Guest Blogging at LitLinks

I'm thrilled to be today's guest blogger for Patricia Newman's LitLinks, where children's authors, educators, and scientists highlight connections between STEM and language arts.

In "Code Breakers, STEM, and History Inspire Fiction Writing," I've outlined a classroom activity meant to enhance reading comprehension and information retention for readers of my book World War II Code Breakers. Readers will take inspiration from a brief passage about real-life cryptologist Genevieve Grotjan Feinstein to craft their own fictionalized scene about Ms. Grotjan Feinstein's breakthrough discovery of a crucial pattern in Japan's Purple code.

The book, one of four titles I wrote in Lerner's Heroes of World War II series, was designed to cover quite a bit of specific wartime history in a necessarily shorter format. That meant this particular historical Hero Highlight sidebar story had to be told in just a couple of paragraphs. I think there's just enough intriguing factual information in the passage to inspire kids' imaginations and fuel the activity. Readers can use what they've learned about the processes of creating and cracking codes (including the historical context in which they are presented) to take the creative leap of visualizing and writing an exciting fictionalized scene about Ms. Grotjan Feinstein's history-making a-ha moment.

As a complement to the LitLinks piece, I thought it would be fun to offer an add-on activity here at my blog. Treat the following as a warm-up exercise ahead of reading World War II Code Breakers. Or, during the prewriting phase of the main project, use it as vehicle for giving kids some fun hands-on experience to further inspire the writing and illustrating of a fictionalized scene about a real-life wartime code breaker. 

Please enjoy!

Announcing the Share the Love Giveaway!

Happy Valentine's Day, literacy lovers!

As promised yesterday, I'm sharing a link to the Online Author Visits special holiday contest, which we've dubbed our Share the Love Giveaway! We're gifting one lucky winner — and the library of his/her choice — with a selection of titles penned by OAV authors. (Through our website, we offer virtual author visits to schools, libraries, and book clubs.)

OAV authors include:

Martha Brockenbrough

Dia Calhoun

Janet Lee Carey

Joan Holub

Deb Lund

Claire Rudolph Murphy

Lisa L. Owens

Trudi Trueit

Suzanne Williams

Here are the official contest rules:

"One winner will choose 3 books from the list in this post. In addition, a U.S. school or public library of the winner’s choice will receive a collection of 6 books (to be selected from the list by OAV and sent directly to the winning library). Please enter using the Rafflecopter form [at the Online Author Visits site]. U.S. residents only, please. The contest runs from February 14, 2013, through midnight (PST) Sunday, February 24, 2013. The winner’s first name and last initial, and the name of the winning library will be posted here following the completion of the contest."

Please feel free to share news of this contest with all your friends, colleagues, and social media contacts. If you link to the contest page on Twitter, use the hashtag #onlineauthorvisits.

Best of luck to all who enter!

And remember to check back here later today, when I'll announce my own Valentine's Day giveaway for writers. A little birdie tells me that contest post will go live at noon Pacific.

Book a Virtual Visit with Skype Authors and Help Fund Education Charities!

Just in time to celebrate "back to school," I am thrilled to help spread the word about Skype Authors!

This newly launched author group offers virtual visits to schools, book clubs, and, really, any organization looking for an easy and inexpensive way to host an author talk. (And, yes, I'm one of the authors — and I am so pleased to be in such excellent company.)

Suzanne Williams formed the network to benefit schools right here in the U.S. — while adding the goal of raising money to help support education efforts worldwide. To that end, each of us at Skype Authors has pledged to donate 25 percent of our virtual-visit fees booked through our site to a select charity each school year.

For the 2011–2012 season, we've chosen to contribute to Camfed, an organization that supports girls' education initiatives in Africa. Watch this brief introductory video about Camfed's mission to see why, as narrator Morgan Freeman says, "When you educate a young rural girl, you give her a voice."



Would your school or organization like to book a Skype Authors virtual talk for HALF OFF the regular fee? You can if you win our Half and Half Contest running through October 1! All you have to do is surf over to our site and comment on this September 6 blog entry. Two lucky commenters chosen at random will receive a half-off Skype visit — and the entire half-priced fee you pay will be donated to Camfed!

I'm excited to be part of this new venture, and I hope to see you on the online video phone soon.

It's Banned Books Week!

I'm guessing most of you kidlit-friendly and book-bloggy readers out there already know that we're in the middle of 2010's Banned Books Week. (September 25 to October 2.) Did you know that an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the cases in which books are challenged at libraries and schools are never reported to the American Library Association? That surprised me for some reason. And then it didn't. Hard to know, of course, whether those challenges turned into bans or were summarily (or at least eventually) dismissed.

I haven't decided which banned to read in celebration of my intellectual freedom, but I'll definitely pick something tomorrow evening — 'cause that's when I plan to start reading it!

Meanwhile, I thought I'd share a roundup of the most interesting BBW-inspired links I've come across.

• Nifty interactive map showing locations of documented challenges. Click on the pins for exact location information and links to challenge letters. Yowza.
• ALA lists of the 100 most frequently challenged books of the decade: 1990–1999 and 2000–2010.
• ALA's description of the difference between a banning and a challenge.
• Article at the DePauw University site stressing the continued importance of BBW.
• TIME article on banned books from 1938.
• Q&A with ALA about how books get banned.
• List of books you might not expect to see banned. (Two dictionaries made this list, people!)
• Opinion piece on, hey!, not banning books.
• Opinion piece that misses the mark (in my opinion) by calling age-appropriate book selection by professionals a form of book banning. (But, clearly, the writer also wants to keep books out of her child's school library based on what she doesn't want HER child to read.)

Enjoy!

Celebrating the Reader on the Wings of Mockingbird

Yes, yes, the big 50th publication birthday for Harper Lee's brilliant To Kill a Mockingbird was officially Sunday, July 11. It's now July 14. But I'm not done thinking about it!

(Besides, I totally missed the party Sunday while taking a lovely day to be outside, read a book, talk to family. And never mind the fact that — with all the months of birthday coverage I'd already seen — quite frankly I'd started tuning out whenever I saw something new.)

Mockingbird is one of those rare books that garners near universal acknowledgment as a masterpiece. For me, just seeing the book cover or hearing the title makes me immediately call up a feeling of reverence for this powerful story featuring timeless themes, a you-are-there setting, and distinctly drawn characters.

I really don't remember when I read it for the first time. Was it on my own, or for school? That I don't recall surprises me, as I do remember exactly "when" for so many of my other all-time favorite books, including those read first in childhood. I do know I was a youngster of the teen-type. I also know I reread it in college, for work in the early 1990s, and then again for fun probably five years ago. Or so. (Naturally, I've also seen its equally brilliant film adaptation numerous times.) I know I loved it from the start, but I don't think I truly sat in awe of it until I was older.

Obviously, Mockingbird deserves this year-long celebration. For giving us all such a lasting gift, Harper Lee — its fascinatingly private author — deserves all the accolades we can throw her way. And I have enjoyed seeing myriad journalists, scholars, celebrity authors, and celebrity-celebrities (oh: Oprah, too) reflect on their experiences with/feelings about/analyses of the book.

But what I want to know is, How do today's young people feel when they read it? (And many do read it.) How does it play with a contemporary audience who didn't read it in the context of "current" life in the 60s, 70s, 80s, or 90s? Does the book speak to today's kids? Do they love it too?

I found this amazing book trailer created by a junior high student. Take a peek.



This gave me chills. (Well done, Max Weinstein of Paideia School in Atlanta!) It made me want to dive back into the book, to recapture that wider-eyed, all-senses-firing feeling I get when I'm completely lost in a story.

While replaying the trailer, all I can think about is how happy I am to see a tangible reminder that kids today not only are connecting with this great work, but they are, in fact READING books of all types and LOVING IT. I know, this was a school project, but still. That creative kid was moved and inspired by reading.

Those of us working in publishing and education — and, of course, countless tuned-in parents —  know we're growing legions of eager young readers, but news of the world so seldom focuses on them. Much time is spent lamenting the problem of getting children to read at all. Not that it isn't a serious problem we must address; I just think the occasional good news is nice, too. So I decided to take a few minutes to reflect on those who are reading. To celebrate what they're reading and how THEY'RE affected by our beloved To Kill a Mockingbird, other classics, and all the great new literature they get to enjoy.

You know they have opinions (and one could argue those are the most important ones). And you know the books are shaping their lives — from now to when they, too, can play Remember When about their own all-time favorites.

Today, I celebrate . . . THE READER! Join me?

Rockin' the Drop Today!

Oh no, I'm way behind in spreading the word about this year's Operation Teen Book Drop (please click over to get details about this phenomenal annual literacy-boosting event), but I have not forgotten!

Today — April 15 — is the day to participate. All you have to do is "drop" a YA book in a spot where kids tend to gather. (In past years I've dropped at a coffee shop and a library.) Pick a book you love, or a book you wrote (loving that one is, of course, a given). Think of it as your gift to a young reader, your gift to literacy. And be sure to print and insert the special TBD bookplate so anyone finding your surprise knows about the event — and that the book is his/hers to keep and enjoy.

Later today I'm dropping a few copies of my own books at Echo Lake Elementary School in Shoreline, WA. I'm Writer in Residence in the Grade 6 classrooms this spring, and I know there are lots of readers at the school who would LOVE to come across a little surprise. Plus, the school starts its Spring Break this weekend, so surely kids are looking for something to do! (Right?)

Can't Be Said Enough: "RIP, Reading Rainbow"

To ease the pain of losing Reading Rainbow to the ages, the Onion has published this exclusive opinion piece by LeVar Burton. Click on over for a good chuckle followed by a moment of silence for what's been removed from the cultural landscape:

"My Living Nightmare of Encouraging Kids to Read Is Over"

And, please enjoy this clip of the Reading Rainbow theme:

September 8 Is International Literacy Day

It's International Literacy Day!

I read this morning that approximately 780 million adults worldwide cannot read or write. Notice that? I said "I read" it. Today my plan is to tap into the gratitude I feel about the life afforded me by the ability to read and write . . . and pass it on.

In that spirit, I just moved a long-standing to-do to the top of my list: It's time to (finally) load the car with the three boxes of extra books that have been hanging out waiting to be gifted, donated, and sold. I'll feel good, the basement hallway will look better, and — I hope — some of my very gently used (and some new) books will help strengthen a reader's skills or just brighten someone's day.

How will you observe the ILD? You might head to the library, buy a book, or read to/with/in front of your child. These are all things you can do any day, of course. But it's nice to get a nudge sometimes, don't you think?

Celebrating Children's Book Week

The beginning of Children's Book Week (that's this week, May 11–17) started with a bang, with lots of coverage all over the kid-lit/publishing blogosphere. All week long, children, schools, libraries, booksellers, parents, writers, and publishers nationwide (whew, lots o' folks!) have been participating in special reading- and books-boosting events — and we all hope this kind of focused collective effort helps create the kind of attention and momentum that inspires (reminds?) kids to choose reading as a fun leisure-time activity throughout the upcoming summer break and, of course, beyond.

I know the week is ending, but I thought it would be nice to help keep the love flowing during its last gasp. So to the blog I'm taking!

How am I observing this event? Well, for starters, I hauled myself to the bookstore last weekend to support great children's books by putting my money where my mouth is. Love, love, LOVE the library, always. Love sharing books, too. But sometimes (who am I kidding? more times than is probably prudent) I want my own copies and just go get them. I bought The Graveyard Book so I can finally catch up with the reigning Newbery winner; Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success, a character-ed picture book created for the school market (I wrote its accompanying teacher resource several years back using the manuscript's Word file!); and a classic cute-doggie novel, Ginger Pye, to pass along to an 8-year-old girl.

Next up for me is this weekend's local SCBWI conference, where I'll spend two long, intense-but-wonderful days immersed in sessions dedicated to the craft and business of creating the very works that Children's Book Week honors. Seems like the perfect capper to me, and I can't wait!

Operation Teen Book Drop 2009 Coming Soon!

Operation Teen Book Drop is back for a second go-round this spring after a terrifically successful launch last year. An event created to encourage reading as a go-to leisure activity and help get great books into kids' hands, Operation TBD is sponsored by readergirlz, Guys Lit Wire, and YALSA.

What exactly IS a TBD, you ask? It's a fun, ceremonial dropping off of books, in which 18 book publishers first donate and deliver 8,000 YA novels, graphic novels, and audiobooks to teen patients in various U.S. pediatric hospitals. Then, on April 16, all teen readers and YA authors are invited to leave a favorite YA book in a public place where a teen might find and pick it up . . . in other words, to drop a book into the hands of a young reader and, thus, spread the gift of a great read and reinforce — or spark — a great reading habit.

If you'd like to help "rock the drop" this year, click here to download a special bookplate you can paste into the book(s) you plan to donate. Your recipient(s) will be thrilled!

Literary Meme

I could use a distraction this Wednesday morning, so I'm posting a meme that's been floating around the blogosphere for a few months, especially on writer blogs.

The inspiration for the meme: The NEA reported that American adults have, on average, read just 6 out of the (NEA-selected) top 100 literary works of all time. So bloggers started posting their own "scores."

You can see from my list that I've read fewer than half the titles. Is that good? Is it bad considering my profession? Does it matter?

I don't know . . . although I read quite a few on my own, I can claim many of these reads only because they were educational and/or occupational requirements. I enjoyed all of them, though. And I've read gazillions of works not mentioned (including stuff I personally think should be on a list of musts), as have most writers and reading-inclined adults I know.

I haven't looked into the NEA's specific concerns re the list — as in whether they feel adults should have been exposed to these works in school or should be seeking them out in lieu of watching American Idol (a winning idea, btw). But reading is good no matter what. And playing with lists is fun!

The instructions:

1) Look at the list and bold the titles you have read. (For books I started but didn't finish, I've bolded a roughly proportionate amount of text.)

2) Place an asterisk* next to the books you LOVED.

3) Flag those you've read multiple times.

4) {Bracket} the titles you have viewed in the form of a movie/miniseries.

5) Reprint this list on your blog.

1. {Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen*}
2. {The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien*}
3. {Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte*} (5)
4. {Harry} Potter Series - J. K. Rowling (I'm reading Book 4 now.)
5. {To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee*}
6. The Bible
7. {Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte*} (3)
8. 1984 - George Orwell (2)
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. {Great Expectations - Charles Dickens} (3)
11. {Little Women - Louisa May Alcott*} (4)
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. {Catch-22 - Joseph Heller*}
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier*
16. The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien* (2)
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger (2)
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. {Middlemarch - George Eliot*}
21. {Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell}
22. {The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald}
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. {War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy}
25. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
26. {Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh}
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. {Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll}
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame* (4)
31. {Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy}
32. {David Copperfield - Charles Dickens}
33 The Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
34. {Emma - Jane Austen}
35. {Persuasion - Jane Austen}
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis* (2)
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. {Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden}
40. {Winnie the Pooh - A. A. Milne}
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving*
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins*
46. Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery
47. Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood* (2)
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding* (2)
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. {Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen}
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens*
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
60. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. {Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck}
62. {Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov}
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones
65. {Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas}
66. On the Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. {Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding}
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. {Moby Dick - Herman Melville}
71. {Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens}
72. {Dracula - Bram Stoker}
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett* (2)
74. Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath*
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. {Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray}
80. Possession - A. S. Byatt
81. {A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens*}
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. {The Color Purple - Alice Walker}
84. {The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro}
85. {Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert}
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. {Charlotte's Web - E. B. White*} (3)
88. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. {The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle*}
90. The Faraway Tree Collection
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams* (2)
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. {The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas}
98. {Hamlet - William Shakespeare} (5)
99. {Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl}
100. {Les Miserables - Victor Hugo*} (2)

Scholastic Reports on Kids' Reading Habits

I'm still buried in work and life, but I took a minute to click on this article from Publishers Weekly Daily today.

Scholastic has just released a report discussing a recent survey on kids' reading habits. The good news is that the majority of kids think it's important to read for fun — and most of them at least "like" to. But many don't get to it. Main reasons given include having more interesting things to do, spending too much time on homework, and not being able to identify enjoyable books.

The Harry Potter series seems to have had a positive effect in recent years, getting more children reading just for the fun of it. Interestingly, though, many kids would rather just make do with the Harry they've got, and 31% of the children surveyed think the series will continue . . .

You can read the full report here.

Operation Teen Book Drop Goes Down Tomorrow

Check out my earlier post about the huge April 17 literacy event Operation TBD, then grab your favorite YA book(s) and stake out a nicely populated (by teens) drop spot!

I'm eager to see how it goes tomorrow. For up-to-the-minute details from the event's organizers, click on the "Rock the Drop" button in the sidebar.

Will You "Rock the Drop" on April 17?

The writing goddesses over at readergirlz have partnered with YALSA to organize the April 17 event Operation Teen Book Drop. The date is no accident; it was handpicked to coincide with this year's Support Teen Literature Day.

Participating YA publishers will — all at once — donate 10,000 books to some of the top pediatric hospitals in North America.

YA novelist and readergirlz co-founder Justine Chen Headley came up with the idea while touring a children's hospital as research for her book Girl Overboard.

Headley says, "I couldn’t help noticing that teen patients didn’t seem to have the comfort objects that the little ones did. As an author, I knew that YA books — books with exceptional characters and fabulous stories — could provide teen patients with some of the escape and inspiration they needed."

If you're a "readergirl" or a YA author, you can participate in Operation TBD by donating a book to the cause. Just download the appropriate bookplate from the readergirlz site, attach it to a favorite YA book you've read/written, and drop it off at a popular teen gathering site on April 17. Leave it where someone will find it!

I love that publishers are so generously giving books to teen patients that just need a break, a little time to themselves. And I absolutely ADORE the thought of readers and authors everywhere releasing great YA books into the environment for a lucky teen to find.

I plan to "Rock the Drop"! Do you?



************
FYI for book lovers of all ages: The individual-donation part of the event is reminiscent of the fun perpetuated since 2001 at BookCrossing. Check that out, too, if you like the idea of anonymously putting your favorite reads into the happy hands of random readers. BUT, first things first: Operation TBD.

"A great nation is a reading nation"

That quote launches the Children's Book Council's Web pages detailing the history of Children's Book Week (May 12-18 this year). Since 1919, kids, families, classrooms, libraries, and booksellers have been celebrating Children's Book Week by participating in author events, in-home reading parties, read-a-thons . . . and really just about any type of reading-themed activity you can conjure.

Since 1974, the CBC has teamed with the International Reading Association to sponsor the Children's Choices program, in which thousands of children select their favorite current books. This year — for the first time ever — the voting process is open to all kids. Voting categories include Favorite Book for Grades K–2, Favorite Book for Grades 3–4, Favorite Book for Grades 5–6, Favorite Author, and Favorite Illustrator. Each category winner will receive a Children's Choice Book Award.

Visit this year's Children's Book Week Online for all the details, including a list of nominees, fun activities to try at home or in class, and an online kids' voting form that teachers, librarians, and booksellers can submit.

Remember, this vote is for KIDS ONLY!

Plug for the Literacy Site

Have you visited the Literacy Site recently? I hadn't clicked on it for quite some time, but I "went there" today to tie up some loose ends on the holiday shopping front. I'm glad I did because I found a few "just the thing"s.

I get no benefit from plugging them, but I thought other book/education lovers might like some of the site's gift options, especially those in which you give a donation and they direct 100% of the money toward providing books for needy children, sending Afghani girls to school . . . and even heating that school for the winter. They have other options of that type, all very affordable. And they also donate books with any merchandise purchase. Have a look!

Biz Buzz: Teen Read Week

The Young Adult Library Services Association's Teen Read Week runs October 14–October 20. That's right now!