In this post, we feature author Heather Murphy Capps, whose previous titles include Indigo and Ida, which was named a Jane Addams Book Award Finalist. You can hear her speak about her new novel, The Rule of Three, and try her “invitation to imagine” activity. You’ll also find other resources to explore. Thanks for joining us, and let us know what you think in the comments below!
The Rule of Three
- Written by Heather Murphy Capps
- Published by Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group
- Release date: August 6, 2024
Wyatt has a three-part Plan for Life, and it starts now, at the beginning of seventh grade, with tryouts for his local travel baseball team. A biracial kid in a mostly white town, he’s always felt like a bit of an outsider. The baseball field is the only place where he feels like he truly belongs. If he can just make the team, everything else will fall into place: school, friends, even his relationship with his often-distant dad. But after upsetting incidents at tryouts, something inexplicable happens: wisps of smoke form around Wyatt. As Wyatt tries to figure out what’s causing this mysterious smoke and how to control it, he discovers it’s connected to a painful family history. The more he learns, the more Wyatt begins to question the rules he’s always followed to fit in. With tensions rising at school and on the field, can he face the injustices of the past while keeping his cool in the present? At the heart of the novel is a question: When the rules no longer apply, how do you keep your head in the game? With threads of magic, Heather Murphy Capps’ novel follows a boy who is trying to break the painful patterns of the past and build a better future.
From The Rule of Three, written by Heather Murphy Capps.
“I scuffed the dirt with my cleats, sending up puffs of dust—red smoke hanging low over the backstop.”
Click here to view a longer preview of The Rule of Three, written by Heather Murphy Capps.
Explore The Rule of Three
Listen to Heather Murphy Capps talking with TeachingBooks about creating The Rule of Three. You can click the player below or experience the recording on TeachingBooks, where you can read along as you listen, and also translate the text to another language.
- Listen to Heather Murphy Capps pronounce her name.
- Sample the e-book of The Rule of Three, by Heather Murphy Capps, on Overdrive.com.
- Explore TeachingBooks’ collection of activities and resources for The Rule of Three.
Invitation to Imagine
TeachingBooks asks each author or illustrator on our Virtual Book Tour to share a writing prompt, a drawing exercise, or just an interesting question to spark curiosity and creativity. Enjoy the following activity contributed by Heather Murphy Capps.
Imagination Activity with Heather Murphy Capps
I frequently use a narrative technique called “magical realism” in my books, and so one of my favorite things to talk about in school presentations is magical realism: what it is and why we use it. I like to guide students through some beginning exercises in writing some magical realism themselves! The following exercise comes from one of the presentations I do.
- First, brainstorm a list of emotions: what are some of the emotions you feel?
- Next, choose one emotion from your list.
- Then, choose one sense from this list of senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, sound.
- Finally, connect your emotion to a sense and say what that sense tells you about your emotion: When I am _________________ (emotion), I ____________ (sense) _____________.
You don’t have to make your connection real; you can add a little bit of magic. For example, “When I am angry, I smell smoke.” This is magical realism!
Finish This Sentence . . . with Heather Murphy Capps
As part of our Virtual Book Tour, TeachingBooks asks authors and illustrators to complete short sentence prompts. Enjoy Heather Murphy Capps’s response.
“Where I work is…”
I love to work on my sunporch. It’s peaceful, and I like to gaze out into my backyard when I need a break from writing. Bonus: my cat Flynx likes to visit me there too.
Thank you!
To wrap up this Virtual Book Tour, we thank Heather Murphy Capps for signing a book for all of us. Heather’s message means “no one like you” in Swahili.
More Connections to Heather Murphy Capps and The Rule of Three
- Discover books like The Rule of Three on TeachingBooks.
- Lerner’s page about The Rule of Three, written by Heather Murphy Capps.
- Buy The Rule of Three, written by Heather Murphy Capps.
All text and images are courtesy of Heather Murphy Capps and Lerner Publishing Group and may not be used without expressed written consent.
Leave a Reply