In the Middle with Skila Brown

Today, we are In the Middle with Skila Brown, author of Caminar:

Caminar hi-res

Carlos knows that when the soldiers arrive with warnings about the Communist rebels, it is time to be a man and defend the village, keep everyone safe. But Mama tells him not yet — he’s still her quiet moonfaced boy. The soldiers laugh at the villagers, and before they move on, a neighbor is found dangling from a tree, a sign on his neck: Communist. Mama tells Carlos to run and hide, then try to find her. . . . Numb and alone, he must join a band of guerillas as they trek to the top of the mountain where Carlos’s abuela lives. Will he be in time, and brave enough, to warn them about the soldiers? What will he do then? A novel in verse inspired by actual events during Guatemala’s civil war, Caminar is the moving story of a boy who loses nearly everything before discovering who he really is.

Caminar is available on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Indiebound, and at bookstores near you.

Q&A with Skila

What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?

This is the exact age in my own life that books sucked me in. I chose reading over everything else. I remember sitting in the car with a book in the middle of a winter party, while the rest of my family was sledding down a hill. I just really loved to read. I would read anything—I wasn’t picky. This is when I found out what a great escape books can be. And how much a person can learn while reading.

So I think of this time as a magical time for a reader. It’s when we first learn we can read on our own, with no one looking over our shoulder or reading to us aloud. We can discover a book and a world privately and go there all on our own. Nobody can take that away from us. It’s a great discovery.

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

Dear Skila, age 8,

Stop worrying about everything. And stop being so bossy. Seriously. It’s a bad habit that’s harder to break when you’re older.

But the reading thing is a great habit. Keep that up. Those books you love reading? You’ll still love reading them even when you’re old. And those stories you keep making up to amuse yourself and/or possibly get out of trouble? You keep doing that! Believe it or not, later on, people will pay you money to do it. So keep it up, girl! It all works out okay.

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

Oh, that’s fun! Since Caminar is a novel in verse and we’re fast approaching National Poetry Month, how about: What’s a poem you loved as a middle grader?
And…here’s my answer:

Something Missing by Shel Silverstein

I remember I put on my socks,
I remember I put on my shoes.
I remember I put on my tie
That was painted
In beautiful purples and blues.
I remember I put on my coat,
To look perfectly grand at the dance,
Yet I fell there is something
I may have forgot—-
What is it? What is it?. . .

Want to know why I loved it as a middle grader? Go check out the book Where the Sidewalk Ends from the library and find the illustration that goes with this. What’s not to love about semi-naked subversive sketches?

Thank you, Heidi, for inviting me over to your blog! It’s lovely here. I may just hang out awhile.

Thank you, Skila! I’m a big Shel Silverstein fan myself. So glad you brought him along. Congratulations on your debut!

Skila Brown is the author of Caminar, a story about a boy who survives the massacre of his village and must decide what being a man during a time of war really means. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She grew up in Kentucky and Tennessee and now lives with her family in Indiana. For more information about her book, please visit her website, SkilaBrown.com.

 

1 Comment

  1. I LOVED Where the Sidewalk ends when I was younger (and still do); I remember that very poem! Great interview 🙂

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