Books Between Podcast

Intro

Hi everyone! This is episode #35 and today I am sharing with you a LIVE recording of an interview I did with the incredible Mira Bartók where we discuss her debut middle grade novel, The Wonderling. This was recording at ALA on Sunday, June 25th and I have been eager to share it with you and since The Wonderling is released tomorrow, now seems like the perfect time.

Before we begin today's interview, I am excited to tell you that this month's episodes are sponsored by WriteAbout.com - a safe, digital writing community where students are just one click away from starting a new writing piece. And if your school uses Google like mine does, you will be happy to know that your students (and you!) can log-in with your Google account. I love that that my students can share their writing with peers locally or globally. And we all know that a real audience makes a real difference. So, if you or someone you know is looking for an engaging and authentic way to help students write every day, absolutely check out WriteAbout.com. And at the end of the show, I'll share with you what my class has been up to lately.

A couple quick notes before I share the interview. First, I huge thank you to everyone who came to the live recording of our show, to Mira for being a great guest, and all the fabulous folks at ALA and Candlewick (especially Andie and Anna) who helped coordinate this. Second, this is a LIVE recording in a very large and noisy space so I hope you bear with the bit of background bustle that you hear, but I promise that hearing what Mira has to say is so worth it. Take a listen.

Interview Outline

I am really excited about the finished artwork in the final version of The Wonderling!

Did the art come first and inspire the story or was it the other way?

The Wonderling has this fantastic darker flavor to it at some points - in a similar way to Roald Dahl. And the cruel Miss Carbunkle reminds me of one of my favorite villains Miss Trunchbull.

Did you like darker books as a child?

One of the fascinating aspects of this book is the wielding of power. For example, Miss Carbunkle bestows small little favors or a bit of extra food to some of the prisoners in the orphanage as a way of pitting them against each other.

Can you talk a bit about how power is used by characters in this story?

One of the aspects that I loved about this book was the role that music played in it. Songs are forbidden in Miss Carbunkle's orphanage and then - music plays a bigger and bigger part as we get into the story.

Can you talk a bit about how music has played a part in your own life and how those experiences may have influenced this story?

The Wonderling isn't even released yet (it come out September 26th) - but, did I hear that already it's going to be made into a movie?

There comes a point in the story when Arthur realizes that he can understand the mice around him when others can't and so he starts to translate for his mouse friend, Peevil. So they have this profound exchange about cats and Arthur says something like "maybe if I can understand them someday, they won't hiss at me when I walk by."

In our world, or maybe just in the context on this story - do you think that understanding each other and developing empathy is enough to avoid conflict or are there some problems too big for that?

There is a scene in the story where Arthur (still named Number 13) meets his first friend, Trinket, this fierce little bird-like creature. And she tells him the story of King Arthur and Merlyn and mentions that "there's not really one way to tell it."

When you were writing The Wonderling, were there other versions or storylines that you played with or did you come into it knowing exactly where you wanted to take the story?

A thought that struck me as I was reading The Wonderling was how powerful imagination can truly be.

How has that force played a part in this story and maybe in your own life?

As Arthur and Trinket begin their journey, they run across this boy named Pinecone. And he finds them sleeping under a tree and wakes them with a wooden sword and asks, "Are you a tinker, trader, forager, or foe?"

As a writer, are you more of a tinker, trader, forager, or a foe?

When we first meet Arthur in the Home for Wayward and Misbegotten Creatures, that is his name from his tag around his neck. And even later when he's in a rather dire situation, that number 13 get attached to him again - he just can't quite shake it!

Is 13 unlucky for you?

What are you reading now?

Audience Q&A

Closing

Okay - that wraps up our show this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher.

And thanks again to WriteAbout.com for supporting the podcast this month - when you visit their website you'll find fabulous ideas to get your students writing this year. My class has started with Personal Narratives and I love that I can find and pin ideas to our class page to help students who might have a little trouble coming up with something on their own.

Thanks again and see you soon! Bye!

Episode Links:

https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780763691219

Mira Bartok's' website:http://www.mirabartok.com

Intro

Hi and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they'll love. I'm your host, Corrina Allen - a mom an 8 and 10 year old, and just finishing my first week back to school with my new 5th graders. And….YAWN! Is there any tured that's like that first few days of school tired? I am gonna get some coffee and I'll be right back….

This is Episode #34 and today I'm talking about studying genre and then I welcome author Danielle Davis to the show to chat about her debut middle grade novel Zinnia and the Bees, and finish up with a question about book recommendations for an advanced 6th grade reader.

But before we jump into the show, I want tell you that this month's episodes are sponsored by WriteAbout.com - a writing community and publishing platform that is just perfect for classrooms. It is incredibly easy to use and set up - and boy am I appreciating that at the beginning of the year! I am also loving how engaged students are when they see their word count grow. And how that pushes them to write even more. And from my end, I love how I can analyze those word count statistics either as a whole class or filter for individual students. So, if you've been searching for an engaging and authentic way to help your students write every day, definitely go visit WriteAbout.com to check it out. And at the end of the show, I'll share with you my current favorite feature.

Main Topic - Studying Genre

As I start our new school year rolling and we are setting up our reading journals and discussing goals, one of the first things we do is have a quick crash course in identifying genres. So today I want to chat with you about why it's a good idea for students to study genre, which genres to study, the difference between genre and format, and finally I'll share some ideas and resources to get your students learning more about different genres.

Why study genre?

So, why study genre? We've already got a lot on our plate and a curriculum that is jam packed. Why is it important for students to know the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Or to know a mystery when they see one?

1. Studying genre helps students expand their reading habits and get introduced to genres they might not have tried yet.
2. Studying genre also expands students' views of each genre and helps them realize that NOT all books in a genre are the same. Not all fantasy is about dragons or set in a medieval world. Some have cats like The Warriors series and some are even set in modern times! And often, books are a blend of more than one genre - Historical Fiction AND Action-Adventure like the I Survived Series. Or Science Fiction with a twist of Mystery like Space Case.
3. Studying genre helps with comprehension. Knowing how a certain type of book tends to go helps you figure out the plot, make predictions, and pick out themes and delve into character more deeply. For example, if you are reading a Fantasy you're going to be on the lookout for a quest narrative, special magical objects, maybe a good character who turns out to be bad, and a theme that might be really about Good vs. Evil. If they are picking up a mystery, they'll want to be searching for clues and twist endings. If reading historical fiction they might be looking for lessons that would resonate today. Studying past turning points helps us figure out who we are. Knowing those common tropes and knowing why those genres are important helps students dig so much deeper and can even change them as a person.
4. And finally, learning about genre helps kids develop their own reading identity and figure out what they really like. Learning the language and vocabulary of genre is important so they have a name for the kinds of stories they want to read and can then go ask for it at a bookstore or the library or when they search online. So if they know that they like Magical Realism, they can ask the clerk to help them find more of those kinds of books. Last week I was thinking about how the power of knowing the vocabulary can help you find what you like. My ten year old and I have recently been binge-watching A LOT of Project Runway. And I do not have any kind of background in sewing or fashion terms. For me, when I go shopping, I just kind of wing it and know what I like when I put it on. But after watching several seasons of Project Runway in a row you start to pick up the names of various fabrics and cuts and styles. And I realize - a-ha! I do NOT like high-low hems or mermaid dresses. BUT - that kind of skirt that always seems to look okay on me? That's an A-line skirt! SO now, when I go shopping and a clerk asks if they can help me, I will say, "Yes! Show me your A-line skirts and dresses, please!" Basically what I'm saying is knowing the words for what you like is hugely helpful in efficiently getting you more of that.

Which genres to study?

I tend to focus on how the characters, setting, and plot are all clues to help you figure out the genre. And the fiction genres I focus on are realistic fiction, historical fiction, mystery, action/adventure, traditional literature (like folk tales, tall tales and fairy tales), science fiction, and fantasy. With a strong emphasis on how sometimes they can blend. And I don't go into depth at 5th grade, but I do mention westerns, horror, and romance. And I'll tell you - that Science Fiction/Fantasy genre always seems so imperfect. I mean - a book with talking animals in it. IS that… fantasy? I wouldn't put Charlotte's Web with Eragon. So…. we do talk about how there is nuance and fuzziness in those categories and I introduce terms like speculative fiction, paranormal, magical realism and urban fantasy. I don't expect mastery here. But - if they can read a book like, say, The Seventh Wish. And say things like "Well, it could be realistic fiction because it's about a typical family in modern times going through real-life challenges but it might be fantasy because the fish gives out magic wishes." That is what I'm looking for. Not certainty but the ability to have a discussion around genre and recognize the major elements of each one.

What's the difference between genre and format?

One of the points of growth for me is really recognizing the difference between genre and format. Poetry and graphic novels are NOT really genres. You can have a novel in verse that is a memoir like Brown Girl Dreaming or realistic fiction, like Moo. And graphic novels span every imaginable genre from traditional literature in Fairy Tale Comics to fantasy in Amulet and science fiction in Hilo to realistic fiction in Roller Girl. And as much as I know that…. I still separate them out because their format does make them so unique. And so many of my students just gravitate toward those graphic novels. So I want to make it easy for them to find. And just last week, after much consideration, I finally caved and shelved Nine, Ten, Towers Falling, Eleven, and the other 9/11 books in historical fiction. (And now I feel really old!)

Some ideas & resources

We'll wrap up this segment by sharing a few ideas about how to reinforce the study of genre in your classroom or library or with your kids at home! Here are 6 ideas to get you started:

1. Keep track of those genres on a chart or graph. I have a circle tracker that I love to use that I'll link to in the shownotes. It's colorful and flexible and fun!
2. Give students a stack of books and have them sort them by genre or identify the genre if they are all the same. And encourage them to use the vocabulary they've learned to back up what they're saying. And look at the cover and back description of the setting, characters, and plot for those clues.
3. Another way to go is to give them a stack and tell them the genre. And then THEY have to create a definition based on the books in that category. And then they can present to their peers. If you don't have physical books to use, I've cut out pictures and blurbs from Scholastic flyers and you could also have them search a genre category on Amazon or Goodreads.
4. Have students work together to create a genre display. Last year, right around Halloween I had a group of kids work on a mystery/paranormal display for our classroom door. Kids could also work on a video project or a Google Slideshow to teach others about genre.
5. I used Kahoot last year to reinforce genre and my students loved it! Kahoot is an online quiz site where teachers can create any type of quiz and students log-in with a Chromebook or ipad and take the quiz and get live results together. It's fun, it's interactive, and they have really awesome music on that site!
6. Have kids make #BookSnaps highlighting the genre of the books they are reading! I talked more about #BookSnaps in episode #19 which was all about alternatives to reading logs. But basically, kids take a picture of their book, maybe annotate it with a photo editing tool and post it to social media. So, you could direct them to simply post the cover and name the genre. Or you could ask them to find some evidence inside the book to back up why they think that book fits the criteria for that genre. And take a picture of page that offers a clue and then annotate it to explain. I use SeeSaw for #BookSnaps but older kids might like SnapChat or Twitter.

Those are a few things that I have tried and plan to explore this year as I help students grow into self-aware and self-directed readers. But - I know how incredible my listeners are and I am sure you all have some fabulous ideas about how to teach and reinforce genre. Please share them with the rest of us! You can tag me on Twitter or Instagram - our handle is @books_between or email me at [email protected] . And I'll share out some of your ideas.

Interview - Danielle Davis

Today I am thrilled to welcome Danielle Davis to the podcast. She is the author of the recently released middle grade novel Zinnia and the Bees. We chat about knitting, composting, and the surprising origins of her novel!

Zinnias and the Bees

Your debut novel Zinnia and the Bees was just released this month and I am so excited for my students and kids all around the world to meet these characters.

For those listening who haven't yet had a chance to read the book, can you tell us a bit about it?

This is an alternating point of view novel like none other that I have read...

How did figure out that you wanted to include the bees' perspective?

What sort of research did you do to make sure you got those details right?

So, I have to ask about…. KNITTING!

Your Writing Life

Your blog is called "This Picture Book Life".

So how did you end up writing middle grade?

How does the final version of Zinnia and the Bees differ from earlier drafts?

What is your ideal writing space like?

What's next for you - another middle grade or will you venture into Picture Books?

Your Reading Life

You read a TON of picture books AND middle grade books!

What drew you to focus mainly on picture books?

Is there a type of story or a genre that others like a lot but you're just not that into?

What were some of your favorite books as a child?

What have you been reading lately that you've liked?

Thank You!

Q & A

Our third and final segment this week is Question & Answer time.

Question:

Today's question was texted to me from a friend at school. She asked, "I have a friend who's looking for some book recommendations for her going into 6th grade boy. He is an advanced reader and loves sports and music."

Answer:

I had five suggestions - Ghost by Jason Reynolds which would appeal to the sports side - plus, it's just amazing and if they like it, there is the newly released second book called Patina which is just as fabulous! Posted by John David Anderson is also incredible. And Solo by Kwame Alexander which would be great for a kid who likes music. But - that one veers a little more toward YA. So - while I love that book, maybe take a peek at the content and consider waiting maybe a year or two. I also recommended the March graphic novel series by John Lewis. I think that trilogy is so timely and should be read by everyone so I just have to give a push whenever I have the chance. And finally, I Am Drums by Mike Grosso is phenomenal for music lovers. I just loved that book and can't wait to see what else he writes.

Closing

Alright - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, let me know. You can email me at [email protected] or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.

Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher.

And thanks again to WriteAbout.com for supporting the podcast this month - when you visit their website you'll find fantastic ideas to get your students writing this year. Some of my favorite features are the feedback tools - including voice recordings for students to get immediate and personal suggestions from you right as they are writing.

Thanks again and see you soon! Bye!

Episode Links:

Danielle Davis' website: http://www.danielledavisreadsandwrites.com

Danielle's This Picture Book Life: http://thispicturebooklife.com

Zinnia and the Bees Pom Pom Craft: http://thispicturebooklife.com/pom-pom-craft-zinnia-bees-courtesy-sealed-kait/

Zinnia and the Bees: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781623708672

Books & Things Mentioned in the Interview:

Bees: Nature's Little Wonders by Candace Savage: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781553655312

The Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780763679224

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780142001745

The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=the+girl+flammable

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780385720960

Alethea's blog - Read Now Sleep Later: http://www.readnowsleeplater.org

Roald Dahl books: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=Roald+Dahl

Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780547076805

Du Iz Tak by Carson Ellis: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=Du+Iz+Tak

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780312367541

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780679734772

The Red Tree by Shaun Tan: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780968876831

Benjamin Dilley's Thirsty Camel by Jolly Roger Bradfield: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781930900608

Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780425290408

Intro

Hi and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they'll love. I'm your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two girls, a 5th grade teacher, and yeah...starting to have those back to school bad dreams where I've arrived at school and I have no lesson prepared or all the furniture has been removed from my room or I'm suddenly teaching Kindergarten!

This is Episode #33 and today I'm talking about launching a reading community in those first few weeks of school and then I welcome author Celia C. Pérez to the show to chat about her debut middle grade novel The First Rule of Punk.

But first I am excited to tell you that today's episode is sponsored by WriteAbout.com - a writing community and publishing platform that is perfect for classrooms. If you are like me and are looking for an engaging and authentic way to make sure your students are writing every day, you are absolutely going to want to visit WriteAbout.com to check it out. My favorite thing right now is the thousands of ideas across various genres and formats to inspire your students to write more and write more thoughtfully. So - at the end of the show, I'll share with you a few of my favorite writing ideas I found on WriteAbout that will get my students excited about writing about their reading this year.

Main Topic - Launching a Reading Community

As the summer winds down and I head back to school, I have been thinking a lot about how I want to make this year different. Make it count. Make it matter. And be more focused and intentional about cultivating that reading community from the start. So today I'll share some thoughts about how to really develop a strong community of readers before school starts, on that first day, and in those first few weeks.

Before School Starts

Cultivating that new community of readers started this week before I even met my students. I finally got into my classroom this week after our custodians have been busy waxing and cleaning. (Everything revolves around that waxing schedule, right? There was one year I came this close to shimmying through the window to get into my room!)

This morning, I was able to walk through the door - so things are good! And before my new 5th graders even step foot into the classroom, there were three things I knew I needed to take care of:

1. Make sure I have scheduled time every day for them to read and for me to read to them. From the very first day. And treat those times as sacrosanct.
2. Make sure they can see themselves in our classroom library. On recent episode (#28 if you want to scroll back in your feed and listen) I talk about the diversity audit that my students did to analyze the books in our library. And over the summer, I have been working on adding a better variety of titles. When I dust off those shelves and put those books in those genre bins and select some enticing titles to feature face out, making sure those books are as diverse as my class and as diverse as their world is crucial.
3. Create those displays that will get them excited about the reading they'll do this year. In the hallway right before they enter our room, they'll pass this giant #ClassroomBookADay display that I have been diligently working on. A big shout out to Lori Lewis in the #ClassroomBookADay Facegroup group who shared (for free!) this cool display of polaroid picture templates for each of the 180 books we'll be reading this year. So I have been cutting and trimming and measuring and tapping and it's an impressive display and a promise of what's to come. And as in year's past, I also create a "My Reading Life" display for the door where I showcase covers of some recent reads and some all-time favorites. And eventually that will be turned over to my students for their own displays. And of course I always have my own "Mrs. Allen is Currently Reading…." chalkboard display.

On the First Day

That first day is so crucial in setting the right tone and really conveying your priorities by your actions and what you pay attention to. On the first day of school, I have two goals:

1. Get to know my students as much as possible. Pronounce their names correctly, start to learn their interests and passions and strengths. And start to build that trusting relationship. Because if I am going to ask them to open themselves up and take risks as readers (and writers!) this year, they have to know that I care about them and want to know their authentic self.
2. I want them excited to come back. Gone are the days when I used to start with an extensive review of the syllabus and grading procedures and setting up the rules. Nope. We are having fun. There will be music and movement and an engineering challenge.

And at least one read aloud - probably two! And a chance for them to do some book tastings and exploring what's available in our classroom library. And - some down time when they can dive into those books and start to build back up that stamina for focused independent reading.

During the First Weeks

During those first few weeks is when that classroom culture of reading really starts to emerge as routines and relationships are established. Within that first week, I like to give a reading survey to get a sense of their likes and attitudes about reading. This is also really important because a carefully crafted survey can give you great data when you compare the answers to those questions at the end of the year. I used to give a paper one but now I use a Google Form. If you want to take a look at a really good sample, Pernille Ripp has a great one on her site that I will link to for you.

But don't dismiss the power of casual conversation about books during those snippets of time throughout the day like arrival and dismissal and in the hallway. Absolutely share what you are reading but that authentic reading community happens when kids can share with each other their thoughts and feelings and reactions (both good and bad) to that book they brought home last night. A huge part of fostering that reading culture is providing engaging and authentic ways for kids to talk about the books they are choosing to read.

The days of me assigning a diorama of Hatchet or a cereal box craftivity about Wonder are done. So instead, we'll have book clubs, we'll write blog posts and share them with a real audience, we'll use WeVideo to do booktalks and post them on a YouTube channel, we'll Skype with authors and other classes for the Global Read Aloud, we'll create #BookSnaps of our favorite parts, and we'll tweet our favorite lines and tag the author and cross our fingers for a response! And - most importantly - we'll do even cooler things that are ideas my students bring with them!

So - I am so so excited for fantastic year of reflecting and growth and learning with my students and with you. I would love to know how you launch your school year to cultivate a community of readers.

You can tag me on Twitter or Instagram - our handle is @books_between or email me at [email protected] . I would love to hear from you.

Interview Outline - Celia C. Pérez

Today I am really really excited to welcome Celia C. Pérez to the podcast. She is the author of the recently released middle grade novel The First Rule of Punk. We chat about her inspirations for the novel, zines, and The Wizard of Oz!

The First Rule of Punk

Your debut middle grade novel, The First Rule of Punk, has been getting all kinds of buzz - everyone is talking about this book! I just cannot wait for the world to meet Malú.

Can you tell us a bit about this girl - and a bit about her story?

One of the aspects that makes this novel so unique are the zines that are included between some of the chapters. And - I will be honest and tell you that the word "zine" was something I had heard of but the mental image I had was nothing close to the truth. So - for those, like me, who might not be aware...

What are zines?

And what was your process like for creating the zines that are in The First Rule of Punk?

When Malú and her mom move to Chicago, one of the first things they do is scope out and find the neighborhood coffee shop and the neighborhood library.

What was your childhood library like?

There is this tension between Malú and her mother about how to dress and behave. She thinks her mom wants her to be this ideal Mexican-American "senorita" and Malú want to dress in a more edgy style.

Did you feel that cultural tug-of-war in your own family?

I noticed this recurring thread of The Wizard of Oz in the book!

Are you a fan?

I was so intrigued by Malu's worry dolls - can you tell us a little more about them?

So, I have to ask…. cilantro or no cilantro?

Your Writing Life

What were some of the challenges with writing this book?

What's next for you - do you think you'll stick with middle grade?

Your Reading Life

What were some of your favorite books as a child?

What have you been reading lately that you've liked?

Thank You!

Closing

Okay - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, let me know. You can email me at [email protected] or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.

Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher.

And thanks again to WriteAbout.com for supporting the podcast this month - if you head over to their website you'll find awesome ideas to get your students writing about their reading this year. One of my favorites is: "You have to choose a character from a book you've read to lead a group or team you are part of. Who do you choose and why?" (I know who I'd pick!) But I think the prompt I'm going to start with this year is the one called "My Life As A Reader – Memories of Reading" Definitely check that one out when you head over to the WriteAbout site.

Thanks again and see you soon! Bye!

Episode Links:

Celia's website: http://celiacperez.com

Witch's Sister by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright

Encyclopedia Brown Series by Donald J. Sobol

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

Tex by S. E. Hinton

Rumble Fish by S. E. Hinton

That Was Then, This is Now by S. E. Hinton

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser

The Red Velvet Underground: A Rock Memoir, with Recipes by Freda Love Smith

The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling

Intro

Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians and anyone who wants to help connect kids between 8-12 to books they will love. I'm your host, Corrina Allen - a mom, a teacher, and really excited that I got to see the solar eclipse this afternoon! Here in Syracuse we had about 70% (ish) coverage and my daughters and husband and I hung out in the backyard with glasses our neighbors so kindly gave us and we saw the light dim and the shadows get eerie. I couldn't quite get the colander trick to work but that's okay - I loved all of your photos of your experiences that you shared online.

This is Episode #32 and today, as promised last week, I'm sharing with you a conversation with Betsy Bird - librarian, host of the new Fuse 8 n'Kate podcast, and the editor of the fabulous new short story anthology called FUNNY GIRL! We chat about the book, what makes her laugh, our least favorite picture books, and, and......I challenge her to a fart noise contest!

Take a listen….

Interview Outline - Betsy Bird

For those listening who may or may not be familiar with you, can you give us a little introduction of who you are and what you do in the world of children's literature?

Where does the name Fuse 8 come from?

Funny Girl

You've mentioned that Funny Girl was the result of noticing that kids wanted funny books and there weren't too many options written by women. So you proposed the idea to your editor..

Once this project was a go, how did you go about finding authors to contribute and what was your criteria when you pitched the idea to them?

Have you read any of the stories with your own kids ?

So, you've mentioned that girls are often discouraged from using humor as a coping mechanism. In your own life - either now or as a kid - what were some times when using humor has helped you?

It was interesting - when I got the book and looked at the Table of Contents and I was browsing all the authors, i was thinking "Ooooo...this is going to be awesome!"

But - the authors whose stories made me laugh the most, were NOT the ones I was expecting! I actually loved that - it helped me find new people to get to know.

Aside from stories like those in Funny Girl, what are some things that make you laugh? What's your sense of humor like?

Fuse 8 n' Kate Podcast

So you have a new podcast! What made you decide to jump back into podcasting?

What is a popular picture book that you don't like?

Your Reading Life

What were some of your favorite books as a child?

As a parent, how do you make time for reading with your family? And what does that that look like?

What have you been reading lately that you've liked?

Where do you see a gap in the world of children's books?

Thank You!

Closing

Alright - that wraps up our show this week. We have some great topics and interviews and book talks coming up including some thoughts on building a community of readers, conversations with Celia Perez about The First Rule of Punk, and Alan Gratz about Refugee AND Ban This Book. So be on the lookout for those.

And if you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or connect on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.

Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.

And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher.

Thanks again and see you soon! Bye!

Episode Links:

Betsy Bird 's Fuse 8 Production Blog on School Library Journal

Listen to Fuse 8 n' Kate Podcast here on iTunes or Soundcloud

Betsy's Books:

Giant Dance Party

Wild Things!: Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature

Funny Girl

Books and Other Things We Discussed:

Sipping Spiders Through a Straw: Campfire Songs for Monsters by Kelly DiPucchio & Gris Grimly

Akilah Hughes' YouTube Channel - Akilah, Obviously!

Accident by Andrea Tsurumi

If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

Paeony Lewis' blog post comparing Picture Books in bookshop chains in the US and UK

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

Bumble-Ardy by Maurice Sendak

Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

Curious George

Furious George Goes Bananas: A Primate Parody by Michael Rex

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdich

A Time to Keep by Tasha Tudor

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

Ghost Cat by Mark Abley

The Girl With the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts

Cam Jansen

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Patina by Jason Reynolds

Betsy's blog post about Patina

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

Betsy's blog post about Orphan Island

Betsy's Blog Post "Where Are All the Black Boys?"

Intro

Hello and welcome to Books Between - a podcast all about celebrating children's literature! If you are a teacher, parent, or librarian who wants to help connect kids between 8-12 to books they will love - then you are in the right spot! I am your host, Corrina Allen - a 5th grade teacher, a mum of an 8 and 10 year old, and baking brownies and bundt cakes and obviously binge-watching a little bit too much of the Great British Baking Show lately. And I will apologise to my British listeners for this atrocious accent. On the other hand, I do rather blame your show for my potentially not fitting into any of my school clothes since I have been craving nothing but carbs… So, if you hear me slip into a weird Britishesque accent today - I'm sorry. Too much Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry in my head!

This is Episode #31 and Today is all about exceptional anthologies and collections that your middle grade readers are going to love.

Main Topic - Exceptional Anthologies and Short Story Collections

Today we are talking all about anthologies and short story collections. First off, we'll begin with definitions. I used to think those were interchangeable terms but I have come to realize they are not. Then, I'll share with you some fabulous titles you might want to check out, including some really, really exceptional new releases. Then we'll chat about some reasons why you should consider including more anthologies and short story collections in your school or classroom library.

Definitions

According to my favorite dictionary (Merriam-Webster - mainly because they have a hilarious Twitter account!) an anthology is "a collection of selected literary pieces or passages or works of art or music" and then it goes on to say "a published collection of writings (such as poems or short stories) by different authors" And that's the key - anthologies include stories by different authors! The Guys Read Series is a good example of this.

On the other hand, a collection is a book of selected writings (maybe poems, maybe short stories, maybe essays…) all by the same author. Cynthia Rylant's Every Living Thing is an example you might know.

But….I will say, I see those terms used as synonyms A LOT.

Fantastic Anthologies and Collections To Add to Your Library

And now - a selection - a sampling - a smorgasbord of anthologies and collections to add to your library or introduce to your children. And before we begin, I just want to give a huge thank you to everyone who offered ideas for this list when I put out a call on Twitter and Facebook for suggestions. In particular, you will not be surprised to know that Donalyn Miller was on it with a fabulous list of suggestions.

Let's start with some classics and older releases.

Best Shorts: Favorite Short Stories to Share

This anthology was but together by Avi and includes stories by Natalie Babbitt, Rafe Martin, Lloyd Alexander, and lots more. And it includes a great mix of time travel, and animal stories, and legends and a touch of the supernatural. In particular, "The Woman in White" by Patricia McKissack is one to check out.

Every Living Thing by Cynthia Rylant

This is a collection of 12 stories - each one about how people's lives are changed by an animal. This is a classic collection - and if you have kids who are animal lovers, this is definitely one they might enjoy.

Gary Soto has a number of incredible collections - Baseball in April and Local News are among the ones that would be good for middle grade readers.

My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen

Up until last year, Hatchet was on our 5th grade required reading list and for those kids that really connected with that book, this collection was a great next book for them. Each story centers around Paulsen's relationship with a special dog in his life. So this are also great examples of smaller memoirs.

Another great dog anthology is Because of Shoe edited by Ann M. Martin who also contributes a piece. This one features nine fictional stories that appeal to a variety of age ranges.

The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton

Oh how I loved this book when it first came out! This is a collection of 24 retellings of black American folk tales - everything from animal stories to supernatural tales to stories of enslaved men and women seeking freedom.

In a similar vein, Patricia McKissack has two collections worth checking out - Dark Thirty and it's companion, which she wrote later, Porch Lies. Dark Thirty includes ten horror-themed stories with a Southern Historical flavor. And Porch Lies still has that eerie quality but also more humor. If you have a child that likes the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Series, these would be a couple books to put in their hands next.

Then there is Red Ridin' in the Hood by Patricia Santos Marcantonio. This one was strongly recommend by Matthew Winner and with one quick glance at the description online, I can see why. This is a collection of eleven classic fairy tales retold with a twist of Latino culture. Let me read you the description of the title story: "Red Ridin' in the Hood," moves the setting to the barrio, where Red decides to brave dangerous Forest Street in order to reach her abuelita and encounters the menacing wolf in a thumping Chevy lowrider." I have GOT to get my hands on that!

If your students or children are into graphic novels, there are several really great collections.

The Comic Squad Series have been favorites with my 5th graders. Right now there are three of them - Recess, Lunch, and Detention which just came out last month so I need to pick that one up before heading back to school.

Also - definitely check out Fairy Tale Comics! This is a very cool collection with some awesomely weird stories in it. If your kids like that one, there is also Fable Comics and Nursery Rhyme Comics.

So - if your students and children are like mine, they LOVE the Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi. And I recently discovered - again thanks to Matthew Winner - that he has edited a series of graphic novel anthologies called the Explorer Series. (Why have I not heard of these before? They look incredible!) Each of the three books has a different theme. So the first is "Mystery Boxes", the second is "Lost Islands" and the third one is "Hidden Doors". The list of comic contributors is outstanding - like Raina Telgemeier, Faith Erin Hicks, Dave Roman, Jen Wang…. I gotta go get these!

Been There, Done That - is a really special anthology which has fictional stories by award-winning and best-selling authors and also includes the real-life story that inspired those narratives. I LOVE how this could show kids how you can mine your own life for stories. This is one of those books that I'm like - how did this get by me? This is GREAT!

The Guys Read Series - This group of seven anthologies is edited by Jon Scieszka and each one has a different theme like Terrifying Tales, The Sports Pages, Other Worlds, Funny Business, and the most recent one Heroes & Villains. And, despite their name, they include stories by both men and women. For example, Dan Gutman, Kelly Barnhill, Matt de la Peña, Neal Shusterman, Shannon Hale, and so so many more!

And now onto some really fabulous new collections and anthologies that your kids are going to love.

The Time We Ran Away - This anthology is put out by Scholastic and I think is offered as the free book for Book Club orders over $50 this September. It includes eleven short stories by best-selling authors like Angela Cervantes, Sarah Weeks, and Dan Gemeinhart. I can't seem to find it anywhere else (yet) so I think you're going to have to get this one through Scholastic for now. https://clubs.scholastic.com/the-time-we-ran-away-10-book-pack/9781338253467-rco-us.html

Flying Lessons

This anthology edited by Ellen Oh includes new stories by Kwame Alexander, Kelly Baptist, Tim Tingle, Grace Lin among so many others. It was released last January. And I got it the day it came out and had wonderful intentions of reading it right away. And then - how can you say no to a line of kids reading over your shoulder and wanting to borrow it? So - all I can say is that what I read was good and it was passed from kid to kid to kid until school let out. Clearly - it's a winner.

Another new anthology that I LOVED this summer was Our Story Begins: Your Favorite Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew As Kids . Well - that pretty much says it all! This book is edited by Elissa Brent Weissman and I especially loved the images of the author's hand written stories and diary entries and sketches from when they were young. And also hearing about the inspiration of a new typewriter or a teacher's supportive comment on a report card or the chance to enter a writing contest. It's fascinating to see the beginnings of these 25 writers' journeys.

If you have students who like something a little dark, a little twisted - then Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods by Hal Johnson is one they are going to love being scared by. This collection is "20 Chilling Tales from the Wilderness" told from the perspective of a cryptozoologist - a person who studies legendary beasts like Big Foot or the chupacabras. One reviewer called these "faux-lore" which is perfect. My ten-year old and I really love listening to the podcast Lore together and I think this will really be up her alley. It comes out August 22nd so be on the lookout for that next week.

And finally - Funny Girl - edited by Betsy Bird. In fact, in our very next episode, I have the great pleasure of sharing with you a conversation with Betsy Bird about this book and LOTS of other things. We talk a fair amount about it in our interview so I think I'll just say here that you should definitely go get it. It is truly laugh out loud funny. And oh do we need some humor in our lives. So definitely get this one and I'm...I'm hoping for a Volume 2!

7 Reasons Why You Should Include More Anthologies and Collections

I am going to say up front that I don't have a ton of these in my classroom. But - I loved them as a child and I've noticed lately that my own daughters have been picking more and more of them up. I thought - I need to really expand that part of our library. So here are 7 reasons why you might want to consider including more anthologies and collections.

1. Anthologies are gateways to discovering other amazing authors. So a child might pick up Guys Read: Funny Business and be drawn to the Jeff Kinney story, "Unaccompanied Minors" but then get introduced to the amazing Christopher Paul Curtis or David Lubar and suddenly discover their new favorite author.
2. On the other hand, a collection of writing pieces all by one author is great when you want to go more in depth and dig into everything they have to offer. Often authors who are known for, say, novels or a certain genre - will play around in short pieces and try something new. Like poetry or a personal essay. I feel like a collection gives you a good sense of who an author is and more of a window into their life. Anyone who loves Gary Paulsen should read My Life in Dog Years.
3. Anthologies and collections can help kids gain some reading traction if their stamina hasn't been so great. They can get that satisfaction of finishing a story or an essay in a short amount of time and start to build up to longer texts. Especially at the beginning of the year or after a break, starting with something shorter can be a great idea. When I've had reading lulls in my ownlife, short stories can really kick-start me again.
4. They are great for trying out new genres and new formats without the investment in a longer novel. My youngest daughter wouldn't necessarily pick up a biography but she LOVED Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls. And although most of my students really love graphic novels, I've had more than few turn up their noses at that format. So I've handed them books like Comic Squad or Fairy Tale Comics and ask them to just try one story.
5. Anthologies and collections introduce a greater variety of stories and perspectives into your life. On the last episode when I was chatting with Jillian Heise about #ClassroomBookADay, I was thinking about how reading a picture book each day can bring more so much more diversity into a classroom. And collections can do the same thing. In fact I was talking with my husband about this last night and he said it perfectly, "Would you rather get a box of all the same chocolates or would you rather get sampler with a dozen different flavors?" Yeah - I'm going for the flavors! And I might leave the cashew cluster for someone else, but that's okay.
6. Coming at this from a teacher's point of view, reading the short stories and essays found in anthologies and collections are wonderful to offer as models for students' own writing. With my 5th graders, we use the TCWRP Units of Study and our first writing unit is Narratives. And of course, I want to give them lots of examples and mentor texts. So I'll take the first couple of weeks to read to them lots and lots of short narratives to really imprint in their mind what a good narrative sounds like and feels like. What the pacing and plotting is like in all kinds of narratives - from funny to serious.
7. And finally - anthologies and collections are perfect for when you don't want to jump into a long book yet or you only have little snippets of time to read. I think they are great for traveling. If you're on the bus or a plane, you can finish a full a story and don't have to worry about rereading to pick back up the threads of a plot. In a classroom, if students are in book clubs and a couple members of the group have fallen behind in their reading and need to catch up, you don't want the other students to start a new novel. So offering them a book like Flying Solo or Funny Girl is a great option.

Closing

Okay - that wraps up our show this week. We have some great interviews and book talks coming up. Next week is the amazing Betsy Bird. And after that you can look forward to a conversations with Celia Perez about The First Rule of Punk and Danielle Davis - author of Zinnia and the Bees. I'll also be chatting about Jason Reynold's Patina and some really great new graphic novels. So be on the lookout for those.

And, if you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or connect on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.

Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.

And, if you like what you hear and value the podcast, please leave a quick review or rating on iTunes or Stitcher.

Thanks again and see you soon! Bye!

Intro

Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to help connect kids between 8-12 to books they'll love. I am Corrina Allen - a 5th grade teacher, a mom of two, and spending some rainy summer days with my gals playing Blokus and Canasta and Mario Kart and dreaming of the beach….

This is Episode #30 and today I am sharing with you a conversation with Jillian Heise about Classroom Book A Day. We chat about all the wonderful things that can happen when you read one picture book a day to your class. And yes - even upper elementary AND middle school kids! I had considered holding on to this episode a little longer, but realized that lots of you start school in August and would want to start planning things. If you're like me, you need some time to mull things over and see how everything's going to fit together.

So before we get started, I want to let you know a couple things up front. First, at the end of the conversation we mention some resources where you can find out lots more information about #ClassroomBookADay - especially Jillian's main post about it from her website where she so generously shares her slideshows. And the #ClassroomBookADay Facebook Group. I joined that last month and the community there has been extraordinarily helpful. So - if you are interested, I'll see you there. And I'll post links to those right in our show notes and on the All the Wonders site.

Second - Jillian talks about A LOT of incredible books today and I know that, like me, you're going to get excited about them and want to jot down all the titles! But - I've got your back. Every single title mentioned is posted and linked right in the show notes.

Okay - let's dive in!

Main Topic - Interview with Jillian Heise

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got inspired to start the #ClassroomBookaDay.

#ClassroomBookaDay is about making time each day in your classroom to read a picture book.

What do you see as the benefit of focusing more on picture books?

I've seen these incredible displays of teachers' #ClassroomBookaDay reading where they post a cover of each book on grid on a bulletin board.

How do you display the #ClassroomBookADay in your school?

How do you see the display of the books as an important of aspect of #ClassroomBookADay?

How do you make time to read one picture book every day?

What is your routine like for reading the books with your students?

What about folks who don't have their own classroom - librarians, literacy coaches, administrators?

180+ days is a lot to fill! How do you choose titles?

What are some of your favorite books for the first week or so of school?

Where can people go to get more information?

Aside from picture books, what have you been reading lately that you've liked?

Closing

Alright - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or connect on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.

Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.

And, if you like what you hear and value the podcast, please leave a quick review or rating on iTunes or Stitcher.

Thanks again and see you soon! Bye!

Episode Links:

Heise Reads & Recommends: www.heisereads.com

BALB Literacy Consulting: www.balblit.com

Facebook #classroombookaday group: www.facebook.com/groups/classroombookaday

Slideshare with Previous Presentations: www.slideshare.net/mrsheise

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/heisereads

#classroombookaday Origin Story & Updates: http://heisewrites.blogspot.com/2014/09/180-bookaday-read-alouds.html

Nerdy Book Club Post - https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2017/07/03/classroombookaday-the-power-of-shared-picture-book-stories-by-jillian-heise/

PIcture Books Discussed on the Show:

To the Sea (Cale Atkinson)

I Want My Hat Back (Jon Klassen)

Mr Tiger Goes Wild (Peter Brown)

Explorers of the Wild (Cale Atkinson)

Pardon Me (Daniel Miyares)

That Neighbor Kid (Daniel Miyares)

Float (Daniel Miyares)

That Is My Dream (Daniel Miyares)

Barnacle is Bored (Jonathan Fenske)

Poor Little Guy (Elanna Allen)

A Hungry Lion, or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals (Lucy Ruth Cummins)

Sam and Dave Dig A Hole (Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen)

Creepy Carrots (Aaron Reynolds & Peter Brown)

The Monster's Monster (Patrick McDonnell)

Blizzard (John Rocco)

Each Kindness (Jacqueline Woodson & E.B. Lewis)

The Invisible Boy (Trudy Ludwig & Patrice Barton)

14 Cows for America (Carmen Agra Deedy: Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah & Thomas Gonzaalez)

Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey (Maira Kalman)

The Little Chapel That Stood (A.B. Curtiss & Mirto Golino)

My Teacher is a Monster (No, I am Not.) (Peter Brown)

Wild About Us (Karen Beaumont & Janet Stevens)

My Friend Maggie (Hannah E. Harrison)

Happy Dreamer (Peter H. Reynolds)

A Tiger Tail (Mike Boldt)

Strictly No Elephants (Lisa Mantchev & Taeeun Yoo)

Be a Friend (Salina Yoon)

Let Me Finish (Minh Lè)

School's First Day of School (Adam Rex & Christian Robinson)

How To Read a Story (Kate Messner)

Dear Dragon: A Pen Pal Tale (Josh Funk & Rodolfo Montalvo)

Beautiful (Stacy McAnulty & Joanne Lew-Vriethoff)

Where Oliver Fits (Cale Atkinson)

Blue Sky, White Stars (Kadir Nelson & Sarvinder Naberhaus)

They All Saw a Cat (Brendan Wenzel)

The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors (Drew Daywalt & Adam Rex)

Penguin Problems (Jory John & Lane Smith)

Not Quite Narwhal (Jessie Sima)

Jabari Jumps (Gaia Cornwall)

Dad and the Dinosaur (Gennifer Choldenko & Dan Santat)

I Like, I Don't Like (Ale Ale & Anne Baccelliere)

MIddle Grade Books Discussed:

Patina (Jason Reynolds)

Miles Morales: Spider Man (Jason Reynolds)

Wishtree (Katherine Applegate)

The Gauntlet (Karuna Riazi)

Fergus & Zeke (Kate Messner & Heather Ross)

Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker (Shelley Johannes)

The Bad Guys (Aaron Blabey)

YA Books Discussed:

War Cross (Marie Lu)

Legend (Marie Lu)

In a Perfect World - Trish Doller

The Names They Gave Us (Emery Lord)

Long Way Down (Jason Reynolds)

All American Boys (Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely)

The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas)

Dear Martin (Nic Stone)

Intro

Hello everyone and welcome to the Books Between podcast! If you love to read, if you are a fan of middle grade, if you want to connect kids between 8-12 to books they'll love, then you have found the podcast for you! I'm your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of an 8 and 10 year old, a 5th grade teacher, and lately - spending a lot of time on the sidelines of lacrosse fields and tennis courts. But - that gives me more time to read!

This is Episode #29 and today I am welcoming author Corey Ann Haydu to the show to chat about her recent middle grade novel, The Someday Suitcase, and then in the book talk segment, I'll be chatting about two fantastic new books about friendship.

Main Topic - Interview with Corey Ann Haydu

This week I am excited to welcome to the show Corey Ann Haydu. She is both a Young Adult AND Middle Grade author. Her most recent YA novel The Careful Undressing of Love was released just this past January. And you might know her from her debut middle grade book Rules for Stealing Stars. On today's show, we chat about snow globes, guilt reading, cheese and - of course! - her latest middle grade novel The Someday Suitcase.

The Someday Suitcase

Tell us about The Someday Suitcase - what is this book about?

One of the aspects of this book that I loved was how it shows that a true, deep best friend can bring a little magic into your life.

Did you have a best friend growing up?

Clover is a very science-minded person.

Do you have a science background?

There is often this mix and a bit of tension between magic & science in the book.

Do you see science and magic as compatible?

I loved all the metaphors in this book - like the snow globe! At one point Clover's teacher says, "Sometimes you have to turn something over and upside down to really see it."

How did you pick the snow globe to be a central part of the story?

This is a book about so many things! Friendship, and science, and codependency, and snow, and but maybe ultimately about realizing that a loss can also help reveal a different part of yourself that has been dormant. I don't want to reveal too much of what form that loss takes for Clover and Danny, but…

Can you talk a bit about how you decided on the ending?

Writing Life

You recently moved… I can imagine that a move might be fairly disruptive to writer.

What were the top three things you had to have in place so that you felt like you had a writing space again?

I saw somewhere (maybe Instagram) that you had posted this really inspiring quote from the book BONE by Yrsa Daley-Ward and it says, "If you're afraid to write it, that's a good sign. I suppose you know you're writing the truth when you're terrified."

Did any part of writing The Someday Suitcase scare you?

When we first started talking a few months ago, you mentioned how your first school visits were a combination of exhausting and exhilarating.

When you are visiting schools, how do you keep that balance between bringing your full passionate self and also maintaining your energy level?

Your Reading Life

What have you been reading lately that you've liked?

How do you decide what to read next?

Book Talk - Two Fantastic Books about Friendship

In this part of the show, I share with you a few books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. (Yes - I love the number three! But also - I just need limits!) This week I can't wait to share with you two books that have been on my mind lately. Both feature girls just venturing into middle school. Both are about what happens when friendships collide over crushes. And both are ultimately about reclaiming a part of yourself that was lost. So, they are - 14 Hollow Road by Jenn Bishop and Bubbles by Abby Cooper.

14 Hollow Road

First up this week is 14 Hollow Road by Jenn Bishop. You might know her from her previous middle grade book, The Distance to Home. This novel is about Maddie. And the night of the sixth-grade dance, a tornado hits parts of her town and destroys her home. And the home of her neighbor and crush, Avery. So - it turns out that a kind couple in the area with rooms to spare lets both families stay in their home for the summer. So - Maddie has to live with her crush. And somehow convince him to like her back instead of that other girl he asked to slow dance with. Here are three things to love about 14 Hollow Road:

1. The parts about Hank, her sweet dog who goes missing the night of the tornado. And I won't reveal what happens there but even though things can't get resolved exactly happily, how that situation plays out with the collar and with Avery was touching.
2. When Maddie gets her period! Oh. My. Gosh. And - oh the aftermath when she wants to go swimming but thinks people will see the pad but she's not ready for a tampon and then wonders if people will know why she's not swimming. And then she doesn't even want to go to the pool party at all! The gals reading will either really laugh in recognition or get a sample of what's to come. And - I just want to say one thing. Please don't discourage boys from reading this book just because it of the period thing. Guys need to know what's up - and really, what better way than a light moment in a story to start to figure things out? Let's please work to end that stigma.
3. Throughout this book there are these small tender moments. I don't want to say too much but, there's a scene where one character is feeling devastated and vulnerable and the other character in that situation just holds their hand. And it was a small moment, but exceptionally sweet.

14 Hollow Road is a fabulous realistic fiction novel about friendship and change and resiliency. And - I wish I could remember who it was to give them credit - but I heard another author say that the last page of 14 Hollow Road is perfection. And, oh - were they right!

Bubbles

Our second book this week is Bubbles by Abby Cooper! (You might remember her debut novel Sticks & Stones from last year.) This book makes me appreciate the term "speculative fiction" because the premise of this is - what if you could see people's thoughts above their heads? What insights could you gain? What obligations would that put you under? How accurate is it? And...do you even want to know? Even before reading this book, I was firmly in the camp of "I don't want to know what people are thinking!" I've read those Sookie Stackhouse books - I know the bad is going to outweigh the benefit of knowing people's thoughts. (By the way - Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series - not middle grade! Do NOT get those for your 8-12 year old. But you, adult listener - they're fun. Especially #4 when the witches erase Eric's memory and he doesn't realize he's the bad guy/vampire! Ahhh…. Okay - I digress!)

Anyway - on to Bubbles! This book is about 12 year-old Sophie Mulvaney whose life is in turmoil when her mom loses both her job and her boyfriend within a very short period of time. And then Sophie get assigned a school project to do something that pushes herself to take a risk at a time when she's not feeling very adventurous. And then - she starts seeing thought bubbles above people's heads - and everything takes off from there! So, here are three things to love about Abby Cooper's Bubbles.

1. The little nuggets of history and trivia! It's a small thing, but makes this book clever and unique. And when Sophie starts to feel a little stressed, remembering and connecting her life to historical facts is a way she copes. For example, at one point she says, "I was crankier than Napoleon must have been after the battle of Waterloo, which he lost really bad." And then, actually earlier - at the beginning of Chapter 7, Sophie is considering whether or not to go see a therapist about her bubble issue.
2. The natural portrayal of characters working on their mental health. Sophie's mother is dealing with some depression after leaving her job as a TV reporter and a tough breakup with a guy who still lives nearby. And that manifests itself in ways that will be familiar to some kids - tiredness and withdrawal from the things she used to love. Sophie and her mom were the Adventurous Girls and now, she would rather stay home. And the solutions to those struggles are not presented as quick or easy, but doable with help. I really think this is a type of book that could help lessen the stigma of mental health issues and a book kids can relate to either because they see themselves or they might recognize things their friends or family are going through.
3. How this book helps you realize that even if you could read people's thoughts, you still don't know the backstory behind those thoughts. And what's really motivated people. This book really gives readers a lot to think about in that way. It would be a great book club read.

Bubbles and 14 Hollow Road both brought me back to those middle school days when your relationship with your friends is everything. And how threatening and scary and socially isolated you can feel when a friend seems to be slipping away from you. In Bubbles, Sophie's friend Kaya seems to be taken over by another girl, Viv. And in 14 Hollow Road Maddie's feel left out when her best friend Kiersten is spending more time with Gabriella. And then throw an in-common crush into that mix and ugh! It's awkward and confusing and just one of those rocky experiences you have to figure out. Also - both of these books get that shaving your legs dynamic absolutely right! At least - it resonated with me. When suddenly your friends start shaving and you feel a hairy troll and how it's just hard to talk to your mom about. I think I snuck my mom's razor and shaved my legs like a year before she technically allowed me to. (My mom listens to the podcast, so… sorry mom!) These two books would be great options for a mother-daughter book club. My friend, Julie, did that with Abby Cooper's first book Sticks & Stones and oh I just love that idea!

Closing

Alright - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or connect on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. There's always lots of great conversations happening there so, please jump in!

Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, while you are there, please take a listen to Matthew Winner's latest episode of the All the Wonders podcast (#372) where he chats with Hena Khan - the author of Amina's Voice.

And, if you like what you hear and value the podcast, I would really appreciate a quick review or rating on iTunes or Stitcher.

Thanks again and see you soon! Bye!

Episode Links:

Corey Ann Haydu's website

Other middle grade books we chatted about:

The Girls from Ames: A story of women and a forty-year friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow

Braced by Alyson Gerber

My Life with the Liars by Caela Carter

The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer Maschari

A young adult book we chatted about:

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Author Leanne Shapton's website

Intro

Hi and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they'll love. I'm your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two girls, a 5th grade teacher, and lately I am ALL about the 80s. Have you seen the new Netflix series GLOW? It stands for "Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling" - it's full on 1980s amazing. Now, I never really got into wrestling myself but I love this show. It's fun and self-deprecating and takes you back.

Before we jump into the show I just want to mention that the day this episode is released - Monday, July 10th - I am in Michigan at Nerdcamp for the next two days! So, if you are there too - please come say hi! And if not, I'll be posting lots of updates on my Twitter feed (@corrinaaallen) so you can see what NerdCamp is all about.

This is Episode #28 and Today I share with you my experience doing a diversity audit of my classroom library and then I welcome authors Wendy Shang and Madelyn Rosenberg to the show to chat about their new middle grade novel THIS IS JUST A TEST, which is set - in the 80s!

Main Topic - Diversity Audit

First up is how things went when I did a diversity check of my classroom library. If you listened to the last episode (#27 with librarian Sarah Threlkeld) you heard us chatting about this activity she did with her students to reflect on the diversity found in their school library. And I think even way back to Episode 18, I mentioned reading this fantastic blog post over at Lee & Low Books that shared how one teacher helped her class analyze the books in their room to find out how different genders and races are represented. I'll include a link to that article and the main framework of what I did is pulled directly from there. So I want to be clear - this is not my idea, but I'm sharing how it went for me with the idea that you might want to try it, too. First I'll run through the process and then discuss my major takeaways, and how I'll do it differently next year.

The Process:

First, I showed my 5th graders two infographics. Both have been shared widely on social media and you've probably seen them, but I'll post them on the website so you can find them easily. The first one was a black and white image called "The Diversity Gap in Children's Books" and it shows a bar graph of the percent of kid's books in the past 21 years that contain multicultural content. And shows that sadly steady around 10% from 1994 to 2014. 2014 was a slight tick up to 14% but well below where it should be. This picture, which is put together by Lee & Low Books also includes pie charts that show the percent of the US population that are people of color and a projection that the U.S. population will be 57% minority in 2060, which really brings into focus the disparity.

The second infographic I showed them is from ReadingSpark and called "Diversity in Children's Books 2015" and is in color with illustrations showing the percents of various groups featured as characters in kid's books - 73.3% White and 12.5% Animals/Trucks, 7.6% African/African American, 3.3% Asian Pacific/Asian Pacific Americans, 2.4% Latina/o, and then 0.9% American Indian.

So, we gathered on the rug and huddled around the Promethean board where I had the images displayed. And I simply asked my students to look carefully at them both and to chat with a partner about what they noticed. I explained terms where necessary, but otherwise I just let them have a look and asked them to make some observations.

And from there, I pivoted the conversation to enlist their help in analyzing our own classroom library so that their information could help me when I ordered new books. And - I was truly moved by their eagerness. These ten and eleven year olds were ready to roll up their sleeves and dig in to see how our books stacked up. And we started by thinking about this, "What questions do you have about the diversity in our classroom library?" And they said things like:

How many books do we have by and about Native Americans?

How many books have an African American main character?

What genre has the most diversity?

Are there more books about people of color than BY people of color?

Do we have more books featuring boys or girls?

I'll be honest with you - their questions went beyond the scope of what I had planned. They went pretty deep and the data we pulled really only started to answer the questions they had.

So once they had some questions in mind, I had them pair up and grab one bin of books from our classroom library to start sorting through. Our bins are sorted by genre. I used a Google Sheet to record the genre of that bin and some other information. First, they separated out all the books with people on the cover and analyzed just those. Then they counted how many covers included a person of color and jotted that number down. And then they counted how many covers featured at least one girl. And from there, generated percentages using a calculator - which they enjoyed, but then I quickly learned that we needed a refresher on how to figure out percents.

As each pair worked, they added their data to a shared Google Doc so we could see the information come to life in real time. It was exciting and the kids were so engaged! I think that when they feel like they are doing real work, important work, and are helping you out in a genuine way, they are all in. And some recognized the injustice in the situation and were eager to start to set things (not right) but on a better path.

Our takeaways:

So - what did we discover? First up, I'll give you some examples of the data (flawed as it is). Starting with gender. One thing that stood out was that 81% of the biographies were about men. Not good. That's changing immediately. Also, realistic fiction seemed to have a better balance of girls and boys with most of those bins featuring kids of different genders. And Fantasy, which I thought was going to be worse, actually only between 9% and 50% only with boys on the cover. That was better than I was anticipating because sometimes that genre is known for a lack of gals. (And a quick side note about that. Now that I'm moving away from thinking about gender as a simple binary of boy or girl, I'm also wondering about better methods for categorizing and doing this type of analysis. So - if you have thoughts on that, please do let me know. There is a whole group of folks out there that want to be doing better and if you have an idea about how to make that happen, I'm absolutely listening.)

Okay - on to the data pulled about race and ethnicity. The percentage of books with no people of color at all on the cover was pretty high. The best category seemed to be realistic fiction which had percentages like 21%, 43%, 63% and one bin at 93%. Some of the least diverse categories were Fantasy with 79% , 80% and 100% of the books in those bins featuring only white people, and graphic novels with 85%. So, now it's pretty clear where are some particularly troublesome areas and when I go to purchase books, those genres will be my focus.

So, what did the kids say? Well, I think I'll give you a sampling of some of their comments:

In the words of one of my girls, "We have a lot of books about white boys in this room!" Yes, we do! And most of them are fantastic, but adding other voices is only going to help so that every kid can see themselves and see the wide range of experiences in our country and in our world.

"A lot of books have shadow people on the cover." They were referring to silhouettes, and this observation lead to some great discussion about what the publishers might intend with that. They were questioning how to categorize those types of covers and if we needed another category.

Another big topic that came up was that some forms of diversity weren't being accounted for in this exercise. And that all stemmed from the debate about what gender pile to put the book George in. Do we go by the clues on the cover which might suggest a boy? Or do we account for what we know of the story (which is about a transgender girl) and my students said, "We need another category, Mrs. Allen." Many students mentioned that religion or disability wasn't included in what we were looking for. Also, because we only used the visual of the cover, that is really limiting. A cover that includes a girl or a person of color does not mean that character plays a big part or that they are portrayed in a great way. Were they just the sidekick?

Ideas for Next Time

1. Do this earlier in the year. (We jumped in during the second to last week of school. I want this to be on kids' minds much earlier.)
2. Connect with another class doing the same thing and share results. I think that could be powerful.
3. Include more categories (maybe religion, disability, LGBTQ)
4. Do some analysis in other places (This could be a great teacher/librarian collaboration in the school library. Also examine the public library, a local bookstore, Scholastic flyers, or online stores.)
5. Take this to that next step and have kids research and recommend titles to fill out the gaps in our library. So that they are playing a part in creating a more diverse selection of books that they will love.

Mainly, I was just acutely aware of how limited this exercise was. And yet - I am so glad we did it. The data we gleaned is not going into some peer-reviewed journal, but it gave these kids (and me!) a taste of that data analysis. And, the best part, it lead to even more questions - and now they know that it's a question they should ask about the books surrounding them! And our shared spreadsheet is messy - some percents aren't accurate and some kids categorized a little differently. But, my hope, is that when they find themselves in a library or bookstore and pick up a book, they'll remember this and maybe carry those questions and discoveries forward with them and start to (seek out - no! That's too weak) start to demand more books that reflect our cultures and our communities.

And for us, let's not shy away from this work, as uncomfortable and complicated as it sometimes can be.

And as always, I really want to hear your ideas about this topic. You can tag me on Twitter or Instagram - our handle is @books_between or email me at [email protected] and I'd love to hear and share your ideas.

Interview - Madelyn Rosenberg & Wendy Shang

Today I am so excited to welcome Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Shang to the podcast. They are the authors of the recently released middle grade novel This Is Just a Test. We chat about their collaboration process, epic Thanksgiving dinners, Trivial Pursuit, and all our favorite fashions from the 80s. Take a listen.

This is Just a Test

Your middle grade novel, This is Just a Test, was just released this past June 27th - congratulations!

What is this book about?

I loved David and his story but I think for me, my favorite part of this book was that it was set in the early 80s with big hair and boom boxes and Boy George!

What was your research process like in order to make sure that the setting was authentically 1983?

Some quick questions about the 80s….

Favorite 80s band?

Favorite Atari Game?

Favorite 80s TV Show?

Favorite 80s Fashion?

Trivial Pursuit plays a big part in this book because David and his two friends Hector and Scott are competing in this big Trivia Tournament and they play the game to practice.

What is your favorite Trivial Pursuit category?

Not everything about the 80s was light and fun - one of the major pieces of this book is the looming threat of the Cold War and David's anxiety after watching The Day After - a pretty scary movie that shows the effects of nuclear war.

Did you see that movie and did it have the same impact on you?

Your Writing Life

How did you two come to know each other?

What was your collaboration process like for writing This Is Just a Test? Did you meet in person or do most of your work online?

Your Reading Life

What were some of your favorite books as a child?

What have you been reading lately that you've liked?

Closing

Okay - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.

Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.

And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher.

Thanks again and see you soon! Bye!

Episode Links:

http://blog.leeandlow.com/2016/07/07/part-1-having-students-analyze-our-classroom-library-to-see-how-diverse-it-is/

Undefeated by Steve Sheinkin

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781596439542

Today Will Be Different - Maria Semple

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316403436

Short - Holly Sloan

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780399186219

Unidentified Suburban Object - Mike Jung

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780545782265

Intro

Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect middle grade kids between 8-12 to books they'll love. I'm your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two, a 5th grade teacher, completely in love with the Wonder Woman movie! When I was a kid, I had the Wonder Woman lunch box and dressed up as her in one of those old vinyl costumes and I love how fierce yet moral she is in this movie.

And - if any of you of are headed to NerdCamp in Parma, Michigan this July, I will be there and please do come over and say hi! It's my first time and I'm so so excited to meet everyone and immerse myself among so many like-minded people.

Also - something exciting showed up at my front porch yesterday. It was the June OwlCrate Jr. book box and I know that the theme this month is Gizmos & Gears but I have no idea what's inside. Here, we'll shake and take a listen…. As I mentioned last week, our episodes this month are supported by OwlCrate Jr. - a book subscription box just for kids 8-12 - or anyone who is still a kid at heart! Each month has a different theme and includes a fantastic newly released book with fun and creative goodies all connected to the theme of that middle grade book. If you head over to owlcratejr.com you can see some samples of past boxes, and if you use the code BOOKSBETWEEN, you can save 15%. And - at the end of the the podcast today - I will be opening this book and together we will find out what's inside!

This is Episode #27 and Today I am welcoming fellow podcaster and librarian extraordinaire Sarah Threlkeld to the show. We chat about her podcast, Happy Reading, Little House in the Big Woods, what middle grade books we've been reading lately, and geek out a little bit on library circulation stats.

If you haven't yet checked out her middle grade podcast called Happy Reading - you are in for a treat and I know you are going to love it just as much as I do. I'll put a link to her show in our show notes so you can find it right away.

Take a listen….

Sarah Threlkeld - Interview Outline

Happy Reading Podcast

How did the Happy Reading Podcast get started?

What are your plans for the podcast?

Little House in the Big Woods

Before you read the book, what was your impression of the Little House Series?

Okay, so - what did you think?

How do we handle books like this (problematic classics) in classroom?

Librarian Life

I saw on Twitter recently that you were geeking out over your end of the year circulation stats! What info did you discover?

As a librarian, what were some activities or projects or ways to connect kids to books that worked well this past year?

I heard you are starting a new full-time librarian job this year - what grade levels will you be working with?

What are some things you are excited about doing differently for the upcoming school year?

Your Reading Life

What else have you been reading lately that you've liked?

What books are you looking forward to?

Interview Links

Happy Reading Podcast: http://happyrdng.blogspot.com

Little House in the Big Woods

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780064400015

The Honest Truth

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780545665742

Olga and the Smelly Thing From Nowhere

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062351265

The Hour of the Bees

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780763679224

The Seventh Wish

http://www.indiebound.org/search/book?searchfor=The+Seventh+Wish

The Explorers

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781101940051

Three Pennies

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781481471879

Forget Me Not

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250096272

The Unbreakable Code

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781627791168

Mr. Lemoncello's Library

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780307931474

Macy McMillon and the Rainbow Goddess

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781772780338

The Terrible Two Go Wild

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781419721854

Wolf Hollow

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781101994825

Beyond the Bright Sea

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781101994856

Masterminds

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062300058

The Wild Robot Escapes

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316382045

I Hunt Killers (YA)

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316125833

This Would Make a Good Story Someday

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781101938171

Amulet Series

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781338045642

Mr. Schu's Book Release Calendar

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/[email protected]&ctz=America/Chicago&pli=1

Closing

Okay - we have reached the end of the show and, as promised, I am opening up that OwlCrateJr box and we are going to find out what's inside.

And thanks again to OwlCrateJr for supporting the podcast this month - don't forget to head over to owlcrate.com and use code BOOKSBETWEEN to get 15% percent off your subscription!

Alright - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.

Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.

And thanks again to OwlCrateJr for supporting the podcast this month - don't forget to head over to owlcrate.com and use code BOOKSBETWEEN to get 15% percent off your subscription!

And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher.

Thanks again and see you soon! Bye!

Intro

Hi and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect middle grade kids between 8-12 to books they'll love. I'm your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of an 8 and 10 year old, a teacher to eighteen 11 year olds, and we are all in the home stretch for summer vacation. It's almost here. And - if any of you of are headed to the ALA Conference in Chicago this summer, I will be be there on Saturday and Sunday to interview author Mira Bartok about her new middle grade book The Wonderling. So - if you will be there, look for that and I hope we can meet in person.

This is Episode #26 and Today I am welcoming author Caroline Starr Rose to the show and then in honor of Father's Day coming up, chatting about some of our favorite fictional dads and two fabulous new books featuring awesome fathers.

But first I am excited to tell you that today's episode is supported by OwlCrate Jr. - a book subscription box just for kids 8-12. My daughters and I have been loving it! Every month has a different theme and it is such a treat to have a package waiting on your doorstep with a box full of - not only an awesome newly released book but fun little items all connected to the theme of that middle grade book. If you head over to owlcrate.com you can see some samples of past boxes, and if you use the code BOOKSBETWEEN, you can save 15%. I hope you check them out - I really think you're going to love it!

This week I am welcoming to the show Caroline Starr Rose - author of the recently released middle grade historical adventure Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine. We chat about the inspirations behind her latest novel, encouraging kids to read more, and we reminisce about Little House on the Prairie.

Caroline Starr Rose - Interview Outline

Your latest middle grade novel, Jasper and The Riddle of Riley's Mine, was just released this past February.

Is this your first novel that is not written in verse?

Tell us about this new historical adventure - what is Jasper & the Riddle of Riley's Mine about?

One of the things I really loved about this book was they way the boys speak - using "ain't" and "them" instead of "those", "it's his own dern fault"...

How did you capture the voices of Jasper and Melvin?

I just noticed that you have a new picture book on the Pony Express coming out this fall, yes?

I saw that you taught Social Studies and English.

A lot of our listeners who are teachers and librarians and homeschooling parents are always trying to find ways to connect subjects to really maximize the limited time we all have.

When you were teaching full time, how were you connecting social studies and English?

Is there anything that you used to do as a teacher that now, looking back - you regret? Anything you would go back and change?

Even though you aren't in the classroom anymore, your passion for connecting readers and educators with the right book is clear. I especially love the "Classroom Connections" section on your website where you interview authors about their books and include a specific section on how that book would be a good fit in a classroom.

How do you think that we as parents and teachers can raise kids who love reading?

How is having a teenager reader different than having a middle grade reader at home? As someone who has gone through those years and is now out the other side, what can we expect?

You recently posted on your website a quote from Donalyn Miller (one of my inspirations as well!). It said, "I am as much a composite of all the book characters I have loved as of the people I have met."

Which book characters are you a composite of?

What have you been reading lately that you've liked?

Book Talk - Two Novels Featuring Fantastic Fathers

In this section of the show, I share with you a few books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week, with Father's Day coming up, I thought I would focus on books with great dads. I know it's such a trope with kids books that the parents get killed off or are otherwise out of the picture so that the main characters can go off on adventures unimpeded, but we're breaking away from those books today. First, I'll go into some detail about two newer releases that I have been loving - Amina's Voice and Beyond the Bright Sea. And then chat about other favorite dads from both modern and classic books.

Amina's Voice

This week I am starting with Amina's Voice by an author who is new to middle grade - Hena Khan. This is a lovely and heartfelt story about a Pakistani-American Muslim girl, Amina, who is trying to navigate the complicated tides of middle school friendship where old friends are changing and old adversaries might be changing, too. Amina also has to deal with her rather traditional and more strict uncle visiting their family and figuring out for herself how to express her beliefs and culture. Here are three things to love about Amina's Voice:

1. Amina's family! Her father - who is rather strict, does NOT care if he embarasses his kids by asking a million questions at Open House, but stands up for his daughter at a moment when she needs it. At first I wasn't sure about him, but oh he grew on me! Her mom, who spends days preparing tons of traditional Pakistani food for their visiting uncle. That doesn't quite go as planned. And Amina's older brother, Mustafa, whose interest in trying out for the basketball team instead of joining something like Chess Club causes some friction at home. There was so much to relate to in those family moments in Amina's Voice.
2. That ending! I don't want to give away too much but something bad happens in Amina's Muslim community and the way things come together in the end makes me wish that every kid could read this story as a template of what to do in that kind of situation. It didn't shy away from difficult realities or make problems seem easy to solve yet it was uplifting and perfect.
3. That this novel offers Muslim students and students from the Middle East with a main character whose background and customs might be a reflection of their own, or have pieces they can relate to. I so wish that I had this book six years ago to offer to my own Amina. She was a student of mine when I taught 6th grade and Muslim. And may have connected to this Amina's story but she was from Bosnia so although the religious details about the Imam and Sunday school and learning passages from the Quran may have been a connection, the food and other cultural details might not have been. So while this book is absolutely a great addition to any library, I just hope that people don't stop there and think they've covered a niche. It's one girl's story and I just can't wait to see what else this new imprint of Simon & Schuster, Salaam Reads, will bring to the kidlit community so we have more and more stories to offer kids.

Beyond the Bright Sea

Our second book this week is Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk whose novel Wolf Hollow won a Newbery Honor last year. And this book is, I think, another contender. It reminded me a little bit of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society with a touch of Orphan Island in there. This book about a 12 year old girl called Crow who as an infant washed ashore in an old boat on one of the Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Massachusetts. She is now 12 and being raised by a reclusive fisherman and painter who she calls Osh. And the other people on this tiny close-knit island essentially shun her and will not touch her or touch anything she has touched because they think she came from Penikese Island - the nearby leper colony. And this chain of events suddenly takes off when Crow sees a fire on that nearby island and starts to get curious about where she came from. It's so good! Here are three things to love about Beyond the Bright Sea.

1. The timeless quality of the setting. It reminded me of Pax in that way because there are very few clues at first in the way the islanders dress or how technology is described. Eventually, you do discover precisely when everything is happening but the journey of figuring that out is part of what I liked about the book.
2. It brought to light some real history. It took me until half-way through to realize that the leper hospital described in the novel actually existed. And they did really dynamite it and burn it down and transform it into a bird sanctuary for awhile. But the small cemetery does remain. I love a book that brings to light a forgotten story from history.
3. Crow's adoptive father who she calls Osh. He has his own secrets, his own complicated backstory, but his quiet, earnest protection of her makes you love him immediately. He's from another land, speaks in a native language that no one on this New England island knows and we really feel for him as he is so deeply afraid of losing Crow - the one thing that has keep him anchored and steady. And as she ventures out to attempt to find her parents, it's hard for him at first. And - I don't want to spoil anything for you but oh when you find out what his name means…. Love him!

Both Amina's Voice and Beyond the Bright Sea are outstanding reads. If you have a kid who enjoyed Finding Perfect or Like Magic or Sticks & Stones - Amina's Voice would be great next book to introduce them to. And if you have a child who enjoyed Midnight Without a Moon or Wolf Hollow - Beyond the Bright Sea might be the perfect next book.

Q & A

Our third and final segment this week is Question & Answer time.

Question:

This question stems from a conversation I had with some students who have started to notice that in lots of books they are reading the parents are missing, dead, or otherwise out of the picture. So that had me thinking about counter examples and I came up with some but wanted other opinions, too. So I put the question out there on social media and asked: "Which middle grade books have you read that had great dads?"

Answer:

And actually - there were a ton! Let's start with some classics:

• Obviously one of the first mentioned was Ramona and Her Father. Loved him! I still remember that scene when he's trying to draw his foot…
• Pa Ingalls from the Little House series
• Mr. Weasley from Harry Potter - such an honorable man who took on so much risk to protect Harry

And some more modern novels with dads we love:

• Papa (Hans Hubermann) from The Book Thief is one of my all-time favorite fathers
• And one new book that came up over and over again and one that has been a classroom favorite with my 5ths is The Crossover - what a great relationship he had with his twin boys.
• Another book that was mentioned a lot was The Family Fletcher series and the two awesome dads heading up that family. I haven't read it yet but that title is moving up my TBR list.
• Melanie Conklin's Counting Thyme and the newly released Moon Shadow by Erin Downing are both books that I've been dying to read that so many mentioned as having a great fathers.
• The dad from Gertie's Leap to Greatness and the dad in The Penderwicks and Mr. Pullman from Wonder and the dad from Ida B and Wolf Hollow!

I know there are tons and tons more - so I hope you jump on social media share your favorite middle grade dads.

Closing

Alright - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.

Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.

And thanks again to OwlCrateJr for supporting the podcast this month - don't forget to head over to owlcrate.com and use code BOOKSBETWEEN to get 15% percent off your subscription!

And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher.

Thanks again and see you soon! Bye!

Episode Links:

Caroline's Official Website: https://carolinestarrrose.com

Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine Teaching Guide

Where in the World Are We Reading? Activity

Stone Mirrors: The Sculpture and Silence of Edmond Lewis (Jeannine Atkins)

Wonder: A novel (Emma Donoghue)

Insight (Tasha Eurich)

Three Pennies (Melanie Crowder)