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By: Cynthia Leitich Smith,
on 1/27/2016
Blog: cynsations (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: diversity, Texas, giveaway, Lisa Papademetriou, Add a tag
By Lisa Papademetriou
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
One day, I was at the grocery store with my daughter when I spotted a crazy man in the car beside ours.
Zara was very small, perhaps three years old, she watched while he sat in his car, talking to himself, as I unpacked the groceries.
When I finally sat behind the wheel, I tried to ignore the man, fearing that she would be frightened or concerned.
Instead, she looked at me and explained, “He’s praying.”
When I looked again, I realized that she was right. The man had on a skullcap—he was in his car, praying to Allah. When your religion calls on you to pray five times a day, sometimes the best, most private place is in the car.
My daughter knows that because her grandmother is an observant Muslim, and has prayed in our car on numerous occasions. To Zara, this is perfectly normal. This is the essence of point of view.
Three years ago, I began work on A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic (HarperCollins, 2015). The story is about two girls—one in Texas, one in Pakistan—who each find a copy of a magic book.
Thematically, I was writing about the way in which stories unite us, so the dual setting and protagonists were very important to me. My husband is from Pakistan, and we travel there fairly often. I had been hoping to write the story from the point of view of someone like my daughter, who is very familiar with the culture.
But an early reader felt that, despite the compelling Pakistani setting, Leila’s point of view simply didn’t feel convincing. This reader told me that I needed to discover the story that was in my own heart. Put another way, I had to find the common ground between Leila’s perspective and my own.
I am a Greek American, but I am far more American than Greek. When I traveled to Greece as an adult, people could tell right away that I was Greek. But when they discovered that I didn’t speak Greek, they were disappointed.
“That is a shame,” a cabdriver in Thessaloniki told me, frowning.
Yet, in the iconography of the Greek churches I visited, I would see faces that looked like mine. In many ways, Greece felt like home to me, but it also felt intensely foreign.
This is also how I exist among my in-laws when I visit Pakistan—they accept me as family. In fact, they sometimes accept me so thoroughly that they forget that I don’t speak Urdu, or know what holiday we are celebrating, or even have any idea what clothes are appropriate for different occasions. To them, these things are all second nature, while for me, they are constant sources of confusion and gaffes. I belong, and yet I don’t.
These were the experiences I drew on when I created Leila’s character in A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic. She is a Pakistani-American girl, but she is far more American than Pakistani. She is trying to navigate the space in which the culture is her heritage, but it is not familiar. Like me, she is an insider-outsider.
Acknowledging my own perspective helped guide me toward the story I could most authentically tell. Happily, a number of reviewers who are also Americans with family outside of the United States have noted that Leila’s story arc feels relatable and familiar.
I started by writing about the ways in which stories can connect us to one another. In writing the story of my heart, I learned how true that is.
Cynsational Screening Room
The Story Behind the Story: A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic from PixelEdge on Vimeo.
Cynsational Giveaway
Enter to win one of two signed copies of A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic by Lisa Papademetriou (HarperCollins, 2015), plus a special handwritten letter from a character in the book. Author sponsored. Eligibility: U.S. only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway Add a Comment
By: scholastickids,
on 10/7/2014
Blog: Ink Splot 26 (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Reads, lisa papademetriou, cupcake recipes, confectionately yours, Add a tag
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By: Marjorie Coughlan,
on 6/18/2016
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Awards, HarperCollins, News, Book Awards, Mitali Perkins, Tara Books, Peachtree Publishers, Kashmira Sheth, Jamie Hogan, Cinco Puntos Press, Lisa Papademetriou, Tulika Books, Yoshiko Jaeggi, Charlesbridge Publishing, Youme, Priya Kuriyan, Sowmya Rajendran, Mathangi Subramanian, Duckbill (India), Tiger Boy, Diana Cohn, A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic, Bhimrao Ambedkar: The Boy Who Asked Why, Crane Boy, Dear Mrs. Naidu, Khadija Ejaz, Matthew Frame, Mike Masilami, My Friend is Hindu, Natasha Sharma, Purple Toad Publishing, Razia and the Pesky Presents, Satwik Gade, Sona and the Wedding Game, South Asian Book Award (SABA), The Boy Who Speaks in Numbers, Young Zubaan, Add a tag
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Awards, HarperCollins, News, Book Awards, Mitali Perkins, Tara Books, Peachtree Publishers, Kashmira Sheth, Jamie Hogan, Cinco Puntos Press, Lisa Papademetriou, Tulika Books, Yoshiko Jaeggi, Charlesbridge Publishing, Youme, Priya Kuriyan, Sowmya Rajendran, Mathangi Subramanian, Duckbill (India), Tiger Boy, Diana Cohn, A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic, Bhimrao Ambedkar: The Boy Who Asked Why, Crane Boy, Dear Mrs. Naidu, Khadija Ejaz, Matthew Frame, Mike Masilami, My Friend is Hindu, Natasha Sharma, Purple Toad Publishing, Razia and the Pesky Presents, Satwik Gade, Sona and the Wedding Game, South Asian Book Award (SABA), The Boy Who Speaks in Numbers, Young Zubaan, Add a tag
By: Cynthia Leitich Smith,
on 1/27/2016
Blog: cynsations (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: diversity, Texas, giveaway, Lisa Papademetriou, Add a tag
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
One day, I was at the grocery store with my daughter when I spotted a crazy man in the car beside ours.
Zara was very small, perhaps three years old, she watched while he sat in his car, talking to himself, as I unpacked the groceries.
When I finally sat behind the wheel, I tried to ignore the man, fearing that she would be frightened or concerned.
Instead, she looked at me and explained, “He’s praying.”
When I looked again, I realized that she was right. The man had on a skullcap—he was in his car, praying to Allah. When your religion calls on you to pray five times a day, sometimes the best, most private place is in the car.
My daughter knows that because her grandmother is an observant Muslim, and has prayed in our car on numerous occasions. To Zara, this is perfectly normal. This is the essence of point of view.
Three years ago, I began work on A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic (HarperCollins, 2015). The story is about two girls—one in Texas, one in Pakistan—who each find a copy of a magic book.
Thematically, I was writing about the way in which stories unite us, so the dual setting and protagonists were very important to me. My husband is from Pakistan, and we travel there fairly often. I had been hoping to write the story from the point of view of someone like my daughter, who is very familiar with the culture.
But an early reader felt that, despite the compelling Pakistani setting, Leila’s point of view simply didn’t feel convincing. This reader told me that I needed to discover the story that was in my own heart. Put another way, I had to find the common ground between Leila’s perspective and my own.
I am a Greek American, but I am far more American than Greek. When I traveled to Greece as an adult, people could tell right away that I was Greek. But when they discovered that I didn’t speak Greek, they were disappointed.
“That is a shame,” a cabdriver in Thessaloniki told me, frowning.
Yet, in the iconography of the Greek churches I visited, I would see faces that looked like mine. In many ways, Greece felt like home to me, but it also felt intensely foreign.
This is also how I exist among my in-laws when I visit Pakistan—they accept me as family. In fact, they sometimes accept me so thoroughly that they forget that I don’t speak Urdu, or know what holiday we are celebrating, or even have any idea what clothes are appropriate for different occasions. To them, these things are all second nature, while for me, they are constant sources of confusion and gaffes. I belong, and yet I don’t.
These were the experiences I drew on when I created Leila’s character in A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic. She is a Pakistani-American girl, but she is far more American than Pakistani. She is trying to navigate the space in which the culture is her heritage, but it is not familiar. Like me, she is an insider-outsider.
Acknowledging my own perspective helped guide me toward the story I could most authentically tell. Happily, a number of reviewers who are also Americans with family outside of the United States have noted that Leila’s story arc feels relatable and familiar.
I started by writing about the ways in which stories can connect us to one another. In writing the story of my heart, I learned how true that is.
Cynsational Screening Room
The Story Behind the Story: A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic from PixelEdge on Vimeo.
Cynsational Giveaway
Enter to win one of two signed copies of A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic by Lisa Papademetriou (HarperCollins, 2015), plus a special handwritten letter from a character in the book. Author sponsored. Eligibility: U.S. only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway Add a Comment
By: scholastickids,
on 10/7/2014
Blog: Ink Splot 26 (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Reads, lisa papademetriou, cupcake recipes, confectionately yours, Add a tag
Book Reviews by Kids, for Kids
Are you looking for 100% kid-approved book recommendations? The STACKS has them. This week, CheeryJade2 recommends the Confectionately Yours series by Lisa Papademetriou (for ages 9-12). Have you read this series? What did you think? Read on for CheeryJade’s review. . .
Well, hello out there! I started my weekly book blog which features 1 book per post. And today’s post is starring the Confectionately Yours series by Lisa Papademetriou. The series consists of 4 books.
- Confectionately Yours #1: Save the Cupcake!
- Confectionately Yours #2: Taking the Cake!
- Confectionately Yours #3: Sugar and Spice
- Confectionately Yours #4: Something New
Now, the series is basically about a girl called Hayley who is an amazing cupcake baker and her family (consisting of her mom, lil’ sis’ Chloe, her grandmother, and various other people). Hayley has been through a lot: her parents’ divorce, a fall-out with her best friend, etc. But she manages a happy and sweet ending always. No, things don’t always go back to the way they were, and that’s what I like about the book! It has a touch of bittersweet reality. The book also contains some amazing gluten-free cupcake recipes, which are super-yummy to eat and super-easy to make. So, if you’re into baking and reading, this is the series for you!
PS. You can check out the Confectionately Yours series on the Stacks itself! So, get clicking!
If you are interested in this book, check it out and join the conversation about it on the Message Boards.
Add a Comment