Wonder Wednesday #349 (Bookclub COVID Style)

 Wonder Wednesday - Breakfast with Books #ONE

*There are so many parts of teaching which are different this school year.

*One element of my classroom that I wasn't willing to let go of was our "Breakfast with Books" book club.  

*I wasn't quite sure how I was going to make it work, but I knew I wanted to find a way.

*In the past, I announced a selection, the fourth graders read the book, and we gathered in our classroom with book in hand and breakfast treats abound.  If we weren't lucky enough to have the author join our discussion in person, then they were front and center on the big screen via Skype.  

*That scenario wasn't going to play out during the 2020/21 school year.  

*On Thursday, October 8th the readers gathered via Zoom before school.  They brought their own breakfast, found a comfy spot with their screen, and were ready to talk all things "quirks".

*For the past many years, Erin Soderberg has made the trek to the suburbs of Minneapolis to join "Breakfast with Books".  This year she didn't have to go further than her living room.

*The readers had the chance to share comments and ask questions about the first story in the Quirks series.

*It wasn't quite like being in person, but we made it work, and I know the readers had a great time and are now ready to continue the story with books #2, #3, and #4.  One reader asked me if we could convince Erin to write a fifth story, but I told her I didn't think that was going to happen based on what the author has stated in the past.

*We are excited for her "PEACH" release in the spring of 2021.  

*Here are some images of our time with the wonderful Erin Soderberg...

An Inside Look #148 (Author INTERVIEW)

An Inside Look with Alyssa Hollingsworth

(Authors of The Invisible Boy)

*Welcome to my favorite feature of my blog.  

*Season #ONE (June of 2016 to March of 2017)

*Season #TWO (Summer of 2017)

*Season #THREE (School Year 2017/2018)

*Season #FOUR (Summer/fall of 2018)

*Season #FIVE (School Year 2018/2019)

*Season #SIX (Summer 2019) 

*Season #SEVEN (Fall 2019) 

*Season #EIGHT (Winter/Spring 2020)

*I'm excited to be back for season #NINE with brand new interviews/authors.  

*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" about their novel, characters, and thoughts about the story.

*This is the SIXTH interview in which I'm calling Season #NINE.  

*Thank you to Alyssa for being the One-Hundred Forty-Eighth author I've had the pleasure of interviewing.  I truly appreciate it.

*Here is my Review of the Novel...

The Invisible Boy Book Review

The Invisible Boy

by Alyssa Hollingsworth

(September 8, 2020)

How did you come to know Nadia?
I knew when I set out to write The Invisible Boy that I wanted my protagonist to be a bit like Catherine Morland/Don Quixote/Harriet the Spy—someone who had difficulty telling reality from fiction or imagination. I needed something for Nadia to obsess over, something that would color her whole view of the world. Lois Lane popped into my mind, but I’d never so much as opened a Supermancomic at that point. So I got reading. And as I discovered more about Lois Lane, I discovered more about my quirky, brave, mistaken Nadia!

What do you think is Nadia’s most admirable quality?

I love that Nadia’s imagination is her biggest flaw and her biggest strength. When she figures out how to combine imagination with truth, she finds a new courage that helps her change her world—and that’s one of my favorite things about her.

Is there anything you wish she would have changed or done differently in her story?

I wish she had talked to the adults around her when she’s faced with a very dangerous decision in the last third of the book. Of course, if she did we wouldn’t have the story’s climax! But even when I reread it now, I want to yell at her to sneak a text to her aunt before she risks her and Eli’s safety. Don’t do what Nadia does, kids.

What do you think she can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?  

The most exciting and most awful part of the teen years is discovering the world and trying to make sense of it. My hope is that Nadia can give children the knowledge they need to recognize signs of danger, and words to communicate what they see to the safe people around them.

How did you research Nadia and the circumstances she found herself in?

My research was divided rather dramatically: One half Superman lore, one half human trafficking. For the latter, I attended the Trust Conference, read a lot of books, and had people who work in the human rights sector critique my manuscript. The most life-changing part of my research was attending advocacy training with the Virginia Beach Justice Initiative. It was amazing to learn from people who are working to rescue and rehabilitate survivors in my own community.

Do you and Nadia share any similarities?

Ha! Yes. As a twelve-year-old, my obsession was Lord of the Rings, and I loved it in the way only a twelve-year-old girl can. My imagination was wild. I even gave Nadia the house I lived in that year—a wonderful place tucked away next to a creek where my dad and siblings regularly canoed. Like Nadia, one of my most difficult transitions in my teen years was learning how to see the hard stuff in reality and figuring out what I wanted to do about it.

What was the hardest scene to write about Nadia?

Ironically, I found the first half of the book harder to write than the second half (where everything gets serious). My favorite scene is actually when Nadia finally connects the dots at the museum, which I think is objectively one of the most difficult to read. But as an author, I found it much more challenging to write the slow unfolding investigation than the action once everything comes together.

Who do you think was her biggest supporter and why?

Aunt Lexie! She’s the cool aunt I aspire to be. I love that she is such an important part of Nadia’s life and a safe person Nadia can go to when needed.

Why do you think some young people prefer the world of imagination and superheroes over the world of their own lives and reality?

As a kid, I wanted to live in my imagination for a few different reasons, but primarily because it seemed more colorful and exciting, and it was a place where right was rewarded and wrong was punished. Justice isn’t always clear or easy in the real world. I think, as a child especially, the world’s great unfairness can feel overwhelming. It’s safer (and more fun!) to work out questions of good and evil in fantasy. And I think that’s great—that’s what I’m still doing as an adult. The strange, almost contradictory trick is to use your imagination not to obscure truth, but to seek it.

What do you think Nadia is doing at the present time?

I like to think that Nadia has spent Summer 2020 reading outside, canoeing with her dad, doing video calls with Eli, and perhaps learning to play computer games with Kenny. She’s probably still patrolling the neighborhood with Wonder Dog, because not even a pandemic could keep this kid indoors for long. But she wears a Daily Planetmask.

*Here are links to the One Hundred Forty-Five interviews...

SEASON #ONE (2016-2017)

Interview #1 with Elly Swartz (Author of Finding Perfect)

Interview #2 with Jeff Zentner (Author of The Serpent King)

Interview #3 with Nora Raleigh Baskin (Author of Nine, Ten, A September 11 Story)

Interview #4 with Cammie McGovern (Author of Just My Luck)

Interview #5 with Kate Messner (Author of The Seventh Wish)

Interview #6 with Paul Griffin (Author of When Friendship Followed Me Home)

Interview #7 with K.A. Holt (Author of House Arrest)

Interview #8 with Abby Cooper (Author of Sticks and Stones)

Interview #9 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Counting Thyme)

Interview #10 with Claire Legrand (Author of Some Kind of Happiness)

Interview #11 with Lynn Plourde (Author of Maxi's Secrets)

Interview #12 with Shaun David Hutchinson (Author of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley)

Interview #13 with Gae Polisner (Author of The Memory of Things)

Interview #14 with Mike Grosso (Author of I Am Drums)

Interview #15 (Towers Fallings by  Jewell Parker Rhodes)

Interview #16 (My Seventh Grade Life in Tights by Brooks Benjamin)

Interview #17 with Donna Gephart (Author of Lily and Dunkin) 

Interview #18 with Ally Condie (Author of Summerlost)

Interview #19 with Phil Bildner (Author of Rip and Red Series)

Interview #20 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Wish)

Interview #21 with Monika Schroder (Author of Be Light Like a Bird)

Interview #22 with Jeff Zentner (Author of The Goodbye Days)

SEASON #TWO (Summer 2017)

Interview #23 with Elena K. Arnold (Author of A Boy Named Bat)

Interview #24 with Dusti Bowling (Author of The Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus)

Interview #25 with Melissa Savage (Author of Lemons)

Interview #26 with Elaine Vickers (Author of Paper Chains)

Interview #27 with Kate Messner (Author of The Exact Location of Home)

Interview #28 with Paul Griffin (Author of Saving Marty)

Interview #29 with Elly Swartz (Author of Smart Cookie)

Interview #30 with Ellie Terry (Author of Forget Me Not)

Interview #31 with Katherine Paterson (Author of wishtree)

Interview #32 with Jordan Sonnenblick (Author of The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade)

Interview #33 with Alan Gratz (Author Refugee)

SEASON #THREE (2017/2018)

Interview #34 with Corey Ann Haydu (Author of The Someday Suitcase)

Interview #35 with Amy Sarig King (Author of Me and Marvin Gardens)

Interview #36 with Jared Reck (Author of The Short History of the Girl Next Door)

Interview #37 with Shelley Johannes (Author of Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker)

Interview#38 with Terri Libenson (Author of Invisible Emmie)

Interview#39 with Tony Abbott (Author of The Summer of Owen Todd)

Interview #40 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Perfect Score)

Interview #41 with Alan Gratz (Author of Ban This Book)

Interview #42 with Sally J Pla (Author of Stanley Will Probably Be Fine)

Interview #43 with Jake Burt (Author of Greetings from Witness Protection)

Interview #44 with John David Anderson (Author of Granted)

Interview #45 with Jarrett Lerner (Author of Enginerds)

Interview #46 with Leslie Connor (Author of The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle)

Interview #47 with Cordelia Jensen and Laurie Morrison (Every Shining Thing)

Interview #48 with Jacqueline Resnick (Author of Raffie on the Run)

Interview #49 with Sarah Weeks (Author of Soof) 

Interview #50 with Dan Gemeinhart (Author of The Good Dog)

Interview #51 with Gae Polisner (Author of In Sight of Stars)

SEASON #FOUR (Summer 2018)

Interview #52 with Tony Abbott (Author of Denis Ever After)

Interview #53 with Preston Norton (Author of Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe)

Interview #54 with Jonathan Auxier (Author of Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster)

Interview #55 with Sharon Creech (Author of Saving Winslow)

Interview #56 with Stacy McAnulty (Author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl)

Interview #57 with Kelly Yang (Author of Front Desk)

Interview #58 with Jennifer A. Nielsen (Author of Resistance)

Interview 59 with Christina Collins (Author of After Zero)

Interview #60 with Eric Walters (Author of Elephant Secrets)

Interview #61 with Phil Bildner (Author of The Rip and Red Series)

Interview #62 with Erin Soderberg (Author of Milla in Charge)

Interview #63 with Laura Shovan (Author of Take Down)

Interview #64 with Donna Gephart (Author of In Your Shoes)

Interview #65 with Alan Gratz (Author of Grenade)

Interview #66 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Wonderland)

Interview #67 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Just Like Jackie)

Interview #68 with Katherine Marsh (Author of Nowhere Boy)

Interview #69 with Dusti Bowling (Author of 24 Hours in Nowhere)

Interview #70 with Christina Uss (Author of The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle)

Interview #71 with Adam P. Schmitt (Author of Speechless)

SEASON #FIVE (2018/2019)

Interview #72 with Dan Gemeinhart (Author of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise)

Interview #73 with Abby Cooper (Author of Sticks and Stones)

Interview #74 with Abby Cooper (Author of Bubbles)

Interview #75 with Abby Cooper (Author of Friend or Fiction)

Interview #76 with Padma Venkatraman (Author of The Bridge Home)

Interview #77 with Anne Ursu (Author of The Lost Girl)

Interview #78 with Corey Ann Haydu (Author of Eventown)

Interview #79 with Jeff Zentner (Author of Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee)

Interview #80 with Allison Varnes (Author of The Property of the Rebel Librarian)

Interview #81 with Tony Abbott (Author of The Great Jeff)

Interview #82 with Susan Ross (Author of Searching for Lottie)

Interview #83 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Caterpillar Summer)

Interview #84 with Rebecca Ansari (Author of The Missing Piece of Charlie O'Reilly)

Interview #85 with Ali Standish (Author of August Isle)

Interview #86 with Shaun David Hutchinson (Author of The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried)

Interview #87 with Greg Howard (Author of The Whispers)

Interview #88 with Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Author of Shouting at the Rain)

Interview #89 with Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Author of One for the Murphys)

Interview #90 with Laurie Morrison (Author of Up for Air)

Interview #91 with Jody J. Little (Author of Mostly the Honest Truth)

SEASON #SIX (Summer 2019)

Interview #92 with John David Anderson (Author of Finding Orion)

Interview #93 with Lisa Thompson (Author of The Light Jar)

Interview #94 with Keith Calabrese (Author of A Drop of Hope)

Interview #95 with Alicia D. Williams (Author of Genesis Begins Again)

Interview #96 with Kim Ventrella (Author of Bone Hollow)

Interview #97 with Natalie Lloyd (Author of Over the Moon)

Interview #98 with Cynthia Lord (Author of Because of the Rabbit)

Interview #99 with Tina Athaide (Author of Orange for the Sunsets)

Interview #100 with Elly Swartz (Author of Give and Take)

Interview #101 with Amy Rebecca Tan (Author of A Kind of Paradise)

Interview #102 with Varsha Bajaj (Author of Count Me In)

Interview #103 with Laura Resau (Author of Tree of Dreams)

SEASON #SEVEN (Fall 2019)

Interview #104 with Laurel Snyder (Author of My Jasper June)

Interview #105 with Lisa Bunker (Author of Zenobia July)

Interview #106 with Jasmine Warga (Author of Other Words for Home)

Interview #107 with Barbara Dee (Author of Maybe He Just Likes You)

Interview #108 with Graham Salisbury (Author of Banjo)

Interview #109 with Donna Gephart (Author of The Paris Project)

Interview #110 with Jake Burt (Author of The Tornado)

Interview #111 with Jess Redman (Author of The Miraculous)

Interview #112 with Karen Strong (Author of Just South of Home)

Interview #113 with Nicole Melleby (Author of Hurricane Season)

Interview #114 with J.J. and Chris Grabenstein (Authors of Shine)

Interview #115 with Susan Vaught (Author of Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalyse)

Interview #116 with Chris Baron (Author of All of Me)

Interview #117 with Meredith Russo (Author of Birthday)

Interview #118 with Abdi Nazemian (Author of Like a Love Story)

Interview #119 with Sarah Baughman (Author of The Light in the Lake)

Interview #120 with Stacy McAnulty (Author of The Words Ends in April)

SEASON #EIGHT (Winter/Spring 2020)

Interview #121 with Melissa Savage (Author of Nessie Quest)

Interview #122 with Tamara Bundy (Author of Pixie Pushes On)

Interview #123 with Lindsay Lackey (Author of All the Impossible Things)

Interview #124 with Tae Keller (Author of When You Trap a Tiger)

Interview #125 with Jamie Sumner (Author of Roll With It)

Interview #126 with Hena Khan (Author of More to the Story)

Interview #127 with Phil Bildner (Author of A High-Five for Glenn Burke)

Interview #128 with Leslie Connor (Author of A Home for Goddesses and Dogs)

Interview#129 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Queen Bee and Me)

Interview #130 with Jody J. Little (Author of Worse Than Weird)

Interview #131 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Things You Can't Say)

Interview #132 with Kaela Noel (Author of Coo)

Interview #133 with Rebecca Stead (Author of The List of Things That Will Not Change)

Interview #134 with Gae Polisner (Author of Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me)

Interview #135 with Emily Blejwas (Author of Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened)

Interview #136 with Joy McCullough (Author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost)

Interview #137 with Kim Baker (Author of the Water Bears)

Interview #138 with Erin Entrada Kelly (Author of We Dream of Space)

Interview #139 with Jess Redman (Author of Quintessence)

Interview #140 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Every Missing Piece)

Interview #141 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Brave Like That)

Interview #142 with Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin (Authors of Seven Clues to Home)

SEASON #NINE (2020/2021)

Interview #143 with Jacqueline Woodson (Author of Before the Ever After)

Interview #144 with Sharon Creech (Author of One Time)

Interview #145 with Barbara Dee (Author of My Life in the Fish Tank)

Interview #146 with Kim Ventrella (Author of The Secret Life of Sam)

Interview #147 with Ellen Hopkins (Author of Closer to NoWhere)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (10/12/20)

      

Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to the site...

                

 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

Books I Will (continue to) Read this Week...

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

*My Novel Published for Adults

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

*My Young-Adult Novel

What Stars are Made Of by Sarah Allen

*My Middle-Grade Novel

The Brave by James Bird

*My Middle-Grade Novel (Audio)

Books I Read this Past Week... 

The In-Between by Rebecca Ansari

*Middle-Grade Novel (5 STARS out of 5 Stars)

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

*Novel Published for Adults (3 STARS out of 5 Stars)

Wonder Wednesday #348 (Authors in Action)

 Wonder Wednesday - Webinar with Jarrett Lerner

*On Wednesday, September 30th we not only interacted with one author, but two.

*During the morning we joined an online presentation by Todd Parr. It was awesome and such fun.

*Then during the afternoon, we had the opportunity to hop online and listen to author Jarrett Lerner discuss his newest work of fiction.

*He has written a new series and this is the first book in the series

*I read the story to my class and they really enjoyed it.  My readers don't know it yet, but I'm choosing his Enginerds series as our next book club selections. I will be announcing these books on Thursday, October 8th.  

*The class enjoyed listening to Jarrett talk about the book, how he gets his ideas, and his drawing process.  

*The hour was fun, engaging, and motivated my students to become the best writers and illustrators they can be. 

*Thanks Jarrett.  You are awesome!!!