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Roth, Susan L. and Cindy Trumbore. 2013. Parrots Over Puerto Rico. New York: Lee & Low.


I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to nonfiction books about the natural world, I prefer photography to artistic renderings.  Of course, there are always exceptions.  Jim Arnosky's, Thunderbirds (Sterling, 2011) and Martin Jenkins', Can We Save the Tiger? (Candlewick, 2011) come to mind.

Parrots Over Puerto Rico, however, is an extraordinary exception. Using highly detailed collage art, and employing many textured and brightly colored materials, Susan L. Roth has created a book that accurately portrays the colors of the island and evokes the stunning beauty of the endangered parrots of Puerto Rico. Designed to be read "portrait style," the collages cover about 2/3 of each double-spread layout.  Cindy Trumbore's narrative appears in a simple black font in the bottom third of the collage against a plain, complementary-colored background.

As stunning as it is, the artwork is not the only thing to love about Parrots over Puerto Rico. An astute teacher's dream, Parrots takes a holistic view of the parrots' rapid decline and slow slog back to viability in the wild.  As the story of the American Bison is forever entwined with the story of American Westward expansion, the Puerto Rican's parrot story is entwined with that of the Tainos, the Spaniards, and the Americans, as well as that of invasive species, and natural disasters like Hurricane Hugo.

Existing for millions of years on the island of Puerto Rico, they once numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and by 1975, had dwindled to only 13.

Above the treetops of Puerto Rico flies a flock or parrots as green as their island home.  If you look up from the forest, and you are very lucky, you might catch the bright blue flashes of their flight feathers and hear their harsh call.

These are Puerto Rican parrots.  They lived on this island for millions of years, and then they nearly vanished from the earth forever.  This is their story.

An Afterword contains photographs and information on the Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program.  Also included is a timeline of Important Dates in the History of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican Parrots, and Author's Sources.

Among others, Parrots Over Puerto Rico can boast of these awards:

• Starred Reviews in: Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, The Horn Book Magazine
• Original Art 2013, Society of Illustrators
• Books for Youth Editors' Choice 2013, Booklist 
• Junior Library Guild Selection

You can see a preview of Parrots Over Puerto Rico on Lee & Low's website, however, it doesn't do the book justice, as the preview is in landscape mode, while the actual bound book reads lengthwise.  Still, it's worth a gander.


 Check out this short video if you'd like to see an actual Puerto Rican parrot.




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Naomi Bishop offers a unique perspective on Liz Fichera's Hooked for two reasons. First, Naomi is of the tribe that Fichera gave to her protagonist. Second, Naomi is a librarian and long-time member of the American Indian Library Association.

With her permission, I'm sharing her review of Fichera's book:

I received a copy from the author after emailing her and telling her about myself. I was excited to see a female Native character from my tribe as the main character. Unfortunately my hopes of reading some good fiction were quickly crushed.  

The character Fred is strong, but not strong enough. I had some issues with my tribe being mentioned and talking to animals and the stars. We don't talk to animals or talk to the stars. Animal spirits are not a part of our lives. I also don't know why the author mentions grass dances and makes reference to hogans. Those references don't seem appropriate.

The character Ryan was a real crazy kid. I think he was an ok character, but I really had a problem with him saving Fred's dad. Of course, the white boy saves the Indian girl's father!

The ending was terrible and the entire book was stereotypical. Not all Indians drink and are poor. My tribe actually awards scholarships for college and has been awarding scholarships for over 15 years. If the story had just been about a girl on a boys golf team it would have been great, but the whole Indian girl dates white boy didn't keep me interested.

As an Arizona Native, I attended a mostly white school in Mesa in the 1990's and I can tell you my experience was a little similar to the economic view of Fred's. I think the book overall is not the best YA fiction, but I didn't expect much from a Harlequin Teen. I wish I could give a better review, but was sadly disappointed in the book. I don't recommend it or care to read the sequels. 

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In case you missed it, last week Mystery Writers of America announced their Edgar Award nominees. As always, I'm going to make an attempt to read the Juvenile and YA category books.


In case you feel like joining in, here is the list:

BEST JUVENILE

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Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Congrats! You’re published. In today’s world, in many cases, it won’t matter whether you are self-published, or published by one of the Big Six. You will need marketing.

Marketing. Yes, that ugly word. What, you mean my book doesn’t sell itself? Nope. Sorry to disappoint, but you are one of nearly a million people who have self-published this past year. Finding your book, for any but the most diligent (read: friends and relatives) is going to be a crapshoot. So how do you make your odds better?

1. Blog tours. Orangeberry.com has them. Pumpupyourbook.com has them. And there are others out there. They schedule you on blogs that work with them, and then send you a list of material they want. Some material that they like to use includes: Chapters, for chapter reveals; character interviews, to get a better feel for the characters; author interviews, in which you answer questions about yourself and your book and your publishing journey; top ten lists by you; and a plethora of other information. Blog tours are the 21st century equivalent to book store tours. Except you are doing them in cyber-space. And they can be fun. So go out and enjoy them.

2. Reviews. This falls into several time frames. To do this properly, there are things you need to be setting up PRIOR to the release of the book.

• Netgalley.com - $350 set up. Six months. It gives newspapers, book sellers, etc... a chance to look at your book before they decide to stock or review it. Sometimes it can lead to reviews.

• Newspapers - ARCs of the book should be given to media 3-4 months in advance of the release to give them a chance to read it and respond. Remember, they have busy lives too.

• Internet book reviewers (book bloggers) - There are lists out there. They are genre specific, and will definitely help you contact reviewers who will look at your book. Like newspaper columnists, though, they are VERY busy. Many of them need to be booked four months in advance. Not all. But, if you give them four months, they are guaranteed to appreciate your efforts even more, regardless of whether they agree to help you.

• Amazon book reviewers - Amazon has lists that include their top ten reviewers. And if you pick through these one at a time, and contact them, then some will help and others will not. But give them a time frame.... the more leeway the better. They, too, are busy.

3. Contests/Awards. You can enter all sorts of contests for your book. Make sure that you’re in the right genre, though.

• Chanticleer Book Reviews - This site has a contest for every genre.

• IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association) has the Ben Franklin Awards.

• Other independent book contests are out there. Google them.

• Local book awards - Every state and province has book awards for local authors. You can’t win if you don’t play.

4. Associations. There are many associations, including Independent Book Publishers Association. Membership in them will give you discounts for participation in some of the contests and services like: Netgalley, LightningSource, trade shows, etc... I HIGHLY recommend IBPA. But, look around. If they’re not right for you, some one else will be.

5. Trade Shows. Throughout the year, there are trade shows all over the world:

• London Book Show -- April
• BookExpoAmerica (BEA) - May
• Beijing (usually September)
• Frankfurt (October)
• There are others in your state or province.
• American Library Association (ALA)
• National Educators Association (NEA)
• NewYork State Library Association
• California State Library Association...
• This list is endless.

Two points about trade shows. 

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Awards are wonderful but particularly because they better the chances that books will GET to kids….the point!  we’ll be bragging about some awards this year…past and present.  I’ll start with this:

Reading is Fundamental. “First Peas to the Table” ( Illustrated by Nicole Tadgell from Albert Whitman) has been selected one of 40 titles (chosen from a pool of 800 vetted titles) for 2013-14 Macy’s Multicultural Collection of Children’s Literature. They will be distributing collections to schools across the country.

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NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS TO THE 2014 PROGRAM

This grant is generously funded by a grant from the Jerome Foundation, matched by additional funds from individuals. Nine writers will be selected in 2014 and during the one-year fellowship period will receive:

A grant of $4,000
--Space and time to write in the Center’s Writers Studio, available 24/7
--The option to engage in a mentorship with a selected freelance editor
--The opportunity to meet with agents who represent new writers
--Access to our Writer’s Collection of books on the craft of writing as well as career-oriented publications such as Literary Marketplace
--A Center for Fiction membership that includes borrowing privileges for our collection of 80,000 volumes of fiction and fiction-related titles
--Free admission to all Center events for one year, including our
--Craftwork lectures series on writing
--30% discount on tuition at select writing workshops at the Center
--Two public readings as part of our annual program of events
--The opportunity to submit new work to the Center’s Literarian online magazine

Criteria

Applicants must be current residents of one of the five boroughs, and must remain in New York City for the entire year of the fellowship.
Students in degree-granting programs are not eligible to apply.
This program supports emerging writers whose work shows promise of excellence. Applicants can be of any age, but must be in the early  stages of their careers as fiction writers and will not have had the support needed to achieve major recognition for their work. We define “emerging writer” as someone who has not yet had a novel or short story collection published by either a major or independent publisher and who is also not currently under contract to a publisher for a work of fiction. Eligible applicants may have had stories or novel excerpts published in magazines, literary journals or online, but this is not a requirement.

Application Guidelines
Applications are due to:

grantsATcenterforfictionDOTorg (Change AT to @ and DOT to .)

by 11pm on January 31, 2014.The following items needed to be sent as separate
attachments in your application:

A one-page resume

A fiction writing sample, not to exceed 10,000 words, submitted as a double-spaced Word document or pdf. The submission must include page numbers. The writing sample may be either a novel excerpt or a complete short story (multiple stories/excerpts in one submission are acceptable as long as the total word count does not exceed 10,000).

A PDF or jpeg scan showing proof of residency – preferably a New York driver’s license or non-driver’s ID card. A PDF of a current bill or pay stub may also be used to show residency (feel free to ink out any  sensitive information). If you are a full-time resident of New York City, but do not have any of these items,please e-mail:

kristinATcenterforfictionDOTorg (Change AT to @ and DOT to .) 

to discuss other proof of residency that may be provided.

Please note that we do not wish to receive application cover letters. Instead, in the email accompanying the above attachments, please list your mailing address and phone number. Please do not include any other information unless absolutely necessary, such as questions or comments relating to your eligibility or the submission process. All career and other professional information should be provided only in your attached one-page resume.

All applicants will be notified of the results in April 2014.

- See more here.

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The Japan Creative Artist Residencies Program awards up to five three-month residencies, each of which includes a monthly stipend of $20,000 for living expenses, housing, and professional support. Open to published U.S. poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers to live in Japan and pursue creative projects.

Each residency also includes a travel grant of up to $2,000. Writers who have published a book or at least 20 poems in five or more journals or five stories or essays in two or more journals are eligible. No entry fee.

Details here.

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The Scott O'Dell Award for historical fiction goes to Bo at Ballard Creek written by Kirkpatrick Hill and illustrated by LeUyen Pham (find it at your local library here).

The Charlotte Zolotow Award for best picture book text goes to The Dark written by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by Jon Klassen (find it at your local library here).

Congratulations to these authors and illustrators!

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The creation of the logo for the Amherst public library was a feature article in our local paper, The Gazette.

For those interested (who are not local) here is the article:

Fantasy illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi designs Amherst’s Jones Library’s new logo

By DEBRA SCHERBAN

Monday, January 20, 2014
(Published in print: Tuesday, January 21, 2014)

AMHERST — It took a bit of serendipity, but the Jones Library has replaced its nearly 100-year-old logo, a drawing of the building, with a sketch of an owl done by nationally known fantasy author and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi.

“I’m so excited about it,” library director Sharon Sharry said. “Everybody is jazzed about the outcome.”

That enthusiam comes despite the fact that just a few months ago, following a yearlong search to find a modern symbol for the library, Sharry and Jones trustees had settled on one created through the website LogoArena.com. For a cost of $350 she had graphic artists from across the world competing to come up with a design that met the library’s specifications.

But that was quickly discarded after a visit from DiTerlizzi, co-creator of “The Spiderwick Chronicles” series, one October afternoon. DiTerlizzi, who lives in Amherst, went to the Jones to help with a different project — designing award statuettes for a newly established literary honor to be bestowed this spring. One of the recipients will be his friend, author Norton Juster of “The Phantom Tollbooth” fame. Juster had asked DiTerlizzi to assist with the statuettes.

“When Norton Juster beckons, you hop to,” DiTerlizzi said with a laugh during a telephone interview.

But the death blow DiTerlizzi delivered to the Jones’ chosen logo was unintentional.

He had arrived early for the meeting about the awards and as he and Sharry chatted, she showed him the logo. It was a fancy script J in a blue and green block.

DiTerlizzi cringed. “I said to her, well, the reason you guys like this is that it looks like another logo.”

Sharry was aghast. She had spend an intensive week going back and forth online with the LogoArena artists to make it just right. And that had been after months of reviewing and rejecting work of local artists.

“Just Google Holiday Inn Express,” she said in an interview last week. “Ours looked just like that and none of us had even thought of it, but as soon as he said it we thought, oh my God, that’s awful.”

DiTerlizzi said he tried to smooth it over. “It’s still a nice logo,” he recalled saying. “It’s a beautiful J.”

But sure enough, he said, it was now tainted. “It wasn’t my intention, but I’d rather be honest than not.”

AN OWL EMERGES

The logo was meant to have a modern look to it, Sharry said, to help promote a fundraising campaign to keep the library up with the 21st century.

Jones staff and trustees are trying to “rebrand” the Jones and get the word out about its role in a way the community will respond to, she said. A building renovation campaign is down the road.

The trustees hired the Financial Development Agency of Amherst to help.

The literary awards, called the Sammys, which will also honor Nat Herold and Mark Wootton, owners of Amherst Books on Main Street, are part of that. The awards are named in honor of Jones benefactor Samuel Minot Jones, whose money established the library in 1919. The ceremony will be held at the Yiddish Book Center at Hampshire College in April.

After his bombshell observation, DiTerlizzi sat down with Sharry and two other committee members and, while they talked about the awards and what they mean to the library, he began sketching a statuette.

Sharry and the others envisioned an Academy Award, he said. “They wanted something that would look really cool when the recipient was holding it.” So, DiTerlizzi was seeking something figural, yet not male or female. An animal fit the bill, but DiTerlizzi said as he drew, he pictured his friend Juster.

“He has glasses that make his eyes look very big, a big round head. He’s owlish,” DiTerlizzi said.

But the artist didn’t want the hackneyed image of a great horned owl with glasses. He settled instead on barn owl, which would later become a barred owl, a species common to this area. He also wanted to spiff it up with a garment, though not a hat, which might tip it toward one gender of the other. So, he chose a scarf. “It makes it look New Englandy,” he said.

Finally, he decided, the creature should be standing on a stack of three books because, after all, books are a library’s foundation. Each one’s spine bears a word the library staff wants associated with the Jones: Learn, Discover, Connect.

“It all happens quite fast,” DiTerlizzi said of his creative process. “It has taken me longer to explain it than it did to come up with it.”

But as he was drawing, he said, he was thinking, “She’s going to hate this.” He was using images that didn’t necessarily say 21st century, as Sharry had wanted. “I wanted to break away from stereotypes,” Sharry said. “I was looking for something new.”

But DiTerlizzi liked what was shaping up on his pad. “I’m an old-timey guy. I love classic literature and illustration.”

When he finished, he was pleased — and so were Sharry and the others. “She really liked it. I got lucky,” he said.

In fact, one of the women at the table suggested the sketch become the new logo, instead of the fancy J.

“It was a no-brainer,” Sharry said. “It’s unique. It’s fun without being too cartoon-like. And it’s created by this amazing local artist who is a library user and a big supporter.”

Sharry said going through a lengthy logo search helped her realize what truly was the right image. “It’s all about timing,” she said.

DiTerlizzi was happy to hand the design over — for free. And he has created files for the Jones staff to use for letterhead, envelopes and T-shirts.

DiTerlizzi, who has been writing and illustrating children’s books since 2000, moved here from New York with his wife, Angela, 11 years ago. He has just put the finishing touches on the last book in a three-part science-fiction trilogy for middle-grade readers called “The Search for Wondla,” which he began in 2008. He has a 6-year old daughter, Sophia, and the family lives just down the street from the Munson Library, the Jones’ South Amherst branch.

He is pleased that his work has been chosen to represent the library, but he’s relieved it occurred by happenstance. Being asked to come up with a replacement for the library’s 100-year-old symbol would have made him nervous.

“That would have been intense,” he said. “I could have choked. I could have given them a blue J in a box, so maybe it’s better that it unfolded the way it did.”

Debra Scherban can be reached at [email protected].

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It is THAT time again - time to enjoy the efforts of classes and kids - yay, verily, even adults - all over America to produce a 90 second video that captures the essence of a Newbery book.  Go to 90-Second Newbery Film Festival's Facebook page and click "Like" to get the latest on this competition.  Or scoot on over to James Kennedy's 90-Second Newbery Film Festival page.

Alas, the deadline for this year's entries was yesterday.  But here's a way to remember when those videos are due.  They are always due a week or two BEFORE the Newbery and Caldecott winners are announce.  And the Newbery and Caldecott winners are announced on the last Monday of January OR the First day of the ALA Mid-Winter Gathering.  This is my unofficial reckoning of when these awards are announced.  So, get those videos in by the second week of January and you should be on time.

You can make your own 90-second video.  If you start now, it will be in Top Shape by next January.  Check out the entire list of Award winners here.

Watch this delightful video developed by Chicago's Elephant and Worm Theater Company - Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH!

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Laurel Snyder and Catia Chien, author and illustrator of The Longest Night: A Passover Story, Patricia Polacco, author and illustrator of The Blessing Cup, and Neal Bascomb, author of The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi, are the 2014 winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Award. 

 
The Sydney Taylor Book Award honors new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. The award memorializes Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series. The winners will receive their awards at the Association of Jewish Libraries Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada this June. 

Snyder and Chien will receive the 2014 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Younger Readers category for The Longest Night: A Passover Story, published by Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. Written in gentle verse, the tumultuous days leading up to the Jews’ flight from Egypt are described from the perspective of an unnamed slave girl in this beautifully illustrated story. It provides a unique introduction to the Passover holiday for young readers in an honest, but age-appropriate way. 

 
The gold medal in the Older Readers category will be presented to Patricia Polacco for The Blessing Cup, a Paula Wiseman Book, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. In this prequel to The Keeping Quilt, Polacco shares the story of a treasured family heirloom. The miraculous journey from the shtetl to America of the remaining teacup from a china tea set, deliberately left behind when her Jewish ancestors were forced to leave Czarist Russia, will strike an emotional chord with readers. In 1988, The Keeping Quilt was the Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Readers. 

Neal Bascomb will receive the 2014 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Teen Readers category for The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi, published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic. A stunning account of the mission to capture Adolf Eichmann by an elite team of Israeli spies is dramatically brought to life by Neal Bascomb.

  

Sydney Taylor Honor Books Selected for 2014:

Younger Readers:

• Stones for Grandpa by Renee Londoner with illustrations by Martha Avilés 
• Rifka Takes a Bow by Betty Rosenberg Perlov with illustrations by Cosei Kawa. (both by Kar-Ben, a division of Lerner Publishing Group)

Older Readers:

• The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible...on Schindler’s List by Leon Leyson with Marilyn J. Harran and Elisabeth B. Leyson (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division) 
• Dear Canada: Pieces of the Past: The Holocaust Diary of Rose Rabinowitz, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1948 by Carol Matas (Scholastic Canada)

Teen Readers:

• Dancing in the Dark by Robyn Bavati (Flux, an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide) 
• The War Within These Walls by Aline Sax with illustrations by Caryl Strzelecki and translated by Laura Watkinson (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers)

Gold and silver medalists will be participating in a blog tour beginning February 16, 2014. 

In addition to the medal winners, the Award Committee designated thirteen Notable Books of Jewish Content for 2014. 

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I'm delighted to kick off the blog tour for Holly Schindler's THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, which launches from Dial on February 6th.

Holly Schindler is a critically acclaimed YA author; her debut, A BLUE SO DARK, received a starred review in Booklist, was one of Booklist’s Top 10 First Novels for Youth, and won a silver medal in ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year and a gold medal in the IPPY Awards. THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY is her first MG. She can be found working on her next book in her hometown of Springfield, MO (or devouring a plate of Springfield-Style Cashew Chicken, the world’s best writing fuel).

Where to find Holly: Website - Blog - Twitter - Facebook - Smack Dab In the Middle - YA Outside The Lines

 

Synopsis for THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY:

August “Auggie” Jones lives with her Grandpa Gus, a trash hauler, in a poor part of town. So when her wealthy classmate’s father starts the House Beautification Committee, it’s homes like Auggie’s that are deemed “in violation.” Auggie is determined to prove that she is not as run-down as the outside of her house might suggest. Using the kind of items Gus usually hauls to the scrap heap, a broken toaster becomes a flower; church windows turn into a rainbow walkway; and an old car gets new life as spinning whirligigs. What starts out as a home renovation project becomes much more as Auggie and her grandpa discover a talent they never knew they had—and redefine a whole town’s perception of beauty, one recycled sculpture at a time. Auggie’s talent for creating found art will remind readers that one girl’s trash really is another girl’s treasure.

Title: The Junction Of Sunshine And Lucky

Author: Holly Schindler

Publisher: Dial (Feb. 6, 2014)

Age Range: 8-12 yrs / Grade level: 3-7

Editor: Nancy Conescu, Executive Editor for Dial Books / Penguin

Holly's agent: Deborah Warren of East/West Literary Agency

 

What’s your writing process / what was your writing process for THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY?

I’m really lucky—I’ve been a full-time writer since ’01. When I graduated with my master’s, my mom encouraged me to stay home, devote the entirety of my attention to my writing. It had been a lifelong dream, actually. (I was writing stories as a little girl at my bedroom desk!) In the beginning, of course, I thought it’d take a year or so to write a novel, it’d sell (I’d been lucky enough to place a few shorter pieces while in college, and was under the grand delusion that it’d be easy to sell a book), and I’d be off and running.

Oh, the naiveté. In reality, it took seven and a half years to get my first yes. That’s seven and a half years of full-time work. Seven days a week. I worked harder in my “unemployed” years than I ever had in my life.

The first book I sold was for a YA—A BLUE SO DARK. I sold it myself, to Flux, after more than 80 rejections.

THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY is my third published book—my first MG. The process was its own long journey…The book was initially drafted in ’05, and will be published February 6, 2014!

Most of my books actually start out with a scenario. A what-if. THE JUNCTION was different, in that it started with characters. The first person I saw was Gus. I swear, I saw him just as clearly as I’ve seen any person I’ve met in life. I felt like I was looking through Auggie’s eyes, straight at her Grandpa. It’s a completely different experience starting with a character and building a conflict and subplots around her. Through the whole thing, you kind of grab hold of this person and brave the world with her…You fall in love with her. When it’s all said and done, you can’t wait for the world to meet her, but you miss her, too—more than you do the characters in the books where you start with scenarios.

How did THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY get published?

It was wild, actually—after seven and a half years of full-time effort, I was beginning to feel like all I had to show for my work was a skull-shaped hole in my office where I’d been knocking my head against the wall. In January of ‘09, though, I accepted the deal for my YA with Flux…Not two hours later, I got a call from an agent who was wild about an MG I’d sent her the previous fall. I signed with Deborah Warren of East / West, and she shopped THE JUNCTION while A BLUE SO DARK was in development.

I think most people assume that getting an agent means the doors in the publishing world will automatically fly open, but it took a year and a half to sell THE JUNCTION. I also revised the book multiple times, in-between rounds of submission.

…And once it sold, it also went through still more rounds of revision. That was another real surprise to me, once I started landing deals: how much global revision actually occurs after acquisition. Even after THE JUNCTION was rewritten globally a couple of times, my editor (Nancy Conescu) still felt the themes were competing. We wound up talking over the phone—having a brainstorming session, hashing it out. The book was revised once more; this time, we tackled the book in thirds (the beginning, middle, end). At the end of it, my editor and I were both thrilled with the results.

What advice do you have for aspiring middle grade writers?

DON’T GIVE UP . I know in my own pursuit of publication, I hit a really bad time, right at about four years in. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my frustration was probably tied into the fact that I had this impossible-to-ignore marker that would ring like a gong every year: I started my full-time pursuit the day after I graduated with my master’s. Each graduation season, as caps and gowns paraded across the paper and local news, I’d think—There’s one year gone. Two. Three…I think part of the reason that four years bothered me so much was that it took four years to get through high school. Four years to get my undergrad degree. But at the four year mark during my pursuit of publication, I hadn’t really gotten many “good” rejections (in which editors offered advice). It was a real make-or-break moment.

Obviously, I decided to put my rear in the chair and get back to work. And the first thing I wrote after that decision was the first draft of THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY.

…Which brings me to my second bit of advice: DON’T BE BULL-HEADED. Accept the fact that you have a ton to learn. We all do, no matter what stage we’re in—published or not.

When I first wrote THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, it was a picture book. Gus was the artist (not Auggie). In that first version, Auggie’s character didn’t even have a name. We were just looking through her eyes as she told the story of her Grampa Gus, a folk artist.

I got some positive response to the writing in the beginning, but no takers. Editors all told me that the concept of folk art was too advanced for the picture book audience. I was encouraged to turn the book into a MG novel.

It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, to reinvent a 1,000-word story as a roughly 45,000-word novel. But those editors said were right—the concept was too advanced for a picture book. So I plunged in. Even after I’d made the switch, though, I still had to find my agent, and after I got my agent, I still had to revise multiple times.

You’ve got to be willing to listen. You’ve got to be willing to put in the work. And then start over again, even when you think you’ve got the book nailed.

But here’s the beauty of it: Every single book is revised once it’s acquired. If you get the revision part down pre-acquisition, you’ll have a much easier time receiving editorial letters when your first book is in development.

What are you working on now? Any other upcoming events or other info you’d like to share?

I’m working on my next MG, of course, but I’m also happy to announce that my next YA, FERAL, is in development with HarperCollins! I’ll be making announcements regarding that novel (including a cover reveal and release date info) on my blog soon: hollyschindler.blogspot.com.

…If you’re interested in getting in on blog tours, or if you’re a teacher or librarian and are interested in Skype visits, be sure to contact me at writehollyschindler (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Where to find out more about Holly and her work:

Twitter: @holly_schindler

Facebook: facebook.com/hollyschindlerauthor

Author site: hollyschindler.com

Author blog: hollyschindler.blogspot.com

Holly is also the administrator of two group author blogs: Smack Dab in the Middle (smack-dab-in-the-middle.blogspot.com) for MG authors, and YA Outside the Lines ( yaoutsidethelines.blogspot.com) for YA authors.

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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with Donna McDine on Google+

A Sandy Grave ~ Coming January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

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Award-winning art from Jim Wodark and Max Ollendorff from the 2013 show

Calling all artists! It's time to get your creative juices flowing because we're looking for entries to the 7th annual juried exhibition of professional and amateur artists featuring local scenes! What started as joint showing of "scenes of Tustin" with the Tustin Art League (TAL) and Chemers Gallery has blossomed into a larger collaborative exhibition of views from all of Orange County with the Tustin Area Council for Fine Art and Chemers Gallery. All entries are now pre-juried online at OnlineJuriedShows.com - you can find the prospectus and links to enter HERE.

So, go ahead and create your own interpretation of Irvine Park, Newport Beach, downtown Orange, even San Juan Capistrano! You don't need to be a professional artist or a member of TACFA to enter - all are welcome to submit. All mediums are acceptable, the more creative the better. Get your paintbrushes, pens, pencils, cameras, sewing needles and printing presses ready for this exciting show!

Award-winning art from Shelby Montelongo, Greg LaRock and Julie Hill from the 2013 show

Important Dates & Deadlines:
March 7, 2014: Deadline to submit your entry form and .jpg photo to OnlineJuriedShows.com. Click HERE for prospectus and links to enter. (For help using OnlineJuriedShows.com click here.)
March 17, 2014: Notification of acceptance by email
April 14 - 19: Hand-delivery of accepted work to Chemers Gallery between 10am - 5pm. Shipped entries are not accepted.
April 26, 2014: Exhibition opens to public, Artists' Reception 5:30 - 8:00pm
May 10, 2014: Exhibit closes
May 12, 2014: Pick up work at Chemers Gallery between 10am - 5pm

Cash Awards:
$600 First Place, Professional
$400 Second Place, Professional
$250 Third Place, Professional

$100 First Place, Amateur
$75 Second Place, Amateur
$50 Third Place, Amateur

Artwork Specifications:
Entry must be an outdoor scene from anywhere in Orange County, California. If not easily recognizable as an Orange County scene, a source photo may be required. Work must be created during the year since the last exhibition (May 2013).

All 2-D artworks such as, but not limited to, painting, drawing, mixed media, printmaking and photography will be considered. The maximum allowed size is 24" x 36" not including the frame. Photographs must be printed on photo or fine art paper - they may not be printed on canvas or mounted to panels. Works must be framed to Chemers Gallery specifications (see framing requirements below), properly wired and ready to hang. The juror reserves the right to disqualify any work not suitably presented or that varies from the submitted image. All works must be for sale.

Sales commission: 50% artist 50% Chemers Gallery.

Framing Requirements:
Chemers Gallery will be happy to assist in framing your work. If you choose to frame it yourself, please bring your frame for approval prior to delivery. Oils, acrylics & mixed media can be unframed if gallery wrapped edges are painted, but other two-dimensional work must be framed. No photography on canvas. All 2D work must be properly & securely wired and ready to hang. Simple frames are preferred and must be either black or dark wood. Mats: neutral white, acid free (like Bainbridge 8655), acid-free colored filets ok, and either double 4-ply or single 6 or 8-ply mats. No non-glare glass. Space and weight limits apply to non two-dimensional work, see Karen Raab at Chemers Gallery.

Examples of black (left) and dark wood (right) frames

Examples of gallery wrapped canvases

Entry Procedure:
Non-refundable entry fee is $35 for one or two entries, payable when you submit to OnlineJuriedShows.com.

PLEASE NOTE: When filling out your information while entering the show at OnlineJuriedShows.com, please be sure all information is correct - spelling, title, pricing of your artwork. All information is input by the Artist and is used by Chemers Gallery for reference, printed materials and online postings.

Diptychs and triptychs are considered one work. Works are juried by digital image only.

For help using OnlineJuriedShows.com please refer to the Help page and the How OJS Works page. Likewise you can call 949-287-8645 or email [email protected].

Entry Image Guidlines:
Works will be juried by digital image only. Images must be sized to 1920 pixels on the longest side and at a resolution of 72 dpi. No mat, frame, or extraneous material should appear other than your artwork.

Save the painting with a new name, as follows: Your last name, first initial, ENTRY REFERENCE (A, B, C, D, or E), and abbreviated painting name. For example: Jane Doe's Entry A is titled New York Sunrise, the name given to the digital image would be: doej_a_nysun.jpg.

Save the image as a high quality jpg.

Images are used for jurying and web and printed materials.

Liability: 
All work will be handled with great care. Neither Chemers Gallery nor TACFA or its representatives will accept responsibility for loss or damage of work. Artists are responsible for safety of work during transit to and from the gallery. Submission by an artist will indicate agreement by the artist to these conditions.

Since 1978, Chemers Gallery has been providing fine art and quality custom framing in Orange County. the gallery hosts several shows each year and continually exhibits the work of exceptions artists, both local and international. Chemers Gallery is located in the Enderle Center, 17300 17th Street, Tustin, 714-731-5432. The gallery is free and open to the public Monday - Friday, 10:00am - 6:00pm, Saturday 10:00am - 5:00pm.

Founded in 1992, the Tustin Area Council for Fine Arts (TACFA) funds and administers programs which expand the arts in the greater Tustin, California area, and enrich the entire community. The Council raises funds through individual and corporate contributions and fundraising events. These funds subsidize elementary students' participation in The Art Masters program, support students' creativity and interest in the arts, and allow TACFA to produce an annual affordable and live production of a classic Broadway musical at a local outdoor venue.

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I don't make New Year's Resolutions (because I can't keep them!) but one of my goals for this year is to read more historical fiction and more Newbery winners. So for the first time (I know; it's hard to believe), I read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (first published by Dial in 1976; winner of the 1977 Newbery Medal, for ages 10 and up)

Source: paperback purchased at my local second-hand bookshop

Synopsis (from the publisher's website): Winner of the 1977 Newbery Medal, this is a remarkably moving novel--one that has impressed the hearts and minds of millions of readers. Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, it is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. And, too, it is Cassie's story--Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to the Logan family, even as she learns to draw strength from her own sense of dignity and self-respect.

Why I recommend it: This should be a modern classic. The writing alone is worth the read. You can tell you're in the hands of a master. Some books don't stand up well more than 35 years later, but this seems as fresh as if it was written this year. I felt completely inside nine-year-old Cassie's head as she tells us about the events of 1933 in their small Southern town. She's brave and headstrong and I was cheering her on and crying with her all the way. Kids who know very little about that time period -- and the terrible injustices that happened all too often -- should find this an eye-opener. And not just on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The American Library Association posted a wonderful interview with Mildred Taylor in 2006.

This book is one in a sequence of Logan family books based on tales that the author (born 1943) heard from her own family:

Song of the Trees (1975)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976)
Let the Circle Be Unbroken (1981)
The Road to Memphis (1990)
The Land (2001)

For more middle grade reviews, see Shannon's blog.

Have you read any of the Logan family sequence? What did you think?

And don't forget to listen to the ALA Youth Media Awards live webcast (starting at 8 am ET on Monday, January 27) to find out the next Newbery Medal winner, and more.
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NOTE: After this review, I'm taking a blogging break to revise my third MG novel. Remember when Jerry Spinelli advised me to wait three months? Well, those three months are up next week.

I'll be back on February 17 with Part One of an exclusive interview with Pennsylvania resident and author Dianne Salerni, whose MG fantasy The Eighth Day launches in April. Part Two follows on February 24, along with a GIVEAWAY!

See you on February 17!

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It's an exciting time of year for book awards. Here are some awards you may know and some that may be new to you. The Cook Prize The Bank Street Center for Children's Literature has named its finalists for the 2014 Cook Prize for best STEM picture books. Third and fourth grade students are invited to help choose the winner. The ALA Youth Media Awards will be

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The 2014 Devil's Kitchen Reading Awards in Poetry and Prose

The Department of English at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and GRASSROOTS, SIUC's undergraduate literary magazine, are pleased to announce the 2014 Devil's Kitchen Reading Awards. One book of poetry and one book of prose (novel, short fiction, or literary nonfiction) will be selected from submissions of titles published in 2013, and the winning authors will receive an honorarium of $1000 and will present a public reading and participate in panels at the Devil's Kitchen Fall Literary Festival at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. The dates for the 2014 festival will be October 22-24, 2014. Travel and accommodations will be provided for the two winners.

Entries may be submitted by either author or publisher, and must include a copy of the book, a cover letter, a brief biography of the author including previous publications, and a $20.00 entry fee made out to "SIUC - Dept. of English."

Entries must be postmarked December 1, 2013 - February 1, 2014. Materials postmarked after February 1 will be returned unopened. Because we cannot guarantee their return, all entries will become the property of the SIUC Department of English.

Entrants wishing acknowledgment of receipt of materials must include a self-addressed stamped postcard.

Judges will come from the faculty of SIUC's MFA Program in Creative Writing and the award winners will be selected by the staff of GRASSROOTS. The winners will be notified in May 2014. All entrants will  be notified of the results in June 2014.

The awards are open to single-author titles published in 2013 by independent, university, or commercial publishers. The winners must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must agree to attend and participate in the 2014 Devil's Kitchen Fall Literary Festival (October 22-24, 2014) to receive the award.
Entries from vanity presses and self-published books are not eligible. Current students and employees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and authors published by Southern Illinois University Press are not eligible.

Past winners of the Devil's Kitchen Reading Awards

Entries must be postmarked December 1, 2013 - February 1, 2014 (please do not send materials early or late).
Send all materials to:

Devil's Kitchen Reading Awards/GRASSROOTS
Dept. of English, Mail Code 4503
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
1000 Faner Drive
Carbondale, IL 62901

(please indicate "Poetry" or "Prose" on envelope)

For further information, e-mail:

grassrootsmagATgmailDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to .)

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Among the books that has gotten some buzz this year as a frontrunner for major book awards is Brian Floca's Locomotive. It is a celebratory treatment of the transcontinental railroad presented in a travelogue style. That railroad was completed in 1869.

In Locomotive, a white woman and her two children board the train in Omaha bound for San Francisco. As they get off the train at San Francisco, Floca's text reads:

Now your days on the train are done.
You are tired and dusty,
the smell of smoke in your clothes.
But now you are here!
Here where you needed to go,
here where you need to be...

Turning the page, one sees a man, arms outstretched. I assume he is the children's father and the woman's husband. The text on that page is:

...here with the people
you've waited
and wanted
and needed to see.

I won't deny the need and joy of any family's reunion, but in this review essay, I use Floca's text to pose some questions, particularly as people in children's literature take up the word "diversity" or "diverse books." So far, I haven't seen anyone say that his book is a "diverse" book, but I can see how it might garner that sort of characterization, because the first full page of the book shows Chinese men. For Locomotive to succeed as a "diverse" book, however, its readers need to see far more than Floca gave us.

On the page "The Great Plains" (the book is not paginated; the words "The Great Plains" are on the bottom right corner of the double-paged spread), the illustration is of a vast sky and an expanse of grassland. Moving through it is the train. Here's what Floca wrote:

The hours and miles roll by.
The country opens,
opens wide,
empty as an ocean.

I paused when I read "empty as an ocean." Describing land as empty is something that Laura Ingalls Wilder did, too. Describing a place as empty depends on the person using that description. Some years ago, I took my laptop in for servicing. The screen background I had at the time was a photograph I took of the view from my house on the reservation. The technician looked at that photo and said something about how empty it was and how it should be developed. To me, it wasn't empty. To me, it is my homeland. If the Great Plains were my homeland, I wouldn't call it empty. But that's what Floca's white family sees. I think that is what they want and need to see in order to be able to celebrate that railroad and their travels across those plains.

Floca's text on that page continues with this:

Here the bison used to roam,
by the hundreds, by the millions.
Here the Cheyenne lived,
and Pawnee and Arapaho.

Again, I paused.

Will Floca tell his readers that the railroad played a role in the demise--or rather, slaughter--of the bison? Will he tell them, for example, that white hunters shot buffalo from open train windows? Or that millions of hides were shipped on those trains by hunters who left bison carcasses to rot? (The answer to those questions is no. He doesn't. Is it fair to expect him to? Could he include it in the notes at the end of the book? Whether he should or not is debatable. More on that later...)

And what about the use of "lived" to describe the Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Arapaho. Does that sentence suggest to a reader with "vanished" Indians as part of his or her knowledge base that the Cheyenne, the Pawnee, and the Arapaho no longer exist at all? Will Floca say more about this? (The answer is no.)

On the page with "The Forty-Mile Desert" in the bottom right corner, we learn that the train is now in the Great Basin:

On the train rolls,
down through the desert,
the home of the Paiute and the Shoshone,
It's a land of dust and bitter rivers,
rivers that never reach the sea--
they sink away,
they vanish.

I like what he says there, "home of the Paiute and the Shoshone" much better than his use of "lived" regarding the Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Arapaho. I like that he names specific tribes, too, but that isn't enough--in my view--to make this a book that would appeal to a diverse audience that includes children of those Native Nations, or children who have learned a more critical history and view of history.

Let's flip to the end papers that open the book. I like that Floca has used them, too, to pass along information by way of his illustrations. There's a map showing the transcontinental railroad and all the states it passes through. There's some people drawn on the map, but none of them are Native. In fact, nowhere on the end pages do I see illustrations or references to Native people at all. The small illustrations that frame the map on the top of the page show what I take to be the Mayflower and a wagon train. Beneath the map is one that shows workers making a tunnel, one that shows them laying track, and then, one that shows the meeting point for the tracks the two companies built (the two companies were the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific).

If I was advising Floca, I'd have suggested--at the very least--that he add homelands of Native Nations to that map.

Let's turn now, to "A Note on the Locomotive" at the end of the book. There, Floca tells us about the thousands of Chinese who worked for the railroads in the West, and he tells us of the waves of European immigrants who settled along the railroads. Then, there's a long paragraph about Native peoples. All of the following excerpts are in that paragraph. He begins with this:

If the railroad offered change to some, it imposed change on others, none more so than American Indians, who variously accepted, cooperated with, and fought the railroads as the railroads pushed across the continent. In the West, the Central Pacific made agreements with the Paiute and Shoshone of the Great Basin, some of whom worked alongside Chinese laborers to help build the road. (The groups worked well together, although there is a story of the Paiutes alarming the Chinese by telling them that the desert was inhabited by giant, man-eating snakes.)

"[A]s the railroads pushed across the continent"? How about "as the railroads and the federal government did what they wanted to take Native land." And what are we to make of the story in parentheses? That the Paiutes were mean to the Chinese? Or, maybe we're meant to think of the Chinese as simple minded? Or maybe, superstitious? Maybe this is Floca's attempt to inject a bit of levity?

Floca goes on to say that Pawnees also chose to work with the Union Pacific, and it was when the railroad "pushed" through Nebraska that there were problems because it

disrupted the grazing ranges of the bison, or American buffalo, the animal at the center of the diet, economy, and culture of the Plains, and the Cheyenne responded with attacks on surveyors and work crews.

There's a section in the book that shows things that did not happen to the train the family was riding on. One is a train going too fast on a curve and derailing. Another is of the crew letting too much water boil away, leading to an explosion. I think Floca could have shown one of those Cheyenne attacks on that page. What he says next tells us that he has a good sense of the reason for those attacks. He could have used that information alongside an illustration of Cheyenne's attacking the trains:

(General Phil Sheridan, although as ruthless a campaigner in the Indian wars as any, observed that "we took away their country and their means of support, broke up their mode of living, their habits of life, introduced disease and decay among them, and it was for this and against this that they made war. Could anyone expect less?")

The parenthesis in that excerpt are in the book. Parentheses are generally used to set off supplemental information that is an aside, or an afterthought, or something that is tangential to the information being presented. Seeing Floca's use of it in this instance sort of reflects his treatment overall of Native people in Locomotive. We're an aside. An afterthought. What happened to Native people is tangential to the information he wants to share in Locomotive. Therein is the problem. Did he not imagine us as his readers? And let's not forget that Sheridan said "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead"

Next is this:

The attacks were recurring and deadly, but the railroad--backed by the U.S. Army--could not be stopped. Once the line was completed, portions of it in Nevada were sometimes used by the Paiute and Shoshone, who through their treaties with the Central Pacific were entitled to rides on the train through their territories. 

First thing to note: tribes didn't make treaties with railroads. Treaties are agreements made between governments. The treaty Floca may have had in mind is the US government's 1863 Treaty with the Western Shoshone in which the Shoshone agreed to stop attacking the existing trains and also agreed not to attack the construction of "a railway from the plains west to the Pacific ocean."

Second, that excerpt tells us that Floca knew that Native people rode the trains. Could he have included illustrations of Paiute or Shoshone people riding the train? There's a page in the book that shows the interior of a train. A boy is walking down the aisle selling newspapers. In the foreground is a man reading Harper's Weekly. What if that was a Paiute or Shoshone man, looking askance at this illustration from an October 1874 issue?



The point I wish to make with this essay is that Locomotive is a one-sided presentation of history. It has to be, I suppose, in order for it to be celebratory, but shouldn't we be beyond one-sided celebrations?

A few years ago, the Children's Book Council established its CBC Diversity Committee. Among its goals are a dedication to increasing the diversity of voices and experiences contributing to children's literature. The experience that is missing in Floca's book is that of Native peoples. Including us probably wasn't his intent. Maybe one of CBC's actions towards diversity could be to ask authors to be more inclusive in what they create. Maybe another one could be to ask reviewers to note absences in books like Locomotive. 

There are other absences in Floca's book. He includes an illustration of Chinese laborer's on the first page, but doesn't say much about them in the text or in the Note at the end of the book. Though they constituted 90% of the work force, they weren't invited to that celebration of the railroad being completed. How, I wonder, does a child descended from one of the Chinese laborer's feel about so little of their experience being included in Locomotive?

And, there's more to say about San Francisco and Native peoples of California, too. Am I asking for too much? Some would say yes, others would say no. Some would be critical of me for criticizing the book for what it leaves out, but I'll say, again, we have to provide books that are more inclusive of all the peoples that live in the United States. Without them, we're still stuck in an all-white world of children's books, and demographics show---the United States is not an all-white world.

Editors note: My apologies for inadvertently using Locomotion instead of Locomotive in four places. That error has been corrected. 

--------------------------
For further reading:
American Indians and the Transcontinental Railroad



Update: Jan 21, 2014, 5:15 PM

Brian Floca submitted comments to my critique. I am pasting them here for the convenience of readers of AICL and will respond once I have studied his comments. Here they are:

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Everyone wants to know the secret ingredients to sell books. What should you put in your cover letter, your blurb, your flap copy, or your book jacket? Whether you are selling to an editor, an agent or a reader, what will earn your book a second look?

No one knows for sure. But BookBub’s Unbound has some intriguing facts that hint at the answers.

BookBub describes itself this way:

BookBub is the leading service for publishers and authors looking to reach new readers through limited-time eBook deals. Our 2 million+ subscribers turn to BookBub’s daily email to find free and deeply discounted eBooks that match their interests.

In other words, an author agrees to lower the price of an ebook for a certain time period; during that time, BookBub sends out an email about your book (along with promos on other books, as well). It means that BookBub has an incredible data source that can tell them when a promo is clicked on and when it converts to a sale.

BookBub.com suggests five things are helpful in book marketing:

1. Reviews. Listing the number of Amazon or GoodReads reviews can result in 20-30% better results. This is one type of “social proof,” which means that when other people do something, you’re more likely to go along. We use social proofs all the time. When you see the widget on my site that says I have 1164 Followers on Pinterest, you’re more likely to check me out and follow me there. That’s social proof. On your site, you could add info on the number of Amazon or GoodReads reviews you get to encourage readers to click through and check it out. Or consider other means of social proofs that could help–and use all you can. Cite stats from your previous book in cover letters; use for book descriptions.
2. Best-sellers and Awards. Yes, these matter. Any recognition that pulls you out of the crowd will help. However, some awards get more respect–and therefore, get more sales results. Bookbub says a “New York Times BestSeller” wins over a “bestselling author.” Recently, one of my how-to-write books, Start Your Novel, climbed to the top of its category on Amazon/Kindle, making it an “Amazon BestSeller.” That’s good! It’s not as good as a “New York Times Bestseller,” but it’s better than no awards; it pulls the book out of obscurity. Use for book covers, author bio, book descriptions and cover letters.




3. Character Names. My forthcoming novel, SAUCY AND BUBBA: A HANSEL AND GRETEL TALE, puts the character’s names in the title itself. If you can’t manage that, use names in the blurb itself. NOT: a brother and sister. INSTEAD: Saucy and Bubba. Use in cover letter, flap copy, and book description.




4. Hilarious. According to BookBub, it only happened to one novel. But the single additional word, “Hilarious,” gave one book promo 4000 more clicks (we don’t know percentages, but 4000 clicks is significant!). Will it help your story? Not if hilarious doesn’t properly describe your novel. Instead, BookBub suggests you find other descriptive language that will intrigue the reader: heart-warming, intriguing, a night to remember, etc. Work hard to use the strongest language possible. Use in cover letters, flap copy, book description and covers.
5. Comparison Title. No. Do not compare your book to Harry Potter. But DO describe your book in comparison to other stories. For example, for one forthcoming novel, VAGABONDS, I am using this comparison: In the tradition of Charlotte’s Web or The Underneath, this American fantasy . . .” This lists two well-known American fantasies, stories that take place in America and draw upon the American landscape. It’s a positioning statement, or a way to tell readers in shorthand what they can expect. Use in cover letters, book descriptions and flap copy.

Read the BookBub article for more on exactly how much each of these strategies can improve your results.

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Julie over at Hi Miss Julie just wrote another in her long line of thought-provoking posts - this time on the question of self-worth for youth librarians.  Being valued for our work is something we all need. Our youth library community embraces us in so many ways.  The youth we work with and their families do to. But how can we help each other boost our support and recognition in the larger community of other types of librarians. Julie encourages us to make sure youth librarians are nominated for awards and recognition. I couldn't agree more.

Time for a story....

Three years ago, I was honored as the Wisconsin Librarian of the Year. Two long-time colleagues in WLA/ALSC youth work had put together the nomination and tag-teamed to call me with the great news. It happened out of the blue and was the most pleasant shock of my life.

Part of the surprise? It is an award that seldom goes to youth folks.  In my decades in the association, I can recall only three other youth librarians receiving the award. Most awardees were directors and/or just about to retire or leave the profession.

I have always been a working grunt of a front-line librarian. Big believer in service to my community; service to the profession and service to my colleagues. I believe in learning and sharing every single day I go to work. Inventing and creating great service - and supporting those who do the same - is what I live for. I do it because...well, isn't that just what we all do?

So I was truly honored and humbled. I was also blown away by the appreciation I felt from colleagues who were so excited not just for me but that a youth librarian had received the award. It was like a giant celebration and recognition of all our youth services tribe.

This award changed the equation of my professional life in significant and subtle ways. While I had done a workshop or presentation here and there, suddenly, the requests started pouring in. Colleagues in other disciplines in the profession started seeking me out to serve on committees, ask my opinion, teach and work collaboratively. I ran for a statewide non-youth library position and won against a library director (doh!). I was seen as a "library leader."

What's funny is that I didn't feel any stronger, smarter or mightier after the award. I'm pretty much the same person/librarian I've always been (still just as opinionated and prone to mistakes and mis-steps). The award didn't change me.

But it did make a huge difference in the eyes of colleagues - especially librarian colleagues in other disciplines. They learned to listen to and respect a youth librarian! I think it empowered youth colleagues around the state to step up and take on leadership roles locally and state-wide.

It has motivated me to work even harder to support my youth colleagues in taking those steps to leadership. I routinely nominate or support nominations of youth colleagues for awards. I want everyone to experience the recognition they deserve for their daily hard work in our field.

So please, do as Julie says. Boost your youth colleagues and shine a light on them. You'll be glad you did. Not just for you, but for our whole youth services tribe.

Graphic courtesy of Pixabay

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Hey look, it's my co-author Philip Reeve in The Shark Hat! :D



He's given a very nice plug for There's a Shark in the Bath over on his blog (despite swearing off the Internet for a couple months).

I'm hard at work illustrating our follow-up book to Oliver and the Seawigs. Speaking of which, it got a very nice review yesterday by Ross MG over at the Education Umbrella - @EDUumbrella. And this lovely spread in Booktime, which my studio mate Elissa brought in today to show me. Thank you, Booktime! (You can follow them on Twitter: @Booktimemag.)


Click here to enlarge

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...have been announced.

The Children's/YA winner is:

The War Within These Walls, by Aline Sax

and the honor books are:

Shanghai Escape, by Kathy Kacer
The Extra, by Kathryn Lasky

Click on through for the other categories!

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Howdy, Folks.  I love a brand new shiny year. I hope that you have made your goals. If not, look to the sidebar for our local member goals.  Perhaps you will be inspired. 

Our first schmooze for the year is around the corner. 

JOIN US!

We meet Wednesday, Jan 29, is "Revisiting Revision." at 10 a.m in the College Station Barnes and Noble. Join us for lunch afterwards. Our topic is to be announced...but it will help launch you into a successful new year.

EVENT

Martha Wells --Writing Speculative Fiction for Kids and Teens

Mark you calendars for a morning workshop with acclaimed fantasy author for adults and teens Martha Wells (www.marthawells.com). Martha will offer her expert overview of speculative fiction, including tips, resources, exercises and practical advice. Bring your questions for a time of Q&A. Copies of Martha’s books will be available for purchase.

Q. What is speculative fiction?

(from wiki!) Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature.

Here are the details...

DATE: March 22, 2014

TIME: 10 a.m to 12 p.m

PLACE: Brazos Valley Arts Center, 2275 Dartmouth, College Station, TX.

COST: $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Seating is limited. Please let us know you are coming by emailing: [email protected] and then paying (cash or check) at the door.

 AWARDS

Hey, movies  have the Golden Globes and Oscars. We have the the ALA Media Awards.  Here is the scoop just in case you want the news hot off the presses...The 2014 Youth Media Award announcements will take place during the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibition at 8 a.m. ET, on Monday, January 27, from the Pennsylvania Convention Center's Grand Ballroom A, in Philadelphia.
The ALA will provide a free live webcast of the announcements. Live streaming efforts will begin the morning of the announcements.

NEWS

Kate DiCamillo Named Next National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Read about in PW.


WIN

The deadline for the SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards is 1/31/2013. Are you interested? Read about it and check out the rules Here is the link.

Work-in-Progress grant applications need to be in March. It is time to think about it now. Read about the available grants and the rules. Here is the link.

Do you have an 800 word or less HOLIDAY story simmering on the back burner?  Here is the link to the pertinent details!  Hurry, you have until the end of the month.

The views expressed here are my own, and not necessarily those of the SCBWI

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