Author: Loree Burns

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS
By Rebecca Skloot
Crown, 2010

Category: Nonfiction for adults

Every once in a while I read a book that reminds me that sharing true stories about real people is only the second most satisfying way I spend my literary time. The first? Reading true stories about real people written by my colleagues. This month I listened to the audio version of Rebecca Skloot’s THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS, and I can tell you for sure that this book is a model of what creative nonfiction can be. It’s brilliant.

HeLa was the first human cell line successfully grown long-term in a petri dish, and I remember reading years ago in a graduate school textbook that the cells came from a woman whose initials are disguised in the word HeLa itself: Helen Lane. The textbook was wrong. The real woman’s name was Henrietta Lacks, and her true story—and the true story of her family—is heartbreaking and inspiring and I am so glad that Rebecca Skloot has finally shared it with the world. And that I got to read it.

 

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SB&F Fun

The SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, coordinated by the wonderful editors at the review journal Science Books and Films (SB&F) and sponsored by the science-loving folks at Subaru, were awarded this past weekend at the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In case the abundance of acronyms have you doubting there was much fun to be had, allow me to elaborate …

They painted our book cover onto the hood of a Subaru:

And since I couldn’t drive the car inside the convention center, I posed on top of it instead:

Ellen Harasimowicz and I signed books beside it, too:

And I met Ms. Frizzle! Okay, not exactly Ms. Frizzle … but I did meet Joanna Cole and Bruce Degan, creators of the Magic Schoolbus books and SB&F Prize winners in the picture book category (below, right). And I met Sean Connolly, too, the SB&F Prize winner in the hands-on category (below, left). Here we all are clutching our fancy new awards:

Call me crazy, but that was fun!

Thank you to Subaru, AAAS, SB&F, Heather Malcomson, Terry Young, Maren Ostergard and all of the scientists, librarians, editors, and book lovers who helped make this weekend celebration of science books for kids such a blast.

All photos © Ellen Harasimowicz

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Nonfiction Galore

January is award season in the children’s publishing world, and the result is lists and lists of books I’d like to read. I’ve compiled a few of my favorite nonfiction book lists here …

From the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the 2011 Orbis Pictus Award and Finalists

From the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the 2011 Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12

From the American Library Association, the 2011 YALSA Award for Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction winner and finalists

Also from the American Library Association, the 2011 Sibert Medal winner and honor books

From the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Subaru, the 2010 SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books winners and finalists

And don’t forget the Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ 2010 Literary Awards finalists in the Nonfiction Picture Book and Nonfiction Middle Grade and Young Adult Book categories

* * *

Are there lists of this year’s award-winning non-fiction that I’ve missed? Please let me know and I’ll add them.

And what do you think of that rockin’ banner up there? I thought it was a bit loud, but its creator, my son, thinks that is because I’m a bit old.

Finally, did you know you can find all things nonfiction from around the blogosphere every Monday at Nonfiction Monday? Here’s today’s roundup, courtesy of the blog Great Kid Books. Check it out.

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Kids are Cool and Fun

© Loree Griffin Burns

“This experiment is important, because, as far as we know, no one in history (including adults) has done this experiment before.”

So say the twenty-five 8- to 10-year-old children from Blackawton Primary School in Devon, England, whose study of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris was published in the December 22, 2010 issue of the journal Biology Letters.

Their experiments are clever, their results are interesting, and their scientific report is delightful. I highly recommend you put your thinking cap on (its a fairly complicated experiment) and read it.

I love that the Blackawton teachers created an elementary science experience based on the simple idea that science is a game everyone can play. I admire the editors at Biology Letters, who acknowledged this idea in such a powerful way: by publishing their paper. And I adore the closing sentence of the paper itself: “Science is cool and fun because you get to do stuff that no one has ever done before.”

Hear! Hear!

 

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Cheers for the CYBILS

© Painting by Catherine Griffin Burns

The 2010 Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards (CYBILS) finalists were named on January 1st and I was thrilled and honored to see THE HIVE DETECTIVES on the Middle Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction List. Thank you, CYBILS judges! And thank you, Kate Messner, for nominating THD in the first place.

CYBILS are awarded in eleven categories, and this year more than 1200 books were nominated. I served as a first round judge for the inaugural CYBILS back in 2006, and this number stupefies me. That’s a lot of books to read and ponder in a very short time frame, especially a time frame that spans the holiday season. Signing on to do so may, in fact, be the ultimate definition of Kidlit Book Love. Those judges rock.

A final, wild Hooray! for the surprising number of titles that I’d not seen before these lists were announced. How did I miss so many great 2010 books? I don’t know, but I’m glad the CYBILS judges pointed a spotlight on them before the world moved on to a brand new publishing year.

If you love kids books and would like to learn more about the CYBILS, follow the links above. Be sure to check out the book categories closest to my science geek heart, Nonfiction for Middle Grade/Young Adults and Nonfiction Picture Books. And if you decide to treat yourself to a book or two, consider ordering them through the CYBILS website; this is the simplest way to thank the amazing kidlit bloggers who pour their time, energy, and passion into celebrating great books for kids.

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Some Food for Writerly Thought

Illustration by Catherine Burns

There are a few morals to that last behind the bee book story, especially for readers who may also be nonfiction writers …

In my experience, writing nonfiction almost always requires an up front investment of time and, harder still, money. I don’t know any way around it. But I can tell you this: I have never regretted the investments. Not even once.

The dance—that back-and-forth between myself, the publisher, and the scientists I write about that happens while I am trying to secure a contract and the subject’s cooperation—gets easier over time. For example, it was much easier for me to approach the scientists for THE HIVE DETECTIVES than it had been for my first book, TRACKING TRASH, simply because I could put an actual book in their hands and say, “This is what I’ve done before, and I’d like to do something similar about you and your work.” Also? I’ve gotten more comfortable with the concept of rejection, from both the publisher and from subjects. It happens. It’s not personal. It’s just part of the job.

I’m a firm believer in cutting one’s self a little slack. So I chickened out of a great opportunity in that elevator with Dennis. Whatever. Beating myself up over it wouldn’t help a whit; forgiving myself and coming up with a new plan helped a lot.


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The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester

THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER
by Barbara O’Connor
FSG, 2010

Category: Middle grade fiction

I fell for this cover the moment I saw it. It helped that the name Barbara O’Connor was printed on it, but truly, it was so many other things, too: the colors, that frog, those children, and, goodness, what is that mysterious, secretive, red, round … thing?

I couldn’t resist.

And then I stumbled into a chunk of free reading time this week. Alone and uninterrupted, I read THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER in a single sitting, and fell in love a second time. There were boys, and a know-it-all girl they wanted no part of, and a frog, and long summer days, and an adventure that made me want to be ten again.

I am buying myself a copy for Christmas.

You should too.


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What Do You Think?

With many thanks to my tech guys (the twelve-year-old Burns boys) and the photographers I have yet to credit in the video (we are working on this), here is my first-ever book trailer. It is a work in progress; I still have to figure out how to roll the photo credits, how to fix the text-heavy back end, and how to insert an image that is being prickly. While I work through those issues, though, I thought I’d post a draft here. If you have a moment to check it out, please do. And feel free to leave your feedback and comments below.

For the record, my tech guys are working on a trailer for THE HIVE DETECTIVES, too. I’m told that quality work like theirs cannot be rushed, and that there is no way to predict when the THD trailer will be ready. Suffice to say that someday the books page of my website will include trailers for each of my books. Someday.

 

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Wanna Be in a Children’s Book?

Seriously, who doesn’t?

Children’s author/illustrator and Worcester, Massachusetts native Jarrett Krosochka has launched his first annual Cyber-Monday online auction to benefit the Joe and Shirl Scholarship fund at the Worcester Art Museum … and one of the coolest items up for grabs is the chance to have your likeness drawn into one of his next LUNCH LADY books.

(Yowza!)

The Joe and Shirl Scholarship, created by Jarrett in honor of his grandparents, will fund art classes for needy children in unique familial situations. As a kid who grew up in just such a family, I think what Jarrett is doing totally rocks. And as a gal already worn out by seasonal consumer craziness, I’m thrilled to spread the word about this great cause.

Check out Jarrett’s video above, or click here for information on the Joe and Shirl Scholarship, the other items up for grabs, and how to get in on the action. Happy bidding!