Why All the Drama? A Plea for Funny Books for Older Girls (and Boys, too!) by Roxyanne Young
I have one of the best day-jobs in the world. I get to work every day as a children's librarian in my daughter's elementary school. I love my job. I open the library every morning at 8am - school starts at 8:15 - and I'm greeted day after day by kids turning their books in and checking new books out. Many of them ask for recommendations. This morning Mikeylah, a fifth grader, asked me for a funny book. "Funny?" I asked.
"Yes, funny."
My brain started running through our collection. I immediately thought about the Clementine books by Sara Pennypacker since I just read the first three this week (and read chapter one of book one aloud to my second-graders on Friday, who snapped them up for checkout), but they're skewed a bit young and Mikeylah's a good reader, so she needs something on the fifth - seventh grade level, and funny. She enjoyed So Totally Emily Ebers by Lisa Yee a couple of weeks ago (the last time she asked me for a funny book). Why, oh why don't we have a copy of Millicent Min, Girl Genius? Jerry Spinelli's books are funny, I thought, but mostly about boys, and generally a bit younger. Sachar, too, but she read There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom about a month ago and it didn't charm her. Still, I headed for the S's. "Funny about a girl or funny about a boy, or does it matter?" I asked.
"Funny about a girl." Drat.
I thought of Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles. "How about a princess and her dragons?" I asked.
"Dragons?" She sort of wrinkled her nose. Okay, no dragons.
I pulled out The Secret Language of Girls by Frances O'Rourke Dowell. Well, it's got some funny parts. Then I pulled out Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan and The Wish by Gail Carson Levine. Mikeylah picked up Fairest while we were looking at the Levine books. She liked the cover art. (I, too, am a sucker for good cover art, but I warned her that that one's not as funny as Ella Enchanted, which she's read, too. "It's a bit more on the dramatic side," I told her. "Lots of self-esteem issues addressed there. Not so much 'funny.'")
I suggested she take a few minutes and read the first pages and see which books interested her. She chose Fairest. Go figure.
"So when you said 'funny,' you really meant 'good'?" She smiled and nodded, handing me the book to run through circulation for her. I asked her what made her choose that one. "The first lines grabbed me," she said. Props to Levine. If Mikeylah likes this princess, I'll introduce her to Wrede's Cimerene next, dragons or no. There's a lot of funny in those books.
Her visit left me wishing I could hand her a really funny book written for older kids, though. An older girl, especially. And maybe even an older African American girl, like Mikeylah.
Maybe it's the limited collection here in our small elementary school library, and my limited number of brain cells these days, but for the life of me, I could not think of a funny book for older kids that isn't really more of a dramatic book with some comic relief. It left me wondering, why all the drama?
Help me out, people. Please email me some titles of Purely Funny Books for Older Kids. I'll start a list. Title and author, please, and a brief one-to-two line description. The books should be available for purchase at major booksellers, too, please. (And if they have a little drama, that's okay, but they should be primarily funny.)
And to my writer friends, anyone up for writing Clementine for the middle school set?
Send your suggestions to editor at smartwriters dot com.
Thank you!
I Hate Reading*
* How to get through 20 minutes of reading a day without really reading.
by Arthur and Henry Bacon
Illustrated by Johanna Hantel Upstart Books
ISBN: 978-1-60213-025-8
We're several weeks into the school year and by now your kids have had to do their mandatory 20 minutes per day of reading. This is a daily struggle for lots of kids out there who'd rather be doing anything but. Arthur and Henry Bacon have come to the rescue of all those reluctant readers out there. Here's a 20-page picture book with sage advice, rules, and reading tips from these young brothers about how to appear to be reading and satisfy the homework requirement, without actually reading. Well, not much. It's a bit tricky.
These boys' voices come through loud and clear in the simple kid-to-kid instructions, and the ink-and-watercolor illustrations are just marvelous. They're deceptively simple so as not to distract from the reading - yes, they're really going to be reading (shhhhh) - with warm colors and kid-friendly expressions.
And yes, the boys really did write the book. I checked with their mom.
Highly recommended for all young readers, reluctant or not.
~Roxyanne Young
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope
by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Bryan Collier
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1416971440
I think Nikki Grimes' middle name must be Lyric. There is poetry on every single page of this book. Poetry, and as the title says, Promise and Hope. Grimes, ever the artist in words, weaves her images with historical facts in presenting this biography of the man who may very well change the world, through the words of a mother explaining to her son just who this guy with the "mouthful" of a name and the people shouting.
From a strictly educational standpoint, this is a wonderful book for teaching metaphor, simile, and descriptive language. It's absolutely lush with images. The teachers in the school where I work as a librarian are already drooling over this one. Here are a couple of quotes to illustrate my point:
"His family stretched from Kansas to Kenya, his mama, white as whipped cream, his daddy, black as ink...Love is the bridge that held them all together."
"Honolulu looked like heaven. But even though the blue of the sea was sharp enough to slice the sun, and the sun warmed the sand between his toes, and the sand sparkled like diamonds, nothing could fill the hole in Barry's heart once his daddy went away."
Tough issues are handled here with grace and compassion, and so is the exotic childhood landscape in which Barack Obama was privileged to grow up, beauty and harshness together. Grimes presents these for young readers in such a way as to let them know that this boy went through both good times and hard times, and as he grew into a man, he learned from his life experiences and listened and watched and soaked in the voice of Hope, and later, prayerfully, the voice of God.
As I read, I was moved by the beauty of Grimes' language, but also by the beauty of the message here. The mother and son's dialog seemed tacked on at first, and distracted me from it, but as I read, I understood that Grimes had imbued the boy with the voice of the young reader, that he was asking the questions they would ask, and making the connections that many of them would make. Brilliant.
Some may call this over-the-top on the glorification of Obama, but I call it rich writing. It is engaging and I am looking forward to sharing this with our students. Besides, if ever there was a time we needed an over-the-top message of Hope, perseverence, and the breaking down of barriers, it's now, and most especially for this generation.
The art, well, much of it is just breathtaking. I wish I could share more of it here. It's a mix of textures and colors, torn images, paint, and lines, and it all blends together - a great reflection of the lyricism in Grimes' words.
I highly recommend this book. Love is indeed the bridge that holds us all together, after all. "Can we make America better? Can we work together as one?" Yes, we can.
Our very first Grand Prize W.I.N.NER, Jay Asher, is having a really, really good year. His 13 Reasons Why, which was chosen as the YA pick by Chris Crutcher, and then by Kelly Milner Halls and myself as the Grand Prize W.I.N.NER in our first Write It Now! Competition in 2004, has sold over 100,000 copies and was on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Way to go, Jay!
2005 W.I.N. Shorts W.I.N.NER David Macinnis Gill expanded his winning YA short story into a novel called Soul Enchilada and sold it to Virginia Duncan at HarperCollins/Greenwillow! Woohooo! Rosemary Stimola made a two-book, six-figure deal on that one, too. For those of you keeping track, that's our SECOND six-figure W.I.N.NER! Yeah, baby! Scooch over, Jay Asher, and make room for David.
And the W.I.N.NERS just keep on winning! Nina Nelson, whose Bringing the Boy Homeplaced third in the 2004 W.I.N. Competition and went on to win the Ursula Nordstrom contest, is being published this year by HarperCollins. Nina and other writers whose first books are coming out in 2008 have shared the new Class of 2K8 blog with me: http://classof2k8.com
2004 W.I.N.NER Tami Sauer's latest success comes as the January 2008 covergirl for Edmond Outlook , a regional magazine covering Edmond, Oklahoma. The cover features art from her W.I.N.NING entry, Cowboy Camp! Yeehaw!
The Highlights Foundation is accepting registrations for their 24th Annual Writers Workshop,Chautauqua, NY, July 12-19, 2008. For more information, please call (570) 253-1192 or e-mail
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Or visit www.HighlightsFoundation.org
June 9th - 14th, 2008 - This is one of the best values in children's writing conferences I've seen. A week-long retreat/workshop for only $600, including room and meals! My buddy Alexandria LaFaye sends me this notice of an upcoming workshop, Moebius: A Workshop on Children's Writing for Teachers and Aspiring Authors at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansa. In this week long workshop on the beautiful campus of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, participants will be studying poetry, picture books,non-fiction, and fiction for middle grade and young adult readers. Working with seasoned authors like Patricia Hermes, Phyllis Root, Coretta Scott King Award Winner Nikki Grimes, Newbery Honor Winner Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Orbis Pictus Honor Winner Carla McCafferty, and Scott O'Dell Award Winner A. LaFaye, attendees will learn how to craft their own writing and model great writing for their students. Open to beginning writers, teachers interested in expanding their writing curriculum, and anyone eager to learn more about the world of writing for children. Each day, we'll have talks on craft, writing exercises, dramatic readings, Q &A with the authors and evening writing workshops. On Saturday, we'll be hosting a panel with Marcia Wernick from the Sheldon Fogelman Literary Agency and the following editors, Eleni Beja (Scholastic), Jeannette Larsen (Harcourt), and Ben Barnhart (Milkweed), who will talk about the publishing side of children's books. Housing will be ensuite dorms with double occupancy bedrooms and the tuition will include meals. The fee for this wonderful conference is only $600.00 Graduate Credit also available. For those of you traveling to Arkanas can fly into the Little Rock Airport and we’ll arrange transportation to the University. This is bound to be a fantastic conference. Come join us in Searcy for a week of writing. Space is limited, so sign up early by e-mailing Sandy at
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Click here for more information.
Quotes to share:
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
- George Orwell
"Real Writers get rejected." - Terry Miller Shannon
"You have to want it more than sleep." - Marlene Perez, on writing for kids and pushing through a big, big writing year (her new agent sold four books in a month!)
"If I do not quit, I cannot fail." - I'm not sure who originally said this, but I read it on a weight loss board for NBC's The Biggest Loser, and it applies to children's writing, too, so I'm sharing it here.
"When the government fears the people, you have liberty. When the people fear the government, you have tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson
"If your pocket aces don't improve, it's just a pair." - Poker Ace Phil Ivey - this one's a stretch to relate to writing, but I like it and it says a lot about the influence of luck in winning the big pot
TEACHER'S
PETS: Reader Tested Book Reviews from educator and children's
author Donna O'Donnell Figurski and her KIDDLE CRITers critique
group. **NEW REVIEW** Smelly Stink Bugs
Written by Meish Goldish
Publisher: Bearport Publishing Company
Logo created by Sheryl Lloyd
Planning a writing conference? Roxyanne Young can come speak to your group! She offers presentations on Web site design and online PR just for writers. Everything you need to know to launch your professional Web site with style, including the secrets to getting ranked higher in search engines, how to create the most effective Web graphics, how to design your site to keep visitors coming back, and much, much more. Please visit www.RoxyanneYoung.com for more information.
Need a Freelance Editor to look over your work before you submit to publishers? Please check out the Smart Writers Marketplace for a list of other talented, dedicated, and affordable freelance editors.
From my friend, April Halprin Wayland, author of Girl Coming in for a Landing and co-founder of Authors and Illustrators for Children with Bruce Balan...
Authors and
Illustrators for Children (AIC) is more than pleased—ecstatic would be a better
word (in a jumping up and down, waving our arms, dancing a little jig, and
shouting “yahoo” sort of way)—to announce THIS I
DREAM.
Stop reading right now and
click here— www.aiforc.org —to see just
how wonderful it is. Then come back and finish reading this email. We'll
wait.
Welcome back. We
hope you are as excited with THIS I DREAM and the new AIC site as we are. Each
month we'll roll out a new DREAM by noted authors and illustrators. They've
shared their dreams and poured their souls onto the page for us. Now we need to
share those dreams with the world.
In the 2004
presidential election, AIC supported John Kerry by placing a stunning ad
incorporating author and illustrator member names in national publications
targeted at teachers, as well as in newspapers and periodicals in swing
states.
This year's election
will clearly be a turning point for our nation. Again, AIC will play a role.
With the new website and our THIS I DREAM campaign, we hope to build AIC name
recognition among teachers, librarians, bookstore owners, and anyone else likely
to recognize and esteem authors and illustrators, so that AIC's 2008 endorsement
of a candidate will be even more
significant.
We need your energy
to make this happen. Here's what you can do:
SHARE: Print out the
THIS I DREAM essays (a new one every month!) and give them
to:
a. Teachers, principals, and
librarians
b. Bookstore owners and their
employees
c.
Students
d. Your political
representatives
e. Anyone else you can think
of
Let these people
know that this isn't just another essay – it's the dream of a noted author and
it expresses a future that we can make real.
GET THE WORD
OUT:
TO EDUCATORS: Send an email to all educators
you know and let them know about THIS I DREAM. Don't forget to include a link to
the site. A sample email which you can personalize can be found at
www.aiforc.org/EducatorEmail.html
TO THE MEDIA: Let your local media
(newspaper, radio, television, bloggers) know about THIS I DREAM. A sample email
which you can personalize can be found at www.aiforc.org/MediaEmail.html
TO PUBLISHING PROFESSIONALS: Tell writers,
illustrators, editors, publishers, book store owners, and literary bloggers
about AIC. A sample email can be found at www.aiforc.org/PublishingEmail.html
BUY: Visit the AIC
store and purchase posters, shirts, mugs, and other stuff to proudly wear and
use. All proceeds ($1-2 per item) support AIC’s efforts. (Neither Bruce nor
April receives any compensation from AIC; except that it makes them feel
good.)
VOLUNTEER: Help AIC
spread our DREAMS!
http://www.aiforc.org/donate.html#Volunteer
We need:
a. Media contact
persons
b. People with web
skills
c. People with audio and/or video recording
skills.
DONATE: We REALLY need
your support! www.aiforc.org/donate.html
This is only the
beginning. Authors and illustrators of children's books have much to say. We
influence the minds that shape tomorrow. We can't let our nation forget about
the next generation.
Thank you for your
past support and trust in AIC. We are incredibly honored by it. Let's rise
again, using our collective energy to create a future where children can read
all of our books in health, happiness, safety and
peace.
Bruce
& April
Bruce BalanApril Halprin
Wayland
~ jumping up and down, waving our arms, dancing a little jig and
shouting “yahoo”
Authors and
Illustrators for Children
www.aiforc.org
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THIS I DREAM:
Most authors and illustrators are driven by the deep
desire to communicate. We believe that speaking the truth can make the world a
better place for one child. We fervently hope it will make a difference in the
lives of millions.
But what does "a better place" mean? THIS I DREAM is
a series of essays and art by notable authors and illustrators. They will share
with us, in their own words and pictures, what they wish for. What world they
would have our children inherit. What secret dream supports their desks and
easels.
And our hope is that, speaking these dreams, the
world will listen.
The National Book Award:
Congratulations to our friend, Kathleen Duey, whose novel, Skin Hunger:A Resurrection of Magic, Book One, is a National Book Award Finalist !
Skin Hunger is the first book in a trilogy, and is an extraordinary work, well worthy of the recognition. You can read an excerpt of Skin Hunger at kathleenduey.com, and send your own good wishes to Kathleen there, too.
Kathleen was the midgrade judge for our W.I.N. Competition this year, by the way, so all of you W.I.N.NERS who received personal comments from her , take that advice to heart and we may just see your name in that National Book Award list someday!
Congratulations to the Juvenile Fiction National Book Award Winner, too: cross-over adult fiction author Sherman Alexie, for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Little, Brown & Company), which is his first book for young adults; and the other finalists, M. Sindy Felin, for Touching Snow (Atheneum Books for Young Readers); Brian Selznick, for The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic Press); and Sara Zarr, for Story of a Girl (Little, Brown & Company).
Call for Submissions: Imagination-Cafe.com
Edtior Rosanne Tolin shares this: Imagination-Café is a fun, safe, edutainment destination for kids ages 7-12. The site features stories on subjects from school to sports, and also a Career-O-Rama department devoted to that question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Interactive content includes quizzes, games, message boards, and writing contests.
"I have a very public email address and my inbox is hammered with over 1,300 emails per day. I used to spend hours just deleting spam mails. Not any more. This is the best $35 I spend all year!" - Roxyanne Young
Please welcome our new sponsor by taking a tour of ExpectantSee (tm). Thank you!
New Sponsor!expectantSee(TM)
If you're expecting, or know someone who is, you've got to see this screensaver from expectantSee(TM) that allows you to follow the progress of that little life growing inside with daily progress reports on its development, and moving pictures that offer a little window on the miracle happening inside you. There's a free Flash tour that's really worth seeing.
So many children's writers are mothers, I thought this would be a great addition to our sponsors list. I hope you agree. Enjoy the view!
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SMART WRITERS JOURNAL.Send an email to
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with "subscribe" in the body of the email, nothing in the subject line.
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GRANTS FOR THE SERIOUS WRITER
3RD EDITION
by C. Hope Clark, Editor of FundsforWriters.com
380+ grants aimed at writers. Attend conferences, gain project funds, or just earn money to write. All 50 states arts councils represented plus many more opportunities for grant seekers. Our most popular ebook in its 3rd Edition.
Grants for the Serious Writer: 3rd Edition is a must primer for writers who dabble in the grant world. This is not a nonprofit grant book. This book's message is directed at the individual writer seeking funds to meet a writing goal. This book caters to you.
Originally under 200 grants in its first edition, Grants for the Serious Writer: 3rd Edition features almost double the opportunities of its parent version. As we discover new chances for you, we add them to the list. And the old is weeded out. Annually updated, this book is an excellent reference guide for your library.
$8.95 - ebook in PDF format (138 pages)
Click the cover to buy the book!
The United Nations is celebrating the International Decade for Literacy, 2003 - 2012! Read more: United Nations Chronicle.
Want your book reviewed on SmartWriters.com?
AUTHORS, PUBLISHERS: to have your books considered for review on SmartWriters.com and in our monthly Smart Writers Journal, please send review copies to:
Roxyanne Young, Editorial Director
SmartWriters.com
10823 Worthing Avenue
San Diego, CA 92126
Please note that we do not promise a review of your book.
A note to self-publishers, especially those who use vanity presses like Lulu, Author House, and the others: I have no problem with self-publishing. I do have a problem with an author settling for shoddy production quality and expecting me to give them a positive review anyway. Before you send out that review copy, check to make sure your book is really ready. Following is a partial list of characteristics that will knock your book right out of consideration for a review:
Fuzzy, grainy, or pixelated graphics
If the art is not rendered well, I won't recommend the book for children
Poorly rendered interior design
I've had more than one book come to me still double-spaced, as if the press simply took the manuscript and printed it as-is, rather than formatting it as a final run book
One or two can be overlooked; three or more in the first few pages is just careless
Art that has nothing to do with your story
If your story is about a twelve-year-old who discovers a love for long distance running, don't let your cover art be an adult male running around a high school track, no matter how good the photo is
Weak writing
As with expecting high-quality artwork, I will only recommend extremely well-written books for young readers - they are the most important audience in the world, after all
No ISBN; book unavailable through major online booksellers (Amazon.com, BN.com, Powells.com)
In short, if you're going to self-publish, please give your work the very best chance you can and hire a professional editor and book designer to help you with polishing and perfecting your work, and use a high-quality, reputable press that knows how to reproduce artwork and that will not print their own logo all over your work.
All books sent for review are donated to public schools around the United States.
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope
