They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems

Title: They Call Me Güero 
Author: David Bowles 
Publisher: October 22nd, 2018 
Publication Date: Cinco Puntos Press 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel in Verse 
GoodReads Summary: Twelve-year-old Güero is Mexican American, at home with Spanish or English and on both sides of the river. He’s starting 7th grade with a woke English teacher who knows how to make poetry cool. 

In Spanish, “Güero” is a nickname for guys with pale skin, Latino or Anglo. But make no mistake: our red-headed, freckled hero is puro mexicano, like Canelo Álvarez, the Mexican boxer. Güero is also a nerd—reader, gamer, musician—who runs with a squad of misfits like him, Los Bobbys. Sure, they get in trouble like anybody else, and like other middle-school boys, they discover girls. Watch out for Joanna! She’s tough as nails. But trusting in his family’s traditions, his trusty accordion and his bookworm squad, he faces seventh grade with book smarts and a big heart. Life is tough for a border kid, but Güero has figured out how to cope.    
What I Think: David Bowles is one of my Latinx heroes. I appreciate everything he shares on Twitter and his overall essence. Maybe it seems weird to say but I've seen him on panels at NCTE and was at a roundtable session with him and he has a great energy. He knows a lot about Latinx history and the current state of Latinx affairs and he's passionate about sharing his ideas but he does it with such grace that he feels like an awesome big brother who is looking out for all Latinx people. If you don't already follow him on Twitter, I definitely recommend doing that. 
     As I was reading this book, I could hear David's voice on every page. I could also see my students and my family and myself. That's pretty amazing. Güero gets into lots of different predicaments and learns a few things along the way but I loved getting to know him, his friends, and his family. 
     In the snatch of text below, I enjoyed his description here and that he includes a simile even but I particularly love the idea of how words we hear transform into the way we live going forward. What an awesome image. As a mentor text, you could share this with students and ask them to think of their own similes to describe stories or advice they've received in their lives. In my Story Exploratory workshops, I talk a lot about how people, places, and experiences shape us and this is a great example of how people impact our lives whether we realize it right away or not. 
Snatch of Text: 
"Just think ---
I owe it all to those stories
my abuelita used to tell us
sitting in her rocking chair
as we shivered and thrilled.
Even then, words were burrowing
into my brain and waiting,
like larvae in a chrysalis,
to unfold their paper wings
and take me flying into the future." (p. 20)

The One With Elizabeth Acevedo and Spoken Word IRL

This month, I'm participating in the Slice of Life challenge with Two Writing Teachers. If you want to participate, you can link up at their Slice of Life Story Post or you can head on over there to check out other people's stories and follow along with the fun. For more information on what a Slice of Life is about, you can go here. 

*          *          *

Last weekend, I convinced a friend to go with me to Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville to hear Elizabeth Acevedo speak. When they introduced her, she came out from the back, walked up to the mic, surveyed the room, and started in on a poem. I wiped the tears from my eyes, looked at my friend, and shook my head, moved. 

Since I'm exploring spoken word and blogging about spoken word for the Slice of Life Challenge this month, it was a great opportunity to go and hear a poet. When I looked her up on Instagram, I found out that she's part of Project VOICE along with Sarah Kay. 

She recited a few poems and I paid close attention to how she delivered her words and how she moved her hands to match her words. I'm just so fascinated by spoken word and the more I soak it up, the more I get a sense for what I like and what stands out to me and what I might like to incorporate into my own spoken word. I love that she used Spanish in her poems and the description she used too.

I've been working on a poem I'd like to perform. It's hard! Spoken word is definitely more then poetry on a page. I'll share about my process so far tomorrow!

Bull

Title: Bull 
Author: David Elliott
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date:  March 28th, 2017 
Genre/Format: Mythology/Novel in Verse 
GoodReads Summary: Much like Lin-Manuel Miranda did in Hamilton, the New York Times best-selling author David Elliott turns a classic on its head in form and approach, updating the timeless story of Theseus and the Minotaur for a new generation. A rough, rowdy, and darkly comedic young adult retelling in verse, Bull will have readers reevaluating one of mythology's most infamous monsters.
What I Think: Holy smokes! This book has voice, voice voice. From the very first line, I was like, whoa. I had no idea what to expect when I picked it up other than the cover was awesome and I knew it was about the myth of the minotaur. I only vaguely remember the original myth but it seems like it's pretty true to it, it's not a retelling as much as it is a new and up-to-date version that's going to speak to today's teenagers. 
     As a mentor text, I can't tell you enough how fantastic the voice is. Poseidon is pretty full of himself, he's a god after all, and David does an amazing job of bringing him to life on the page. You can't miss him. He's larger than life just as a god should be. Of course, there are other characters too and it's clear the difference in voice when other characters share their perspective. To think about the different characters, I would look at the word choice and what we learn about the characters through their actions and make connections to what students are visualizing. One way to do this would be to have students draw one or two characters based on what they can infer about their personalities or a variation of this could be to have students create a collage that represents a character, pulling pictures from the Internet or magazines. Students can think about what a character might wear, where they would hang out, what hairstyle they might have. There are so many ways to take the words in the book and ask the students to pay attention to how what they read translates to what they know about a character. Another option would be to have kids create a social media profile for one of the characters. There are so many options and I'm always in favor of giving students a choice but because of how clearly the characters jump off the page (especially Poseidon), this book truly lends itself to think about character development and how word choice and voice influence that.
     If I was teaching high school, I'd be bringing in this mentor text to compare with a more traditional version of this myth and to see what is similar and what is different. I'd also look at other examples of works that have been retold and maybe retold in different ways. One book that comes to mind that I read recently is My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. The authors take Lady Jane Grey's story and twist it up in so many ways. This would make a great lesson for thinking about ideas and how we find ideas. Sometimes a great story comes from taking a well-known story and turning it on its head and we can help students see this.
     Please know that there is mature language in this book (from beginning to end!) and some mature content. This is a book that I would recommend to a student who is at least in high school.
Snatch of Text:  

I could have turned his eyes

Into a nest for seething wasps.

I could have turned his face

Into a snapping clam.

I could have given him hooves

Or studded the roof

Of his mouth with thorns.

Could have fitted him with horns.

Flippers. 

Feathers.

Fits.

Made him smell like an outhouse.

Covered him with zits.

Turned his arms into eels.

His teeth into snails.

Bleat like a sea cow.

Blow like a whale.

Boils!

Scabs!

Gills!

A Snout!

Turn his

Ding-dong 

Inside 

Out!

I could have. 

But I didn't.

Parlor games.

A tad too mild.

Child's play.

And Poseidon's no child.

He needed something 

He'd remember

His howl stinkin' life.

That's why I bypassed him...

And went straight for his wife."

(p. 11-13)

Writing Prompt: Describe one of the characters and their character traits using evidence from the text to support your reasoning.

Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles Interview

Hooray for another middle grade novel in verse to read, love, and share with kid readers! Today I'm interviewing Shari Green, the author of Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles. 

Here's the GoodReads summary of Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles:

Eleven-year-old Bailey believes in miracles. She has to; it will take a miracle to keep her warring parents together. This summer they are at a Marriage Counselling camp, leaving Bailey and her little brother Kevin with their estranged grandmother in the island town of Felicity Bay. There, an eccentric deposed minister makes a prophecy that a stranger from the sea will change everything. When Bailey discovers a mermaid-shaped piece of driftwood, she begins to believe that the mermaid is this stranger from the sea. Then, when a dolphin becomes stranded on the beach, Bailey forgets her own troubles and rouses the reluctant locals into action. 

Written in light and lyrical free verse, Shari Green's warm and wistful novel brings Bailey face to face with both hard and beautiful truths about growing up and growing into her own ability to shape the world.

And now, Shari was kind enough to answer some questions to share here!

TMT: Can you start by telling us a little bit about you and your new book, Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles?

In addition to being a writer, I’m a nurse, pastor’s wife, and mom of four practically-grown kids. I’m crazy about stories and the sea, so it’s no surprise I wrote a story set by the sea! Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles takes place on a fictional island in the Pacific Northwest—a setting inspired by my childhood summers on Gabriola Island. It’s about family, friendship, community, the possibility of miracles, and learning to see the “everyday miracles” present in our ordinary, less-than-perfect lives. It’s a story with lots of heart and just a hint of magic. ☺

TMT: Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles is a novel in verse. Can you talk about experiences writing poetry and how you decided this book worked best as a novel in verse?

The book actually didn’t start out in verse, but after several false starts, I switched from prose to free verse and it suddenly clicked. My prose tends to be lean and somewhat lyrical, so the transition to verse felt very natural.

A couple things confirmed for me that Root Beer Candy would work best in verse—first and foremost, hearing Bailey’s voice so clearly when I began to write in verse. As I continued to write, I became aware of other reasons verse was right for this one: it freed me to use imagery and word choices to weave the setting all through the story, and to use white space to encourage readers to ponder the story’s ambiguities and unanswered-questions.

TMT: What is the best writing advice you have received and what advice would you give student writers?

Annie Dillard said “follow your own weirdness”, and that idea helped me learn to trust my gut, to tell the stories I want to tell without self-censoring the ideas before they ever get off the ground. I’d pass that on to student writers, along with this simple keep-moving-forward advice: create something, send it out into the world, create something else.

TMT: What are you reading and loving right now (or recently)? What are some ways what you have read influences your own writing?

Recently read & loved:

• Like Water on Stone, by Dana Walrath. A verse novel about three siblings during the Armenian genocide – compelling, tragic, powerful.
• Going for a Sea Bath, by Andreé Poulin. A delightful picture book – silly, fun, and perfect for ocean-lovers like me.
• Hour of the Bees, by Lindsay Eagar. A beautiful story of family and reclaiming one’s roots – told with a wonderful blend of magic and reality.

Currently reading:

• I just started Traci Chee’s The Reader (YA fantasy). I’m only a couple chapters in, but already I can tell I’m going to adore this book.

The books I read influence my writing by introducing me to new things—from big things like passions or ideologies, to small things like snippets of setting or character—that may combine with my personal experiences and beliefs, and morph into something that pops up in my own stories. That’s a long-winded way of saying books shape who I am.

The books I read also influence my writing by opening my mind to possibilities (story-wise and format-wise), breaking down the perceived you-can’t-do-that-in-children’s-books barrier. YA author A.S. King’s books were significant to me in that way—her mastery of blending “weird” with realistic fiction is inspiring and freeing. And verse novels that play with form have also influenced me this way.

TMT: Teach Mentor Texts is all about promoting the love of reading and writing. How would you finish the statements: “Reading is…” and “Writing is…”

Reading is entertainment and enlightenment. It’s time travel and visiting new worlds. It’s walking in another’s shoes, and it’s knowing I’m not alone.

Writing is both a creative outlet and an emotional outlet for me—a way to tell my stories, express my truth, and sometimes even make a little sense of my world. Also, it’s fun. ;-)

I happen to think writing is fun, too! A big thanks to Shari for stopping by! The pub date for Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles is October 16th, so be sure to pre-order your copy today.  And, if you love MG like I do, be sure to sign up for the iLoveMG newsletter. 

For The Love Of Mentor Texts - Marcie Atkins

Welcome to another post in my series For The Love of Mentor Texts! We're celebrating today with some mentor texts for writing novels in verse from Marcie Flinchum Atkins. I hope you are as inspired by her ideas as I am!

Would you like to write a guest post for For The Love of Mentor Texts? Just let me know by filling out this simple form. 

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Using Mentor Texts to Revise a Novel in Verse

By Marcie Flinchum Atkins

I use mentor texts at all different points in my writing process, and I use them for just about every type of book that I write (picture book, middle grade, poetry). I began a novel in verse a few years ago, then put it in a box. This past spring, something made me pull it back out again. I planned to attend a Novel in Verse retreat at Highlights in an effort to revise this book. At different stops along this process, I used other novels in verse as mentor texts.

Read

The first thing I do when I’m studying a particular type of book is read a LOT of it. Heather Sellers calls this THE BOOK 100 in her book CHAPTER AFTER CHAPTER. The idea is that before you ever set out to write a particular type of book, you have read 100 of them. Writing a mystery for middle grade readers? Read 100 of them. Writing a magical realism book for young adults? Read 100 of them.

Several years ago, I started reading lots of novels in verse. As I planned to attend Highlights, I read even more. Here are a few good lists to get you started:  

* 100 Must Read YA Novels in Verse

* Sarah Tregay’s Books of Novels in Verse

Then I began to read specifically. For example, I love Margarita Engle’s novels in verse, so I started reading as many of her books as I could. I also wanted to read as many books set in other countries as I could. Mine is set in Thailand, but I wanted to see how authors shared their stories set in other countries.

Study

As I read those dozens of novels in verse, I took a look at setting and character and style in a more holistic way. But as I begin to hone my own novel in verse, I wanted to look into two specific things: Beginnings and Transitions.

An agent showed some interest in my novel but noted some issues with my beginning. I wanted to study some things that other writers did in the beginnings of their novels in verse to ground the reader. I read several beginnings of novels in verse and made detailed notes.

I noted things such as:

* Beginning Information

In some cases, there was some sort of beginning information in the form of a quote, a note, a preface, or even headings of some kind set apart to tie the reader to place, time, or both.

I also wrote down the kind of information that was provided for the reader. I love studying the ways that the book layout even contributes to the overall reading experience.

* Titles of poems

As I read titles of the poems and wrote them down, I wanted to see how the titles fit with the overall poem. Sometimes the poem titles served as the first line of the poem.

My biggest takeaway is that titles often served as transitions. One of the questions I asked Caroline Rose Starr in her Teachers Write post was about how she does transitions.

Other times, transitions came in the form of locations and dates in between poems.

* Poem Content

As part of my study of beginnings, I also wanted to see what kind of information was conveyed in the first 8-10 poems. As I studied those opening poems in each book, I actually made notes on what information was given: character, setting, plotting, and how it was handled.

In the aforementioned post by Caroline Starr Rose, she says, “If a prose novel is a rolling film, a verse novel is a collection of still photographs, placed one against the next.” My goal was to see how those “photographs” fit together like a puzzle to form a narrative.

For me, each book I write requires different things. I study different mentor texts at different stages of my process. If you are also writing a novel in verse, I’m including some recent links below. If you are writing a different type of book, I hope you can apply some of my mentor text studying process to your own project.

Links:

• My own reflections after a Highlights Novel in Verse workshop
• Jeannine Atkins “Verse Novels: What Bears Repeating”
• Jeannine Atkins “More on Verse Novels”
• Booklist: Memoirs in Verse
• Nerdy Book Club: Novels in Verse

Marcie Flinchum Atkins has been an elementary educator for 19 years. She is currently a PYP/IB librarian in Falls Church, Virginia by day and writes books for children in the wee hours of the morning. She has a M.A. and M.F.A. in Children's Literature from Hollins University. She blogs about mentor texts at: www.marcieatkins.com. You can follow her on Twitter @MarcieFAtkins.

Marcie and I are curious:

How are you currently studying mentor texts

to help you make your work stronger?

We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

A big bear hug and giant thanks to Marcie for stopping by today!

The Crossover

Title: The Crossover 
Author: Kwame Alexander 
Publisher: Harcout Brace and Company 
Publication Date: January 1st, 2014 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel-In-Verse 
GoodReads Summary: "With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood.

Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
What I Think: Next week the 2016 award winners of the ALA media awards will be announced. I'll wait and watch in excitement to see who receives these honors this year. It's taken me almost a whole year to read The Crossover by Kwame Alexander despite it winning the Newbery Award last year. I'm just me, but I'm here to say it is truly deserving. 
     Kwame has a way with poetry. I love how he puts words together, where he chooses to put breaks in a line, how he changes the font or the font size and places words on the page. I'm such a fan of novels in verse already but I'm glad to see more and more of this format for young readers. 
     What I found most unique about this story was how different stories are woven in. Our main character clearly cares about basketball and his family. I love the dynamic between him and his twin brother and also between him and his parents. Before I knew it, I was in love with this family - how they believe in each other and support each other. 
     As soon as I finished this book I asked if I could do a booktalk with a group of 8th graders I've visited before. I was excited to share the book because I loved it so much but also because I know it's going to be a book eighth grade boys are going to be likely to pick up but that will also be a great read. For me, it's a slam dunk.
Read Together: Grades 5 - 8 
Read Alone: Grades 5 - 12 
Read With: Shakespeare Bats Clean Up by Ron Koertge, Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick, Fat Boy Vs. The Cheerleaders by Geoff Herbach
Snatch of Text:  

Basketball Rule #1

In this game of life

your family is the court

and the ball is your heart.

No matter how good you are,

no matter how down you get,

always leave

your heart 

on the court.

(p. 20) 

Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when something so important to you was taken away from you. How did you handle it? Were you able to get it back?
Topics Covered: Family, Siblings, Friendship, Loyalty, Determination, Integration - Physical Education, Sports, Dedication, Courage 

I *heart* It:

Brown Girl Dreaming

Title: Brown Girl Dreaming 

Author: Jacqueline Woodson   

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books 

Publication Date: August 28th, 2014 

Genre/Format: Autobiography/Novel in Verse 

GoodReads Summary: Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. 

 
Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.

What I Think: I've heard so many great things about Brown Girl Dreaming and it's all completely well-deserved. I loved soaking up this story. Jacqueline Woodson weaves her words into beautiful snippets of her life but at the same time each of her stories build up to a gorgeous big picture of how these stories shaped who she is today. 
     We just celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday but as we go into Black History month, reading this book and continuing the discussion of celebrating diversity, Brown Girl Dreaming would pair well with Dr. King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. After reading the speech and discussing what dreams he outlined in his famous speech and discussing events of the time, students might read Jacqueline Woodson's autobiography and compare and contrast Dr. King's dreams to Woodson's life. 
     At the very beginning of Brown Girl Dreaming, Woodson shares Langston Hughes' poem “Hold Fast to Dreams”. The theme of dreams runs throughout the entire book as Woodson talks about her life. When we ask students about their hopes and dreams, oftentimes, they articulate profound answers for themselves or people who are close to them.

     There are so many texts that could be matched up here to discuss diversity. I believe the key to talking about diversity is to help students recognize that while we all have certain qualities or characteristics that make us different or unique and it's important to celebrate those differences, there are some very core values and beliefs that we can all share - love for our family, compassion for others, wanting to be connected - and those bring us together no matter our differences.

Read Together: Grades 4 - 6 

Read Alone: Grades 5 - 8 

Read With: I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King Jr. with illustrations by Kadir Nelson, One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia, Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan

Snatch of Text:  

"What is your one dream,

my friend Maria asks me.

Your one wish come true?" 

(p. 210)

"Even though the laws have changed

my grandmother still take us

to the back of the bus when we go downtown

in the rain. It's easier, my grandmother says,

than having white folks look at me like I'm dirt.

But we aren't dirt. We are people

paying the same fare as other people.

When I say this to my grandmother,

she nods, says, Easier to stay where you belong.

I look around and see the ones 

who walk straight to the back. See

the ones who take a seat up front, daring

anyone to make them move. And know

this is who I want to be. Not scared

like that. Brave

like that."

(p. 237)

“Every dandelion blown

each Star light, star bright

The first star I see tonight.

My wish is always the same.

Every fallen eyelash

and first firefly of summer…

The dream remains.

What did you wish for?

To be a writer.

Every heads-up penny found

and daydream and night dream

and even when people say it’s a pipe dream…!

I want to be a writer.” (p.313)

Writing Prompts: Identify different characters in the book and infer their perspectives on dreams. Use evidence from the text to support your thoughts. As you think about the different characters - where they live, their lifestyles - how might you compare and contrast their dreams or what they think about dreams?

After reading Brown Girl Dreaming and imagining Jacqueline Woodson's life growing up, we know her dream was to be a writer. What is your one dream? If you would have one wish come true, what would it be and why?

Think about Jacqueline Woodson's one dream that you identified and your own one dream, do you see how you might be similar? Whether you have the same color skin as Jacqueline Woodson or not, what similarities do you see between her dream and yours? 

Topics Covered: Family, Love, Dreams, Friendship, Siblings, Determination, Adversity, Integration- SS

I *heart* It: