Three Favorites from 2013

Today I continue our TeachingAuthors series about our favorite books of 2013 by discussing three of my favorites from this year: a nonfiction picture book, a middle-grade novel-in-verse, and a young adult historical novel. In honor of today being Poetry Friday, I've obtained permission from the author of the novel-in-verse to include a poem from her book  I'll also provide links to several online "best books of 2013," in addition to those JoAnn shared last Friday.

Because I'm currently working on novels, I haven't been reading many picture books, but I want to highlight one I did take time to read: Let's Go Nuts! Seeds We Eat (Beach Lane Books) by April Pulley Sayre. Full disclosure here: April is a good friend of mine--we met while attending Vermont College. (We featured April in this Guest TeachingAuthor interview back in 2010.) But even if I didn't know April, I'd still LOVE this book, the third in a series that includes Rah, Rah, Radishes! A Vegetable Chant and Go, Go, Grapes! A Fruit Chant, also from Beach Lane Books. All three books use a lively rhyming text in the form of a chant to turn what might be a dry topic into a fun learning adventure. The books' wonderful photographs make the subjects appetizing to even the pickiest eaters. I can just imagine a classroom of students chanting these texts. And even though I consider myself somewhat of a "health food nut" (Quinoa, nuts, and flax seeds are all a regular part of my diet.) Let's Go Nuts introduced me to new seeds, like butternuts. Finally, I love how the lightheartedness of this book extends to the end matter, which provides "The Scoop on Seeds." Thanks to Let's Go Nuts! Seeds We Eat, I now know the difference between cacao and cocoa. It's no wonder that JoAnn included one of April's books in her best-of list, too--April is a master at making nonfiction come to life!

Speaking of masters, I have to say that Helen Frost is a master of the novel-in-verse. Unlike some books in this form, Frost's are true poetry. I remember being blown away by Diamond Willow and Hidden, both contemporary stories told in verse (and published by Frances Foster Books/FSG) that contain poems written in special forms to fit their stories. Now Frost's come out with Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War (Frances Foster Books/FSG). This novel not only makes use of unique poetry forms tied to the characters' points of view, it also tells a compelling story based on actual historical events. Here's a summary:

“In 1812, as war ravages the land, two young boys, one the son of American settlers, the other Native American, find their friendship and loyalties tested by conflict among the British, Americans, and Miami tribe members.”

As with Let's Go Nuts!, I enjoyed learning new things from this book, this time about American history. The story is set in what is now Indiana. Even though I was born and raised in Illinois, I had no idea the War of 1812 reached the Great Lakes region, nor had I ever heard of the Miami Tribe. But aside from what I learned about American history, I appreciated what this book had to say about friendship, especially friendship across cultures. As I wrote in my reading log: "I was especially struck by how misunderstandings develop between settlers and natives simply because they don’t speak each other’s language, even for the two boys. But because of their friendship, the boys overcome their misunderstandings to help each other."    

Frost explains in her author's notes that the poems from Anikwa's point of view include diamond and triangle shapes reminiscent of Miami ribbon work, while James' poems consist of horizontal lines to suggest the stripes of the American flag. And periodically in the story, there are free verse poems about salt and its importance to both people and animals. Here is one of my favorite poems from the book:

                         Salt Streaks

               Tears come from earth and sky,

               from words moving through us.

               We taste them as they fall,

               leaving salt streaks on our faces.

              We bear witness as they splash

              back to earth, and are absorbed.

excerpt from Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War (Frances Foster Books/FSG)

© 2013 Helen Frost. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

My young adult favorite from 2013 is a book I read for this year's SCBWI-Illinois Prairie Writer's and Illustrator's Day because it was edited by one of the conference speakers: Love Disguised (Bloomsbury USA) by Lisa Klein. I wasn't familiar with this author and I worried about what sort of license she'd take in a story featuring William Shakespeare as a main character. But I didn't know that Klein is a former college English professor. It soon became obvious as I read Love Disguised that she knew what she was doing. Here's a summary of the book from the author's website: 

"Will Shakespeare, in London pursuing his dream of acting, meets a young woman who will change his life forever: Long Meg, a tavern maid who disguises herself as Mack. A tale of mistaken identities, love triangles, and comic misadventure."

I love that Klein chose to tell this story in a style reminiscent of Shakespeare's work and filled with historical details true to the setting. I especially appreciate how she creates an authentic, multi-layered protagonist in Meg. You don't have to be a fan of Shakespeare to enjoy this book. 

And now, for the links to additional lists of "best books of 2013" for children and teens:  

New York Times list of Notable Children's Books 2013 includes young adult, middle grade and picture books.

School Library Journal has three separate lists: picture books, fiction, and nonfiction.

From Kirkus: the best picture books and middle grade fiction by category (they picked Salt too!) and the best teen books by category  

And you can see the Goodreads' Readers' Choice awards for picture books, middle grade, young adult fantasy and science fiction, young adult fiction.

Don't forget, today is Poetry Friday. When you're done checking out all these great lists, be sure to head over to this week's roundup by Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season!

Happy Writing!
Carmeal

Guest Post by Award-Winning Poet and Novelist Helen Frost

Before I introduce today's special guest post by Helen Frost, my apologies to our subscribers. I discovered yesterday that, due to a problem with our blog feed, you never received April's post from last Friday. That means you missed her terrific interview with poet Janet Wong. After you read today's post, I hope you'll go back to read the interview and enter for a chance to win one of THREE autographed copies of Janet Wong's book, Declaration of Interdependence: Poems for an Election Year.  I also encourage you to visit Sylvia Vardell's blog, Poetry for Children, to read an interview with the editors of And the Crowd Goes Wild! A Global Gathering of Sports Poems, the forthcoming anthology that will include one of my poems.

Now, for today's post: In honor of National Poetry Month and Poetry Friday, we've invited Helen Frost as a guest TeachingAuthor blogger today. I am a HUGE fan of Helen's work, especially Diamond Willow (Frances Foster Books, FSG), and I had the pleasure of meeting her for the first time at the 2012 Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference in Chicago in March. When I asked Helen for a short bio to introduce her post, here's what she sent:

"Helen Frost worked for about twenty years as a poet before publishing her first poetry collection, supporting herself with work she also loves, that of a teacher--in elementary schools, as a poet-in-the-schools, and at the college level. Her books include six novels-in-poems for children and young adults, two collections of poetry for adults, two plays, a book about teaching young people to write about difficult issues, two picture books for younger readers, and two anthologies. Though she continues her work with children and at-risk teens through school author visits, she is now a full-time writer, living in Fort Wayne, Indiana."  

Helen's credentials are impressive, but she neglects to mention the numerous awards her books have won, including a Michael Printz Honor Award for Keesha's House (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Her most recent novel, Hidden (Frances Foster Books/FSG, for ages 12-16), has already received much acclaim, including being named a 2012 ALA Notable Book and 2012 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor book.

And here's a brief description of her wonderful new picture book Step Gently Out (Candlewick Press), which features photographs by Rick Lieder:

  "Stunning close-up photography and a lyrical text implore children to look more closely at the world around them."

The book is a terrific tribute to both Earth Day and Poetry Month. No wonder it has received multiple starred reviews!

Now, finally, for Helen Frost's post. I asked Helen to begin by telling us how she became a TeachingAuthor, and then to share a poetry-writing exercise, poem, teaching tips/ideas, and an interesting anecdote about her life as a writer.

Teaching and writing are both important to me, and each informs the other. I’ve taught children and adults of all ages; I’ve written for pre-schoolers, beginning readers, elementary and middle school children; teens; and adults--and I’ve taught teachers about teaching writing.

Teaching poetry is especially joyful for me. I love seeing students approach poetry with fascination and enthusiasm, and perhaps a touch of caution because they know it can open people up to one another in ways that can be a little scary. I take time to create an atmosphere of safety and respect, simply by asking each student to raise their hand in agreement to my two rules: You can’t write anything that will hurt someone’s feelings. You can’t tease anyone about a poem they share, either here in the classroom or later on, outside of class. (No one is ever required to share, but always, at least half of the students want to.) I make eye contact with each student as I confirm that they agree to these two rules, and after that the respect is self-enforcing. 

* * *

Here’s a classroom activity I call “Poetry Sticks.”

1.    Make a collection of interesting titles of poetry collections.
      I’ve cut titles out of catalogs that arrive in the mail, but you could as easily use Internet websites of poetry presses. Here are a few: Pecan Grove Press, Ahsahta Press, Truman State University Press, Copper Canyon Press, Red Hen Press, and Tupelo Press.

2.    Using heavy-duty, clear tape, tape the poetry titles onto Popsicle (craft) sticks. Or you could write the titles on the sticks with a sharpie. Make 100 or so to begin with, and then add more as you have time.

3.    Spread all the poetry sticks on a desk (or on the floor) and invite students to choose one. The process of choosing is important; it can be chaotic, but there’s something in the activity of choosing that makes this work.

4.    Ask students to :

• Place the stick in the middle of a blank sheet of paper and read it a few times until it suggests something--some language. Then write as many words and phrases as you can in 2 or 3 minutes.
• Circle your favorite words--up to ten of them.
• On a clean sheet of paper, write a poem that uses at least three of your circled words.

I think of this exercise as being something like those compressed sponges that expand when placed in water. A title of a poetry book is “compressed language,” and this process allows it to expand in surprising and interesting ways.

* * *

For Poetry Friday today, I'll share a poem from Spinning Through the Universe: A Novel in Poems from Room 214 (Frances Foster Books/FSG). Each poem in this book is written in a different form, in the voice of one of the students in Mrs. Williams’ 5th grade class. The form of “Friend” is a “Rondelet.” (Definitions of all forms can be found in an appendix to Spinning Through the Universe.)

           Friend
              Sharrell

           What should I do? Maria told me not to tell.
           What should I do?
           Her arms are bruised. She has these two
           red hand prints on her back. I fell,
           she says, but then she asks, Sharrell,
           what should I do?

Teachers in the audience may find it interesting to know that teachers have used Spinning Through the Universe  in many ways, in classrooms from 3rd through 11th grade. (I taught for three years in a one-teacher school in Alaska, so I’ve always appreciated resources that can be used at different grade levels.) Third graders might learn that the acrostic form can be more sophisticated than writing one word for each letter of your name; 5th graders might do a readers’ theater, with each student reading one of the voices, and then creating a “section 3” of the book, imagining what happens next; high school students might try some of the more complex forms and create new characters of their own.  [Carmela here. Teachers take note: Helen has a whole page of "Teaching Ideas" on her website.]

* * *

To close, I’ll share a story about the first school visit after the publication of Diamond Willow (Frances Foster Books, FSG, 2008). In Diamond Willow, part of the story is told by animals who have ancestral relationships to Willow and the other characters. There’s a little mouse who listens from under a table and then warns Willow of something the mouse (and the reader) wants her to know. When I was spending a day with a very excited group of 5th graders who had just read Diamond Willow, a mouse came into the classroom! According to the teacher and the custodian, this had never happened before in this school. We were all convinced that the mouse wanted to share in the fun and remind us of the important part that a mouse had played in the story.

Thanks for inviting me to TeachingAuthors. Happy Poetry Month, everyone!
 
Thank YOU, Helen! I especially love the mouse story. And I know our readers who are teachers will appreciate the activities you suggest. I'm going to try the "Poetry Sticks" idea the first chance I get.

Readers, now you can head on over to read April's interview with Janet Wong and enter for a chance to win one of THREE autographed copies of Janet book, Declaration of Interdependence: Poems for an Election Year.  Then, check out the great Poetry Friday roundup at the Booktalking blog .

Happy writing, and happy Poetry Friday!
Carmela