Jo Knowles's Blog, page 39
October 11, 2010
Fair Times
This weekend the boy and I went to visit my family and go to the fair. My favorite part is visiting all the animals. I loved this guy best because he looked like he had dreadlocks:
I also loved these two because their faces were so furry and their farmer was so HAPPY:
Later, we went to my parents' house for a little after-fair party. My mom made all the ladies compete in a cast-iron skillet toss in the back yard.
Here's my pal Beth winding up:
And the winner! My friend Sue!
It was such a beautiful day, sitting on the rocks in the sun with my old friends, catching up, talking about our kids, watching them all play together in that way kids who know each other for a day do. Simply put, it was a happy day, and I'm so grateful for it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
Describe a favorite childhood friend memory.
I also loved these two because their faces were so furry and their farmer was so HAPPY:
Later, we went to my parents' house for a little after-fair party. My mom made all the ladies compete in a cast-iron skillet toss in the back yard.
Here's my pal Beth winding up:
And the winner! My friend Sue!
It was such a beautiful day, sitting on the rocks in the sun with my old friends, catching up, talking about our kids, watching them all play together in that way kids who know each other for a day do. Simply put, it was a happy day, and I'm so grateful for it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
Describe a favorite childhood friend memory.
October 8, 2010
Two wrongs and three rights
1. Please don't "shut up."
There is one thing about Banned Books Week that I will not miss, and that is seeing LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL mentioned every time the Kentucky fiasco gets discussed. And then to read it described as soft pornography, trash, sick, etc. etc. BUT, I hope we all continue to speak loudly for children's and young adult literature in the classroom. I don't think this coming together to share our passion for YA literature is "swanning," I think it's a purposeful movement growing among people who care about teens and books and know the true value of putting the two together to create not just life-long readers, but life-long learners—compassionate, thoughtful, and imaginative kids who grow from reading about experiences beyond their own doorstep. What is so wrong with that? I say nothing.
2. A new argument for why the picture books aren't selling well has got me very depressed this morning.
This is very disheartening news for the picture book market,, sure, but far worse news for children. Here is another reason to loathe standardized testing. This is too much. What can we do to stop the madness?
3. My son and I finished reading the final beautiful pages of![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380438177i/889613.gif)
cynthialord's TOUCH BLUE this week.
Shop Indie Bookstores
My son had stopped me several times throughout the book to say, "This is going to have a happy ending, right? Right? Everything's going to be OK?" The characters were as real to him as his best friends. Way to go, Cindy! And thanks for giving us a richly satisfying ending. I had no doubt you would.
4. I am ALMOST finished revising SEE YOU AT HARRY'S!
I received feedback from my critique partner last night and just have a few changes to make. First![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380438191i/890855.gif)
jonowrimo
goal nearly reached! How's everyone else doing? It's been pretty quiet over there.
5. Have a great weekend!
The boy and I are headed to NH to visit my family and go to the fair!
This photo has nothing to do with the fair, but this is what we saw outside our window last weekend while we were eating dinner. It was such a beautiful surprise and I wanted to wish you the same.
xo
There is one thing about Banned Books Week that I will not miss, and that is seeing LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL mentioned every time the Kentucky fiasco gets discussed. And then to read it described as soft pornography, trash, sick, etc. etc. BUT, I hope we all continue to speak loudly for children's and young adult literature in the classroom. I don't think this coming together to share our passion for YA literature is "swanning," I think it's a purposeful movement growing among people who care about teens and books and know the true value of putting the two together to create not just life-long readers, but life-long learners—compassionate, thoughtful, and imaginative kids who grow from reading about experiences beyond their own doorstep. What is so wrong with that? I say nothing.
2. A new argument for why the picture books aren't selling well has got me very depressed this morning.
This is very disheartening news for the picture book market,, sure, but far worse news for children. Here is another reason to loathe standardized testing. This is too much. What can we do to stop the madness?
3. My son and I finished reading the final beautiful pages of
cynthialord's TOUCH BLUE this week. Shop Indie Bookstores
My son had stopped me several times throughout the book to say, "This is going to have a happy ending, right? Right? Everything's going to be OK?" The characters were as real to him as his best friends. Way to go, Cindy! And thanks for giving us a richly satisfying ending. I had no doubt you would.
4. I am ALMOST finished revising SEE YOU AT HARRY'S!
I received feedback from my critique partner last night and just have a few changes to make. First
jonowrimo
goal nearly reached! How's everyone else doing? It's been pretty quiet over there.5. Have a great weekend!
The boy and I are headed to NH to visit my family and go to the fair!
This photo has nothing to do with the fair, but this is what we saw outside our window last weekend while we were eating dinner. It was such a beautiful surprise and I wanted to wish you the same.
xo
October 4, 2010
For Risha
This weekend, Risha Mullins posted a full account of her battle to keep challenged books in her classroom, and the devastating results.
Reading through this account, I remember where I was at each step of Risha's journey. I remember the first time Risha contacted me, full of excitement about having me visit her class. I remember my own excitement to be contacted, and get messages from Risha's students. My book was fairly new and this was my first experience speaking to high school students. We arranged a Skype visit which I had to change to a phone visit due to a prior commitment. And because of some crazy circumstances, I ended up sitting in a gas station parking lot speaking to the class on my cell phone, praying my battery wouldn't die. I remember getting off the phone and realizing that it was stifling in my car because I'd left the windows up to avoid the traffic noise and was surprised I hadn't passed out from heat exhaustion. But I was having so much fun talking with Risha's students, I hadn't noticed I was melting.
I remember not long after this, Risha telling me that some parents objected to Lessons From A Dead Girl, and that she was worried. And I remember how I became worried, too. Not for myself, but for this amazing teacher who had figured out how to connect kids to books in a way that, at her school, was revolutionary.
I remember waiting to hear what happened. Each time the news appeared to be good, bad news followed. The books that were challenged were approved! But they still hadn't been returned. It seemed like it didn't matter how many times Risha seemed to win. Because she was the only one playing by any set of rules.
I remember the helpless feeling I had, listening to how Risha was being bullied by parents, the administration and even colleagues. I remember being afraid to speak out because I didn't want to get her in any more trouble than she was in. I didn't care about my book. I cared about Risha and her students and all the other books that might get taken away from them, now that certain parents were clued in to the apparently terrifying notion that students were reading young adult literature in the classroom.
I remember all the press the story got when the local paper picked it up. And the calls to action. And the feeling that surely now, with all these people in the book world backing her, everything would be OK.
But in the end, Risha ended up having to leave her job. And I remember feeling devastated.
Even though the books were officially removed because they "lacked literary merit", the initial reason was because one parent felt that a book about sexual abuse between two girls was the equivalent of soft porn. I believe the "merit" excuse was concocted to cover up the real reason the books were being challenged in order to prevent controversy. There were two things going on here, and they were both despicable.
Risha understood that reluctant teen readers need books they can relate to. She understood that once they started reading, all the other pieces would fall into place because that's what good books do. They teach us to think and care and want to talk and analyze. And that's what these teens learned. And that's why their state tests improved.
I don't know how we change this. I don't know how we prevent individual parents from taking important books away from the kids who need them. I don't know how we teach them that books with tough themes don't create tough kids, they create more compassionate ones. I don't know how we help them be less afraid and destructive.
And I don't know how we convince people who think books in the classroom should be limited to "the classics" is not the answer to improving literacy skills. I don't know how we convince politicians who know nothing about education that high-stakes testing is destroying our education system. That the only thing these tests are really doing is making the publishers of them and the lobbyists who fight for them very very rich.
But I do know that we can't just focus on these issues one week out of the year. We have to keep remembering Risha. And we have to continue to speak loudly for the teachers and librarians who risk their jobs to give kids books that save them every day.
Thank you Risha, for making a difference.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
Write about a book that changed you for the better.
Reading through this account, I remember where I was at each step of Risha's journey. I remember the first time Risha contacted me, full of excitement about having me visit her class. I remember my own excitement to be contacted, and get messages from Risha's students. My book was fairly new and this was my first experience speaking to high school students. We arranged a Skype visit which I had to change to a phone visit due to a prior commitment. And because of some crazy circumstances, I ended up sitting in a gas station parking lot speaking to the class on my cell phone, praying my battery wouldn't die. I remember getting off the phone and realizing that it was stifling in my car because I'd left the windows up to avoid the traffic noise and was surprised I hadn't passed out from heat exhaustion. But I was having so much fun talking with Risha's students, I hadn't noticed I was melting.
I remember not long after this, Risha telling me that some parents objected to Lessons From A Dead Girl, and that she was worried. And I remember how I became worried, too. Not for myself, but for this amazing teacher who had figured out how to connect kids to books in a way that, at her school, was revolutionary.
I remember waiting to hear what happened. Each time the news appeared to be good, bad news followed. The books that were challenged were approved! But they still hadn't been returned. It seemed like it didn't matter how many times Risha seemed to win. Because she was the only one playing by any set of rules.
I remember the helpless feeling I had, listening to how Risha was being bullied by parents, the administration and even colleagues. I remember being afraid to speak out because I didn't want to get her in any more trouble than she was in. I didn't care about my book. I cared about Risha and her students and all the other books that might get taken away from them, now that certain parents were clued in to the apparently terrifying notion that students were reading young adult literature in the classroom.
I remember all the press the story got when the local paper picked it up. And the calls to action. And the feeling that surely now, with all these people in the book world backing her, everything would be OK.
But in the end, Risha ended up having to leave her job. And I remember feeling devastated.
Even though the books were officially removed because they "lacked literary merit", the initial reason was because one parent felt that a book about sexual abuse between two girls was the equivalent of soft porn. I believe the "merit" excuse was concocted to cover up the real reason the books were being challenged in order to prevent controversy. There were two things going on here, and they were both despicable.
Risha understood that reluctant teen readers need books they can relate to. She understood that once they started reading, all the other pieces would fall into place because that's what good books do. They teach us to think and care and want to talk and analyze. And that's what these teens learned. And that's why their state tests improved.
I don't know how we change this. I don't know how we prevent individual parents from taking important books away from the kids who need them. I don't know how we teach them that books with tough themes don't create tough kids, they create more compassionate ones. I don't know how we help them be less afraid and destructive.
And I don't know how we convince people who think books in the classroom should be limited to "the classics" is not the answer to improving literacy skills. I don't know how we convince politicians who know nothing about education that high-stakes testing is destroying our education system. That the only thing these tests are really doing is making the publishers of them and the lobbyists who fight for them very very rich.
But I do know that we can't just focus on these issues one week out of the year. We have to keep remembering Risha. And we have to continue to speak loudly for the teachers and librarians who risk their jobs to give kids books that save them every day.
Thank you Risha, for making a difference.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
Write about a book that changed you for the better.
October 1, 2010
parties, book news, and more parties
1. Congratulations to Barry Golblatt on his TEN YEAR AGENCY ANNIVERSARY!
Wednesday afternoon,
cfaughnan
and
robinwasserman
were my trusty co-pilots on a mad-cap drive to Brooklyn for the party. We were pretty late, but we were thrilled to make it in time for the toast. Here are a bunch of people listening to Barry give a fantastic speech about his journey:
Thank you, Barry for all you do. It's amazing to think about all the dreams you've helped come true. Here's to many many more!
It was really fun to see Barry's clients outside of "retreat" mode. I made the dopey comment that it was fun to see everyone dressed, by which I meant in fancy clothes, but some people took it the wrong way. Oh well! ;-P
Here are two of my favorites,
sararyan
and Dan Poblocki.
And here is Sara, Cindy and Me. Cindy just signed with Joe Monti! YAY!!!!!
2. PEARL is coming in July!!
It does seem like SOOOOOO far away, but it's nice to know an actual pub month! :-)
3. While in NY, I also signed the contract for SEE YOU AT HARRY'S!
I was thrilled to see the book classified as "ages 10 and up." Middle school! Woohoo!!! I love middle schoolers! And finally my sister can stop saying, "When are you going to publish a book I can actually have in my library?" (She's a school librarian in a k-8 school) :-)
4. It's not too late to do the Banned Books Meme!
I was really excited to see yesterday. Thanks
cynthialord
! xo
5. Join thejonowrimo party!
This afternoon we'll be checking in at the community page and on Twitter with the hashtag #JoNoWritingParty All are welcome!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!
Wednesday afternoon,
cfaughnan
and
robinwasserman
were my trusty co-pilots on a mad-cap drive to Brooklyn for the party. We were pretty late, but we were thrilled to make it in time for the toast. Here are a bunch of people listening to Barry give a fantastic speech about his journey:
Thank you, Barry for all you do. It's amazing to think about all the dreams you've helped come true. Here's to many many more!
It was really fun to see Barry's clients outside of "retreat" mode. I made the dopey comment that it was fun to see everyone dressed, by which I meant in fancy clothes, but some people took it the wrong way. Oh well! ;-P
Here are two of my favorites,
sararyan
and Dan Poblocki.
And here is Sara, Cindy and Me. Cindy just signed with Joe Monti! YAY!!!!!
2. PEARL is coming in July!!
It does seem like SOOOOOO far away, but it's nice to know an actual pub month! :-)
3. While in NY, I also signed the contract for SEE YOU AT HARRY'S!
I was thrilled to see the book classified as "ages 10 and up." Middle school! Woohoo!!! I love middle schoolers! And finally my sister can stop saying, "When are you going to publish a book I can actually have in my library?" (She's a school librarian in a k-8 school) :-)
4. It's not too late to do the Banned Books Meme!
I was really excited to see yesterday. Thanks
cynthialord
! xo5. Join the
jonowrimo party!This afternoon we'll be checking in at the community page and on Twitter with the hashtag #JoNoWritingParty All are welcome!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!
September 27, 2010
Banned Books Meme-Time!
It's Banned Books Week!!!
A couple of weeks ago, The Hate Mongering Tart asked readers to send her photos of themselves reading their favorite banned book. Her posts were really fun and informative, which led me to think, HEY! More people should do this!
So, a little meme:
1. Go find your favorite banned book.
2. Take a picture of yourself with said book.
3. Give that book some love by explaining why you think it is an important book.
4. Post it to your blog.
5. Spread the word!
My favorite banned b...
A couple of weeks ago, The Hate Mongering Tart asked readers to send her photos of themselves reading their favorite banned book. Her posts were really fun and informative, which led me to think, HEY! More people should do this!
So, a little meme:
1. Go find your favorite banned book.
2. Take a picture of yourself with said book.
3. Give that book some love by explaining why you think it is an important book.
4. Post it to your blog.
5. Spread the word!
My favorite banned b...
September 25, 2010
Banned Books Week Begins Today!
You can go
HERE
to learn more.Helping your child choose books you think are right for your child is OK!
Taking books away from other children is NOT.
Books don't harm, people do.
In fact, the right book...
at the right time...
for the right child...
could save a life.
Just ask Laurie Halse Anderson
and the thousands of people her book
SPEAK
has helped through moments of
despair,
fear
and
isolation.
Then...
Speak LOUDLY for banned books!
Thanks
September 24, 2010
Update :-)
My new hard drive is installed! Thanks for the hand holding you guys! xo
Not a post, but a call for help from Mac/Time Machine Users
Mac users, I need you!
Today, my poor little laptop is getting a new hard drive. To save $150, I am going to attempt to use my Time Machine to put all my stuff back on my new hard drive. This TERRIFIES me. Seriously, I have high blood pressure. The tech person said it's as simple as connecting your laptop to the time machine, turning your laptop on and following directions. And yet... Why am I convinced it is not that easy???
When everything loads, will my screen look just like it did before? ...
Today, my poor little laptop is getting a new hard drive. To save $150, I am going to attempt to use my Time Machine to put all my stuff back on my new hard drive. This TERRIFIES me. Seriously, I have high blood pressure. The tech person said it's as simple as connecting your laptop to the time machine, turning your laptop on and following directions. And yet... Why am I convinced it is not that easy???
When everything loads, will my screen look just like it did before? ...
