by Heidi Schulz | Feb 5, 2015 | Hey Kid!, Other Books and Reading, Word
Dear Fifth Grade Cory,
I write to you specifically (not to fourth grade Cory or sixth grade Cory) because fifth grade was a really important year for you (us). Epic, really.
This is the year that you discover you’re not cool.
Now I understand why, at this stage of your life, you wouldn’t necessarily see this as a positive. And you won’t see it like that, not for quite a while.
But let’s be honest, you’ve sort of seen this coming. Right? You know yourself. Last year got a little bit confusing, what with switching schools at all. Everybody was too busy labeling you “the new girl” to notice if you were cool or not. Nobody really knew you, so you sort of drifted through the groups and the cliques and the clubs like you were in some sort of weird, middle school utopia.
But this year is a brand new year. And now that everybody knows you better, they’ve figured it out. You, my dear, are not cool.
That’s not true for everyone. In fact, something weird is going to happen this year: some of the girls you’ve been hanging out with are going to magically be declared “cool.” No one knows who, exactly, decides this. Or what the criteria is. Or how those who achieve this mysterious honor are notified about their change in status. (There was probably a handshake or a secret meeting or pamphlet that explained it – but you’re not cool enough to be privy to anything like that). But however it happens, some of your friends will go on to claim the title of “cool” and all the rights and privileges associated with it. While you, and your fellow un-chosen friends . . . won’t.
The whole thing is going to make you a little bit miserable, to be honest. And I wish I could tell you “Buck up, Cory. In high school, your fairy god mother shows up and arms you with a new wardrobe, better hair, a working familiarity with acceptable music and trendy pop culture references and BAM, you become the homecoming queen.” But that isn’t what happens. Not in high school, not in college, and not in the mysterious “real world” that you are only now beginning to picture.
I’m sorry if that sounds harsh. The good news is, you do read a lot of good books this year. (And next year, wow, I can’t begin to tell you about the awesome reading that sixth grade has in store for you – The Song of the Lioness Quartet, The Blue Sword, The Egypt Game: it’s a truly inspiring year of books for you.) And if you had been tapped as “cool,” who knows if you would have had time for any of those? Or maybe they wouldn’t have meant so much to you. Food for thought.
You’ll be glad to know that being cool becomes a lot less important later on. And believe me, it’s not because we achieve it. I mean, yes, we do eventually learn how to blow-dry our hair straight. And the nice people at Sephora teach us how to do make-up properly. And we stop wearing flannel shirts and hiking boots All. The. Dang. Time. But you still use the term “cosplay” as a verb a bit too often, you get a little bit too excited about life-size Tardis replicas, and you are too quick to quote old episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (ah yes, that’s another thing you have to look forward to), to be considered “cool.” At least in the traditional sense.
And somewhere along the way, that stopped bothering you.
Maybe it’s because everybody else seems to have stopped caring if people are cool. Or maybe we’ve just learned to live with it. Or maybe it’s because we’ve realized that we know our share of awesome, inspiring, lovable people and none of them are cool either.
The point is, we end up doing just fine. And when I think back through all the people we’ve met, the books we’ve read, the experiences we’ve had – almost none of which were remotely “cool” – I wouldn’t trade any of them. Not if our fairy mother came down right now and offered me “cool” on a platter.
So thank you, Fifth Grade Cory. You’re taking one for the team this year. (And also next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and then some). But take comfort in the fact that somewhere, your thirty-four-year-old self is reveling in all of her grown-up, totally uncool, dorkalicious glory. And she’d like to sincerely thank the fifth grade version of herself who made it all possible.
~Cory
Find Dinosaur Boy on IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, Book People, and Amazon, or ask for it in bookstores and libraries near you.
Everyone knows the dinosaur gene skips a generation.
So it isn’t a complete surprise when Sawyer sprouts spikes and a tail before the start of fifth grade. After all, his grandfather was part stegosaurus.
Despite the Principal’s Zero Tolerance Policy, Sawyer becomes a bully magnet, befriended only by Elliot aka “Gigantor” and the weird new girl. When the bullies start disappearing, Sawyer is relieved-until he discovers a secret about the principal that’s more shocking than Dino DNA. The bullies are in for a galactically horrible fate…and it’s up to Sawyer and his friends to rescue them.
Find more Hey Kid! letters here.
 Cory Putman Oakes is a children’s book author from Austin, Texas. Her middle grade debut, DINOSAUR BOY, came out in February 2015 with its sequel, DINOSAUR BOY SAVES MARS, to follow in February, 2016. She is also the author of THE VEIL (a young adult novel).Connect with Cory on corypoakes.com, Twitter, and Facebook. |
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by Heidi Schulz | Jan 29, 2015 | Hey Kid!, Other Books and Reading, Word
Hey Twelve-Year-Old MarcyKate,
Right now school is a miserable place for you. I know how you dread the bus every morning. How you get made fun of when you have to take a day off from school for allergy tests and come back looking like you were bitten by a geometrically-inclined mosquito. How even recess has lost its fun now that that group of girls taunts you every day, telling you you’re fat and ugly (by the way, you’re not. And you’ll grow out of this awkward phase—mostly—I promise.)
You may not realize it now, but you’re lucky because you have friends who are awesome and will be your friends for many years (even if you fight more often than you like). You share a love of books, and act out your own stories in the Redwall world at recess as way to escape the bullies. Maybe those bullies mock you for it, but some day, you’ll write your own novels. You won’t know what they’re doing, and you won’t care either.
The bad news: Before it gets better, it’s going to get worse. As hard as 5th and 6th grade have been, junior high is going to be harder. Then there will be high school. That’s where you learn to embrace your weird…unfortunately, not everyone else does. I know you worry that no one cares about you, but trust me—they do. The bright side of high school is that you collect a few more longtime friends along the way.
Now the good news: Someday you’ll go to a college where you’re not the weirdest or geekiest person in the room. And they won’t give you grades. Sounds like heaven, right? It is, and it’s how you got the courage to tackle a novel in the first place. You’ll meet people who challenge you in all the best ways, and inspire your creative side. It is glorious. It is life changing. I promise it is worth getting through what must seem like an infinite stretch of public school before you.
So, keep reading late into the night even after mom and dad yell at you to go to sleep. It’s okay to need an escape. Books are a healthy way to do that! And when you do go to bed, keep telling yourself stories as you fall asleep (though, you might want to whisper more quietly – your sister in the next room can hear you!). Keep creating, and most importantly keep dreaming. One day when you get to hold your own fantasy novel in your hands, you’ll know it’s all worth it.
~MarcyKate
Monstrous will release on February 10th. Find it on IndieBound, B&N, Amazon, or order a signed copy from Porter Square Books by typing “signed” in the order comments.
The city of Bryre suffers under the magic of an evil wizard. Because of his curse, girls sicken and disappear without a trace, and Bryre’s inhabitants live in fear. No one is allowed outside after dark.
Yet night is the only time that Kymera can enter this dangerous city, for she must not be seen by humans. Her father says they would not understand her wings, the bolts in her neck, or her spiky tail—they would kill her. They would not understand that she was created for a purpose: to rescue the girls of Bryre.
Despite her caution, a boy named Ren sees Kym and begins to leave a perfect red rose for her every evening. As they become friends, Kym learns that Ren knows about the missing girls, the wizard, and the evil magic that haunts Bryre.
And what he knows will change Kym’s life.
Reminiscent of Frankenstein and the tales of the Brothers Grimm, this debut novel by MarcyKate Connolly stands out as a compelling, original story that has the feel of a classic.
Find more Hey Kid! letters here.
 MarcyKate Connolly is a writer and arts administrator living in New England with her husband and pugs. She’s a coffee addict and voracious reader. Monstrous is her debut middle grade novel.
Connect with MarcyKate on MarcyKate.com, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. |
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by Heidi Schulz | Jan 15, 2015 | Hey Kid!, Other Books and Reading, Word
Dear Eleven-Year-Old Gail,
So, the huge plastic glasses, the bangs you’ll cut yourself later this year, and the whole puberty thing…yeah, this is not the best year of your life. Here’s the good news: you get contacts when you’re thirteen (not to mention that glasses get a whole lot cuter in the future), the bangs will grow out, and you’ll be very thankful for the puberty thing in high school. Also, please don’t ever cut your own hair again. Please.
To answer your questions:
1) No, you will not grow up to be a journalist a la Murphy Brown, be starring on Broadway, or be an Olympic figure skating champion. Instead, you will go to law school and spend a few years at work pondering some very exciting acronyms, like PD and UIM and TTD and IMEs.
2) Yes, you will finally get a boyfriend (but no, he won’t look anything like Kirk Cameron or Donnie Wahlberg).
3) Yes, all those scribblings in Lisa Frank three-subject notebooks will come to something! Also, your sister is probably reading them all, so find a better hiding place, okay?
4) Yes, being the class nerd is a good thing. Just trust me on this one.
5) No, you won’t wear that fluffy Scarlett O’Hara dress in Teen magazine to prom. Fluffy will be out, and slinky will be in. Sorry.
6) No, please don’t buy those short shorts (although I know you will anyway).
7) No, you won’t name your daughter Destiny Samantha Alexandra.
8) No, the Oujia board is not real. It’s just your sister and your cousins moving the pointer around.
9) No, pimples never really go away. It is one of the sad truths of the universe that people of any age can get zits, no matter what the lady at the Almay counter told you.
10) Yes, your little sister is annoying, but she’s also a pretty amazing person. And she’s smarter than you, so be nice.
11) Yes, you will finally get to have more than one cat. Beware of this fact.
12) No, you’ll never figure out how to successfully tight roll a pair of jeans. But in a year or so, no one will really care.
Yeah, eleven is the pits. Twelve isn’t much better. I can say this having lived almost three times that now. Yes, I’m old. What’s that? No, sorry, I can’t switch places with you. Not only do I need you to live through this time so I can put it all in a book later (sorry), there’s no way you want to miss what’s coming next. High school and college are both crazy fun, and you’ll meet some amazing people who will still be your friends when you’re old and in your thirties like me.
I know being eleven is weird and confusing and that every little thing is annoying, but it will all get better, I promise. So hug your sister, rock that blue plaid school uniform, crank up that Boyz II Men cassette tape, grab the newest Fear Street book (BTW, you’ll totally walk by R.L. Stine at a convention in 2014 and fangirl for moment), and know that life will hold so much awesomeness in the future.
Love,
Future Gail
Find Breaking the Ice on Indiebound, Carmichael’s, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or ask for it at your local bookstore or library.
Kaitlin has always dreamed of being a champion figure skater, and she’s given up a lot to pursue her passion. But after having a totally uncharacteristic and decidedly NOT figure-skating-approved tantrum after getting her scores at a major competition she’s dropped by her coach and prestigious skating club.
When no other club in town will have her, she’s forced to join the ridiculed and rundown Fallton Club, jokingly referred to as the Fall Down Club. At first Kaitlin thinks this is a complete disaster, but after meeting some of the other skaters, including a boy (who happens to have the most perfect hair she’s ever seen) Kaitlin thinks it might actually not be so bad.
But when she’s tasked with learning a whole new program right before Regionals and figures out that almost all the other skaters target Fallton, she thinks joining the Fall Down Club may just be the second biggest mistake she’s ever made.
In this figure skating themed debut, Kaitlin learns that when you fall down, you have to pick yourself up – even if it’s in front of judges and a crowd.
Find more Hey Kid! letters here.
 Gail Nall lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her family and more cats than necessary. She once drove a Zamboni, camped in the snow in June, and almost got trampled in Paris. She is also the co-author of the upcoming YOU’RE INVITED (Aladdin/S&S, May 2015).
Connect with Gail on GailNall.com, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. |
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by Heidi Schulz | Jan 12, 2015 | For My Readers, Hey Kid!, Hook's Revenge, Hook's Revenge: The Pirate Code, Other Books and Reading, Word
I’m super excited about a new blog feature I’ll be unveiling later this week. As you may know, last year I had a wonderful time introducing you to debut authors of tween—or middle grade—books in my In the Middle series. I wanted to continue doing so with 2015 debuts, as well as a few more established authors, but with a twist.
My favorite part of last year’s interviews was the question, “If you had a time machine and could visit middle-grade you, what would you tell him/her?” In that spirit, I decided to invite authors to write a letter to themselves as a tween and share it, along with a photo of themselves at that age.
Say hello to Hey Kid!
I drew this with Mac Paintbrush. Can you tell???
This concept is not exactly new. Dear Teen Me has been doing something similar for quite some time, and doing it very well. However, with Hey Kid! authors will be going back a bit further, to those tender tween years. I’ve received a few letters already and they are fantastic. I can’t wait to share them with you. The first one will post this Thursday, with a new letter following nearly every week most of the year. Don’t miss them!
***
Book news:
Hook’s Revenge will be out in paperback on September 1. Two weeks later, on September 15, Hook’s Revenge: The Pirate Code will be released. I have seen the cover art and it is wonderful (and not created in Mac Paintbrush)! Looking forward to showing you soon!
See my books page for more information.
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by Heidi Schulz | Sep 25, 2014 | In the Middle Interviews, Other Books and Reading, Word
Today, we are in the middle with Simon P. Clark, author of Eren, a book I cannot wait to read! (In fact, I just purchased the ebook and hope to read it next week while I travel between tour stops.)
People are keeping secrets from Oli. His mum has brought him to stay with his aunt and uncle in the countryside, but nobody will tell him why his dad isn’t with them. Where is he? Has something happened? Oli has a hundred questions, but then he finds a secret of his own: he discovers the creature that lives in the attic…
Eren.
Eren is not human.
Eren is hungry for stories.
Eren has been waiting for him.
Sharing his stories with Eren, Oli starts to make sense of what’s happening downstairs with his family. But what if it’s a trap? Soon, Oli must make a choice: learn the truth – or abandon himself to Eren’s world, forever.
Eren is now available for purchase in the UK: Amazon | Waterstones | Foyles | Hive (Find your nearest independent bookshop)
The ebook is available now in the US: Kindle | Nook
Or preorder the US version of the hardcover, available June 9, 2015 (retitled Tell the Story to its End for American markets): Amazon
Q&A with Simon
What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?
I think, in common with a lot of children’s authors, I have very vivid memories of the books and stories I read as a kid. Children read very differently than adults – there’s something wild, something all-in about the way they can get wrapped up in a good tale. When I imagined myself as a writer, isn’t wasn’t necessarily as only a children’s author, but it was always going to encompass that, Maybe I’ll write for adult audiences in the future – if I can dumb things down a bit.
If you had a time machine and could visit middle-grade you, what would you tell him?
Firstly, keep rocking the Thomas the Tank Engine knitted cardigan look – you are totally pulling it off. Actually, I don’t know. I had a good time as a kid – I wouldn’t want a boring adult coming and telling me what to do. Mistakes are important, and they’re a part of any good adventure.
Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?
Y’know, no one ever asks about the books that didn’t make it – the things I’ve written that will never see the light of day. It’s probably important for people to hear that Eren didn’t just burst from nowhere – it’s the end of a ten year long process. The first book I wrote was a weird Harry Potter-esque portal fantasy about ‘The Moors of Magic’, where all fictional animals are secretly living, and a girl – Adele – who finds out her parents aren’t dead (gasp!) but actually went there. It was … not good. I think my younger sister actually still has a copy. The day will come when she uses it to blackmail me.
And now I think I shall have to find your sister and become her new BFF. Thanks for dropping in today, Simon, and congratulations on your debut!
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by Heidi Schulz | Sep 11, 2014 | In the Middle Interviews, Other Books and Reading
This week, we are in the middle with Edith Cohn and her wonderful debut, Spirit’s Key:
By now, twelve-year-old Spirit Holden should have inherited the family gift: the ability to see the future. But when she holds a house key in her hand like her dad does to read its owner’s destiny, she can’t see anything. Maybe it’s because she can’t get over the loss of her beloved dog, Sky, who died mysteriously. Sky was Spirit’s loyal companion, one of the wild dogs that the local islanders believe possess dangerous spirits. As more dogs start dying and people become sick, too, almost everyone is convinced that these dogs and their spirits are to blame—except for Spirit. Then Sky’s ghost appears, and Spirit is shaken. But his help may be the key to unlocking her new power and finding the cause of the mysterious illness before it’s too late.
Spirit’s Key is available through Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and at bookstores near you.
Q&A with Edith
What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?
I think most writers favor a main character of a certain age when they sit down to write. For me that age is somewhere around twelve. In my first college creative writing class, I wrote a short story about a ten year old kid, and my teacher suggested I submit it for a local magazine contest. I won 2nd place! That was an early clue I was meant to write middle grade novels.
If you had a time machine and could visit middle-grade you, what would you tell her?
This might be a strange answer, but when I was a kid, we had dogs. I have terrible guilt, because dogs in my family were treated something like farm animals. They stayed outside always and never got walked. Our poor dog was all alone, too, because we only had one dog at a time. As kids, we played with the dog only when the whim struck. So, I would tell ignorant kid me that dogs are pack animals. They need to be a part of the family and have companionship. They also need walks–a chance to see the world, people, and other dogs–a chance to sniff new smells. A yard with a fence is just a giant kennel, and that’s not a nice enough life for your best friend.
In hindsight I think this is the seed for the animal rights theme in my book. I wrote about an island of people who discriminate against dogs. A friend of mine pointed out that it’s called speciecism. Oh, if I had a nickel for the things I didn’t know. 😉
Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?
Who is your favorite character in SPIRIT’S KEY?
I have to pick three. I’m going to pick one adult character, one kid character, and one animal character. My favorite adult character is Mrs. Borse, who is Spirit’s agoraphobic fur-wearing, gun-totting, eagle-trapping neighbor. She came into my head fully formed. My favorite kid character is Spirit’s friend Nector who wants to fly airplanes and whose family is haunted by hurricanes. He’s my favorite because I had to work so hard to birth him. I didn’t know who he was for a long time. He reminds me that if I work hard, I can turn a flat character into a rounder one. As much as I love Spirit’s dog Sky, my favorite animal character is actually the eagle that Mrs. Borse traps. Once the eagle is set free, she brings Spirit notes from her ancestors which is a lot of fun! This is something my editor helped me expand on after I sold the book, and I’m grateful the eagle gets more screen time (or page time, as it were).
Those are all such great characters! Thanks for sharing them with us, and thanks for dropping it. Congratulations on your debut!
 Edith Cohn was born and raised in North Carolina where she grew up exploring the unique beaches of the Outer Banks. She currently lives in the coyote-filled hills of Los Angeles with her husband and her dog. All of these things provided inspiration for her debut middle grade novel, SPIRIT’S KEY, a mystery about a girl and her ghost dog coming in September from FSG/Macmillan.
Connect with Edith on EdithCohn.com, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. |
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