Kristy Dempsey's Blog, page 3
April 13, 2015
Sketches!
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the chance to see sketches and make comments on two of my books that will be out in 2016, SUPERHERO INSTRUCTION MANUAL (Knopf), illustrated by Mark Fearing, and A HOP IS UP (Bloomsbury), illustrated by Lori Richmond.
You guys, I’m pretty sure I’ve won the luck lottery. These illustrators are fantastic. These books are going to be amazing. I am so anxious to share these books with children. I wish 2016 were NOW! And here’s a secret: both books have a dog! And no spoilers or anything, but NEITHER book is the kind of book where the dog dies. Whew!
So since my brain has been so dog-focused lately because of the adorableness (Is that a word? It should be a word.) of the dogs in these two forthcoming picture books, I thought I’d share one of my favorite dog-centric poetry books.
Once I Ate a Pie
by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest
In this book you will meet 13 dogs with distinct personalities. Puppy is new and worried. Mr. Beefy is always hungry. (Once he even ate a whole pie.) Sugar just loves to sleep. (Unless the cat is around and then she loves to chase.)
These are just some of the sweet faces you’ll meet in ONCE I ATE A PIE. And maybe you’ll be inspired to write some dog poetry of your own. I know I was:
Outside Dog at Suppertime
by Kristy Dempsey
Perhaps
if I scrunch my nose
a bit more
against this glass door,
you’ll hear my whimper.
Must I wail?
Maybe a knock with my tail?
No need for a plate.
I’d settle for scraps.
Perhaps?
April 6, 2015
Travels!!
I just returned from Rio where I presented for two days at the American School of Rio de Janeiro. It was excellent.
We celebrated both National Poetry Month and International Children’s Book Day with poetry workshops and Writer’s Life presentations. It was a full two days, but full of fun and learning and celebration. Those EARJ students know how to throw a celebration! Also, they figured out how old I am. (I think this was planned because one kid asked me how old I was when I published my first book and another asked me how long it had been since I published my first book. 33 and 12, respectively. :)
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved visiting these smart kids and their superstar teachers. Can I go back soon?
And now, I’m a few days late but I’ll kick off National Poetry Month with “Recipe for a Poem” which was originally published in the Poetry Friday Anthology put out by Pomelo Books. Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong at Pomelo are putting out some of the most fun and exciting poetry anthologies for children of late and are making them very accessible to teachers with activities and hands-on tips. Be sure to check out their site.
Recipe for A Poem
by Kristy Dempsey
Fill a pot
with red-hot thought.
Boil a bit,
Simmer.
Let sit.
Wait . . .
some more.
Open a drawer,
pick a spoon,
a hammer,
a kite,
anything might
be of use.
Choose.
Weigh the contents.
Stir the depths.
Season with truth and
a dash of laughter.
Stretch like taffy,
Slice into bites.
Throw to the wind
and listen.
March 20, 2015
GOOD NEWS!
I’ve been spinning lately with such good news about A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT that I am literally seeing stars! This book has been such a privilege to be part of from the very beginning and the fact that others see value in this book is a great honor indeed.
At the beginning of March, A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT was named the winner of the Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text! I will go to California in August to receive the award and to present at the SCBWI Annual Conference in Los Angeles.
There are three other categories for this award, as well:
Golden Kite for Non-Fiction: Candace Fleming for THE FAMILY ROMANOV
Golden Kite for Fiction: Deborah Wiles for REVOLUTION
Golden Kite for Picture Book Illustration: Melissa Sweet for THE RIGHT WORD: ROGET AND HIS THESAURUS
Be sure to check out the honor winners, as well as the winner of the Sid Fleischman award for Humor by clicking here!
Also, A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT has been named to the 2015 CCBC Choices list and to the 2015 Bank Street Best Books of the Year list!
You can check out the rest of the books named to those lists here:
http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/CCBC_Choices_2015_list.pdf
Both lists help me tremendously in planning my library purchases each year.
May 11, 2014
For my Mama
Eleven years ago I set out to write A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT that honored one of the African American pioneers in ballet, Janet Collins. But as I wrote this story about a little girl who sees Miss Collins’s performance, and as a result believes her own dreams can come true, I was also drawn to the mother in the background of the story who has not achieved great status, but who has worked hard every day of her life to provide the simple necessities her daughter needs. To me, one of the most important threads in this story is the mother’s sacrifice, because it reflects her love and selflessness in fostering her child’s dreams, allowing her to believe she can achieve something that might seem out of reach. This is one element in the story that, for me, reaches across culture and race and reflects an emotional truth that isn’t limited by the color of our skin. Certainly there are mothers who do not embody this kind of belief in their children, but there are mothers across the world, of every culture, that do and whose children point back to that belief as a guiding force in their lives.
A recent reviewer of A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT pointed out that the book never shows whether the little girl in my story achieves her dreams. (In my heart I responded, “Well, the reader is smart enough to figure out what they think about that themselves!) But for me, leaving the story open-ended provides a poignant sense of possibility. Both Janet Collins and the mother in this story are heroes who accomplish great things for this little girl. We are shaped by what we witness, whether it’s a performance that allows us to believe we can achieve something beyond what society expects of us, or it’s the consistent, quiet, daily example of a mother who is determined to give her child a foundation that will allow her opportunities she might not have dreamed possible. It is not important to know whether the little girl achieves the dream she had in that moment. Her dreams will grow and possibly change. She may actually grow up to dream a different dream. But from her mother she has seen that dreams are valuable and from Janet Collins she has seen that they are possible. Whatever her dream becomes, she can believe it true.
Of course, I ultimately realized that my emotional connection to this little girl’s dreams and the hard work of her mother reflected my own mother and my own dreams, and the way my mother dreamed along with me, even when my aspirations seemed (and proved) impossible. A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT is dedicated to my mother:
To my own mama, who dreamed every dream I ever had right along with me.
From dreaming to become a Olympian gymnast, to dreaming to be a recording artist, to dreaming to perform on Broadway, to dreaming . . . well, so many different things. All those dreams I dreamed as a child? I never accomplished many of them. I worked hard for many years on some of them. My mother supported and invested and believed. But her involvement in my dreams taught me that it didn’t matter whether I accomplished them or not. What mattered was who I was becoming and that learning to dream beyond myself and what I could accomplish would teach me who I am and who I should be. Learning to dream beyond myself would not only change me, but could change the world around me.
I’m still dreaming. I’m still learning who I should be. That’s the way dreams are. As we grow, they grow. But this dreamer that I continue to be today, I owe to my mother. If my dreams allow me to change the world in any way, it’s my mama’s belief in me and example to me that made it possible.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mama. Thank you for teaching me to dream.
May 1, 2014
#WeNeedDiverseBooks
We need diverse books because all kids are dreamers.
Image from A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT by Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper.
April 22, 2014
Calling All Schools!
One of my favorite parts of being a children’s author is the opportunity I get to present in schools and work directly with students. I’m planning to be in the US in October 2014 and have 3 open dates (October 13, 14 &15) during which I would be available for presentations in schools.
Bio: Kristy Dempsey is a children’s author and the librarian at the American School of Belo Horizonte. Her books include ME WITH YOU (Philomel), MINI RACER (Bloomsbury), SURFER CHICK (Abrams) and A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT (Philomel). She is an experienced presenter to all age groups and often does writing workshops with elementary, middle and high school students. Her poetry has appeared in various anthologies, including the recent Poetry Friday Anthologies which help teachers connect poetry across the curriculum. Her visual literacy presentations support both Common Core and International Baccalaureate standards and provide both students and teachers with the tools they need to deepen inquiry in the classroom. Originally from South Carolina, United States, she has lived in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, since 1998.
Here are some comments from my recent school visits:
“Kristy is really good with kids. The perfect balance between expectation, positive tension, and humor.“
“Kristy did an excellent job with my sixth grade students. She spoke at their level. She talked with my students about narrative writing that was very relevant to what we were doing at that time. It fit right into what I wanted them to learn. I only wish we could have had her visit for more than one period so she could teach them even more.”
Kristy relates so well to all ages of students. She adapts the components of her presentations to entertain and teach the age of the students to whom she is presenting. In these days of school budget restraints and cutbacks, it’s even more important that dollars earmarked for providing guest speakers to our students are wisely spent. Having Kristy present to your students is an investment that you and your students will be delighted that you made.
“Several of my students commented that her explanation of setting strengthened their writing!”
“Kristy Dempsey’s presentation was engaging and fun. Her emphasis on where stories come from and how books are published was clear and interesting for students. They all really enjoyed it!”
“This was a truly outstanding presentation. Ms. Dempsey related well to students and really engaged the entire audience with humor and participation. Content was both practical and inspiring to our young student writers.”
For descriptions of each of the sessions I offer, both for students and for teachers as professional development, as well as information on fees, please see my School Visits page.
April 19, 2014
The Tenderness of Hope
Yes, these feathers were sketched by me. Is this where I’m supposed to put the © 2014 Kristy Dempsey?
Feathers. They’re tender and wispy. Pretty much how I feel about my artistic ability. I can sketch single feathers on a flat surface. (Or suspended in mid-air if you want to pretend that I might be capable of being intentional about that.) That’s it. That’s all I can draw beyond stick figures.
Don’t get me wrong. There is something I LOVE about feathers. They’re like snowflakes, each unique (but so much easier to draw because they’re not all geometrically symmetrical like snowflakes.) You almost can’t mess them up because they don’t have to be perfect. And mine never are.
But I can’t stop sketching them. They represent something to me. Maybe it’s the tenderness of hope that can be lifted by just the breath of a kind word. Maybe it’s their beautiful imperfection. Maybe it’s their reminder of new life, the tiny fuzzy hope that will one day spread its wings and fly.
On this beautiful Easter weekend, this is my offering of hope to you: that wherever you are feeling tender and incapable, may the promise of new life breathe hope beneath the imperfection and give you the faith to believe.
April 15, 2014
Highlights Unworkshop Scholarship Winner
Photo credit: Highlights Foundation
Whoo-boy, dear applicants. This was a difficult decision. Do you realize just how talented you people are? And dedicated? And hardworking? And did I say talented? Because you people are talented in double doses. Our retreat group wanted to give everyone a scholarship to attend a Highlights Foundation Unworkshop at Boyds Mills in PA.
When we set out to choose a writer to receive a 5 night stay at an Unworkshop, we hoped to be able to provide a dedicated writer with the time and space needed to complete or revise a work-in-progress. Each of us in our retreat group are working writers, many of us teachers and parents and volunteers. As we read your entries, we were struck by your perseverance, your incredible story ideas and how many of you write in the early mornings (just like many of us!)
In the end we could only give the scholarship to one writer and we chose Katie Mitschelen. Katie has been writing for several years, gives of her time to other writers, takes care of her family and her ailing father and, like many of us, just needs dedicated time to focus on her Depression era historical fiction middle grade fantasy novel. Yes. All that at once. And she still hooked us. :) Congratulations, Katie! We hope to share more soon about you and your experience at the Unworkshop retreat.
April 13, 2014
Redirect!
My Favorite Book
MY FAVORITE BOOK
Come along, old friend.
Let’s walk your road again.
I know each bend,
each rise
and fall.
I know it all, yet
every time you show me more
a twisted root
a hidden door
a sheltered nook
I’ve passed but never seen before.
Let’s run your road, this well-worn path.
We’ll kick up dust,
and later
when I stop to rest,
I’ll feel your breath upon my back
press me
toward
The End.
