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Countdown to NCTE/ALAN: Nine Presentations We Are Involved In at #NCTE18

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In honor of our favorite conferences—the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Annual Convention followed by the ALAN (Assembly on Literature of Adolescents of NCTE) Workshop, we are doing a countdown over the next two weeks. Each day, we will feature a list that reflects the number of days left until the conference! We can’t wait to see many of you there! If you can’t be there, make sure to follow #ncte18 and #alan18 on Twitter and other social media to participate in this amazing PD from your home.

 

C.34 Honoring Student Passions: Using Genius Hour to (Re)Find Voice and Address Equity

Raising student voices requires time, space, and place for individualized, passion-based learning. Through interactive learning activities participants can use in their own classrooms, presenters will define Genius Hour and show how it can be implemented to facilitate equitable learning environments. They will share authentic student work from conception to completion.

Ricki is Presenting with Dr. Pamela Coke

E.18 Using Diverse Literature to Build Awareness and Empathy in Middle Schoolers

To help build awareness and empathy in middle schoolers, we must expose our readers to a wide range of diverse literature. Two middle school educators and six authors will discuss how diverse literature can help build empathy, tolerance, awareness, and an understanding of social justice.

Chair: Kellee Moye

Authors: Angela Dominguez, K.A. Holt, Jennifer Richard Jacobson, Jewell Parker Rhodes, N.H. Senzai, & Lindsey Stoddard

Respondent: Jennie Smith

F.07 Raising Student Voices by Using YA Literature to Encourage Acting Up and Speaking Out

Young adult literature changes us; it touches us and heals us. This Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE (ALAN)-sponsored session will offer roundtables, led by leaders of ALAN and YAL authors, that focus on the merits of YAL, YAL as mirrors and windows, and YAL’s call to action.

Kellee’s Roundtable: YAL and the Canon, will look at using young adult literature in place of or in addition to the canon, and will include an exploration of the idea of text sets, companion texts, or replacement texts.

Ricki’s Roundtable: YAL as Mirrors, will focus on diversity in young adult literature and the need for students to see themselves in the books in their schools and libraries and shows all students that they have a voice.

Other roundtable leaders: Beth Scanlon, Lisa Schreff, Lois Stover, Mark Letcher, Daria Plumb, Wendy Glenn

G.04 Teaching for Equity and Justice with Young Adult Literature

In this conversation session, award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson discusses the ability of young adult literature to address social justice and equity with adolescents. Afterward, attendees rotate through three 15-min. roundtables of their choice to discuss a rich diversity of texts, issues of social justice, and teaching methods.

Ricki’s Roundtable with Wendy J. Glenn as respondent, Piecing Me Together: Race, Class, Power, and Privilege

Chair: Victor Malo-Juvera

Other Roundtable Leaders: Many teacher educators from ELATE

H.02 Meet the NCTE Editors

Participants will have the opportunity to meet journal editors, explore the publishing possibilities available with the NCTE journals program and with assembly journals, and discuss specific article prospects with the editors. Submission guidelines will be available for all NCTE journals.

Chair: Kurt Austin

This year, this session conflicts with the ALAN Breakfast, which Ricki is helping with. Because this is her last term as an editor for The ALAN Review, it doesn’t make sense for her to attend. That said, attend this session and look to get your ideas published! All of the NCTE journals will be there!

During H.02: ALAN Breakfast

ALAN Breakfast with A.S. King! We are so looking forward to this event! We include it on this list because we will be helping to set it up. It begins at 7am, and we look forward to seeing you there!

I.36 YA Lit IS Complex! Authors and Teachers Explore the Complexity of Writing Young Adult Literature

This session brings together YA authors and classroom teachers to explore text complexity through the lens of writing craft. Keynote speeches and roundtable discussions will explore how complexity can be found and made in YA lit when we weave authors’ accounts of writing process with close analysis of texts themselves.

Kellee’s Roundtable with David Levithan, focusing on his Every Day series

Ricki’s Roundtable with Ibi Zoboi, focusing on Pride

Chairs: Jennifer Buehler, Cathy Fleischer

Other roundtable leaders: Sarah Andrew-Vaughan, Wendy Glenn, Meredith Novak, Daria Plumb, Beth Scanlon, Beth Shaum

Other authors: Elizabeth Acevedo, David Arnold, Sharon Draper, Emily X.R. Pan, Randy Ribay, Andrew Smith

J. 13 In-Class Book Clubs: Fostering Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Choice

Student-centered book clubs allow students the freedom to discuss titles they choose, thus creating positive reading experiences while utilizing two best practices: student collaboration and independent reading. Attendees will circulate through roundtables led by educators who have implemented in-class book clubs and will share book ideas, strategies, and student responses.

Kellee’s Roundtable: “Metacognition in Middle Schoolers”

Other roundtable leaders: Leigh Anne Eck, Sarah Krajewski, Amber Kuehler, Jennie Smith, Kelly Vorhis, Melinda Wallace, Sherry Williford

M.02 The Future is Now: Exploring 21st Century Teaching Ideas with the Next Generation of English Teachers

In this wide-ranging session sponsored by the ELATE Graduate Strand (ELATE-GS), undergraduate and master’s level pre-service and novice English teachers from across the nation will lead roundtables exploring 21st-century teaching ideas and research-driven pedagogical practices. Please join us to support this next generation of English teachers and NCTE members. *Student presenters are determined after the program deadline. Attendees will receive a separate program with the names of roundtable leaders and their presentation titles upon entering the session.

Ricki is Sponsoring three Master’s students to present at this session

Chair: Alan Brown

Other Roundtable Leaders: Many graduate students and teacher educators from ELATE

NCTE here we come! Hope if you are there that you will stop by!

 and

Author Guest Post!: “Introducing the World’s Rainbow of Cultures to Kids” by Tonja Drecker, Author of Music Boxes

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“Introducing the World’s Rainbow of Cultures to Kids”

I’ll never forget the first time two foreign students attended our school. The brothers, one who was in my grade, were refugees from Poland and shared stories about their experiences as they had moved through five different countries before finally being granted residency in the US. They spoke five languages fluently—something I still envy—celebrated holidays we’d never heard of and taught us games we didn’t know existed. In return, we introduced them to the basics of baseball, how to eat Oreo cookies the correct way and tried to explain why Thanksgiving was almost as important as Christmas when it came to American holidays. Thanks to these boys and other foreign students, who attended our school over the years, my interest in the world was sparked.

There are around 6,500 languages presently spoken in the world and more than 5,000 ethnic races. If each represented a different color in a rainbow swirl, it’d be an amazing mix!

Living in Europe, there wasn’t anywhere I could go without meeting people from various countries and cultures or hearing them converse in foreign languages as they went about their daily lives. Especially in the cities, the huge diversity was simply a part of life.

I was constantly amazed how the kids not only accepted this but thrived on it.

In the children’s choir I directed in Germany, there was a child from Italy and one from Spain. The first time we sang Happy Birthday (in German, and then in English), they each insisted on singing the song in their own languages too. Not wanting to feel left out, some of the other children went home and learned how to say ‘Happy Birthday’ in other languages. From then on, every birthday was celebrated through our growing list of wishes and songs. It grew to be quite the lengthy event, but the kids enjoyed every second.

Languages form an intimidating barrier, and the ‘strange habits’ of other cultures make the differences seem even larger, but especially kids look past such things and are open to other types and ways of life. How strange and fun it can be to let odd sounds roll across the tongue and know they have meaning! Or discovering an odd food or dressing in a completely different way. Cultures live and breathe and discovering this is exciting.

In the fifth grade, my son was assigned to do a report on Iceland. Of course, writing the report wasn’t exactly a joyful experience as he collected statistics surrounding the people, economy, history and political aspects of the country. Simply said, he hated doing it. Then, he had the chance to speak with someone from Iceland, learn a few words and phrases, discover some of their stranger foods and hear about other aspects of life.  The next weeks, he’d throw out random words in Icelandic, wanted to try Sheep’s Head Jelly (I was secretly happy we didn’t find it in any of the local stores), and—this I didn’t enjoy—spoke during meals while his mouth was full because ‘that’s what they do in Iceland’.

Thanks to the increased awareness of diversity, especially in children’s literature, it’s not difficult to find stories about other cultures or learn about the countries themselves. And the internet…well, that’s a realm of information all on its own. A word or phrase can be translated into almost any language instantly and spoken examples aren’t usually hard to find. My youngest loves to check her pronunciation for Chinese words on Youtube. She’ll pet the dog and say ‘gǒu’.

Games, toys, food, clothing, school life—most information is readily available and doesn’t dip into the looming hole of boredom. It’s these fun and seemingly strange morsels of information which also point toward larger explanations behind culture and history. There is a reason why people in Iceland don’t shy away from Sheep’s Head Jelly, and now, my son will never forget the importance of sheep in Iceland’s agriculture.

With an ‘international week’, kids can pick a culture and present a few words, games or other bits of information they discover and keep it fun. Even diving in with more depth into a few well known and less known cultures introduces the vast varieties of the world. But it’s not only about the differences. Everyone around the world eats, sleeps, can be afraid of the dark, loves their parents and enjoys jokes or playing around.

Introducing kids to the variety of the world isn’t only fun but broadens their way of thinking. There are several organizations and groups, which offer ideas and opportunities to help teach kids learn more. Some of these simply offer maps and virtual country tours, while others help organize Skype sessions with other classrooms or assist in connecting teachers and students with penpals from around the globe.

https://www.kidlink.org/ –  promotes a global dialogue for youth. It caters to teachers and students.
http://usa.ipfpenfriends.com/ – caters to classrooms and teachers
http://www.studentsoftheworld.info – started in 1995 and offers not only the chance to connect with youth around the world but has other information including games, maps and ‘virtual tours’ of other countries.

About the Author: Tonja Drecker is a writer, blogger, children’s book reviewer and freelance translator. After spending years in Germany exploring forgotten castles, she currently resides in the Ozarks with her family of six. When she’s not tending her chickens and cows, she’s discovering new adventures, nibbling chocolate and sipping a cup of tea.
https://twitter.com/TDrecker
http://tonjadrecker.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/TDrecker

About the Book: “I only desire your talent…”

Twelve-year-old Lindsey McKay’s biggest dream is to be a famous ballerina. But after moving to New York, she ends up at the Community Center with a teacher who’s a burly bear in tights.
When she meets Madame Destinée, the teacher of a top dance school who offers her classes for free, Lindsey can’t believe her luck. In exchange, she must perform in the school’s exclusive midnight shows, ones sure to make her a star. But something’s not right…
One by one, the other dancers disappear. Each time they do, a music box with a figurine just like the missing ballerina joins Madame Destinée’s growing collection. If Lindsey doesn’t discover the truth about the dance school, she might end up a tiny figurine herself. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41452109

Thank you, Tonja, for your post!

Exclusive Cover Reveal and Giveaway!: Two Truths and a Lie: Forces of Nature by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson

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I loved Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive and Two Truths and a Lie: Histories and Mysteries, so I am so excited to share the third title of the series coming out in June of 2019!

“There’s something reassuring about opening a nonfiction book and knowing that all the stories and people you will read about are real; that everything between those covers is entirely factual. There’s also something exciting about opening a novel and knowing that all the stories and people you will read about inside are imaginary; in that world, there is no limit to the adventures that can take place.

But what if—just go with us for a second here—what if you could blend up a delicious bookshake to combine the very best of both of these elements?

Welcome to Two Truths and a Lie—the book series that tells you to think, not what to think!

Here’s the scoop: Every scintillating, science-packed chapter in this book contains three stories. Two of these stories are 100% true and you can believe them fully. But one of the stories . . . is not. Beware of that story! It might contain true bits, might name actual people or events or explain true concepts. But in every chapter, there will be one story that overall—its main point, direction, or idea—is fake, false, kaput.

The task set before you is simple: Read. Reflect. Research. And then pass judgment on what you have read. Is the story true or false? Fact or fake? Cross your heart or cross your fingers?

Once you think you’ve got it figured out, you can flip on over to the back of the book to check your answers. But don’t peek ahead . . . you wouldn’t want to spoil the fun, would you?

We’re not gonna lie (about this, anyway)—digging up the truth will be a challenge! But isn’t that true of most of the best things in life?

Here we go. . . .”

Two Truths and a Lie: Forces of Nature
Authors: Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson
Expected Publication: June 25th, 2019 by Walden Pond Press

Summary: All about physical science: chemistry, physics, astronomy, meteorology, geology, etc. Full summar coming soon! Check out its Harper Collins page for updates and to preorder!

About the Authors: 

Ammi-Joan Paquette has squeezed past yaks on narrow cliff’s edges, once chased a ball of liquid mercury around the classroom, and always dreams in black-and-white. (Two of these facts are 100% true!) She is the coauthor of the Two Truths and a Lie series and the author of the novels The Train of Lost Things, Rules for Ghosting, Paradox, and Nowhere Girl as well as the Princess Juniper series and many more. She is also the recipient of a PEN/New England Susan P. Bloom Children’s Book Discovery Award honor. Joan lives outside Boston, Massachusetts, where she balances her own writing with her day job as a literary agent. You can visit her online at www.ajpaquette.com.

Laurie Ann Thompson has fallen out of a moving car on her birthday, once chased a ball of liquid mercury around the living room, and lived in an apartment that was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. (One of those facts is not entirely true.) She is the coauthor of the Two Truths and a Lie series and author of several award-winning nonfiction books, including the teen how-to Be a Changemaker and Emmanuel’s Dream, a picture book biography of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, which was the recipient of the Schneider Family Book Award and was named an ALA Notable Book and a CCBC Choice, among other accolades. She lives outside Seattle with her family, and you can visit her online at www.lauriethompson.com.

Giveaway!

To get everyone excited for book 3, the authors and Unleashing Readers are giving away copies of the first two books in the series!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We hope you are excited about this one as I am!
Thank you to Joan and Laurie for sharing the upcoming title and cover–your readers can’t wait!

Author Guest Post!: “And They Lived Happily Ever After” by Alane Adams, Author of The Blue Witch and The Circus Thief

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“And They Lived Happily Ever After”

In the author talk I give to middle grade students, I like to ask why most books have happy endings.  The typical answer I get is, “The good guy always wins, everyone knows that!” But then I challenge them to ask themselves why that is. Why is it that when Harry Potter faces off against Voldemort in the epic final wand battle, Voldemort is the one who gets blasted away and not Harry? Voldemort is, after all, the most powerful dark lord in all of Potterdom history and Harry is just a wizard boy. The answer I believe lies in the deeper reasoning behind why authors write books and the close relationship that develops between the reader and the hero/heroine in the story.

To simplify the general structure of a story involves a Main Character who encounters some kind of Problem (conflict) early on and the remainder of the book is about the Main Character taking steps, forward and backward, to solve the Problem. So, a book can be labelled as Character-Problem-Solution.  There are of course many other elements but for simplicity, let’s focus on those three elements to see how they lead to happy-ever-after’s.

Beginning with the Main Character, it is important to keep in mind that when an author creates the central character, he or she is typically designed to appeal to the ideal reader. The character must be someone the reader can easily identify with and connect to, otherwise they are unlikely to turn the pages and continue reading. Harry Potter was written for kids so JK Rowling introduces him starting at age eight. Readers of Harry Potter reported feeling sorry for the mistreated boy who lived under the stairs and wanting to learn more about his fate. Suzanne Collins created an instant connection to her ideal teenaged reader by having Katniss Everdeen share on the very first page of the novel The Hunger Games that she not only disliked the family cat, Buttercup, but wished she had drowned it as a kitten. That kind of ugly internal thought can immediately reassure an angsty teen that this character is like them, filled with flaws, and not some hero sitting high on a perch. This allows an important connection to take place between the reader and the character. In my book The Red Sun, 12-year-old Sam Baron has a problem with his temper, and every time he loses it, things get worse, which is instantly relatable for those pre-teens struggling with emotions.

Next, the main character encounters a Problem. The bigger the problem, the bigger the character must rise up to be in order to defeat or solve the problem. Harry had a singular problem throughout the entire series—Voldemort wanted Harry dead. Had Voldemort been a clerk at the local wand store, it would have been a minor bump in the road, but Voldemort was the most powerful wizard lord in all of Potterdom, and as he grows in power, so too must Harry in order to survive. Katniss Everdeen has a huge problem—it’s not a fight to the draw, it’s a fight to the death in the Hunger Games, and the odds of her surviving are extremely low. Sam Baron also has a big problem-his temper has triggered an ancient curse that affects the sun, arguably one of the most powerful objects in our universe, and every time Sam loses his temper, another red vein appears across the face of the sun, poisoning the land, until.…everyone….is….going…..to…..die… because face it, if everyone was going to get a bad sunburn, the stakes wouldn’t be as high and the reader’s emotions wouldn’t be as charged.

As the pages fly by, the Main Character attempts to solve the Problem—sometimes stumbling, sometimes making progress, but along the way, a magical thing takes place. If someone were to ask you to read their mind, you could guess at what they were thinking, but they could always lie and say you were wrong. We don’t always tell the truth about what we’re thinking. But all that changes when we read a book. We are invited into the point of view of the character and so we know exactly what they are thinking—if they are scared, cold, angry, in pain, lying, or filled with remorse. Every single emotion or thought they have, ugly or not, is shared with the reader so that they know this character inside and out. If the author has done their job right and created a character the reader connects with, and then takes them on an intimate journey of sharing the adventures together, it makes sense that upon arriving at the grand finale, the reader is going to be rooting for that Main Character to win the day. And while there is no law that states the author must deliver on this promise, I believe that authors don’t write books to rip out the hearts of their readers, but rather, they write books to deliver hope, that if Harry can defeat Voldemort, I can win my battles. If Katniss can survive the Hunger Games, maybe I can survive high school. If Sam can defeat the curse hanging over his head, maybe I can defeat the cloud of doubt hanging over mine. If in the end, the Main Character fails to solve their Problem, we leave our reader with a depressingly familiar message—life isn’t fair—and things don’t always work out. We read books to escape, to have an adventure, to feel something powerful, but in the end, we want to cling to our beliefs that there is good to be found, and hope abounds.

About the Author: Alane Adams is an author, former professor, literacy advocate and founder of Rise Up Foundation. She is the author of the Legends of Orkney fantasy mythology series for tweens and The Coal Thief, The Egg Thief, and The Santa Thief picture books for early-grade readers. Her newest books, The Blue Witch, first in The Witches of Orkney series (a prequel trilogy for middle grade readers) and The Circus Thief, a picture book for young readers, will be published by SparkPress in Fall 2018. Alane travels the country each year, visiting hundreds of students, bringing a fun and inspirational program to motivate readers. She welcomes the chance to come to your school. Learn more about Alane Adams and request a free school visit at www.alaneadams.com.

The Blue Witch
Published October 23rd, 2018 by SparkPress

About the Book: Before Sam Baron broke Odin’s curse on the witches to become the first son born to a witch and the hero of the Legends of Orkney series, his mother was a young witchling growing up in the Tarkana Witch Academy. In this first book of the prequel series, the Witches of Orkney, nine-year-old Abigail Tarkana is determined to grow up to be the greatest witch of all, even greater than her evil ancestor Catriona. Unfortunately, she is about to fail Spectacular Spells class because her witch magic hasn’t come in yet. Even worse, her nemesis, Endera, is making life miserable by trying to get her kicked out.

When her new friend Hugo’s life is put in danger by a stampeding sneevil, a desperate Abigail manages to call up her magic―only to find out it’s unlike any other witchling’s at the Tarkana Witch Academy! As mysteries deepen around her magic and just who her true parents are, Abigail becomes trapped in a race against time to undo one of her spells before she is kicked out of the coven forever!

Rich in Norse mythology, The Blue Witch is the first of a fast-paced young reader series filled with magical spells, mysterious beasts, and witch-hungry spiders!

The Circus Thief
Illustrator: Lauren Gallegos
Publication Date: November 6th, 2018 by Spark Press

About the Book: The circus is in town, and Georgie has his heart set on going. When Papa agrees to take him and his friend Harley, the boys marvel at the amazing elephants and clowns. But the best act of all is the amazing Roxie, a trained horse who can do all sorts of tricks. When Georgie is invited to ride on her back, he discovers it’s her last show―Roxie is going to be sent to the work farm! When Roxie bolts with Georgie on her back, Papa must come to his rescue.

The Circus Thief is a heartwarming tale of boyhood set in 1920s Pennsylvania.

Thank you, Alane, for this hopeful and insightful post!

Author Guest Post!: “Trick or Read” by Judy Newman aka The Book Lady aka Pepper Springfield, Author of the Bobs and Tweets series

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“Trick or Read”

When I was in fifth grade I made an awesome Halloween costume:  I was a jar of Skippy Peanut Butter.  No one could tell who I really was since my head was covered, but I got lots of compliments on my cool creativity.

However, that was the high point:  after that I was never able to figure out another Halloween costume I was comfortable wearing.

So, decades later, still blocked on finding a suitable costume, I decided to approach Halloween from another angle: I started giving out books, instead of candy, to trick or treaters.

Moaning like zombies, my family and friends told me this was not a good idea: “no one,” they said, “wants to trick or treat for books.”  “Halloween,” they howled like werewolves, “is for handing out candy.”  “No kids,” “they screeched like a scary witch, “will come to our house for books.”

But… they were all wrong.

Twenty-five years later I am still handing out books to hundreds and hundreds of kids on Halloween. And even though I still haven’t figured out a good costume for myself, I do have another persona: I am known in town as “The Book Lady.”

I have to leave work and my job as President of Scholastic Book Clubs early on Halloween, because kids and their families who come from all over town as well as from neighboring communities (and even in groups from community centers), start lining up early—around 3:30 in the afternoon—to make sure they don’t miss out on the reading FUN! The police come to help direct traffic and the whole community gets into the act.

It makes me so happy to see all these kids and their families—who come from miles around—line up just to make sure they get books! I live on a long, flat street, with wonderful neighbors, who are, for the most part, happy to answer the door with all kind of creative treats (including toothbrushes!) for the swarms of kids who make their way down the block after they leave the “Book House.”

It was all this Halloween excitement that inspired me to write Trick or Tweet, the third book in the Bobs and Tweets series, illustrated by Kristy Caldwell.

I got so much inspiration from all kids who have come to “The Book House” on Halloween: kids stuffed into vegetable costumes, like Lou Tweet.  Vampires and zombies, like the Bobs. Ninjas, and superheroes, and mermaids, and unicorns, (along with people handing out toothbrushes, and awesome decorations and…well you name it!)  Last year, a child came dressed as a jar of Skippy Peanut Butter, which as you can imagine made me smile.

The trick or treaters all want to tell me what books they want to read and how they enjoyed—or did not like — the books they got from the Book House last year.  There is nothing quite so thrilling for me as talking to hundreds of children dressed up in costumes, expressing their creativity and their ideas– and talking about books.

Most of us who work in children’s book publishing strive to help children discover books in which they can see themselves.  We know that when kids choose and own their own books they read more and start to see themselves as readers. In my day job, as President of Scholastic Book Clubs I am privileged to work with 800,000 classroom teachers and their students—from pre-K through high school–all across the country, creating book orders filled with affordable books for all children to choose and own.

In my Halloween role as “The Book Lady, “ it is so fun and inspiring to hand out books to super eager trick or treaters who all love lining up for books on Halloween.  And as, Pepper Springfield, the author of the Bobs and Tweets books, I am truly honored to engage with readers through my characters on Bonefish Street.

So… I guess I don’t need another Halloween costume for myself after all.

Happy Reading! Happy Halloween!

About the Author: Pepper (aka Judy Newman to PW readers, close friends, and family) was born and raised in Massachusetts. She LOVES rock ‘n’ roll and chocolate, just like Lou Tweet. And, like Dean Bob, Pepper loves to read and do crossword puzzles. Over the years, Pepper has loved all kinds of pets: dogs, cats, hamsters, turtles, fish, a bunny, and an imaginary monkey.

Bobs and Tweets: Trick or Tweet
Author: Pepper Springfield
Illustrator: Kristy Caldwell
Published August 28th, 2018 by Scholastic

About the Book: Lou Tweet and Dean Bob can’t wait to go trick-or-treating on Bonefish Street on Halloween. This year, they’re entering the Best Halloween Block contest, which means they need to visit every house and mark down each delicious treat that they receive.

But with spooky houses, a power outtage, and another big Tweets and Bobs family feud, will Lou and Dean be able to accomplish their task and win the contest? Find out in another spooky installment of Bobs and Tweets, this time with funhouses, new friends, and lots and lots of candy!

This third book in the Bobs and Tweets series is filled with full-color illustrations and high-interest rhymes that’s just right for reluctant readers. It’s Dr. Seuss meets Captain Underpants wrapped into one zany Halloween adventure! So go ahead, read and laugh and trick-or-treat with the Bobs and Tweets!

Thank you, Pepper, for showing how book lovers can spread the reading love on Halloween!

Author Guest Post: “Behold the Power of Books!” by Cassidy Dwelis, Author of the Braidy von Althuis series

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“Behold the Power of Books!”

Talking to kids about hard topics is tough. When your little one, or a little one you know, is going through a tough time, it can be challenging to talk to them about what is going on in their life. Many kids are embarrassed about it, and are afraid of speaking up. What can we do as parents, educators, and creators to help kids with difficult things in their life, whether they are issues with a turbulent household, bullying, or the loss of a loved one?

Behold the power of books!

The folks at www.stopbullying.gov say that the best way for educators and staff to help kids impacted by bullying is through creative writing and artistic works. By introducing students to books that cover difficult topics, it can be easier to talk to them about what is going on in their life, and easier for them to speak up. Having characters in works of fiction that are relatable is important to a lot of readers, and seeing someone who is going through a tough time, just like them, can help kids come up with creative solutions to their troubles. We are Teachers has a great list of books that have anti-bullying messages, Parents showcases books about divorce, and What’s Your Grief has a whopping 64 books for kids on death and grief. The resources are out there, and by putting these books in classrooms and libraries, we can open the conversation with kids about the tough things.

My favorite approach to these kinds of topics is in the books that do not directly say in the title that they are about the topic. Diverse experiences should be written into every character, and these kinds of struggles make young protagonists much more interesting. By having characters experience the everyday struggle and deal with things that almost all kids deal with, this allows us as educators, adults, and parents to more freely talk about the issues with little ones. By continuing to stay involved in our kids’ lives, we can help put a stop to the problems that they deal with, or, at the very least, lessen the blow that the difficult times often bring.

What are your favorite books about tough topics for kids? Have you ever utilized fiction to talk to your students about emotional topics?

About the Author: Elaborate storytelling is something that has entertained humankind since its start, and Cassidy’s goal is to take the words on the page and forge them to life, like a star being born. Using a variety of media, Cassidy uses her hands to weave magic on the canvas and visualize elements extant before only in dreams. By utilizing an expressive and traditionally-inspired quality in her work, Cassidy brings worlds and characters of all sorts into existence.

Cassidy Dwelis currently resides in Colorado, and has earned a BFA in both Illustration and Game Art. Cassidy writes Middle Grade, Young Adult, and New Adult fiction, and is currently acquiring her MA in Publishing. Cassidy’s dream is to help others bring their imagination to life, through the art of storytelling.

Braidy von Althuis and the Dastardly Djinn
Publishes October 30th, 2018

About the Book: “He should have known this would happen. Wishes in movies and books seemed to go bad, so why would this one be any different?”

Ten-year-old Braidy von Althuis misses his family dearly. Ever since his father, his aunt, and his uncle went to look for Gran in Europe, the house has been quiet and lonely. Even worse, Braidy’s cousin Blockhead is miserable after a breakup. Braidy wishes more than anything that he could do something to make his cousin happy.

His wish is granted by a mysterious djinni, but the wish does not solve all his problems. Something is wrong with Blockhead, and Braidy learns a dark secret about his family that changes everything he knew. Will Braidy and Blockhead be able to undo the djinni wish, or will Braidy spark a war that may change the world as he knows it?

Braidy von Althuis and the Dastardly Djinn is a story about identity, self-worth, consent, and responsibility.

Thank you, Cassidy, for this post reiterating what we truly believe!

Author Guest Post!: “Things Sure Were Different In My Day” by Cara Bartek, Ph.D., Author of Serafina Loves Science

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“Things Sure Were Different In My Day”

I caught myself saying something the other day that I never thought I would say to my children, and I’m still reeling from the sheer horror of how those words felt as they spilled out of my mouth. In my defense, my kids had been complaining—in high-pitched, whiny voices that could crack the most ardent saint—how bored they were. As I looked around at their toys, their bikes, their swing set in the backyard, their books, their tablets, without even thinking I said, “How can you girls be bored with so much stuff to do? You should be grateful for all this entertainment because things sure were different in my day.”

That’s right, I said the dreaded phrase: THINGS SURE WERE DIFFERENT IN MY DAY.

The girls looked at me like I was a dog walking on my back legs. I could almost see them trying to calculate what “in my day” looked like, their eyes blinking and squinting as numbers and Greek symbols flashed above their heads like a cartoon. Maybe they saw cavemen walking around in mammoth-skin skinny jeans, or those old-timey gangsters hanging out in saloons with cigars dangling from their lips drinking kombucha teas from Starbucks. It had to be some strange, foreign amalgam of their own reality and the reality they could only assume their screamy old mom came from.

But the truth is, my day was very different. My childhood was arguably simpler. There was no online shopping or Prime deliveries and certainly no social media. Kids “in my day” were not as connected as kids are today, with information at their fingertips. This makes our children much more knowledgeable, and this is great for learning and exploring. Whenever we have a science project or a social studies report due, my girls and I head to the web. We have found loads of practical and fun information. It is also very easy to stay in touch with our friends and family. For anyone who has moved and left behind people they care about, social media can be a wonderful tool to preserve friendships. But as with all wonderful things in this world, there are disadvantages, too. Our tightly connected and information-saturated world means our kids know a lot more about tough realities.

This difficult knowledge hit home when my oldest child’s class practiced emergency protocols. She often would come home and tell me what she would do when “code red” was activated. Her demeanor was calm and even happy as she described the role she would play. One day she happened to see coverage about a school shooting. The reporter spoke about the different ways that students and teachers worked to save the lives of their fellow classmates and staff. The actions they described, such as barricading doors and hiding in closets, were similar to what her class had been practicing. I could see her brain making the connections, and this led to inevitable questions and a very difficult conversation. While this was something I never wanted to talk about with my little girl, it was a conversation that was necessary. Children are exposed to and must face difficult realities.

Difficult Realities for Developing Kids

Kids begin to develop their own identities almost as soon as they are born. They say “no” to gooey green baby food and later wear black lipstick to their grandma’s 80th birthday party. Or maybe that was just me? Regardless of the black lipstick, healthy emotional, physical, and spiritual development is rooted in the development of one’s identity. Difficult circumstances such as school violence, bullying, and even divorce can destabilize or strengthen their identity.

In my science-themed middle grade book, Quantum Quagmire, I cover the topic of divorce. Serafina Sterling learns her best friend, Tori Copper, is going through a difficult time when she starts to lose interest in her most beloved hobbies, bug hunting and pizza eating. And what’s troubling Tori is more difficult for Serafina to understand than cold fusion: Tori’s parents are getting a divorce. 

Serafina turns to her friends and science to try to figure out how to prevent the divorce. Using the scientific method, trial and error, and one disastrous release of a dangerous class pet, Serafina realizes her beloved science has reached its limit. Or has it? In the end, Serafina is able to understand a very important quantum principle and use it to help Tori accept the inevitable split. Serafina and her friends realize that while they may not be able to prevent a divorce, they have the tools to understand and accept the difficult reality.

The purpose of this book was not only to convey one of my favorite quantum concepts, quantum entanglement, but to also help kids navigate through difficult realities they may face. Especially in today’s information heavy world.

 Change versus Acceptance

We all have some control over our lives. Where we live. The job we have. What’s for dinner? We can’t, however, control the weather, what our neighbors are like, and who our bosses are. Kids have even less control. They can’t vote. They can’t get their own place. And they can’t understand what they can and can’t change without some guidance.

In Quantum Quagmire, I emphasize the importance of acceptance. Serafina and her friends try to reunite Tori Copper’s parents. When those efforts fail, her mother helps her understand that sometimes bad things happen in a person’s life. Serafina was able to take these lessons and help Tori accept the change. More importantly, she helped her see that even though her parents would not be living in the same house anymore, they would always be connected as a family. 

Sugarcoating is Good. Perspective is Better. 

My hope is that my entire Serafina Loves Science! series helps lay the groundwork for difficult conversations with children. Our kids will face a lot of challenges and failures in their lives, just as we have “back in our day”. Their relative success or failure in life will be the result of how well they can navigate, recover, and later thrive because of those bumps in the road.

When my oldest daughter recently lost her front tooth and was concerned she would “look weird” in class, I tried giving her a sugarcoated answer. I told her that the little hole in her face was “cute” and that at least she had a very handy soup strainer until her grown-up tooth came in. Those answers seemed to placate her for about 10 minutes. But as I stared at my gap-tooth seven-year-old, with her arms folded tightly across her chest and her brows pinched into a tight knot, I realized she was onto my bogus mom answers. I took a deep breath and tried to put it into perspective for her. I told her that, in my day, I also had been self-conscious about looking like a piano missing a lot of keys, and that her friends probably felt the same way. I listed some of her friends who also were missing their front teeth. She seemed to respond to this and even gave me a hug.

While having a missing tooth isn’t as difficult as divorce or school violence, the method of providing perspective remains. Kids are smart, and they are growing. Providing them with truthful, honest, and loving guidance can make a difference. It certainly did for Serafina and her friends!

Serafina Loves Science
Cosmic Conundrum
Quantum Quagmire
Published by Absolute Love Publishing

Series Summary: Serafina Loves Science! is a middle grade fiction series that focuses on 11-year-old Serafina Sterling. Serafina is just like other kids who have to deal with issues like annoying older brothers, cliques at school, and parents who restrict her use of noxious chemicals. But she has a secret … Serafina loves science! Her passion for all things scientific helps her make new friends and figure out the old ones, understand her family, invent new devices for space travel, and appreciate the basic principles of the universe.

Cosmic Conundrum Summary: See Kellee’s review from Friday!

Quantum Quagmire Summary: Serafina suspects something is wrong when her best friend, Tori Copper, loses interest in their most cherished hobbies: bug hunting and pizza nights. When she learns Tori’s parents are getting a divorce and that Tori’s mom is moving away, Serafina vows to discover a scientific solution to a very personal problem so that Tori can be happy again. But will the scientific method, a clever plan, and a small army of arachnids be enough to reunite Tori’s parents? When the situation goes haywire, Serafina realizes she has overlooked the smallest, most quantum of details. Will love be the one challenge science can’t solve?

About the Author: Cara Bartek, Ph.D. lives in Texas with her husband and two daughters. The Serafina Loves Science! series was inspired in part by her career path and in part by her two little girls. Her hope is to make this world a more equitable and opportune place for her daughters one silly story at a time. Visit www.carabartek.com.

Thank you to Cara and Absolute Love Publishing for sharing this awesome outlook into the changes in childhood in the 21st century and how Serafina deals with these changes!