My Writing and Reading Life: Jen Calonita, Author of Flunked

Jen Calonita | The Children’s Book Review | March 18, 2015

JEN CALONITA has interviewed everyone from Reese Witherspoon to Justin Timberlake, but the only person she’s ever wanted to trade places with is Disney’s Cinderella. She’s the award-winning author of the My Secrets of My Hollywood Life series. Jen lives in Merrick, New York with her husband, two sons, and their Chihuahua, Captain Jack Sparrow.

FLUNKED, the first book in the middle grade Fairy Tale Reform School series

I’ve always had a soft spot for villains in fairy tales. Why can’t they turn over a new leaf? In my story, the former wicked stepmother, the evil queen, the big bad wolf and the sea siren open up a reform school for delinquent children—but are they as reformed as they claim to be? Hmm….

I’m particularly fond of my gargoyles. I won’t say too much so I don’t spoil the surprise, but my son Tyler helped me come up with a big scene with them and it’s my favorite in the book.

If Panera Bread would like to put a plaque over my favorite booth, I’m game. I spend a lot of time writing there!

A notebook. I carry one everywhere. You never know when inspiration will strike!

I love, love, love Children’s Book World in Haverford, PA—they always know exactly what book my kids will like and the store reminds me of Meg Cabot’s in You’ve Got Mail. I’m also quite fond of my local Carle Place Barnes and Noble because the staff is amazing and they’re so great about helping me set up events and get into local schools to share the good word about books.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. So good, so juicy, so fun. I can’t put it down!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It’s my favorite book in the whole series.

Meg Cabot. Her Princess Diaries books inspired me to tackle YA and I love how she can make you laugh. Same goes for Sophie Kinsella. A book that puts a smile on my face is my favorite kind.

Steven Kellogg because he was the first author I ever met when I was in elementary school and I was in awe when he signed his book, Molly Moves Out. I keep it on a book shelf with my own books I’ve written.

Cammie Morgan from the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter. That feisty little spy could get us in lots of trouble. The fun kind!

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By Jen Calonita

Publisher’s Synopsis: Would you send a villain to do a hero’s job?

Flunked is an exciting new twisted fairy tale from the award-winning author of the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series. “Charming fairy-tale fun.” -Sarah Mlynowski, author of the New York Times bestselling Whatever After series.

Gilly wouldn’t call herself wicked, exactly…but when you have five little brothers and sisters and live in a run-down boot, you have to get creative to make ends meet. Gilly’s a pretty good thief (if she does say so herself).

Until she gets caught.

Gilly’s sentenced to three months at Fairy Tale Reform School where all of the teachers are former (super-scary) villains like the Big Bad Wolf, the Evil Queen, and Cinderella’s Wicked Stepmother. Harsh. But when she meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there’s more to this school than its heroic mission. There’s a battle brewing and Gilly has to wonder: can a villain really change?

“Fairy Tale Reform School is spellbinding and wickedly clever. Gilly is smart, spunky, and a hilarious narrator, and I cannot wait to read about her next adventure!” -Leslie Margolis, author of the Annabelle Unleashed novels and the Maggie Brooklyn mysteries

Ages 10-13 | Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-1492601562

Available Here: 

Discover more middle grade books like Flunked, by Jen Calonita, by checking out our reviews and articles tagged with Jen Calonita, Middle Grade Books and be sure to follow along with our Writing and Reading Life series.

Tags: Ally Carter, Fairy Tale Reform School Series, Fractured Fairy Tales, Jen Calonita, Liane Moriarty, Meg Cabot, Middle Grade Books, Sophie Kinsella, Steven Kellogg

Category: Ages 9-12, Author Interviews, Chapter Books, Fairy Tales

The Children’s Book Review, named one of the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Great Web Sites for Kids, is powered by Bianca Schulze. Bianca is a freelance writer, bookseller, aspiring author, and mother to two daughters. She also has a decade’s worth of experience working with children in the great outdoors. Combined with her love of books and experience as a children’s specialist bookseller, her goal is to grow readers by showcasing useful and inspiring books!

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Beloved Books to Inspire 12-Year-Olds | Shared by Author K.E. Ormsbee

K.E. Ormsbee | The Children’s Book Review | April 19, 2015

In The Water and the Wild, twelve-year-old Lottie Fiske receives a number of birthday presents from a mysterious gift-giver. One of these presents is Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene, which Lottie finds dense and tedious.

At Lottie’s age, I too would’ve professed the same opinion of the epic sixteenth century poem. I was, however, a sucker for all things magical and otherworldly, and that affinity is evident in the following selection of my favorite books when I was Lottie’s age. These stories kept me up way past my bedtime and still hold places of honor on my bookshelf.

By Carol Kendall

Minnipins rock. And if you don’t know who Minnipins are or why they rock, you ought to pick up a copy of The Gammage Cup and jump into the brilliantly conceived fantasy world of the Land Between the Mountains. The hobbit-like residents of Slipper-on-the-Water live a tradition-bound life, but there are a few weirdos in town—Gummy, Muggles, Mingy, Curley Green, and Walter the Earl—who reject the normal way of living in favor of staying true to themselves and their ideals. Other villagers refer to these pariahs as “Them” and eventually banish them from town. And that’s just the start of a very grand adventure. The Gammage Cup is packed with imaginative details and a spellbinding plot, and it’s a thought-provoking exploration of conformity and individuality. Growing up, I kept this story close by my bedside for multiple re-reads.

Ages 8-12 | Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers | 2000 | ISBN-13: 978-0152024932

By L.M. Montgomery

Okay, maybe I was biased toward these books because Anne Shirley was an oddball ginger, just like me, but I like to think the Green Gables series has remained one of my favorites because it really is captivating storytelling. I was in love with the world of Avonlea and never tired of reading about Anne’s crazy shenanigans. My love for L.M. Montgomery’s world was only intensified by the fabulous film adaptations—still my go-to sick day movies—and the subsequent Road to Avonlea series.

Ages 9-12 | Publisher: Puffin Books | 2014 | ISBN-13: 978-0147514004

By Natalie Babbitt

Long before Hawt Vampire Boyz were popular, there was Jesse Tuck, an immortal boy with his own set of secrets. I remember first reading Tuck Everlasting on a road trip from Kentucky to North Carolina. As the car followed winding paths through Appalachia and dipped into back roads along wooded, rustic country, I could so vividly picture the story of Winnie Foster and the Tuck Family happening right outside my window. The story may be short, but it haunted me in a way few other books had before or have since. It’s a magnificent study of life and death that got me thinking about the beauty created by temporality long before I ever picked up any poems by Wallace Stevens.

Ages 10-14 | Publisher: Square Fish | 2009 | ISBN-13: 978-0312369811

By Jane Austen

Again, I have a feeling my initial love of this novel was fueled by subconscious narcissism, since the heroine’s name is Catherine. Or it could have just been because this was one of the shorter Austen novels and therefore more accessible. But whatever the reason, I adored Northanger Abbey, along with every other Jane Austen novel I devoured in my preteen and teenaged years. I may not have fully grasped the gothic parodic element Austen was going for, but darn it, that Mr. Tilney sent my heart aflutter like none other.

Ages 12 and up | Publisher: Random House UK | 2014 | ISBN-13: 978-0099589297

There you have it! Four beloved books that inspired, entertained, and delighted twelve-year-old me. And all of them only deepened a love of fiction that would one day lead me to write Lottie Fiske’s own story.

K. E. Ormsbee

K.E. Ormsbee was born and raised in the Bluegrass State. She then went off and lived in places across the pond, like England and Spain, where she pretended she was a French ingénue. Just kidding! That only happened once. She also lived in some hotter nooks of the USA, like Birmingham, AL and Austin, TX. Now she’s back in Lexington, KY, where there is a Proper Autumn.

In her wild, early years, she taught English as a Foreign Language, interned with a film society, and did a lot of irresponsible road tripping. Her crowning achievement is that the back of her head was in an iPhone commercial, and people actually paid her money for it.

Nowadays, she teaches piano lessons, plays in a band you’ve never heard of, and runs races that she never wins. She likes clothes from the 60s, music from the 70s, and movies from the 80s. She still satiates her bone-deep wanderlust whenever she can.

KEOrmsbee.com | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr

By K.E. Ormsbee

Publisher’s Synopsis: A green apple tree grows in the heart of Thirsby Square, and tangled up in its magical roots is the story of Lottie Fiske. For as long as Lottie can remember, the only people who seem to care about her are her best friend, Eliot, and the mysterious letter writer who sends her birthday gifts. But now strange things are happening on the island Lottie calls home, and Eliot’s getting sicker, with a disease the doctors have given up trying to cure. Lottie is helpless, useless, powerless—until a door opens in the apple tree. Follow Lottie down through the roots to another world in pursuit of the impossible: a cure for the incurable, a use for the useless, and protection against the pain of loss.

Ages 8-12 | Publisher: Chronicle Books | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-1452113869

Available Here: 

CCSS-Aligned Discussion/Teacher’s Guide

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Enter to win an autographed copy of The Water and the Wild, by K.E. Ormsbee. Giveaway ends May 18, 2015, at 11:59 P.M. PST. Enter here »

K.E. Ormsbee, author of The Water and the Wild, selected the books in this list of “Beloved Books to Inspire 12-Year-Olds.” Discover more books like The Water and the Wild by pursuing articles on The Children’s Book Review tagged with “Books About Loss.”

Tags: Carol Kendall, Chronicle Books, featured, HMH Books for Young Readers, Jane Austen, K.E. Ormsbee, L.M. Montgomery, Loss, Natalie Babbitt, Puffin Books, Random House UK, Square Fish Books

Category: Ages 9-12, Best Kids Stories, Book Lists, Books for Girls, Chapter Books, Gift Books

The Children’s Book Review, named one of the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Great Web Sites for Kids, is a resource devoted to children’s literacy. We publish reviews and book lists of the best books for kids of all ages. We also produce author and illustrator interviews and share literacy based articles that help parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians to grow readers. This article was written and provided by a guest author.

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Backwards Moon, by Mary Losure | Author Showcase

The Children’s Book Review | March 25, 2014

Holiday House, Sept 15, 2014

Middle-grade fantasy, ages 7-10.

One of Bank Street  Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2015.

It’s hard being the only young witches in the entire coven. But that’s how it is for Nettle and her cousin Bracken.  In their mountain valley, far in the wilderness, there’s no one to play with but ravens and each other.

It’s no use thinking about flying to the human world, where at least there might be somebody their own age. Nettle and Bracken have tried it plenty of times, but it never works –the mountain pass is guarded by a Veil, spell-spun by the older witches.  It keeps human beings out—and Nettle and Bracken in.

It’s most annoying.  Because, really, what could be so dangerous about humans?  They don’t have magic. They can’t fly.  They can’t understand the language of animals. They can’t even see in the dark.

Still…. There’s something about humans the other witches aren’t telling Nettle and Bracken.

Then one day, the Veil is gone. The mountain pass is open—and Nettle and Bracken are off on an adventure that will change their lives forever.

Mary Losure is the author THE FAIRY RING, OR ELSIE AND FRANCES FOOL THE WORLD (Candlewick, 2012), a Booklist Editor’s Choice for nonfiction and Junior Library Guild Selection; WILD BOY:THE REAL LIFE OF THE SAVAGE OF AVERYRON (Candlewick, 2013), a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award and a Junior Library Guild Selection; and  the forthcoming ISAAC THE ALCHEMIST, another work of nonfiction from Candlewick. BACKWARDS MOON is her first novel. For more information, visit: www.marylosure.com

The Author Showcase is a place for authors and illustrators to gain visibility for their works. This article was provided by the author of “Backwards Mooon.” Learn more about marketing books and finding an Author Showcase book marketing plan that is right for you …

Tags: Books About Witches, Mary Losure, Middle Grade Books

Category: Ages 4-8, Ages 9-12, Author Showcase, Fantasy: Supernatural Fiction

The Children’s Book Review, named one of the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Great Web Sites for Kids, is a resource devoted to children’s literacy. We publish reviews and book lists of the best books for kids of all ages. We also produce author and illustrator interviews and share literacy based articles that help parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians to grow readers. This article was written and provided by a guest author.

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Children’s Book Author Django Wexler Combines Computer Science and Creative Writing

Django Wexler | The Children’s Book Review | April 24, 2015

 

I have a double degree in Computer Science and Creative Writing. This came about kind of by accident. I enrolled in my college, Carnegie Mellon, as a Computer Science major, but there’s also a required minor. The traditional path was to minor in Electrical Engineering or some such, because it had a lot of overlap with CS, but writing sounded like more fun so I went with that. Once I got the minor, I discovered a) getting the second major didn’t take that many more classes, b) the classes it did take looked fun, and c) I had some time in my schedule senior year, so I finagled things a bit and managed to qualify.

The plan, such as it was, was that CS would be my day job, and writing would be my hobby. I’ve always loved to write, but back then I didn’t think I’d be able to make a living at it. Fortunately, I also loved programming and computers, which seemed like a much more marketable skill. The art of programming has some real similarities with writing, but also some big differences that take a bit of getting used to.

The biggest similarity, I think, is in the mental state that it takes to either write or program. People in both fields talk about getting “in the zone” or “into the flow”, reaching a place where words or code just seem to come without effort. They often get a bit mystical about this, but for me it was always about short-term memory—when I really focus on writing or programming, there are hundreds of tiny details that I’ve crammed into my head to be available at a moment’s notice. (Names of variables, positions of characters in a scene, arrangement of computer memory, the frequency of use of words or phrases.) It’s all stuff that you can find out or look up, but having it in your head is so much easier that when you get to that state, it feels like magic. This leads to another similarity between writers and programmers—they both hate being interrupted. It feels like being a juggler who gets tapped on the shoulder to talk about his income taxes; by the time you’re done, all the balls have hit the floor and you have to start over.

The difference that took me longest to get used to is the lack, in writing, of any kind of objective yardstick of quality or function. At the most basic level, when you program you feed your work to a compiler, which is a machine that converts human-readable code into binary, computer-readable bits and bytes. Modern compilers are very smart and have lots of rules and checks to make sure that what you’re feeding in is actually valid code—a bit like a spelling and grammar check, but way, way more reliable and comprehensive. The actual process of programming often involves a lot of staring at lists of compiler errors and fixing them until the thing works.

Even then, if you’re a good programmer, you have tests that you run on your code—unit tests that make sure it does what it’s supposed to do, and performance tests that measure how quickly it does it and how much memory and so on it consumes. So when the time comes for debugging and polishing, you have a bunch of relatively objective markers to steer by–it compiles, or it doesn’t; it outputs the right thing, or it doesn’t, it runs in the required time, or it doesn’t. It’s not perfect–coding is hard!–but it’s something.

In writing, by contrast, you have very little to go on, and what you do have is fantastically unreliable. I’ve learned the hard way that my feelings about a book while I’m writing it have almost no connection to its quality. I’ve ended up disliking stuff I loved while I was writing it, and stuff that I hated at the time I think turns out to be my best work. Letting a draft sit and cool off for a while is crucial, but even then my opinion is a shaky barometer at best. Getting feedback from others helps, but introduces another set of challenges, because everyone has a different idea of what “good” looks like and they don’t always match up with mine. (A good beta reader, who gets what you’re trying to do and is helpful, is worth her weight in gold. If you find one, grab on like a limpet and never let go.)

The result is that while some of the skills I developed for programming, especially the discipline and memory, transferred over surprisingly well, there was a whole set of new things to learn when I got to the point where I was trying to take writing seriously. The best part of my writing degree was that it forced me to take a whole bunch of workshop classes, which develop that critical critique giving and receiving instinct and thicken your skin. More than anything I learned in class, that’s probably the thing I’m most happy to have under my belt a decade later.

(As an aside, if you’re a programmer and you can write, you’ll never be unemployed–it’s a rare skill combination! Companies always need tech writers to explain to the non-geeks what the geeks are up to.)

Django Wexler is a self-proclaimed computer/fantasy/sci fi geek. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with degrees in creative writing and computer science, and worked in artificial intelligence research. He left his job at Microsoft and now writes full-time.

DjangoWexler.com | Facebook | Twitter

Written by Django Wexler

Publisher’s Synopsis: When Alice’s mysterious Uncle Geryon sends her to help capture a rogue apprentice—a boy who has the same ability Alice has to Read himself into stories—she knows to expect a wild and unpredictable trip. But even though Alice has visited the magical realms inside libraries before, this adventure is far more dangerous. Because Torment, the magic creature holding this library together, has gone mad.

But he might also have information about Alice’s missing father.

Ages 10 and up | Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-0803739765

Available Here: 

Discover more books like The Forbidden Library: The Mad Apprentice, written by Django Wexler, by checking out our reviews and articles tagged with Fantasy Book, Creative Writing and Writing Tips.

Tags: Computer Science Books, Creative Writing, Django Wexler, Fantasy, featured, Kathy Dawson Books, Writing Tips

Category: Ages 9-12, Chapter Books, Fantasy: Supernatural Fiction, Writing Resources

The Children’s Book Review, named one of the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Great Web Sites for Kids, is a resource devoted to children’s literacy. We publish reviews and book lists of the best books for kids of all ages. We also produce author and illustrator interviews and share literacy based articles that help parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians to grow readers. This article was written and provided by a guest author.

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Five Family Favorites with Margarita Engle, Author of The Sky Painter: Louis Fuertes, Bird Artist

Margarita Engle | The Children’s Book Review | April 28, 2015

 

By José Martí

This is one of the books my Cuban mother read to me in Spanish when I was little. Written in the nineteenth century, it blends poetry, science, history, folklore, and fiction. I especially loved hearing the sound of my mother’s voice when she read out loud in the passionate way of Latin American poetry recitations. Even now, in her mid-80s, she retains an excitement about books and nature. She lives in Los Angeles, where she plants milkweed and tends monarch butterflies.

Ages 10 and up | Publisher: Linkgua | ISBN-13: 978-8493343958

Written by Munro Leaf

My mother read this book to me after she learned English, and I read it to my children too. When I was little, my parents would leave me with a babysitter in Mexico, and go to the bullfights, where my father painted the matadors and horsemen. Both my parents are pacifists, and watching cruelty to animals was against their nature, but they were part of a generation of artists influenced by the bullfight paintings of Picasso.

Later, at home, I believe my mother loved the message of peace in The Story of Ferdinand. It was a message I enjoyed passing on to my children. Just picturing the cover of this book brings a little smile of satisfaction back into my mind.

Ages 3-5 | Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap | ISBN-13: 978-0448456942

Written by Dr. Seuss

This was one of my favorite books to read to my children. The vast array of imaginary types of fish is reminiscent of the biodiversity in real natural habitats. My son is a chef now, but he also knows how to create beautiful saltwater aquarium designs, with all sorts of amazing corals and fish. My daughter teaches English to adult international students, but she lives near the ocean and loves to poke around in tide pools and wildlife refuges. I’m not saying Dr. Seuss definitely influenced their interests, but, well . . . it could be true, at least a little bit . . . couldn’t it?

Ages 5-9 | Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers | ISBN-13: 978-0394800837

Written by Angela DiTerlizzi, Illustrated by Brendan Wenzel

My husband is an entomologist. He loves reading this book to our granddaughter, who is enthusiastic about insects, gardens, and any outdoor activity where she can get her hands dirty while learning tidbits of scientific information.

Ages 4-8 | Publisher: Beach Lane Book | ISBN-13: 978-1442458802

Written by Mercer Mayer

This is one of my favorite books to read to our granddaughter, just as it was one of favorites to read to my kids when they were little. Mayer’s Critters look funny and sound silly, but they’re incredibly believable portrayals of the inner workings of children’s minds.

Ages 3-7 | Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers | ISBN-13: 978-0307119483

Margarita Engle
Photo credit: Marshall W. Johnson

Margarita Engle is a Cuban American poet and novelist whose work has been published in many countries. Her books include The Poet Slave of Cuba, winner of the Pura Belpré Award for narrative and the Américas Award; The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor book; Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian, a Kirkus Best Book for Children; and The Lightning Dreamer, Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist, winner of the 2014 PEN Center USA Literary Award for Young Adult/Children’s Literature. Margarita lives in California, where she enjoys bird-watching and helping her husband with his volunteer work for wilderness search-and-rescue dog training programs. To learn more, and to download a free activity kit for THE SKY  PAINTER, visit: www.margaritaengle.com.

Written by Margarita Engle; Illustrated by Aliona Bereghici

Publisher’s Synopsis: Louis loves to watch birds. He takes care of injured birds and studies how they look and how they move. His father wants him to become an engineer, but Louis dreams of being a bird artist. To achieve this dream, he must practice, practice, practice. He learns from the art of John James Audubon. But as Louis grows up, he begins to draw and paint living, flying birds in their natural habitats.

Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874–1927) is now known as the father of modern bird art. He traveled with many scientific expeditions all over the world. His best-known works—paintings for habitat exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History in New York—are still beloved by visitors today. His art helped to encourage wildlife conservation, inspiring people to celebrate and protect the world of wings.

Poems by Newbery Honor–winning author Margarita Engle and illustrations by Aliona Bereghici capture the life of Louis Fuertes and the deep sense of wonder that he felt when he painted the sky.

Ages 6-8 | Publisher: Two Lions | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-1477826331

Available Here: 

A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust

One lucky winner will receive a copy of THE SKY PAINTER: LOUIS FUERTES, BIRD ARTIST by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Aliona Bereghici. Enter here»

Margarita Engle, author of The Sky Painter: Louis Fuertes, Bird Artist, selected these five family favorites. Discover more articles on The Children’s Book Review tagged with Books About Artists, Biographies, Books About Birds, and Margarita Engle.

Tags: Aliona Bereghici, American Museum of Natural History, Angela DiTerlizzi, Artists, Biographies, Birds, Books About Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Brendan Wenzel, Dr. Seuss, José Martí, Margarita Engle, Mercer Mayer, Munro Leaf, Natural History Books, Picture Books

Category: Ages 4-8, Animal Books, Art, Books for Boys, Cultural Wisdom, Picture Books

The Children’s Book Review, named one of the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Great Web Sites for Kids, is a resource devoted to children’s literacy. We publish reviews and book lists of the best books for kids of all ages. We also produce author and illustrator interviews and share literacy based articles that help parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians to grow readers. This article was written and provided by a guest author.

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Beloved Books to Inspire 12-Year-Olds | Shared by Author K.E. Ormsbee

K.E. Ormsbee | The Children’s Book Review | April 19, 2015

 

In The Water and the Wild, twelve-year-old Lottie Fiske receives a number of birthday presents from a mysterious gift-giver. One of these presents is Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene, which Lottie finds dense and tedious.

At Lottie’s age, I too would’ve professed the same opinion of the epic sixteenth century poem. I was, however, a sucker for all things magical and otherworldly, and that affinity is evident in the following selection of my favorite books when I was Lottie’s age. These stories kept me up way past my bedtime and still hold places of honor on my bookshelf.

By Carol Kendall

Minnipins rock. And if you don’t know who Minnipins are or why they rock, you ought to pick up a copy of The Gammage Cup and jump into the brilliantly conceived fantasy world of the Land Between the Mountains. The hobbit-like residents of Slipper-on-the-Water live a tradition-bound life, but there are a few weirdos in town—Gummy, Muggles, Mingy, Curley Green, and Walter the Earl—who reject the normal way of living in favor of staying true to themselves and their ideals. Other villagers refer to these pariahs as “Them” and eventually banish them from town. And that’s just the start of a very grand adventure. The Gammage Cup is packed with imaginative details and a spellbinding plot, and it’s a thought-provoking exploration of conformity and individuality. Growing up, I kept this story close by my bedside for multiple re-reads.

Ages 8-12 | Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers | 2000 | ISBN-13: 978-0152024932

By L.M. Montgomery

Okay, maybe I was biased toward these books because Anne Shirley was an oddball ginger, just like me, but I like to think the Green Gables series has remained one of my favorites because it really is captivating storytelling. I was in love with the world of Avonlea and never tired of reading about Anne’s crazy shenanigans. My love for L.M. Montgomery’s world was only intensified by the fabulous film adaptations—still my go-to sick day movies—and the subsequent Road to Avonlea series.

Ages 9-12 | Publisher: Puffin Books | 2014 | ISBN-13: 978-0147514004

By Natalie Babbitt

Long before Hawt Vampire Boyz were popular, there was Jesse Tuck, an immortal boy with his own set of secrets. I remember first reading Tuck Everlasting on a road trip from Kentucky to North Carolina. As the car followed winding paths through Appalachia and dipped into back roads along wooded, rustic country, I could so vividly picture the story of Winnie Foster and the Tuck Family happening right outside my window. The story may be short, but it haunted me in a way few other books had before or have since. It’s a magnificent study of life and death that got me thinking about the beauty created by temporality long before I ever picked up any poems by Wallace Stevens.

Ages 10-14 | Publisher: Square Fish | 2009 | ISBN-13: 978-0312369811

By Jane Austen

Again, I have a feeling my initial love of this novel was fueled by subconscious narcissism, since the heroine’s name is Catherine. Or it could have just been because this was one of the shorter Austen novels and therefore more accessible. But whatever the reason, I adored Northanger Abbey, along with every other Jane Austen novel I devoured in my preteen and teenaged years. I may not have fully grasped the gothic parodic element Austen was going for, but darn it, that Mr. Tilney sent my heart aflutter like none other.

Ages 12 and up | Publisher: Random House UK | 2014 | ISBN-13: 978-0099589297

There you have it! Four beloved books that inspired, entertained, and delighted twelve-year-old me. And all of them only deepened a love of fiction that would one day lead me to write Lottie Fiske’s own story.

K. E. Ormsbee

K.E. Ormsbee was born and raised in the Bluegrass State. She then went off and lived in places across the pond, like England and Spain, where she pretended she was a French ingénue. Just kidding! That only happened once. She also lived in some hotter nooks of the USA, like Birmingham, AL and Austin, TX. Now she’s back in Lexington, KY, where there is a Proper Autumn.

In her wild, early years, she taught English as a Foreign Language, interned with a film society, and did a lot of irresponsible road tripping. Her crowning achievement is that the back of her head was in an iPhone commercial, and people actually paid her money for it.

Nowadays, she teaches piano lessons, plays in a band you’ve never heard of, and runs races that she never wins. She likes clothes from the 60s, music from the 70s, and movies from the 80s. She still satiates her bone-deep wanderlust whenever she can.

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By K.E. Ormsbee

Publisher’s Synopsis: A green apple tree grows in the heart of Thirsby Square, and tangled up in its magical roots is the story of Lottie Fiske. For as long as Lottie can remember, the only people who seem to care about her are her best friend, Eliot, and the mysterious letter writer who sends her birthday gifts. But now strange things are happening on the island Lottie calls home, and Eliot’s getting sicker, with a disease the doctors have given up trying to cure. Lottie is helpless, useless, powerless—until a door opens in the apple tree. Follow Lottie down through the roots to another world in pursuit of the impossible: a cure for the incurable, a use for the useless, and protection against the pain of loss.

Ages 8-12 | Publisher: Chronicle Books | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-1452113869

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CCSS-Aligned Discussion/Teacher’s Guide

Scribd Excerpt

Enter to win an autographed copy of The Water and the Wild, by K.E. Ormsbee. Giveaway ends May 18, 2015, at 11:59 P.M. PST. Enter here »

 

K.E. Ormsbee, author of The Water and the Wild, selected the books in this list of “Beloved Books to Inspire 12-Year-Olds.” Discover more books like The Water and the Wild by pursuing articles on The Children’s Book Review tagged with “Books About Loss.”

Tags: Carol Kendall, Chronicle Books, featured, HMH Books for Young Readers, Jane Austen, K.E. Ormsbee, L.M. Montgomery, Loss, Natalie Babbitt, Puffin Books, Random House UK, Square Fish Books

Category: Ages 9-12, Best Kids Stories, Book Lists, Books for Girls, Chapter Books, Gift Books

The Children’s Book Review, named one of the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Great Web Sites for Kids, is a resource devoted to children’s literacy. We publish reviews and book lists of the best books for kids of all ages. We also produce author and illustrator interviews and share literacy based articles that help parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians to grow readers. This article was written and provided by a guest author.

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