Sherrill Joseph's Blog, page 17

What’s the Story?

Dear Readers,

On July 9, I revealed the cover for Eucalyptus Street: Green Curse, Book 2 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series. Glad that’s done! Here it is again in case you missed it.

Leading up to the book’s release on October 20, 2020, I plan to share two excerpts in chapter order each Thursday.

First, let’s start with the story’s synopsis. (Kids, that’s just a power word for “plot,” or “what the story is about.”)

So now, I present to you Book 2:

In 1945, Isabela de Cordoba’s great-grandfather, the famous silent movie actor Lorenzo de Cordoba, mysteriously hid a legendary, multimillion-dollar emerald somewhere on the family’s sprawling Eucalyptus Street estate. Seventy years later, the gem remains concealed. Nicknamed the “Green Curse,” the emerald is blamed for the Southern California familia’s numerous, untimely deaths.

On her twenty-first birthday, Isabela receives a secret letter with a cryptic poem. These documents from the long-deceased Lorenzo invite her to hunt for the gemstone. But first, she must decipher the poem’s six stanzas for clues.

To assist, Isabela hires her thirteen-year-old neighbors, the four Botanic Hill Detectives—twins Lanny and Lexi Wyatt, and their best friends, Moki Kalani and Rani Kumar. Eerie footsteps inside the mansion, unexplained occurrences in the adjacent cemetery, and the mysterious tenant in the backyard casita challenge them. But they ingeniously make progress on the poem’s meaning with startling discoveries. Sliding wall panels, a secret room, and hidden passages reveal much. The detectives aren’t the only ones looking for the emerald. The perilous race for the de Cordoba treasure is on!

So, get a clue, Readers. Come back next Thursday when I will share excerpts from Chapters 1 and 2. Until then, keep reading and writing! Thanks so much.

My Book 2 Cover, Finally Revealed!

Dear Kids, Teachers, Librarians, Parents, Grandparents, and Other Readers,

At last! Here is my cover for Eucalyptus Street: Green Curse. What do you think???

It depicts our four detectives hard at work. They have just solved a piece of the Puzzle Poem and are one step closer to finding the treasure. The Puzzle Poem has six stanzas that the detectives must decipher to reach their goal.

To celebrate the Cover Reveal and the book’s October 20 release, I will feature two chapter excerpts per week starting next week. At some point between now and October 20, I will also release the entire Puzzle Poem!

If you’re reading this today, July 9, please join me on my personal Sherrill Joseph Facebook page at 2 p.m. PDT when I go live to celebrate my Cover Reveal.

So, get a clue, Readers. Check my blog every Thursday at sherrilljoseph.com/news to get a head start on reading Eucalyptus Street: Green Curse!

A “Grand” Experience

Dear Kids and Other Readers,

The current Pandemic has separated many grandparents and grandchildren.

Wouldn’t it be fun to bring them together safely in a Zoom Book Club?

That’s just what I’m organizing with a local non-profit agency that has a bank of grandparents waiting to interact in this fun online activity. Better yet, they’ll be using my book, Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets!

“Grand” Book Clubs can promote reading for fun, family dynamics, and getting my book into kids’ hands and hearts. The Grand pairs will read together at their leisure however they like. I will provide book club discussion ideas and ways to improve reading comprehension and kids’ engagement in the process from my years of teaching.

On a selected day, all the Grand pairs will come together on Zoom to meet me, have more book discussions, and ask questions! I’m so excited to see this unfold and to continue to hone my Zoom skills.

So, get a clue, Grands and All Readers. Stay tuned for more information in future blogs . . .

A “Grand” Book Club

Dear Kids and Other Readers,

I am excited to announce that on July 1, I struck a deal with a local non-profit organization that wants to host me leading book clubs on Zoom with grandparents and their grandchildren!

This will allow grandparents to interact safely with their grandchildren whom they might not have seen for a while. And it promotes reading and family dynamics!

This will be so much fun. I’ll get my book, Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets, into kids hands and hearts and use my teaching expertise since I used to do five book clubs daily as a teacher.

And aren’t we all getting more proficient and comfortable with Zoom in this era of a pandemic? I know I am!

So, get a clue, Readers, and stay tuned. More information to follow . . .

10, 9, 8 . . . Cover Reveal RSVP Time!

Dear Kids, Teachers, Parents, and All Readers,

Well, the countdown is finally on for my much-anticipated Cover Reveal for Eucalyptus Street: Green Curse, Book 2 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series!

 

IMPORTANT DETAILS

What: My Online Book 2 Cover Reveal live on Facebook!    There will be Giveaways all day!

Who:  It’s being hosted by Adam Ross, a bookstore owner in Colorado, who kindly helps indie authors, especially during the COVID-19 shutdown. I will co-host.

When: Thursday, July 9, beginning at 8 a.m. PT.              ***I will go live at 2 p.m. PT.***    (That’s 3 p.m. MT, 4 p.m. CT, and 5 p.m. ET.)

I hope many of you–especially teachers, kids, librarians, and parents–will join in all day, but especially when I go live!  Please mark your calendars.

Where: The online Reveal will be on July 9 on Facebook. You can drop in and out during the day, but I hope to see you live at 2 p.m. PT.

How:  Please RSVP now  as “Going” using the following link. Use the same link to join in on July 9:

https://www.facebook.com/events/99102...

Or go to the Events tab on my website at sherrilljoseph.com/events for the link beginning July 1.

Or go to my website and click on one of the floating social media icons on July 8 or 9 for the link.

Why:  It’s time to celebrate virtually my stunning new cover in anticipation of Book 2’s October 20 launch.

 

So, get a clue, Readers. Join me for my Cover Reveal on July 9. Then, please share the cover on your social media platforms. That’s how you can help me build excitement for the book’s October. release Thanks so much for helping!

 

Cover Reveal Countdown!

Dear Kids and All Readers,

Well, the countdown is on for my Cover Reveal for Eucalyptus Street: Green Curse, Book 2 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series!

The Big Reveal will be on July 9. Mark your calendars! I will splash it all over social media and my website. The best way to access my platforms is via my website at sherrilljoseph.com. Look for the floating social media icons to click on. Or go to the Events tab on my website.

So, get a clue, Readers. Watch for the Cover Reveal on July 9. Then, please share the cover on your social media platforms. That’s how you can help me build anticipation for the book’s release in October. Thanks so much for helping!

 

“Window, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors”

Dear Teachers, Librarians, and Other Adult Readers,

In seeking anti-racist resources for my last two blogs/news items (June 4 and 11), I discovered Rudine Sims Bishop. She is professor emerita of education at Ohio State University and considered the “Mother of Multicultural Children’s Literature.” You can Google her name for more fascinating information about her and her work.

She explains the value of acquiring and reading books to teach diversity via these three metaphors:

 “Mirrors”:  Books are mirrors that allow readers to see themselves within the pages, thus affirming their own cultural beliefs, social values, and self-worth.
 “Windows”:  Books are windows that introduce cultures different from the reader’s own, thus fostering changes of negative attitudes and stereotypes, appreciation of differences and similarities, and gaining knowledge of the history of another culture. Bishop says kids need both “Mirrors” and “Windows.”
 “Sliding Glass Doors”:  Books are the glass doors that can provide a safe environment for readers to look through, open, and walk through in their imaginations to enter and become part of whatever world, new or known, the author presents.

So, get a clue, Readers. When looking for books for kids, think about Bishop’s three metaphors. All kids deserve a bookshelf full of Sliding Glass Doors that are both Mirrors and Windows to help create happy, confident, anti-racist citizens.

 

 

Sad Stats But More Resources

Dear Readers,

According to HealthyChildren.org, “As early as six months, a baby’s brain can notice race-based differences. By ages 2 to 4, children can internalize racial bias. By age 12, many children become set in their beliefs–giving parents a decade to mold the learning process so that it decreases racial bias and improves cultural understanding.”

So, get a clue, Readers. Amidst the peaceful protests and the anger, hate, and injustice around us and via the news and social media, there is hope–hope for a better future. Books can help. Children need to see not only themselves but others different from themselves in books they read. And such books can provide a great way to start conversations about race with kids.

 

To that end, here are a few more anti-racist resources and links that I found beyond what I already reported in my June 4 Blog:

readbrightly.com/anti-racist-resource...     “Books and Resources to Help You Raise Anti-Racist Children”
publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/chil...     “A Children’s and Young Adult Anti-Racist Reading List”  (Fiction and nonfiction books for various ages are categorized into lists entitled, “Understanding Race and Racism”; “Raise Your Voice: Activism and Protest”; “Windows and Mirrors from Black #OwnVoices Creators”; and, “Novels for Teens.”)
SocialJusticeBooks.org/booklists/     “60+ Carefully Selected Lists of Multicultural and Social Justice Books for Children, Young Adults, and Educators”
nbcnews.com/know-your-value/feature/5...     “Five Books to Read to Your Children that Celebrate Diversity”
bookshop.org/lists/diverse-indie-auth...     “Forty-One Multicultural Books by Multicultural Indie Authors”   (There are titles for children and adults.)
blog.leeandlow.com/2020/06/10/10-fun-...     “10 Fun and Joyful Black Children’s Books”
nymag.com/strategist/article/anti-rac...     “7 Books About Race to Read to Your Kids”

Some Sad Stats But More Resources

Dear Readers,

According to HealthyChildren.org, “As early as six months, a baby’s brain can notice race-based differences. By ages 2 to 4, children can internalize racial bias. By age 12, many children become set in their beliefs–giving parents a decade to mold the learning process so that it decreases racial bias and improves cultural understanding.”

So, get a clue, Readers. Amidst the peaceful protests and the anger, hate, and injustice around us and via the news media, there is hope–hope for a better future. Books can help. Children need to see not only themselves but others different from themselves in books they read. And such books can provide a great way to start conversations about race with kids.

 

To that end, here are a few more anti-racist resources and links that I found beyond what I already reported in my June 4 Blog:

readbrightly.com/anti-racist-resource...     “Books and Resources to Help You Raise Anti-Racist Children”
publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/chil...     “A Children’s and Young Adult Anti-Racist Reading List”  (Fiction and nonfiction books for various ages are categorized into lists entitled, “Understanding Race and Racism”; “Raise Your Voice: Activism and Protest”; “Windows and Mirrors from Black #OwnVoices Creators”; and, “Novels for Teens.”)
SocialJusticeBooks.org/booklists/     “60+ Carefully Selected Lists of Multicultural and Social Justice Books for Children, Young Adults, and Educators”
nbcnews.com/know-your-value/feature/5...     “Five Books to Read to Your Children that Celebrate Diversity”
bookshop.org/lists/diverse-indie-auth...     “Forty-One Multicultural Books by Multicultural Indie Authors”   (There are titles for children and adults.)

Resources to Help Kids

Dear Adult Readers,

I worry these days about how kids are reacting to the pandemic and rampant racism.

EmbraceRace.org, says, “[Kids] are fully realized people with observations and opinions about the worlds they live in and aspirations about the ones they want to bring into being.”

As a parent, grandparent, retired teacher, and kids’ author, I hope parents, teachers, and those who love or work with kids will please embrace your opportunity. Take all the peace, charity, illness, death, anger, and violence that kids are witnessing or living through, and watch for teachable moments.

Start by giving kids a chance to vent, ask questions, and express their concerns. Read books together. Let kids draw pictures about how they’re feeling and use them as springboards for discussion. Their sharing should guide your teaching.

You don’t have to have kids to know that children are the future. Soon, they will be making and enforcing the laws that will affect us all and which will leave a legacy for the generation that follows them. Let’s hope those laws and that legacy are grounded in a strong foundation of inclusion, altruism, peace, and anti-racism. Please do what you can to help, now.

So, get a clue, Readers. Children are smarter than many people think. Currently, however, many need our help to sort through their confusion and to learn how to create a world free from racism and hate. Let’s give them the tools and hearts to improve their future–and the world. Resources follow.

 

Here are some resources that might be helpful for teaching anti-racism :

scbwi.org/black-lives-matter-resources/     This is the website of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators: anti-racism resources; recommended reading; political/justice organizations; petitions; funds

embracerace.org/resources/     31 chapter books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance; anti-racist activism; Zoom meetings with expert panels

readbrightly.com/important-talk-child...     How to talk to kids about race–books and resources

harpercollins.com/children’s/books-wi...    22 picture books to inspire conversations about diversity

amightygirl.com/blog/?p=14276     75 books about extraordinary black mighty girls and women

 

Here are some resources that might be helpful for talking with kids about COVID-19 :

aacap.org     Articles from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry are listed under these sections: Talking with Kids About Coronavirus; Talking to Kids About Sick Adults and Lost Loved Ones; Supporting Parents of and Kids with Disabilities; Activities for Kids; General Coping Tips; Helping Parents Cope

hopkinsmedicine.org     Articles from Johns Hopkins Medicine include What is COVID-19 for All Children?; Why Can’t I Visit? How to Talk with Kids About COVID-19; COVID-19 Activity Book; Videos for Parents and Kids.

cdc.gov     Articles from the Centers for Diseases Control include Tips for Talking to Children; Facts About COVID-19 to Discuss with Children; and, many other subtopics.

childlife.org     Articles from the Association of Child Life Professionals are listed under these sections and include many subtopics:  Resources for Children and Teens; Reading Materials and Handouts; Videos; Resources for Parents and Professionals; Handouts; Videos and Podcasts; and others.

prodigygame.com     Resources from Prodigy for Educators, Families, and Prodigy Users. Included is Prodigy’s Top 5 #LearnFromHome Resources for Parents.