Nonfiction

Growing Up with Biographies ~ Biographies Have Grown Up

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Remember these? I do. I was in 3rd or 4th grade when I discovered the section of the school library that housed all the books labeled with a capital B on the spine. Biographies. Martha Washington. Dolly Madison. Mark Twain. Clara Barton. These are a few I remember reading from the shelves of that wonderful basement library that doubled as the music room.

When my young son, a dyed-in-the-wool farmer even at age ten, seemed to lose interest in reading anything not part of a class assignment, I found a biography of John Deere. Suddenly, my little reader was back!

A few years ago, I submitted a picture book biography to a publisher who contacted me with the best kind of rejection. “This isn’t right for our list, but…”  The “but” was a great one. They were very interested in launching a new series of biographies for middle-grade readers, and since I had previously published books for middle-graders, would I be interested in writing the first book in the series? Now that’s a rejection I could handle!

This middle-grade series was a new venture for the publisher, and the editors and designers were more than willing to lend an ear to my suggestions about what a middle-grade bio should look like. Immediately, I went back to that row of “B” books in my elementary library. Yes, they had grabbed my attention, but not every elementary reader was as enamored as I was. I took a more critical look at the biographies of my youth. They were text-heavy and sparsely-illustrated, usually with some pen and ink line drawings smattered here and there.

And then, I thought about the most recent biography I’d purchased for my youngest daughter. It was Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming.

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Filled with photographs, text boxes, diary entries, and varied fonts, this is how an engaging middle-grade biography should look, feel, and read. Luckily, others agree. Today’s biographies are a far cry from the those bios of old (beloved though they may have been!)

Below are some recently-released biographies for the middle-grade crowd.  Stick with me to the end. There’s a GIVEAWAY hiding there!

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Bayard Rustin: The Invisible Activist by Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, and Michael G. Long – Bayard Rustin was a civil rights leader who believed in nonviolent action as means of achieving social reform. The organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, Bayard Rustin’s story will inspire young readers to stand up in the face of injustice.

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Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by Steve Sheinkin was recently named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2015.  Sheinkin’s confidence his middle-grade audience is evident as he tackles the political life of government whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg during a tumultuous time in recent history.

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Missing Millie Benson: The Secret Case of the Nancy Drew Ghostwriter and Journalist  by Julie K. Rubini 

Hot off the presses is this biography of Mildred Wirt Benson, the original ghostwriter of the Nancy Drew series. Rubini takes readers on a journey through Millie Benson’s life as a journalist and as the very uncelebrated author of  many books in history’s most celebrated juvenile series. Why did it take years to discover the identity of the writer we’ve always known as “Carolyn Keene?” Follow the clues to solve the mystery of Millie Benson.

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Kammie on First: Baseball’s Dottie Kamenshek by Michelle Houts

Here is the initial installment in the new Biographies for Young Readers series I mentioned earlier. Dorothy Kamenshek was a teenager from Cincinnati, Ohio when a man named Philip Wrigley sent scouts to find women who could play baseball as well as the men on his Chicago Cubs (men who were rapidly leaving the ball field for the battlefield at the start of World War II.)  Made famous by the movie A League of Their Own, Kammie and her Rockford Peaches inspire girls to “throw like a girl” and be proud of it.

And now, since you stuck with me…

THE GIVEAWAY!

Author Julie Rubini has generously provided The Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors a signed paperback copy of Missing Millie Benson: The Secret Case of the Nancy Drew Ghostwriter and Journalist. To enter, please comment below. Maybe you’d like to add the title and author of a noteworthy biography for middle-grade readers. Maybe you’d rather reminisce and tell us about your favorite biography.

Just leave a comment below by midnight Eastern Time on Tuesday, November 10, 2015. 

The lucky winner will be announced on Thursday, November 12, 2015!

Michelle Houts is the author of four books for middle-grade readers. She’s still a fan of biographies and good old-fashioned letter-writing. She created The 52-Letter Challenge for those who are up to writing a letter a week for an entire year.   Find Michelle at www.michellehouts.com. On Twitter and Instagram @mhoutswrites and on Facebook as Michelle Houts.

November New Releases

Looking for great new titles you can fall back on this November? Here are some books that we’re looking forward to reading at MUF:

November 3rd:

RUBY REINVENTED by Ronni Arno (Aladdin) Ruby Miller has it made. As the only child of model-turned-TV-host Celestine Cruz and pro-baseball star Zack Miller, she has everythinRubyReinventedg a twelve-year-old girl could want. Well, except for real friends.

After a disastrous birthday party where she discovers her supposed BFFs are only friends with her because her parents are uber-famous, she finds a place as far from fake and phony Hollywood as she can get: a boarding school in Camden, Maine. In her desperation to distance herself from her star-studded parents and the paparazzi who trail them, Ruby tells her new friends that she’s an orphan. She feels awful about lying, but once she starts, it’s hard to come clean. Plus, now that nobody’s comparing her to her perfect parents, Ruby can finally let her own talents as a dress designer take center stage.

When Ruby finds herself connecting with a cute boy who really did lose his parents, she’s torn between who she is and who she’s pretending to be. And with Parents’ Weekend approaching, she must find a way to keep her secret—without losing her new best friend, the trust of her first crush, and the chance to shine as the designer of her very own fashion show.

MY DIARY FROM THE EDGE OF THE WORLD by Jodi Lynn Anderson (Aladdin)MyDiaryFromTheEdgeOfTheWorld Spirited, restless Gracie Lockwood has lived in Cliffden, Maine, her whole life. She’s a typical girl in an atypical world: one where sasquatches helped to win the Civil War, where dragons glide over Route 1 on their way south for the winter (sometimes burning down a T.J. Maxx or an Applebee’s along the way), where giants hide in caves near LA and mermaids hunt along the beaches, and where Dark Clouds come for people when they die.

To Gracie it’s all pretty ho-hum…until a Cloud comes looking for her little brother Sam, turning her small-town life upside down. Determined to protect Sam against all odds, her parents pack the family into a used Winnebago and set out on an epic search for a safe place that most people say doesn’t exist: The Extraordinary World. It’s rumored to lie at the ends of the earth, and no one has ever made it there and lived to tell the tale. To reach it, the Lockwoods will have to learn to believe in each other—and to trust that the world holds more possibilities than they’ve ever imagined.

DEAD POSSUMS ARE FAIR GAME by Taryn Souders (Sky Pony) DeadPossumsAreFairGame As the end of the school year approaches, the fifth-grade teachers at Victor Waldo Elementary conclude there’s not enough time to complete a new math unit before summer break. Great news for math-phobic Ella, right?

Wrong! The teachers decide instead to have their students host the first-ever Math Fair. And the fair project is worth two major math grades.

Add in one dead possum plus two horrible roommates who come to stay while their house is being renovated, and you have an equation for disaster. Ella is headed for summer school and math tutoring for sure. Can she stop her troubles from multiplying before it’s too late?

FAST BREAK by Mike Lupica (Philomel) FastBreakForced to live on his own after his mom dies and her boyfriend abandons him, 12-year-old Jayson does whatever it takes to get by. He will do anything to avoid the foster care system. Besides, his real home has always been the beat-up basketball court behind the projects in the North Carolina hills, and his family has always been his friends and teammates. He manages to get away with his deception until the day he gets caught stealing a new pair of basketball sneakers. Game over. Within a day a social worker places him with a family from the other side of town, the Lawtons. New home, new school, new teammates.

Jayson, at first, is combatative, testing the Lawtons’ patience at every turn. He wants out, yet the Lawtons refuse to take the bait. But not everyone in Jayson’s new life is so ready to trust him–and even Jayson’s old friends give him a hard time now that he’s attending a school full of rich kids. It’s on Jayson to believe that he deserves a better life than the one he once had. The ultimate prize if he can? A trip to play in the state finals at Cameron Indoor Stadium–home to the Duke Blue Devils and launching pad to his dream of playing bigtime college ball. Getting there will be a journey that reaches far beyond the basketball court.

PRESIDENT OF THE WHOLE SIXTH GRADE by Sherri Winston (Little, Brown) In this sequel to PRESIDENT OF THE WHOLE FIFTH GRADE, Brianna navigates her toughest challenge yet: middle school.

PresidentOfTheWholeSixthGradeBrianna Justice is determined to raise enough money for the big class trip to Washington, D.C., but she’s up against a lot: classmates who all pretend to be something they’re not, a new nemesis determined to run her out of office, and the sinking feeling she’s about to lose her two best friends. But just when she begins to lose hope, she comes to realize that sometimes surprises can turn out even better than the best-laid plans.

 

November 10:

A BITTER MAGIC by Roderick Townley (Knopf) Everything is in place: the packed theater, the Amazing Thummel, and, center stage, the magician’s mysterious assistant. Some have called her the most beautiful woman in EuroABitterMagicpe.

Then, in a swirl of light, she vanishes!

An astounding illusion, but she never reappears. All that remains are a bloodstained white scarf and her daughter, Cisley, who lives in a glass castle and walks her pet lobster each morning by the sea.

Enter Cole, a rambunctious boy from town and Cisley’s first true friend. Together they hunt for clues to her mother’s disappearance. They puzzle over broken mirrors, ever-shifting labyrinths, a closet full of whispering ball gowns, and a fatal quest for a pure black rose.

Roderic Townley spins a deliciously spooky tale of one girl’s journey to discover what’s real and what is simply an illusion.

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CRAZY HORSE by Joseph Marshall, illus. by Jim Yellowhawk (Amulet) Jimmy McClean is a Lakota boy—though you would not InTheFootstepsOfCrazyhawkguess it by his name: his father is a white man and his mother is Lakota. When he embarks on a journey with his grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, he learns more and more about his Lakota heritage—in particular, the story of Crazy Horse, one of the most important figures in Lakota history. Drawing inspiration from the oral stories of the Lakota tradition and the Lakota cultural mechanism of the “hero story,” Joseph Marshall provides readers with an insider’s perspective on the life of Tasunke Witko, better known as Crazy Horse. Through his grandfather’s tales about the famous warrior, Jimmy learns more about his Lakota heritage and, ultimately, himself.

FINDING FORTUNE by Delia Ray (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Running away from home isn’t as easy as Ren thinks it will be. At least she isn’t running very far-just a few miles to the ghost town of Fortune . . . or Mis-Fortune as everyone else calls it. Mis-Fortune on the Mississippi. Supposedly, there’s an abandoned school on tFindingFortunehe outskirts with cheap rooms for rent. Ren knows her plan sounds crazy. But with only a few more weeks until Dad comes home from his tour of duty in Afghanistan, she also knows she has to do something drastic so Mom will come to her senses and stop seeing that creep Rick Littleton for good.

From the moment she enters the school’s shadowy halls, Ren finds herself drawn into its secrets. Every night old Mrs. Baxter, the landlady, wanders the building on a mysterious quest. What could she be up to? And can Mrs. Baxter’s outlandish plan to transform the gym into a pearl-button museum ever succeed? With a quirky new friend named Hugh at her side, Ren sets out to solve the mystery that could save Fortune from fading away. But what about her family’s future? Can that be saved too?

NINJA TIMMY by Henrik Tamm (Delacorte) NinjaTimmyTimmy the cat, his pal Simon the mink, and the pig brothers Jasper and Casper are inventors, and they’re hoping to sell their fabulous new contraption to a local merchant. With high hopes, they haul their machine through the crowded streets of Elyzandrium—and are promptly robbed by a gang of bullies. With the help of two new friends, Alfred, a kindly old toymaker, and Flores, a skilled cat pilot, Timmy and his pals set out to get back what is rightfully theirs. As it turns out, they’re not the only victims of these dastardly criminals. But what can this band of misfits do?

In this action-packed adventure, the intrepid Timmy and his wily friends transform themselves into crime-fighting ninjas—and quite possibly heroes!

BORROWED TIME by Greg Leitich Smith (Clarion) BorrowedTimeIn this time-travel dinosaur adventure, Max Pierson-Takahashi and his friend Petra return to the days of the dinosaurs, where they must survive attacks from mosasaurs, tyrannosaurs, and other deadly creatures, including a vengeful, pistol-toting girl from the 1920s. The fast pace, mind-bending time twists, and Greg Leitich Smith’s light, humorous touch make this an exciting, fun choice for readers looking for adventure and nonstop action.

 

November 17:

ABRACADABRA: THE STORY OF MAGIC THROUGH THE AGES by H.P. Newquist, illus. by Olga and Aleksey Ivanov Abracadabra(Henry Holt) Magic is a word we use to describe something amazing, awe-inspiring, or spectacular. Truly great magic makes us believe in things we know can’t be real. In the hands of the greatest magicians, even a simple card trick can become truly wondrous.

Now, in this nonfiction narrative of magic through the ages, HP Newquist explains how the world’s most famous tricks were created. From the oracles of ancient Egypt and the wizards of medieval Europe on to the exploits of Houdini and modern practitioners like Criss Angel, this book unlocks the secrets behind centuries of magic and illusion.

Fully illustrated and including step-by-step instructions for eight classic magic tricks, this book will have middle-grade readers spellbound.

ON THE RUN by Tristan Bancks (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Ben has always wanted to be a cop, so he’s intrigued when police officers show up at the door, asking for his parents.OnTheRun Then his parents arrive after the police leave and rush him and his sister into the car, insisting they are going on a vacation. Ben’s a little skeptical–his family doesn’t go on vacations. After they lose the police in a high-speed car chase and end up in a remote cabin deep in the woods, Ben discovers his parents’ secret: millions of dollars were deposited into their bank account by accident, and they took the money and ran off. Ben isn’t sure what to think. Are his parents criminals? And because he ran off with them, is he a criminal, too?

THE HUMAN BODY: THE STORY OF HOW WE PROTECT, REPAIR, AND MAKE OURSELVES STRONGER by H.P. Newquist (Viking) TheHumanBodyDid you know the first blood transfusions were between people and lambs? Or that the first prosthetic hand with a hook was created so a French soldier could hold the reins of his horse in battle? Or that scientists recently grew a nose?

Invention & Impact, an exciting new series from PYRG-Smithsonian, introduces young readers to experiments, discoveries, and breakthroughs such as these, which have huge impacts on our world.  Designed with exciting  images from the Smithsonian’s vast collections, each highly visual book in the series starts with a big idea and then explores that concept through specific objects that give kids the micro and meta picture on how inventions and ideas connect over time.

The debut book in the series looks at one of the most complex systems on planet Earth: the human body. From artificial eyeballs to aspirin to 3-D printed body parts, The Human Body profiles the objects that scientists and tinkerers throughout history have invented (or cobbled together) to protect, repair, or improve our physical selves. And there are plenty of fascinating stories behind these objects!

Which of these or other middle-grade titles are you looking forward to reading? Let us know in the comments!

 

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.

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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.