Abbotsford Christian School interviews Kevins Sands, Author of Mark of the Plague

Mark of the Plague coverWhere did you get your idea to write about a boy in the Middle Ages? [Note: It’s actually the Age of Exploration—Middle Ages ends in the 15th century]

From my research. I chose 1660s London specifically because it was such a rich time of plots, conspiracies, and secrets, as enemies struggled against each other for power. Basically, it was too good a time to pass up!

A Journal of the Plague Year coverHow did you do your research to find out what life was like in the Middle Ages in general, and for apothecaries and The Plague specifically? [sic]

A lot of time in and out of libraries. I read many, many different books, drawing as much as I could from them. Fortunately, we have a lot of good first-hand accounts from that time, especially of the plague (the best of which is A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe). I always find doing research valuable; the details really help bring the books to life.

Did you always want to be a writer? Is it a full-time job for you?

Writing is my full-time job, yes. But I had no interest in it when I was young—if you’d have told me back then that I’d grow up to be a writer, I’d have thought you’d lost your mind! Just goes to show you never know where you’ll end up.

What does a “writing day’ look like for you?

Get up early (around 5 am). Work all morning: either reading, or doing research, or plotting, or writing. If I’m writing, then I usually have a word or page count, and I don’t stop until I’ve reached it. I’m usually finished work around lunchtime, or early afternoon.

How long does it take for you to write a book?

Every book is different. So far, the shortest took me five months, while the longest took just over a year. I have no idea why some take longer; for whatever reason, some books are harder to write than others.

Do you enjoy writing?  Did you like to do it as a child? Were you good at it?

Depends on the day! When I’m stuck on something, it can be pretty frustrating. But overall, I think writing is the best job in the world.

I was pretty good at it as a child, but back then I hated doing it. Maybe that’s because I had to, rather than wanting to.

What was your favorite book to read as a child?

Probably the Belgariad series by David Eddings. Though there were many, many books—mostly fantasy—that I loved.

Did you read a lot as a child?  What do you like better, reading or writing? Why?

I read every single day when I was a child, often for hours—and I still do! I still like reading better than writing…but I have to admit, nothing in the world beats that feeling of satisfaction when you finally finish writing a book.

What advice can you give us to become writers?

First, always be reading. Seeing what makes other writers effective are the best writing lessons you’ll ever get.

Second, always be writing. Just like you can’t learn to ride a bike by watching someone, you can’t learn to write just by reading. It takes years and years of practice. (So start now!)

Third, don’t get discouraged. We all write things that don’t go anywhere. I had to write three whole manuscripts, none very good, until I wrote The Blackthorn Key. In writing, you never really fail until you quit.

How many books do you have planned in this series?

As many as I can think of! As long as people want to keep reading them, and I can come up with good ideas, I’ll keep writing them. So hopefully you’ll see Blackthorn Key adventures for years to come!

-Linda Groot, Elementary Teacher-Librarian, and students from Abbotsford Christian School

Kathleen Cherry, Author of Everyday Hero Visits BC Schools

Kathleen Cherry at a school visitRecently Kathleen Cherry, Red Cedar-nominated author of Everyday Hero had the opportunity to work with students in the Red Cedar Club at Spruceland Elementary School and also to present to several classes at Southridge Elementary School.  She is very enthusiastic about the experience, saying it was “So exciting to witness the student’s enthusiasm for books and reading!”

Everyday Hero bookmarksKathleen has kindly offered that any Red Cedar groups who schedule an interview with her by Skype or print will receive these beautiful book marks.  Interested groups can contact Kathleen through us, her website, or Facebook page.

 

-Patricia

 

École South Sahali interviews Gabrielle Prendergast, Author of Pandas on the Eastside

 

Pandas on the Eastside coverHow did you come up with your characters?

Usually I start with a situation or a premise and I slot in a character who is very much like me to start with. As I write I kind of carve away my own personality and carve in a new personality if that makes sense. Sometimes giving a character a name tells me a lot about them. What kind of parent named a child “Journey” in 1962? How does Journey feel about her name? When I add appearance details like hair color and age and size I get to know them more. Then I choose clothes for them. What kind of clothes do they like? Why? Most of my characters maintain some key characteristics of me. I love animals, for example. I love reading and learning.

panda
from wikipedia.org

Have you ever experienced anything like what happened to the characters?

I’m a little younger than Journey would be today, but I did live in a city in the 1970s so I remember what that was like. And I HAVE seen pandas (in a zoo). The only animals I’ve helped are my pets and occasionally a bird if it gets stunned from flying in a window.

Gabrielle PredergastHow long have you been writing for?

I started writing my first (unfinished) novel when I was about 11. I still have it!

Are the characters based on real people?

My brother-in-law, Ben thinks David is based on him and that’s pretty much true. The rest of the characters are made up.

What inspired you to be a writer?

I’ve tried pretty much every other job and this is the only one I’m good at that doesn’t make me sad.

What difficulties did you encounter when you were writing the book and how did you solve them?

Sometimes I’m not sure what is going to happen next. Sometimes when that happens I just wait and work on something else until I get a good idea. Other times I just write any old thing and fix it later.

Harvest Writer
from flickr.com

Do you have any tips for young writers?

Write something short enough to finish. Start with poems. Then short stories. Always try to finish. Then revise your draft to see if you can make it better. Writing is rewriting.

Did you have a plan for the novel or make it up as you went along?

I made this one up. Sometimes I use a plan because it’s faster that way.

How long did it take you to write Pandas On the Eastside?

I started writing it in 2010 and sold it to my publisher in 2015. So about five years. But I was working on a bunch of other things at the same time and published four other books.

JK Rowling
from wikipedia.org

If you could have added anything else to the book, what would it have been?

I don’t know! What a good question! Maybe Journey could have met the president or something.

Who is your favourite author?

I really admire Margaret Atwood and J.K Rowling.

-Melisa Hunter, Teacher-Librarian, and students from École South Sahali, Kamloops, BC

Spring Creek Community School Interviews Ellen Schwartz, Author of Heart of a Champion

What inspired you to write Heart of a Champion?

Asahi Baseball Team
Image Source: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu

I was watching TV one night and I came upon a documentary about the Vancouver Asahi baseball team. I had never heard of them, and I was amazed to hear how great they were—not
just great baseball players, but great role models through their dignity and pride in the face of
racism against people of Japanese descent. When the program was finished, I thought to
myself, “Every Canadian kid should know about the Vancouver Asahis.” So, since I write
children’s books, I decided to write a book about them.

What kind of books do you like reading and writing?

I love reading and writing all kinds of books, but I think the thing that draws me the most is
characters. I want to get inside the skin of a character and feel what that person is feeling and
learn what that character learns and grow along with the character. So I love to read and write
books where characters feel things deeply and grow and change in some way.
Most of my books are middle-grade novels, for kids 8 to 12 years old, although I have written a
few picture books and a few novels for teens. I wish I could write more picture books, but my
ideas mostly come as stories for older kids.
The Secret Garden book coverMy favourite book when I was a kid was The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The
interesting thing about that book is that the main character, Mary Lennox, is totally unlikable at
the beginning. She is a vain, selfish, spoiled brat. And yet you root for her and care about her,
and it is so wonderful when she begins to change and become a nicer, more caring person. I still read The Secret Garden every year or so to try to figure out how the author does it (and I never can).

Which of your books is your favourite?

Mr Belinsky's Bagels coverAgh, I hate that question! It’s like asking a parent which is her favourite kid. But if I had to
choose just one, I would say Mr. Belinsky’s Bagels, one of my picture books. The character of
Mr. Belinsky is based on my grandfather. My grandfather was not a baker, but he was a sweet,
kind man just like Mr. Belinsky. And, interestingly, Mr. Belinsky looks just like my grandfather,
even though the illustrator, Stefan Czernecki, never met him or saw a picture of him.

When did you start writing books?

Dusty book coverWhen I was 30. My first career was as a special education teacher. At the same time, I was very
interested in the environment and energy conservation. So I started by writing a couple of
educational stories for kids about conserving energy. I sold one of them to the Province of
British Columbia and the other one to the National Film Board. I found that I enjoyed writing
and that it came naturally to me, so I tried writing a regular story. That was Dusty, which
became my first book.

How many books have you written?

Sixteen books for kids and one for adults. I have a chapter book coming out this spring called
The Princess Dolls, for 7 to 10 year olds. That’ll be my 18th book.

Who do you look up to?

Word Nerd book coverFrances Hodgson Burnett, as I mentioned above. My favourite Canadian children’s author is
Susin Neilsen. In my opinion, she is brilliant at writing stories about sad and complex subjects
but doing it in a hilarious way. Her books make me laugh and cry. That’s what I try to do, too.

What book are you working on now?

I’m writing a middle grade novel called Up in the Sky. It’s about a girl named Sophie whose
father has died in a helicopter crash. Sophie and her dad used to build remote-controlled model airplanes together, and they were in the middle of building one when her dad died. Sophie wants to finish the model, but she can’t, because she has a reading disability and she can’t read the manual. And now her mom has a new boyfriend . . .

Do you get calluses from typing? Or other injuries related to your job?

No, thankfully. I write the first draft of my books longhand with a pen and paper, so sometimes
my hand gets cramped from holding a pen for hours. But I can stretch out the sore muscles.

What’s your favourite colour?

Turquoise, followed closely by purple. Interesting question!

-Sara Leach, Teacher-Librarian, Spring Creek Community School and the Spring Creek Community School Red Cedar Book Club

Manoah Steves Elementary Interviews Tanya Lloyd Kyi

We are super excited that Tanya Lloyd Kyi, author of the fascinating book DNA Detective, will be at the Red Cedar Gala at Vancouver Public Library on May 6. Ahead of her appearance, students from Manoah Steves Elementary interviewed her and asked her some thought-provoking questions.
MSE: Did you know any of these facts before?
TLK: Before I began this project, I knew very little about DNA. And when I started my research, the science of genes and heredity seemed really complicated. It took a long time to sort through the information overload to find great stories about the way DNA affects our daily lives. Right now, DNA research is changing the way we eat, the way governments and police forces track criminals, even the way we choose our pets! Stories about these sorts of implications and changes were really what inspired me to write the book.
MSE: How long did it take to research all of these facts?
TLK: For each of my books, I spend three or four months on research. Once I’ve gathered enough information, I begin to write… and I always, always discover that there’s a lot more to learn. The first draft of DNA Detective took six to eight months of research and writing combined, then a little MORE research once the editor started asking questions and pointing out gaps. Good thing I love research — I like hunting for the best stories and the best ways to explain tricky scientific concepts.
MSE: Why did you name the DNA Scientists Genetic rock stars?
TLK: Like contestants on The Voice, the scientists who made major DNA discoveries were completely obsessed with success. One of them studied fruit flies for a decade before he discovered one teeny, microscopic mutation. And since these scientists changed the world in ways no pop song has ever done, I think they deserve the “rock star” title.
MSE: How did you come up with all the funny names on p. 23?
TLK: Once I started searching for silly names on the internet, there were zillions. Ever since the book was published, I keep stumbling across other great pun-names and thinking, “oooh… I wish I’d included that one!”
MSE: Why did you start writing books?
TLK: I’ve been writing stories since elementary school. I still have an unfinished novel from high school sitting in my crawl space. My first published book was Canadian Girls Who Rocked the World, which came out in 2000.  It was all about girls who’d accomplished amazing things before they turned 20.
MSE: Did you get to choose who did the drawings for your book?
TLK: The publisher always chooses the illustrators for my books, but I’ve never complained — they make amazing choices. Seeing the illustration sketches is one of my favourite parts of book-creation. By that time, most of my work on the project is finished, and I get to sit back and relax while someone else interprets my stories and facts in ways I might never expect. My favourite illustrations in DNA Detective are the genetic rock stars and the detective dog.
MSE: Where did you get the idea to write a non-fiction story combined with a fiction story?
TLK: The entire subject of DNA seems to lend itself to mystery solving. And when I read the story of the twins in Germany who couldn’t be charged with a robbery because the police couldn’t prove which twin committed the crime (that story’s at the back of the book)… well, then I just HAD to include the mystery.
Image credit: worth1000.com

MSE: Did you know anything about DNA before you wrote this story?

TLK: Very little! I wrote a book a few years ago called Seeing Red, which was all about blood. In that book, there was the story of two Chicago families who’d taken their babies home from the hospital only to find the babies were labelled with different last names. So, had the babies been switched, or were the labels wrong? The hospital didn’t know, and the Chicago Commissioner of Health called in a panel of experts. No one could tell which baby belonged to which family! Finally, a pathologist who understood blood types tested the blood of the babies and of all four parents, and figured out the babies had gone home with the wrong families. It was the first time blood types had been used to figure out paternity. That story — which is really about genetics and heredity — helped me get excited about the idea of a DNA book.
MSE: Is it possible to mix DNA  eg. frog and snake  – Can I make a froggy-snake?
TLK: Probably not… yet. But if scientists get that far, I’d like a pet cabbit. (You know: half cat, half rabbit.)

-Lauren Craze, Teacher-Librarian at Manoah Steves Elementary and friends

If you want to see Tanya Lloyd Kyi at the Red Cedar Gala on May 6 please RSVP to redcedaraward@gmail.com Hope to see you there!


Harmoney Interviews Sharon Jennings

Harmoney Hachey of Signal Hill Elementary felt a strong connection to Sharon Jennings’ Connecting Dots and was thrilled to get the chance to interview the author of the book she’d most like to see win this year’s Red Cedar Award for Fiction.

SJ: Thank you for your email – it made my day! Writers spend so much time alone that it is always nice to hear how our books are received by readers. I feel deeply touched that this story spoke to you and mirrored something of your own life. Maybe you should write a book!

H: Are you considering making a sequel to this book?

SJ: Before I answer your first question, I’ll explain a bit about Dots. I don’t know if you have seen the book, Home Free. Leanna tells the story about meeting Cassie when she moves in next door. By the end, she finds out that Cassie isn’t an orphan, but she still doesn’t know the whole story.

My publisher asked me for years to write about Cassie, but I just couldn’t come up with all of Cassie’s story. I knew she had a hard life, and it took me some time to piece it all together in my head. The tricky part was when Cassie and Leanna meet each other. I couldn’t repeat the same few chapters, and then I realized that no two people ever tell the same story the same way. I took liberties, and if my readers compare that chunk of both books, they’ll see that both girls embellish things a bit. Who is telling the truth?

I wrote a third book, and my publisher wasn’t too keen on it. But my agent loves it! So I changed the names and no one except you [and you!] will know that the famous actress in this story is Cassandra all grown up! Hopefully it will be published soon.

H: How long did it take you to write Connecting Dots?

SJ: I mentioned that it took me a long time to figure out Cassie’s story, but when I got started, it took me about 5 months to write it. Then a few months of editing back and forth with the publisher, and publication about a year and a half after I started writing.

H: How did you include so much detail? Is the book based on a personal experience or that of a close friend? Did you make connections to Cassie?

SJ: Both of these books are very autobiographical. I set the story when I was about the same age, and I could remember many details. I still had to research, however, to make sure that I knew what movies, songs, etc. were popular, in case I had dates mixed up. I am a cross of both Leanna and Cassie – I wanted to be a writer and an actor and I wrote plays and put them on in the backyard. I did want to marry David, and I did work in Inner Foundations as a teenager and saw the women with the Holocaust tattoo.

My father died when I was 16, so I understood what Leanna felt. I also wanted to be an orphan like Anne Shirley – my very favourite book!  I had some Irish relatives and they were as awful as the characters in the story – mean, biased – and one aunt knit me a sweater and called me a monkey because my arms were ‘too long’.

My neighbour was a nurse and gave her daughters enemas – I did not make that up! Of course I flushed my yucky spinach down the toilet.

When I give classroom visits, and talk to students about writing, I always tell people that anything that happens to you can go into a story/book. The more detail you can add, the more realistic your story will feel.

H: What made you choose to write about this topic? When in your life did you decide to write this book?

SJ: I wrote this story at the urging of my publisher, but when I got going, I really wanted to let kids know that they can survive anything. Bad things happen, but a young person can find the strength to see adult nonsense and shortcomings for what it is, and become strong. Just look at Harry Potter!

H: Is being an author your only job? How did you come to be an author?

SJ: As well as writing, I teach writing to adults who want to write for kids, I edit and evaluate manuscripts, and I do a lot of volunteer work with writers’ organizations.

I am going to Vancouver for the awards ceremony – even if I don’t win! It is important to me to meet my readers and answer even more questions. I also love to inspire others to think about writing. I wrote my first school play in grade 4 and haven’t stopped.

-Interview by Harmoney Hachey, Signal Hill Elementary

Are you coming to our Gala too?  Be sure to RSVP at redcedaraward@gmail.com

 

Mile 108 Elementary Interviews Linda Bailey

Students from Mile 108 got more than they bargained for when they sent interview questions to Linda Bailey, author of the pirate tale Seven Dead Pirates.  Linda was joined by a…. ummm…. special guest in answering their thoughtful questions.

Ahoy, Lynn McArthur and her pirate crew!  I hear ye be a scurvy band of scoundrels, bold and brave and quick with a sword, afeared of nothing on land or sea, excepting maybe  . . . them things that goes so fast on the roads?
CARS! Aye! Stay away from them carrrrrs, mateys. That’s my advice. I says ye should xfpr z ttt

LB: Dear Mile 108 readers,
Oh gosh, I am SO sorry! That was Captain Crawley, taking over my computer again. I just kicked him out of this message. So now you can talk to me — Linda Bailey, the author. Whew! I am so glad to meet twelve Red Cedar readers from Mile 108 Elementary, and I am very happy to answer your questions.

Pirate Name TagM108E: How did you come up with all the pirate names?

LB: Naming pirates is so much fun. (Try it! You’ll see.) But the truth is — I had help from my boyfriend. Just before I started writing Seven Dead Pirates, Maurice and I went on a long driving trip and spent hours sitting in the car. I told him I needed pirate names, and we started to brainstorm. He had some fantastic suggestions — including my favourites, Barnaby Bellows and Jack the Rat. If you look at the last paragraph of the last page of the book (in the acknowledgements), you will see where I thanked him.

M108E: What inspired you to write the book?  Where did you get your idea from?

LB: There were a lot of inspirations. When I was a kid, I was shy — not quite as shy as my character Lewis, but I almost never spoke up in class. So that’s part of it. Later when I was in my 20s, I traveled by ship across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and I came to love the sea. And that’s in the book too. Also, I have always wanted to write a ghost story. All these bits came together in Seven Dead Pirates.

Pirates of the Caribbean M108E: Why did you chose pirates?

LB: Arggh! Who doesn’t love a good pirate story? But actually, I have often wondered myself about why that is true. Why are pirates so interesting in books and movies? I think it’s because they’re rebels. They break the rules. In our everyday lives, we have to obey dozens of rules every day, right? Brush your teeth, wait in line, stop at stop signs. This is good because it helps us to survive and have friends. But sometimes we get tired of rules — and that’s when we love to read about a rip-roaring pirate who never brushes his teeth, never waits in line and knocks over all the stop signs. A rebel story allows us to break the rules . . . in our imaginations.

Glace Bay, Nova ScotiaM108E: Was the setting based on a real place?

LB: Not really. The setting is a little town in Nova Scotia called Tandy Bay. I did travel in Nova Scotia, driving along the coast and stopping in small towns. And here in Vancouver where I live, there’s a museum with a huge ship inside that gave me the idea for the Tandy Bay Museum. But a real Tandy Bay? No, I made that up.

Linda BaileyM108E: Are any of your characters based on people you know?  Where did Lewis come from?  Where did Abbie come from?

LB: My characters are never based on people I know. Except maybe . . . me? I feel that I have to get inside all my characters to write them. I have to feel what it’s like to be them. So Lewis was easy because I used to be a shy, sensitive kid. Abbie was more the girl-I-wanted-to-be (outgoing and sociable). But the most fun I had was writing Jack the Rat — I had to imagine how it would feel to be constantly out of control and in a sputtering, foaming rage.

Stanley's PartyM108E: How long did it take you to write The Seven Dead Pirates?

LB: Years and years! About 18 years altogether from the time I started till the time it was published. I wrote it in dribs and drabs, off and on, while writing other shorter books — the Stanley-the-dog stories, The Farm Team, Goodnight Sweet Pig, If Kids Ruled the World, If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur and so on.

M108E: When did you start writing?

LB: Not till I was about 30. Before that, I was too busy reading. In fact, I liked reading so much, and admired writers so much, that I was afraid to try writing myself. What if my stories were terrible? I had to creep up on it. (And here’s a secret. My first stories were kind of terrible. But they got better. Writing is a skill that, like piano playing, gets better the more you practice.)

Stevie Diamond, Book 1M108E: When was your first book published and what was it called?

LB: My first book was How Come the Best Clues Are Always in the Garbage? It was a humorous mystery novel about a girl named Stevie Diamond, and it was the start of a seven-book series.

M108E: How many books do you write in a year?

LB: That depends. I’m usually working on a number of different books in any year — some longer, some shorter. So in a year, I might finish one? Two? Even three? But they are different kinds of books.

M108E: Where do you do your best writing?

LB: On my couch. I have a big comfy couch with lots of interesting pillows. I LOVE my couch!

M108E: What do you do when you get writers block?

LB: I don’t get writer’s block. I think writer’s block is when you can’t think of any ideas. My solution to that is to always be watching for ideas and to collect them in a computer file as they come along. Also, if I ever get stuck in the middle of a story, I just start asking myself questions. My favourite questions are the ones that start with “What if . . .?” They usually get me going again

M108E: How many rough copies do you generally have to do before your book get published?

LB: Oh gosh, so many. Probably at least 10 to 20 drafts before a book is ready to go to the publisher. And then the publisher asks for changes, and that is 3 or 4 more drafts before we’re done.

Thank you for writing, Mile 108 Pirates/Readers. It’s been fun talking to you! Happy reading!

Lynn McArthur, Teacher-Librarian, Mile 108 Elementary School and friends

South Sahali Elementary Interviews Kevin Sands

Students from South Sahali Elementary in Kamloops had some pretty interesting questions for Kevin Sands about his novel The Blackthorn Key.

SSE: What gave you the idea to write this book?

KS: It occurred to me that apothecaries were pretty cool: they used potions, and poisons, and secret codes, and so on. So I thought that background, combined with a secret people were willing to kill for, would make for a really good story.

SSE: How did you do the research for your book?

KS: A lot of time in and out of libraries. Most of my research came from books, though I found some things online as well. Each of the Blackthorn Key adventures takes about five weeks of full-time research.

SSE: Can you tell us about the process you go through for publishing your books?

KS: The Blackthorn Key was my first book published, so it was a longer process. After I’d written the manuscript, I queried agents, which is a fancy way of saying I sent a bunch of people I didn’t know some emails asking if they’d be interested in reading my book and representing me. Once I had an agent, he submitted my manuscript to a number of editors at different publishing houses. Several of them liked it, and I ended up selling it to Aladdin (Simon & Schuster).

After that, the process has been the same. Write the manuscript, then an editor suggests any changes needed. You rewrite what you need to, then once the “final” manuscript is done, it goes to a copy editor, who checks for factual errors or things that don’t make sense. After that, the book is laid out and goes to a proofreader, who checks the final version for typos. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, there’s the cover design, and marketing, and so on. All in all, it this process usually takes anywhere from 1-2 years. A long time!

SSE: Why did you choose to write your book in that era?

KS: I ended up choosing 1660s London because it had so many cool elements to it: the return of the king to his throne; the conflicts, plots, and conspiracies; the level of technology; the liveliness of the city; and so on. Basically, it was too good a time to pass up!

SSE: When did you start to write novels or stories?

KS: In January 2009. I wrote three other manuscripts (all of which were terrible) before I started on The Blackthorn Key. I sold that in September 2014, so it took more than five years of writing before I sold my first book.

SSE: What inspired you to create the different characters? Were the characters inspired by people you know?

KS: The characters all came from my imagination. I never base characters on people I know—I don’t want to get sued!

SSE: Does this book tie into your life in any way?

KS: I wouldn’t say there’s any direct connection to my life, except that I wrote The Blackthorn Key the way I did because adventures like that are my favourite kind of books.

SSE: Is writing your only career now?

KS: Yes. Since selling The Blackthorn Key, I’ve become a full-time writer. It’s tough, sometimes, but it’s the most fun career I’ve ever had.

SSE: When you wrote this book did you have it all planned out before you wrote the book or did you think of it as you were writing?

KS: Planned out, completely. I plot everything in as much detail as possible before I write a single word. Changes get made during revisions, of course, but if I ever try to just start writing and see where things will go, I end up with a giant mess. I don’t know how people do that—though there are many successful writers who have!

SSE: Did you come up with the codes on your own?

KS: Yes. Some of the codes are based on real symbols and ciphers; the symbols in chapter 20, for example, were used by real alchemists. Others, like the puzzle cube, were my own invention.

SSE: Where did you go to research the recipes?

KS: There are a few really old books by apothecaries and herbalists from Christopher’s time that we have today, so some of the recipes came from those. Others, like the smoke bomb, I’ve known how to make for a while. (Just don’t ask me how I know.)

-Melisa Hunter, Teacher-Librarian at South Sahali Elementary and friends

Ecole Heather Park Elementary Interviews Kenneth Oppel

Students from Ecole Heather Park Elementary in Prince George had the opportunity to interview the wonderfully talented Kenneth Oppel, author of The Nest. 

EHPE: What inspired you to write the book, The Nest?

KO: A whole bunch of things. I had a title, and I wishlist of creepy things I wanted in my story: a toy phone that allowed you to talk to a mysterious person; a knife grinding van that kept returning to your street again and again; a person called Mr Nobody – and a wasp nest that was growing a human baby.
 
 
EHPE: Does anything in The Nest relate to something you experienced?
 
KO: The biggest influence for The Nest was very personal: the birth of our third child 11 years ago. She was born with Down syndrome, and it really made me re-evaluate how we look at what normal is and what that means. Is it possible for anyone to be truly normal? Is it a certain model of behaviour we must all try to live up to? All of us have weaknesses, flaws, things that make us “less than.” It made me think about how we value people, and how we look at who’s worthy, who’s lovable. For sure I was drawing on my own experiences for the emotional core of this book, because at the beginning when you have a baby who’s “different,” there’s so much you don’t know. There’s surprise, there’s worry, there’s questioning about what her prospects were going to be.
 
I now had this notion of a baby born into a family with something that’s very worrying. And in the book, the oldest child in the family, Steve, who’s 12, starts having dreams about an angel creature who offers to fix the baby, offering him a perfect baby to swap for the original baby. Steve just wants things to go back to normal. He wants them to be safe. We’re all trying so hard to get perfect bodies and partners and lives, and I think sometimes it can lead us to make choices that aren’t beneficial to ourselves and to others. Kids really want to fit in. They want to be part of a pack, and they want to be accepted. It’s very lonely to feel like you’re outside of normal. I wanted to show that no one is really normal, and we’re better for admitting that we’re flawed.
 
EHPE: Why did you dedicate The Nest to Julia, Nathaniel and Sophia?
 
KO: They’re my three kids – they’ve actually had quite a few books dedicated to them over the years!
 
EHPE: You have written many different kinds of novels.  What genre of books do you prefer to write?
 
KO: I don’t have a favourite genre. I just write the idea that most excites me, whether it’s fantasy, or gothic thriller, or historical fiction, or contemporary fiction. With each of my books there was something about the idea or subject matter that grabbed hold of my imagination, and took my thoughts in all sorts of directions.
 
EHPE: How long does it take you to write a book?
 
KO: For a novel, between 12 to 24 months.
 
EHPE: Do you have a new book coming out soon?  Can you tell us something about it?
 
KO: Well, I just had one come out called Every Hidden Thing, about two teens who discover the first T-Rex fossil. And the next thing you’ll see from me is called Inkling – which is a big rollicking adventure with lots of humour and magic.
 
EHPE: Who was your favourite author when you were a kid?
 
KO: Roald Dahl!
 
EHPE: What are your hobbies?
 
KO: I like to travel, read, watch movies, spend time with friends, go for long walks, sail, go on train rides!
 

 

The Red Cedar Club (Everett, Charlotte, Nina, Jasmine, Breanna, Emily, Maya, Abby, Tayler, Braden, Morgan, Wynter, Trinity) and Maria Weisgarber, Teacher-Librarian, Ecole Heather Park Elementary, Prince George, BC

 

Jennifer Mook-Sang will be in B.C. in Spring 2017!

speechlessJennifer Mook-Sang will be attending the Red Cedar Awards on May 6, 2017 and would love to visit area schools and libraries while she’s in B.C. She will be in the Vancouver Area from May 1-6th and on Vancouver Island in the vicinity of Nanaimo from May 8-10th.

Jennifer’s humorous middle-grade novel Speechless (Scholastic) has been nominated for many awards; and commended by the Ontario Library Association, the Canadian Childrens’ Book Centre, the CBC, and the TD Summer Reading Club. Her picture book Captain Monty Takes the Plunge (Kids Can Press) will be released in the Fall of 2017 and features a stinky pirate who won’t go near the water.

Jennifer enjoys visiting schools and libraries. She describes her life as a writer, how a story gets built, and the joys of editing and revising. Her workshops have students thinking about where inspiration comes from and gets them writing stories right away.

To learn more about Jennifer’s presentations, funding opportunities for public author readings, and to contact her for a visit, check out her website jennifermooksang.com