Author: Loree Burns

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Spitfire

SPITFIRE
By Kate Messner
North Country Books, 2007

Category: Middle-grade Historical Fiction

I met Kate Messner at the New England Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators conference in 2006. I was in the conference bookstore (buying books, of course!) and she walked right up and said hello. As I struggled mightily to place her face she let me off the hook, “We’ve never met. But I read your blog.”

The phrase knock me over with a feather floated to mind, and then is she for real? and people read my blog?. We talked, and I came away with a very nice impression of this writer from upstate New York. And I have been reading her blog ever since. Kate’s debut novel, SPITFIRE, was released in September and my own copy arrived a few short weeks ago.

Now, I have to tell you that reading the work of a friend—particularly when that friend is new and someone you have grown to like and respect—is a scary proposition. What if … well, what if? You know what I mean?

But Kate let me off the hook again. SPITFIRE is a great read. My kids and I were drawn into the lives of Abigail and Pascal, twelve-year-olds who took part in a naval battle on Lake Champlain during the Revolutionary War … a battle, by the way, that moved grown men to tears. Kate weaves their points-of-view well, creating a gripping narrative that had us re-thinking history (was the brave Captain Benedict Arnold really a traitor?) and war (did kids really fight in the Revolutionary War?) and gender stereotypes (this from my boys, “did a girl really write this book?”).

Well done, Kate. Well done!

 

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Beaman Memorial Library

Last Thursday was one of those days. I overslept, couldn’t work in the morning, and ran late for the rest of the day. Blech. My kids left the reading lights on in the car the night before and it was dead by morning … nose-in to my overstuffed garage and DEAD. Uggh. Finding someone to jump start my car, and cleaning out the garage so that their car could fit in alongside mine, ate up more of the day. By the time 3 o’clock–and the school bus–arrived, I was beat. And grumpy. But I packed up the kids and my gear and headed to the Beaman Memorial Public Library anyway. I was presenting in my hometown, for the first time, at 4 o’clock.

Given the frightful mess of a day I’d had, I expected a small crowd … maybe no one. But forty feisty kids and their adults showed up to hear me talk about TRACKING TRASH and, my word, they were enthusiastic. Their energy got me going and by 5 o’clock the tide had turned and all was well.

Thank you West Boylston, Massachusetts. There truly is no place like home.

 

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What a small group of people can do …

Photo © 2007 Betty Jenewin

They can collect:

43 bags of trash
221 plastic bags
213 plastic bottles
715 glass bottles and glass pieces
294 food wrappers
6 tires
1 cigarette lighter
and six hundred pounds more trash.

This final COASTSWEEP post is dedicated to the ninety-two kids and adults who helped me clean Indian Lake, and especially to the mom who sent this testimonial:

“I was there with 4 Junior Girl Scouts who chose the COASTSWEEP event at their 6-hour service project. They were among the last to leave the lake. One girl noted, “When we first started I didn’t notice that much trash, but now my awareness has grown.” Another girl said, “It’s amazing what a small group of girls can do.” YES! These girls get it. They tracked and collected ten bags of trash and learned so much about their community and themselves. During the last half-hour they were psyched to work side-by-side with Loree. I gave each of them an autographed copy of her book which they’ve already read and shared with family & friends. At our next Girl Scout meeting each girl reported standing up in front of their classes to talk about their experiences. They were not asked or required to do that; their enthusiasm just brimmed over and their teachers astutely allowed them to share with everyone. Well done!”

 

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Athol-Royalston Middle School

I spent today with the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at Athol-Royalston Middle School.

I am very, very tired.

But I had a great time telling ARMSers a little about me and how I came to write TRACKING TRASH. The Athol Public Library sponsored my visit and had the foresight to pair this event with their October Community Reading Day … which means every single kid in the audience had already read at least part of my book. What a treat!

And although presentations to large groups (I saw three groups of 150 kids each today) are not as intimate as classroom visits, there is something special about having an audience that size get into a talk. That happened today and it felt good. And there were those moments—my favorites of the day—when students approached me after the presentation to chat. I was inspired by the twelve-year-old who told me “I am working on my first book and you are right: revision is hard work!”, and I could have hugged the young woman who asked “Will you come back when the bee book is done and tell us about it?” These kids rock!

Many thanks to everyone at Athol-Royalston Middle School, and especially to Anne Cutler-Russo, for making this event happen. I’m already looking forward to February and my family presentation at the library.

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Who’s Hiding?

WHO’S HIDING?
By Satoru Onishi
Kane/Miller, 2006

Category: Picture Book

Every year I find a picture book or two that are simply irresistible, and these become holiday gifts for all the munchkins on my shopping list. This year I will be giving lots (and lots and lots) of copies of WHO’S HIDING?

The premise is simple: twelve animals appear in the same arrangement on each double-page spread. But with each turn of the page someone changes: readers are challenged to find “Who’s crying?”, “Who’s angry?” and “Who’s hiding?” After pages and pages of this everyone knows which animal is where … a good thing because the pièce de résistance is the spread on which the lights go out: “Who’s who?”

This is a fun one to share with the younger set and even with beginning readers, like my daughter, who love to interact with their books. Check it out!

 

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The Ugly Pumpkin

THE UGLY PUMPKIN
by Dave Horowitz
Putnam, 2005

Category: Picture book

I was sure I’d be the only one to blog about this book today, but I was wrong. Oh, well. I’ll settle for being the only one to post an ugly pumpkin picture:

My daughter’s kindergarten homework last week was to create a pumpkin with personality. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find a pumpkin in our garden small enough to carry to school herself (we grow ’em big around here). She did, however, find the cutest little butternut squash you ever did see. We remembered THE UGLY PUMPKIN and, Voila!, homework that stands out from a crowd.

If you are wondering about the plot of THE UGLY PUMPKIN, consider the title, the picture above, and the catchiest line in the book: “Oh my gosh, I’m a squash!”

Happy Halloween one and all!

 

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Marie Curie

MARIE CURIE
By Kathleen Krull
Illustrated by Boris Kulikov
Viking, 2007

Category: Middle grade biography

I like these “Giants of Science” books. I like them a lot. There are currently four titles in the series; I’ve read ISAAC NEWTON and have LEONARDO DAVINCI and SIGMUND FREUD on the bedside table. Krull’s writing is light and breezy, even when discussing the finer points of (in the case of MARIE CURIE) particle physics. And I appreciate the pains she takes to give readers a sense of the times in which her subject lived. Readers don’t just read about the great Madame Curie, they visit her.

I’m off to nominate this one for a CYBIL award. (Can I do that? My own book was nominated in the same category!) Have you nominated your favorite book for a CYBIL yet? Get to it, man!

 

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Tracking Trash on Indian Lake

Wow!

The International Coastal Cleanup came to Worcester, Massachusetts yesterday in the form of the Indian Lake Cleanup event. Over ninety men, women, and children collected debris from the shores and mudflats and recorded what they found for The Ocean Conservancy. Later this week I will send our data to COASTSWEEP, the Massachusetts arm of this massive, worldwide marine cleanup event. I’m still crunching numbers, but we cleaned more than 8.5 miles of shoreline, filled 43 bags with garbage, and hauled approximately 660 pounds of trash off the lake. Not bad for four hours work!