In this post, we feature author Natalie Lloyd, whose award-winning books include Hummingbird, a Schneider Family Honor Book. You can hear her speak about her new book, The Witching Wind, 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 Witching Wind
- Written by Natalie Lloyd
- Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc.
- Release date: September 3, 2024
Eleven-year-old Roxie was excited to start sixth grade until a mortifying incident at a pool party turns her into a middle-school laughingstock. Roxie can’t imagine enduring a full year of bullying and body shaming, so when her country music star granny invites Roxie to join her on tour, she jumps at the chance to leave her troubles behind. But then Granny goes missing, leaving Roxie without an escape plan, and without her best friend.
Grayson doesn’t mind being sent to yet another foster home. Her older sister, Beanie, is about to turn eighteen, which means she’ll be able to become Grayson’s guardian. It won’t be long until they get to be a real family. But when Beanie’s birthday finally arrives, she doesn’t show up to collect Grayson. It’s almost like she’s just vanished.
Roxie knows Granny would never leave without saying goodbye. And Grayson is certain Beanie would never abandon her. So when the new friends learn about the Witching Wind that “steals” what people love most, Roxie and Grayson are certain they’ve discovered the truth. Granny and Beanie didn’t just disappear — they were taken. And it’s up to Roxie and Grayson to outwit the Witching Wind before it’s too late. With elements of magic and mystery, Natalie Lloyd’s tender novel explores the power of human connections, among friends, family, and found family.
From The Witching Wind, written by Natalie Lloyd.
“Maybe Grayson Patch is a ghost. Maybe you’re one too.”
Click here to view a longer preview of The Witching Wind, written by Natalie Lloyd.
Explore The Witching Wind
Listen to Natalie Lloyd talking with TeachingBooks about creating The Witching Wind. 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 Natalie Lloyd pronounce her name.
- Sample the e-book of The Witching Wind on Overdrive.com.
- Sample the audiobook of The Witching Wind on Overdrive.com.
- Explore TeachingBooks’ collection of activities and resources for The Witching Wind.
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 Natalie Lloyd.
Imagination Activity with Natalie Lloyd
Here’s a story prompt! Imagine walking into your school’s library to return a book on an afternoon when nobody’s there. As you place the book in the return cart, you hear a rustling sound somewhere behind you. You spin around to discover a tiny, baby dragon crawling out from the lowest bookshelf. What does the dragon look like? Does it have scales? Wings? Pointy fangs? Freckles? What’s your reaction when you see it? What happens next? (If you want to have more fun with the challenge, imagine you are the dragon and write the scene—or tell the story—from its point of view!)
Finish This Sentence . . . with Natalie Lloyd
As part of our Virtual Book Tour, TeachingBooks asks authors and illustrators to complete short sentence prompts. Enjoy Natalie Lloyd’s response.
“A surprising thing that helps me work is…”
A surprising thing that helps me work is a timer! I have a hard time focusing on one thing at a time. So, when I start writing a new scene, I set a 20-minute timer. This helps my mind fully focus on that scene. Eventually, I get so excited about the story that I don’t need a timer. But for pretty much any endeavor—whether it’s writing or folding laundry—sometimes a timer helps me focus on one thing at a time.
“My favorite books as a child were…”
My favorite books as a child/teen were the Babysitters Club series, the Chronicles of Narnia, Roald Dahl’s books (especially The Witches and Matilda), Bunnicula, The Fairy Rebel, Goosebumps, absolutely anything by Judy Blume, and the picture book Where the Wild Things Are.
More Connections to Natalie Lloyd and The Witching Wind
- Discover books like The Witching Wind on TeachingBooks.
- Scholastic’s page about The Witching Wind, written by Natalie Lloyd.
- Buy The Witching Wind, written by Natalie Lloyd.
All text and images are courtesy of Natalie Lloyd and Scholastic, Inc. and may not be used without expressed written consent.
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