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Posts in category middle grade

National Poetry Month: Tamera Wissinger: A Mighty Bridge Over the River — The Unlikely Influence of Les Misérables

Apr 22, 2013 5 Comments ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
National Poetry Month: Tamera Wissinger: A Mighty Bridge Over the River — The Unlikely Influence of Les Misérables

Several years ago, I first saw the musical Les Misérables with friends at a Broadway in Chicago presentation. I was so excited to be seeing the show live for the first time and it lived up to my expectations in every way, and in one way it far exceeded them. That moment of shifting perspective is still so clear: During the seminal song I Dreamed a Dream sung by the tormented character Fantine, there is a line: “But the tigers come at night/With their voices soft as thunder…” Wait a minute…tigers with voices soft as thunder…a simile right there in middle of Les Misérables. And more than that, the word choice of “softest” when the librettist could have easily chosen to write “loud as thunder” or “roaring thunder,” but he didn’t.

Right there in the theater I felt down to my toes: this was written by a poet, and from that moment on I viewed the libretto for Les Misérables in a different, more exalted, way. After the show I bought the CD and listened to it countless times, eventually adding it to all of my mobile devices so that I could hear it anywhere.

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National Poetry Month: Andrea Cheng: All Things in Verse!

Apr 18, 2013 3 Comments ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
National Poetry Month: Andrea Cheng: All Things in Verse!

One of my earliest memories is of my grandmother singing a nursery rhyme to me while I was falling asleep. It was a simple song, in Hungarian (the language we spoke at home), about a squirrel that climbed up a tree, holding a letter in its mouth, and the letter was for me! I still remember the words and how happy I felt when I heard her soothing voice.

I started writing poems of my own almost as soon as I could write. I remember trying to find rhyming words for the ends of the lines and working hard to make the rhythm work. One of my favorite birthday presents was a blue notebook from my sister. On the front she wrote: For Your Poems. (see pictures) I carefully copied my poems into this notebook for all of third grade. I would fall asleep at night thinking of new poems to add the following morning.

When I started writing for children, the stories often came to me in short lines but I felt like in order to publish them, I would have to write them in prose. Then on a whim, I sent Louise May, my editor at Lee and Low, a narrative in seven verses called Shanghai Moments. “Can you write more?” she asked me in an e-mail. This became my first book written in verse, SHANGHAI MESSENGER, illustrated by Ed Young. Since then, I have published two other books in verse, WHERE THE STEPS WERE, and my new book, ETCHED IN CLAY.

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National Poetry Month: K.A. Holt: Go Find Some Poetry

Apr 17, 2013 Leave a Comment ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
National Poetry Month: K.A. Holt: Go Find Some Poetry

It’s funny that, with two haiku books floating around bookstores and libraries, and one novel in verse set to release in fall 2014, I still have a hard time thinking of myself as a poet. I hear people talk about poets and poetry and I never really attach myself to the things they say. I’m not a poet, I scoff. I just write how I feel. And then they scoff right back at me and say that’s why you’re a poet, dummy, and so maybe they’re right.

Am I a poet?

What does that mean, exactly?

Do I wear a black beret and talk about Sylvia Plath over baguettes and espresso? Do I quote Rime of the Ancient Mariner while I put my kids to sleep? Have I been known to recite the prologue to Canterbury Tales while I drive in epic traffic?

Well, yes to all of those things except for the beret. But I don’t know if this makes me a poet more than just a dork.

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National Poetry Month: Karen Dolby: Why Nursery Rhymes Matter

Apr 11, 2013 1 Comment ~ Written by Guest Blogger
National Poetry Month: Karen Dolby: Why Nursery Rhymes Matter

In my earliest memory, I am lying in a white-painted cot in a darkened bedroom. I am not well (I had measles when I was just eighteen months old) and my mother is reading to me: a book of nursery rhymes that we pored over together many times throughout my childhood. I remember the cover, the pictures, the way it smelt, and most of all I remember the rhymes. And I’m probably not unusual in this – for many of us, nursery rhymes are the first verses we hear, the first lines we learn by heart.

The rhythm of the words and lines, the tunes, the images and tales they conjure are a wonderful introduction to the joy of language and storytelling but nursery rhymes are also so much more besides. The majority are anonymous, part of an oral tradition of folk memories and stories passed on from generation to generation linking us to the past.

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National Poetry Month: G.S. Prendergast: Writing OUTSIDE the Outside of the Box

Apr 10, 2013 Leave a Comment ~ Written by Guest Blogger
National Poetry Month: G.S. Prendergast: Writing OUTSIDE the Outside of the Box

Verse novels are considered by many to be a fairly fringy form. Some reviewers describe the experience of reading their first novel as “weird”, “interesting” or “different”. It’s certainly true that novels written in verse are doing something new with novel writing, especially novel writing for young readers. But even within this slightly fringy genre there are books that take further risks with the form. The wonderful thing about verse novels, is that, just like prose novels, there are a thousand different ways of constructing them.

Multiple protagonists used to be practically forbidden to writers of books for young readers. They are certainly growing in popularity – particularly in the form of dual protagonists –but some verse novels go much further. Several of Ellen Hopkins’s book feature multiple protagonists – PERFECT, TILT and its adult companion novel TRIANGLES each demonstrate how well suited verse is to telling several interrelated storylines at once. Another example is PURPLE DAZE by ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Sherry Shahan, a historical novel in verse which also makes use of non-verse elements such as news reports from the era.

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International Women’s Week: Ammi-Joan Paquette: If the Hat Fits…

Mar 07, 2013 4 Comments ~ Written by Guest Blogger
International Women’s Week: Ammi-Joan Paquette: If the Hat Fits…

If variety is the spice of life, then—when it comes to my work ethic, at least—wearing a variety of “hats” is the productivity of life. Setting aside for a moment the somewhat awkward wordfeel, not to mention how I’ve butchered that time-honored quotation, for me it’s the honest truth.

There is a certain type of person who thrives on long blocks of interrupted work time. Once they wade all the way into that churning creative flow, they might write or revise for hours without ever coming up for air, producing reams of high-quality, inspirational prose. Me? I am not that person.

I started writing seriously (that is, with an eye toward publication) when my children were young. So, by necessity my writing time consisted of little stolen quarter-hours here and there. I think at this point, if I were faced with an eight-hour writing period, I wouldn’t know what on earth to do with it.

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Posted in books, community, feminism, guest post, International Women's Week, literature, picture books, publishing, reading, writing, YA - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

International Women’s Week: Lea Nolan: The Importance of the Female Mentor

Mar 03, 2013 9 Comments ~ Written by Guest Blogger
International Women’s Week: Lea Nolan: The Importance of the Female Mentor

My most important mentors have been women. When I look back over my school, career, and now writing lives, I’ve had the privilege of being surrounded by smart, accomplished women who taught me the necessary skills to succeed. They didn’t just share their technical knowledge, they also imparted essential life lessons like the importance of humility, diligence, perseverance, and taking pride in my work. Their impact helped shape who I am and made me a better woman.

Often in popular culture, the mentor character is male. In many cases this works, particularly with a male protagonist. Who could ever quibble with JK Rowling’s perfect pairing of Harry Potter with Professor Dumbledore? Not me. Or how about Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and Dr. Brunner/Chiron? Or Roald Dahl’s match up of Charlie and Willy Wonka? These relationships are essential to the hero achieving his journey.

But what about the heroine? Who does she typically learn from?

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Review: THE GIRLS’ GHOSTHUNTING GUIDE by Stacey Graham

Jun 25, 2012 Leave a Comment ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Review: THE GIRLS’ GHOSTHUNTING GUIDE by Stacey Graham

Ghost hunting might not be every tween girl’s idea of a perfect sleepover activity. But for the chicks who are into all things bump-in-the-night, THE GIRLS’ GHOST HUNTING GUIDE is a sure fit for summer fun. Written by a legit ghost hunter, and adorably organized into bite-sized chapters, Stacey Graham’s book is nothing if not super fun.

Okay, it’s also spooky. But the girls who watch Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures on their DVRs are probably aching to get out and do a little ghost hunting themselves. THE GIRLS’ GHOST HUNTING GUIDE provides tips and activities to try for a fun, safe ghost hunt, sections on urban legends and party tricks, and interviews with bonafide ghost hunters and psychics with a clue in on the other side.

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Guest Post from Shana Burg on her new book LAUGH WITH THE MOON

Jun 14, 2012 Leave a Comment ~ Written by Guest Blogger

The seeds for Laugh with the Moon were planted many years ago. I was in graduate school for public policy, and a professor who needed some international research help asked, “Would you be willing to go to Malawi?”

“Sure!” I said. Then I promptly left her office and ran to the library to find out where in the world Malawi is. Turns out Malawi is a tiny landlocked country in Central Africa.

The professor was studying the primary education system there, and she needed someone to visit some of the rural schools to see if the students had access to learning materials, like pens and paper and pencils. “Do you really think I can do this?” I asked her. After all, I had no special training in Malawi education to speak of.

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Guest Post from Cynthia Levinson, author of WE’VE GOT A JOB: It’s all in the Numbers

May 03, 2012 Leave a Comment ~ Written by Guest Blogger
Guest Post from Cynthia Levinson, author of WE’VE GOT A JOB: It’s all in the Numbers

May 3, 1963. Forty-nine years ago today, the seven-times elected Safety Commissioner of Birmingham, Alabama, Theophilus Eugene “Bull” Connor, ordered the firemen under his control to join together powerful water hoses, mount them on a tripod, and blast the resulting gale-force barrage of water through heavy-duty nozzles called monitor guns. Connor and his firemen must [...]

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EKA

E. Kristin Anderson grew up in Westbrook, Maine and is a graduate of Connecticut College. She has a fancy diploma that says “B.A. in Classics,” which makes her sound smart but has not helped her get any jobs in Ancient Rome. Ms. Anderson is the co-editor of Dear Teen Me, an anthology based on the popular website. Her poetry has been published worldwide in many magazines and she is an assistant YA and Children’s editor at Hunger Mountain. Once upon a time she worked at The New Yorker. Look out for Ms. Anderson's work in the forthcoming anthology Coin Opera II, a collection of poems about video games from Sidekick Books and Futuredaze, an anthology of YA SciFi from Underwords. She now lives in Austin, TX and blogs at EKristinAnderson.com and MetreMaids.com. She is represented by Christina Hogrebe at the Jane Rotrosen Agency.

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