Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - Be A Changemaker Blog Tour

I am excited to welcome Laurie Ann Thompson to Kid Lit Frenzy. Thought BE A CHANGEMAKER is not a nonfiction picture book, it is a nonfiction book for tweens and teens.  Enjoy reading Laurie's interview and also don't forget to enter the giveaway. 

What made you decide to write BE A CHANGEMAKER?

I always wanted to do something that made a positive difference in the world, but never felt empowered to do so. I thought you needed to be one of those “other” people, with the looks, the connections, the degrees, what have you. I didn’t realize until I was in my thirties that it just takes knowledge, passion, and skills… and that anyone can do it. I didn’t want anyone else to have to wait that long!

When you were a teen did you have a cause that you volunteered for or helped make a difference by participating in a group or organization? Do you have one now and have you been a mentor to any teens through this work?

As a teen, I often saved my money and donated it to various animal welfare organizations. I was also a volunteer Girl Scout leader for a Brownie troop. I’ve always had a soft spot for animals and kids!

As an adult, I still support animal and child welfare organizations, among many others, philanthropically. I occasionally donate my time to our local humane society, our school library, Eastside Baby Corner, and to the Youth Venture/Ashoka organization in Seattle, which also helped to both inspire and inform Be a Changemaker. I also participate in many other volunteer opportunities whenever they arise. I hope to continue to mentor teens through my connections with Ashoka’s Youth Venture, and I’m in the process of developing a program with the Girl Scouts of Western Washington’s awards program. I’d love to hear from other youth programs about how I can help add to their programming, as well!

BE A CHANGEMAKER is a great guide for motivated teens in thinking about and putting into action a plan to make a difference. However, I know some teens need more support or direction in order to get started and stick with it in order to be successful. What tips do you have for a teacher or an adult mentor to help build steps towards greater success for these students?

First and foremost, give them as much choice as possible! Guide teens towards identifying a problem that they will truly care about solving, such as one that affects them or someone they love directly. Then help them come up with a way to tackle that problem using their own existing passions (things they love to do) and skills (things they’re already good at). The foundation is strongest when you have all three (problem, passion, skill) coming from the teens themselves right from the beginning. This can take some time for introspection and self-reflection, but it will pay off in enthusiasm. Once you have those three key pieces in place, show them that you honestly believe they can make a difference. When they believe they can fix something they care about by doing something they love using skills they’re already good at, it will be hard for them to not want to jump in and get started.

If you could meet any person who has made a significant change in the world, who would it be and what are some things that you would like to learn from him or her?

Oh, that’s such a tough one: there are so many! Since we’re talking about the book, though, I’ll say Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka and Youth Venture and author of the foreword for Be a Changemaker. I think he’s really an unsung hero who is changing our world in dramatic ways every day. Through his vision of an “everyone a changemaker” world, his organizations are empowering everyone from preschool on up to embark on a lifetime of doing good, innovative, world-changing endeavors. His efforts are creating countless ripples of change worldwide, and those will continue to spread indefinitely. I’d love to learn what he feels is most needed to continue his mission and the ways we can help achieve it.

After BE A CHANGEMAKER comes out, what upcoming book projects do you have that you can tell us about?

I have a picture book biography called Emmanuel’s Dream coming out in January about Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, who changed Ghana's perception of people with disabilities. In June my first fiction picture book comes out: My Dog Is the Best is about the unconditional love that exists between a child and a family pet. And, I’m currently working on two ideas that have resulted from Be a Changemaker. Stay tuned!

About the author:
Laurie Ann Thompson comes from a family of entrepreneurs and small business owners. She has worked at IBM, Intel, and Microsoft, and she co-founded a successful internet startup. In addition, she has led a regional nonprofit professional organization and volunteered with Ashoka’s Youth Venture, which supports teens with big ideas. This is her first book. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. Visit her at LaurieThompson.com.

Check out the other stops in the blog tour:

Mon, Sept 8

Sally's Bookshelf  http://sallysbookshelf.blogspot.com/

Tues, Sept 9

Girl Scout Leader 101  http://girlscoutleader101.blogspot.com/

Wed, Sept 10

Unleashing Readers   http://www.unleashingreaders.com/

Thurs, Sept 11

Teen Librarian Toolbox   http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/

Fri, Sept 12

The Nonfiction Detectives AND Kirby's Lane  http://www.nonfictiondetectives.com/ AND http://kirbyslane.blogspot.com/

Sat, Sept 13

The Styling Librarian   http://thestylinglibrarian.com/

Mon, Sept 15

NC Teacher Stuff  http://ncteacherstuff.blogspot.com/

Tues, Sept 16

The Hiding Spot   http://thehidingspot.blogspot.com

Wed, Sept 17

Kid Lit Frenzy  http://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/

Thurs, Sept 18

GreenBeanTeenQueen  http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com/ 

Fri, Sept 19

A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust  http://www.foodiebibliophile.com/

Sat. Sept 20

Elizabeth O. Dulemba   http://dulemba.blogspot.com/ 

Teen Librarian's Toolbox is creating a free downloadable workshop guide for libraries and classrooms for the book that will be available on Laurie Thompson's website in late October.

Giveaway
Enter the rafflecopter for a chance to win a copy of BE A CHANGEMAKER by Laurie Ann Thompson.  Winner must be 13 years old or older and have a US mailing address.

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Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews:

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - Sequoia by Tony Johnston

SEQUOIA
Written by Tony Johsnton; Paintings by Wendell Minor
Roaring Brook Press (September 23, 2014)
Audience: Ages 8 and up
Trees * Poetry * 
IndieBound | WorldCat 

Description from GoodReads: 
Standing tall above the tree line, Sequoia stretches his ancient arms and gathers clouds to him. He watches as days, seasons, years pass by. His branches are home to owls and choirs of frogs. Beneath his broad canopy, a world grows.This is his story. Through controlled verse and luscious illustration, Tony Johnston and Wendell Minor do justice to the enormous figure of the sequoia tree. 

About the author: Tony Johnston has written many award-winning books for young readers, including Bone By Bone By Bone (Roaring Brook Press). Since her youth she has been devoted to nature. Mrs. Johnston has a ranch in California, where evenings she sits on the porch and gathers sunsets to her.

About the illustrator: Wendell Minor is the illustrator of over fifty children's books including The Last Train (Roaring Brook Press, 2010). His interest in nature and the environment has taken him from the east coast to the west coast and everywhere in between, most recently the majestic sequoias in this book.

An interview with author, Tony Johnston...well maybe some reflections...
In 1991, I moved to California and began teaching at a small school in Altadena. As I created my classroom library, I began with titles from various authors and illustrators, but I had multiple books from authors such as Lois Ehlert, Eric Carle, Tomie dePaola, Bill Martin, Eve Bunting, and Tony Johnston. At that time, I never imagined that I would meet one of these incredible authors let alone several of them. 

Around this same time as I was starting out teaching, Tony Johnston had written a poem about a very special tree, a sequoia, and filed it away to hopefully be pulled back out and shared with others when the timing was just right.  Twenty-three years later, this ode to one of our great trees ended up in a picture book with paintings that bring the words to life and honor and respect the beauty of this majestic tree.

Well, that picture book ended up in my hands, and I just happened to bring it one Saturday morning to a group that attend, which is comprised of librarians, teachers and some authors. One of those authors just happens to be Tony Johnston. Now how do you talk about a book when the author is two seats away from you? 

Oddly enough, at the break, Tony approached me. Someone had mentioned my blog to her and she wondered if I might mention the book on it.  I suggested not only mentioning it but also turning it into an interview.  Knowing that Tony was likely quite busy, I suggested sending her a few questions by email. Quickly, I discovered that Tony wasn't one for electronic communication, such as email. 

After working out some of the details, Tony and I decided to meet at one of her favorite restaurants for brunch.  We arrived around the same time and I discovered that this was more than Tony's favorite place. She was treated like family by the staff. Over a lemon creme brulee scone for her and waffles for me, we chatted about teaching, and children's books, and writing inspiration, and more. 

Here is where I must confess that I am terrible about in person interviews. I really despise turning on a recording device. It just seems to muck up the mood and hinders the flow of dialogue. So instead of an interview, this is more of a reflection of my time with Tony. 

During our meal, I discovered that Tony first started out as a teacher at a school about a mile from where I began teaching. I learned of her move to New York City and then Mexico as her husband's work took them to different places. As a result of her time in Mexico, Tony's quite fluent in Spanish and you can see how it has influenced many of her books. 

I was curious about what it was like to work with some of the most amazing illustrators. She has been paired with Yuyi Morales, Tomi dePaola, Raúl Colón, Ed Young, Tony Di Terlizzi and many more. However, it was the story of reaching out to Jeanette Winter to illustrate Day of the Dead that was most special.  Tony refused to take "no" because she just knew that Jeanette was the right illustrator for that book.

Some day, I want to see the place where Tony stores all of her book ideas. I can imagine that a career spanning 40 years would have resulted in twice or three times as many stories still to be told than what has made it to printed form. Though I won't reveal any of the ideas that were tossed around during our time together, I already know that I am going to be eagerly anticipating a few of them.

Of course, we had to discuss her latest books Winter is Coming illustrated by Jim Lamarche and Sequoia illustrated by Wendell Minor.  I was curious about her favorite painting from Sequoia.

I shared with her how powerful the image of the fire sweeping through the forest had been for me.

We both loved the image of the majestic sequoia in full winter coat.

However, it was the jacket cover that was one of her favorites (and mine).

I am more than thankful for the time that Tony graciously shared with me, and I hope that there may be more in the future. She is incredibly vibrant and passionate and it comes out in her work. 

If you haven't marked your calendar, by all means do so.  Sequoia comes out later this month on September 23rd. 

Note: All images used with permission by Macmillan Children's Publishing. Copyright 2014 Wendell Minor.

Giveaway:
Thank you to Macmillan, one lucky reader will win a copy of Tony Johnston's book SEQUOIA. To enter for a chance to win a copy of the book you need to be 13 years old or older and have a US mailing address. Please, complete the rafflecopter below. 

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Don't forget to link up you nonfiction reviews here:

Don't forget to link up you nonfiction reviews here:

My Bibi Always Remembers Blog Tour & Giveaway

Welcome back Toni Buzzeo and thank you  for stopping by Kid Lit Frenzy as part of your blog tour. 

Some thoughts from Toni:  I love to write, especially children’s books, but I also love to teach. Over the years, I’ve taught writing to college, high school, and elementary school students as a college and high school English teacher and as an elementary school librarian, because no matter what age we are, we have something to say about things that are important to us!

My newest book, My Bibi Always Remembers, centers on two things that are so very important to me—elephants and family. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Kenya’s Amboseli National Park, famous for its African elephants, on two different trips.

And if I could, I’d return every year to see the beautiful elephant families in their natural habitat. I’ve drawn on my memories of those travel experiences and combined them with personal memories in my young life with my Grandma Mae. 

I thought about our long walks together, about her devotion to me and my needs, about the love I felt for her at every turn—love that she reciprocated.

If I were back in the classroom or library and sharing My Bibi Always Remembers with students, I would follow a read-aloud with a writing activity. Each time Tembo wanders away from her family (she does that three times in the story),

​she counts on one of the grownups in her family to rescue her and return her to the group. And, of course, they do. In order to write about those three events, I had to put myself in Tembo’s place, trying to imagine what I was doing that caused me to get lost, where I might be when I got lost, how I would feel when I was lost, and the details of my surroundings. I’d begin, then, by discussing each of these aspects of Tembo’s experience.

Then, I would challenge students to think of a time when they got lost or in some other way needed help from an adult in their family. Begin by asking them to think about the details of getting lost or into trouble that required help. Where were they? What did the place look like (include specific details of the environment)? What were they doing? How did they feel?

I would then invite them to write about the experience, answering the questions above, and ending by telling who in their family found or assisted them and how they felt about that.

Not only will this writing activity work well in the classroom or library, it’s a lovely topic for family writing too!

MY BIBI ALWAYS REMEMBERS
By Toni Buzzeo, Illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
Disney Publishing Worldwide
ISBN: 978-1-4231-8385-3; Ages 3 – 5 Yrs; $16.99
On-Sale: September 2, 2014

About the Author/Illustrator:
Toni Buzzeo (www.tonibuzzeo.com) is a new grandmother as well as children's book author, reviewer, and retired school library media specialist. Her most recent books include Just Like My Papa, and Stay Close to Mama, and she won a Caldecott Honor for the New York Times best-selling picture book One Cool Friend. She divides her time between a colonial farmhouse in Buxton, Maine, and a home near the ocean in Sarasota, Florida.

 Mike Wohnoutka (www.mikewohnoutka.com) grew up in Spicer, Minnesota and graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a B.F.A. in illustration. He has published books with Random House, Dutton, Clarion, and Holiday House. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two children.

Check out the other stops in the blog tour:
Friday, August 29:

The Children’s Book Review – Author Guest Post

Saturday, August 30:

Momma Drama – Author/Illustrator Interview and Review

Sunday, August 31:

Book Rock Betty – Review and Signed Giveaway

Monday, September 1:

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – Author/Illustrator Guest Post and Review

Tuesday, September 2:

As They Grow Up – Review and Signed Giveaway

Wednesday, September 3:

Susan Heim on Parenting – Review and Signed Giveaway

Thursday, September 4:

Kid Lit Frenzy – Author Guest Post and Signed Giveaway

Friday, September 5:

Mundie Kids – Author/Illustrator Interview and Signed Giveaway

Saturday, September 6:

Noodling with Words – Review and Signed Giveaway

Sunday, September 7:

The Power of One Writer – Author Interview

Monday, September 8:

There’s a Book – Review and Signed Giveaway

Don't forget to enter to win a signed copy of My Bibl Always Remembers: To enter the giveaway you must be 13 years or older and have a US mailing address. Please complete the rafflecopter below.

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Little Elliot Blog Tour & Giveaway: Guest Post by Mike Curato

Today, I am very excited to have Mike Curato stop by Kid Lit Frenzy and share about his inspiration for writing Little Elliot, Big City.  I had a chance to read this picture book several months ago and even shared it with a group of first graders and they loved it. 

We all feel small at times, no matter our age or height. We all have moments of feeling ignored or lost in this big world. These were the motivations behind writing Little Elliot, Big City. The dedication reads “For anyone who feels unnoticed.”

When I was very young, I went to the deli one day on an errand. I was too short to see over the high counter, and grown ups were cutting in front of me to place their orders. This went on for some time, until a man asked me if I was in line, finally getting the clerk's attention. This was the memory that I chose to build the story around (after many attempts at other plots).

 In the book, Elliot faces many challenges being small, both outside in the city and at home. He faces it all with a grin-and-bear-it attitude, until he is unable to obtain his favorite joy--a cupcake. Feeling dejected, Elliot walks home, but on the way discovers someone even smaller in need. After helping Mouse, the favor is returned, and Elliot finally gets his cupcake. However, he gets something even better, a new friend (one that will stick around, as you’ll see in the second book, Little Elliot, Big Family).

I hope that kids are able to take away a sense of perspective and an appreciation for friendship. Our size is relative, it grows and shrinks depending on our situation. What Elliot and Mouse show us is that no matter what your size, you can make a difference. Though Elliot feels small, he is still bigger than Mouse. Meanwhile, though Mouse is smaller than Elliot, their combined efforts achieve Elliot’s goal. I hope that the book illustrates that friendship is the real prize in life. Elliot may have thought that a cupcake was the sweetest thing in his life, but he finds out that having a friend is even sweeter.

Check out the official book trailer for Little Elliot, Big City:

About the author: Mike Curato has the fortune of possessing a designer's brain, an illustrator heart, and an artist vision. You can find him on any given day walking around the city eating a cupcake (or thinking about it).  Where to find Mike online: website | blog | twitter | facebook  

Check out the other stops in the blog tour:

Little Elliot, Big City by Mike Curato | On sale August 26, 2014

 Tuesday, August 26           Librarian in Cute Shoes | @utalaniz

Wednesday, August 27     Teach Mentor Texts | @mentortexts

Thursday, August 28         Read. Write. Reflect. | @katsok 

Friday, August 29               Kit Lit Frenzy | @alybee930

Saturday, August 30          Daddy Mojo | @daddymojo

Sunday, August 31             Sharp Reads | @colbysharp 

                 Watch. Connect. Read. | @mrschureads

                 Nerdy Book Club | @nerdybookclub

Monday, September 1      Miss Print | @miss_print 

Thank you Macmillan for this great giveaway:
Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win a copy of Little Elliot, Big City book, a tote bag, and a sheet of stickers.  All participants must be 13 years or older and have a US mailing address in order to be eligible.

Good luck everyone! 

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Spirit's Key Author Edith Cohn Talks About Writing & Shares a Giveaway

Today I am excited to welcome middle grade debut author, Edith Cohn to Kid Lit Frenzy.  Edith shares about teaching, writing and her new book SPIRIT'S KEY. 

Writing a Book for the Teacher in Me

I used to teach 7th grade English, but I only taught for a few years. I foolishly took the job thinking I’d have time to write. Teachers are finished by 3pm. Teachers get summers off. I reasoned. I’ll have soooo much time to write my novel. As a teacher, I’d never worked so hard in my life, and I’ve had a ton of jobs, so that’s really saying something. There ought to be an extra special pot of gold at the end of each day for English teachers in particular. The grading! Please, someone give these folks a raise for all those hours spent after school. And forget summers. Those are for professional development, reading new books for the kiddos, and making new lessons. The whole twelve-week summer is gone in a blink.

It’s too bad, because I liked teaching. But I’ve wanted to write novels since I could read them—perhaps even since my mother could read them to me. So every job I ever took, I took asking myself the question, “How much time will this give me to write?” I hated most of the jobs I had to take to pay the bills (the salary for a budding novelist being sadly, zero), but I’m grateful for my time as a teacher.

I took invaluable things from that experience. I would not trade it. When I realized I had an idea for a middle grade novel rumbling around in my head, the idea came with a list of ways I hoped to make the book classroom friendly. As a teacher, I wanted certain things from the novels I taught. As a novelist, I aimed to include them. So what things did the teacher in me want to include?

Rich themes. Themes are the body and soul of great essays for the classroom. In my debut novel SPIRIT’S KEY, I decided to tackle the theme of tolerance (I was nothing if not ambitious!). This is a theme I wanted so desperately to teach my students. My kids came from all difference backgrounds and cultures. Those cultures clashed. I wanted a book that might teach them to love each other. I wanted a book that could spur essays where they could write about their own experiences with injustice. I wanted a book that might make them look at their own world in a slightly different way. I hoped the insiders vs. outsiders theme in my book might strike a personal cord. I hoped the theme of fear might provide a common ground on which to build a discussion.

 A strong girl character that the boys could get behind. I found (and this might have to do with my inexperience as a teacher) that if I didn’t teach a book that the boys liked, I had terrible classroom management. I *had* to engage the boys. So what did I do? I only taught books with boy main characters. I feel terrible about this to this day, because it isn’t fair. It was unbalanced. I’m not saying there aren’t great books out there for boys with girl main characters. But the many years ago when I was teaching, I couldn’t find them or I just didn’t know about them. Or I was too scared to even take the chance. Remember, I was inexperienced and didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to write, much less read. So anyway, when I set out to write my own book, I was determined to give it both girl and boy appeal, while still having a girl main character. This meant including a girl that wasn’t too girlie. This also meant including an interesting secondary character that was a boy.

My main character Spirit Holden, a girl psychic waiting to inherit her future-telling gift, was born. Spirit is a dog lover, a bike rider and strong swimmer. She’s a girl unafraid to stand up for what she believes in. Her friend is Nector Hatterask—a boy haunted by hurricanes and superstition whose greatest desire is to pilot an airplane.

A genre bending book. Spirit’s Key is a mystery novel with light fantasy elements. I wanted a realistic appeal with school, friendships, and family—for the contemporary lovers in my class, as well as action, mystery, a bit of magic and world building for the fantasy lovers. Again with the ambition! I know, I know. But my students were fiercely opinionated youngsters, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the student who would only read contemporary or the one who swore she would only read fantasy forever and always Amen. Do you know these kids? They make picking a book the class can read together a real challenge. So I set out to provide something for everyone. Often this is the kiss of death. Try to please everyone, you lose everyone. But books that defy genre are my personal reading favorites. The ones some people call magical realism. So really, even though I do hope to please a classroom full of very different kids, I was first hoping to please myself, which brings me to my next goal.

A book that would appeal to both adults and kids. Middle grade novels face an interesting challenge. They must first appeal to teachers and librarians in order to be put into the hands of kids. They must win over the gatekeepers. Kids between the ages of 8-12 are in the sweet spot for reading. This is the age where they develop the passion to become lifelong independent readers. And I believe that passion is born in the classroom, as it was for me as a child. It’s a big responsibility.

As a teacher, I had to be over the moon about the book I was teaching, because the students were a reflection of my enthusiasm. If I wasn’t jazzed, they weren’t jazzed. So when I sat down to write SPIRIT’S KEY, I aimed to create a book that would appeal to the adults who teach the class and the kids in front of them.

How did I plan to do that? With an action plot balanced with deep character relationships. Most kids like a page-turner. The popularity of books like The False Prince and The Hunger Games are a testament to the fact that kids enjoy high stakes and characters who are running for their lives. I like those books too. And my favorites are the ones that do a good job combining thrills with rich characters. To me, this was the key to appealing to adults and kids.

In SPIRIT’S KEY, Spirit goes on dangerous adventures through the woods with kids who have very different beliefs than she does. She battles wild dogs and must fight the currents of the ocean in a kayak. In quieter moments, she has interesting discussions about the island’s legends and spirits with her Dad, her new friends and her crazy neighbor, a fur-wearing agoraphobic named Mrs. Borse.

Does SPIRIT’S KEY accomplish everything I set out to do? I was so worried it wouldn’t, it took me a year and a half before I found the courage to begin. But I finally did. I pushed fear aside and wrote a book for the teacher in me.

A video of Edith talking about her book and sharing the arrival of a finished copy: 

About Edith Cohn:

Edith Cohn was born and raised in North Carolina where she grew up exploring the unique beaches of the Outer Banks. She currently lives in the coyote-filled hills of Los Angeles with her husband and fur-daughter Leia. All of these things provided inspiration for her debut middle grade novel, SPIRIT’S KEY, a mystery about a girl and her ghost dog coming soon from FSG/Macmillan.   website | facebook | twitter | goodreads

Thank you to Macmillan, one lucky reader will win a copy of Edith's book SPIRIT'S KEY. And Edith is offering a copy of a poster she created. To learn about how to get a copy of the Be the Breed that Reads Poster click here.  To enter for a chance to win a copy of the book you need to be 13 years old or older and have a US mailing address. Complete the rafflecopter below. 

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