Author: Loree Burns

THE WILLOUGHBYS
By Lois Lowry
Houghton Mifflin, 2008

Category: Middle grade fiction

A month ago I offered to let my son read my new copy of THE WILLOUGHBYS, but he turned up his nose. I asked why and he told me, “I don’t usually like books with black and white-colored covers.”

I would have left it at that, but a few days later he happened to creep into my office in the wee hours. I was procrastinating from the morning’s work by reading a Boston Globe article about Lois Lowry. Suddenly I had a great idea for an experiment (aka more procrastination?). There was a link from the article, which was online, to an audio clip of Lois reading from THE WILLOUGHBYS …

Me: Hey, wanna hear something?

Unsuspecting son: What is it?

Me: An author reading from a book you might like.

Unsuspecting son: Sure.

I busied myself with actual work (!) until he was done listening.

Me: Well?

Unsuspecting son: Do we have the book?

Me, nonchalantly pulling my copy of THE WILLOUGHBYS off the shelf: Yep. Here it is. I hope you don’t mind a black and white cover.

Unsuspecting son, no longer unsuspecting: You tricked me!

Me: Hey, what would you like for breakfast?

The trickery, er, the experiment was a resounding success, though: he loved the book. I asked him to write a review for my blog, and this is what he turned in:

A couple of days ago I came downstairs early to see my Mom, and she tricked me into listening to a book clip. It was good and I liked one of the characters, Commander Melanoff, so I started the book. It was THE WILLOUGHBYS, by Lois Lowry. I started reading it and couldn’t stop! When I finally looked up it was time to get ready for school. I read when I was eating and on the bus. I finished after three days of reading. I was fascinated by the story. You should read THE WILLOUGHBYS.

All’s well that ends well, yes?

 

I recently learned that TRACKING TRASH has been included on the 2008-2009 Maine Student Book Award List. Students in Maine will be encouraged to read books from this list during the upcoming school year and next spring each student who has read at least three titles from the list will be eligible to vote for their favorites. How fun is that?

There are some amazing books on this list and I am thrilled to see TRACKING TRASH there beside them. Today, thanks to Cynthia Lord, I was literally able to see TRACKING TRASH there beside them. Cindy’s novel, RULES, won this year’s Maine Student Book Award (Hooray Cindy!) and Cindy’s blog post about her award acceptance included a picture of the 2008-2009 MSBA book display.

Thank you Cindy!

Thank you MSBA committee!

Happy Reading students of Maine!

 

In 2003, I attended the annual spring conference of the New England chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Within days of returning home I came across the newspaper article that would become, in time, the subject of my first published book for children. Was there a connection between the two events? Positively. There is something about being in the company of other creative people that sparks the imagination. Whenever I attend this conference I come home inspired … and good things follow.

This year I enjoyed keynote addresses from Laurie Halse Anderson and Keven Hawkes, and soaked up wisdom from these talented New Englanders:

Mitali Perkins on Pajama Promotion;

Lou Waryncia, Editorial Director for Cobblestone magazine group on Writing for Themed Magazines;

Yolanda LeRoy, Editorial Director at Charlesbridge Publishing and Tanya Lee Stone on Noteworthy Nonfiction;

Toni Buzzeo on Self Promotion.

As if all this professional wisdom wasn’t enough, I also shared good times with writer friends (check out the first picture in this Jo Knowles post for proof. Nice shot, Jo!). This year more than any other, I left Nashua feeling part of a community of writers … and that is a very good feeling.

All this positive energy has been put to good use here at home. I am making final preparations for a HIVE DETECTIVES research trip, and soon I’ll be cavorting, once again, with honey bees and honey bee scientists. Good thing I now own one of these:

Me in my bee suit!

 

A link to this YouTube video was sent to me by Cynthia Vanderlip, who works at the Kure Atoll Seabird Sanctuary in Hawaii. Cynthia has shared many of her photographs with me, including an image of a plastic-strewn beach on Kure that was published in TRACKING TRASH.

Now Cynthia and her colleagues are preparing video footage to show the rest of the world what they are finding on Kure atoll. This video is not for the squeamish; it shows an albatross necropsy … and the stomach contents are sickening. In addition to 5 squid beaks, 4 pumice rocks and several fish eggs–all of which are normal things to find in an albatross stomach– scientists find 5 plastic caps, 1 strip of canvas, 1 wire brush, 4 feet of monofilament line, 1 pen cap, 1 oyster industry spacer and 2 handfuls of unidentifiable plastic pieces.

 

This week and last were filled with so many interesting and touching connections that I simply can’t leave for the weekend without mentioning them. Each has affected me in ways that I am not able to articulate well yet, though I will continue to sift through them and ponder…

There was a connection with the second-graders in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts who were tickled to learn that my father-in-law was once a second grader in their beloved Paton School; and the connection with my father-in-law, who was tickled to share his funny school days stories with me; a colleague from my graduate school days, a woman I have not seen for more than ten years, stopped in to reconnect on the morning I visited her son’s school (it was good to see you, Gul!); and yesterday I attended a moving tribute to a man I never met—a man who died much too soon—whose friends donated copies of my book to the schools he grew up in.

I have been so moved by these seemingly random and yet powerfully purposeful connections. They are layered atop the many other relationships forged over the past four years (my TRASHy years): men and women of science whose work I have grown to admire so much, writers and publishing people I have come to know and learn from, the interesting and generous people who invite me to their schools, or who visit this blog. I have always known that books transform lives, but I continue to be astounded at how much this one book has transformed mine.

Connectiing with Curt Ebbesmeyer in Ocean Shores, Washington
Photo by Betty Jenewin

I’m off to make more connections at the New England SCBWI Spring Conference. Details next week, of course. In the meanwhile, have a great weekend.

 

Me? A day trip to NYC? Uh oh.

But, I found the train station in Providence, found the correct platform and train, found the Penn Station exit to 8th Avenue and then—what luck!—found Erica Zappy in the cab queue. This last was a great find, because Erica is a hip and saavy former New Yorker: she wrangled us a cab, got us to the American Museum of Natural History, hiked four flights of stairs with her goofy-author-who-suddenly-cannot-stomach-elevators, and delivered us both to the luncheon with thirty minutes to spare.

Phew.

The John Burroughs Association greeter welcomed Erica and I with news that every attendee would be leaving the luncheon with a complete set of Burroughs Award works … all four Nature Books for Young Readers, the Medal Book Award winner, and the Outstanding Published Nature Essay. Classy, yes?

My pile o’ 2007 Burroughs award books.

The first award of the day—The John Burroughs Award for an Outstanding Published Nature Essay—went to Christopher Cokinos, whose essay THE CONSOLATIONS OF EXTINCTION was published in the May/June 2007 issue of Orion. (I read this essay on the train ride home and found it so very insightful and hopeful that I encourage all of you to read it.)

Next, Certificates of Commendation were bestowed upon the authors and editors of the 2007 List of Nature Books for Young Readers:

IT’S A BUTTERFLY’S LIFE
Written and illustrated by Irene Kelly
Edited by Mary Cash
Holiday House, 2007

TRACKING TRASH
By Me!
Edited by Erica Zappy
Houghton Mifflin, 2007

BEING CARIBOU
by Karsten Heuer
Walker & Company, 2007

WHERE IN THE WILD?
Written by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy
Illustrated with photographs by Dwight Kuhn
Tricycle Press, 2007

Only Irene and I and our editors were in attendance, and we all managed to make it from our table to the podium and back again without incident. Very nice.

The finale was the presentation of the 2008 John Burroughs Medal to author Julia Whitty for her book THE FRAGILE EDGE (Houghton, 2007). Julia’s remarks were a fitting end to the afternoon … she shared her passion for the amazing writers who have been honored with John Burroughs medals in the past, including Rachel Carson, Carl Safina, Aldo Leopold, Loren Eiseley and so many others. I enjoyed her words and look forward to reading her book.

The rest of the afternoon was spent here and meandering through the vast wings of the Museum. When I was too tired to see any more, I collected my bag o’ books and my wit and set out to hail my first cab. 8th Avenue. Penn Station. The Acela Express. Providence Station. Home.

Easy peasy.

 

From the Incredibly Good News Department: TRACKING TRASH was included on the 2007 John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers. Here is a blurb about the List from the John Burroughs Association website:

“The John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers, recognizing outstanding natural history books for children that contain perceptive and artistic accounts of direct experiences in the world of nature, was established in 1988 to recognize Burroughs’ efforts to awaken interest in young naturalists. Each year, the results of the competition are formally recognized at the John Burroughs Association’s award ceremony, held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.”

And so I will travel to NYC on Monday (gulp!) and have lunch with the John Burroughs Association and with the other authors being honored this year. In preparation, I’ve been reading their amazing books …

IT’S A BUTTERFLY’S LIFE
Written and illustrated by Irene Kelly
Holiday House, 2007
This picture book about the life of a butterfly includes every twist and turn, all outlined in a gentle style that intrigues and never overwhelms. I’m looking forward to reading the companion, IT’S A HUMMINGBIRD’S LIFE.

BEING CARIBOU
by Karsten Heuer
Walker & Company, 2007
This book is just lovely. The author and his wife, filmmaker Leanne Allison, spent five months migrating hundreds of miles with a herd of caribou. Their hard-earned insights into the hardship and the beauty of an epic migration are unforgettable. Do spend a moment, if you can, at Heuer’s website to learn about his Necessary Journeys. Absolutely inspiring stuff.

WHERE IN THE WILD?
Written by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy
Illustrated with photographs by Dwight Kuhn
Tricycle Press, 2007
This book of poems is illustrated with startling images of creatures camouflaged in the wild. The poems provide clues to the creature hidden in each photograph, and a lift-the-flap format provides answers for those animals that are too hard to find. Very nicely done!

I also spent some time with BIRCH BROWSINGS, A John Burroughs Reader (Penguin, 1992), because—I am not sure I should admit this—I was not familiar with John Burroughs’s work. They essay that caught my eye first is called “An Idyl of the Honey-Bee”. It was a joy; I am honored to be part of a booklist that pays homage to this man, and I’m looking forward to more essays during the train ride on Monday.

 

Science teacher Julie Taylor, who sent me these images from the SEPA Luncheon. Thank you, Julie!

This is me with science teachers Steve Rich, Julie Taylor and Kathleen Horstmeyer.

This is me after my presentation was over with … cool as a cucumber. (Ha!)