Stephanie Greene: Author Interview Part 2

Posted on 11/14/2013

Today is Part 2 of the ReaderKidZ interview (Find Part 1 HERE) with our own Stephanie Greene on the release of her latest in the Sophie Hartley series: Sophie Hartley and the Facts of Life. Greene manages to keep each of the books in all of her series fresh, funny and full of heart.

In this story, Sophie’s dad runs the household while Sophie’s mom is gone. While Dad does things differently, he achieves a peace and civility at the dinner table that Mom had failed to do. Do you think family dinners together (and civil ones at that) are going the way of electric typewriters? What are your thoughts on that?

From everything I read and the people I talk to, families either never sit down at the table at the same time, or work very hard to make sure they do at least a few times a week. The whole subplot with Mrs. Hartley leaving Mr. Hartley in charge came as a surprise to me as I wrote the book. But Mrs. Hartley’s being sick-and-tired of the constant nit-picking and her children arguing was a reflection of the way my own mother felt at times, I’m sure. I do remember her telling us to “go talk to Dad!” about a subject she was sick of being nagged about. Kids usually see their mothers as more tender, easier targets than their fathers. I really enjoyed putting Mr. Hartley in charge and watching the results.

I think family meals are critically important to the job of helping children become polite, social, engaged human beings, and the fact that so many of them are left to their own devices so much of the time these days doesn’t bode well for family life in the future. How many kids actually get to eat meals their mothers cooked? How do they learn about good food, and the pleasure of sharing that? How do they learn how to be parents?

14 year-old Nora’s changing moods and dramatics make a deep impact on Sophie. Sophie also is in no hurry to know  “the facts of life,” or about “puberty.”  I thought this was refreshing and honest. Do you think there is pressure on kids today to know more than they are ready for?

I guess I do. I was one of the reluctant ones, like Sophie. The less I knew at that age, the better. I do think that children have effective filters against information they’re not ready to receive. But there’s only so much self-protecting they can do against the onslaught of sex, drugs, and violence in the media. The people who choose the trailers for coming movies in theaters have a lot to answer for.

How long does it take you to write a book? To write this one? Where do you write?

Sometimes it takes a few months, other times, years. If I’m lucky, I get the initial rush of an emotion or idea in a flash, and then take whatever time needed to flush it out. But without that first burst of inspiration, I get nowhere.

I used to write in a tiny room off our laundry room. Now I write in a room that seconds as a guestroom. I have never had my own office. Small spaces work fine for me.

Thanks to ReaderKidZ for having me here.facts of life

Find out more about Stephanie and her books at www.stephaniegreenebooks.com .

Our Own Stephanie Greene: Author in Residence

Posted on 11/12/2013

ReaderKidZ’s own Stephanie Greene agreed to be interviewed for the release of Sophie Hartley and the Facts of Life, out from Clarion on November 19th. Greene’s trademark is her deft touch with humor and heart for middle grade readers.

This story centers around 4th grade concerns about ‘The Movie” (regarding puberty) that the girls are shown in the fifth grade. I remember it well. Do schools still do that? Have the methods of information delivery changed with technology?

Yes, schools still do. In some states, girls watch the movie in the fifth grade. In others, it’s the sixth. I’ve even heard about kids watching it in the fourth. As children develop at earlier and earlier ages, they’re being exposed to the facts concerning body changes earlier.

When I started this book a few years ago, I asked my ten-year-old niece, Amy, if she had to watch the movie. (I always say it in italics because that’s the way young girls say it. Ask one and see for yourself.) Amy shrieked, fell sideways on the couch, and covered her head with a pillow. I took that as a “yes.”

Sophie has two younger siblings and two older. It’s a rambunctious but loving family and household. How was your own family growing up similar to Sophie’s? How was it different?

The only similarities between the Hartleys and my family are that there are five children, and that I, like Sophie, was in the middle. But my siblings were much closer in age – 5 in 7 years (!)– while the Hartleys are spread out. My parents weren’t like Mr. and Mrs. Hartley, except that my mother was a non-nonsense person like Mrs. Hartley. I’m sure I’ve borrowed from my experiences for the sibling dynamics, but much of what actually happens in each of the books is made up.

There are issues of loyalty in this story. Sophie’s friend Alice is almost lured away by know-it-all Destiny, and Sophie is afraid that her father will “date” another woman when her mother is gone for a week. What does disloyalty mean to Sophie? What does it mean to the author?

Funny, but I hadn’t thought about loyalty when I wrote it. Girls of that age are frequently worried about losing their best friends, and not being in the popular group, so that’s where I got Sophie’s fears about Alice. Her concern about her father is really more about her worry that her parents might get divorced. I suppose Sophie reflects the uneasiness of that age group, when they’re moving out into the world on their own, and questioning family and friends, and basically at an unsure stage in many ways.

I don’t remember being worried about my friends when I was young, but when my parents argued I worried they’d get divorced. They never did, which probably contributed to my being a very loyal person.

NEXT: Part 2 of the interview!

The 14 Fibs of Gregory K.

Posted on 11/10/2013

The 14 Fibs of Gregory K. by Greg Pincus (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2013)

Like many of us who were stronger in language arts, Gregory K. loves writing poetry. However, he was born into a family of mathematical heavyweights. He struggles to keep up with his family’s math-centric view of the world, his father’s ambitious math expectations of him, and even math class at school. In fact, he’s flunking. Add to that, his best friend Kelly is moving 144 miles away at the end of the school year. She and Gregory have spent afternoons at Kelly’s mom’s pie store, The Slice, since they were babies. Kelly wants Gregory to go to Author Camp with her. His dad wants Gregory to enter City Math, the annual contest that both Dad and Gregory’s insufferable older brother, “O,” have won.

Gregory digs himself deeper into trouble by fibbing; to Kelly about camp and to his parents and math teacher about City Math. Fittingly, Gregory’s forte is Fibonacci poetry, or Fibs for short, which are poems based on the Fibonacci sequence of numbers (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8… syllables). As the ideal marriage of math and language, these Fibs solve for everything. And there’s lots of pi, along the way. Um, pie.

THE TREE LADY

Posted on 11/07/2013

 THE  TREE  LADY, written by H. Joseph Hopkins and illustrated by Jill McElmurry

The Tree Lady tells about the unusual and amazing life of Kate Sessions who lived at a time when girls were NOT supposed to play outside digging in the dirt and were NOT supposed to climb trees or wander in the woods gathering armfuls of leaves, acorns, and pine needles. Other girls were careful not to get their starched white petticoats muddy or wrinkled.  But not Kate!  She was interested in everything, especially trees.  Eventually, because of her love of  trees and her stubborn determination, Kate planted a whole park of trees – a whole city of trees.  People said, “Impossible!  Trees won’t grow in San Diego. It’s just barren dry desert.”  Kate said, “Just give me a chance.”

Kate grew up in northern California in the middle of the 1860’s.  She liked school and she loved science. She liked studying about the “wind and rain, muscles and bones, plants and trees.”

After high school Kate went to college.  What a gutsy girl.  Other young women were getting married and learning the skills of homemaking.  But not Kate.  In 1881, Katherine Olivia Sessions became the very first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science.  Science?!   A girl studying science?  Unheard of!

The illustrations and narrations in The Tree Lady delightfully convey Kate’s love and passion for learning about and growing all sorts of trees.  Whatever she grew, Kate shared. What remarkable gifts Kate Sessions gave to our country.  Kate figured out what kind of trees from other parts of the world would grow and thrive in the desert climate of southern California and throughout the southwest.  Kate sent for seeds from many different countries, grew seedlings, and planted her trees in what later became the famous Balboa Park in San Diego, one of the most beautiful city parks in the world.  Kate stubbornly led the way to increase public awareness and appreciation for conservation of all green growing things, and of course, especially trees.  Kate was awarded many honors for her work in horticulture but her favorite of all was her honorary title, Kate Sessions, Mother of Balboa Park.

Published by Beach Lane Books,  Simon & Schuster, NY, 2013

 

A Conversation with Author Melissa Stewart, Part 2

Posted on 11/05/2013

Earlier in the week, we learned about Melissa the author and now we’re going to get to know the person. She is the author of No Monkeys, No Chocolate and more than 150 science books for children.

What were your interests as a young person? And what did you like to read? Any favorite books?

I always loved science. Both of my parents were scientists, and they fostered my natural curiosity. My parents owned 10 acres of land on one side of my street, and there was a national forest on the other side of the street. I spent most of my childhood exploring them. Since I was always on the go, I didn’t read much as a child. I do have happy memories of devouring Mr. Mysterious and Company by Sid Fleishman.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Many writers know from early childhood that they are destined to a life devoted to putting words down on paper, but the idea never occurred to me until my final year of college. One of my biology professors knew I was struggling to choose a career path.  One day she showed me an article in Discover magazine. It was written by a woman who had graduated from my college and dealt with a topic related to my senior research project, which involved sequencing fruit fly DNA. Professor Williams told me she thought I was a good writer and could have written that piece myself. I knew she was right, and suddenly, my future path stretched out before me.

A few days later, I applied to New York University’s prestigious Science and Environmental Reporting Program. Luckily, I was accepted. Melissa StewartAfter graduating, I worked as an editor for nine years. Finally, I mustered the courage to quit my job and started writing full-time. Now I get paid to learn everything I can about the natural world and share it with other people. What could be better than that?

Thus far, who has had the biggest influence in your life? Any role models growing up?

My parents were and are important role models. All of my family and friends are major influences, especially my nieces and nephews, my husband, my brother-in-law, and my writing group.

When you’re not working on a book, what might we find you doing?

When I’m not writing or speaking to kids or teachers, you can probably find me hiking or exploring the fields, forests, and wetlands near my home in Massachusetts. My husband and I spend as much time outdoors as we can.

What are three things you can’t live without? Is chocolate one of them?

I love chocolate, but I try to save it for special occasions. I don’t think I have any three things that I can’t live without, but I can’t imagine life without my husband and serene time spent in the natural world.

Melissa Stewart Talks Nonfiction and…Chocolate!

Posted on 11/03/2013

This month at ReaderKidZ we’re all about science and math and we’re kicking off November with a fabulous two-part interview with No Monkeys, No Chocolate author Melissa Stewart.  

No Monkeys, No Chocolate written by Melissa Stewart and Allen Young, illustrated by Nicole Wong (Charlesbridge, 2013) explains the story of where chocolate comes from in two layered levels of text. Stewart unravels the mystery in a simple text for young readers and follows it up by adding rich expository details for older readers, blending the two together seamlessly. By the end of the story, we’ve discovered the mystery of where chocolate comes from and how the cocoa beans are dependent on the cocoa pods, flowers, leaves, stems, roots, fungi, lizards, midges, maggots and yes – monkeys! Two adorable bookworms add commentary and humor and the back matter gives readers additional information on cocoa and rain forests, and how to be better stewards of the planet.

Melissa Stewart is the award winning author of over 150 science books for children. She believes nothing brings her books to life better than solid research. She has explored tropical rainforests in Costa Rica, traveled on safari in East Africa, and swum with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands, all in order to bring exciting stories to her readers.

ReaderKidZ: Where did the idea to write about No Monkeys, No Chocolate come from?

MS: It was a long, winding road to publication, so I created an Interactive Timeline to tell the story. Get the details here: http://www.melissa-stewart.com/timeline/10yr_timeline.html [Do check it out – it’s fascinating!]

ReaderKidZ: No Monkeys, No Chocolate is co-authored with Allen Young. How did you come to write this book together? He lives in Wisconsin and you live in Massachusetts. Did you write together or apart?

MS: Dr. Young is a curator emeritus of the Milwaukee Public Museum and the world’s leading expert in cocoa tree pollination and growth. He provided key research for the book—information that I couldn’t get anywhere else, but I did all the writing.

ReaderKidZ: How much research went into the writing of No Monkeys, No Chocolate?

MS: I actually researched two books while working on No Monkeys, No Chocolate. One that never got published and one that did—eventually. I spent about a year doing research, but the final critical details came from Dr. Young.

Melissa Stewart

ReaderKidZ: Can you offer young people any research tips?

MS: I have four ways of getting information for all the books I write:

  1. reading books, magazines, and newspapers
  2. personal observations in the natural world
  3. interviewing scientists and other experts
  4. the internet

Sometimes I read webpages for basic background information, but my most critical use of the internet is to find experts in the subjects I write about.

ReaderKidZ: The monkey species is not named in the book? Do many different monkey species contribute to eating the cocoa pods and scattering the cocoa beans?

MS: The monkey in the book is a capuchin, and these little monkeys spread the most cocoa seeds. A few other small, squirrel-like animals also eat cocoa pulp and spread some seeds.

ReaderKidZ: How do you decide what to write about next? And where do you get your ideas from?

MS: I get ideas all the time—from things I read, people I speak to, places I visit. Getting ideas is easy, but keeping track of them can be hard. That’s why I have an idea board in my office. Whenever I have an idea, I tack it up there. Then, when it’s time to start work on a new book, I look and choose an idea off the board.

Sometimes I research an idea for a while and it turns out not to be as intriguing as I thought it would be. I drop it and move on to something else. Eventually, I find an idea that has all the ingredients for a great book and I dig into the deep research and writing process.

Melissa's Idea Board

                                                                     Melissa’s Idea Board

Part 2 of our interview will follow later this week. See you then!

Me and Mama and Big John

Posted on 10/31/2013

Me and Mama and Big John by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by William Low

Mama has a new job working in a big fancy church in New York City called Big John. She and others have been trained as stonecutters in conjunction with an apprentice program that the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine offered to the young unemployed residents of the community.

Begun in 1982, the apprentice program lasted some 25 years. One of those apprentices, Carol Hazel, a single mother to four, inspired Me and Mama and Big John. Hers is a quiet but powerful story of the pride and dignity felt by those who lovingly transformed gray stone to art  – “Not for an art to look at. For an art to be.”

Reflecting back on her time working at the cathedral, Hazel says today, “Stonecutting is in my blood. The cathedral is a beautiful thing, and beautiful people helped build it.”

In a world in which many clamor for attention, this is a story of devotion. Mama’s stone wouldn’t garner any awards and would take its place beside many similar stones to form the cathedral tower. And yet her work was honorable and noble. A good reminder for all of us, children and adults.

For more about St. John and the artisan program, readers might enjoy this NY Times article from 1987, which also includes a short piece about Carol Hazel.