A. LaFaye's Blog: Word Wanderings Rest Stop - Posts Tagged "reading"

Here are a few options from the A. LaFaye bookshelf:
Teaching Guides for many titles are available at www.alafaye.com
WORTH
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 3-7. LaFaye's novel is one of the first to tell the Orphan Train story from the viewpoint of a kid displaced by a newcomer. Even worse than the pain that 11-year-old Nate felt when his leg was crushed in an accident is rejection by his pa, who takes in young John Worth to pick up Nate's work on their small farm. Nate's angry first-person narrative is brutally honest, and, at first, he is bitterly resentful of John, an orphan who lost his family in a New York City tenement fire: "Just 'cause he lost his father didn't mean he had a right to mine." Through Nate's narrative comes a sense of the grueling daily work, the family struggle to try to hold on to the land and avoid failure. In addition, there's some late-nineteenth-century history about the local wars between cattle ranchers (who want grazing land) and farmers (who need room for crops), and in an exciting climax, Nate and John ride together to warn the farmers and prevent the fence-cutters from causing a cattle stampede. Only an awkward metaphor about the Greek myths seems patched on. The short, spare novel doesn't need the heavy heroic parallels; it tells its own story of darkness and courage. A great choice for American history classes. Hazel Rochman
Worth

Pretty Omens
In an effort to tip the cosmic scales in her favor, Cass Anne fills her days with small kindnesses for her unsuspecting neighbors. When she begins to receive omens of bad things to come, folks are certain the devil is using the child. Cass Anne isn’t to be believed and it is only after tragedy strikes that the town is forced to see that omens can be a thing of beauty and a young girl can be an instrument of grace. With Pretty Omens, A. LaFaye has crafted a mesmerizing novel-in-verse inspired by the epic tradition and the myth of Cassandra that will transport you to a small Virginia mountain community where an ordinary girl becomes a hero. In LaFaye’s strong, fast-paced novel-in-verse, the voices of her characters ring true, the language dazzles, drawing the reader into Cass Anne’s story of love and redemption, religious intolerance, and belief.—Paul Janeczko, author of Firefly, July, Publisher’s Weekly Book of 2014. http://anchorandplumepress.com/2015/0...
Pretty Omens

Walking Home to Rosie Lee (An IRA Teachers Choice Selection)
Young Gabe’s is a story of heartache and jubilation. He’s a child slave freed after the Civil War and he sets off to reunite himself with his mother who was sold before the war's end. “Come morning, the folks take to the road again, singing songs, telling stories and dream-talking of the lives they’re gonna live in freedom. And I follow, keeping my eyes open for my mama. Days pass into weeks and one gray evening as Mr. Dark laid down his coat, I see a woman with a yellow scarf ‘round her neck as bright as a star. I run up to grab her hand, saying, Mama?” Gabe's odyssey in search for his mother has an epic American quality, and Keith Shepherd’s illustrations—influenced deeply by the narrative work of Thomas Hart Benton—fervently portray the struggle in Gabe’s heroic quest.

"Black folks still have so many stories to tell in our journey. When I first read Alexandria's manuscript I'm not ashamed to say I got choked up. I'm amazed there's never been anything done before that told such a heart wrenching segment of Reconstruction in America." –McBookworld 40% off for classroom sets preordered now. http://www.cincopuntos.com/products_d...
Walking Home to Rosie Lee

Water Steps
Every time she comes near water, Kyna feels the sinister pull of the depths trying to draw her down to a watery grave. Even the calm water in the bathtub reminds her of the torrential storm that took the lives of her sailing family when she was only a baby. But Kyna’s adopted parents love nothing more than to swim and splash about in the lakes and streams, or even the local pool. When they decide to spend the summer at a beach house on Lake Champlain Kyna is convinced that they’re trying to teach her something about water that she’s not ready to learn. Little does she know that the water will reveal far more than she could ever have imagined. Middle school students will enjoy this spellbinding tale about breaking free of the things that hold us down. The rich vocabulary makes this an excellent choice to pair with the book for vocabulary enrichment.–Lisa Hubler, Memorial Junior High School for SLJ http://milkweed.org/shop/product/128/
Water Steps

Other Titles by A. LaFaye

Shelf Life (edited by Gary Paulsen)Shelf Life: Stories by the Book

Stella Stands AloneStella Stands Alone

The KeeningThe Keening

The Year of the Sawdust ManThe Year of the Sawdust Man

Nissa’s PlaceNissa's Place





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Her e-mail is a@alafaye.com

Reading is an essential part of writing. It always floors me when a writing student says, I really want to write, but I don't like to read. That's aspiring to be a doctor and having a phobia of blood. Reading informs our writing so thoroughly; it's quite tough to do one without the other.

Here are a few things I've learned about reading...it's essential to read as widely as possible, read as deeply as you can, and to teach yourself how to read as a writer.

Many people who write in a given genre only read within that genre or a few books in a broader category. Young Adult fantasy writers tend to ready in that genre, adult fantasy, and a little outside the fantasy genre. On the other hand, you learn so much about world building from historical fiction. Your line by line style will sing when you discover the secrets of poetry. And picture book fantasies are often a tour de force of the imagination. Reading cross-culturally is also a great way for writers to gain insight into writing about/inventing (in speculative fiction) cultures. Reading non-fiction for readers of all ages is also a great way to expand your knowledge. You may not be able to change a windshield wiper, but you might want to create a convincing auto mechanic one day, so read up on car repair or listen to Click and Clack reruns on NPR.

After all, reading doesn't have to be only in print. You can read the news online, in print, on the TV, or on the radio. You can also read films, TV shows, webcasts, and podcasts.

When you do, think about what it says about the topic it portrays. What can you learn about it? What questions does it raise? Where can you find the answers? The more reading inspires you, the more you can inspire your readers.

Speaking of inspiration, it's also helpful to learn to read as a writer, not just to enjoy the text, but to take it apart, see how it ticks and try your hand at the same tricks of the trade. Reading as a writer teaches you how to critique the work of established writers and learns a few new ways to approach elements of craft. It also makes you an excellent critic in a workshop or even in your own office while you’re revising your work.

So read widely, read deeply, and read like a writer. With the new found knowledge and inspiration that brings, you never know what you might right next.

It's time to head back to school, store up your reserves for winter, let your leaves fall, fill your backpack, and get ready for homework.

It's also a time of new clothes, seeing friends in the hallways, and forcing people to conform--whether it's following the rules of the classroom or fitting in with the cool kids, school is often about how to conform to social standards.

I'd love to suggest some revised homework.

Yes, you still have to do your math, read the assigned books, and follow the classroom rules,but while you do that, consider these assignments

1. Be Yourself. It's a lot harder than it sounds. Be true to who you are not who the world wants you to be. If everyone else hates broccoli, but you love it--embrace the broc! Or just eat it with a smile. If you sing off key, but love to do it--let her the tunes fly.
Advice on being yourself

2. Make the world a better place. Don't just walk by trash in the street, pick up. Don't stand by while others are being teased or treated poorly. Stand up for them. If you see something that needs to be changed in our society, see how you can be a part of that change.
Here's just a short list of incredible charities started by kids:
10 Charities Started by Kids

3. Learn something new. Not because you've been assigned to do it, but because you want to know more about the world around you.
Why is there dew on grass?
What makes us yawn?
Where is Bora Bora?
What is a Spoon Billed Sandpiper?
Here's a place to start:
An Encyclopedia for Kids text

4. Create. Draw, sculpt, paint--cut paper into cool shapes, anything to inspire your creativity, let your mind free, and see where it leads you.
An Encyclopedia for Kids text

5. Get to know someone new. We often pass people in the halls we never get to know because their "not cool" says who? And why take their word for it. Or their in another grade or you don't have them in class. Take a chance. You may find out they're a great person.

6. Try something you've never done before. Skateboarding. Gymnastics. Baking a pie. Talking to an adult. What ever it is don't be afraid to fail. Failure is the first step to success!

7. As your parents about their school days. Not your typical "I walked five miles to school" type stuff, but how they felt about their first day, their worst memory, their funniest moment, their proudest moment ... whatever it is, I bet you'll find out your parents are lot more like you than you thought.

8. Declare do nothing day. When you've had too much to do and you need a break. Declare it a 'do nothing day' or even if it's a "do nothing" hour. Give yourself time to just chill.

9. Explore your world. Take a walk. Bring a camera, binoculars, or a phone. Find something you haven't seen before--take a picture--you could draw it, write about it, tell a story or just check it out.

10. Read. Read. Read. The more you read. The more you know. The more you know, the more you grow.
Check out this cool organization that may set fire to your reading habits:
Burning Through Pages

Have a great year!

Who needs a battle between a fish who can balance on the edge of his bowl to get a word in "edgewise" and a striped-top hat wearing cat tall enough to nearly graze the door jamb when you sitting down to write?

Certainly not me. How about you?

Okay, okay, so I'll admit that I'm a bit unusual in my approach to writing and my interpretation of the children's classic--The Cat in the Hat. But I do see a role for the Cat in the Hat in the Freudian play called "The Conscience" He's in the lead, playing "The Id" and that fish is playing straight man in the role of "The Super-Ego" and who brings up the rear until Thing 1 and Thing 2 "kite" his sister? The unnamed narrator playing the role of "Ego." And how does this apply to the craft of writing?

Well, the writing process is a bit like a production of this play. Or better yet, a re-enactment of THE CAT IN THE HAT with that upstart ID (aka The Cat) stealing the show. The fish boring everyone as the "Super Ego" internal critic and the author as the main character who goes along for the ride rather than driving the bus.

If this doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun, then I recommend you "loose control" of your writing.

No, I'm not saying you should let your id run wild, just imagine what your literary house would look like when the cat left the building--remember that bathtub in the book?

Let's do a little recasting.

1. Let the Cat take on the role of the subconscious. All you know if you delve deeper into your knowledge base.

2. Rehome that fish. Writers don't need to have their inner critic cutting them down as they write

3. Become your own hero in the writing process; give yourself more agency. Let your imagination have a little more freedom.

What about all those rules of good writing you learned?

Show don't tell.

Every detail should be concrete, unique, and double duty.

Dialogue should be organic, character specific, and slanted.

I recommend you internalize them to the point that they enter the fabric of your writing without being intrusive, kind of like the pattern in the wallpaper of your subconscious. We visually perceive wallpaper when we walk through a house, but we rarely analyze the pattern. The craft of writing should become that "close to the wall" in your writing. Learn the elements of craft to the point that you're not thinking of them as you're writing.

Let yourself become immersed in your fictional world to the point that you're playing the role of your characters, switching roles, touring the set, taking action based on your emotional connection with backstory, character motivation, and stake. Mentally live in the world you create as you write.

When it's time to revise, then it's time to bring that fish home so it can remind you of all the rules of revision.

You may be wondering how to go about internalizing the craft of writing. It's not like someone has figured out how to bottle craft and you can just stop by the old fiction shoppe on the corner and order a bottle of plot, a six pack of character development, and a pint of setting. Instead, you still have to do it the old fashioned way, studying the craft of writing:

A: In books: Have you seen Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction What a tour-de-force of the imagination that looks at the craft of writing visually, graphically, and textually--understanding that multiple perspectives are essential part of learning craft and internalizing information.

B: The work of other writers. Study the masters at the things you want to learn how to do. Read widely and deeply. Francine Prose delves into this subject in Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them She's a little too traditional and bound by Literature with a capital L for me, but then again I'm a non-traditionalist in everything but ....hmmm. Maybe there is no but. Seriously though. Read often. Read widely. Read deeply.

C: Teach. One of the best ways to internalize information is to learn it well enough to each it someone else. If you're in a writing group, divvy up elements of craft to each person, study that element of craft in the writing of folks who are really good at it--no one does impressionistic character development like Maclachlan (Patricia MacLachlan or beautifies villainy like Morrison (Beloved), then teach what you learn about each element of craft to each other.

Either I've thoroughly confused you or I've offered you a few useful insights on how to internalize craft. Both is also possible.

Most importantly, remember to bench your inner critique and let your characters have run of the field as you write, then run back the film of the game and critique it, so that in the next game (revision) you can take it straight down the middle and score a goal.

I believe I've just expended my limited sports knowledge in that one paragraph and I may have mixed my metaphors and my languages by putting a soccer/futbol ending on a football reference.

Thus signals the end of my post for today. Any questions? Go see the fish. Or you can post them here, email me from my webpage alafaye.com
Tweet me @artlafaye
Or stop by my facebook page
A LaFaye's FB Page

A Reader Gets Hooked

Asking me to choose the book that had the greatest impact on me is liking asking me to choose my favorite child – it can’t be done. My mother’s favorite story is that, when I was eight months old, I would sit in my playpen and “read” Reader’s Digest from cover to cover, turning one page at a time and looking over one side and then the other, before turning to the next page. I may have been imitating my parents, who were voracious readers, but my love affair with books began then and continued throughout my life.

When I truly learned to read, I holed up in my room, ignoring my mother’s plea that I needed fresh air and exercise. My reading addiction led to flashlights under the covers and books hidden inside my school desk. I read an average of 20 to 30 books a week throughout my elementary, teen, and young adult years. I read my way through library after library, and my greatest joy was becoming a librarian with access to free ILLs (interlibrary loans) and no fines.



All of this makes it difficult to pinpoint one special book that turned me into a writer. The book I reread from cover to cover until it was tattered was A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. That book influenced my philosophy of life: I wanted to be Sara Crewe, to always be cheerful in spite of life’s hardships, to always look for the best in people, and to use my imagination to brighten any situation. If I had to give one book credit for inspiring my outlook on life and stirring my creativity, A Little Princess would win the award.


From Reading to Writing




The author that I most wanted to imitate, though, was Madeleine L’Engle. When I read A Wrinkle in Time, I dreamed of writing a book that affected readers so powerfully, that immersed them so deeply in a fantasy that they lost track of time and space, and that made them sigh in contentment when they closed the cover, knowing that the ending was not only inevitable, but perfect.

When I began writing, I took Madeleine L’Engle’s quote to heart: “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” I strongly believe children have an open-mindedness and a deep, innate understanding of what’s important in life, a knowledge that adults lose as they rush through their days worrying about to-do lists and other people’s opinions. Young readers are storing up knowledge and information they’ll use as adults, so children’s books have the power to influence their life choices.

I still remember the impact Madeleine L’Engle’s quote of Francis Thompson made on my young impressionable mind: “Thou canst not stir a flower / Without troubling a star.” Reading those words made me appreciate the vastness of the universe and the interconnectedness of all life. I realized the ripple effect even tiny acts of kindness can have on the world around me, and to this day, I can’t pull weeds without feeling a vast sadness. I’d rather have an overgrown garden than remove a plant, any plant – even a weed. To touch readers’ lives so deeply that my words positively influence decisions made decades later would be my greatest dream.

I may never approach Madeleine L’Engle’s greatness, but when a teen boy comments on Wattpad about my YA novel Grace and the Guiltless, “I've never been so moved by a book. You honestly made me cry…” or a young teen girl says, “Reading this makes me stick up for myself and teaches me to boost my confidence,” I feel I’m heading in the right direction. Someday I hope to influence readers the way Frances Hodgson Burnett and Madeleine L’Engle affected me. These writers have taught me many things, but the most important is:
"Thou canst not stir a reader
Without troubling a heart.”*



*an adaptation of poetic lines by Frances Thompson "The Mistress of Vision"





A Little More About This Book Loving Author



Laurie J. Edwards is the author of more than 2200 articles and 30 books in print or forthcoming. A student in the Hollins University MFA program in Children’s Writing and Illustrating, she also juggles editing and illustration careers, while writing fiction and nonfiction for children and adults under several pen names. As Erin Johnson, she writes the YA Western series, WANTED, in which her heroine, Grace, has been called “the Katniss of the West.” As Rachel J. Good, she writes the SISTERS & FRIENDS Amish series. Visit her at
www.lauriejedwards.com tand www.racheljgood.com

Thank you so much for this lovely homage to the books that shaped you, Laurie.

Readers,

What books shaped your life?