Kathryn Lasky's Blog, page 13
January 23, 2017
I introduced my new book at American Library Association
I just want to start right in with words not from my new book, not from fiction but real life, a real and powerful life:
“I sometimes stare into the blackness and close my eyes. I can still imagine myself as a young girl up there in my little bomber and I ask myself, Nadia, how did you do it?”
The words were those of Nadezhda Popova, last surviving pilot in the all women 588th Regiment of the Night Bombers.
I found out about Nadja Popova five years ago when I read her obituary in the NYTimes. She was the last Night Witch. I had to know more.
I did research and found out incredible things about Nadja Popova and many more: Nina Karayova -Buzino, Maryia Smirnova and their fearless commander Yevdokiya Bershanskaya. It feels so odd to me say these names. I don’t think I’ve really ever said them out loud before. I’m sure I’m pronouncing them wrong. Need I say the life of a writer is a very interior one.
They were among hundreds of women who flew these indescribably fragile bi-planes made of wood and fabric and became key to the defense of Stalingrad. So many died. And yet they kept flying and in fact chased Nazi butt all the way back to Berlin.
There were three all women Russian regiments but it was only the night bombers, the 588th that came to be called the Night Witches and that remained completely female throughout the war. They did not name themselves. It was the Nazis who called them that—Nacht Hexen: Night Witches. This is a fragment of a letter I found during my research that had been written by a pilot of a Stuka fighter bomber.
I had heard rumors, unbelievable rumors about women pilots who fly silently through the night on seemingly engine-less planes. There is only a swooshing sound in the darkness and then they drop their bombs. It is said that the Russians inject these women with chemicals so they can see through the darkness on the most moonless of nights.
It’s true they did fly silently, “like witches on brooms”, as the Nazis said. The little engines of the PO 2 trainers could not exceed a speed of 94 mph, and they could fly as slowly as 40 mph. Both these speeds were way under the stall speed of Nazi fighter planes. Often the women pilots shut off their engines entirely and coasted in silently on a target. Whenever possible, the women flew close to the ground to further evade detection. They wore no parachutes. Had no guns. They had no lights. They were psychologically prepared to die. But on the other hand as pilots they had no equal. They flew in all 24,000 sorties and dropped 23,000 tons of ordnance. In winter months, when the nights were long, a single pilot would fly an average of eight missions a night. Nadja Popova flew close to a thousand missions during her service.
The Nazis were definitely spooked by these courageous women and their supposedly injected eyeballs that gave them to quote “a feline’s perfect vision”.
But are we surprised? I mean were not the women of the 588th regiment some of the 20th century’s first Nasty Women to defend the country they loved. Doesn’t history and society often vilify, in fact demonize, powerful women? Remember Salem. Ma, 1691.
As a writer, I can share this story to inspire young women (and young men), and as librarians you are in the unique and powerful position to share these stories as well
Could I ever do what Nadja or her fictional counterpart Valentina did? No way. But can I tell their story? Yes, I needed to tell it. Five years ago when I read that obit I didn’t realize how crucial it would be for young people today, especially young girls to know about fearless young women who can serve as inspiration and serve as a catalyst to action and are not constructions of our insane celebrity culture.
November 22, 2016
Reflections On China
I’ve just returned from a really extraordinary trip to China where I visited schools in both Beijing and Shanghai and attended the Shanghai Book Fair. Apparently my books are really popular there with Wolves of the Beyond climbing to the number eight position on the children’s bestseller list and Horses of the Dawn quickly building in sales. So I asked myself why is this happening? I think it has something to do with animal fantasy literature’s ability to cross cultural boundaries.
Fashion in clothing, food none of that really matters. Horses graze and eat grass. Wolves hunt and bring down meat. Owls fly and prey on rodents. No one needs to know the taste of American apple pie or Chinese dumplings to read my books.
Animals also afford me a poetic distance in which I can write about emotions—often human emotions but they are wrapped in the pelt of a wolf or the plumage of an owl. At the same time I have always done a ton of research about an animal and its natural history—its behavior and biology. So despite the fact that I write animal fantasy I think I can begin to make young readers believe – to say to themselves, “Well, this might be a story, might be a fantasy but I want to try and imagine it.
In short if I am successful I can bring a reader to that point called ‘the willing suspension of disbelief’ when something impossible seems possible. For those hours that a reader spends with my book they can enter another world no matter what world they are coming from whether it is Beijing China or Keokuk, Iowa.
It has been said that fiction is the lie that tells the truth. There are deep truths I feel in all my books even though I create a fantasy world in which animals can speak. And I am so thrilled that I have been able to connect with these young Chinese readers.
November 21, 2016
Yet another interview
October 21, 2016
Another Fun Interview with Me
September 30, 2016
An Interview about More Than Magic
What are my plans for release week? Find out!
Click on the Pandora Interview link.
August 24, 2016
More Than Magic trailer
More Than Magic will be released September 27
August 18, 2016
Great reviews for More Than Magic
MORE THAN MAGIC reviewed in Kirkus
Ryder has just turned 11, the same age as the cartoon character created by her years-dead mother, and learns that she can enter the cartoon world—and possibly save it. Ryder’s mom, a brilliant animator, based her main character, Rory, on Ryder. Rory is a swashbuckling girl adventurer in an extremely popular cartoon series, soon to be a film. Now Ryder’s dad is interested in nasty Bernice, who wants to make the film Rory into a sappy princess with a vapid magic wand instead of a scrappy slingshot. Scandalized, Ryder doesn’t know what to do until Rory herself steps out of the TV and invites Ryder into her world, Ecalpon (“No Place”). There they team up with Ryder’s nerdy Jewish friend, Eli, to change the movie back to the original concept. Ryder, Rory, and Eli enlist the aid of Connie, Bernice’s one likable daughter. Inhabiting the wireframe layer of the animation, the children learn they can drag artwork from the trash to re-create the original drawings. But can they win the race against time to save Rory and the film? Alternating narration among Ryder, Rory, and minor characters in Ecalpon, Lasky creates her own absorbing magical world, neatly folding it around a story of friendship. The cast is not notably diverse; with the possible exception of Connie, they all seem to be white. Both the concept and the well-paced suspense will appeal. (Fantasy. 8-12)
School Library Journal says:
Lasky, best-selling author of the “Guardians of Ga’Hoole” series, introduces 11-year-old Ryder in this new fantasy. Ryder’s mother created a cartoon television show called Super-Rory-Us, featuring Rory, a character based on Ryder. The popular TV series is about to be turned into a feature-length film. Rory is all Ryder has left of her mom, who passed away several years ago. Now her dad has starting dating the horrible Bernice, who takes over the movie production and proposes tons of terrible changes, such as making Rory a princess who loves clothes instead of a girl who fights crime and loves adventure. Ryder can’t understand what her father sees in Bernice. The girl soon learns that she can enter the television world, and she teams up with Rory, best friend Eli, and Connie (Bernice’s daughter). The group must traverse Ecalpon, the fictional cartoon universe, in a race to save the show that Ryder’s mom created. This is a quick and entertaining middle grade read, and kids will cheer on Ryder and her friends as they battle the witch of Ecalpon and Bernice. VERDICT Fans of light fantasy-adventure will enjoy this; a solid purchase for larger middle grade collections.–Megan McGinnis, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY
Publishers Weekly says:
Magic and reality collide in Lasky’s (the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series) humorous Cinderella-esque tale. Eleven-year-old Ryder is stunned when her soft-spoken, widowed father tells her that he has found happiness with a manipulative woman named Bernice. In the midst of Ryder’s angst, Rory, the animated star of Ryder’s parents’ successful TV show, jumps out of the screen and into Ryder’s bedroom pleading for help. Script changes to a planned film are transforming the brave, fierce heroine—who, as an animated character, lacks free will—into an older, curvier, wand-wielding princess scheduled to be married to a hapless prince. “How can you kick butt with a wand that isn’t even magic?” Ryder gripes. Narration rotates among several characters, and as Ryder and Rory join forces to find allies in both the real and animated worlds, they begin to learn that there is more to each of them than meets the eye. Ryder’s courage and humor in the face of adversity will captivate readers as Lasky explores friendship, family, and the pressures that society puts on girls. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)
Booklist says:
Eleven-year-old Ryder never expected that her best ally in the fight to keep her clueless dad’s greedy new girlfriend from wrecking her deceased mom’s cartoon television show would be her own animated alter ego, Rory. Traveling through a portal from the real world to the animated, Ryder joins the fight to keep tomboy heroine Rory from becoming just another princess who needs saving by a prince. Lasky’s (Guardians of Ga’Hoole series) worthy modern-day story about not growing up too quickly is almost overwhelmed by varied plot pieces that include concerns of grief and family; descriptions of the mechanics of animation, cartooning, and computer operations (STEAM alert!); and the movement between reality and the animated world, which is populated with wicked witches, princes, and faithful servants—all reflections of the people in Ryder’s life. This disparate mix can make it difficult to identify a clear audience for the tale, but girls reluctant to enter the world of fashion and makeup will particularly appreciate the feisty, unconventional female leads. — Cindy Welch
July 2, 2016
I am a landscape person
I have often said that landscape is sometimes a minor character in my books. I collect sunsets and sunrises, cloud, formations and water images. There is something in me that responds very strongly to landscape. It can be the contour of the land, a slant of light on prairie grass, the texture of a rock. Yesterday we went to the Kingman Galley on Deer Isle in Maine that is having an exhibit of the phtographs that fishermen take with their smartphones. Take a look at this incredible one called Mackerel Sky by Baren Yurchick at dawn in Stonington Harbor as he set out for a day of hauling lobsters. Explore on line the treasures of the Kingman Gallery
June 19, 2016
A Father’s Day Thought
A bouquet for my Dad and all the great things he gave to me during his lifetime including his stories, stories from the Great North Wood's of Minnesota that stretch back to the shtetls of Russia. Yes immigrant stories!
May 18, 2016
I enjoyed being a panelist at the Jumpstart Gala
Naila Bolus, Jumpstart President & CEO, poses for a photo with our featured authors: Anita Shreve, Dan Shaughnessy, Kathryn Lasky, Andre Dubus III, and Julia Glass at Jumpstart’s Scribbles to Novels gala in Boston on Thursday, May 12, 2016
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