Yolanda Ridge's Blog, page 4

The Canyon’s Edge

Title: The Canyon’s EdgeAuthor: Dusti BowlingPublisher: Little Brown Young Readers (Hachette)ISBN: 9780316494694Publication Date: Fall 2020

I’m a big fan of Dusti Bowling. (See my review of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus.) So when I heard her latest title described as Hatchet by Gary Paulsen meets Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds I was already hooked! Still – I had no idea what an emotional journey it would be.

The journey begins with nine short chapters written in masterful prose. It sets up the story of Nora and her dad going on a climbing trip in the Arizona desert. It’s the one year anniversary of a random shooting that killed Nora’s mother and Bowling provides just the right amount of background information to ground the reader in the family tragedy.

Part two of the story begins when a flash flood rips through the slot canyon, sweeping away Nora’s dad and all their supplies. Nora’s time alone in the desert is told in verse. She faces dehydration, venomous scorpions, deadly snakes, and the Beast who has terrorized her dreams for the past year. Along the way, readers find out more about how the shooting has affected Nora and cheer for her to conquer her fears and find her dad.

I won’t give away anything more but will say that part three (only one chapter long) returns to prose and provides the reader with the hope they need after sharing Nora’s journey. The Canyon’s Edge is a great survival tale and the verse is both visual and poetic. I can’t wait to read whatever Bowling writes next!

The post The Canyon’s Edge appeared first on Yolanda Ridge.

Don’t Stand So Close To Me

Title: Don’t Stand So Close To Me Author: Eric WaltersPublisher: Orca BooksISBN: 9781459827899Publication Date: Fall 2020

Thanks to the pandemic, contemporary fiction writers face a new challenge: what will the world be like when/if my book gets published two or three years from now?

As I write my current work-in-progress, people are wearing masks and not gathering in large groups. Will that be the case when my book finally comes out? Will things be “back to normal”? Or will there be a “new normal”?

Eric Walters and Orca Books dealt with this problem by publishing Don’t Stand So Close To Me in record setting time. The result is a book that’s firmly grounded in the reality of pandemic life, specifically March of 2020, when much of North America first went into lock down.

The book opens with 8th grader Quinn and her friends planning a school dance. There is not much plot or character development, other than the pandemic itself and how it affects their lives. Walters uses his characters to explain things like exponential growth and flattening the curve in a way that middle graders will understand. He also shows them dealing with things readers will relate to like anxiety, not being able to see family (Quinn’s dad is a doctor who sleeps in the basement), and home learning.

The characters are almost too good to be true, following the rules and supporting each other in various ways. But they provide very astute observations. Here’s my favorite quote from Quinn’s next door neighbor and classmate, Isaac:

School has almost nothing to do with school

Don’t Stand So Close To Me is a short book that does a great job of capturing the early days of the panic, from toilet paper shortages and protestors who believe the virus is fake to school closures and lockdowns in long term care facilities. I won’t give away the ending except to say that the characters find a way to make the best of the situation… safely… despite the pandemic. It provides a good entry point for discussion about the pandemic and its affect on all of us while providing a great snapshot of a moment in time.

I must admit, though, I look forward to the day when this book is considered historical fiction.

The post Don’t Stand So Close To Me appeared first on Yolanda Ridge.

I Read Canadian Day 2021

Tomorrow’s the big day! Let’s get everyone reading Canadian for at least 15 minutes.

Need motivation for you or your classroom? Premier Justin Trudeau will give a special message in both English and French on Bibliovideo’s YouTube channel. Bibliovideo will also host a virtual video series called I Write Canadian, featuring Canadian writers for young people. To find more ways to get involved, check out the I Read Canadian Website.

Along with raising awareness on social media, I will be adding CANADIAN tags to my reviews of books that feature Canadian authors or illustrators. I can’t believe it didn’t do this before! Hopefully I will get it done in time and won’t miss any titles.

Tomorrow I will be reading Don’t Stand So Close To Me by Eric Walters. In addition to being a Canadian kidlit juggernaut, Eric helped create I Read Canadian Day as a collaboration between the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers and the Ontario Library Association. (Review coming soon…)

I’m honoured to support my local bookstore, The Gold Rush. If you’re not in Rossland you can still order from them online – the staff and selection are great!!

I hope you’ll join me in reading Canadian tomorrow. Have fun and stay safe.

The post I Read Canadian Day 2021 appeared first on Yolanda Ridge.

Becoming Muhammad Ali

Title: Becoming Muhammad AliAuthor: James Patterson & Kwame AlexanderPublisher: Little, Brown and CompanyISBN: 978-0-316-49816-6 Publication Date: Fall 2020

I’m not a big boxing fan but after reading this book, I’m now a fan of Muhammad Ali. Becoming Muhammad Ali is a fictional depiction of the heavy weight boxing champion when he was Cassius Clay, mostly focused on his middle grade years. In addition to showing readers how he became a boxer, it covers his difficulties in school and the racism he experienced–both direct and systemic.

The biographical novel is told from two main perspectives. Cassius Clay’s best friend, “Lucky” provides narrative, while Cassius’s voice is given in prose. Black and white illustrations throughout the book add to the texture and intrigue.

I was aware that Muhammad Ali suffered from Parkinson’s disease. I didn’t know that he raised money for famine victims, fought to get American hostages released from Iraq, and worked with the United Nations to become a messenger of peace. Although these things are not covered in detail in Becoming Muhammad Ali, understanding Cassius Clay’s middle grade years really helps readers see how he became involved in all these causes.

My 15-year-old son, a big fan of The Crossover and Rebound, loved Becoming Muhammad Ali even though he’s moved beyond middle grade books. This title would also be great for the classroom and has a great Educator resource. If that’s not enough to entice you, I’ll leave you with this book trailer:

The post Becoming Muhammad Ali appeared first on Yolanda Ridge.

World Read Aloud Day

Today is World Read Aloud Day! With help from the Children’s Writers and Illustrators of BC (CWILL), I virtually connected with two schools to answer questions and read from my books.

Thank you Little Mountain Elementary and Chilliwack Middle School for hosting my author visits and to all the students who listened and asked GREAT questions!

Happy World Read Aloud Day!

The post World Read Aloud Day appeared first on Yolanda Ridge.

Front Desk

Title: Front DeskAuthor: Kelly YangPublisher: Arthur A. Levine (Scholastic)ISBN: 9781338157796 Publication Date: 2018

I was a big reader in middle grade but shamefully admit that most of my favorites (series like Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley High and anything by the still amazing Judy Blume) featured privileged, white characters. I realize only now what a narrow view of the world I had as a result.

Diversity in children’s literature isn’t just important for minority groups, and the ability to see themselves in stories (although this is VERY important), but also for the majority who need to see and understand what it’s like to live without privilege and constant fear of discrimination.

Front desk is a courageous book based on the true life of author Kelly Yang. Like Yang, the main character in Front Desk immigrates from China to California at a young age and ends up working at the front desk of a motel. In the book, the Calivista Motel is managed by 9-year-old Mia’s parents and owned by the greedy, racist, and abusive Mr. Yao who takes advantage of the family’s immigrant status.

Mia is one of the most precocious, brave and honorable fifth graders I’ve ever met or read about. At times, I found her completely unbelievable. But knowing that the author experienced a lot of the same things as her character and went to university at 13 (yes, 13!), I came to understand how and why Mia grew up so fast.

Although English is not her first language, Mia writes letters in an attempt to change many of the injustices she experiences in the US. She creates a community within the motel, particularly with the “weeklies” and never stops trying to please her customers. Mia deals with a lot of heavy stuff throughout the story (no spoilers here) but her huge heart and determination prevent Front Desk from becoming too overwhelming.

Yang’s depiction of racism (including anti-black racism) is particularly powerful and presented in a way that is entirely accessible to the middle grade target audience. The reality of life in the US (where everything is supposed to be “free” but for Mia and her family nothing actually is) brought me to tears many times. It also made me understand how hard it was for Chinese immigrants in the 80s and early 90s to end up living in poverty and racism in the United States while many of the friends and family they left behind flourished as China modernized.

We still have a long way to go in achieving true equity and diversity. But books like Front Desk are paving the way. I have already ordered Three Keys (the advantage of waiting so long to read Front Desk–there’s already a book 2!), and can’t wait for Mia’s adventures to continue in Room to Dream, coming out in September!

The post Front Desk appeared first on Yolanda Ridge.

Looking ahead to 2021

Hello! It’s been a while since I’ve posted so I thought I’d provide one last “news and views” for 2020.

I’ve been very busy since attending the virtual SCBWI/Smithsonian Nonfiction workshop at the beginning of November. The workshop was not as good as it would have been in person but I was super impressed with the efforts made by the organizers to provide social opportunities as well as educational ones. And boy was there a lot of educational content! Since then, I’ve been working on three different nonfiction proposals that I hope to be able to share with you soon. (They are all currently on submission so please keep your fingers crossed for me!)

CRISPR: A Powerful Way to Change DNA has been out in the world for three months now. It’s exciting to hear from readers and know that my first published nonfiction title is finding its way into classrooms. Here’s an interview I did recently with Deborah Kalb about the process of writing about gene editing. I’m so grateful for everyone’s support!

Like a lot of people, I’m ready to leave 2020 behind. No, I don’t think all of the world’s problems will be fixed in 2021. But I’m hopeful that a vaccine will get us beyond the crisis stage of this pandemic. For an overview on how vaccines work, check out my latest post on SciWhy.

Photo Credit: Poetry Club

And with that, I wish you all the best for the rest of 2020. As Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s Provincial Health Officer, says, “be kind, be calm, be safe.” xo

The post Looking ahead to 2021 appeared first on Yolanda Ridge.

CRISPR and… Saved by Science!

I just finished reading Saved by Science and can’t wait to talk to Dr. Mark Poznansky in this Facebook Live event tomorrow.

To tune in, follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/3376114092613003/

[image error]

The post CRISPR and… Saved by Science! appeared first on Yolanda Ridge.

CRISPR and SWEET POTATOES

I love this Inside Science interview with Samuel Acheampong, a scientist who’s using CRISPR to edit sweet potatoes. Now you might think that sweet potatoes are fine just they way they are. But the traditional variety grown in Ghana (and most of Africa) is low in beta carotene – a vitamin important to everything from eye health to the immune system.

Using CRISPR, Ghanian sweet potatoes are bing transformed from white to orange. The change is not just cosmetic – beta carotene’s what vegetables orange. Science is also making sweet potatoes bigger by editing genes involved in sugar transportation.

Find out more about the science behind this and Dr. Acheampong’s journey from the farm to lab here. And, of course, you can read more about gene editing in general by ordering my book CRISPR: A Powerful Way to Change DNA.

[image error]

The post CRISPR and SWEET POTATOES appeared first on Yolanda Ridge.

CRISPR and… The Nobel Prize!

Amazing news! After all the research I did for CRISPR: A Powerful Way to Change DNA, I pretty much feel like I know these two amazing scientists. Read more about it at CBC News.

CONGRATULATIONS to Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier!! I’m sending you a copy of my book. xo

[image error]

The post CRISPR and… The Nobel Prize! appeared first on Yolanda Ridge.