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Blog on Trilobites, Noah's Ark, Puppets, Gospel, and other Enthusiasms
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on 5/16/2012
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Just learned that Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth has been nominated for an Ohioana Literary Award.
“The Ohioana Book Awards began in 1942 to bring state and national attention to Ohio authors and their books. Each year, up to six awards may be given to provide recognition and encouragement to authors for outstanding books in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Juvenile Books, Poetry, and About Ohio or an Ohioan.”
Very exciting!
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on 4/18/2012
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I’ll be at the Hudson Children’s Book Festival Saturday, May 5, at the Hudson Junior and Senior High school from 10am to 4 pm in Hudson, New York, and Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth will be my featured book. Can’t wait! I’ll be doing a workshop on making “trilobite puppets.”
Paper Bag Puppets
Friday I saw a lamb being born, the first of many to be born in the next two weeks on Dancing Lamb Farm.
New Lamb a Moorit
- Sandra Dutton, Crowne Plaza Hotel
Recently I was inducted into my Norwood, Ohio, high school’s “Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame.” It was an exciting day with first a tour of the middle school (my old high school building), then the new high school, with its planetarium and TV station. At an assembly in the auditorium students introduced the honorees–a scientist who’s written widely on herpetology, a nuclear engineer, a musician, a military advisor to presidents, and posthumously, Vera-Ellen the dancer-singer-movie star, who also attended Norwood High School. In the evening we had a formal induction in the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blue Ash, Cincinnati. To the left you see me making an acceptance speech, describing some of my favorite teachers. (I never like to stay behind the podium if I can grab a microphone and move around.) It was a lovely day, an honor to be recognized, and I enjoyed seeing many old friends.
Dancing Lamb Farm, Photo by Mike Kelley
We’re moving! From Boothbay Harbor, Maine, to the Hudson Valley, New York, and we’ll be living on Dancing Lamb Farm. Here’s a picture from their website, DancingLambFarm.com, where you can read more about their raising of Icelandic sheep. We’ll be living in an annex off the main house, and while we’ll miss Maine and our friends, we look forward to making new friends and living among the sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, and rooster.
That’s the title of a talk I’ll be giving at Maine Festival of the Book Saturday, April 2, at 11am in the Abromson Center at the University of Maine. I’ll be discussing my childhood, and how it informed my novel, “the acclaimed (and controversial)” Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth. Recommended for ages 8-12.
- Trilobite Puppets
At the conclusion of the slideshow/talk, the audience will also be invited to make trilobite puppets!
For more on this event, go to: Maine Festival of the Book.
Good news! Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth is now for sale on the National Council for Science Education (NCSE) website. Reviewing the book for RNCSE, David C. Kopaska-Merkel writes, “One thing I like about this book is its delivery through the persona of a child who is both passionate about her church and about science. She doesn’t reject either aspect of her life. She is as excited about the puppet show her Sunday School class is doing as about her interview with a trilobite for a school assignment.”
Readers often ask me questions, so I thought I would post my answers to those received most frequently. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with other questions you might have.
Do Christians like your book, Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth?
Yes. I have received wonderful reviews from Christians. John F. Haught, former chair of the Theology Department at Georgetown University, had this to say about Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth:
“Sandra Dutton demonstrates here that the quest to integrate faith with the fossil record can be a most enriching experience, and that it is never too early to allow our children to experience the joy of integrating their religious beliefs with a solid science education. This is a delightful — but also serious — work. It will appeal to parents, pastors and educators. We need more works like this.”
And David Crumm, Editor of Read the Spirit said this:
“This is a great book for the entire family, especially if your family is related to evangelical Christianity. I can’t imagine a more engaging and compassionate slice of American life than “Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth,” a novella for young readers by Sandra Dutton. And frankly, this book is so good that adults will enjoy it, too. I certainly did. (His entire review can be read on Amazon.
Are you for or against homeschooling?
I am for homeschooling as long as the parent is qualified. By qualified, I don’t mean they need a degree in education, but the parent must be able to create interesting, challenging assignments that following a meaningful sequence. In my story, Mrs. Krebs is neither qualified nor prepared. She thinks teaching will be easy, that it’s just a matter of making some assignments, but as anyone who has taught knows, teaching takes much time and preparation to create a meaningful curriculum and sequence.
Note, also, that my story takes place in 1988, when there were very few families homeschooling. Mary Mae’s mother had virtually nowhere to go for help. And my story is about a very specific fictional family.
Is there cursing in your book?
On page 6, a pickup truck passes Mary Mae’s mother going a hundred miles an hour, and Granny curses. But as Mary Mae says, “When Granny cusses it ain’t like she’s cussing. It’s like she’s talking to the Lord.” On page 9, as Granny, Mama, and Mary Mae are singing John 3:16, Mama is pulled over by the highway patrol and she says, “Oh, Jesus Lord.” It’s more of a cry for help. On page 11 , Mary Mae imitates Granny and is immediately reprimanded by her mother: “You don’t use that kind of language,” she tells Mary Mae. On page 43, Granny can’t find her glasses.“Sweet Jesus,” she says, then apologizes.
Are your characters Christian?
The characters in Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth <
- A Cigar Box of Fossils
In the photograph at left are fossils like the ones Mary Mae digs up in the book. The ones in the first two rows were actually found by my brother-in-law at Caesar Creek State Park and are from the Ordovician period, around 450 million years ago.
The three in the first row are bryozoans. In the second row, left to right, are a brachiopod, the tip of a cephalopod’s tentacle, another brachiopod, then a horned coral. The two on the top are a crinoid and a trilobite, which I made myself out of clay for the book trailer. If you click at the box on the right, you can watch the book trailer and see those two clay models in Mary Mae’s hand.
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on 12/9/2010
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For a very interesting review on Mary Mae on the Gospel Truth, go to The Clever Badger.
By:
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on 12/7/2010
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Following is my op-ed piece that was published this morning in the Cincinnati Enquirer:
Sandra Dutton
Does anyone remember the Disneyland ride “Adventure through Inner Space”? It was featured in Tomorrowland from 1967-1985. Presented by Monsanto, it was my favorite theme park ride ever, better than the Matter Horn, Pirates of the Caribbean, or the Haunted Mansion. We boarded small cars called Atom-Mobiles and rode through the end of a microscope into darkness, until we saw snowflakes whirling. A narrator informed us that we were going on a journey in which we would be “shrinking beyond the smallness of a tiny snowflake crystal.” The snowflakes became larger until it was obvious they were not solid, but lattice-like structures. And we shrunk down to the size of a water molecule, with fuzzy spheres whirling around us—atoms. Eventually we saw the large, pulsating ball of the nucleus and were told we had pierced the wall of the oxygen atom.
The ride was astonishing, exhilarating, awe-inspiring, everything a good science story should be. It had the magic of science fiction, yet was pure science.
When I heard the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, was planning a theme park, I thought of this ride, and how technology could be used to illustrate the Big Bang. Of course that’s not going to happen, since Answers in Genesis believes a six-day creation, 6000 years ago, and is planning on featuring Noah’s Ark. But how exciting it would be to visit a creation theme park based on science. Here are some rides I would love to take:
The Big Bang Particle-Mobile—We would board a small, round car that would whirl us through space at the speed of light, particles becoming atoms, atoms becoming molecules, molecules becoming stars. We would pass through an incredible light show seeing galaxies form, some stars exploding into supernovas, all the while a narrator telling us what’s going on and how many millions of years are passing. (Sort of the reverse of the atom-mobile.)
Trilobite
Armored Fish Submarine—the submarine itself would be a Dunkleosteus, an armored fish from the Devonian period. We would float among the sealife—mollusks, trilobites, brachiopods, corals, sponges, eventually seeing an early fish, the Tiktaalik, crawl out on land.
Tunnel of Pterodactyls—a scary, spookhouse sort of ride where early birds would come shrieking out of the darkness.
The Quantum Fun House—This would be a “walk-through” filled with lights, mirrors, and clever construction, where you could be two places at once, a particle and a wave, and end in a gravity-free room where you could bounce off the walls.
Jurassic Monorail—(sort of like the movie) From the comfort of your seat you could see the Dilophosaurus and the Ceratosaurus cavort.
Australop
By:
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on 12/2/2010
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- Is the world really just 6000 years old?
Here’s an excerpt from an excellent editorial on the proposed Creation Museum theme park in northern Kentucky:” . . .in a state that already suffers from low educational attainment in science, one of the last things Kentucky officials should encourage, even if only implicitly, is for students and young people to regard creationism as scientifically valid. Creationism is a nonsensical notion that the Earth is less than 6,000 years old. No serious scientist upholds that view, and sophisticated analysis of the Earth’s minerals and meteorite deposits generally lead to an estimate that the planet is about 4.5 billion years old. Furthermore, creationism teaches that the Earth (including humans) was created in six days, thus rejecting the well-established science of evolution.”
For a link to the full editorial, in the Louisville Courier-Journal, click here.
Paper Bag Puppets
Saturday, November 20 at 11 am, I’ll be at the Coastal Children’s Museum, Sharp’s Point South,75 Mechanic Street, in Rockland, Maine, reading from “Dear Miss Perfect: A Beast’s Guide to Proper Behavior.” Afterward, I’ll have a puppet-making workshop for children. The workshop is free for members and included in the price of admission for non members.
At 1 pm, at Bootstraps Gallery (just across the street from the Children’s Museum), I’ll be reading from “Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth.” The event is free and open to the public. A show of my paintings will also be on display.
Saturday’s events should be great fun, and I hope you can stop in for one or both events!
A portion of any art and books sold through Bootstraps Gallery will benefit a family in need served through Oasis Services, LLC, a home and personal care agency. For more information, call Kristin Tescher at (207) 542-8564.
- “Grassharper” by Sandra Dutton
Saturday, November 20 at 11 am, I’ll be at the Coastal Children’s Museum, Sharp’s Point South, in Rockland, Maine, reading from “Dear Miss Perfect: A Beast’s Guide to Proper Behavior.” Afterward, I’ll have a puppet-making workshop for children. The workshop is free for members and included in the price of admission for non members.
At 1 pm, at Bootstraps Gallery (just across the street from the Children’s Museum), I’ll be reading from “Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth.” The event is free and open to the public. A show of my paintings will also be on display.
Saturday’s events will be great fun, and I hope if you’re in the area you can stop in for one or both events!
A portion of any art and books sold through Bootstraps Gallery will benefit a family in need served through Oasis Services, LLC, a home and personal care agency. For more information, call Kristin Tescher at (207) 542-8564.
Last Friday I had a wonderful time discussing “Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth” with Mrs. C.’s girls’ book club at the Falmouth Library. The girls, Meghan, Ally, Olivia, and Lisa, asked great questions and want to be writers themselves.
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on 11/9/2010
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Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth is honored to be nominated for the Falmouth Library’s “Mock Newbery.” For more on this project, go to Mock Newbery, Falmouth, Maine.
And here as well:
“Do you like to read? Do you enjoy talking about books? If so, join the Mock Newbery Book Club run by Mrs. Potter at the Plummer-Motz school and Mrs. C from Falmouth Memorial Library. We will hold three meetings, October 28th, November 18th, and December 16th from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. at the Plummer-Motz Library. Those interested please sign up (forms available from Mrs. Potter and at the Falmouth Memorial Library)”
- Dutton Prepares to Read Ghost Stories
I’ll be reading ghost stories at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens for “Family Fright Night” Saturday, October 30 from 4-7pm. Includes Costume Parade, a Spooky Feast, Haunted Fairy Village, Crafts & Stories. Can’t wait!
By:
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on 10/21/2010
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- Mr. Trilobite
Mary Mae has been studying and digging up fossils from the Ordovician Age, and her assignment is to write a report on one of the fossils. She chooses “trilobite,” since it’s her favorite and decides to write the report interview-style. Here’s her report, from Chapter 8, Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth:
MM: Tell us how you spend your day, Mr. Trilobite.
T: Well, I mostly nose around in the bottom and eat.
MM: What do you eat?
T: I have worms sometimes. I walk along until I find a worm trail. Then I just wait for them.
MM: Then what do you do?
T: I sit around in the mud some more. Then I do some swimming. Sometimes I molt.
MM: What does that mean, Mr. Trilobite?
T: Means my shell comes off and I go around unprotected until I grow a new one. That’s how I get bigger. I bust out of my old suit and grow me a new one.
MM: How big can you get?
T: I got a cousin that’s eight inches. Me, I’m only an inch and a half.
MM: Mr. Trilobite, do you have any enemies?
T: Yes, I do.
MM: Tell us who they are.
T: Cephalopods.
MM: What are cephalopods, Mr. Trilobite?
T: Squids.
MM: Are you able to defend yourself?
T: I got a few things I can do, like roll into a ball. A squid can still eat me, but I’m not as tasty that way. I can swim into a cave, too. And I can sit with a lot of other trilobites.
Then I got a lot of other questions I ain’t got the answers to, but I put them down to find out later.
Do trilobites have families?
Do trilobites have houses, like a hole in the sand?
Do trilobites ever fight with each other?
Do trilobites ever sleep?
Two Trilobites and Other Early Sea Life
I’ve been wanting to make a glossary for MMGT for some time, so here are the first 10 entries, and if you click at the bottom, or go to “Pages,” you can find the rest.
Adam and Eve—the first man and woman, according to Genesis. God created Adam first, out of the dust of the ground, and then he made Eve, from Adam’s rib.
Autoharp—a musical instrument with 15-20 strings and a box-like structure that the musician strums.
Beatitudes—blessings bestowed by Jesus in his “Sermon on the Mount.” “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,” is one of the beatitudes.
begat—fathered a child or children, as in, “Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob and Esau.”
benediction—a final prayer, usually at a church service.
brachiopods—marine animals with hard shells that are alive now and have ancestors that appeared during the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Carboniferous ages.
Cain and Abel—in Genesis, the first two children of Adam and Eve. Cain became jealous of Abel and killed him.
Cincinnati Arch—a geological formation in what is now the Cincinnati area that pushed the Ordovician layer up to the surface. (See July 4 blog entry).
coral—early sea animals with a plant-like shape, prevalent in the Ordovician age.
Creation—In the Bible, God is said to have created the earth and its creatures in six days. Fundamentalists believe this happened 6000 years ago. Modern day scientists believe the universe began with just one particle that kept expanding (as described by Miss Sizemore) 14-15 billion years ago. (see Glossary)
People have asked me why I wrote this story in Appalachian English. First, I grew up in southern Ohio where many families from Eastern Kentucky lived, and many of them spoke the way Mary Mae speaks. Her family is from Eastern Kentucky. It is also the language of many fundamentalist preachers, the ones I heard on the radio, and still hear, when I’m in Southern Ohio or Eastern Kentucky.
- Driftwood at Falls of the Ohio
My choice of language wasn’t something I debated as I worked–it just came–I liked the voice of Mary Mae, and it seemed appropriate for the story. I enjoyed seeing things through her eyes, especially science. When her mother insists that the world is only 6000 years old, that the Lord put fossils in the ground as “a test,” Mary Mae thinks to herself, “But if Mama’s right, the Lord had to mix up a whole lot of dirt all different colors and drop them shells in like nuts in cookie batter.”
I was also influenced by my maternal grandparents, who lived in Springfield, Missouri, and spoke Ozark English, which is similar to Appalachian English. (For more on this, go to my entry “On Voice.”)
Many people have told me how much they enjoy hearing the story read aloud and have urged me to put an excerpt on my blog, so here it is, a short (one-minute)
Reading from Chapter 7, “Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth”.
By:
SandraDutton,
on 9/22/2010
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Had a wonderful time at Kennebooks in Kennebunk, Maine, with a great audience for the reading and discussion. Thank you to Ann Carmichael and the Kennebooks staff for all their hard work and great publicity.
Just learned that “Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth” has been nominated for the “Amelia Bloomer List,” which highlights “books notable for feminist content, quality of writing, and appeal to young readers.” I am honored they nominated “Mary Mae. . .” for their list.”
Also learned that The Horn Book will be publishing an essay I wrote on “dialect” sometime in 2011.
Please, everyone who visits this site, take a look at the video on YouTube, which you can reach by scrolling down (or sometimes up—I change the date to keep it near the top). It was produced by Kirsten Cappy’s Curious City, features young Portland actress Jane Ackermann, and introduces the main themes of the book.
I’m excited to be reading from Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth, and signing, at Kennebooks this Saturday, September 18 at 10:30 am. Kennebooks is at
149 Port Rd., Kennebook, Maine 04043-7720, (207) 967-6136
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I’ll be reading from and signing my new novel
Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Saturday, Sept. 11, 10am-Noon
at the Owl and Turtle Bookshop
32 Washington St.
Camden, Maine 04843
(207) 236-4769
“Dutton sensitively navigates the sticky debate between creationism and evolution.”
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
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on 8/17/2010
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For a grand review of Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth, go to Planet Esme.
“Readers of all faith backgrounds and educational backgrounds will sympathize with and like Mary Mae, and find plenty to discuss. Provocative in the very best way, this is a brave and timely book that leaves you the better for having read it.”
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Just learned that Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth has been nominated for an Ohioana Literary Award.
Great post and I am looking forward to reading some more of your posts on this blog. I really enjoy your writing style. Thanks