2017 Kids' Lit Fest Author Victoria Scott

Meet Victoria Scott

Victoria Scott is the author of eight novels including Titans, Fire & Flood, Salt & Stone, the Dante Walker trilogy, Hear the Wolves (March 2017), and Violet Grenade (May 2017). She is published by Scholastic and Entangled Teen, and is represented by Sara Crowe of Pippin Properties.

Victoria’s latest novel, Titans, received two starred reviews, and Fire & Flood has been selected as a 2017 Spirit of Texas Reading Program book. Victoria’s novels have been bought and translated in fourteen foreign markets. The author currently resides in Philadelphia, and loves hearing from her readers.

Here are a few things about Victoria you may want to know:

1. She is deathly afraid of monkeys. No animal should look that much like a human.
2. She has a fiery passion for cotton candy. Her husband once drove herto seven different stores looking for the stuff. We they found it, she bought 12 bags.

3. She likes old, creepy-looking trees so much that she actually house-hunted by scouting streets with the best ones.
4. Music. If it’s not loud and angry, she wants no part of it.
5. She was a cheerleader in high school. Like a hard-core competitive cheerleader you see on ESPN(2).
6. It upsets her when YA books feature mean cheerleaders.
7. Her favorite color is yellow. She doesn't feel like it gets near enough street-cred.
8. She can twirl a baton like nobody’s business.
9. Movies with giant, robotic aliens scare her to her core. It could happen. She just knows it.

Meet Victoria Scott's Books

Hear the Wolves

Sloan is a hunter.

So she shouldn't be afraid of anything. But ever since her mom left the family and she lost hearing in one ear in a blizzard, it's been hard to talk to people, and near-impossible to go anywhere or do anything without her dad or big sister within eyesight - it makes her too scared to be on her own.

When they leave her home alone for what should only be two nights, she's already panicked. Then the snow starts falling and doesn't stop. One of her neighbors is hurt in an accident. And the few people still left in Rusic need to make it to the river and the boat that's tied there - their only way to get to a doctor from their isolated Alaska town.

But the woods are icy cold, and the wolves are hungry. Sloan and her group are running out of food, out of energy, and out of time. That's when the wolves start hunting them. . .

Titans

Ever since the Titans appeared in her Detroit neighborhood, Astrid Sullivan's world has revolved around the mechanical horses. It's not just the thrill of the race. It's the engineering of the horses themselves and the way they're programmed to seem so lifelike. The Titans are everything that fascinates Astrid, and nothing she'll ever touch.

She hates them a little, too. Her dad lost everything betting on the Titans. And the races are a reminder of the gap between the rich jockeys who can afford the expensive machines and the working class friends and neighbors of Astrid's who wager on them.

But when Astrid's offered a chance to enter an early model Titan in this year's derby, well, she decides to risk it all. Because for a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, it's more than a chance at fame or money. Betting on herself is the only way she can see to hang on to everyone in the world she cares about.

2017 Kids's Lit Fest Author Amy Ignatow

Meet Amy Ignatow

Amy Ignatow is an illustrator and teacher who has also been a farmer, a florist, a short-order vegan cook, a dancing chicken, an SAT prep instructor, a telefundraiser, a wedding singer, a ghost-writer for internet personal ads, a reporter, and an air-brush face and body painter working under the name "Ooga". She graduated from Moore College of Art and Design and lives in Philadelphia with her husband Mark and their cat, Mathilda, whom they believe to be well-meaning despite all evidence to the contrary.  Her first series of books, The Popularity Papers, is a Big Blue Marble bestseller, with legions of middle-grade fans.

 Meet Amy's New Series!

 The Mighty Odds is The Breakfast Club for a new generation.
 
From the renowned author/illustrator of the Popularity Papers series, Amy Ignatow, comes the first installment in a new series about a diverse crew of middle school kids who develop very limited superhero powers after a strange accident and manage to become unlikely friends on the adventure of a lifetime.

When a sweet nerd, an artsy cartoonist, a social outcast, and the most popular girl in school are involved in a mysterious bus accident, this seemingly random group of kids starts to notice some very strange abilities they did not have before. Artsy Martina can change her eye color. Nerdy Nick can teleport . . . four inches to the left. Outcast Farshad develops super strength, but only in his thumbs. And Cookie, the It Girl of school’s most popular clique, has suddenly developed the ability to read minds . . . when those minds are thinking about directions. They are oddly mighty—especially together.

This group—who would never hang out under normal circumstances—must now combine all of their strengths to figure out what happened during the bus accident. With alternating narratives from each of the heroes, including illustrated pieces from Martina, and featuring bold female superheroes and a multicultural cast, The Mighty Odds is The Breakfast Club for a new generation.

Celebrating Multiracial Families and Friendships: A List of Books for Kids and Teens

This past April, at the Mt. Airy Kids' Literary Festival, we welcomed Tanya Hutchins, author of Born Beautiful Biracial: A Compilation of Children's Essays, and Mt. Airy author Lori Tharps, creator of ?RU! t-shirts (for sale in the bookstore!), to facilitate a fascinating discussion dealing with the "What Are You?" questions that many people who grow up biracial or multiracial regularly face, as well as issues around who is perceived as family.

Here's a list of books we started compiling then, that address these questions in some way. Some feature multiracial families; some feature strong interracial friendships. Others celebrate the wide diversity of skin tones and other physical features among people of different races and cultures. It is, of course, only a small subset of all such books, though I expect it to grow over time. At the end is a list of links to other lists and resources, with even more books to explore.

Within each section below, the books are arranged chronologically, to give a sense of how things have evolved over time. An asterisk * marks a book in which multiracial/multicultural identity is incidental and not central to the story. (If I don't know or am not sure how to characterize it, I've left it off.)

Compiled by Jennifer Sheffield, with help from Jennifer Woodfin and Lori Tharps
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latest update: 7/9/17

Contents:

• Talking with kids about race
• Board books for babies and toddlers
• Picture books about families, bodies, and reproduction
• General picture books
• Middle Grade/Chapter books
• Young Adult books
• Some other lists and resources

Talking with kids about race:

The Skin I'm in: A First Look at Racism by Pat Thomas, illustrated by Lesley Harker (2003)
Let's Talk About Race by Julius Lester (2005)
The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler, illustrated by David Lee Csicsko (2005)
Born Beautiful Biracial: A Compilation of Children's Essays (by children ages 6-14), compiled by Tanya Hutchins (2014)

Board books for babies and toddlers:

*More, More, More Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams (1990)
A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza (1992)
Shades of Black by Sandra L. Pinkney, photographs by Myles C. Pinkney (2000)
*Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers, illustrated by Marla Frazee (2001)
I am Latino: The Beauty in Me by Sandra L. Pinkney, photographs by Myles C. Pinkney (2007)
Global Babies, a Global Fund for Children book (2007)
American Babies, a Global Fund for Children book (2010)
*A is for Activist (2013) and Counting on Community (2015) by Innosanta Nagara [also available in Spanish]
*Good Night, Wissahickon Valley Park by Adam Gamble and Mark Jasper, illustrated by Scotti Mann (2016)

Picture books about families, bodies, and reproduction:

*All Families Are Special by Norma Simon, illustrated by Teresa Flavin (2003)
The Family Book by Todd Parr (2003)
*The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Ros Asquith (2010)
*Who Has What? All About Girls' Bodies and Boys' Bodies by Robie Harris (2011)
*What Makes a Baby? by Cory Silverberg, illustrated by Fiona Smyth (2012) [This book separates the genetic/biological components from the emotional component of making a baby, thus allowing for nontraditional families.]
*Living with Mom and Living with Dad by Melanie Walsh (2012)
*It Takes Love (and Some Other Stuff) to Make a Baby by L.L. Bird, illustrated by Patrick Girouard (2014) [Two-mom family using donor insemination.]
Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne Lang & Max Lang (2015)
One Family by George Shannon, illustrated by Blanca Gomez (2015)

General picture books:

Black is Brown is Tan by Arnold Adoff (1973)
*Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka (1993)
*Jamaica and Brianna By Juanita Havill, illustrated by Anne Sibley O'Brien (1993)
All of the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka (1994)
Jalapeño Bagels by Natasha Wing, illustrated by Robert Casilla (1996)
Whoever You Are by Mem Fox, illustrated by Leslie Staub (1997)
*A Child's Calendar: poems by John Updike, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman (1999)
The Colors of Us by Karen Katz (1999)
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis (2001)
It's Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr (2001)
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi (2001)
*The Princesses Have a Ball by Teresa Bateman, illustrated by Lynne Cravath (2002)
*Felicia's Favorite Story by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Adriana Romo (2002)
I Love Saturdays y domingos by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Elivia Savadier (2002)
The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster, illustrated by Chris Raschka (2005)
Oscar's Half Birthday by Bob Graham (2005)
I am Latino: The Beauty in Me by Sandra L. Pinkney, photographs by Myles C. Pinkney (2007)
In Our Mothers' House by Patricia Polacco (2009)
*Shopping with Dad by Matt Harvey, illustrated by Miriam Latimer (2010)
*Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Sophie Blackall (2010)
*A Tale of Two Mommies by Vanita Oelschlager, illustrated by Kristin Blackwood and Mike Blanc (2011)
I am the World by Charles R. Smith, Jr. (2013)
*The Lonely Typewriter by Peter Ackerman, illustrated by Max Dalton (2014)
Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Zachariah Ohora (2015)
*The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton (2015)
*Double Trouble For Anna Hibiscus! by Atinuke, illustrated by Lauren Tobia (2015)
Real Sisters Pretend by Megan Dowd Lambert, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell (2016)
My New Mom and Me by Renata Galindo (2016)
Quackers by Liz Wong (2016)
*Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley, illustrated by Lauren Castillo (2016)
*The Airport Book by Lisa Brown (2016)

Middle Grade/Chapter books:

*The Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce, starting with Sandry's Book (1997)
Crossing Jordan by Adrian Fogelin (2000)
Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee (2003)
*The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex (2007, basis for the 2015 DreamWorks movie Home)
*The Popularity Papers series by Amy Ignatow, starting with The Popularity Papers (2010)
*The Flower Power series by Lauren Myracle, starting with Luv Ya Bunches (2010)
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine (2012)
The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani (2012)
My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula J. Freedman (2013)
*The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher (2014) and The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island (2016) by Dana Alison Levy
[Note: The asterisk here refers to the first book; the sequel does deal with race as a significant, though plot-secondary, issue.]
The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond by Brenda Woods (2014)
*Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff (2014)
Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones, illustrations by Katie Kath (2015)
Ghosts by Raina Telgemaier (2016)
Threads by Ami Polonsky (2016)
The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue, with illustrations by Caroline Hadilaksono (2017)

Young Adult books:

I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson (1994)
From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson (1995)
If You Come Softly (1998) and Behind You (2004) by Jacqueline Woodson
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher (2001)
Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Peña (2008)
Liar by Justine Larbalestier (2009)
*The Legend trilogy by Marie Lu, starting with Legend (2011)
*Hidden by Helen Frost (2011)
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (2012)
Endangered by Eliot Schrefer (2012)
*Rogue by Lyn Miller-Lachmann (2013)
*The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson (2014)
Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories, edited by Alisa Krasnostein & Julia Rios (2014)
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley (2014)
Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein (2015)
Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa (2015)
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (2015)
An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes by Randy Ribay (2015)
Peas and Carrots by Tanita S Davis (2016)
*Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven (2016)

Some other lists and resources:

Same Family, Different Colors: Confronting Colorism in America's Diverse Families (2016) by Lori Tharps, author of the blog My American Melting Pot (as well as creator of the shirts mentioned above)
Cool Mom Picks blog: How to talk to your kids about prejudice with the help of 12 of our favorite books
Pinterest: Anti-Bias Children's Books
Goodreads Listopia: Children's Books Depicting Multiracial Families
What Do We Do All Day blog: Multicultural and Diverse Children's Books (a list of lists)
Multiracial Asian Families blog: Multiracial Asian Children's Books
ComeUnity Adoption books: Multiracial Diversity Books for Children
Gay-Themed Picture Books for Children blog (includes foreign language books): Mixed-Race Families
Goodreads Listopia: Alternative Families in Children's Literature
Oakland Library: DÍA (Diversity in Action!): Great Kids' Books with Multiracial Characters
Goodreads Listopia: Mixed race protagonists in middle grade and young adult novels
Booklist Online: Classroom Connections: Multiracial Characters (Middle Grade and YA)
Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA): Mixed, But Not Mixed Up: Biracial Characters in YA Lit.

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*An asterisk marks books in which multiracial/multicultural identity is incidental and not central to the story. If I don't know or am not sure how to characterize it, I've left it off.

Five Books That Make Jen Grateful for Modern Medicine

During the growing outbreak of measles in Southern California and environs, it becomes ever more clear that lots of people, including doctors, have never seen measles before and are not familiar with its presentation or its dangerous complications -- as is true of many diseases that used to plague our forebears. Here are five books (plus a few more) that provide a powerful and close-up view of some illnesses that, due to vaccines or antibiotics, no longer scare us the way they once did.

polio:
Fleabrain Loves Franny by Joanne Rocklin (Abrams, $16.95)
This new release is the story of ten-year-old Franny, who is relearning to navigate her world, both physically and socially, after contracting polio -- while living in the neighborhood of Pittsburgh where Dr. Jonas Salk is working hard on what Franny hopes is a cure. Alternate point of view (and some diversion for Franny) provided by Fleabrain, a flea with literary aspirations who lives on her dog's tail.

yellow fever:
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson (Simon & Schuster, $7.99)
A story of the eponymous yellow fever epidemic, which took place in Philadelphia. Follows 14-year-old Mattie Cook through her family's attempt to flee the fever, only to return and deal with it in a city that is falling into chaos. Includes a fascinating look at competing types of care, as physicians grasp for ways to contain the epidemic. About a week after I read the book I found myself walking in Washington Square, where, I had just learned, mass graves accumulated during the epidemic. It felt suddenly very different, walking on history...

influenza:
Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell (Ballantine, $15.00)
This book is not about influenza; it's a historical novel about the politics of the Middle East in the 1920s, with Lawrence of Arabia and Gertrude Bell as featured characters. However, it starts by vividly framing the Roaring Twenties in the United States as a rebound from the horrors of death -- not just after World War One but also after the 'flu epidemic of 1918-1919 that ran rampant through otherwise healthy populations and devastated entire families and communities.

measles:
Pippi in the South Seas by Astrid Lindgren (Puffin, $5.99)
I hadn't reread the third Pippi book in a long time, so I was surprised to discover recently that her friends Annika and Tommy both come down with the measles, which confines them to bed for weeks and leaves them pale and shaky for a long time afterward. (Caution: this book, more than the others in the series, is predicated on a strongly colonialist view of the south sea islands.)

scarlet fever:
All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor (Yearling, $6.99)
A wonderful tale of life on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1911. Scarlet fever shows up just before Passover, and the house is quarantined for the duration. (I was originally going to feature By the Shores of Silver Lake here, since the effects are more dramatic, but it turns out that Mary Ingalls' blindness was likely caused by something quite different, such as viral meningoencephalitis. Scarlet fever does not cause blindness.)

Runners-up:
influenza and black death:
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (Spectra, $7.99)
malaria ("fever 'n' ague"):
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (HarperCollins, $6.99 or $8.99)
scarlet fever again:
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Penguin, $3.95)
pertussis:
I'm fairly certain that I once read a book in which someone has whooping cough. On a train, maybe? Does anyone have any idea what book this is? Please let me know!

Jennifer Sheffield, January 2015

Sarah’s Top Five Fictional Girl Characters Who Rule Kid Lit

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
(HarperCollins, $6.99)
I grew up with Ramona Quimby and I still really like these books. Even more than I like reading them myself, I like listening to the audiobooks which are read delightfully by Stockard Channing.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
(Random House, $6.99)
I reread this book every couple of years and I’ve given it away as a gift enough times to have bought a carton of books. This book holds up really well over time and the lessons about truth and friendship are as valid and important as they were the first time I read this.

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
(Penguin, $7.99)
When I was a kid I wanted to BE Pippi Longstocking. She can lift her horse one-handed and her dad is a pirate. She lives alone with no adult supervision. A great book for any day you could use a good laugh.

Matilda by Roald Dahl (Penguin, $6.99)
Most smart kids will relate to the tyranny of unreasonable adults in this book. Roald Dahl does a good job of being sympathetic without patronizing. Despite being 25 years old, this book remains timely and relevant.

Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentine by Barbara Park
(Random House, $4.99)
These books were written way after I was a kid, but I read them to my little cousins and with each new Junie B. adventure, we giggled and rooted for everything to come up happily ever after once more. There are a ton of these books, but Mushy Gushy Valentine is my fave.

Sarah Rose, September 2014

Author Interview: Jill Santopolo

by Cordelia Jensen

Hi Jill! Thanks for joining us on the Big Blue Marble Bookstore blog. We are also happy you will be participating in our Kids' Literary Festival as part of the Middle Grade roundtable event on Saturday, 5/17, at 3pm, at the store.

Here’s a bit about the Sparkle Spa series:

Making friends one sparkly nail at a time – a new series!

Sisters Aly and Brooke love spending time at their mom’s popular and successful nail salon—it’s their “home away from home.” At the end of another incredibly busy day, Mom complains she is completely overwhelmed at work, even more so by all the kids who come to have manis and pedis. 

That’s when the sisters have a brilliant idea: Why don’t they open up a mini nail salon just for kids within Mom’s store?

My favorite part of the series is how distinct Aly and Brooke are from each other but also how fiercely they’re both devoted to each other and the nail salon. Were Aly and Brooke’s characters clear in your head from the beginning or did they change at all? When you were a kid, were you more like one sister?

Aly and Brooke were both very much themselves from the start—I knew I wanted 
one sister who was super responsible and organized and practical and another who 
was extra creative and artistic and chaotic. But as the books progressed, I added 
to their characters, giving them favorite colors and likes and dislikes and physical 
attributes. I also, knew, though, that even though their personalities were pretty 
different, they would love each other—and the salon—fiercely, and that hasn’t 
changed at all. 

As a kid I was probably a little more like Aly. I was thoughtful and a pretty good 
rule-follower.

How much research did you do for this book? Did you come across new nail polishes you had never heard of before? Did you see any real dogs get their nails done?

The main research I did was attempting to polish my parents’ dog’s nails with 
special puppy nail polish. Sadie the dog was not too happy about it, and I ended up 
doing only two toenails before my sister convinced me to give up. 

The nail polish names in the book are all made up, but they’re based on the sort of 
polish names on the bottles in the nail salons near my apartment. I feel like new ones 
have arrived every time I stop by!

What was fun about writing these books? What was hard?

I had the most fun coming up with the nail polish names and the special manicures 
the girls do in the salon. And I think the hardest part was trying to get everything I 
wanted to write to fit into such a short book!

I like how the message in the series is that you can be a girl who is both “sparkly 
and strong.” As a mother of a sparkly and active sort of girl, I so appreciate this sentiment. I am assuming this was a very important piece for you to work into the story without wanting to seem heavy-handed?

Yes, it absolutely was. I feel like there’s a false dichotomy set up in society that 
says that either a girl can like princesses and sparkles (etc) or she can like sports 
and tree-climbing (etc). And part of why I wanted to write this book is to show that 
it doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. I was a kid who climbed trees wearing 
sparkly party shoes and played soccer with ribbons in my hair. I want girls to know 
that they don’t have to choose—that they can embrace all sides of themselves.

Tell us a little about your other books and upcoming projects.

Well the next Sparkle Spa book is coming out in June. It’s called Makeover Magic 
and it’s about what happens when a new salon opens up across the street and Aly 
and Brooke have to fight to keep their customers for Auden Elementary’s Fall Ball. 
And then I’m also working on a series for teens called Follow Your Heart, in which 
each book has thirteen different endings to choose from and each reader can pick 
the one that’s right for her—or him. The first book, Summer Love, just came out 
a couple of weeks ago. And then there will be more Sparkle Spa and Follow Your 
Heart books to come in 2014 and 2015.

Is there anything else you would like us to know about the Sparkle Spa series or 
about you as an author?

I’m really happy to be coming to the Big Blue Marble Bookstore!

We are very excited to have you--here's a picture of my daughter Lily and her friends with one of the Rainbow Sparkle pedicures featured in the first book of the Sparkle Spa series:

And, lastly, our “3 for 3” book-related questions:

1. What were 3 of your favorite books when you were a child/teen? 
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson, Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, A Tree 
Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

2. What are 3 books you’ve read recently that surprised you? We Were Liars by 
E. Lockhart, I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson, Creativity Inc. by Ed 
Catmull 

3. What are 3 books that influence/d your writing? Kristy’s Big Idea by Ann M. 
Martin, Sunset Island by Cherie Bennett, Here’s To You Rachel Robinson by 
Judy Blume

Thanks! If you live in the Philly area come see Jill at the bookstore on Saturday, May 17th! She'll be part of a roundtable discussion with Shawn Stout, also interviewed here recently, and Kathleen Van Cleve, author of Drizzle.

Jill Santopolo is the author of the Sparkle Spa series, the Alec Flint mysteries and the Follow Your Heart books.  She's also an editor at Penguin Young Reader's Group and an MFA thesis advisor at The New School. You can visit her online at www.jillsantopolo.com or follow her on Twitter @JillSantopolo.

If you're local to the area, please let the bookstore know if you would like to order books from the Sparkle Spa, Follow Your Heart, or the Alex Flint series. You can email orders to orders [at] bigbluemarblebooks [dot] com, call (215) 844-1870, or come see us at 551 Carpenter Lane, in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Finally, join us in June for Cordelia's interview with Lisa Graff, author of many books including A Tangle of Knots and the new Absolutely Almost, both edited by the multi-talented Jill Santopolo! 

Author Interview: Miriam Glassman

by Cordelia Jensen

Hi Miriam!

Your book Call Me Oklahoma! was my daughter’s favorite book of the summer. Here's a brief synopsis:

"From now on, call me Oklahoma!" nine-year-old Paige Turner announces on the first day of fourth grade. She is determined that this year she will be different: someone gutsy—brave enough to stand up to her tormentor, class bully Viveca Frye. 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 hilarious but inspiring events at home and at school.

Paige does manage to overcome most of her fears, and in the process she learns that a true friend offers all the courage she needs.

First, let’s talk names. My daughter’s name Lily is in this book. And my name, Cordelia, is also in this book. And Paige’s whole idea is that she will be a braver person if she has a name like Oklahoma as opposed to Paige. Is this concept what first brought on the idea for the story? Was she ever going to be named a different state besides Oklahoma or was it always Oklahoma? Did you ever wish you could change your name when you were a kid? 

Hi Cordelia!

I’m so delighted that your daughter enjoyed Call Me Oklahoma! And how great to meet an actual Cordelia! As you know, it’s Cordelia who inspires Paige to reinvent herself. I love the name, and it seemed fitting for the bouncy, dynamic cousin in my book.

But why Oklahoma? Well, the seed of the story came from my younger daughter who came home from camp one day and mentioned a girl named, Oklahoma. I said, “Wait a minute. You have a friend named, Oklahoma?” And my daughter said, “Well, that’s not her real name. It’s just what she asked people to call her.” That got me thinking: Why would a person ever choose the name, Oklahoma? And would having a feisty name like that change one’s self-perception? That’s when Paige Turner stepped into my life. I wanted to write about a kid who feels the power of names, and who tries to embody the spirit of her new name and become more courageous. I never thought about Paige taking on any other name. Oklahoma is not only fun to say, but in this book, also has associations with the musical, which is about the Oklahoma territory becoming a state--another story of change and promise. It seemed logical to me that Paige would be moved by the optimism of the title song and the spirited characters. And in her choice of such a unique name, she signals that she’s already begun connecting with her inner Oklahoma.

As for my own name, yes, absolutely, I wanted to change it. Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, my friends all had fun, high-energy names: Amy! Debbie! Lisa! Donna! Karen! Vicki! And then there was...Miriam. It felt like a heavy, wool coat I had to wear all year round, and I dearly wished my name was Julie. Incidentally, the editor on this book is named, Julie. I’d also like to add that I’ve since made peace with my name.

Your illustrations are terrific. Did you submit the story with them or add them 
later? How does your writing process compare to your drawing process? Is one more energizing than the other? More frustrating? 

I had a lot of trepidation about sending illustrations with the story. Although my agent wanted to include my sketches with the manuscript, I made her promise she wouldn’t unless the story was accepted. I hadn’t illustrated professionally for years, and had galloping insecurities about my drawings. I got a little zing of courage, however, when the story was accepted; so the sketches were sent to Holiday House. I figured by then, it couldn’t hurt. Turned out, the editor felt the spot illustrations made the piece stronger. That really surprised me and the lesson I took away from that experience is, don’t hold back anything that enriches or energizes a piece for you.

I enjoy both writing and illustrating, but writing is often more frustrating. It’s much
harder for me to get narrative and characters down on paper than it is to realize my ideas for drawings. That said, I went through pads of tracing paper till I was happy with the way the characters looked. I’m sure that was partly due to being so out of practice. Also, because I draw in a cartoon style, each line has to feel just right to me. The size of a dot for an eye or the slant in the line of a mouth radically affects the look and feel of a character.

I love the final paragraph of the book. And the idea that we all have so many 
possibilities inside of us and we don’t just have to be this one way or one thing. I like how you encourage self-exploration in the book and I am glad that Paige’s parents do too. Is this something that grew out of your own experience as a parent? As a kid? Or was it just the logical way to take Paige’s story?

The idea of reinventing oneself and the struggle to be one’s true self has long been a theme I’ve been interested in, both as an individual and as a parent. I’m fascinated by how we define ourselves, and the courage it takes to redefine ourselves as we grow and change.

Viveca Frye is a strong antagonist and a multi-dimensional one. Did you do any free writing from her perspective? 

I didn’t do any free-writing for Viveca, but she emerged more fully in revision. I wanted her to be more of a power player than textbook bully. We’ve all known kids who are both admired and feared and who lean into their insecurities rather than their strengths. Towards the end of the story, however, Paige encourages Viveca to nurture one of strengths, which is her artistic talent. And in embracing it rather than dismissing it, there’s a suggestion that Viveca is on her way to discovering one her many possible selves.

Is there anything else you would like readers to know about this book? 

This was my kitchen sink book in the sense that a lot of the material came from scraps of my life, both past and present: my daughter’s old clogs, the “magic” rubber light bulb, her familiarity with personal jinxes, the cottage cheese monster game I played with my brother, and the pets in the talent show. It was like cleaning out a closet and discovering all this good stuff I could use to build Paige’s world.

What are you working on now? Any chance of a sequel for Paige? 

I am currently working on a middle-grade novel about kids at an overnight camp. And yes, I’d like to follow Paige through fourth grade, maybe focus on the run-up to the winter holidays. So, chances are the title won’t be, Call Me Cincinnati!

And now for our “3 for 3” book-related questions:

What were 3 of your favorite books as a child/teen? 

1. The Lonely Doll by Dare Wright. I truly felt pulled inside this story, and think it
was my first experience of a book as another world I could inhabit just by turning
the pages.

2. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. This book totally spoke to me. I admired and greatly envied Harriet’s brash honesty.

3. Agatha Christie mysteries. These books did a spectacular job of blocking out a lot of middle school for me!

What 3 books have you read recently that surprised you? 

Hard to think of a book that surprised me, but recent books that have stayed with me include: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, P.S. Be Eleven, by Rita Williams-Garcia, and A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra.

What 3 books influence/d your writing? 

1. A Girl Called Al by Constance C. Greene. The economy of dialogue and sharp observations taught me a lot about writing humor. 

2. Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, by E.L.
Konigsburg. The voice and characters in this book have stayed with me since
I first read it in fifth grade, and Konigsburg’s intelligent, funny stories remain
models I turn to.

3. Birds of America by Lorrie Moore. I love these exquisite short stories, especially for their invigorating blend of anguish and humor.

Thanks so much! 

Thank you, Cordelia!

Miriam Glassman is the author/illustrator of CALL ME OKLAHOMA! (Holiday House, 2013), recently selected as one of the New York Public Library’s list of top children’s books for 2013. She is also the author of BOX TOP DREAMS (Delacorte), and a picture book, HALLOWEENA (Atheneum), illustrated by Victoria Roberts. 

Miriam has a master’s degree in teaching from Simmons College, and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has worked in children’s book publishing, as a library assistant, a children’s book reviewer for Publisher’s Weekly and as an illustrator for the educational market. Miriam has two grown daughters and lives with her husband in Massachusetts.

Thanks for reading!!! If you're local to the area, please let the bookstore know if you would like to place a special order for Call Me Oklahoma!  You can email orders to orders [at] bigbluemarblebooks [dot] com, call (215) 844-1870, or come see us at 551 Carpenter Lane, in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Upcoming interviews: In the middle of February, look for Jen's interview with Judy Schachner, author/illustrator of Bits & Pieces and the Skippyjon Jones series.  At the end of the month, check back for Cordelia's interview with the talented Bonny Becker, author of the Bear series and the Ms. Plum books!

Beyond Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown: Sheila’s Five Mystery Series for Kids

Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (Random House, $4.99 each)

Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth by Jane O'Connor (HarperCollins, $9.99 each)

Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer (Penguin, $6.99 each)

The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley (Harry Abrams, $7.95 each)

The Clubhouse Mysteries by Sharon Draper (Simon and Schuster, $4.99 each)

Sheila Avelin, December 2013

Author Interview: Shawn K. Stout

by Cordelia Jensen

Today's interview features Shawn K. Stout and her spunky character Penelope Crumb. Here's a bit about the Penelope Crumb series, excerpted from Shawn's website:

The first three books in my new middle grade series, Penelope Crumb, Penelope Crumb Never Forgets, and Penelope Crumb Finds Her Luck published by Philomel/Penguin, are in bookstores now! Penelope is a fourth grader with a big nose and an even bigger imagination. She does a lot of sneaking around, fibbing an eensy-weensy bit, and breaking about a gazillion of her mother’s rules. Oh goodness. This Penelope Crumb girl sounds like a handful, doesn’t she?

Penelope Crumb was chosen as a Bankstreet Best Book of 2013!

Penelope has her very own book trailer on YouTube. If you check it out, I will like you a whole big bunch.

The fourth book in the series, Penelope Crumb Is Mad at theMoon, will be released in 2014. 

Now on to the interview . . . 

Hi Shawn! The Penelope Crumb series is just delightful! I loved reading it out loud to my almost 8 year old twins. They both laughed a whole lot. 

I noticed that the Penelope Crumb series focuses quite a bit on Penelope’s relationships with senior citizens. Was this intentional? Are you interested in how kids interact with the elderly?

This fact only occurred to me only after I’d written the third book in the series (so this ought to tell you how alarmingly attuned I am to what I’m writing). Although not intentional, I suppose it’s not surprising. Much of my childhood was spent hanging around with older people. My grandmother lived with us for a time, and when her arthritis got bad enough that she could no longer grip a bowling ball and had to drop out of her bowling league, I took her place. I was 14, and everybody else was pushing 80. I had a headgear, they had hearing aids. There was symmetry.

Yeah, I was That Girl.

Penelope is charming but she certainly has her faults. I was interested in how much I felt connected to her but also pretty sure she was “in the wrong” a fair amount of the time. Was this a hard balance for you to strike as a writer?

I like to think that Penelope makes the wrong decisions for the right reasons. She definitely has a unique view of how the world works, or should work, and I think she recognizes on some level that she’s a little different from other kids her age—and not just because of her big nose or because her father is Graveyard Dead. Although the latter has definitely shaped her experience and worldview. These differences are constantly being revealed to her, and as they become evident, she has to understand and learn how to deal with them. Most of the time, she makes the wrong choices, but isn’t that what being young is about? It was for me, at least.

I wanted Penelope to be different but always likeable, and I think I was aware of crossing that line when writing. Penelope means well, she really and truly does, and as long as I stayed true to her “right reasons” for making such bad choices, I felt readers would (hopefully) still want to root for her. I still root for her.

How did Penelope come to you? Fully constructed? As an image? As a voice?

Nothing ever comes to me fully constructed, sadly. How do you go about getting one of those fully constructed ideas? Someone please tell me immediately.

I had an idea centuries ago for a picture book about a girl with a big nose. I worked on a couple of drafts and then realized 1) I can’t write picture books, and 2) the story could be bigger than I originally conceived. Nearly 30 drafts later, Penelope’s voice is just about the only thing that stuck.

I like how proud Penelope is of her nose. And, in the first book, this pride sort of leads her to her missing grandfather. Such an unusual premise for a book. Is there a part of the book that is sort of a message to kids, to feel okay about the ways they are different? That this difference might even lead to something positive?

I don’t really think about messages in the story while I’m telling it. That is to say, I don’t write with messages in mind. I just try to tell a story and be true to the characters. Penelope is just the sort of character who admires standout features (it’s an artist’s job to notice such things) and happens to be proud of her big nose—for its “standout-ishness” and because it connects her to her dead father and her missing grandfather. Everyone is different, in their own way, after all; it’s just that some differences are on the outside and are more noticeable than others. If readers find a positive message about that from Penelope, something that helps them feel good about themselves, then I’ve got goosebumps.

I like Littie Maple a whole lot. I’m just saying. Any chance she might get her own series?!

Littie Maple should definitely have her own series. I’m in complete agreement with you on that. Let’s start a petition.

Let’s do it!

I read these books out loud to my kids, which made me more aware I think of the repetition in phrases in your characters and the very specific language Penelope uses to see the world (like the way she explains everyone’s expressions). Do you have a favorite catch phrase yourself?

I say “oh crap” a lot. Does that count as a catch phrase? I also say “marvy” every now and then, but only when I’m feeling especially rebellious.

What are you working on now? More Penelope Crumb? Something else?

I recently finished the fourth book in the series, called PENELOPE CRUMB IS MAD AT THE MOON (September 2014/Philomel). Warning: There’s a dreaded square dance involved in this book, and also a mishap at a fire safety assembly. I will say no more…

I’ve also been collaborating with my husband on a top-secret project, and I have a drawer full of manuscripts I need to look at to see if there is any breath in them. If I could find a way to write while I slept, I would be much more productive. Also, if my two-and-a-half year old could type, or spell, that would help me out a lot.

And now for our regular “3 for 3” book-related questions:

1.What were 3 of your favorite books when you were a child or teen?
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

2. What are 3 books you’ve read recently that surprised you?

 Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Piggy Bunny by Rachel Vail

 3. What are 3 books that influence/d your writing?

 The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Shawn K. Stout writes books for young people and anyone else who will read them. She is the author of the Not-So-Ordinary Girl series (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster) and the Penelope Crumb series (Philomel/Penguin). She has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives with her family, and more dirty dishes than you’d care to count, in Maryland.

Thanks for reading!!! If you're local to the area, please let the bookstore know if you would like to place a special order for any of the Penelope Crumb books.  You can email orders to orders [at] bigbluemarblebooks [dot] com, call (215) 844-1870, or come see us at 551 Carpenter Lane, in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia.

In January, look for Cordelia's interview with Miriam Glassman, author of the chapter book Call Me Oklahoma, and Jen's interview with Judy Schachner, author of the Skippyjon Jones series and the new picture book Bits & Pieces!