Good Reads

Welcome to Writing for Middle Grade!

/ still a dreamer / 4 Comments

GirlReadingWhat happens when one of the picture books you’ve been working on evolves into a chapter book due to too much back-story? Then it’s recommended to be a middle grade novel because it’s getting too scary for a chapter book reader? One of the first things is to start reading more in that genre, so for me, it’s Welcome to Middle Grade!

I figured one of the best places to begin is with the Newbery winners, so I went to the ALA site.  I also found another site which gives brief summaries of the Newbery winners (all genres) from 2000 to present and makes middle grade novels easier to identify. It also happens that the feature article of the Children’s Writer Newsletter this month is “Walking the Tightrope of Peril in Middle-Grade Fiction.” Jackpot! That’s a good read, plus they list many MG novels within the article which I’ll look into soon. And then I’ve gotten a few recommendations from my writing group, sooooooooo ….

The titles I’ve selected to start with, which have particular appeal to me, are these (in no particular order plus some have been moved down to the bottom list as time passes)

  • The Underneath – Kathi Appelt
  • Savvy – Ingrid Law
  • The Graveyard Book– Neil Gaiman
  • Star Girl and Eggs – Jerry Spinelli
  • Crispin – Cross of Lead – Avi
  • Holes – Louis Sacher (saw the movie, never read the book)
  • Higher Power of Lucky – Susan Patron
  • Invention of Hugo Cabret – Brian Selznick

That should keep me busy! Do you have any really great MG suggestions?

MG books that I’ve read recently, enjoyed, and recommend are:

Local library – here I come!

How Many Story Elements Are Too Many?

/ still a dreamer / 8 Comments

How many sub-plots are too many? When are there too many POV’s? Too many characters?

HangmansDaughterExample  – A suspense/mystery novel I just finished by an author new to me, The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter by Sharyn McCrumb, brought these questions up – and had me thinking about their relevance in children’s books.  Particularly as we write stories of greater length, they are important points to consider, but they can be equally important in picture books.

In novels, I enjoy those which utilize more than one POV. What comes to mind is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, an excellent book. Each chapter is written, on an unevenly rotating basis, from one of the family member’s POV as they all try and come to grips with the harrowing situation to which their husband and father has brought them.  Each writer’s POV is unique, yet always moves the overall story forward, while masterfully intertwining the relationships of each family member.

In contrast, while it is a good read in many ways, The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter has too many characters to keep track of and too many sub-plots going on, one of which seems irrelevant to the overall story. The POV remained omniscient throughout and was clear, but I found myself wondering why certain characters and their seemingly separate story were included.

These same points need to be considered when writing children’s books. I notice in my own writing, I tend towards more than one POV. This is fine if a) done well and b) if it’s suitable for the reader of  that particular story. I’ve been reworking one of my picture books, in which, while I find two POV’s working for me, they will not work for the age child who reads a picture book. 4-7 year olds are not yet that sophisticated in their comprehension skills and will be confused.

Keeping our chosen genre(s) and their audiences in mind is critical to a story’s success. We can observe in anything we read what is working and what is not, especially the books we absolutely love, and how that applies in our own writing. Does the story have more than one POV? Should it? Are there too many characters for our intended audience to remember? If there is a sub-plot, is it so relevant that the reader will find it totally compelling? Or might it become confusing?

I think what we all strive for is writing the book that our reader cannot put down. And to that end, everything we read can enlighten our own writing.

Chapter Books and The Magic Tree House Series

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

MPOsborne-ChristmasCamelotWChapter books are the next step as a child grows beyond picture books. Whereas picture books are largely illustration, chapter books are largely prose, but which still include illustration, generally in black and white. Written for the age 7-10 crowd, they feature short chapters so the book can easily be put down and picked up again by the young reader. Chapter books include a fairly good amount of dialogue, short sentences, and vocabulary that is targeted for the reader who is growing in his reading skills.

Among the chapter books and series that have stood the test of time are the Cam Jansen Mysteries by David Adler; Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park; the Arthur Chapter Books by Steven Krensky; The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne, and quite a few more. A comprehensive list of current, popular chapter books has been compiled by the Salt Lake City Library Services, last updated April 2009.

MPOsborne-Haunted2I’ve currently been reading a series within The Magic Tree House Series subtitled A Merlin Mission. These books are excellent examples for writers of what is being sought in a good chapter book, but Mary Pope Osborne has added in this selection a special richness by introducing a famous myth. In The Magic Tree House Series, our main characters are brother and sister Jack and Annie of Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. They find a tree house in the woods filled with books, and that by pointing to a picture in a book, they can go there. In time they find the tree house belongs to Morgan Le Fay of Camelot, home to King Arthur.

In the Merlin Mission series, each adventure has Jack and Annie traveling back to Camelot to help King Arthur resolve a mystery or solve a problem. The first of this series is Christmas in Camelot, followed by Haunted Castle on Hallow’s Eve and Summer of the Sea Serpent.  What Mary Pope Osborne has brought to this series is an introduction of the myth of King MPOsborne-SummerSeaSerpent2Arthur and the Round Table for children ages 7-10, filled with the symbolism of cloaks, cauldrons, magical beings and more. She has provided detailed references in the back of the book for the elements she’s introduced.

With great black and white illustrations, these stories are perfect for the aspiring reader, but also for those of us who seek to learn what a good chapter book is all about. Osborne’s great dialogue and plot keep the mysteries moving along at a brisk pace, and enlightened this writer as to what also makes a chapter book timeless.

Hope Was Here – Joan Bauer

/ still a dreamer

 

YA novel - Hope Was Here

Hope certainly was here in this Newbery Award winning YA novel. Hope is 16 and raised by her single aunt, Addie. Hope’s mother, Deena, felt the best thing she could do for her baby was to have her raised by Addie, her sister. Named Tulip at birth, Hope decides to legally change her name at 12, often wondering if she can live up to her new name.
Addie and Hope have moved several times across the U.S., Addie following needed jobs as a short order cook in diners, and Hope, a young but experienced waitress, repeatedly having to leave the friends she’s made. Hope longs to one day know her father who she wants to believe is trying to find her, while Deena occasionally shows up in her life.
The story begins with Addie and Hope arriving in Mulhoney, a Wisconsin dairy town, to run the diner for the owner who has been stricken with leukemia. Hope Was Here is about hope for so many things, not just in Hope’s own life, but in the lives of those around her … in a man hoping to go into remission who runs for office to defeat a corrupt system; in the hope that good will prevail in this small town; that the undercurrent of love that streams through so many of the characters will prove, not only that love can prevail, but that hope is worth holding on to. Much of the story’s action takes place in and around the diner, where the customers and dishes Addie whips up serve as a colorful backdrop.
Life changing experiences abound for every character in Hope Was Here, in a can’t-put-down tale, that not only manages to beautifully explore relationships, but amazingly, also weaves in politics and the difference that teenagers can make in influencing their and others’ lives. The food served up by Addie in the diner may have you wanting to find something in your fridge, but Hope’s story will have you sitting, smiling, and definitely believing in the value of hope.

Juggling Books

/ still a dreamer

BooksStackedWhy such a while for Weil? No doubt there are just hordes of you out there suspecting I’m the slowest reader ever.

Just kidding – I don’t think there are hordes of you out there. But there are times when it seems that we are in one book forever. Or maybe we really are. In this case, from the time I started Spontaneous Healing, I was sick 2+ weeks. I believe that’s one of the reasons I plucked him from my “to read” stack. What better to read, when we feel like crap, than a book that gives us support to get up and feel better? 

I am a firm believer in the body’s innate drive towards self-healing, so this was a perfect choice to read. I went to a little bit of it every night during a time when I dragged myself out of bed, journaled a wee bit, put in a good day’s work, and crawled away from my computer to sit in front of the telly a bit, then dragged myself to bed. Hello, Dr. Weil! He’s been great and informative company, and renewed my faith in my body’s ability to heal, as well as how I need to better focus on doing the right things to stay well.

Then came … the Hunterdon County Library’s Annual Book Sale. Thank goodness I had a time limit there! Brought home a bunch of new books, but restrained myself and read only one – Indigo – as I had plenty of work and some writing to do. Then came the realization that Angels and Demons would be opening May 15 – OK, let’s pluck that off the shelf and give that another read before I see the movie. So I’m up past my bedtime – I’ll live.

And then … the book I knew I needed to read again – one of my favorites, The Artist’s Way. This is such a wonderful book and I’ll give author Julia Cameron the credit for my daily journaling/morning pages. This is a book that encourages and helps strengthen creativity in a unique, spiritual way. And that’s why I say I need to read this. I feel some deeper period of inspiration coming on, and who better than Julia to accompany me?

But what about children’s books? Ahhhhh – in this period, I have also read – many, many times already – one of the most wonderful children’s books I’ve ever read. The story, the illustrations, the subtle sub-text … I am deeply moved each time I open it. It is giving me the inspiration to return to an aspect of my artwork where I was struggling. I’ll get to that soon; it deserves so much more than a passing mention.

Andrew Weil, don’t give up on me; I shall return. I just have a couple more Illuminati murders to try and prevent, and then it will be all about the healing.