciting step!

In Feminism: The March Toward Equal Rights for Women, young people get the chance to explore the history of those who came before and imagine the future of those who continue the work. There is still a long way to go before women are considered equal around the world, but the journey is a necessary one that can be fully experienced by those paying attention.

Here are some ideas to get kids to pay attention to the ongoing work for equal rights for all genders!

Share Your Concerns

How is the world different for those of different genders? What are some of the different experiences, reactions, and ideas that different genders have?

In this activity, you’ll share your thoughts in a safe space with people who aren’t the same gender as you.

Ask a group of classmates or friends to finish this sentence according to their own gender: “Having my gender identity means . . . .” Have everyone write down one or two responses on individual sticky notes.

On a whiteboard, put the sticky notes in groups according to gender identity. In those groups, put the sticky notes in positive and negative sections. For example, someone might write, “Being female means getting to wear skirts when it’s hot” or “Being male means not letting yourself cry.”

As a group, discuss the idea on each sticky note. Consider these questions.

  • Can a male, female, or nonconforming gender do this?
  • Why or why not?
  • Do people of all genders want to do this?
  • What’s preventing them?
  • Has this action been open to other genders in the past?
  • What changed?
  • How can society support the needs and wishes of all genders?

To investigate more, do some research and find examples of times in history when a woman protested a law that kept her from doing something she wanted to do. For example, women have been barred from working certain jobs and holding office. How did they work to change those laws? How long did it take? How did changing one law change the world for many people?

Write Your Politician

Suffragists did a lot of letter writing as they fought for women’s right to vote. This was before email and social media, so their letters were written on paper and sent by mail. In today’s world, politicians receive lots of communications about different causes that people feel strongly about. Add your voice!

Choose a topic that you feel strongly about. This can be climate change, immigration, war, human rights, or something else.

At the library or on the internet, do some research on your chosen topic. Who are the major players with the power to effect change? What are their views on the topic? Do different people have different viewpoints?

Choose one person who agrees with your views and another person who has the opposite views. Write each of them a letter explaining your position. What can you write to get them to agree with you? How can you show your support for the person whose values align with yours?

Read the letters aloud to a friend or classmate. See if they can guess who it is you’re writing to. Do they think your letters were convincing?

To investigate more, imagine how one or more of the historical figures from this chapter would collaborate with a feminist, real or imagined, of today? What would feminists past and present focus on together in the twenty-first century?

More classroom resources can be found at https://nomadpress.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Feminism-Classroom-Guide.pdf.

Feminism: The March Toward Equal Rights for Women
Author: Jill Dearman
Illustrator: Alexis Cornell
Published April 9th, 2019 by Nomad Press

About the Book: Why are women treated differently from men? What is feminism? Why is this movement such an important part of the history of civic rights, and why is it still important today?

Feminism: The March Toward Equal Rights for Women invites middle and high schoolers to examine the different stages of the feminist movement, from early mentions in history through the suffragettes’ fight for the vote to today’s evidence of feminism in the struggle for equal pay and equal rights around the world. As social justice movements gain more traction in the national news media, many students are evolving into activist citizens who are working towards bettering humanity and the planet. This history of feminism gives them an introduction to the ways and means of community activism, which can be applied to a multitude of causes.

Feminism: The March Toward Equal Rights for Women introduces readers to some of the icons of feminism, including Simone De Bouvier, Gloria Steinem, and Angela Davis. By examining and deconstructing writings and other arts, readers gain a deeper understanding of the struggles women and men have undertaken for the deceptively simple goal of equal rights for all. Issues such as domestic violence and the fight for equal pay for equal work, plus a discussion of the more recent #metoo movement, all encourage kids to pay close attention to the world in which we live and insist on justice at every turn.

Feminism includes critical-thinking activities and research exercises to encourage readers to dive deep into the topic and consider viewpoints from many different identities. Fun facts, links to online primary sources and other supplemental material, and essential questions take readers on an exploration of the past, present, and future of feminism.

Feminism is part of a set of four books called Inquire & Investigate Social Issues of the Twenty-First Century, which explores the social challenges that have faced our world in the past and that continue to drive us to do better in the future. Other titles in this set are Gender Identity, Immigration Nation, and Race Relations.

Nomad Press books integrate content with participation, encouraging readers to engage in student-directed learning as opposed to teacher-guided instruction. This student-centered approach provides readers with the tools they need to become inquiry-based learners. Common Core State Standards and National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies all place project-based learning as key building blocks in education. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. As informational texts, our books provide key ideas and details from which readers can make their own inferences. Nomad’s unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.

About the Author: Jill Dearman earned an MFA from the New School and is an award-winning author of several books, including The Great Bravura (She Writes Press, 2015). She teaches writing at NYU’s College of Applied Liberal Arts and at The College of New Rochelle, Rosa Parks Campus, and also serves as a private editing and writing coach. She lives in New York City.

Thank you so much for this guest post looking at how equal rights for women is still very much a timely topic!