Washington Museum Association Conference

I’m off this morning to the Washington Museum Association Conference in Pullman, WA. Putting my work with the Whidbey Writers Workshop and Washington State History Museum to good use, I’m speaking twice. Once on Thursday, “Right-Sizing” Your Education Programs During the Economic Crunch” and once on Friday with “Writing to Connect with Young Audiences.”  Both presentations draw from a number of projects located at various museums around the country as well as the children’s literature field.

These conferences are great fun, and putting together these presentations always helps me align my thoughts on key topics facing museum educators, exhibit developers, and writers around the country. The only problem is that these subjects could be day-long workshops in their own right! One hour is a tight fit.

Ah well, I like a challenge.

B25 Research Adventure Part 1

Research for any story comes in many forms. For my current teen novel project, I’m having to enter a world in which I have very little experience and knowledge, despite years of work in the museum field. I’m having to transport myself back to the 1940s, during World War II, and into the heart and mind of a bombing crew. Aside from sorting through a boxload of dusty photos, mouse-chewed letters, and a diary from 1945, I decided to transport myself physically through time and space by going for a ride in a B25. 

I searched online, emailed back forth with a few folks around the country, and finally landed on the web page of the good folks at Warbirds Unlimited in Mesa, Arizona. Their motto is “live history,” and let me tell you in all my nearly 20 years in the museum field, I haven’t discovered anything quite like it. Historians use their imaginations a lot, but this is as close as you’ll get to traveling to another time. Consider the factors:

The environment (it’s a “working” but authentic restoration of the original right down to the seat belts), the noise (it’s a total mind-buzz requiring the use of serious ear muffs), the altitude (about 3,00-5,000 feet low), the motion (enough skittering side-to-side and up-and-down to make breakfast perk-o-late), the smell (a little diesel, a little metal, a lot of human sweat, a little nephew puke), and finally the vastness of the view (about 300 degrees in the tail gunner position). 

I sat in the tail gunner position during the last part of ride, breathing deeply and trying to tap into what my dad would have thought being stuck out there in the tail for 59 missions over the mountains and valleys of Italy. If every great story is built of character emotion, surely this story will be about pride, determination, resignation, and being scared shitless a huge percentage of the time. 

The flight was “only” 30 minutes, but all of us agreed (my niece and two nephews who had come along) that it was truly the longest 30 minutes of our lives. By the end, both Dylan and I were carrying bags of barf (no more scrambled eggs for me or a while), and all of us were exhausted. Just that little taste gave us a feel for what those bomber crews must have felt like (times about 1000) as they set out on every mission not knowing if they would live or die. 

No matter what my writer friends say, I wouldn’t pass up this experience as an means to tap into the emotions of my characters for anything. In fact, when I think of a B25, I’m still a little queasy. No wonder my dad never wanted to talk about the war…just kidding. But in truth, I’m a lot like him, figuring out how to handle the literal ups and downs for whenever I might have the chance to go again. People really can pull off amazing feats when they have no choice. 

Well folks, that’s it for this post. Special thanks to Ray, Leon, Bill, and pilot Jack Fedor of Warbirds Unlimited for making this experience both well orchestrated and extremely enlightening (all four of us nominate Crew Chief Bill for Sainthood). And to my brave niece and nephews, Haley, Krister, and Dylan, many thanks for helping me “tap the gramps.” This story will be richer for it, baby! 

Coming in Part 2: Our visit to the CAF Aircraft Museum to see their recently restored B25J, “Maid in the Shade.”

Jellicoe Road: StephsNotes for the Reluctant Reader

Psst….you’ve no doubt heard of CliffsNotes. Now there’s “StephsNotes”—with just ten helpful hints, they’re even simpler than the Cliffs original!

 

 

StephsNotes to:

 JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta

 

Dear RR:

You know who you are. You’re the kid librarians and teachers are always trying to find a book for. A book that appeals to the non-reader in you, the Game Boy player, the wise cracker, the hurt in you. They’ll work through a list of Books Recommended for Reluctant Readers, trying to find just the right fit for you. You might even find yourself enjoying one or two. But I can tell you right now, the book they won’t be bringing your way is JELLICOE ROAD, or, as they call it in Australia where it was first published, ON THE JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta.

But hey, should you ever find yourself in high school English, stuck with a teacher who is in love with having her students read Printz award winners, this set of StephsNotes just might help you NOT FAIL the class. I, of course, don’t guarantee ANY results—I mean the info is, after all, FREE. That said, here goes.

 

Melina Marchetta: The Mini-Biography

Melina Marchetta lives in Sydney, Australia. She used to teach high school English to a bunch of boys, but now she just writes full-time. You can do that if you happen to write books that wind up on best seller lists and win international awards such as the Printz. Such is the case with JELLICOE ROAD (did you notice the shiny gold “P” on the cover).

Melina has brown, curly hair, was born in 1965, and probably speaks with an Australian accent.

She writes novels for teens. Her first was Looking for Alibrandi. Her second, Saving Francesca seems to be a popular choice among library thieves as it was recently voted “book most likely to be stolen from the library.” Her third novel is the one you’re not reading, titled JELLICOE ROAD. And if you’re sick of edgy teen-scene stories, she has yet another new book out. It’s a “fantasy epic” this time, called Finnikin of the Rock, which just got picked up by American publisher Candlewick.

Now, here’s a juicy bit. Wikipedia has it that Melina “left school” when she was fifteen and went to business school, where she learned typing….hmmm, handy skill for a writer. Like a lot of us “reluctant” learners, she put her smarts into action in the business world then went back to school to earn the degree she wanted. She got a job teaching so she has a lot of first-hand knowledge about the school settings in her books.

And yes, Google her so you can read most of this stuff right from the source.

We suspect she has a cat, but no sources confirm this.

 

 

Helpful Hints for Cutting Through the Literary Lingo

Read closely and you’ll hardly have to read the book at all….

 

Hint #1

Technique: The scattered italic parts are supposed to be parts of a manuscript, a story that one of the characters (Hannah/Narnie) is writing.  (Trust me, this tidbit will help a lot.) The manuscript is based on a true story—that of Hannah’s youth. Writers often say that the first chapter is the last chapter in disguise, and in the case of this book, add an ‘s’ and you’d be about right. The first couple of chapterS are the last couple of chapterS in disguise. You just don’t realize it because you haven’t read any of them—yet.

 

Hint #2

Setting: The setting may be Australia, but Marchetta writes the story in such a way that it could be almost anywhere. Dial-in on the setting, and you get to a boarding school outside of Sydney where the Townies, Cadets, and Jellicoe students converge.

Which leads to…

 

Hint #3

Setting and Situation:  The “Territory Wars” are as trivial as they seem. It’s the relationships between characters that you have to keep your eye on.

 

Hint #4

Cast of Characters: This is the most complex part of the book. Holy smokes, it takes forever to figure out who everyone is. It’s kinda like trying to catch a cartload of kangaroos.

There is one set of characters in the manuscript (the italic parts) and another in the main part of the book. A couple of characters cross over. All of them, in both stories, are connected because of a horrible car accident that took place on Jellicoe Road.

The two stories take place 22 years and a generation apart. If you’re worried that the chart below will give away too much, consider the likelihood of your actually reading the book. If the chances are slim to zip, cast your concerns to the cats. But even if you do read the book, blowing through some of Marchetta’s make-believe-mysteries will only help you follow the complicated storyline.

CHARACTER	WHERE HE/SHE FITS
Taylor Markham First-person narrator of main story	Main character; daughter of Tate and Webb, abandoned by her mother at a 7-Eleven on Jellicoe Road. She is watched over by Hannah. Taylor is a student at Jellicoe boarding school and the new Head of the Houses.
Hannah (aka “Narnie” in the manuscript) Cross-over character First-person narrator in manuscript (italic parts)	Woman who lives near the Jellicoe School and helps out there. Parents were killed in a car crash on Jellicoe Road. She and her brother Webb survived.
Raffaela (Raffy)	Taylor’s best friend; a Townie who boards at Jellicoe School.
Chaz Santangelo	Son of police chief; Head of Townies; friend-foe of Taylor’s.
Joshua Greggs	Head of Cadets; boy who is the love/hate interest of Taylor.
Ben Cassidy	Head of Clarence House at Jellicoe School; friend and ally of Taylor’s.
Richard of Murrumbidgee House	Head of his house at Jellicoe School; friend-opponent of Taylor’s.
Jessa McKenzie	Year seven student in Taylor’s house; Fitz’s (The Hermit) daughter.
Tate Cross-over character	Taylor’s mom; lost parents and sister in accident on Jellicoe Road. Loved Webb. Became a druggie after Taylor was born and Webb was accidentally killed.
Webb	Boy in tree; Taylor’s father; Hannah’s brother; parents killed in car accident; accidentally shot by Fitz.
Fitz (The Hermit in main story)	Boy who found the accident site on Jellicoe Road and who pulled Narnie, Tate, and Webb out of the cars to safety. Also pulled the dead bodies out just before the cars went up in flames.
Jude (The Brigadier in main story) Cross-over character	A “townie” who meets Narnie, Fitz, Tate, and Webb a year after the accident; falls in love with “Narnie” (Hannah). Falsely accused of being a serial killer.
Sergeant Santangelo	Santangelo’s dad; runs the police dept. He was a responder to the original accident and is a gatekeeper of important info throughout the story.

Hint #5

More on Characters: All of the main characters are tragically flawed—either by some external thing that happened to them or by something they did. I’ll just spit it out: Taylor was abandoned (to Hannah) by her druggie mother after being abused by a twisted kiddie diddler. Griggs killed his abusive father in an attempt to protect his mother. Fitz accidentally killed Webb. And the list goes on. It’d be such a boring story if these were plain old orphans.

 

Hint #6

Theme: They say 99% of all “kid/teen books” are about the child-parent relationship. JELLICOE ROAD, check, check, check. The whole story is about Taylor trying to figure out who her parents are and how her memories of them fit together. Too bad you have to wade through a hundred pages of memory and dream flickers and flashes before you have the slightest clue what’s going on.

 

Hint  #7

Weird Stuff That’s Kinda Freaky-Cool: The boy-in-the-tree dream scenes are the best parts of the book. Oh, and the house burning down and first sex and decapitation and the Mullet Brothers and the secret tunnels are all eerie-quirky bits that make a fairly boring book slightly more readable.

 

Hint #8

Getting it Done: If you’re really pressed, just start at about Chapter 11 or 12 —okay, AFTER you’ve read the Prologue (you don’t want to miss the gory bits)—and you’ll be able to figure the rest out from there. If you’re really pressed for time, just read the Prologue, Chapter 1 and then jump to Chapter 25. All the wiggly crap in the middle is just there to lead you in circles anyway. (Somebody will no doubt feed me to the dingos for saying that, but oh well. For you, RR, anything.)

 

Hint #9

Reviews: Book reviews won’t tell you much—except the three-Ls that you’ve already picked up here: The book is long, laborious, and literary. My favorite review of this book is super duper short. In fact, it’s a “Haiku Review” from the blog site www.emilyreads.com (http://www.emilyreads.com/2009/02/jellicoe-road-review-haiku.html).

Jellicoe Road: Review Haiku

 

A searing look at

loss that’s sometimes in love with

its own misery.

 

She nailed it. And there is not much more to be said. Well, except this last important hint…

 

Hint #10

Message: Despite all the times you think the book is going no where, Marchetta actually does wrap everything up in the end. But even I’ll admit that 412 pages is a long road to walk to learn this one simple thing: That despite death, life goes on. In fact, you’ll see the phrase, “And life goes on” four times in the last 6 pages. It’s as if it’s a mantra for the living—a reminder to live and “go on” despite all the bad juju that happens in life.

 

So, RR, as you’ve probably figured by now, the book is complicated and there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but I cried at the end—both for the joy of finally finishing (I’m a bit of a slow reader myself) and for the joy of a story “well-wrapped.” I don’t know if the characters change so much (as is often a writer’s goal), but they definitely begin to heal, which may be all we can really hope for. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Got an idea for a future StephsNotes?

Shoot an email to StephsNotes@ReadItForMe.com. We want to read whatever you don’t want to! Okay, I admit, that’s not a real email address, but you CAN comment here…

An Anthology of Children’s Poetry

It’s not quite what you might expect. A few contemporary poems, an abundance of classics, but even then only ones that have a spin.

Last semester I put together an anthology of children’s poetry, just over 20 poems in all, under the guidance of my professor, the celebrated and often published poet David Wagoner. Many people asked what made the cut and expressed an interest in seeing the list. 

Your wish is my blog. If you have an interest in seeing a particular poem or noting its source, just comment and I’ll post the info. The main criteria was that each poem had to see the world through a child’s eye…and it had to pass muster when it came to David’s exacting standards. 

During this project, I read hundreds of poems, and by far the most difficult thing was paring the selection down to a mere 20+ poems. 

 

FEARS, DELIGHTS, LESSONS, AND LAUGHTER: An Anthology of Children’s Poetry

compiled by Stephanie Lile

I. RESONANCE: Poems that resonate with who we are, what we dream, what we’ve lost, and/or what we fear

1. To Einstein, My Dog: It Was Quiet (Joyce Sidman)

2. A Negro Speaks of Rivers (Langston Hughes)

3. I Dream a World (Langston Hughes)

4. Final Curve (Langston Hughes)

5. A Circus Garland (Rachel Field)

                        Parade

                        The Performing Seal

                        Gunga

                        Equestrienne

            Epilogue

6. The Falling Star (Sara Teasdale)

7. Hugo, the Lord’s Nephew (Laura Amy Schultz)

 

II. LESSONS LEARNED: When “nonsense” poems make perfect sense

8. Jabberwocky (Lewis Carroll)

9. The Walrus and the Carpenter (Lewis Carroll)

10. The Adventures of Isabel (Ogden Nash)

11. The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus (Ogden Nash)

12. Sara Sylvia Cynthia Stout (Shel Silverstein)

13. Jimmy Jet and His TV Set (Shel Silverstein)

14. The Ghoul (Jack Prelutsky)

 

III. BREAKING (and REMAKING) THE MOLD: Poems that make you go “huh?”

15. There Was A Young Lady of Portugal (Edward Lear)

16. There Was A Young Lady (Edward Lear)

17. One Fish, Two Fish (Dr. Seuss)

18. Great Day for UP! (Dr. Seuss)

 

IV. INSPIRATIONS: New twists on old favorites

19. This is the House that Drac Built (Judy Sierra)

20. ’Twas the Night (Jon Sceizka)

21. There Is A Lady (Eve Merriam)

22. Star Light, Star Bright (Eve Merriam)

For information on any of the poem titles listed above, just post a comment, and I’ll post the info.

P.S. And I just have to say, I’ve loved the Jabberwocky for so long, I memorized it, took the liberty of “finishing” it for LC (it’s so great, but so unresolved), and recorded it once a while ago. Poetry can be such a blast.

When Stealing Stuff Isn’t Cool

I just met a mythical someone named “Yolanda.” As of Yolanda’s April 23 blog post, it seems “she” has copied the text of one of my book reviews, changed a bunch of words and meanings, re-posted it on a windows blog site, and left my byline on it like a gleaming cherry on a melted sundae. No comments postable, no profile available, truckloads of unethical moves. 

You know the old saying, “asking forgiveness is easier than asking permission”? Well, in cases of stolen and torked blog posts and book reviews, that is one big friggin’ No-No. So hey, authors Shaun Tan and Brian Selznick (or anyone else who has been “scimmed ” by Yolanda), if you happened to find this dubious mutation of your titles, take it with a grain of pepper and read the real post here in “My Book Shelf” or at the review’s original home at whidbeystudents.com. 

And as for you, Dear Yolanda, didn’t your momma ever teach you that stealing ain’t cool? And stealing and tweaking is wrong to the core. Stop it.

David Macaulay at Tacoma Art Museum

For those of you who are David Macaulay fans (The Way Things Work, Cathedral, Pyramid, Black & White, The Way WE Work) there is a must-see exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum right now. It runs through June 14, 2009 and it’s fantastic. Set up to show the progression of Macaulay’s work from “envelope sketches” to finished work, the exhibit is so great I’m going back to see it again—and this time not on a “free night.”

The only thing I missed in the show was a glimpse at the final-final version of the various sets of work—in book form.  Next time, I’m tempted to bring my own copies of the books into the gallery for comparison. But trust me, authors and illustrators and curious minds of all sorts will love this intimate view of Macaulay’s studio process. Just don’t do what I (as a notorious museum geek) always seem to do and make the security guards nervous by getting so into it you inch too close to the irreplaceable  art. 

The Tacoma Art Museum, like all the museums in the downtown Tacoma “museum triangle,” is open for free every Third Thursday evening. But if you want a more immersive and exclusive experience, go see the show on a weekday afternoon when the galleries are a bit more quiet. It’s worth the cash. 

Lastly, if you want to meet David Macaulay, come on down to the “Big Draw” Community Festival on April 19, 2009. For twice the fun, you can also check out the “With Our Hands” Folk Art Festival at the Washington State History Museum just two blocks away that same day.

Author-Illustrator Interview: Richard Jesse Watson

Forgive me peeps for I have sinned, it’s been way too long since my last post. But, hey, life’s been busy, and who am I to bore you with the details? What I will share is my latest author interview recently posted on the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts/Whidbey Writer’s Workshop student website. The story is called “Meet the Watsons: An Interview With Author-Illustrator Richard Jesse Watson.” Check it out at http://whidbeystudents.com/childrensyoung-adult/.

Watson’s studio is like a total “whatsthatthing?” tour. So cool!

Object Poetry

Hey All,

I came across this poem while reading Laura Purdie Salas’s children’s poetry book AND THEN THERE WERE EIGHT: Poems about Space. It’s about a very cool THING.

 

Aiming High

Silver arrow to the skies, you’re my mighty mirrored eyes

Finding stars and Saturn’s bands, you place them gently in my hands.

 

Okay, so what’s that thing? 

Think about it. It’ll come to you.

Laura has a few other books of children’s poetry out that are lots of fun, including:

DO BUSES EAT KIDS? Poems About School

FLASHY CLASHY OH-SO SPLASHY Poems About Color

She was our guest poetry speaker in the Craft of Children’s/YA class through the MFA program of the Whidbey Writers Workshop, and she was great! Poetry forms have always befuddled me, but between her guest presentations and A KICK IN THE HEAD: AN EVERYDAY GUIDE TO POETIC FORMS by Paul B. Janeczko a whole new world (complete with singing angels, blues brothers, and pickle bucket bangers) opened up for me.

I’m still no genius poet, but I have a much greater understanding of the challenges of both forms and free verse. Pick up those books at the library or bookstore, and you will too.

COLUMBIAKids is here!

I’m delighted to announce that the premiere issue of COLUMBIAKids is live and thriving at http://columbia.washingtonhistory.org/kids. It’s an awesome new online magazine for Pacific Northwest kids (about 4-14 years) who love stories AND for kids around the world who want to know more about the Northwest.

COLUMBIAKids is scheduled to come out twice per year, with one general issue (as you’ll find posted) and one theme issue per year. A publication of the Washington State Historical Society, it’s funded through grants and sponsorships so you won’t find a lick of advertising competing with the stories on the page. 

COLUMBIAKids is mainly nonfiction, but includes one historical fiction piece per issue. Here are some of the great stories you’ll find in the Fall 2008 issse:

One Day in History (historical fiction): “Capture at Penn Cove” 

Notorious NWesterners: Grub for Giants (about logging camp cooks)

What is That?: Pigs at the Market (about Rachel, the Pike Place piggy bank)

Making History: Washington’s Goodwill Ambassador (about artist Dale Chihuly’s installation in Jerusalem)

NW Legends: How Salmon Finds His Way Home (an original legend about the salmon’s sense of smell)

Collections Conundrum: Unraveling the Mystery of the WSHS Mummy (by yours truly)

Try This: The Union Railroad’s “Hurry Up! Apple Cake”

Homework Helper: Washington’s State Symbols

NW Book Swap: Reviews of books by Pacific Northwest authors written by KIDS

Lastly, you’ll find some secret “doorways” into “Amazing Places” and “Word Play,” but I’ll leave you the thrill of exploring and finding them on your own.

COLUMBIAKids has been called as “the coolest new kids’ zine on the web.” We agree and hope you do too.

Check out “about COLUMBIAKids” to download the latest writers and illustrators guidelines.

The Gloria

A Tall Ship Extraordinare

I had seen the massive Columbian flag billowing from her stern. At night, as I drove down Tacoma’s Dock Street, I had seen the lights strung amidst her masts and yardarms. They beckoned, as sailing ships and the sea do. She was the tallest Tall Ship I’d ever seen and there was a familiarity about her too. I searched my mind to figure out why.

It came to me as I stood on the dock studying her, half way through my evening walk. She looked like a picture I knew, of a ship that was the subject of a story in the upcoming issue of COLUMBIAKids. A bark too, that one had been plying the waters in the 1890s, and word on the ’Net says this one was launched in 1968 specifically for cadet training. At one hundred and seventy-eight feet long, she’s so big she must be guided in and out of the Sound, for (if I heard right) she has no engine accept for her sails.

The Gloria sports a crew of about 135, and I’d seen the cadets walking in groups along the sidewalk the night before. I saw a handful of them now. Those on board were dressed in their “whites” to meet the public, while carloads of others were carrying bags and boxes of American “treasures” aboard. Cups-o-noodles, backpacks, play stations, toys, and tennis shoes to be buried amidst berths and bunks down below. As I stood in line to go aboard, a volunteer entertained us with stories of cadet adventures. They’d been supplied a van and driver, and when asked where they wanted to go, they all cried “Walmart.” So, to Walmart they went. When asked where they wanted to go to lunch, they cried “Hooters!” And so to Hooters they went. Rumor has it, they garnered much attention there.

Speaking of hooters, I tried to catch a glimpse of the Gloria’s figurehead, but the dock was too short and I not nimble enough to leap into a passing boat to catch a waterside view. I find figureheads a bit magical as they embody the spirit of the ship. I imagine the Gloria’s figurehead is as strong as the bronze emblem that is apparently the symbol of the Spanish Armada. Once I stepped aboard, I paused to study the huge polished bronze plague at mid-ship that bears the Spanish or Columbian seal. In it, is a crossed combo consisting of a sword, a quill, and a trident—intriguing ode to the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea.

I walked the spotless teak decks from bow to stern, wondering at the tremendous masts, the web of complex rigging, and the aft deck that was large enough to host its own shipside version of Dancing With the Stars. Speaking of stars, I stopped to listen to a cadet explain, through a visitor who translated for his group, that while they had all the best navigation equipment aboard, they still learned to rely on the stars. Each sailor was trained to look to the stars first, electronics second. And the stars are never so bright as on a clear, dark sea.

As I padded down the steep stairs to the dock, I looked again to the pristine green and white paint, the Columbian-king sized blue, red, and yellow flag, and the metal hull. But it was the comment about the stars that stuck with me. I left the dock thinking that maybe, if we all made a practice of looking to the stars first, we might one day clear the air enough to see them.