I arrived home last night after a terrific trip to Michigan, courtesy of the good, kind folks at West Bloomfield Township Public Library. I was treated much too kindly and given the opportunity to speak with young people from 8th grade all the way up to preschool.
(See what I did there?)
More details on that trip another day.
This morning a friend directed me to this link, with information about “The Global Read Aloud.”
“What in the world’s that?”
According to the site:
The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. Now with three years under our belt and more than 30,000 connections made, we realize we are on to something larger than us so we look forward to continuing the global connections.
The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. In the past we have used Twitter, Skype, Edmodo, our wiki, email, regular mail, Kidblog, and any other tools we can think of to make these connections. Teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year.
I was surprised and honored to see one of my books listed along with such company. It’s nice to be in the conversation, much appreciated. The project looks at books in various categories, according to grades. There’s “Picture Book,” “Grades 1-3,” “Grades 4-6″ and “Grades 7-up.” Some of the folks named include some of my personal favorites, such as Peter Reynolds, Kevin Henkes, Kate DiCamillo, Anne Urso, Jo Knowles, and others.
Oh, wait. Before I forget, look at this cake that was made for me at Algonquin Middle School. It happened a while back, but I just found the photo on the net. I’m only a year and a half behind!
Here’s another sweet shot from that same visit to Algonquin. Thank you, Rebecca.
You can sign up for the Global Read Aloud right here.
Here are the 5 books listed for 7th-grade and up. It looks like I have some reading to do — which, to me, is always the primary point of these lists. Glad to be a contender:
- Endangered by Elliot Schrefer
- Bystander by James Preller
- Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
- The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Gein
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Okay, I’m reaching my arm deep into the giant barrel of letters I keep here in my office . . . I’m swirling my hand around . . . and what’s this? . . . an email from Virginia!
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How’d that get in here?
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Thanks so much for coming to our school today. The students were very excited, and as an English Teacher let me personally thank you for writing a book (BYSTANDER) that interested 7th graders. Many a day, the students wanted to continue past the points I stopped to know what was coming next. All students were able to participate in discussions. On that note, my students had some questions I’m hoping you can answer when you have a moment. Thanks again.
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1. When was your first book published and how old were you?
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2. How long did SIX INNINGS take to write?
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3. What had been your favorite book and why?
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4. Is there going to be a movie for BYSTANDER?
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5. What advice would you give to young writers?
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6. What made you decide to be an author?
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7. How long did BYSTANDER take to write?
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8. Was Eric’s dad really in the crowd at the end or was that wishful thinking?
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9. What is the premise of your next book?
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10. Who was Eric based upon?
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I replied:
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1. I published my first book in 1986. I was 25 years old. It was titled MAXX TRAX: AVALANCHE RESCUE! It sold more than one million copies. I signed a bad, flat-fee contract and earned only $3,000 from the book. No royalties. I’m not bitter! That was 27 years ago. I’ve forgotten all about it! Really!!!
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2. Hard to remember, but probably about 3 months to reach a finished, first draft. Revision was tough on that one, because I had to cut 10,000 words. I guess I wondered down a lot of side paths and needed to get back on the main road, or what I think of as the “through-line” in the narrative.
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3. I don’t think in terms of favorites, but I really do love the character of Jigsaw Jones.
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4. There are no plans for a movie, but — ca-ching! — that sure would be fun.
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5. Writers come in all shapes and sizes. We all have stories to tell. You need to read a lot — and read, at times, slowly, thoughtfully, with the mind of a writer. Rather than getting totally caught up in the story, try to become aware of the writer behind the words, the choices, the decisions. Also, obviously: Spend time writing.
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6. The dream formed in college. I wasn’t one of those kids who loved going to library.
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7. I research BYSTANDER for a couple of months, visiting schools, talking to experts, reading widely. The writing, which took four months, grew out of that.
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8. That’s wishful thinking. Look at the words on the page. “All the while quietly hoping — in that place of the heart where words sputter and dissolve, were secret dreams are born and scarcely admitted . . .”
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9. The book I’m writing now returns to some of the themes in BYSTANDER, but is sympathetic to “the bully.” For me, I don’t like to label kids as any one thing, especially as “a bully.” Bullying is a behavior, not a thing, not a person. I’m looking at it from that perspective.
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10. Eric is not based on anyone in particular. I see him as witness, observer. He’s new in town, so the reader meets the characters in school at the same time as Eric.
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Thanks, I loved visiting Virginia and I hope to make it back again someday soon.
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JP
