A Conversation with Stacy McAnulty and a Cover Reveal

Happy Monday morning to you, Stacy.  On Saturday the wind was howling (again) and the rain was so heavy it left standing puddles around the neighborhood (again).  The wet, windy outside made the cozy warmth of inside even more comfortable and appealing.  I’m not taking any chances on the weather today.  While it would be great fun to talk with you as we walk our dogs, let’s settle in cushy chairs for a chat.

Your journey from having a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and working in the field for almost a decade to writing for children has been one of many years of hard work and eventual success in writing picture books and chapter books for younger readers.  On May 1, 2018 your debut middle grade book is set to be released by Random House.  I am curious about the switch from writing picture books and chapter books for younger readers to a middle grade novel.  What prompted this?

Ha, maybe I’m finally growing up. Actually, it’s probably because my kids are growing up. I originally tried to break into publishing by writing novels intended for adults. But every night, I was reading to my young children and loving it. I was the one asking, “Can we read one more? Please.” It slowly dawned on me that I wanted to write for kids. Now my daughters are long out of diapers and borrowing my clothes, my son--the baby of the family--is learning long division, and we’re all falling in love with new books. So the stories I want to write are changing too. Though I continue to read and write picture books.

According to data at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the chance of getting struck by lightning in a single year is 1/1,083,000 and if you live to be eighty years old the chance of being struck by lightning in your lifetime is 1/13,500.  Your main character in The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl is struck by lightning.  How did you decide this would be the event to change her life?  Could you explain to us why this happened when she was eight years old? Do you know someone who has been struck by lightning?  

Thankfully, none of my family or friends has been struck by lightning. Me neither. (Knock on wood.) For the story, I needed a major event that was realistic and rare, and also something that the reader could imagine. We’ve all experienced thunderstorms. They occur across the globe. In the book, the main character is struck by lightning at the age of eight, which is four years before the story begins. She is changed by the zap within days and learns to live and thrive with her newfound abilities, basically for those four years. She’s homeschooled and happy, but then her grandmother sends her to middle school, and suddenly she doesn’t know anything.

This lightning strike changed Lucy Fanny Callahan.  Would you tell us about the changes?

The lightning strike rewires Lucy’s brain, and she becomes a mathematical genius. The medical term is acquired savant syndrome, and it’s a real thing. I’ve read cases about normal people after a head injury having sudden genius talents like the ability to do math as accurately as a calculator, or learn any language after hearing it a few times, or playing the piano without any lessons. Not only can Lucy add, subtract, multiply, and divide any numbers as fast as she hears them, she also memorizes numbers without effort and sees math in everything. For the four years before the story begins, she’s dedicated herself to learning higher-level mathematics. But the genius of savant syndrome always comes with a tradeoff. For Lucy, it’s OCD.  

I have to ask: What is your favorite element in the final art for the book’s cover?  

Tough question! There’s so much to love--the torn paper, the hand lettering, the lightning bolts, and the random math equations. I made a few small changes to the math for accuracy. And the cover has my name on it! I still can’t believe I’m going to be a novelist. Cue up Frank Sinatra, “Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you…”

Here’s the cover folks!

I hope you don’t mind answering a few more questions.  We are both fans of our furry friends, dogs.  In fact your picture book, Excellent Ed, is one of my favorite dog books.  I know readers will want to know if a dog plays a part in this middle grade debut novel.  What can you tell us?

Aw, thanks for being an Ed fan. Yes, there is a dog in the novel. Actually, there are several dogs, but one plays a starring role. Unlike you and me, Lucy has not been around pups. It’s a new and challenging experience for her. But dogs have a way of winning over even the weariest of humans.

Do you currently have a dog as a member of your family?  Breed?  Age? Name?

I have three dogs. They spend their days with me in my office while the rest of the family is off at school and work. I’m lucky. Every day is bring your dog to work day for me. There’s Pepper, a German Shepherd, who is almost nine. Jack is the big mutt (over seventy pounds) and he’s about seven. Our newest addition is a small, fluffy Chihuahua mix, who is about a year old. Her name is Munchkin. When we adopted her I had hopes that she’d snuggle on my lap as I write. Nope! She’d rather hang with the big dogs.

My students always want to know if an author has children, what their names are and their ages.  Would you share this with us, please?

I tell people I have those three furry kids and three non-furry kids. Cora is my oldest and she’s in tenth grade. Lily is the easy-going middle child, who is in eighth grade. And then there is Henry, a fourth grader. So three kids in three different schools with three different start and end times keep me hopping.

Thank you Stacy for chatting with me today about your middle grade novel debut, The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl and for the honor of revealing the cover.  I promised myself I would read it closer to the release date but I’ve already read chapter one.  Readers are in for a treat.  I’ll have to shelf it or I’ll finish it in a single sitting.

If you are interested in learning even more about Stacy McAnulty (I was), please feel free to visit WeGrowMedia with Dan Blank, Mile High Reading with Dylan Teut, Literary Hoots with Emily, Picture Books Help Kids Soar with Vivian Kirkfield and Cracking The Cover.  Stacy’s website is here.

Here is the description for this title as seen in the Random House catalog.

Middle school is the one problem Lucy Callahan can’t solve in this middle-grade novel perfect for fans of The Fourteenth Goldfish, Rain Reign, and Counting by 7s.

Lucy Callahan was struck by lightning. She doesn’t remember it, but it changed her life forever. The zap gave her genius-level math skills, and ever since, Lucy has been homeschooled. Now, at 12 years old, she’s technically ready for college. She just has to pass 1 more test–middle school!

Lucy’s grandma insists: Go to middle school for 1 year. Make 1 friend. Join 1 activity. And read 1 book (that’s not a math textbook!). Lucy’s not sure what a girl who does calculus homework for fun can possibly learn in 7th grade. She has everything she needs at home, where nobody can make fun of her rigid routines or her superpowered brain. The equation of Lucy’s life has already been solved. Unless there’s been a miscalculation?

A celebration of friendship, Stacy McAnulty’s smart and thoughtful middle-grade debut reminds us all to get out of our comfort zones and embrace what makes us different.

Duly Noted-Posted Blog Tour

Surviving middle school is akin to surviving (and enjoying) life in general.  It's a testing ground for becoming who you want to be for the rest of your life.  Everything is under a microscope; magnified and scrutinized.  Cruelty walks the halls alongside compassion.  In surprising moments of utter clarity one will rise above the other. 

Eighth grade, the final year before moving to high school, is when those foggy things hovering in the background of our days move to the front and center, sharply in focus.  Posted (Walden Pond Press, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, May 2, 2017) by John David Anderson, author of Ms. Bixby's Last Day (Walden Pond Press, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, June 21, 2016) presents to readers two life-changing weeks for the members of the Branton Middle School community; specifically those of four plus one friends.  Those bonds, of the first four, forged over years are about to be measured.

I PUSH MY WAY THROUGH THE BUZZING MOB AND FREEZE, 

heart-struck, dizzy.  It takes me a minute to really get what I'm looking at.

When you read these first two sentences of the two page introduction narrated by Frost, Eric Voss so named for winning a poetry contest, there is no turning back.  You are entirely attracted and attached to the story.  Frost takes us on a journey through the previous two weeks blending past episodes with present events.

When Frost came to this school a little more than two years ago due to his parent's divorce, his mother reassured him by saying

"It will be awkward at first, but it gets better.  You find your people and you make a tribe and you protect each other.  From the wolves."

Four guys, highly intelligent but different, find each other.  Bench, Jeremiah Jones, plays football, basketball and baseball but usually sits on the sidelines until there is nothing he can do to alter the course of the game.  Advik Patel, DeeDee, is a Dungeons & Dragons fanatic and collector of polyhedral dice.  He is never without a ten-sided dice, carrying it for good luck and rolling it to make decisions.  Wolf, Morgan Thompson, is a piano prodigy.  His nickname is shortened from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  Frost is certain the other three will someday be sitting in the audience at Carnegie Hall listening to Wolf.   

On a nothing-out-of-the-ordinary day in math class, Ruby Sandals (don't you dare call her Dorothy) is caught texting on her phone.  Of course, phones are not allowed in class but everyone uses them.  What makes this infraction grow from small to ginormous is what Ms. Sheers reads on the screen and the fact this is the final violation of many.  By the following Monday no phones are allowed in school...at all.  If there are special circumstances, they are to be turned in to the office where they will be held for the day. 

Into this scenario walks Rose Holland, a new student.  Now Rose is a big girl, tall and muscular.  She's not afraid to speak her mind.  She's not afraid to ask if she can sit at the table with Frost, Bench, DeeDee and Wolf who have been sitting at that same table for more than two years during every lunch period.  Her presence there not just for one day but for each day thereafter, alters the dynamics of the group significantly.  

With the absence of phones, middle-school student creativity grows to an all-time high.  No one can pinpoint how it starts exactly (it might have been DeeDee) but post-it notes, required school supplies, start to appear everywhere as a means of communication.  Unlike phones, the identity of the author is not always known.  The tone of the notes escalates from funny and friendly to vicious.  

A lunchtime origami session, the introduction of The Gauntlet and Hirohito Hill, Mr. Sword's aphorisms, a spectacular play during a football game, and a night of re-arranging rules contribute to huge shifts in loyalties.  Another school policy rule heightens the stakes.  Then two huge instances of deliberate harassment bookending a contest bring readers to a poignant point.  Utter clarity.

When John David Anderson writes about middle school students it is with a thread of universality running through it.  No matter your age you completely comprehend every aptly described moment and interaction with the characters.  The staff members, the principal and the parents are familiar, like people you know.

For each of the twenty chapters Anderson uses only two word titles beginning with the word the; The Catalyst, The Tribe, The Variable, The Catch, The Bet or The Confession.  It's an art form.  It's amazing to read how incidents, conversations, thoughts and people build layer upon layer from the singular word.  Please enjoy the selected passages below.

People talk about nightmares where they are falling or where they are trapped in a burning building or buried alive.  But ask any incoming sixth grader with at least two forehead zits and a Great Clips haircut and he will tell you the prevailing image from his nightmares is standing in the middle of a buzzing cafeteria, tray in hand, desperately looking for somewhere to sit.  That was what made me sweat through my sheets at night.

Forget the bogeyman; the lunch lady haunted my dreams.

We all need something that's ours.  A thing that we know absolutely about ourselves that others can only guess at.

We started walking toward the playground where our bikes were racked, the swings and slides full of carefree kids, little ones who didn't need a tribe yet because when you're five, everybody's a member.

What made it unique was the battleground.  Every skirmish took place on three square inches.  Sticky notes were the weapons and words were the ammunition.

"Turds," he said.

"Huh?"

"Cheetos.  The look like turds.  Little cheese turds.  Especially the stubby ones.  I never noticed that before."  He was sitting cross-legged on his bed with a copy of X-Men #25 spread out in front of him.  The one where Wolverine has his adamentium sucked out of his pores by Magneto.  Brutal stuff.  Good stuff.  I looked at the Cheeto like it was some divine artifact worthy of a museum.  He wasn't wrong.  They did sort of look like that.  I'd always imagined them more as tree roots.

"When I was little I thought they were supposed to look like toes.  Cheese-toes.  Except they left off the s," Wolf said.

"I'm pretty sure nobody's toes look like that," I said.

"I think my grandmother's toes probably look like this."

He popped the crunchy cheese turd in his mouth and started chewing.

"And I'm pretty sure you have now ruined Cheetos for me for life."

Wolf gave me a giant grin with bright orange mush smeared across his teeth.

Posted written by John David Anderson is an intimate and insightful look at middle school life.  He understands the middle school mind.  He understands people and their relationships.  I sincerely believe every middle school student should and will want to read this book.  You will need to have multiple copies on your shelves.  Please read the Acknowledgments.

To learn more about John David Anderson and his other work please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  You can enjoy the first five chapters here.  Click on Start Reading Now!

John David Anderson is the author of Ms. Bixby's Last Day, Sidekicked, Minion, and The Dungeoneers.  A dedicated root beer connoisseur and chocolate fiend, he lives with his wife, two kids, and perpetually whiny cat in Indianapolis, Indiana.  This picture is of John David Anderson after he survived middle school. 

Blog Tour Participants

April 17          Librarian's Quest

Walden Media Tumblr

April 18          Nerdy Book Club

April 19          For Those About to Mock

April 20          Teach Mentor Texts

April 21          Unleashing Readers

April 22          Next Best Book
                       Read, Write, Reflect

April 23          Bluestocking Thinking

April 24          Litcoach Lou

                        Book Monsters

April 25          Kirsti Call

April 26          Educate-Empower-Inspire-Teach

April 27          The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia                                                                                       

                        Ms Yingling Reads

April 28          Maria's Mélange                                                                                                                    

                        Novel Novice

April 29          The Hiding Spot

April 30          This Kid Reviews Books

A Sweet Sixteens' Visit, Guest Posts

It is indeed an honor to host Jenn Bishop and Abby Cooper here today.  They are both members of The Sweet Sixteens, a group of middle grade and young adult debut authors this year.  You'll want to take some time to visit the website to learn a little more about them, their books and events related to their titles.  The site also matches you to authors living near you and contains a great list of associated links.

The Distance to Home, Jenn Bishop's book, celebrated its book birthday on June 28, 2016.  In this story a family is trying to form a new sense of normal after the death of their oldest daughter and Quinnen's sister.  Baseball is integral to Quinnen's sense of who she.  Will her love of this game help her when she needs it the most?

On July 12, 2016 Abby Cooper's title Sticks & Stones was released into the world.  Magic blends with reality in this story of Elyse, a twelve-year-old girl with an unusual condition.  When people call her names or speak about her, those words appear on her arms and legs. Middle school is tricky as it is.  How will Elyse navigate through the school year?

The more you know about these two authors and their books, the more you will want their titles on your TBR (to-be-read) piles or, in my case; you'll be moving them to the top.  Both Jenn Bishop and Abby Cooper have worked as a librarian which, in my humble opinion, is pretty great.  Today they shine the spotlight on teachers who made a difference in their writing lives.

Looking back on the teachers who inspired us---

a back to school giveaway with Abby Cooper and Jenn Bishop

Abby Cooper:

I first saw my name in print when I was eight years old.  My third grade teacher, Mrs. Huntley, had submitted a poem I'd written to an anthology of work by young writers, and it had been accepted.

I couldn't believe it.  Me?  Published?  I'd always liked to write, but I never expected anything like this would happen.  But Mrs. Huntley expected it.  She believed in it.  When I entered third grade and proclaimed that I wanted to be an author, she didn't laugh or give me one of those "okaaay" kinds of looks or anything else.  Instead, she gave me a journal and asked me to write in it every day.  She read books like Frindle, the one that turned me into a reader.  She gave choices.  We could show what we learned in all kinds of ways.  Presenting, drawing, writing, interpretive dance, you name it.  She supported, she nurtured, she encouraged.  And she took all of it a step further, and she made things happen.

The best part of being published (besides, you know, being published), was realizing what you could do if you believed in someone or something the way Mrs. Huntley believed in me.  I wondered what could happen if I believed in myself and my writing that same way.  Now, almost twenty years later, with the publication of Sticks & Stones, I know.

And now, straight out of the Anthology of Poetry by Young American, 1998 edition, a poem by eight-year-old Abby:

Rosemary Jane

Rosemary Jane, I do complain

You always watch TV

And never pay attention to me

Your gym teacher says

When you should be listening to him

You are watching the basketball rim.

The principal says when he asks you to talk,

You just pretend you have chicken pox.

Oh, Rosemary Jane, you always watch that darn TV

And never look at me.

Oh, Rosemary Jane, did I tell you about the farm?

The farmer said you caused so much harm.

Oh, Rosemary Jane, I do complain.

Jenn Bishop:

As a thirteen-year-old, I loved babysitting, especially reading to the kids.  They knew that if I was putting them to bed, there'd be some serious bedtime reading.  My favorite was Jon Sciezka's Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and I'd need a glass of water to get through the whole thing, but every time it was worth it.  So when my seventh grade English teacher Mrs. Haggerty announced a writing contest where the prize was to visit the elementary school and read to the kids, I was game.  Plus, it felt like the kind of thing, a real author did.  

Now, I'd never met a real author before, but I was always a stickler for realism.  That meant my book had to have Library of Congress cataloging sub-headings, a copyright date, an actual NYC-based publisher, author bio, etc.  The contest didn't say your book had to be a part of a preexisting series, but I decided mine was and adhered to the form of the American Girl books.  Each character had a Changes For... book, so mine was Changes For Hannah.  Each American Girl book had ten chapters, so mine had ten chapters.  It is entirely possible that I thought Pleasant Company might offer to buy my book, publish it, and make a doll of Hannah.  (What can I say?  I was entrepreneurial.)

I probably don't have to say it, but none of the other kids in my grade took the contest nearly as seriously, and I was among those chosen to read to the elementary students.  Mrs. Haggerty's kind notes on all my work---even when it was clear I had "borrowed" plotlines from my favorite books---and encouragement bolstered my sometimes iffy middle school ego.  Importantly, she taught me that successful writing has a target audience, something I've always tried to keep in the front of my mind as a writer for children.  

As a special thank-you to the incredible teachers and librarians who inspire future authors every day, three winners will receive a signed copy of 

The Distance to Home and Sticks & Stones.  

Enter by Thursday, September 8, 2016.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Best Advice

Regardless of the decade some things will always remain true about maneuvering the often tricky paths of grades six, seven and eight.  It's a major fork in the road of life; from one moment to the next we alternate from hardly being able to wait to become an adult and then yearning for the distinctive blessings of childhood.  Change is in the air, sometimes like a slow soft breeze but other times like a roaring tornado.

On those rare days when everything seems aligned, we rejoice thankful for our families, our friends and ourselves. Cici Reno #Middle School Matchmaker (Sterling Children's Books, April 19, 2016) written by Kristina Springer is a refreshing look at middle school.  Just like real life, things are never quite as they appear to be at first glance.








Cici Reno @yogagirl4evr 32m
CHILD'S POSE -Knee, drop your butt to your heels,
reach forward.  Head down and focus on breathing.
Makes life's problems easier to handle.   

Ugh.  My nail polish is smudged.

Cici Reno and several friends are enjoying a final late summer day at the community pool.  In the course of their conversation we get our first peek at Cici's skills in personal relationships.  She has a knack for helping others to be their best possible selves.

By the second chapter we are introduced to her best friend Aggie who has recently returned home from a summer spent with her Dad and stepmom.  While Cici is surprised by Aggie's physical growth spurt, "boobs", she is confident enough to protect Aggie when necessary and offer her support.  In the evening when Aggie and Cici join their other girlfriends at the hooray-for-another-school-year bonfire, we become fully aware of Aggie's crush on Cici's brother's buddy and hockey teammate, Drew.  We know the stage has been set for what promises to be an interesting series of events as Aggie goes completely tongue-tied when she has a chance to speak with Drew.

Coming home after school to see Drew sitting in her kitchen with her brother, Luke, startles Cici.  She is definitely attracted to his sincere and charming attributes plus he is easy on the eyes.   In her bedroom later checking out his Twitter page, an idea pops into her mind.  Why doesn't Aggie talk to Drew via Twitter without giving him her name?

Aggie thinks this is a fantastic plan but she is simply can't summon the courage to give it a try.  Against her better judgment, Cici agrees to pose as Aggie using a fake name.  So now a triangle of sorts begins with Drew none the wiser.  Aggie is learning about Drew through Cici.  Drew is learning about Aggie and Cici (she can't help but refer to her own interests sometimes). And Cici finds herself forming a first love for Drew.

As the online chats between Drew and Sera Froste (Cici) get longer, more interesting and more fun the tension starts to grow.  When you throw Cici's pesky older brother Luke, Aggie's new interest in volleyball and a request from Drew into the mix, not even Cici's love of practicing yoga at her mother's studio can calm the emotional swirl taking place.  Friendships are tested.  Honesty wins.


After two readings, and nearly a third, of this title, I can sincerely say Kristina Springer sees right into the hearts of middle school age gals and guys and pours it out on the pages of Cici Reno #MiddleSchoolMatchmaker.  Her understanding of how they think and feel is apparent in the conversations between the characters and through Cici's voice.  Life in and out of school is depicted realistically with complete clarity; cafeteria chatter, hallway encounters, hockey and volleyball games, meetings at the mall, yoga classes and school dances.

The adults, Cici's mom and dad, Aggie's parents, the two women, Peg and Claire, in the yoga classes and teachers at the school are solid, positive and important fixtures in the teens (nearly teens) lives.  Their advice, their singular personalities and pure normalness provide the perfect amount of stability and humor.  Everyone needs people like this in their lives especially at this age.

Several techniques Springer employs make this title even more appealing.  Each chapter begins with a tweet from Cici Reno describing a particular yoga pose and its purpose.  We come to realize the significance of this in Cici's life; how it keeps her grounded. When Sera Froste @SeraFrosted and Drew @drewlingness are chatting on Twitter their conversations are supplied as if we are reading them on a screen.  We are right there with them.  And my reader's heart loves that familiar authors' names and book titles are mentioned.  Drew and Cici as Aggie do bond over a shared interest in a particular series.  Here are some sample passages.

I like myself well enough.  But that thing about looks being deceiving is totally true in my case.  My outside just hasn't caught up to my inside yet.  On the inside, I'm heading toward high school, and on the outside, I'm just starting fifth grade.

Dad comes in and pours himself a cup of coffee.  "Did you brush our teeth?" he asks.
I roll my eyes at him.  "Seriously?" Being a dentist, he's slightly obsessed with my teeth.  But I'm in seventh grade now; I think I have tooth-brushing under control.
Dad mimics my eye roll and in an ultra-dramatic voice he says, "Like ohmigod, my Dad is such a loser.  He, like, totally cares about my dental hygiene.  As if, gag me with a spoon, ohmigod." He takes a sip of his coffee and looks at me expectantly, smiling.
"I'm sorry, what language was that?" I ask him with a chuckle.
Dad laughs.  "Mock me now but when you're the last of your friends in the nursing home to still have your own teeth, you'll thank me.  Of course, I'll be dead."

I'm happy.  And it's all because of Drew.  We chatted for over an hour last night and he's just so sweet and smart.  I have no clue how he can be friends with my brother.  Most of Luke's friends are smelly, belching, obnoxious troll-like beings that need to take their shoes and socks off to count to twenty.  Well, except for Luke's friend, Matt---he's missing a toe.  ...


Cici Reno #MiddleSchoolMatchmaker written by Kristina Springer is a spirited and funny look at life among middle school friends, siblings and first loves.  The strength of the characters, especially the connections among the group of girls, is completely uplifting.  I predict this book will never be on the shelves.  Hooray for Cici Reno and for her creator, Kristina Springer.

To learn more about Kristina Springer and her other work please follow the link attached to her name to access her website and blog.  She is also on Twitter at @TinaSpringer and @yogagirl4evr  You can find her on Instagram too.

I am so happy Kristina Springer agreed to answer some of my questions in celebration of the release of this book and as part of the blog tour.

From reading your bio on your website I understand you were a writer for a weekly Internet Love Column for a year.  Did any of the experiences from writing this column influence the characters in Cici Reno #MiddleSchoolMatchmaker?  Or did you draw your main inspiration from the theme in the play Cyrano de Bergerac?  Or is it a combination of both?

You’re bringing me back! The Internet Love column was one of my first writing gigs and the Internet romance stories were CRAZY. Back then I was interviewing mostly adults and it was pre-match.com days so people were meeting on aol, in chatrooms, etc. Totally different times than our current social media so no, it didn’t influence me with Cici. My inspiration for Cici came from the Cyrano play as well as my own foray into middle school matchmaking in 7^th grade. Of course back then we didn’t have the Internet so it was more so three-way calling type stuff. All the Internet influences come from my currently spending too much time on social media.

Your main character’s mother has a business, Peony Lane Yoga Studio, in a strip mall close to their home.  Cici finds solace for her body and mind there.  In fact each chapter begins with a tweet that Cici sends out on Twitter about a specific pose.  How long has the practice of yoga been a part of your life?  How has it influenced you or your writing?

I completely adore yoga! And strangely, I didn’t get into it until about three years ago. I’ve always enjoyed group exercise classes and was a real spin class fiend for years. But then my knee got banged up and my doctor said to stop all the hopping around Zumba-class type stuff. I had avoided yoga up until then because I thought it would be too slow moving but I was wrong! I tried a class one day and fell hard for it. It really does make me feel tons better physically and calms down my racing mind. I always leave class feeling amazing. And my two daughters (9 & 11) love it now too and take classes with me. Which is awesome!! It’s stressful being a kid and yoga helps them deal with life’s problems and release negative energy. Not to mention they love being better than me at it since they can get into a lot of the tough positions that I can’t. I got the idea for the yoga angle with the book when I was in class a couple of years ago and I had this really cool, laid back teacher. And I thought to myself, boy I bet her kids are really chill too. And it hit me that I should have a main character who's mom owns a yoga studio so she could be a yoga enthusiast too and hang out there a lot.

My copy of Cici Reno looks like a porcupine from all the sticky notes marking great passages, many of them filled with humorous insights by Cici.  I like that she takes an upbeat view of life while still being portrayed with a typical array of middle school, human of any age, emotions.  Was this intentional to have her be more grounded than most of the other girls her age?  Is this what gives her the ability to understand people and offer advice?  Also do you have a favorite comedian or comedy show?  (You have a wonderful sense of humor displayed in your writing.)

Thank you! J And yes, I was really trying to make Cici a well-grounded kid that friends often went to for advice. Someone I’d have LOVED to be friends with in middle school. And her confidence within herself juxtaposed nicely with her small physical stature. Somewhere in the book Cici even thinks something like, on the inside she feels like she’s headed for high school while on the outside she looks like she’s in the 5^th grade. All the yoga has helped her be more zen about things also and being around so many different types of people who frequent her mom’s studio has given her insight too.

My all-time favorite comedian ever since I was a little kid is Lucille Ball. I’ve always been a huge I Love Lucy fan. And my very favorite comedy show for the last couple of years has been Impractical Jokers. I’m obsessed with them. The pranks they do are so much like how me and my friends were growing up.

Cici’s older brother Luke is wonderfully typical for an older brother.  Do you have an older brother?  Is he based upon someone else you have known?

Yes, I do have an older brother. I have three brothers in all (I’m the second oldest). And yep, Luke is based loosely on my older brother. My brother has been coming to my book signings for years, claiming that he was the muse for my writing. So I thought hey, I’ll make a character a bit like him so he can truly say he inspired me.  And, during my tween years I may have had a crush or five on various boys from my brother’s soccer teams. ;-)

One of the most important things in this book, for me, is that the girls in Cici’s group and her best friend Aggie, while not always seeing eye to eye with one another offer constant support.  This is refreshing and important in middle school novels.   Was there a specific reason you chose to not have an adversary for any of the characters in this book? 

With this particular book, I wanted to show what good strong friendships could be. Again, the kind of group I’d love to have hung with in middle school. And with having four kids (7, 9, 11, and 13), I find we talk about friendships and the way to be a good friend so much in my household and I liked having something reflect some of the values I try to teach my kids. My girls will come home from school and tell me some really doozies of the dramas going down at school and I try to help them understand where it’s coming from, why people do or say what they do, to believe in themselves and know who they are, and to always try to be kind.

Your website has definite appeal for your readers.  Did you design it yourself?

No, Denise Biondo from Biondo Studio did! http://www.biondostudio.com/ Isn’t she amazing? All I told her was that I was a coffee-obsessed kind of girl and would love a café look and this is what she designed.

Is there anything else you would like your readers to know Kristina?  Can we expect to see more of Cici and the characters in this book in the future? 

 

Yes, e-mail me and let me know if you do the poses in the front of each chapter! When I wrote the tweets I was picking poses that helped aid something in the particular chapter—like helping to heal a broken heart for example. I’ve been reading the book out loud to my kids each night and all four of them immediately jump up and do whichever pose I read. It’s so cute, I love it! And yes, I’m hard at work on a second Cici Reno book as we speak! It will be part of the Yoga Girl series.

Thanks so much for letting me chat with you! I hope your readers enjoy Cici Reno #MiddleSchoolMatchmaker!

It's been a pleasure chatting with your Kristina.  I am looking forward to the second book in the series.

Standing Up For The Good

Depending on your personality, the situation or both, being invisible can be a useful survival technique.  Blending in with a crowd, keeping silent whenever possible, and not drawing attention to yourself serve a purpose.  There are those who follow this lone wolf path; either by choice or because they are not welcome as a part of the pack...yet.

Maneuvering through the uncertain realities of middle school is tricky.  Everything thought to be true is changing.  As a sixth grade student you're constantly scrambling to keep both feet on the ground.  Zack Delacruz:  Me And My Big Mouth (Sterling Children's Books, August 4, 2015) debut novel by author Jeff Anderson addresses, with liberal amounts of humor, the lone wolf, the observer, who creates a pack, a group with a common cause.

A typhoon spray of spit.
A stupid assembly.
And my big mouth.
That's all it took to ruin my life.
If you're a sixth grader at Davy Crockett Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, you start off every day in advisory.  Besides cruel and unusual punishment, advisory is an avoiding game:  avoiding eye contact, avoiding talking, and, so far, avoiding trouble.

Thought to be a relief from the dreaded advisory, the school population heads en masse to the gym for an assembly on bullying.  Needless to say, the presenter, while making some valid points, probably has even the faculty rolling their eyes with her over-the-top perky style.  Later a group of students gather in the library for class.  Our narrator, Zack Delacruz, introduces us to several of his classmates through an incident involving Janie Bustamante, prone to spitting when speaking.  For reasons unknown even to him, Zack speaks out on behalf of Janie who is being harassed by Jose, El Pollo Loco, and class clown.

Mrs. Darling, their quirky librarian, misses this confrontation while taking a phone call.  The results of the call and an impromptu dance competition place adversaries Zack and Jose in charge of a sixth-grade candy-selling campaign.  This is no ordinary fund raiser.  Forty-eight hundred dollars' worth of bars need to be sold in five days in order for the sixth grade students to be able to attend, for the first time ever, the seventh and eighth grade fall dance.

Thankfully Zack has a good friend in Marquis, a bit of a math and organizational wizard.  They met and ride the same bus home on alternating weeks, when Zack stays with his Dad.  Let's pause here for a minute.  Zack is beginning his first year of middle school, his parents have recently divorced, all plans of staying invisible are out the window and he is basically in charge of making sure the sixth grade students get to go to the dance because Jose is no help at all.  This guy's life is loaded with daily unexpected developments.

Worried about five extra boxes after every student has taken their share, Zack is ecstatic when the next day Janie wants all of them.  In his current life of constant challenges, a miracle is in the making.  As the fates would have it, this euphoric moment vanishes like a puff of smoke.  A candy crisis of epic proportions rolls in like a sudden summer storm.

Marquis' sprained ankle, a pamphlet in Nurse Patty's office, a phone call, an online search, an intervention and Instant Lube might provide a solution.  Zack, Marquis, Jose, Janie, Sophie and her groupies, Sophie's eighth grade boyfriend, Raymond, and his crew, Cliche Jones and Chewy Johnson need to do the improbable, work together.  As the page turns speed up, so do the events culminating in an unforgettable Night At The Alamo. NO LOITERING!


Jeff Anderson's experiences, over twenty years in the classroom, are evident on every page.  These fictional characters are a window and a mirror.  They give readers unaware of middle school a direct link to the swirl of everyday life in and out of the classroom.  Readers will see themselves within these pages.

Zack's voice, his perspective, is spontaneous and hilarious.  The narrative unfolds from conversations held with his classmates and his thoughts.  The portraits he paints of Mrs. Darling, the librarian, Mrs. Harrington, their English teacher, Coach Ostraticki, and Principal Atkins are classic.  Zack's Dad will have you cheering.  You will be laughing and nodding your head in agreement at the realism described in this book.  Here are some sample passages.

I stumbled through the rusted metal door frames of the gym.  Echoing laughter and shouts bounced off the hardwood floors.  A sea of black, red, and khaki uniforms collected at the door as everyone looked for their friends.

Marquis never accused me of lying that day or the next, even though I supposed he knew.  He'd given me a pass, and my lie floated away like a loose plastic bag on the side of Highway 281.  And it was replaced by friendship.

It was like Raymond Montellongo had just punched me in the stomach.  But this was Dad.  First Mom made Dad move out.  Then, I had to live with Dad every other week in a place that isn't even fit for living.  He had promised we'd get a TV.
"I want to make some changes, Zack," Dad said.
He wouldn't stop.  He just kept going.  Dads are supposed to give kids everything they need, like TVs and snacks.  And for crying out loud, dad's feet aren't supposed to stink so much.  I stood up, clamping my nose.
"Why don't you change your socks?" I said.
"Very funny, Zack."  He reached over and patted the back of my leg.  "I think we watch TV too much."
"Not lately.  Not since we moved to the Villa De La Prison."
"Hey now, Zack."  He moved in for a side hug.
"Dad, I want to make some changes too," I squirmed out from his arm and stomped toward the door.  My voice shook.  "The first is no more changes."  And I slammed the door like an exclamation mark, telling Dad I was serious.  Seriously mad.


Jeff Anderson has penned a title, Zack Delacruz:  Me And My Big Mouth, which will resonate with the intended audience.  It addresses pertinent issues faced by middle school students with truth and laughter.  I think copies of this book will have the well-loved look in no time at all.  I am not sure if the letter from the editor and author will appear in the final copy (my recommendation is based upon an ARC) but they add insight into the story.

For more information on Jeff Anderson please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Jeff Anderson is interviewed by Franki Sibberson at A Year Of Reading.  Please take a few minutes to read his post about the writing of this book at write.share. connect. Update:  Jeff Anderson is interviewed at Kids Talk Kid Lit by educator Kurt Strohs.

Check out "Which Zack Delacruz Character Are You?" https://t.co/aKKG9rY7qk pic.twitter.com/xaOtleo5Wr

— Jeff Anderson (@writeguyjeff) July 17, 2015

My first hardback final copy with illustrations and chapter titles arrived today. Wahooo! #WhoIsZackDelacruz pic.twitter.com/CdefwF95xH

— Jeff Anderson (@writeguyjeff) July 24, 2015

When You Thought It Couldn't Get Any Worse...

Surviving seventh grade with your dignity and inconspicuousness intact is no easy feat.  Sometimes you get to keep one but not the other.  If you have new friendships in place, it's all for the good.  With the months of June, July and August acting as a buffer to the upcoming final year of middle school, you should be able replenish your mindset ready to tackle all the new firsts which come your way.

When the anticipated sequel to a well-received middle grade novel is released you know you're in for a treat when the dedication reads:

To the brave kids, the weird kids, and the cool kids.

Especially the ones who don't yet realize they can be

all three.

Jess Keating's debut novel, How To Outrun A Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied, presented to readers twelve-year-old Ana, short for Anaconda, whose life is like the place where she lives, a zoo.  In the sequel, How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, January 6, 2015) her high-profile grandfather, Shep Foster, springs a surprise on the entire family focusing on Ana's newly acquired bravery at speaking in front of others.  Swimming with sharks is going to be the least of Ana's worries.



I love the smell of the universe in 
the morning.
                -----Neil deGrasse Tyson

Really, Mr. Tyson?  Really?  What about the smell
of hippo poop wafting into your bedroom
window in the morning?  Or the wet-dog stink
of a flock of pelicans who strut around like
they own the place, and no matter how often
you try to shoo them out of the way, they
get even more puffed up and snooty at you? ...

Chapter 1

Some sharks can never stop moving, or else
they will suffocate and die.
                  -----Animal Wisdom

Whoa, sucks to be them! Can you imagine
never getting to sleep in?  Or laze around on 
a Saturday morning in your jammies watching
cartoons? ...

Ana, her twin brother Daz, her mom and dad, Sugar, her grandfather's girlfriend, and her grandfather have all gathered outside near the polar bear exhibit.  Moving toward some constructions signs, her grandfather raises a tarp leading them inside to view the secret project. With available resources and renovations The Marine Adventure Zoo has been built.  He, of course, wants Ana to give presentations here like she did with the reptiles.  To make matters even more uncomfortable, she is to interact with the sharks.  Yikes!  Not wanting to be the weak link in this new chain of events, she agrees.

Barely accustomed to this switch in her summer plans, while video chatting with Liv, her best friend who moved to New Zealand from Denver, another bit of stressful news is revealed.  Liv is skipping a grade and moving to ninth grade next year.  This means their pact to kiss a boy before high school is on fast forward.  Double yikes!  Kevin, her brother's best friend, is clearly a candidate but he and Ana are just getting to know one another better.

The final blow comes about a week after Grandpa's big reveal.  Apparently the zoo has been getting calls for volunteers after Ana's fabulous presentation.  A student from Ana's class has been chosen to work with her at the new marine facility.  Imagine Ana's shock when in walks Ashley, the leader of the pack of bully's, a Sneerer.  Triple yikes!  (cue Twilight Zone music)

Each experience, each interaction, with her parents, Grandpa and Sugar, Daz, Kevin, Bella, a new friend, Ashley, Patricia, the keeper, Logan, an older student intern and his girlfriend Danielle, at times clarifies and other times muddies Ana's thoughts and opinions.  One decision after another is shaping her summer and the person she can be.  Two mysterious incidents at The Marine Adventure Zoo nearly derail every step forward she has made.  Being brave is not always easy, but it produces the best kind of things.


The voice of Ana is one of the most genuine personalities in middle grade literature.  Jess Keating has demonstrated her true wizardry with words in shaping this girl's world, the people in it and every single moment during the summer weeks. We are brought into this story through realistic conversations between the characters and Ana's thought processes.  As in the first book, humor is liberally used.  Readers will find themselves laughing out loud repeatedly because the truth can be hilarious.  Keating uses our collective memories of being twelve beautifully.

Each chapter begins with a bit of Animal Wisdom about marine life followed by Ana's comments.  These are placed on a piece of paper taped to the page full of her special brand of teenage wit and wisdom.  Woven into the chapters is a Creature File about important people.  Opposite Species Name, Kingdom, Phylum, Weight, Natural Habitat, Feed On and Life Span are her candid remarks.  As a writer of lists to help make proper choices, several chapters contain Ana's numbered possibilities.  Here are some passages from this book.

Please.  Reptiles can't fool me.
The babies had hatched only minutes ago, just in time for Grandpa to call us at home in a frenzy, giddier than a dog in a Milk-Bone factory, yammering on about "the miracle of life' and all that.  From what I could tell, the miracle of life came with a lot of ...goo.  The hatchlings were already chirping up a storm and nipping at fingers when Daz and I got there.  That's the thing about living in a zoo.  You've got to be ready for everything. 

I stared dumbfounded.  "You're talking about a dead guy at a time like this?"  I shook my head.  My friends, the people who were supposed to care most about me, were telling me not to worry about Ashley.  Doesn't that sound wrong?  That's like saying, "Oh, that's just a river full of piranhas.  Why don't you hop in?" Or, "Hey, I've got some expired milk here.  Let's have a smoothie!"


How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel written by Jess Keating will captivate fans of the series (and generate new ones) leaving them eager for the third book, How To Outfox Your Friends When You Don't Have A Clue, being released this October.  On the first page the spirit of Ana seeps out lifting you up, chapter after chapter.  There is much to love about all the characters and the way they each grow throughout the story.  If you are looking for an outstanding middle grade series, this one comes with my highest recommendation.


To discover more about Jess Keating be sure to stop by her website by following the link attached to her name.  To celebrate the release of this book Keating produced a series of videos found here.  Jess Keating was a guest at teacher librarian extraordinaire John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  During the blog tour for the title she was a guest blogger at Watch. Connect. Read. and was interviewed by I Love Reading teacher, Colby Sharp, at sharpread. 

Who Did What...Where...When And How?

Despite the fact numerous cultures and religions have a written or understood variation on the golden rule (See The Golden Rule written by Ilene Cooper, illustrations by Gabi Swiatkowska), there always have been and always will be people who choose, for whatever reason, not to follow this simple example.  They seem to take particular delight in their choice; raising themselves up by belittling others or even worse yet, ignoring them.  For this reason the legend of Robin Hood has particular lasting appeal.

Books, television shows and movies with similar themes of one or more people covertly righting injustice or interceding before a wrong can be committed will continue to remain popular.  When Varian Johnson released his new title, The Great Greene Heist (Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic) into the world, he gave readers one of the funniest, best middle grade books with a hero who sets his sights on the end, a good end.  It's his means to the end plus his group of friends which will have everyone on the edge of their seats, turning pages faster than lightning, cheering and laughing.

As Jackson Greene sped past the Maplewood Middle School cafeteria---his trademark red tie skewed slightly to the left, a yellow No. 2 pencil balanced behind his ear, and a small spiral-bound notebook tucked in his right jacket pocket---he found himself dangerously close to sliding back into the warm confines of scheming and pranking.

Even though a meeting with another eighth grade student, close friend Charlie de la Cruz, editor of the school newspaper, has Jackson determined to stick with his promise of no more plots or secret plans, readers can sense a subtle tension; a beginning of something bigger.  As the day goes on more facts surface; a chat with tech geek pal, Hashemi Larijani, reveals additional possibilities of twists and less than proper turns in the student council election process and the aftermath.  A student running against Gabriela, Gaby, de la Cruz, Charlie's twin sister and Jackson's potential girlfriend, has suddenly dropped out of the race.

Nemesis of Jackson and his crew, Keith Sinclair, has decided to run for president at the last minute turning in his packet late.  Principal Kelsey announces he will allow it, exercising one of the loop holes in the by-laws.  Why did the other candidate withdraw from the race?  Why would Principal Kelsey, according to new information, assure Keith he will win?   To Jackson Greene this can only mean one thing.

Now wasn't a time to be normal.  Now was a time to be infamous.

The subtle tension is now full blown as this extraordinary student reveals his plan to a trusted team.  With the election only three weeks away, they need everything to work with precision; each link in the chain of events needs to be unbreakable.  Life being what it is, people being who they are, makes this particularly tricky.

Conversations, boy-girl mix-ups, basketball, school clubs, the formal dance, locks, and a voting machine all add up to more excitement than this middle school can handle. At the center is Jackson Greene working his signature magic keeping everyone guessing, including readers, right up to the final breathtaking minute.  Will this be the biggest bust or the finest hour for Jackson Greene...allegedly?


With his descriptive writing Varian Johnson captures his readers' interest with the first sentence, introducing the main character and his unique qualities.  Each subsequent chapter adds characters to the mix along with their distinct personalities.  The plot unfolds with increasing surprises more taunt with each episode, the amount of pages shortening between them.

I constantly found myself smiling at the contrast between the realism of the everyday life at this middle school with the conversations between Jackson and the members working to pull-off the heist.  It's not every day you might overhear an exchange like this one.

..."I know.  We'll need a crew." Jackson opened his notebook and began flipping through the names he had jotted down during study hall.  "There are a lot of students with a lot to lose if Keith becomes president.  We just have to find people who won't spill."
"I'm guessing you want Hashemi for tech support."
"We are venturing where few have gone before."
Charlie winced at Jackson's Star Trek joke. "Hashemi couldn't finish a project if his life depended on it."   He nibbled on his lip, then said, "We'd be better off with Megan---"
"No way."
"But---"
"Rule Number Nine: Loose lips sink ships," Jackson said.  "Hashemi can handle it.  He works great under pressure."
"I hope you're right."  Charlie looked back at the map.  "What about Bradley for an inside guy?"...

Johnson's depictions of supportive parents with gifts of their own, many students breaking out of traditional molds (a cheerleader who is a tech whiz), the various clubs, Tech Club, Botany Club (Jackson is a member) and the Environmental Action Team to name only three, and the camaraderie between siblings quite simply heightens the interest for a larger group of readers.  He does not miss a beat in the dialogue between any of his characters; even with the less than savory individuals like Keith and Principal Kelsey.  You want to be a member of one of these families.  You want to be a part of Jackson Greene's team.  Here is another sample conversation.

Miranda Greene folded her napkin and dabbed at the corner of her mouth.  "Your father thinks---"
Donald Greene cleared his throat.
"Your father and I both think you should socialize more with your friends.  It's been four months since that... unfortunate incident, and your behavior has been nothing but exemplary."
Jackson put his fork down.  "I don't need to go to the formal to see my friends.  I was just at Hash's today, and Charlie was over here last week."
Miranda Greene glanced at her husband.  "We were thinking---"
"Not that we're trying to dictate your love life---"
"This is of course, your decision---"
"You should ask Gaby to the dance."
Jackson felt his body slide a few inches lower in his chair.
"She's smart," his mother said.  "She was just in the Dispatch last week for academic excellence.  I used to have a copy around here..."
Jackson slid another inch.  The newspaper now resided at the bottom of his desk drawer.
"She plays basketball," his father said.  "And she's a looker."
"Donald!"


I guarantee once you start The Great Greene Heist written by Varian Johnson, you won't be able to stop.  Johnson's use of language is outstanding to the degree you feel like you've stepped into the pages of this book.  Make sure you read this title.  Make sure you booktalk it to your children and students.  It's absolute pure fun!  Johnson has included explanatory pages of The Greene Code of Conduct and The Great Greene Heist Cons at the conclusion.

If you want to learn more about Varian Johnson and his books, follow the link to his website embedded in his name.  Here is the link to a blog post by author Kate Messner about this title.  Varian Johnson gave an interview at Kirkus linked here.  John Schumacher of Watch. Connect. Read. and Colby Sharp of sharpread have made this title a part of their July #SharpSchu Book Club. (Follow the extra links in this post.)