In Miriam Glassman’s charming Call Me Oklahoma!, fourth-grader Paige Turner’s life is altered when she sees the Roger’s and Hammerstein’s musical Oklahoma! with her high-spirited cousin during the summer break. The music has her bouncing in her seat, bubbling with the desire to be like the “spunky women twirling around,” and “all the people onstage waving their hats and yell[ing] Yee-haw! (4)” To Paige there’s something about the name Oklahoma that is transformational, that represents power and confidence and guts. She decides that it’s time for a change. When school resumes she will assume the name of Oklahoma and all of the moxie and trouble that goes with it. Things get complicated for Paige, a.k.a. Oklahoma. Relationships get frayed. Loyalties get lost. Paige ultimately learns about the value of true friendship through understanding the complexities of personalities and being true to oneself. Oklahoma, OK!
Click HERE to watch a clip of the musical that sparked a desire for gutsy greatness in a girl who wanted more. Be careful. You might find yourself bouncing in your seat and shouting “Yee-haw!”
Enjoy a ReaderKidZ interview with Miriam Glassman HERE.
To read more about Miriam and her newest book, Call Me Oklahoma!, visit her website HERE.
Everyone knows that starting a new school year is both exciting and a little scary. There’s a new teacher to get to know, a new class to become part of and, yes, more complicated math problems. But there’s also the great smell of brand new school supplies, and maybe a special outfit, or new shoes. Best of all, there’s the chance to make a fresh start.
For Paige Turner, the start of fourth grade is the moment she’s been waiting for to make a huge fresh start and become the person she wants to be: Someone who doesn’t throw up on the teacher’s shoes from stage fright, someone who isn’t afraid to flip on the highest monkey bars, and someone who can stand up to the class bully, Viveca Frye. And it all starts with a gutsy, new name: Oklahoma!
It takes a lot of work for Paige to bring out her inner Oklahoma, but she’s helped along the way by her best friend, her sympathetic teacher, her bratty cousin, and some funny but inspiring events at home and at school.
The idea for this story came to me when my younger daughter, Julia, told me about a girl at camp named, Oklahoma. “That’s her real name?” I asked. And Julia said, “No. That’s just what she told everyone to call her.” That got me wondering: Why would someone ever take the name of our forty-sixth state? Could a new name be the start to a whole, new personality? That’s when Paige Turner stepped into my life. I hope you’ll have fun getting to know her, and cheering her on. I had a lot of fun writing about her, and illustrating the story, too.
I also hope that reading Call Me Oklahoma! will inspire you to discover the many possible selves inside you and like Paige, shout out a joyful, Yee-haw!
To kick off our month of celebrating humor, ReaderKidZ is thrilled to welcome Miriam Glassman and her hilarious new middle grade novel Call Me Oklahoma! (Holiday House, 2013)
I feel lucky to have grown up in a family that loves to laugh. Some of my family members are great at telling jokes and funny stories; others are great at doing impressions, or making wise-cracks. One of my earliest memories is of my dad bouncing me on his knee while singing silly songs from the 1940’s. Sometimes the songs made me laugh so hard, I fell right off his lap…not so funny! Well, maybe a little.
We lived in a suburb outside New York City, and it was always exciting to go into the city and see the dinosaur skeletons at the Museum of Natural History. My mom loved the theater and for me, the best treat was when my older brother and I got to go along, too. But we also knew how to make our own fun. When our parents went out, we played Cottage Cheese Monster, just like the kids do in Call Me Oklahoma! My brother claimed that eating a spoonful of cottage cheese turned him into a monster, and then the monster would chase me all around the house. It was great!
My parents often played music in the house, especially soundtracks from musical theater. I enjoyed them so much, I would sneak the records up to my room, close the door, and act out all parts. My favorite was “Peter Pan,” and I’d jump from my bed and dresser, pretending to fly. Pretending was one of my favorite things to do, and it led to a love for acting. Even though I was kind of a shy kid, I always enjoyed performing.
When I was in the fifth grade, my parents got divorced, and I had to switch schools. At first, I was confused by the building and the schedule. One day, the teacher told us to line up with our notebooks. I thought school was over, so instead of following the class to music, I walked straight out of the building, and all the way home!
What kind of a student were you?
I was a good student, and enjoyed learning. I especially liked reading, though I often preferred reading the same few books over and over. Beverly Cleary was one of my favorite authors. I loved the funny, yet believable, situations Henry, Beezus, and Ramona found themselves in. For years, Klickitat Street felt like my other home address.
I always liked hanging out in libraries, but not just for the books. There were times when I hoped to avoid a bully in my class, so I secretly skipped school and spent the day at the library, instead. Years later, I worked at a library. I guess it’s never stopped being a place that feels comfortable to me.
What were your favorite things to do when you were young?
When I wasn’t being chased by my brother, I liked drawing, playing with dolls, climbing trees, roller-skating, spying, listening to comedy albums, and watching TV. My favorite television shows were comedies, and I often wrote letters to the ones I liked best. Some of those shows even wrote back to me. I think that’s when I discovered how much I enjoyed writing. I saw how it could connect me to the world beyond my room.
Did you ever get into trouble at home or school?
When I was very young, I often got in trouble for drawing on the walls at home. It didn’t make sense why it was okay to draw on blank paper, but not on a blank part of the wall. In a way, it still doesn’t.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?
I’d like to be a Shakespearian actor or on the sketch comedy show, “Saturday Night Live.” Either one would be challenging, and fun.
Do you have a special place where you write books?
I write in a little upstairs room filled with things that make me smile–family photos, cartoons, and art that my two daughters have made. Every morning, our dog, Chloe, makes sure I get upstairs to work. She’ll even bark at me if she thinks I’m lingering too long over the newspaper. She’s a lot like Nana from “Peter Pan.”
What’s the hardest part about writing a book? How long does it take?
For me, the hardest part is finding a good plot for my characters. They seem to show up in my mind before I know what it is they really want, or how they’re going to get it. Some books take about six months to write, others take longer. But whether it’s a picture book or a novel, I have to write it over and over till the characters and plot work well together. When that finally happens, it’s a great feeling!
To read more about Miriam Glassman and her newest book, Call Me Oklahoma!, visit her website HERE.
Few things are harder to write or more fun to read than a funny book. From picture books with silly rhymes, to books for older readers with zany characters and outlandish plots, funny books are always a huge hit. To kick off our month of celebrating humor, ReaderKidZ is thrilled to welcome Miriam Glassman and her hilarious new middle grade novel Call Me Oklahoma! (Holiday House, 2013)
It’s the first day of fourth grade and Paige Turner is tired of being, well, Paige. She longs to be someone new and exciting. Someone who will eat boiled brain nuggets without flinching. Stand up to the Cottage Cheese Monster. Even face down the class bully, Viveca Frye. And that new person is … Oklahoma! To Paige, it’s a name with guts. She’s got her boots and her hat – she’s ready to go. But when she tells the class her new name and they all make fun of her, will Oklahoma have what it takes to be true to the new her?
Glassman, who also did the illustrations, handles a child’s desire to explore a new inner self with a light and deft tough. Readers will cheer Oklahoma on, laughing all the way. Look for Call Me Oklahoma! in April 2013, and share it with your favorite class, library, or middle-grade reader!
And don’t forget to stop by to read an interview with Miriam Glassman, learn about the inspiration for Oklahoma!, have a peek at her amazing illustrations, and read her “Letter to Readers.”
Informational books for children keep getting better – innovative designs, creative presentations, plus captivating images that often mix photographs and historical papers with colorful art.
I think the most striking quality of current nonfiction books for children is that each book is a story – a story with setting, characters, plot or “through line,” and most important, “heart.” What I mean by heart is that the passion of the author for the subject shines right through the words and captures the heart of the reader. When children read that last page, they not only know new information, but just as importantly, the reader cares. Wow! I want to read more. Where’s another book?
Leda Schubert’s picture book biography of Marcel Marceau does just that. Recently we posted an interview with Leda HERE at ReaderKidZ and two of her comments are especially relevant:
How did you think his story might translate into a picture book? In other words, why not a middle grade or YA biography?
LEDA: I love picture books. That’s the truest answer. I think they are one of the great art forms. A good picture book is an entire world for a child; it opens minds and creates images that stay forever (or until the memory goes, as mine is, ugh). Also, I’ve been involved in one way or another in early childhood education for most of my life, and it seems natural for me to gravitate to the child reader. On the other hand, I don’t really think about audience when I write–but that’s another question. Plus I wanted illustrations! I wanted readers to see him and experience the magic as much as possible.
How is this book different from your other writing?
LEDA: I think the World War II sections are much darker than anything I’ve published, and they’re certainly dark for a picture book. They were difficult to write and I almost deleted them, but they were also the core of M. Marceau’s story. Other than that, it’s more similar than different, in that it’s always a matter of finding the right story, the through-line, and the right words–and then cutting it down to what’s absolutely necessary.
Look over the entire list of this year’s winning books at NCTE’s SITE, which includes Honorable Mention books and Recommended books. Also find recent ReaderKidZ reviews of two additional books included on the list: We’ve Got a Job by Cynthia Levinson and Life in the Oceanby Claire Nivola.
The entire list is invaluable – especially for anyone looking for engaging nonfiction for classroom use. Books for this prize have to be not only excellent, but appeal to a wide age of readers, K- 8.
My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood is an expressive tale about the diverse range of colorful emotions generated by everyday sibling rivalry. In the story, Jamie, a naturally creative boy, finds cool green pleasure in creative expression and dark-toned frustrations when his older siblings relentlessly tease him. He works hard to keep his frustrations under control until, at long last, in a smoky blast of brown, Jamie stands up for himself. In the end, all is well as Jamie becomes purple cold plum peaceful once again.
Author Tameka Fryer Brown’s lively text is perfectly complimented by illustrator Shane Evans’ subtle use of color to establish active and passive moods – Jamie’s kalideoscopic range of emotions. And, to delve even further into the world of color as the expression of feelings, Tameka is offering a CCSS Annotated Discussion and Activity Guide as an academic supplement to her delightful picture book. In it, the notion of “being” is considered in the light of the wide realm of colorful emotional diversity the resides within us all.
Rendi has stowed away in a merchant’s cart and left home. As soon as he’s discovered, he’s made to work in service to Master Chao, the owner of a humble inn located in the Village of Clear Sky. Rendi sneers at the shabby inn and the broken down homes of the village. And why, Rendi wonders, is he is the only one who’s tormented by the crying of the dark night.
When the mysterious Madame Chang arrives, wearing the cotton robes of a commoner, Rendi’s intrigued. She’s elegant, magical. Her stories whisk him away from the horrible village and his unwanted memories of home, filling him with longing. Soon, Madame Chang makes a deal – Rendi will tell his own stories, if hers makes him lose his sullen disposition and, finally, laugh.
So begins the solving of the puzzle of the missing moon and the mournful tones of the night. The interweaving of Rendi’s tales with those of Madame Chang, and with the lives of Master Chao, his young daughter, Peiyi, and a small group of villagers lead to Rendi’s transformation and eventual return home. A beautiful and satisfying follow-up to WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON.
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