At Capstone Fiction, it is always fun to hear how librarians and teachers use our books. Most recently, we learned about a special project featuring Michael Dahl's Library of Doom series at Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough, England.
The school's librarian selected the series to be the focus of a regular DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) time at the school. The school has a DEAR Homepage, on which the librarian shares information about the various themes she chooses. To get the students excited about the Library of Doom series, the librarian included some great links on the DEAR author site, including Michael's
website, a
book trailer for the Library of Doom, and an
interview with Michael.
A highlight of the project was a contest that asked students to consider what it would be like to be eaten by a book. They were asked to write a letter to the librarian telling her which book ate them. What did it look like inside? What did it smell like? And so on. The winners received signed books by Michael Dahl.
Hearing about the project made me consider, what would it be like to be eaten by a book? It sounds awful, but if it was a book in a great library, like Thomas Deacon's, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
I visited a library in Southeast Minneapolis yesterday, and read from some of my books to a mixed crowd of mostly 1st through 3rd graders. Before I picked up the book titled “Cave of the Bookworms” from the Library of Doom series, I asked if anyone in the audience liked scary stories. Everyone raised a hand. So I started reading the creepy story that begins and ends with a young boy dreaming about monsters. The little kids’ eyes grew wide. Their jaws dropped. They stared at the illustrations I held out to them. They responded so enthusiastically that I read another book from the series at the end of the presentation. After the kids had left, an adult came up and said how amazed he was that “the little girls liked the story as much as the little boys.” Everyone likes to be scared, I said. Especially if you’re in a safe environment such as a library or a classroom -- or, like one first-grader yesterday, on your grandmother’s lap.
I was cleaning out my tiny studio/room last week and came across this old watercolour paint box perched high on a shelf. I'd saved it from my grandmother's house about 15 years ago, and forgotten all about it. (Guess I'm not the greatest housekeeper!) I've never actually used it and don't know who did last-- it had been in her basement for who knows how many years. (I wonder if the paint is still good?) But I had always loved the retro picture on the tin. It's stamped on the back- "Page" and "London." So, because all items of even passing curiosity in our house get plugged into Google- I came up with this.
Eureka, we're in the money!
Name: Michael Dahl
Occupation/role at Stone Arch Books: Editorial Director and Acquisitions. I oversee all the editorial operations at Stone Arch, including list planning, story development, and working closely with the editors. I also handle submissions from new authors, acquire manuscripts, and manage freelancers. I’m also the author of the Library of Doom series.
Years at Stone Arch Books: I joined Stone Arch a few months after it began, in 2005.
Education: I went to school at Augsburg College and the University of Minnesota, graduating with a BA in English Literature and Theater.
What's your favorite SAB book?
There are so many! I guess my favorite graphic novel (so far) is Journey to the Center of the Earth. I’ve loved Jules Verne since I was in 4th grade. The art for this book is fantastic; the sea monsters are truly awe-inspiring. My favorite high-interest novel is Spies, a David Mortimore Baxter book. David is such a charming, likable, and real kid, and this particular story is funny and serious and smart all at the same time.
What was your favorite book when you were a kid?
I read constantly as a kid. I even read the dictionary – for fun. Yes, I was that nerdy kid in class who knew the difference between entomology and etymology. Bugs and words, two of my favorite subjects at the time. I was also a big fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Pilgrim's Progress. But the book that made the biggest impact on me when I was in 5th grade, and beyond, was Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. She had me spellbound until the very last page. She was a genius.
What were you like as an elementary/middle-school student?
I was the bookworm. More like the book fanatic. Whenever I did a book report, I wrote it in the style of the book’s author. My teachers told me that I didn’t need to “embellish.” I really went overboard when I gave a presentation to the class on a book about ancient Egypt and asked for volunteers to be mummies.
What's your favorite thing to do in your free time?
Besides reading, you mean, right? Visiting graveyards and haunted houses. It’s an activity that combines history, biography, geography, the unexplained, and heaps of fresh air.
Tell us a memorable Stone Arch Books moment from the past year.
I was fortunate enough to speak at the EncycloMedia conference in Oklahoma City this past fall. I gave a presentation on graphic novels and how teachers can use them to get kids excited about reading and increase their comprehension skills. I was amazed when I walked into my room several minutes before the talk and found it was standing room only. It was a great audience. And afterwards, dozens of teachers and librarians told me that they had never considered adding graphic novels to their collections until they had attended that workshop. It was gratifying to be able to show people what an incredible new art form (and teaching tool) graphic novels have become.
What’s the best part of your job?
Working with a team of talented, creative people. I love brainstorming, collaborating with smart, enthusiastic editors, designers, authors, and illustrators, and creating something that we couldn’t do separately as individuals.
What’s the hardest part of your job?
Working with a team of talented, creative people.
This is the first in a multi-part series, which will spotlight the members of the Stone Arch Books staff. Drawing of Michael Dahl by Brann Garvey.
In response to the question about paints from the other day (on Lilting House), my pal Joann writes:
C's favorite media are Prismacolors and
acrylic paints.
Acrylics are water clean-up, mix nicely. She likes
them.
She uses Daler-Rowney acrylics from Dick Blick or and they are made in ENGLAND! Not China! Not sure about the lead content. I
would think that oils would probably be prone to have heavy metals in them as
some of the pigments are from earth minerals. (I don't remember why I know
that.) BUT I did see in a Dick Blick catalog some "H2Oils" that are water
cleanable.
I LOVE oils for myself. The richness, the
thickness, the globs. LOL
We love Prismacolors too—the soft creamy feel when you're coloring with them, the gorgeous hues. I bought a huge set almost ten years ago (!) from Timberdoodle, and we are still using those pencils! (I do think I replenished with a smaller set several years later, because the kids had used up their favorite colors. But those pencils really do last a long time.)
I don't know about any of you out there, but I just love art supplies. As a matter of fact, I especially enjoy seeing other peoples' art supplies, too. I just came across this website by Anette Heiberg and really enjoyed the studio pictures. It seems wierd to get so excited over these pictures, but I do. It's kinda like a trip to Home Depot. There are so many possibilities in there.
Sorry I've been so quite lately. I'm developing a new line complete with website, back story, and a press release. I'll post as soon as it's ready. Right now I'm busily finishing Halloween costumes. My eldest is going to be a conscience. I can't wait to post the pictures of that.
great creep illustration. Yikes! I would have never guessed that bookworms were carnivores with rows and rows of jagged teeth.
Wooh wooh!