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ARCHIVES: JANUARY 2010 Sign up here if you’d like to receive the latest news from author Jen Bryant via e-mail. MESSAGE FROM JEN Welcome to Issue Three of my author newsletter. If you missed the first two issues, you can read September 2009 and November 2009 here. If you know anyone who would like to receive this and future issues, you can click here. Although the content of each issue will change, the goal remains the same: to stay connected to my readers, to give updates about my books and events, and to share ideas about writing. QUOTE OF THE MONTH "A poem is a window that hangs NEWS
A River of Words: one year later ... Hard to believe that it’s time again for the announcement of the ALA Awards. About this time last year, Melissa Sweet received an early morning phone call at her home in Rockport Maine, and the voice on the other end of the line was Nell Colburn, committee chair, informing her that A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams was a Caldecott Honor book. Suffice it to say, that the magic of that story continues to provide Melissa and me with many wonderful experiences and connections. Many of you have asked us if we plan to work together on future projects, and the answer is yes! But more about that later in the year . . . Are you thinkin’ about Lincoln?
With President’s Day just a few weeks away, and Lincoln’s bicentennial birthday still very much in the news, Abe’s Fish: A Boyhood Tale of Abraham Lincoln is the perfect book for reading and sharing. Marvelously illustrated by Amy June Bates, the story focuses on one of the few factual anecdotes that we know from Lincoln’s early childhood. A wealth of back matter material, in an easy Q & A format, makes this title interesting and accessible for readers of all ages. When you’re through, watch the video to hear Jen speak with PA Senator Andy Dinniman about Lincoln’s early years and her inspiration for writing Abe’s Fish. “Anne, they have stolen our baby.”
Those were the words of world-famous aviator Charles Lindbergh on the night of March 1st, 1932, when the crib where Charlie Jr. slept was found empty. Back to the Sixties ... Back to the beach
Well, okay, almost . . . but hey, given this frigid winter, it’s never too early to begin planning your summer reading list. So why not take your brain to the New Jersey shore and follow three teenagers as they negotiate the social turbulence of 1968, attempt to make sense of their broken families, and carry out a secret hunt for a (real, honest-to-goodness) pirate treasure! For educators and book groups, there are many threads to pull from Kaleidoscope Eyes: women’s history, Vietnam, rock ‘n’ roll, pirates, and Captain Kidd. As Richie Partington so astutely articulates in his review the theme of young people being sent off to distant wars remains all too relevant today. And . . . we just learned that Kaleidoscope Eyes has been named to the 2010 Chicago Library’s List of Best of the Best Books for Kids! Connecting Poetry, Visual Arts, and Kids
Ever since I wrote Pieces of Georgia, I’ve dreamed of a way to hand educators a ready-to go, hassle-free, and inexpensive way to connect kids who read the story with its setting (the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, PA. Now, thanks to some dedicated and creative teachers and students at Kennett Middle School, I can do exactly that! KMS English teacher and PA Writing project fellow Judy Jester has put together a project outline—complete with easy-to follow instructions for each phase—that allows teachers of grades 4 through 10 to guide students through the reading and discussion of Pieces of Georgia, a visit and tour of the Brandywine River Museum and NC Wyeth’s studio, and then a follow-up art and poetry project in which students create their own writing and visual art pieces, based on their experience. A grant from Comcast covers much of the expense, and the BRM education department. The Museum helps you arrange everything to assure that your students have an experience they’ll never forget! Once completed, Jen then visits the school, where students share their writing and art work with faculty, other students, and parents. To find out more, see my website or email either me or Jane at the Brandywine River Museum. Soldiers ‘n’ Gypsies ’n’ Romance ... oh, my!
My next novel, The Fortune of Carmen Navarro (Knopf, Nov. 2010) is something very different from my previous work. A young adult novel in four voices (two guys, two girls), it is based loosely on the 19th century novella “Carmen” by French author Prosper Merimee, a story that also inspired one of the most well-known operas of our time. In my version, which is set in 2007, a military school cadet falls hopelessly and obsessively in love with a high school drop-out whom he meets at the convenience store where she works. Carmen Navarro has big plans, however: she sings in a popular band and dreams of making it big in the music business. Will the cadet forsake his own future to be with her? Will she continue to return his affection? Or—will she tire of his possessiveness and reclaim her free-spirited ways? Galleys available in March from Knopf/Random House . . . just write and ask. And speaking of gypsies ... I’ll be on the road quite a bit this Spring. Here are some of the places you can find me and when:
Thanks for reading Flying Tidings, issue three. Look for issue four in about eight weeks. Until then, keep in touch ... |
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