And the discussion continues...

Earlier this week, I brought up our Mary Dyer vs. Anne Hutchinson debate. Both women were set to be profiled in our next book but the group felt their lives might have been too similar. Evidently, they were more similar than I thought as Janet pointed out the illustration I'd included was not Anne Hutchinson at all, but Mary Dyer. Hmmm... the picture was in the Library of Congress section on Anne. If I'd have read just a bit further, however, I'd have caught my mistake. Just to give Anne equal time, I'm including her picture in this blog entry. Notice the similarities. Notice why The Write Sisters thought we ought to pick someone else to include from the 1600s.

So, it looks like we're going to subtract Anne Hutchinson (there are already a lot of books about her, anyway) and add Ann Bradstreet--a poet and the first woman to be published in the United States. This sets up a whole other issue, however. Our Massachusetts list is full of lady writers and scientists. We need to appeal to child readers who are into music and the other arts. While there are a number of well-known women artists, not all of them fit our criteria. We need someone whose life was suitable for children to read about, perhaps overcame some sort of obstacle to overcome, and easily can be researched by kids. The hunt continues!

In the meantime, we wait patiently for our copies of Women of Granite to arrive. They should be somewhere in the United States this week. We've received good feedback from our early reviewers and are already receiving pre-orders. Very cool!

Our Massachusetts Book Continues

The Write Sisters are heavy into the research part of our second collaborative book. Today, at our monthly meeting, Kathy read a draft of her Tenley Albright chapter, Janet read a little bit of her Mary Dyer draft and the group critiqued my chapter on Ellen Swallow Richards.

This is where the real work begins--not just in the research and writing--but in the give and take that will ultimately become our book. Each of our "25 Women" books tries to cover American history from the 1600s to the present. Today we talked about whether the 1600s were properly represented by having a chapter on Anne Hutchinson and a chapter on Mary Dyer. Were the women's histories too similar? Would it be better to eliminate Anne Hutchinson since many kids' books have already been written about her? Who would make a suitable substitute?

Before we started the book, I had compiled a list of nearly 50 women we could profile. In an earlier blog entry, I talked about the decision-making process that goes into whittling down that list to just 25 names. One thing we learned in our first book was that this process has to remain flexible. When each writer agrees to do certain topics, it is with the full knowledge that we may have to drop one or more topics with something more suitable. Maybe there just isn't enough information on the subject. Maybe the subject chosen for profile is not really a good role model or research topic for children. Later this week, I'll let you know the decision about Anne Hutchinson's fate (that seemed to happen to the poor lady a lot, as you can see in the illustration). I'll also discuss why the decision was reached and how it impacts the book.

Good-bye Poetry Month!

With the end of April, comes the end of National Poetry Month. That, however, does not mean giving up poetry for the rest of the year! There is poetry enough to engage you every day between now and next April 1st. Head on down to your local public library and browse the 800s. American poetry is 811, English poetry is 821. German poetry 831, French 841, Italian 851, Spanish 861, Latin 871, Greek 881. ALL the other languages of the world are squeezed into the numbers between 890 and 899. (Don't blame me, I'm not Melville Dewey!) In the library, the children's room numbers roughly correspond to the numbers in the adult section, perhaps slightly abridged.

I'd like to round out the month by recommending a book of children's poetry from my public library: Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O'Connell George, illustrated by Lauren Stringer (Harcourt, 2005). This is a book I wish I had written. Each of the 31 poems are short and succinct and evoke a boy and his origami menagerie.

The illustrations, too, are marvelous! Imagine trying to paint pictures of hands folding paper--Stringer does it masterfully. After seeing how well the illustrations complement the poems I wondered if the author and illustrator worked together. I found my answer on Kristine O'Connell George's website: "I was startled when I first saw Lauren Stringer's sketches for FOLD ME A POEM: She had painted what was inside my head! I've never met Lauren and we didn't communicate while she was working on the book."

Lauren Stringer's website tells the story of how she felt she must learn how to fold origami animals prior to starting to illustrate. Read about it here.

Here's a sample poem from the book:

Of Course

Of course you're real,
Hippopotamus.
Don't you see
your wide
shadow?

--Diane


Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse's popular novel in verse (Scholastic, 1997), provided the impetus for a future plethora of poetic tomes by children's authors. (How's that for using alliteration and consonance during National Poetry Month?)

I generally enjoy reading novels-in-verse. They are quick reads for a person who has difficulty finding time to read for pleasure and, I believe, the added white space is encouraging to the child who experiences reading difficulties. For many kids, reading a page is an accomplishment. Being able to read many pages in a short amount of time is a triumph.

I also like the tightness of the form. Poet/novelists describe emotion, setting, and character in the fewest words possible--and, they are usually the perfect words. Writing a novel in verse--even free verse--is intellectually challenging, sweaty work.

Some books have succeeded more easily than others. Ron Koertge's The Brimstone Journals, (Candlewick, 2001) for example, takes us quickly and efficiently into the minds and lives of high school students. Their complicated assumptions about how life's problems must be solved break our hearts.

I had a bit more difficulty with the Newbery Honor book by poet Marilyn Nelson: Carver a Life in Poems (Front Street, 2001). This is a biography in verse and as such, must not only give us a sense of a George Washington Carver's world but include enough facts to allow the reader to march across the timeline of the famous teacher/scientist's life. I found this part lacking. Like many people, I knew only the very basic elements of why Carver's name is familiar. He is the man who found multiple uses for the peanut. Nelson helps us realize that he was so much more. Biographical footnotes are included in some of the pages and I found them to be extremely helpful. I sometimes felt lost when references were omitted. I wasn't always sure what event the poem depicted. If I was confused, I wondered how children read these sections.

The best part of the novel-in-verse is the way it combines both sides of the writer's brain. True, writers are generally thought to be creative, right-brained types. But there is also a logical, left-brained method to the sequencing of a novel. The reader sometimes has to work a little harder to read a novel written in verse. That's part of the fun.

--Mur

More from the Cobblestone Group

I promised more quotes from the fine people at Cobblestone Publishing.
Faces. Assistant Editor: Peg Lopata

“What sets Faces apart is that we cover contemporary issues. We're focused on people, places, and culture. We're looking for authentic voices, and try to include a growing-up story in each issue.”

“We'd like to publish more activities, word puzzles, and games.”

“Writers for us have to not only think like a kid, but have to think like today's kids.”

"For obscure topics, if I can't find photos to go with your article, then we might have to drop the article. Give me high quality, high resolution images or great prints. Second best, give me lots of leads where I might find photos to go with your article. Please look at our photos. They are very high quality. If your photos are as good or better, please send them to us. If not, don't bother.”


Calliope and Dig. Lou Waryncia , editorial director for Cobblestone Publishing, speaking for editor Rosalie Baker, who was unable to attend Writers Day.

“These magazines are the hardest to break into. Rosalie is very persnickety.”

“Rosalie does accept queries and does publish new writers.”

“Rosalie's biggest pet peeve is getting queries from people who have never read the magazine. Knowing the magazine helps you tailor your query to a specific department. She also likes unique language and subject matter.”

“Rosalie likes to know the back story. For example, for an issue on Joan of Arc, Joan herself is important, but so are the people who were around her.”

“If you're a new writer, Rosalie likes to know your back story, too. It helps to include something you've written, even if it hasn't been published.”


Odyssey. Editor: Beth Lindstrom

“Odyssey is an edgy magazine with a bit of attitude. We push the envelope on subject matter and content. We want to attract all kids, not just kids interested in science. We publish issues on general science, technology, and the future, and we also cover the softer sciences like psychology and anthropology.”


“Science doesn't have to be dry and boring. I suggest reading The Best American Science Writing 2007 (Gina Kolata, and Jesse Cohen, editors). It shows how creative science writing can be.

“I look for a good lead – a grease spot – that helps the reader slide into the story.”

“I need more fiction – science fiction, science-related short stories, legends, and tales.”


Appleseeds. Editorial Assistant: Marcia Lusted

“I'm in charge of writing rejection letters. It's really obvious when someone hasn't read the magazine.”

“We don't try to be comprehensive. We can't be. Instead, we try to entice the young reader, but not tell them everything.”

It's Still National Poetry Month!

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening written by Robert Frost and illustrated by Susan Jeffers has been a part of my 5-year old curriculum for 28 years. I had to memorize the poem in 6th grade back in the day when teachers forced students to do such things. I never forgot the poem, and blame Sister Genevieve Saint Joseph for every rhyming picture book I've written.

When I started teaching, I vowed to be the kind of teacher Sister Genevieve Saint Joseph was. Minus the vows she took to achieve "Sister" status. I always, always, always think of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening when the first snow falls. I had no choice but to share it with all my students, preschoolers and kindergartners. It's the kindergartners who get the works, however. They talk about this poem all winter.

We name the horse and imagine what this man might be doing out on such a day. Where did he go? Why? Is anybody waiting for him? (Not once in 28 years has anybody imagined the guy might be Death, or a man contemplating his death. Kids are funny like that.)

We talk about Robert Frost, and how we could drive to his farm if we really wanted to because we live in New Hampshire and so did he. (Kids love that fact. There's that funny-kid-thing again.) We talk about what a fantastic place New Hampshire is in which to live, which is why a smart guy like Robert Frost chose to live here.

We always decide we are very lucky to live in New Hampshire, which has great woods in which to stop.