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Detour for the Snow Geese

A Columbus Day author visit this week meant a sunny day drive through some of the most beautiful October scenery in the Northeast.  I enjoyed every minute of the mountains and the maples.  Helen wasn’t as appreciative of the scenery, though.  This is Helen…

…my GPS unit.

Usually, Helen and I get along, even though we’re very different.  I daydream and look out the window a lot.  Helen is very responsible and never gets lost.  I like that in a travel companion, so I generally put up with her bossiness in the interest of arriving places on time.  This week, though, we had it out while I was driving home from my school visit.

Helen: Turn left in one mile.

Me:  Yeah…only I think I’m going to go straight and turn later on because then we can see the snow geese at that wildlife management area up by Route 17.  I’d really like to see the snow geese.  Wouldn’t you?

Helen:  Turn left in point two miles.

Me:  I’m going the snow geese way.  (passes turn)  It’s not that far.

Helen: Make a U-turn.

Me:  They’re really pretty, and it’s just the right time of year.  You can hear them honking and everything.

Helen: Make a U-turn.

Me: No. I haven’t seen the snow geese since I lived in Vermont, more than ten years ago, and it’s October. I’m never in this part of Vermont in October.  We’re going this way.

Helen:  Turn left in point two miles.

Me:  I’m turning left on the snow geese road.  Not before.  (passes left turn)  You’ll like this…you’ll see.

Helen:  Make a U-turn.

Me:  Oh come on… It’s going to take us nine minutes out of our way.  Nine minutes. That’s it. You said so yourself.  What’s nine minutes when we’re talking about thousands of amazing migratory birds?  Where’s your sense of adventure?  Where’s your sense of wonder?

Helen:  Make a U-turn.

Eventually, Helen gave up on me and we arrived at the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area to join the dozen or so bird watchers taking in the spectacle of the Snow Geese. 

Every fall, huge flocks of Greater Snow Geese stop here to rest and feed on their way to the Chesapeake Bay for the winter.   I loved listening to their honking and the rush of their wings when they took off.  It was worth the extra nine minutes, no matter what Helen says.

Note for Vermont friends… I’ll be doing a presentation and signing books this Saturday from 11-12 at the fabulous Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, and I’d love to see you there!  

Encounters of 1609…
Native Americans had lived along the waterways of the Northeast for generations when French explorers and fur traders began arriving in the late 16th century. What must the two groups have thought of one another?  In this interactive presentation, Kate shares images, artifacts,  and excerpts from her historical novel Champlain and the Silent One as we travel through time to explore the Champlain Valley of 1609.

Huzzah!!

The National Book Award finalists have been announced, and some of my favorite books of 2008 made the list!

Laurie Halse Anderson, Chains (Simon & Schuster)
Kathi Appelt, The Underneath (Atheneum)
Judy Blundell, What I Saw and How I Lied (Scholastic)
E. Lockhart, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (Hyperion)
Tim Tharp, The Spectacular Now (Alfred A. Knopf)

I was lucky enough to read an advance reader copy of CHAINS last spring, and I already have 30 copies on order for my 7th grade classroom.  You can read my full review here; it’s an incredible, incredible book. (Way to go, halseanderson !)

I read THE UNDERNEATH during our family trip to Washington this summer and stayed up way too late one night to finish.  It’s a powerful, beautifully written American fantasy.  THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU BANKS was one of my summer-on-the-back-deck books. I laughed out loud and loved every minute of that one, too.  I’m off to the library now to pick up the two titles I haven’t read yet.

Congratulations to all of the finalists.  Let the reading begin!

An Author Visit in Vermont

It’s been a long day, but I’ve promised some new friends that I’d post blog photos tonight, so here are some highlights of my author visit to Lothrop Elementary School in Pittsford, Vermont.

A town hall full of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders greeted me as soon as I arrived.  We talked about Spitfire and the American Revolution on Lake Champlain.  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a room of kids with more questions!  Good ones, too – those Lothrop readers are astute.

After a quick break, I met up with the 5th graders again in their classroom for a second presentation: Encounters of 1609.  I read from my new historical novel, Champlain and the Silent One, and we talked about the Champlain Valley as it existed 400 years ago, when French and Native Peoples were meeting one another and encountering one another’s cultures for the first time. 

After lunch, I spent some more time with the 6th graders for my historical fiction writing workshop. The kids tried out 18th century games, foods, and tools and brainstormed sensory details about their experiences that they’ll use in writing their own stories later on. After spending the afternoon with these kids, I can assure you that the future of historical fiction is in very good  hands.

Before I hit the road, I stopped by one last classroom — this one in the home of a fifth grader whose health concerns have prevented him from attending school lately.  Jamee had read Spitfire with his mom and was waiting with it in his lap when I arrived.  After we talked about the Revolutionary War and the fur trade in New France, we took time out for a photo with our favorite historical hats — one that I promised Jamee I’d post tonight.

Thanks, Jamee and family, and everyone at Lothrop Elementary, for a fantastic day of reading, writing, history, and learning!


best tracker


Collecting Leaves on Mount Jo

What do you do when your middle grade novel about a 7th grade kid whose leaf collection is ruining her life is off in New York City being edited?  You head for the mountains to collect leaves, of course!

THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z won’t need my attention until copy edits are complete, and the Adirondacks were postcard-perfect this morning, so we headed out for a morning hike so my own 7th grader could work on his school leaf collection project.


An American Beech greeted us at the trailhead to Mount Jo.


With almost no wind, Heart Lake was a perfect mirror for the foliage.


I kept tripping over roots because I couldn’t stop staring up at the leaves against the blue sky.


When we hiked Mount Jo a few weeks ago, this view from the summit was shrouded in fog, but today made up for it.

Our leaf collector came home with six new specimens — Mountain Maple, Striped Maple, Bigtooth Aspen, American Mountain Ash, American Beech, and Balsam Fir.  The rest of us came home with pockets full of rocks and pine cones, tired legs, and lighter hearts. 

Friday Five

1. I got an ARC in the mail this week that made me very, very happy.

This one is for older readers (12+) than Lisa Yee’s earlier books, and it’s terrific so far. More when I finish…

2. Sarah Miller, author of Miss Spitfire, posted a video-blog about her use of Darcy Pattison’s shrunken manuscript revision technique this week.  If you’re looking for a way to see the big picture on a finished draft of a novel, you’ll want to check it out.

3. My 7th graders are doing a literature circles unit this month, and there have been some great moments in their discussions.  Their selections this time include The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages, The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin, Cracker by Cynthia Kadohata, and The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex, among others.  I had to deliver Kleenex to the table reading Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson yesterday.  If you’ve read it, you know why.

4. I am plugging away on my new MG novel, Sugar on Snow.  I was stuck last night but got on the treadmill for about twenty minutes, and that managed to shake loose an idea for Chapter 6.  My goal is a finished draft by the end of November.

5. And finally, in what I can only appreciate as a brilliant twist of irony on the part of the universe… 

I have very recently finished revisions on my Fall ’09 middle grade novel for  Walker Books, The Brilliant Fall of  Gianna Z.  It’s about a 7th grade girl whose school leaf collection project is ruining her life.  I have been eating, breathing, and sleeping leaves since I started writing this book two and a half years ago.  The day after sent in my line edits, my 7th grade son came home with a packet for me to sign from school… the requirements for a ginormous leaf collection project, due at the end of October. 

October Guests

I keep talking about cutting back the asters that grow along the front walkway.  They’re enormous and overgrown, and when it rains, they droop over the sidewalk so you can’t get inside without your pant legs brushing through them and getting soaked.  I haven’t cut them back, though, because butterflies and bees love them, especially this time of year when not much else is in bloom. 

Today, I was so glad that I’m all talk and no garden scissors.  When I got out of the car after school, six Monarch butterflies were swarming around the asters.  I tiptoed past them to find E and a camera, and for half an hour, we watched them, leaning in so close we could hear their wings fluttering.

Listen…


If you look closely, you’ll see this Monarch sharing his flower with a bumblebee!

One by one, they flew off over the lake, heading south on a long, long journey. We were happy to have shared a bit of it with them.

And if you’re planning to visit me any time soon… I’ll apologize in advance.  The asters flopped all over the front walk are staying right where they are.

Champlain and the Silent One Press

The Medina Journal Register, the newspaper in the village where I grew up, ran a great article on Champlain and the Silent One today, including a lengthy Q and A that I did with the reporter.  You can read it here.

Request for ideas on historical fiction & revision tips!

I’m giving two presentations at the NYS English Council’s annual conference later this month, and I wanted to ask my LJ author friends for some input.

My presentation called Historical Fiction as a Bridge to Content Area Literacy focuses on high interest historical fiction with solid historical content as well as nonfiction picture books and middle grade books that teachers can use to teach Social Studies content as well as English Language Arts.  I’m in the process of adding new titles to my presentation to mix in with my regular favorites.  I’ve added Laurie Halse Anderson’s historical novel CHAINS and her picture book INDEPENDENT DAMES, M.T. Anderson’s new OCTAVIAN NOTHING book, Tanya Lee Stone’s ELIZABETH LEADS THE WAY, and Jenny Moss’s WINNIE’S WAR, set during the 1918 flu epidemic.

What other NEW 2008 historical titles have you read and loved?  Do any of you have new titles coming out in 2009 that would fit the bill?  If so,  I’d  love to include them in my presentation!

My second presentation is called Walking the Walk: How Teacher-Writers Encourage Student Revision.  In it, I share the ways in which my own writing has helped me to be a better (and more understanding) mentor to my students when it comes to revision.  I talk about my strategies and my experiences with critique partners and editors, and I discuss how those concepts and strategies can be adapted to the classroom.  Part of this workshop is a PowerPoint presentation that gives examples of how different authors like to revise.

Do you have a favorite revision strategy that you’d like to share with kids & teachers?  I’d be happy to include your idea with an image of your book cover in my slide show.  (Some of you were kind enough to share thoughts with  me last year. Thank you!  With your permission, I’ll use the same advice/slide for you unless you have a new book out that you’d like me to feature.)

Thanks, everyone, for any thoughts you choose to share!

My Fall ’09 middle grade novel has a title!!

I’m awaiting copy edits right now on my next book, a funny, contemporary middle grade novel about a Vermont girl, her quirky family, and the school leaf collection project that’s ruining her life.  It’s due out with Walker Books for Young Readers in Fall 2009.  The title has changed a few times, as titles sometimes do, and it’s been up in the air for a few months.  Today, my delightful editor emailed to let me know we have a title!

From now on, instead of blogging about "the-novel-that-used-to-be-called-Maple-Girl,"  I’ll be talking about…

THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z!

Thanks to all the friends who suggested ideas and offered input.  I love the new title, though I also still like my agent’s suggestion… GIANNA AND THE NO-GOOD, HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE, VERY BAD TITLE. 

Maybe that can be the sequel.

Book Signing this Weekend!

Happy Friday! 

This is Educators Weekend at Borders Books & Music, which means a 25% discount for current & retired teachers.  It also means that I’ll be signing copies of my new book, CHAMPLAIN AND THE SILENT ONE, at the Borders at Champlain Center in Plattsburgh on Saturday from 12-4.

I was at the mall yesterday to pick up shoelaces and swim goggles for the boy and peeked into Borders, you know, just to see if they had my book in stock yet.  There was a GINORMOUS display of them —  a table and two big racks full, to the tune about 200 books.  Yikes! 

The thought of hanging out all by myself with 200 books is making me a little wobbly-kneed.  If you live in Northern NY, would you please stop by Borders on Saturday and say hello so it’s not just me hiding behind a big pile of historical fiction?