Book Lists

I’d like to discuss mother-daughter relationships and middle grade books. And I couldn’t think of a better person to do it than Barbara Dee, the author or numerous praised novels that often explore mother-daughter relationships. Barbara has written on the subject of mother-daughter relationships in middle grade fiction and why it’s so crucial to have those characters in books.

Hi, Barbara, and welcome to From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors. And also congratulations on the release of your newest book, Trauma Queen, which specifically deals with a complex relationship between 13 year-old Marigold who must deal with life in middle school when her flamboyant mother signs up to be the new drama teacher.

Why did you choose to write make a mother-daughter relationship the central conflict in your book?

Ask any eleven or twelve year old girl who’s the most influential woman in her life. She’ll probably say her mom—even though some days her mom drives her crazy!

In the past, you’ve blogged about the lack of mother-daughter relationships. What do you mean by this?

I’ve been thinking about how in so many of the great MG novels, parents in general—and moms in particular—are either missing (Pippi Longstocking, The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, Harriet the Spy, all the Nancy Drews, Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events) or tangential (A Wrinkle in Time, The Black Stallion). Of course, there are notable exceptions—for example, the mom of Beezus and Ramona plays a really important role in that series.

Why do you think it’s important to have strong, complex mom characters in middle grade fiction?

Tween readers—and now I’m talking about the older end of the MG spectrum—often start to have complicated feelings about their moms, even when they love their moms very deeply. I think it’s a great thing when readers can relate to a character who’s experiencing the same messy jumble of emotions—love, frustration, admiration and embarrassment. You don’t have to write a heavy book about this topic—I think you can explore these feelings in a way that’s fun and funny.

Can you discuss the mothers in some middle grade books that you admire? Why do those moms stand out?

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead: Miranda’s mom is smart, ambitious and witty, a tiny powerhouse. To earn money for law school, she preps diligently for an appearance on a TV game show. In the meantime she needles her boyfriend and teases her daughter, a sensitive latchkey kid (“Mom hates that expression. She says it reminds her of dungeons. And must have been invented by someone strict and awful with an unlimited childcare budget.”) This is a mom who nags, sometimes has a temper, doesn’t get everything that’s happening to her daughter– but manages to stay close to her, anyway. One of my favorite moms in recent MG fiction.

The Casson family series (beginning with Saffy’s Angel) by Hilary McKay: Eve Casson is a hoot. She’s clearly a very talented painter, more talented than her pompous, narcissistic husband, Bill.  But she can’t quite cope with her household. Even though this former hippie loves her four children deeply, she uses her painting “shed” as an escape from maternal duties. Somehow you never resent her spaciness, though, maybe because (like the rest of her family) she’s so charming and benevolent.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith: One of my all-time favorite book-moms! Katie Nolan is a tough cookie, sort of a turn-of-the century Tiger Mom. On the one had she’s cranky, strict, prim, and undemonstrative; on the other hand, she’s loyal, loving, and ambitious for her children. When a vagrant attacks her daughter Francie in a dark staircase, Katie shoots the guy dead. You never like Katie, exactly, but you definitely admire her tenacity and her bravery.

And lastly, what did you learn most from your mom? And you write such vivid portrayals of mothers and daughters.  How much do you pull from your own mothering experiences?

From my own mom, I learned that parents aren’t perfect, all-knowing wizards–but when they love you and care about you, you’ll grow up just fine. This was a great lesson for me as I raise my own three children—I’m certainly capable of making mistakes, but I think they know I’m doing my best. And incidentally, if you don’t expect perfection of yourself, if you accept your own quirks and failures as a parent, I think it helps your writing!  You’re more comfortable analyzing character, and you’re not squeamish about warts and freckles. To me those flaws are what’s fascinating–I’m not interested in writing about superheroes.

Though I must say, I’m convinced every mom is a superhero in her own right!

Thanks so much for speaking with us in honor of Mother’s Day, Barbara!

Barbara Dee’s newest title for tweens, TRAUMA QUEEN (Aladdin MIX/Simon & Schuster, April 19, 2011), been called “a laugh-out-loud look at family and friendship” (Discovery Girls magazine) and “totally funny, refreshingly realistic” (Girls Life magazine). She is also the author of THIS IS ME FROM NOW ON, SOLVING ZOE (2010 Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year) and JUST ANOTHER DAY IN MY INSANELY REAL LIFE (starred review, Publishers Weekly). She lives with her family in Westchester County, NY. You can visit her on the web at www.BarbaraDeeBooks.com.

EXCITING BREAKING NEWS: This season’s winners of the From the Mixed Up Files Skype Tour giveaway will be announced tomorrow, May 5th. Stay tuned, everyone!!!!!

My favorite part of being an author besides the actual writing of the books is meeting and teaching students at schools. I do about a dozen of them a year, some as short as a few hours and some stretching over a week. Each time I’ve found that the more I did to prepare, the better my visit went. Here are nine things I’ve learned about preparing for a school visit.

1. Remember you are there to serve the students not to sell books.

Because of recent budget cuts to schools and lean times for families, you might consider not asking a school to sell your book as a part of the visit.  Sometimes a local bookstore will give the school library credit based on the number of books students buy, which is a win for everyone. But that’s often not possible.  Best to keep the focus on what you can do to enrich the curriculum at the school you’re serving.

2. Think about what you have to offer and where your talents are best used.

In an earlier post, I talked about the many different options available for school visits. Pick one that plays to your strengths. If teenagers intimidate you, don’t offer to speak to kids older than 6^th grade. If you’ve never structured a lesson and don’t have happy memories of writing in school, teaching a writer’s workshop is probably not for you.  On the other hand, if the idea of addressing several hundred students at once gives you hives, don’t offer a large group presentation. Kids get squirrelly when you are uncomfortable and teachers know good teaching—make sure you are confident in what you have to offer.

3. Learn something about the school you are going to attend.

Ask the teacher or librarian what they are hoping to gain from the visit. Do they hope to inspire students to stick with revision? Is there a state writing test coming up? Do they want students to feel confident that they have something in their life worth writing about? Are they looking for specific skills in plotting or characterization?

4. Be clear about what you are willing to do and make an agreement.

Spell out the schedule for the day in advance. Make sure it includes the length of each presentation, number of students at each one, technology available to support you, and the amount the school is going to pay you. Even if you are doing a pro-bono visit, please let the school know what you would ordinarily charge for the service. It helps support all the other authors who must ask for pay to come to a school.

There is a sample author visit contract I use in the educators section of the website. Feel free to use it and adapt is as needed.

5. Come early, with back up to your technology.

Try to arrive a half hour before speaking. If you’re using a power point, bring the slides on a thumb drive but also keep your computer on hand with an extra connector. Sometimes it takes several tries to get the technology piece to work. And ALWAYS have a back up plan in case no technology is available on that particular day.

6. Change your presentation based on the age of your listeners.

Make sure your presentations are right for the age you are addressing. No matter how good you are, kindergarteners will not sit still longer than about 20 minutes or be able to write you a paragraph about their favorite story character. You can ask the teacher at the very start if the group is chatty and likely to have many questions, or if they are a hands-on group that will want a project and not just passive listening. As a rule of thumb: K-2^nd graders do well for 20-30 minutes, 3^rd -5^th are fine with 30-45 minutes, 6^th and up can manage 60-75 minute presentations.

7. Remember that you are disrupting the schedule. Be flexible.

School thrives on routine. It’s not that people aren’t delighted to have you, but you are probably changing the normal routine, which is extra work for everyone involved. The more flexible and understanding you can be, the better.

8. Give them something to take home.

Think about the dinner tables your students are going home to that night. What do you want them to say about your presentation? For me, I want kids to know that they don’t have to be the “smart” or “bookish” one to have a great story to tell. If they are taking a writing workshop from me, I want them to have the start of a story they feel proud of.

9. Listen and learn.

The most valuable part of the visit by far is the chance to meet my readers and learn a little about what they love in the books they read. Whenever I talk to kids they carry on enthusiastically about some author who is much more famous than me. And when I swallow my pride and ask them to explain what they love about a particular book, I always learn something valuable that I can use in my work in progress. It’s a humbling thing to work in schools but one of the reasons I stick with it, is the insight I get into the lives of my readers.

Do you have a tip to share with readers? How do you prepare for a school visit?

Author Kimberley Griffiths Little brought fun prizes to this school visit.

There were lots of smiles during a visit with author Sydney Salter.

Rosanne Parry is the author of Second Fiddle, a story about an avid violin player who finds friendship and adventure in some unexpected places as she travels with her friends from Berlin to Paris.