Book Lists

Can you have one without the other? Is one more important than the other?

I think that plot keeps kids reading, but the characters are what you remember, right? Think of Where The Red Fern Grows. Do you remember the events verbatim of the book? Or do you remember the haunting image of a boy staring down at a red fern waving gently over the buried bodies of his beloved companions?

Let me back up. I write middle grade, but that means my writing skills need to be at fever pitch. To do that, I read thru a lot of writing books, looking at new methods and trying to constantly improve my skills. I’ve run across this “plot vs character” thing a-lot, and to my thinking, it’s a hard sell. Can you really have one without the other?

Think of Percy Jackson. Sure, it’s got a lot of plot. But would you keep reading if Percy never went anywhere in his character and development?

Think of The Black Stallion. Sure, plot – horse and boy! Deserted! On a desert island! But I think you’d agree with me that the real story is the developing relationship between Alex and The Black.

There are so many more. I do have a question for you, as a gatekeeper (or reader!) do you prefer a more plot based book? More character based?

What is your favorite example?

This Memorial Day, Mixed-Up Files honors the unforgettable Maurice Sendak, who died this month, by interviewing Collette Morgan of Wild Rumpus Books in Minneapolis, a shop full of surprises.

MUF:  Collette,  how and when did the Wild Rumpus start?
Colette: In 1992, I was working at a general independent bookstore called Odegard’s in Minneapolis.  Barnes & Noble specifically targeted that bookstore when they started rolling out the first ‘superstores’.  As a result, Odegard’s closed and I had the choice of either opening my own bookstore, or working for a chain.  Luckily, I took the plunge and bought the inventory.  Next, my then-husband had a great space available in a small urban neighborhood.  We worked with a terrific architect who had never designed a retail space but had a great tree-house in his backyard, so we knew that he spoke our language!  We started working on the space in July and opened the store in September.  This year we’ll be celebrating 20 years in business!

MUF: And you have one of the most successful independent children’s bookstores in the country, so you must be giving your customers something they can’t get anywhere else!

Collette: Absolutely.  This store is a destination and it’s not unusual for families to spend hours hanging out.  We offer an eclectic selection from babies to adults, a hands-on environment and extensive book expertise.

MUF: Since your store’s name is taken from that line in Where The Wild Things Are,  are you doing anything special to commemorate its amazing author/illustrator Maurice Sendak?
Collette:We celebrate his life every day—in his books and our name—(although it was equally inspired by the Coen brothers’ movie: Miller’s Crossing).  We have a Latin inscription painted on the floor (Let the Wild Rumpus Start), and we uphold his tradition of not condescending to children—his quote: “I refuse to cater to the bullsh*t of innocence” is a guiding light.

MUF: Most children’s bookstores carry a few animal puppets or plush toys along with their books, but you have a variety of live animals roaming (prowling? patrolling?) the store to add to the rumpus, including chickens and mice and Manx cats and. . .please tell me that tarantula Carlos is tamer than he looks! How do the customers and the animals get along? 


Collette: Famously.  There are some folks who are taken aback at the free-range chickens but they tend to lead kids around like the Pied Piper.  Wilbur, the hairless rat is a great conversation starter and the ferrets and chinchillas never fail to entertain.  Once, one of the ferrets ran into the back hallway and rode up and down in an elevator for an hour before we caught on.  Hence, the sign on the back door:  Please Don’t Let the Ferret Ride the Elevator.

MUF: What, besides being greeted by a menagerie , can someone expect when they enter Wild Rumpus?
Collette: Lively music, inspired events, unexpected titles, architectural surprises, curiosities (um, why do you have a bottle of Cod Liver Oil up there?)…

MUF: You have some unusual book clubs at Wild Rumpus. We here at Mixed-Up Files are especially glad to hear that “Ink Drinkers,” your new club for 8-10 year olds, is oversubscribed, and that you have a club for 11-13 year olds reading Advanced Reader’s Copies.  What are some titles you have been/will be reading in these clubs? 

Collette: Some of the recent Ink Drinker titles: The Big Swim, The Unforgotten Coat, Lemonade Wars, Skellig, Ronia the Robber’s Daughter.  The BLLOG (born later literary opinions group: middle school advanced copy reviewers): Chomp, The Hero’s Guide to Saving the Kingdom.         That’s all that I can remember at this minute, but they have reviews on our website.The advanced reader group recently reviewed ARCs of Never Fall Down, Blue Fish and Fall from Grace.We also have the Remedial Book Club for Immature Adults.  Our next selection is: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

MUF: Do you have a story you like to tell about an especially fine or amusing day in Wild Rumpus? Any memorable incidents?
Collette: Every day is fine and amusing.  Never a dull moment!  I remember once keeping a baby Wild Boar overnight.  When I went to clean his pen, he escaped and led me on a merry chase around the bookshelves skittering around the corners on the wooden floor and causing me to laugh hysterically.   Another time, we had a wonderful 3-legged rabbit named ‘Mr. Red’ who spent his days lounging on a divan and being adored.  One evening he was inadvertently left out of his sleeping hutch and he managed to take a bite out of every single book spine in the Pirates section.  The next day, we had to have “Mr. Red’s Big Pirate Sale.”

MUF: If a family who didn’t have a children’s bookstore in their town came to visit yours, would there be a family-friendly place in the neighborhood where they could get something to eat after book-browsing?
Collette: Absolutely, we are rife with independent, locally-sourced restaurants and just around the corner from a gourmet, house-made ice cream store. If you walk down to the lake, there’s a great concession called ‘Bread and Pickle’ where you can pick up a picnic lunch.  For the grown ups, we have several independent coffee shops including one that specializes in rare coffees and teas.  Dare parents to try the Kopi Luwak coffee ($420./lb or $10. per cup).  It’s coffee beans  errr.. ‘reclaimed’ from the excrement of civet cats.  Who knew? Mmmm. Soooo smooooth.

MUF: And if they could stay the weekend, what other family activities in Minneapolis would you most recommend?
Collette: Well, we’re within walking or biking distance of Lake Harriet—from which you can ride/walk miles and miles around the ‘chain of lakes’.  On the next lake over, you can rent paddleboats, kayaks—even learn how to do a little log-rolling.  We have the world- class Children’s Theatre Company, Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater (where Brian Selznick worked with puppets) and the beautiful Minnesota Zoo.  Science museums, art museums, wonderful music venues…

MUF: Have you had many middle grade authors appear at  Wild Rumpus?
Collette: Tons.  Brian Selznick, Brandon Mull, Tom Angleburger, Jeff Kinney, Kate DiCamillo, Anne Ursu, Shelia O’Connor, Katherine Hannigan, Jon Scieszka….

MUF:Are there events coming up at your store in June or this summer that you’re especially looking forward to?
Collette: This summer we’re planning an archery demo, a donkey day,  language of flowers event, new book clubs including a knitting book club for middle-schoolers, more things than you can even imagine.  In fact we haven’t imagined half of them yet.

MUF:  Thank you so much, Collette, for giving us a glimpse of your unique and (literally) lively book shop.  Readers, if you’ve visited Wild Rumpus or if reading about it makes you think you’d like to hang out there, please leave a comment here.

Sue Cowing is the author of You Will Call Me Drog (Carolrhoda, 2011, Usborne UK, 2012).  She has not yet been to Minneapolis, but Drog, her  puppet character, had his photo taken in front of Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre (guess he was afraid to go in).

Maybe Mother’s Day is still in the air, or it might be the two recent Mixed-Up Files posts on parenting tips, and moms in middle grade fiction; or it might be the mother-daughter book club visit I did recently. Whatever it might be, I have been thinking seriously about moms and dads in MG.

And before I go further, I want to pass out some writer hats. If you aren’t a writer – don’t worry.  Even if you are a parent or educator, or simply a middle grade reader, I have several hats. I’m sure one will fit you.

Conventional writing wisdom has been telling us for years to cross out parents from books, and to leave the adventuring, detective work, and problem-solving to the kids.  How else might we explain classics like The Secret Garden, or Heidi, or more recent phenomenons like Harry Potter, The Golden Compass, and The Graveyard Book?  I know as a writer, it’s just easier to leave out the parents. Fewer people to deal with, fewer permissions to grant, easier plot twists to render. As a young child, I understood the necessity of eliminating parents. I scarcely knew what divorce was, and yet in many stories I wrote, there were divorced parents, missing parents, or mothers and fathers who met an untimely demise. Why? Because it was so much easier to get to the real story without them there!

Even so, I’d like to make a case for the parents, and why as a writer, I think they add a dimension to the story that is gaining importance over time. There might be several really good reasons, but I will give you my personal 3. And then I will add one more, which might be a truth that has remained constant, but bears considering.

3 Reasons for Keeping Parents Present

1. The rise of parent-child book clubs. I have no hard data, but one can easily observe that the number of parent-child book clubs have grown over recent years. Some of these are run through the schools, some through libraries, and sometimes a group of like-minded people form their own. It’s a great way to spend time with your child and devote time to reading. Along with that, is the opportunity to discuss stories that resonate with both adults and young people. Whether it’s about fitting in at school, or dealing with a job loss, or the death of a family member, there are many stories out there that can be approached and discussed from multiple
   perspectives. And in doing so, there might be a great chance for parents and kids to understand each other better.

1. Multicultural families and their experiences have changed from generation to generation.  As a child of an immigrant family that came to the United States in the 1970s, I can attest to how much has changed from what we experienced then as first-generation immigrants with what my children and their second-generation and third-generation peers experience today.  In the 1970s, it was about fitting in and being like everyone else.
   

   Today, what “fitting in” means has changed. Interestingly, the Census Bureau reported for the first time that White births account for less than half the number of total births today, clocking in at 49 percent. So while the face of our nation undergoes changes, it makes sense that the stories for and about our children have changed. And what better way to observe that change than through books that include multi-generations of immigrants in its pages?

2. The need to accept people in our society who may be seem different, but deserve the same level of respect and dignity, and with equal rights to education, friendship, and acceptance. I think this is an especially important reason. In an interview about her debut novel, Wonder (about a 5^th grader with facial deformities that attends school for the first time), RJ Polaccio comments, “I hope that readers will come away with the idea that they are noticed: their actions are noted.” More importantly, Polaccio goes on to say that, “I also hope parents take heed and do more interfering in their kids’ lives…They need to remind their kids to be kind and do right exactly because it’s the hardest thing to do at that age.” What’s wonderful about Polaccio’s novel is that she allows us to see the shortcomings of everyone, from kids to their parents, and to those who mean well but still inflict pain through their ignorance. It’s this quality that makes her novel an excellent way for children and adults alike to discuss how we should treat other people.

So, does this mean that all MG books need to spotlight parents? Of course not. Often times, parents in novels can interfere with the immediacy of the main character’s personal growth. And sometimes, kids really do have to solve their own problems. On the other hand, parents being fictionally “there” isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The other day I read a post by young adult author, Jennifer Hubbard, on the dynamics of being older and younger, and she notes how “There are so many ways to look at age, and at intergenerational relationships.”

Which brings me to the 4th reason I value parents being in the books I write. I truly believe that our experiences as adults matter and have relevance in a kid’s world. I also believe that for those of us who are parents as well as writers, writing children’s books is a way for us to explore the successes and setbacks of grown-ups when it comes to decision-making. For my ownself, writing has allowed me to consider my parenting decisions, and how they might hold up under the scrutiny of a young person.

As writers I think it’s possible to write what we know, even when it comes to writing for kids — and this doesn’t necessarily mean remembering stuff from our distant past. In her parenting post, Mixed-Up Files blogger Elissa Cruz extends a thoughtful invitation: “Parents, I encourage you to pick up a title and read.”

I’d like to go one step further by saying, Writers – I encourage you to write about parents. Because for all you know, they might be reading.

——————————————
Sheela Chari is the author of Vanished,  a 2012 APALA honor book and a nominee for this year’s Edgar award in the best juvenile mystery category. She lives in New York.