Follow the Brick Road

Chautauqua is a magical place. When I arrived, I felt as though I'd somehow sailed over the rainbow and landed smack in the middle of Oz. On my first day there, I got lost. I asked for directions and was told, "follow the brick road". I grinned. I almost really was in Oz. An Oz for artists and free thinkers of all kinds -- musicians, artists, singers, dancers. And yes, even aspiring writers of children's books. Some people still think writing for children is "cute". Not a serious business at all. But not the Highlights people. And certainly not the 100 or so people who attended the Chautauqua workshops.

They ranged in age from their 20s to their 70s and came from all areas of the country, including Alasa. Some were writing picture books, some fantasy, historical fiction, mysteries, nonfiction, biographies or poetry. All were there to hone their craft and learn more about the long brick road to publication.

We were well fed, well educated, well coached and well entertained. I stayed at the historic Atheneuem Hotel looking out on Lake Chautauqua. With the second oldest elevator still in operation, vaulted ceilings, tall windows and long porches crowded with rocking chairs and wicker furniture, the hotel held an irresistible charm.

Not all of us stayed at the Atheneuem. One member of our group stayed at another hotel where, she claimed, she couldn't get any rest because her bed kept shaking. When she looked under and around the bed, she couldn't find any reason for the shaking. When she complained and asked the management for another room, they told her they'd never had anybody else make that complaint and that the hotel was full. Not only did her bed shake, but her clock radio flashed on and off periodically and sometimes she detected a growling noise. Even though she didn't really believe in ghosts, I think she finally believed some supernatural force was to blame. Finally, desperate for rest, she addressed the "ghost" - or whatever it was. She told it she was tired and needed to get some sleep so it could have one half the bed if she could have the other. Miraculously, the shaking stopped. This all sounds far fetched, I know, but the woman was totally creeped out about her close encounter with, ahh, whatever it was. Maybe she could weave her experience into picture book?

Anyhow, besides the ghost, we had sessions with authors Jerry and Eileen Spinelli, Mary Casanova, Rich Wallace, Neil Waldman, Sally Walker, Suzanne Bloom, editors Randi Rivers (Charlesbridge) and Traci Gates(Viking), Carolyn Yoder, Judy Burke and Patricia Lee Gauch (Philomel). We attended many different workshops. I couldn't go to all of them, but I did attend workshops on point of view, setting, characterization, beginnings and endings, writing historical fiction, writing fantasy, creating illustrations (with ill. Floyd Cooper), mining your memories and writing poetry, to name some.

The key note addresses at the beginning of each day were inspiring. Linda Sue Park gave the funniest speech and, for me, Peter Jacobi the most inspiring speech. They were all wonderful, however, and if I could go back to Chautauqua there'd still be plenty for me to see and do without getting bored.

In the photos above are a few of the scenes from Chautauqua They don't begin to do it justice. My mentor was Judy Burke, Managing editor of Highlights, in the third photograph.

Summer Daise

Lately we've had mostly rainy weather, as in the lower photograph, or weather that just looked like it was going to rain any minute only it went on that way day after day. The dewpoint has been in mid 60s - just like the tropics. For the first time in a week, the sun finally popped out and my gloriosa daisies grinned from petal to petal.

I have to admit, my flowers have been spectacular this year. First the daffodils and the tulips, then the peonies with their big showy blooms of pink and white, then my shasta daisies and now my gloriosas. Actually, I have some interesting mixes of yellow daisies. For a while, I had yellow coneflowers. They cross-pollinated with the gloriosa daisies and some black-eyed susans I used to have before some high tides did them in. A geneticist could have a field day in my garden. As for me, I'm just content to enjoy their sunny colors as I wait for my hydrangeas to rich their peak.

100 Books You Should Read Before You Turn 13

Okay, here's MY list. I'm sure it doesn't include all your favorites but I hope it includes a few of them at least. This is the bibliography I passed out to my 4th-6th graders before summer vacation.

100 Books You Should Read Before You Turn 13
(These are novels for grades 3-6)

Aiken, Joan. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
Alexander, Lloyd. The Black Cauldron.
Alexander, Lloyd. The Cat Who Wished To Be a Man.
Appelt, Catherine. The Underneath.
Avi. Crispin and the Cross of Lead.
Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting.
Banks, Lynne Reid. The Indian in the Cupboard.
Baum, Frank. The Wizard of Oz.
Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks.
Blume, Judy. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.
Boston, Lucy. The Children of Green Knowe.
Brittain, Bill. The Wish Giver.
Brown, Susan Taylor. Hugging the Rock.
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden.
Byars, Betsy. The Pinballs.
Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts.
Choldenko, Gennifer. Notes From a Liar and her Dog.
Cleary, Beverly. Dear Mr. Henshaw.
Cleary, Beverly. Ralph S. Mouse.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona Quimby, Age 8.
Cohen, Barbara. Thank You, Jackie Robinson.
Cooper, Susan. The Dark Is Rising.
Creech, Sharon. Love That Dog.
Creech, Sharon. Walk Two Moons.
Creech, Sharon. The Wanderer.
Curtis, Christopher Paul Bud, Not Buddy.
Cushman, Karen. Catherine, Called Birdy.
Cushman, Karen. The Midwife’s Apprentice.
Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Dahl, Roald. The BFG.
DeFelice, Cynthia. Weasel.
DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn Dixie.
DiCamillo, Kate. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.
DiCamillo, Kate. Tale of Despereux.
Estes, Eleanor. The Hundred Dresses.
Farley, Walter. The Black Stallion.
Fitzgerald, John. The Great Brain.
Fitzhugh, Louise. Harriet the Spy.
Fleischman, Paul. The Half-a-Moon Inn.
Fleischman, Syd. The Whipping Boy.
Fox, Paula. How Many Miles To Babylon?
Fox, Paula. The One-Eyed Cat.
Fox, Paula. The Slave Dancer.
Funke, Cornelia. Inkheart.
Gantos, Jack. Joey Pigza Loses Control.
Gantos, Jack. Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key.
Gardiner, John. The Stone Fox.
George, Jean. My Side of the Mountain.
Hale, Shannon. The Princess Academy.
Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust.
Holman, Felice. Slake’s Limbo.
Holt, Kimberly Willis. My Louisiana Sky.
Hughes, Ted. The Iron Giant.
Hurwitz, Johanna. Class Clown.
Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth.
Konigsburg, E.L. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E.
Frankweiler.
L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time.
Levine, Gail Carson. Ella Enchanted.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
Lord, Bette. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
Lord, Cynthia. Rules.
Lowry, Lois. Autumn Street.
Lowry, Lois. The Giver.
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars.
Naylor, Phyllis. Shiloh.
Lupica, Mike. Heat.
MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah Plain and Tall.
McKinley, Robin. Beauty
Mongomery, Lucy Maud. Anne of Green Gables.
Norton, Mary. The Borrowers.
O’Brien, Robert. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
O’Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Paterson, Katherine. A Bridge To Terabithia.
Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins.
Paulsen, Gary. Harris and Me.
Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet.
Paulsen, Gary. Nightjohn.
Pinkwater, Daniel. Fat Men From Space.
Raskin, Ellen. The Westing Game.
Rawls, Wilson. Where the Red Fern Grows.
Robinson, Barbara. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief.
Rylant, Cynthia. A Blue-Eyed Daisy.
Sachar, Louis. Holes.
Selznick, David. The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
Sewall, Anna. Black Beauty.
Spinelli, Jerry. Crash.
Spinelli, Jerry. Wringer.
Taylor, Sydney. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Taylor, Theodore. The Cay.
Travers, Mary. Mary Poppins.
Urban, Linda. A Crooked Kind of Perfect.
White, E.B. Charlotte’s Web.
White, E.B. Stuart Little.
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. By the Shores of Silver Lake.
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House on the Prairie.
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. The Long Winter.
Williams, Marjorie. The Velveteen Rabbit.
Wolff, Virginia Euwer. Bat 6.

Things That Break

Things break. Things with springs, gears, wheels, sprockets. Usually they break one at a time with months - perhaps years - in between. But lately, the small appliances that make our life easier have been breaking in rapid succession. First it was the garage door opener. How did we ever get into the garage without it? The door is heavy and groans in protest every time we pull at the handle. If it's raining, we get wet. It could be worse, though. It could be January with blowing and drifting snow.

Next the washing machine broke. This posed a bigger problem. I called the appliance repairman. It will be a few days, he told us. Ugh. The laundry piled up. And up. Should I go to the laundromat? I wondered. No, better to wait. Laundromats are almost as depressing as bus stations.

Then the weed whacker broke. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal -- and it isn't, really. I just have trouble getting to my garden. The tall grasses spread into my flower beds. Everything looks messy. Maybe I should buy an old fashioned pair of clippers. They never break.

Now our air conditioner is on the fritz. We had to turn it off. It will be a while before the repairman can get here and I am not happy. Air conditioner repairmen are a hot commodity during the summertime. And Long Island is warm and humid. Doors and drawers swell and nothing closes properly. Another inconvenience.

It's all right, though. Eventually these appliances will be repaired and life will go on.

Some things are harder to fix. My son's college roommate, Chrispy (actually Chris P.), woke up a few months ago with a pain in his neck. For a while he ignored it, but the pain grew worse. He didn't have a job and, without a job, he didn't have insurance. He decided he should wait to see the doctor. So, he got a job and the day his insurance kicked in, he woke up and couldn't move his neck at all.

They took him to St. Luke's in New York and discovered he had a tumor on his c1 vertebra. A sensitive spot. Worse, it was inside his spine. If they operated, he risked being paralyzed for the rest of his life. Or dying. If they didn't operate, he faced the same odds. The doctors operated but had to remove his c1 vertebra and place a rod in his spine. He can't turn his neck anymore. Today Sean called him to see how he was doing. The doctors performed a biopsy. Chrispy has bone cancer. Bone cancer! This isn't suppose to happen. He's only 22. How can this be? He'll need radiation and we're not sure what else. At 22, people are in the prime of their life. No, it's so not fair!

All those little gizmos that make our lives easier are squat next to a human life. We can fix the air conditioner and the washing machine. We can replace the garage door opener and the weed whacker. Human lives are harder, though. We just hope and pray Chrispy will pull through this.

The Last Day, Hooray!

Today was my last day of work. As much as I love my students, teaching and the library, I do feel the need for a break. This school year seemed interminable and, with temperatures climbing into the 80s and 90s, it was simply too hot for students to concentrate on learning much longer - at least not in a cramped, stuffy classroom.

As usual, I passed out a bibliography of books for summer reading, but this time I retitled it "100 Books You Should Read Before You Turn 13". I told my fifth graders they were lucky. Unlike the sixth graders, who only had two years to read all the books on the list, they had three whole years. If they got started right away, they might have time to finish all of them. The first thing the kids did was to run through the bibliography and check off all the titles they'd already read. Most of them had read somewhere between five to ten of the books. Today, a girl named Kayla called me as she leaving for summer vacation. "Mrs. Michel, I'm almost done with The Whipping Boy. Next I'm going to read The Secret Garden."

I gave her the thumbs up and smiled. "Happy vacation!" I called.

Now for two months of rest. Oh, and a big stack of books to make my way through.

SCBWI Conference

Last Saturday I drove up to Poughkeepsie to attend the SCBWI Eastern NY Conference. I'd been to the Long Island SCBWI conference and wanted to try something different. Besides, the upstate conference offered manuscript critiques. The LI conference only offers first page criitques and then only a select few.

The keynote speaker was 1982 Newbery winner, Nancy Willard. She proved to be not only an amazing writer, but an inspirational speaker and captivating storyteller. Like me, she was born and raised in Michigan and has an avid interest in fairy tales, but man, if only I could write like her! I could have listened to her speak for another hour or two, if she'd been so inclined. If you haven't read her book, The Left-handed Story, I recommend it. The book is an eclectic collection of essays on the writer's craft, family stories, failures, successes, muses and the mundane and the mystical.

I also listened to part of author Colleen Paratore's talk on her journey to becoming a successful writer. She didn't talk about good luck so much as hard work, perseverance and butt in chair time. I didn't get to hear all of her talk because I stopped by to listen to agent Tina Wexler speak. She was interesting but not nearly as fascinating as Colleen and I wish I'd hung around to listen to everything she had to say.

Is it just me, or do nearly all these editors and agents look they're fresh out of college?

Alexandra Penfold, associate editor at Paula Wiseman Books (imprint of Simon & Schuster) spoke about what she looks for in a manuscript. She asks herself a couple of questions as she's reading through a submission. Is there an audience for this book? Does the story surprise me? Take me to places I'd like to go? Am I moved by the story? Does the action move at a good pace? Build tension? Is the character somebody I care about?

Tina Wexler, who works for ICM, spoke about the kind of stories she likes. She wants a book that makes her cry, makes her feel, think and not want to put it down. She likes books that take a risk, adventure stories, mysteries, coming of age stories and the quirky. She represents mostly middle grade and YA authors. I'm always mystified by the word "quirky".

Kim Griswell, editor at Highlights Magazine, discussed how to create a sense of place. She suggested we make use of our five senses as we write and to avail ourself to local newspapers, Chambers of Commerce, library archives, etc. to find out more about any particular place.

So went the conference. It's always good to connect with other writers in person instead of through message boards -- to see the faces behind the names. I was not disappointed.

How Do You Beat the Heat?

Lately we've been caught in the sticky web of a horrible heat wave. For several days running, the heat index has hovered in the upper 90s to 100s. UGH! And of course school is still in session. On Monday and Tuesday, the classes on the second floor of the school (where the temperature was above 100 degrees) were moved to the ground floor where it was only 98 degrees. I don't even want to venture to say what the temperature was in the kitchen and the nice ladies who work there didn't to talk about it much. Let's just say they weren't smiling.

The library is one of only two rooms in the school that is air conditioned (the office is the other). Our principal decided I needed to share my little oasis with the rest of the students. So, for several days running the library became "Camp Library". At one point, a fifth grade class, a kindergarten, a special ed., an ESL class and some speech students camped out around the library trying to focus on the task of learning. By afternoon, nearly everybody had given up and sat slumped in their seats watching James and the Giant Peach. That sad old air conditioner had about had it, too (it seemed to be wheezing) as had the rest of us. I didn't mind sharing the library, once I decided I just couldn't teach my usual classes there. It's sure been a weird week.

If administrators want us to teach till the end of June, they should give some serious thought to installing air conditioners in the classes. Who can learn or even think when their brain feels as though it's 'bout ready to melt?