Jennifer Malone!
Our random name generator chose you as the winner of a copy of MY EXTRA BEST FRIEND signed by author Julie Bowe.
Congratulations! You should be receiving an email from us soon!
Book Lists
In my classroom I make my students write a lot. Students who are learning to write need role models and who better than the people who fill the pages of the books that line our shelves? My students want to hear what authors were up to when they were in sixth grade, what tips and tricks they use to write a really good book, even what it looks like when they are writing! I know that an author visit is successful if I see students using strategies that an author has shared with the class: “Hey, will you read my story out loud to me? I want to try revising the way Mrs. Schlick Noe does.” ~ Jordan Kimmerly, 6th grade teacher
Books crammed with students' sticky notes in preparation for my visit!
My visit to Jordan’s classroom was one of the first in a whirlwind of author visits this winter and spring – to schools, libraries, bookstores, after-school and mother-daughter book clubs, as part of the Mixed-Up Files Skype Tour, and even to a museum. Whew!
As a long-time literacy educator, I’ve had a lot of experience with professional presentations. But speaking to young readers and writers as a middle grade author is a whole new (and wonderful) adventure! To create the most worthwhile author visits that I can, I asked my network of educators and fellow writers for their insights into what makes an author visit especially valuable and memorable.
I hope you discover new ideas, whether you’re an author preparing for a visit or a teacher planning one for young readers and writers. This post is organized into four sections: what works for readers, how visits can encourage young writers, how teachers can extend the learning, and additional resources on author visits.
What Works for Readers?
As authors, our first opportunity to touch young hearts and minds is when students read our books or hear them read aloud. Here are some suggestions to reinforce students’ connections with the story, as well as to support their growth as readers:
• Share the “story behind the story” I love the background story that you can’t get without meeting the author in person. I want to hear what inspired the author, a tidbit of interesting research. I also love to hear a gossipy piece – maybe a secret that didn’t come out in the story, because it’s juicy and makes the book more interesting.
• Read an excerpt We love hearing the author read — a chapter, a few paragraphs, even a few sentences. It brings us into the story if we haven’t yet read it or into the story again, if we have.
• Include photos and visuals When an author shows photos and maps of places and people, it makes the story and the characters and the setting even more real! Students find themselves re-thinking and re-imagining the novel.
• Connect with the reading (and writing) curriculum I want the author to check in with the teacher/coordinator about what they are trying to work on specifically when it comes to writing/reading so that the author can tweak the personal “real life author” things that they share to hit on those topics.
In 6th grade most of our reading instruction revolves around evaluating author’s craft and reading beyond the text. I can tell my students about what I think the theme of a story is and what I believe the author wanted his/her audience to take away from a book until I am blue in the face, but there will always be those students who doubt that I know what I am talking about. It is pretty difficult for even the most ornery of twelve-year olds to question what the author’s purpose is when it is coming out of the mouth of the author!
I love when an author is able to give insight into his or her writing on things that my students and I can only infer and hypothesize about. For example, we want to know how the author intended for various characters to be received. We want to feel the payoff, a sense of being correct, for being critical readers.
• Save time for questions We hope an author saves lots of time for questions. If an author visit is going to be meaningful for students, the students need to be active participants in the encounter. Often the students have better questions than anything that I would think to ask and the answer a student receives will most likely be the most memorable moment for that kid.
Encouraging Young Writers
Like many of us as children, I was an early writer – but I never dreamed I could meet a real author. So it’s no surprise to me that my favorite part about interacting with students has been connecting with them writer-to-writer. Here are some ways that authors can encourage other writers:
• Suggest that students jot down ideas as they listen Ask students to bring writer’s notebooks or simply a piece of paper so that they can capture ideas they hear that they might want to use in their own writing. Show photos of your writer’s notebook and talk about how you used it in the process of writing the book you’re discussing.
• Talk about how you became a writer We want to hear the author’s personal stories about becoming a writer, especially anecdotes about the writer as a child. It’s very inspiring when the author shows bits of writing when she was the same age as my students!
• Offer tips and discoveries that will help other writers When a writer gives the audience their “best revision strategy” – for example, listening to their work being read aloud by someone else — it gives students a concrete and easily adaptable idea to try, regardless of the age level.
• Share your own struggles, hard work, and solutions What you do when you feel stuck or uncertain? Little tricks like that. What surprised you about the story/process? What did you learn?
Most middle grade kids find writing pretty frustrating simply because of where they are in their intellectual development, so I try to share the parts of the process I find frustrating.
When a writer shows students the many drafts saved on their computer, it reminds them that writing is a process that requires time, effort and great attention to detail.
I think kids want to believe that their story ideas are worthwhile, so I try to do an exercise on generating story ideas. Or illustrate how I took a relatively simple and straightforward idea and elaborated on it until it grew into a whole novel.
When a writer shows suggestions that her editor gave on her writing, it helps the audience understand how helpful an outside perspective is, and that no matter how competent the writer, there is still more to learn.
When an author says that writing is a process of discovery, that while you can start with what you know but that what you don’t yet know is even more significant and can be discovered, it makes the process of writing even more exciting and the possibilities greater. It encourages you to begin!
• Provide time, if possible, for students to share or talk about their writing Some of our most valuable sessions have included the author listening to my students’ ideas or their own writing. When an author says, “That’s a book that needs to be written,” I love how the young writer is empowered, re-energized and re-inspired to write.
Extending the Experience
Teachers can greatly increase the impact of an author visit by extending students’ learning experiences:
• First of all, make sure you attend The author visit can have far-reaching staying power when the classroom teachers also take part. This allows follow-up for deeper, richer learning!
• Help students reflect on what they’ve learned as readers and writers I asked my students to write about something the author mentioned in her presentation that they can take away and use as writers themselves. We typed up this list to post in our classroom and use during writer’s workshop — and we sent it to her as a thank you note!
Based on Katherine’s title, Something to Hold, I had students describe things in their own lives that they “hold in their hearts” to help them through difficult times. This exercise helped students think about issues in the book that they encounter in their own lives, such as friendship, prejudice, and what it means to speak up for other people.
Resources for Author Visits
• Consider Skype as a lower-cost alternative to an in-person visit
All of us here at the Mixed-Up Files hope you got in on last year’s amazing Skype Author Tour! Even if you didn’t, consider Skype as a way to bring an author to your school or group. Many middle grade authors offer lower cost – or even free – online visits.
Check out Kate Messner’s Authors Who Skype for detailed information for authors who want to Skype, as well as teachers and librarians looking for free or low-cost Skype visits. In addition, author Mona Kerby and library media specialist Sarah Chauncey maintain the Skype an Author Network, an online database of children’s authors who offer Skype visits.
• Mixed-Up Files author visit blog posts
We’ve offered a great series of posts about author visits here at the Mixed-Up Files. You might start with Bobbie Pyron’s, Care and Feeding of Your Visiting Author for tips for schools and groups hosting an author.
And check out these posts by Rosanne Parry: Authors Visiting Schools: Thinking Outside the Box (creative alternatives to a standard, in-person visit), Successful Author Visits: What an Author Can Do to Prepare (valuable details to help authors get ready for a great visit), and Successful Author Visits: What Teachers and Librarians Can Do to Prepare (more helpful tips for people who are planning the visit!).
Finally, many thanks to the contributors who shared great insights and ideas about what makes an author visit memorable for young readers and writers: Trish Bailey, Cindy Flegenheimer, Denise Gudwin, Jordan Kimmerly, David Lowe, Debi Mandel, Rosanne Parry, Lori Scobie, and Pam Schwartz!
Katherine Schlick Noe teaches beginning and experienced teachers at Seattle University. Her debut novel, Something to Hold, was published by Clarion Books in December, 2011. Now that school’s out, she’s hanging up her traveling shoes and concentrating on her next story! Visit her at http://katherineschlicknoe.com
Share this:
Julie Bowe is the author of the Friends for Keeps series — My Last Best Friend, My New Best Friend, My Best Frenemy, My Forever Friends, and My Extra Best Friend. My Last Best Friend won the 2008 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People and was a finalist for the 2008-09 Great Stone Face Book Award. School Library Journal describes it as perfect “for readers who have graduated from Sara Pennypacker’s ‘Clementine’ stories, Barbara Park’s ‘Junie B. Jones’ series, and Megan McDonald’s ‘Judy Moody’ books.”
The fifth and final book of the Friends for Keeps series, My Extra Best Friend is hot off the presses this week. Here’s what Kirkus Reviews says about it: “…Peer pressure, hurt feelings, mild ethical quandaries and middle-school group dynamics blend with arts-and-crafts, swimming and bonfires, as Ida May deals with Elizabeth’s betrayal and decides if they can ever be friends again. . . . Preteens will gobble up this girl-friendly depiction of the world of early middle school and its ensuing changes. A good choice for girls not quite ready to leave behind the innocence of childhood for the spills and thrills of adolescence.“
Julie has worked as a youth director, a camp program director, and as a curriculum writer and editor. She is a mom and a volunteer youth leader in her community. She lives in Wisconsin and can be visited online at www.juliebowe.com.
Why do you write middle-grade fiction? What’s your favorite thing about writing for this age group?
A friend once told me I have the brain of a fourth grader, so I guess that’s the main reason I enjoy writing for this age! I’m interested in the transitional years between childhood and adolescence. I like trying to get at the eye level of fourth graders—to explore what interests them, what concerns them, what makes them laugh. It’s a joy to find ways to honor kids’ feelings through story.
The cover illustrations of Ida and her friends are adorable. Did they fit the picture in your head?
It was a little freaky when I first saw the cover art for My Last Best Friend because Ida looked so much like I did when I was a kid. She’s even sitting in almost the same way I sat for my author photo. Jana Christy’s art has played a huge role in the success of the series. Her kid-friendly style and attention to facial expressions and small details draws readers in before they even open the book. I’m so happy to have worked with Jana and feel blessed to call her my friend. My Extra Best Friend is dedicated to her.
How long has this journey taken you, from first spark of book 1 to publication of book 5?
Book 1 (My Last Best Friend) began as a picture book manuscript about a girl named Ida May who did not like her short, plain name and wanted to change it to something with more pizzazz. I sent the story to a number of editors and received an equal number of standard rejections. But in 1997, one editor replied with a personal rejection. I was so excited! I called my sister straight away and told her, “I just got rejected personally!” The editor liked my character, Ida, but felt she would appeal more to young readers, rather than the picture book crowd. She suggested I rewrite the story as a chapter book. Over the next few years, she read several revisions of the book that would become My Last Best Friend. Although she never accepted the story for publication, she gave me lots of positive feedback (and hope!) along the way. I began working with my agent, Steven Chudney, in 2002 and the book was taken under contract by my editor, Kathy Dawson, in 2004. I revised the story several times with Kathy before it was finally published in 2007. My New Best Friend followed in 2008, My Best Frenemy in 2010, My Forever Friends in 2011, and My Extra Best Friend in 2012. So, altogether, it’s been a 15 year journey for me.
How has Ida changed over the course of the series? How have you changed?
Ida’s self-confidence grows from book to book. She learns to stand up for herself and for her true friends. She’s vulnerable, but she’s no push-over. I think we see that side of her personality more and more as the series progresses. The other characters—particularly Jenna—also change and grow as the series evolves. I have grown, too. I’ve learned to be more at ease with my writing process. I’ve learned not to let criticism shatter my self-confidence. And I’ve learned not to get lost on the other side of the moon when good news about the books comes my way. At least, not for too long!
How did it feel to end the series? What’s next?
We weren’t sure that the series would end with My Extra Best Friend until after I’d written it. Then it was like, “Yeah, this is it. This completes Ida’s circle.” We were sad, but also happy for Ida. My editor said it best: “It’s bittersweet to see the series come to an end, but mostly sweet.”
I’m working on a new series for young readers. Like Ida, the main character, Wren, is a fourth grade girl. The hardest part about writing Wren’s story is convincing Ida to stay quiet and give the new girl a chance to speak!
What other books do you recommend to readers who enjoyed the Friends for Keeps series?
Here are a few of my favorite series, especially for girls:
Just Grace by Charise Mericle Harper
Clarice Bean by Lauren Child
Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls by Meg Cabot
What advice do you have for those who want to write middle-grade fiction?
I find that hanging out with upper-elementary kids is really helpful. They are everywhere! Beaches. Pools. Sporting events. Food courts. Community centers. Libraries. Churches. Schools. If you don’t know any kids personally, volunteer to serve as a mentor, a Sunday School teacher, a classroom helper, etc. Talk with kids and/or listen to their conversations and take note of what concerns them, irritates them, and makes them laugh. Watch how they move. Get a feel for the way they interact with the world and with each other. Then write!
Julie is giving away a signed copy of My Extra Best Friend to one lucky reader. To enter, just leave a comment below by Midnight EDT on June 18. The winner will be announced on June 19.You’ll get extra entries for sharing a link on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter.
***Please mention each link in a new comment so we can add your extra entries. Winners must live in the US or Canada. Good luck!
Jacqueline Houtman is a reformed scientist who writes sciency fiction for kids. Her debut middle-grade novel, The Reinvention of Edison Thomas (Boyds Mills Press 2010) will be released in paperback in September.
