Book Giveaway:TRAIN I RIDE by Paul Mosier

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Howdy, Campers, and Happy Poetry Friday!

This time 'round, TeachingAuthors is posting about our favorite book or books of 2017.

My hands-down pick is the stunning debut middle grade novel Train I Ride by Paul Mosier, which so far has gotten four starred reviews.

Instead of posting a poem for Poetry Friday, I'm recommending this extraordinary book, in which poetry and a classic poetry book play a role.

I'll let the publisher, Harper, and those four star-givers tell you about this book:

From Publishers Weekly Flying Start author Paul Mosier comes a poignant story about a young girl’s travels by train...in which she learns...she can find family wherever she is. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead and Sharon Creech.

★ “A harrowing, moving, immersive, and ultimately uplifting debut novel.” — Kirkus Reviews

★ “In this debut novel, Mosier gives middle grade readers a character who battles life’s challenges with extreme honesty and doesn’t sugarcoat her inner battles. A tale that will stay with readers long after they reach the final destination.” — School Library Journal

★ “In his first novel, Mosier offers a cast of well-drawn characters, an unusual setting, and a rewarding reading experience.” — Booklist (starred review)

★ “An emotionally expansive and deeply affecting story. Heartbreaking and unforgettable.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

At the end of this post, you'll find instructions on how to enter for a chance to win your own autographed copy. Woo-hoo!

And, whoa--look who's climbing up to the TeachingAuthors treehouse.... author Paul Mosier himself. Come on in and have a cuppa tea, Paul!

 author Paul Mosier

This is usually our first question, Paul: how did you become a TeachingAuthor?

After the release of  Train I Ride, I lined up appearances beginning with Phoenix's Madison Meadows elementary school, my alma mater. I have spoken to as many as 400 students in a gymnasium to a handful of home schooled kids at a public library. Since Arizona is among the nation's worst in education spending, I don't ask for an honorarium. I've extended this to Skype visits with out of state schools. Many kids I visit would never be able to see an author if it came down to money. 

Now I tell schools that while I don’t require an honorarium, I’d love a school mascot t-shirt!

(Maybe someday you'll make them into a quilt?)  And who was your favorite teacher?

When I was a sophomore in high school I had a young and pretty English teacher, Ms.K. On the first day of class, she asked if we would like to be called something other than our actual names; to be a smart-Alec I told her I went by “Smith.” Ms. K called me Smith all year, as she introduced me to the first poem which ever spoke to me–“The Plot Against The Giant” by Wallace Stevens, as we analyzed song lyrics such as “Born To Run,” as we wrote our own stories, as she grieved the death of John Lennon dressed in black, as she talked about the events that shaped her. By the end of the year I had developed such respect and affection for her, I cringed every time she called me “Smith.”

She left Arizona after one year teaching, but I remember things she said. Years later, she became the answer to my bank's security question, Name of your favorite teacher?

Recently I found her on Facebook, in spite of a name change, because I recognized her smile. I told her how much she meant to me, thanked her for being the teacher that she was, and apologized for duping her into thinking I went by the name Smith all year. She wrote back, “Of course I remember you, Smith!” She's still teaching high school and has lobbied for Train I Ride to be included in the curriculum of middle grade classrooms in her home state of Ohio.

When I tell this story to teachers, I say that it is my sincere wish that they have many such experiences with former students, even if mine was too long in being delivered.

This story makes me think about which teacher I'd like to find and thank. What would you tell someone who's banging her head against writers block...or someone who's discouraged about ever getting a book published?

Going with the second part of that question, I believe in my heart that the most important thing about telling a story is telling a story. Or writing a poem. Creative writing is its own reward. I’m fond of saying there are many ways one can make a living–though I’m not necessarily the best person to ask about that–but there aren’t many ways we can come to feel the way we do in giving birth to a novel, or a poem, or a painting.

Getting paid to do it is icing on the cake. I feel very fortunate to now be awash in that icing, but it was the fourth novel I wrote which got me a book deal, which now has become multiple books which will appear around the world in multiple languages.

Maybe I should say it quietly so the universe doesn’t hear, but I was going to keep on writing novels with or without a book deal and everything that arises from that.

Going with the first part of that question, I am fortunate to have had very little experience with writer’s block, but I think it is important to put down whatever the muse is showing you. She knows the correct order you are supposed to write in, even if it doesn’t end up being chronological for the story. Also, move from laptop to pen. Write about what you are writing.

Remember that stories don’t come from inside your head–they come from the muse, from the universe, and when they’re in your head, they’re just passing through. Do your best to love them and raise them well.

I love this answer, especially not having to know everything before beginning the book. And finally, could you share a favorite writing exercise with our readers?

I think it is important for a writer–especially a new writer–to understand that one doesn’t have to see the entirety of a story before beginning. All you need is an idea, a seed, a first line. Train I Ride came from a line in an Elvis Presley/Junior Parker song. Echo’s Sister came from real life. Summer and July came from the sense of place of a seaside town with an ice cream shop and boogie boarding, and I waited for the characters to walk into the scene.

I’d encourage writers to not try to design characters–let the muse, the universe, introduce them to you. I may not understand a character at all until I hear them speaking to another, and what they say may change the course of the story.

But here’s an exercise: Write down whatever song lyric is in your ears at this moment. Then make the next line your own. Follow it to the end of the story. 

Wonderful! Thanks so much for stopping by, Paul--please come again! 

Watch for Paul's next book, Echo's Sister, and many more, coming soon!

Readers, to enter our drawing for a chance to win an autographed copy of Train I Ride (Harper), written by Paul Mosier, use the Rafflecopter widget below. You may enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options.

If you choose option 2, you MUST leave a comment on TODAY'S blog post below or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page. If you haven't already "liked" our Facebook page, please do so today! In your comment, tell us what you'd do with the book if you win our giveaway--keep it for yourself or give it to a young reader?

(If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.)

Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.

Note: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook, YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA THE WIDGET BELOW. The giveaway ends December 20, 2017 and is open to U.S. residents only.

P.S. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here's info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

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And for goodness sake--don't forget Poetry Friday!
This week's roundup is hosted by Steps and Staircases

posted with bells on her toes by April Halprin Wayland, with the sleepy assistance of Eli, who was very sick this week but who is getting better, for which even Snot, the cat, is grateful.

Eli

Tis the Season for Our Favorites

    They're heeree!...the end-of-the-year "Best Books" list.  I'm curious as to how they are selected. Starred reviews? Committee consensus? Secret ballot? Coin toss?

 This is my list, and my criteria is if the story stays with me. I read so much that if I can remember the title, author, and the main characters months later, that's good. Mostly. It can also mean the book was memorably bad.

Forget I said that. Let's focus on the good ones.

I love historical fiction. I really do try to read across genres, but when it comes to picking my favorites--surprise, surprise--they are mostly historical fiction.

Best picture book: Stolen Words by Melanie Florence, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimand. (Second Story Press, 2017)
When a seven-year-old Cree girl, eager to learn more about her heritage, asks Grandpa for the Cree word for "grandfather," he admits he does not know. In age-appropriate language, Grandpa tells her how "his words" were stolen from him when he and the other children of his village were forced to attend state-sponsored residential schools with the goal of total assimilation into white Canadian culture and extinction of First Nation culture. This is a harsh story, softened by the gentle illustrations, and the beautiful friendship between the unnamed little girl and her grandfather. I can think of any number of ways this book could be used with older students in discussing personal expression and cultural identity.

Best fiction: Ages 8-12: The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan (Wendy Lamb Books, 2016)
Ms Hill's fifth graders are the last class to graduate from their beloved neighborhood school, which is being torn down to make room for a supermarket. The narrative comes from the poetry journals of the eighteen students. Unlike many multiple narrator stories, the reader is easily able to keep track of the characters, each with a distinct voice and verse form. A terrific teaching tool for introducing various types of poetry, with a lesson in community responsibility and civic protest thrown in for good measure.

Best historical fiction: Middle grade and up: Clutch by Heather Camlot (Red Deer Press, 2017)
In 1946 Montreal, 12-year-old Joey Grosser struggles to keep his dead father's grocery alive. Resentful of his father's death and the family's poverty, Joey is determined to become a "big businessman," pursuing money and success at the expense of his own honest nature. In his quest of "a big house on the West Side," Joey unwittingly becomes a pawn of his best friend's father, Mr. Wolfe (!!!), a man with a record, but who can also make money. Woven throughout is the story of Jackie Robinson's season with the minor league Montreal Royals, with quotes from contemporary sports writers at the beginning each chapter. There are no "throw-away" characters. Each and every one --from Joey's Robinson-worshipping little brother David and BFF Ben, to the grocery's customers in this Jewish neighborhood--all are fully developed, and play an important role in Joey's story. This is a world you can lose yourself in. I loved it!

Best graphic novels
I love graphic novels so much, and there were so many good ones this year, I cheated and picked two. At least they are for different age groups. And I just now realized they are semi-autobiographical stories, taking place in the late 1970's (You've never seen so many illustrations of wall-mounted, push-button telephones!)

Ages 8-12: Swing It, Sunny by Jennifer L. Holm, ill. by Matthew Hale (Graphix, 2017) Although '70's in style (Sunny's family is pictured in Brady Bunch-style box frames) it's contemporary in subject. Sunny is not only coping with the stresses of middle school (remembering your locker combination is a timeless terror) but the absence of her beloved older brother, Dale, away at "boarding school." Illustrations of Dale in military school style uniform, personality changes and "getting in trouble" could lead the reader to assume Dale has substance abuse issues. At the least, he is going through a tough adolescence, leaving his adoring little sister confused and frustrated. Sunny's friendship with a new neighbor, Indian-American Neela, gives Sunny a new perspective on Dale and middle school. Funny and sad by turns, this is the only book I know with a Pet Rock as a secondary character!

Middle grade: Real Friends by Shannon Hale, ill. by LeUyen Pham (First Second, 2017)Real Friends is also a new-kid-in-middle-school story, but with more emphasis on the most traumatic aspect of the grade-to-middle-school transition--the loss of old friends, the frustration of finding one new "true friend." Since the main character is "Shannon," the reader assumes that this is the author's own story. Although there are details specific to Hale's own life (the middle child of a large Mormon family in Salt Lake City), her woes are universal; mean girls at school, a bullying big sister at home (who is sometimes depicted as a large, menacing bear!), chronic stomach aches from stress. Yep--this could've been my story (minus the bullying sibling) only fifteen years earlier and two thousand miles away. Which is to say, it is universal. That Shannon is Mormon serves gives her a moral compass to guide her, although the religious aspect is described in the most general of terms. Shannon could just as easily have been Catholic or Lutheran or Jewish. This is a darker, more mature story than Sunny. Because I so identified with Shannon, I felt a real catharsis at the book's end.

Other terrific graphic novels this year (and all geared for middle school): All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson (author of last year's fabulous Roller Girl), Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson, Brave by Svetlana Chamakova (the main character is male) and Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

Best book of the year:
The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbi, translated from Italian by Lilit Thwaites (Godwin Books/Henry Holt, 2017) Historical fiction:YA
As a former librarian and someone who has read a lot of Holocaust history, the title grabbed me first. A library in Auschwitz? As it turned out, the "library" was much more than books, but a collection of teachers and students, who for mysterious reasons, live in the "privileged" family camp, BIIb. Under the rule of the notorious Dr. Joseph Mengele, BIIb is a world apart from the rest of Auschwitz. Inmates are allowed to wear their own clothes and keep their hair. Most importantly, families, including young children and old people, are kept together within the confines of BIIb. But why? And for how long? This sense of living from minute to minute, always wondering how long this "luck" will hold out, drives the story relentlessly.

Based on the real life story of 14-year-old Dita Poach Kraus, and several others, the fictional Dita discovers a secret school for the children, run by the charismatic young Fredy Hirsch (another real-life character) Although too old to be a student, Dita inveigles her way into becoming the keeper of the library--a precious collection of eight books, smuggled from the possessions of less fortunate prisoners. The discovery of this motley collection--a math text, a Russian grammar,  copies of Freud and H.G. Wells A Short History of the World among others--would mean the immediate end of BIIb and it's inhabitants. Unexpected "inspections" by Mengele and his minions keeps Dita in constant peril, to keep the books from discovery. The school is the center that brings together the stories of several other narratives, but Dita's POV is the most important.

I hate when people say things like "I stayed up all night to finish this book" but...I stayed up all night to finish this book. Absolutely harrowing, riveting and ultimately, redemptive.

Happy reading, everyone.

Posted by Mary Ann Rodman