American author
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17 episodes with Saadia Faruqi
2 episodes with Saadia Faruqi
2 episodes with Saadia Faruqi
2 episodes with Saadia Faruqi
2 episodes with Saadia Faruqi
2 episodes with Saadia Faruqi
2 episodes with Saadia Faruqi
2 episodes with Saadia Faruqi
2 episodes with Saadia Faruqi
This week, we will sit down with Saadia Faruqi, a Pakistani American author and interfaith activist. Saadia has published 24 entries in her popular Yasmin early reader series as well as her latest middle grades novel, The Partition Project. On this episode, Saadia and Aaron will discuss her books for early readers that feature Pakistani American and Muslim American characters in relatable ways for all readers Dr. Aaron R. Gierhart is an Assistant Professor of Educational Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and previously taught in the Illinois public schools for 11 years. Visit his LinkTree to connect with him. Thank you to Mitch Furr for the podcast intro/outro music and Adam Gierhart for the logo artwork. Transition Music Credit: “Radiate Instrumental (GLASS)”, Nuisance, Free Music Archive CC BY-NC
This week, we will sit down with Saadia Faruqi, a Pakistani American author and interfaith activist. Saadia has published 24 entries in her popular Yasmin early reader series as well as her latest middle grades novel, The Partition Project. On this episode, we will hear Saadia share about the experiences and writing process for some of her middle grades novels that focus on themes of belonging and identity. Dr. Aaron R. Gierhart is an Assistant Professor of Educational Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and previously taught in the Illinois public schools for 11 years. Visit his LinkTree to connect with him. Thank you to Mitch Furr for the podcast intro/outro music and Adam Gierhart for the logo artwork. Transition Music Credit: “Radiate Instrumental (GLASS)”, Nuisance, Free Music Archive CC BY-NC
This week, we will sit down with Saadia Faruqi, a Pakistani American author and interfaith activist. Saadia has published 24 entries in her popular Yasmin early reader series as well as her latest middle grades novel, The Partition Project. On this episode, we will discuss Saadia's latest middle grades novel, The Partition Project, and how our sociocultural history connects us to the past and shapes our identities. Learn more about Partition by visiting the 1947 Partition Archive website. Dr. Aaron R. Gierhart is an Assistant Professor of Educational Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and previously taught in the Illinois public schools for 11 years. Visit his LinkTree to connect with him. Thank you to Mitch Furr for the podcast intro/outro music and Adam Gierhart for the logo artwork. Transition Music Credit: “Radiate Instrumental (GLASS)”, Nuisance, Free Music Archive CC BY-NC
In this conversation, Saadia Faruqi joins Jennifer to chat abouther journey as a reader and writer, as well as the importance of representation in children's literature. They also delve into Saadia's books, including Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero and Saving Sunshine, and the inspiration behind them. Saadia shares her experiences as a writer and the impact she hopes to make with her stories. The conversation highlights the need for diverse voices and perspectives in literature and the power of storytelling to create understanding and empathy. Show notes and other information related to this episode (including a discount code from Bookelicioius) can be found here. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Building Relationships Online 02:08 Saadia's Journey as a Reader 03:28 Saadia's Journey as a Writer 05:44 Writing Books for Underrepresented Readers 11:06 Yusuf Azim Is Not a Hero 18:07 Saving Sunshine and Writing a Graphic Novel 24:14 Upcoming Books and Projects 26:19 Importance of Saadia's Work
On our mid-month check in for February 2024, we recap the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as catch up on the latest book tea, including controversies from a prominent book awards.Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:Me and My Pet Demon by Remy LaiOnce Upon a Tail by Audrey Perrott & Charlene ChuaA Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim100th Day of School with Yasmin by Saadia Faruqi; illust by Debby RahmaliaThe Baby Who Stayed Awake Forever by Sandra SalsburyThis Is Dance by Rekha S. Rajan; illust by Chris ParkFolk Remedy by Jem YoshiokaNavigating Night by Julie Leung; illust by Angie KangA Good Indian Girl by Mansi ShahNews stories covered on this episode:Controversy over 'inexplicable' exclusion of R F Kuang and Xiran Jay Zhao from Hugo Awards 2023“YA Isn't Just for Young Adults” op-ed criticism*Support the podcast by supporting our Patreon*Follow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:FacebookTwitterGoodreads GroupThe Books & Boba February 2024 pick is Untethered Sky by Fonda LeeThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
Lesley and Vanesha talk to Houstonian Saadia Faruqi about her Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero as well as her many other books from early chapter books to middle grade.
In the most recent episode of First Chapter Friday, Mr. Chambers reads the first chapter of Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero by author Saadia Faruqi. Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero is again one of the titles on this year's Texas Lone Star List. If you are interested in reading the rest of the book, you can find a copy in the Library or on Sora.
Welcome to the Shelf Care Interview, an occasional conversation series in which Booklist talks with book people! This Shelf Care Interview is sponsored by Capstone Young Readers. Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American writer, interfaith activist, and cultural sensitivity trainer featured in O the Oprah Magazine. Author of the Yasmin Chapter book series, Saadia also writes middle grade novels such as YUSUF AZEEM IS NOT A HERO, and other books for children. Saadia is Editor-in-Chief of Blue Minaret, an online magazine of poetry, short stories, and art. Besides writing, she also loves reading, binge-watching her favorite shows, and taking naps. She lives in Houston with her family.
As we sit down with Saadia Faruqi, a talented writer and advocate for diversity in children's literature. Saadia shares her inspiring journey of writing books that resonate with her daughter, with a strong desire for her to see herself represented in literature. We explore the importance of having range in writing, capturing the early years, middle school, and older ages to cater to a wide audience. Saadia also discusses her mission as a Pakistani American writer and the significance of discussing religion with children. Get a sneak peek into her new series, "Ali the Great," focusing on the early years, set to release on August 1st. We also delve into the exciting books that Saadia has in the pipeline for the upcoming years. Website: https://saadiafaruqi.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaadiaFaruqi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saadiafaruqi/
Authors Saadia Faruqi and Grace Lin the question What do you do when you run out of things to write about? and kid reviewer Wen Yuan reviews A Thousand Questions by Saadia Faruqi.
Welcome to the Shelf Care Interview, an occasional conversation series in which Booklist talks with book people! This Shelf Care Interview is sponsored by Abrams Books. Saadia Faruqi was born in Pakistan and moved to the United States when she was 22 years old. She writes the YASMIN series and popular middle grave novels, such as YUSUF AZEEM IS NOT A HERO besides writing books for kids. She loves reading binge-watching her favorite shows and taking naps, and lives in Houston with her family.
Sixth-graders Sara, a Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, a Jewish girl, connect in an after school cooking club and bond over food and their mothers' struggles to become United States citizens. This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recorded with permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.
*Links to resources to be added soon!00:00:00 Molly RauhHello and welcome back to this CCIRA Literacy Conversations podcast. I'm your host, Molly Rauh with my co-host...00:00:08 Jessica Rickert...Jessica Rickert. Today's podcast features, Whittany La Rocca, Whitney's work centers around authentic reading and writing instruction. Whitney shares, ideas for grammar instruction, blending science of reading and balanced literacy, and the Patterns of Power resource. Well, welcome Whitney. We're so excited to have you on the podcast. Why don't we start with you just telling us a little bit about your background.00:00:35 Whitney La RoccaOkay, well, thank you. And thank you for having me on this podcast. So I'm excited to be here my background, I guess, you know, starts since since you're up in Colorado, I can say, I'm originally from Wyoming. So we're formerly neighbors. I graduated from the University of Wyoming and then moved to Texas. And that's where I'm at no. I live in the Houston area. I have over 20 years of education experience. I I've taught I've been an instructional coach, and now I'm a full-time consultant, author, staff developer, co-author of the Patterns of Power family of resources. So Patterns of Power, Patterns of Power Plus. And recently we came out with Patterns of Wonder that I got to take the lead on for emergent writing. So my passion is definitely just supporting children as they find their identities and develop their identities in this world of literacy. So I'm super excited to continue to do this work all over the place, rather than just in my little bubble outside of Houston.00:01:43 Jessica RickertSo I'm wondering, because you talk about authentic grammar instruction, and I think teachers really struggle with authentic grammar instruction and not just putting a worksheet in front of them, but integrating it. So what are your thoughts on authentic grammar instruction?00:02:01 Whitney La RoccaAbsolutely. You know, we're told so often as teachers well just teach grammar in context and keep it authentic. And we're like, okay, sure, how do we do that? What does that really mean? Right? And so when we think about authentic grammar instruction, what we want to do is really lean on brain research and the research that goes into education and how our brains are wired to learn. And if we look at these cognitive structures in our brain, we have this, this structure of observation. And so we get to observe what writers do. And that's what we begin with. We begin with, published children's literature, the books that we love that are in our classrooms. We share some sentences from those or with the emerging writers we share an entire page from a picture book where we look at both pictures and words. And we just ask our students, what do you notice? And we get to have these authentic conversations where students get to really just talk about what they're noticing, what the brain is observing, right? And this power of talk, this power of inquiry, just drives this instruction. And through these observations, our students begin to recognize what writers do. And we get to pull in grammar into this conversation as well. When we do pick sentences or a page from a book, we're very particular about what we choose, right? And so we're going to curate a sentence or a page that really demonstrates this grammar skill that we're looking to show off. But we don't tell our students what that is, because we want them to kind of discover that on their own through inquiry. And that's how this process begins with this authentic grammar instruction. We begin with authentic literature, and we have these authentic conversations within the context of reading and writing about what authors do, why they do that, how they do that. And then we move into comparing and contrasting that to something else, like another piece of writing, right? We're leaning in on the comparative analysis structure, cognitive structure of our brain, which is our brains are wired to learn through, compare and contrast. So we move into that to really retain that information even more. And then we turn around and authentically produce a piece of writing that looks like the model. So we get to imitate that, and we can imitate that together. And then we invite our students to turn around and try it out on their own. And we celebrate this. And our celebration, again it's through this conversation, the sharing, this displaying of the authentic writing that they have tried out, and we turn around and invite them to continue to play with this skill in other parts of their day of writing. In writing workshop, in writing in the content areas - continue to produce more writing in different ways, using that skill. And then we get to end with this conversation around editing and what that really looks like. So rather than starting with the wrong and correcting, correcting, correcting, correcting and focusing on right or wrong, we invite, you know, risk taking, because we're celebrating the craft of writing rather than wasting our time correcting errors. And with that celebration, and with this authentic move looking at what writers do and the craft that they use, we are able to move towards correctness. And we have to, as teachers have this understanding too that every writer has approximations along the way even adult writers, right? So we never have perfect writing. We're always moving towards correctness, but we're starting with correct writing to teach that, rather than starting with the wrong. So, in context, within the frame of reading and writing and using authentic literature and asking our students to produce authentic literature as well, and they lean on their scaffolds when they need to. And when they're ready to move away from that, they take those risks and try it out. And then we can. We can teach into those risks that they are trying.00:06:30 Molly RauhSo knowing that you said, you know, we, it's an inquiry process, and we should start by observing and know, you know, every teacher has some of their like favorite books, or some of their go os. Yeah. So if you were going to share some of your favorite, some of your go-to is with our listeners, what might be some of those, you know, awesome books that you would choose for our class of emerging readers.00:06:55 Whitney La RoccaOh, my goodness, it's so this is this is so hard for me, because you, you both can see like my background or what's behind to be right? I'm in my home office right now, and the wall is just covered with books. I am a book, a holic. So for me, just to share a couple is like ridiculous. I could go for hours of my favorites. My biggest, my biggest tip, first of all, is a mentor text is a text that you love. So I could said, I could share text all day. I could send you lists and everything, but honestly, you have to love it for your students to really love it too. And so those books that are in your classroom, if you really love them, then they're probably a really good mentor text to use. And but I also will say it that we need to be diverse in the text that we choose, right? And we need to make sure that we have a wide representation and of people in the books that we use. We want to be inclusive. We want to make sure that our readers see themselves, and they see others. And this is how we build community. And this is how we build empathy through the books that we I said. Just those little tidbits before I do share some titles with you. So few for emergent writing, I guess, some of my very favorites and "Quit Calling Me a Monster" by Jory John, one of my favorite mentor texts that really could be used for anything. There's a lot of teaching points inside of that Troy Cummings', "Can I be Your Dog" is one of my favorites. He also has "Can I be Your Cat" or along that line. I'm waiting on it. I waiting on the paper back to show up to my house next month. So but there's a second one about a cat cat, as opposed to a dog. Anything by Mo Willems hands down, right? The Pigeon books, the elephant piggy books, pretty much anything there. I also love they, these, the Yasmine books, the these ones by Saadia Faruqi. I'm not sure that I pronounced her last name, right? But it's a series, the Yasmine books I absolutely love for younger readers as mentor texts as well. For older readers, I really enjoy pretty much anything by Matt De La Pena is one of my favorite authors, for sure. And I also love Peter Brown's "The Wild Robot" is probably one of my favorite novels, as well as Katherine Applegate's "The One and Only Ivan," but even more so, "The One and Only Bob," I like that one even more than Ivan, which I didn't think I could like anything more than Ivan. But Bob is just another one as well. So those are just some off the top of my head that I absolutely love. My some of my favorite authors might go-tos. But like I said, I could pull so many books off and just keep talking. So.00:09:58 Molly RauhYou had talked too about, you know, when they're observing, especially with our younger, I called them emerging readers before. But we're really talking about emerging writers. Like you said.00:10:10 Whitney La RoccaBoth. Readers and writers and writers are readers. We make that reading-writing connection in everything that we do.00:10:15 Molly RauhWhen you're working with, you know, some of the really and honestly, I would probably still even do it with my high school kids looking at pictures specifically. You know, I think some teachers are really skilled at analyzing images as kind of a component of writing and others, you know, maybe that's something they're still trying to build. And I'm thinking, you know, this is one of my favorite books, so you said, you talking about books that you love, there's a book called "This is Not My Hat."00:10:53 Whitney La RoccaYes, I have it on my wall.00:10:53 Whitney La RoccaIt's very like it's an inference sort of book, because so much of what's going on in the story isn't in the written words. It's visual. How, how do you bring together something like that when they're looking at writing when the story isn't fully in the writing? Like, what would the conversation look like for a book like that? If I want to bring in one of my favorite books to talk?00:11:17 Whitney La RoccaWell, as you think about this visual literacy. And with graphic novels being so popular here, there's so much more in those pictures than there are in the words as well, and so much thinking that occurs with students who read graphic novels. So I'm a huge proponent of graphic novels as well. So I just think, when we take a look at that again, it's that observation. So, you know, what do you notice? In older students, if we're having conversations around grammar, they're probably going to lean more towards the words that you're sharing an entire page. And I like to think about this process, even outside of teaching grammar, right? This is an inquiry process. What do you notice? Compare it and contrast it with something else, turn around and try it out, right? So that's that's the inquiry part of it. So we can share. I was thinking, I was working with some junior high students not too long ago, and we were talking about I wanted, but we had to a lesson on flashbacks, right? So I actually just put up a page from Jerry Craft's "Class Act" and where he does, he has a flashback and around, the flashback he has like a wavy line. And so they're bell ringer when they came in was just a what do you notice the authors doing on this page? Right? That's all it was. What do you notice? And so they wrote in their notebooks. You know, a lot about, kind of the meaning of what's going on the back story of the student, what they were gathering just from that one page, which so much was in the pictures versus the words themselves. But and but it was interesting, none of them really noticed that little move around the flashback. But they did realize that he was flashing back to something different. And so just that what you know is conversation then moved us into. Well, this is called a flashback and look what Jerry did for us as readers, right? And he made this wavy line. So we actually transferred that over to text. When you did, we did a compare contrast. We moved to where we were just looking at text itself and finding the flashback. And we actually drew the squiggly line. So if you think about about that, that's, you know, that's that visual literacy of what's going on. So if we have books where we're looking at pictures as well, when we asked, what do you notice? You can say, you know, look at the words. But also look at the pictures. What do you notice is happening here in both. Now with emergent readers and writers, the writing that they're doing is mostly pictures as they're learning that there's this thing called letters. And these letters make words. And these words make sentences, right? So when we're looking at really emergent writers, they're just scribbling for their writing. They have this understanding that there's this thing called writing, but they don't have this understanding that there's these letters, you know, these symbols that make letters that tie the sounds yet. And so when we're asking them to look at pictures and what we're doing, we're still looking at the words as well. But their eyes tend to look more at the pictures, because they're not reading these words yet. So we get to lean in on what it is they're noticing, and then we get to develop their oral language through those pictures. So when they're using the pictures in their own books and say, we're working with nouns, right, it's a focus brace we might use is I tell about people, places and things in my story. And so they have these scribbles on the page. Well, as we're developing the oral language, they can be bringing in people, places and things into their language as their sharing, what's in their pictures. And that's just the, the, the foundation of grammar that were working on with our students. 00:14:55 Jessica RickertWell, in all of this is reader like based in readers' and writers' workshop and balanced literacy. What - something that's pushing in on education in Colorado and other places is Science of Reading. So how do you, how do you see merging those two things? Because science of reading is here to stay and whatever people think of it. But then it's, it seems like if they're trying to push out balanced literacy, and what you're talking about is these really great authentic experiences for kids. So what are your thoughts on that?00:15:29 Whitney La RoccaWell, we definitely have this pitch for a Science of Reading everywhere. And what I will say is the science of reading is attached to Scarborough's rope, right? And so to have skilled readers, we have to weave in the phonics. But we also have to leave in what we call language comprehension. And when we look at the language comprehension side of it that is developing this language of having an understanding of syntax and structure and all all of these pieces, you know, of developing how language should sound that fluency piece when we're reading. Well, we're not going to just get that fluency peace unless we are read aloud to right? And so read aloud happens during balanced literacy. And guess what? We need that read aloud to dive into that language comprehension side of the science of reading. And there are so many components in that language comprehension compre- "muuh" (sound to indicate tongue-tied moment) , the comprehension side, where a lot of balanced literacy components come in. I do see the need for a strong phonics part of your day. We need that, right? Our students definitely need to be able to decode it. They shouldn't just be guessing, but it definitely can be weaved together. And honestly, one of my favorite, it works out there right now that I go back to almost on a daily basis, because as a consultant, I'm getting calls constantly, because I do, my consulting is around balanced literacy and reading and writing workshop. And so I get calls all the time. Well, you know, we're really being told we have to do science of reading. How can we mix and match that? And the it's called "Shifting the Balance" by Kari Yates and Jan Birkins. If you haven't heard of it yet, I highly recommend you check it out, "Shifting the Balance" Stenhouse Publishers is the publishing company? But what they do is they share the research behind the science of reading, and then they give, and then they show how that can be balanced with balanced literacy. And there's actually actually six shifts that they dive into of how you can shift your balanced literacy to also follow and dive into this research behind science of reading. And it's beautiful I, like I said, I refer to it almost on a daily basis. It's definitely one of my favorite art pieces of work out there right now as we maneuver through these reading wars. What I will say is there needs to be a balance, right? So we don't need to be at one end or the other. It really needs to come together. There are some really good things with science of reading that I do believe in, but I am also my heart is with reading and writing workshop could, because when we're talking about authentic authenticity and we're talking about engagement, that's where that happens, right? And if we really dive into emergent reading and writing this writing that they're doing through their pictures and through their oral rehearsal, that's not going to happen if we wait until they can write CBC words, right? And so we don't want to stifle them because they're not yet writing words, encoding words or decoding words, right? We want them to be able to go ahead and develop that language comprehension through Reading the pictures as well as writing through pictures.00:19:00 Molly RauhOh, and this is this is more for listeners. This is not for you so much Whitney. But if you are looking for some cool science of reading strategies that you could maybe marry with what Whitney's talking about, we have another podcast with Jessica help me with the name, because it just fell out of my head. I had it a minute ago -Katie Garner. We talked to Katie Garner, and she's got these great little strategies to help kids access those sounds before they're you know, technically, I'm doing air quotes. You guys can't see me but air quotes before they're technically ready. And so, you know, that's that's a great resource. But I'm with you. I like, I'm such an inquiry, like my practice as a teacher is very inquiry-based and I, you know, I love Patterns of Power and the work that you and Jeff Anderson have done, and you know, that like, like you said, it's engaging work that can kids get excited about it. And, you know, Jeff, that I've made no secret about this. Jeff is, we'll see if you can beat him. This is your goal. You gotta beat him.00:20:06 Whitney La RoccaI don't - I don't think I can.00:20:06 Molly RauhJeff is my favorite podcast episode that I've recorded.00:20:11 Whitney La RoccaI can't beat Jeff. He's my favorite too. I absolutely love him. He's my mentor. I have learned so much from him, and when people asked me to come present and they're like, you know, we've seen Jeff, we really want you. And I'm like, okay, but, you know, I'm not Jeff. RIght like, not even close, just so incredible. I could listen to him all day. And I just laugh constantly, right? You know, he'll just have you rolling over. I love it when we present together, because I just almost pee my pants every time, because he's so funny, but I absolutely love him. We did. We had a webinar together this afternoon, and we talked on a daily basis. We're like our we're the married couple who are the we're definitely the work husband and wife there. And so we it's a lot of fun. But yeah, I can't beat Jeff, you can't don't even put me try to like put me there, because I'm not even close.00:21:04 Molly RauhI won't make you do that. But I'm still enjoying this a lot so far. So, absolutely I won't make you compete with Jeff.00:21:10 Whitney La RoccaAnd if you want to laugh more, you know, we have they he and Travis, who's the co-author for the Middle School patterns of winter. They host the podcast as well, called the POPCast. Which is the Patterns of Power podcas: the POPCast and they have you rolling. But the episodes are about 15 minutes long. And they're all and Patterns of Power. So they just have you you rolling. They brought me on to talk about Patterns of Wonder. They've brought Caroline on to talk about Spanish, you know, they've brought on some brain researchers that kind of bring in everybody, but it's those two and their two goofballs. So they really have a good time with this podcast. And it's a lot of fun to listen to.00:21:52 Molly RauhWell, I'm definitely going to have to give that a try. And I will also, this is the first time in a while. When I've had Whitney, you've given me like, you might have seen me like frantically writing things down. This will be the first time in a while where I'll have show notes with links to all kinds of resources. So thank you for sharing already, like so many names and books and resources, because I love to get to link those together for our audience so that they can access even more than we can talk about in, you know, a short podcast session.00:22:23 Whitney La RoccaWell, there's so many people doing so many good things out there. I just I love to just share what's going on out there in classrooms and out in the professional writing world. And it's just, it's just amazing, even though this year is just incredibly difficult for teachers. And I know that I see that I just love that they're still, you know, a little bit of excitement still out there. And I just want to share and celebrate that as often as possible.00:22:50 Jessica RickertWell for our listeners that don't know what Patterns of Power are -is in. You've been talking about that. Can you tell us a little bit about that?00:22:58 Whitney La RoccaYeah. So Patterns of Power is a resource. It's a professional book, but it's really professional resource. And Jeff and I created Patterns of Power for grades, one through five first. So that was our first one that we created together. And it really came from the work that he did with everyday editing and mechanically inclined. And just the back story behind that I was an instructional coach at the time on an elementary campus. We were struggling on our campus because we were using a lot of daily edit, daily oral language, worksheets, and we just weren't seeing a transfer of skills to their writing. And we were frustrated because we were using writing workshop, and it just it was frustrating for us. And I was reading his work. And I and I told my teachers, I said, hey, there's this guy out here who's doing some pretty cool stuff, and we're using mentor texts already. And during writing workshop, you know, this approach makes sense. What do you think we give it a try? And so for? And they said, sure, of course, we're willing. So I just I created some lessons, you know, at the lower grade levels and along the lines of his work, and they started using it, loved it. He came to my district. He and I got to talking, and he invited me to write this book with him, which was really exciting just to, because, Molly, just like you, I love him, right? I go back to my notes before I knew him of just the sessions. And there's so many exclamation marks in my notes, because he just had you so excited and energized and motivated. So I couldn't wait to do this work. So we came out with that. And the reason why we called it a resource over a professional book is because the professional reading that's in this book is a very short amount. We know teachers don't have time to do all of this professional reading. So we have about 50 pages that's the professional reading, and the other 400 pages are ready-to-use lessons that you could turn around and use tomorrow. Every lesson follows the same process and we call it the Patterns of Power process. It's this inquiry process that I referred to earlier where we begin with invitation to notice, we invite our students to notice what they observe in the sentence that we choose. And through that conversation, they discover this move that writers make, which is tied to grammar. And so we introduced in that Focus Phrase for them. And we learn, you know, like, "I use nouns to show people, places, and things" that's a focus phrase. And now we have a better understanding standing of what nouns are, rather than starting our lesson with okay writers. Today we're going to learn about nouns, pull out your notebooks. Let's do a three column chart, right? People places and things, you know know, we're going to start with just this sentence, and ask, what do you notice? And through that conversation, they discover this. And then we move into the invitation to compare and contrast where we compare and contrast that mentor sentence to another example, and continue our conversation around what they notice, which also leads back to our Focus Phrase, then you have the invitation to imitate where we imitate that model together. So that's where we create our own piece of writing. Thunder cracks Oh, my goodness, sorry, we're having a thunderstorm right now. That was a really loud thunder. My dog is freaking out. We have really bad thunderstorms down here. I'm sorry. So the invitation to imitate were imitating together using that Focus phrase, keeping that Focus Phrase in mind, they turn around and imitate on their own. So then they turn around and try it out on their own. And we celebrate that. And then we move into the apply where they go ahead and try it out in other areas. And we come back at the end for this conversation around editing. And our editing is still isn't about right or wrong, but it's about meaning and effect, and really thinking about, you know, when we don't put a period here, how does that affect the meaning? Or what effect does this have on the reader? So these conversations give way to editing to where students actually really edit their work. So often, our students think they're writing is perfect. There are no mistakes in my writing, and we hand them and editing checklist. And they check yes, all the way down, right? And when we look at their writing and there's nothing, they haven't edited, anything. But when we use these Focus phrases and we use this process and ending with that conversation well, and then they have a better understanding of what they really meant to do as editors, and they take more care, and they're more intentional with the editing that they do. So all of our lessons in Patterns of Power follow that process, and we have over seventy five lessons in Patterns of Power. And then we wrote Pattern of Power Plus, which were grade level specific. And that's where, like I was, Patterns of Power was Jeff Anderson with Whitney La Rocca. So my name was real tiny. Then with Patterns of Power Plus, I became an "And" so my name was the same size. And Jeff tells everyone I graduated from a preposition to a conjunction, and that grammar really does matter, right? And then, while Jeff and Travis were working on Patterns of Power for Middle School, I got to work, take the lead and become have my name first and work on Patterns of Wonder for emergent writers. So it just continues to grow. I guess I and I'm allowed to say it. Now we have Patterns of Power, Molly, for high school coming out. Yes! Nine through twelve and is in production right now. So it's supposed to be soon coming out. I don't, I can't tell you exactly when, but I know it's soon because it's been turned over to production. So...00:28:47 Molly RauhAnd to all of you that couldn't see me like mouth, jaw dropped, hands to face, like so excited.00:28:55 Whitney La RoccaYes, I know. I knew you would be excited. I couldn't wait to tell you that. So, yes, we're your pre-k through 12. We will be very soon with this process. And that's what's so awesome is the process is the same at every grade level. The difference is the layers of complexity that we add into it, right? And that's what makes it so powerful as well.00:29:17 Molly RauhWell and you can tell, you know, I'm, I teach high school, but I still know your work, love your work. You know, it's something that I've you know, obviously I go to CCIRA, and I take a lot of of different strategies from a lot of different grade levels and adapt them. But it's so nice when somebody has also done that work for me and I can go. Oh, I can do that so much better, like you guys are brilliant in ways that I'm not.00:29:40 Whitney La RoccaWell, when we encourage that to, we encourage you, you know, to start with the lessons we created. But once you have a sense of how this process goes, go into the books that you love and find sentences, you know that you love or invite your students to find sentences and in move, continue with the process on your own as well. So we don't believe in scripted teaching at all. And so we want this. That's why it's really a process. Yes, we have lessons to support the process. But that's the process that makes it so powerful. And I always, when I signed books, I always sign it with "The power is in the process," because that's really what it is. And you have to trust that process as well. When you think about transfer, right? I so agree with that.00:30:26 Molly RauhSo that gets me to think thinking about 00:30:29 Molly Rauhthat creative process, because you said, when you got started, you know, you had kind of looked at some of Jeff's work, and you created some lessons. And that, you know, just sort of over the years has snowballed into this fantastic, impressive, awesome career. I'm so like, I'm jealous of all you've accomplished, and that you got to graduate.00:30:49 Whitney La RoccaIt's so exciting. It's been really fun. My mom the other day actually said, you know he's really giving you this gradual release of responsibility, and that's exactly it. That's what it was. My mom's a former teachers as well - it's the language, right? She's retired now, but she's like a you know, he just he took you under his wing, and he slowly released you a little bit more to go out and do this work. And and that's what it is. And it's the same thing with the process as well. It's a gradual release.00:31:18 Molly RauhYeah. But thinking back to the beginning of your process as a learner in, in creating this, could you tell us a little bit about those first couple initial lessons, and then maybe what hasn't changed or evolved, or what you've learned, kind of as you've grown? TAnd you know, tell us about your learning process.00:31:36 Whitney La RoccaSure, my gosh, there's so much. So when I first created just the lessons on my own, where I was taking his work from Everyday Editing and Mechanically Inclined and just trying to think at, you know, at an elementary - lower elementary level, what this could look like, you know, we interpret things so differently. And so when I was doing the notice, I actually made three days of noticing where we were noticing three different texts all around the same skill. And and then the compare contrast, we use those, but still, you know, continue to compare contrast. And and the he came in, I remember when he came and did, you know, some PD around this work with us, and I had kind of an aha moment. And I was like, oh, my goodness, you know, my lessons I'm trying to do too much, much like this, you know, it's it doesn't need to be that much. I'm kind of overdoing that notice, you know that we need to get we need to get past that, and really into the work that the students are actually doing, because that's where the power is. And so I, that's kind of what got us started. He also talked about the focus phrase, which I, that was something new that wasn't in Everyday Editing. And so he was definitely kind of growing and doing some work around this as well. And so I took one of my first grade lessons, and I revised it after that PD. Yeah, I went back, and I revised it, and I added in a focus phrase, and I took out some of the other things and completely revised it to match more of what he shared in the PD when I had a better understanding rights. And and that's the power behind hearing the actual authors. Like you learn, you're like, oh, that's what that meant. And so I sent him the lesson, he and I had talked, you know, at the PD and everything. So he kind of knew my name at least because I was, he came to my school. So so I was kind of in charge of making sure he got lunch, right? The important things. And so I sent him a lesson and said, hey, you know, after this PD, I really have been thinking more about some of these lessons I've created. Can you take a look at this first grade lesson and give me feedback? I've added a focus phrase. I've kind of changed some things up. Let me know what you're thinking here. I'm because I really just wanted his feedback on this. You know, I'm I am I on the right track? And that lesson is actually what he emailed me back and said, I really want to talk to you, what's your number? And that's where that got into wow. You know, you and I are on the same page here. This is, you know, I can really take your lower elementary experience and mix it with mine, Upper Elementary and secondary experience. And we could do something here. So as I'm think of those early lessons in that early learning, that's for me. It was just going back and trying it again. It's that revision that we do as writers, right? And then when he and I sat down to actually work Kirk, you know, I was kind of nervous three getting honestly, I was like, oh, my gosh damn good, right lessons with him. And we sat side by side at his table. But Jeff is just so open and and wanting to learn as well. I mean, he's been doing this work for ever, but he's still open and wanting to learn more and wanting to learn from others. So he really was asking, you know, what do you think about this? And what lessons do you have? Maybe we can mix some of these together. And so I just kind of learned even more about how you just have to write. You just have to get it out. So, you know, don't don't worry about if it's right or wrong, just get it out, get it out there. And because then you can revise then that's definitely something I have learned. I will say, as that gradual release of responsibility as I took on Patterns of Wonder, really took the lead on that. I sat with a blank screen for a really long time, and I had a really hard -it was all in my brain, and the editor would call and say, "how we doing? Haven't seen anything yet." I'm like, it's all right here in my brain. It's percolating. And he's like, well, percolate that onto paper, please. And so once I got going, though, I was really able to continue that work. And as we, Jeff and I are kind of working on something else like I'm not sure if I can really say what else is coming. But there may be something else coming soon. And it's amazing how much easier it is now for me, right? I just sit on, and I just go to town on these lessons on we're working on around revision. So just a hint, and I'm able to I'm much more confident in what I'm doing now, and that gradual release of responsibility, adds confidence, right? I've had him when I've needed him. And as he let me go a little bit more, I grew with more and more confidence. And now I feel really strong about what I do. 00:36:21 Molly RauhI love that your own process connected to, you know, again, that writing process. And I also just love that you were bold enough to like, maybe like, I just need to be braver and be like, hey, here's this cool lesson I created based off from your work. What do you think? The thing like? The mentors? Because you gained this awesome mentor because you were just brave enough to send a lesson and say, hey, I could use some feedback.00:36:48 Whitney La RoccaBut really, that's all I'm working for. I never dreamed that this would happen like I, of course, it was in my dreams. But I never, when I sent that was like thinking it what happened? Right? I really was just looking for feedback. So when he said, I need to talk to you, I was like, uh oh, I thought it was going to be terrible like he didn't want to put it in writing, right? It's. So then, when I talk to him, he's like, you know, I really think we need to do some work together. And I was like, wait, what? Hold up, what? And that's when he went into, you know, well, it's going to be Jeff Anderson with Whitney La Rocca and made a point that my name was going to be very small. And I said, I didn't care just the fact that I would get to work with him and learn more from him. I really saw this as a way for me to learn more. And I mean, I have definitely learned more, way beyond what I had expected back then. And like, I think, it was 2014 or 15 or something, when all of this started between he and I. So.00:37:45 Molly RauhWell, I'm thinking, even just the feedback on the lesson, forget publishing. But just like, learning from someone like Jeff or any other, you know, educational- that's a theme we have on this podcast is educational heroes. And...00:37:58 Whitney La RoccaYes, I encourage everyone to ask for feedback. Don't be afraid to do that, whether it's from someone in your school or someone outside of your school, and it don't be afraid to just reach out and say, Hey, can I have some feedback on this? Because that's how we grow. And, you know, we are. We're as smart as the people in the room. Umm, right? And if we're not asking for feedback, if we're not seeking other opinions and and, you know, working towards this growth, we're not helping our children. Right? So It ultimately, it's about our students. And if we seek feedback, then we're also putting that good model out there as we encourage our students to do the same, 00:38:44 Molly RauhAbsolutely. And that, you know, I guess my brain is very much into like connecting to some of our old podcasts today. One of our recent ones was with our Early Career Network, liaison or whatever. we call her role, and we were talking a lot about just those conversations and the learning we can get from collaborating with some of the newer educators, because they've had, some of those...One, they've got some new learning that maybe we've missed out on. Two, they have a lot of of those techniques are fresh in their mind, you know, things that we know, but maybe we've forgotten to do as we get, you know, into sort of the daily patterns of our work. And so it can be so refreshing to sit down and collaborate with someone who's just sort of in a different space and place in teaching, because like it improves my practice so much even, just, you know, looking over lessons of some of my newer colleagues, or I all the time. I'm like, hey, come look at this. Tell me what you think and getting feedback. And I think that goes for any level, you know, whether it's reaching out to you, or reaching out to Jeff for reaching out to the teacher, down the hall? I think sometimes we forget how much we can get from just a fresh set of eyes from our awesome colleagues who have strengths that aren't our strengths like, I don't know, I'm a very collaborative kind of person.00:40:12 Whitney La RoccaI am too. And I just think too, you know, the you know, I've been in this for a while now. So my former students, I remember being a coach, and we were hiring my former sutdents. My like former third graders were now becoming teachers at my school, and I just reached, just learning from them. I learned from them when they were kids in my third grade class, but I also learned from them when they were my colleague. It's just all about learning from others. And I think that's important that we learn from our younger teachers. But we also take time to learn from our students that are in our class as well, because they can teach us a lot too.00:40:45 Molly RauhI love that I, you know, one of my favorite questions to ask my students is just "What are other teachers doing that, I could bring to my classroom to make it better. And a lot of times, they're like, "No, nothing, miss, you're great." But every once in a while, they have, they remember something cool that another teachers done it. And I'm like "score!"00:41:04 Whitney La RoccaYeah, I want to know more about that.00:41:07 Molly RauhYeah, I was talking to one of my and I can't remember what he said. But he came to me. We did this we, co taught a lesson. So we mixed our two classes together and co-taught this lesson the last two days. And he he came to me afterwards and he said, okay, I have this really great feedback from this kid, and I wanted to tell you about it so that if I forget, you'll at least remember, oh, it was about visuals to go with. It was this big sort of geography thing. And they were learning about Imperialization and the countries that they were sort of trying to imperialize and grab. It was just like names written on note cards. And this kid would be said, it would be so cool if we had like a picture visuals to go with it. So, you know, we had a little more sense of what we were grabbing, and he's like, that was such good feedback, because he's like, of course, we could do that like that makes a lot of sense. And you know, it's little things. And, you know, that doesn't quite connect with your work of literacy. But like our kids, they have so much to share an offer. And sometimes the ideas don't come to them, and that's okay. But every once in a while, oh man, they have awesome feedback.00:42:14 Whitney La RoccaBut when we open our our classrooms to their feedback into these conversations, we're showing them that we trust them, right? And we're opening the doors. And and with that comes higher levels of engagement as well. And the best way to learn they have to be engaged first before they can really learn and retain anything. So when we have the trust of our students in that way, and they're, they feel open enough to share some of their thinking around this. We just invite more engagement.00:42:40 Molly RauhAbsolutely. Jessica, do you have questions to get us back on track? Because I have definitely derailed us a little bit.00:42:47 Jessica RickertNo, no questions. I think this has been great. And I just think that Patterns of Power resource is what teachers need, because I think teachers are always, have always been overwhelmed. And so it's nice for somebody else to do like the legwork of the structure. And like you said, then go off and do it. But it's nice to have something that's not a script, but it's here's where you can start, and then take off from there. So I think, and that's like, I'm excited for Molly too, because I think sometimes High School doesn't have of the resources like that. So I think that's a great resource. And I love that it's a resource, not a script, not a program, because we still want teachers to think too. And like you said, use your own books, your favorite books, because that's authentic. I mean, if you're just grabbing a book that the resource told you, it's like God, this is the worst book ever, you know, then then then it loses its authenticity. So I love that. And I love that you ground everything and what's best for students and how students learn and how we learn. I mean, that's how we read and write and learn about different things as well.00:43:57 Whitney La RoccaWell and I do want to say, with this Patterns of Power for high school, the co-author on that is Holly Durham. So she is, she's down here in Texas as well. She is a high school coordinator, language arts coordinator at high school level. So she really knows her stuff when it comes to high school. And to be honest, I get kind of get a little intimidated talking to her, because here I have goodbye little primary world, and that she's like using these words, I don't even know what they mean. So she definitely knows her stuff. But she Travis and Jeff co-wrote that one. So it's exciting that our family also said, continues to grow as we add more resources. And when we're thinking about this resource, it is a resource, right? So it's not a program, it's not a professional books. So it really can be used with any model that you're using, whether you are using balanced literacy and reading and writing workshop, or you are using a program this really, because it's a process, it really can feed into anything, any kind of model that you're using for a teaching writing. You can replace those worksheets with this process very easily. I have a several districts that I am working with that we are, we are doing that. So it is it is doable, and the teachers are excited because it's so much more engaging than those worksheets.00:45:20 Molly RauhAnd I just want to emphasize, you know, I think processes are so empowering to both teachers and our students. When we learn processes, you know, they give us, kind of a strategy that we can apply regularly. And when we teach our students processes, they now have a tool that they can apply to different problems, that they run into themselves. And so I love teaching processes, and I love that you guys have created some awesome resources with Patterns of power and Patterns of Wonder. And, you know, the whole collection of resources for so many people at every different level. So I hope teachers listening, you know, budget a little money aside and grab themselves a great resource.00:46:04 Whitney La RoccaResource. Yes, thank you. Well, I will say too with the process, they you actually go through the entire writing process in a very short, non-threatening way with this Patterns of Power process too, you know, you're immersed in this literature, you're immersed in skill. You turn around and do some brainstorming before drafting something together, you turn around and draft it again on your own. You celebrate that. And often in that celebration, there's revision that's done to that right there. You realize, oh, I want to add this, and you doing some revision that apply often goes into a lot of revision into the writing that you're doing during your writing block of time and ending with the editing conversation moves over to editing. So you're really taking it through the writing process, but it's in such a short digestible chunk that it's very non-threatening to students, again, that that allows them to feel good and confident about that work they're doing before going into these long essays, right, or whatever it is that they're writing.00:47:06 Molly RauhWell. And I love that you. You emphasized that it is a short process, because I think sometimes teachers go oh, writing is such a process. It's so hard to get, and it feels it feels so natural and engaging and short and sweet. And, you know, it's kind of a very snappy kind of thing to work through these these processes. And when you said earlier that you were a little intimidated by, you know, some of the high school stuff in the vocabulary, let me just tell you, like the some of the best instructional practices that I have as a teacher I learned from lower elementary presenters that I've gone to see, like, truly some of the best. And, you know, you talk again about some of those processes. Linda Hoyt is where...00:47:55 Whitney La RoccaI love Linda Hoyt.00:47:55 Molly RauhYeah, I saw her early in my career at a CCIRA conference, and she she blew my mind, because it was very much like what you talked about, where it was like, okay, let's observe this sentence. Let's mimic it a little bit. And we did so much writing. So, you know, in such a short sweet amount of time. And I was like, I can. I was teaching Middle School at the time. And I was like, I can totally take this back to my kids and man. I had such fun experiences using the strategies. And I still like it's still in my classroom today. And, you know, if you've ever looked at her Non-fiction Writing, everything is like three steps. There's nothing more than three steps. And I feel like the work that you guys have done is very similar in that it really is short and sweet. And, you know, empowering, because it's so easy to just take and use. I think that's something teachers really love and want to just be able to like, go into something and be like, okay, I can apply this like I can use this tomorrow because it's like it makes that much sense.00:48:58 Whitney La RoccaAnd the students do that to. They're like, oh, I can do this one sentence. I can do that, right? I can do that. It's that confidence piece. So.00:49:08 Molly RauhAlright. So my final question, okay, it that I pretty much throw at everyone is about educational Heroes.So who are some of you? I know it's a hard one - who are some of yours. Maybe, you know, just a couple. People that have really impacted you in awesome ways as an educator.00:49:29 Whitney La RoccaOkay. So of course, Jeff. You know, I've talked about him this whole time. So I'm going to start with him, but I'm not going to say a lot because I've done that this entire webinar. I will say Lucy Calkins has completely changed my view on teaching writing. And she actually came into my writing education as an early, I was an early teacher at the time. I had been only teaching a couple years when I was introduced to her work, and I actually got to go to New York for an Institute. And that Institute I walked away, saying, this is what I need to be doing. This makes sense and just she is just such an. And I know she's keynoting at your [Conference]. I'm so excited, but she just is such a learner herself to that. She's constantly revising her thinking, and she's constantly researching and constantly getting out there into classrooms and schools and trying to see what is going on right here and now, but still grounded in what's best for kids and that engagement piece and keeping it authentic. What authentic reading and writing really is. So one of my very first books, professional books that I read front to back, like cover to cover and was Art of Teaching Writing and I, it's highlighted like crazy. It's still on my shelf now. But just reading that and then listening to her. And now, even when I teach, people, will say, you sound just like Lucy. And I'm like, well, she was like, she was my person that's who - I remember being at the institute on my birthday and I she was I was in her small group session. And and she had us writing, of course, she always has us writing, and she was going around and conferring. And she came up next to me. And she said, I want to talk to you about your writing -scoot over. This is so Lucy: just scoot over. I'll share your chair with you, and I was like, so I got to like touch butts with Lucy on my birthday. I mean how cool is that.One of my favorite memory. But anyway, I just I could listen to her all day. I she's just she just has so much to say, and she's so genuine in everything that she does and everything that she says. And she's thoughtful in how she speaks, and she speaks how she writes, right? So it definitely she's one of my heroes for sure. I also, you know, I could go on and on, but I am going to I know that we're short on time. So definitely Jeff. Definitely Lucy, but also my mom, my, like I said, she is a former teacher, former coach. Her name is Amy Daley, and I actually dedicated Patterns of Wonder to her. She was, as I was growing up, she she was a preschool director, and then she moved into being a kindergarten teacher. And then eventually a coach, and I just had learned, growing - as a child I learned so much from her. She, I remember the writing that we did together just as a child in the young authors, competitions, she was there to help me, and she never told me what to do. She constantly conferred with me, right? And made me think through everything that I was doing. And then I remember when I first started teaching, I learned so much from her. Just and that way, she's actually the one that got me thinking about Lucy Caulkins. She's the one that introduced me to that whole brilliance in my life, in my world. And and and we just every time that we talk, we still talk shop constantly. We just have so many of the same philosophies and views and feed off one another, even though she's fully retired now, but she's definitely an educational hero for me as well, and that there's so many more, but I'm just going to limit it to those three for now.00:53:16 Jessica RickertIt is so hard to limit, because we have you know, but I know that Molly and I are both envious of both of your experiences with Jeff and Lucy. That's pretty awesome. But I love that your mom has paved the way for you as well. That's pretty special. And I gotta tell you, I never thought I'd be excited about grammar instruction. And I am!00:53:37 Whitney La RoccaMe neither. I never thought I would either and and Jeff even says he never in a million years dreamed he would write a book on grammar, you know. And then like it becomes this empire, you know, later in his life so.00:53:50 Jessica RickertWell, and it's so needed, because it's not something that it's kind of the leftover thing that we don't really talk about. I mean, we talked about writing instruction, but grammars always an aside, but it's so important, and it does need to be integrated. So I love what you guys have done.00:54:06 Whitney La RoccaAnd when it is taught, it's so often taught in isolation and just doesn't make sense right, or it's, or it's a focus on correcting, rather than the the correctness that's already there. And so I'm glad that we have a resource that can support teachers to keep it authentic and also continued their practice of teaching writing in the genres as well.00:54:29 Jessica RickertAwesome. Well, we look forward to seeing you at CCIRA and Molly have something to say before we wrap up.00:54:37 Molly RauhNo, that's okay. I, you know me, I could talk all night.00:54:41 Jessica RickertYou got Molly jazzed too. You got a high school teacher jazzed about grammar instruction.00:54:47 Whitney La RoccaWell, that tends to be, usually High School teachers are very jazzed about grammar instruction.00:54:51 Molly RauhI was actually, okay, I'm gonna say what I was going to say. I was actually thinking, like, there's so many teachers that are passionate about a lot of things writing-wise. And grammar is not one of them. They don't feel as comfortable with that space. And so you guys have really empowered them with something that allows them to feel comfortable tackling grammar.00:55:13 Whitney La RoccaIt's okay to not know everything it's that's okay. That's okay. We support you in that. So yeah, it's great.00:55:22 Jessica RickertWell, we're very excited. And for all of our listeners, if you haven't signed up for Whitney's session, there's still time to get in, or you can change your session to go and see Whitney, because she will have an awesome couple of sessions. And we're so excited to see you in person.00:55:40 Whitney La RoccaThank you. And one of my sessions is following Lucy. So if I'm not there, when you first get there attendees, it's because I'm talking to Lucy, I'll be there soon. Now I'm just teasing, I'm gonna probably have to sneak out of Lucy early to get over to my session, be ready for everyone to come in. However, I'm following her. So I feel like woo look at me. I follow Lucy. I'm honored to come to CCIRA. I have heard so many good things about this conference for years now. So the fact that I am actually get to come and present at it. I'm just incredibly honored, and I can't wait to get to Denver, even though it'll be cold. I can't wait to get there so.00:56:18 Jessica RickertGreat. Well, thank you so much for taking time to talk to us tonight. Well, thank you. Thank you for having me. I've enjoyed it.00:56:25 Molly RauhThank you Whitney. Thanks for listening to CCIRA Literacy Conversations podcast. To find out more about CCIRA, go to CCIRA.org. On CCIRA.org, you can join as a member, or find great resources like our professional development blog, which posts every Tuesday and has variety of guest writers on a awesome selection of topics. CCCIRA is a professional organization of educators and community members dedicated to the promotion and advancement of literacy. We also have a Twitter account @ColoradoReading. You can find us on Instagram at CCIRA_ColoradoReading. Or you can find us on Facebook, where we also have a members only group that we're trying to build. And our Facebook account is CCIRA Colorado Reading. We'd love to hear more from you. And again, if you're looking for new content, please send any questions or things you'd be interested in seeing from CCIRA to CCIRAVideo@gmailcom. Thanks for listening and have a great week.
How do you write a novel together without destroying a friendship? We ask the writers of "A Place at the Table," Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan.
What does it mean to be an ally? How do you confront racism face to face? What's it like to be the child of an immigrant? And can food bring people together? We talk about it all with a trio of students from Columbia Heights Educational Campus in Washington, DC. Writers Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan answer questions about writers block from our readers. Our celebrity reader is USA Today journalist Tami Abdollah. Kitty Felde is host.
Grappling with topics of racial discrimination and divided perceptions, Saadia Faruqi (A Thousand Questions) has expertly crafted a story of family, friendship, and empowerment in her poignant new middle grade novel YUSUF AZEEM IS NOT A HERO. Yusuf Azeem has spent all his life in the small town of Frey, Texas—and nearly that long waiting for the chance to participate in the regional robotics competition, which he just knows he can win. Only, this year is going to be more difficult than he thought. Because this year is the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks—an anniversary that has everyone in his family on edge. After reading his uncle's journal from that time, Yusuf feels like he almost understands what the nation's fear and anger felt like. But when certain people in town start to say hateful things to Yusuf and his community, he realizes that the anger hasn't gone away. And soon he will have to stand up to the bullies with understanding, justice and love. With empathy and thoughtfulness, Faruqi writes about the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that rocked the U.S. and brings the moment and all the emotions it evokes to life with Yusuf. Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani-American writer, interfaith activist, and cultural-sensitivity trainer. She is the author of the children's series Yasmin, the middle grade novel A Thousand Questions, and the coauthor of the middle grade novel A Place at the Table. She was profiled in O magazine as a woman making a difference in her community and serves as editor in chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry, and prose. She resides in Houston, TX, with her family.
Grappling with topics of racial discrimination and divided perceptions, Saadia Faruqi (A Thousand Questions) has expertly crafted a story of family, friendship, and empowerment in her poignant new middle grade novel YUSUF AZEEM IS NOT A HERO. Yusuf Azeem has spent all his life in the small town of Frey, Texas—and nearly that long waiting for the chance to participate in the regional robotics competition, which he just knows he can win. Only, this year is going to be more difficult than he thought. Because this year is the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks—an anniversary that has everyone in his family on edge. After reading his uncle's journal from that time, Yusuf feels like he almost understands what the nation's fear and anger felt like. But when certain people in town start to say hateful things to Yusuf and his community, he realizes that the anger hasn't gone away. And soon he will have to stand up to the bullies with understanding, justice and love. With empathy and thoughtfulness, Faruqi writes about the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that rocked the U.S. and brings the moment and all the emotions it evokes to life with Yusuf. Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani-American writer, interfaith activist, and cultural-sensitivity trainer. She is the author of the children's series Yasmin, the middle grade novel A Thousand Questions, and the coauthor of the middle grade novel A Place at the Table. She was profiled in O magazine as a woman making a difference in her community and serves as editor in chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry, and prose. She resides in Houston, TX, with her family.
Join LaTangela for another round of #RandomResearch - the surveys went out and the results are in... Some of these stats are spot on... others are far out! *********************************************************************************** This week on the #TanLine we are chatting with: Author/Activist/Culture-Sensitivity Trainer Saadia Faruqi Yusuf Azeem is Not A Hero is available NOW! Award-Winning Actress - Adrienne C. More has served her time on Orange is the New Black and now she is in full swing cracking "Hard" cases as a cop in the new action/comedy series PRETTY HARD CASES available on IMDbTV! ***************************************************************************************** Hurricane Ida Aftermath Hotlines: www.FEMA.gov Call 211- info Call 511- La Roads www.brla.gov/covid *************************************************************************************** NEW BOOK ALERT G.O.A.L.S. (Going Over All Little Steps) - LaTangela Fay Sherman NEW MUSIC ALERT Never Knew - LaTangela Fay ***************************************************************************************** THE LATANGELA SHOW RADIO - WEMXfm - Mon-Fri 10a.m.-3p.m.CST TV - WLFT - FAY @ 5 Mon-Fri 5a.m. & 5p.m. WGMB/FOX44 WEEKENDS PODCAST- ALL digital platforms YOUTUBE - #LaTangelaFay www.LaTangela.com ***************************************************************************************** Special Thank You - DUDLEY DEBOSIER INJURY LAWYERS B.R. Dental Care - Dr. Carlos Suadi Hair Queen Beauty Super Center John @ PremiereSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On Thursday's Houston Matters: Mayor Sylvester Turner has issued an executive order requiring unvaccinated city employees to get bimonthly COVID-19 tests and report results to the city. We hear about that and other happenings in City Council from News 88.7's Jen Rice. Then, as the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks approaches, we explore how those events affected Houstonians. We devote most of the hour to memories from Houstonians of that day, a conversation with Houstonians from different generations about how they perceive that event and its impact, and a discussion about the impact it's had on American Muslims as illustrated in a new book for middle school kids by local writer Saadia Faruqi called, Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero. LISTEN: How 9/11 Affected Houston – Pt. 2 (Sept. 10, 2021)
Reflections from children's book authors who write about fostering understanding and overcoming adversity. (Segments of this show were originally broadcast in November and December of 2020.)
It seems like only yesterday our moms were nagging us to read, read, read! Now, here we are, moms of two and finding ourselves doing the same. Why is reading so important, and how do we get our kids to start reading and maybe even enjoy it? Join us as we talk to Kelly Hiltz, kindergarten teacher and mom of two. Kelly will give all the details on why reading is important, how to inspire reading amongst our kids, and some book recommendations that might entice our young ones to "pick up a book already"! Patreon | Love what you're hearing? Help fund ongoing episodes through donations as little as $1/month. Learn more here! Leave a review | When you leave a five star iTunes review, it helps others with similar interests and passions find us when they're looking for new content. Thank you in advance! Resources and Show Notes Kelly's Interviews with The Mom Hour: Kindergarten Readiness & Parent Teacher Relationships (voices episode 23) Freaking Out Less about Kindergarten, COVID Learning Loss & Elementary School Academics (voices episode 60). You can find her on Instagram @askateachermom or on her blog @askateachermom (Instagram) Book Recommendations By Grade: Preschool Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney Corduroy by Don Freeman Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin and James Dean (series) Press Here by Herve Tullet Good Morning Superman by Michael Dahl (series) Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems (series) Anything by Todd Parr or Eric Carle Read Alouds Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and Vashi Harrison The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed Shark Lady by Jess Keating The Alien Next Door by AI Newton (series) Beginning Readers/Early Chapter Books Let's Go For a Drive by Mo Willems (Elephant and Piggie series) Hi Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (series) Hi Jack by Mac Barnett (series) The Doghouse by Jan Thomas (series) Meet Yasmin by Saadia Faruqi (series) Ling and Ting Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin (series) Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride by Kate DiCamillo (series) Second and Third Grade *Continue to read to them if they are still into it, choose books you both enjoy *Allow them to fully choose their own independent books Lola Levine is Not Mean by Moncia Brown (series) Zoey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows by Asia Citro (series) Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot by Dav Pilkey (series) (great for reluctant readers but some reviewers think it's violent so look through it first if you are sensitive to those kind of things) Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon (series) Humphrey's Really Wheely Racing Day by Betty Birney and Priscilla Burris (series) Fourth and Fifth Grade *thanks Amber for the recommendations @IowaAmberReads on instagram, lots of good middle grade and adult recommendations Babysitters Club Graphic Novels by Gale Galligan, Raina Telgemeier, Ann M. Martin (series) Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd New Kid by Jerry Craft (and the sequel Class Act) Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (series) The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (and the sequel The One and Only Bob) From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks Front Desk by Kelly Yang The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart (recommend this author) Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan Audiobooks Overdrive or Libby App to get audiobooks from the library Scribd (9.99 a month for unlimited audiobooks and they have lots of great kids ones, also 1 month free trial) Audiobooks my almost 2nd grader has enjoyed: Ma...
An exploration of questions that includes short passages from Saadia Faruqi's A Thousand Questions, Diane Wilson's The Seed Keeper, and Jess Redman's The Adventure is Now. rightquestion.org and Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana's Make Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions are also mentioned in this episode. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/valerie-dilorenzo/message
Today on Hook of a Book, I review A Place at the Table, by Laura Shovan and Saadia Faruqi. When Sara and Elizabeth are paired together in an after school cooking class, they don't exactly hit it off at first. At all. Elizabeth finds Sara serious and not fun, and Sara, who's Muslim, finds Elizabeth confusing and hard to predict. However, when the two girls try to come up with a unique, cross-culture dish, they become friends. Sadly, friendship comes with a price. Can the girls withstand haters, racism, and social challenges to build a better bond? This book was really awesome, and I read it for four hours straight one day! I highly recommend it. If you have a book you want me to review on the show, email me at hookofabookpodcast@gmail.com. You can also send in a voice message that might be featured on a future episode of Hook of a Book, just like Juniper and Bea's was today! Remember, stay safe, stay healthy, and keep on reading! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ellie-mano/message
Find out what's cooking in Middle Grade lit as the Two Lit Mamas drool–err–chat about the latest novels with kid bakers and chefs. If you aren't hungry now, you will be by the time the Mamas finish dishing their foody opinions and kid-friendly recipes. Bon Appetit! Book Discussion: Midsummer's Mayhem by Rajani LaRoccaAll You Knead is Love by Tania GuerreroA Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura ShovanWhen Life Gives You Lemons Make Peach Pie by Erin Soderberg Downing Pick 6: Kid-Friendly Recipes1. Soft Pretzels2. Baked Alaska3. Fruit Sauce & Fruit Soup (Fruktsoppa)4. Stuffed Grape Leaves (Margie might die if we share this recipe)5. Homemade Pizza Dough6. Avocado Pasta Show Reference Links:www.twolitmamas.com
Zibby and her daughter interviewed author Saadia Faruqi about her latest book, A Thousand Questions, as part of the Washington Post KidsPost Summer Book Club. Although it's a middle-grade novel, Saadia hopes that readers of all ages will enjoy it and learn something about Pakistan. She talks with Zibby about why she wants to write books for kids about other cultures that go beyond news headlines, invite young readers to have complex conversations, and feature characters that are not often seen in books. Link to join the KidsPost Summer Book Club here: https://bit.ly/3vGgaByPurchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gNTkCGBookshop: https://bit.ly/2TVc9fuMoms Don't Have Time to Read Books has teamed up with Camp Slumberkins! Use code CAMPZIBBY for 15% off until July 31st!! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this week’s episode, Kendra, Sumaiyya, and special guest Afoma Umesi share books around April’s theme, Middle Grade Magic. Thanks to Our Sponsors! Go to http://talkspace.com and use the code READINGWOMEN for $100 off your first month. Check out our Patreon page to learn more about our book club and other Patreon-exclusive goodies. Follow along over on Instagram, join the discussion in our Goodreads group, and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for more new books and extra book reviews! Things Mentioned Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books Mentioned A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega Once Upon an Eid edited by SK Ali and Aisha Saeed The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf Afoma Recommends Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus Currently Reading Boy, Everywhere by A.M. Dassu Amina’s Song by Hena Khan About Our GuestAfoma Umesi is a writer, editor, and the founder of the kidlit website Reading Middle Grade where she blogs about children's literature. Twitter | Website CONTACT Questions? Comments? Email us hello@readingwomenpodcast.com. SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website Music by Miki Saito with Isaac Greene Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Connections: A Podcast of the James L. Hamner Public Library
Author and interfaith activist Saadia Faruqi talks with Jill about her middle-grade novel A Thousand Questions and how people can get to know their neighbours who appear to be different from them.Contact Us: connections@hamnerlibrary.orgFeatured Resource: A to Z World FoodOther Resources:Blue MinaretThe Faith Club by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla WarnerA Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
In this episode, Pakistani American Kirin Nabi discusses the middle grade, own voices book: “A Place At The Table” by Saadia Faruqi & Laura Shovan. A real and honest discussion about prejudice, hate rhetoric, and code switching, Kirin openly discusses it all. Her invitation to reach across barriers to create unity, is genuine and full of hope. For all of us who want to do better- her voice is one to listen to. Kirin sums it up with this: “You don’t have to be best friends, but you can Be Kind.”You can follow Kirin on:Instagram: @islamicschoollibrarianwww.islamicschool librarian.wordpress.comAnd more diverse books:diversebookfinder.org
In this book talk bonus episode, Saadia shares three recent kidlit books she loves:THE NEXT PRESIDENT by Kate Messner and Adam RexTHE ARABIC QUILT by Aya Khalil and Anait SemirdzhyanYOUR NAME IS A SONG by Jamilah Thompkins-BigelowYou can learn more about Saadia's work on her website at saadiafaruqi.com. You can connect with her on Instagram @SaadiaFaruqi and on Twitter @SaadiaFaruqi.You can support independent bookstores by purchasing Saadia's books through bookshop.org:MEET YASMIN! by Saadia Faruqi (and 12+ other books in the YASMIN series)A THOUSAND QUESTIONS by Saadia FaruqiA PLACE AT THE TABLE by Saadia Faruqi and Laura ShovanThank you for listening to the show. You can connect with host Chrissie Wright on Instagram @chrissiemwright and on Twitter @chrissiemwright, and follow the show on Instagram @authorvisitspod.
In this episode, author Saadia Faruqi tells us about:How she gets ideas and elaborates on her ideas.How she adds details to describe.How she revises.How she collaborated with co-author Laura Shovan to write A PLACE AT THE TABLEDuring the speed round at the end of the episode, Saadia tells us about feelings she has while writing, her writing spot, and places she thinks about her writing.You can learn more about Saadia's work on her website at saadiafaruqi.com. You can connect with her on Instagram @SaadiaFaruqi and on Twitter @SaadiaFaruqi.You can support independent bookstores by purchasing Saadia's books through bookshop.org:MEET YASMIN! by Saadia Faruqi (and 12+ other books in the YASMIN series)A THOUSAND QUESTIONS by Saadia FaruqiA PLACE AT THE TABLE by Saadia Faruqi and Laura ShovanThank you for listening to the show. You can connect with host Chrissie Wright on Instagram @chrissiemwright and on Twitter @chrissiemwright, and follow the show on Instagram @authorvisitspod.
Pakistani American author Saadia Faruqi joins us to talk about her career, writing for young brown and Muslim girls, representation in literature, the Yasmin series, and her new book, A Thousand Questions! Find her @SaadiaFaruqi on Twitter and Instagram. Intro: "Karachi", Shamoon Ismail Outro: "Bandar Road Se Kemari", Ahmed Rushdi Comments & suggestions for future topics: diasporastanpod@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @diasporastan
A new middle-grade book, explores food, family, and interfaith friendship.
Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan collaborate on a timely story about first-generation immigrants finding their place as they navigate the challenges of sixth grade. Nikhaar Kishani is the voice of Sara, daughter of Pakistani immigrants and a recent transfer from a small Islamic academy to a huge public school. Nikhaar smoothly narrates Pakistani words used in the text and uses subtle accents for Sara’s family, and listeners will feel for Sara as she uses sarcasm as a shield to hide her loneliness. Sara and her classmate Elizabeth pair up in an after-school cooking club and discover they have more in common than they thought, and slowly become friends. Caitlin Kelly has a bright and youthful voice as she voices Elizabeth, whose parents are Jewish and whose mother is British, and her enthusiasm for learning how to cook is infectious. Ideal for family listening to share in the joy of making good food, and to discuss the importance of standing up for what is right. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Blackstone Publishing, a 30-years plus strong independent audiobook publisher that is now also publishing print books and ebooks. This Fall, we are publishing an array of stellar titles -- Cecilia Aragon's memoir Flying Free which tells the odds-defying story of how she became the first Latina pilot on the US Aerobatic Team; the historical fiction novel Escaping Dreamland by NY Times bestselling author Charlie Lovett; the YA dystopian thriller The Key to Fear from NY Times bestselling author Kristin Cast, and Don't Move - a horror novel from Darren Wearmouth and television star James S. Murray. Learn about these and more titles from Blackstone's Fall 2020 list at BlackstonePublishing.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week Seth is Joined by Author Candace Parker and Author Laura Shovan in a discussion about how to talk to kids about the upcoming election, the importance of voting, and what they can do to help. Show Notes: 14:52- I Voted, by Mark Schulman 18:23- A Place At The Table, by Laura Shovan and Saadia Faruqi 21:37- Adam Ruins Everything episode about Electoral College 31:40- akidsbookabout.com 37:55- The Girl Who Drank The Moon, by Kelly Barnhill 41:10- Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots, by Michael Rex 50:20- We Rise We Resist We Raise Our Voices anthology Wade Hudson & Cheryl Willis-Hudson 55:10- Grace for President, by Kelly Dipuccio 56:35- The Next President, by Kate Messner 57:30- A Place At The Table, by Laura Shovan 57:40- Takedown by Laura Shovan 57:45- The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, by Laura Shovan Follow Today’s Guests: Laura: Everywhere: @LauraShovan Candace: Everywhere: @CandaceLParker Find us on the web! www.radchildpodcast.com Facebook Twitter Instagram Contact us: radchildpodcast@gmail.com Be a guest Donate Buy Rad Merch
Authors Elana K Arnold and Grace Lin answer the question How much research do you do for a book? kid book reviewer club member, Wenyuan, reviews A Thousand Questions by Saadia Faruqi. *To purchase Grace's 2021 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon trilogy calendar: http://ow.ly/mpHv30r60ya *To become a patron of Kids Ask Authors: https://www.patreon.com/kidasaskauthorspodcast
Jeff and Rebecca follow-up about the Future Library, are surprised by the NBCC vote, get excited for Enola Holmes, and much more. This episode is sponsored by: TBR The Switch by Beth O’Leary Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi, Laura Shovan Lobizona by Romina Garber Discussed in this episode: Let’s make sounds about the Enola Holmes trailer NBCC fails to vote out Carlin Romano Audible rolls out cheaper subscription plan for access to exclusive podcasts & audio content Pride and Less Prejudice See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.
Saadia Faruqi (@SaadiaFaruqi) and Laura Shovan (@LauraShovan) share A PLACE AT THE TABLE. This new middle grade novel in two voices examines the growing awareness of who you are outside of your family, an experience many of us go through as we enter middle school. It’s also available as an audiobook, and one so good, if I can just say, that I finished it in nearly a day. What brings Sara and Elizabeth together may start at an after school cooking club, but their friendship has all of the complexity of two individuals who are at the same time similar and different as can be. Saadia and Laura explore the experience of being a first-generation American through their main characters, drawing from each of their childhoods to tell a rich and beautiful story of navigating bias, confronting prejudice, defending friends, and protecting who you are uncompromisingly. The story asks readers to consider what makes a person privileged, and what to do if you recognize that privilege in your own experiences. As Saadia and Laura note in our conversation, so many kids want to stand up but don’t know how. This story is one answer to that question. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Picture Book Summit Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons.
Nicole and Matthew discuss how the coronavirus is affecting decisions to reopen schools and what school will look like in the fall. This episode is sponsored by: Read or Dead, Book Riot’s mystery/thriller podcast Act by Kayla Miller, HMH Books for Young Readers Peng!: Action Sports Adventures from Oni Press To get even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Relevant Links: A School Reopens, and the Coronavirus Creeps In (NYT) Ways School Librarians Can Serve Students in Fall 2020 Books Discussed on the Show: Picture Books: The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton A Gift for Amma: Market Day in India by Meera Sriram; illustrated by Mariona Cabassa The Thing about Bees: A Love Letter by Shabazz Larkin Just Like a Mama by Alice Faye Duncan; illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow Chapter Books: 13th Street #1: Battle of the Bad-Breath Bats by David Bowles; illustrated by Shane Clester #2: The Fire-Breathing Ferret Fiasco (13th Street series) #3: Clash of the Cackling Cougars (13th Street series) Middle Grade: Under the Cottonwood Tree by Paul Meyer and Carlos Meyer; Illustrated by Margaret Hardy Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan Three Keys by Kelly Yang The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel Closing Note: Let us know what books or topics you’ve been sharing this week, or if you have a suggestion or book recommendation for an upcoming episode. Find us on email (kidlitthesedays@bookriot.com) or Twitter (@MatthewWinner and @ittybittyny).
In this episode, Saadia Faruqi will share recommendations for picture books about people of color living regular lives, and Ann Braden will share her conversation with Dr. Krista Aronson, founder of the Diversity Book Finder.
Today, Saadia Faruqi will share recommendations for picture books about grief and then Ann Braden will share her conversation with educator, Jillian Heise, founder of #ClassroomBookaDay, an initiative encouraging educators to read aloud one picture book a day in their classrooms.
In Episode 20, Saadia Faruqi will share recommendations for books that take place in other parts of the world. Then, Ann Braden will share her conversation with educator Jen Vincent about the Identity Unit she used with her students to begin the school year.
This is Episode 19, our first episode of season 4. Today, Saadia Faruqi will share recommendations for books that have a theme of perseverance. Then, Ann Braden will share her conversation with the School Library Journal news editor Kara Yorio who recently wrote an article about students facing housing insecurity.
Welcome to Season 2! This summer, school librarians, shared their best suggestions, tips and tricks for building relationships, managing your time, prioritizing, programming and a librarian's mindset! I would like to thank composer Nazar Rybak at Hooksounds.com for the music you’ve heard today. New on the Job: A School Librarians Guide to Success 2nd edition 5 Tips for New School Librarians (and those who aren’t so new) 3 Strategies for a First-Time Librarian 10 Tips for New School Librarians! 15 of the Absolute Best Podcasts for Children’s Books My Powtoon for my students My Powtoon for my teachers and principal Books Between Podcast with host Corrina Allen The Children’s Book Podcast Hosted by Matthew Winner Kidlit These Days with Karina Yan Glaser and Matthew Winner The Yarn with Travis Jonker and Colby Sharp Scholastic Reads with Suzanne McCabe kidlit women* with Grace Lin and Alvina Ling Book Club for Kids with Kitty Felde Lifelines: Books The Bridge the Divide with Ann Braden and Saadia Faruqi
Ann Braden writes books about kids struggling to find their voice amidst the realities of life. Her debut middle grade novel THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS was listed as one of NPR’s Best Books of 2018, received a starred review from School Library Journal, and was described by Newbery award-winner Karen Hesse as “a compassionate look at poverty, hard choices, and defending one’s right to be treated humanely.” Ann founded GunSenseVT, a grassroots group focused on championing the common ground on the issue of guns in Vermont, and she also founded the Local Love Brigade, which now has chapters all over the country sending love postcards to those who are facing hate. Ann is a former middle school teacher, the co-host of the children’s book podcast, “Lifelines: Books that Bridge the Divide,” along with Pakistani American author Saadia Faruqi, and recently one of the co-organizers of #KidsNeedMentors. For more about Ann, go to her website at http://annbradenbooks.com/ In this episode, Bethany chats with debut middle grade author Ann Braden who had quite the journey to get her book published after her editor and everyone in the children’s division was fired from the publishing house! Because of that, Ann had to do almost all of the marketing for the book herself and make use of the power of word-of-mouth to get the books into readers' hands. But the book has taken off and is earning awards and accolades, and now Ann has two more middle grade novels coming out, both with Nancy Paulsen Books. The idea for the character of Zoey in THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS came from Ann's students, 80% of whom qualified for free lunches. Ann realized these kids needed to see themselves in books, and Zoey and her story were born. Ann talks also about the ripple effect with doing good and being courageous and how her own anger has spurred her into action both as a writer and as an activist. Ann and Bethany also discuss courage and how it can be contagious in the best possible ways.
Karina and Matthew talk about speaking to children on the danger of hate-laced speech toward Muslims, seeking understanding of hijab and the importance of hijab to some Muslim women, and the implications of a recent challenge to a public school staff dress code that would bar principals and teachers from wearing religious symbols. Joining is special guest Saadia Faruqi, author of the Meet Yasmin series, illustrated by Hatem Aly. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. To get even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! RELEVANT LINKS: Video of Stephen Colbert interviewing Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad "She Wears a Headscarf. Is Quebec Derailing Her Career?" New York Times article, April 2, 2019 "Parents, We Need to Teach Our Children About the Dangers of Hate-laced Speech Against Muslims" Washington Post article, April 9, 2019 KARINA AND MATTHEW ARE READING: Stargazing by Jen Wang (TBR September 2019) This Place: 150 Years Retold by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Sonny Assu, Brandon Mitchell, and others BOOKS DISCUSSED ON THE SHOW: Picture Books: The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad (Author), Hatem Aly (Illustrator), S. K. Ali (Contributor) Under My Hijab by Hena Khan, illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel Mommy's Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and Ebony Glenn Chapter Books: Meet Yasmin! by Saadia Faruqi, illustrated by Hatem Aly Middle Grade: Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga (TBR May 28, 2019) Let us know what books or topics you've been sharing this week, or if you have a suggestion or book recommendation for an upcoming episode. Find us on email (kidlitthesedays@bookriot.com), Twitter (@KarinaYanGlaser and @MatthewWinner), or Instagram (@KarinaIsReadingAndWriting and @MatthewCWinner).
This episode focuses on welcoming new Americans. Saadia Faruqi will share her book recommendations and then Ann Braden will share her conversation with Kirsten Cappy, the heart and brains behind the I’m Your Neighbor project as well as Curious City, which offers free kidlit programming for educators.
Saadia Faruqi shares recommendations for good books that help us empathize more deeply with those dealing with mental illnesses, whether it’s ourselves or someone else. Then Ann Braden shares her conversation with librarian Kathie MacIsaac, a librarian in Manitoba and a mover and shaker in the online middle grade community.
Two weeks ago, Saadia Faruqi and Ann Braden got to meet in person for the very first time, and they decided to interview each other to find out all the things they wanted to know — and hopefully that you wanted to know, too. So, this episode has no book recommendations and no separate segments — it’s just one meaty interview with two book people who care a lot about bridging divides.
Saadia Faruqi recommends culturally appropriate and non-traditional Thanksgiving books, and Ann Braden shares her interview with public librarian Sam Maskell. Finally, it concludes with information about the non-profit First Book, which works to get books into the hands of kids who can’t afford them.
This is the second part of our 2-part special on reaching kids in poverty. Saadia Faruqi recommends middle grade and YA books about the reality of poverty, and Ann Braden shares the conclusion of her conversation with 5th grade educator Kristin Crouch. Kristin is uniquely positioned to help us bridge the class divide having broken the cycle of generational poverty to become an educator. In this part of the conversation she shares some book recommendations of her own and talks about what teachers can do to be true allies for kids who are struggling.
Today's episode is part one of a two-part special on reaching kids in poverty. Saadia Faruqi will share recommendations of great picture books that discuss the realities of poverty. Then, Ann Braden will share the first half of her conversation with 5th educator Kristin Crouch. Kristin is uniquely positioned to help us bridge the class divide. She will discuss her experience growing up in a family struggling to make ends meet, how she broke out of the cycle of poverty, and how she now works to support her students who are dealing with the same struggles.
In this episodes, Saadia Faruqi takes over the podcast and recommends a ton of great non-fiction biographies.
Saadia Faruqi shares recommendations for picture books featuring refugees and immigrants. Then, Ann Braden shares her conversation with public library director Laura Arnhold. Finally, we close with information about the Welcoming Library, a fabulous educational resource that brings communities together in conversation around the topic of immigration.
Saadia Faruqi (@SaadiaFaruqi) and Hatem Aly (@metahatem) are the author and illustrator, respectively, of MEET YASMIN, a new series of chapter books featuring spirited second-grader Yasmin Ahmad and her multigenerational family. Yasmin's curiosity about the world and the discoveries she makes regularly through observation of life and the world around her are great for young readers with eyes wide to the world. You can access even more information about this book and its author illustrator by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/podcast.
Saadia Faruqi discusses the book Wishtree by Katherine Applegate and gives recommendations for other books about welcoming those who have been made to feel like “an other.” Ann Braden shares her conversation with elementary librarian Christina Carter, and then talks about what we can do when people are unwelcoming to others.
Intro Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast to help teachers, parents, and librarians connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a 5th grade teacher, a mom of two girls who are 8 and 11, and feeling extraordinarily lucky on this Mother’s Day to have my mom in my life. And having a mother who is and has always been such a staunch supporter of my reading life. This is Episode #49 and Today I’m discussing three new middle grade releases, and then I’ll share with you a conversation with authors Ann Braden and Saadia Faruqi from the Lifelines Podcast. Alright - announcements! I hope you have been loving the May Middle Grade at Heart Book Club pick Every Shiny Thing as much as I have. Laurie Morrison and Cordelia Jensen will on the podcast soon so if you have a question you want me to ask them, please let me know! In June we’ll be reading The Mad Wolf’s Daughter by Diane Magras and July’s pick is Just Under the Clouds by Melissa Sarno. And - I hope you’ve been as inspired as I have by the Educator Spotlight interviews at the MGBookVillage site. We have lots more coming, so keep an eye out! A quick reminder that the outline of today’s interview and a full transcript of all the other parts of this show can be found at MGBookVillage.org - including links to every topic and book we mention. I know you are busy and I want to make it effortless for you to find things. Book Talk - Three Fantastic Spring Releases This week we are back to some book talks! And instead of having them fit a particular theme, I thought I’d simply share with you three really great recent releases from this past spring. They are Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein by Jennifer Roy & Ali Fadhil, Me, Frida and the Secret of the Peacock Ring by Angela Cervantes, and Rebound by Kwame Alexander. Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein Our first featured middle grade novel this week is Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein by Jennifer Roy with Ali Fadhil. This historical fiction novel is set in 1991 in Basra, Iraq - just as the United States is launching Operation Desert Storm. And it’s based on the true story of Ali Fadhil’s life as an ordinary 11 year old boy who loves playing video games and watching American TV like the The Muppet Show. But then, the bombings come and life for Fadhil and his family is becoming more and more bleak. Here are three things to know about Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein: The main character does NOT actually play Atari with Saddam Hussein. Although as an adult, he does become a translator who ended up working at his trial. In the novel, one way that Ali copes is to imagine that he is playing Pitfall as he travels through his war-torn streets and also because some of the Americans dubbed it “the video game war” because the night-vision green streaks of bombs across the dark sky looked to them like a video game. That this book gives a much-needed window into a time-period that is often overlooked in children’s literature. We are now getting a lot of great books about 9/11 but the era of the Gulf War is still lacking. And many of my students’ parents are veterans of those wars so knowing more about the perspectives of an Iraqi child going through those experiences is important. And humanizes a group of people that some wish to label as enemies. How many similarities students will discover between themselves and Ali. Despite being set halfway around the world in a country the United States was at war with, Ali’s family plays Monopoly while they hide out waiting for the bombs to pass. Ali plays soccer and video games and collects American Superman comics. His sister has a Barbie Dreamhouse! Probably the same one I did with the elevator you pulled up with a little string. And I think back to when I was a teenager watching this war live on CNN with Wolf Blitzer and Bernie Shaw and I never would have realized the kids on the other side of those bombs were so much like me. Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein is a great book for 5th graders through middle schoolers who are interested in the real impacts of war, Iraqi history, or just want a good historical fiction book. And it would make a great complement to the many World War II novel studies out there to add a more modern perspective. Me, Frida and the Secret of the Peacock Ring A second great spring middle grade release is Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring by Angela Cervantes. You might know her work from her two earlier novels - Gaby, Lost and Found and Allie, First at Last. This novel is a mystery and centers around a missing ring belonging to the artist Frida Kahlo. The main character is 12 year old Paloma Marquez, who begrudgingly travels with her mom from their home in Kansas City to Mexico City for 4 weeks of the summer. (Her mom is a professor and has a fellowship there.) Although Paloma’s father was Mexican, she doesn’t speak Spanish, she worries about missing out on fun with her friends, and she just doesn’t want to go. But…. on her first night in Mexico, she attends a reception at Frida Kahlo’s home - Casa Azul - and receives the following note from a mysterious boy. Here are three things to love about Angela Cervantes’ Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring: I love how Paloma is inspired in this book by her favorite mysterious series starring Lulu Pennywhistle. And as she gets further and further into the thick of things with brother and sister Gael and Lizzie - midnight break-ins, and secret rooms, and strange fortune-tellers - Paloma is always referencing Lulu Pennywhistle to figure out how she should proceed. All the Frida Kahlo!! When I found out this book had to do with my favorite artist - I knew I had to read it. And I was so happy to discover that this book does her such justice. Frida Kahlo’s paintings illicit such a visceral reaction from students and once you tell them a little bit about her life - how she painted her pain and made it beautiful - they are enthralled by her. And yes, some notice the exaggerated eyebrows first and some find it funny. But I like how Paloma discussed that at on page 119. How this book is really all about identity and belonging. Paloma’s father was Mexican but died before she could have her own memories of him. And she feels as if she is searching for that connection while she is in Mexico City. And as Paloma learns more about Frida, she discovers how complex her life was - sometimes feeling torn between being an international artist and wanting the roots of her native Mexican heritage. Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring is a great book for kids who love art or travel, for kids who are intrigued by Mexican culture and the Spanish language - and for anyone who loves a great mystery! Rebound Last up this week is Kwame Alexander’s Rebound - the much-awaited prequel to the much-loved and much-awarded, novel-in-verse The Crossover. This book is all about Josh & Jordan’s father - Chuck “Da Man” Bell. But - this is an origin story. So when we first meet him, he is just Charlie - an 80’s kid reeling from a family tragedy and trying to find his way forward and trying to find his smile again. When home becomes tense, he is involuntarily shipped off to his grandparent’s house for the summer where he starts to find that path forward. Let me read you the first page…. Here are three things I loved about Kwame Alexander’s Rebound: The illustrations by Dawud Anyabwile. While The Crossover had black-out poems throughout the book, Rebound includes these awesome two-page spreads of these mini graphic-novel type sketches of Charlie’s basketball daydreams and wishes and memories. So so cool. And a great hook for kids who love the graphic novel format. The 80s vibe of this book! Now, you all know I am sucker for 70s and 80s nostalgia! And this book took me back to skating parties and trying for that high score on the Pac Man machine at the rec center where ALL your friends gathered after school. But also - some things haven’t changed - like Black Panther and the Fantastic Four, the importance the right brand of shoes (and not those knockoffs your mom gets you), Strawberry Pop-Tarts, and your folks not letting you watch THAT video on MTV. Discovering all the little references and plot threads that will appear later in The Crossover. How Charlie becomes Chuck, the origins of his Basketball Rules, where his love of jazz came from - and boy it was NOT there at first! And… the little hidden surprises revealed toward the end about who some of the characters end up being in the later book. And I know there’s a ton more that I haven’t figured out yet - so for that reason alone, definitely a rich book to read with a friend or with a book club to mine and discuss all those little details. Rebound is a must-get for your classroom or library. And fans of The Crossover are going to absolutely relish this prequel. It’s a book you finish and want to immediately talk to your friends about. It’s not necessary to have read The Crossover first, but I think it’s a better and more enjoyable reading experience to read them in the order they were published. So The Crossover, the Rebound, and then go read Crossover again! Ann Braden & Saadia Faruqi - Interview Outline Our special guests this week are Ann Braden and Saadia Faruqi. Ann is the author of the upcoming middle grade novel The Benefits of Being an Octopus and founder of GunSenseVT. Saadia is an interfaith activist and author of a new early chapter book series called Meet Yasmin. Ann and Saadia recently teamed up to launch a podcast - Lifelines: Books That Bridge the Divide. I have been loving their show and am so happy to be bring you this conversation. We chat about why they started a new kidlit podcast, their novels, how they make time for reading with their kids, and some secrets for the perfect French Toast. Take a listen.. Lifelines Podcast Can you take a moment to tell us about yourself? I was so excited to see your new podcast, Lifelines, pop up in my Twitter feed a few weeks ago! How did you two connect with each other and then how did the podcast start? What is your collaboration process like to produce the show? I know when I first started podcasting, it took a while to get into a groove… what mistakes have you made along the way? And what are some plans you have for the future of the podcast? So Ann - your pictures of your baby posed with the stuffed animals is adorable! So Saadia, I started following you on Instagram and realized that you and I share a love of French Toast. What is your secret for the perfect French Toast? Your Writing Life You both have children’s books coming out this year! Can you tell us about them and when they’ll be available? Your Reading Life What were some of your favorite or most influential reads as a child? I’ve realized that something we all have in common is that we have young children. I’m wondering - how do you foster that love of reading in your family? And how do you make reading a priority when family life can be so busy? What have you read lately that you’ve loved? Thank You! Links: Ann Braden’s website - http://annbradenbooks.com Saadia Faruqi’s website - http://www.saadiafaruqi.com Ann on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram Saadia on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram Books & Authors We Chatted About: Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare) Fifteen (Beverly Cleary) Frog and Toad (Arnold Lobel) The High King Series (Lloyd Alexander) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) Homecoming (Cynthia Voigt) The Famous Five (Enid Blyton) Nancy Drew (Carolyn Keene) Hardy Boys (Franklin W. Dixon) William Shakespeare I Survived Series (Lauren Tarshis) Crenshaw (Katherine Applegate) Wishtree (Katherine Applegate) Orbiting Jupiter (Gary D. Schmidt) Okay For Now (Gary D. Schmidt) Closing Alright, that wraps up our show this week! If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Books Between is a proud member of the Education Podcast Network. This network features podcasts for educators, created by educators. For more great content visit edupodcastnetwork.com Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show at MGBookVillage.org. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher so others can discover us as well. Thanks and see you soon! Bye!
In today's episode Saadia Faruqi will discuss the brilliance that is Jason Reynolds, and then Ann Braden will share her conversation with middle school librarian Mary Linney. Finally, Ann will reflect on the way we approach trauma at a personal and societal level–and what that means for the classroom.
In today’s episode, Saadia Faruqi shares some good novel-in-verse recommendations in her segment “Books You’ve Never Heard Of," and Ann Braden shares her conversation with Juliet Lubwama, a high school senior and 2017 National Student Poet. Finally, Ann shares an inspiring example of one way to approach poetry if the thought of writing it yourself triggers a certain terror.
Intro Hi everyone and welcome to the Books Between Podcast! I believe in the power of stories to brighten our world and spark change within ourselves. My goal is to help you connect kids with those amazing stories and share inspiring conversations with the authors and educators who make that magic happen. I am Corrina Allen - a mom of two tween girls, a 5th grade teacher, and surrounded by slime. Oh. My. God. There is no escaping this stuff - it’s like a preteen version of The Blob with sparkles and glitter and sequins and now - foams beads! This is Episode #46 and today I’m sharing three books featuring the magical power of dogs, and then I’ll share with you a conversation with Karina Yan Glaser - author of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street! Two quick announcements before we get started - the MG at Heart Twitter chat about The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is tomorrow night - Tuesday, April 3rd at 8pm EST using the hashtag #MGBookClub. And if you want to get ahead with your reading, the April Middle Grade at Heart Book Club pick is The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson and the May pick is Every Shiny Thing by Laurie Morrison and Cordelia Jensen. I was excited to have Laurie join me today to interview Karina and can’t wait to have her back to discuss her own debut. Book Talk - Three Novels Featuring the Special Magic of Dogs In this section of the show, I share with you a few books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week I’ll be talking about three awesome middle grade novels about separation, unlikely friendships, and the special magic of dogs. Now I will admit up front that am not a huge dog person. I mean - a well-trained dog is an amazing pet, and I love visiting with my friend’s dogs but I am more than okay with not having one of my own. But these three books hit me hard - and if YOU love dogs, they will wend their way into your heart even more. The books this week are Good Dog by Dan Gemeinhart, Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly, and Granted by John David Anderson. Good Dog First up - Good Dog! Just….wow - Dan Gemeinhart hits another one out of the park! He is already a favorite author of so many of my students, and I’m glad to have another title to recommend after they have finished Scar Island or Some Kind of Courage or especially - The Honest Truth. This novel has a slightly different feel than his previous books. It is told from the point of view of Brodie - a dog who we meet just after he’s entered the great beyond after his death. And as our Brodie figures out the rules of this new place, and makes some friends, he remembers more of his past life on Earth. And remembers the danger that his boy, Aidan, is still in. And Brodie has to decide whether to move on to that ultimate Forever or if saving his boy from that threat is worth the awful price he’ll have to pay to even attempt helping him. Here are three things to love about Good Dog: The afterlife concept in this book. So - I don’t believe in life after death, but if it existed - I would hope it’s like this one. Going to an in-between place, a passing-through place where peace will rise up to you through your remembering as the goodness in you shakes off the last bits of darkness and sadness until you can move on to that final Forever. Tuck. I loved this dog - this sweet can’t-stand-still, can’t-be-quiet, always-running heart of gold black pit bull who was a good dog - even when it was hard. This dog who maybe - sort of - sold a bit of his soul for a French Fry. (Hey, I can relate!) It’s hard to explain how much I came to love this book without giving away a major spoiler. And I had prided myself on the fact that even though others had warned me to have tissues handy, I was fine... no tears, just FINE. Until page 285 when I learned that tiny but significant detail about the narrator that had me a sobbing wreck and needing to reread the entire thing! Hello, Universe The second book I want to tell you about this week is the 2018 Newbery Award winner - Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly. This one has a special place in my heart because it’s a novel that my daughters and I experienced together. We listened to the audio book throughout December and January and grew so attached to - well, I was going to say, to all the characters in the book, but I’ll say all but one. Hello, Universe is a quietly powerful story told from the point of view of four children. Virgil Salinas, a shy and quiet boy who longs to be recognized as more than just the “turtle” of his family. And who wants to be friends with Valencia - the girl in his special needs class at school. His close friend is Kaori Tanaka who has this physic business for kids and who places a lot of stock in signs and horoscopes and telling fortunes and the concept of Fate. And the final of the main trio is Valencia Somerset, who loves nature and adventure and who is also deaf. She and Virgil attend the same school but haven’t really met. However, they’ve both met Chet Bullens - the school bully. The entire story takes place over the course of one day when at various times, all four children end up in the woods near their school. And one of them falls in an abandoned well. Here are three things to love about Hello, Universe. The blend of the mystical and the modern intertwined with Filipino folktales that really show the power of those stories across generations. And how those archetypes of heroes can inspire us to our bravery. Or as Virgil’s grandmother says, to discovering your inner “bayani” - your inner “hero”. Valencia! She was my favorite character - wise and clever and stubborn - and so attuned to others’ reactions to her deafness. Someone pointed out that hers is the only point of view told in the first person so maybe that’s why I identified so much with her. It’s a tiny moment but when she describes sneaking tupperware bowls of food into the woods to feed this poor stray dog, and how she never remembers to return them….. I felt like the author captured something so real there. I remember taking my mother’s measuring cups and spoons out to play in the dirt until suddenly we had none left. And there was this one summer where I fed this stray cat in our neighborhood for weeks...one can of tuna fish every day. I felt like there was something very true to preteens about that mix of compassion and cluelessness. The role of the dog in this book. Like I mentioned, Valencia has befriended this stray dog who lives in the woods. And he doesn’t play a huge part in the story - at first - but his role is crucial in surprising ways later on. He didn’t turn up when I thought he might. But I felt as though he could have known Brodie and Tuck from Good Dog. If you have kids who are looking for a fast-paced, action-filled novel, Hello, Universe isn’t that book. But it has wit and warmth and philosophical depth explored through really relatable and unique characters. I just loved it! Granted And the final book I want to talk about this week is Granted by John David Anderson. You probably know him from the incredible Ms. Bixby’s Last Day and Posted. Both of those novels were realistic fiction, male protagonists, with stories centered around school. Granted is totally different - it’s about a fairy named Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets. One of the dwindlingly few fairies in the Haven entrusted with the job of Granter - a fairy who ventures out of their safe community and into the dangerous human world to grant a wish. So - everyday, people wish on stars, or candles or wishbones - and each of those wishes (if they follow the rules) are entered into a lottery of sorts. But in the fairies’ world - their magic has been decreasing and the number of wishes they can grant has plummeted to the point where on Ophelia’s first day on the job only a handful are scheduled to be granted. So she has two problems on her mind - is the wish-granting system they’ve always followed breaking down and if so, what can they do to fix it? And… how to complete her mission to grant one lucky 13 year-old girl’s wish for a purple bike. All Ophelia has to do is fly to Ohio and find the nickel the girl used for her wish. But what should be a routine mission turn into this epic quest that has Ophelia questioning so much of, well - what she took for granted. Here are three things to love about Granted: The fairies’ names! They receive their middle name first - which comes from the plant where they were born. (Like Rose or Oak or Daffodil). Their last name is given by their Founder - the fairy who discovers the newborn sprite and oversees their early care and adds a name that expresses something about their personality. (Like Fidgets or Crier). And their first name is completely random. So you get names like our protagonist Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets, her best friend Charlie Rhododendron Whistler, May Rose Crier, or...Gus Fothergilla Gaspasser! Sam! The mangy, smelly golden-haired mutt who after first wanting to eat then chew then chase Ophelia, offers to help her track down the wish she must grant. And.. maybe get to eat some donuts along the way. Ophelia is definitely NOT into this arrangement. Their conversations are HILARIOUS! Ophelia’s song. So - every fairy has a magical song that they can sing for a particular effect- perhaps enchanting the listener or having a more negative effect. And while most fairies opt for a traditional tune like “Greensleeves” or “Rolling in the Dew” or maybe even a Sinatra song, Ophelia’s song is…. oh I so want to tell you what it is! But you just have to read it! Let’s just say, it’s something more….modern! Granted and Good Dog, and Hello, Universe are three books that will cast a magical spell on your heart. Karina Yan Glaser - Interview Outline Joining me this month for our Middle Grade at Heart interview with Karina Yan Glaser is author Laurie Morrison. We got an opportunity to sit down together last month to chat about brownstones, balancing your reading life, and of course - The Vanderbeekers! Take a listen... The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street CA: Can you tell us what this story is about? LM: I love that the book is so balanced between the Vanderbeekers and has five equally developed main characters. Was one of the kids especially challenging or especially fun for you to write? Do you have any advice for other writers who are working on stories with ensemble casts? CA: One of the things that made me fall so hard for this book was that vibrant Harlem, New York setting with Castleman’s Bakery and the brownstones and City College in the background… Was the Vanderbeeker’s neighborhood modeled after your own? LM: I’ve seen many readers comment that the book feels classic or timeless or old-fashioned. What do you think it is about the book that makes it feel classic to readers? LM: I noticed that you created the wonderful illustrations inside the book. How did you decide to include those, and were they always a part of the manuscript? CA: I noticed that you have an adorable bunny! Can she do tricks like Paganini? Your Writing Life LM: I’m so excited that there are two more Vanderbeekers stories on the way! Did you always know there would be more than one book, and what has it been like to write more Vanderbeeker adventures? LM: I know you’re a contributing editor at Book Riot and write a weekly newsletter. That must mean you do a lot of reading and a lot of writing outside of your fiction! How do you balance those different kinds of book-related work? Your Reading Life Sometimes it only takes that one adult in a kid’s life to influence them as a reader - either in a positive way to spur them on and spark that passion in them, or sometimes to squelch it. CA: Was there an adult in your life who impacted you as a reader? LM: I think The Vanderebeekers of 141st Street would be a fabulous book to read aloud to kids. Do you have any favorite books to read aloud to your own kids or kids you’ve worked with in the past? CA: What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked? Links: Karina’s website - http://www.karinaglaser.com Karina on Twitter and Instagram BookRiot’s Children’s Section Books & Authors We Chatted About: Charles Darwin’s Around the World Adventure (Jennifer Thermes) Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail (Jennifer Thermes) The Penderwicks at Last (Jeanne Birdsall) Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt) See You in the Cosmos (Jack Cheng) Ginger Pye (Eleanor Estes) The Moffats (Eleanor Estes) The Hundred Dresses (Eleanor Estes) The Land (Mildred T. Taylor) Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry (Mildred T. Taylor) Every Shiny Thing (Laurie Morrison & Cordelia Jensen) They Say Blue (Jillian Tamaki) Front Desk (Kelly Yang) The Right Hook of Devin Velma (Jake Burt) Greetings From Witness Protection (Jake Burt) Closing Alright, that wraps up our show this week! If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. And - if you are wanting more discussion focused on middle grade, check out the new podcast called Lifelines: Books That Bridge the Divide hosted by authors Ann Braden and Saadia Faruqi. I’ll drop a link to their first two episodes in our show notes, and I am really excited to see more middle grade podcasts out there. Books Between is a proud member of the Education Podcast Network. This network features podcasts for educators, created by educators. For more great content visit edupodcastnetwork.com Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show at MGBookVillage.org. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher so others can discover us as well. Thanks and see you soon! Bye!
Here we share conversations with librarians, educators, and readers about the children's books that can be bridges across our cultural divides… the books that can open minds and the books that can be the lifeline a child needs to remember they're not alone. In today's episode, Saadia Faruqi shares some good book recommendations about South East Asia and refugee issues in her segment “Books You’ve Never Heard Of." And Ann Braden shares her conversation with Kiran Waqar, a high school senior and a member of the slam poetry group Muslim Girls Making Change. They discuss the power of seeing yourself in the pages of a book and the incredible rise of youth voices we're currently seeing in our country with the March for Our Lives and beyond.
In Episode 1, Saadia Faruqi shares some good book recommendations about kids struggling with poverty in her segment “Books You’ve Never Heard Of.” Ann Braden shares her conversation with elementary school librarian, Eileen Parks. Many of the students that Eileen’s library serves come from families that are struggling to make ends meet. Also, since the majority of the community is white, children of color can easily feel isolated. She discusses some of the issues she faces in working to serve all of her students. Finally, Ann will reflect on the power of stories in bridging the class divide.
Saadia Faruqi: A Voice for Islam Saadia Faruqi is a mother of two. She is also a Muslim. In this episode, we talk about being a Muslim mom, and some of the unique challenges she faces, as well as things we can all do to be more inclusive and understanding. Show Notes Saadia Faruqi-unintentionally became a voice for Islam. She was volunteering for her mosque. She was part of a community that wanted to do something but didn’t know what to do (this was after 9/11). She started going throughout her community and speaking to other groups about Islam, writing for a newspaper and a blog online. That led to her being asked by the Houston police department to train the officers on Islam. People always ask her where she’s from. She was born in Pakistan and immigrated to the US in her early 20s, 20 years ago. Came here as an adult and everything was interesting and different to her. United States is thought of as a melting pot Chanelle: Sometimes the US is not as much of a melting pot as we think because we all stay separated. There is a group of Muslim moms at school pickup that I always noticed and was intrigued by, but never found a way to break into their group Saadia: Muslims are from all over the world. When you see a Muslim you may not even recognize them until they tell you they are Muslim. If women are from different places, we may not be able to speak the same language. I think that’s one of the biggest questions I get. When I speak, I mostly answer questions. The questions I get commonly are why do you wear the hijab, what’s it like to be a Muslim mom and a Muslim woman. My goal is to show the shared humanity. I’m a woman, just like you. I’m a mom, just like you. I have the same worries about my kids…when we can get that across, you forget what somebody’s wearing or how they’re praying, or what language they speak. Chanelle: Those things don’t matter that much. Tell us a little bit about what it’s like to be a Muslim woman, because we can’t always ask questions like that in a brief conversations. Saadia: you would be surprised by how much I get asked questions like that by total strangers. She tells an experience of a man asking her details about her religion while she was buying her lunch at Subway. Her daughter didn’t like how she presented it, but Saadia felt like it wasn’t the time or place. Chanelle: My husband gets questions all the time because of his height- he is 6’10”. Saadia: Sometimes you are the only person who can answer a question that might have been bothering another person. You have a choice, you can answer or you can walk away… For me, every conversation becomes this thing that I have to debate within myself: do I want to be the persons who satisfy his curiosity, or walk away and her might ask someone else or go to a website and get incorrect information. Most of the time I give information. Being a Muslim wife and mother is the same, except that other people treat me differently than they would another mom. Interactions are a little heavier, my children don’t necessarily want me involved because of their perceptions. Her daughter didn’t want her to volunteer because of her hijab and that made her different. I hope my children will look at me and see that I’m strong in the face of whatever I get. It’s presenting myself in a way that shows my kids that I am strong and I can take whatever comes my way. Chanelle: I can see that I’m not as inclusive as I could be. In the news, we see terrorism linked to Muslims. There is a lot of fear. Media portrayal plays on that fear. What would you say to people who are feeling that fear? Saadia: My answer has evolved because I have grown and I have children. Muslims stereotypes are that they are terrorists. The only way you that can get rid of those types of reactions is if you get to know the people. That is true for whatever group we belong to. I always encourage people to get to know people from that group and you will get over the fear. Then you will see that the stereotypes aren’t really that accurate. People that fear Islam mostly don’t know any Muslims. When you have kids, I think that it’s a different worry. I don’t want my kids growing up with this fear. My son got bullied, and my kids are facing this at school. Keep your opinions to yourself, because when our kids are listening, they aren’t really understanding all of it. Get to know other people, but don’t share all your loud opinions, don’t just let kids hear things. Chanelle: we need to educate ourselves and get to know other people, so we aren’t playing into the stereotypes. We need to be careful in our words. And to make sure that we are not perpetuating any kind of stereotypes, because even if we’re not trying to say anything like that it comes through in our words and our actions. We need to be aware of that in ourselves and sometimes our kids will call us out and notice things like that. It hurts us as moms to think of any kids being bullied, but it’s important to recognize that a lot of our opinions are passed on to our kids. Saadia: I can hear the comments from these kids that are coming from parents or from the television and they don’t even know what they’re talking about it. It’s heartbreaking that the kids who bully do it because they hear something and they don’t know what it is. That lies on the parents, when you hear things, be critical and try to get information from a lot of sources. I teach people how to get information from a lot of sources so you get a more rounded view of what happens. Chanelle: I’m a Mormon, and I agree, you want to get your information from a good source. For people who are scared, help us understand some misconceptions, particularly about jihad, which I have heard means holy war, but you say is something different. Saadia: Jihad means struggle, typically an internal struggle for the sake of God. Teaching people about Islam is my jihad. When my kids are sick, that could be jihad; education is often a jihad. A person who has violence on his mind, could think that hurting someone is jihad. That is in their mind, it doesn’t mean that that is what jihad means. In Islamic theology, this is what jihad means. Allah-Akbar means God is the greatest. These terrorists use these terms, and they get amplified in the media. The rest of us are like, What? How can this be his jihad? That’s not what it means. Chanelle: I love how you described that, and helped us understand how this means. Saadia: These are beautiful terms that are close to the heart of all Muslims. They are very important to us religiously and culturally. Evil people have changed the meaning to suit their needs. Chanelle: I have appreciated this conversation so much. You’re just a normal mom! I hope this has given us a broader view that we’re all just people and all just normal moms and we don’t have to have this fear. Thanks for listening to moms who know. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We revisit our 2015 interview with Pakistani-American author Saadia Faruqi The power of narrative to create understanding and empathy is well known. Pakistani-American author Saadia Faruqi has written a new book of short stories, Brick Walls, that brings us seven stories that introduce American readers to the people and the land of her birth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
An interview with Pakistani-American author Saadia Faruqi about her new book of short stories, Brick Walls Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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