Book Lists

The Name Game

By on September 11, 2013   /   Book Lists  

What’s in a name? Shakespeare’s Juliet says “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Hmm. True, or not? Sorry Juliet, but if your name had been say, Mildred, would you be the same character? Would we even think of you in the same way? Romeo and Mildred just doesn’t have the same ring.

We often get an instant impression of someone just by learning their name. Think of meeting a Frieda or Spike or Priscilla. Whether it turns out to be accurate or not, c’mon, don’t you start getting a feeling right away for the kind of person they might be? A name can define a time or generation, such as a girl named Madison or one named Ethel. Or Morrie or Dylan. And a name can make us recall someone we knew. The name Beth will always evoke the memory of my next door neighbor and first friend in kindergarten.

Many young readers have asked me how I came up with the name Calli for the main character in my 2011 middle grade novel, Calli Be Gold. The truth is, I’m not exactly sure. It sort of just popped in my mind as I was thinking about the story, and I knew that was this character’s name. Calli’s dad goes around the dinner table every night and asks his kids for their accomplishment of the day (he’s an intense, competitive kind of guy), and he does this in ABC order. Calli’s brother is Alex and her sister is Becca, so I wanted a name that started with C. Plus, at the time, I hadn’t heard of another middle grade book with a main character named Calli.

hello-my-name-is[1]Authors use different techniques to come up with original, meaningful, and creative names for their characters. Some have those lightning bolt moments while others painfully search for just the right name. I recently heard Margaret Peterson Haddix speak at my local library and she said that often, as she’s writing, a name just comes to her (hey, we have something in common!), but when she’s stuck, she uses baby name websites. I’ve done that too. I’ve even looked through my kids’ school directory to find unusual first and last names.

However a character is named, aren’t there some that are unforgettable? I know there are for me! Here is my top ten list of favorite middle grade character names:

10. Stanley Yelnats (Holes by Louis Sachar). Who can resist that clever backwards twist?

9. India Opal Buloni (Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo). I love the flow, the first and middle names, and how the last name sounds like bologna!

8. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern (One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia). Okay, these have to be the best sister names ever.

7. Bubba Sanders and Lamar Washington (How Lamar’s Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Crystal Allen). Bubba and Lamar. Now these are guys you want to hang out with!

6. Beezus and Ramona (Ramona series by Beverly Cleary). Who couldn’t adore a girl named Beezus?

5. Moose Flanagan (Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko). Wouldn’t every kid want to read about someone named Moose?

4. Turtle (Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm). Instantly makes you want to give this girl a hug.

3. Jeffrey Lionel “Maniac” Magee (Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli). Immediately lets you know about this character.

2. Wahoo Cray, his dad Mickey Cray, and his friend Tuna Gordon (Chomp by Carl Hiaasen). However unlikely, I just think these are hilarious.

And my #1, absolute all-time favorite is…

1. Pippi Longstocking! (Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren). This has nothing to do with the fact that when I was 10, my frizzy, sticking-out braids exactly resembled Pippi’s. But we’ll leave that story for another post.

Write a comment and let me know your favorite character name!

Michele Weber Hurwitz is the author of Calli Be Gold (Wendy Lamb Books 2011) and The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days (Wendy Lamb Books, coming spring 2014).

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Up in the Air by Ann Marie Meyers

By on September 10, 2013   /   Book Lists  

I’m so excited to welcome my dear friend and online crit partner, Ann Marie Meyers, to MUF today. Her book, Up in the Air, released in July and she had a very successful launch in Trinidad! Her Canadian launch is coming up soon.

 

Up in the Air by Ann Marie Meyers

Ever since she can remember, ten-year-old Melody has always wanted to fly.
And when she leaps off a swing in the park one day and lands in the mystical land of Chimeroan, her dream finally comes true. She is given a pair of wings. She can fly! Life cannot be any better.
Yet, dreams do come with a price. Even with wings, Melody realizes she cannot outfly the memories of her past. The car accident that has left her father paralyzed, and her unscarred, still plagues her with guilt—she believes that it was entirely her fault.
In Chimeroan, Melody is forced to come to terms with her part in her father’s accident. She must choose between the two things that have become the world to her: keeping her wings and healing her father.

Book trailer and reviews

In the US: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

In Canada: Indigo, Chapters, Coles, Ella Minow Children’s Bookstore, Amazon.ca

In Trinidad: Paper Based Bookshop, Normandie Hotel, Nigel r. Khan Booksellers (several locations)

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Me: I had the chance to read Up in the Air many times in all its various stages. I can attest that it is a wonderful fantasy story. Chimeroan is a magical world that Melody visits – and probably one of the things I loved most about your book. Where did you find your inspiration for the world of Chimeroan? 

Ann Marie: The original idea for Up In The Air came to me one day while I was meditating. I was so excited that I ended the meditation abruptly and went to my computer to type up my ideas. But by chap. 3 I realized that I had no idea what came next. I immediately went back upstairs and sat down to meditate again, but I got absolutely nothing. It took several years and lots of trial and error to figure out the world of Chimeroan, which is a place where dreams, a person’s deepest desires, come true.

The original images I got during the meditation were this: a girl, unhappy, longing to fly, trying to escape her family life, landing in the magical world of Chimeroan and getting wings. The more questions I asked myself (e.g.: Who is this girl? Why does she want to flee? What is this place called Chimeroan? Why does it exist?), the more hooked I became, and the more I knew that this story had to be written. 

Me:  I love that! What child doesn’t dream of flying? I know I still do.  What does that say about me? LOL. Would you say that the main character, Melody, is like you? Or is she like someone else you know?

Ann Marie:  I’ve been asked this question several times, and I’ve always said ‘no’. Yet, the more I think about it, the more I am gradually realizing that, in fact, Melody does bear certain aspects of myself. Melody’s inability to trust is in some way reminiscent of how difficult it was for me to trust others when I was younger. At times I, too, would like to escape my problems and not face up to them. But of course, problems have a way of following you no matter where you go, or how far you run. Dealing with them, both Melody and I have learned, is the best way to achieve inner peace. And then, of course, there is flying. In many of my dreams, I love to soar through the sky. 

Me:  That’s a great message to send to young readers as well. As authors and crit partners we both signed with the same publisher – just weeks apart (and no, it wasn’t planned)! What has your experience been working with a small press? Did you have any expectations, especially pertaining to getting your book in the hands of readers?

Ann Marie: This is a tough question. I don’t think I gave this much thought when I signed with Jolly Fish Press. My mother passed away around that time, and all I could think of was how happy she was when I told her about the interest of Jolly Fish Press to represent my book. My main focus at the time was how wonderful it was to have someone in the industry love and appreciate the story. The idea of Up In The Air being available to everyone was exciting and thrilling and as the months prior to publication passed by, my hope was that people, especially children, would love Melody’s story as much as I did.

Me: That’s a very reasonable expectation and I’m betting that readers will adore Up In The Air!  I’ve seen the pictures on Facebook and you had a pretty incredible launch in Trinidad. Tell us a bit about that.

Ann Marie: The launch was wonderful, and the interest and turnout even more amazing than I could possibly have imagined. The owner of Paper Based Bookstore at the Normandie hotel, where the launch was held, was so happy and impressed by Up In The Air that she offered to arrange school visits for me in Trinidad for next year.

My daughter and I came up with three crafts for the library readings:

1)    On a piece of notepaper, she wrote: “If you could have one dream, what would it be?”’ I had some very interesting discussions with the kids about this.

2)    Coloring two of the illustrations from Up In The Air.

3)    Making wings.

Needless to say ’wing-making’ was the most popular. Here is a link to what this involved and the fun we had.  http://www.annmarie-meyers.com/2013/08/the-evolution-of-wings.html?spref=tw

Me: Fabulous! What creative ideas. So, one last question. Would you rather eat gooey marshmallows or have peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth?

Ann Marie:  I love marshmallows so I’ll choose the first option.  However, I wouldn’t have minded a choice like: would you rather win a trip to Venice or spend a year touring the world?

Me: I wouldn’t have minded a question like that either – especially if you’re paying! 😉  Thanks for joining us Ann Marie and congrats on your debut book!

Ann Marie Meyers_Headshot

Ann Marie grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and graduated from Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia with a Joint Honors Degree in French and Spanish. After leaving university, Meyers took a job at the Trinidad and Tobago Tourist Board and later at the United Nations, New York. While at the UN, she took a translation certificate course at New York University, School of Continuing  Education, and went on to become a freelance translator. Somewhere in the middle of all of this, she started writing and never stopped.

Though adults were Meyers initial target audience, this changed soon after her daughter was born and ideas for children’s stories kept pouring in. Up In The Air, is her first children’s book.

Ann Marie is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and facilitate a children’s writing group twice a month.

You can find her at her Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Pinterest

Would you like to win a copy of Up in the Air? Well, you’re in luck! Ann Marie is giving away a book to one lucky winner! Just fill out the rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Amie Borst writes twisted fairy tales with her 13 year old daughter, Bethanie. Their first book, Cinderskella, debuts October 26th, 2013.

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Fun books to read when you’re sick (or distracting yourself from ongoing dental work)

By on September 6, 2013   /   Book Lists, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers  

So this blog post kind of snuck up on me. I had no idea what to write about, until… I went to the dentist. Weird, huh?  There’s just something about sitting with your mouth gaping open for over an hour, the screech of the drill in your ear, and the metallic smell of your tooth being ground down that makes you think of something – ANYTHING- to distract you.  (My apologies for those who may have just experienced their own dental chair flashback. I know that’s not fun).

Since it was highly unlikely that the dentist was going to pull out some Star Trek type instrument and instantly zap the crown on my tooth – painlessly of course. I decided I’d be better off trying to zap my brain elsewhere.  Where does an avid reader – and writer — send herself on a much needed mental trip? A book, of course.

 

The first thing that popped into my head was actually the movie The Princess Bride.  If you’re not familiar with this classic, a grandfather (played by actor Peter Falk) visits his grandson who is sick. He reads to him from The Princess Bride, a book by William Goldman.   But the book is awesome too.  Like the movie, it is  filled with pirates, sword fights, a giant and even true love. It is an AWESOME book to read when you want to escape the blahs (or the whirring of a drill)

 

But if pirates aren’t your thing, then there’s always wizards. And who wouldn’t want to go on a visit to one of the timeless Harry Potter books by the wonderful J.K. Rowling?  Wizards,  a 3-headed dog, secret magic, and an the ultimate in evil doers “He who must not be named”. What a FANTASTIC place to visit on your mental journey.  (And if you haven’t checked out the new covers for the books, they are AMAZING!)

             

 

Or perhaps you are looking for more light-hearted fun with a mystery twist. Then try out your patriotic flair for Kate Messner’s  book Capture the Flag.

 

Three kids get caught up in an adventure of historic proportions!
Anna, José, and Henry are complete strangers with more in common than they realize. Snowed in together at a chaotic Washington D.C. airport, they encounter a mysterious tattooed man, a flamboyant politician, and a rambunctious poodle named for an ancient king. Even stranger, news stations everywhere have announced that the famous flag that inspired “The Star-Spangled Banner” has been stolen! Anna, certain that the culprits must be snowed in too, recruits Henry and José to help catch the thieves and bring them to justice.

But when accusations start flying, they soon realize there’s more than justice at stake. As the snow starts clearing, Anna, José, and Henry find themselves in a race against time (and the weather!) to prevent the loss of an American treasure.

 

 

 

 

Into sports? Take a swing at Gordan Korman’s Swindle

 

After a mean collector named Swindle cons him out of his most valuable baseball card, Griffin Bing must put together a band of misfits to break into Swindle’s compound and recapture the card. There are many things standing in their way — a menacing guard dog, a high-tech security system, a very secret hiding place, and their inability to drive — but Griffin and his team are going to get back what’s rightfully his . . . even if hijinks ensue.

This is Gordon Korman at his crowd-pleasing best, perfect for readers who like to hoot, howl, and heist.

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling spooky? Listen in on a ghost chat.  These books are  written entirely in the form of letters. And the real surprise is that one of the character’s  is a ghost writer. Literally. She is really dead and yet she’s an author. Cool, huh?

When I’m having a bad day, I always pull one of these books off the shelf. It’s sure to  perk me “write” back up!

 

           

 

And finally, if you feel the need to tickle your funny bone, take a look at some of Donna Gephart’s books. They always make me smile.

 

        

 

I know,  you’re dying to ask – did all of these books run through my head the hour I was sitting in the dentist chair? The answer is YES! Well, them, plus a few other things, like, did I forget to let the dog out before I left? Did I move the laundry to the dryer yet? And what do I need from the grocery store on the way home. (After all, I am a mom, too)

 

But the single overwhelming thought that kept running through my head  was  —  WHEN will this drilling ever end???

 

The lesson here is that next time you’re stuck somewhere you don’t want to be, send your brain on a mental holiday. Imagine yourself inside a book!

Any of these books above will do exactly that – make you feel like you get to visit a new world for a little while. One without runny noses, fevers, aches and yes, even dentist drills. ENJOY them all!!

Now, I want to know what book YOU like to read when you’re sick – or trying to distract yourself from a dental procedure. Put it in the comments below. Let’s see how many books we can come up with to escape the realities of our days.

 

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Jennifer Swanson is the author of a bunch of nonfiction books. When she is not writing, she is flossing and brushing her teeth REALLY well so that she does not have to have another crown put on!

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