Posts Tagged Suzanne Collins

Why DO we love series?

By on June 24, 2015   /   Book Lists, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers  

So, which kind of reader are you?  Are you a lover of series, stand-alone books or something in between? For those who love stand alone stories, I agree: there is something exciting about meeting new characters, exploring new worlds, and coming to know the writing style of an unfamiliar author.

From many years in a preschool-8th grade library, I found lots to love for my students who craved series, too. Just what is it that makes them so appealing?

I recall these conversations overheard from my librarian desk at school:
“Dude, I wish he hadn’t stopped at just one book. I wasted my time because now I don’t know what to read that I’ll like as well.”
“I just love this author. I hope he never stops making books.”
“These books are just right for me.”

Here’s what I learned about middle grade students and their love of series.

Familiarity is safe, and repetition is good!  If I could reach a middle grade student searching for his or her reading home, it would very often be within a series. Once a student finds a book to love, why look any farther? From my many years of supporting reading in schools, I know that series books are very useful for helping young readers build reading stamina and confidence, and that this continues to be true well into middle school. Many pieces of research bear this out – more reading = better readers. Truly, level isn’t as important as volume in increasing a student’s facility with reading, though grbbing a student at a level of writing that fits certainly helps. The most important thing is that a student engaged with the content will work to grow to the level, or read more books because they are comfortable and easy. Both these things are fantastic!

Brand loyalty reigns supreme. Don’t insult a beloved series, or its characters or premise. I love series of books, but young people KNOW them, inside and out. And I’m not just talking about Harry Potter or The Percy Jackson series. A student who reads a series passionately – almost any series you can name – knows its characters and the constructs of the world told within its pages more intimately than I can even fathom. This is so much fun to observe!

Connections make enthusiastic readers. One of my main goals as a school librarian – and one I continue to fulfill now that I’m celebrating middle grade books and reading in other ways – is to find touch points with students in their reading lives. If I can share the experience of a book with a student, we have a connection. This means that I have an open door to that student in terms of recommending more, which maintains a student’s enthusiasm for reading long after they’ve left my library. I still recommend books to my students who started with me as middle graders and are now high school students! For many, those connections began when we shared our love of series. What could be better than that?

Here are a few middle grade series in a  variety of genres and styles I’ve shared over the years, with students ranging from 2nd grade to 5th grade. All synopses from IndieBound unless otherwise noted.

The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall

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“Deliciously nostalgic and quaintly witty, these stories are as breezy and carefree as a clear June day.”
Theodosia Throckmorton, by R L LaFevers

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“Theodosia Throckmorton has her hands full at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London. Her father may be head curator, but it is Theo—and only Theo—who is able to see all the black magic and ancient curses that still cling to the artifacts in the museum.”
Capture the Flag, by Kate Messner

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“Anna, José, and Henry have never met, but they have more in common than they realize. Snowed in together at a chaotic Washington, DC, airport, they encounter a mysterious tattooed man, a flamboyant politician, and a rambunctious poodle named for an ancient king. Even stranger, news stations everywhere have just announced that the famous flag that inspired “The Star-Spangled Banner” has been stolen!”
Ranger in Time , also by Kate Messner

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This is a very new historical series  for the early middle grades – the second comes out this month.

“Meet Ranger! He’s a time-traveling golden retriever who has a nose for trouble . . . and always saves the day!” (from Goodreads)
The Jaguar Stones, by Jon and Pamela Voelkel

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These books might feature a couple of teenagers, but the content and writing are all middle grade, with great action and adventure, as well as historical content that is well-researched and presented.

“An epic adventure that brings together ancient history and modern adolescent angst – as it pits a pampered, pizza-eating, 21st century Boston teenager against the Death Lords of the Maya Underworld.”

The Underland Chronicles (Gregor the Overlander), by Suzanne Collins

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“This irresistible first novel tells the story of a quiet boy who embarks on a dangerous quest in order to fulfill his destiny — and find his father — in a strange world beneath New York City.” (from Goodreads)

Guys Read, edited by Jon Scieszka

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I was able to cultivate a reader over almost an entire school year by letting him take a Guys Read to study hall every day and return it each afternoon without committing to checkign it out and worrying about it.  “Its here: Volume One of the official Guys Read Library. Jon Scieszkas Guys Read initiative was founded on a simple premise: that young guys enjoy reading most when they have reading they can enjoy. And out of this comes a series that aims to give them just that.” (from Goodreads)

The Imaginary Veterinary, by Suzanne Selfors

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“When Ben Silverstein is sent to the rundown town of Buttonville to spend the summer with his grandfather, he’s certain it will be the most boring vacation ever. That is, until his grandfather’s cat brings home what looks like . . . a baby dragon? “

The list of great middle grade series is so long that it will surely be the topic of another post.

You can find some other info about series around the blog, like this one on  Series for Fantasy Fanatics, and here is another book list, because so many of us seem to love them.

As for me, I think I’m a little bit in between. I love stand alone stories, but investing in a series is a great way to feed the reader in me who just wants to hang out with familiar friends between the pages of a book.

In fourth grade, Valerie Stein touched an ancient artifact from an archaeological dig. Though she never got to travel the world in search of buried treasure, she ended up journeying to new and exciting places between the pages of books. Now she spends her time researching history, in museums and libraries, which is like archaeology but without the dirt. Valerie’s book, The Best of It: A Journal of Life, Love and Dying, was published in 2009.  Both her current work and an upcoming middle grade series are historical fiction set in Washington State. Valerie is Publisher at Homeostasis Press and blogs at The Best of It. 

 

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Can You Judge a Book by Its Color?

By on March 4, 2015   /   Op-Ed  

color wheelWhen I was in high school, one of the electives offered was Fashion Design. I  never could fit that particular class into my schedule (I was a choir geek through and through), but I had many friends who took the course. And I noticed they spent a lot of time talking about the color wheel and its affect on fashion (and people, too).

I have always been fascinated by this idea that color affects our mood. As a gardener, I’m often surprised how much time I spend thinking about the colors I want in my flowerbeds and how each of the different plant colors make me feel. A few years ago, my chiropractor husband and I spent countless hours picking out just the right shade of green paint for the walls of his new clinic, since we needed something that made the place feel…well, healthy.

So, I began to wonder, if we talk about color in our clothing, and the color on our walls, and the color of the world outside our doorsteps, should we talk about color when it comes to our books, too?  I decided to take a look at some of the MG books sitting on my bookshelves at home. What do the colors on the covers say about the stories themselves?

YELLOW

Yellow is a happy color, but it’s also draining on the eyes, so frequently people surrounded by yellow can become agitated and angry.

On my shelf, the books in which yellow dominated the cover were in both of these camps. Many of the humorous titles were predominately yellow, such as Donna Gephart’s How to Survive Middle School.

I also had many titles which were stories where mystery or intrigue played a large part in the book. For example, in Jessica Day George’s Tuesdays at the Castle, the castle itself senses trouble. (As a side note, this book cover spirals from blue, a soothing color, to yellow, which mirrors the rise in tension as the story progresses.)

RED

Red is a color of power. It evokes strong emotions such as love, intensity, and excitement.  The books on my shelves do the same.

In Scumble, by Ingrid Law, the main character is given a extraordinary power which makes the things around him fall apart…literally. You can’t get much more intense than that! (As a side note, this book also has quite a bit of yellow, which I think adds to the agitation this cover evokes, but is grounded in green, a color of good luck and prosperity, which in my opinion hints at the awesome natural powers this boy has been given.)

In Catherynne M. Valente’s The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, the title itself tells you that this is going to be an adventure–that excitement awaits. (Not to mention that the red dragon on the cover looks terrifying–is the girl really going to let it loose? And that hint of yellow makes me slightly uneasy about this whole idea of releasing the dragon into the wild.  How exhilarating and alarming at the same time!)

School spiritsBLUE

Blue is a soothing, calming color, but it can also be associated with feelings of sadness, loneliness, or alienation.

In Michael O. Tunnell’s School Spirits, the main character is new at his school, so he feels isolated from the rest of the students. Oh, and there’s a ghost in the book, too, who just happens to be blue-green.  And lonely. And very much the sad being you would expect of a restless spirit.

Though there are many different covers for  the classic Mr. Popper’s Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater, most of them are predominately blue.  Mr. Popper (a dreamer and a painter by trade) spends his time caring for, and enjoying, the penguins he receives from Admiral Drake who is currently on an expedition in the Antarctic. Though the book is full of the antics of the penguins, and Mr. Popper and his family as well, the entire book exudes a soothing sort of safeness that all will be well if Mr. Popper is around.

GREEN

Green is the color of nature. It’s also associated with good luck, tranquility, and health.

In Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s The Treasures of Weatherby, a girl names Allegra literally flies. There is much in the book that is mysterious as well, but the front cover captures so vividly this character’s flying attributes, which mirrors what mother nature has given the birds.  (Side note: this image is not the one on the cover of my book, but I do like how the bit of yellow in this version  captures some of the anxiety and restlessness of these characters, plus the black invokes some lurking evil that is hidden just out of sight….)

In Kim Baker’s Pickle, the main characters want to use school funds to pull off their pranks, and they decide to start  a pickle club as a cover. They are going to need all the luck they can get!  (I’d also like to point out that this book cover uses a lot of blue, too, which helps make this group feel aloof and alienated, because, well, they are are SECRET group, after all. They do stand apart.)

gregorBLACK

Black is associated with evil and menace, as well as death and mourning.

In Suzanne Collins’ Gregor the Overlander, not only is the Underland devoid of sunlight, but it is full of menacing creatures who have captured Gregor’s father.  This cover, though full of lighter buildings, has much hidden in the shadows.

In The Search for WondLa, by Tony DiTerlizzi, the main character, Eva Nine, leaves in search of the long-lost (and possibly no longer existing) land of WondLa.  She uncovers a world full of dangers, both of the natural world and of men. (As a side note, note that Eva herself is light against the darkness of the rest of the cover, and as she begins her journey she is the only one innocent of the world around her. Interesting.)

WHITE

White denotes purity and innocence, but also can be cold, unfeeling, or bland.

In Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, Hazel’s best friend, Jack, is captured by a woman made of ice, and Hazel sets off into the forest to rescue him. (Side note, notice the hint of red in the middle of the cover, which I think helps the readers feels the intensity of Hazel’s love for her friend as well as the power of the Snow Queen.)

In Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society, the four children who make up the society are chosen through a random set of challenges…it’s a very cerebral way of choosing some very resourceful children to take on a supervillain the likes of which the world as never seen.

There are more colors than my above-mentioned categories, obviously.  I’m sure there are many more books out there that might not fit into any one particular color category, either.  Or how about those that use lots of different colors?  Where would they fit?

Besides, colors can also be influenced by culture, so one culture may have a different perception of a particular color than another would.  For example, in Western culture white symbolizes purity and innocence, but in some Eastern cultures it symbolizes death and mourning.

Historical cultures attached slightly different meanings to colors than our modern sensibilities do, too: for example, black meant death in ancient Egypt, but it was also a symbol for rebirth and resurrection.

And, if I’m being honest,  color psychology is often met with skepticism in the psychological and scientific world.  I doubt any scientist would take my thoughts seriously, anyway.  So even though this is all in good fun, I hope the next time you pick up a book, pay attention to how the cover makes you feel.  I bet you’ll see that the colors on it might be helping to create the mood the book is trying to portray.

Soon enough you’ll be judging books by their colors, too.

 

Elissa Cruz likes colors.  If asked, she’d be hard-pressed to choose a favorite.  However, she’s not a big fan of avocado.  Or mustard.  Or beige.  She’s not a big fan of 1970s fashion, either, come to think of it.  And in her opinion turquoise is a little too garish in anything larger than a piece of jewelry.  She writes books for kids of all ages and is the ARA of the Utah/Southern Idaho region of SCBWI.

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