For Librarians

Cover Reveal and Interview! The First Magnificent Summer

By on November 21, 2022   /   Author Interviews, books, For Librarians  

One of my most anticipated middle-grade books of 2023 is THE FIRST MAGNIFICENT SUMMER by R.L. Toalson, so I was thrilled when she agreed to an interview to celebrate the wonderful cover her book has received.

Here’s the description from Simon & Schuster:

Judy Blume meets Barbara Dee in this tender and empowering middle grade novel told in journal entries and poetry about a young writer on the verge of becoming a woman whose summer with her estranged father doesn’t turn out the way she’d hoped.

Twelve-year-old Victoria Reeves is all set for her “First Magnificent Summer with Dad,” even though it’s been more than two years since she last saw him. She’s ready to impress him with her wit, her maturity, and her smarts—at least until he shows up for the long road trip to Ohio with his new family, The Replacements, in tow.

But that’s not the only unpleasant surprise in store for Victoria. There are some smaller disappointments, like being forced to eat bologna even though it’s her least favorite food in the world. And then there’s having to sleep outside in a tent while The Replacements rest comfortably inside the family RV. But the worst thing Victoria grapples with is when she begins to suspect that part of the reason Dad always treats her as “less than” is for one simple reason: she’s female.

As Victoria captures every moment of her less than magnificent summer in her journal, she discovers that the odds are stacked against her in the contest-no-one-knows-is-a-contest: Not only does her wit begin to crumble around Dad’s multiple shaming jabs, but she gets her first period. And when Dad does the worst thing yet, she realizes she has a decision to make: will she let a man define her?

R.L. Toalson is the author of two other middle-grade novels: THE COLORS OF THE RAIN and THE WOODS, both published by the Yellow Jacket imprint of Little Bee Books. THE FIRST MAGNIFICENT SUMMER will be out from Simon & Schuster on May 30.

Samantha: Welcome to From the Mixed Up Files, R.L.! What inspired this book?

The First Magnificent Summer written by R.L. ToalsonR.L. Toalson: There is no simple answer to this question; it has several parts!

A story like this one has been sitting in the back of my mind for several years, but I was always afraid to pursue it. I had a similar experience to the one Victoria (the main character) has in the book—and it is not an easy story to tell. So I didn’t. For such a long time.

And then some questions started building in my head. Why is this the way things are? Why did I feel, as a young girl, like a man had the authority to define who I was and who I would one day be? Who else needs to hear this story?

That last question–who else needs to hear this story?–made me brave enough to pick up my pen (and it was a literal pen–I write all my stories longhand in a Yoobi composition book).

There’s a lot of me in this book. There’s a lot of what I wish I would have done and learned long before I actually did. There’s a lot of hope. And I guess that was the last step of the inspiration process: I wrote hope and love and healing into my own 12-year-old story, and out came Victoria and her journey to define herself.

Samantha: What was the most challenging part of writing it?

R.L. Toalson: Every story an author writes is different; I often feel, when I open my notebook to write, that I’m completely out of my depth for what this story requires. That was especially true for THE FIRST MAGNIFICENT SUMMER, proven by the many drafts that changed the structure of the story entirely. It started as a prose story. Then I wrote it as a novel in verse. Then I changed it back to prose. And then I experimented with journal entries. That structure stuck, because it felt right for the story. There’s still poetry and some humorous mini-essays that Victoria includes, but the main narrative is told through her own journal entries. Sometimes she breaks the fourth wall, which is fun.

It was also challenging to write in a consistently humorous way. I have experience writing humor, but mostly in essay form. Humor is really difficult to get right. You don’t want to rely on cliches and easy laughs; you want to mine for the unexpected, which takes quite a lot of work and energy. And the daily writing of humor gets a little tedious on the days you don’t feel much like laughing.

And it must be said that writing such a difficult-to-tell story, one that delved some of the depths of my own childhood story, took its toll on me emotionally. I have an amazing therapist who helped me through the tricky bits.

Lastly, I spent a lot of time and care writing the author’s note, so…even if you’re not the type who reads author’s note, read this one.

Samantha: I always read author’s notes, but will definitely be reading this one. What was the most fun part writing this story?

R.L. Toalson: I know I said the humor was one of the most challenging parts, but it was also one of the most fun parts about writing THE FIRST MAGNIFICENT SUMMER. As I’ve mentioned several times already, this is not an easy story. I felt like it needed humor to lighten places that felt heavy and that give readers important things to think about and consider. And those were some of my favorite places to write.

I also really, really love all the asides Victoria has throughout the narrative. She uses her humor and her melancholy and her personality to process through things that are happening in the narrative, and it was delightful to craft those asides. She has one called “Things I Like About Camping,” a poem comprised of multiple choice answers where she invites the reader to figure out whether (a), (b), (c) or (d) is what she likes about camping–and all of the choices are so sarcastic and grumpy, and then she has the last choice: (d) absolutely nothing. And you know that’s the right answer from all the other answers. It was so much fun to write. I hate camping, too. I empathize with Victoria. 🙂

Full jacket image for The First Magnificent Summer book written by R.L. Toalson

Samantha: Ahh, camping. And that brings us to the wonderful cover. Tell us about it.

R.L. Toalson: This cover was designed by Svetla Radioeva and is absolutely perfect and gorgeous and perfect (it deserves a repeat). Victoria is front-and-center, hiding away in a tent, with a notebook open on her lap. In the background’s tent opening, you can see her father with a little girl next to a grill and a camper, and from the two juxtaposed images you get the sense of her isolation. There are all sorts of little lovely details you’ll only notice if you look closely–like a package of Womanhood Supplies (Victoria’s name for period products) by her left foot. It’s delightful. I spent several long minutes noticing all the little details that make this cover so remarkable, and I really cannot have asked for a better representation of Victoria and her first magnificent summer.

Samantha: Yes, the details are fantastic. And I love that they included them on the whole jacket, not just the front. (Readers, check out the pic.) What else should we know about this book and you?

R.L. Toalson: As the mom of several boys, I have to mention that I don’t believe in books for girls and books for boys. Yes, this book has a female protagonist, and yes she starts her first period in the book, and it’s a big part of her story. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a book for boys, too (and don’t get me started on how if we just talked about periods more it wouldn’t be so taboo in the first place). Girls AND boys watch their parents divorce. Girls AND boys sometimes have a parent who leaves. Girls AND boys feel the hurt and confusion and instability that comes from that, and girls AND boys wonder if their parent left because of them. Girls AND boys need to know that they are magnificent just the way they are. And that’s what this book tries to communicate to its readers: Be your magnificent self.

So I hope boys won’t be afraid to read Victoria’s story, too. We all need to be reminded that we’re magnificent.

Samantha: I love that! And I can’t wait to read this MAGNIFICENT book.

Readers, check out R.L. Toalson’s other books on her website and pre-order THE FIRST MAGNIFICENT SUMMER.

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Ukraine for Middle-Grade Readers

By on November 18, 2022   /   Book Lists, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers  

Before Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, many people elsewhere knew only a little about the country. Recent nonfiction and fiction books on Ukraine for Middle-Grade readers can help them understand what Ukrainians are fighting so fiercely to defend.

Most of these books appeared in 2022, and many of their publishers will contribute sales profits to Ukrainian relief.

NONFICTION:

Ukraine is known for  the beautiful golden-domed architecture of its cities and the richness of its culture and language. It is also called “The Breadbasket of Europe” because other countries in Europe and the world depend on its abundant harvests of grain for food.

Blue Skies and Golden Fields: Celebrating Ukraine, by Ukrainian children’s author Oksana Lushchevska (Capstone Press, 2022), covers Ukraine’s  history of withstanding invasion and domination by other countries, including Russia.  Lusgchevska also aims to immerse young readers in the Ukrainian culture. There is one whole section on sunflowers, the national flower and symbol of Ukraine. She includes instructions on how to plant your own sunflower and a Ukrainian poem to recite while you water it! Ukrainian Easter eggs are world-famous, and she tells how to dye eggs with natural dyes. She’s even included a guide to learning the Ukrainian alphabet and some key phases. Bright photographs illustrate Blue Skies and Golden Fields.

More list-like  is The Great Book of Ukraine: Interesting Stories, Ukranian History & Random Facts About Ukraine, by Anatolly Drahan (Independently published, 2022). Learn here not only about Ukraine’s past, but about pop culture, folklore, food, music, religion, celebrities & symbols, and why Ukranians celebrate two different New Years.

Ukrainian is  one of the most lyrical languages in the world. Enjoy learning some of it from Ukrainian Picture Dictionary Coloring Book: Over 1500 Ukrainian Words and Phrases for Creative and Visual Learners of All Ages (Lingo Mastery 2022).

FICTION:

These four Middle-grade novels take place in other times of great conflict and invasion in Ukraine’s past. The situations the young characters must face are grim and terrifying. But these are stories of resilience, courage, and hope, the qualities most needed in war-torn Ukraine today.

The Memory Keeper of Kyiv, by Erin Litteken (Boldwood Books, 2022), takes place in the 1930s, a time known as The Holodor, The Great Starvation. Russia’s Soviet ruler, Joseph Stalin, occupied Ukraine and tried to erase its culture. The Soviets claimed all grain produced in that fertile country and starved  4 million Ukrainians to death. In The Memory Keeper of Kyiv, 16-year old Katy at first sees village neighbors disappear for resisting the Soviets. Soon she herself is engaged in the struggle for survival. Author Litteken is the granddaughter a Ukrainian refugee from World War II.

Winterkill, by Canadian/Ukrainian author Marsha Forchuck Skrypuch (Scholastic, 2022), also  takes place in the time of the Great Starvation. In this gripping story, young Nyl is struggling to stay alive. Alice, whose father has come from Canada to work for the Soviets, sees that what is happening to the people is terribly wrong. Nyl and Alice come up with a daring plan. Will they survive long enough to carry it out?

In April of 1986, the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, not far from Kyiv, melted down, poisoning the environment. In Helen Bates’ graphic novel, The Lost Child of Chernobyl (Otter Barry Books, 2021) two stubborn old ladies refuse to evacuate. Nine years later, forest wolves bring a ragged child to their door. The child has been living with the wolves in the forbidden toxic zone. Will the two be able to find his family after all this time?

In the suspenseful novel, The War Below, by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (Scholastic, 2020),  a Ukrainian boy smuggles himself out of a Nazi forced labor camp during World War II. He has to leave behind his dear friend Lida, but vows to find her again someday. IF he survives. Racing through the countryside, he struggles to evade both the Nazis and Soviet agents and finds himself in the line of fire.

MORE BOOKS ON UKRAINE FOR MIDDLE-GREAD READERS ARE COMING SOON: A NOVEL AND A WORDLESS BEAUTY

Maya and Her Friends: A Story About Tolerance and Acceptance To Support the Children of Ukraine (Studio Press, 2023) takes place in 2017. In that year, Russia conquered Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine. They also temporarily occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk. This is the story of families with children in Crimea, all with different family backgrounds. It shows how living under occupation and the shadow of war has impacted their lives. Ukrainian author Larysa Debysenk wrote this novel in Kyiv, with the roar of Russian gunfire in the background. She says, “I want to shout that the children of my country need international protection. The world needs to understand this.”

Yellow Butterfly: A story from Ukraine  will come out from Red Comet Press in January, 2023. Without words, and using the yellow and blue symbolic colors of Ukraine, children’s book illustrator Oleksandr Shatokhin shows a young girl’s view of the military conflict: her fear, her anger and frustration, and finally her hope.

Let’s hope, too, that by the time these last two books appear, the fighting in Ukraine may be over and rebuilding can begin!  Slava Ukrajini! 

 

 

 

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Author Interview with New York Times Best-Selling Author Jennifer Chambliss Bertman and Book Giveaway!

By on October 5, 2022   /   Author Interviews, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents  

Photo by Analise Lawson

Jennifer Chambliss Bertman is the New York Times best-selling author of the Book Scavenger
Series, fun and exciting middle-grade mystery stories.
Her latest, The Sisterhood of Sleuths, a stand-alone novel, walks readers through the mysteries of
friendship with none other than the original girl sleuth, Nancy Drew, and her history, central to
the plot.
Maizy is excited about working together with her friend, Izzy on a school project. The two
partners-in-crime have been creating movies together since they were little kids. Maizy envisions
their latest endeavor for the assignment will feature “Shellfish Holmes” as the main character.
But Izzy, who now prefers Isabelle and the company of class clowns Ben and Link, isn’t as
enthusiastic. Maizy and Izzy separate over their difference in creative vision for the project.
Meanwhile, a box of old Nancy Drew books is dropped off at Maizy’s mom’s antique store.
Even more curious, the box includes a picture of Maizy’s grandmother and two other women,
dated April 16, 1993.

Who are the other two women? Were they friends? Why is the photo in the
box of old Nancy Drew books? Did her grandmother leave the books outside the store?
The answers unfold as Maizy maneuvers through the changes in her relationship with Izzy by
renewing her friendship with Nell, her first real friend. Maizy and Nell partner with a classmate
Cam, on a different take for the assignment, leading them to the mysterious history of Nancy
Drew and those who created her.

Do Maizy and Izzy make up and become friends? Does Maizy discover who the two other
women are in the photograph? And how does Nancy Drew fit into the mystery?
The Sisterhood of Sleuths is an engaging mystery that reveals secrets of friendship and Nancy
Drew.


Welcome to From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors Jenn!
Congratulations on the creation of The Sisterhood of Sleuths. How did the idea for this
mystery come to you?
Thank you so much for having me!
I’ve long been interested in the history behind the creation of the Nancy Drew series, so that was
part of my inspiration. I also wanted to write a funny mystery and thought the concept of
combining the original Nancy Drew character with a modern-day girl had a lot of potential for
humor, while also being an interesting way to explore the theme of friendship and the role Nancy
Drew has played in popular culture over time.

Friendship is at the heart of The Sisterhood of Sleuths. Maizy is struggling with how her
best friend, Izzy, is changing, and ultimately, growing away from their friendship. Yet, in
turn, Maizy re-establishes her friendship with Nell, who she grew apart from several years
before. And, then ultimately, Maizy’s grandmother also separated from a friend years ago.
Could you share with readers the inspiration for these storylines?

The inspiration largely came from thinking about the Nancy Drew series, actually. When I think
back on what I remember about the books, what I loved as a child reader and have held onto in
my memory, it’s not the events of the plot or details from individual stories. It’s Nancy’s
relationships with women. I admired her steadfast friendships with Bess and George and the
mother/daughter-like connection she has with Hannah, the family housekeeper. So, I wanted to
explore the theme of friendship but in a more realistic way. One that feels more authentic to my
own experiences.
I also was thinking about how I discovered Nancy Drew in the 80s when I was a kid handed
down books that had been read by an earlier generation, and how when I visit schools today as
an author and talk about books from my childhood, many kids are still familiar and enthusiastic
about Nancy Drew. Showing how she has been a common thread through so many different
generations was also important to me.

The secret and storied history of Nancy Drew and her creators are central to the plot. Have
you always been a Nancy Drew fan? How old were you when you learned the truth about
Carolyn Keene?
I discovered Nancy Drew when I was 7, so I suppose I’ve been a fan most of my life. I can’t
remember exactly when I learned Carolyn Keene was a pseudonym—I might have been told that
as a young reader. But in my early 20s, I read The Mysterious Case of Nancy Drew and The
Hardy Boys by Carol Kismaric and Marvin Heiferman and was fascinated by the history behind
the two series. I don’t think I’d given much thought to the creation of books before—I’d thought
plenty about the craft of writing, but I mean the actual business of producing books and
marketing. That was the beginning of my interest in the history of Nancy Drew and I continued
to read books and articles as I became aware of them. (Like your great book, Missing Millie Benson!)

Missing Millie Benson: The Secret Case of the Nancy Drew Ghostwriter and Journalist - Rubini, Julie K.

Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson was the original ghostwriter for the Nancy Drew Mystery
Stories. Through your research for your novel, what did you find most interesting/inspiring
about Millie?
I admire so much about her. Her work ethic and resilience were especially inspiring. I’m
thinking in particular of the chapter in your book that delves into the period in Millie’s life when
she had a young child, a very ill husband, the country was at war, and yet she continued to work
diligently at her writing and career.

Edward Stratemeyer, the creator of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories would create plots
and outlines for the ghostwriters to follow for the series. Do you create an outline for your
stories, or do you allow the story to take you in its own direction?

I do a bit of a mix. I typically have a general sense of how a story might begin and end (although
that can and does change as I get deeper into a project), and outlining often helps me organize
my ideas. But I usually get too excited about the scenes I’m imagining and want to dive in and
start writing. Then, when I reach a point where I’m not sure where the story is going or what
happens next, I’ll return to brainstorming and outline my ideas again until I get excited about the
scenes and jump back into the writing.

It was refreshing to see both of Maizy’s parents present in the story. Maizy’s mom’s
antique store plays an important role in the discovery of the old Nancy Drew books, to her
dad’s endless attempts at building the next great invention. How do these role models
impact Maizy?
I think her parents provide Maizy with stability. I knew she was going to be someone who had a
a lot of things changing in her life all at once, so I tried to make her parents realistically imperfect,
but also something consistent in the background for Maizy as she tries to make sense of
everything around her that doesn’t feel steady anymore.

Sixth grade can be such a transitionary year for kids. Many school systems begin middle
grade that year, in a new, separate building, often bringing in students from other feeder
elementary schools into one. Some children, like Maizy, want to hold onto traditions of the
past, whereas others, like Izzy, jump into new interests, ready to grow into what lies in
store. I think you did a fabulous job representing these changes in The Sisterhood of
Sleuths. What do you hope readers will take away from these two characterizations?

Thank you! I appreciate that. What I hope is that Maizy and Izzy feel real and relatable to
readers. I think the girls represent two different sides of growing up—we have phases where we
want to hold onto what is familiar and comfortable, and we have phases where we step out of our
comfort zone for new experiences, sometimes by choice and sometimes by circumstance. We all
go at our own pace, and we’re all unique individuals, and sometimes there is friction if our
personal goals and a friend’s personal goals no longer align.

You explore a variety of emotions in the storyline, from embarrassment, disappointment,
sadness, joy, grief, and prevailing hope. I thought your scene with Maizy wearing the lobster costume, while riding her bike to the park to meet with Izzy was incredibly relatable. Do you have a favorite scene that explores emotion in the story?
That exact scene that you mentioned, when Maizy is in the lobster costume, is definitely one of
my favorites. It grew out of my own embarrassing childhood memory of a bike-riding incident
(in normal clothes, not a costume), and then I asked myself, “How could I take what happened to
me and make it even more embarrassing? And funny, too, while I’m at it?” It was quite
therapeutic to take my own embarrassing moment, turn it into a humorously horrific series of
events, but then have Maizy endure the embarrassment and rise above and triumph in the end.

You have some awesome photos of your writing space on your website,
www.jenniferchamblissbertman.com Could you share your writing process with our
readers?
My writing process is not anything straightforward. Sometimes I start with an idea for a
character, sometimes I start with a premise, and sometimes I visualize one scene in detail and write it
down but I don’t know anything else about the story. And then I bumble along from wherever I
started, asking myself questions as I go. If I begin with a character, I might look at the things I
know about him or her and ask myself what would really challenge them? With Maizy, someone
who had a very steady and predictable and comfortable life, what challenged her was that some
of those steady and predictable and comfortable things changed. Her best friend is acting
differently. Her brother moves away. Her grandmother is being secretive when she’s never been
like that before. Once I have ideas for what challenges the character might be up against, I
brainstorm how they could be most interestingly conveyed in scenes, and how those scenes could
be built into a compelling plot . . . It’s a lot of trial and error, writing and revising, moving
around scenes, and changing my mind. I also have trusted critique partners and their feedback
helps me as I go along too. Eventually, I find my way to the end of a draft.

Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to join us for this interview. The
Sisterhood of Sleuths was released on October 4, and may be found at your favorite local
bookstore, or you may order your copy here.

Jennifer has agreed to give away a complimentary copy to a lucky random winner. To enter the contest, click here.

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