Book Lists

 The middle grade novel I’m working on takes place on an island in the Great Lakes. That, coupled with how, this time of year, my favorite daydream is lying on a sandy beach in the Caribbean, has me thinking a lot about islands. As settings, they offer a remove from the larger world, an isolation the writer can treat as lonesome and confining, fantastic and rife with possibility, or any combination.  Whether inhabited by baby dragons, convicts, plucky orphans, wild ponies or, of course, pirates, islands are the scenes of some wonderful middle grade novels, from classic to contemporary. Here are a few of my favorites:

My Father’s Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett. This is my go-to book when an adult library patron asks for a read aloud to share with a child not quite ready for longer novels. But even older middle-grade readers can’t resist the heroics of Elmer Elevator, who stows away on a ship to Wild Island to rescue a poor, over-worked baby dragon. It also features the best all-time maps in kid literature (see above) .

Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery. Need I say more? An all-time favorite among children’s books, it’s the story of orphan Anne Shirley, who arrives on Prince Edward to be adopted by the elderly Cuthberts, who are expecting a boy, not a fesisty red-haired girl. The wild beauty of the island is essential to the charm of this book and its sequels.

Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry. When my daughter was nine or ten, her favorite game was Misty. She and her friends would gallop everywhere, imaginary manes flying in the island wind. Set on a real island off the coast of Virginia, this book and the others in the series explore powerful, poignant themes of what happens when humans and nature meet.

The Cay, by Theodor Taylor. Two islands in this book—Curacao, from which the hero Phillip escapes on a boat when German soldiers invade, and the small desert island where he winds up a castaway, blind and dependent on Timothy, an old West Indian unlike anyone he’s ever met. A terrific survival story, with moving themes of the destructiveness of prejudice and the redemptive power of love.

Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko. Alcatraz! Just the name sends a shiver down the spine. In this comic, engaging novel, set in 1935, Moose Flanagan’s father takes a job as a prison electrician and the whole family moves to the island with him. A fascinating account of what it was like for the children of the guards and other workers who lived there, as well as a great story about the bonds of family and the dilemmas of first love.

Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell; Jacob Have I Loved, by Katherine Paterson; and of course Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stephenson….I could go on!  Please share your own favorites!

(An interesting aside: As I was writing this post, I came across this tidbit on one of my favorite sites, A.Word.A.Day., with Anu Garg. The word island was originally iland–literally, watery land. Somewhere along the line, an s was added, because it was erroneously believed to derive from the French isle. The French word has dropped its s to become île, but we English speakers are still carrying that misbegotten s.)

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Tricia’s new picture book, Phoebe and Digger, publishes on March 26. It’s not set on an island, but is still pretty exciting.

I’m currently under deadline, knee-deep in revisions on one of my work-for-hire projects, so forgive me if this is a somewhat shorter than usual post. (Um yeah, stop clapping, I know you were looking forward to a long, rambling missive!)

Anyway, one of the great things about having your work professionally edited is that… well, it’s being edited by professionals. Not necessarily a process for the faint of heart. But I’ll admit I actually like it. It’s very educational to have somebody else point out where your dialogue falls flat and the plot wavers… and the times you fall back on writerly tics and crutches. You know what I mean — the eye rolls, shrugs and spine-creeping chills that fill in for actual descriptions of annoyance, apathy and fear. I’ve gotten pretty good at catching when I’m overdoing those. But now it seems I’ve come up with a new tic. Apparently, I like! Exclamation points! A lot!!!

As soon as my editors pointed this out to me, I had to cringe. Because what they were saying was true. My manuscript was riddled with those pesky things. Somehow, in my zeal to make sure readers knew what the characters were saying was REALLY! I MEAN, REALLY! IMPORTANT!!! I felt the need to throw an exclamation on every other statement. And fixing it hasn’t been as simple as changing exclamations to periods, either. Because the thing about writerly crutches… we use them when we’re lazy. Or uninspired. Or just plain out of ideas. I didn’t need to over punctuate to highlight the importance of a character’s words… I needed to make sure the words themselves conveyed that importance. Exclamations are okay — in moderation. Otherwise, they begin to feel flat. It’s the writerly equivalent of having someone yell everything they say directly in your ear. After a while, it all starts to sounds the same. Not to mention, loud.

So what are your characters guilty of? Do they shrug so much they need neck massages daily? Do their eye rolls make them look like human slot machines? Fess up in the comments below. There’s no judging here on the Mixed-Up Files.

As for me, I’m getting back to editing! Er, I mean, I’m going to rid my manuscript of all those darn exclamations. And maybe next up, I’ll do something about my burgeoning love affair with ellipses…

Jan Gangsei admits she’s a naturally exuberant sort of person. But she’ll try to save the exclamation points for things that are really important. Like cookies!

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