Michelle Houts's Blog, page 6

Patricia Speaks

As a child, Patricia Polacco used to take peanut butter and crackers, a flashlight, and books into a tent made of blankets and sheets and get lost in a world beyond imagination. Now she tells school children to do the same.  And even better, she single-handedly provides an abundance of books for children to take along with them.

Patricia Polacco’s stories began with her great grandparents’ journey from Russia to Ellis Island. Her family history is chronicled in her book The Keeping Quilt, which Patricia read to us.

I was present in Findlay several years ago when Patricia officially bestowed her family’s Keeping Quilt upon the very deserving Mazza Museum. It hangs there now, in its new permanent home, a testimony to Patricia’s family and her literary legacy.

As a youngster, Patricia was a struggling reader who had nearly given up on school and life itself when a new teacher named George Falker arrived and changed everything. Her experiences as a child with dyslexia are told in her book Thank You, Mr. Falker.

Patricia placed her message today on an arrow and then shot it into the hearts of every teacher, librarian, writer, and artist in the room. We were humbled. We were inspired. And we were blessed.

But then, what did we expect? This was Patricia Polacco.

 

 

Telling the Truth

 

Perhaps one of the most important speeches of the Mazza Fall Weekend, Eugene Yelchin shared a childhood that no American child could possibly understand if not for his willingness and ability to share it in words and pictures.  Eugene Yelchin’s Breaking Stalin’s Nose won a Newbery Honor in 2012. The book’s emotional ties to Eugene’s Russian Jewish childhood are woven throughout, bringing to young readers a world previously unknown.

Eugene Yelchin’s many picture book illustrations are all quite different, reflecting a diversity of style not typical of every artist. With three new books forthcoming in 2014 and 2015, it’s safe to say we have a lot to look forward to!

Deeply emotionally connected to his artwork, but not sentimental about it, Eugene Yelchin understands the hard work behind the final product the rest of us see.  He believes that art is undeniably connected to truth. And to be allowed to share the truth is a gift.

Truth is, Eugene Yelchin’s presence at the Mazza Weekend Conference was a gift.

In an auditorium in Findlay…

John Bemelmans Marciano never met his famous grandfather, but thanks to a treasure trove of family memorabilia, he knows a great deal about the man who gave the world Madeline.

With no visual aids, John captivated his Mazza audience with stories for 45 minutes, proving that he is not only an incredibly talented illustrator, but storyteller as well.

We got a peek into John’s rural New Jersey childhood, which was peppered with German and Italian family influence.

In addition to his successful revival of the Madeline picture books, look for The Nine Lives of Alexander Baddenfield, Marciano’s recently-published middle grade novel from Viking Children’s Books. 

Diversely talented and fascinating, Marciano ended our morning with a thoughtful presentation about children’s books and the industry that creates them.

 

Rocco’s Mazza Debut

With a background in shellfishing (yes, that would be commercial clam digging) and as a Disney art dircector, John Rocco followed his passion for children’s literature to a successful career as an author and illustrator.

John studied art at the Rhode Island School of Design and School of Visual Arts in New York City. He found inspiration in the works of Uri Shulevitz and Maurice Sendak.  His picture book Blackout won a Caldecott Honor, and he’s well-known for his captivating cover art on Rick Riordan’s  Percy Jackson series.

Once blessed with an abundance of hair, John’s book Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom celebrates childhood superpowers and imagination with an abundance of humor.

Look for John’s middle grade novel about a boy who grows up in the commercial shell-fishing world Swim that Rock this spring from Candlewick Press.

When the clock ran out on John Rocco’s first Mazza presentation, he wasn’t ready to stop talking. And we weren’t done listening. But the evil villain dragged John Rocco from the stage anyway.

I’m guessing he’ll be back.

 

 

When the Phone Rings

When the phone rings on the Thursday before the Weekend Conference and you’re Ben Sapp, Director of the Mazza Museum, you pray it isn’t bad news.

But when the phone rang  last Thursday, it was bad news. And, instantly, Ben was short one presenter for a conference that would begin in less than 36 hours.

When the phone rings on the Thursday before the Weekend Conference and you’re Will Hillenbrand, you graciously agree to speak in Findlay, Ohio with less than 36 hours notice.

 

And speak he did.

Will Hillenbrand has illustrated more than fifty books for children. Will’s books may appear to be about animals, but in reality, most characters are inspired by family members. Pigs are associated with his mother. Moles on bicycles, his son.  And it isn’t only his characters which come from real-life. Events from Will’s childhood and from his family’s experiences make their way into his books as well.

In his Cincinnati studio, Will’s illustrations begin with sketches. He combines traditional and digital techniques to create the warm and inviting scenes children want to explore over and over again.

Thank  you, Will, for answering your phone on a Thursday morning in November.

It was indeed a pleasure to hear you speak today. It made me want to say, “Again.”

 

Fancy That!

The 2013 Mazza Museum Weekend Conference has begun!

A ballet dancer until she was thirty, Robin Preiss Glasser, has spent her entire life expressing her artistic self without words. As the acclaimed illustrator of many books for children, including the beloved Fancy Nancy series, she is still doing just that.

In an auditorium crowded with book-lovers of all sorts, Robin shared with humor her not-so-surprising transition from ballet slippers to – well, um – ballet slippers.  Her journey included being a copy artist (in which an illustrator emulates the style of another for the purpose of creating a sequel) and creating a series of patriotic books with Lynne Cheney.

And then along came a little girl named Nancy.

And everyone could relate. Don’t we all know a Fancy Nancy? Or two?

Don’t we all own a Fancy Nancy book? Or two?

Robin had done many Fancy Nancy books before she realized that the precocious Nancy had been imitating her all along. Fancy Nancy leaped, and danced, and wore tutus just as Robin had done in her earlier life.

And, don’t we all love to dress up sometimes? Why, just last week an author/speech therapist I know showed up for work as her favorite picture book character.

Author Jane O’Connor used words to create the character Fancy Nancy. And then, Robin Preiss Glasser, in her own wordless way, breathed life into Nancy, making her the little girl we adore.

What a way to kick off the 2013 Fall Mazza Conference! It was tremendous! 

And that’s a fancy word for “really good!”

Changing ownership

The house down the road is selling.

It’s a mighty house. An old, square, brick Sears-style house that has had several generations of the same family inhabit it for many, many years. It’s a home that’s been cared for, its yard pruned, its door decorated. It has been loved.

So, last Saturday when the auction crowd arrived to strip the house of its contents, I was sad. I was sad for the house. And sad for the gray-haired couple that  didn’t have children in the area to take over the family farmstead. But the couple doesn’t want sympathy. They are embarking on a new journey together – downsizing, shedding the responsibility and hard work of home ownership. This is their “sailing off into the sunset.” And they want folks to be happy for them. So I will be.

But the house. I was sad for the house.

Not long ago, my family and I  attended a family reunion on the other side of the state. The side with all the hills. On the way, we turned down a narrow country road to go past “the home place.”  The farm where my mother was raised, where my earliest childhood farm memories happened. As we drove by, I begged my husband to stop so I could take it all in. (That’s code for: snap a few pictures.  He knows that. We’ve been married 24 years.)

The house had changed dramatically. It had been remodeled, added to. But the barn stood exactly as I remembered. Suddenly, I was four years old, following my Uncle Marc out the kitchen door with a pan of kitchen scraps for the pigs. “SOO-EEE!”  he taught this city kid to yell and then laughed when I did it with such confidence.

Apparently it’s not okay to creep up on people’s homes and take pictures. Apparently, they will come out of their house to see what you’re up to. Hmm. Hadn’t thought about that.

A vanload of flatlanders on their way to a family reunion armed with lawn chairs and casseroles must have appeared harmless enough to these homeowners. They took us on a tour of my childhood.  In the  main part of the house, I could picture everything. The kitchen where my mom bathed my sister in the sink. The dining room where I learned how to set a table. The upstairs that still shows up in my dreams from time to time.

Along with the old, we were introduced to the new. New rooms indoors, a new play area outdoors. And a most unusual tree house. Father and son had merged talent and imagination to build not only the tree house, but the tree itself!  With a welded trunk and metal leaves, it looked like something from a futuristic fairy tale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The family’s young son took me to meet the ducks while the goat watched suspiciously.

 

 

It turns out Grandma’s house has a had a happy life since it left our family. It still has a family. And it still has a boy.

Before we left, I gave my new young friend a book.  I signed it to “the boy who is lucky to grow up on my grandma’s farm.”

And the house down the road from me?

Well, in a few short weeks, a new family is moving in. With a little boy. And a little girl. Those are two lucky kids.

And that’s one lucky house.

 

And the goat has chosen…

Well, folks. Buckeye the doe has spoken. Everyone who commented on the previous blog entry was assigned a random number. And those numbers were placed on sticky notes.

At first I thought, “Well, this is going to be easy!”

Buckeye was instantly interested!

And then just as quickly indifferent.

She wandered a bit. She pooped a lot. And, finally —

 Hey, I can’t be quick on the click AND hold the camera still at the same time!

Here’s Maggie’s video version.

goat pick m ovie

Did you see all that poop? I told you! Oh, the winner?

Well, that would be teacher Tarah Cummings of Minnesota!

And who says 13 is not a lucky number?

Congratulations, Tarah!

Thanks, everyone, for entering. And here’s to a great school year filled with reading, writing, and pursuing what inspires!

Celebrating the New School Year, a Wonderful County Fair, and Giving the Old Blog a Kick in the Pants!

It’s mid August.  You know what that means.

We just finished with this.

And this.

And that means it’s almost time for this.

And, since this blog is desperately in need of something to breathe life into its poor, neglected soul, I think it’s time for this.

Who doesn’t love a great giveaway?

So, here’s the scoop.  We’ll give away a class set – 25 paperback copies – of The Beef Princess of Practical County to one lucky teacher.  We’ll throw in a copy of the fantastic Classroom Companion written by the great folks at Illinois Ag in the Classroom. (They give them away on their website, but hey, it sounds like a bonus, doesn’t it?!)

The Beef Princess of Practical County is middle grade fiction published by Delacorte Press, Random House Children’s Books. It won a 2010 International Reading Association Children’s Book Award and the 2011 Nebraska Farm Bureau Children’s Ag Book of the Year.  It follows 12-year-old Libby Ryan as she prepares to show a calf at the Practical County Fair, and if offers a glimpse into farm life in the rural Midwest.  It is suitable for grades 3 – 8 to read independently or as a classroom read-aloud.

To enter, leave a comment below telling if you are a teacher or librarian or administrator or one of those super-generous parents who scouts out freebies for their child’s school AND tell us your favorite part of the back-to-school season.  The contest will end at MIDNIGHT (ooooo ~ ooooo ~ oooo!) Eastern Daylight Time on August 31, 2013, at which time one person will be selected randomly (perhaps by goat) as the lucky winner!

Comments do not appear right away, as they must be approved to be sure they aren’t

So, good luck!  I’m looking forward to hearing from all of you who can’t wait to get back to the books!  Don’t you just love a great

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Me too!

Ruffled Over a Raffle

Those of you who know me know that I support farmers and I especially support today’s farm  youth.  4-H and FFA members and farm kids in general are an admireable lot.  They learn early how to work and how to work hard.  They can be found in the barn before school.  They give up a lot of time just “hanging with their friends” because there’s a steer to walk, or a pen to scrape, or lamb to run.

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Yes, they raise animals for meat. And they sell them.  It’s what they do.  They are learning to provide safe, quality food for an industry that is often scrutinzed and frequently under fire. But, they hold their heads high, proud to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.   So, when young folks become the target of those who disagree with the animal industry, I find myself  less than happy.

Have you heard these headlines this week?

PETA terrorizes teen boy in Lousiana

PETA protests 14-year-old’s cow raffle

Now, it seems that whenever PETA is in a headline, passions flare.  On both sides of the fire.   Let me say, though, that I would hope that even my vegetarian friends (yes, I have vegetarian friends.  And I respect their right to choose what they eat.  And I appreciate that they respect my right to do the same) would find this one just a little bit over the top, even for PETA.

So, here’s the scoop.

14-year-old Logan  from Lousiana wanted to go on a People to People youth exchange trip this summer.  But overseas travel isn’t cheap.  So, Logan and his family devised a plan.  A family friend donated a calf for Logan to raffle.   The winner would either take the calf on foot or receive the processed beef.  It seemed to me to be rather resourceful.  But a PETA member didn’t quite see it that way.   Throughout the week, Logan and his family have been the recipients of all sorts of mean-spirited comments and accusatory remarks.  But that’s not all.  A PETA member had the nerve to contact Logan and suggest he allow PETA to “free” the calf and send it to an animal sanctuary in return for alternative methods of fund-raising for his trip.  Their solution?  Barely-dressed woman in lettuce-leaf binkinis.

Yes, you heard me.  Can you picture that?

 No need to.  The email sent to Logan included a link to photos of the PETA Lettuce Ladies wearing the afforementioned bikinis.  Not exactly what I would want my teenage son looking at. Turns out Logan’s parents felt the same way.  I’m bothered by the whole Lettuce Lady aspect of this story, but I’m even more disturbed by the reported hate-filled messages that have been hurled at this young man this week.

Why? Because criticism, especially unfounded criticism is hurtful.  I know.  I cringe when I read the occasional, negative vegan-inspired customer reviews of Beef Princess on Amazon.com.  I’m a big girl, but mean people still make me want to cower in a corner.  Those reviews bring self-doubt, despite winning the 2010 IRA Children’s Book Award for Intermediate Fiction and the Nebraska Farm Bureau 2011 Children’s Ag Book of the Year Award.   Think how a young man might feel when told he’s being selfish and cruel.

 If I could talk to Logan, I would tell him that there’s no shame in what he has done.  It’s not selfish.  My own children have financed school trips and even college tuition with the sale of their 4-H livestock projects.  These are young people who have learned to problem-solve.

To the PETA folks, I’d say this:  If you want to debate animal rights vs. animal welfare, if you want to challenge my right to produce and eat meat, fine.  Take up your argument with the farmers, the producers, the adults who order steak, or me.  But leave the kids alone.

And, for goodness sake, keep the lettuce leaf bikini babes away from our teenage sons.  Good grief.

And, finally, to the rest of  the world:  Logan’s Cow Raffle continues (as of this moment) with more support than ever.  Check it out, buy a ticket, or just hit the LIKE button.

And if you comment, let’s be respectful of one another’s rights.  Otherwise, we’re no different than those who’ve forgotten how to do just that.