Today, TeachingBooks.net welcomes author Gae Polisner as she stops by on her blog tour to discuss her new book The Pull of Gravity (Frances Foster Books/FSG, 2011).

The Pull of Gravity (Frances Foster Books, 2011) follows two teens—Nick and Jaycee —who, armed only with the wisdom of Yoda and a rare, first-edition copy of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, set out to keep a promise to their dying friend.

First, let me explain Nick and Jaycee’s friend, the Scoot. He suffers from Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome, an extremely rare condition that rapidly ages the body, and almost never sees fit to let a child live beyond their teens. The Scoot is 16, and his final wish is to find the father who abandoned him years ago. To fulfill the Scoot’s wish, Jaycee and Nick embark on a quest to bring back the man to say goodbye to his son. Or, if not, to at least deliver the Steinbeck classic to him (you’ll have to read the book to learn why).

To write this book, I first had to learn the basic facts about Progeria. A New York Times interview with a dying 15-year-old boy had sparked my curiosity about the rare condition. At the time I wrote the first draft of my book, there were only 108 recorded cases of Progeria in the world. I needed to know the whats and hows of Progeria (sadly, no one knows the why), and be able to describe its progression and physical attributes.  Here’s a photo from the internet of a boy with Progeria:

Image courtesy of Gae Polisner, 2012

And, here is my protagonist, Nick, describing his friend:

“I glance behind me to where Scooter sits in Dad’s oversized recliner in the corner, writing in that dumb old notebook of his. He’s hunched like a little old man—all three feet three inches of him—the reading lamp shining through his skull. His skin, thin like paper, reveals a road map of purple veins.”

Next, I had to do some homework on Of Mice and Men. I reread the stunning, spare classic, paying attention to the pieces I might want to include verbatim (because in The Pull of Gravity, Jaycee reads aloud to Nick from the book). Then, I needed to find out what might make for a very valuable copy.

Turns out a few elements must be present. For starters, it has to look like this:

Image courtesy of Gae Polisner, 2012 

Also, it must be in mint condition, signed by John Steinbeck, himself.

And, finally, it must be a first printing containing the word “pendula” on page nine. Subsequent printings eliminate the description of Lennie’s arms as pendula.

So, if you find a copy of Of Mice and Men with those elements, depending on market factors, you’re looking at a very valuable treasure, just like the one Nick, Jaycee and the Scoot have!

Hear Gae Polisner pronounce and speak about her name. Listen now.

This post was originally published in Nick Glass’ monthly column for Curriculum Connections, an e-newsletter published by School Library Journal in partnership with TeachingBooks.net. Subscribe to this free newsletter here.

TeachingBooks.net is delighted to welcome award-winning author Annie Barrows as our featured guest blogger.

Each month, we ask one distinguished author or illustrator to write an original post that reveals insights about their process and craft. Enjoy!

“The Whole Ball of Wax”

By Annie Barrows

Image © Annie Frantzeskos, 2011

Kids are forever asking me where I get my ideas. Usually I say, “I steal them.” This is true but incomplete, and today—right here, right now—I’m going to give the genuine answer. The eighth book in the “Ivy and Bean” series, Ivy and Bean: No News Is Good News (Chronicle Books, 2011), is about money and cheese. And wax. And journalism. Also, ethical business practices, the right to privacy, value, the economics of scarcity, and did I mention cheese? How do all these things end up in a book together? Where did they come from and how did I turn them into an “Ivy and Bean” story?

Let me tell you …

1. Money: It all began at a book fair at my daughters’ school. I was supposed to be operating the cash register (ha!), but really, I was paying no attention at all to the cash register. I was watching the kids pass money around. One kid, Juan, had 20 dollars, most of it in quarters, and he was giving it away. One of his friends really really really wanted a “Star Wars” book packed with four color pencils, but it was 11 dollars. No problem; Juan gave him the money. Juan gave away all his money until he was totally cleaned out. He didn’t care. He loved his friends and they loved him (a lot). To Juan, the money was important, but not important in itself. It was important because it could fulfill desires. Wow, I thought. That is pretty cool. You rarely see a grownup giving all his money to his friends. Grownups usually feel that money is, in itself, an important thing, a goal, and therefore a thing to keep a grip on. I decided it would be interesting to write a book about this difference in attitude toward money.

Image courtesy of Chronicle Books, 2011

2. Cheese: One day, one of my daughters told me about Katy. Katy lives the high life because her parents buy her Babybel cheese with the red wax coating, unlike my poor daughter whose mom is completely unreasonable and tightfisted and refuses to buy Babybel cheese for her deserving daughter. Every day, all the children in the cafeteria gather to watch as Katy pulls the cheese from her lunch box. They watch as Katy splits the wax coating into halves. They watch as Katy removes the cheese from the wax. They watch as Katy squishes the red wax between her hands, once. And then, when Katy pitches the wax into the middle of the cafeteria floor, they leap like mad dogs into a gigantic scrum to get that wax. Why? “Well, duh,” my daughter said. “Everyone loves wax.” After I had finished laughing, I realized I had found the goal, the desired thing that money would buy, for my story.

Image courtesy of Chronicle Books, 2011

3. Journalism: The next question was how would Ivy and Bean get money? I reviewed my childhood money-making schemes (which included counterfeiting), and my daughters’, and my kid-friends’. And then I remembered my mom telling me about a newspaper she had made when she was a little girl. My mom lived in a very small, very quiet town. Where did you get the news, I asked. “Oh,” she said, shrugging, “we made up stories about our neighbors.” Voila! A money-making plan that would create action and move the story through time!

Image courtesy of Chronicle Books, 2011

4. Ethical business practices and value: I remember being completely flabbergasted as a kid by the idea of subscriptions to magazines. It made absolutely no sense that you paid money before—sometimes long before—you got the item in question. It still makes absolutely no sense, but I now know that all business practices are based on history rather than reason. That’s the point I wanted to make: no matter how much experts yammer on about economics and the stock market and banking and investing, the truth is that it’s completely ridiculous. It became my subtext, my secret pleasure, to highlight this nuttiness by showing it from the kid’s perspective.

And that, friends, is how you make a story about money, cheese, journalism, and business ethics.

- An original article by Annie Barrows

This material may not be used without the express written consent of Annie Barrows.

More online resources about Annie Barrows:

Hear Annie Barrows pronounce and speak about her name.  Listen Now

Listen to Annie Barrows introduce and read from Ivy and Bean: No News is Good News.  Listen Now

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Today, TeachingBooks.net welcomes author Logan Kleinwaks as he stops by on his blog tour.

“Making an Anthology: A Project for Darfur”

Logan Kleinwaks

I wish you could have been there to experience the moment an idea became a book. Alexander McCall Smith, the Scottish author of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, was on an American tour that, as luck would have it, stopped practically around the corner from my literacy charity, the Book Wish Foundation. From this point on, we thought we could create the anthology that became What You Wish For (Penguin, 2011).

Alexander McCall Smith has deep personal and literary connections to Africa, and, as the biographies at the end of What You Wish For reveal, many of the 18 contributors have been inspired to support this cause. Ann M. Martin, for example, the mega-bestselling author of The Baby-sitters Club and a Newbery Honoree for A Corner of the Universe, has run two literacy charities of her own for 20 years. Cornelia Funke, before gaining international fame for The Thief Lord, Inkheart, and Dragon Rider, was a social worker helping abused and ill children. To make this anthology great, we intentionally sought authors who might feel a connection between the cause and their own experiences. In fact, Alexander McCall Smith, Ann M. Martin, and Cornelia Funk felt such a commitment to the cause, that they signed on even before we had a publisher for the book!

Darfuri children in a classroom in Djabal Refugee Camp, eastern Chad
Photo © UNHCR / H. Caux, 2011

At the annual publishing convention BookExpo America, we pitched this book to editors on the basis of the first three authors. To our tremendous delight, Penguin made an offer for the book through its Putnam imprint. A generous literary agent helped negotiate the deal pro bono.

Even in the first meeting with Penguin, before we had signed the contract, ideas were proposed about the format of the book. We should feature poems, not only short stories, and what about a graphic story? Varying the format turned out to be quite significant, I think, in broadening the book’s emotional range.

At UN Headquarters in NY for the launch of What You Wish For, panel discussion with authors (l-r): on the screen, Cornelia Funke and Meg Cabot, sitting, Marilyn Nelson, Karen Hesse, Sofia Quintero, R.L. Stine, Nate Powell, Ann M. Martin, Jeanne DuPrau.

After signing the contract with Penguin, the theme of “wishes” came to light. In my “Editor’s Note” at the back of What You Wish For, you can read more about how this theme relates to our goal of bringing libraries to the Darfuri refugees. We also selected the theme to give authors ample artistic freedom and to help unite the topics they would touch on separately, such as bullying, friendship, and love.

For months, we sent out invitations to authors, building a hugely talented and popular list of contributors. Two Newbery Medalists, three Newbery Honor recipients, a National Book Award winner, ten National Book Award nominees, two Nebula Award recipients, a Caldecott Medalist, Printz, Walden, and Edgar Award-winners, and numerous #1 New York Times bestselling authors … With each “yes” from an author, the potential impact of the book grew. Ultimately, we decided to give all our proceeds to the UN Refugee Agency to ensure that our collective efforts, and the goodwill of readers, would provide the greatest benefit to the refugees through library development.

Boy from Darfur in Djabal Refugee Camp, eastern Chad
Photo © UNHCR / H. Caux, 2011

As our editor worked with the authors to polish their stories, we approached our final tasks in the anthology creation process. How should the 18 contributions be arranged, and what photos should we include? I was surprised by how important I felt the answers could be. I realized that a great anthology is bound by more than just its covers; it’s the thread of ideas that really speaks to us.

Learn more about the Book Wish Foundation at their website.

This post was originally published in Nick Glass’ monthly column for Curriculum Connections, an e-newsletter published by School Library Journal in partnership with TeachingBooks.net. Subscribe to this free newsletter here.

TeachingBooks.net is delighted to welcome award-winning author Mélanie Watt as our featured guest blogger.

Each month, we ask one distinguished author or illustrator to write an original post that reveals insights about their process and craft. Enjoy!

“From Crayons to Computer-Generated Art”

by Mélanie Watt

Image courtesy of Kids Can Press, 2011

I’ve been writing and illustrating children’s books for over a decade now. Wow, how time flies! But people are often surprised to hear that I came to this profession unexpectedly. Just like Scaredy Squirrel (Kids Can, 2006), who jumps out of his nut tree into the unknown, I leapt into the world of children’s books. It all started with an art project and a teacher who sent my Leon the Chameleon (Kids Can, 2001) mock-up to a publisher.

As a kid, I loved to draw. My tool of choice: wax crayons. Later I upgraded to pencil crayons, then charcoal, ink, pastels, and acrylic paint. One day, I discovered the world of digital art.

Drawing by Mélanie Watt at age 5.

I must admit that initially I was afraid of the new technology and chose to stay with my traditional method: drawing, erasing, drawing, erasing, and erasing some more. Computer-generated art seemed less artsy.

But, I’ve always loved to explore illustration techniques and styles. You may have noticed that my picture-book characters live in very different-looking worlds. Scaredy Squirrel resides in a flat world of black outlines, graphics, and lists; Chester (Kids Can, 2007) inhabits a traditional, watercolor setting with the occasional red-marker scribbles added digitally. Augustine (Kids Can, 2006) translates into a fuzzier, cozier style that in texture mirrors a baby penguin’s downy coat.

Mélanie Watt’s cast of characters.

When sitting down in my studio, my objective is to create illustrations that embody the essence of the story and the characters as best as possible. So, when it came time to create a bunny with attitude for You’re Finally Here! (Hyperion, 2011), my thought was to work out a style that put this animal’s facial expressions and mood swings center stage. Bunny’s huge head and lively eyes were my starting point when constructing the look of this title—my first attempt at creating 100-percent computer-generated art for a picture book.

Every piece of the bunny is a separate shape and each one started off as a simple circle, oval, or rectangle. I used an airbrush tool to add dimension and to create a 3-D effect. Working on the computer allows me to manipulate layers. For instance, the rabbit’s arm is one layer, his head is another, and his eyes are a third. In this way I can move forms around and create shadows between elements. A spread can include up to 35 different layers…onions have nothing on this bunny!

When I create an ear, I draw one and copy it to have two. (A math lesson from Mélanie Watt—who would have guessed?)

But, I know what you’re thinking: Mélanie, what do you mean when you say you “DRAW” if it’s a computer mouse you’re handling on a cushy mouse pad?

Excellent question. Well, here’s the thing; for You’re Finally Here! I drew by using tools that are programmed to make shapes. I controlled the size and angles and used airbrush tools to monitor the color and spray size. Finally, I positioned the shapes to resemble an annoyed bunny. It’s a bit like drawing with cut-out pieces of paper.

The annoyed bunny emerges from simple shapes.

Oftentimes, I discover effects I didn’t know I could create. The computer offers so many options, such as transparency and lighting techniques. I can also scan my own textures. For example, the background in You’re Finally Here! is the same one that I used on the Chester cover. I flipped a small wood table over and scanned it. Layering allowed me to superimpose that texture against a flat color and get the result you see in those two titles.

Working digitally is really a question of exploring and experimenting and using the UNDO button if necessary. As an artist, I am always happy to experiment. Plus, at the end of the day, there are no paint spills to clean up or paintbrushes to wash.

It takes a while to get the hang of using the computer tools—but when the technique becomes second nature, you can create beyond imagination!

I can copy and paste the bunny and multiply him 150 times…. So, c’mon, how many ears would that make?

Multiplied bunnies.

- An original article by Mélanie Watt

This material may not be used without the express written consent of Mélanie Watt. All images courtesy of Mélanie Watt, 2011 unless otherwise noted.

More online resources about Mélanie Watt:

Hear Mélanie Watt pronounce and speak about her name.   Listen Now

Listen to Mélanie Watt introduce and read from Chester.  Listen Now

Listen to Mélanie Watt introduce and read from Scaredy Squirrel.  Listen Now

Access all of TeachingBooks.net’s online resources about Mélanie Watt and her books.

Today, TeachingBooks.net welcomes author Shirley Reva Vernick as she stops by on her blog tour.

The art of writing presents challenges for even the most experienced authors. My biggest struggle in writing the YA novel The Blood Lie (Cinco Puntos, 2011) revolved around voice. This book is based on a real hate crime that happened in my hometown in the 1920s. I really wanted to give the characters authentic Jazz Age voices, and I was committed to narrating the complex events in a credible, coherent way. It wasn’t easy!

For starters, I had to figure out what point of view would work best for telling the story. I agonized over this issue for months. I wrote the first few chapters over and over, trying out the first-person viewpoint of Jack, the main character; then of Emaline, his love interest; then of other characters. None of these attempts worked because no single character appeared in all the scenes (or had access to information from missed scenes). There were plot elements that Jack wasn’t aware of, but that I wanted the reader to know, so how could I have Jack tell the whole story?

Next, I tried the multiple first-person approach—in fact, I wrote a full draft this way. But my gut told me it was too busy with all those voices. Sometimes, you just have to go with your intuition, so, as painful as it was, I tossed that draft.

Which left me with the third-person point of view. I must admit, I resisted for some weeks. I’m usually a first-person person; it’s as natural as using my right hand to hold a pencil. But once I got a few pages under my belt, it felt right. The story was telling itself. The characters were speaking for themselves. I was just lending them the ink.

This picture shows how my Upstate New York hometown looked in the 1920s, when The Blood Lie takes place.

My voice challenges didn’t end with the point-of-view dilemma, either. I still had to work out how to make the dialogue sound genuinely 1920s-era. I couldn’t let Jack dream about driving a Lamborghini, for instance, or have his little sister ask for some microwave popcorn. And dweeb, emo, shizzle and LOL were most definitely out. So I delved into the pop culture of the Roaring ’20s—reading up on the music, the radio programs, the fashions, the Presidential elections, you name it. I also studied 1920s slang, which was kind of hilarious (anyone for a “juice joint”, “dead soldier,” or “struggle buggy”?).

I hope The Blood Lie readers will feel transported to a different time and place—and return to the 21^st century with a broadened perspective on their world. Then all my struggling will have been worth it!

Hear Shirley Reva Vernick pronounce and speak about her name. Listen now.

We occasionally learn of special, free, and enjoyable opportunities for you that we feel support the mission of TeachingBooks. This month, we hope you enjoy learning about the following opportunities (in order of deadline):

WIN A FREE COPY OF GALAXY GAMES: THE CHALLENGERS (Middle Grade)

Looking for a great book for boys? In this hilarious middle-grade romp through space, 11-year-old Ty Sato gets a chance to compete in the biggest sporting event in the universe. Tu Books, an imprint of Lee & Low Books, is giving away 5 copies of Galaxy Games: The Challengers by Greg R. Fishbone.

To enter, send an email to publicity@leeandlow.com with the subject line “Galaxy Games Giveaway” and include your mailing address (US addresses only).

Deadline: November 25, 2011

WIN A FREE PRIZE PACK FOR THE GUARDIANS OF CHILDHOOD SERIES BY WILLIAM JOYCE! (Elementary and Middle School)

Deadline: December 2, 2011 at 11:59 PM

Deadline: December 3, 2011

WIN A COPY OF OLIVE’S OCEAN BY KEVIN HENKES! (Middle and High School)

Explore TeachingBooks.net for original multimedia resources with Kevin Henkes then enter to win his Newbery Honor book Olive’s Ocean.

To enter to win a free copy of  Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes, follow these TWO steps:

1.  Click here to “Like” TeachingBooks.net on Facebook

2. Please leave a comment on our Facebook wall about your favorite Kevin Henkes book.

Deadline:  December 5th, 2011

ASPIRING WRITERS ESSAY CONTEST (High School)

Do you know someone age 13+ who dreams of being a published author? Literary agents and renowned authors will offer manuscript critiques to six winners of an essay contest about stories in the young adult anthology What You Wish For.

See all contest rules (http://bookwish.org/contest)

Deadline: February 1st, 2012

TeachingBooks.net does not receive compensation for sharing these book and author opportunities.