Patricia Hruby Powell on JOSEPHINE: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker

This month marks the debut of the impressive new picture book JOSEPHINE: the Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker (Chronicle, 2014).  During a recent visit to The Cat & The Fiddle author Patricia Hruby Powell graciously answered my questions about the book.

1. How did you get the idea to write a book on Josephine?

Josephine was a dancer. I’m a dancer. I’m also a children’s librarian—a substitute librarian. Back in 2005 while working at the Urbana Free Library, we had a regular group of African American pre-teen girls in the children’s department who were vying for attention. They were—you could say—belligerent. Naughty. They seemed pretty lost—unguided, unfocused. I decided that Josephine Baker could be a great role mode. I went home with a few books—adult and children’s--and started researching. I knew Josephine had been a maverick, was sexy, beautiful, adventurous, wild, fearless--sort of like Madonna in the way she’s reinvented herself over and over—but I hadn’t known Josephine worked for civil rights or adopted 12 children of various ethnicities and religions. Josephine’s time had come. She deserved to be known by Americans. (Not just the French).

2. What were the highs and lows of writing this book? Could you describe your research process?

Highs: writing the rhythmic text. The words danced off my pen and onto the page. Josephine is such a lively subject. And there’s footage of her early dancing, some of which can be seen on my website. She’s so dang cute. And original. And she wrote five autobiographies—all in French—the first when she was about 20 and it’s wonderfully lively. There is plenty of primary source material for research.

Lows: I love to research, but I had to repeat my research too many times. The first time around I didn’t cite any of my sources. I brought Josephine to a workshop conducted by Carolyn Yoder of Calkins Creek. She liked Josephine but advised me to cite all my sources in the text. So I got all those (French language) books from interlibrary loan a second time, reread them and this time more biographies and recordings of interviews on obsolete technology, pored over them, and cited every last hiccup. And Carolyn turned Josephine down. But EVERYTHING was cited. When my agent, Anna Olswanger, read Josephine for the first time, she told me all those superscripted citation numbers were deadly, to get rid of them. Which I did. Later, after Josephine was acquired by Chronicle, it was sent to an expert and read for accuracy. A couple of my facts were challenged. So I had to go back and get those rare sources from interlibrary loan again and prove what I knew to be true. Over those years, Josephine’s French language autobiographies got much harder to find. They’d been disappearing at a rate.

3.  This book is unique for a few reasons: it's for older readers, yet it's a picture book, in verse, with some mature material. Were you concerned that you were going "out of the box?" Can you tell us your thoughts about why you chose this format?

I first wrote Josephine as a picture book of about 1000 words. After a couple agents were excited about it, but then rejected it, I rewrote it, imagining it as a slim YA book in verse to be illustrated with quick stroke black and white drawings reminiscent of Paul Colin’s 1920s posters of Josephine. My agent Anna offered to represent me on the basis of Josephine. And we accrued a whole mess of rejections—but it generated a lot of excitement as well. My eventual editor Melissa Manlove at Chronicle received a 7,500 word biography in verse, and she asked if I would try cutting out half of it. Agent Anna suggested I take out chapters that were too old for the picture book crowd—about Josephine’s marriages and breakups, her political fiascos, with an eye to making it a picture book. Chronicle then acquired the 3500-word revision, and Melissa began adding back some of those deleted stanzas. Not entire chapters, though.

So bless Melissa Manlove, she saw what the book could be. She didn’t tell me, there’s no way to sell this. She didn’t tell me, it was too long or too sexy. She had a vision for the book. It sort of makes sense, that Josephine the manuscript broke so many rules, because Josephine the person did first--an African American being a superstar in the 20’s? Dancing with such abandon? Adopting 12 children of different races? Working as a spy for the French and its allies? Being a civil rights worker in the 50’s before the big names came on the scene?

4. What do you hope children take away from this book?

I hope children will think, I can do that. I can do anything I set my mind to do. I can invent things that no one has done before and do them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4kFwHNja8A

5. What's next, and what are you working on now?

I’m finishing up a documentary novel in verse for teens about Mildred Jeter, black, who married Richard Loving, white, in 1958 when interracial marriage was illegal in 24 states. They were arrested, jailed, banished from the state of Virginia for nine years until their case went to the U.S. Supreme Court and decided in their favor.

I’ve also started a novel set in the jazz age, which takes on some ideas I uncovered in the LOVING story and in Josephine. Historical fiction is like nonfiction in that it requires loads of research. Often the next book comes from a kernel found in a previous book, or the research of it.

Many thanks for this interview, Patricia, and a dazzlement of congratulations on your book! 

Patricia's  website.
Publisher's Weekly review
Kirkus review

How To Say Thank You Like Charles Dickens

Are you looking for the right words to say THANK YOU for kindnesses received during the holiday season?  One might learn from the gracious stylings of Charles Dickens (who is the subject of a movie released this month).

His collected letters (which I read as part of my research on Victorian England) offer many good old fashioned expressions of gratitude, including:

I thank you ten thousand times
I am most truly* obliged to you for...
(*substitute heartily and cordially)
I am much obliged and flattered* by the receipt of...
(substitute I cannot tell you how much obliged I am)
I am really more obliged to you for your kindness than I can say
I cannot thank you for it too cordially, and cannot too earnestly assure you that I shall always prize it highly.
I am most sincerely and affectionately grateful to you, and am full of pleasure and delight.

Some of Dickens' eloquent replies to letters:

I cannot forbear writing to tell you with what uncommon pleasure I received your interesting letter, and how sensible I always am of your kindness and generosity.

Your kind and welcome letter reached me here last night. I cannot tell you how highly I esteem it, or how cordially I reciprocate your friendly regard.
A couple of lengthier excerpts:

To George Cattermole, 1842

It is impossible to tell you how greatly I am charmed with those beautiful pictures, in which the whole feeling, and thought, and expression of the little story is rendered to the gratification of my inmost heart; and on which you have lavished those amazing resources of yours with a power at which I fairly wondered when I sat down yesterday before them.You are such a queer fellow and hold yourself so much aloof, that I am afraid to say half I would say touching my grateful admiration; so you shall imagine the rest.

To Lord John Russell, 1852:

I am most truly obliged to you for your kind note, and for your so generously thinking of me in the midst of your many occupations. I do consider that your ever ready consideration had already attached me to you in the warmest manner, and made me very much your debtor. I thank you unaffectedly and very earnestly, and am proud to be held in your remembrance.

To David Roberts, 1850

I am more obliged to you than I can tell you for the beautiful mark of your friendly remembrance which you have sent me this morning. I shall set it up among my household gods with pride. It gives me the highest gratification, and I beg you to accept my most cordial and sincere thanks ...


From the Letters of Charles Dickens, Vol. 1.

Believe me always, yours faithfully and obliged,

Michelle

Happy Happy 2014!

Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau Wins PEN/Steven Kroll Award

The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau has won the PEN/Steven Kroll award for picture book writing. 

The extent of my gratitude to PEN,  and to judges Barbara Shook Hazen, David Wiesner, and Cheryl Willis Hudson can be neither fathomed nor expressed. (Can you tell I've been in 19th century mode for my latest project?).  I am thrilled and deeply honored.

Thanks are also owed to Eerdmans, who chose the brilliant Amanda Hall to illustrate the book (and I hope we'll do more in the future.) Anna Olswanger and the The Lisa Dawson Agency sent me my own personal jungle, to celebrate the occasion.

It was a joy to share the news with friends and colleagues, whose encouragement has nourished me throughout the years. What a happy day. Art, love and beauty forever!

Barbara Shook Hazen, David Wiesner, and Cheryl Willis Hudson - See more at: http://www.pen.org/literature/2013-pensteven-kroll-award#sthash.hGTuploH.dpuf

Barbara Shook Hazen, David Wiesner, and Cheryl Willis Hudson - See more at: http://www.pen.org/literature/2013-pensteven-kroll-award#sthash.hGTuploH.dpuf

Barbara Shook Hazen, David Wiesner, and Cheryl Willis Hudson - See more at: http://www.pen.org/literature/2013-pensteven-kroll-award#sthash.hGTuploH.dpuf

Sparkling Nonfiction Picture Books at SCBWI Summer Conference

When I started writing for children several years ago, SCBWI (The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) offered encouragement, reassurance,  information about editors and markets,
and useful writerly advice (Type out the text of your favorite books. Read your own manuscripts aloud. Read lots of poetry- especially if you write picture books. Read deeply and widely for weeks, then after a period of silence, write your own book etc etc).

So, you can imagine what a pleasure it was to join the faculty of the Summer Conference this year.

Some points I made during my breakout session:

• mad love for your subject fuels and sustains expressive language 
• extensive research will provide telling, evocative and fresh details
•  do all you can to capture and keep the attention of your audience: children. You must know the things that fascinate and challenge them, and the things they're going through.

We discussed humorous and lyrical and innovatively formatted NF pbs, and I gave tips for writing biographies, some of which are recounted here at GalleyCat.
  
I attended other NF workshops, dined with new friends, and reunited at the autograph session with my esteemed colleagues of CAN! (Children's Authors Network). Here is yours truly with Alexis O'Neill, Jeri Ferris, Joan Graham and Barney Saltzberg (not pictured are Mary Ann Fraser and Joanne Rocklin.)

The many splendored weekend ended with a wrap party under the stars. A heartful thanks to SCBWI!



 

Catching Up with Brave Girl

My goodness. So much has happened since Brave Girl entered the world in January.

Harper Collins created a fierce downloadable teacher's guide, which included connections to Common Core.

The book was selected by the Junior Library Guild and went on to receive four starred reviews,

 from School Library Journal which called it a "sparkling picture book biography,"

from Publisher's Weekly:  which said "Markel doesn’t sugarcoat the obstacles and injuries Lemlich faced as she went on to lead the “largest walkout of women workers in U.S. history,”

from Kirkus ("Catches the heart.") and from Booklist ("This book has fighting spirit in spades - you go, Clara!" )

In her review for The New York Times for Women's History Month, Pamela Paul called Brave Girl "an excellent, timely portrait of the labor leader"and according to Horn Book,

 "In her simple but powerful text Markel shows how multiple arrests, serious physical attacks, and endless misogyny failed to deter this remarkable woman as she set off on her lifelong path as a union activist."

It was an honor to launch the book on March 10 in celebration of International Women's Day, at Workmen's Circle in Los Angeles. Judy Fjell sang labor songs, Tania Verafeld read from a play about the Triangle fire, and Hershl Hartmann, a Yiddish translator and educator who knew Clara Lemlich, spoke about her lifelong commitment to social justice.

Clara on the mural at Workmen's Circle

In April, Brave Girl was nominated for an Amelia Bloomer award, and there are plans to release it as a paperback edition for PJ Library.

I am eminently grateful to Melissa Sweet for her wonderful illustrations (complete with stitchery, cloth and vintage documents), to the publisher for being so supportive, and most of all to Clara herself, for inspiring me with her courage and her legacy to the labor movement.

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909

I'm happy to announce the publication of Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909, illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Balzer & Bray).

What a thrill. The book, which tells how activist Clara Lemlich led one of the most historic strikes in U.S. history, has received stars from Kirkus, Booklist and School Library Journal.  

It was selected by the Junior Library Guild,  acclaimed at Richie's List,  chosen as an Inspired Recommendation for Kids from Indie Booksellers, and as one of Amazon's Best Picture Books of the Month.

My sincere thanks to Melissa Sweet and Balzer & Bray.

On this day I'm also thinking of my father, who was once president of his machinist union, and an avid supporter of my writing. I know he'd be proud.

Finally, I can't resist this wonderful quote from President Obama's inaugural speech:

"We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship." 

Hooray.

Interview with Jeri Chase Ferris, Author of Noah Webster & His Words

Today The Cat & the Fiddle welcomes Jeri Chase Ferris, author of many acclaimed biographies for children, including, most recently, Noah Webster and His Words (illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch).  It's a real charmer!


Q: Why write about Noah Webster?

 A: Everybody knows about Webster, right? He wrote Webster’s Dictionary, right? Right. But what else did Noah do? When you read NOAH WEBSTER & HIS WORDS you will learn how vital he was in keeping our fledging [one that is new] nation together; how he influenced our Constitution; how his books united America, and much, much more.

 And why a picture book biography? I had written an earlier chapter book biography of Noah (WHAT DO YOU MEAN?), which sadly went out of print. Teachers and librarians often asked me for that book, and I was embarrassed to say it was not available. So I decided to have another go at Noah, this time a picture book.

Q: How’d you do your research?

 A: I love history and research! I’m a historian and wanna-be archaeologist, and prefer digging up facts to just about anything – well, maybe not more than riding my horse.

 For my first bio of Noah I dug into all the books and research already done on him, my husband Tom and I traveled to Noah’s geographical sites, and I corresponded with Noah’s great-great-great-grand son. That was like touching history itself, and added to the primary source material that is so critical to a NF work.

 For NOAH WEBSTER & HIS WORDS, I reviewed all my previous research and happily explored additional new books and many new websites. I worked with the director of the NW Foundation, who read and vetted several versions of the ms. until it finally passed muster, and a researcher at Merriam-Webster provided some great definition ideas.

Q: Did Noah really always think he was right?

 A: Yes.  He would go on at great length to prove his positions, sometimes in the face of public ridicule. I admired his fortitude and the fact that despite being occasionally discouraged and depressed, he was never silenced by others’ negative opinions. He bounced back, sometimes even with humor, to “correct” his critics. He was convinced that Americans needed a national head of state, a national set of rules, standard spelling (at that time, the same word might be spelled ten different ways in ten different places), American history and reading and geography books, and ultimately, needed an American dictionary.

Q: What do you hope kids get from this book?

 Language is fun!

 Definitions will surprise you!

 The more words you know, the more you can say!

 And from Noah himself – never give up when you believe you are right.

Q:  What are you up to now?

A:   A Siege of Leningrad ms., THE LAST MOUSE IN LENINGRAD, is being edited. It’s based on the life of a Soviet friend who, beginning at age 10, miraculously survived 900 days of deprivation, freezing and starvation when Leningrad was surrounded by Nazi troops during WWII. This book began the evening my husband Tom and I were having dinner with our dear friends in their small Leningrad apt. It was Christmas for us (not for them) and they had decorated a tiny fir tree for the occasion. Leonid said, during dinner, “When I look at the yulka (fir tree) I always remember the Siege. Then we did not decorate the tree. We ate it.” I had to tell this story.

Also, I’m working on a MG historical fiction set on the Ohio River, about 1800.

Also, I’m starting a MG historical fiction set at the California Russian settlement of Fort Ross, about 1815.

Also, I’m thinking about a historical fiction picture book about a young immigrant girl in 1880s New England who had only one blouse and one skirt, and who …

Did I mention I love history?

In case you missed it, here's the link to the review of Noah Webster and His Words  in Publisher's Weekly.

 

Many thanks to Jeri, one of my colleagues in the Children Authors Network.

This week's Nonfiction Monday Roundup is at LibrariYAn.

The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau: A Wrap Up

My humble thanks to all who devoted their time and energy to review The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau, to Amanda Hall for her gorgeous illustrations, and to Eerdmans for their enthusiastic support.

Since I haven't been posting regular updates about the book, here's a year end wrap up:

 Publishers Weekly (Starred)

School Library Journal 
"This is not only a visually exciting introduction to a well-known artist, but also an uplifting model of passion and perseverance." (Starred)

Booklist:
“The career of artist Henri Rousseau gets a wonderfully child-friendly treatment in a book that captures both his personality and the essence of his pictures. … Markel’s text has a sweetness and simplicity that allows children to understand the story’s underpinnings, giving them someone to root for.”  (Starred)
 
Junior Library Guild Selection
A NYPL's Title for Reading and Sharing With Children

And:

One of Booklist's Top Ten Art Books for Youth
 The Guardian UK Christmas 2012 Best Picture Books for Children

It was reviewed by Elizabeth Bird at SLJ, Richie Partington, and at several places, including:

Jean Little Library
ReaderKidz
Books Together
The Fourth Musketeer
Nonfiction Detectives
Waking Brain Cells
Shelf-employed
Kiss the Book

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
CMU Public Radio

You can read interviews at:

I.N.K. Interesting Nonfiction for Kids
Cynsations

Finally, in case you missed the Eerdmans trailer:

TC&TF will be serving up posts on nonfiction, among other delights, in 2013.

May your new year be filled with health and happiness!

What a year. The Cat & The Fiddle has largely been shuttered, whilst I've spent months in my writing chair, fighting off cats, hunger, and sleep. 2012 has been consumed with stories and promotion and lesson plans. Here are a few shap shots:

Signing books at the Eerdmans Booth, ALA

Much to my delight, The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau was published to critical acclaim (an update on that, in my next post). Though it originally had an August pub date, my publisher managed to arrange a book signing at ALA in June, with much success. So many local author and librarian friends came by!  Eerdmans also invited me to their table at the awards banquet. The highlight was listening to the speech of the inimitable Jack Gantos, whom I've admired for many a year. Yay.

Amy Koss, Principal Rebecca Witt, Joe Cepeda, and Mary Ann Fraser 

One of the schools I visited was Mountain Avenue, in Glendale (with, by happy coincidence, some of my colleagues in the Children's Authors Network). In one of the classrooms, I had to do my presentation without Powerpoint because the projector wasn't working. But the kids and I had a lively discussion anyhow. Liberating.

With co-presenter Susan Casey and 826 LA's Julius Panoringan

I taught three sessions of writing for children at UCLA Extension's Writers Program, and did a volunteer workshop at 826LA called "Advice for Zombies and More."  Zombies, vampires, superheroes and even squirrels sought and received help from advice columnists, ages 8 to 12.








Happy New Year to all from The Cat & The Fiddle!

Big Dreams for Common Core

Cat & Fiddlers,  you can imagine my delight about the new Common Core curriculum, with its emphasis on nonfiction in the classroom.

I read in the Pasadena Star News that my local school district will be implementing the changes:

Reading and writing will be integrated, instead of being treated as
separate subjects, and also will be incorporated into math lessons.

And kindergartners will be solving word problems, "the bane of math students everywhere."

A bane? When I started this blog, I wrote several posts about how to create entertaining, high interest word problems. Perhaps, with Common Core, there will be a stylistic renaissance in their style and content. A girl can dream.

Speaking of word problems, Tyrannosaurus Math has been published by Fukuinkan Shoten in Japan!

Goodreads Giveaway of The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau

Just wanted to let you know about the giveaway of The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau at Goodreads.

I hope your midsummer is dreamy!

Need ideas for summer reading? Check out this video from CAN!, the Childrens Authors Network:

The Cat and the Fiddle re-opens, after a long hiatus.

Much has occurred, meanwhile. I've been teaching, writing, researching, and working on a new website, where I'll be posting news about my appearances, classes and books, such as my latest, The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau.

For which Eerdmans has created a remarkable trailer.

At TC&TF,  I'll be posting, now and then, interviews, thoughts on children's literature, and the writing thereof.  More later.

Joan Bransfield Graham, April Halprin Wayland and Janet Wong on the Writing Process

Hats off to The Opposite of Indifference for hosting today's Poetry Friday Round-Up, and offering such irresistible bookmarks (I have a soft spot for sock monkeys).

As promised, I'm posting Part 2 of my Q and A with noted poets (and fellow Children's Authors Network members) Joan Bransfield Graham, April Halprin Wayland, and Janet Wong.

Q: Using one of your poems as an example, could you briefly describe your writing process- from idea to finished product?

Joan: For my "Sun" poem in FLICKER FLASH I decided to speak as the sun itself--a mask poem. Sometimes the sun would shine down the hallway in my house, hitting me in the face like a big alarm clock--that was my inspiration. The sun, of course, would be loud; it would "shout," "bounce," and "solar power" to create a "dynamite, ring-a-ding day." The letters b, d, p, and t are "plosives" and their sounds add to the impact. It was fun to slip in a bit of scientific information. Then I played with the shape, experimenting with different fonts to achieve the best roundness. Ease of reading is always a consideration. There's a lot going on in two sentences. I read all my poems aloud many times and revise accordingly. I've enjoyed breaking this up and doing it in call-and-response with students. When I ask, "Who needs to be solar powered out of bed in the morning?" a lot of hands shoot up, especially the teachers!

Sun

"From
93,000,000
miles away I bring
you this dynamite, ring-
a-ding day. I'll shout in
your window and bounce
near your head to solar
power you out of
your bed."

--(c) Joan Bransfield Graham

Janet: One good example is "Scute," a poem that I wrote for PoetryTagTime, the eBook anthology that I compiled with Sylvia Vardell. In this book, 30 poets "play tag," writing poems that connect to one another. I was tagged by Mary Ann Hoberman, who wrote a poem about turtles, tortoises, and terrapins--so I knew that I had to write about some aspect of those T creatures. Since I was the last poet, I also wanted to link to the first poet, Jack Prelutsky, who wrote about the moon. Joseph Bruchac's Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back popped into my mind; you can see what I did with that, below. I wrote over a dozen drafts but could not choose a favorite. Here are the three finalists that I chose to send to a few poet-friends. Take a look and see which you'd choose:

Scute #1

Every once in a while
a word sinks deep
into my mind
and I find myself
thinking about it
in the strangest places.
Today’s word: scute.
It’s a cute word--
or even if it isn’t,
I tell myself it is,
so I’ll remember
how to say it.
Scute.

In school we learned
some people see
thirteen moons
in the big scutes
on a turtle’s back.
I can see moons there,
sure--
but scutes actually
remind me more of
Mom’s cinnamon rolls
squished together
in her favorite oval pan.

And I see
an old tortoise scute
in Grandma’s
kitchen chopping block,
a thick slice of
meat-stained oak
that shows thirty years
of rings.


Scutes everywhere,
even where
you don’t expect
to find them.

Grandpa’s scaly tough
toenails: scutes--
and not-so-cute ones!

All these scute-thoughts
have got me thinking:
time to shed the old
and grow
a fresh new shell.

Scute #2

In school we learned
some people see thirteen moons
in the big scutes on a turtle’s back.
I can see moons there, sure--

but scutes actually remind me more
of Mom’s cinnamon rolls
squished together
in her favorite oval pan.

And I see an old tortoise scute
in Grandma’s kitchen chopping block,
a thick slice of meat-stained oak
that shows thirty years of rings.

Scutes everywhere, even where
you don’t expect to find them:
Grandpa, I think it’s time to shed
a few layers of toenails, don’t you?

Scute #3

Every once in a while
a word digs itself deep
into my mind
and I find it everywhere.

In school we learned
some people see thirteen moons
in the big scutes on a turtle’s back.
I can see moons in the scutes,
but turtle scutes remind me more
of Mom’s cinnamon rolls
squished together
in her favorite oval pan.
I see an old tortoise scute
in our kitchen chopping block,
which is one thick slice of oak
showing fifty years of rings.
Grandpa’s scaly tough toenails:
scutes--and not-so-cute ones!

Tonight all these scute-thoughts
have got me thinking:
time to shed the old
and grow a fresh new shell.


Their opinions were all over the map, of course! Most of the praise was for #2, but despite the praise—or maybe because I wasn't able to "accept" it easily—I kept questioning myself. One poet-friend asked if I could tinker further with the toenail section. After she said that, I knew instantly that this was what I needed to do. You can read the final draft in PoetryTagTime (our 99-cent eBook) or at www.poetrysuitcase.com (in the Poems section, connected to the turtle prop).

April:I just posted MIDNIGHT CAT on my Poetry Month blog.

I wanted to write a mask poem--a poem from the point of view of my cat. She sneaks into the house each night, tiptoes around my sleeping dog, Eli, and sleeps next to me all night long. In the morning before anyone's up, she sneaks back outside.

I love with working with the online Thesaurus.com and several online rhyming dictionaries, including Rhymezone.com. With this poem, I simply slid inside the mind of our cat (whose name, if you must know, is Snot), and then played with rhymes. And played and played and played. I wanted to limit the number of sounds I used in the poem and I wanted to get the 'tude of Snot and how she feels about our dog. Sometimes writing a poem takes a very long time and sometimes it feels like I'm splashing in a mud puddle. This one felt like I was deep in that delicious mud!

A bouquet of thanks to Joan, April and Janet!

May all your months be filled with poetry. Part One of this interview was posted last Friday.

Joan Bransfield Graham, April Halprin Wayland and Janet Wong on Writing Poetry

Today I'm pleased to present Part One of a Q & A with acclaimed poets Joan Bransfield Graham, April Halprin Wayland and Janet Wong, (my fellow members in the Children's Authors Network). All three have poems out in the brand new Poetry Tag Time ebook.

Happy Poetry Month and Poetry Friday!

What is the challenge of writing poetry for children?

Janet: The hardest part of writing is knowing when to stop, which draft to choose. Most children like bouncy, silly rhymes, so it takes discipline to choose a more subtle approach. It's sort of like choosing between serving chicken nuggets and chicken soup.

April: To get quiet inside and find the real, the true.
To get past the obvious, to not write superficially.
That's the challenge of writing anything. It's all the same.
To be clear but not corny. Be accessible but don't underestimate the audience.

Joan: The challenge of writing poetry for children is to be original, capture a moment in time, create the poem you've never read before, connect with readers and make them say--"Oh, YES!" Each poem should be an act of discovery that surprises the senses, shakes you awake, and startles your imagination.

Which poets are your influences, and what about them do you admire?

Janet: Myra Cohn Livingston nurtured and "created" so many of us; she will forever be The Grandest Teacher of Children's Poets (and the most generous). She would go to great lengths to help new poets connect with editors (once you'd demonstrated some serious effort).

April: I love so many writers. I have to say that I love Janet Wong for her originality, for the often casual, conversational tone of her work. I love Joan Bransfield Graham for her use of language and for always finding a new way to look at things. My mother used to read Ogden Nash to us. In fact, I was named for his poem, "Always Marry an April Girl," which my parents would say aloud to me often. I love the way he invents words and his humor. I love e.e.cummings for his fanciful flights of poetry. I fell in love with Lawrence Ferlinghetti when I was thirteen. I loved his book, A CONEY ISLAND OF THE MIND.

Joan: I've always admired Valerie Worth's use of metaphor and David McCord's and Eve Merriam's wordplay. Richard Wilbur and Mary Oliver provide such stunning imagery, as does Billy Collins, whose perspective and humor are a constant surprise and delight. I was fortunate to be able to study with Myra Cohn Livingston in her Master Class at UCLA--along with Janet and April. What an amazing group--we learned so much from each other!


What is one of the most "autobiographical" poems you've written? Why does it have special meaning for you?

Janet: In GOOD LUCK GOLD (out-of-print, but I will be bringing it back to life soon in Kindle form) there is a poem called "Dad," where I say that my father is like a turtle. When he's mad, he snaps and pulls into his shell. It's becoming quite autobiographical because my own "turtle tendencies" are growing stronger each year--my son can tell you all about that!

April: EVERY one is in some way autobiographical. I've written poetry for many years and one poem a day for over a year...so I have too many to choose from! Whine, whine, whine... : ^ )

Joan: At first I did not realize this, but my books SPLISH SPLASH and FLICKER FLASH are very autobiographical! Growing up on a barrier island along the southern coast of New Jersey, I loved the ocean, boats, the salty air, the sound and rhythm of the waves. What was my first book? Water poems. For years I've studied photography, and I'm always conscious of the interplay of light and shadow. Before digital I developed my own black and white prints in the darkroom, where I saw the effects of light take shape. My next book? Poems about light. Philosopher Immanuel Kant said, "We see things not as they are, but as we are."


Any tips for classroom teachers on how to integrate poetry into the curriculum?

Janet: Here are three tips: 1) Build your own Poetry Suitcase; read why at www.poetrysuitcase.com;

2) Have kids write poems on endangered animals and send them to me via www.OnceUponATiger.com (where you'll find more info about what we're doing to build awareness of endangered animals and how we're donating money to help protect them; a good discussion topic for Earth Day); and

3) please visit our PoetryTagTime.blogspot.com blog where Sylvia Vardell shares amazing poetry tips on a daily basis!

April: Go to TeachingAuthors.com -- six children's authors who also teach writing. On most Fridays, which is "Poetry Friday" in the Kidlitosphere, one of us has posted poetry and a writing tip.

And here's another tip: be present. That's what I've learned in writing a poem a day. I've learned that for me, the way to net today's poem is to tune in: what am I feeling? What is that kid is saying? What does the smell of her peanut butter cookie remind me of?

Ask yourself what feels interesting in class today? Can I condense this into a poetry prompt? Maybe you're teaching cursive writing and you've talked about forming the curve of a letter.

Ask the class to become aware of other curves in class, then brainstorm a list of things with curves on the board (a swimming pool, the arch of a doorway, a macaroni noodle, a cat's tail...).

Then have each student make their own list of 5-10 things that curve...if there's time, let them walk around the school campus looking for ideas or eat their lunches and think about curves, then come back and write their list.

Then have them pick one thing from their list to explore in a poem.

Because rhyming can take you away from what you want to say and force you in another direction, you might ask them to avoid rhyming this time.

Why did they pick that particular item from their list? Ask them to think about why it's interesting and how they can weave details of it into the poem so that it will be interesting to readers.

Then stand on your head when you read their poems aloud.

Just kidding.

Joan: Each poem creates its own small world with vivid imagery and vigorous verbs . . . perfect to tuck into so many areas of the curriculum. Since I do lots of school visits and am a former teacher, I know that my poems in SPLISH SPLASH and FLICKER FLASH have been used to open science units on water and light, to inspire students to write their own concrete poetry, and to spotlight "word art" for art classes. You can find Teacher Idea Sheets on my Web site: www.joangraham.com. I've had many teachers tell me that my shape poems--since they are so visual--work well for their ESL students . . . providing clues to help decode words. I love the "Poetry Break" idea, where someone pops into each classroom to share a poem. You should always have a Poem in Your Pocket, and every month should be Poetry Month! All the lessons poetry teaches enhance any kind of writing you choose to do.

This is Part One of the Q & A. (Joan, April and Janet will talk about their writing process in Part Two, which I'll post next Friday.)

The Poetry Friday round-up is hosted today by Book Aunt.

Erica Silverman on Liberty's Voice: The Story of Emma Lazarus

Welcome to this week's Nonfiction Monday Round-Up. If you'd like to join in, please leave your name, your link, and a description of your post in the comment section below. I'll add links throughout the day, beginning at 6 am on the West Coast.



Today, an interview with award-winning author Erica Silverman, whose picture book biography, Liberty's Voice: The Story of Emma Lazarus (illustrated by Stacey Schuett) was published this spring.

Why did you choose to write a biography of Emma Lazarus? What drew you, personally, to her story?

There is so much about her that intrigues me and that I admire.

Her passion for poetry from an early age was something I identified with. I was impressed by her strong need to learn and grow as a writer. She was a strong, independent woman, a successful writer in the late nineteenth century – a time when women had little voice in the public sphere and were decades away from winning the vote. And then, despite coming from a life of comfort and privilege, she became a strong voice for social justice. She became an active advocate for immigrants at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment was on the rise. And she was courageous, confronting anti-Semitism head-on in her writing, despite the fact that she traveled in mostly non-Jewish circles and was no doubt aware of the anti-Semitic attitudes among her own friends. She described herself as not being religious and yet had a strong Jewish identity and a strong feeling for Jewish history. She was in so many ways an independent thinker.

How do you think children might relate to Emma?

I hope they see her as a role model, are inspired by the fact that she followed her dream, listened to her “voice within”, and wasn’t afraid to speak out for her beliefs. I hope her willingness to stand up for immigrants' rights empowers them to speak up for their beliefs. I also hope they will see how poetry, which we don’t take very seriously as a culture, can actually be powerful and important. Lazarus’ poem, The New Colossus, quite literally defined the Statue of Liberty as our most well-known and loved national symbol for immigrants.

What was the greatest challenge in writing the book, and how did you overcome it? How long did it take to write?

Years. I started the book in 2002 and it’s just come out. I had a hard time tracking down some of the source materials. My best find was the many memorial letters written at the time of Emma’s death. They were published in a newspaper called the American Hebrew. I found them on microfilm at LAPL.

The other big challenge was narrowing down the story. There was so much about Emma’s life that fascinated me. And there was so much historical background I wanted to include. It was hard to leave so much out, but a picture book has to be very focused.

What advice would you give to writers of picture book biographies?

Find a storyline and stay with it. Find the moments in your subject’s life that are emotional, that have drama – moments of happiness, sadness, anger, failure, success. Include details that evoke the time and place in which your subject lived. You can’t tell everything about that time, but hopefully, you will awaken the reader’s curiosity and arouse a desire to learn more. And of course, in any picture book, you have to write “visually”, to give the artist scenes to illustrate.

Any interesting anecdotes about Emma that didn't make it into the book?

I was fascinated by Emma’s relationship with Ralph Waldo Emerson, which began when she was just eighteen years old. In my book I show how she met him at a dinner party and sent him a book of her own poetry. They embarked on a correspondence in which he mentored her, praising her work while guiding her to improve.

But when Emerson edited an anthology of American poets, he did not include any of her poems. Emma was devastated and furious. What I found interesting is that she wasn’t afraid to let him know, and shot off an anger-fueled letter to him. In my early drafts, I included the scene in which she discovers the anthology’s omission and writes to him. My editor gently pointed out that the book wasn’t about their relationship and that this scene, while dramatic, didn’t really move the story forward. I recognized that he was right.

If Emma were alive today, and you could spend the day with her, where would you take her in your home town of Los Angeles?

We’d take a tour of some of the immigrant neighborhoods – starting with Boyle Heights. Perhaps we could join a rally for immigrant rights. And then we'd get on a plane to New York
and visit the Statue of Liberty.

Erica's next book is Hanukkah Hop, a stamping, hopping, bim-bim-bopping celebration of Hanukkah, complete with a dancing parrot, a live Klezmer band and a girl named Rachel who lives to dance. The retro 50s art is by Steve D'Amico.

Nonfiction Monday Round-up

Book, Dogs, and Frogs has a booktalk/review of Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot.

Wild About Nature is giving away a copy of Flowers Bloom! by Mary Dodson Wade.

Just in time for spring! Check out Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Julie Paschkis at Bookmuse. Enjoy!

Jean Little Library a book about cats! Perfect!

Nonfiction Book Blast has Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith for this week.

Fourth Musketeer has a review of Patrick McDonnell's adorable picture book about Jane Goodall, Me...Jane.

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast shares an interview with illustrator Zachary Pullen and lots of art from Richard Michelson's picture book biography of Lipman Pike.

True Tales and a Cherry on Top features The Brothers Kennedy: John, Robert, and Edward by Kathleen Krull, and an appreciative nod to The Peace Corps.

Lori Calabrese Writes is in with a review of National Geographic's Deadliest Animals.

Bookends Blog is soaring today with two Amelia Earhart books.

At Charlotte's Library, a review of The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Real Princesses.

The Cath in the Hat has a post on Who Scoops Elephant Poo?

Books for Learning covers several books about seeds.

The selection at All About Books With Janet Squires is Piano Starts Here: the young Art Tatum written and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker. Drop by and listen to this Jazz great at his best.

Simply Science has At the Sea Floor Cafe by Lesley Bulion as part of the Peachtree Publishers blog tour.

Pink Me is in with a review of Mark Kurlansky's World Without Fish. (Mmm, fish! Fish from certified sustainable fisheries, of course!)

Great Kid Books shares Ask Me Everything, a new DK book. Mary Ann Scheuer says that her students love the visuals, the facts and the way it's all organized by questions they can ask themselves and each other.

Shelf-employed reviews two great new offerings from the talented duo of Steve Jenkins and Robin Page: Time to Eat and Time for a Bath.

Child Development & Picture Books: An Interview with Joanne Rocklin

In preparing to teach a writing class, I've been thinking about some of the common problems of student manuscripts. Many are too descriptive and internal, many are "slight" stories, or they don't have "universal appeal."

Would a familiarity with child development help beginning writers with their picture book stories? Acclaimed author/ teacher Joanne Rocklin, who has a doctorate in psychology, graciously answered my questions on this topic.

How could a knowledge of child development benefit a picture book writer?

Our main goal as authors is to delight, move, and envelop kids in a world they can escape to--in other words, get them to love books. And the easiest way to do this is to understand the children themselves - their humor, their conflicts and needs, and their particular intellectual and social development.

What kinds of books meet the MAIN needs of the pre-school and early elementary age child?

BOOKS FOR TODDLER AND PRESCHOOL: As authors, we want to enhance the conditioning process by which the book remains something warm and comforting and wonderful, (a "transitional object" like a blankie or favorite toy) simply by its association with the parent who is reading and holding the child. What kind of book does this?

-Books which emphasize the senses, using bright, simple images so the baby can focus. Tasty, textured or smelly ones, like Pat the Bunny (Kunhardt, 1998)

-Books emphasizing Repetition, Rhythm and Rhyme, to give the child a comforting, secure feeling, making the world seem less chaotic. There is a security and increased sense of control when the rhyme and refrain reappears. The child is learning about "object permanence", a phrase coined by developmental psychologist Jean Piaget-- that objects still exist, even when out of sight.

-by the end of this period, Piaget's sensorimotor period, the toddler can hold an image in her mind for longer periods, and can anticipate what will happen next. And that's what's needed to understand story, and leads us to

PICTURE BOOKS: These books also reflect the developmental needs of the child (ages 3 and up):

-They are short! They should be able to be read in one sitting, because of the child's relatively short attention span.

-They are child-centered, i.e. there's a simple plot based on everyday situations in the child's life.

-There is a "rehearsal for separation" as defined by E.M. Roberts in The Children's Picture Book: the parent is often in the background, but nearby, as the child has adventures, as in Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak)

-Piaget and others have shown, and parents intuitively know, that children endow inanimate objects and animals with feelings and opinions (animism), that they believe the whole world thinks and feels as they do (egocentrism) and that they believe in magic. So it's natural for the child to accept storybook characters who are animals or fantasy creatures, and even anthropormorphic creatures (The Little Engine that Could/Piper, 1978)


- BUT-the main character is almost always a child in disguise! Animals behavior is species-appropriate (eg. bears hibernate) but with child-like feelings and needs. Mice are popular--they are small, cute, scared and mischievousness, and kids identify. Even main characters who are adults are child-like (Strega Nona/dePaola). All this disguise gives the listener some distance from the weighty issues brought up.

-And the issues are weighty: separation, fear of loss, sibling rivalry, shyness, and many more. There should be a conflict that the main character solves herself; nothing is solved by coincidence, magic, a parent. This allows for growth by the character, and thus the identifying reader. (eg. Henke's Julius, The Baby of the World.)

-Humor in the p.b. reflects what the child himself finds funny at this age: slapstick, surprise, silliness. (Hattie and the Fox/Mem Fox)

-Endings are important: funny, surprising, quiet--but there must be a sense of closure. The adult doesn't want to send the child off into the scary dark void called Sleep with loose story-endings.

-There should be a melding of words and pictures. The words have to be lovely, but spare, with few adjectives and lots of descriptive verbs, to leave room for the illustrator. The child is a beginning reader at this stage, and is learning to go back and forth between words and pictures as he enters the next stage--reading on his own.

What was one of your favorite books to read when you were a child? Why do you think it was meaningful to you at that time in your life?

My favorite books of all time were middle grades, so that's what I write today. Little Women and especially, Anne of Green Gables (I'm a former Canadian) are imprinted in my memory.


I sold my latest book ONE DAY AND ONE AMAZING MORNING ON ORANGE STREET, I was told, because it was a quintessential middle grade. I like to begin a middle grade novel on "a day that is different", and in this book a troubling orange plastic cone appears on the street, as does a mysterious stranger.

Middle grade is all about character and introspection, lots of introspection, and I love writing about that. I have several characters in my new book, each focused on their own particular conflict, but also worried about that orange cone, an old orange tree, and that stranger. I had fun changing points of view--something you can't do in a younger work. But older readers like peeking into the heads and homes of several characters and can keep everyone's perspective in mind. I even have the old orange tree telling its story, and get inside the mind of a dog, a rodent, and children from other eras.

In a middle grade, you don't have to disguise or distance the reader from the conflict--it's right out there in the open. I laid out all the conflicts and was marvelously surprised and moved when everything came together at the end, and everyone's best self was realized --that's the scary magic of writing a novel--it does come together at the end, but you don't often have the ending until you get there. I think it's fair to say that a picture book author needs to have a clearer sense of the ending almost from the beginning...but that's a writing issue and not necessarily a child developmental one!

Any suggestions for reference books or websites about this?

I've mentioned Piaget. I just love his work and he seems to have started it all. Then there are lots of other books out there that codify the age needs and characteristics. Brazelton, The Gessell Institute (Ilg, Ames and Baker's book). I'm sure there are hundreds of more current ones, but not necessarily better ones.

Thanks so much, Joanne!