Posts Tagged children’s books

What Is A Coming-of-Age Novel?

What is a “Coming of Age” novel? The term has been applied to books ranging from Little Women to A Clockwork Orange! Still, we all know what the category is supposed to mean. It’s for books in which a young character, over time, undergoes experiences or grapples with personal or social conflicts and grows in the process. But take out the word “young” and you have the main character of most novels. The one with the most potential for change or growth.

“Coming-of-age” sets an unfortunate us-and-them tone. It suggests that we adults, having put away childish things, can  observe the young from a safe, settled, and wise distance. We forget that the young are us. Not just who we used to be, but part of who we are now. We may then miss or dismiss some great stories we need to know, perhaps even some heroes.

A successful novel only needs to be to be an engaging story. But a hopeful thing takes place when we identify with the novel’s main character. We get practice in empathy then, and that can change lives. What if that main character is a kind of outsider whom we might have avoided or made fun of in our daily life? Now in the novel we see him, not as a “kind” but as an individual, and we realize just what he or she is up against, what the stakes are.

Mark Haddon’s brilliant novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time created great sympathy and understanding for people with autism. Since then we have seen a number of popular young adult and middle-grade novels with autistic heroes. These include Siobahn Dowd’s The London Eye Mystery, Francisco X. Stork’s Marcelo in the Real World, and Katherine Erskine’s Mockingbird. Their main characters have Asperger’s and persevere in  complicated quests.

A similar thing has happened with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and dyslexia. Seeing the world from the point-of-view of Jack Gantos’s off-the-wall Joey Pigza was a revelation to readers. Then came the poignantly humorous series about dyslexic Hank Zipzer by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver (“The Fonz” is himself dyslexic, not diagnosed until adulthood). It’s his dyslexia and ADHD that get Percy, the main character of the wildly popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, in so much trouble at school. But these turn out to be abilities in disguise. They’re actually assets in his true role as a demi-god. Imagine the recognition and relief with which a dyslexic or ADHD student reads these books. But his classmates are reading them too. Suddenly their fellow-students’ actions may make perfect sense to them, so that they can laugh with and for them, rather than at them.

Doesn’t this increased empathy argue for having stories about every possible way of being human? And against the current impulse toward censorship or restriction of children’s access to such books?

We all have some sense of being an outsider, regardless of our background or circumstances. At around age eight or nine, we realize that we have both an inner and an outer life. We soon discover that who we feel ourselves to be cannot always be reconciled with and who others expect, even command, us to be.

Novels that focus on a young person’s struggle between those worlds remind us of our own continuing struggle to reconcile them, regardless of age. Something more important than “coming of age” or even “growing up” goes on in them. The main characters in these stories hold to something in their inner life–a dream, a conviction, a quest, a desire, a quality of self-that they believe to be essential to them.

It’s so essential that they can’t afford to give it up or give in, no matter how much pressure or ridicule they may experience from others. Sometimes very powerful others claim to know better for them or at least know better about how the world works. So they’re is tempted and discouraged along the way, and they may sustain great losses. But they gradually find the courage to be true to themselves and to bring that essential something forward with them.

Think of ten-year-old runaway orphan Bud Caldwell in Christopher Paul Curtis’s Depression era novel Bud, Not Buddy who survives neglect and abuse and hunger by clinging to three things: 1) his s dead mother’s love and assurance that he is Bud, not Buddy 2) a beat-up cardboard suitcase containing certain old playbills and rocks he believes are clues to the identity and whereabouts of his father and 3) a wry compendium he has created from his young experiences called, “Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making A Better Liar Out of Yourself.”

Or magical nine-year-old Thomas, in Guus Kuijer’s The Book of Everything, who “sees things others don’t see.” Tropical fish in the canals. His father regards much of what Thomas says and does as the workings of the devil. He  tries to beat it out of his son  with a spoon. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Thomas says. “ I want to be Happy.” His father scoffs, but a neighbor, widely regarded as a witch, thinks it’s a very good idea. She gives him books, music, companionship, and a powerful thought. That to be happy it is first necessary not to be afraid.

Remembering that thought, Thomas stands  up to his father and  inspires his sister and mother to do the same. Everyone is happier as a result, except for the now small, confused, and fear-driven father. Even Thomas’s friend Jesus doesn’t hold out much hope for change in him.

There is no guarantee that characters in these books will prevail, however much they may deserve to. Lizzie Bright, the straight-thinking free spirit in Gary Schmidt’s Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, liberates her friend Turner ’s thoughts and spirit from his rigid upbringing. But she ends up being banished by the greedy and bigoted white townspeople to an institution for the feeble-minded.   She dies there before Turner can rescue her.

Much is at stake in novels like this, and not just for the characters. We pull hard for them. We long to hope that the world can be wise enough to bend to their courage and make room for them. And for us.

For that story, any category may be too small.

 

STEM Tuesday– Entomology– Book List

There are more than a million different kinds of insects living on our planet. They live in rivers and deserts and forests and … even our homes … and they outnumber us. So it only makes sense that we get to know them better.

Meet the Bugs:

Cover image og grasshopper and a bee

Buzzkill: A Wild Wander Through The Weird And Threatened World Of Bugs by Brenna Maloney

Reading this book is like listening to a friend tell stories. For example, there’s the time Brenna bought caterpillars watched their transformation into adult painted lady butterflies. She gives her personal take on insect defenses (getting stung), wrangling ants into an ant farm, and more.

Cover image with a number of bugs and a praying mantis

1,000 Facts about Insects by Nancy Honovich

This browsable book is perfect for the kid who wants to know cool insect facts without reading an entire book. Each spread focuses on some aspect of the insect world, from life cycles to senses to defenses. There are facts about migration, endangered insects, and conservation, about light-makers and love bugs, 50 fluttering facts about butterflies and lots, lots more.

Cover image with butterfly and bees flying and a ladybug and grasshopper peeking from the grass.

Encyclopedia of Insects: An Illustrated Guide to Nature’s Most Weird and Wonderful Bugs by Jules Howard, illustrated by Miranda Zimmerman

After some basic information and a list of some amazing insect feats, the book groups over three hundred insects by their orders. It provides the common and scientific names, size, diet, location and interesting details for some colorfully painted familiar and freaky insects from around the world. You’ll also find information on arthropods and invertebrates and a handy guide to determine whether you are an insect.

Cover image with a moth flying at night.

Moth: An Evolution Story by Isabel Thomas, illustrated by Daniel Egnéus

One of the most remarkable stories about natural selection is that of how the pepper moth adapted to the sooty pollution of the industrial revolution. Evolution is a big concept, hard to grasp sometimes, and this book does a marvelous job telling – and showing – how environmental changes affect insect populations. A picture book for the 8-10 crowd.

Cover image with a bumblebee

The Beekeepers : How Humans Changed the World of Bumble Bees by Dana L. Church

Bumble bees are a vital part of our ecosystems, pollinating crops that feed people and wildflowers and trees that feed wildlife. They are so successful, that people have commercialized their breeding, shipping bumble bee colonies to greenhouse growers across state – and country – borders. But what happens when commercially raised bumble bees escape the greenhouse and begin nesting in the wild?

For another book about bees, check out our interview on Where have all the bees gone? : pollinators in crisis, by Rebecca E. Hirsch from a couple years ago.

Cover image with a spider, centipede, ants and fly

Wicked Bugs: The Meanest, Deadliest, Grossest Bugs on Earth by Amy Stewart

Engaging and terrifying, this book explores the life cycles, habits, and dangers of forty-eight of the deadliest, dangerous, unwelcome, destructive, painful, and seriously threatening insects on earth – plus a few spiders, worms, and scorpions for good measure. It includes case studies of recent and historic instances of attacks or bites from these insects and any known treatments. Not for the faint of heart, though it is a good resource for identification, insect transmitted diseases and pest control.

Meet The Folks Who Study Them (Entomologists):

Cover image with a spotted beetle.

Beetle Busters: A Rogue Insect and the People who Track It (Scientists in the Field) by Loree Griffin Burns, photos by Ellen Harasimonwicz

The Asian Longhorn Beetle came to the US as a stowaway, tucked into wood used to ship products. With no natural enemies to control its spread, the beetle now infests trees from Massachusetts to New York and into Ohio, with the potential to cause more damage than Dutch elm disease, chestnut blight and spongy moths combined. This book follows the scientists tracking the insect and trying to save the forests.

Cover image with a boy lying in the grass with a magnifying glass looking at bugs.

Buzzing with Questions: the inquisitive mind of Charles Henry Turner by Janice N. Harrington, illustrated by Theodore Taylor III

At a time when most colleges didn’t accept black students, Charles Turner went to study zoology. He had a particular fondness for small creatures, insects, and used them to help answer big questions: how do ants find their way home? Can an insect solve a maze? Can bees learn to identify colors? This book will inspire emerging entomologists of all ages.

Cover image with two beetles facing off with large pincers.

Beetle Battles: One Scientist’s Journey of Adventure and Discovery by Douglas J. Emlen

Doug Emlen studies antlers, horns, tusks… weapons that just happen to belong to dung beetles. The cool thing about beetle weapons, he says, is their diversity: some are stubby, some long and slender, some like crowbars, some like sabers. Emlen shows readers how science happens in the field, from designing experiments and collecting data to rethinking the experiments (when they don’t work), and doing it all again.

Cover image of man using tweezers to examine ants climbing up a branch.

Naturalist: A Graphic Adaptation by Edward O. Wilson and Jim Ottaviani, illustrated by C.M. Butzer

E.O. Wilson is an insatiably curious biologist, well-known for his work on ants and insect societies. He reminisces about childhood expeditions to the creek with friends, and an effort to collect and study “all the ants in a vacant lot.” Ants may be small, but examining their societies led Wilson to ask big questions about social structure, genetics, and biogeography.

Cover image collage of scientists using bugs to solve crimes,

The Forensic Entomologist by Diane Yancey

A fascinating examination of the history (a collection of cases through time) and the numerous insects that have solved both murders and trafficking cases. It offers a look at the education and procedures for forensic entomologists and medical examiners, a detailed exploration of how bugs illuminate the time of death, location of death, DNA of victim, and neglect, and explores the factors that can cause mistakes and future forensic applications.

Bug Field Guides and Activities:

Cover image with a beetle, ladybug, caterpillar, and bee larvae.

Ultimate Explorer Field Guide: Insects (National Geographic) by Libby Romero

Divided into two sections – Incomplete Metamorphosis and Complete Metamorphosis – this book is loaded with information, photos, jokes, challenges, and interesting behaviors or facts, as well as any bite, sting, or chemical reaction danger an insect poses. Interspersed throughout are double spread “Insect Reports” on wings, bug vs. insect, invasive species, and much more. The introductory information, Quick Id Guide, glossary, and additional resources round out this engaging insect guide.

Insects and Arachnids (Field Guides) by Carla Mooney

After defining each and their roles in nature, vivid photographs accompany descriptions and fascinating side bars, as well as “How to Spot” and “Fun Facts” sections for each insect, spider, and other critter. Easily browsable, it is divided into the categories: True Flies, Beetles, Wasps and Bees, Ants, Moths and Butterflies, True Bugs, Spiders, Ticks and Mites, and Scorpions.

Cover image of bugs visiting a science fair.

Bug Science: 20 Projects and Experiments About Arthropods: Insects, Arachnids, Algae, Worms, and Other Small Creatures by Karen Romano Young, illustrated by David Goldin

A tongue and cheek presentation, full of cartoonish illustrations, guides kids though the scientific process (concept, question, plan, materials, procedure, and recording of data) necessary to perform experiments with flies, ants, butterflies, fleas, spiders, and other creatures.


This month’s STEM Tuesday book list was prepared by:

Sue Heavenrich examines fungi

Sue Heavenrich, who writes about science for children and their families on topics ranging from space to backyard ecology. Bees, flies, squirrel behavior—things she observes in her neighborhood and around her home—inspire her writing. Her most recent book is Funky Fungi (with Alisha Gabriel). Visit her at www.sueheavenrich.com.

Author photo of Maria and pink roses.

Maria Marshall, a children’s author, blogger, and poet who is passionate about making nature and reading fun for children. When not writing, critiquing, or reading, she watches birds, travels the world, bakes, and hikes. Visit her at www.mariacmarshall.com.

STEM Tuesday– Coding– Author Interview–Josh Funk

 

 

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview & Book Giveaway, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!

Today we’re interviewing Josh Funk, author of How to Code A Sandcastle. Its a delightfully, accessible picture book about a girl constantly thwarted in her attempts to build a sandcastle until she realizes she can design code for her a robot to accomplish the goal.

 

Josh Funk: Thanks so much for inviting me to join you for STEM Tuesday!

Christine Taylor-Butler: Josh, your bio page is hilarious. There’s so much of your personality there. The short bio. The very short bio (4 words) and your bio written by your cat (which is longer than your short bio). You don’t take yourself too seriously. Have you always been like this?

Josh: Hmm… (Josh thinks for a second) Yes. Definitely. I made up my own Garbage Pail Kids when I was in kindergarten with a neighbor (I thought up the names and he drew them). I was a huge They Might Be Giants fan throughout middle school and high school. And I was the kid who had every episode of The Simpsons on tape (in order, without commercials, btw) back before they were all on DVD and decades before streaming.

However, it took a while for me to come out of my shell. I was pretty shy and reserved (at least that’s how I saw myself) until the middle of high school. And even then, I still acted pretty average/normal/conforming throughout most of my life (studying a practical topic like computer science in college, getting a job to help support my family, etc).

But in short (like my short bio), deep down I have always been a big goofball.

CTB: 
How to Code A Sandcastle includes a foreword by Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code. That’s such a nice touch. But boys code too! For instance, your day job is as a software engineer. So this book is for every kid right?

code a sandcastle

Josh: Yes, of course, coding is for everyone. However, when I looked around my office a decade ago, and even think back to my programming classes in college at the turn of the century, a quick visual survey showed men outnumbered women about 20 to 1. So when I wrote How to Code a Sandcastle, the main character was always a girl (named Pearl, after the coding language PERL … and my grandmother).

 

And when my agent and I were shopping the book, my editor at Viking/Penguin (who had previously edited my book Dear Dragon, illustrated by Rodolfo Montalvo) told us of a yet-to-be announced partnership with Girls Who Code. They had plans to release some GWC chapter books, a nonfiction guide to coding, and some baby board books about coding (along with Reshma Saujani’s adult memoir).

Examples of books by Reshma Saujani

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But my publisher had no plans for picture books … until they received mine.

My editor asked if it would be okay to share my manuscript with Reshma, to which I answered, “Of course!” And while I had interest from other publishers, I always knew that Girls Who Code’s mission aligned with one of the main reasons I had for writing the book the way that I did. So signing on with their program was a no-brainer.

Having said all that, of course the book is for all genders, just as coding is for all genders.

CTB: In How to Code a Sandcastle, Pearl and her robot, Pascal (also named after the coding language) use sequences, loops, and conditionals (which I call “if-then-else”) to get past the obstacles to building castles on a beach. So how did you get from software engineering in a heavy tech environment to writing children’s books? Most are not tech specific.

Josh: As a parent, I was reading a ton of books to my kids (who are now in high school and college). And I decided I wanted to try to write my own. So I did. And they were … terrible. The first picture book manuscript I wrote was so long that I fell asleep while reading it to my kids at bedtime.

But my wife suggested I take a class through the local adult education center taught by children’s book author Jane Sutton and she recommended I join SCBWI and it all sort of sprawled out from there. I started attending conferences, met the folks who founded The Writers’ Loft, and eventually, several years later, sold my first picture book through a slush pile submission (Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast, illustrated by Brendan Kearney) and signed with an agent shortly thereafter.

I also stopped playing fantasy football, which freed up a lot of my time (I was really into fantasy football).

CTB: Picture books are so spare. Every word counts. And yet you are able to break Pearl’s coding of her robot helper into specific problems to solve in the proper sequence in so few words.

Josh: Yes, it absolutely is. As is writing. In fact, there are lots of things that coding and writing have in common. How to Code a Sandcastle is not the first picture book manuscript I wrote when trying to meld ‘coding’ and ‘picture books’.

CTB: The robot’s first actions are wrong, so Pearl refines her code to be more specific and tries again. Many people forget trial and error is how real engineering works.

Josh: My first trial was about a sister and brother who get sucked into their computer screen and end up in a fantasy world (think Alice in Wonderland meets Tron or The Wizard of Oz meets The Matrix). They met witches named “Iffie & Elsie” and a pointer named Arnie and … none of my critique partners understood it. And it was also way too long for a picture book. So after four months of revising, I eventually put it to the side and started from scratch.

For my second trial, I realized that taking coding (a foreign concept to many) and a fantasy world that no one knew was too much to put in a single 40-page picture book. So I got rid of the fantasy world. I was always a big fan of the Sir Cumference series by Cindy Neuschwander and Wayne Geehan and saw it as a terrific way to introduce a potentially complicated topic (geometry) in picture book form by using a world kids might be familiar with (King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table). So I thought that maybe I could similarly put coding into a fantasy world that people did know. King Arthur was obviously off the table and I already had written a series of picture books about fairy tales (illustrated by Edwardian Taylor), so fairy tales weren’t an option. So I tried Greek Myths. This attempt, however, was short-lived, as I realized most Greek Myths are about adult topics with lots of violence, death, and romance (especially between members of immediate families). That’s where trial #2 errored out.

For my third trial, I thought, “What if I take coding and put it in the real world?” And so I did. I wrote a story about a sister and brother who went to the local town fair that came through during the summer. The older sister saw everything through a lens of coding (the Ferris Wheel was a loop, the tickets they had for rides were like variables, etc) and the little brother was annoying (because that’s what little brothers are). But my critique partners still didn’t understand the coding parts. And they didn’t think the story was very good. So after another several months of revising, I put this one into the ever-growing error pile as well.

But I didn’t give up. I stepped back and thought about what you ultimately do with coding. You create apps. You make programs. You build websites. So I asked myself, “What do kids create, make, and build?” They create with blocks. They make snowmen. And they build sandcastles. Rather than ‘build’ a sandcastle, maybe we could ‘code’ a sandcastle. And that’s when everything clicked. My critique partners understood it … and they even noted that they actually thought they were learning something about coding.

And you know what? That previous attempt about the sister and brother at the fair wasn’t even wasted! Once I had written How to Code a Sandcastle and knew the format and pacing (and had seen some of Sara Palacios’s amazing illustrations), I took that earlier manuscript out, replaced the annoying little brother with a silly, goofy robot (Pascal), and rewrote the story into the sequel, How to Code a Rollercoaster.

code rollercoaster

Proving once again, that sometimes a failed experiment can lead to something great (I think there are some picture books about that).

Who knows, maybe one day I’ll write a middle grade story about a sister and brother who get sucked into their computer …

CTB: 
You are also introducing terminology in context. Such as creating a “loop” to keep from coding the same task over and over again. Or using “if-then-else” coding for decision making. The illustrations are such wonderful enhancements to the story. Did you have input or was the illustrator, Sara Palacios, able to grasp the concepts without direction?

loop illusJosh: I don’t know how much Sara knows about coding, but as is often the case in the picture book world, I didn’t give much direction at all to Sara when illustrating. And as is also often the case, what Sara came up with was brilliant. The illustration of the loop in the beach blowup was an awesome surprise to see when I first saw the sketches – perfectly encapsulating the visual of a loop!

 

I did have notes about what failures there should be during the “if-then-else” sequence, as those were critical to the plot.

lifeguardBut Sara was our top choice for illustrator and I am so thrilled that she was able to make time in her very busy schedule to work on these books. Side note – she was a superstar for getting it done in a very timely fashion. It was critical that this book come out before summer (as it was a beach-themed book), so if the book hit any delays, it would have had to be bumped an entire year (as they weren’t gonna release it October).

CTB: 
People might be surprised to learn you’re a musician and write your own music for your book trailers. Music is very similar to math and coding. There are rhythms and patterns. Do you think your background in those subjects helps you make deeper STEAM connections for your readers?

Josh: I very much believe in the connection between math and music. And I think it’s the perfect explanation for how math and science can be deeply connected to the arts. Music is an art form. But it’s also math in at least four plus dimensions (note/tone/pitch, tempo, volume, instrument, …).

Even when I write stories, I often think of them as solving a puzzle, needing all the right ingredients to work properly. They all need characters, conflict, plot, rising tension, satisfying conclusion, etc. Sometimes I like to add even more of a challenge by writing in rhyme, which needs a specific rhythm, which I also think comes from my musical background.

CTB: 
Speaking of rhyme, you use a lot of rhyme in other books but didn’t do it in the coding series. Was that a conscious choice?

Josh: Whenever I write a book I try to think about what charm I’m bringing to the book, or what clever aspect makes this book something only I could write. Often that charm comes from rhyming.

But for the coding series, the charm is the coding. The challenging part of writing these books was trying to figure out how to write a picture book about coding. It didn’t need the additional challenge of fitting that into a specific rhythm and rhyme scheme.

CTB: So what’s up next for you? Anything we should keep our eye out for?

Josh: This fall, Dear Unicorn, illustrated by Charles Santoso, will be released (9.19.23).

unicorn

In Dear Unicorn, Connie (a human) and Nic (a unicorn) are matched as pen pals in a school project. Throughout the year they mail each other letters along with art they’ve created. Connie is a glass half-empty type, while Nic sees the glass completely full. Over time, these polar opposites become friends through letter-writing, which all leads up to the end of year pen pal art festival when their two classes will finally meet (of course, none of the students realize they’re writing to a different species). And I’ll pull from the publisher’s blurb here: “With Josh Funk’s signature laugh-out-loud humor and Charles Santoso’s explosively fun illustrations, Dear Unicorn is a celebration of new friends, art, and stepping outside your comfort zone.”

Also, a sixth Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast adventure is on its way in the fall of 2024, with a few more books in the pipeline.

Thanks so much again for inviting me to be part of STEM Tuesday. I had a blast chatting with you!

Note to reader. I learned coding during college. Back then it was Fortran IV and cardboard “batch” cards you had to punch and manually feed into a massive machine. Decades later one of my daughters gravitated to coding too while exploring film and multimedia in high school. She’s an artist but found it fun and good for stress release. Coding is like any other skill or language. It doesn’t have to lead to a career. For some people, coding is like a puzzle. It’s useful for learning logic, sequencing and problem solving. But when I was growing up books were dry informational texts. Do check out Josh’s work. There’s genius at work and his writing speaks to the child in us at every level. You might be surprised by how much you learn about the logic of  coding (and many other subjects) along that journey.

 

Win a FREE copy of How To Code A Sandcastle.

Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment below. The randomly-chosen winner will be contacted via email and asked to provide a mailing address (within the U.S. only) to receive the book.

Good luck!

 

josh

photo by Carter Hasegawa

 

Josh Funk is a software engineer and the author of books like the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series, the ​It’s Not a Fairy Tale series, the How to Code with Pearl and Pascal series, the A Story of Patience & Fortitude series, Dear Dragon, My Pet Feet, and more. For more information about Josh Funk, visit him at www.joshfunkbooks.com and on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at @joshfunkbooks.

 

author christine Taylor-butler

Photo by Kecia Stovall

 

Your host is Christine Taylor-Butler, MIT nerd and author of Chelsea Clinton’s Save the . . . (Polar Bears, Tigers, Blue Whales), and many other nonfiction books for kids. She is also the author of the middle grade sci-fi series The Lost Tribes. Follow @ChristineTB on Twitter and/or @ChristineTaylorButler on Instagram