Tag Archives: Horn Book Magazine

Keeping it real ~ Tackling tough topics for the youngest readers

26 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by in Books, Middle Grade, Picture Books, Reading

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The sweet innocence of childhood should be cherished and preserved for as long as possible, but shielding children entirely from harsh realities doesn’t do them a service. There are levels of truth. The youngest readers shouldn’t be unnecessarily exposed to gritty topics. However, there are plenty of stories that address tough topics in a way that builds empathy and understanding.

The two books I want to focus on here broach the topics of discrimination and homelessness in a gentle way.

The Bat Boy and His Violin, cover

The Bat Boy and His Violin

By Gavin Curtis, Illustrated by E. B. Lewis

The Bat Boy and His Violin, illustration by E.B. LewisReginald loves to create beautiful music on his violin. But Papa, manager of the Dukes, the worst team in the Negro National League, needs a bat boy, not a “fiddler,” and traveling with the Dukes doesn’t leave Reginald much time for practicing. Soon the Dukes’ dugout is filled with Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach — and the bleachers are filled with the sound of the Dukes’ bats. Has Reginald’s violin changed the Dukes’ luck—and can his music pull off a miracle victory against the powerful Monarchs? 

Gavin Curtis’s beautifully told story of family ties and team spirit and E. B. Lewis’s lush watercolor paintings capture a very special period in history. [Synopsis]

The Negro Leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprised predominantly of African-Americans, beginning in 1920, with a final season in 1951. On the surface, this story is a view into racial discrimination and segregation in the United States prior to the Civil Rights movement.

On a deeper level, this story addresses the all too frequent discrimination of the arts over sports. Reginald serves as a heroic role model, in that he honors his father’s wishes without giving up his true passion. In the end, father and son strengthen their bond through their acceptance and new-found appreciation of one another.

E. B. Lewis won the Coretta Scott King Honor for Illustrations for his rich and nuanced watercolors that enliven this moving, heartfelt story.

Crenshaw

By Katherine Applegate

Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There’s no more money for rent. And Crenshaw, covernot much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again.

Crenshaw is a cat. He’s large, he’s outspoken, and he’s imaginary. He has come back into Jackson’s life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything? [Synopsis]

Katherine Applegate tackles a tough topic in Crenshaw, shedding light on the realities of hunger and homelessness. As difficult as this topic is, Applegate artfully infuses the story with empathy and lighthearted humor. I was sold with the opening paragraph:

I noticed several weird things about the surfboarding cat. Thing number one: He as a surfboarding cat. Thing number two: He was wearing a T-shirt. It said CATS RULE, DOGS DROOL. Thing number three: He was holding a closed umbrella, like he was worried about getting wet. Which, when you think about it, is kind of not the point of surfing.

Told from the viewpoint of nine-year-old Jackson, we watch as he shields his younger sister from the terrifying reality of their family’s financial uncertainty, and feel the shame that threatens to cut him off from his best friend. Applegate masterfully shows how the family’s problems play out through Jackson’s eyes, and finally resolve in a safe and satisfying ending that is true to the story’s premise.

The tone is warm and, occasionally, quirkily funny, but it doesn’t sugarcoat the effects of hunger and vulnerability. This novel adds a middle-grade perspective to the literature of imaginary friends and paints a convincing and compassionate portrait of a social class―the working poor―underrepresented in children’s books. ―The Horn Book, starred review

What books that touch on tough topics
would you recommend for young readers?

Wisdom of Richard Peck ~ Writing for young readers

01 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in Middle Grade, SCBWI, Writing, Young Adult

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Richard Peck was an influential voice for me when I started writing for young readers, and with good reason. A Long Way From Chicago, coverHe was a National Book Award finalist TWICE, as well as claiming the Newbery Honor (A Long Way From Chicago) and Newbery Medal (A Year Down Yonder). Richard Peck was nothing short of a master and commander in the art of writing for young readers.

Before becoming an author, Richard Peck was a teacher. His classrooms were filled with the young audience he’d later write for. He admitted that, “Junior-high teaching made a writer out of me.” Peck may have left teaching, but he never stopped sharing his wisdom.

I was fortunate to have heard Richard Peck speak at a couple of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conferences. SCBWI even recorded a video Masterclass with Richard Peck on writing the novel for young readers too, that you can purchase for a reasonable price.

A Year Down Yonder, coverRichard Peck shared his wisdom on craft  through essays, as well. The essay he wrote on importance of beginnings—October/November 2006, Horn Book Magazine sparked a writing epiphany for me. In it he said, “The most important secret of writing . . . you are only as good as your opening line.”

At first I thought that was kind of harsh, so I did extensive research. I went to bookstores and libraries, reading ONLY first lines of books. As it turned out, he was right! The books with great first lines I took home and read.

Don’t confuse a great opening line with over-the-top drama, though. A great opening line shouldn’t be about shock-value. When done right, it sets the tone of the story, reveals character, conflict, and theme. It’s the promise of the premise…distilled into one line. Richard Peck would revise his first chapter 24 times (or more), well after he’d completed the manuscript, to make sure it was right.

A Season of Gifts, cover

Short stories comprised Richard Peck’s first published works, covering the gamut of comedy, tragedy, historical, and contemporary. In fact, his short story “Shotgun Chentham’s Last Night Above Ground” was the inspiration for his Living in Chicago series: A Long Way From Chicago, A Year Down Yonder, and A Season of Gifts.

Peck’s collection of short stories, Past Perfect, Present Tense includes insights and advice for aspiring writers, along with some of his own notes. In the introduction, Peck reminds us that “fiction isn’t real life with the names changed. It’s an alternate reality to reflect the reader’s own world.” He also warns burgeoning writers that “a short story isn’t easier than a novel.” In truth, short stories require a type of samurai self-editing that is not for the weak of pen or faint of heart.

Writing lessons learned from Richard Peck

  • Before you write a single word, know your audience. Who will want to read the story you have to write?
  • A story isn’t what is. It’s what if?
  • Fiction is never an answer, always a question.
  • A story, of any length, is about change. The characters can’t be the same in the last paragraph as they are in the first. If there’s no change, there’s no story.
  • The essence of the entire story should be encapsulated on the first page.
  • The first chapter is the last chapter in disguise.
  • The story’s beginning should answer each of the following questions with a satisfied “Yes”: Does it intrigue? Does it invite? Does it work?
  • Strong, colorful characters win over readers, like the quirky, audacious, and warm-hearted Grandma Dowdel in a Long Way From Chicago.
  • An outrageous comic outhouse calamity is often the reason a story is recommended, word-of-mouth over and over again. Memorable scenes create loyal audiences and inspire lifetime readers.

Girls with Game…how they changed baseball…& the world

18 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Baseball, Books, Nonfiction, Reading

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Girls today are encouraged to participate in almost any sport. It wasn’t that long ago when that was far from true. At the turn of the 20th century, girls were discouraged from having careers outside the home. So you know their playing professional sports was frowned upon. Remarkably, in the early 1900’s two girls in Philadelphia made their mark in professional sports, changing baseball…and the world: Edith Houghton and Effa Manley.

The Kid from Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton

By Audrey Vernick, Illustrated by Steven Salerno

The Kid From Diamond Street coverEdith Houghton was born in Philadelphia in 1912, and she always said she must’ve been “born with a baseball in my hand.” Which may have been true.

Edith was playing baseball at the age of 3, and by the time she was 6 she was magic on the field. At age 10, Edith heard about the Philadelphia Bobbies, an all-female baseball team, she tried out, and was so good she made the team.

The Bobbies were named for the bobbed haircuts the team sported. Edith was by far the youngest and smallest member of the team, and soon got the nickname The Kid. Because the Bobbies were one of the only female teams, they played against men’s teams all over the country.

The Bobbies were such a sensation, they were invited to tour Japan and play against the men’s teams there. It was quite an adventure. Vernick highlights the girls’ personalities during their travels, weaving playful scenes through the narrative of their spirited fun, enriched by Salerno’s lush illustrations.

In so many ways, the Bobbies were goodwill ambassadors for the United States and the equality of women. Later in life, Edith continued to break new ground for women in sports by becoming the first woman scout for a professional baseball team.

In May, 2006, Edith’s love for baseball was immortalized in the Diamond Dreams Exhibit in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

An engaging story that reminds readers that baseball isn’t just numbers and statistics, men and boys. Baseball is also ten-year-old girls, marching across a city to try out for a team intended for players twice their age. –Horn Book

 

She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story

By Audrey Vernick, Illustrated by Don Tate

She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story coverEffa Manely loved baseball. She played sandlot ball with her bothers as a young girl in Philadelphia in the early 1900’s. Sadly, this sparked racial prejudice because her bothers had darker skin like their father, and she had the light skin of her mother.

Effa loved watching baseball as much as playing it. So it was perfect that she met her husband at Yankee Stadium. Together they organized labor protests in Harlem and founded the Negro League team, the Newark Eagles.

Even after becoming a team owner, Manley sat in the stands “where the seats vibrated from foot-stomping excitement.” When the score was close, she’d get so excited that she’d have to peak between her white-gloved fingers, as delightfully portrayed in Don Tate’s rich illustration.She loved baseball

From her groundbreaking role as business manager and co-owner of the Newark Eagles, Effa Manley always fought for what was right.

She fought for fair salaries when some of her Eagles players moved to newly integrated major-league teams. In later years, she lobbied for her players’ recognition in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Then in 2006, Manley became the first woman to ever be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Manley was a trail blazer, fighting racial injustice throughout her life, and clearing a path for women’s equality a male-dominated field.

Live or Die … by Your First Line

01 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in Elizabeth Fais, Story, Writing

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Your life depends on one sentence … what would you say?

A little drastic. But you kept reading. Right? Which was the point. First lines matter. A lot. Especially for a young audience. Texting and tweeting has narrowed the overall attention span to 140 characters. Or less.

Which means you have to grab your reader on the First Line, hook them by the First Paragraph, and hold them captive by the First Page.

Richard Peck’s essay on the importance of opening lines (November 2006, Horn Book Magazine) changed my writing. He said that, “The most important secret of writing . . . you are only as good as your opening line.”

I thought that was kind of harsh at first. Then, I spent a lot of time going to bookstores and libraries and reading ONLY first lines. And I came to see that he’s right. The books that had amazing first lines I ended up reading.

A great opening line shouldn’t be just about shock-value. It should set the tone of the story, reveal character,  conflict, and theme. It’s the promise of the premise … in encapsulated form. Not easy to do. at all. I know (from first-hand experience). But when a first line is done well, it has an awesome effect on a reader! Something I also learned first-hand. Which is why, I now work on the opening line of a story until it has the grab-em-and-keep-em hook of a smash-hit movie trailer.

Gotta Love those “Firsts”…

From all those “one line stands” I fell in love with more than a few books

All from reading … one … single … sentence.

And if it can happen to me, I am sure it happens to young readers. When they read an opening line that takes their hand and leads them into a world of imagination and wonder.

Here are a few of my all-time favorite opening lines:

  • “If your teacher has to die, August isn’t a bad time of year for it.” THE TEACHER’S FUNERAL by Richard Peck.
  • “I come from a family with a lot of dead people.” EACH LITTLE BIRD THAT SINGS by Deborah Wiles.
  • “When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it’s never good news.” STORMBREAKER by Anthony Horowitz.
  • “I witnessed the kidnapping of Betty Ann Mulvaney.” TEEN IDOL by Meg Cabot.
  • “Being dead became fashionable approximately forty-five minutes after Samantha ‘the Divine’ Devereaux came back from summer break.” DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK by Marlene Perez.
  • “My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog.” BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE by Kate DiCamillo.
What first line hooked you into reading the entire story?