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So many hardcovers have just crossed over to paperback that I thought it would be great to share some of the best. At about half the price of hardcovers, paperbacks are a bargain and they're also easier to hold up in bed!
Turtle in Paradise, Jennifer L. Holm, Random House, $6.99, ages 8 and up, 208 pages. While staying with her rag-tag cousins in Key West, 11-year-old Turtle comes out of her shell and looks at the world in new and unexpected ways, in this 2011 Newbery Honor winner.
The Storm in the Barn, by Matt Phelan, Candlewick, $14.99, ages 10 and up, 208 pages. Eleven-year-old Jack saves his family farm from ruin when he confronts the Storm King and makes him let go of the rain, in this wonderful graphic novel set in the Dust Bowl era of 1930s.
The Crowfield Curse, by Pat Walsh, The Chicken House, ages 11-13, 352 pages. A 14-year-old servant boy discovers a terrible curse that could ruin his abbey and doom a stricken man to an eternity of torment, in this atmospheric debut. Now out in hardback, the sequel The Crowfield Demon.
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By: Cuppa Jolie,
on 8/7/2011
Blog: The Official SCBWI 10th Annual New York Conference Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: turtle in paradise, Golden Kite Award, jennifer holm, Add a tag
Jennifer Holm is the 2011 Golden Kite Award recipient for TURTLE in PARADISE.
Jennifer opens with, "I like to revise. It's kind of an occupational hazard, if you know what I mean." Then she thanks the entire room and tells us she has a lot of thank you notes to write.
She could hardly believe she had won this award.
Jennifer was sick when she learned she won and said, "That call was better than any chicken soup."
TURTLE IN PARADISE wasn't an easy book to write, she tells us.
"Don't give up. Stopping counting after you hit the 16th draft. Save frequently. Hire a babysitter so you have time to write," she told the room and then shared that this room of people is here for us (all of us). "We are your people."
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By: Heather Hedin Singh,
on 1/18/2011
Blog: StorySleuths (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Newbery, One Crazy Summer, Turtle in Paradise, Add a tag
Blog: StorySleuths (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Newbery, One Crazy Summer, Turtle in Paradise, Add a tag
Congratulations to all the winners of the 2011 Newbery Awards! We at StorySleuths were so pleased that two of our 2010 focus books received Newbery Honors: Jennifer Holm's Turtle in Paradise and Rita Williams Garcia's One Crazy Summer.
Both books feature fabulous characters, historical settings, and exciting plots. To celebrate the Newbery Honor awards, we have consolidated all of our postings, including author interviews, on both books here. We invite you to read our files for evidence of what makes Turtle in Paradise and One Crazy Summer such distinguished books.
Turtle in Paradise
- Creating Memorable Character Names
- Narrative Voice
- The Narrative Hook
- Chapter Beginnings
- A Word from Jennifer Holm
- Rooting for a Prickly Character
One Crazy Summer- Writing from Your Own Experience
- Dialogue
- Bringing History to Story
- The Ticking Clock
- Antagonist
- Interview with Rita Williams-Garcia
- Guest Post: Attending to Your Audience (Monica Edinger)
(c) 2009-2010 StorySleuths
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By: Allyson Valentine Schrier,
on 9/22/2010
Blog: StorySleuths (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Revision, Turtle in Paradise, Add a tag
Blog: StorySleuths (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Revision, Turtle in Paradise, Add a tag
We all know that even the most accomplished authors don’t always get it right the first time. We asked Jennifer Holm if she would be willing to share with us a sample of something she revised--sort of a before and after shot from her wonderful novel Turtle in Paradise. We were expecting some random paragraph from deep within the novel, and look what we got! Jennifer shared with us an early stab at the book’s opening paragraph. How cool is that?
Ladies and gentlemen, here for your viewing pleasure, the birth of an opening paragraph!
Jennifer Holm:
So, Turtle In Paradise is a book I worked on, literally, for years. I started it back in 2005. I can’t even find some of my really early drafts because the original laptop I wrote them on was fried when my husband spilled a cup of coffee on the keyboard. (Yes, we are still married.)
I should point out that I am a somewhat strange writer in that I love revising. (Probably to a fault if you ask my editor.) And Turtle went through a lot of revisions.
This is the opening scene from an early draft I found that was written in July 2006. At the time, the working title of the book was Turtle and the Conchs.
DRAFT July 2006
I’ve got my eyes closed. I’m pretending to be asleep.
Not that it stops Uncle Lyle from talking. Smokey’s been meowing the whole time, and even she can’t get a word in edgewise.
Uncle Lyle likes to talk. And talk. And he’s got an opinion on everything. He talks about how folks in the Dust Bowl wouldn’t be having so much trouble if they’d just move near some water. He talks about how he doesn’t trust President Roosevelt to get us out of this depression and that if you give someone money for not working why would they ever bother to get a job? But mostly he talks about how he can’t wait to get to Key West so he can hurry up and get back home to New Jersey.
Looking back, the problem with this version was that it was more about Uncle Lyle than Turtle. I loved the character of Lyle (let’s just say I’ve known a few Lyle-types in my life) and he really took over the early first drafts of chapter one. This ended up being more of a hindrance because Lyle was pretty tangential to the action in the book.
Final version:
Everyone thinks children are sweet as Necco Wafers, but I’ve lived long enough to know the truth: kids are rotten1 Comments on A WORD FROM THIS MONTH'S AUTHOR: Jennifer Holm, last added: 9/22/2010Display Comments Add a Comment
By: Heather Hedin Singh,
on 9/11/2010
Blog: StorySleuths (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Voice, Turtle in Paradise, Add a tag
Blog: StorySleuths (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Voice, Turtle in Paradise, Add a tag
Dear Sleuths,
How many times have you been at a writer’s conference where an editor says, “I’m looking for books with voice”? The editor might use the phrase distinctive narrative voice or authentic voice. Then, when pressed to explain what distinctive narrative voice is, the editor sheepishly shrugs and says, “It’s hard to explain, but I know it when I see it.”
Sometimes, it feels like there is an entire sense of secrecy built up around the concept of voice. You hear about it all the time, but no one seems to agree on what it is or how to get it. Here is a quotation I found in one of my writing books:
A strong, distinctive, authoritative writing voice is something most fiction writers want—and something no editor or teacher can impart. (p. 128, Self-editing for Fiction Writers)
Well, when I read Jennifer Holm’s book Turtle in Paradise, I thought to myself, “Here is a clear example of a distinctive and authentic narrative voice. I see it!” But what is that voice? How did Holms create it? Turns out, those editors weren’t lying. It is hard to explain.
Let’s start with a description of voice (note, I did not use the word definition). Author K. L. Going compares narrative voice to people’s actual voices:
Our word choices and speech patterns reveal who we are, where we’re from, and what we’re thinking…. The same is true for narrative voice. Your narrator can be revealed by what he chooses to say and how he says it. (p. 113, Writing and Selling the YA Novel)
A way of seeing
Eleven-year-old Turtle, who narrates the story, “sees things for what they are,” and she has no qualms speaking her mind. Take this commentary at the beginning of chapter twelve:
Everyone’s always saying that hard times bring out the best in people, but as far as I can tell, the only thing that hard times brings out is plain meanness. I left my shoes outside on the front porch last night, and some rotten kid stole them (p. 113).
She has her own perspective on the world, one that’s informed by her experiences, and she has no problem disagreeing with what “everyone says.”
Favorite phrases
The example above includes a couple of Turtle’s favorite phrases of speech, notably “as far as I can tell” and “rotten kids.” She also likes to say “it’s a fact,” “from where I’m sitting,” and “in my opinion.” Turtle has lots of opinions, and she shares them with authority and confidence. Returning to G
1 Comments on NARRATIVE VOICE: Turtle in Paradise (Post #2), last added: 9/12/2010
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Great post! Thanks for sharing. I'm elbow deep in revisions . . . this is encouraging.