For Librarians

Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with Charlie Hernandez & the League of Shadows!

By on October 8, 2018   /   Author Interviews, For Librarians  

To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, MUF is featuring Charlie Hernandez & the League of Shadows, a middle-grade fantasy inspired by Hispanic folklore, legends, and myths. Talented new author, Ryan Calejo, has agreed to tell MUF blogger Annabelle Fisher about how he developed the ideas behind his magical, action-packed book.

AF:Your characters come from so many countries in Central and South America. Where are your ancestors from? Who were the storytellers among them?

RC:What an amazingly timely question! I just got the results back from an ancestry DNA test, so I’ve got graphs, pie charts—the works! The findings were as follows: 39.5% Cuban, 27% Spanish, 20.5% Portuguese, 9.3% French, and 3.7% Chullachaqui. The Chullachaqui comes from my mother’s father’s side according to the test (and some very reliable family sources).

The storytellers of the family would have to be my abuelitas (that’s Spanish for grandmothers). It was their wild and fantastical tales that instilled in me a love of stories and reading at a very young age.

AF: Your knowledge of Hispanic/Latino stories and myths is encyclopedic! How did you research the stories and characters? Did you travel, take classes, interview other authors—or live in a library? What books were most helpful?

RC: Haha! Yes, I did live in a library for a while—right between the children’s section and the gardening books, in fact. But honestly, I first heard about most of these myths from my abuelitas. As a child, I was a little . . . rambunctious, by all accounts, and my grandmothers really didn’t have any other way of keeping me under control other than to entertain me with myths and legends and then tell me that the creatures/beings from those stories would take it personally if I didn’t eat my lunch or go to bed on time or stop jail-breaking my cousins from their high-chairs. And sometimes it actually worked!

But I did do quite a bit of research at my local library. Perhaps the most helpful books were Mesoamerican Mythology: a Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America, and South and Meso-American Mythology A to Z, although there are many, many, MANY wonderful books on the subject! I also spoke with a whole bunch of my grandmothers’ friends and some of my older relatives who had grown up listening to these myths and they proved to be a valuable resource as well.

AF: Your use of humor is very effective in bringing your characters to life. Are you a funny guy?

RC: I’m definitely the clown of the family. I love making people laugh! I’m also a seasoned prankster. I believe I hold the record for “most consecutive pranks on a relative”; I’ve pranked my uncle (whose name I won’t mention here today so as not to shame the man) at every single family Christmas party since I was 11. And I’m proud to say the streak lives to this day!

AF: Did you ‘play superheroes’ as a child? Please tell us a bit about it.

RC: As a child??? I still play superheroes! But, yeah, I was a different superhero practically every day of the week. Just ask my poor mother who had to hand make most of my costumes. In fact, I still have the black cape and Darth Vader chest box that she fashioned out of a curtain chain, a crackerjack box, and a few shirt buttons during my Star Wars phase. I remember getting really upset when I would try to levitate something and it wouldn’t move, so my parents always had to be ready to toss something across the room—usually it was their car keys. I also remember one of my aunts being too embarrassed to walk into a grocery store with me when I was King Kong for a day and had shaved off most of my dog’s hair and glued it all over my body in order to give myself a nice Kong-like coat. Fortunately, my parents have always celebrated my eccentricities.

AF: Which of the mythical creatures in your book is your favorite and why?

RC: My favorite would probably have to be El Cadejo. It’s sort of a guardian angel that takes the form of a huge white dog. When I was little, one of my neighbors owned this ginormous White Shepherd I was convinced was the myth incarnate, because it would follow me around the neighborhood whenever I rode my bike. I always felt so safe! Those are some of my earliest and fondest memories.

AF: Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadowshas been compared to The Lightning Thief. Congratulations! What are some of the differences between Hispanic/Latino mythology and Greek mythology?

RC: The biggest difference I’ve found between the two is the incredible amount of variation within Hispanic/Latino myths. There are countless examples where a mythological creature is called one name in a certain region and then something completely different just two hundred miles away. Many times you’ll even find subtle—and sometimes not so subtle—tweaks to the creature’s origin story! I find that little quirk particularly fascinating, because it provides us with unique insight into the psychology and the various regional and social challenges facing individuals from that time and place. Also, Hispanic/Latino mythology tends to be a whole lot scarier!

AF: Why did you think it was important to write this book? What do you hope young readers will take away from it?

RC: I wanted to offer children of all backgrounds a glimpse into the richness and beauty of Hispanic/Latino culture in a fun and engaging way. It was also of utmost importance to me to write a book that children who are of Hispanic/Latino descent could see themselves in, while at the same time introducing them to the myths and legends their ancestors grew up with. I hope young readers will come away with the knowledge that there’s something special in all of us—even if it’s not what we expected—and that it’s up to us to embrace it.

AF: I get the feeling that Charlie is going on “to the south and beyond the sea.” Are you working on a sequel?

RC: Yes! It’s almost finished and Charlie and Violet are in for another crazy adventure! Get ready for even more myths, mystery, and funnies!

AF: Thanks for your time, Ryan. Good luck on your terrific book!

 

Charlie Hernandez & the League of Shadows, Ryan Calejo’s first novel, will be released on 10-23-18 from Aladdin, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We’re talking nonfiction with a librarian!

By on September 24, 2018   /   Articles, Curriculum Tie-in, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, Nonfiction, STEM  

As an author of primarily nonfiction, I thought it would be interesting to interview a librarian about all-things nonfiction for middle grade readers.

Rachel Stewart, the children’s services librarian for the Maumee (Ohio) Branch of the Toledo Lucas County Library was kind enough to answer questions I had about the topic from her perspective. Rachel has been with the TLCPL for five years. Her background is in elementary education, taught in traditional as well as a Montessori school, where she also served as an administrator. As you would expect, she is an active reader, enjoying various genres and subjects

As a children’s librarian, what nonfiction titles/subjects do you find appeal to middle grade readers the most? Middle grade readers are drawn to books about making and doing. When filling our new nonfiction displays, I notice that books related to STEAM subjects go fast, especially those that involve LEGO building or crafts. The DK book series is a constantly popular one. It is so popular that we have a designated, ongoing display of those books for customers to browse. This tells me that kids have a natural curiosity about a wide variety of topics and enjoy the graphic layout and photographs within these books.

I know that in our library system, the biographies for children, from PB to YA are shelved with biographies for adult readers. Does this lessen the exposure to young readers? (As opposed to shelving them in with children’s books?) We keep a constant display of the “Who Was/is…?” series, which has been very useful to parents and children alike. We often do temporary displays of PB bios and are currently doing a long-term display of YA/adult bios. Most often, when a child asks about bios, it is about a specific person and we can point them in the right direction (if such a book exists). We frequently do juvenile nonfiction displays on a wide variety of topics and usually include bios. There are pros and cons to interfiling, however, a major positive is that interfiling encourages young readers to choose books that they may not be exposed to in the juvenile section. Interfiling also allows adults with a lower reading level to feel comfortable browsing for books on a topic of interest.

Do you find that MG readers are borrowing nonfiction titles simply out of curiosity or because of school assignments? I believe that MGs are borrowing for both reasons. The NF displays that we keep up are heavily trafficked and browsed. I will often recommend narrative NF to reluctant NF readers just to open that door.

Does the library do much programming in nonfiction for middle grade readers? Nonfiction programming is a priority within the Toledo Lucas County Public Library system. At Maumee we have a popular programming series for grades 1-8 called “No School? No Problem!” that is focused on STEAM activities and scheduled when the local schools are off. When presenting those programs, we always include a large selection of related books for attendees to browse.

Do you have any amusing experiences with middle grade readers relating to nonfiction topics you care to share? I enjoy loading a child up with books on a favorite topic. I witness visible excitement and anticipation as if taking that stack home will be like opening a gift. 

 I also happen to have an 11-year-old that is a voracious reader of both fiction and nonfiction. He is spoiled by new books almost daily and I love when he asks what I brought for him. He is a fan of the Nat Geo and Guinness Books about world records and amazing facts. I am amused when he feels the need to share (at rapid-fire pace) interesting trivia from those books while I am driving or getting ready for work in the morning.

What are some of your favorite middle grade nonfiction titles? I have a love of cookbooks and am thrilled whenever we get new juvenile titles. Cooking encompasses so many practical life skills and supports emotional well-being. I believe learning to cook and bake should be a core part of childhood.

Thank you Rachel for your time and input!

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How I Became a Ghost by Tim Tingle

By on September 20, 2018   /   Articles, children's bookstores, Cross-Curricular, Curriculum Tie-in, Diversity, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, independent bookstores  

Well done, Mr. Tingle.

Imagine a class full of anxious 5th graders sitting on the rug at your feet begging for the next chapter in our read aloud, How I Became a Ghost by Choctaw native and story teller Tim Tingle.

As a teacher, I incorporate every moment into a teaching moment, and storytelling is no different. This is my third year reading this book aloud and a common comment after each session is how much my students love this story.

A couple of years ago, I sent two students on an errand, and they later burst through the classroom doors out of breath. They said they had run as fast as they could across the campus to get back before I started reading. I realized then, that I shouldn’t send kids on errands or make kids do catch-up work when we were visiting the land of the Choctaw on the Trail of Tears.

How I Became a Ghost is not only entertaining, it is also brutally honest. It is a tale of the Trail of Tears, when  Native Americans were forced to leave their homes in Mississippi and relocate to land now called Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The story is told through the eyes of Issac, a ten-year old Choctaw. In the very beginning, Isaac announces to his readers (or listeners in this case) that he is going to be a ghost soon. And because of his condition, premonitions of grisly events begin to plague him.

This is where the brutally honest part comes in. There are many disturbing scenes that are so well-told, that the kids shriek in shock. But they get it. And they are anxious for you to keep reading. For example, during one of Isaac’s premonitions, he sees an old Choctaw couple burning in flames. Soon after, the same couple die when soldiers sneak into the neighborhood at night to set everyone’s homes on fire. And then there is the premonition of pus-filled sores covering some of the tribe’s bodies. You guessed it. Soldiers ride into camp and offer the shivering population blankets exposed to Smallpox.

Choctaws were removed west of the Mississippi started in 1831. Louisiana Indians Walking Along a Bayou by Alfred Boisseau was painted in 1846.

Smallpox became a huge topic in the classroom and I had to teach a mini-lesson on communicable diseases (which ties into our Health curriculum) and the use of diseased blankets.  The bigger story, which we discussed several times, was the relationship between native tribes, societal beliefs, and the government in the 1830s.

Because Tim Tingle is a master storyteller, tie-ins to Native American culture are seamlessly woven into the story. We learn how the spiritual world is part of the family unit and how those who have passed on look after and protect those still walking the earth.  When Isaac becomes a ghost, his story does not stop there. As a ghost he is able to assist the living as they continue their fight to stay alive while walking the trail.

As with most great books, and one that has won many awards, the literary elements are rich. Besides profound sayings worthy of insightful discussion, we examined how imagery comes from the imagination. The scene goes from text on paper to an image inside our heads. In the following scene, Isaac’s feet are frozen in a puddle, and when he pulls his feet up the skin tears off. The kids cringe when this happens, but they understand how bitter cold can affect the body and the desperate conditions of the Choctaw. It is interesting to see imagery taking shape through the imagination of a fifth grader.

Some conversations: What is the author saying? Why does the author make a point of one hundred footprints turning into a thousand? Why were the footprints bloody and not regular footprints?

Isaac looking back and seeing a bloody trail of footprints.

Isaac covered with a blue blanket leaning against a tree with his feet frozen in ice.

One of the reasons I originally chose to read a book on Native American history is because it helps students to build a broader concept of how the U.S. was formed. Books can be powerful tools and it is a tool that sits at the top of my teacher toolbox.

 

 

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