Writing with JOY!!! by Mary Ann Rodman

    I ran into an old friend this summer.  I hadn't checked in with her in awhile, but she had been right there on my bookshelf the whole time. Before Julia Cameron and her "artist dates" and Anne Lamott's "bird by bird" mantra, there was Brenda Ueland's seminal writing book, So You Want to Write. For a book first published in 1938, and rediscovered in 1983 by Greywolf Press, Brenda''s peppy prose hasn't aged at all.

Brenda Ueland, late in life.

So You Want to Write was the first book on writing I ever read. Honesty, I didn't know there was such a thing as a "how-to-write" book. By 1984, I had given up writing, except for journaling. I had written my whole life, with some decent success...for a kid.  Competing against other young writers was one thing but against professionals? How could I hope to compete? So I didn't. 

I missed writing, but figured it was an unrequited love. I was a school librarian, a job I loved but... I'd read the YA books at work and think "I could do better than this." Then I'd tell myself to shut up and forget about it. Until the next time.

Brenda was introduced to me via NPR. I was driving home from work when NPR reviewed So You Want to Write. It was the briefest of All Things Considered segments but I gathered that Ms Ueland believed  anyone could write. You didn't need an MFA or an Ivy League degree. You didn't have to live a wild bohemian life in Greenwich Village, (although Brenda Ueland was quite the Village wild child in the Roaring 20's.) Everybody's life provides them with the tools to be a successful writer. All you really need is the desire, and willingness to be spend the time writing.

I had to find this book! In the days before Amazon, that meant driving almost a 100 miles, one way to the nearest bookstore. Thank God for Barnes & Noble; they had the book. It was all I could do not to floor the car all the way home to read my new treasure.

And what a treasure it was! I still have never read anything as intimate and reassuring. It was as if Brenda Ueland was sitting next to me, chatting about writing over steaming mugs of black tea. Write what you love, write with passion and abandon. Forget the spelling and the grammar and the symbolism and all the writing tricks and techniques. Just write! Write honestly, without pretense. Don't use ten dollar words unless that's exactly what you want to say. And remember...we all can write!

Encouraged, I read on. Write without regard to money or audience.  Write for you!

Oh. I thought about all those things every time I scrolled a sheet of paper into my typewriter. Brenda was especially fond of William Blake and Van Gogh, two artists who created for their own pleasure. They also were almost unknown in their own time. Brenda herself was quite a successful journalist, writing for all the popular magazines of her day. She wasn't worrying about paying the rent! I would have to work on the "not worrying" part. I read on.

Observe life with JOY!!! (I could imagine Brenda fairly shouting those words.) Write what catches your eye, what you think about, no matter how insignificant. No self judgement. Just write. Be free! I picture Brenda on her feet, waving her hands as if to shoo me off to my desk. Go! Now! What are you waiting for?

After reading So You Want to Write I walked around in a golden haze of observation, as if I was in love. When you are in love, everything in your world takes on a special significance.  Life smells sweeter, tastes better, feels soft as velvet. Everything moment has meaning. I was in love with words. I wrote and wrote and wrote.

Writing with JOY!!  I banged out the first three chapters of a YA novel that I stupidly submitted without writing the rest of the book. When the publisher said they wanted to read the whole thing, I faked a week-long bout of flu to finish the story. (Surprise! Writing a book in a week does not work unless you are Stephen King.)

I kept working with JOY!!! but as time went on, I became aware of my own weaknesses. I didn't know how to structure a plot or build a character. I just wrote. I could (and still can) spin out pages and pages without ever creating a story. (The best critique I ever got was "You write very well but you aren't saying anything.") Eventually I found my way to the Vermont College MFA program, and learned how to do those things. As I became focused on craft and pace and technique, I didn't always write with JOY!!! Sometimes I was just slogging from one plot point to the next. I forgot about Brenda.

But you know what? In the end, Brenda was absolutely right. My first sold book was one I wrote with great passion (and a Diet Coke and Jim Beam!)in two hours without thinking of an audience. I never remotely considered submitting to a publisher, because I didn't "know how" to write a picture book. I wrote it only to cheer up my three-year old daughter. She could've cared less. That book was My Best Friend.

That manuscript would never have left my desk if circumstances hadn't interfered to prevent me writing anything else for two months. I needed to something to send in as part of my semester's work for Vermont.  So I sent the picture I didn't know how to write.  I was not surprised when no one in my critique group had anything good to say about it...except the moderator, the great Eric Kimmel.  He thought I should "send it somewhere." I was deliriously happy because in a full year into the program no one had so much as hinted that I had written anything worth publishing. After 27 rejections, it found a home with Viking, the last publisher on my alphabetical list. Twenty years later, it is still in print. I discovered last month that the school system where my daughter teaches, gave every K-2 classroom a copy of My Best Friend. That's a lot of book sales! 

My most successful books have been ones that I wrote for myself (or my daughter) without considering whether they were topical or part of a curriculum. They were fun. I wrote with JOY!!! 

I remembered all this when I found So You Want to Write on my bookshelf. It's been awhile since I've written with joy and abandon and without looking over my shoulder. JOY!!! has been absent from my life for a considerable period of time. I'm writing on an otherwise extremely stressful day, but for the hour in which I created this post, it was absolutely with JOY!!!

Thank you, Brenda Ueland!

Posted by Mary Ann Rodman

Hanging on to Hope...

In 1973, a man named Mr. Nadeau wrote beloved children’s  book 

author E.B. White requesting inspiration about humanity’s future. 

Mr. Nadeau’s world view was bleak and hopeless.

As Maria Popova wrote in her Marginalian blog’s introduction to 

the letter, which follows, Mr. White’s response “endures as a 

spectacular celebration of the human spirit.”

North Brookline, Maine

30 March, 1973

 Dear Mr. Nadeau:

 As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one 

compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the

scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in 

a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the 

clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness.

Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the 

weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our 

human society — things can look dark, then a break shows 

in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather 

suddenly. 

It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer 

mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably 

harbor seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time 

waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man’s 

curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity 

have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that 

these same traits will enable him to claw his way out.

Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind 

the clock, for tomorrow is another day.

Sincerely,

E. B. White

                        

Alas, hanging on to Hope is easier said than done, in our Real 

World as well as in our Children’s Book World.

A group effort is oft required.

With that truth in mind, I invited five children’s book writers I’ve 

had the honor and Good Fortune to coach and teach to share 

One Golden Nugget that kept them keepin’ on… until they 

secured this past year representation by a literary agent.

Look for each of their names on an upcoming children’s book 

cover!

 ·    Becky Hohensee, represented by Essie White of the

     Storm Literary Agency, lives in Houma, Louisiana and 

     writes picture books. 

            Becky wishes she’d spent less time revising one manuscript 

            for several years, even though it was the one story she needed

            to tell.  “It zapped my creativity for a long time. Write a story,” 

            she advises, “share it when you believe it’s ready and let it go. 

            Work on something new. Exercise your writing muscles. And 

            don’t forget to reward yourself every now and then.”

·       ·   Chicago-area picture book writer and middle grade novelist        

            Sonya Kenkare signed with the 75th agent she queried,  

           Jackie Kruzie of Focused Artists.

            “Never give up,” she shares, “and keep batting at the fences.  

            All the rejections should be worn as a Badge of Honor. 😊”

 ·      ·   Sara Crowe of Sara Crowe Literary represents Christal Presley 

           of Abingdon, Virginia, and her bounty of picture books.

     “Whatever genre you’re writing in,” Christal shares, “spend 

     equal time READING in. For reading in the same genre shows 

     you all the possibilities!” 

·    Melanie Uteg lives in Lake Forest, Illinois, writing chapter 

     books, plotting a middle grade book and reviewing bi-monthly 

     on her blog picture books, chapter books and middle grade 

     books that feature the best of science, humans, nature and 

     communities. She recently signed with Tina Schwartz who 

     founded The Purcell Agency.  

     “I believe all children matter,” Melanie responded. “Their 

     hearts. Their minds. Their voices. I believe getting to that core 

     is important as you pursue your path towards publishing. Get 

     out there and meet people – share your story and share your 

     purpose.” 

·    Fiona Wong of Los Angeles, represented by Ellen Goff at 

    HG Literary writes picture books, chapter books and middle 

    grade. 

    “Be curious,” she shared.  “Take opportunities to learn from 

    industry professionals, even if they’re discussing genres, craft 

    topics or age categories outside your focus. Hearing diverse 

    opinions and experiences can enrich your understanding of your 

    own craft, purpose and journey as a writer.” 

·   And how could I not invite my fellow TeachingAuthor blogger 

   and writer of fiction and nonfiction, Carmela Martino, to 

   share her Golden Nugget?! She, too, secured literary 

   representation this past year with Anjanette Barr of Dunham, 

   Literary, Inc.

         Carmela admitted it was “a stubborn belief that the stories I was 

         working on were worth sharing, and that they deserved to be in 

         the world, one way or another.”

         She confessed she was “so relieved and heartened to finally find 

         an agent who agreed with her!”

 

fe    I offer buckets of Hoorays! and Hurrahs! to our fellow 

       children’s book creators for both keepin’ on AND sharing a 

       Golden Nugget to keep US keepin’ on.

       Hoorays! and Hurrahs! hasten Hope.

   I  IMHO: Second Chances help us hang on to that Hope.

       And GOOD NEWS! The Andrea Brown Literary Agency is 

      offering such an opportunity – the ABLA Second Chance!

    “At ABLA we take pride in our collaborative approach to 

     agenting and we often share queries internally when we 

     believe a colleague is a better fit for the material.

     However, if a creator would like another opportunity to have 

     their project considered by ABLA after their first choice agent 

     passes, we invite you to submit your work to the 

     Second Chance Inbox. All our agents have access to this 

     inbox and will regularly look through it to discover new 

     material! If an agent finds something they are interested in, 

     they will reach out to that  creator directly.”

 Click here to learn the details so you can grab this Do Over. 

 

Thanks to former fellow TeachingAuthor blogger Laura Purdie 

Salas for hosting today’s Poetry Friday at Poems forTeachers. 

Laura, too, deserves an Hooray! and Hurrah! for her newest 

picture book– Line Leads the Way (Capstone, 2024).

Here’s to Hope and our hanging on! 

Esther Hershenhorn

Not Prompts—Sensory Cues! by Mary Ann Rodman

 The term “prompt” is not a favorite of writers. I know it’s not a favorite of students. I don’t know if “journal writing” is still used by teachers to keep students quiet while taking attendance. However, I’ve taught a whole generation of kids who wince at the words “prompt” and “journal” after years of having to expound on “my favorite fruit” and “what is a good friend” in a notebook that the teacher checked but never read. 

To me, “prompt” means you’ve lost your way and your memory needs nudging—like being prompted on stage. I prefer the term “cues”, but not just any cues, but sensory cues. 

Sensory cues are those aromas or textures that evoke particular emotions and memories. I keep a list of these cues. Here are a few of mine: Smells—honeysuckle, lime scented aftershave, mildew, baking bread or cookies. Textures—velvet, sand, grass, peanut butter, porcelain.

Let’s take peanut butter—which is on both of my lists. I imagine the mouthfeel of soft bread mixed with crunchy peanut butter (my favorite).  The smell of peanut butter recalls a twin aroma—that of the slightly soured milk smell of my vinyl Barbie lunchbox in second grade. Even though my thermos was washed every day, the scent of milk and peanut butter had absorbed into the soft sided vinyl. Oh, and that’s another cue —the sharp chemical smell of a new vinyl lunchbox or three-ring notebook. Suddenly, I’m back in my second grade classroom, with a cascade of cues: pencil shavings, chalk dust, hot asphalt (it was a new school and the parking lot was still being paved). This is followed by specific images, like Margaret who sat across the aisle. She wore her hair in long ringlets, wore periwinkle suede Hush Puppies and read nothing but Winnie-the-Pooh books the whole year. 

Whew! That was unexpected! See how that works? Sensory details are what makes writing come alive for me. So much of what we write in a first draft is what we see or hear. As a result my first draft often feels like a string of events—a lot of “and he went there and she said this.” It’s when I use my cues (NOT prompts), that my story picks up momentum. 

Suddenly, I want to write a second grade story. Hmmm—I wonder what happened to Margaret?

Posted by Mary Ann Rodman. 

But Ya Gotta Have Friends! (Sorry, Bette Midler!)

January 1st means a fresh start, new resolutions for many people. The Gregorian calendar insists the New Year comes in the middle of grey, grisly, winter, with short days and long dreary nights. I think that's a mean joke. The last thing I want to do this time of year is make resolutions or "move ahead" on a project.

So what do I do to jolt myself out of the midwinter blahs? I talk to my friends As I've mentioned before, some of my best friends are books. I consult my "writers on writing" shelf.

The first book I read about writing was Brenda Ueland's If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit.  Ueland is the friend you talk to when you fall in love with writing, because she's in love with it too.  She gets it. If You Want to Write was published in 1938, but so timeless in style and advice, it could've been written last week. She believes that everyone is talented, original and has something important to say...just what a new writer wants to hear! "Try to discover your true, honest untheoretical self," says Brenda. Wow! Somebody wants to hear from the "real me"? All right!

How can you not love a book with chapters titled "The imagination works slow and quietly," and"Be careless, be reckless! Be a lion, be a pirate when you write." Then there is my favorite "Why Women who do too much housework should neglect it for their writing." (Not a problem, Brenda!) I've written journals off and on since third grade, but when I read So You Want to Write in my 20's, I was encouraged to "Keep a slovenly, headlong, impulsive, honest diary." Ueland set me free to write and write and write without fretting over what I was writing, or what it might be some day. She turned me into an enthusiastic observer and journal keeper. I re-read So You Want to Write when I need to fall in love with writing again. (Sidebar--Greywolf Press brought the book back into print in 1983...and it has not been out of print since. That should speak to the quality of Ueland's advice.)

Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird came into my life when I was trying to turn all that journal writing into actual stories...and having serious doubts that I could do it. Anne Lamott is the big sister friend, who has been there, done that and is going to tell you Get over yourself! Don't listen to your inner voice screaming, Who told you you are a writer.?You stink! Don't freak out. Take deep breaths. You can only write one sentence at a time, word by word. (Or bird by bird, as per the title.) Whatever writer's block you have, or how horribly you judge your own work...Anne Lamott has already done it, much, much  worse! (If you need a visual, think of Cher in Moonstruck, slapping Nick Cage and yelling "Snap out of it!") When I'm overthinking or hypercritical to the point of inertia, I pour a glass of wine and spend a little time with Anne.

After decades of plugging away, I began to publish. However, the myth that "once you get your first book published, the next one is easier" is just that. A myth. I sold my first book. The next one took four years. (Although in the wild and wacky world of publishing schedules, the second book came out before the first one!) I didn't have an agent. In fact, I was discovering that getting an agent was harder than getting an editor's attention.I was sure that J.K Rowling and Stephen King were not having my problems with a-hiccuping career. That's when I happened on Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. 

Personally, I'm not a fan of King's stories or style. However, I am in awe of how he has made readers out of people who don't like to read. I read On Writing, hoping he had some sort of magic formula. Of course he doesn't. However I discovered has a lovely conversational style when writing about his own life...and not homicidal Plymouth Furys or evil, sewer-dwelling clowns.

 King takes the "toolbox" approach to writing. If you don't possess and use these tools, you will never become a competent writer. His first tool: read a lot and write a lot. I'd been telling my own writing students that for years. I didn't know whether to be disappointed that his advice wasn't more exotic, or pleased that Stephen and I were on the same page, philosophically speaking. I didn't tell my students that by "writing a lot," King means that he writes every single day. That's a discouraging notion to a ten-year-old whose life is already scheduled to the gills.(He once told an interviewer that he wrote everyday except Fourth of July, Christmas and his birthday--but that wasn't true. He writes every day.) I also write every day, although not necessarily of the journaling-and-writing-project variety. I'm a moderator of a Facebook (OK Meta!) page that involves a lot of research and concise explanatory writing. This keeps my toolbox working between projects, and through the spells when my imagination seems to have dried up and blown away. (I tell my students to write on weekends and school holidays...and whenever they are happy or sad or mad. That winds up being pretty much every day...without them knowing it.)

The other "tools" King uses are so basic, I'm a little insulted he calls them tools; vocabulary and grammar. Vocabulary doesn't need to be voluminous (The last time I was required to know and use the word "salubrious" was in taking the ACT.),  varied and useful. If you get stuck, he suggests a thesaurus, preferably not the one that came with your word processing program. For grammar, nothing can beat our mutual old friend, Strunk and White's The Elements of Style.  While King never does tells how he can turn out bestseller after bestseller, he does remind me that if you don't read, write, mind your vocabulary and grammar, you're never going to write anything. On Writing is that professor you regard with awe, but when you actually talk to them, find they aren't magical or mystical...just hardworking and focused. 

My last friend is my teacher friend, Ralph Fletcher. (I don't personally know Mr. Fletcher, but after reading everyone of his many books, I feel as if I do.) I rely on Fletcher to inspire me as a teacher.  He is a master teacher of writing as well as a writer for children. He knows how kids think, and how to jazz their imaginations, free them of their writing hang-ups. His books contain writing exercises and topics (he doesn't use the word "prompts") for every age group--including adults. I've never taught a class without Ralph Fletcher at my side, in spirit. 

No one gets through this writing life alone. As the great Bette Midler sings "'cause yah got to have friends." Please feel free to introduce me to some of your writing friends. 

Posted by Mary Ann. Rodman 

Congratulations To Our Latest Giveaway Winner!

This is just a quick post to congratulate the winner of our latest book giveaway: The Stories Behind the Stories: The Remarkable True Tales Behind Your Favorite Kid's Books, by Danielle Higley (Bushel & Peck Books).

 And the winner is:  

                                        Margaret S.

Thank you to all who took time to enter our giveaway. And special thanks to Bushel & Peck Books for providing the book for our winner!

Carmela

Heaps of Heart and Hope for 2023 + OUR BOOK GIVEAWAY!

 What better way to launch the New Year than with a Book 

Giveaway!

And not of just any book.

 IMHO: Children’s books gift Readers with Heart and Hope.

Katherine Paterson described story as “one heart in hiding 

reaching out to another.”

"A good book,” venerable Atheneum editor Jean Karl shared, 

"…respects a child’s capacity to become.”

But when a children’s book offers us the true and remarkable 

stories behind the stories we’ve come to love – as does Danielle 

Higley’s THE stories BEHIND THE stories (Bushel & Peck 

Books, 2021), how could we not reap EXTRA heaps of Heart 

and Hope?

Think: twenty-nine writers’ hopeful hearts waiting to be

discovered.

 

I guarantee our Giveaway Book will fortify you fully so you 

can keep keepin’ on in 2023.

And Good News! It will also inspire one lucky Young Reader 

because the publisher honors its Book-for-Book Promise: for 

every book sold, Bushel & Peck donates one book to a child in 

need. 

Be sure to enter our Book Giveaway! Instructions follow this post.

To nominate a school or organization to receive free books from 

Bushel & Peck, click here.

In her Author’s Note, Danielle Higley shared an important insight 

she gleaned while researching the how and why her chosen 

children’s book creators told their stories. Yes, creativity and 

imagination played a role.

 ·       J.R.R. Tolkien, while editing a student’s blank paper, penned, 

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” – and then promptly 

built a bigger world.

·       A young librarian patron queried Beverly Munn Cleary, 

“Where are the books about kids like us?” and her answer, 

fortunately, was Henry Huggins.

·       Dr. Seuss believed, “Nonsense wakes up the brain cells… If you 

can see things out of whack, then you can see how things can be in 

whack.”

But most treasured children’s books were born from extraordinary 

persistence and grit.

·       Beatrix Potter self-published The Tale of Peter Rabbit when 

multiple publishers rejected the manuscript.

·       Librarians offered a storm of protest, though to no avail, 

because the children in Gertrude Chandler’s original Boxcar 

Children series “were having too good a time without any 

parental control.”

·       Every day for thirteen years, Christopher Paul Curtis worked 

on a General Motors assembly line, taking turns with his partner 

to hang thirty doors in a row to earn a thirty-minute break to write 

his stories.

 

From Mother Goose rhymes and Clement Clarke Moore’s The 

Night Before Christmas to Rick  Riordan’s Percy Jackson and 

the Olympians and Jeff McKinney’s Wimpy Kid series, each of 

the true tales behind the featured books magnifies the treasure 

these beloved stories hold.

David Miles’ beautiful illustrations, many collage-like boasting 

photographs and original art, the many meaningful author and 

illustrator quotes throughout and the shared research resources 

on the last pages enrich the book’s enjoyment.

Thanks to Bushel & Peck Books for generously gifting one of 

our lucky TeachingAuthors readers with a copy of THE stories 

BEHIND THE stories.

Thanks, too, to Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core for hosting 

today’s Poetry Friday.

May Heart and Hope accompany you through the New Year!

Esther Hershenhorn

P.S.

I need to shout HURRAH! for my writer Amy Neeren and her 

recently-released debut chapter book Nellie in Knots published by 

Bushel & Peck Books! The story behind her story offers bushels 

of Heart and Hope.

. . . . . .

To enter the giveaway drawing for The stories BEHIND THE stories, use the Rafflecopter widget below. (Note: if the widget doesn't appear, click on the link at the end of this post that says "a Rafflecopter giveaway" to enter.)

You may enter via up to 4 options. The more options you choose, the better your odds! 

If you choose option 3, you MUST leave a comment on TODAY’S blog post or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page. If you haven’t already “liked” our Facebook page, please do so today!

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

Note: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook, YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA RAFFLECOPTER BELOW.  The giveaway ends January 20, 2023 and is open to U.S. Residents only.

If you’ve never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here’s info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway.  And a second article explains the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wibble Wobble Boom!---Skating Away with a Picture Book Giveaway

I'm experiencing unusual, winter-like weather here in Atlanta...in November. I am writing with a fire in the fireplace, George Winston's Winter playing in the background, coffee mug at hand. What better way to celebrate the publication of my new picture book, Wibble Wobble Boom! (Peachtree Publishing), available November 29th?

As you might guess from the adorable cover by Holly Sterling, Wibble Wobble Boom! is about learning to ice skate. Claire arrives for her first lesson with high-flying dreams of leaping and spinning, like the skaters she's seen on TV. How disappointing that the first skill she's taught, is how to fall safely! 

If you're a long time follower of this blog, you know my daughter Lily was a competitive figure skater from kindergarten through high school graduation. She spent every single weekday at the ice rink. And by default, so did I. Every. Single. Day. 

Lily chanced into figure skating. A kindergarten classmate invited her to a birthday party at the local ice rink. A birthday party is not a good time to introduce kindergartners to ice skating. The whole class stood wobbling on rental skates, afraid to step on the ice. While her friends whined about falling and being cold and couldn't we just go eat cake, my daredevil daughter and a couple of boys stepped on the ice. Clutching the side rails, they inched their way around. The next thing I knew, Lily had let go of the rails and was baby-gliding away from the boys. 

Lily continued her cautious way around the rink, arms straight out to her sides. The other kids had flopped on the spectator bench, whining that their feet hurt, they were cold, they wanted cake. The birthday girl's mom kept checking her watch, knowing that the party room wouldn't be open for another half hour. 

"This is fun!" Lily called to me. And took another lap around, a bit faster time. By the time she had finished a second trip, the birthday mom announced it was time for cake and presents. 

"Do I have to eat cake?" Lily asked me. "I want to stay here and skate." 

I told her she had to go eat cake but after that, she could come back and skate. 

And she did. 

For four hours. At the end of the session, her legs were so sore, I had to carry her out to the car. As I buckled her into her car seat she asked, "When can I come back?" 

Lily's first competition--1st grade

 Lily became a skater. I froze my behind off in rinks for the next 12 years. I learned to write with frozen fingers, surrounded by hoards of skaters and their families, chattering, screaming, or having hockey stick wars. I watched Lily master the Bunny Hop, spin and Mohawk. By high school, she was teaching her own Snowplow (beginner) classes. 

My mom put me on double runner skate blades when I was two. I thought that the whole point of skating was falling! I would fall on purpose...on my bottom...and yell "Boom!" extremely pleased with myself.

That memory came back to me as Lily taught her own students how to fall. I watched their little feet in those brown, battle-scarred rental skates, ankles wibbling and wobbling. I listened to them complain "Miss Lily, this isn't skating. I want to twirl. Teach me that." "My feet are tired. I wanna sit down." "I'm cold."

Lily would patiently explain that safety is the very first lesson in skating. Then they could learn everything else. Yes, your feet do hurt and you do feel cold. That's what happens if you want to skate. 

I like alliteration. As I observed those little Snowplows, I remembered a song from kindergarten... crickle crackle crickle crackle creak creak creak, the sound of walking on ice. Then my mind followed with wibble wobble boom. Skaters learning to fall. I remembered Lily's first skating lessons. While she never  complained about being cold or tired, she didn't like learning to fall...because she never fell. Her balance was that good. She disliked being made to fall, just to learn how to land on your butt. 

What if Lily had gone to that birthday party, expecting to sail across the ice like an Olympic medalist? What if...?

Once again, my daughter sparked a story, just as she had for First Grade Stinks and My Best Friend and A Tree for Emmy. 

Lily's last competition--senior year.

Children. The gift that keeps on giving.

Speaking of gifts, we're giving away a copy of Wibble Wobble Boom! Keep reading for entry instructions.

Posted by Mary Ann Rodman

____

We are giving away ONE autographed copy of Mary Ann's soon-to-be-released picture book, Wibble Wobble Boom! (Peachtree Publishing), which received a Starred review from Booklist! 

To enter the giveaway drawing, use the Rafflecopter widget below. (Note: if the widget doesn't appear, click on the link at the end of this post that says "a Rafflecopter giveaway" to enter.)

For the first time ever, you may enter via up to 4 options. The more options you choose, the better your odds!

If you choose option 3, you MUST leave a comment on TODAY’S blog post or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page. If you haven’t already “liked” our Facebook page, please do so today!

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

Note: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook, YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA RAFFLECOPTER BELOW.  The giveaway ends December 1, 2022 and is open to US. Residents only.

If you’ve never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here’s info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway. And a second article explains the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

Good luck!

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How AIN'T BURNED ALL THE BRIGHT Changed Me

Howdy, Campers, and Happy Poetry Friday! (My poem and the link to PF are below)

TeachingAuthors is officially back from our 🌞Summer Break🌞, and I'm kicking off a round we're calling One Book I Learned From Over the Past Year.  

I've changed the prompt slightly for today's post to: One Book From the Past Year That Changed Me.

So many books, so many ways to respond to this prompt!  But lemme tell you, the book that BLEW. MY. MIND this year (thanks to my beloved book club) is the collaboration between author Jason Reynolds and illustrator Jason Griffin, AIN'T BURNED ALL THE BRIGHT (Simon & Schuster)

Let's start with this two minute segment of a Washington Post video interview, in which Jason Reynolds tells us that his initial manuscript was three sentences long. 

So you're thinkin' picture book, right?  

Well. Kinda. It did win the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award in the PICTURE BOOK category. But...is that fair to the picture books?  

Kirkus calls it ILLUSTRATED POETRY.  For 12-18 year olds. (Unfortunately the Boston Globe/Horn Book Awards don't have a poetry category ~ for shame!)

How to describe this book? Let's start with its physicality. 

It's 384 pages: the size of a fat YA. Each page is shinier and thicker than you'd expect. The cover alone is hefty. All I'm sayin' is don't put this in your kid's backpack--it's a frickin' brick of a book. 

What about the content?

It's poetry. It's story. It's despair. It's hope. It's family. It's wild and wonderful illustrations that sometimes make no sense and sometimes make the whole thing explode.

It's S-P-A-C-E to absorb a poem with double page spreads that sometimes are just black. 

It climbs to a crescendo page by page. 

It's metaphor, it's simile: 

• "my sister talks to her homegirl through the screen of her phone like it's the screen of the front door," 
• the father tries "to keep the cough from coming through/like trying to mute the blues trumpet in his throat," 
• "worry is worn like a knit sweater/ in summer/ and can't nobody breathe/ in a knit sweater in summer/ a turtleneck wrapped around/my whole family/our necks caught/in a tunnel/of too much/going on"

Again:

This book 

BLEW.

MY.

MIND.

And, Honey, I ain't the only one. 

School Library Journal: ⭐starred review. 

Kirkus: ⭐starred review.

Booklist: ⭐starred review.

Publishers Weekly: ⭐starred review.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: ⭐starred review.

Horn Book: ⭐starred review.

Shelf Awareness: ⭐starred review.

Bookpage: ⭐starred review.

BOOKPAGE: "Dynamic and visceral, Ain’t Burned All the Bright artistically portrays the claustrophobia of the summer of 2020 from the perspective of a young boy."

KIRKUS: "Artful, cathartic, and most needed." 

SLJ: "For everyone who has felt the weight of grief and fear or the comfort of love and family in the last two years, this is a must read."

Jason Reynolds says, “It isn’t about the art illustrating the language, it’s more so about the language and the art being in conversation with one another.” 

Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin

photo credit: Dayo Kosoko

Before my book club meets, I will sometimes put post-its on one or two pages I want to discuss.

And then there's this:

Want more? Take a deep dive into a ton of resources on S&S's site. That's the end of my review...

...which takes us back to the initial question. 

Answer: I am taking more chances when I write. F'rinstance:

HOW THIS BOOK CHANGED ME

by April Halprin Wayland

It said,

Malia, Min, Morgan, Manosh, Whoever:

You.

Be.

You.

 

Like a flame but not a flame because the flame’s

already that hot.

Like lightning but not lightning because lightning’s

already claimed that shine in the sky.

Like your step-mom’s burst of laughter but not her burst because

 

well, by now you know why.

 

Rip across a page!

Or settle down in softness.

Listen, sing, speak up, don’t speak up,

cut through the cloud or

ride it

 

because, Babe,

the you 

inside you

is dyin’ to shout. 

It's not too late.

Open 

the gate.

Let 

it 

out.

poem (c)2022 April Halprin Wayland, who controls all rights.

And finally, I'll send you off with the one minute book trailer of AIN'T BURNED ALL THE BRIGHT.

Thanks for being here, and thanks for being you.

And thank you, Elizabeth, of UNEXPECTED INTERSECTIONS for hosting today!

posted with affection by April Halprin Wayland with occasional snores from nearly-13-year-old Eli, who, after a full day playing with younger pups...is being Eli.