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Paul Fleischman's novels, poetry, picture books, and nonfiction are known for their breadth, innovation, and lyrical language. He's won the Newbery Medal for Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, a Newbery Honor for Graven Images, the California Young Reader Medal for Weslandia, and was a National Book Award finalist for Breakout. His book Seedfolks has been used in citywide reads across the country. In 2012 he was the United States' nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for the body of his work. Visit www.paulfleischman.net.

Paul has written wordless books and he's written an opera, but he always comes back to picture books.

He touches on length, age level, and how picture books are mediated by an adult and what that means – and doesn't mean – in terms of vocabulary and subject matter.

"The best picture books can be enjoyed by all ages."

Models to consider: ballads, songs, lyrics - and how they leave out a lot.

"Does your idea require art? If you can imagine your story without art, a picture book might not be the way to tell it."

"Weigh every word." And then he adds that that is "good advice for all genres."

And when he has things that happen in his story that aren't in the text? Like the moment in his own "Time Train" when the text says, "some passengers got on in Pittsburgh" but it's Civil War Soldiers who are walking into the train car?


He puts it in brackets. (But urges us to keep them to a minimum, "just what is required.")

Paul finishes the session with questions, and his answers cover so much more.

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I am a Cybils second round judge. I am currently reading the all the nominated books in a fun "armchair readalong" way with the first round judges. My reviews and opinions are strictly my own and do not reflect the work of the committee.

Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines Paul Fleischman

Fleischman (who’s probably most known for his Newberry Prize winning Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices) offers a book about the real issues facing us environmentally while, at the same time, teaches teens how to evaluate their sources and be an informed consumer of news. It’s a really great call to action, pointing out how we need to change things, and maybe should have changed them yesterday.

I really liked the design of the book, but I think it would have worked even better in color.

The margins contain a lot of extra reading or watching for more information. It was a great way to recommend some great titles. I also really like what he chose--a good mix of books, articles, movies, and videos. Additionally, a lot of the things he chose are for adults, but are things teens could totally read and understand. It shows a respect for his audience that I really appreciate.

It also has excellent back matter and extensive endnotes--not only are all the sources documented, but many also give further information.

That said, there is a “how-to-think how-to manual” vibe to the book that grates a bit--it seemed condescending. I’m also wondering at who it’s aimed at--are teens no longer cynical about what they’re being told by THE MAN?

Fleischman’s writing often uses many of the same logical fallacies he warns readers against falling for. And, some of his points were interesting, but he didn’t have anything to back them up (like lack of food is what led to the Rwandan genocide and the crisis in Darfur. I think that’s an interesting argument to make, but the argument has to actually be made.)

Two things really irked me though--one is that he really hates think tanks (wonder if he feels the same way about the left wing environmental ones?) and paints them with such a brush that what he describes just doesn’t resemble what they are (and yes, this is personal, and yes, I know a lot about think tanks from the inside.) He tends to equate them with lobbyists (they’re not the same thing) and also all lobbyists are bad (what about the ones who lobby for the environment? According to Fleischman it doesn’t matter, because they’re not as well funded. Um, no. If you have a problem with the tactics, you have a problem with the tactics, if you have a problem with funding imbalance, that’s something else.) He also says that all talking heads on the news are PR flacks. Nope.

The other is the overblown hyperbole he resorts to. According to him, Foundations are a way for think tanks to hide where their money comes from and is the same thing as how drug cartels launder their money. Also, when talking about the psychological phenomenon of regression (trying to make the point that people would rather watch TV, play video games, care about a sports fandom or hang out on social media than face reality and learn about the world around them, which is problematic enough, but wait) he talks about how it regression causes childish reactions--his examples? Credit cards [note: not credit card debt, but credit cards in general] and tax revolts are childish reactions to wanting it now and not being able to save for the future or long term. And shootings are a crazy-people childish reaction to annoying people.*

And then my head exploded.

He makes some great points, but so much of it is undermined by his tone and writing, that it undoes everything that's right about this book.


Exact quotation: “With the daunting issues facing us, it’s easy to see the appeal of retreating to a childlike stage without responsibility. This is the defense mechanism regression. Where can you see it? Credit cards. You haven’t saved enough money but you really want something now? Go ahead and buy it anyway! Tax Revolts. Maturity demands looking beyond our narrow interests. Contributing to the public good from our private pockets causes some adults to throw tantrums. Shootings. Don’t like your boss/ex-wife/gum-chewing coworker? Blowing them away is a childish fantasy with such appeal that some mentally unstable people act it out.” p. 69


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Lou Hull
Chair of First Book Fox Valley Advisory Board
Appleton, Wisconsin

Several years ago, Lou Hull read a book called ‘Seedfolks’ that had a major impact on her life. The book, a short novel by Paul Fleischman, tells the story of a group of people in Cleveland who transform a vacant lot into a community garden. Hull was powerfully affected by the book’s message of overcoming fear and division to build a sense of community.

“I wasn’t sleeping at night, because the messages in the book resonated so strongly and I wanted people to read it,” she said.

For the next year and a half, Hull made it her mission to get the people of Appleton, Wis. to read ‘Seedfolks’.  She organized local reading events, arranged for a thousand copies of the book to be distributed and visited schools, universities, libraries and community groups to get the word out. The author himself found out about Hull’s efforts after several Appleton students wrote to him, and he traveled to Wisconsin to spend several days with Hull and other members of the community. He even got to see a local stage production of the book while he was visiting.

Thanks to Hull, nearly 20,000 people in Appleton have read the book. “I have to say that it was the most important thing I have done in my professional life,” she said.

That experience led her to a local volunteer chapter of First Book — known as an Advisory Board — who initially helped her with the ‘Seedfolks’ project, and when it was over, asked her to join the board.

Since taking over as chair, Hull has helped First Book’s Fox Valley Advisory Board expand into nearby towns to reach more children in low-income neighborhoods and Title I schools. She has  helped raise the group’s profile, as well as ensure their fund-raising efforts promote  literacy.  (At a recent fund-raiser a local meteorologist read ‘Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs’ to a group of children, who, in turn, read the book to “reading dogs“).

“We’re working hard to get more well-known in the community, because it helps us raise more money,” Hull said. “And the more money we raise, the more books we can get to the kids. People love it that they can give ten dollars and that money goes to buy books. ”

Hull works in a charter school library, and is involved in numerous other volunteer activities, including diversity presentations at local schools. The thread that runs through all of these, she says, is the importance of educating children, and reading is the key – not just the skill of reading, but the love of it.

“Reading is the basis of everything, especially with education,” Hull said. “If you can’t read, you can’t study social studies, you can’t learn geography, you can’t do word problems. And even if you have the skills to read, if you don’t enjoy reading, you’re not going to do it.”

First Book Wants You! Help us get books to kids who need them in your community. To learn more about volunteering, visit us online.

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I am indebted to Jenny Schwartzberg for bringing to my attention the fact that the BBC’s extensive archives are offering up recordings of some of the great British Novelists of the past.  These are both television and radio programs and they are intoxicating.  You can hear the very voice of Virginia Woolf herself.  And on the children’s side of things, there are folks like T.H. White, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Penelope Lively.  You could get lost in there.  Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Jenny.

• New Blog Alert: And it’s a doozy too.  If you missed the fact that the magnificent Philip Nel started a blog called Nine Kinds of Pie recently, then now is the time to know.  Mr. Nel is that nice young man who teaches as a Professor of English at Kansas State University and also writes books like The Annotated Cat in the Hat and, my personal favorite, Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children’s Literature (that one was done with co-writer Julia L. Mickenberg, of course).  He updates his blog with frightening regularity as well.  Of course, it’s the summer.  The school year is only just now picking up.  Still, anything he cares to write is well worth your time to read.  Plus he wins an award for Best New Blog Title in our field.

• All right.  Let me see what I can do with this.  Ahem.  So Beatrix Potter was friends with Anne Carroll Moore.  Anne Carroll Moore was a famous children’s librarian who worked at the main branch of NYPL.  I am a children’s librarian who works in the main branch of NYPL.  I have seen the picture Potter gave to Ms. Moore as a gift.  Ipso facto, I’m going to weigh in on the whole Emma Thompson writing a new Peter Rabbit story news item.  I feel entirely ripped in half too.  On the one hand, I love Emma.  I honestly adore her.  I think she’s a modern marvel.  I want to be her best friend and to just listen to her talk for hours on end.  On the other hand, this marks a very bad precedent: The celebrity picture book sequel to a classic work.  No.  No no, this will not do.  We can’t have Justin Bieber writing conclusive storylines to Stuart Little or Courtney Love putting the last touch on an official return to Wonderland.  Nope.  I love you Emma, but this cannot stand.  I’m sure you’re a perfectly fine writer, but you’re making it look too enticing to the others. Thanks to @PWKidsBookshelf for the link.

• I envy not the good people charged by ALSC to regularly determine the official Great Websites for Kids as promoted by the librarians.  I’m just grateful they exist and that they’re willing to add some new additions.  Had I the power, I’d place these on my library’s children’s website pronto, if not sooner.  A magnificent resource.

• 
  7 Comments on Fusenews: I mean, a fear of tent worms isn’t all THAT ridiculous, right?, last added: 8/21/2010
  Display Comments
  Philip Nel said, on 8/21/2010 5:49:00 AM
  

  Thanks for the plug on the blog! Speaking of: am planning a brief post on Seuss’s advertising work later today.

  Jennifer in GA said, on 8/21/2010 7:04:00 AM
  

  I think Emma Thompson is one of the few celebrity-type people who could actually pull off writing a sequel to a classic book. She’s more of a writer-turned-actor than actor-who-wants-to-dabble-in-writing. She got her start as a comedy writer. I know it’s not the be-all and end-all, but she did win an Oscar for writing the screenplay adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, and she’s also adapted the Nanny McPhee screenplays. Even though she hasn’t published and works of fiction, I think her writing background is strong enough to do the job and do it well. Personally, I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt until she proves otherwise.

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 8/21/2010 7:10:00 AM
  

  Oh, I don’t deny that she may end up doing a stand-up job of it. I just worry that it sets a bad example for other celebrities. They’ll eye Emma’s work, forget the whole she’s-also-a-real-writer element, and try doing the same thing themselves. *shudder*

  rams said, on 8/21/2010 8:24:00 AM
  

  That Viewmaster Alice looks like The Lonely Doll Goes Anti-Grav.

  mhg said, on 8/21/2010 8:29:00 AM
  

  Emma Thompson already has work that sets her salary in the millions. She was “asked” to do this. Meanwhile, the usual meme for authors is that we do not make money at our profession (heard it again right there in your seminar this month BB). Publishers are telling authors to have low expectations while the jobs go to people who are not in the business and already have jobs. WTH?????? Let’s stop the poverty meme to authors and get some reality, folks.

  Tricia said, on 8/21/2010 11:25:00 AM
  

  The voice of Virginia Woolf! I don’t get the feeling she’d have enjoyed making podcasts.

  lisainberlin said, on 8/21/2010 4:37:00 PM
  

  http://www.heimel-dias.de/marchen/

  The viewmaster picture reminded me tiny boxes I found at the fleamarket here with slide rolls. Held up to the light, I realized they were fairy tales! They were popular in East Germany. The artwork on the ones featured on the website above is worth a check-out. Just click on the name of the fairy tale (sorry, the site is just in German). Weiter means continue. Have fun!

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Writing a book based in San Francisco (which he wasn't in), Paul used Google maps street view to see the street he had his character walk down. Was it hilly? Oh, there's a green awning. A tree...

How cool!

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Paul Fleischman is the Newbery Award-winning author of JOYFUL NOISE: POEMS FOR TWO VOICES, among many other lauded books.

A musician, former bookseller and one-time proofreader, he founded ColonWatch (not for proctologists) and The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to English.

He's also the son of the beloved and much-missed Sid Fleischman. How jealous are we that he got to grow up listening to Sid's books being read aloud as they were written?

To make up for that colossal injustice, Paul is talking today about Surviving the Novel.

He's starting his talk by likening novels to the snow-capped Himalayas (particularly for people who are used to writing in short form). He knows how we feel--he just wrote his first adult novel and hoped he could hit 200 pages. (He did that and more. So much more.)

On organization
It's easy to feel overwhelmed with the "big glop" of a thing that is your novel. To combat this feeling, he organizes. He sets up separate documents for all of his material in sections like these:

• The actual manuscript
• A "working out" document--the various mental exercises where he makes his decision on cast, scenes. He states the problems, brainstorms, writes problems to those solutions and solutions to those problems.
• His outline
• Research--keep a running list of research questions
• Unused lines  
• Back matter--the guts of the book. This is kind of like the outline, but includes facts about characters. Acknowledgments. Possible titles.
• Keep a list of continuity. If someone is wearing a red dress, is she still wearing it later that night? 

Tips for research

• You might not need it in a picture book, but you will in a novel. He researched women's clothes for his latest: "That's a 10-book novel in an of itself. Who knew what goes on in your closet!" He also researched pugs and dancing. (I must read this book!)
• He set a book in San Francisco and used Google street view to look at what the streets looked like.

Writing

• Every word should be there for a reason, even though the book is longer. As with a picture book, "You weigh every word that comes into your book. It's like a passenger coming on the gang plank."  
• Read your work straight through. Highlight it, but don't stop to fix. Ernest Hemingway started every day by reading his current book from the beginning. "No wonder his later years were kind of difficult." 
• Don't be surprised if you have to rewrite. That's the writing life. There's no way around but through. 
• A hot tip for revision: When you revise, make notes on what you did. You might want to go back to an earlier version

Quotes to remember

Paul's speech was so full of quotes, you could compile them in a book. Here are some favorites:
 
"This [the outline] is holding back the Barbarian hordes of chaos from overwhelming your book."

"In a picture book, you can afford to rewrite your whole manuscript. You're not going to want to do this with your novel."

"The older I get, the more I write like my father, who was quite the improviser...Now, I trust much more things coming together."

"Back when the pencil ruled the earth, like the dinosaur, you could still read what you crossed out."

"A colon is the perfect piece of punctuation. It's not a period. It's not a comma..."

"Resear

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Author: Paul Fleischman (on JOMB)
Illustrator: David Roberts (on JOMB)
Published: 2009 Candlewick Press (on JOMB)
ISBN: 0763624985

Clean lines, comical details and snappy, generous first person narration sweep us into this suspenseful tale of strategy, solidarity and overlooked superpowers.

Other books mentioned:

• Iggy Peck, Architect
• The Mysterious Benedict Society
• Miss Nelson is Missing

More independent thinkers on JOMB:

• Willow
• Odd Velvet
• Suki’s Kimono
• Ruby’s Wish
• Getting to Know Ruben Plotnick
• Silly Tilly
• more here.

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.

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