In the Middle with Gayle Rosengren

This week, we are In the Middle with Gayle Rosengren and her middle grade debut, What the Moon Said.

WhatTheMoonSaid_presales

Thanks to her superstitious mother, Esther knows some tricks for avoiding bad luck: toss salt over your left shoulder, never button your shirt crooked, and avoid black cats. But even luck can’t keep her family safe from the Great Depression. When Pa loses his job, Esther’s family leaves their comfy Chicago life behind for a farm in Wisconsin.

Living on a farm comes with lots of hard work, but that means there are plenty of opportunities for Esther to show her mother how helpful she can be. She loves all of the farm animals (except the mean geese) and even better makes a fast friend in lively Bethany. But then Ma sees a sign that Esther just knows is wrong. If believing a superstition makes you miserable, how can that be good luck?

Debut author Gayle Rosengren brings the past to life in this extraordinary, hopeful story.

Advance praise for What the Moon Said:

“A coming-of-age tale gets to the heart of family dynamics in the face of drastic life changes in the earliest days of the Depression… Sensitive and tender.” — Kirkus
“…heartwarming story…engaging historical fiction” — Booklist
“…Esther makes the most of each day, asks little, and gives much.” — Publishers Weekly

What the Moon Said is available on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, IndieBound, and bookstores near you.

Q&A with Gail

What draws you to writing for a middle grade audience?

I write middle grade because I think it’s key to creating life-long readers.  Newly independent readers who discover the thrill of being caught up in compelling fictional worlds or illuminating non-fictional ones will almost certainly be book lovers forever.  The door to reading is always open but never so wide and invitingly as it is during the middle grade years when youngsters are discovering for the first time the amazing places that a book can take them.  These books often make such indelible impressions on readers that they remember them years after closing their covers. Writing for middle graders is a unique opportunity to touch children’s lives in a truly significant way.  It’s a privilege and a responsibility that I embrace as enthusiastically as these readers embrace their favorite middle grade books.

If you had a time machine and could visit middle grade you, what would you tell her?

Gayle at 13

I’d say, “Don’t be afraid to dream of someday writing books like the ones you love.  Being an author is within your reach if only you love words and stories enough and will work hard, have faith in yourself, and never give up.”

Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?

I’d ask, “You say that your mother and grandmother were the inspiration for your book.  Does that mean it’s not really fiction?”

What the Moon Said is definitely fiction.  It was the relationship between my mother and my grandmother that inspired the storyline, and even that was just my impression of their relationship.  It wasn’t necessarily correct or “true”.  A few incidents in the book were inspired by true events, but even those were changed in the telling for dramatic purposes.  My mother and her girlhood provided the seeds for any number of possible stories.  I planted them in a certain way and coaxed them to bloom in a unique pattern, to create a story that I hope readers will perceive as beautiful.

It was a pleasure having you, Gayle. Congratulations on your debut!
 

Gayle Rosengren writes full-time in her home just outside of Madison, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband, Don, and slightly neurotic rescue dog, Fiona. Gayle is living her dream, writing books she hopes will make the same difference in children’s lives as her favorite books and authors made in hers. What the Moon Said is her first novel. Connect with her on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

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2 Comments

  1. That cover is so awesome. Beyond awesome. And the book sounds amazing too. Love.

    Reply
  2. Gayle’s What the Moon Said is an absolutely terrific Middle Grade historical fiction book, with one of the best main characters, vibrant & lovable Esther, in recent Middle Grade literature. And so skillfully written, with just the right voice for someone of Esther’s age, a perfect structure (flows seamlessly from scene to scene, chapter to chapter), and truly beautiful use of language. A great mother-daughter relationship book. Also, because it is written so well and at an age-appropriate level for Middle Grade minds, would be an excellent read out-loud book for home or the classroom. Teachers & Librarians will love this book, both as a teaching tool and as recommended reading. A must-read!

    Reply

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