Posts Tagged reading

State of the School Library-Interview with Lu Fiskin Ross

By on April 15, 2016   /   Book Lists, Fiction, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers, Nonfiction, Writing  

My first school visit as an author was arranged by my good friend and critique partner, Lu Fiskin Ross. She’s the award-winning librarian at Ewalt Elementary School in Augusta, Kansas. When I arrived, Lu greeted me dressed as the Statue of Liberty, which gave me a good laugh and eased my jangled nerves considerably!LuFiskinRoss

To help celebrate National Library Week, I’ve asked Lu to give us her perspective on the state of school libraries and tell us a bit about herself.

First of all, what book or series have you read recently that you’re excited about? My favorite series that I’m reading now isn’t really for elementary students. I LOVE Maggie Steifvater’s Raven Cycle books. I just finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue and can’t wait to get the new one later this month. Right now, I’m reading Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures that Jackson Pearce and Stiefvater collaborated on. Wow! What an imagination. It is middle grade, so I would like to buy it for my school’s library. Oh, and I love anything by Mo Willems. I would love to write like he does.

I always appreciate the expertise you bring to our critique group. Librarians have an advantage of being in the know when it comes to what’s marketable and what kids want to read. Tell us a little bit about what you’re writing these days. I must admit, I’m a fantasy/science fiction lover. I love to escape to other worlds and places that I can’t go to in reality. I was highly influenced by folk tales and fairy tales while I was growing up. And then came Star Trek. I can still watch reruns after all these years. I want to finish a YA paranormal novel this summer that I started several years ago. I’ve started a YA sci/fi about Mars that I want to jump into next. And I’ve also started doing the research for a nonfiction alphabet book on Celtic mythology.

SuperLuWhen I first started writing, I chose middle grade, since that is the age level of my library. However, after being told by critique partners and editors that it should be YA because of the subject matter, I’ve been in the process of converting. Writing time is sparse for a school librarian. It is taking much longer than I thought it would.

 

You recently won $1,000 for Ewalt Elementary School from KAKE News in Wichita. Congratulations! Please tell us about that experience.  The award I won was through one of our local TV stations. One of my volunteers nominated me and submitted photos of me dressed up in character costumes. The day of the award, the principal let us know we had a surprise assembly shortly after lunch. I didn’t think anything about it. At lunch, one of the teachers thought it might be the teacher award that the TV station also has each month. Again, I didn’t think much about it. Earlier in the week, my principal asked for one of my favorite books, so I gave her one by David Shannon. She had everyone go to the cafeteria and we waited and waited. The TV crew were running late. As soon as the TV personality came through the door, I was pretty sure what she was there for. My heart started pounding! Thank you so much to the volunteer! The students told me during library times different titles and subjects they would like to see us buy with the money.

luKAKE-1 (1)Speaking of money, Kansas (as well as other states) has been especially hard hit with cuts to educational funding. How has that affected your ability to purchase books and resources, bring in authors, etc.? The above really helped with funding. I have worked at my current position for about 19 years. My funding has been reduced many times. At one point, because of a change in the district distribution of funds, I did get a slight increase. This really tears me up since there are so many good books that we can’t afford to get. I’m especially concerned about funding for next year. It’s very scary to hear of districts who will cut their librarians. This is a subject I could go on and on about. Let’s just say I’m very disappointed. Our district is fortunate to have a “Meet the Author” program. The district is still helping to fund that program, with help from our PTOs and a share of the proceeds from book sales. This is another area where funding has not been increased in 19 years, so we can’t bring in as many big name authors.

Have you noticed any changes lately in what kinds of books kids are choosing to read? PeaceLoveBooksThe biggest changes I have seen in student reading is the interest in graphic novels and hybrid books like the Wimpy Kid series and Dork Diaries. A few years ago it was fantasy with the Harry Potter knock-offs. It will be interesting to see what comes next. I have started seeing more MG animal fantasies, recently.

How have changes in technology impacted libraries? I’ve got to get on my platform about school libraries again. Some administrators and politicians seem to believe that because of technology, the librarians aren’t needed. I would say they are needed even more. Students need help in learning how to search effectively. Especially at the elementary level, they have a hard time narrowing or broadening searches to find the information they need. Also, a student may read a review online, but it is usually the human interaction that sells the book to a student. Or, if they’re in a hurry and need a dinosaur book, a human can steer them to the correct area quicker than doing the search.

What are some of the fun and creative ways you’ve used to get students excited about reading? PopeyeLu2 (1)Fun ways? Never! A librarian is supposed to be 80 years old with a bun. I think of myself as a cheerleader for finding the information, whatever the form, to help the student thrive and create something original from that knowledge. We have different themes every two years for reading in our building. I dress up on the first day of classes most years, in a costume to go along with the theme. One year, the book fair had an Egyptian theme. I just had to be Cleopatra and call the students peasants. They loved it. Last week, I was super librarian, able to find information faster than a speeding bullet. One of the greatest compliments I’ve received from a student was a first grader. He told me I was weird. I hope he meant that I didn’t act like a normal teacher. I encourage students to use their imaginations whenever possible.

Since you’re retiring this year, do you have any advice for librarians about how to adapt and thrive in these times of change? My first year or two of being a librarian, I read an article in School Library Journal about how CD’s were awesome for storing information, but they were too expensive to use. Now, we’ve gone to even better ways to store and access information. The main trait a librarian needs is to be flexible. The format of story storage may change, but story itself is universal. Focus on the universal. It is timeless.

Great advice, Lu! Thanks for all of your years of connecting kids to great books and the resources they need to excel. To keep up with Lu and her writing, check out her blog.

We’d love to hear about creative methods other librarians and teachers are using to get kids excited about books!

Louise Galveston is the author of BY THE GRACE OF TODD, a 2015-2016 Young Hoosier Award Nominee, and IN TODD WE TRUST (Penguin/Razorbill.)

 

 

 

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Face to Face with an Author or Illustrator: Why School Visits are So Important

By on January 15, 2016   /   Book Lists, For Librarians, For Teachers  

Not too long ago, I was speaking to a diverse group of 7th graders.  They were diverse in every way – ethnicity, size, and even their desire to be in the room. Some entered smiling at me, obviously anticipating this day, the day when the author of the book they’d all read together would visit their  school.  Other shuffled in silently, eyes down, way too cool to care.

The body language of one girl caught my attention. She entered laughing and swinging her long hair. She had the attention of those around her. She was pretty, wearing more makeup than most of the other girls, and she looked more like a high school freshman than a 7th grader. She seemed more interested in laughing with the boys at her table than listening to a visiting author.

I’ve done enough author visits in the last seven years to know that middle schoolers can be a tough crowd. I knew I could engage the ones who were excited about my visit and, hopefully, win over those who were indifferent.

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About half way through my presentation, the girl pulled out a blank piece of white notebook paper. I hoped she was so inspired by my talk of writing that she was moved to compose a poem or short story right there on the spot. But as moved around the room, I could see she was writing a note to someone. Probably to one of the boys. I sighed and  thought, “I can’t reach them all, I guess.”

When the presentation was over, she came right up to me and, to my surprise, handed me the note. She smiled, and then hurried to catch up with the boys.

Here’s what it said, in part:

Dear Mrs.House, (close enough for me!)

Thank you making me feel confident about my writing. Hopefully you know how much this writer’s workshop meant to me. When I came to the writer’s workshop I thought it was going to be just like the other workshops I went to. I had so many questions that had no answers. I cherished all your words. I really appreciate you coming to our school. You answered my questions.

I bet you get a lot of letters but I want to tell you that you make me want to be a writer or at least get started. You probably won’t remember this letter in 2 days but you showed me skills that I will continue to use.

We’ve all heard the many reasons author visits are important:  They promote interest in reading, they inspire young writers, they provide firsthand explanation of how publishing works, they encourage students to become better editors of their own work, they’re just plain FUN!

These are all great reasons for authors and schools to connect. But, I can tell you that at every school I’ve visited, at least one student has expressed in some way a profound connection with either me or my work.  It’s often a student who stands out socially, is awkward, or very quiet.  Sometimes, it’s the one I least expect.  Those connections makes every hurdle schools must leap to get that author standing before that student in that particular moment worthwhile. Those face to face connections cannot happen anywhere else.

Earlier this week, author Matt de la Peña won the Newbery Medal for Last Stop on Market Street.  A couple of years ago, he spoke to NPR about connecting with a particular student a school visit and about how reading changes young (and old) lives. It’s a piece worth reading. Click here.

Many authors’ websites and blogs tout the benefits of school visits. But, I thought perhaps I’d leave you with some links from others who have seen the magic happen when a student and author connect face to face.

From a librarian: https://youthserviceslibrarianship.wikispaces.com/Author+Visits

From a teacher:   http://wonderteacher.com/authorvisitsinspireyoungwriters/

And, perhaps best of all, from the students: http://reederama.blogspot.com/2014/10/author-visits-are-important-because-you.html

And, to my friend at the school I visited not too long ago, I sent a personal reply via her librarian. I had to tell her she was wrong. I do remember her letter. More than two days, more than two months after my visit. I will always remember her. And, I hope she does become a writer. At least, anyway, she got started.

Michelle Houts is the author of four books for middle-grade readers. She has just completed renovations on a one-room schoolhouse which she’ll soon use as her writing studio. She loves to visit bigger schools, too. She’s happy because she’s just booked her first school visit in sunny Florida, and this is the view from her window today:

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The Real Life of the Middle-Grade Reader

By on August 26, 2015   /   For Writers, Writing  

I love writing for the middle-grade reader.

There’s something very appealing about this audience. They’re old enough to understand humor and even sarcasm (in fact, some eleven-year-olds I know are Kings and Queens of Sarcasm).  By age nine, many children have mastered the mechanics of reading and they’re ready for challenging new vocabulary and themes that stretch their minds.

And best of all, middle-grade readers aren’t ready for all the angst, sexual issues, cussing, and violence that those Young Adult authors have to face head on when writing for teens. Right? I mean, the middle-grade genre is all about best friends and dogs and family vacations and…

STOP.

If you dig, even not too deeply, you’ll probably find an interview in which I’m quoted saying something very similar to the previous paragraph. But I now know that when I had those thoughts, I was thinking about the middle-grade books of my youth, not today’s middle-grade kids.

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My local school district has an “Intermediate” building for 5th and 6th graders. Last time I was there, I was surprised that most of the library books I saw being toted around by these ten- to twelve-year-olds were YA titles. They were devouring “The Hunger Games” and going ga-ga over “The Fault in Our Stars.”  Why weren’t they reading middle-grade books? Why weren’t they reading my books? Aren’t these the very students I (and other middle-grade authors) write for?

To find the answers, I think we have to look more closely at today’s nine- to twelve-year-old.  Here are some interesting facts* about the MG audience. Our MG audience:

In middle childhood, children might:

  • form stronger, more complex friendships and peer relationships
  • feel very emotional about those friendships
  • encounter higher levels of peer pressure
  • notice bodily changes and have unanswered questions about their bodies
  • begin to develop body image issues such as eating disorders
  • feel the pressure of harder classwork and academic challenges
  • begin to see themselves apart from their family unit
  • experience fears such as: fear of disappointing parents or parents finding out about negative behaviors or thoughts
  • experience anxiety over their social standing
  • become more aware of community threats and dangers such as violence

Whoa. That’s a heavy list for kids who haven’t even hit their teens yet. But it’s reality and it’s our audience. These are the children for whom we write.

So, what does this mean? No more dogs and best friends and family vacations? Of course not. But what it does mean is that we shouldn’t shy away from the reality that is life for today’s middle grader. Sometimes parents go to prison. Aunts and uncles can be alcoholics. Preteens think about their sexuality. Gangs and violence don’t suddenly appear after age 13. Nine- to twelve-year-olds sometimes live in homes or communities that are dangerous.

It’s okay to address the tougher side of preteen life. As storytellers, we can choose the right measure of tact, honesty, and humor to soften the blows of middle grade reality.

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What are your current favorite middle grade titles? I’d be willing to guess that beneath the general premise there are some serious issues which today’s middle graders understand all too well.

What do you think? Share your comments below!

*facts listed above come from:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/middle2.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/liking-the-child-you-love/201402/the-hiddennot-so-hidden-fears-middle-school-students

Michelle Houts is the author of four books for middle-grade readers. She shares The Mark Boney Promise with young people at school and library visits in an effort to bring more kindness to classrooms everywhere.  Find Michelle at www.michellehouts.com. On Twitter and Instagram @mhoutswrites and on Facebook as Michelle Houts.

 

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