Posts Tagged From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Editor Spotlight: Elizabeth Law at Holiday House

By on June 29, 2022   /   Articles, Editor / Agent Spotlight  

If you haven’t already met Elizabeth Law, by way of her website, social media, a writers conference, or a webinar, I’m delighted to be the one to introduce you to her. She is a fount of knowledge about children’s books (and Broadway), and recently took the time to tell us about herself and her career in publishing. Enjoy!

 

Dorian: Welcome, Elizabeth! It’s great to have you here at the Mixed-Up Files. Can you please tell us a bit about yourself and your career in children’s publishing?

Elizabeth: I’ve heard publishing called “the accidental career,” but it was anything but accidental for me. I loved to read as a kid, and when I was in high school, the librarian in my hometown of Belmont, Massachusetts, and I founded a children’s book discussion group. That really encouraged my passion. Then when I went to college, I took legendary critic Zena Sutherland’s course in Children’s Literature. She told stories about her friends who were editors in New York City, and who had worked on books such as Harriet the Spy, and I thought, “Oh, please, let that happen to me!” So I moved to New York after college, got a job as an editorial assistant at Viking Children’s Books, and have been in the field my whole post-college life.

 

Dorian: What middle-grade books influenced you the most as you were growing up?

Elizabeth: My sister is five years younger than I, and we lived in a big house. I had the third floor all to myself, and I idealized books about big, chaotic families and adventures. (The opposite of my small, WASPy, organized, and stable family.) I read the Elizabeth Enright books about the Melendys and Cheaper By the Dozen over and over again.  Today, Polly Horvath’s Pine Island Home and Rita Williams-Garcia’s Gaither sisters books still capture that feeling for me. Those are families I fantasize about being part of. So are the Penderwicks and Hilary McKay’s Cassons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still, that list barely scratches the surface of my childhood reading. I feel I need to give shout outs to Half Magic by Edward Eager, The Mixed-Up Files*, the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and anything by Beverly Cleary. Looking at this list now, I think, “Wow, that list is WHITE.” But that’s what we had in those days, and the books were great.

*Speaking of Mixed-Up Files, a kid asked me recently if there are more stories about Claudia and Jamie. These days Elaine Konigsburg would be under a lot of pressure from her fans and publisher to produce a sequel! I bet she would have resisted, though. But it shows how the business has changed.

 

Dorian: I know you’re one of Broadway’s biggest fans. What middle-grade novel or novels do you think would be great on Broadway?

Elizabeth: I love this question, Dorian! I would pick Jerry Craft’s New Kid because musicals set in high school are really trendy right now and it’s a great story. Also, I would love, LOVE to see Rita Williams-Garcia’s P.S. Be Eleven musicalized. It’s set in the sixties, and the music would be so hot, and Lilias White could play Big Ma and bring down the house with an 11 o’clock number. (Producers, are you paying attention?)

Dorian: What are some favorite middle-grade books you’ve worked on in the past? And what are some you’ve worked on recently that our readers should look out for?

Three I’m proud of in my past are No Talking by Andrew Clements, The False Princess by Eilis Oneal, and a book that might be hard to find by Christine McDonnell called Ballet Bug—it reminded me of a Scholastic paperback I had as a kid called On Your Toes, Suzie! (Why does ballet seem so magical to little girls?) I’m now working with an author named Polly Farquhar who is terrifically talented and whose characters are just so real. You can’t help but root for them as you read! Her debut novel is Itch, and she has a new novel next year called Lolo Weaver Swims upstream that I am really excited about.

Also, I’ve worked with Dan Gutman since his very first book for kids. I haven’t edited all his books—hardly—but one we just published, Houdini and Me, is super kid-pleasing—it’s the perfect, action-packed book for young middle graders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dorian: I’m sure you have a plethora of stories about publishing. Anything else you’d like to tell us about middle grade?

Elizabeth: I have a neat story. I became good friends with Ann Durell, the legendary editor who edited The Westing Game, Judy Blume’s Fudge books, and many others. She told me a story about my beloved Chronicles of Prydain, a Welsh fantasy series by Lloyd Alexander, that I read countless times as a kid. In those days, people said, “Fantasy doesn’t sell.” But she and Lloyd had dinner and she’d had a lot to drink so she signed the first book up! The series became a big hit, and a few years later Lloyd turned in the manuscript for the final book in the series, The High King. It wrapped up all the threads with a wonderfully satisfying conclusion and went on to win the Newbery Medal. Ann read the manuscript and said, “There’s a book missing.” Wow. She knew that we needed to know more about the main character’s origins to really appreciate, and get the full impact of, the final book. That “missing” book became Taran Wanderer, the penultimate book in the series.  Of course, as a reader, I never knew any of that. I just read the books over and over. But boy, did that story teach me about the power of editorial collaboration. When an editor and a writer are really in sync, it’s magical.

 

Dorian: What genres, themes, etc. are you particularly looking for at Holiday House?

Elizabeth: I, personally, am looking hard for middle grade fiction, and your readers can submit to submissions@holidayhouse.com and put my name in the subject heading. And since we have an open submissions policy, if you’re writing a different genre, just send it to the same address and someone smart will read it.

 

Dorian: You teach writing workshops all over the country. What are three top pieces of advice you have for writers?

Elizabeth: Write what you care about—don’t write for trends. That’s my first, second, and third piece of advice. I’ve learned again and again that trying to write something you don’t care about because you think there’s a demand for it never works. It’s the same with being an editor—when I’ve tried to publish something “popular” that I didn’t personally like, it bombed.

Also, it really IS about writing a good book, not about having the right contact or getting someone’s name to submit to. If you can get your book to a house that has an open submissions policy, that book will be read, and passed on to the right editor.

Finally, I’d add that it’s ok to let your manuscript rest. I so often get manuscripts re-submitted very quickly, and I think, “Did the author have time to digest my comments?” Step away for a bit and you’ll be surprised what you see when you come back to it.

 

Dorian: How can our readers follow you on social media?

Elizabeth: I’m @Elawreads on Twitter and Instagram. And I also have a side hustle and will work with you to help get your book stronger, or to get a query in shape, or to help you break through and get an agent. Or just anything you need, writing-wise. Check out my website, Elawreads.com.  Thanks, Dorian!

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Celebrating Art Museums in Books

By on November 9, 2018   /   Articles, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers  

Did you know that today is National Go to an Art Museum Day—and more than 30,000 museums around the world are participating by holding special activities and offering discounts? No? Well then, it’s probably too late to call in sick or play hooky. But you can still celebrate vicariously by going to your library, bookstore, or favorite online site to pick up a great book about art museums. Here are a few suggestions:

 

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Okay, you had to know I’d include this classic novel if you’re a fan of this blog. In E.L. Konigsberg’s 1968 Newbery winner, Claudia Kincaid decides to run away with her little brother to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. After spending their days wandering around the museum and their nights hiding in odd exhibits, the two become involved in solving a museum mystery concerning an angel statue, thought to be carved by Michelangelo himself. After some sleuthing, they track down Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the woman who sold the statue to the museum. Will she help them solve the mystery? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

 

Framed by James Ponti

Florian is twelve years old and has just moved to Washington. He’s learning his way around using TOAST, which stands for the Theory of All Small Things. It’s a technique he invented to solve life’s little mysteries such as: where to sit on the first day of school or which Chinese restaurant has the best egg rolls. But when he attempts to teach the method to his new friend Margaret, they uncover a mystery at the National Gallery of Art that involves the theft of three paintings. Will Florian’s skills help the FBI solve the crime and help him escape from the clutches of a dangerous crime syndicate?

 

The Art of the Swap by Kristine Asselin and Jen Malone

Hannah Jordan lives in a museum…well, sort of. She is the daughter of the caretaker for mansion-turned-museum The Elms in Newport, Rhode Island. Hannah is captivated by stories of The Elms’s original occupants, especially Maggie Dunlap, the tween heiress who was the subject of a painting that went missing during a legendary art heist in 1905. When a mysterious mirror allows Hannah and Maggie to switch places in time, suddenly Hannah is racing to stop the heist from happening, while Maggie gets an introduction to iPhones, soccer, and freedoms like exploring without supervision. Not to mention the best invention of all: sweatpants (so long, corsets!). As the hours tick away toward the art heist, something’s not adding up. Can the girls work together against time—and across it—to set things right? Or will their temporary swap become a permanent trade?

 

Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking by Erin Dionne

Moxie Fleece knows the rules and follows them—that is, until the day she opens her front door to a mysterious stranger. Suddenly Moxie is involved in Boston’s biggest unsolved mystery: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist. Moxie has two weeks to find the art, otherwise she and the people she loves will be in big-time danger. Her tools? Her best friend, Ollie, a geocaching addict who loves to find stuff; her Alzheimer’s suffering grandfather, Grumps, who knows lots more than he lets on; and a geometry proof that she sets up to sort out the clues. It’s a race against the clock through downtown Boston as Moxie and Ollie break every rule she’s ever lived by to find the art and save her family.

 

The Metropolitans by Carol Goodman

The day Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, four thirteen-year-olds converge at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where an eccentric curator is seeking four brave souls to track down the hidden pages of the Kelmsbury Manuscript, an ancient book of Arthurian legends that lies scattered within the museum’s collection, and that holds the key to preventing a second attack on American soil. When Madge, Joe, Kiku, and Walt agree to help, they have no idea that the Kelmsbury is already working its magic on them. They begin to develop extraordinary powers and experience the feelings of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Morgan le Fay, and Lancelot: courage, friendship, love…and betrayal. Are they playing out a legend that’s already been lived, over and over, across the ages? Or can the Metropolitans forge their own story?

 

The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone

Almost everybody who has grown up in Chicago knows about the Thorne Rooms. Housed deep inside the Chicago Art Institute, they are a collection of sixty-eight exquisitely crafted miniature rooms. Each room is set in a different historic period, and every detail is perfect. Some might even say, the rooms are magic. But what if on a field trip, you discovered a key that allowed you to shrink so that you could sneak inside and explore the secrets of the rooms? What if you discovered that others had done so before you? And that someone had left something important behind? Eleven-year-olds Jack and Ruthie are about to find out!

 

Behind the Museum Door: Poems to Celebrate the Wonders of Museums by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illus. by Stacey Dressen-McQueen

Fourteen poems on the many dazzling collections featured in museums. The art, artifacts, and anthropological treasures found in museum collections are coupled with stunning poetry by acclaimed writers Lee Bennett Hopkins, Jane Yolen, Myra Cohn Livingston, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, and many more. The lively verse captures the wonder and amazement of the exhibition experience, from mummies to medieval relics, and from fine art to fossils.

 

 

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An Interview with Alan Gratz, Author of BAN THIS BOOK

By on October 23, 2017   /   Author Interviews, Curriculum Tie-in, Diversity, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers  

Today, I have the pleasure of introducing Alan Gratz and his latest middle-grade novel, Ban This Book. Gratz is the bestselling author of a number of novels for young readers, including Samurai Shortstop, The Brooklyn Nine, Prisoner B-3087, Code of Honor, Projekt 1065, The League of Seven series, and his latest two novels Refugee, the story of three different refugee families struggling for freedom and safety in three different eras and different parts of the world, and Ban This Book, which he’ll be discussing here. A Knoxville, Tennessee native, Alan is now a full-time writer living in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife and daughter.

Before we start the interview, here’s a little bit about Ban This Book, a timely and important novel I know will be close to the hearts of everyone who reads this blog.

It all started the day Amy Anne Ollinger tried to check out her favorite book in the whole world, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, from the school library. That’s when Mrs. Jones, the librarian, told her the bad news: her favorite book was banned! All because a classmate’s mom thought the book wasn’t appropriate for kids to read.

Amy Anne decides to fight back by starting a secret banned book library out of her locker. But soon things get out of hand, and Amy Anne finds herself on the front line of an unexpected battle over book banning, censorship, and who has the right to decide what she and her fellow students can read. In the end, her only recourse might be to try to beat the book banners at their own game. Because after all, once you ban one book, you can ban them all …

First let me say how much I adored this book. Aside from it being a love letter to children’s book aficionados, it deals with such a topical subject these days: the First Amendment. Was there a particular incident that inspired you to write this book?

Thanks! There wasn’t one particular event that prompted this book, no. I’ve never had a book I’ve written  banned or challenged–at least, not that I know of. And I’m not being cute here–the ALA thinks that 85-95% of books challenged or banned each year go unreported. 85-95%! That’s a huge number! In 2016, there were something like 325 reported challenges and bans. That means that THOUSANDS more books just disappear from shelves every year, and no one hears about them because no one makes a stink about them. So it’s entirely possible that one of my books has been banned, and I don’t know it!

We here at The Mixed-Up Files obviously have an affinity for E.L. Konigsburg’s book. Was there a particular reason you chose From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler as the book to kickstart Amy Anne’s crusade? Had you ever considered a different book?

I love From the Mixed-Up Files, so that was one of the reasons I chose it. But I also wanted a book about a kid who had a crazy home life and decided to run away. I already knew that’s the kind of life I wanted Amy Anne to lead, so I was looking for a book with a main character she empathizes with. I could have used one of her other favorite books, I suppose: Julie of the Wolves, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Indian Captive, and more. But From the Mixed-Up Files had the running away and is so much fun in other ways, it was perfect. All that remained was confirming that it had been challenged–which it was, in 1994, in Minnesota, for being “anti-family” and encouraging kids to “lie, cheat, and steal”!

I love the boldness of the title as if it’s challenging the real-life Mrs. Spencers of the world who want to ban books. Was that the title from the start or did it change?

Yes, Ban This Book was always my first choice for the title, and there was never any discussion of changing it, thank goodness! I was definitely inspired by Abbie Hoffman’s Steal This Book, a book which, when I worked in a bookstore, we had to keep on a shelf in the back room until someone asked for it because, of course, people took Hoffman’s challenge seriously! We’ll see if anyone dares take my book’s title challenge seriously… 🙂

You began your career as a novelist writing young adult books, but switched over to middle-grade. What do you see as the main difference between the two categories, and why did you make the switch?

Ah, that’s a great question. Yes, the first three books I wrote were YA–Samurai Shortstop, Something Rotten, and Something Wicked. YA was hot at the time (as it still is!) and I was excited to be a part of this renaissance in YA lit. And those books found an audience, for sure. But then I got the idea for The Brooklyn Nine, which was my first proper middle grade novel, and that’s when–BOOM–it hit me like lightning. THIS was what I REALLY wanted to be writing. I LOVE middle school. I know that sounds weird–most people want to forget middle school ever happened. But I loved middle school when I was a kid, and I taught middle school before I was a novelist. I was like, “Why am I writing for high school when my heart is in middle school?” B9 was the book that opened the floodgates for me, and I haven’t gone back! Code of Honor has an 18-year-old protagonist, so TECHNICALLY it’s YA, but even then I wrote it “clean” so it could be shared with middle schoolers, and that’s really where it has found its audience too. Everything since Something Wicked in 2008 has been for middle grade, and I made it my goal to be the King of Middle Grade Books! I’m not quite the king yet–maybe a duke? 🙂 But I’m working on it.

As to the difference between the two, YA, to me, is about a young adult finding his or her place in the larger world. Middle grade is about a kid finding his or her place in the family or school. The smaller world. Sometimes that smaller world spills out into the larger world–see Refugee or Ban This Book. But at its heart, I think middle grade has a smaller scope. I’ve always put it like this: let’s say you write a book about a kid whose parents are getting divorced. If it’s YA, the teenager is thinking, “Did my parents ever love each other? What is love? Is love an illusion? Will I ever find it?” Big questions. If you write that same story with a middle grade protagonist, your kid is asking, “Which parent’s house am I going to keep my toys at? Which school do I go to? Whose house am I going to have my birthday party at?” That to me, in a nutshell, is the difference between YA and MG. And I much prefer to write (and read!) the latter kind of story.

You mention in the acknowledgements that this was a very different kind of book for you to write. After writing in several genres–historical, fantasy, thriller–were there any challenges in switching to contemporary realism, particularly from a girl’s point of view?

I’ve written about girl protagonists before–in The Brooklyn Nine, The League of Seven, and Refugee–but I needed to give a girl the entire book and not share with anyone else! 🙂 This story just always felt like it was a girl’s to tell, for me. Not sure why. Part of it is that my wife was very much like Amy Anne when she was a young girl–escaping the chaos of daily life in books–and that was definitely an inspiration. But were there any challenges? Not really. Contemporary realism is the world I live in, so I was finally able to write what I was seeing and feeling. And as an empathetic person, I try to see and understand the world from many points of view, not just my own, and not just as a writer. So I’m not afraid to write from the point of view of someone who ISN’T a white, middle-class, cisgendered man.

One last question, and I’m sure you get it a lot. You’re extremely prolific–fourteen novels and eight short stories in about eleven years. Where do you get your ideas?

Ha! Well, I get them from all over the place. I’m always listening for ideas on the radio, in podcasts, watching for them in movies and other books, trying to catch them in conversations with other people. Anything and everything is fodder for a story!

And okay, I lied. I have another question: Can you tell us a little about what you’re working on now?

Sure. I just turned in the first draft of a new book which, if everything goes as it should, will be out in Fall of 2018. It’s called Grenade. It’s about the Battle of Okinawa. I got to visit Japan a few years back, and while I was there I met an old Okinawan man who was a boy on Okinawa during World War II. He told me that the day the Americans invaded, the Japanese Army took all the Okinawan middle school boys out of school, lined them up, and gave each of them a grenade. Then they told the boys to go off into the forest and not come back until they had used their grenade to kill an American soldier. That’s the first chapter of the book! (How’s that for a hook?)

A great hook! Looking forward to it. Thanks so much, Alan, for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

For more about Alan and his books, visit his website. And connect with him on Facebook and Twitter.

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