Hi, everyone! This is Laura – the curly-haired one on the left in that picture over there – and I’m the one that you’ve been reading, for the most part, here on our blog for the past 18 months. But today I pass the torch to the newest School & Library Integrated Marketing Manager at HarperCollins Children’s Books, MOLLY THOMAS!
Molly joins us from Disney-Hyperion Books and is an absolute superstar; I can’t wait for you to meet her at the next conference because you will adore her. We wanted all of you to get to know Molly here first, though, so we put her on the hot seat to answer our grueling, fever-inducing, getting-to-the-heart-of-the-matter interview questions that such luminaries as Alex Flinn, Adam Rex, and Carolyn Mackler have answered before her. This is as close as we get to hazing around these parts. So let’s get to know Molly…
What time is your alarm clock set for?
I’m usually up before my alarm these days, but since moving a week ago, I really wish the dang thing wouldn’t go off for a few days!
What is your favorite book from childhood and why?
Obviously, I am forced to cheat on this question and mention a couple, because how could a person who works in children’s books have JUST ONE? My favorite picture book was Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie dePaola, and favorite YA was Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene. My copy had this super-dramatic jacket copy which I can still quote from memory: “It was a summer of love, a summer of hate, a summer that would last a lifetime.”
If you didn’t work in publishing, what job would you like to have?
Wouldn’t it be amazing to be these ladies? They’re Brooklyn florists who’ve also started giving classes, and it is such a cool small business.
How many stamps are in your passport?
Zero, sigh. But since I’m a really terrible flier—apologies, seatmates, for my white knuckles clutching the armrests!—maybe for now, it’s for the best.
Favorite word?
Bizarre, which I completely stole from a college painting professor who always threw it out there as compliment. I love how she turned that word upside-down for me.
What are you reading right now?
I’ve been reading Emma for a book club, and I’m horrified at how much of the humor I missed when I read it for high school English. Makes me wonder what other classics I should give another go… although I fear that my bedside table could not handle any more additions to the “to read” pile.
Finish this sentence: I always smile when…
… I spot a French bulldog! I want one soooo desperately, but my current apartment has a NO PET POLICY.
Funniest (or most interesting) thing you’ve heard in an author signing line at a conference?
My favorite was the woman who asked me, “Are you THE Mo Willems?” My answer: “I wish!”
Thanks so much, Molly, and welcome to HarperCollins! Readers, I hope you show Molly some love and help her feel welcome, and make sure to introduce yourself when you see her at the next conference!
You’ve been bounced around from foster home to foster home, and it’s becoming clear that no one cares where you end up next. You’ve fallen between the cracks. So imagine your luck when you discover that you’ve been accepted to an exclusive private boarding school where you might have a chance to make something of yourself. Only…once you get to the school, you find out that there’s no leaving it. There are no grown-ups…only classes taught by fellow students who have received the lessons from mysterious adults on the outside. The students have formed their hierarchies so that you’re in or you’re out, and you’re constantly watching your back. Nothing is quite what it seems. What do you do? Fall in line? Try to escape? Only…those who try to escape aren’t heard from again…
And this is the hang-on-to-the-seat-of-your-pants, twist-around-every-corner story that Robison Wells has written with
VARIANT. As Heather mentioned in her
guest post yesterday, we – publishers, librarians, bloggers – read a lot of books and we’ve become rather jaded. But this one…this one is special. You won’t see these twists coming. In its
starred review,
Publishers Weekly says that “t
here are plenty of ’didn’t see that coming’ moments and no shortage of action or violence. With its clever premise, quick pace, and easy-to-champion characters, Well’s story is a fast, gripping read with a cliffhanger that will leave readers wanting more.”
We recently put the get-to-know-him-now-because-he’s-about-to-skyrocket-to-the-stratosphere author of VARIANT, Robison Wells, in the hot seat – well, since it’s summer, we actually put him in a hammock – and begged him to answer The Most Important Questions He’d Ever Answer. Here’s what he had to say:
What time is your alarm clock set for?
I know this sounds terrible, but when I’m writing I wake up at 4:00am. I still have a fulltime job, and I find that I write much better before work than after. It took a while to get used to the early schedule, but now I like it quite a bit. Everything is quiet and calm, and I don’t have a million stressors running through my head. I can really focus.
Favorite book from childhood?
I guess that would depend on the era of childhood we’re talking about, but overall I’d probably say THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH. I think I connected a lot with Milo, who was a little cynical and always bored. I was a smart kid and I was in advanced classes in elementary school, but I didn’t really like learning, or even reading. So, when the book starts with the main character saying “I can’t see the point in learning to solve useless problems, or subtracting turnips from turnips, or knowing where Ethiopia is or how to spell February”, I was immediately drawn in. And then the book was filled with clever wordplay that you would only get if you actua
From 2001 to 2010, I had the honor of volunteering for an enriching New York City program called Authors Read Aloud (part of an organization called Learning Leaders). I was one of a group of authors who visited with students in underfunded New York City schools (mine were always in the Bronx).
Each author would meet with two classes per visit, four times a year; this setup allowed the authors and students to develop more of a personal ongoing relationship. This struck me as the genius of the program. It enabled more growth than a one-off presentation and gave everyone (including the authors) something to look forward to.
During the summer of 2010, I moved from Connecticut to Maryland. Authors Read Aloud doesn't (yet) exist in the Washington DC area. Sad as I was to say goodbye to that program, in my new environment I stumbled upon another program that may help fill that emotional gap.
On 11/4/10, I volunteered for the first time for a Washington DC program called Turning the Page.
It, too, sends volunteer authors to schools in humbler neighborhoods, but beyond that, the structures diverge.
A Turning the Page author goes to schools after hours, as part of what they call community nights. After we eat dinner together, the author gives a short presentation for the kids—and their parents. Then the kids leave for mentoring while the author conducts a (fairly lengthy, as these things go) Q&A session with just the parents. The families get not only a free meal but also a free, signed book.
And therein lies the genius of this program.
Moms, dads, grandparents, and/or guardians who are actively interested in writing and reading send a powerful message to their kids. Motivated parents = motivated students.
Further, TTP buys a supply of the author's books in advance, and each child whose parent attends the event gets a signed copy at no charge. Before that, however, the books serve vital purpose:
On a side note, my book about Superman has given schools an easy way to promote
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