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The blog of Barbara O'Connor, author of children's books, including HOW TO STEAL A DOG (Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Frances Foster Books) Ages 8-12
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AUDACITY JONES TO THE RESCUE
by
I love this one so much.
Why, you might ask?
Well, first of all, it's KIRBY LARSON, y'all.
I started circling sentences I loved and before long the whole dang book was circled.
For instance, "Miss Maisie's barley-water breath traveled the length of the scarred mahogany table arriving well before her reprimand."
"Miss Maisie's smile wobbled in her pasty face."
"He felt the wings of freedom sprouting at his shoulders."
And it's funny.
"I don't like danger," said Bimmy. "It's too dangerous."
"Her sit-upon especially ached."
The descriptive details are luscious.
"...the scent of the desert about him."
"...the gray flannel afternoon sky.."
The word choices are perfection.
Squinched
Quailed
Gustatory
Salubrious
Olfactory conundrum
It's adventurous
and mysterious
and a darn good yarn.
AND
There's a character named Mrs. O'Connor who was named after me! (But that in no way influenced my opinion of this lovely book - but might have made me love Kirby Larson a SQUINCH more than I did before, if that's possible.)
So run,
Don't walk,
To your nearest indie bookstore
For this one.
Just had the BEST school visit I've had in a long time.
Thank you, Lamar County Elementary School in Barnesville, Georgia, for making my visit so special.
(And thank you, Mrs. James, for making it possible.)
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| They gave me the BEST gift basket. |
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| With principal, Dr. Scandrett |
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| Being interviewed. Great job, guys! |
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| With the BEST library media specialists, Claudia Bryan and Betty Smith. |
Thank you, Lamar County Elementary School!!
Kids always ask me what my favorite book is (that I've written).
I used to say I don't have a favorite.
But that's a lie.
I do.
So now I tell kids the truth.
My favorite book is GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE.
And guess what?
It's out in paperback officially on August 25!
WOO
HOO
And here's the new cover
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| Art by Tad Carpenter |
I love my critique group!
How lucky I am that I've been a part of this amazing group for....
.....TWENTY-FIVE years!!!
We've been through life's ups and downs...
...publishing/writing/illustrating ups and downs...
We've laughed and cried and offered sage advice and warm hugs and honest words and kind looks and finger wags and encouraging words and all those things one needs in life.
We've been serious and silly and sad together.
They let me bring my timer (tick tick tick) and loved me, the gentle dictator, anyway.
Yesterday was my last (sniff, sniff) meeting with them before my move.
They gave me a gift certificate to White Flower Farm, so I can "enjoy these new blossoms as a token of our love and appreciation." (Waaaaah)
They gave me these great garden ornaments:
And this adorable dog:
And this amazing framed photo that I will cherish forever (On the background is printed all of the books we have critiqued together. So cool!)
I feel so blessed.
Thank you, friends.
Tick Tick Tick
So, I've been pretty absent from this blog lately.
But there's been a lot going on.
Because, well.....this....
After 26 years in New England, my husband and I are heading back to my beloved South....right there at the edge of the Smoky Mountains, my heart's home.
Specifically, to Asheville, North Carolina...one of the most beautiful and coolest places ever.
So happy.
But.....
Sigh....
So hard to say goodbye to things and places and PEOPLE I love dearly.
Starting with my house.
My son grew up here.
We have 26 years worth of amazing memories.
My husband's hippie carpenter friend came out from Arizona to help us build our screened porch:
Where we spent so many magical summer nights:
We built a swimming pool:
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| My son on the right |
Which brought us lots of happy times:
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| With my dearest pal, Gucci, who shared almost daily walks and talks with me. (And sewed for me and picked me up when I wrecked my cars and was always there for me and on and on and on. BFFs forever.) |
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| Ruby |
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| In the cement beside the pool |
There is still chewed woodwork in our house caused by puppies who grew into gray-faced old dogs.
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| Murphy, the first puppy we brought to this house. (She lived to be 14) Son on the left. |
My son brought a chestnut home from the cemetery beside our church when he was very small. It was in a paper cup. We said he could plant it anywhere he wanted to, never dreaming it would become this beauty:
This is the gate between my yard and my neighbor's, who is also the dearest of friends one could ever want. That friend who GETS me. On countless summer nights, she came through that gate to dance to disco music with me under the moonlight or listen to owls in the Adirondack chairs in the yard (snuggled together under a quilt like little girls instead of grown women), or laugh and cry and gossip on the porch. (Because that's what you do with your besties.) Pool Girl, you know I love you.
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| A gift she gave me. Perfect |
So, yeah, lots of memories in that house I'll miss my gardens.
I'll miss my summer writing office:
So on this Things I Love Thursday, I'm loving my house. And loving my dear, dear friends here, including:
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| Janet Zade (left), so wise and honest and punctual (three of the greatest traits of a friend, I think.) How lucky am I? Thank you, Janet. |
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| My writers' group (There is no greater treasure for a writer than a group like this. We've been up, down, and all around together.) |
BUT
I'm looking forward to making new friends
and building memories in a new house
in a new place.
Turning the page.
New chapter.So, by the way, school teachers and librarians of the Carolinas, I'll be ready to come to YOUR school this fall.
And, now, I'll close with a song that makes me cryEverySingleTime
I love my son's "writing" when he was 3 or 4 years old.
I used to write at the kitchen table.
He would sit at the table and "write," too!
I'm so lucky to have readers who write wonderful reviews like this!!!
My favorite parts:
"I'm begging you to read it."
"It's addictive. Pick it up, never put it down."
Thanks so much for this wonderful review!!!
And the winner of the classroom set (25) of
The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis
(chosen via www.random.org)
is
Tanya Hudson
of
Chase Street Elementary School
in Athens, Georgia.
Congratulations, Tanya!
I absolutely love this quote:
If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.
—Elmore Leonard
Here's a short video of students from Gibson-Neill Memorial Elementary School in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.
--Stephen King
Because I'm so happy that spring is finally here....
....and the snow is finally gone....
.... I'm going to celebrate.
How?
I'm giving away books.
Yep.
Just givin' 'em away.
To whom?
Teachers and school librarians, that's who.
How many?
Twenty-five.
What?
TWENTY-FIVE.
That's right.
I'm giving away a classroom set - 25 hardcover copies - of
THE SMALL ADVENTURE OF POPEYE AND ELVIS
All you have to do is leave the following in the comments section of this blog:
1. Your name
2. Your school name
3. Your email address
That's it!
The giveaway starts:
Now! (April 15)
The giveaway ends:
April 22 (midnight)
(Please note: I'll ship the books anywhere in the U.S. No international shipments. Sorry.)
I recently spent three days visiting schools in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
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| To get there, I had to fly on an itty bitty little plane like this, that kind of freaked me out. |
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| But I survived. Phew! |
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| My first stop was Gibson-Neill Memorial Elementary, where they know that it's the little things that count. A reserved parking spot! (I love all those different-colored letters.) |
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| I was greeted by Alex and Quinn. A nice welcome! |
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| The students had decorated the gym. Love this greeting sign. |
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| Students had made book trailers and illustrated booklets. |
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| Such great pictures of dogs! |
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| More dogs |
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| More drawings and trailers |
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| More drawings! The school was so festive. |
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| And more drawings.... |
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| I loved seeing these booklets the students made for How to Steal a Dog. |
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| Some students had made these cool scenes from clay, on display in the library. |
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| More decorations in the gym |
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| Speaking to Gibson-Neill Memorial students |
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| Reading to the students |
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| This is a spring-time recess in Canada! Brrrrr |
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| Students being interviewed by the local radio station (Canadian Broadcast). She asked them great questions about my books (and they gave great answers). |
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| Liam, Boyd, Aiden and Conor had lunch with me and asked some great questions. |
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| Next stop was Barker's Point Elementary, where I was greeted by this great sign. |
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| Hannah and Amelia greeted me with this great sign. |
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| (l to r) The amazing Sherry Norton-Graham, who made this trip possible and treated me like a queen (Thanks for everything, Sherry!), me, and Barker's Point principal Jeanne Wood) |
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| Next stop was Park Street Elementary, where I had the pleasure of having lunch with these super nice students. We practiced saying our names in Pig Latin. |
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| And more Park Street students. |
Heading to Canada to visit some schools
I adored my editor Frances Foster for many reasons. Her humor, her smarts, her genteel manner. She also had a lovely way with words...always eloquent, tactful, and respectful.
In my ongoing quest to purge my office of STUFF, I came across some correspondence that showcased her way with words perfectly.
Back in 2000 (FIFTEEN YEARS AGO!!! How can that be?),
Frances received a letter from an elementary school media specialist about the use of the word "hell" in my book Me and Rupert Goody.
It reads, in part:
I am faced with a real problem. Several times in the book, the character of Uncle Beau uses language that parents of elementary age children would find offensive. More and more, I am finding that this is an issue with well-written books for children this age. If the inclusion of such language were an integral part of the story, that would be at least justifiable. In this book, it is gratuitous and could easily have been deleted.
What will I do with the book? I cannot recommend it to students at my schools. The language is unacceptable - and it occurs only a few times! I am passing the book on to the middle school where students - and their parents - might not be offended. I regret having to do this as the story is appropriate for fourth and fifth graders.
What can you do? I would suggest that, when you edit books in the future, you become aware of such gratuitous language and suggest to authors that they, too, become sensitive to the inclusion of such language. No one is opposed to freedom of expression but let us be more sensitive to what language is necessary and what is not.Frances responded in the most perfect way. Her letter reads, in part:I can certainly appreciate the sensitivity of your position as a media specialist. We may, however, disagree on whether or not certain language is integral to a story. I don't think it's so easy to separate language from characterization, and in my opinion, there is nothing gratuitous in O'Connor's depiction of Uncle Beau. His every word and gesture make him totally believable. I suppose the occasional "hell" could have been edited out, but it seemed so utterly true to Uncle Beau's voice and character.Are you aware that School Library Journal gave Me and Rupert Goody a starred review and a Best Book of the Year ranking? It was also named an ALA Notable Children's Book. Those recommendations, of course may not carry any weight with parents, but they do suggest that not everyone has found the language unacceptable to fourth and fifth grade audiences. I couldn't have said it better myself.P.S. If it had been an e-book, the librarian could have used this Clean Reader App (eye-yi-yi) .
Stop pretending to be a grown-up.
Because I know better.
You are a teenager.
You MUST be.
Because you just NAIL the teen voice in your amazing new book.
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| Read Between the Lines |
I mean, no grown-up I know writes:
"Simon!" I yell, just to harsh his mellow.
or can create such achingly realitic teen characters...
....like Sapphie...
Whatyoulookinat
She said it loud and tough. Fast. Like the four words were one.
Whatyoulookinat
I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK.
Jo Knowles and I go way back.
We knew each other online and then at a conference somewhere (they all moosh together for me)....
she was going down the escalator...
...and I was going up the escalator.
We recognized each other and smiled and waved and that was the best we could do.
But then at an NCTE conference in 2009 we finally got to meet properly. (Or maybe it was the same conference. They all moosh together.)
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| Jo Knowles (right) and me |
THEN in 2011, we were on a panel together at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA.
We corresponded by email about our presentations and we each confessed that we were freaking out a little bit.
Ever since then, we have affectionately referred to ourselves as the Freak Sisters.
And, by the way, we survived that presentation.
No freak-out necessary.
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| [Note: I blurred her signature because I don't like to post signatures online.] |
Read Between the Lines is AMAZING.
I loved it SO much.
From the flap copy:
The voices of seemingly ordinary teenagers speak loud and clear of the complex dance that is life in a small town. Over the course of a single day, these characters orbit one another in their innocent attempts to understand and be understood.
So run, don't walk, and get this book.
And, yo, Jo....high five, Freaky!!!
I've been cleaning out my office, purging old, useless STUFF.
Every now and then, I come across a long-forgotten nugget.
For instance, yesterday I found a letter I received from the Italian
publisher of How to Steal a Dog, outlining the changes they were making when translating the text from English to Italian.Here are some of the more interesting ones:We changed the following Mama's action because in our opinion it's not a good example for young readers:p. 63: "The bread we had in the milk crate in the trunk of the car had turned green with mold and Mama tossed it out the window." We changed to "...Mama threw it in the bin."We think it's better to eliminate all references to religion:p. 138: We eliminated "My other car's a broom. Honk if you love Jesus." [note: That was a bumper sticker.]In our books, we normally try to not refer to smoking and beer. [editorial comment from me: Um, I've BEEN to Italy. No smoking or beer? Maybe I went to the wrong Italy.]p. 31: "The man who had been working on his car was sitting in a lawn chair smoking a cigarette." We changed to "...was sitting in a lawn chair drinking a soda."p. 31: We eliminated the following line: "I didn't look at the man when I passed him, but I caught a whiff of cigarette smoke."p. 45: We eliminated the following line: "Cigarette butts were scattered on the floor beneath it."p. 45: We substituted "beer bottles" with "bottles."We would like to change some words because for us they are too hard:p. 37 and 88: We eliminated the word "idiot."p. 58: We changed "dern world" to "stupid world."p. 119: "Mama would kill us," we changed to "Mama would punish us."p. 138: "I like to died when I saw" was changed to "I like to sink." [editorial comment from me: Huh?]
I love this school display from a small town in Georgia.
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| Vocabulary Words We Know. Thank you, Barbara O'Connor. |
Want to know how to host the perfect author visit?
Call 1-800-Melanie Roy
She's the amazing librarian at Hampden Meadows Elementary School in Barrington, Rhode Island.
Mrs. Roy and the awesome 4th grade teachers did the most amazing job of preparing the students for my visit.
By the time I arrived, the students had read almost all of my books, worked on some very cool projects, and were super excited about the day.
Here are some of the highlights of my visit there:  |
| They reserved a parking spot for me! Now, that might not sound like such a big deal to you folks in Florida. But, trust me, when there are mounds of snow everywhere, this is a wonderful gift. |
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| I was greeted with this thoughtful sign. |
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| Students interviewing me for the local newspaper. |
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| They have all of my books displayed throughout the library. |
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| Abby showing me her poster. |
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| Kaleigh dressed as Viola from The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester. |
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| Grey, Robby, Katherine and Julia interviewed me. |
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| The amazing Mrs. Roy |
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| Mrs. Clegg's class showing me their great posters. |
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| The posters |
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| Me! |
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| Adeline showing me her poster. |
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| Mrs. Mitchell's class showing me their books. |
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| Ms. Myszak's class made these cool character trait projects. |
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| The students discussed my presentation afterwards. |
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| Rayna showing me her poster. |
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| Lindsay showing me her poster. |
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| Mrs. Bailey's class made this great chart about my books. |
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| Colin dressed as Elvis from The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis. |
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| Some more thoughts from students about my presentation. |
Thank you to students and staff of Hampden Meadows Elementary School.
I love getting letters and drawing from students.
Here are a few I recently received.
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| Notice Owen on top of the motorhome saying, "Swear swear." This one came with a letter that said, "My favorite part was when Popeye and Elvis were spitting and swearing into the ditch because when Mrs. M read that part, I burst out into laughter because I did not expect it to happen." |
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| This one was signed by Hudson, Jack and Luke and included, "P.S. Hudson is one of seven rowdy kids." |
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| And of course I love this one because she says, "It is the best book in the world!" |
I love this video of students at Pomperaug Elementary School in Southbury, CT.
They discuss what they learned from their Skype session with me. Also included are some snippets of the Skype (starting at minute mark 2:51).
Thanks to everyone who entered the World's First Humongous Middle Grade Teacher-Love Book Giveaway!
The winner is Leigh Anne Eck, a 6th grade teacher from Indiana.
We hope to make this an annual event.
Teachers, thanks for all you do.
And NOW.....
here's One Witch at a Time.
Man, that Stacy can tell a tale!
While The Brixen Witch was a clever spin on the Pied Piper story, One Witch at a Time is a clever twist on Jack and the Beanstalk.
Such a fresh idea.
Masterfully written.
To quote the jacket flap:
Magic and mayhem make for a funny, fast-paced adventure in this twisty tale of witchery times two!
Middle Grade Authors Love Teachers.
Why?
Because we know that....
So to thank you for all you do to help spread the love of reading to young people, a group of middle grade authors wants to give you a Valentine's Day present:
A WHOLE BUNCH OF SIGNED BOOKS
Yes, this is the world's first super duper giant #MGAuthorsLoveTeachers book giveaway.
Wanna win SIXTEEN SIGNED BOOKS?
Just leave your name and email address in the comments here...
OR
Share or RT this post on Twitter with the hashtag #MGAuthorsLoveTeachers
That's it!
You'll be entered in the drawing.
But hurry.
The drawing will end at 11:59 p.m. on February 18.
(School librarians eligible, too, btw.)
Oh, and one more thing:
Here are the books, donated and signed by the authors (who love teachers):
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| On the Road to Mr. Mineo's by Me (Barbara O'Connor) |
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| Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson; Illustrated by Sean Quails |
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| Random Body Parts: Gross Anatomy Riddles in Verse by Leslie Bulion; Illustrated by Mike Lowery |
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| Beetle Busters: A Rogue Insect and the People Who Track It by Loree Griffin Burns; Photographed by Ellen Harasimowicz |
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| Why'd They Wear That: Fashion as the Mirror of History by Sarah Albee |
AND guess what??YA Authors Love Teachers, Too!They're having a huge giveaway, too!Go HERE to enter. A very special THANK YOU to author Lynda Mullaly Hunt for organizing this wonderful Valentine's Day Teacher Book Giveaway. P.S. Books will be mailed separately by each author. Winners will be announced on Feb. 19 on Lynda's blog.
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