Kreativ Blogger Award

Elena Caravela recently honored me with the Kreativ Blogger Award-- which I didn't even know existed! In order to accept, I in turn most nominate six other blogs and tell you 10 things you might now know about me, and leave a comment on one of the blogs. So, here I go:


1. Joyce Hostetter's blog, "This Blog is history." With a subtitle like that, how can you go wrong? I have learned so much from Joyce: her passion for communicating the details of history in a  kid-friendly manner, her giving back to the writing community, her passion to use the right word for the right job.


2. The Write2Ignite blog brings together Christians who care about writing quality materials for children and young adults.


3. Barbara Younger blogs at Friend for the Ride. Since most of the blogs I follow are about writing, it is refreshing to follow someone who takes a humorous and informative look at menopause and the "mid-life roller coaster."


4. Becky Levine's writing blog. I draw upon her blogs repeatedly in my writing classes at Central Piedmont Community College.


5. Joy Acey's blog is aptly named Poetry for Kids Joy. Subscribe to this blog and you'll get a fun poem almost everyday in your inbox. 


6. Lori Baldwin's blog. Yes, she is my daughter so I am biased. But her blog, The Unmeasured Cup, is all about recipes she concocts and are gluten free. On top of it, her photography is excellent! Oh, and did I say she's a good writer to?

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Now, for what you may or may not know about me:


1. I like digging in the dirt- planting flowers, tomatoes, or herbs.
2. I used to have a golden retriever named Pax. He was very unlike his name (Pax is Latin for peace).
3. I was widowed when I was 27. Remarried at 32.
4. Sometimes I eat peanut butter with cottage cheese on bagels for breakfast. A college friend once told me it was complete protein. Try it sometime-- you might like it!
5. I have my Bachelor's degree in Mental Health and my Master's in Counseling. 
6. Half-Truths (my WIP) started out as a picture book...many years and revisions ago.
7. My first published book was, "Friendship Counseling: Lay Counseling in the Church." It was translated into Chinese in 1998.
8. I like to swim laps.
9. I believe strongly that good communication is indispensible for building good relationships.
10. We are a family of females: I have 2 step-daughters, 3 daughters, there granddaughters, and one grandson (so far!).

Two Outstanding Picture Books for African American History Month

I read Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges as a part of my research for Half-Truths.  I came across a photograph of Norman Rockwell's painting depicting Ruby's brave integration of her Louisiana elementary school. I saw the original "The Problems We All Live With" at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Ma. The huge painting of the white guards escorting the young black girl to school stuck in my mind. The docent remarked how Rockwell used a splatter of red to emphasize the story behind the illustration and how Ruby is pictured, but the men walking with her are faceless.

"The Problem We All Live With", 1963, Look, January 1964

Rockwell published this illustration in the January 14, 1964 issue of LOOK magazine. As Bridges quoted, Rockwell was inspired by John Steinbeck's Travel with Charley:

   The show opened on time. Sound of sirens. Motorcycle cops. Then two big black cars  filled with big men in blond felt hats pulled up in front of the school. The crowd seemed to hold its breath. Four big marshals got out of each car and from somewhere in the automobiles they extracted the littlest Negro girl you ever saw, dressed in shining starchy white, with new white shoes on feel so little they were almost round. Her face and little legs were very black against the white. 

    The big marshals stood her on the curb and a jangle of jeering shrieks went up from behind the barricades. The little girl did not look at the howling crowd but from the side the whites of her eyes showed like those of a frightened fawn. THe men turned her around like a doll, and then the strange procession moved up the btoad walk toward the school, adn the child was even more a mite becase the men were so big. Then the girl made a curious hop, and I think I know what it wa. I think in her whole life she had not gone ten steps without skppin, but now in the middle of her first skip, the weight bore er down and her little round feet took measured, reluctant steps between the tall gaurds. Slowly they climbed the steps and entered the school. 

Ruby Bridge's account of the events leading up to that day in New Orleans in 1960 are fascinating. She believes that she lost her childhood during that first grade year, when she integrated the school amidst boycotts, riots, and tremendous community tension. She was the only child in her class the entire year because white parents moved their children out. Attendence in school dwindled. Next year, her second grade class was integrated. "William Frantz School was integrated, but the long strange journey had changed me forever." (p. 53)

It wasn't until thirty years later, after her brother's death in a drug-related shooting, that Ms. Bridges began to realize the importance of what she had done in 1960. At that point she began to become proactive in the Frantz School and established the Ruby Bridges Foundation. 

This book integrates Ruby's story with local and national history. Newspaper photographs, accounts by her teacher and a child psychiatrist, and a 1960 quote from John F. Kennedy, "Can we honestly say that it doesn't affect our security and the fight for peace when Negroes and others are denied their full constitutional rights?" provide historical context for this picture book for all ages.  

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The second book I want to highlight, is Ellen's Broom by North Carolina author, Kelly Starling Lyons. Recently chosen as one of four new picture books celebrating African American History month by USA Today, this story came from Lyons' research into her own family history. According to yesterday's USA Today, 

Author Kelly Starling Lyons was researching her family's roots when she came upon a copy of the 1866 Cohabitation List of Henry County, Va. As Lyons learned, the end of the Civil War meant that former slaves, living as husband and wife, could have their unions legally recognized by the Freedman's Bureau. That inspired a heartwarming story about how a young girl discovers the symbolic value of a broom. (Slaves once staged weddings using brooms they leap over "into life together.") Daniel Minter's vividly colored block prints are brilliant. 

I think both of these picture books are great classroom resources for African American History month. 

Giving Away Glory Be- Part II

When Augusta Scattergood's debut novel came out at the beginning of this year, I blogged about the story behind the story. Now it's time for a review of the book itself.

Glory Be (Scholastic, 2012) spans two weeks in the summer of 1964 when Gloriana Hemphill turns twelve. In these eye-opening weeks, Glory becomes aware of the racial prejudice that permeates her Mississippi town. When the local pool ostensibly closes for repairs, Glory takes it upon herself to figure out the real reason behind the closing. In an act of bravery, she writes a scathing letter to the editor of the local newspaper decrying the prejudice which drove the Town Council's decision. Although the pool doesn't re-open that summer, the book closes with a triumphant July Fourth party at the library which both white and black patrons attend--despite the protests of a formidable citizen. 


Since I am also writing historical fiction that deals with race relations in the South, it is interesting to see what events Scattergood drew upon to write her novel. The story takes place in the middle of Freedom Summer and the author folded in real events that happened in towns near her on in Mississippi. The librarian and civil rights workers in Glory Be are based on individuals who Scattergood met.  I enjoyed the description of Elvis Presley's house before it became a shrine, and how she included Robert Kennedy's visits to a black church in the area. 


I was mostly drawn to Emma, the black woman who took care of Glory and her sister Jesslyn after their mother's death; she appears to be the wisest individual in the story. When Glory tries to figure out if the pool really has cracks or not, Emma answers, "What's broken is that some folks don't seem to like anything changing. Everybody's got to stay the same in this part of town." (p. 34) In this simple statement, Emma sums up the main theme of the book. 


Glory changes during these two weeks. She goes from being a self-centered child who is only worried about the pool being open for her birthday party, to someone who fights for the rights of others. Her letter to the editor was eloquent; I wished I had seen more of the maturation that led her to writing it. 


I also missed seeing Mr. Hemphill's influence in this story; for the most part he seems detached from his family. I wondered how both Glory and Jesslyn developed their tolerant attitudes in the deep South. There is also little attention paid to their mother's death which left me wondering about the girls' grief and the input her death had on them. 


Glory Be is a good introduction for both girl and boy 4th-7th grade readers into civil rights issues in the Deep South. This would be a great book to read for African American History month and one of my fortunate readers will receive an autographed copy of the ARC. Enter my giveaway contest either by mentioning it on Facebook or Twitter, or sign up to follow my blog. I will draw the winner's name on February 7, so leave me a comment (and your e-mail address) and I'll enter your name!

Wild Onions, Orange Popsicles, and Truth

Yesterday Joyce Hostetter and I brainstormed our upcoming workshop for the Write2Ignite conference. We have presented “Using Life Experiences to Inform Your Writing” at other venues, but we like to tweak it each time to make it fresh.

We introduce ourselves by each reading a passage that springboards from our own life experiences.  Previously, I have read from an article for adults in which I show my father’s story-reading influence upon me as a writer. Joyce challenged me use a childhood memory that has impacted my current work in progress, Half-Truths.

We always begin this workshop by providing sensory stimuli to help prompt memories.  Participants build upon these experiences in two different writing activities. Yesterday Joyce and I chewed over how to help writers get to the essence, or “truth” of those memories.

Joyce and I embracing the book sculptures on The Green
in Charlotte, NC

After our conversation, I e-mailed Joyce and asked to clarify what she meant about the discovering the truth of an experience. She replied,

“In the shed scene in BLUE, I refer to the smell of oil and dirt and how that reminds Ann Fay of her Daddy.  But for me, the smell of dirt and oil reminds me mostly of summer days when I would go to the garage and take an inner tube down from a pole on the wall and go to the pond to swim. 

“I could describe my own experience in the book – I could talk about hearing the screen door slam as I left the house, running to the garage to beat my siblings to the biggest inner tube, smelling the mix of dirt and oil on the old garage floor, and looping the inner tube over my arm with my towel as I walked to the pond.

“Instead I took a smell that has good memories and applied it to Ann Fay’s daddy and her longing for him. The trick is using details to give life to our stories without simply writing a fictionalized memoir— in other words— pulling nuggets from our lives to inform our writing but not to dictate a scene."

I read Joyce’s email and then went outside to do yard work.  As I raked and weeded I thought about Joyce’s challenge: to see if a nugget from my past could inform my work. I dug up wild onions, smelled them, remembered their odor, and wondered if one of main characters would ever sniff wild onions. I came inside and wrote this poem from Kate Dinsmore’s perspective.

Image courtesy of ppd.purdue.edu

Wild Onions

The smell is pungent and my eyes sting when I hold them to my nose.

My nose tingles. The earth is springy and brown.

Lillie and I wash our hands after weeding and we both smell like onions.

The same color of muddy water washes down the drain.

I end up with white hands; hers are only slightly darker than mine.

Yet she has to sit at the back of the bus.

She goes to a school where the books are used.

She has to worry every time she walks through Myers Park if someone is going to accuse her of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She is always looking over her shoulder.

Wondering, if she will ever measure up to some white standard of beauty. Actually, never feeling like she will measure up.

Now my eyes and nose tingle, not from onions, but I am sad for my friend.

And yes,

She is my friend.

This poured out of me and left me in tears—the poem and process both surprised and delighted me.

What about the orange popsicles? I think I’ll tuck that taste and memory into my pocket and save them for another poem.

Children's Literature Symposium in Chapel Hill

Recently, a group of writers, teachers, librarians and storytellers gathered to listen to ten children’s literature experts and writers. Here are some highlights:

Storyteller Brian Sturm opened the afternoon with a story demonstrating how our “brains are hardwired to understand stories—the best vehicle to communicate truth.” He then advised writers to:

Brian Sturm

• Give readers and/or listeners enough description so they can see events.
•  Remember that jeopardy works because readers want to fight alongside the protagonist.
• Create idiosyncratic characters that are both familiar and novel.
• Capture the heart with the familiar; hook the mind with what is new.

Susie Wilde, a professional book reviewer, shared her evaluation of eleven picture books. Her “bad book pile,” (mostly written by celebrities or authors of adult books) included:

• Don’t Call Me Little Bunny by Gregoire Solotareff. The bunny-protagnoist, has a gun and escapes from jail. Susie’s challenge was, “What is the underbelly of your story?
• Goldilocks by Dom De Luise.
• The Adventures of Ralphie the Roach by Paulina Porizkova. Susie found both the story and illustrations repulsive.
• The Christmas Sweater by Glen Beck. “There was no transition between reality and fantasy.”
• A Walk in the Rain with a Brain by Edward Hallowell. “If you’re going to write poetry, you need to do it perfectly.”

Her “good book pile” included:

• Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer. “Unlike DeLuise's self-serving Goldilocks, this has a fresh approach when re-imagining familiar characters.”
• Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael Kaplan. “Features a wholly original, memorable character bound to be loved by child readers because it is spot on in a child’s perspective.
• Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson. Good African American history stories.
• Tia Isa wants a Car by Meg Medina.  “There is satisfaction when the resolution rewards the reader.”
• Good night, Good Night Construction Site by Sherry Rinker. Very good rhythm and rhyme.
• Milo and the Magic Stones by Marcus Pfister.  “This book offers two endings so a child can choose between greed and selfishness to solve a problem.”

Karin Michel, head of youth services at the Chapel Hill library, stated that series are huge and that classics are still being read. She includes out-of-print books in her collection. “Libraries help extend the life of books that are worth reading.”

Sarah Carr, the children’s books manager at Flyleaf Books hand sells many books to her customers and their parents.  She noted the popularity of books in Spanish and picture books with lots of description. “Bookstores, as well as libraries, are also places to build a community of readers.”

Susie Wilde, Karin Michel, Sarah Carr

Novelist Stephen Messer admitted, “When I was young, I thought the coolest thing would be to be the author of one of the books I was reading.” He wrote his debut novel, Windblowne in longhand, which was helpful because every day he added a little more and couldn’t delete anything. When he is writing, he surrounds himself with things that remind him of the book. Oak trees outside his window, a dragon kite, and a poster of a powerful wind--all brought him into Windblowne’s fantasy setting.

Allan Wolf, Jackie Ogburn, Jane Baskerville Muphy, Stephen Messer, Barbara Younger

Jacqueline Ogburn, an award-winning picture book author advised, “Write to evoke pictures, not to describe them. Concentrate on dialogue, action, and character. Writing a picture book has much in common with writing a screenplay,” she said. “Turning a page in a picture book is the equivalent of a new scene.” Click here to listen to her book, The Bake Shop Ghost, read by Daniel Pinkwater.  

Performance poet Allan Wolf treated the group to two poetry performances, which is the art form that brought him into writing for children. “We write because we have something to say,” he said. “Part of exploration of what you don’t know leads to finding it out- don’t worry about that. Your questions will take you down an avenue that no one else has gone on.“

Upcoming Events

I wanted to share two events on my calendar that might interest you.

On March 13 I begin a 6 week class on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:30. Crafting Characters that Connect will meet on the main campus of Central Piedmont Community College. The course focuses on the basic principles involved in writing compelling, three-dimensional characters for short and long narratives. Students will examine character depth and growth, write dialogue, learn to identify a character’s wants and needs and complete a character’s autobiography. For more information and to register, go to the CPCC website. 



On March 16-17 I will be participating in the fourth annual Write 2 Ignite Conference in Greenville, S.C. On Saturday I have the privilege of being one of the keynote speakers; you can find  more information about "Humility in the Marketplace" here.


There are a number of great workshops to choose from.  Among them, Joyce Hostetter and I will co-lead a workshop, Using Life Experiences to Pump Up Your Writing on Friday evening and on Saturday I'll be leading a mini-version of my CPCC class and cover the highlights of Crafting Characters that Connect. 


Write 2 Ignite is holding a special contest until January 31st. Check it out for the opportunity to win a critique as well as Terry Burn's book, A Writer's Survival Guide to Publication.  And if finances are a problem, make sure you check out the scholarships which are being offered. 


If you have any questions about either of these events, feel free to leave me a comment or write to me at cbaldwin6@carolina.rr.com. 


Hope to see you at one of these events!

Palace of Mirrors

If you're looking for a book similar to other titles by Margaret Peterson Haddix, then Palace of Mirrors   may not be what you are looking for. Unlike Among the Hidden and the other books in the Shadow Children series which are futuristic and political, Palace of Mirrors takes place in a medieval/fantasy setting. 


Although I found that this book started slow, the story of a peasant girl who is raised believing that she is the "True Princess" develops interesting twists when the conflict heats up in the second half of the book.  Girl readers in upper elementary and middle school will enjoy the turn of events which Cecelia, the main character, encounters. 


Although I think most readers will read this book for its entertainment value, the dialogue between Cecelia and Harper, her best friend, about making choices vs. following your destiny could generate interesting discussions. In addition, girl readers will enjoy the power that Haddix gives to her main character.