Fiction

Multiple Narrators and Moral Development

Recently I was listening to a review of the TV series The Affair, an innovative show told from the points of view of four characters with intertwined lives. You’re probably wondering right now what this could possibly have to do with middle-grade novels. Bear with me.

The reviewer highlighted the fact that often when the same scene is shown through two different characters’ eyes, subtle changes, such as where the characters are sitting, what clothes they’re wearing, and what aspects of the situation they choose to highlight, reveal the differences in how they perceive things. As a result, the viewer is left with the task of finding the real truth among the “truths” that these characters believe they’re telling. The show’s technique is not only a lesson in perception, but also a device to have viewers empathize with all the characters and not just the one they most identify with.

Now here’s the part where middle-grade books come in: In his book, Teaching Children to Learn, author Robert Fisher states: “We develop empathy and understanding of others when our perception is broadened … One way to broaden perception is to try to see things from another person’s point of view.” That, he says, “requires an ability to listen to the views expressed by other people, and to make an imaginative leap to understand their feelings and ideas. This leap of imagination is fundamental to moral development and to an understanding of others (or what has been called interpersonal intelligence).”

Of course, reading fiction in and of itself contributes to this leap of the imagination. But I’m wondering if stories told from multiple points of view might result in an even greater leap toward moral development and the understanding of others.

Interestingly, writers are often told to write from one point of view in order for the reader to identify with the main character. Yet many books with multiple narrators have been extremely popular with readers of all ages. I suspect credit goes to the skill of the writer to be able to pull off a book in which a reader can empathize with several narrators. Here are a few favorites:

 

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Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

In Stead’s most recent novel, three narrators navigate the course of friendship, first love, politics, identity, and the pitfalls of adolescence throughout seventh grade.

 

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Because of Mr. Terupt
 by Rob Buyea

This book and its two sequels Mr. Terupt Falls Again and Saving Mr. Terupt follow seven students from fifth to seventh grade. Written from the points of view of each of them, the books give readers a glimpse of how several different characters deal with their own challenges as well as each other.

 

FC9781423105169Schooled by Gordon Korman

This novel about a homeschooler forced to go to middle school when his grandmother is hospitalized highlights the issue of bullying. Events unfold from the points of view of the main character, Cap, as well as his social worker, her daughter, a bully, a victim, a popular girl, and others.

 

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Wonder by R.J. Palacio

This long-time best seller tells the story of Auggie, a boy with a facial deformity who enters school for the first time. The story is told from the points of view of Auggie, his friends, his sister, and her boyfriend.

 

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Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Narrated from the points of view of two characters, a boy and girl who have known each other since second grade, the novel goes back and forth, showing each one’s feelings now that they’re both in eighth grade and see life differently.

 

How do you think these books and others written from multiple perspectives add to the reading experience and/or moral development of middle-grade readers? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

Dorian Cirrone has written several books for children and teens. Her middle-grade novel, The First Last Day, which takes place on the New Jersey Shore, will be published in summer 2016 from S&S/Aladdin. You can find her on Facebook and on Twitter as @DorianCirrone. She gives writing tips and does occasional giveaways on her blog at: http://doriancirrone.com/welcome/blog/

Tackling Tough Subjects with MG Readers

A few weeks ago, my eleven-year-old son came across that heart-breaking photo of the little boy who drowned when his refugee boat capsized. As hard as it was, I sat he and his nine-year-old sister down to talk about the Syrian refugee crisis. The conversation was scary for all of us, but it also got me started thinking about the way books can create opportunities to have these conversations with the young people in our lives.

lisa_tyre_webSo when I picked up Lisa Lewis Tyre’s Last in a Long Line of Rebels, I just knew I had to talk to her about her amazing book, about tackling tough topics with middle-grade readers, and about how her home-town has reacted to a book that examines slavery’s legacy in a small Tennessee town.

Me: What made you decide to write a middle-grade book that addresses racism?

Lisa: Actually, I didn’t set out to write a story that deals with race. I knew I wanted it to be a story about Lou trying to save her house and some Civil War gold, and I knew that I wanted to include a Civil War diary, but that was about it. As I sat down to write, I thought it would be interesting to start each chapter off with an excerpt from the diary to show how things in the present day had changed. That decision led me to introduce Isaac Coleman and his story line. It felt like a very natural progression.

Me: What has the response been like in your home town?

Lisa: Incredibly supportive! I’ve had emails and messages from my high-school teachers, old classmates, even one from a fellow who said he used to visit my dad’s bar in the 70s. It’s been very humbling the way everyone has rallied around REBELS.

Me: The way Lou thinks about and processes the injustices she encounters in the story felt so natural and real, not at all preachy. And I loved that in some ways the adult characters were figuring things out right alongside Lou. Does this in some way mirror your own thoughts about growing up in the south?

Lisa: Lou is a lot wiser than I was at her age. When I graduated, there wasn’t a single African-American in my high-school. I had this idea that everyone’s life experience was the same as mine.

I didn’t really see racism in action until I was in college. I became friends with an African-American girl named Cynthia who lived in my dorm. We went shopping at the mall, and suddenly I noticed security following us. That had never happened before, not when I was with my white friends. We didn’t use the term “white privilege” back then, but I recognized the injustice of it. It was a teachable moment for me. 

Adults don’t have it figured out, me most of all, but I think we have a responsibility to try to learn. And to listen.

Me: What’s the toughest question you’ve been asked (by a child or adult) about this story?

Lisa: No one has asked me anything particularly tough yet, but one editor asked me a sad question. There’s a scene where the family is sitting around discussing someone’s use of the N-word. One kid has never heard it. The editor wanted to know if that was realistic. That hurt my heart. My daughter hadn’t heard it and I would hope that she’s not alone.

Me: What tips do you have for talking with MG-aged children about such complex topics as racism, faith, and the less savory aspects of our own US history?

Lisa: I’m a firm believer in discussing the hard things. My great, great, great grand-father was a Confederate soldier. I’ve used that fact to talk to my daughter about slavery, the Confederate Flag, etc. How could people have thought that was okay? What are we accepting today that our ancestors will look back and question?

As a mom, I want to make a safe place for my daughter to ask questions about faith, race, whatever! Be honest about the family history and use it to promote dialogue. Lou’s dad wants to protect her from the ugliness of racism, but that’s not an option for a lot of people. Encourage your kids to find their voice and not be afraid to stand up for what’s right even if it’s unpopular.

Thank you, Lisa, and best of luck with Last in a Long Line of Rebels!

REBELS

About Last in a Long Line of Rebels (from Indie-Bound):
Debut novelist Lisa Lewis Tyre vibrantly brings a small town and its outspoken characters to life, as she explores race and other community issues from both the Civil War and the present day.
Lou might be only twelve, but she’s never been one to take things sitting down. So when her Civil War-era house is about to be condemned, she’s determined to save it either by getting it deemed a historic landmark or by finding the stash of gold rumored to be hidden nearby during the war. As Lou digs into the past, her eyes are opened when she finds that her ancestors ran the gamut of slave owners, renegades, thieves and abolitionists. Meanwhile, some incidents in her town show her that many Civil War era prejudices still survive and that the past can keep repeating itself if we let it. Digging into her past shows Lou that it’s never too late to fight injustice, and she starts to see the real value of understanding and exploring her roots.

Settings that Come Alive!

After many years of taking writing classes and reading books about writing while I’ve struggled to learn the craft (a life-long pursuit!), I’ve come to realize that I have a knack for creating “beautifully realized settings”( said School Library Journal).

I adore developing the setting in each of my books and that’s probably because I’m in love with exploring the world, other cultures & people and history. Research means I get to Travel and a Trip means my antennae are on alert the entire time picking up cool tidbits.

My fourth book with Scholastic, The Time of the Fireflies, is also the fourth magical realism story I’ve set in the bayou/swamp country of Louisiana with Cajun culture, baby gators, and Spanish moss dripping from the oak trees. Time of the Fireflies_Cover

From the very first time I went out on a boat with a Cajun fisherman into the swamp and fed bits of chicken to eight-foot alligators sidling up to the boat, I was spinning a story in my mind within fifteen minutes. I knew I HAD to write about a girl who lived in this magical world with its hidden beauties and dangers.

After I spent three years reading everything I could get my hands on and taking another, longer research trip, I came home so inspired I drafted The Healing Spell in three weeks.

I’m in love with the beauty and mystery of that part of Louisiana (from Lafayette down along Highway 90 East to New Orleans) and I’ve visited often for more than 15 years now. I’ve been to practically every small town, eaten  crawfish etouffee and gumbo ( I make a mean gumbo now!), adventured on boat trips with native fisherman on several bayous and read dozens of books about the Louisiana history, language, and customs. A journey filled with love and so many special memories.The Healing Spell paperback cover

I’m not saying that you have to delve that deeply into a locale to bring it alive in a story or novel, but whether I’m writing about the deserts of the Southwest or the ancient Middle East (ie. my recent novel, FORBIDDEN, Harpercollins) or a family living on the edge of the swamp, I do pay attention to setting in lots of little ways.

 

Tips for Creating a Setting that Feels like You’re Really There:

1. While out “on location” in the real world (even if it’s just a trip to the mall to listen to kids/teens interacting), pay attention to not only what your eyes are taking in, but the sounds of the place, as well as the smells, the atmosphere, the mood, the culture, speech/language, the food, and touch/textures (as in petting baby gators!), and then weave those details into your story.

2. Caution: Don’t ever stop your story, the action, or dialogue of your characters to spend a lot of time describing these details. Be sure to incorporate unique tidbits of setting naturally into the prose or the flow of the P1000548“conversation”.

Like this brief scene (On a a hot summer night Livie is out frogging with her daddy): A cloud of mosquitoes flew into my face. One even raced straight into my mouth. I spit into the water and then tightly shut my lips. Daddy chuckled while he watched me flapping my arms. “Those mosquitoes so thick you gotta tie yourself to the boat so they don’t carry you off.”

Someone in California or Wyoming or Paris or Victorian England is going to describe an evening of annoying mosquitoes entirely differently.

3. Your character lives in his/her setting. Be sure to use the language that character would use, the language of “home” to them.

4. Metaphors/Similes: Whether your story takes place in Boston, the Southwest deserts, ancient Egypt, San Francisco, a tropical island, the Florida Keys, or the plains of Kansas, use language and words a character would use in those locales. For a character that lives in small-town Alabama, they’re not going to use the same adjectives/descriptions to describe their l

ife and their world and their point of view as the child of a fisherman living on the seashore in Maine is going to.

baby alligators compressed size

5. Relate how your character interacts with their setting. What do they think of where they live? What do they notice? What’s importan

t to someone of that setting? What do they love/hate about where they live and how are those emotions manifested?

Next time you read a novel or write your next chapter pay attention to how the setting is being used to bring a character or their world more fully to life. Can you feel the sweaty, blistering humid summer day, or the biting cold Vermont winter while tramping through the woods on snowshoes?

Setting makes any novel richer in a myriad of ways, and will bring a unique freshness to your own stories, too!

Kimberley Griffiths Little’s novels with Knopf and Scholastic have won several awards. The Time of the Fireflies was named a Bank Street College Best Books of 2015, a Whitney Award Finalist, a Letters of Mormon Arts Award Finalist, and was recently chosen for the William Allan White Kansas State Children’s Choice List for 2016-2017. 

Find Kimberley on Facebook. and Twitter @KimberleyGLittl. Teacher’s Guides, Mother/Daughter Book Club Guides, and fabulous book trailers filmed on location adorn Kimberley’s website.