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Snow – love it or dread it, I think most adults would agree at least that for children there’s something very special about it. And there are also some very special picture books around too. Here, in no particular order, is a small selection of snowy stories set around the … Continue reading ... →

In our current issue of PaperTigers, Katia Novet Saint-Lot, author of the very special picture-book Amadi’s Snowman, has shared with us her family’s celebration of an expat Christmas, in which she and her family draw in local traditions from the country they are living in at the time. The result is a wonderful evocation of peace and respect across faiths:

Last year, as we built our Nativity scene on the large bottom plank of our Rajasthani bookshelf, a little wooden Ganesh and a small brass Buddha found their way close to the empty spot waiting for Jesus to be born. I don’t remember how they got there, but there they sat, round and happy, amidst all the cotton wool meant to represent the snow. Both my children have grown up surrounded by images of Ganesha, the Remover of Obstacles with his broken tusk, his pot belly, and his friend the mouse. They’ve seen his statues carried on auto-rickshaws and trucks all across the city, and they’ve seen them immersed in the lake. Similarly, we have several statues of Buddha in our home. When our little one was 17 months old, we visited Sri Lanka, and she saw so many Buddhas over there that the word became one of her favorites for a while. She would see the statue of a politician, or of any God from the Hindu pantheon, and cry enthusiastically: “Buddha!” So it was only natural that both Ganesh and Buddha should join us in awaiting the birth of Jesus. What is the spirit of Christmas, after all, if not a spirit of universal love? And shouldn’t love go hand in hand with inclusion, tolerance and respect?

When my husband lived in Mali, a predominantly Muslim country , he picked up the habit of saying “Insh’Allah” (God willing) whenever the outcome of a situation was uncertain. When I met him in New York, he was still saying it. He continued to do so while we lived in the predominantly Christian south-eastern part of Nigeria, and our coming to India has not changed his habit. Some people assume he’s Muslim (he was brought up Christian); others know that he’s not, and smile. One day, the Hindu driver who worked for my husband’s office blurted out “Insh’Allah” as the two of them discussed their concern about a particular situation. When my husband laughed, and called him on it, he just smiled.

You can read her whole Personal View, “A Wish for 2010″ here. Our thoughts are with Katia and her family at the moment as her husband is from Haiti. She is currently preparing a post for her blog “about Haiti, its beauty, and what the country and its people mean to me” – I’ll add a link when it goes live; in the meantime, read what she has to say about children’s books about Haiti, as well as Mitali Perkin’s post, which Katia refers to…

Author: Katia Novet Saint-Lot (on JOMB)
Illustrator: Dimitrea Tokunbo (on JOMB)
Published: 2008 Tilbury House (on JOMB)
ISBN: 9780884482987

Earth toned images of bustling Nigerian swelter contrast with the book-bound allure of a world of frost and snow in this tale of a young boy pondering the pros and cons of literacy.

More books and reading on JOMB:

• Perfect Man
• Show; Don’t Tell: Secrets of Writing
• The Story of the Search for the Story
• The Storytelling Princess
• The Story Blanket
• Give A Goat
• Too Many Books
• Silent Music (A Story of Baghdad)
• Dear Deer: A Book of Homophones
• Fire Up With Reading!
• The Incredible Book Eating Boy
• Ruby’s Wish
• No English
• Library Lion
• Max’s Words

HOTLINE VOICES: Author/Illustrator, Mark Mitchell, describes the beauty of the book Tsunami! (by Kimiko Kajikawa and Ed Young).

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487, so we can include your audio in our show.

We have deeply enjoyed hosting the Tiger’s Choice, the PaperTigers’ online bookgroup, over the past year–it introduced us to a number of interesting books, a group of authors whom we hadn’t read before, and a collection of new friends from around the globe who joined in our discussions.

Nancy Farmer, Uma Krishnaswami, Ken Mochizuki, Minfong Ho, Jane Vejjajiva, Julia Alvarez, John Boyne,  Katia Novet Saint-Lot are all authors whom we plan to return to again and again for reading that expands our cultural horizons. As their body of work increases, the Tiger’s Bookshelf will be there–to read, to praise, to cheer them on.

We will however be doing this in another form rather than through the Tiger’s Choice. As exciting and rewarding as it has been to explore books through this avenue, we have new plans for the Tiger’s Bookshelf that do not include our bookgroup. We thank all of you who have read this portion of our blog, and who have joined in the discussions, and hope that you will continue to be part of the ongoing conversation that will take place on the PaperTigers Blog, and through the Tiger’s Bookshelf!

I'm excited to be wrapping up the week with an interview with Dimitria Tokunbo, illustrator of Amadi's Snowman.






When you received the text for Amadi's Snowman, what did you want to capture through your illustrations?
I really wanted to convey the colors I remembered from my visits to Nigeria. I wanted the readers to see the rich orange and copper tones of the dirt and pottery, the lush greens of the trees and bushes that lined the roads and the multicolored fabrics that swished by me as the people hurried past.


I see that your father grew up in Nigeria. Did you draw from your own experiences to create the art in Amadi's Snowman?
I have been to Nigeria a number of times and I did use my experiences there, but I also relied heavily on my relatives & friends through the internet to provide me with valuable research and photos.


Tell us a little about your art. What medium did you use for Amadi's Snowman? Is this your preferred medium or do you use others?
I used acrylic paint for Amadi’s Snowman. I’ve used acrylic paints for a few magazine assignments but not for a full length picture until Amadi’s Snowman. For previous books, I used water color and colored pencils.



The overarching theme of Amadi's Snowman is about the importance of literacy. Why do you personally think literacy is important?
I grew up in a family of teachers and story tellers. My great, great grandmother’s sister was a missionary who taught newly freed slaves in America to read. My mother was a special reading teacher before she retired. I believe that reading is an essential part of a good education and I believe that a good education unlocks limitless opportunities for the world’s children.

How do you think parents and teachers can help reach out to reluctant readers?
I think that graphic novels and comic books are a great tool in getting reluctant readers to read. I am dyslexic and so I resisted reading for a large part of my childhood. I loved to be read to but didn’t get excited about reading chapter books to myself. I’ve always been attracted to pictures. And found that Graphic novels helped me (and later one of my daughters) transition from picture books to chapter books.


Do you and your daughters read together as a family?
My daughters are ages 11 and 14 and they still love it when I read novels to them at bed time, if I’m too tired one of them will read a chapter or two. Our schedules are hectic but we still squeeze family reading time in. Sometimes we will be seen riding the subway and each of us is deep into our own book (o:


What are some of your daughters' favorite books?
When my daughters were much younger they loved books like “Is your Mama a Llama?” and “Why Do Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale”. We went to the local library at least three times a week so they got a chance to have a lot of favorites.


What can we hope to see next from you?
Well, I have a book coming out in Fall of 09 that I’ve written for Scholastic Inc. titled, The Sound of Kwanzaa, illustrated by Lisa Cohen.


Any final thoughts?
I am really glad to be a part of the team that put together Amadi’s Snowman. It was fun to work on and it is fun to share it!

Yesterday, I reviewed Katia Novet Saint-Lot's picture book, Amadi's Snowman, and today, I'm honored to present to you an interview with Katia.

Jill: What inspired you to write Amadi's Snowman?

Katia: My husband was the UNICEF state representative for the South-Eastern region of Nigeria. One evening, he came home, full of stories about young boys quitting school because they preferred to earn quick money doing street business. My character, whose name was Ifeanyi, at the time, was born right then.

Jill: In the book, Amadi doesn't at first realize how important it is to be able to read. Can you talk a bit about why you believe literacy is important?

Katia: Literacy means education, education means freedom, independence, understanding, being able to grow, to expand one's horizons, to stand up for oneself. I grew up with a Spanish mother who never went to school until the age of 40, when she finally learned to read and write. My father had to quit school when he was 15 to earn a living, in spite of his teachers having tried to convince his parents to let him continue with his studies. He did go back to school after I was born, studying at night for years, and he did well for himself. I suppose my background made me realize certain things, early in life. The way people treated my mother in shops because she was a foreigner, and obviously not very educated, for instance. These things had a profound impact on me, as a child. Having lived in several developing countries, I also have and continue to see the way uneducated people are taken advantage of by those who were lucky enough to have the means to get an education. Education opens doors. The lack of education keeps people from moving up the social ladder.

Jill: By the book's end, Amadi is excited about learning how to read. Do you think that children who love to read get a bigger benefit from reading than the ones who merely read because they have to for school? Why?

Katia: That's an interesting question. I suppose you get a bigger benefit simply because you take pleasure in doing it. I'm pretty much an autodidact, and one thing I've learned over the years is that it is so much easier to learn quickly and efficiently when you like a subject, when you're motivated. If books give you pleasure, then, it seems to me that what you read will have an impact on you, will stay in your mind, as opposed to kind of entering your brains from one side, and getting right out the other.

Jill: What advice can you give parents and teachers for helping children learn to love reading?

Katia: I'm not sure I have any qualification to answer that question, but having books around and reading to children, reading stories that spark their interest and curiosity, that get them involved, that make them feel concerned, that move them, fascinate them, all these would seem like good ways to foster a love for reading. Just like Amadi.

Jill: I see in your bio that you have two daughters. Do you read together as a family?

Katia: I read a lot to my daughters, yes. I wouldn't say as a family, because they are four years apart, and the oldest can now read books on her own. But the little one has inherited all her sister's books, and the older one still loves me to read for her. Or we read one page, she reads the following, etc.

Jill: What are some of your daughters' favorite books?

Katia: There again, it depends on the age. My older daughter loved Dr. Seuss's "M. Brown can Mow" as a baby and a toddler. I knew it by heart. I also read her Anastasia Suen's "Baby Born" a million times at least. And we both loved Robert Munsh's "Love you Forever." I actually composed a little tune to go with the song in the book, and I still sing it to them at night time. Kora also loves "Bringing Asha Home," by Uma Krishnaswami. It's a lovely book, and there is an Indian baby, and we live in India. She's starting to read longer books, now. She seems to be very visual, so illustrations, art, graphics really catch her eye. As for the little one, she's never really had a favorite book so far. She'll ask me to read the same one several nights in a row, and then, it will be another, and another.


Jill: What message do you hope to send to children who read Amadi's Snowman?

Katia: Apart from the obvious message about the glory and magic of books, and how they open doors, I think that I also wanted to show a child in a different setting. Something familiar to a western child, like snow, can be totally foreign to another. And yet, Amadi is such an universal character. He's stubborn, slightly defiant, in a hurry to grow up, and also immensely likable because he's smart, and curious, and wise enough, in the end, to change his mind.

Jill: Do you have any plans for future books?

Katia: I have stories going around, absolutely. And several projects in the draft stage. Keeping my fingers, toes, and eyes crossed :)


Thanks so much for stopping by Katia, and I wish you the best of luck with all of your future endeavors!


Be sure to come back on Friday for an interview with Dimitrea Tokunbo, the illustrator of Amadi's Snowman.

Amadi's Snowman
by Katia Novet Saint-lot, illustrated by Dimitria Tokunbo

Amadi, a young Igbo boy in Nigeria doesn't see a reason for learning how to read, so he disobeys his mother and runs off to market instead of waiting for his reading teacher to arrive. After all, he IS going to be an Igbo businessman, and they certainly have much more to do than sit around and read.

As he's walking through the market, Amadi notices an older boy he knows reading a book with an interesting picture of a snowman inside. The boy, Chima, tells Amadi about snow, something he has never even heard of, and for the rest of the day, Amadi's mind is full of questions. Maybe there's more to reading after all...

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know that I'm a huge proponent of literacy. Knowing how to read is not only a crucial survival skill, but LOVING to read can open your eyes to so many new people, places, and things. This is why I like Amadi's Snowman.

I'm not a fan of heavy-handed messages, and this book could have easily gone in that direction. However, Katia Novet Saint-Lot passes on the message of the importance of literacy through the eyes of a curious child. I've always heard stories of reluctant readers finding THE book that turned them onto reading, and in Amadi's case, it was a book about a snowman. Don't get me wrong...the message is still there, but I don't think it's too "preachy."

Also, by telling us the story of a boy in Nigeria, Ms. Saint-Lot is opening OUR eyes to another culture. We get a great description of the marketplace, learn a bit about business in Nigeria, and meet a boy who I think a lot of children will relate to even though he's in a different part of the world.

Dimitria Tokunbo's earth-toned illustrations with vivid splashes of color take us straight to Nigeria and draw us into its rich culture.

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers (May 31, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0884482987
• ISBN-13: 978-0884482987
• Source: Review copy from publisher
  

Let’s pay the toll for my dear friend and author, Tanya Lee Stone.

We can’t do anything until we talk about the title of your novel:  A Bad Boy Can Be Good For a Girl.  There has got to be a story behind that title!

There is, actually! The truth is, the thought of writing a novel had never entered my mind until that title came to me. I was listening to Michael Cart talk about the now-defunct journal Rush Hour. One theme was good girls. Another was bad boys. I took out my notebook and wrote: A bad boy can be good for a girl! Apologies to Mr. Cart, but I didn't hear the rest of the lecture. I was consumed by what the words I had just written meant to me, and Josie--the first girl in the book--was already tapping on my brain.

Juno has made consensual sex among young adults mainstream, but in fiction, it’s been in the news for years.  In Bad Boy, sex is more than part of the story.  Sex is really a character.  It’s the core of the novel.  Why is sex novel worthy? 

You're dead-on. Sex is a character in this book. I didn't want to mention it in passing or include a scene or two--I wanted the whole book to be about the choices girls make when it comes to sex. The boy represents sex; it's all he's about, really. He's not a monster or a rapist, though, he's simply an oversexed jerk with one thing on his mind. He stays the same so we can see how three totally different kinds of girls play off of him, so to speak.

Your novel is also told from the points of view of three different young women.  I loved seeing the Bad Boy with each of these girls.  It really illuminated the different emotional responses to sex.  Talk to me about these girls.  Do they represent different kinds of girls in our society? 

I love how the flow of one question leads to the next! I wouldn't say they represent particular types of girls, because I didn't create them that way, and there are infinite types of us out there, but I did want to look at how girls people might not view as particularly vulnerable to this type of guy still can be. That's the particular genius of the bad boy at that age--he's targeting girls who are not yet women, who do not yet know themselves well enough not to be taken in by his wiley ways. But yeah, let's talk about these girls! Although Josie is the youngest, she's the most level-headed. Nicolette doesn't know she's a bit confused about her sexual power, and Aviva is my hippie chick. I think if I were to put myself in the shoes of any of their mothers, I would be most obviously concerned about Nicolette. And of course Nicolette is the one who is the most sure she can't be hurt. I worry most about the Nicolette's out there and wish I could protect them all.

What have your readers said? 

Well, a lot of different things, depending upon who they most identify with, and what they've already been through. I was not prepared for the reader feedback, but it's overwhelming. Girls write to me in all kinds of different situations. They say the book helped them avoid a crisis, or they wish they had read it before they were blindsided, or they gave it to a best friend who needs to wake up. That kind of thing. I think when readers feel as though someone has been straight up with them and said, hey, listen up, this is what can happen if you're not paying attention, it's appreciated. Of course, there are others who wish I hadn't written it at all.

Have you received any challenges?  How have you dealt with them?

The most recent challenge was in Missouri and I must say that the system handled it beautifully. A committee was formed, everyone READ the book (how many challenges have you heard of where the challengee does not even bother to read the book?), they discussed it and decided that there was "too much good discussion to be gained" and that they were unwilling to take it off the shelves. Huzzah!! They also told me they would be discussing making it part of the 9th grade Health class. I personally think that's a fantastic idea, and would like to think my feeling on the matter would be the same even if it were someone else's book. 

It's so important to open the lines of communication. Talking is everything. I love one of my amazon customer comments from a Mom who said she has boys and she's planning on leaving it out on the coffee table to get the discussion started! 

Let’s also talk about finding the right book at the right time.  What do you say to people who fear this topic will find its way into the hands of girls not ready to read about sex?  How can parents use this book to discuss sex with their sons and daughters?

I think many of us in this field believe that kids are the best self censors. They don't generally read books they're not ready for. They open them and put them back on the shelves if it's not up their alley. Also, I was extremely careful about my language. There are scenes in which a girl who has not experienced what I'm talking about might miss some of the action, so to speak. That's intentional. The girl who needs to get it, will. And in terms of parents, or any adults trying to broach this subject--the great thing about fiction is that you can hand a book to a reader (or leave it lying around) and let them safely put themselves in someone else's shoes sans risk. They can play things out in their mind without actually having to do anything. Or, if they have already experienced the issue in question, they can reflect on it in a new way, through someone else's eyes.

I noticed that Tami Brown asked me some questions on your blog yesterday, so I thought I'd answer them right off the bat. If anyone else has other questions, fire away!

Tami said: As you wrote BAD BOY (as opposed to revising with your editor) did you consider your audience and their sensibilities or did you just write what you felt and deal with issues of "appropriateness" later?

That second thing you said. I did not think about audience at all when I was writing. For the record, I DO think it mattered that I had never done this before. I was a novel virgin. ;-p  Seriously, though, it might have been harder for me if I wasn't in that ignorance-is-bliss state.

Tami said: Do you believe these days there are any sexual boundaries that can't or shouldn't be crossed in books aimed at teen readers? Is it different for light "pop fiction" as opposed to more serious literary work? When does sex serve the plot and when does it become gratuitous?

Hey girl, I think that's more than one question! I'm not a big fan of literary boundaries, but I suppose there might be some. I guess it depends on how alternative one's imagination might be! I think my own basic rule of thumb is that if it is something that reflects the reality of teenage life, it's appropriate. And in terms of being gratuitous, my hunch is that every writer knows when they're being gratuitous. I personally don't put anything in for shock value. It all serves the plot. I cut a few things that, for me, crossed my own comfort line in terms of audience. In those cases, it wasn't because they were gratuitous, it was more because I forced myself to be a 14 year old and wondered: if I already know this, does it serve the plot/character AND do I not know this and would I like to keep it that way!

How much did writing about sex force you to become a free speech and/or sex ed advocate as opposed to just a YA writer?

Interesting question. Again, this was not something I set out to do. I didn't wake up one day and decide to write about sex. It snuck up on me and evolved very organically. Once I had done it, though, I felt very strongly about having the right to do so, and about defending other people's rights as well. Especially after the continual feedback from readers who crave honest input from sources they can relate to.

Like many writers, Tanya Lee Stone has been making up stories since she was a kid. Her writing improved as she studied English at Oberlin College. After graduation she moved to New York to be an editor and earned a Masters Degree in Education.

After 13 years as an editor, Tanya moved to Vermont and returned to writing. This award-winning author has written more than 80 books for young readers. Her most recent titles are a young adult novel, A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl (Wendy Lamb/Random House, 2006) and Amelia Earhart (DK, 2007). Forthcoming titles include Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald, picture books Elizabeth Leads the Way and Sandy's Circus, and Almost Astronauts: The True Story of the Mercury 13.

Got more questions for Tanya??????

Send them in.  We will post more answers on THURSDAY!