DOROTHEA'S EYES: A Picture Book Biography and Giveaway

 I hope you are enjoying hearing about terrific curriculum resources as much as I am enjoying sharing them. It's a win-win! I learn about how to write an inspirational and informative nonfiction picture book, and you have a chance to win one! Today's selection, Dorothea's Eyes (Calkins Creek, 2016) features iconic photographer, Dorothea Lange, and is written by talented author, Barb Rosenstock with period-perfect illustrations by Gérard DuBois. In the text and illustrations, see if you notice something a little bit different about how this biography is written. (Note: The quotations in red are the way they appear in the book--that's not the answer!)

REVIEW

Dorothea Lange's grey-green eyes look at the world around her and sees "dimpled shadows scattering an orange peel. Swirled-pattern pricks in a walnut sewing table. Repeating rectangles of New Jersey row homes."

After her parents split up, her mother finds a job in a city library and Dorothea attends a school full of poor immigrants. She is Different and Lonely.

But, she is also Watchful. Curious. So, after school she,

spies into crowded tenements where fathers, home from peddling, read newspapers, and mothers wash dishes, clothes, and babies in rusty sinks--happy and sad mixed together. 

Dorothea pretends she's invisible all the time.

 

And all the time, Dorothea sees with her eyes and her heart.

As a teenager, she announces she is going to be a photographer. Despite her mother's resistance ("It...it isn't ladylike!") Dorothea gets work at photographer's studios and learns everything she can about cameras and darkrooms. 

She loves faces, but is restless to see places too. She sets off from New Jersey to travel around the world but stays in San Fransisco after her money is stolen. She starts her own portrait studio and becomes successful. She marries and has children. But, she keeps asking herself, 

        Am I using my eyes and my heart?

One day during the Depression she looks outside her window and sees men searching for work. She focuses on one man in particular:

 

                                Dorothea's heart won't let her stop.

White Angel Breadline, 1933 

Dorothy Lange Collection
Oakland Museum of California
https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/135245

Dorothea leaves her comfortable life and takes her camera on the road. She scans dirt lanes, peers down back paths, and squints up broken steps. Fathers stoop in fields, working for pennies. Mothers nurse sick children, lying thirsty in makeshift tents. Whole families in jalopies--blown out by the dust storms wracking the land.

 

Migrant Mother, 1936
Nipomo, California

"Of the 160,000 images taken by Lange and other photographers for the
Resettlement Administration, Migrant Mother has become the most iconic picture
of the Depression. Through an intimate portrait of the toll being exacted across the land, Lange 
gave a face to a suffering nation."
http://100photos.time.com/photos/dorothea-lange-migrant-mother


Her heart knows all about people the world ignores.

Dorothea doesn't just photograph the people she meets. She understands how ashamed and invisible they feel. For five years despite a leg that always hurts, she photographs people for the world to see. "The jobless. The hungry. The homeless."

Newspapers and magazines publish these pictures. Dorothea's eyes won't let the country look away. Her photographs help convince the government to provide parents with work, children with food, and families with safe, clean homes.

        The truth, seen with love, becomes Dorothea's art. 

BACK MATTER and CURRICULUM RESOURCE

As you may expect, the back matter is a rich collection of photographs, information on Lange, bibliography, and timeline. Click on these links for more resources: the Educator Guide and Barb's Pinterest Board.

Although this book is recommended for ages 8-12, I think high school students (and adults!) would also learn not only about a woman who followed her passion and made a difference in this country, but about the effects of the Depression. 

GIVEAWAY and ANSWER

Please leave a comment (with your email address if you are new to my blog) by 6PM June 9. Start following my blog and I'll put your name in twice. Continental U.S. addresses only. 

So, can you tell what is different about this biography? It might be hard from just a few quotes--but this historical picture book is written in present tense. Kudos to Barb Rosenstock for a creative way to write nonfiction!

                                                ****

Congratulations to Dee Romito who won OCEAN SOUP on last week's blog.

Among the Imposters: An Audio Book Review and Giveaway

Among the Imposters is the second book in the Shadow Children series by Margaret Haddix. Although I hadn't read the first book, Among the Hidden, Ms. Haddix's reputation is legendary and when this book was available through Recorded Books, I was glad for the opportunity to review it. 

As expected from an award-winning author, the reader is quickly acquainted with Luke Garner's history and enough information to make this second book understandable and enjoyable. Although classified as young adult, upper level middle grade readers will also enjoy this dystopian novel.

REVIEW

The only link Luke Garner has to his parents or his brothers, Matthew and Mark, or to his best friend Jen who recently died, is his real name. But it is no longer safe to be Luke. It is only safe to be Lee Grant.

Luke is a shadow child. Just like all third children, his parents hid him from the Population Police so that he would survive. (The population laws came about because of a famine and not enough food for everyone.) His goal in coming out of hiding is to help other third children although it is unclear to him how he will accomplish this. 

Now, at twelve-years-old, Jen's father risked his own career to obtain an identity for him and bring Luke to Hendrix School for boys. Never having been off his family's farm, Luke feels out of place and is frightened that the teachers or the other boys will discover he is not who he is pretending to be and that he is an imposter.

Inside the school he is the victim of bullying but also experiences a great deal of anonymity as the teachers pay little attention to him. Gradually he realizes that many of the boys are autistic or agoraphobic and he wonders what Hendrix School is really about--which he figures out by the end.

An accidental encounter with a door leads him outdoors. Remembering the woods and how his parents grew food, he decides to plant a garden. The garden is a great source of pleasure and gives him unexpected confidence.

Eventually, Luke recognizes that, everyone at the school is a chess piece and most of the boys are pawns. Life gets complicated when he meets other third children and he wonders if Hendrix is a place for all of them to hide. His antagonist tries to befriend him but then Luke discovers he is a traitor. Power shifts and double crossing throughout the novel keeps readers guessing--who are the imposters?

Hendrix writes in a close third person POV and Luke's "What if?" questions lead the narrative. In a world where nothing is as it seems, Luke gains voice and agency throughout the book. He determines, "He was not a pawn to be moved across a chess board according to other people's plan. " In a satisfactory manner, the ending allows Luke to reach his goal of helping other third children and makes readers want to read the sequel. What happens next? 

The book raises important questions about population control, the role of the government, loyalty, friendships, and dishonesty. I checked on Goodreads and there are many reviewers (both teens and adults) who loved the book. One reviewer found that the Shadow Children series became more and more violent as the books progressed. Therefore, I recommend reading/or listening to it yourself before passing it along to a young reader. In my judgement, this particular novel was not violent.

The book is ably narrated by John Kroft. Here is a link to the audio snippet. 

GIVEAWAY

Please leave me a comment by June 21 along with your email address (if you are new to my blog) to enter this contest.  

You Heard it Here First: Cover Reveal for DRIVE by Joyce Hostetter

I am honored to share the cover reveal for DRIVE, Joyce Hostetter's newest middle grade book that will be released in September by Calkins Creek. In this interview she gives you a glimpse of the backstory behind the latest in the Bakers Mountain Stories as well as the nitty gritty research she did. Take it away, Joyce!

Photo credit: Wendy Hostetter Davis

Synopsis

Ida and Ellie Honeycutt are identical twins whose personalities and internal drives are quite different. Ellie likes action and loves going to the local stock car speedway with its thrilling competitions. Ida, who hates the noise, dirt, and danger of racing, prefers quiet evenings at home pursuing her love of art.

Ellie tends to lead and Ida is mostly content to let her do so. They find security in their expected roles but entering high school gives them more separate experiences and forces them to function independently of each other. However nothing can stop them from falling for the same charming boy and finding themselves at increasing odds with each other.

Then a car accident forces them into new roles, affirms their unique identities, and leads them back to their deep loyalties to each other.

Carol: How did you arrive at the concept for DRIVE? 

Joyce: After my publisher suggested a prequel to BLUE (which eventually became AIM), I decided to create a series which is now known as the Bakers Mountain Stories. Five books seemed like a satisfactory number of volumes and would give each of the neighborhood youngsters a chance to tell his or her story.  (Ann Fay Honeycutt narrates two books, BLUE and COMFORT since she unknowingly kicked off the series!)   

Next in line were the twins. Of course I could have given them each their own separate books to narrate but being lumped together was also a twin dilemma I could utilize.  Mostly I wanted to explore their individuality in the context of the same story line. So I decided to write DRIVE from both of their voices and let their differing viewpoints create the conflict.  My goal was to have the reader pull for both of them even when they were at odds with each other.

Carol: Why did you call the book DRIVE?

I’ve always thought that, if I wrote a sequel to COMFORT, I’d want to share a bit of North Carolina’s NASCAR history.  The Hickory Motor Speedway opened in 1952, the year my story takes place, and we’ve had a number of exceptional drivers emerge from our area. Ned Jarrett grew up in the community and ran his first race at our speedway on the night that it opened. Jarrett represented racing so well via his competitive drive, his deep integrity, and his trailblazing career in NASCAR broadcasting. Including him as a character in the story was a real honor for me.

The historical backdrop for DRIVE is The Cold War, The Korean Conflict, and the presidential race between Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. Ultimately, I see this book as being about competition, the drive to succeed, and what it means to win. 

In any competition, we tend to see winners and losers. But one person or party taking first place doesn’t have to mean loss for others. Winning is the result of facing challenges with integrity, admitting our mistakes, and learning more about ourselves and what makes us valuable—no matter what the outcome of the contest. In DRIVE Ida and Ellie discover what makes them each unique and a winner in her own right.

Carol: What challenges did you encounter while writing DRIVE?

Writing from two viewpoints is always more complicated than I imagine it will be. Each character’s story must be fully fleshed out while complementing the other’s.  There’s so much to cover— scenes they share, separate scenes, more characters to flesh out, and interior monologue and a story arc for each protagonist. My biggest challenge was getting it all in and making it work together without bogging the story down. Based on editor feedback I did some major rewriting which changed the story a lot. The heart of the story was unchanged but the narrative for reaching resolution was quite different.

Also regarding challenges—I have to say that securing a contract to write a novel before it’s actually fleshed out sounds like a writer’s dream. But this presents its own struggle.  Deadlines always arrive more quickly than I like!

Carol: What kind of research did you do?

I read about the twin experience, of course, but conversations with multiple sets of twins were the most helpful in understanding the complicated mix of deep love and intense competition that exists between many of them. I also interviewed local NASCAR legend, Ned Jarrett and spent lots of time at the library reading our local newspaper from 1952 & 1953.

YouTube was great for giving me glimpses of the 1952 presidential election and aspects of the Cold War. I also watched quite a few NASCAR documentaries and attended my first stock car race at Hickory Motor Speedway.

Hickory Motor Speedway

Carol: You mentioned five books in Bakers Mountain Stories.  So far you have AIM, BLUE, COMFORT and DRIVE. What’s next?

Something that starts with an E, of course. I anticipate the title to be EQUALITY since that was a big theme of the sixties. The youngest Honeycutt child, Jackie (a boy) will turn fourteen in 1960 and will experience some history making moments. I can’t wait to see the storyline evolve as I discover ideas while researching. Just getting started on that now!

Thanks so much Carol for listening and sharing DRIVE with your readers!

And without further ado, take a look at this beautiful cover!

One of the ways we can support our favorite authors is by pre-ordering their books. Guess what? DRIVE is now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble for pre-order! In 2018 you'll have the opportunity to win the ARC off my blog when I review it--but why wait? Order your copy now!

Making Friends With Billy Wong-- BONUS GIVEAWAY!

In conjunction with this week's review of MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG Augusta Scattergood is giving away an autographed copy of this timely book. 

Please leave your name (and email address if you are new to this blog) by 7 PM Saturday, February 11. If you are a teacher, home educator, or librarian,  let me know in your comment and I'll enter your name twice!

You Heard it Here First: Jo Hackl's Path to Publication Part I

If you're a member of the SCBWI-Carolinas region, then you probably already know Jo Hackl's cheerful, friendly face.  For three years she served as assistant Regional Advisor and for another three she was the voice of reassurance and encouragement as the Critique Coordinator at the annual conference. She and I have been in the region for close to the same length of time, and I've always felt like we were kindred spirits. When I read her response to my questions, discovered her favorite books and that her debut novel includes a cantankerous goat, I understood why. It gives me great pleasure to feature Jo in a two part blog series celebrating Random House's announcement to publish her book in 2017. If you live outside North and South Carolina, you'll just have to come to one of our fantastic conferences to meet Jo and our other fantastic writers!

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Carol: First of all, what was your pitch for Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe? 

Jo: SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF MAYBE is an outdoor survival meets art mystery story set in a rural Mississippi ghost town.  It features Cricket, a budding artist in search of her run-away Mama.  The story also includes a Trans-Am driving aunt and fireworks obsessed step-cousins, with a part-time moonshiner and a cantankerous goat thrown in for good measure.  I like to think of it as Hatchet meets From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler meets Turtle in Paradise.

Carol: Where did you get the idea for the book? How long did these ideas swim around in your mind before you started writing? Did you wrestle with several different versions before you settled on the one that Random House finally bought? 

Jo: I grew up next to a ghost town in rural Mississippi and spent a great deal of time outdoors, exploring the woods.  I discovered thick, crumbling sidewalks cutting straight lines through a vine-tangled forest, cement pillars from old home-places laying sideways in the red clay, old garden patches with rambling roses and wisteria gone wild,  and mysterious-looking bottles everywhere. The place had so much history that I could practically breathe it.  

"Walking Bridge" was taken with Jo and her cousin in the gravel road that ran in front of
their grandparent's home in Kemper County, Mississippi, circa 1970. 

I knew that I wanted to use that rich setting in this book.  I’m also a fan of contemporary art and wanted to include an art-related mystery element.  In brainstorming on the project, I was inspired by the way that From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (one of my favorite books) placed the main characters in a fascinating setting- the Metropolitan Museum of Art- and introduced them to an art mystery.  I wanted to see if I could figure out a way to make the ghost town setting function in similar ways to the museum in The Mixed-up Files- by challenging my main character, sparking her curiosity and imagination, and engaging her in unravelling an art mystery.  

I imagined a secret room in the last house standing in the ghost town, its walls, ceiling and floor covered in paintings, with clues to a treasure hidden in the images.  To make things more interesting, I added additional clues in a vine-covered sculpture on a pine tree in the woods and on a carving on a dowsing rod found inside the house (because what could be more cool than a rod that can be used to find underground water, treasure, or bodies - take your pick).  

The historic marker for the town of Electric Mills, Mississippi;
the ghost town that inspired the setting for Jo's book.

No story set in Mississippi would be complete without a cast of lively characters, all ready to speak their mind.  I played around with voice and backstory until the characters became real to me.  I brainstormed for about a year before I started writing.  I also tried several variations and plot structures through the writing and revision process until I found one that seemed right. 

Carol: How many drafts did you complete? How long was it from your idea inception to when you started querying agents? 

Jo: Oh my!  It’s been a long process and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each stage. I wrote the first draft in five months and spent seven more years revising, refining and polishing.  I completed at least nine full drafts (I’ve lost count).  I was on at least the fourth draft and several years into the project before I started sending it out. 

Carol: What type of help did you receive as you wrote your debut novel? 

Jo: I began the first draft of my novel in a class taught by the wonderfully talented Ashley Warlick, who offered a novel writing workshop through Emrys, a local literary arts organization and Ashley has continued to offer wise counsel throughout the project.  I attended writing workshops and read books about the craft of writing.  I studied and wrote poetry. Emrys and SCBWI conferences and workshops were extremely helpful.  

Ashley Warlick and Jo 

The Emrys, SCBWI and outdoor communities are delightfully generous and I had help from many readers, independent editors and critique groups members.  I took classes in outdoor survival skills.  Naturalists, artists, and people from the mental health community shared their knowledge and answered my questions. Colleagues and friends have been very supportive. And, of course, Tracey Adams’ comments have been invaluable in shaping the manuscript. As soon as I got the word of Random House’s offer of publication (and after I let out a huge whoop and thanked Tracey and my family), I immediately pulled out the ongoing list I’d been keeping of people to thank, to make sure it was updated.  It’s a long list! In my case, it really did take a village to write a novel and I was blessed to have this wonderful village to help me on my journey.  I look forward to giving back.

*******

Next week Jo will share how she has balanced a very full life of being a lawyer, mother, and author, as well as the role that SCBWI has played in her life. 

Jo Hackl is represented by Tracey Adams of Adams Literary.  Jo is also a corporate lawyer with Wyche, P.A. in Greenville, SC, where she is Past President of the Greenville County Bar Association and the recipient of the Richard Riley Award for her pro bono service.  She is a past president of Emrys and the founder of Outdoorosity.org, which provides a free source of information and inspiration about the outdoors to individuals, families and educators. She lives with her family on the side of a mountain where she writes every day and tries to spend as much time outside as possible.