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A Retrospective MUFiversary

By on July 10, 2015   /   Book Lists  

As I psyched up for another MUF post, I decided to take a glance back at my previous posts, hoping to find some form of inspiration awaiting me. Surprisingly, it actually worked. And it’s all because of how I name my computer files.

You see, whenever I hammer out a MUF post and save it to my computer, I name the file by starting with the year-month-day date. So when I went to sift through my old posts, the very first file caught my eye: “2012-7-20…”

July 2012. . . .

July 2015. . . .

This month is my triple MUFiversary!

I’m a bit of an expert on anniversaries. In fact, I’ve been forgetting them until the last minute for 20 years. (Though I made up for it just last month when my wife and I celebrated our 20th anniversary via some mutual de-bucket-listing and jumped out of an airplane while 13,000 feet above the ground. She made me go first. But I’ve forgiven her.)

Anyway, the important anniversaries don’t stop there! Digging still deeper into my anniversary theme, I realized this is the 5th year for MUF, which was launched in 2010. So . . . with my wife and me celebrating 20 years of marriage, MUF celebrating its 5th MUFiversary, and my personal celebration of three years of MUFhood, I decided to weave those three anniversaries together and see what I got.

The result? . . . A 20 year journey back through the world of children’s publishing, using a series of 5-year leaps, with each leap including three if-you-haven’t-read-these-you-really-need-to books.

5 YEARS AGO (2010):

  1. BECAUSE OF MR. TERUPT by Rob Buyea. The story shifts between seven different narrators—each providing a unique voice and perspective as the story unfolds.
  2. OUT OF MY MIND by Sharon Draper. The main character can’t walk. She can’t talk. But she has a brilliant mind that refuses to stay hidden.
  3. Moon Over ManifestMOON OVER MANIFEST by Clare Vanderpool. I don’t read much historical fiction—I’m more of a contemporary-fiction guy. But I made an exception for this debut historical novel. And I’m sure glad I did.

10 YEARS AGO (2005):

  1. THE PENULTIMATE PERIL by Lemony Snicket. The 12th (and penultimate) novel in the 13-book Series of Unfortunate Events. Who knew having the narrator constantly defining words for the reader could be so much fun?
  2. HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE by J. K. Rowling. Another penultimate story that finally confirmed it—Severus Snape was clearly a bad guy. . . . Wasn’t he?
  3. The Lightning ThiefTHE LIGHTNING THIEF by Rick Riordan. Yeah, another series book (but not the penultimate one). This middle-grade novel kicks off the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which my 13-year-old daughter has read approximately 23.5 million times.

15 YEARS AGO (2000):

  1. STARGIRL by Jerry Spinelli. Not to brag or anything, but I’ve got a signed copy of Stargirl on my bookshelf. A. Signed. Copy. You may now be jealous. But don’t overdo it.
  2. Because of Winn-DixieBECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE by Kate DiCamillo. How could you not love a novel containing a large, ugly dog named after a grocery store?
  3. SCHOOLED by Gordon Korman. I had to include this book because it contains an opening paragraph that makes me want to keep reading every time:
    I was thirteen the first time I saw a police officer up close. He was arresting me for driving without a license. At the time, I didn’t even know what a license was. I wasn’t too clear on what being arrested meant either.

20 YEARS AGO (1995):

  1. WAYSIDE SCHOOL GETS A LITTLE STRANGER by Louis Sachar. The third and final chapter book in the rather wacky Wayside School series still makes for a terrifically fun read-aloud even a couple of decades after publication.
  2. THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. A powerful historical novel that you simply need to read. Because.
  3. Walk Two MoonsWALK TWO MOONS by Sharon Creech. Okay, I cheated. Walk Two Moons was actually published in 1994. But it won the Newbery Medal in 1995. Since it remains one of my favorite books of all time, I decided that was close enough.

Have a favorite, must-read book published in 1995, 2000, 2005, or 2010? Leave a comment and share the title!

T. P. Jagger The 3-Minute Writing TeacherAlong with his MUF posts, T. P. Jagger can be found at www.tpjagger.com, where he provides brief how-to writing-tip videos as The 3-Minute Writing Teacher plus original readers’ theatre scripts for middle-grade teachers. He also has a 10-lesson, video-based creative writing course available at Curious.com.

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We Need Diverse Books!

By on July 8, 2015   /   Book Lists  

Miranda Paul has published more than 50 short stories for magazines and digital markets and is the author of several picture books from imprints of Lerner, Macmillan, and Random House. Her debut, One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia, and her second book, Water is Water were both named Junior Library Guild selections. She is a Co-Regional Advisor for the Wisconsin Chapter of SCBWI and the administrator of RateYourStory.org, a site for aspiring writers.

Miranda Paul

I’ve invited Miranda to our blog to talk about her work with We Need Diverse Books™.

What is your role in WNDB, and how did you get involved?

My official title is VP of Outreach. I got involved at first by chatting on Twitter about diversity issues in literature with several of the individuals who became the force behind WNDB. The conversation moved off of Twitter and collectively, the grassroots team decided to launch a three-day awareness and action campaign. That’s how WNDB got started, really. We were trending days before the official campaign start date, and after the hashtag (#WeNeedDiverseBooks) took the world by storm, BookCon invited us to present in New York. From there, we launched our own website, filed for non-profit status, raised over $300,000 and began implementing several initiatives ranging from awards and grants to internship program and booktalking kits.

What does WNDB hope to accomplish and how?

Our official mission is to advocate essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people. To accomplish this, we recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities*, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities. We have continued a strong social media presence, and in 2015 we’ve expanded our presence on the ground and in communities through attending literary events, distributing kits, and bringing on more team members who live in different geographic areas.

Some of our upcoming goals include a mentorship program, a diversity festival, and more ways in which we can serve readers through helping them discover great diverse books that are already out there. The Walter Dean Myers Awards will recognize some of those books, and the Walter Grants will help new voices emerge.

*We subscribe to a broad definition of disability, which includes but is not limited to physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, chronic conditions, and mental illnesses (this may also include addiction). Furthermore, we subscribe to a social model of disability, which presents disability as created by barriers in the social environment, due to lack of equal access, stereotyping, and other forms of marginalization.

What resources does WNDB offer to teachers and librarians?

Our “Where to Find Diverse Books” links page, our Summer Reading Series and our Booktalking Kits come to mind. Our links page is a quick go-to guide when looking for recommendations in particular diverse categories. The Summer Reading Series includes Picture Book, Middle-Grade, and Young Adult titles using a comparative graphic model. Some of the Chapter book & Middle-Grade novels included so far summer are:

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

Gaby, Lost and Found by Angela Cervantes

The Lulu Series by Hilary McKay

The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yeh

The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones

More titles will be posted throughout the summer at: http://weneeddiversebooks.org/summer-reading-series/

WNDB_Booktalking_Kit_Logo (2)

Our Booktalking Kits are wonderfully visual, and are being utilized by school and public librarians in addition to booksellers. The #WeNeedDiverseBooks Booktalking Kit is a project that was developed with the American Booksellers Association and School Library Journal. This kit helps teachers, librarians, and booksellers promote non-majority narratives in children’s literature and includes:

PB, MG and YA diverse booklists designed to help shed light on lesser known books that are about diverse characters and/or written by diverse authors

Comparative title suggestions and corresponding comp title shelftalking mini-posters

Summer_Reading_Series_Sample_WNDB (2)

A We Need Diverse Books sign to create your own WNDB display

The great thing about these Booktalking Kits is that we plan to come out with new ones every year, so it’s a resource that will grow over time. Currently, there are ten Middle Grade titles including (just to name a few) Tim Tingle’s How I Became a Ghost, Zeina Abirached’s A Game for Swallows and Alex Gino’s George. Teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bloggers can request the full kit download at: http://weneeddiversebooks.org/edkit/

Booktalking_Kit_Sample_WNDB (2)

How can people get involved?

  • First of all, sign up for our newsletter, because that’s where we periodically send out calls for help/volunteers.
  • I also urge people to download our Booktalking Kits, which are now available online and share them with their local bookstore owners, librarians, and teachers.
  • If you’re part of an organization or business that wants to sponsor or support WNDB in a more significant way, we have a partnership request form and we review those quarterly.
  • Consider inviting WNDB to your literature festival, conference, or event as well.
  • Our success hinges on the keeping the diversity discussion alive and productive, so keeping WNDB news in the spotlight serves all of us. We’re grateful for the re-tweets, shares, and shout-outs.
  • We’re also extremely grateful for continued financial support as we implement our programming. (The “Donate” button is right on our navigation bar at diversebooks.org!)

Jacqueline Houtman is the author of The Reinvention of Edison Thomas (Front Street/Boyds Mills Press 2010) and coauthor, with Walter Naegle and Michael G. Long, of Bayard Rustin: The Invisible Activist (Quaker Press of FGC 2014).

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Make Reading Fun

By on July 6, 2015   /   For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers  

Summer is full of fun in the sun, dips in a pool, and hopefully reading some great middle-grade novels, too. Here are some ways to help inspire reading this summer.

Middle Grade Books and Ruby

Read books together. No matter how old a child or teen gets, it’s nice to share great books with relatives. Why not find a comfy spot and take turns reading to each other?

Read to a pet or a young child. My older daughter used to love reading books to her sister, and I lost track of how many times I found her snuggling with our dog while reading a book to her. Books with fun dialogue or younger siblings are great choices for this. As a child, I absolutely adored Judy Blume’s books (I even wrote my first fan letter to her). My girls are three years apart, and when my older daughter was six, I read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to her. I was pleasantly surprised when my younger daughter sat with us, laughing and intently listening to all of Peter and Fudge’s adventures.

Find a fun location to read. You can encourage reading at a beach, pool, or park. You can grab a seat and read almost anywhere! I think it would be fun to sit where you can watch gorillas in a zoo and read The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.

Create a contest to inspire the kids or teens in your life to read. You can have them put their name, the book title, and their favorite part of the book on a circle and see who creates the longest bookworm by the end of the summer. To celebrate, you can go someplace fun or have a treat like pizza or ice cream, and maybe give the winner a gift card to buy a new book or two. You could even create a themed party where you make fun treats like the ones in their favorite book/s.

Join a book club, or start one of your own. Hanging out with friends and talking about great books is an awesome way to encourage kids to read. Here are some Mixed-Up Files posts about book clubs that might help you:

*Starting a Parent/Child Book Club

*One Mom Plus Two Sets of Twins Leads to Three Great Book Clubs

*Middle-grade Book Club Guide

To make a book club even more fun, you can check to see if any of the authors on this list are still available for a free 15 – 20 minute Skype visit after all the kids in the book club read at least one of his or her books!

If you’re looking for great new middle-grade novels to read this summer, check out our monthly new release posts. You can also browse through all the unique book lists on our site and search for categories like humorous, mystery, action & adventure, animal, fantasy & paranormal, etc.

I’d love to know how you make reading fun, and what middle-grade books are on your must-read list.

Mindy Alyse Weiss writes humorous middle grade novels with heart and quirky picture books. She’s constantly inspired by her two daughters, an adventurous Bullmasador adopted from The Humane Society, and an adorable Beagle/Pointer mix who was rescued from the Everglades. Visit Mindy’s Twitter, Facebook, or blog to read more about her writing life, conference experiences, and writing tips.

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