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An interview with New York Times Editor Veronica Chambers on Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matters

By on December 9, 2021   /   Articles, Author Interviews, Common Core & NGSS, Curriculum Tie-in, Diversity, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, New Releases  

Today, on the Mixed Up Files, we welcome Veronica Chambers, who is the lead author of Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matters.

Chambers is the editor for Narrative Projects at the New York Times. As an author, she is best known for the New York Times-bestseller Finish the Fight!, which was named a best book of the year by the Washington Post and the New York Public Library. Her other works include the critically acclaimed memoir Mama’s Girl, Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb, and the anthologies The Meaning of Michelle—a collection of writers celebrating former first lady Michelle Obama—and Queen Bey: A Celebration of the Power and Creativity of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, she writes often about her Afro-Latino heritage. You can find her online at veronicachambers.com or on Twitter and Instagram @vvchambers

Congratulations to you and your team at the New York Times on the release of Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matters.

I can’t wait to virtually sit down with you and ask you some questions about this essential history of the Black Lives Matter movement for young people. I’m especially excited since I share certain New York City experiences with you, having been a journalist there (features writer for New York Newsday) and living for awhile in Brooklyn. I love that you’re bridging a career as an editor/journalist with being an author.

In the book, readers are introduced to the concept that “the power of the people is greater than the people in power.” Can you elaborate a little bit about that?

 Sure. Experts believe that up to 26 million Americans participated in some sort of Black Lives Matters protest, which would make it one of the largest protests in the nation’s history.

Peaceful protest is the most effective form of protest in the world. A study conducted by researchers Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan compared the outcomes of hundreds of violent insurgencies with those of major nonviolent resistance campaigns from 1900 to 2006; they found that over 50 percent of the nonviolent movements succeeded, compared with about 25 percent of the violent insurgencies.

The text addresses some universal questions, such as how does a movement become a movement? You spend time looking at contemporary events and leaders as well as historical antecedents and galvanizing moments. Was it hard for you and your team to figure out how you wanted to balance all of these elements?

 There’s a famous phrase that “journalism is the first draft of history.” The Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 were still ongoing when we started working on the book. There was a real challenge in trying to figure out what to immortalize in a book when the story was changing and growing every day.

That’s why the decision to lean in on the incredible photography of the New York Times was so meaningful to us. This is what the great photojournalists who contribute to the daily report saw and while we wrote text that put the movement in a broad historical context, each of the photos tells a deep and powerful story of its own, without any need for us to editorialize or comment on the images.

You make a point that the protest is larger than the people gathering in the street (although is certainly part of it). Protest can mean “making art with a message” or “calling elected officials.” How would you define protest for children?

Protest is anything we do to say we want things to be different. I think a lot about the kid I was when I’m working on these books. When I was growing up, and reading about the modern civil rights movement, I thought those are stories about heroes whose bravery and wisdom I could never match. I’ll never make a difference in those ways.

I understood as I got older that we all have a role to play in shaping the world we live in. Coretta Scott King once said, “Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.” I think that’s some of the truest words ever uttered.

The book makes a point to say that children are never too young to lead. In the text, you offer many examples of young leaders from teen environmentalist Greta Thunberg to eight-year-old Mari Copeny, who protested the water conditions in Flint Michigan. How might younger children participate in standing up for what they believe in?

One of the highlights of my year was this piece I did about Paola Velez and Bakers Against Racism. Bake sales associated with that group have raised more than two million dollars in a single year towards social justice causes.

Paola is not just an incredible culinary talent but also one of the most eloquent, thoughtful people I’ve ever interviewed. One of the things she said was this: “When we speak about issues that we care about, we do it with a pie in hand. And so sometimes it’s a little more graceful and a little more palatable because there’s something sweet at the end of this, like, very charged, very truth-forward statement that we have to make.”

The piece is here.

The founders of Black Lives Matters are three women: Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors. They were all in their late twenties or early thirties when they started BLM. However, I was intrigued to learn that Garza began her activism at the age of 12, focusing on reproductive rights. And it was in high school that Tometi became aware of the need to stand up for the rights of immigrants, particularly the undocumented. And Cullors learned first-hand about systemic racism as a kid when her family would go hungry. Veronica, did you have any powerful experiences as a child that also led you to career as an author, journalist and editor?

I think being a chronic outsider really helped me become a reader and then a writer. My family is from Panama, I’m Afro-Latina. I came to the country when I was 5, just becoming a reader and  one of the things I was looking at books to do was teach me how to be an American.  So many of the books published today remind me of the curiosity I felt at that moment – how do things work or don’t work here?

Black Lives Matter is the story of collaboration. It was Garza who wrote on Facebook in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin; it was Cullors who created the hashtag “blacklivesmatter,” and it was Tometti who created the initial Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts for the movement. In your career as an editor and writer, why is the collaborative experience so important?

Collaboration is one of my super powers. But when I was a kid, it was something I really railed against. I hated having to do projects or presentations as a team. I think it was because I was shy and I felt like I never got the credit for all my hard work.

But I’m also a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and in some ways, I think that oeuvre really mimics the creative journey.  Turns out you need more than one superhero to save the world. Similarly, you need lots of great minds to make extraordinary journalism.

You write that the book is “built upon the work of incredible photographers and photo editors.” How did you work with Photo Editor Anika Burgess to select the images? There must have been so many to choose from.

Anika Burgess, the photo editor on the project, as well as Jennifer Harlan, my co-author, had all worked on a history based project at the Times called Past Tense. We had a years long history of sifting through hundreds of photos and really sitting back together and discussing what moves us.  What’s incredible was that 90% of the time, the photos we loved the most, we all had the same reaction to. Viewing a powerful photo is like hearing a truly great pop song, it just grabs you. What was hard was winnowing it down. There are more than 100 photos in the book. I would love to have run 200 photos. Making those cuts was brutal.

In an interview with National Geographic in 2020, Garza said, “In the midst of the all the grief and rage and pain, there’s hopefulness.” Can you speak to that and elaborate on hopefulness?

I’m incredibly hopeful. As a first generation American, what I’ve always gotten from black history is that, despite all of the challenges, African-Americans are in the business of Hope. Every decade, every chapter of the history of black people in this country is infused with countless moments of hope, resilience and creativity. I think that at this particular moment in the nation, black history and its masterclass in hope and possibility, can be useful to Americans of all backgrounds.

 

Hillary Homzie is the author of the Ellie May chapter book series (Charlesbridge, 2018), Apple Pie Promises (Sky Pony/Swirl, 2018), Pumpkin Spice Secrets (Sky Pony/Swirl, 2017), Queen of Likes (Simon & Schuster MIX 2016), The Hot List (Simon & Schuster MIX 2011) and Things Are Gonna Get Ugly (Simon & Schuster, 2009) as well as the Alien Clones From Outer Space (Simon & Schuster Aladdin 2002) chapter book series. She’s also a contributor to the Kate the Chemist middle grade series (Philomel Books/Penguin Random House). Her forthcoming nonfiction picture book, If You Were a Princess: True Stories of Brave Leaders From Around the World is a look at historical and current princesses from many diverse lands who have made their mark (Simon & Schuster in August 2022). During the year, Hillary teaches at Sonoma State University and, in the summers, she teaches in the graduate program in children’s literature, writing and illustration at Hollins University. She also is an instructor for the Children’s Book Academy.

She can be found at hillaryhomzie.com and on her Facebook page as well as on Twitter.

 

 

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Somos Americanos También – We Are Also American

By on December 8, 2021   /   Articles, WNDMG  

 

 

We Need Diverse MG

Artwork by Aixa Perez-Prado

Finding Our Places in the World

Do you have any troubling childhood experiences that have stuck with you? Ones that have taken up permanent residence in your adult psyche? Maybe things someone said or did that you have not been able to forget —no matter how hard you try. I’d like to tell you about some of my memories as a child immigrant, because they underscore the need for diverse middle grade books. When misrepresentation, or lack of representation, of an entire continent, it’s people and languages are part of a childhood story – how does that affect how children find their place in the world?

The In-Between Years

Fourth to seventh grade seem to be pivotal childhood years. Maybe it’s because kids are at that magical age of in-between. An age of transition that can be powerful and perilous, hilarious and horrible. A lot of the troubling expereinces I remember happened during my middle school years. And they all start with words.

“Go back to Mexico!”

This is something a friend said to me once. She was ‘joking’. So many of the words that stick were meant to be jokes, but felt more like little punches. I told her I’d never been to Mexico. “Then go back to Spain!” she countered.

I explained that I’d never been there either. Puerto Rico? I had also never been. Laughter ensued. Nobody could understand what I was. After all, I spoke Spanish so I must be from Mexico, Spain or Puerto Rico. But I’m from Argentina. That was a strange place to be from in Buffalo, N.Y. all those years ago. I suppose it’s different now, but back then that was weird. I was weird, and always struggling to fit in. Struggling to find myself in books, TV shows, movies — in the world I lived in. But no matter how hard I looked, I wasn’t there.

argentina

Soy Argentina @aixasdoodlesandbooks

“Why are you white?”

My classmate was looking in our social studies textbook. There was a picture of an indigenous South American child dressed in traditional gaucho costume in a rural setting. My experience of South America was nothing like this child’s experience, but he was the only representation of a person from my entire continent in our textbook.  I explained that I was from the big city, Buenos Aires. I told my classmate that I had never even seen a gaucho, and that not everybody from South America looked like this child, dressed like this child, or had that kind of lifestyle. But my classmate persisted in wanting to know why I was white. I explained that my grandparents and great grandparents were mostly European.“Then you’re not really one of them,” my classmate declared, “or one of us.”

Words can be daggers sometimes. Because what does an in-between child want more than anything in the world? It is often to fit in somewhere, anywhere, to be like everyone else. Most children want to find connections with the protagonists of books, the characters in cartoons, the heroes of history. Some children never do.

“You’re not American.”

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard this, both inside and outside of school settings. In fact, I am American by birth, as is every South and Central American. We are from the Americas. It is true that those born in the US are most often referred to as ‘American,’ but that does not negate the fact that the rest of us also have claim to that label and all that it implies. We also come from a continent that was populated and thriving when colonization occurred. In many countries we also had slavery and the genocide of indigenous peoples. We also are culturally diverse mosaics made up of Native Americans, the descendants of enslaved peoples, descendants of immigrants from all over the world, and a mixture of all of those groups. We also hold the brutal, glorious and complicated history of what it means to be American. But the books I found as a child, and even as an adult, often didn’t reflect that.

america latina“Why does your mom talk like that?”

My mother had a heavy accent. She talked ‘like that’ because she learned English in her thirties. My mother was a physician who spoke fluent English but would never pass for a native speaker, and why should she? She had a full life before immigration. She had an established identity as an Argentinian professional woman. I am ashamed to say that I was ashamed of her accent when I was a kid. Every time I saw a character with an accent in a book, cartoon or movie, the accent was a source of ridicule or shame. Unfortunately, I internalised that message.

How can books help?

As a child immigrant, kidlit author/illustrator, professor of diversity studies and teacher education, I am convinced that the more books we have that represent linguistic and cultural minority communities in all of their varieties, the better. In Latin America and the Caribbean there are over thirty countries and dozens of languages spoken aside from Spanish and Portuguese. Latin Americans come in all skin tones, eye and hair colors, shapes, and sizes. Native/ Indigenous Latin Americans or Pueblos Originarios (Original Peoples as they are called in some countries) have rich histories, cultures, belief systems and a wealth of knowledge to explore. Luckily, more kidlit books are coming out from Latin American and Caribbean authors that challenge the stereotypes of what it means to be an American from south of the US border. Still, even more are needed. Below are a few books that I recommend (or that have been recommended to me) by Latinx and Caribbean authors that provide captivating, thoughtful, and fresh perspectives on all kinds of American stories.

Libros Recomendados – Recommended books

The following books contain a rich variety of experiences and adventures for kids in those in-between years who are also often in-between cultures. Most of these books feature immigrant children or children of immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean and are written by authors who have the authenticity and background to represent those cultures in the diverse and complex way they deserve to be represented. Happy Reading!

Argentina

lobizona Lobizona (YA) by Romina Garber – This book has so much to offer, experiences of the undocumented, conflicting feelings about identity and belonging, Argentine culture and werewolves!

“This layered novel blends languages and cultures to create a narrative that celebrates perseverance.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

(**new book by this author – Cazadora)

Chile

nines

Niños: Poems for the Lost Children of Chile by Maria Jose Ferrada, translated by Lawrence Schimel, illustrated by Maria Elena Valdez. A book to be read and remembered, a tribute to children whose lives were lost by forces not of their own creation. Kirkus

Click on the image for more information from the publisher

Colombia

fish bookWhat if a Fish (MG) by Anika Fajardo  – This book takes place between the US and Colombia and centres around one child’s search for his own story of belonging with some magical realism thrown in.

Click on the link to read my interview with the author and on the book itself to to to the publisher’s page.

“Multilayered and convincing, the book will have readers rooting for its sweet and smart protagonist”. Kirkus

Cuba

total eclipseThe Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez (MG) by Adriana Cuevas “A charming and vibrant debut fantasy”. Kirkus.

Click on the title link to see the MUF interview of the author and learn more about this book, and click on the image for info from the publisher.

(**new book by this author– Cuba in my Pocket – interview coming up in 2022)

Guatemala

The Other Half of Happy (MG) by Rebecca Balcarcel “At its core, Balcárcel’s novel is a story of identity within one’s self and within a broader community.” School Library Journal

This is a Pura Belpre Honor book. Click on the image for information from the publisher.

 

Haiti

flew awayHaiti: The Year I Flew Away (MG) by Marie Arnold. “Pratchett like world building centres immigrant kids in a story filled with culture, humor and heart.” Kirkus. 

Click on the image for more information on this magical book from the publisher.

 

Mexico

Aida SalazarThe Moon Within (MG) by Aida Salazar “A dazzling story told with the sensitivity, humor, and brilliant verse of debut talent Aida Salazar.” This is a novel in verse that explores multiple layers of identity as well as gender and heritage.

Click on the image for more information from the publisher.

 

 

garzaThe Garza Twins series (MG) by David Bowles ““Bowles creates an action-packed story based on Aztec and Mayan mythology while capturing the realities of life in contemporary South Texas and Mexico.” –Pura Belpré Award Committee

Click on the image for more information from the publisher.

Peru

lolaThe Lola Levine series by Monica Brown  “Celebrate a truly accepting multicultural character.” Kirkus

Click on the image for more information on this entire, fun, young MG series.

 

 

Latinx Kidlit Book Festival This Week!

And don’t forget to participate in the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival this week streaming on YouTube with interesting panels for teachers, and authors, and interactive activities for readers of all ages. See my blogpost with festival organisers for more information or click on the heading to go directly to the festival YouTube area.

 

LKBF invite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Author Spotlight: Daphne Benedis-Grab + a GIVEAWAY!

By on December 6, 2021   /   Articles, Author Interviews, Fiction  

Today, author Daphne Benedis-Grab chats about her latest middle-grade novel, I KNOW YOUR SECRET—out from Scholastic tomorrow, December 7–and shares her writing secrets. She also tells us all about her role as a public-school librarian (spoiler alert: she loves it) AND and there’s a chance to win a copy of Daphne’s book if you enter the giveaway. Scroll down for details! 👇👇👇

Summary of I Know Your Secret

The email arrives Sunday night: Do exactly what I say, when I say it, or I will reveal your secret.

On Monday morning, seventh graders Owen, Gemma, Ally, and Todd, who have nothing in common and barely know each other, must work together and follow the instructions of an anonymous blackmailer. None of them want to go along with the blackmailer’s instructions, but each of them have a secret they must protect at all costs.

Set during a single day of school, the students race against the clock to complete a disquieting set of tasks, with fast-paced chapters detailing each moment of the day interspersed with a later interview-style recording made by the quartet.

Interview with Daphne Benedis-Grab

MR: Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, Daphne! Thanks for joining us today.

DBG: I am completely delighted to be here! I am a longtime fan of Mixed-Up Files.

Book Inspiration

MR: First, I need to tell you how much I enjoyed I Know Your Secret—so much so, I gobbled it up in one sitting. What was the impetus for writing it?

DBG: It makes my heart sing to hear this! I wanted to write a book that was hard to put down, and I was inspired by Lois Duncan to try and write such a book. When I was growing up, her thrillers kept me up all night–even the second (and third) readings. So, two-and-a-half years ago, when I began a graduate program to become a school librarian and suddenly found it hard to write stories, I realized I needed to create a story idea I’d find so fun that it would always pull me back in–even after long days with my kiddos, and my homework. I thought about what I’d loved when I was middle-grade age, and that was when I decided I wanted to try my hand at writing a thriller. My goal was to work on a story that was hard to put down while writing it—and that readers would find it hard to put down, too!

Dancing Dialogue

MR: As above, your novel is fun to read and incredibly fast-paced, with loads of twists and turns along the way. What is the secret to writing a book that kids (and MG-loving adults 🙂) can’t put down?

DBG: Thank you so much for that! I think writing a story that is fun to work on every day, that has bits of dialogue dancing in your head when you are on the subway or washing dishes and that makes you happy to think about, is my secret. Another element that makes a book un-put-downable to me is characters who struggle with real things, who are flawed and feel different but come to see that those flaws help them grow—and that those differences are what make them gloriously unique and essential to the world. So, working to create such characters is writing secret number two.

Multiple narrators: Owen, Todd, Ally, and Gemma

MR: The book is written from the perspective of four seventh-grade characters: Owen, Todd, Ally, and Gemma. Each has a secret, and each is terrified of having his or her secret exposed. How did you come up with these four characters? And how were you able to make their voices distinct?

DBG: I discovered when writing a previous MG novel, The Angel Tree, that I love creating books with multiple narrators. As humans when an event takes place, we tend to think we see all sides of it; that our narrative is the narrative. This is in fact almost never true. Any event has multiple perspectives, elements we may not see, and a past leading up to it that we are completely unaware of. With multiple narrators, I can show different sides of the same story so that readers see the complexity of any given event or person.

Talking about Todd…

Todd came to me first; he’s seen by the other characters (and everyone at his school) as a violent kid who lashes out with little provocation. We see this version of the narrative from Gemma, Owen, and Ally—but then we learn Todd’s story: what he is dealing with, why his fuse is so short, and how desperately he needs help. The readers get to see this early on, and then have the satisfaction of the other characters slowly coming to see it too—and seeing how learning Todd’s story changes their narratives and reshapes everything. I started with each character thinking they know the whole story but come to see how much is actually missing, both in their perceptions of each other and the bigger story at play: who is blackmailing them, and why. When they are finally honest with each other, they are able to understand each other as nuanced, complex, and vulnerable beings.

…and Ally, and Owen, and Gemma

Todd is inspired by a boy I knew in elementary school who I always thought was misunderstood and pigeonholed unfairly. I wish I’d done something about it then, and maybe having him in this book is my way of apologizing. Ally is made up of my love of animals as well as grief I have experienced in my life (Ally lost her parents twice: first her birth parents and then the parents who adopted her). Owen is my goofy, silly, over-eager but well intended side. And Gemma is who I wanted to be when I was in middle school: grounded, confident, and never afraid to speak up. Each of them having their own story helped their voices stay distinct. And then there’s that bigger story: who is behind the sinister messages, and why. But that stays secret until you read the book!

Shh…It’s a Secret

MR: Speaking of secrets, the theme of secret keeping—hence, the title—is equally important. What is it about secrets that fills most of us with anxiety and dread? Also, what were you trying to say about secrets in general?

DBG: Ages ago I took a psychology class where we read an article about how evil grows in hidden darkness. The point was that the secrets we hide inside ourselves don’t shrink or disappear; they grow bigger and stronger inside us, revealing feelings that don’t serve us like isolation and shame. The thought of being exposed can be terrifying, but when we share secrets with people we trust, the power those secrets hold over us withers in the bright of day. Quite often we discover we are not alone, either in the feelings or experience, and that the people who care about us will still care about us, and do all they can to help us through.

Stamping Out Bullying

MR: Bullying is another important theme in your book. Although I’d like to think most schools are aware of the problem—and address it as best they can—it’s clearly a prevalent and ongoing problem. While doing research for the book, did you come across any anti-bullying strategies in schools that seemed particularly effective?  

DBG: This is such a good and important question! What can be especially challenging about bullying is that it happens in those liminal times when teachers are distracted. And that makes fear of payback for telling an adult very real. Because of that, I find the most effective strategies to be community based. Schools that value, teach, and embody inclusion tend to have fewer incidents of kids being bullied. Schools that educate about bullying, compassion, and teaching kids to be allies, are also places that have less bullying. I may be biased, but I think schools with libraries and librarians are in the best position to foster these kinds of communities. Few things cultivate compassion, inclusion, and allyship like books! {For another MG author’s insight on bullying, check out Melissa Roske’s interview with Helen Rutter here.}

Inspiration Behind Daphne’s Books

 

MR: Turning back to books and writing, I Know Your Secret is your fifth published middle-grade novel, and you’ve written a YA novel too. You’ve also published short stories. Where do you get your ideas and inspiration for your various projects? Is there a secret sauce you can share with Mixed-Up Files readers?

DBG: Ha, that question is wonderful! But I’m worried my answer may not be all that helpful to others, because I have a brain that does not turn off. I am always thinking, mulling things over, going off on thought tangents, wondering endlessly about everything… And the way I make sense of it all is by creating narratives. If a headline or a student’s actions or an exchange I overhear on the subway baffle me, I create a narrative to help me understand it. I also create narratives imaging how something that has happened—either in my life or the world or a book or movie—might have gone differently. And some of those many narratives are seeds of books!

The Writing Librarian

MR: In addition to being a children’s book author, you are a public-school librarian. How do you juggle your writing career with your day job? What does your writing routine look like? Do you have any particular writing rituals?

DBG: Honestly, I am still figuring that out. My kids are seniors in high school, so I try to be with them as much as possible—which leaves less time for other things. But I absolutely love being a librarian. I love my school. I love my administration. And I love, love, love my students! Work makes me very happy, even when it’s hard. And being happy makes me a better, more engaged writer. Plus, my students influence my writing, which is motivating as well. I try to write at least a little every day. I am more productive, and able to go deeper into my story, when writing is a habit: a muscle I use regularly.

My first draft ritual is to reread whatever I wrote the day before, and polish it a bit before breaking new ground. This is a less intimidating place to start, and it gets me back into the characters. I will also confess to another secret ritual: No matter how little time I have to write, I cannot start until I’ve messed around on the internet a bit—checking my socials and reading the latest Entertainment Weekly stories. I’d probably have written twice as many books if I’d managed to drop this particular ritual!

What’s Next for Daphne

MR: What are you working on now, Daphne? Enquiring minds want to know!

DBG: Details are still a secret, but I am writing a follow-up middle-grade thriller set in Snow Valley, where I Know Your Secret takes place. More to come soon!

Lightning Round!

MR: Finally, no MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, Daphne, so…

Preferred writing snacks?

Dark chocolate and granola bars.

Coffee or tea?

I like tea a lot but adore my coffee!

 Cat or dog?

Forever a cat lady (but like dogs a lot too).

Favorite mystery novel?

For the past five years or so that spot has been held by Kate Milford’s Greenglass House. The atmosphere is deliciously spooky, the plotting excellent, the characters realistic, and the main character, Milo, is adopted, which I love to see in books because my kids are adopted.

 Zombie apocalypse: Yea or nay?

It’s coming.

 Superpower?

Teleportation. I love to travel but am not a big fan of airplanes. I wouldn’t mind a faster commute to work either!

 Favorite place on earth?

Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. As with the books of Lois Duncan, it has been a lifelong love affair. My parents started taking me when I was six months old (there was an unfortunate sand-eating incident, but otherwise it was a smooth trip), and we started bringing our kids when they were three.

If you were stranded on a desert island with only three things, what would they be?

Dark chocolate, an e-reader with an undying battery, and sunscreen (redheads burn super easily).

MR: Thank you for chatting with us, Daphne—and congratulations on the publication of I Know Your Secret. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I know MUF readers will too!

DBG: Thank you so much for having me. This has been a thrill!

And now…

A GIVEAWAY!

For a chance to win a copy of I KNOW YOUR SECRET,  comment on the blog–and, if you’re on Twitter, on the Mixed-Up Files Twitter account, for an extra chance to win! Giveaway ends on Wednesday, December 8, at midnight EST. U.S. only, please.

About the Author

Daphne Benedis-Grab is the author of middle-grade books including Clementine for Christmas and The Angel Tree, and young-adult books including The Girl in the Wall. Her short stories have appeared in American Girl magazine. She earned an MFA at The New School and a School Media Library Specialist degree from the Palmer School of Library and Information Science. She lives in New York City with her husband, kids, and cat, and spends her days writing and being the librarian at PS32 in Brooklyn. Learn more about Daphne on her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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