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STEM Tuesday — Pets — Interview with Author Jodi Wheeler-Toppen

By on August 27, 2019   /   Common Core & NGSS, Pets, STEM Tuesday  

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview & Book Giveaway, a repeating feature for the fourth Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!

Today we’re interviewing Jodi Wheeler-Toppen about her just-released book CAT SCIENCE UNLEASHED: Fun Activities to Do with Your Feline Friends. School Library Journal says: “This book will be a delight to children who love cats and want to learn more about them using hands-on experiments.”

Mary Kay Carson: Tell us a bit about Cat Science Unleashed.

Jodi Wheeler-Toppen: Cat Science Unleashed is a book of science-based activities to do with your cat. The activities are fun–make your cat a toy that also tests her sniff-skills, find out how well your cat knows her territory, test her hearing and her night-vision, for example. They’ll show you cool things about your cat’s anatomy, physiology, psychology, etc. A lot of the activities also help you learn about the peculiarities of your special kitty–there’s a personality test, for example, where you can see how your cat compares to thousands of cats from around the world.

MKC: Developing cat-based activities must have been challenging!

Jodi: I wrote this book as a pairing to go with Dog Science Unleashed, which I also wrote. And I can tell you, the cat book was more of a challenge! For the dog book, my friends would drop their dogs at my house for the day and I would try activities with them (because I wanted to see how they worked with a variety of pups). But cats are so attached to their territories–it would terrify most cats to be dropped off at a strange house with a stranger. So I had to go to them and coax them out from under the bed or on top of the refrigerator or whatnot and try to engage them in my activities. It often worked best if I got the cat’s favorite person to try the activities while I watched.

Jodi Wheeler-Toppen is a former high school science teacher, with a Ph.D. in science education. She’s passionate about presenting science as exciting, suspenseful, and understandable. The author of more than a dozen science books for children and teachers, she also has a series on teaching strategies and activities from the National Science Teachers Association Press. Visit her at onceuponasciencebook.com

I got in trouble with one of my friends. I tested her three kittens for their paw preference by placing butter in a jar and watching how they got it out. She says that now, every morning when she makes toast, one-two-three little faces pop up over the countertop demanding butter! Sometimes an experiment would go great with one cat and then I’d never get it to work again. There was this fun one where I cut out detailed silhouettes of an angry cat and a peaceful cat and taped them to the wall. One pair of kitties gave great responses, arching their backs at the angry cat and rubbing against the peaceful one. But then I could never get another cat to respond, so I didn’t put it in the book.

MKC: How would you describe the approach you took to writing this book?

Jodi: I tried to work backwards from the science to the activities. So I looked for science ideas that were super cool or seemed important if you were going to understand your kitty. Then I thought, what is the craziest way we could look at this? What could you do with your cat that would be really fun or funny or would make Princess Fluffy super happy? I want it to be fun, for kids and their cats. I also want people to come away amazed at their purrfect pets!

MKC: Why do you choose to write STEM books?

Jodi: I was a high school science teacher and I am still very involved in STEM education through writing and staff development. Life circumstances made it difficult for me to stay in the classroom, so writing is a way I can still teach. Plus, it’s so much fun to take a topic and think about what’s really cool, what would people really get a kick out of about this, and focus there. So much more fun than having to always stick to the education standards!

 

Win a FREE copy of Cat Science Unleashed!

Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment below. The randomly-chosen winner will be contacted via email and asked to provide a mailing address (within the U.S. only) to receive the book.

Good luck!

Your host is Mary Kay Carson, author of The Tornado Scientist, Alexander Graham Bell for Kids, Mission to Pluto, Weird Animals, and other nonfiction books for kids. @marykaycarson

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Writing for TV and the movies – Interview with author Robert Cochran, and Giveaway

By on August 25, 2019   /   Author Interviews, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, Giveaways  

We’re thrilled to have Robert Cochran on Mixed-Up Files today. Robert co-created the international hit television series 24, for which he received six Emmy nominations and two wins. Before that, he had written and/or produced a number of other popular shows, including L.A. Law, Falcon Crest, JAG, The Commish, and La Femme Nikita. Prior to becoming a writer, he was a lawyer and a management consultant, careers he considers highly useful because they convinced him that he didn’t want to be a lawyer or a management consultant.  He lives with his wife in Monterey, California.

Robert talks to us about The Sword and the Dagger – his first novel and his career of writing for TV.  Be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of the post.

 

  1. How did you start your career in tv and writing in general?

From as early as I can remember, I always wanted to be a writer, though I have to say it took me a while to get started! I was a lawyer for several years, then a management consultant, but always writing in my spare time. One day, a friend of mine, a screenwriter, showed me one of his scripts. It was the first time I’d seen the screenwriting format, and I instinctively felt it was something that would come more naturally to me than prose fiction, which I’d been concentrating on previously. This turned out to be true, and after a few false starts, it eventually led to a career in television. Now, with The Sword and the Dagger, I feel I’ve come full circle back to prose fiction.

 

  1. Tell us about the first time you thought about writing for children and young adults. What made you decide that, yes, this is a story I want to write for a broader audience?

I’d come across the historical figure of the Old Man of the Mountain and found him and his era fascinating. His trained assassins were mostly quite young, and I wondered what would happen if one of them became emotionally involved with the intended victim and couldn’t bring himself to carry out the assassination. It seemed probable that the intended victim would also be young (making the bond more likely), so the main points of view were those of young people, and it just seemed natural to write the story for young people as well. You might say, I didn’t really make the decision to write for young adults — the story made it for me!

  1. Can we look forward to more novels from you in the children and young adult space? What are you excited about?

I don’t have any immediate plans for another novel — at least nothing specific. I love history, though, and if I write another young adult novel, it will probably be historical and probably again set during the Middle Ages, or perhaps a little earlier — maybe about Vikings. They did some pretty crazy things and are easy to get excited about!

 

  1. Tell us about your protagonist. How long did it take for you to figure out your main character and her motivations?

It took a while! I think you only really get to “know” your characters by writing them — your view of them changes as the story goes along. Elaine is born to privilege, but it’s privilege that feels like a cage. She’s surrounded by people, mainly men, telling her how she should behave and how she should think, and she sees no chance that this will ever change. She wants to rebel, to be free, to have adventures! And she does — she breaks free of her cage. But the adventures she has help her to understand that her privilege also carries obligations. Many people, an entire nation, will be affected by the decisions she makes. She has to find a way to be true to herself while still protecting those who depend on her, and this struggle forms her character and leads to decisions that change her life and the lives of her companions.

 

  1. How does your experience in TV affect your process of writing for young adults?

Writing for television teaches you about structure and keeping the story moving — you don’t want people changing the channel! But all adults, of whatever age, are interested in the same fundamental things: love, relationships, loyalty, courage, family, a person’s place in society, how to find purpose and meaning in life, and so forth. A story geared for young adults may tend to delve into such themes slightly less deeply than works targeted at an older audience, and while violence and sexuality aren’t ignored by any means, scenes involving them are presented less graphically. (I’d point out that there are many books and movies intended for young adults that older adults enjoy just as much, and vice-versa!)

 

  1. What advice would you give writers who want to write novels that have the potential to be made into movies or TV shows?

I actually think that just about any novel with a good story and strong characters has the potential to be made into a movie or TV show. So I would advise writers not to write with that goal in mind but just write the best novel they can possibly write. I’d also suggest, especially when you’re starting out, don’t worry too much about what’s popular or what’s selling at the moment. Write what moves you, what interests you, what you believe in, what you feel passionate about. That’s your best chance of coming up with something that’s authentic and original, and, therefore, your best chance of getting interest from film or television!

 

  1. Is there anything you’d like to say to readers?

Keep reading — then read some more! We don’t all have the time or the resources to visit different places or meet people who live different lives than ours, but the next best thing is to read about them, whether in fiction or nonfiction. Every time we experience the world through the eyes of another, we gain a little more understanding and compassion. It may sound corny, but I really believe a world full of readers is a better world.

 

Thanks, Robert! 

Want to have your own copy of The Sword And The Dagger? Enter our giveaway by leaving a comment below! 

You may earn extra entries by blogging/tweeting/facebooking the interview and letting us know. The winner will be announced here on Friday, August 30, 2019 and will be contacted  via email and asked to provide a mailing address (US/Canada only) to receive the book.

 

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Interview with Jess Redman, debut author of The Miraculous

By on August 23, 2019   /   Author Interviews  

There were times when I had to set The Miraculous aside as author Jess Redman’s prose addressed death, grief and the belief that joy exists in the midst of, and often as a result of loss.

We meet eleven-year-old Wunder on the eve before his little eight-day old sister’s funeral. Wunder is a self-proclaimed miracologist. As in, he records stories about residents of his little town with miraculous outcomes. But after the loss of his baby sister, Wunder doesn’t believe in miracles any longer.

Faye, a cape-wearing mascara-making-raccoon-eyes member of Wunder’s Unexplainable and Inexplicable Phenomenon Society swoops into his life. Together they discover a mysterious woman (who just might be a witch) living in an abandoned house near the cemetery. The old woman asks Wunder and Faye for help. She sends them on a mission that leads them to adventure, healing, friendship and a renewed belief in miracles.

Ultimately, Jess Redman’s debut offers “Because there can be miracles even in the midst of unfathomable sadness and anger, even in the depths of grief and confusion. And these, these are the hidden ones, the ones we must search for.”

Jess Redman is a therapist and an adjunct professor of psychology. She currently lives in Florida with her husband, two young children, and an old cat named Soul Pie. The Miraculous is her debut novel.

To learn more about Jess, visit her website, www.jessredman.com

JKR: Thank you so much Jess for your time. I understand you are a fan of the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors! Welcome!

The Miraculous openly addresses death and grief. What have you learned through your experiences as a therapist that you felt were really important for young children to understand through your book?

JR: As a therapist, I think that the middle-grade years—ages 9 to 13—are a very special time. These are the years when kids are beginning to look out and beyond for the first time, years when they are starting to ask big questions and to develop a more nuanced understanding of emotions and life—and death.

By this age, most kids know someone who has died, even if it isn’t a family member or close friend. Yet, many adults are hesitant to discuss grief, and death is frequently seen as scary, forbidden, too intense, and too painful to even bring up. But kids are thinking about and worrying about and trying to figure out these topics anyway.

With The Miraculous, I wanted to tell the story of one young person’s thoughts and feelings and experiences coping with death. I wanted it to be an honest and open look at how the main character, Wunder, moves through grief, while still telling a story full of mystery and magic.

It was important to me that young readers hear that there are many ways to grieve and many ways to express emotions and that their questions, no matter how big or overwhelming, are valid and important. It was also important to me that the story show the power of friendship and community in coping with loss.

JKR: You offered that after sending out ARCs to readers that it was suggested that The Miraculous might help both children working through grief as well as adults. How does this make you feel?

JR: When I wrote The Miraculous, I was very aware of my young audience. I wanted to tell a story that was honest about grief and loss but was also gentle and hopeful and magical. The book has only been in the world for a few weeks, but already I have heard from young readers who have experienced losses of many kinds and who have connected with the story, and that brings me so much joy. When I do school or library visits, young readers will talk with me about their losses because The Miraculous opens the door for that conversation, and it’s an honor to hear those stories.

But what I feel about The Miraculous is what I feel about many middle-grade stories: they are for everyone. Since ARCs started going out, I’ve also heard from many adult readers who have lost siblings, parents, and spouses, and from those who have lost precious children, from devastating miscarriages to the unexpected death of an adult child. It has been an incredible privilege to hear these stories as well and to know that The Miraculous has contributed healing and hope. Adults, I believe, also need stories about grief and loss that are gentle and hopeful and magical.

So to the adult readers of this story who have lost a loved one, I want to say:

I see you.

You are not alone.

And yes, this story is for you too.

JKR: As a bereaved parent, I could so relate to topics including “the wrong things people say but they really just don’t know how to say I’m sorry,” and how we all grieve differently. I can only imagine that children, especially those who have experienced death within their circles, will relate to these passages as well. Can you offer anything on this?

JR: One of my best friends lost her father when we were nine. It was one of the first deaths I really understood, and I remember vividly my own uncertainty when I watched my friend board the bus on her first day back at school. How would she behave? Would she cry? What would I say? How would I comfort her?

I think it’s so important for kids to learn that grieving, like many emotional experiences, is a complex and individual process. There isn’t a wrong way to grieve, and in The Miraculous, characters grieve in many different ways.

I think it’s also important that kids learn how to support a friend who is grieving. In The Miraculous, Wunder’s parents do not talk to him very much about his sister’s death. His best friends don’t know what to say, so they don’t say anything. Wunder’s loss is compounded by these additional losses until he finds support in new, unexpected places.

To be able to accept someone else’s emotions, to say, “I’m so sorry this has happened” and then to sit with them and allow them to feel without trying to change or fix or explain—that can be really hard. Hard for kids, hard for adults. Yet, it’s what we so often need when we’re hurting.

JKR: I love the term miracologist. How did you come up with this?

JR: When I first started thinking about Wunder, I knew that he would be someone who believed in impossible and magical things, but I wasn’t sure how that would work out on the page exactly. It slowly came to me that what Wunder really believed in was miracles—miracles of all types, from the everyday miracle of sunrise to the inexplicable miracle of a loved one healed from an illness. I love stories that are infused with a little bit of magic, and I love characters that have quirks and unusual hobbies, so miracle-collecting was perfect. And who better to collect and study miracles than a miracologist?  Although I, like Wunder in the first chapter of the story, did try terms like miracler and miraclist before settling on miracologist.

You address friendships, and the challenges one faces as being both an older friend to someone who has experienced loss, as well as a new friend. Can you expand on this theme?

Yes, themes of friendship and community are very important in this story. Wunder has two best friends. Neither are sure how to respond when Wunder returns to school after his sister’s death. Tomas acts as if nothing has happened, while Davy is too nervous to say anything at all. Wunder is left feeling more isolated and confused.

Then he meets a new friend, Faye, who has just lost her grandfather. Faye isn’t the most cuddly, touchy-feely of souls, but she talks to Wunder about his sister. She acknowledges his sadness. As the book progresses, Wunder and Faye’s friendship deepens. It is a friendship forged in mutual vulnerability and shared emotional experiences, which is something I see happen often for clients who are in the midst of loss.

In the end, Wunder’s old relationships shift and change too. Having relationships, old or new, where you can safely and fully express your emotions is so important to mental health, and I hope kids see that in Wunder’s relationships with his friends.

JKR: Finally, what was the greatest takeaway that you hope your readers will experience through reading of Wunder’s journey?

JR:In the story, Faye says something to Wunder that I think sums up the message of the story: “Sometimes the brightest miracles are hidden in the darkest moments…but you have to search for them. You can’t be afraid of the dark.”

I don’t believe in glossing over sadness or just looking on the bright side or forcing ourselves to see the silver lining. But I do believe that we can find joy and meaning and deep relationships and new purpose after and even within great loss. I believe that our pain can be transformative. I believe that there is always light, no matter how dark the darkness. The path to that light is very personal and cannot be rushed or forced, but I believe we can get there, and that we can help one another along.

I understand you have another work coming out next spring. Can you share a bit about your next book?

My second middle-grade book, QUINTESSENCE, comes out on July 28, 2020. In the story, 12-year-old Alma Lucas moves to a new town. She’s lonely and friendless and she begins experiencing panic attacks. And then she sees a star—a star that looks like a child—fall into her backyard. With help from her school Astronomy Club and a mysterious shopkeeper, she goes on a sometimes-magical quest to get the star home—and to find home within herself.

It’s a story I’m so excited about, full of science and mystery and, of course, light and dark. It’s here on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46223313-quintessence

JKR: Is there anything else you care to add?

If you’ve read The Miraculous, thank you so much! It has meant so much to me to have this story that holds so much of my heart out in the world and to know that it’s being read.

JKR: Thank you so much Jess for your time!  Jess has kindly offered a copy of The Miraculous to one lucky reader. For a chance to win,  enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.(For U.S. readers only please!) The winner will be announced August 30. Good luck!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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