Caroline's Classroom Connections with Gae Polisner!

I can't help taking note of Tuesday, January 29th . . . today is the day my husband proposed to me (and it was also on a Tuesday!). Um, many, many years ago . . . not saying, but it's multiple decades. :-)

 

He proposed using fortune cookies he baked himself with notes (fortunes) inside. He had to "guide" me to eat them in the right order. I loved it! And I said "yes" immediately! We're still happy and crazy and in love!

 

Enjoy another weekly issue of SPELLBINDERS! Thanks so much for reading, everyone. 

January 28, 2013 Caroline's Classroom Connections THE PULL OF GRAVITY by Gae Polisner    Gae Polisner's THE PULL OF GRAVITY YA contemporary fiction Farrar, Straus, and Giroux released May 2011 paper back edition February 2013 "Polisner's first novel begins with a bang and ends with another . . . . There is a great deal to enjoy throughout, and literary kids will surely enjoy a subplot involving John Steinbeck." -Booklist "Characters feel real . . . and the plot zips along, championing strength in adversity." -School Library Journal "She [Gae Polisner] is a writer young adult readers will surely want to hear more from." -examiner.com "Although the teens' best laid plans go oft awry, they discover that the force of the universe is with them-or at least friendship, family and romance. Pulls the heart in all the right places." -Kirkus Reviews   Please tell us about your book.   The Pull of Gravity is about two teens who, armed only with the wisdom of Yoda and a rare, first-edition copy of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, set off on a secret, whirlwind journey to keep a promise to their dying friend. I wrote it as an homage to the character-driven fiction I loved as a tween and teen. I hope I've done those wonderful books justice.    What inspired you to write this story?  First and foremost, my own boys. We had always read aloud nightly from the time they were babies into their early teens (they're 15 and 13 now. I still read aloud with my 13 year old once in a while; the 15 year old, not so much).    From the time we started chapter books and then novels, they loved realistic, contemporary fiction, and weren't really interested in most of the genre fiction (sci-fi or fantasy or magic like Harry Potter which frightened them). We enjoyed endless Kate DiCamillo, Sharon Creech, Deborah Wiles, Lynne Rae Perkins, to name a few. But the older they got, the more they wanted their books to have male MC's - characters they could directly relate to in body and mind. And, outside of genre fiction, it got harder and harder to find those relatable male protagonists in contemporary MG and YA. So much was told from a female lead character. So, I decided to write a book for them, narrated by a teen boy. Your average teen boy, who is extraordinary only in the quiet way we are each capable of being.    Could you share with readers how you conducted your research or share a few interesting tidbits you learned while researching? I did two sorts of research for the book. The first was on Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome - a rare genetic disorder that causes a body to rapidly age so that, by the average age of 9 - 13, most children affected die literally of old age. I had read an interview of a 15 year old boy with the syndrome and it really moved me - his spirit and matter-of-fact nature. The rest of the research was medical and on-line. I didn't need to go into depth, just have a general understanding of how it works and looks and what medical information exists on it - which is far too little.    Secondly, because Nick's dad walks from upstate NY (a fictional town near Saratoga) to NYC, and furthermore, because Nick and Jaycee venture from that town to Albany and then Rochester, NY, I had to do a lot of mapping of mileage and streets. During the writing and revision of TPoG, I often had Google maps and walking directions and a calculator spread out before me.   What are some special challenges associated with paralleling your book with a classic?  The biggest challenge was to make Of Mice and Men sound interesting without giving away too much! I didn't want to ruin the book for kids who will read it after TPoG. It was also a challenge to just find the balance of how much to include for it to feel integral to the story without including so much that it bogged down my own story. I really loved that part of writing the book, though.    What topics does your book touch upon that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom? In addition to the many Of Mice and Men ties that are there for the finding if a teacher wants to do so (here's a link to an essay I wrote on the same), there are themes of friendship - and what it means to be a good friend - taking responsibility and independence, and my favorite theme to explore: that we can be flawed individuals, our families can be flawed, our parents can be flawed, but that doesn't make us bad. Flawed and bad are not synonymous. That message is important to me. Being perfect is a big old bore. ;) What are you working on now? My next book comes out in 2014 (but is currently without a title). Here's the premise: Still reeling from her little brother's drowning death, a girl finds herself holding back -- from summer trips to the ocean, friendship, budding romance -- till she meets a young boy who may be her brother's reincarnation, which awakens her to new possibilities. To learn more about Gae Polisner, visit her at gaepolisner.com.                    Join Our Mailing List! Meet the Spellbinders Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in New Mexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time.  To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to her website, stop by her blog, or follow her on Twitter.    Carolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a master's degree in communicative disorders, and she has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a speech-language pathologist. Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list. Take Me There is a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Act of Haiku."             Kimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs, as well as two more forthcoming novels in 2012 and 2013.    She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences. Please visit her website to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides.       Upcoming Events Caroline Starr Rose April 19 New Mexico Library Association Youth Luncheon Albuquerque, NM July 27 19th Annual Norfolk Public Library Literature Festival, Norfolk, NE

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Newbery Book Clubs and Winner Predictions - 2013, plus great links!

January 22, 2013 Newbery Book Clubs for Kids and Students - Plus Winner Predictions  for 2013! Many schools and libraries do Mock Newbery Awards, getting the kids to read books that are getting "buzz" each year and then putting together discussion groups to talk about the books they've read. In December or January, ballots are assembled and the students can vote on their top favorites and see which book "won" that year's Mock Newbery Award. Sound like fun? It is! Here are a couple of links for more information to get started at your school: Newbery Book Club Eva Perry Mock Newbery ALSC/ALA Mock Newbery ACPL Mock Newbery and General Children's Book Site If you're on Goodreads, there is a forum filled with librarians, teachers and readers, who discuss books all year long as they are published and the pros and cons about their potential as a Newbery Medal contender. I've often learned about new books that I've missed, or I enjoy the conversation about good books in these forums.It's super easy to join, too. Newbery 2013 Discussion Groups on Goodreads: The Hunt Begins... Our Mock Newbery Predictions Contest Recent reads to discuss In case you've been a bit swamped with lesson plans (who isn't?!), here are a few of the books folks have been buzzing about all year long as potential Newbery winners. See if you've read them, let us know which are your favorites for 2012, and don't forget to watch the ALA Newbery Broadcast next Monday, January 28th. Information about how to log in and watch it LIVE is right here: Live ALA Youth Media Awards Broadcast     Join Our Mailing List! Meet the Spellbinders Kimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs, as well as two more forthcoming novels in 2012 and 2013. She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences. Please visit her website  to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides.      Carolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a master's degree in communicative disorders, and she has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a speech-language pathologist. Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list. She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Acts of Haiku." To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to www.caroleedean.com.       Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in New  Mexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time. Website  Blog       UPCOMING AUTHOR EVENTS           Montgomery County Teen Book Festival                            Houston, Texas Saturday, February 2, 2013, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Author Panels and Autographing sessions SPELLBINDERS   Carolee Dean Kimberley Griffiths Little WILL BE SPEAKING!

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My 2012 Reading List - better late than never?

I never got this one done earlier this month. I fully intended to, but I had my middle son home from college until January 4th and I didn't want to let him go. We were having too much fun going to movies and staying up late talking and playing games and eating out and sleeping in . . . er, yes. 

And then I was gone January 5-9th for my brother's interment and after I returned, it was a case of yikes, I gotta get back to real life, take down all the Christmas decorations and, um, there was this little thing called a new novel I had to finish writing! And which I am STILL working on. And which I need to turn in to my Scholastic editor this week.

My goal is Thursday afternoon. Well, probably Friday afternoon. And yes, it is still quite a mess, and here I am reading the whole thing for the very first time. I finished the First Draft's on December 29th - talk about cutting it close. Well, I got to the middle the other day and there are SO many notes to myself about new scenes still to write and a whole slew of scenes to re-order that my head started spinning - I kid you not - swiveling like Pinky Whitehead from Harriet the Spy.

Without further ado, here is the list of books I read during 2013. Children's/YA titles are mixed up, but marked. They are listed in order of being read. Then comes nonfiction, for pleasure and for research. Last of all, adult titles. GRAND TOTAL: 101 books! 

I'm kind of proud of myself. 

And this year I also kept a list of movies I watched. Many are ones my hubby wanted to see. There are several I still want to see, like Lincoln and Skyfall.

I also critiqued 17 manuscripts for various friends and crit partners. Whew!

Children’s/YA Books Read:

Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood MG

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin YA

Trapped by Michael Northrop YA

May B by Caroline Starr Rose MG

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness MG

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi YA

The Visconti House by Elsbeth Edgar MG

Eight Keys by Suzanne LeFleur MG

Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming MG nonfiction

10. Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes by Auxier MG

The Trouble with May Amelia by Jennifer Holm MG

The Aviary by Kathleen O’Dell MG

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr YA

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George MG

15. Variant by Robison Wells YA

The Everneath by Brodi Ashton YA

Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs MG

Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes MG

Miles from Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams YA

20. Girls Don’t Fly  Kristin Chandler YA

The Humming Room by Ellen Potter MG

Starters by Lissa Price YA

With a Name Like Love by Tess Hilmo MG

Sean Grisham’s Head by Lindsey Leavitt YA

25. Slayers by C. J. (Janette Rallison) YA

Shifting by Bethany Wiggins YA

Legend by Marie Lu YA

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs YA

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate MG

30. Wonder by R. J. Palacio MG

Bigger Than a Breadbox by Laurel Snyder MG

Where Things Come Back, John Corey Whaley YA

What Happened on Fox Street? Tricia Springstubb MG

Tighter by Adele Griffin YA

35. Chime by Franny Billinsgly YA

Shine by Lauren Myracle YA

Grave Mercy by R.L. LeFevers YA

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen MG

The Wild Queen Carolyn Meyer YA

40. Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindle YA

Desert Angel by Charlie Price YA

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor YA

Leisl and Po by Lauren Oliver MG

Across the Universe by Beth Revis YA

45. Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker MG

46. Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin MG

47. Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone MG

48. Iva Honeysuckle by Candice Ransom MG

49. Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter YA

50. Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage MG

51. Small Damages by Beth Kephart YA

52. The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford MG

53. Don’t Look Behind You by Michelle Gagnon YA

54. Skylark by Meagan Spooner YA

55. Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy MG

56. The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech MG

57 Throne of Glass  by Sarah Maas YA

58. Crewel  by Gennifer Albin YA

59. The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron YA

60. Liar Society, Book #2 by Lisa and Laura Roecker YA

61. What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang YA

62. Every Day by David Levithan YA

63. Vixen by Jillian YA

64. Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale MG

65. On the Road to Mr. Mineo’s by Barbara O’Connor MG

66. Hit the Road by Caroline Cooney YA

67. Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead MG

68. Z is for Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brian MG

69. Toby Gold by Craig R. Everett  MG

Non-Fiction Books:

7 Miracles that Saved America by Todd Stewart

7 Miracles that Saved the World by

America’s Hope by Douglas Brinley

Growing up Amish by Ira Wagler

Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo

The Writer’s Book of Hope by Ralph Keys

The Bedouin by Jamail Jabbar

Bedouins of the Desert

Belly Dance by Wendy Bonaventura

Lehi’s Journey

History of the Middle East

Jordan, Past and Present

Arabian Travels by Wilford Thesiger

Travels in Arabia Deserta by Charles Doughty

Abraham Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly

The Shallows: How the Internet is Transforming our Brains

Outliers by Malcom Gladwell

Life as a Victorian Lady by Pamela Horn

Second Sight  by Cheryl Klein

The Victorian Home

Victorian Dress

The War of Art  by Steve Pressfield

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by Countess Carnarvon

What Austen Saw and Dickens Knew

25. Daily Life in Victorian England

Adult Novels:

1. Rebecca’s Tale by Sally Beauman

2. The Dressmakers Daughter by Kate Alcott

3. Sister by Rosamund Lipton

4. The Beginner’s Goodbye by Anne Tyler

5. State of Wonder by Anne Patchett

6. The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge

7. Opal by Katherine Beck (partial)

Movies Watched (there may actually be more, I didn't start keeping the list until part way into the year:

I Capture the Castle

Possession

Downton Abbey (10 hours)

Cranford, BBC production (4 hours)

The Pianist

Persuasion

The Illusionist

Cranford Returns

The Help

Jane Eyre, 1944 version

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Mansion Houses of England

Mansfield Park

Ondine (surprisingly fantastic. If you haven't seen this, you must. Beautiful and haunting.)

Secret of Moonacre

Elizabeth

Jane Eyre, 2007 Masterpiece Theatre version

War Horse

Battleship

John Carter 3D

The Westing Game

Anonymous

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Somewhere in Time

The Bourne Legacy

Man From Snowy River

17 Miracles

Men in Black 3

The Dark Knight

The Avengers

The Recruit

Twilight, Breaking Dawn

Red Dawn

Jack Reacher

Casino Royale

Quantam of Solace

Birdsong, Masterpiece Theatre

Les Miserables

Television: 

Once Upon a Time, 10 episodes

My Guilty Pleasure: Southern, Funny, and Sexy: Hart of Dixie, 32 episodes - I had to watch all of Season One on Netflix and catch up!