My MONDAY READING: Barbara O'Connor and Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

 It's Monday, my favorite book sharing day!

 Tomorrow lots of things happen. Okay, voting. Let's all get out and vote!

But also, it's the birthday of two of my favorite middle-grade novels of the year.

My friend, Barbara O'Connor's newest book, WONDERLAND.

And a book I've had a lot of fun reading and figuring out, THE STORY COLLECTOR by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb.

(Sharing my favorite photo from recent Facebook posts. Barbara loves dogs!)

WONDERLAND is told from several points of view, including the retired racing greyhound pictured on the cover. Barbara has that illusive thing called "voice" nailed, in all her books. But to write from that many different characters' voices? My friends, you need a special talent and a lot of skill to pull that off. 

This one's a winner! 

Barbara O'Connor is the champion of Author Visits. She'll be doing a bunch of them to celebrate her newest book, but if your school isn't one of the lucky visits, contact her via her website to see about bringing her to you. 

Teachers and librarians, she has some truly excellent tips for hosting an author, HERE.

HERE'S A LINK to various places to buy the book.
You can also read the first chapter and see some great reviews. 
I'll add my two-cents worth. This is a super book to read aloud. So many things to discuss in all of Barbara's books. 


My second book recommendation on this glorious Monday? 
THE STORY COLLECTOR.

Okay, I'm a former librarian who loves to visit the New York Public Library. So the bits about raising pigeons on the roof, snooping around after hours, climbing up a card catalog drawer by drawer, tickled me a lot. I love a good mystery, and I know kids do, too. Historical fiction's also my thing. This book was a total win for me, and I bet for lots of middle-grade teachers, librarians, and their readers.

Betsy Bird, former children's librarian at the NYPL, wrote a great piece for School Library Journal. HERE'S THE LINK. 

I couldn't possibly say it better than Betsy.

If I still lived near NYC, I would find a young reader to take to this event. Can you imagine your book having its own scavenger hunt at the New York Public Library?  
 Check it out HERE.  

There are a whole lot of other fun activities listed on Kristin's blog- including a launch party at what must surely be a totally cool bookstore, Parnassus Books. (My goal is to visit one day!)
(I bet you can call ahead and pre-order a signed copy.)

 

What say you, fellow #IMWAYRers? I know you've been busy this week, but for those of you savoring the last days of summer with a book, I can't wait to hear what you're reading.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Making Friends With Billy Wong

(And the winner is...  Janice Raspen!  Congrats and let me know your mailing address.)


My book is TWO years old!
This week is the anniversary of MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG's publication.

To mark this book birthday, I'm giving away all three of my books, plus an assortment of bookmarks, etc.

(Hardback copies= perfect for your library!)

If you'd like to enter, please comment here on my blog or my social media accounts.  
This giveaway is for teachers and librarians only.  
(Mailing to US school or library address)

I'll draw a name in just two days, on Thursday, August 23, 8 PM.

Good luck. 
And for those of you who've read and shared MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG since August 2016, Billy, Azalea, Grandma Clark and I thank you.

 (Elvis popped over from the pages of GLORY BE to thank you, too.)

Ghetto Cowboy

I'd never heard of Greg Neri until I moved to Tampa Bay.
Truthfully, maybe a lot of people hadn't heard about his books then. He was just beginning to be published. But Greg became a big advocate for the Tampa Bay writing community. Workshops, support, encouragement--he did it all. And he did it while writing, learning, and working hard to publish his first book.

Before I really knew who "G. Neri" was, this book really touched me. I reviewed GHETTO COWBOY for the Christian Science Monitor. 
You can read my review HERE.

Now one of my absolute favorite actors has joined the team to make GHETTO COWBOY into a movie. IDRIS ELBA! (Yes, that would be Luther of TV fame, among a lot of other fabulous roles.)

Here's the link about the movie: https://variety.com/2018/film/news/idris-elba-ghetto-cowboy-1202900133/ 

And the cover of the book, in case you somehow don't know it. It's a quick read and a perfect discussion about so many things.

(All my Philadelphia friends and family are going to love this one!)

Mr. Schu's Summer Road Trip

Hey, John? Remember when you had time to leisurely enjoy your summers? Read a ton of books? Travel around sharing them?

(Okay, you still do that last part!)

But a big thrill of my writing life was when you traveled to Mississippi on a summer roadtrip with GLORY BE on board.

Here's what popped up in my social media memory today.

                

CLICK HERE for lots more photos of Mr. Schu tripping all over Mississippi, including stops at the University of Southern Mississippi and the Welty Library. Cool beans!

(There's a Cactus Museum in Mississippi?)

DIFFERENT

It's Monday and what am I reading?
I've been re-reading a review copy of my friend Janet McLaughlin's new book. It's available for pre-order (see link below) now and will be published in August.

I think middle-grade readers will find this novel so very appealing. 
What's inside may surprise you-- and them. I don't know of many books for kids this age about Tourette Syndrome.

This is such an important book. But it's also fun and complicated and beautifully written in Izzy's appealing and spot-on voice.  

Books written from the heart can take a long time to percolate, get written and revised many times over!- and find a home. Janet was not about to give up on this book. I'm so happy that DIFFERENT is now ready for the world.

Here's a little of what she says in her very helpful Author's Note about what inspired her to write about Tourette Syndrome-- a family member she's calling Madison:

What was going on in Madison’s head when she couldn’t walk down the street without stopping and touching the ground every few minutes? When she couldn’t leave a room unless she flicked the light switch on and off at least three times. How did she feel when she lost control and went into a screaming rage? I could only guess.

And that’s what I wanted to contribute to the world with this book. I wanted to let the world know about this neurological condition on an intimate level— what it’s like to actually live with the condition.

This is the link to the publisher's website. You can order the book, read more about it, and see this great endorsement from a long-time educator:

“As an educator for more than thirty years, it is wonderful to find a text that promotes an understanding of differences. I have had several students with Tourette Syndrome... This book lends itself to class discussions about what it means to be ‘Different.'”
Lora Netherland

M.ED Special Education Teacher

You can contact Janet for Author Visits, Skype sessions, or to ask her about her this excellent novel, via her website HERE. 

(I love the It's Monday! What Are You Reading? meme, and I usually am reading a ton of middle-grade books. But now I'm on vacation in a very quiet place and I've also been reading a bunch of grownup books for a change. I'm particularly loving Anne Tyler's newest novel, hot off the press, CLOCK DANCE.)

Arkansas Connections

Thank you to the fabulous organizers and to all the teachers who came to my sessions. As promised, a few links and book titles from my workshops at the Eastern Arkansas Literacy Conference. What a great day!


Have a fabulous summer, and enjoy lots and lots of books.

• •http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/24-free-brian-williams
• (Malcolm Gladwell)
•  
• •https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510200/storycorps
• •(Great tool for sharing oral history interviews)
•  
• ••https://thewritelife.com/writing-podcasts/
• –(Podcasts about writing)
•  
•  http://www.usads.ms11.net/bjm.html
• (My friend Bobby Joe Moon's essay) 
•  
• https://chineseheritagemuseum.org
• (Excellent source of photos and artifacts) 
•  
• Knowing and Not Knowing
• https://www.nais.org/magazine/independent-teacher/spring-2018/knowing-and-not-knowing-through-writing/
•  

Books and authors mentioned:

Katherine Marsh (Nowhere Boy)

Kirby Larson (Hattie Big Sky, Hattie Ever After)

Linda Williams Jackson (A Sky Full of Stars)

Barbara O'Connor

Ruta Suptys 

Jacqueline Woodson







 

Another Big Book Week

I'm excited to be presenting at a gathering of teachers on the campus of Arkansas State University this week. I'll share MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG and the story and history behind my book. Set in Arkansas, my novel shares a bit of immigration and civil rights history that's not widely known.

Whenever I talk to teachers I like to share books-- not just mine.
So I've been doing a LOT of reading this week!



First up, A SKY FULL OF STARS.

Linda Williams Jackson and I grew up in neighboring Mississippi Delta towns, and we've both incorporated memories into our middle-grade novels. They are very different memories. Set against a backdrop of the Emmett Till murder, her story takes place in the mid 1950s, and young Rose Lee is discovering a world outside her small, insulated life. I frequently share MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON with young readers when I talk about growing up in Mississippi during the civil rights movement, and now I have this. The characters are the same, but this is an even more powerful story, beautifully told.


(side note: I'll be moderating a panel at the MISSISSIPPI BOOK FESTIVAL in August and Linda is one of the featured panelists. Can't wait to hear more about this story.)





 I can't remember who told me to read SATURDAYS WITH HITCHCOCK. I've never read a book by Ellen Wittlinger, but I now look forward to reading more. This middle-grade novel kind of sneaked up on me. It seemed to be a sweet story of the love between a girl and her grandmother, and then it turned into so much more. Wittlinger masterfully handles several sensitive issues (dementia, emerging sexuality, friendship, adult siblings) in ways that are age-appropriate and caring.





My current  (can't-put-it-down but need to do a few other things!) read is an Advanced Readers Copy of a book coming in August. Two friends highly recommended NOWHERE BOY, or I might have missed it. I'll share this with the Arkansas teachers because of the connection to the author's inspiration. (Be sure to click on that link and go to Katherine Marsh's excellent website, with such good information.)
This middle-grade novel (but truly, it spans a lot of age groups) is set in Brussels and involves a young Syrian immigrant. So appropriate to our times.
Put this on your list. Don't miss it!

That's my Monday in books.

Oh! Almost forgot- I'm re-reading parts of MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG to pick out passages to read with my new friends in Arkansas.

I know so many of you- and your kids- are finally enjoying the wonderful leisure of summer reading. What's on your list?