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Some thoughts on some B words…

By on March 19, 2014   /   Book Lists  

MissBossyLately, I’ve been hearing a lot about the word BOSSY, and that it is holding girls back.   There is even a hashtag: #banbossy.

Here’s their argument:

“When a little boy asserts himself, he’s called a “leader.” Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded “bossy.” Words like bossy send a message: don’t raise your hand or speak up. By middle school, girls are less interested in leading than boys—a trend that continues into adulthood. Together we can encourage girls to lead.”

First of all: Really??? If this is true, it’s terrible. Girls should never be discouraged from speaking up. From being leaders. 

But Bossy? Really? Are we that sensitive? These are middle grade readers we’re talking about. I have a hard time believing that this one word holds some kind of power over girls.

What do you think about the word, BOSSY? Why DOES the word, bossy, have such a negative connotation?

Some of my favorite middle grade characters are bossy. The Great Gilly Hopkins was sort of bossy. So were Lyra and Stargirl and every role Barbra Streisand ever played. These girls were unique. Quirky. Interesting. And yes, a bit flawed. As a writer, I love writing about girls who might very well be described as bossy. 

They are strong.

Which is sort of ironic, isn’t it?

But maybe that’s not the point. If ONE WORD gets adults to start paying attention to girls, this sounds good to me! I am for anything that promotes strong healthy girls. I am delighted that the world is starting to pay attention to the development of female leaders and thinkers.

Because frankly, it seems that in our world, especially the middle grade world, we spend a whole lot of time thinking about boys. As the author of a middle grade novel about soccer, I am often asked:

How do you write a book for a boy?

How do we get more boys reading?

(These are important questions. If you like, check out my interview with Rich Wallace…he has a lot to say about the subject.)

But here’s the problem: even though one of the main characters in that soccer book is a girl…and even though I am a girl….I have NEVER been asked how we get girls reading. Or how I reach girls. Or write books for girls. In fact, the discussion is so lopsided that one might conclude that we take girls…as readers and thinkers…for granted.

And THAT is not cool. (Way worse than bossy.)

For the record: Like a lot of authors I know, I needed help finding books. I was not a natural reader or writer.  (But I think I WAS bossy.) I am grateful to the brave teacher who handed me a book that was NOT necessarily marketed to girls.

As a parent, I think it’s dangerous to say, “This is for boys,” or “This is for girls,” because frankly, how do we know? My kids (a girl and a boy) have loved all kinds of books. Making books that weren’t “quite for them” available opened their eyes to new kinds of people and cultures. Those books made them think. And ask questions. As a writer, this is my dream!

When the opposite happens…when a grown up tries to steer a young reader away from a book, it is usually out of fear.

That would be a good thing to ban, too. Fear of books.

So what’s the bottom line? Ban bossy? Are you in?

As writers and teachers and mothers and fathers and librarians and everyone else who cares about the next generation, we should be thinking about all kids, bossy and quiet, loud and silly. Boys and Girls. Just like we need to encourage boys and find them good books, we need to do the same for girls.

Instead, let’s ban limitations. And stereotypes. And low expectations.

Let’s strive to nurture girls with the same attention and enthusiasm that we give boys. Let’s show all kids how to BE AMBITIOUS. Let’s show them how to get beyond labels and talk about strength in a meaningful way.

(And while we’re thinking about this, let’s not forget to thank our kids’ teachers and librarians for helping them find the books that are RIGHT for them.)

Do you like writing tips? If so, sign up for Monday Motivation on www.saraharonson.com. Every Monday, new thoughts on the writing process directly in your inbox.

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An interview with Author Karen Goldman

By on March 17, 2014   /   Author Interviews  

Jordan_cover_final1.7124704_stdKaren Goldman’s debut fantasy, Jordan and the Dreadful Golem, incorporates Jewish mythology and is a tale of friendship as well as the power of teamwork in the face of adversity. Karen lives in Jerusalem, Israel and spends part of her time in Northern California. The Mixed-Up Files caught up with her as she was hard at work on a sequel.

1) You drew your antagonist, the golem, from Jewish mythology yet the setting is contemporary. What aspects of golem from traditional mythology did you keep in your text?

Traditionally, the golem looked just like an ordinary man as my golem does. The golem created by the Maharal of Prague had a word written on his forehead. The Hebrew word TRUTH (emet). My golem has the word DREAD written on his forehead. When the Maharal of Prague wanted to destroy his golem, he erased the first letter of EMET, which left the word MET, which means DEATH in Hebrew. The children in my story erase the letter R from the word DREAD which leaves the word DEAD. Also the golem was supposed to be silent or not have the ability to speak. My golem is a man of very few words. Image

2) How did you go about making the golem contemporary and relevant to 21st century children?

I created my golem in the image of modern men. My golem wore the same clothes as all of the other men in Kfar Keshet. He was the security guard at the school, and he wore the security guard uniform. He wore a baseball cap always. It was to hide the word DREAD written on his forehead. He drove a Harley Davidson motorcycle. There is even one chapter where he has a coffee date with the nurse from the health center. All of these things made my golem feel very 21st. century

3) The story is a fantasy and yet set in present day Israel where you reside for most of the year. How much of the setting is real and how much is made up?

In Jordan and the Dreadful Golem, I tried to create a very plausible modern day Israeli environment. The children in my story are very much like the children living in villages all over Israel. They are encouraged to explore the outdoors and to know the country on a personal basis, hence, the unchaperoned camping trip. Brothers and sisters feel a big responsibility for each other. There is also a respect for the wisdom and advice of the elderly.

4) You have a fairly large cast of kids with special abilities. If could have a special ability what would it be and why.

I love all of the abilities of my kids: becoming water, night vision, cloud forming, spider webbing. I think the ability I would like is to travel at supersonic speeds so I could see people and places all over the world. Jordan, in my story, wants to be able to fly. I guess that would be my favorite.

5) You are now writing a sequel. When you conceived of Jordan and the Dreadful Golem, did you see always see a larger story?

Yes. My original plan was to have four sisters, four matriarchs in four different villages. In each village, the kids would have different types of skills. In one of the communities, the kids can speak to each other through their minds without using cell phones. Lavan, the evil man in my first book, is the brother of all of these sisters.

6) What has been the most unexpected pleasure in writing your novel?

My most unexpected pleasure was having the help of so many wonderful people who were willing to read my manuscript, listen to my ideas and add thoughts of their own. I was open to the suggestions of all of these people and I feel they made my book the success that it is.

Hillary Homzie is the author of The Hot List (Simon & Schuster MIX 2011) and Things Are Gonna Be Ugly (Simon & Schuster, 2009). She can be found at hillaryhomzie.com and on her Facebook page.

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Happy Pi Day!

By on March 14, 2014   /   Book Lists  

I’ve decided there’s not enough math in my life.

As an author, I deal in words, artwork, character development, and plotlines–but I’m rarely if ever called on to solve a quadratic equation. Perhaps once a year, when I hit that one line item on the income tax form where you have to solve for x2+3x-7 and put the result in Box 32, and even then I use a program that does the heavy lifting for me.

It wasn’t always that way, though. Back in elementary school, I loved math. I loved math even more than I loved writing stories. I gave myself bonus questions to solve because it was such a disappointment when my homework assignments ended. Math and I were best buds until 7th grade, when math, completely unprovoked, suddenly started to punch me in the face on a regular basis. Algebra. Geometry. Trig. Calculus. Math jabbed me with blow after blow until I gave up the fight and enrolled in law school, where math is statutorily barred from the building.

But every once in a while, I miss my old friendship with math. Especially at this time of year. March 14th–3.14–is also known as Pi Day, when the date resembles history’s most famous transcendental number.

I’d love to review all the dozens of pi-themed novels on my bookshelf, but the closest thing I have is Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi, and that book doesn’t actually contain much math, unless you count Pi’s calculation of a safe circumference around a waterlogged tiger. Likewise, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen both have a lot less math (and more Nazis) than you would imagine from their titles.

Instead, celebrate Pi Day by checking out the middle grade “Do the Math” series by Wendy Lichtman. For older readers there are math-focused YA characters in John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines, younger readers will enjoy Jon Scieszka’s Math Curse, and adults can bake pies with a circumference-to-radius ratio of 3.14159 (hint: think round). If you have any additional suggestions, please leave them in the comments.

I like pumpkin.

I’m frankly surprised that more authors haven’t turned to math for inspiration. For example, consider the fact that pi is non-terminating and non-repeating. That means it never ends and never repeats itself. If we could make a book accomplish that same feat, it would literally be impossible to put down. Ever.

If you can’t get enough of this year’s Pi Day festivities, you can start preparing for Tau Day–named for a constant with the value of roughly 6.28–coming up on June 28th. And get excited for 2015, just one year away, when we will celebrate 3/14/15 9:26:54, both AM and PM, the only two moments in an entire century represented by pi’s first ten digits.

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