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The Industrial Revolution for Kids: Interview and Giveaway

By on September 17, 2014   /   Giveaways, Nonfiction  

Welcome Cheryl Mullenbach, a former middle and high school history teacher and state education department consultant, to the Mixed-Up Files!

Industrial Revolution for Kids The (2)

Cheryl is here to talk about her new book, The Industrial Revolution for Kids, which  introduces young readers to the Industrial Revolution in a “revolutionary” way—through the usual people, places, and inventions of the time: the incredibly wealthy Rockefellers and Carnegies, dirty and dangerous factories, new forms of transportation and communication. In addition, readers experience the era through the eyes of everyday workers, kids, sports figures, and social activists whose names never appeared in history books.

MUF: This is your second nonfiction book for young readers. Given your teaching experience, American history is a logical choice of subject mattter. But what made you decide to focus on the Industrial Revolution?

CM: I like to tackle traditional topics in history by exploring them through new, fresh perspectives. The Industrial Revolution is usually a popular topic for middle school and high school history courses. The focus for studying the Industrial Revolution in America is usually on the “greats” – Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Vanderbilt. The era had such a major impact on the way we live today. I wanted to scratch below the surface and feature some of the ordinary and overlooked individuals (including kids) who made the Industrial Revolution possible. That’s why readers of The Industrial Revolution for Kids will learn about the contributions of Andrew Carnegie to the steel industry at the same time meeting an 11-year-old boy who was thrown into a room with rats when he was caught breaking windows.

MUF: The Industrial Revolution is a big topic. How did you narrow it down to information that would be most relevant and interesting to kids?

CM: It was challenging to present an overview of 100 years of American history in only 40,000 words! The role of immigrants could hardly be overlooked in any book about the Industrial Revolution. Labor unions. Child labor. Urbanization. And while those at first blush may not be appealing to kids, the stories of real people who were affected by immigration, unions, child labor and urbanization reel in young readers—the five children of Thomas Healy who lost his life in a gunpowder factory explosion in New York; 12-year-old Charles Neudinger whose body was pierced by needles when a machine in a textile factory accidentally trapped him; a group of school boys in Massachusetts who vandalized their principal’s house when they were banned from associating with the local factory girls.

MUF: Wow, those are some incredible stories. Thank you for giving them a voice. The inclusion of twenty-one hands on activities and crafts really extends the learning opportunities provided by the book. Was it hard to come up with ideas? Can you give us a short description of your favorite example?

CM_head1CM: Well, I think anyone who has taught middle school kids becomes quite skilled at designing resources that capture the attention of those little darlings! One of my favorite activities in the book is “Listen to Talking Walls.” It incorporates local history and language arts as well as research skills. Kids are asked to focus on a section of buildings in their community. They analyze the exteriors and interiors to learn about architecture and history. My hope is that kids will look at their surroundings and realize that there’s history all around them.

MUF: Who is the target audience for your book?

I hope middle school history and language arts teachers, public and school librarians, and home school educators will use it as a resource for their students. I think parents will find it a helpful tool to pique a child’s interest in the past. Children who are learning English as a second language will find stories and activities that they can relate to. As educators look for resources to infuse informational text into their curricula, they seek out text in content areas that will motivate students. I think stories of real people, places, and events from the past can intrigue young readers. The format of the “For Kids” series by Chicago Review Press benefits struggling readers. Text is “chunked up” or pulled out in the sidebars woven throughout the chapters. Reluctant readers are pulled in by the archival photos. Many of the photos capture images of young children—getting dimes from John D. Rockefeller, stuffing sausages in a meatpacking plant, selling newspapers on city street corners, and playing on tenement roofs. A college instructor told me she plans to use The Industrial Revolution for Kids with her undergraduates to give an overview of the Industrial Revolution!

MUF: That’s great! According to your website, you have another book forthcoming in 2015. Can you tell us a little bit about that title?

CM: It’s another in the “For Kids” series. The Great Depression for Kids: Hardships and Hope in 1930’s America tells the stories of everyday Americans struggling to live, work, and play during this troubled time. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Readers meet packhorse librarians; Bossy Gillis, the Massachusetts mayor who encouraged kids to skip school to attend the circus; Scotty, a film star’s dog that had his own pink satin sofa; and 7-year-old Betty Jane Kolar, the “world’s youngest magician.”

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, Cheryl Mullenbach, and offering a copy of The Industrial Revolution for Kids to one lucky reader. To enter the draw, please follow the rafflecopter link. Winner announced September 23rd. Good luck!

Yolanda Ridge is the author of Trouble in the Trees (Orca Book Publishers, 2012) and Road Block (Orca Book Publishers, 2011).

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Somebody on this Bus by J.B.Cheaney

By on September 16, 2014   /   Book Lists  

 

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From Amazon:

Spencer’s the smart kid. Shelly’s the diva. Miranda’s the scaredy-cat. Matthew’s just average (so far). In fact, there’s nothing about any of the nine middle-schoolers on Mrs. B’s bus route that screams “fame.” But before the end of the year, somebody on this bus is going to be famous.

Every morning, their school bus waits at an empty bus stop. Nobody ever gets on. Nobody ever gets off.

And Mrs. B refuses to answer questions about it. Strangest of all, it’s Bender the bully who decides to investigate the mystery. But it will take all nine students to find out the truth, for each of them has a clue to the mystery that will change their lives forever.

Award-winning author J.B. Cheaney’s new middle grade novel weaves nine distinctive narratives into one fascinating read. Part detective story, part tale of self-discovery, this funny and touching novel is destined to be a modern classic.

Amie: Welcome J.B! I noticed on your website that you’ve written quite a few books for children. Why do you write middle-grade books?

J.B.: I never thought I would want to write middle-grade books. That age was terrifying for me when I was in it! And middle-graders terrified me as a grown-up, too, until I got to know them. I see it now as a magic age, that transition from childhood to adolescence, when they’re struggling between sweet and hip, eager and cool. They’re vulnerable, yet sharp and funny. And besides, the novels I wrote for middle-graders are the only ones that publishers have wanted, at least so far.

Amie: Well, that definitely speaks for itself! What was your inspiration for your latest book, Somebody on this Bus is Going to be Famous?

J.B.: Brad Pitt. No, seriously: I lived in Springfield, Missouri, for a short time in the 1980s, about the time that he was becoming a major star. Springfield is where Brad grew up and where his parents still live, and I would hear of Brad-Pitt sightings from time to time. It made me start thinking about what it would be like to encounter him, or any other famous person, before they became famous. Like, way back in middle school. Suppose we rode the same bus. A title drifted into my mind: Somebody on This Bus Is Going to Be Famous. The title demanded a story. So I gave it one—over a period of many years and many rewrites, I’ll have to say.

Amie: Oh. Well, can Ben Affleck be my inspiration? *school girl giggles* Tell me about a favorite character in your book.

J.B.: You know how to ask hard questions, don’t you? Okay, this book has nine protagonists—more than most epic novels, even—and after spending so much time with them it’s hard to pick a favorite. I love all of them for different reasons. But since you asked, I’ll tell you about Kaitlynn. I met the real Kaitlynn—not her real name, of course—when she stomped into my classroom on a Saturday morning during a Young Authors literary conference. I had no idea what she was mad about, but I didn’t take it personally. She was a skinny little girl with long straight hair and glasses and a headband, just like I described her in the book. By the time we got to my planned activities she was over her funk, and after class she had to tell me her story about a superhero spider. A few months later, when I started the first chapter of this book, Kaitlynn stepped right up and joined the kids getting on the bus.

Amie: I’ve never met a Kaitlynn before in my life. Nope. Never. And I certainly wasn’t one either. Nope. Never. One final question.  Eggplant parmesan or Sesame chicken?

J.B.: I’m no vegetarian, but eggplant parmesan every time. When do you expect me for dinner?

Amie: We eat at six. Dessert is at seven. Table is set, stop on by! Thanks for telling us about your book and inspiration, J.B!

J.B. has moved over twenty-three times, is the author of eight books, and is the mother of two children. You can find her at the following places: blog and website.

We’re giving away a copy of Somebody on This Bus is Going to be Famous! Just enter the rafflecopter giveaway below.

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Amie Borst is the author of Cinderskella and Little Dead Riding Hood. You can find her on her blog, twitter, and facebook. She’s not famous. Yet.

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Mentors that matter

By on September 15, 2014   /   For Teachers  

This morning I started working in the ASPIRE program at my local high school to mentor juniors and seniors through the college application process. It’s much more daunting to get into college these days and since I’ve been through the process with three of my four children it seemed like a natural fit. It has also gotten me thinking about all the people who have mentored me and my children over the years.

The one person who has mentored me more than anyone in my professional life is my cousin Kathleen Delaney. She has spent her entire teaching career in some of the lowest income schools in the Chicago area. She has told me stories about her students my entire life–stories about the ones that have inspired her, worried her, made her laugh, made her cry, and sharpened her understanding of the injustices so many face every single day. This August as she was preparing for the school year she stepped across the hall to introduce herself to a new teacher in her building. She was met with a shout of joy and a warm embrace from this new teacher.

The woman had been an 8th grader in my cousin’s school decades ago. Kathy taught 6th grade and after school she coached the girl for the district speech competition. They chose the address of Chief Seattle from 1854 and worked on it together after school for several weeks. Before the competition my cousin gave her the picture book version of Seattle’s speech written by Susan Jeffers. What she didn’t realize at the time was that the girl’s family had come to this country illegally. The mother was struggling to raise five of kids on minimum wage. That book was the first one the girl had ever owned. The first book anyone in her family had owned. They read it until it fell apart. 61gaPRmd8hL._AA160_This girl decided to become a teacher, in part because of my cousin’s example. Her younger brothers and sisters who had Miss Delaney in 6th grade reported that she was the “hardest” teacher in the school, the one who assigned the most homework. She was the one who believed that they could do all that work, even though they were new speakers of English.

This former student took her college classes one at a time over many years because her immigration status made her ineligible for financial aid. But she stuck to her goal year after year and now after all this time, she and my cousin will be teaching side by side. I’ve done author visits for my cousin in recent years and her students are quick to tell me that she is still the hardest teacher in their school. They feign agony in reporting all the writing assignments she’s given but it’s easy enough to see their pride underneath all that complaint. Some of them come voluntarily to school an hour early every day to work in her room before school starts.images

I mention all this at the start of the school year because my cousin cheerfully points out that there is nothing unusual about her. Most teachers mentor students before and after school. Many have very high expectations for even their most impoverished students, and almost all of them give away hundreds of books over a teaching career. So this is my thank you to all of you for all you do to change lives, to raise up one literate generation after another, and encourage those who enter school powerless to leave it with something to contribute to the world. It’s easy to get discouraged and in the minutia of daily work and lose sight of your power.

You make history every day. When a child learns to read, you change that entire family’s economic fortunes forever. Our economy cannot function without you.  I’m grateful–to my own teachers, my children’s teachers and all of you everywhere who work with students wisely and generously every day. Thank you!

 

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