Posts Tagged Revolutionary War

BY THE LIGHT OF FIREFLIES: Author Interview with Jenni L. Walsh

By on October 25, 2021   /   Articles  
Book Cover BY THE LIGHT OF FIREFLIES

BY THE LIGHT OF FIREFLIES, by author Jenni L. Walsh, is one of my favorite historical fiction reads this year. It releases next week (November 2) and I’m going out to get it for my daughter who’s going to LOVE it. Full transparency, Jenni is my agent sister, (huzzah, Shannon Hassan!) so I am predisposed to think she is fabulous, but after you read this interview I got to do with her (and her book), I’m positive you’ll agree.

Book Cover BY THE LIGHT OF FIREFLIES

About BY THE LIGHT OF FIREFLIES

Sybil Ludington believes in the legend of fireflies–they appear when you need them most. But it’s not until her family is thrust into the dangers of the Revolutionary War, and into George Washington’s spy ring, that Sybil fully experiences firefly magic for herself–guiding her through the darkness, empowering her to figure out who she’s supposed to be and how strong she really is–as she delivers her imperative message and warns against a British attack.

BY THE LIGHT OF FIREFLIES (Wyatt-Mackenzie, November 2021) is the captivating tale of a young girl’s journey as a daughter, a sister, a friend, a spy, and eventually a war hero, completing a midnight ride that cements her place in history as the “female Paul Revere.”

Jenni L. Walsh Interview

MUF: What a wonderful hero Sybil Ludington is. How did you find her?

JLW: She certainly was! My first publications with Scholastic were nonfiction books in my She Dared series about girls who, at a young age, did daring and heroic feats. I had been putting together a list of young women who could fit the bill and Sybil Ludington quickly went on the list. My publisher and I decided my next books should be fiction, so I didn’t continue the series, but I knew I wanted to tell Sybil’s story. And here I am doing just that.

Piecing Sybil’s Story Together

MUF: Sybil’s story must have been hard to piece together given the scarcity of records about her. What did you find most challenging about creating her character? What was the easiest?

JLW: It’s always a challenge when there’s little information, but it’s also a lot of fun – like a big puzzle. I took whatever I could find out about Sybil, even seemingly little details like being the oldest child, and began to piece it all together to inform Sybil’s character and the storyline. I came across some awesome details relating to Sybil – like how she thwarted an attack against her home by mimicking an army using her many siblings – and some non-Sybil details that I knew I had to work into the story – like how urine was used to help remove stains while laundering clothing during that era. I find, though, that once I have a bunch of potential scenes, facts, and tidbits to include, the story begins to take on a life of its own and everything begins to fall into place. That’s when things become a bit easier, and even more fun.

Paving Her Own Way

MUF: I admit it – I cried at the end of Sybil’s amazing ride (I won’t say too much about it here because spoilers!!!) when her mother comes out to see her. Their relationship is complicated because of traditional women’s roles at the time. What were you hoping to illustrate for readers with this relationship?

JLW: What a wonderful reaction. I’m so glad you enjoyed this thread. Sybil’s character highly values the opinions of her parents. Throughout the novel, she strives for their attention and praise, it often putting her at odds with her sister. Nothing like some sibling rivalry. But as far as Sybil and her mother, I wanted to show that children learn from their parents (we see Sybil idolize her mom in some moments) just as much as adults continue to learn and grow from their children. I like that each generation brings a different perspective, and I love that I could show Sybil wanting to pave her own way.

((Like reading about spies? Check out this MUF archived article on the spies of a different war.))

MUF You’ve said you love fireflies, (I do too!) and that’s why they’re part of your book. What drew you to incorporate them as a magical element?

JLW: Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve found fireflies magical. Perhaps it’s because we get such a short amount of time with them each year. Even as an adult, the first firefly I see of the season stops me in my tracks. I thought they were the perfect element to give the book a bit of a magical realism twist, using them as a device to illustrate Sybil’s growing confidence in herself. They also made the cover pretty dang cool, too.

Writing Historical Fiction

MUF: You primarily write historical fiction, for both children and adults. What draws you to the genre?

JLW: I’m fascinated by real life people and events. There are some remarkable and thought-provoking people who came before us, and I enjoy giving them a voice. I also like highlighting a person or group or moment in time that not a lot of people know about. So far I’ve brought a WWII resistance group, the first croupier in American history, and an American outlaw to life. Next up after Sybil is a Berlin Wall escapee (that one’s coming in 2022)!

MUF: For the MUF readers who are also writers, what’s one piece of craft advice you’d give to someone who wants to write historical fiction?

JLW: Take the time to fall down rabbit holes. Never fail, I’ll be researching one thing and, if I didn’t take my time with it and go off into a research tangent, I never would’ve unearthed a tidbit that fit perfectly into my plot or sparked a whole new aspect of my storyline.

Looking into the Future

MUF: What’s next for fans of Jenni Walsh?

JLW: More writing! Which means I get to do what I love most. I’m in the middle of writing my next adult historical which is coming in November 2022 with HarperCollins. Also at the moment, I’m beginning to send ARCs out into the world for my next middle grade called Over and Out. That one is coming from Scholastic in March 2022. Once I get my adult historical off to my editor, then it’ll be time to start thinking/tinkering with my next middle-grade idea. I try to always have a project underway, even if it’s just researching or brainstorming what I want to do next. Apparently, I get antsy if I don’t have something going on. Please feel free to follow along with me as I share details about each project. I’m @jennilwalsh across all social media!

MUF: Thanks so much, Jenni, and congratulations!

Jenni L. Walsh

Author photo of Jenni Walsh

Jenni is the author of the nonfiction She Dared series and historical novels Hettie and the London Blitz, I Am Defiance, and By the Light of Fireflies, and Over and Out. She also writes historical novels for adults, including Becoming Bonnie, Side by Side, and A Betting Woman.. To learn more about Jenni and her books, please visit jennilwalsh.com or @jennilwalsh on social media.

To preorder BY THE LIGHT OF FIREFLIES:

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Transporting Students Into the Past With Historical Fiction

By on August 23, 2017   /   For Teachers  

What teaches you the perspective of others… the struggles a society may have suffered, the demands of distant cultures, or about an era so far removed from our own, that you are forced to wrap your brain around a different logic?

HISTORICAL FICTION is such a beast. It transports you into the past where life and a culture previously existed. You become part of a world where you walk-the-walk alongside characters dealing with the trials and tribulations of an era long gone.

Creative Commons Read Aloud

When I was in college, we were introduced to Jim Trelease, an educator who stressed that reading aloud builds students’ imaginations and improves listening skills. It also gives them a love of books.

I have read many books aloud to my classes ranging from 4th to 8th grade since my first year of teaching. (In case you aren’t aware, read-alouds are in addition to students’ regular reading and work that is associated with it, not a replacement for it.)

Last school year as a teacher, I used historical fiction to bring life to the social studies curriculum. I correlated our read-alouds to what was going on in their social studies lessons.

I read the section first with my best dramatic voice, and  asked comprehension questions along the way. We stopped, occasionally, for someone to look up a more challenging vocabulary word in the dictionary.  They identified locations on maps; they researched details to know more about a related topic; they ate foods that we read about.

A good portion of the class asked if they could take notes. Before long, everyone was recording in their journals, which supported their required writing and reflection afterwards. As a teacher, I know that annotating their thoughts helps them to develop a stronger understanding of the material and organize the details.

The best part were the discussions sparked by the stories themselves. They were meaningful and thought provoking. Mini-lessons to further understanding were also part of the process.

I collected their journals every week to do a quick check for comprehension and to assign an effort grade. If a student was absent, they picked-up the book and read the pages they had missed. At the end of the book, they took an assessment test. Many reported that our read-alouds with social studies was their favorite subject.

In Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607 by Elisa Carbone, we traced the journey from England to the coast of America on our map. We focused on how the colonists grappled with the hardships of the Jamestown colony as it struggled to survive, discussed their governing laws, and debated how business sponsored the settlement.

We also learned about the introduction of slave labor. When we got to the 13 colonies in social studies, there wasn’t a student in the class who didn’t understand what was involved in starting a new world.

In Under Siege! by (me) Robyn Gioia, we continued our discussion of how European nations were expanding into the New World for resources and the conflict between early colonial groups maneuvering for control.

In the story, my class learned about one of U.S. history’s best kept secrets: the 1702 English attack on the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine, Florida (a city later recognized as America’s oldest). Students deal with the angst and hardship of being under siege inside a fort surrounded by a superior enemy. At the heart of the story is survival and loss, war, friendship and adventure.

In Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, we see the colonies through the eyes of a slave girl. There were many discussions on the ownership of peoples and the burdens they bore, the dependence of society on slave labor, the laws governing the colonies, the discourse between factions, and the devastating hardships of war.We continued our read into the next book in the series, Forge, which deals with being a slave and a soldier coupled with the realities of war.

Johnny Tremain, by Ester Forbes, was not used as a read-aloud for the entire class. It was read by one of my literature circles. Those students were quick to jump in with further details about the Revolutionary War during open discussions. Insight into the Sons of Liberty was a favorite topic.

There are many wonderful historical fiction books out there. The problem is narrowing it down to just a few. Interacting with history through read-alouds is an excellent way to build conceptual knowledge and for students to internalize the intricacies of that era long ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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