It’s March 14th ~ and if you’re a mathy person, you’re probably already baking various number-shaped treats to celebrate Pi Day!
For those who aren’t so mathy…all the fuss is about the date, 3-14, and the fact that this date makes up the first three digits of pi, the mathematical relationship between the diameter and circumference of a circle. It goes on after the 3.14, of course…
I’m dedicating today’s Pi Day post to the following people, some real and one made-up:
Real people first… My son and his school team competed in the State MathCOUNTS competition for New York yesterday and did a fantastic job, both concentrating and having fun in what was a pretty high-pressure environment. Go, SMS Team!
Now the made-up person… Claire, the main character in my December figure skating novel, SUGAR AND ICE, isn’t just a skater; she’s also a talented math student who has to juggle her intense new skating schedule with a big "Math out of Bounds" research project on Fibonacci. (Do you know about the Fibonacci sequence? Personally, I think there ought to be a Fibonacci Day, too, but that’s a subject for another post.)
I’ve been reviewing page proofs for SUGAR AND ICE this weekend and had to stop and smile at the part where a friend teases Claire about her passion for math club, calling her Pi-Face.
A parent of one of our middle school students approached me at my daughter’s ballet class a while back.
“I was hoping I might be able to talk to you about my son,” he said, shaking his head and wringing his hands in a way that led me to believe the young man must be a drug addict or serial shoplifter.“He’s constantly reading graphic novels.What should I do?”
The idea that parents ought to “do something” when kids aren’t reading the books that fit our notion of what they “should” be reading is a common one.Because smart kids read the classics, right?
I had two answers for the parent from ballet class.
Answer #1:“Buy him more graphic novels.Or use inter-library loan to request some new ones.” Kids who love to read deserve the right to make their own reading selections.And there’s lots of research to support the idea that reading binges (devouring one graphic novel or fantasy after another) actually support passionate, lifelong reading habits.I think it’s helpful to consider our own habits as adults who read passionately. When we find an author or a genre we love, we often stick with it for a good while until something else captures our hearts.Why should kids be any different?
Sometimes, I think well-meaning parents are too quick to categorize books as literary junk food with no value, swooping in to snatch away the graphic novels and vampire romances and replace them with Dickens and Melville.And really?It doesn’t work.
As a middle school English teacher, I’m a big believer in offering kids bridges – books that might take them from what they’re reading and loving right now to something a little more complex or challenging, something that might send them off on another journey.
But there’s a big difference between offering a child a bridge and pushing him or her over a cliff.If you take a passionate 7th grade reader who’s eating up Sarah Dessen’s YA novels and demand that she read Wuthering Heights instead, you’re likely to end up with a withering reader instead of a more advanced one.That same student may come to love Emily Bronte in her own time and on her own terms, but when we force the issue, we often lose readers.
For me, gentle nudges feel like a much better approach.Instead of snatching away Twilight, let your reader finish the series, and then try offering up some titles that are similar in terms of the supernatural romance, but with a bit more depth.Books like Need and Captivate by Carrie Jones and Lips Touch, Three Times by Laini Taylor fit that bill beautifully.
And the key word in all of this?Leading.Not shoving or force-feeding.Leading.If we respect kids as readers, they come to trust that they can count on us to offer them the right books at the right time. In my experience, that’s the best way to nurture kids to become passionate, lifelong readers.
Those adorable Share a Story-Shape a Future bears on the logo are the work of illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba. For a full roundup of today’s Share a Story-Shape a Future posts, visit Jen Robinson’s Book Page.
A quick post-script for Chicago area teachers/librarians… I’ll be in your neck of the woods to give an author talk at the International Reading Association Conference in April, and due to a change in my schedule, I have time to offer a free school visit on the morning of April 27th if anyone is interested. If you’re in the Chicago area and might like to schedule an assembly/writing workshop for that day, just comment or drop me an email (kmessner at katemessner dot com)
I may write upbeat books for middle grade readers, but I have a dark secret…I’m a sucker for a great dystopian novel.Bring on the floods, the repressive governments, the book burning, the horrifying reality TV, and you’ll have me up reading long past bedtime. I’ve been delighted by the fantastic array of new dystopian novels that have hit bookstore shelves lately and jumped at the chance to talk about some in today’s Share a Story-Shape a Future blog event, hosted by teacher-author Donalyn Miller at The Book Whisperer.
In addition to writing, I teach middle school English, and I include a unit on dystopian literature that includes some favorite short stories like Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains” and Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron.”Lately,I’ve also been having my students read dystopian novels in literature circles and drawing comparisons between those and the classic short stories.Here are a few of my recent favorites for middle school and up.
Okay, so you already know about these, but I couldn’t leave them out because they’re my go-to books for 7th grade readers who want something fast-paced and compelling. Book club and discussion topics include reality TV, violence in American culture, and love vs. survival. Alongside this trilogy, an ambitious literature circles group might also want to read and discuss…
Set in an alternative reality in Boston, this novel is about a society in which gladiator-style arena fighting has become a national form of entertainment.The main character has been the daughter of seven gladiators, and when her last stepfather dies in the arena, she’s faced with a harrowing choice. This one will prompt great discussions about women and violence in society.It’s excellent.
This post-apocalyptic trilogy explores what happens after an asteroid hits the moon, knocking it out of orbit enough to cause widespread problems with the tides, weather, shortages, and illness. For an interesting discussion, pair these with Stephen Vincent Benet’s “By the Waters of Babylon.”High school readers might also read this trilogy alongside Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD.
Inspired by the model town of Celebration, Florida, this is a novel about a community where everything is perfect, including the teenagers.Subliminal messages make sure of that.And what happens to those who wish to maintain their spirit of individuality?The answer will make you shudder, right through the last page.Pair this with W.H. Auden’s poem “The Unknown Citizen” for a lively discussion about personal identity and the needs of the invidual vs. the needs of society.
In this novel, a father who is well-prepared for the unthinkable hurries his family into an underground bunker to protect them from nuclear war. But when problems arise with the compound in which they’ve lived for six years, Eli begins to question his father’s motives…and his sanity.Fast-paced and gut-wrenching, this is another good one for reluctant readers.Bodeen follows it up with THE GARDENER, another dystopian YA title to be released in May 2010.
This slender dystopian novel was published as an adult book in the United States, but I’m so hoping it finds its way to older YA audiences. These 150 pages pack a heavy punch when it comes to considering the deeper questions of balancing the needs of society vs. the individual and what it means to be human. This would be a GREAT literature circles or book club choice for 8th grade and older.
A teenaged boy wakes up in a place he’s never been.There are other boys, all of whom arrived in the same mysterious elevator.There is a maze that opens each morning, runners who go out in search of an escape, and hideous creatures that threaten when the sun goes down. This one is delightfully creepy and fast-paced enough for reluctant readers.
Here’s the younger, more cheerful cousin to all these titles portraying dark futures.This middle grade novel by Leslie Connor (WAITING FOR NORMAL) is set during a not-too-distant future gasoline shortage.Five siblings are stuck on their own at home, running the family’s bike shop while their parents are stranded up north. This one’s great for middle grade readers and gives a sense of a troubling future with plenty of hope and humor, too. Due out from Katherine Tegan books on March 30, 2010.
Now…what are some of your favorite titles and pairings in this genre?Leave a comment, and feel free to stop by later on to check back as the list grows!
P.S. Unrelated to this post, but… If you are a Chicago-area teacher or librarian who may be interested in a free school author visit on Tuesday, April 27th, please comment or drop me an email. I’ll be in town for IRA and have availability for one school visit that Tuesday morning!
I got a surprise email from my editor at Walker/Bloomsbury one day last week while I was cleaning up my desk at school, getting ready to go home.
"I’m delighted to report that Scholastic Book Clubs have licensed book fair and book club rights to GIANNA Z…."
I had to write back to make sure that meant what I thought it did. That THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. would be one of the titles on the big racks at Scholastic Book Fairs at schools? That it would be paperback, in a price that’s easy for kids to buy? That it would be in those book club flyers that get sent home in kids’ homework folders and backpacks?
Yes, yes, and yes, my editor answered. In September!
There was a stack of Scholastic Book Fair flyers on my desk, and I couldn’t help picking one up to page through it. There are a lot of fun milestones in this children’s book world, but this one is especially cool for me.
I grew up in Medina, a tiny town in upstate New York. It has a lovely independent bookstore now, but it didn’t when I was in school. You could get Archie comics at the drugstore, or you could try to get your parents to drive to the mall in Buffalo an hour away, where there was a Waldens, or you could order books at school through Scholastic Book Clubs. I’d bring those flyers home and circle the books I wanted with Magic Marker, over and over, until the color bled through to the other side of that thin paper. Those flyers were important to me, as I know they still are for kids who aren’t lucky enough to be growing up in a town with a great bookstore. I’m thrilled that my book will be one of the Magic Marker choices this fall.
I’m going to do something fun to celebrate GIANNA Z’s paperback release in bookstores (also in September) and her appearance in Scholastic Book Clubs & Fairs. Probably a contest on the blog and something special for teachers and librarians (I’m thinking about giving away some free virtual writing workshops for classes!) If you have other fun ideas for a paperback/book club launch, I’d love to hear about them in comments!
We had originally planned to go see The Lightning Thief movie this afternoon, but the weather called us outdoors. Even though it hasn’t been much of a winter in Northern New York, this first sunny 40-degree day melted my heart, and we headed for a state park not far from the house. Sometimes in the winter, we see a bald eagle here, but he’s been tough to find this year. We looked for him in his favorite tree on the way in, with no luck. But that was okay… the beach alone was worth the trip.
Still plenty of snow on Mount Mansfield
Is it me, or does the shadow of this driftwood totally look like a sea monster?
Just as we were driving out of the park, guess who showed up…right on his favorite branch.
Wherever you are, I hope your day was sunny and full of surprises, too!
Spring seems to be the busiest time for author visits, and since I’m both a coordinator of visits for my school and an author who visits other schools, I thought a special Friday Five was in order…
1. My students were lucky enough to have not one but two great author events this week! The first one was a live-and-in-person visit from Rebecca Stead, the author of WHEN YOU REACH ME, winner of this year’s Newbery Medal. Here’s Rebecca talking with our seventh graders.
She was lovely and wonderful, and I’m actually in the process of putting together a much more in-depth blog about everything an author can learn about school visits from watching her go through her day.
2. Yesterday, our advanced creative writing class had a Skype visit with Deva Fagan, the author of FORTUNE’S FOLLY and the forthcoming THE MAGICAL MISADVENTURES OF PRUNELLA BOGTHISTLE. (She showed us an early copy of that one!)
We talked with Deva about books and writing in general, but with a special focus on beginnings. The kids in our group are in the early stages of new projects right now and loved having the chance to ask about outlining and brainstorming and those stops and starts that often go along with starting something new. Deva compared it to making soup…the gathering together of lots of ideas that start out looking like a big mess but eventually simmer into a lovely, coherent stew. I like that.
3. On the author end of school visits, I’ve had a few requests for in-person events lately and should probably announce officially that I can’t book any more visits for this school year. In May, I’ll start scheduling next year, so if your school is interested, just drop me an email from my website contact page any time between now and then, and I’ll be send out a note when I’m beginning to schedule 2010-2011.
4. I’m still doing Skype chats with classes and book clubs that have read THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. and those are much easier to schedule, so I’ll be continuing through the school year.
5. Here’s where I’ll be over the next few months:
School Visits:
March 19 – Mooers, NY Elementary School (AM) March 19 – Highgate, VT Elementary School (PM) April 7 – Colchester, VT Middle School April 8 – Saranac, NY Elementary School
Conferences: I’ll be giving workshops on Skype author visits at both of these!
April 25-27 – International Reading Association May 14-16 – New England SCBWI Conference
There’s also a good chance I’ll be signing ARCs of my skating book, SUGAR AND ICE, at ALA in Washington D.C. at the end of June. Please drop me a note if you’ll be at any of these conferences, as I’d love to say hello!
I’m on the other side of a school author visit this morning, as the coordinator because REBECCA STEAD IS VISITING OUR SCHOOL TODAY!!!
Sorry…didn’t mean to shout, but…well, you know. It’s Rebecca, who is so kind and nice and funny and who wrote the amazing WHEN YOU REACH ME, which won the Newbery Medal, and she’s HERE!!!!
I mean…ahem…we are very much looking forward to her presentations.
Yesterday, Rebecca gave a reading and talk at the fantastic Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Vermont. Here’s Rebecca (on the right) is with Flying Pig co-owner Elizabeth Bluemle (on the left).
And here’s Rebecca signing books in the Flying Pig loft, which has to be one of the greatest bookstore event spaces in bookstore history.
By the way, Rebecca signed some stock at Flying Pig, so if you’d like your very own signed copy of WHEN YOU REACH ME, their number is (802) 985-3999.
I’m off to compose myself and get the AV equipment ready…
We’ve had crazy weather on Lake Champlain this week. First, it was a snowstorm that dumped about a foot of snow at my house and way more in places like southern Vermont. And it was a heavy, wet snow that somehow managed to turn the shoreline area of Lake Champlain into a sort of slushy swirl. This photo doesn’t entirely capture it, but this was something I’d never seen before. That’s not ice…it’s floating snow-slush.
Last night, it rained, and the wind blew what was left of the lake ice near our house into a sparkly sculpture on the shore.
It’s beautiful in the morning sun, and almost makes up for our missing skating rink…but not quite.
I know the winter weather is continuing for many of you today. I hope wherever you are, you’re warm with a good book!
I had a great morning visiting Lake Placid Middle School kids. We talked a lot about books and writing, and they got a sneak peek at the cover for my upcoming figure skating book, SUGAR AND ICE. Sharing that secret was extra-fun because the school is quite literally in the shadow of the Olympic Center, where much of SUGAR AND ICE takes place.
Another cool thing about this particular school visit? The principal and I share a last name. (No, we’re not related!)
I didn’t have any author obligations at ALA Midwinter last month, so I took my kids, both avid readers, to ogle the upcoming books in the exhibit hall. My eight-year-old daughter knows enough about the publishing industry to know that one can sometimes snag advance reader copies of books by one’s favorite authors at such events. She also knows that ARCs have a job to do, that they actually cost more to produce than final books, and she understands that she shouldn’t take an ARC unless she is quite sure that she will read it, like it, talk about it to her friends, and maybe even write a little review for me to share on my blog.
Which brings me to the Scholastic booth at ALA Midwinter, where E was hoping beyond hope that she might find an ARC of FINALLY by Wendy Mass. It’s a follow-up to ELEVEN BIRTHDAYS, which is one of my daughter’s all-time favorites. We found the book on display, but they were out of ARCs. The very nice Scholastic rep really wanted E to leave with a book, though, so she offered her two others that were there. Here’s what happens when very-kind-publisher-lady clashes with author’s-child-who-does-not-want-ARCs-to-go-to-waste…
Nice Scholastic Lady: Here, you can take both of these.
E: *looks at books* Oh, that’s okay. Thank you, though.
Nice Scholastic Lady: Really, you can have them. They’re free.
E: Thanks, but these aren’t really my cup of tea.
Nice Scholastic Lady: That’s okay. If you don’t like them, you can give them to your friend.
E: *looks at books again* I don’t think they would be her cup of tea either.
Nice Scholastic Lady: It’s really okay. You can take them.
E: No thank you.
I eventually jumped in to end the standoff by explaining our ARC discussion and why my daughter was so steadfastly refusing this poor woman’s efforts to be kind. She understood, and then took a little notepad and asked for our address. A few weeks later, E got a package in the mail. She squealed and went running to her favorite reading chair.
Thank you, Nice Scholastic Lady!
After I managed to pry FINALLY out of her hands, I got to read it, too. And really? It was worth the wait and then some. The main character, Rory Swenson, has been waiting forever to turn twelve. That’s when she’ll finally be able to do everything she’s been waiting for. Buy a cell phone…get her ears pierced…go to a boy-girl party. She’s about to have everything she’s ever wanted.
Except that everything she’s ever wanted manages to go horribly, horribly wrong in the funniest ways possible. FINALLY had me laughing out loud over and over again. It’s written in that fantastic, trademark Mass voice — the one that would make you swear she’s really twelve years old herself — and the characters are real and wonderful.
FINALLY is set in the same world as ELEVEN BIRTHDAYS and has a touch of that same magical realism, but above all else, this is a warm, incredibly funny book about wanting to grow up and learning that it’s also okay to be a kid. Loved, loved, loved it. Every girl who’s ever been impatient to be a little older will love it, too. FINALLY is due out from Scholastic on March 1, 2010.
And the key word in all of this?
I got a surprise email from my editor at Walker/Bloomsbury one day last week while I was cleaning up my desk at school, getting ready to go home. 
