I spent a glorious Thanksgiving break reading, thanks to Jenn's Bookshelves' brilliant idea to curl up with a book. I made my way through the better part of the pile of books I had waiting for me; some I read all the way, some I put aside to give away. Alas, the cupcake cozy just wasn't for me.
I've also been spending this past month or so thinking about what I want to write next. I've been reading middle-grade and YA, brainstorming ideas, and most of all...
I've been listening to kids. The ones who walk up to my signing table, and also the ones who don't. I watch to see what books they pick up, what books they take home. I've been listening to third, fourth--all the way to high school aged kids when they tell me what books they like, and why.
The younger kids like funny, fast, and some fantasy. Teens want to be swept away to a different place--they love those big, epic tales. Dystopian is still a favorite. Retellings of fairytales, too.
Scholastic did a quick study on what kids like;
you can read all about it here. And one of my favorite MG reviewers
Ms. Yingling has been talking (with exclamation marks, because this stuff is important) about how depressing recent books are that she reviews for her library. The study tells us kids want funny books, a whopping seventy percent.
So why the disconnect?
I don't know. If I can have a soapbox moment here... I think we should focus more on what kids
want to read than on what we think they
should read. In any case, I hope we'll see more funny books, don't you? We could all use a laugh.
Linc:
Lewis and Eva—it’s so cool to hang out with you guys today! I heard about your adventure called TIME SQUARE | THE SHIFT, and I have a lot of questions about this time traveling you’re doing.
First, can you tell me what happened in the first book to make you both travel in time? Lewis: Hi, Linc, it’s great to be here. Thanks for the invite. Time travel … hmmm … it’s one of those things that just happened out of the blue. It was all a complete accident, really. I think Eva can sum it up better than me.
Eva: Accident! That’s the perfect way to describe it. You could say we just fell into it. Our dad found an ancient relic in Machu Picchu and hid it in our basement. While he was showing it to us he rubbed it, and it sort of just swallowed him. We were both dragged into it when we tried to save him. Next thing, we were sitting on the ground being stared at by a bunch of people in a huge place called Time Square. The centre of time.
Lewis: Yeah, it’s a brilliant place that controls time. And if you’re licenced (or swallowed by a crusty old relic) it lets you get from one time to another.
Eva: Think of a Central Station for time travellers … and that’s Time Square.
Linc:
My dad is a mechanic, but yours is a scientist. What’s that like? Who gets into trouble more: you two, or your dad? Eva: Dad’s great, but he can be a little bumbling. I mean, he’s smart and has discovered some amazing stuff, but, yeah … he’s caused a few problems along the way too.
Lewis: Yeah, like trapping us in Time Square.
Eva: But he didn’t mean to. You’ve done worse.
Lewis: Like what? I’ve never caused the family to cross into another dimension and get stranded with no way to get back to 1930. Dad’s handiwork is way worse than mine.
Eva: Yeah, ok, he’s got a point. Even though Lewis has caused more things to go wrong than dad, this Time Square thing has to be dad’s biggest foul up.
Linc:
My spy missions seem like fun, but they get dangerous, too. How about your time travel adventures? What’s the scariest moment so far?Lewis: I think the scariest moment so far was when it really hit me that we were actually in another time. If things didn’t work out, then we wouldn’t be able to get back to Time Square. I wasn’t too thrilled at the thought of being stuck in 1947.
Eva: Mine was when I realised that out little brother, Thomas, was still back in our house in Washington D.C. in 1930. I was so scared for him.
Lewis: He’ll be fine, Eva. Aunt Gracie will look after him ‘til we can find a way back.
Linc: Tell me about mission ELMR-01, in TIME SQUARE | UFO. That one sounds a lot like my Pandora missions, but even more mysterious…Eva: Well, getting us stuck in Time Square wasn’t the only trouble dad caused. He sort of caused a Shift, which is a time glitch, and caused lot of travellers to become stranded throughout time.
Lewis: Yeah, good one dad!
Eva: So, we’ve both joined Operation Slingshot, which has been set up to find and rescue all of the missing travellers. ELMR is our rescue team name, and UFO is all about our first mission. There’s plenty of mystery and action.
Lewis: We went to a place called Roswell in 1947. Think space ships and aliens in a small town, then throw in a crazy inventor and a pile of twists. I think we did really well, considering it was our first mission.
Linc: Seems like you get a history lesson too, while you’re time traveling. What is the most interesting thing you learned so far? Lewis: History! Not so far. For us, everything after 1930 is future.
Eva: But it’s Linc’s history, Lewis. Yes, Linc, we’ve learned plenty of things about history.
Lewis: History, future, it’s all the same I guess. The most amazing thing we’ve seen has to be when we were being chased by those guards and saw the …
Eva: Lewis! … shhhh … don’t give too much away.
Linc:
So after your mission to Roswell in TIME SQUARE | UFO …What’s next??Eva: Our next mission, ELMR-02, is called TIME SQUARE | TRIANGLE. We’re off to the future, again, to save a traveller from a huge ocean liner somewhere between Bermuda and Florida. I’m sure it sounds easier than it will be. Who knows what twists are in store for us?
Lewis: I hate boats!
Eva: It’s a ship, Lewis. It’s not going to sink.
Lewis: How do you know? It’s still a boat. I hate boats!
Linc: If you were each granted three wishes, what would you wish for?Lewis: Easy. One, I’d wish we weren’t going on a boat. Two, I’d wish to live on the sunny west coast in a huge house with cars and staff to look after me. Third, I’d wish to be able to take the inventions I’ve seen in 1947 back to 1930 and take the credit. But I know I can’t do that, shame really. That would be such a good wish.
Eva: I’d only need one wish, and that would be to get back home to our brother, Thomas.
Lewis: Ah, yeah … me too on that one. That can replace my third one. Good call, Eva. How come you’re always so … thoughtful?
Linc: Thanks so much for hanging out with me today, Lewis and Eva! I’ll set you up with my pal Henry, so he can invent you some cool spy gadgets for your future time travel adventures…
Lewis: Sounds great, it was fun to chat.
Eva: Thanks for having us, Linc. Maybe we could find a way for you and Henry to visit the Workshop in Time Square. That’s definitely gadget heaven.
You can find out more about S.W. Lothian and the Time Square series right here!
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