Guest post

Author Q&A!: Tracey Hecht, Author of The Nocturnals, on Creating Worlds, Researching Animals and Still Finding Time to Read

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Author Tracey Hecht on Creating Worlds, Researching Animals and Still Finding Time to Read

The Nocturnals Series Summary: The Nocturnals features three unlikely friends: Dawn, a serious fox, Tobin, a sweet pangolin and Bismark, the loud mouthed, pint sized sugar glider. The stories all play out in their nighttime world with teamwork, friendship and humor in every adventure.

The Fallen Star, the newest Nocturnals book: In The Fallen Star, Dawn, Tobin, and Bismark awaken one evening to a disaster: all of the forest’s pomelos have been mysteriously poisoned! As the Nocturnal Brigade sets out to investigate, they encounter Iris, a mysterious aye-aye, who claims monsters from the moon are to blame. While the three heroes suspect a more earthly explanation, the animals of the valley are all falling ill. And then Tobin gets sick, too! The Nocturnal Brigade must race to find answers, and the cure, before the pomelo blight threatens to harm them all.

About the Author: Tracey Hecht is a writer and entrepreneur who has written, directed, and produced for film. The American Booksellers Association chose her first book in The Nocturnal series, The Mysterious Abductions, as a Kids’ Indie Next List pick. Last year, in partnership with the New York Public Library, she created a Noctural Read Aloud Writing Program for middle graders that has expanded worldwide. She splits her time between Oquossoc, Maine and New York City.

Q&A

How did you create the world of The Nocturnals?

I wanted to create a world that children were usually excluded from—nighttime! And once I decided on nocturnal animals, the rest came from there. What surprised me was how much I like the research. Learning about unusual animals is one of the most fun things about the series. I love using the physical traits and unique characteristics of the animals to help develop characters and enhance plot. The details I learn about the nocturnal world are constantly engaging and inspiring me.

Why did you choose the pangolin, fox, and sugar glider for your three main characters?

I chose a fox because they’re such interesting and cool animals. A pangolin because they are so unusual and physically captivating. And the sugar glider because…well, that’s a secret!

What are you currently reading?

Everything. It’s a problem. I keep books everywhere, in the car, on the kitchen table, in my bags etc, so it’s a long list. I don’t worry about that one book traveling with me everywhere (and of course which I’ll inevitably forget someplace). I am currently reading several middle grade fiction books, Booked, The Wild Robot, a friend’s manuscript, and I just finished The Poet’s Dog.

Do you have a personal favorite book of all time? If so, can you share it and tell us why?

This question gets posed a lot and for me it’s impossible. I love so many, and add favorites to my list almost weekly. But I guess if I had to pick one it would be Charlotte’s Web. Don’t you think?

Is there anything you are particularly looking forward to the publication of?

I am excited about so many middle grade and YA books. I’m excited to read the new Jerry Spinelli book and I want to read The Metropolitans aloud with my son.  I’ve heard a lot about Short too so I want to read that.  And of course, The Nocturnals third book, The Fallen Star is coming in May so that’s fun.  As for YA, there are too many to list.  But I’ve never read The Uglies and my friend says it’s a must—so I’ll get all those too.

What’s next? Any upcoming book projects in the works that you can tell us about? 

We’ve just published Book 3 in The Nocturnals, The Fallen Star.  The outlines for Books 4 and 5 are almost finished and we’ll start in on those soon (spoiler: the brigade goes aquatic!!). And excitingly, my two writing partners and dear friends Sarah Fieber and Rumur Dowling are concepting a new series, one for YA and one more an early reader for The Nocturnals.  Lots of good stuff.

To Learn More about The Nocturnals and Tracey Hecht Visit: 

Website: www.nocturnalsworld.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nocturnalsworld
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nocturnalsworld
Twitter: @fabled_films
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29633704-the-fallen-star
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwz4zncz5EShG0IBK_pkMrg
Read Aloud Blog: https://nocturnalsworldreadaloud.tumblr.com

Thank you to Wiley at Saichek Publicity and Tracey Hecht for providing the Q&A!

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Author Guest Post: “Using a Book as a Stepping Stone to Exploration” by Steve Schatz, Author of The Adima Chronicles

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“Using a Book as a Stepping Stone to Exploration”

A good book serves as a stepping stone to further explorations. Before I wrote The Adima Chronicles, I spent many years teaching teachers how to use writing and technology to support their students’ learning across the curriculum. Here are two of my favorite activities:

I. Creation and Origin Myths

A powerful way to use stories to encourage writing is to use them as a springboard for other activities. After reading how the rhino got its wrinkled skin or how the leopard got its spots in Kipling’s “Just So Stories,” for example, most students are primed to imagine just about anything. From these imaginations, they can make up their own stories about how something came to be like it is. This writing activity also can be extended by adding illustrations and using the internet and resource books to discover the evolution of the animals the students have written about.

This basic idea also can be easily adapted for older grades. For example, my first book in The  Adima Chronicles, “Adima Rising,” creates a parallel world. The rules of this world, and the interaction between the world of light and our usual world, are a crucial part of the story. Older students can use this idea as a springboard for world building by creating their own worlds, including that world’s people, creatures, actions, and natural rules. Teachers can further expand this exploration through science—if a being can jump across a ravine, how strong would it have to be or how weak would gravity have to be?

II. Research

Books also can serve as stepping stones to understanding other cultures and beliefs. In “Adima Rising,” there are many references to Rory’s anthropologist father and past cultures in the Americas. This is a rich starting point for an exploration into the advanced technologies of ancient cultures. In the forthcoming second book, “Adima Returning,” there is a great deal of information about Kachinas. Teachers could use these books as stepping stones to historical research.

Areas to consider:

  • Differences between Kachina dolls, Kachina dancers, and Kachinas.

  • History of Pueblo Bonito.

  • Artists of the Southwest.

  • The decimation and near extinction of buffalo herds.

  • Anthropological finds in Peru.

  • Advanced cultures in South America.

  • Religious practices of different cultures.

Together, these activities foster creative thinking and independent learning—two skills children and teens need for academic success.

Happy reading and writing! Additional lesson plans and suggestions for research are available on www.AdimaRising.com. Want to purchase Adima Rising? Visit www.AbsoluteLovePublishing.com.

About the Author: Steve Schatz grew up in New Mexico, where, as a teen, he dug a kiva in his back yard, He has traveled all over the US, discovering how other people see the world. He has been a tour guide, party clown, TV producer, business owner and, for the last several years a professor of learning theory. Always interested in things spiritual, a life changing experience brought him to the idea for Adima Rising and spiritual guidance during the tricky parts. He spends most of his time writing in a little house in a little town next to Yokum Brook. Steve Schatz can be reached at steve@stevewrites.com and www.AdimaRising.com.

About the Books: 

BOOK ONE of The Adima Chronices: ADIMA RISING

For millennia, the evil Kroledutz have fed on the essence of humans and clashed in secret with the Adima, the light weavers of the universe. Now, with the balance of power shifting toward darkness, time is running out. Guided by a timeless Native American spirit, four teenagers from a small New Mexico town discover they have one month to awaken their inner power and save the world. Rory, Tima, Billy, and James must solve four ancient challenges by the next full moon to awaken a mystical portal and become Adima. If they fail, the last threads of light will dissolve, and the universe will be lost forever. Can they put aside their fears and discover their true natures before it’s too late?

BOOK TWO of The Adima Chronicles: ADIMA RETURNING (Coming SOON!)

The sacred cliff is crumbling, and with it the Adima way of life. Battling time and evil forces, four friends must race to move the cliff before it traps all Adima on Earth–and apart from the Spheres–forever!

Adima Returning, the spellbinding second book of The Adima Chronicles, mesmerizes from beginning to end as Rory and his friends travel the light web and multiple planes of existence to gain help from the creatures who guard the Adima’s most powerful objects, the Olohos.  There is only one path to success: convince the guardians to help. Fail and the cliff dissolves, destroying the Spheres and all Adima.

Like the exciting adventures of Adima Rising, Adima Returning will have your senses reeling right up until its across-worlds climax. Will the teens be able to prove the impossible possible (and save the world!) once again? Join the Adima adventure, and explore a world where teens can lead the way to a new reality.

Thank you, Steve, for the post, and Denise, from Absolute Love Publishing, for getting it to us!

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Author Guest Post: “How Do We Know What Someone Else Is Feeling?: Body Language, the Big Horse Book, and Imaginative Leaps in Bramble and Maggie” by Jessie Haas

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How Do We Know What Someone Else Is Feeling?: Body Language, the Big Horse Book, and Imaginative Leaps in Bramble and Maggie

“Use your words,” kids are often told, when they’re melting down in tears or possibly hitting. Words are crucial so other people can understand what we’re feeling.

But what if the “person” you are trying to communicate with is from a species that doesn’t use words? Not space aliens—I’m talking about animals.

Most of us are familiar with how cats and dogs express themselves. Kisses and wiggles translate well, and I still remember my shock as a toddler when I was pestering the extremely gentle family dog, and he barked at me. I knew just what he meant!

Horses have feelings too, and figuring them out has been a big part of my life, as a horse-lover and an author. Usually my horse books are written from a human point of view, but the Bramble and Maggie books also incorporate the horse’s perspective. From Horse Meets Girl onward, the Bramble and Maggie books have been praised for incorporating both points of view without being anthropomorphic.

How does Maggie know what Bramble is feeling? She relies her ‘big horse book,’ which she carries everywhere. It is a source of such advice as “Don’t fall for the first horse you see.” Sometimes this is conveyed in the art, to keep the printed text clean and clear. At other times, when carrying the book isn’t practical, Maggie remembers what it says. From the beginning of the series, the ‘big horse book’ has allowed me to convey sophisticated information in bite-sized nuggets, and forms a counterpoint to Bramble’s more direct communication style (beautifully captured by illustrator Alison Friend).

InHorse Meets Girl, when left alone on her first night at Maggie’s house, Bramble kicks her stall repeatedly. Maggie consults the book. Learning that “. . . horses are herd animals. They like to be with other horses,” she tells Bramble a story, sings her a song, and when informed in no uncertain terms that that’s not good enough, she curls up in a sleeping bag outside Bramble’s stall. I have a horse, Maggie thought. And she has me.

In Give and Take Maggie saddles up for her first ride. ‘Bramble knew about rides. The rider sat in the saddle. The horse did all the work.’ Bramble does want to explore and meet the neighbors, but she has some stipulations. ‘Neither of them should be boss all the time. There should be some give and take.’ She holds her head high, refusing to be bridled. Maggie pulls out the big horse book, and gets an idea. ‘“If you put your head down, Bramble, I’ll give you a carrot.”

Bramble sniffed the air. Did Maggie really have a carrot?

Yes.

Bramble lowered her head. Maggie gave her a carrot, and Bramble took it. She let Maggie put on the bridle. This was better. Give and take.’

In Spooky Season, Bramble indulges in dramatic leaps of pretend fear to express the exuberance of an autumn day, causing Maggie to fall off (why do they call it Fall?).

‘Maggie knew what her big horse book said. If you fall off a horse, get right back on, before you have time to get scared.’

It’s too late for that. Maggie’s already scared. But Bramble communicates her concern, standing patiently, making her eyes soft and gentle. “I have to, don’t I?” Maggie said. “I hope you’re saying you’ll be good.” That’s exactly what Bramble is saying, and she makes good on that promise again on Halloween, when not even the spookiest ghost can scare her.

In the newest Bramble and Maggie book, Snow Day, a big storm is coming. “Does that horse need a blanket?” the neighbor asks. ‘“No,” Maggie said. “Her long hair will keep her warm.” That was what her big horse book said.’

But after dark, as the storm moves in, Maggie worries. Mom and the big horse book reassure her that horses lived through the Ice Age, and are adapted to cold. “Bramble is as safe and warm as we are,” Mom says.

But Bramble finds the storm exciting. She can’t stay still—and thanks to a not-quite-shut stall door, she’s soon outside. After taking a walk, she decides against going back indoors. ‘ . . . she liked it out here. The snow settled on her back, as thick as a blanket. It kept her warm. Bramble turned her tail to the wind. She put her head down.’

I’m now the author of my own ‘big horse book,’ (The Horse-Lover’s Encyclopedia, Storey, 2017). I know all about how horses are heated by the fires of their own digestion, insulated by layers of hair that create air pockets, kept dry by oils on their coats. They are northern animals. They were shaped by the Ice Age.

Still–I spend a lot of time and energy providing shelter for horses, only to see them horses standing out in the storms, backs to the wind, looking miserable. They can’t be miserable. They have the option of shelter. So why do they do that? Body language doesn’t tell me, and neither does my ‘big horse book’. All I’m left with is an imaginative leap.

‘She was stronger than the storm. It was just air and snowflakes.

She was a horse. ‘

About the Book: Bramble the horse and her devoted girl, Maggie, face a major snowstorm in their fourth adventure.

The sky is white, the air is cold, and snowflakes are falling, tickling Bramble’s back. By bedtime, Maggie and her family are ready for the storm: they’ve shopped for supplies, covered Bramble’s hay with a tarp, and filled the bathtub with extra water. But Bramble is too excited to sleep; she wants to be out in the white, wild world. Luckily for Bramble, she has a shaggy coat to keep her warm. And luckily for Maggie and her family and friends, when morning comes, Bramble can help dig through the deep snow that has most of the neighbors stuck in their homes. Soon the snow day becomes a block party complete with marshmallows, cocoa, and lots of friends. Chapter-book readers of the horse-loving variety will relish the camaraderie and enjoy the equine exploits in this cozy wintertime tale.

Review and Author Q&A here on Unleashing Readers about the first three Bramble and Maggie books!

Kellee’s Review: There is a very specific time in a kid’s life where they are ready to begin reading longer books, but not ready to tackle chapter books yet. This is where Bramble and Maggie fits. These early chapter books will are perfect texts to help lead kids to longer chapter books. The work well for their targeted age level in that they never speak down to readers and have excellently paced stories that hold readers’ attention and will help them feel successful.  On top of all this, the Bramble and Maggie stories are just so sweet! I love all the different adventures they go on and the lessons they learn like overcoming fear, conquering loneliness, and gaining responsibility. Readers will adore these books.

Ricki’s Review: Kellee hit the nail on the head. As I was reading, I thought to myself, “Why didn’t I have these books available to me when I was transitioning to chapter books?” I remember being devastated that my books no longer had pictures in them, and I resisted the longer texts for this reason. This series is engaging, educative, and fun! The words repeat in ways that will help students learn the vocabulary, particularly the more difficult words that relate to horses. Each book delivers a strong message, and the bond between Bramble and Maggie is one which will connect with readers. When I think about these books, I will always remember Maggie dragging her sleeping bag to the stable to sleep beside Bramble. I can’t wait to share these books with my pre-service elementary school teachers. They will have a special place in classrooms.

Curriculum Guide

Interview with the Illustrator

Thank you, Jesse for this post!

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Author Guest Post: “Journey” by Michael Cottman, Author of Shackles from the Deep

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“Journey” by Michael Cottman

My journey to write Shackles From The Deep started when I was a boy growing up in Detroit and watching a popular television show called Sea Hunt, a 1960s adventure program about an underwater detective.

From the time I was a kid, I wanted to scuba dive and explore the ocean’s depths. And because National Geographic embraces adventure tales like no other company, this was a perfect publishing partnership.

I wrote Shackles From The Deep in a conversational way for young readers to share the story of the Henrietta Marie, a sunken 17th century slave ship. This is more than just the story of one ship – it’s the untold story about millions of African people taken as captives to the New World.

I traveled to three continents to piece together a trans-Atlantic puzzle. I reviewed shipping records and slave-ship captain’s logs in London. I retraced the route of the Henrietta Marie slave ship and scuba-dived the ship’s ports of call in Jamaica, Barbados, and West Africa.

During my research, I learned amazing things:  Today, the Henrietta Marie is believed to be the world’s largest source of tangible objects from the early years of the slave trade.

The Henrietta Marie is the only slave ship in America that has been scientifically documented and where more than 20,000 artifacts were recovered, including the largest collection of slave-ship shackles ever found on one site.

I also learned the shackles were discovered in 1973 by Moe Molinar, a black underwater treasure hunter who was searching for the Atocha, a Spanish galleon that had sunk nearly 400 years ago filled with gold, silver and $400 million worth of jewels.

Treasure hunters didn’t know what to make of these relics. Then in 1983, maritime archaeologists, intrigued by the mystery, revisited the site and came upon a ship’s bell. As they chipped away at the limestone encrustation a name and a date emerged: Henrietta Marie, 1699.

Beneath the sea, on the wreck of the Henrietta Marie, I ran my hands through the sand and held the tiny glass trade beads that were used by the Henrietta Marie’s crew to trade for African people.

The story of Shackles From The Deep also introduces young readers to the unprecedented partnership between members of The National Association of Black Scuba Divers (I’m a lifetime member) and white maritime archaeologists who explored the Henrietta Marie together for a common purpose and forged lifelong friendships along the way.

After all, the global institution of slavery is our collective history.

But because of slavery, it is nearly impossible for African Americans to pinpoint the origins of our ancestors.

We cannot always identify a country in Africa where they were born, let alone a city or village. We can only know they came from somewhere on the west coast of the enormous continent.

Are my people Ibo from Nigeria, or Fulani from Mali, or Wolof from Senegal, or Ashanti from Ghana? I may never know.

What’s important, however, is my appreciation for the African culture — my culture, too — and my need to draw strength from the African people who came before me and survived.

And we continue to honor them.

In 1993, I joined members of The National Association of Black Scuba Divers to place a one-ton concrete memorial on the site of the Henrietta Marie shipwreck.

The bronze inscription on the memorial is a powerful testament to the human spirit: “In memory and recognition of the courage, pain and suffering of enslaved African people. Speak her name and gently touch the souls of our ancestors.”

Shackles from the Deep: Tracing the Path of a Sunken Slave Ship, a Bitter Past, and a Rich Legacy
Author: Michael Cottman
Published January 3rd, 2017 by The National Geographic Society

Summary: A pile of lime-encrusted shackles discovered on the seafloor in the remains of a ship called the Henrietta Marie, lands Michael Cottman, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and avid scuba diver, in the middle of an amazing journey that stretches across three continents, from foundries and tombs in England, to slave ports on the shores of West Africa, to present-day Caribbean plantations. This is more than just the story of one ship it’s the untold story of millions of people taken as captives to the New World. Told from the author’s perspective, this book introduces young readers to the wonders of diving, detective work, and discovery, while shedding light on the history of slavery.

Critical Praise: 

“The idea of identity is at the center of this fascinating narrative nonfiction book…This truly multidisciplinary volume….engagingly explores a wide scope of topics, including the history of slavery, marine archaeology, and contemporary racial discrimination, culminating in a dive down to the wreck itself. Every bit of this concise, detailed book feels personal, and Cottman’s exploration and investigation of the wreck is rich with intrigue and poignant, thought-provoking questions.” -Booklist (STARRED REVIEW)

“Cottman weaves his personal story of discovery with history of the slave trade, helping readers understand why a sunken slave ship from the 1700s still matters. His emotional attachment to the artifacts, including child-sized shackles, deepens the storytelling in this highly readable narrative.” –Kirkus

“Accessible and very personal account….(a) chilling exploration of the slave trade.” -Publishers Weekly

“Cottman’s personal journey, fraught with reminders of the trials and injustice his own enslaved ancestors must have endured, is compelling” -BCCB

About the Author: Michael H. Cottman, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, is a former political reporter for the Washington Post. Cottman has appeared on National Public Radio’s (NPR) “Tell Me More” with Michel Martin and also the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2000 to discuss his (adult) book The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie. Cottman also serves as a special consultant to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a national multimedia project, “Voyage to Discovery,” an education initiative that focuses on the African-American contribution to the maritime industry spanning 300 years and efforts to teach students of color about careers in marine biology and oceanography. Visit his website at http://www.michaelhcottman.com/.

Thank you to Michael for his post and to Barbara from Blue Slip Media for providing the resources!

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Author Guest Post and Giveaway: “A Recipe for Storytelling: Take One Real Life, Add a Spoonful of Fantasy, and Stir” by Carter Roy, Author of The Blazing Bridge, the third book in the The Blood Guard series

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“A Recipe for Storytelling: Take One Real Life, Add a Spoonful of Fantasy, and Stir”

 

Late last summer, after I’d turned in the manuscript for the third Blood Guard book, The Blazing Bridge, I mentioned to a longtime friend that I’d finished the trilogy. “That’s great!” she chirped; “now you can write a real book.”

“Excuse me?” I replied and made a face like this

She explained. To her mind, fantasy adventure for middle-grade graders is mere “escapist literature,” and it doesn’t count as real—not like stories about normal people. “You had a rough childhood,” she said. “Why not write about that?”

But as far as I was concerned, I was already writing about my childhood. Only in disguise. Because even though fantasy literature on its surface is about another world, at root it is always about this one—the world we live in. Otherwise the stories would have no hold on us at all.

Not to get maudlin, but when I was growing up, my family—like many families—fell apart. There was never enough money; my older brothers were always getting into trouble; my dad turned out to be a not-so-good guy; and my parents divorced—which forced my mom to move us kids around from one home to another to another as she tried to find us an affordable and safe place in the world.

In a very different form, that material made its way into the Blood Guard books. A feud between two parents. A discovery that a father is someone other than who his children thought him to be. A constant need to uproot one’s life and relocate. All of these things were drawn from actual life, but transformed into backstory for an action adventure tale. Why? Because these novels were for the twelve-year-old me as much as anyone, and that kid liked his stories to move. The magic, the action, the jokes—those are the spoonfuls of sugar that make the medicine go down. (The “medicine” in this case being the ugly truth that my dad was, in fact, a very bad guy.)

Twelve-year-old me wouldn’t face the truth about my dad for years. But I might have done so a lot sooner … if only I’d been able to if I’d been able to read about it in a fantasy novel.

 

About the Book: Ronan Truelove’s best friend, scrappy smart aleck Greta Sustermann, has no idea that she is one of the thirty-six Pure souls crucial to the safety of the world. But Ronan’s evil father has figured it out—and he’s leading the Bend Sinister straight to Greta. If they capture her, she’ll suffer a fate far worse than mere death. But to get to Greta, they’re going to have to go through Ronan first.

Standing with Ronan are plucky hacker Sammy; witty, unkillable Jack Dawkins; and a sharp-tongued woman named Diz, who drives a dangerously souped-up taxi. One breathless close call after another leads to an ugly showdown: Ronan alone against his father, with the fate of Greta, his friends, and the entire world hanging in the balance. Will Ronan be able to rise up and prove once and for all that he has what it takes to join the Blood Guard?

By turns heart-stopping and hilarious, The Blazing Bridge brings the Blood Guard trilogy to a surprising, clever, and altogether thrilling conclusion.


About the Author: Carter Roy has painted houses and worked on construction sites, waited tables and driven delivery trucks, been a stagehand for rock bands and a videographer on a cruise ship, and worked as a line cook in a kitchen, a projectionist in a movie theater, and a rhetoric teacher at a university. He has been a reference librarian and a bookseller, edited hundreds of books for major publishers, and written award-winning short stories that have appeared in a half-dozen journals and anthologies. His first two books were The Blood Guard and The Glass Gauntlet. He lives with his wife and daughter in New York City and can be found at www.carterroybooks.com or on Twitter @CarterRoyBooks.

 

Giveaway!

Thank you, Carter for this inspirational post! And thank you, Barbara from Blue Slip Media, for connecting us with Carter!

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Author Guest Post: “The Story of Family and Frog! Haggadah” by Rabbi Ron Isaacs and Karen Rostoker-Gruber, Author of The Family and Frog! Haggadah

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“The Story of Family and Frog! Haggadah” by Rabbi Ron Isaacs and Karen Rostoker-Gruber, as Frog!

Make your seder different than all other seders!

Start with a traditional Haggadah text, add artwork, your favorite songs and fun facts, then add a hopping frog to its pages and you’ll get. . .

The Family and Frog! Haggadah

The Story

The Family and Frog! Haggadah came about in a board room at Behrman House, a Jewish publishing company, based in Springfield, NJ.  Our book, Farmer Kobi’s Hanukkah Match, was just named a National Jewish Book Award Finalist, and the editorial staff at Behrman House wanted to know if Ron and I would like to work on a Haggadah together.  The stipulation was that the Haggadah was to be like no other:  It had to be traditional in content, but fun! for the whole family—ages 3-90.  That was a tall order.

Ron wrote the Haggadah, because he is a Rabbi, and I decided to add a character that would liven up the seder.  Dena, the Executive Editor, suggested a frog, which was brilliant!

That night I went home, read Ron’s whole Haggadah, and started letting my character, Frog, comment on everything—similar to things that someone might say at an actual seder—under their breath or otherwise.

Every time I thought that I was done, and spoke with Dena, the Executive Editor, or Ann, the Art Director, they pushed my creativity more and more.  I was allowed to do anything that I wanted to do with Frog, so I did.  I have Frog interacting with the Haggadah in ways that were never done before.

Frog is 5 years old and gender neutral.  Frog spills things, makes a matzah mess, plays guitar, runs away from Pharaoh’s army and even eats a locust during the seder.  The sky was the limit.

I gave Ann and Dena three times the amount of material for Frog, so that they could take things away and still be left with a whole lot of fun! 

This Haggadah was one of the hardest, most challenging manuscripts I have ever worked on.  It changed daily as Ron was still editing while I was getting Frog to comment on things that he was working on at the time.  Plus. . . there was the deadline.  🙂

The printed Haggadah was more than I ever expected it to be.  It’s beautiful!  Ann designed it to look like a very traditional Haggadah, from the typefaces and colors that she chose, to the background that resembles a piece of papyrus.  She also selected gorgeous pieces of art and artifacts for each page–and then. . .popping out of corners, through the pages and jumping to different sections, is a cartoon amphibian—Frog.  It’s unexpected and fun!  Not only is there a cartoon frog bursting through the binding, singing songs and breaking matzah, but there are also “Fun Facts,” “Did You Know” and “Try This,” parts of the Haggadah, which elevates this Haggadah even higher and encompasses so many different age groups that there is literally something for everyone.

I am so proud of this project.  And the finished product came out beyond my wildest expectations.  Plus, Frog LOVES it!  And that was important to me.

I do LOVE it!
I do LOVE it!
It’s toadily awesome!

–Frog

Author Bios

Karen Rostoker-Gruber is an award-winning children’s book author. Her first children’s book, Food Fright, was published in 2003 by Price Stern Sloan. Her second children’s book, Rooster Can’t Cock-a-Doodle-Doo, was published in 2004 by Dial Books for Young Readers.  It was nominated for the Missouri Show Me Award in 2005.  Bandit, Bandit’s Surprise, and Ferret Fun came out from Marshall Cavendish and all received starred reviews in School Library Journal!  Tea Time, her first board book, came out from Marshall Cavendish in 2010.  Bandit was nominated for the South Carolina Book Award and both Bandit and Bandit’s Surprise were featured on “Celebrity Apprentice,” and Ferret Fun was preliminarily nominated for the Missouri Show Me Award.  Both Rooster Can’t Cock-a-Doodle-Doo (in 2005) and Bandit (in 2009) were listed as International Reading Association—Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice Award recipients.  In the spring of 2017, Maddie the Mitzvah Clown, will be published by Apples and Honey Press, a division of Behrman House.

Rabbi Ron Isaacs has served Temple Sholom in Bridgewater, New Jersey, as its spiritual leader since 1975. He has a doctorate in educational technology from Columbia University’s Teachers College. An adjunct lecturer at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, he is the author of more than 100 books, including Ascending Jacob’s Ladder: Jewish Views of Angels, Demons, and Evil Spirits; Ask the Rabbi: The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of Being Jewish; and Kosher Living: It’s More than Just the Food. He is the first rabbi in New Jersey to receive the United Synagogue’s Keter Torah award for outstanding lifetime achievement and rabbinical excellence. He is known as the “teaching rabbi.”

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Their book, “Farmer Kobi’s Hanukkah Match,” was a National Jewish Book Award Finalist, and won the 2016 Outstanding Children’s Literature Award from the Church and Synagogue Library Association.

Author Guest Post: “An Adaptation: Better Than The Original?” by John Powers, Author of Queen of Sky Island

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An Adaptation: Better Than The Original? by John Powers

I am not an MG writer. My work is with the stage and movies. My usual arena for subject matter is recent American history and horror. In addition to creating original stories, I have adapted existing texts: speeches; books; transcripts. I had chosen these works because something within them resonated with me, and I felt it would resonate with others.

I am pretty ruthless as an adapter. My first task is to cut away what I consider the unnecessary narrative and to focus on the dramatic and emotional story. I then take a second pass at the text, which at this point is more like surgery. I am focused on creating and sustaining dramatic momentum, the effect of quickly “turning the page.” Once that is done, the challenge begins: focusing relentlessly on what resonates with today’s readers and viewers.

Who should care about the rabble-rousing speeches of Mary Jones (a.k.a. Mother Jones) during a West Virginia coal strike? What do we care about the efforts of poet Amy Lowell to promote the works of then little known writers Carl Sandberg and Robert Frost? Are the doubts and obstacles facing the novice Zane Grey of any importance to us in the age of Instagram and Snapchat?

These are questions that I have asked and answered in adapting existing texts for contemporary audiences. We cannot bring back great people who have passed, but by working closely with their texts we can breathe life into their creations. We can do it in a way that enables contemporary readers and viewers, particularly young ones, to emotionally connect with the values and ideas that these people fought to express.

For example, the Pentagon Papers is a frequently referenced document. But who knows anything about it? In working with the 7000-page text for a stage production, I grew to think that it is the most important work in the American language. I saw how it revealed the American character in depth, as it traced 23 years of a 30-year war. It was our Iliad. Yet who today would read a 7000-page document about a lost war?

In adapting the Pentagon Papers for readers, I sought to tell the story in the most concise and comprehensive manner. I drew excerpts from the four-volume Gravel edition of the Papers, and I grouped them into brief, distinct chapters. The result became a quick page-turning experience that a reader could consume in one or two sittings. In addition, I included links to on-line resources, such as articles and historical videos, to broaden their knowledge.

The key to finding success with the work, however, was in making it resonate with people, particularly young people. I did that by relating this previous “endless war” with the current one. In particular, I directed the adaptation toward millennials, whom I felt would be continually trying to make sense out of the situation we currently are in and would be asking could there ever be an end to it.

In another example, I discovered a little known work by L. Frank Baum when I was creating a solo performance for the stage about his life in early Hollywood. I was struck by the vivid imagery of the world and characters that he created in Sky Island, and I was surprised that it had not been exploited further.

Baum, an early feminist, considered it one of his best stories, and yet it had migrated into the land of forgotten treasures. I had my ideas of why: it was unnecessarily long; the main “earth” characters were no longer relatable; and there was no dramatic momentum.

In my adaptation, I titled the work Queen of Sky Island to give it a central focus and to assert Baum’s feminism; I wanted the reader to know from the outset whose journey this was and what was the desired goal. I also cut the length of the original text in half, eliminating tangential episodes that pulled focus away from the hero. Also, I also drew the hero as an assertive, impulsive girl striving to bring her broken family back together, and I surrounded her with new companions: an almost angel-like boy and a disabled veteran.

I left in place the vivid characters and the key actions that Baum envisioned on his island in the sky. Now, all the elements of the story are working to focus our attention on this young hero’s choices that put her and her companions at risk in this bizarre, unearthly world; and we witness her dig deep within herself to both save their situation and to bring lasting justice to this morally compromised world.

Without question, much of Queen of Sky Island is about visual imagery, but in my adaptation I have found something that will resonate with young readers; they will relate to this contemporary hero who at times is stubborn and violent, but who is also caring and heroic. She grows immensely during a brief course of time, from a selfish child to a selfless queen.

Creations age quickly in our new world, but there are invaluable elements within these creations that should be sought out like precious gems and placed in new jewelry settings. Adaptations are not better than the originals; they are different; they aim to preserve the best and carry it forward to resonate in the hearts and minds of new generations.

 

About the Author: John Powers (a.k.a. J-Powers) is the author of Queen of Sky Island (Amazon, Smashwords 2014, Audible 2016) and Pentagon Papers: Recently Abridged Edition for the Millennial Generation (Amazon, Smashwords 2012). He lives in the harbor area of Los Angeles with his wife and three millennial stepchildren. Find him at powerplayz.com


About the Book: Queen of Sky Island is a coming of age story charged with fantasy, heroic adventure, and vividly imagined new worlds. It is a 21st century adaptation of a story by L. Frank Baum, the creator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

As reconceived and adapted by John Powers (a.k.a. J-Powers), Queen of Sky Island reveals a young girl, Tara, who in her determined search for her military father becomes trapped on an actual island in the sky where she leads one other worldly army against another. Tara’s faithful companions on this perilous adventure are Bobo, a brave young boy who possesses a flying umbrella, and Sgt. Rik, a resourceful disabled veteran who looks after Tara and her mother at their sea cliff cottage on the Earth. Through miscommunication, Tara and her companions arrive at Sky Island, a bizarre land divided between wildly different pink and blue territories. They are unfairly taken prisoner by the Boolooroo, the selfish and mean-spirited leader of the Blue people. Facing a horrible punishment known as “patching,” Tara and her companions escape and run for a thick fog bank that separates the two territories. With help from an unusual creature, they cross through the dense fog, and they are taken to the queen of the Pinkies. After surviving a near fatal test in this new realm, Tara shows what she is made of and rises to lead the Pinkies against the Blues in an attempt to defeat the Boolooroo.

Thank you, John, for this thought-provoking post!

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