YOU CAN'T ORDER A POEM

Hello Poetry Friday Friends!

Teaching Authors’ topic this round is “favorite historical fiction or nonfiction related to American history.” 

Esther starts us out with Those Red, White, and Blue oldies but goodies!

Carmela Martino is Recommending a new novel for America 250

Zeena asks, Who Writes History?

Bobbi writes about how All History is a Story

Mary Ann addressed The Dark Side of Historical Fiction

I was hoping I could write about a book I’ve read this year for NCTE's Poetry Awards Committee. But it can’t be one of this year’s books, as we’re not allowed to post about books we’re currently judging until the awards have been announced at the conference in Philadelphia this November (which will be my 3rd and last year on this committee)

I tried writing two posts...one was about the powerful influence the book THE GREAT PEACE MARCH  by Franklin Folsom and Connie Fledderjohann had on me.

The other was about the huge influence this book had on America and on me, personally: SUGAR BLUES by William Dufty .

I tried, folks...I really did. But in the end, nothing came together. 

Why? Because I've raised all 12 of my hands and am over committed, doing too much for the upcoming election and other causes, because, to be honest, I want people to like me. (Please raise your hand if you can relate.)

Image by Παῦλος from Pixabay

Last night I listened to a gentle, calming mediation on the free Insight Timer app: https://insig.ht/7tL1nMyCC6b  called "You Don't Have To Be Strong" taught by Tairo Mundawarara.

At the end, he suggests thanking your furrowed brow, your tight shoulders, and your clenched jaw. 

When I did, I relaxed…and realized that if I just posted a poem, that would be enough.

YOU CAN’T ORDER A POEM!
by April Halprin Wayland
 
I’m standing above it,
pointing right at it,
determined to pry this
stubborn little poem loose
from its cardboard carton…
but it’s no use.
 
“OUT!” I shout
but it grips the sides,
squinching its eyes,
this sour, dour,
fierce little thing
disappears down the box.
 
I sigh.
Close my eyes.
Then I step in.
The little thing is shivering. 
I gingerly offer a memory—
a play dough morning when I was three.
 
The poem smells it warily
then slowly shuffles next to me.
 
I hold it,
rock it,
warm it.
We sit,
just sit.
 
Then,
in time,
I rise
and slowly lead
this trembling poem
 
out of the box.
poem (c) 2026 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

We all have too much to read, get too many emails, struggle under the weight of too many TO DOs...so thank you very much for reading this post!

Posted with love and hot air balloon-filled hopes,

April
If you're on Instagram, my handle is @aprilwayland

Written with help from our very licky dog, Sadie...

#personification #overcommitted #hope #writingpoetry #TeachingAuthors #Ilovehashtags

The Dark Side of Historical Fiction by Mary Ann Rodman

Trigger Warning: This post contains terminology that although objectionable today, was considered scientifically and medically correct in the first half of the twentieth century. The books under discussion, set circa 1928, use these terms unsparingly. 

Being the last of the group to write about Historical Fiction leaves me in something of a pickle. Everyone has done such a good job covering the various aspects of the genre, there is not much I can add ... except this. 

Historical fiction for children tends to dwell on the sunny side of life; young adult, not so much. Older readers can handle the not-so-lovely aspects of our history. One topic that has gotten some recent interest is eugenics. 

The Nazis didn't invent eugenics. The eugenics movement first gained popularity in pre-WWI America with the theory that all human traits are inherited--nature vs nurture. The result was institutionalization of anyone who fell outside the parameters of "normal." This included the mentally and physically challenged as well as the mentally ill, women of "poor character" (sexually active outside of marriage), homosexuals, and a list of conditions and diseases that are treatable today. 

Eugenics also played a large role in the Immigration Act of 1922, which placed quotas on immigration from southern and eastern Europe (the non-Anglo-Saxon areas) and banned Asian immigration altogether. Lest you think this is all in the dim dark past, consider our current immigration policies. Know that the last "eugenics asylum" closed in the early 2000's. Forced sterilization continued into the early 1980's. 

Two YA books that address this subject are The Foundling by Ann Leary and The Degenerates by J. Albert Mann. Both take place in U.S. "schools for feeble-minded women" in the 1920's. Both are based on actual institutions. 

The Foundling is told from the viewpoint of 18-year-old Mary, raised in a Catholic orphanage and then boarded, grudgingly, with an aunt. Trained as a secretary, she is excited to find a job with a notable "lady doctor" who runs the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. Mary has never met such a glamorous, highly educated woman as Dr. Vogel, a paragon of virtue, devoting her life to the care of the "feebleminded." The institution is set up as a gated village in the wilds of Pennsylvania. Mealtimes are shared by staff and inmates, allowing Mary to observe the allegedly mentally impaired women, finding them little different from herself. She is shocked to recognize, Lillian, an old acquaintance from the orphanage, a girl she had admired. She knows that Lillian is in no way feebleminded. When she talks to Lillian, she learns that her "crime" was giving birth to a child of a black man, out of wedlock. She begs Mary to help her escape. In the ensuing intrigue and chaos, Mary learns the truth about Dr. Vogel's altruism and what happens to those who oppose her. 

Just when you think that the author has perhaps too much imagination in creating such a world, you learn that she was inspired by her own grandmother, who worked in such a "eugenics asylum," also in the wilds of Pennsylvania. 

The Foundling begins as a typical "girl sets out to find love and adventure" story. The reader slowly learns the horror of the Village along with Mary. 

In contrast, The Degenerates hits you with reality from the first page. Told from four different third person POV's, you first meet London. She's a fourteen-year-old orphaned, Italian immigrant who has bounced from foster home to foster home for ten years. She is smart, streetwise and mouthy. She's also pregnant from her one attempt to form a friendship. When she tells the boy responsible, he tells the police. The next thing London knows, she is arrested and dragged away, for being "a knocked-up, moron, dago slut." The paddy wagon delivers her to the Massachusetts School for the Feebleminded, a "school," she soon learns, from which no one ever "graduates." 

As London plans her escape, she meets the other teens who share her fate. Maxine and her younger sister Rose (who has Down Syndrome but who in the parlance of the time is called a "mongoloid") are the only girls in a large family of boys. Rose is too much trouble for their overworked mother, and Maxine might as well go with her. Two less mouths to feed. Maxine never gives up hope that their mother will retrieve them. Their mother needs help with all those boys. Four years later, Maxine is still waiting. 

The cot next to the sisters is occupied by Alice, dumped off by a brother who did not want the burden of a child with a clubfoot. Alice and Maxine are in love, another "crime" they are hiding from their abusive "caretakers." Alice is black and rarely speaks. She knows that the slightest infraction will sentence her to the dreaded solitary cells. 

If this sounds like a grim story, it is. There was a real Massachusetts School for the Idiotic and Feebleminded, founded in 1848 by esteemed educator Samuel Gridley Howe, the first such institution in the Western Hemisphere. It eventually became the Fernald School, infamous in the 1940's and 50's for medical experiments secretly performed in the boys' section. But in the fictional world of London and her friends, the bond among the four girls, their never-say-die attitude and eternal hope for a "happy ending" keeps you reading. 

Although the books are set in 1928, the lack of sexual autonomy is still an issue for females nearly a hundred years later. The reasons for institutionalization for the most part have cures, or are more socially accepted today. However, control over their bodies is still largely in the hands of the state. Some things never change. 

Posted by Mary Ann Rodman

All History is a Story

 

Barbary Chronicles, Charlesbridge Moves 2026. Art by Allysa Adams

As Teaching Authors celebrates America’s 250, with Esther kicking off the series with her list of oldies and goodies, Carmela offers some interesting titles, and Zeena asks the important question, who writes history? 

I love American history. That’s why I write about it. In exploring themes of racial and social justice, I recreate historical communities of those who often feel unseen and unheard, those whose isolated lives were complex and multi-layered, not only defined by class, gender and race , but also lived experiences.

You may have heard that I have a new book coming out in October. The Barbary Chronicles, published with Charlesbridge Moves!

No one plays the game like Jack London. Only eleven years old, she can pickpocket and flummox any unsuspecting rube who wanders into the muck of the Barbary Coast. Jack may be little, but she's clever and bold. With the help of a devoted stray dog, a kidnapped prince, and the scummiest ex-best friend ever, she'll do everything she can to save her found family.

Historical fiction is the coming together of two opposing elements: fact and fiction. As we know, it isn’t easy to define historical fiction. For some, historical fiction is first fiction, and therefore anything goes, especially during these times when facts can be alternative and history can be revised. The ongoing argument on how and why historical fiction is relevant, and by extension why history is important, seems perplexing. As a writer, one of the most stinging rejections that I get too many times is that, despite an interesting plot and engaging characters, historical fiction is a “hard sell.” Not just to publishers but also to readers.

So why is historical fiction important?  I am reminded of a story once  shared by historian David McCullough, echoing Abraham Lincoln’s cautionary, “Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history.” After a lecture, McCullough had been approached by a college sophomore who expressed her surprise to learn that the thirteen original colonies were located on the East Coast. He realized with profound surprise that young people did not know their own history, stating,  “They don’t know what happened, or why, or who was involved.”  I’m also a big fan and reader of historian Heather Cox Richardson’s excellent writing in her newsletter Letters from an American, as well as her books (To Make Men Free, 2021; How the South Won the Civil War, 2020) in which she answers questions about American history that no one remembers.

But it’s also true, textbooks are dreary, often done by committee, often heavily edited to make certain important but brutal events more agreeable.

It has always been my ardent belief that underscores all my writing is that history is a story about people facing insurmountable odds. History is about families and love, and failure, and fear and hope. History tells us what it means to be human, and historical fiction reflects the feeling for a living past.

So maybe the way to get young readers excited about history is to have them experience it! Maybe it needs to be more fun, more intriguing, more dramatic. Here’s a few grand ideas that might help the readers experience the adventure themselves!

Combine reading of the story with a relevant activity, such as cooking a historical recipe, creating costumes or studying primary source articles. I find diaries and letters are of particular interest to young readers.

Create a living timeline, using a long strip of paper (or a wall!) to map out the chronological order, then have the readers work together to draw their favorite scenes or use stickers to mark the events.

Draw a comic strip from the perspective of one of the secondary characters in the book.

Celebrate the music of the era of the novel by learning a few songs the characters might sing. Sea shanties are particularly fun songs to learn. Learn how to dance an English country dance, a waltz, or a quadrille!

Do a history scavenger hunt, visiting museums, historical parks or landmarks. Have the readers locate specific artifacts and answer trivia about exhibits that might relate to the novel. There’s also online databases, 3D gallery tours and digital newspaper archives that readers can use to solve historical puzzles!

Make history more personal, have readers find an object in their house that is older than 50 years, and have them write a story about it. Visit a local graveyard, finding the oldest gravestone and record the name and date, and have readers write a newstory about this person.

For more ideas, you can find activities based on The Barbary Chronicles here! 

We have the best adventures are on our own landscape! The western frontier, the Mississippi, the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, New Orleans, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, New York, the Midwest and the Southwest, the coming together of many cultures, many languages and many stories—why, we have the BEST stories in our own front yard! Telling a story is like singing a song. A good story has its rhythms and its refrains. Words sway and swing and slide across the page. When we read a good story, it feels like we're dancing.

Happy Dancing!

-- Bobbi Miller

Who Writes History?

Who writes history?  Who creates the narrative?  Who and what are valued? How does the story get passed down? Does anyone check for context or accuracy?

When I began teaching, it was many moons ago before we depended on the internet for information…before we carried a tiny computer in our hand…before we had access and an expectation to seek out other points of reference.  It was a time when teachers were the gatekeepers of information.  I am ashamed to admit that history was passed down through me to young minds by rote.  I was young and simply repeated what had been repeated to me by veteran teachers who passed the narrative down.  History they say is written by the victors.  Many moons ago, I participated in this passing of information without context or critical analytical thinking.

As I moved through my adulthood, other influences found their way into my practice.  I began to understand that it is necessary to actively seek out alternative resources outside of the mainstream and expand one’s understanding of the world.  I found a group of educators interested in Critical Pedagogy and discovered resources like Rethinking Schools.

https://rethinkingschools.org/

https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/rethinking-the-american-revolution/

Eventually, I met Bill Bigelow at a Progressive Educators Network conference.  I was honored to find myself running in the same circles. And as circumstance would have it, apparently Bill had been a teacher at my high school in Portland, long after I had graduated.

From the Rethinking Schools website:

"Bill Bigelow

CURRICULUM EDITOR

Bill Bigelow taught high school social studies for many years. He is curriculum editor

of Rethinking Schools magazine and author or co-editor of several Rethinking Schools books: A

People’s History for the Classroom, The Line Between Us: Teaching About the Border and

Mexican Immigration, Rethinking Columbus, Rethinking Globalization: Teaching for Justice in an

Unjust World, Rethinking Our Classrooms – Volumes 1 and 2, and A People’s Curriculum for the

Earth: Teaching Climate Change and the Environmental Crisis. Most recently, he co-edited the

Rethinking Schools book, Teaching Palestine: Lessons, Stories, Voices. He co-directs the Zinn

Education Project on behalf of Rethinking Schools. Bigelow lives in Portland, Oregon, with his

wife, Linda Christensen."

                                                   Photo taken at the Barnes and Noble in Manhattan Beach, CA

Way led on to way, and I found myself introduced to A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn.  A must read for every teacher and kidlit author, for that matter. As a follow-up to Howard Zinn’s writing, please check out The Zinn Education Project.

https://www.zinnedproject.org/

https://www.zinnedproject.org/why/

Another amazing organization that has been around for decades is Teaching for Change. 

https://www.teachingforchange.org/

https://www.teachingforchange.org/talking-to-young-children-about-america-

From the Teaching For Change website

"Deborah Menkart, Executive Director

Raised in D.C., Deborah’s activism began in junior high school when she protested D.C.’s “taxation without representation” and the “dresses-only” dress code for girls. The dress code changed, but D.C.’s colonial status continues. Her perspective on the world was shaped by being the first born in the U.S. of European immigrants on both sides of her family and being raised by a single mother who worked as a dressmaker. During the 1970s Deborah lived in San Diego, California, where she worked as a shipyard electrician and was active in the antiwar, women’s, international solidarity, and labor movements. Through all of these experiences she decided that for any social justice movement in the U.S. to succeed, a change in pre-K—12 education is essential. Since 1989 she has been pursuing that goal in her work at Teaching for Change."

Once activated, I became aware of this organization in the earlier days of teaching and my practice was forever changed. Years later, found myself sitting next to Deborah Menkart at my table at the CABA book awards when my book, Egyptian Lullaby received the award in 2024 from Howard University.  I was thrilled to meet her in person and couldn’t believe she had chosen to sit at my table.  Make sure you take advantage of their booklist! (where you'll also find my book, Egyptian Lullaby.)

https://www.socialjusticebooks.org/

These people and resources were instrumental in broadening my horizons and expanding my understanding of history and its many points of entry.

In addition to finding resources and developing a much more expansive knowledge base as a teacher (and eventually as a children’s book author), I began to discover the United States history in context with the other countries in our world through traveling. 

One memory that sticks out is of a bookstore owner in Chiapas Mexico.  I believe he was an expat.  For no apparent reason, he randomly gave me the last book, Century of the Wind from the trilogy Memory of Fire by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano.  What a treasure. These three books are of course written originally in Spanish.  The English translation is gorgeous so I can only imagine the original text.  Galeano tells the story of the Americas through short lyrical prose.  He creates short vignettes to take the reader through a history that acknowledges the imperialism of the US and the effect it has on the surrounding countries. Galeano provides windows into what was occurring in the different countries simultaneously throughout a timeline.  It is like drinking a fine wine.  The writing is exquisite.  It is an amazing history lesson as well as a beautifully crafted journey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Galeano

On a different trip, a young person in Cuba ran up to me and put a miniature book in the palm of my hand.  It was Fidel Castro’s History Will Absolve Me. No matter your politics or beliefs, I believe it is crucial to read to expand your understanding...to extend the possibilities...to see your world with fewer limitations and in a broader context.

It’s never too late.

Just recently, I was traveling in South America.  Someone asked me where I was from.  I know better, but for some reason I said, “America.”  The minute the word came out of my mouth, I knew it felt wrong.  And it was.  The Columbian intellectual in front of me was quick to correct my error.  “You are part of America but you are not America.  We are all American.”  Duly noted.  

It’s never too late to examine the narrative we’ve been handed and adjust it, instead of just passing it to our youth thoughtlessly, both as teachers and authors. History after all, is a living entity, growing, transforming, and everchanging. It belongs to all of us, not just the victors.

By Zeena M. Pliska

Author of 

Hello, Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story (Page Street Kids)

Egyptian Lullaby (Roaring Brook Press - Macmillan)

Chicken Soup for the Soul for Babies Say Thank You? (But Why?)  (Charlesbridge)

Chicken Soup for the Soul for Babies A Gift For Me? (I Want It!)   (Charlesbridge)

Recommending a New Novel for America 250

Today I continue our series on kidlit books related to United States history by celebrating the release of a friend's new Revolutionary War-era novel. And, in honor of Poetry Friday, I also share a famous poem set during the American Revolution. Can you guess the poem? 

As Esther mentioned in her post kicking off this series, we TeachingAuthors are commemorating our nation's 250th birthday by discussing books we love that highlight U.S. history. Unlike Esther, I don't recall reading history-based fiction or nonfiction at a young age. I think I was in high school when I first read such books as Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Interestingly, these novels would not have been considered historical fiction when they were published--they described contemporary events and situations. But for me, reading them one hundred years or so after their publication, I felt like I'd time-traveled to the past. And I loved the experience.     

Earlier this week, I learned that we TeachingAuthors aren't the only ones reflecting on books tied to American History. The Authors Guild has compiled a list of Essential Reading for America 250, with many of the books on the list recommended by well known authors. Looking over the titles, which are arranged by historical era, I found I've read only about ten so far. Those include Little Women, nominated by Jane Smiley, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, nominated by Scott Turow, and Charlotte’s Web nominated by Adriana Trigiani. I've added many of the other titles to my To-Be-Read (TBR) list.   

See the list on the Authors Guild site here.

Today, I'd like to recommend a new young-adult novel I hope you'll want to add to YOUR TBR list--one inspired by real people and events: Sculptor and Spy: ​Romance and Rebellion in the Time of the American Revolution, written by my friend Julie Phend. Sculptor and Spy is​ based on the lives of famed waxwork artist Patience Wright, her daughter Betsy, and patriot Ebenezer Platt, who was a member of the Sons of Liberty. 

Full disclosure: I've been in a critique group with Julie for over six years, so I have had the privilege of watching her hone this story into a finely crafted novel rich in historical detail. I had never heard of Patience Wright and knew nothing of the art of wax sculpting before reading this book. I love learning about history through fiction, and Sculptor and Spy is an engaging read that taught me much about the American Revolution. There's plenty of intrigue to keep readers turning the pages, and a touch of romance, too. Here's the summary from Julie's website.

1773. As revolution ignites the American colonies, seventeen-year-old Betsy Wright is swept into a world far larger—and more dangerous—than she ever imagined. After a devastating fire destroys her family’s waxwork studio, she meets Eb Platt, one of New York’s Liberty Boys, and they dream of a future free from the tyrannies of the British Crown.

When Betsy is summoned to London to help her mother create wax figures of the King and Queen, she seizes the chance to spy for the Sons of Liberty, sending secret messages in her letters to Eb. Her search for intelligence leads her from teeming streets and rough docks to the royal court, where she encounters the King’s powerful prime minister, Lord North, who intends to crush the Colonies—and anyone who stands in his way.
​
Hoping to learn more, Betsy becomes close to Lord North’s assistant, the charming and handsome Samuel Wells, whose attentions may conceal motives of his own. As accusations mount and loyalties blur, Betsy must figure out who can be trusted—before those she loves are accused of the ultimate crime: treason. 

I hope you'll check out Sculptor and Spy and encourage your local library to buy a copy, too. The book released just last week, on July 15. Unfortunately, due to an unexpected glitch, only the ebook is currently available on Bookshop.org, but the paperback should also be there soon. Meanwhile, both versions are available on Amazon.           

Here I am with Julie Phend at an Anderson's Bookshop event last fall.

I asked Julie if she knew of a related poem I could include in today's post for Poetry Friday. She suggested "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in part, because Paul Revere's ride is mentioned in Sculptor and Spy. Like the book's character, Ebenezer Platt, Revere was a member of the Sons of Liberty. 

I remember "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" from my own school days and always admired it. Modern critics tend to focus on the poem's historical inaccuracies. But I learned recently that some say those were intentional. Longfellow wrote "The Midnight Ride" (also known as "Paul Revere's Ride") as the nation stood on the brink of the Civil War. His goal was not necessarily to portray the true events but rather to stir up patriotism. Did you guess this would be the poem I'd share today? Here are the opening stanzas:

     Paul Revere's Ride
     by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

     Listen, my children, and you shall hear
     Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
     On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five:
     Hardly a man is now alive
     Who remembers that famous day and year.

     He said to his friend, “If the British march
     By land or sea from the town to-night,
     Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch
     Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,—
     One if by land, and two if by sea;
     And I on the opposite shore will be,
     Ready to ride and spread the alarm
     Through every Middlesex village and farm,
     For the country-folk to be up and to arm.”   

You can read the entire poem at poets.org. And don't forget to check out this week's Poetry Friday roundup at fiction, instead of lies by Tanita S. Davis. 

Happy writing!

Carmela 

 

Those Red-White-and-Blue Oldies-but-Goodies!

In honor of our nation's 250th Birthday, 

my fellow TeachingAuthors and I have chosen

to celebrate in our upcoming posts children's

books that celebrate the American Revolution

and our country's history.

I proudly kick-off the series with Red-White-and

Blue Oldies-but-Goodies that remind me of...

me! - so that I can recommend them to you!

(Apologies to Little Caesar and the Romans.)

First, there's Me, as in, Me the Child who

treasured her "Orange True Books."

My bedroom bookshelf held:

Betsy Ross: Girl of Old Philadelphia;

Ben Franklin: Printer's Boy;

Martha Washington: Girl of Old Virginia.

FYI: I'm a Philly Girl, a product of the

Philadelphia Schools until I was 10.

Stories about the childhoods of colonials were

right up my alley, so to speak, as in Elfreth's

Alley which I visited with my Overbrook

Elementary School classmates every year,

before or after visiting Ben Franklin's grave

at 5th and Arch Streets and Betsy Ross' 

house at 2nd and Arch.

Bobbs-Merrill began publishing the 

Childhood of Famous Americans series

with its fictionalized narrative storylines in

1932, releasing 220 titles until 1958.

You can see the titles here.

The goal of the series? "To make the child of

today the friend and playmate of great

Americans of the past."

In 1950 Random House began offering a 

similar, though fact-driven, children's

history series: Landmark Books.

You can see the titles here.

But I remained True Blue to my Orange

True Books.

Next, there's the Me who earned a B.S. in

Elementary Education from the University

of Pennsylvania.

It was in my Children's Literature class that

I first met Newbery and Caldecott medalist

Robert Lawson and his revered (forgive the

pun) titles, including Mr. Revere and I:

Being an Account of Certain Episodes in

the Career of Paul Revere, Esq. as

Revealed by his Horse (Little Brown, 1953)

and Ben and Me (Little Brown, 1939).

Both books are considered timeless. Indeed,

both have been re-released with new

covers several times since the initial

publishing. Ben and Me became a movie.

My professor, Dr. Huus, held the bar high

for children's books.

I introduced Ben and Paul to the delight of

my fifth graders at Bryn Mawr Elementary

School while Student Teaching.

You can read reviews of Robert Lawson's

books here.

Finally, there's Me, the long-time Fifth

Grade Teacher at Chicago's Morgan Park

Academy, then Kenilworth's Joseph Sears

School, who took joy in amplifying the

Scott-Foresman Social Studies text 

In the Americas to teach the American

Revolution via Esther Forbes' 1944

Newbery Medal Winner Johnny Tremain.

The novel follows 14-year-old Boston

silversmith apprentice Johnny from the

start of the Revolution onward as he 

comes to make sense of the war.

Forbes used official records, diary entries,

letters of actual apprentices so that 

Readers  - my fifth graders - lived the

experience in Johnny's shoes, mind and

heart.

Not all historical critics agreed on Forbes'

presentation of the war.

My students agreed, though, how Johnny

helped them be there, living our history.

I remain connected to many of my former

students, now grandparents (!), and all

can recite the words that drove the story:

"Pride goeth before a fall."

Were I teaching the Revolution today to

5th graders, they'd be reading Johnny

Tremain.

With apologies again to Caesar and the

Romeros, what fun walking down Memory

Lane to write about the above BOOKS of 

my past.

May one of them help you remember a 

Red-White-and-Blue Oldie-but-Goodie,

with hopes you'll share the title and/or

memory in our comments.

Happy Birthday, America!

Esther Hershenhorn

P.S.

Thanks to Jan at BookSeedStudios for

hosting today's Poetry Friday.

2 Poems About Rewriting

Hello, Hello, Poetry Peeps!

Thank you, Buffy, for hosting Poetry Frday this week! (The link to Poetry Friday is at the end)

Our topic this time 'round is REWRITING, RECYCLING.

I've been crushed for time these last few weeks, navigating between getting out the vote for the California primary, a trip to see my dearest relative in Northern California (I live in Southern CA) who is going through a very difficult time, a trip to see our wonderful daugher-in-law and son (aka our kiddos) in Albuquerque, and taking off in a few days on another trip with the aforementioned kiddos!  

I'm excited...and, okay, exhausted. (Aren't we all?!?)

So, instead explaining how I rewrite, here are two poem about rewriting:

A WRITER ON HALLOWEEN by April Halprin Wayland

I push open

the heavy door.

I take out the cleaver, the machete,

the switchblade, the scalpel, the penknife,

the X-acto knife.

 

I plunge my arm into the oily black pile of drafts

and haul one out.

And though it screams a thousand deaths,

I stab it over and over and over with the cleaver,

hacking it in two.

 

Then I amputate.

I sever. I cut.

I carve.  I slice.

Finally,

I mince words.

 

I take a breath and step back to admire my bloody work.

Then…I drop it back into the oily depths,

pack away the knives,

wipe the black spots off my desk

and leave.

 

I close the heavy door.

I will come back.

Tomorrow.

To do it all

again.

©2026 April Halprin Wayland all rights reserved

The next poem is based on one session of my 10-week picture book class. That day is all about rewriting. It's my least favorite class to teach, because basically I'm showing my students that it's not always a walk in the park. As most of you know, it can be a long slog to get a book published (New Year at the Pier took nine years from first draft to publication). 

One of my favorite exercises in this class, to lighten things up (after they are stunned by how long it takes, how every detail matters, and how hard it can be), is to hand each student a can of Play Doh and give them seven minutes to make a character—human, animal or something else. 

When time's up, each student shows the class what they made. This part is fun. 

Then, every student moves one chair to the right, sitting in front of someone else's creation. Their assignment is to make one major change to the character.  I give them six minutes to do this. 

When they are back in their seats, I say:"Congratulations--you've just been edited!" 

Then each student shows us what their "editor" did, and shares how they felt when their beloved creation was changed. 

It's a fun way to think about this process.

CHANGE by April Halprin Wayland

I pinch a pink pig,

gash a green grape,

coil a coral curl,

roll a red rope,

bend a blue bow,

swerve a cyan swan,

then share what I make!

 

But...

hey, don't change that!

No pig wears a hat!

No swan puts rouge on!

Oh, wait—that's a squid.

I like

what you did.

©2026 April Halprin Wayland all rights reserved

Here are three questions for you:

>Do you love or hate to rewrite? 

>How does your critique group help you make a manuscript or poem better? 

>How many times did you revise this week's blog post?

I can't wait to read your answers.

Thanks again, Buffy, for hosting!

posted with love and a little help from Sadie, our hilarious pup:

catching some zzzs with her favorite suffies, Peacock and Skull

"C'mon," she says, on our hike

"Stop posting so we can play!"

#toobusy #rewriting #poemaboutrewriting

Revising a Book is Like Renovating a House --Sort of

   Before I tell you why renovating is like revising, I'll tell you the one obvious way in which they are not alike. In renovating a house, I am revising someone else's work. (Obviously, I didn't build the house originally.) 

    OK, on to the analogy.

    Short backstory. We have lived in Atlanta since June 200, longer than my husband or I have lived anywhere. He retired two years ago and wanted to move. He specifically wanted to move back to his hometown, a place he hasn't lived since 1983.  He had his reasons for wanting to move. I had mine for staying put. We came to an agreement that we would move only if we fell in love with a house. I thought the likelihood for that happening were slim to none. 

I was wrong. We found a house. This house. Built in 1925 and located in a lovely Historical District.

End of backstory.

 Sometimes I fall in love with a story idea and just start writing, without worrying about where it will end up. With this house, we had the usual house inspection before buying.  No foundation cracks and no termites, the two things southern homeowners fret about. The house had good "bones" but there were a few things we wanted to change. 

We had already figured out that what we originally thought was a garage was actually a workshop.  Large for a workshop but in no way big enough for a car, let alone two. 

That's OK, we thought. It's a big yard. We'll just tear down the workshop and build a garage. We learned that any changes to the exterior and yard had to be approved by the Neighborhood Historical Commission. Running these plans by a committee is not unlike working with an agent who points out why your idea is or is not acceptable, in terms of sales. (I do not have an agent but have a lot of friends who do. I've heard their stories.)

Then my husband, the cook of the household, decided the kitchen needed help. It was not an original to o the house, but added by some previous owner. It had some odd features such as a corner fireplace and a mirrored wall.

Kitchen selfie in the mirrored wall. Fireplace to right.

Most importantly for said husband, it had terrible flow and was too small. And while we were at it, why not add a covered back porch? Plans drawn and revised to the specifications of the Historical Commission.

"Revising" the kitchen and adding a porch meant to demolishing the whole back of the house. We discovered that the kitchen had been added before the days of building permits.

This is what the "framing" looked like. I thought that our contractors had randomly nailed up some boards to keep the frame from caving in. No.  That was the frame.  (This was the point where I seriously questioned the guy who inspected the house before sale)

I write out of sequence. Whatever scene is in my brain at the moment, that's what I write. If I come to a spot where I don't know what comes next, I type a couple of lines of giant Xs in red. I will return to this later on. Discovering what was holding the old kitchen "together" was like finding a page of red Xs. You have a great start, an envisioned ending....and a yawning chasm between the two. And oh yeah, the existing porch had been built over an old hot tub.  

If this were a book for which I had no contract, I might have just thrown up my hands at this point. However, this was a house we had bought. Fortunately we had a great contractor who, after he stopped laughing, figured out how to rebuild the kitchen and porch. Another set of plans to the Historical Commission, who move with the speed of the Supreme Court. Construction stopped until we heard from them.

That was just the first floor. The second floor had it's own issues that involved...you guessed it. Another set of plans to the Historical Commission. 

As I write this, we are getting down to the "final edit." The floors are being refinished, and the screened porch, framed. How long did it all this "revising" take? Eighteen months. I didn't mention the obvious cosmetic changes like repainting every room, changing all the light fixtures and door knobs to something more period appropriate. Replacing the 70's linoleum in the front hall with ceramic tile. Taking down a set of random "columns" in the office that were hiding the fact that that the floor was uneven. 

In writing, I can revise and revise and still never be satisfied with my work. After awhile. I'm not revising; I'm just re-arranging nitpicky details that don't really matter. I'm revising to put off the inevitable...showing my masterpiece to someone who may or may not like it. 

With the our new house, we had only ourselves to please (and of course the Historical Commission.) The inevitable is now putting our current house up for sale. Which means...another renovation job. Gutting a master bathroom. A new roof. Painting inside and out. But it's time to get on with it. 

We hope to move by mid-July.

Posted by Mary Ann Rodman

FINALLY...Doin' As I Tell Others!

                            "And now we're back where we started

                              Here we go 'round again

                              Day after day, I get up and I say

                              I better do it again."

                                        - The Kinks - Do It Again, 1983

I'm happy to report:

I'm doin' it again,

returning to the picture book biography I've yet to get working

as it should so my subject - a little-known but needs-to-be-

known colonial woman whose efforts changed her people

and our country, grabs the hearts of Young Readers the way

she grabbed mine.

This time, though?

After revisiting my research,

rereading successful mentor texts,

re-examining my numerous rejections,

and of course, reliving in my first notes how I fell in love

with my subject,

I reassessed the last of my iterations, the one that earned 

admiring declines,

with both eyes fully refracted and cataract-free.

FINALLY...I'm doin' as I tell others - the students I teach,

the writers I coach, the Readers of this blog.

Why I didn't do so at the start, seven years ago (!) leaves

me gobsmackingly flummoxed.

Think: the proverbial shoemaker whose children go

shoeless.

Thankfully, in reading through the draft, I did discover

a few story elements that were already working as they

should.

I focused the telling on just ONE of my subject's many

lifetime accomplishments, making sure that accomplish-

ment was child-centered.

(Previous iterations offered a cradle-to-grave overview.)

My language and word choice allowed for a tone that

honored both the woman and the Times.

My love for the subject came through loud and clear.

I cringed, however, identifying all the parts that worked,

but needed to work better.

For starters, I offered my Reader not enough of a way 

in to both this long-ago story and my subject's heart.

I needed to intensify the Recognizable Sentiment 

that allowed my Reader to connect with the subject's 

longed-for-quest  - and - as important, with the 

children my subject knew had lost their way.

The hook I offered wasn't enough to compel the 

Reader to turn the page, worried, caring, fearful.

Sadly, too, my subject was not on the page.

She rarely spoke of what she sought, of what she was

feeling.

"Not enough Show..." I would have written in the 

margins were the text written by one of my writers.

Lots of narration. Little scene building.

I left my Reader helpless to draw any relevancy to

the World today, despite the story's children's

status as immigrants.

More concrete details would have brought to life 

my subject's World and Times.

Though beloved by me, my subject as presented

proved less inspiring than I'd hoped.

In summary, I'd paid little attention to the advice I 

shared in my May 16, 2025 TeachingAuthors post

"It's All About the Heartbeat."

The Good News is, armed with Next Steps, I did

as I shared in my TeachingAuthors post in

November of 2010. I found a piece of music that

sounded like my story - Sergei Rachmaninoff's

Piano Concerto No. 2, first performed in 1901.

For months I've been walking and writing in this 

Russian's company, fully lost in the wonder of his 

sumptuous composition.

If you don't know the piece by its given name,

you will certainly know its themes.

You can listen here: 

Like my picture book biography's subject, this

concerto - its poignancy at times, the longing

it expresses, the sweeps that build and crest,

grabbed my heart long ago the first time I heard 

it. It has never let go.

And that was before I learned how Rachmaninoff

came to write the concerto.

Three years ago, in a Grant Park Symphony

program, I read how Rachmaninoff suffered 

severe depression after his first piano concerto

was disastrously received, so severe he was

unable to compose, until he worked with an

acclaimed hypnotherapist for three years.

"You will begin to write your concerto," he was

told. "You will work with great facility. Your

concerto will be of excellent quality."

Need I write more?

This concerto not only holds Rachmaninoff's

story of Triumph with a deserved capital "T."

It holds my subject's story - one of finding a

way to help children find their way, never

turning back to do what she knew she needed

to do. 

And it holds mine, too - one of FINALLY

finding a way to tell my subject's story to

Young Readers!

At the moment, while considering my 

ending's wording and awaiting my 

brilliant critique partners' critical 

comments, I've decided to use the 

Five-Star Revision Tool I recommended 

in my September, 2011blog post to keep 

me focused.

I've gathered for inclusion in the review 

I wish to receive several of the critical 

comments Amy Alznauer, Candace

Fleming, Barb Rosenstock and Suzanne 

Slade - four of my Favorite Illinois authors -

garnered for their pb bios.

"A great book for a brave woman."

"An important story for children and adults

alike."

"...poetic text..."

"a perfect tribute..."

"Beautifully-written and timely."

"Brings an amazing woman to life."

Here's hoping I won't be singing the Kinks song

I opened with any time soon, at least to ready 

this pb bio for submission.

But if that turns out to be?

At least I know: I'll  be doin' as I tell others!

Here's to sowing, growing and readying your 

stories!

Esther Hershenhorn

P.S.

Thanks to Rose Cappelli for hosting today's

Poetry Friday at Imagine the Possibilities.