INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN

Welcome to KidLit Gems!

About favorite children’s books and the elements that make them shine.

August’s theme: Survivor Stories

NameplateAnnasGemIINSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN
Text © 2011, (Reprint Edition 2013) Thanhha Lai

INSIDEOUTANDBACKAGAIN450Middle
Grade
Novel

Fiction

Age
Range:
8-12
Years

Grade
Level:
Third-
Seventh

Harper, an imprint of Harper-
Collins

New York Times Bestseller

 

 

 

Awards:

  • National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, 2011
  • Newbery Honor, 2012
  • Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor for Older Children, 2012
  • ALA Notable Children ‘s Book 2012, Middle;
  • Booklist 2011 Editors’ Choice, Books for Youth, Fiction, Middle Reader
  • Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Books of 2011
  • Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books 2011, Fiction
  • SLJ Best Books of 2011, Fiction
  • Booklist Lasting Connections of 2012, Social Studies
  • Notable Children’s Book in the English Language Arts, 2012
  • CCBC Choices, 2012
  • Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2012, World History & Culture

 Current News

Every Friday
in Miss Zinh’s class
we talk about
current news.

But when we keep talking about
how close the Communists
have gotten to Saigon
how much prices have gone up
since American soldiers left,
how many distant bombs
were heard the previous night,
Miss Xinh finally says no more.

From now on
Fridays
will be for
happy news.

No one has anything
to say.

March 21

~ INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN

This loosely autobiographical middle grade masterpiece ranks right up there with  Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood; Sold; A Long Walk to Water; and The One and Only Ivan. Like the aforementioned stories, Inside Out & Back Again offers readers an opportunity to live another’s real life experiences in different skin in different cultures and different parts of the world. And these stories aren’t your run of the mill grind–but encounters with tribulation, hope, and survival. And, like Sold and The One and Only Ivan, the experiences are delivered through intimate first person, present tense verse.

War leaves Thannha Lai’s ten-year-old protagonist, Hà, and her three older brothers fatherless. Through Hà, Thannha brings us into parts of her own world as a citizen of Saigon, then a boat refugee, and an immigrant to Guam, Florida, and Alabama. In her homeland Hà feels smart, secure, and fearless. In America Hà feels dumb, lonely, and afraid.

Her discoveries made me laugh out loud:

. . .

I look up

Jane: not listed

sees: to eyeball something

Spot: a stain

run: to move really fast

Meaning: ______ eyeballs stain move.

And clutch my chair:

. . .  Everyone knows the ship
could sink,
unable to hold
the piles of bodies
that keep crawling on
like raging ants
from a disrupted nest.

And cry:

. . . What if
father is really gone?

From the sad look
on their faces
I know
despite their brave guesses
They have begun to accept
what I said on a whim.

Capturing such a comprehensive, novel in so few words is an exceptional feat. Many people live harrowing lives that will go unnoticed. Cultures and parts of the world will go unshared. But thanks to the talent and dedication of author Thanhha Lai, we can experience a taste of her life–as one smart, young, female Vietnamese survivor, because she’s discovered the perfect formula for translation.

If you like this KidLit Gem, you’ll also love Thanhha’s newest New York Times sensation, Listen, Slowly.

~ Anna

Thanhha Lai, Inside Out & Back Again Reading, 2011 National Book Awards

GEM Ruby

Watch for Kristi’s pick next!

We want to hear from you!
What’s your favorite survivor story for children?

MICK HARTE WAS HERE

MICKHARTEWASHEREMiddle Grade Fiction

Age Range: 8-12 years

Grade Level: 3-7

Published by Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books

Copyright © 1995 by Barbara Park

Cover photo © 2006 by Michael Price/Veer

 

 


WHY MICK HARTE WAS HERE IS A KEM GEM

KKRISTI’S TAKE
MICK HARTE is an example of Barbara Park’s great wisdom; she takes an awful outcome and creates a beautiful story about a fully dimensional 12 year-old boy.  It is difficult to start a novel with the death of a boy, a sibling, a friend….unless, he’s a prankster. Mick’s trouble-making ways get you laughing from the start.  His strong-will and propensity to tease kept me laughing, even though I was grieving right along with his polar-opposite sister, Phoebe.  It is not until Phoebe shares her frustration about losing something that will never be returned, that I truly felt the weight of Mick’s death, right in the gut.  But Barbara saved me, with utter wisdom, by suggesting that Phoebe, “Put him everywhere, why don’t you?”, just like God’s presence.

Barbara Park has aptly woven a story of past and present, through recollections of a boy’s relationship with his cowboy dog, Wocket; a mail carrier; a florist deliverer and a school assembly.  MICK HARTE WAS HERE will stick with me, like printed letters in cement.

KEM Sapphire
EELISE’S TAKE

One of my favorite aspects of Barbara Park’s writing is her ability to observe, and then word those observations in such a way that each reader can relate. Even in harsh, unfamiliar territory, such as the painful, sudden loss of a young loved one, we have a companion in Park’s characters.

Having lost a dear friend at age 15, I experienced first-hand Phoebe Harte’s emotions and questions. Zoe Santos was also a reminder of the priceless sympathy of a best friend.

Phoebe’s story is not only helpful for young readers needing assurance that they’re not alone in their grief. Its insights are poignantly enlightening for those who have thus far remained unscathed by the death of a peer.

Favorite lines
Zo picked up on the first ring. “H’lo?”

I didn’t say anything. She knew it was me, though. Me and Zoe sort of have a psychic thing going, sometimes.

“Phoebe?”

I nodded.

“You okay?” she asked.

I took a shaky breath. “No.”

She came right over.

KEM Diamond


MGrayMARRAS’ TAKE
When discussing favorite children’s books, my Black Sheep memoir friend, Davis, a drug addiction counselor, said his was the fictional middle grade novel, MICK HARTE WAS HERE. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the 1995 treasure was written by the author of the beloved JUNIE B. JONES series, recently deceased Barbara Park.

Park wrote this conversational story with such heart and humor, I’d swear narrator Phoebe Harte really was Park’s 13-year-old self. As a storyteller, Park knew and loved her audience. She tackled the complex subject of death candidly, yet compassionately, without being overdramatic or condescendingly romantic about the deceased person’s life. We felt Phoebe’s pain and we marveled in her hope. MICK HARTE WAS HERE is the perfect writer’s resource  on how to be real. I can see why it was Davis’ favorite.

Favorite lines
But I can still remember the exact conversation I had with Santa Claus when I was in kindergarten.

He said, “Ho ho ho.”

I said, “Your breath smells.”

And he said, “Get down.”

GEMrub

EXCERPT FROM MICK HARTE WAS HERE

I don’t want to make you cry.
I just want to tell you about a story about Mick.
But I thought you should know right up front that he’s not here anymore.
I just thought that would be fair.

This recommendation is our tribute to Barbara Park who died of cancer November 15, 2013.

Please, share your MICK HARTE WAS HERE comments, too!

2014-KEM GEMS debut

Happy New Year!

Would you like to grow as a children’s book writer in 2014? If so, bestselling children’s book author, Sara Pennypacker, shares three tips for doing so:

  1. Read
  2. Write
  3. Pay Attention

Our KEM (Kristi, Elise, and Marlys) writer’s group has taken this advice to heart. We have committed to meshing the three goals by 1. reading more children’s literature and 2. selecting a stand-out children’s book (KEM GEM) to write about and recommend every month, 3. paying attention to what makes our selection a GEM and inviting our friends, like you, to post your comments, so we can learn together.

Our children’s book selections will come from these genres:

  • Picture Book
  • Chapter Book
  • Middle Grade
  • Young Adult

If you’d like to accompany us on this learning adventure, our first KEM GEM post will debut January 15, 2014, and continue on the 15th of every month, giving you time to read along and compose your own comments.

Mark your calendars for the 15th of each month to join in on the fun. You can share your book feedback  in the pertaining month’s KEM GEM Comment Section (150 words or less). (January 15 there will be a drop down to click on the Clementine‘s page.)

Spread the word. You don’t have to be a writer or illustrator or an adult to participate. You just have to love children’s literature. We’re excited to read, write, and pay attention with you!

2013 IA SCBWI Conference-Part II

Louise650

First Pages practice
On the pitcher’s mound: Louise Aamodt

If you’re a children’s book writer, one of the best ways to hone your craft is to attend your regional Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) conferences. For instance: the 2013 Iowa SCBWI Conference offered a variety of hands-on manuscript development opportunities:

  • Roundtable Peer Critiques
  • First Page Readings
  • Manuscript Reviews

Roundtable Peer Critiques

Conference peer reviews provide fresh, unbiased feedback for our work-in-progress. Also, they widen our circle of writing friends, broaden our view of the world, and challenge us to write at a higher level.

For the peer critiques Iowa SCBWI Assistant Regional Advisor Lisa Morlock divided the manuscripts by genre, then she organized us into groups of four or five. Lisa emailed the manuscripts to each pertaining group member so we could review and print critiques (or bring them in e-form) before the conference.

Accomplished author Sharelle Byars Moranville facilitated my group, which consisted of three other chapter book and middle grade novelists. To top off the great advice we received from one another, she suggested we give all characters a crucible moment;  deliver the empathy-building essence of our protagonists; and strategically plan for pivotal stepping moments at the quarter point, the mid point, and the three-quarter point of our manuscripts before tying it up with that satisfying ending.

Elevator pitch practice Up to bat: Alicia Schwab

Elevator pitch practice
Up to bat: Alicia Schwab

First Page Readings

Michelle Poploff, Vice President and Executive Director of Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, led “Finding Your Voice”, a session where First Page participants received a wealth of feedback in minutes. Participant names were randomly drawn. They read the first 500 words of their manuscripts. After each reading, attendees in the audience provided anonymous  comments on notecards.

In our motel room the night before, my roommates and I took turns rehearsing and creating one-line elevator pitch synopses.  Not only did the pitch-writing exercise equip all four of us to create more impactful queries; but the extra preparation paid off in the performances. When my roommates names were drawn, they delivered self-assured readings preceded by convincing pitches.

Elise Hylden Up to bat

Elise Parsley up to bat, critiquing the pitch

Manuscript Critiques

Face-to-face manuscript critiques provided the best opportunity to have our most polished, unpublished manuscript critiqued by an editor, agent, or published author. We submitted our manuscripts three to four weeks prior to the conference to allow ample time for our advisor to review and write comments; then we received a ten-minute appointment for them to tell us what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve our work.

Thanks to Joanna Cardenas, Assistant Editor for Viking Children’s Books, for reviewing my manuscript. She devoted an impressive amount of thoughtful consideration, offering suggestions on character development, plot and structure, language and diction, voice, and marketability. Her advice differed substantially from input I had received from Barry Goldblatt, founder of BG Literary, at the 2013 Minnesota Conference. However, their foundational goals remained the same: to increase my protagonist’s likeability, which would increase the appeal of my manuscript, which would increase its chances of being published. I’m grateful to them both.

Next week I’ll share more 2013 IA Conference wisdom from Michelle Poploff; Allison Remcheck, Assistant Literary Agent of Rosemary Stimola Literary Studio; Joanna Cardenas; and Jennifer Black Reinhardt. See you then!

2013 Iowa SCBWI Conference Photos