Readergirlz has won a James Patterson PageTurner grant! This really rocks! It is so fabulous for our book community to be honored in this way. It helps to ensure that readergirlz will keep empowering teens to read, reflect, and reach out!
The entire readergirlz team gives a big thank you to James Patterson and the grant committee.
For more, read the official press release below.
JAMES PATTERSON AGREES THAT
READINGISFUNDAMENTAL
LITERACY PARTNERSAND JOHN FREEMAN
LEAD WINNERS OF THE 3RD ANNUAL
JAMES PATTERSON PAGETURNER AWARDS
New York, NY, April 28, 2008: James Patterson announced today the 34 U.S. winners and 3 Canadian winners of the 3rd annual James Patterson PageTurner Awards. Winners will receive cash prizes totaling $250,000. Among them are libraries, schools, bookstores, and innovative individuals and organizations that go to extraordinary lengths to spread the FUN of books and reading across the country.
With recent reports showing a decline in reading among adults and teens, and federal budget cuts reducing book distribution, the promotion of books and reading is more important than ever. James Patterson's true passion has always been to get people of all ages excited about books and reading, and for years he has proudly supported people and organizations who dedicate themselves to keeping the fun and excitement of books and reading alive. This year's PageTurner Award winners are the cream of the crop, from Literacy Partners Inc., an organization that provides adult and family literacy programs that teach reading, writing and employment preparation skills so that all New Yorkers can succeed in day-to-day living; to an individual, John Freeman of the National Book Critics Circle, who has dedicated his time and energy to fighting the trend toward reduction of book coverage in the media nationwide.And, in Canada, Frontier College has been tackling illiteracy all across Canada since 1899!
Patterson says: "This year's winners are doing great work and at a time when getting people excited about reading and books is especially important.I'm thrilled to help them do what they do so well." The winners truly embody the spirit and energy of the PageTurner Awards — to spread the excitement of books and reading as far and wide as is humanly possible. And for that, we salute them all!
The 2007 James Patterson PageTurner Award Winners are:
For 35 years, Literacy Partners has provided high-quality, free, community-based adult and family literacy programs to more than 25,000 New York City residents to ensure that all adults have access to the education needed to fully realize their potential as individuals, parents, and citizens. Classes are offered twelve months of the year at ten sites in New York City, including Harlem and the South Bronx. Each year at the Literacy Partners annual gala the program includes "An Evening of Readings," which has featured such top published authors as Tom Wolfe, Wally Lamb, Sue Monk Kidd, Michael Crichton, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, to name a few. Literacy Partners students also take the stage to read their own work and thank the attendees for their ongoing support of the organization. Honorary chairman and media maven Liz Smith says about her involvement with Literacy Partners: "The printed word has been so central to my life that I can't imagine living without the ability to read and write. Making this possible for others who are denied these skills is a profound and thrilling experience."
For more information, please visit www.literacypartners.org.
It's no secret that book coverage in the media dwindles from year to year. John Freeman, president of the National Book Critics Circle, took on this giant issue almost single-handedly by launching a national campaign to bring back book coverage. He solicited, edited, and posted more than a hundred essays about the importance of reading, the necessity of criticism, and the role communities can play in their own newspapers. When the book editor position at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was eliminated, Freeman flew to Atlanta and led a peaceful protest from which grew a petition to reinstate the job signed by nearly 7,000 people, including Sara Paretsky and the late Norman Mailer. Freeman moderates panels and continues to actively develop programs about this issue.
One More Story is an online library of the best of children's classic and contemporary literature. Through a simple point-and-click process, children can choose a book, see the illustrations, and have the book read aloud to them. Each story is professionally narrated and accompanied by original music. As the narrator reads, words are individually highlighted in the text box at the bottom of the screen. Children can also mute the sound and read the book aloud themselves. If a word is unfamiliar, the child can click on it and hear the word spoken by the narrator.One More Story provides a reading experience that is both stimulating and interactive for kids everywhere!
First Book Marketplace, a subsidiary of the award-winning nonprofit organization First Book, is an online store that sells high-quality children's books at deeply discounted prices to organizations serving children from low-income families. The Marketplace, developed by a team of people with private-sector heads and public-sector hearts, offers new books at an average cost of just $1.85 to Title I Schools, Head Start centers, after-school programs, and local initiatives. The Marketplace continues to negotiate bulk book purchases for underserved schools and programs.
U.S. PageTurner Award Winners
Listed in alphabetical order
$5,000
Behind the Book | New York, NY
Gemini Ink | San Antonio, TX
Ann Kent, Community Organizer | Santa Cruz, CA
Diane Luby Lane, Playwright | Los Angeles, CA
Jennifer Pierce, Nonprofit Founder | Tampa, FL
Pushcart Press | Wainscott, NY
Thaddeus Rex | Chicago, IL
Small Press Distribution | Berkeley, CA
Word for Word/Z Space Studio | San Francisco, CA
Pat Wyman, Educator | Windsor, CA
$2,500
The After School Corporation | New York, NY, BensleyElementary School | Richmond, VA
Books to Prisoners c/o Left Bank Books | Seattle, WA, Cleveland County Schools AIG | Shelby, NC
Dr. Geraldine Haggard, Book Advocate | Plano, TX, Harlem RBI, Inc. | New York, NY
Jump Street/A New Diversion Magazine | Harrisburg, PA, Sandra Kowalczyk, Educator | Marshall, WI
Literacy Inc. | New York, NY, Trudy Marshall, Librarian, Charity Organizer | Pflugerville, TX
Doncella Milton, Organizer | Laurel, MS, Murder by the Book Mystery Bookstore | Houston, TX
Since 1899, Canada's original literacy organization, FrontierCollege has been spreading the excitement of reading and learning across Canada. Twenty-five hundred volunteers work with over 260 community partners in inner city schools, community centers, women's shelters, churches, youth detention centers and prisons, not only teaching and mentoring, but training and connecting communities to local resources and other programs. In addition, over 15,000 people have benefitted from the organization's homework clubs, one-on-one tutoring, reading circles and summer programs.
Things to Know about Shannon Hale
Current mood: curious
Category: Writing and Poetry
Hey readergirlz,
Have you read Book of a Thousand Days? Did it make you curious about Shannon Hale? It did for me. So here are some fun things to know about Shannon.
Family: I have the two cutest, bestest kids in the world. I have a huge crush on my husband.
Inspiration: Yoga keeps me sane.
By your nightstand: I have a life-size cutout of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy in my bedroom.
What's in your cup? Melted milk chocolate chips in a mug = heaven!
Best time of day: My favorite time of day is evening, pre-dinner, when we crank up the tunes and have a family dance party.
Bottom-line on writing: Writing is the hardest work I've ever done.
Nail polish or natural? Right now my toenails are a dark red, left over from a pedicure I got with Libba Bray in Miami. (Well, we had to! We'd both left snow boots weather and were suddenly in sandals weather, and I won't describe the state of our collective extremities.)
Ever on stage? I used to do theater, but I can do only one passable impression: Snow White singing "Someday My Prince Will Come."
What's going on right now? My four-year-old son is sitting next to me and he wants me to write down a story he's going to make up: "Once upon a time there was there was a couch that wanted to fly, and it couldn't, it didn't have wings, and...and it went to the wing store and got some wings, and...and...it wanted to fly, and it flied! The end."
TBD Thanks are Pouring In
Current mood: hopeful
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
Thanks are pouring in for Operation TBD 08, rgz! The hospitalized teens love their new books graciously donated by our participating publishers. One hospital is building bookshelves in the waiting room to hold the new donations. How cool is that?
A photo just came in of our diva Mitali Perkins during her visit to Children's Hospital Boston. Here she is with their supportive staff. And piles of books!
And look how cute go2girl Holly Cupala was at Seattle Children's Hospital with teen volunteers. She's the one in the middle with the scarf. I know, she looks like one of the teens. :~)
One of the best things yet is that publishers who didn't participate in 2008 are writing to ask if they can in 2009. Woot!
Here are the co-founders of rgz with past president of YALSA, Judy Nelson. We are already plotting with diva Mitali what next year will look like.
So, look forward to rocking the drop again, rgz. Read, reflect, and reach out!
Welcome to the enchanting Shannon Hale!
Current mood: giddy
Category: Writing and Poetry
Do you love being enchanted, readergirlz? You will! Just read our readergirlz May pick, BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS, by the enchanting Shannon Hale. Our theme this month is HONOR, and Dashti lives and breathes it.
When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren's refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment. The arrival outside the tower of Saren's two suitors - one welcome, and the other decidedly less so - brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.
With Shannon Hale's lyrical language, this forgotten but classic fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm is reimagined and reset on the central Asian steppes.
"Hale delivers another winning fantasy." - Publishers Weekly, starred review "[A] highly successful romance." - School Library Journal, starred review "Disguise, despair, adventure and romance fill the pages." - Columbus Dispatch
May Roundtable: Book of a Thousand Days
Current mood: energetic
Category: Writing and Poetry
Here's a peek over the postergirlz and divas' shoulders as we discuss May's feature pick. Enjoy!
Roundtable: Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale What would you do if you were locked up with your friend in a tower for seven years? Five people - one bookseller, one librarian, one huge Shannon Hale fan, and two published authors - gathered to chat about Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, the readergirlz book selection for May 2008. Luckily, we all brought our keys and our escape plans.
Miss Erin: Before we start, everyone should know that I am one of THE biggest Shannon Hale fans you can possibly find. I would say biggest, but I think the girls at the Little Red Reading Hood forum would protest. Over there, we all pretty much tie for that position. I just thought that everyone should know that Shannon is my hero, and the most wonderful person I've ever met. Now that we've got that clear, let the conversation commence!
Lorie Ann Grover: I'm so glad Shannon was free to participate, Miss Erin. I did hear you hit the floor when you received the news.
Little Willow: Whenever I shelve Shannon Hale's books, I think of Erin because I know how much she enjoys them. Were any of you familiar with the folktale upon which Book of a Thousand Days was based?
Lorie Ann: No, I didn't know of the fairy tale.
Dia Calhoun: I'm not sure. I remember something about a girl being locked up in a tower, but maybe I'm thinking of Rapunzel!
Erin: No. I read it after I read the book, and was astounded by how many of the novel's themes and elements Shannon pulled from the original tale.
Jackie: No, and that's actually the cool thing about Hale's books. They are just dripping with fairy tale goodness, but she always picks obscure enough tales that you really don't know what you are in for. Both comforting and familiar in style, but fresh in content. This is why Erin obsesses.
Erin: Yes. Shannon Hale books are the ultimate comfort reads. Every time I reread one I love it even more (if that is possible!) than I did before.
LW: Do you consider yourself to be a fan of fairy tales and folktales?
Jac: OMG, like, do fairies have wings, and trolls carry clubs? I totally love 'em.
LW: Oh my goodness, Jac just said OMG. I love fairy tales and tales with fairies - the two aren't mutually exclusive - but apparently, Jac's more into trolls than moi.
Lorie Ann: I'm not a huge fan. But I am interested in the classic types you find in fairy tales and how those are repeated through so many different cultures.
Dia: Absolutely! I love the tone of fairy tales and have actually written a picture book in a "fairy tale" voice. I love the simple, clear, strong language. I'd love to try to write a whole book in this voice, but alas, I tend to get too complex.
Erin: A HUGE fan! Fairy tale retellings are my favorite genre of books!
LW: What is your favorite folktale, or who is your folkteller?
Dia: The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, and Andrew Lang.
Jac: I don't know why, but for some reason the only thing that comes to mind when you ask that question are tall tales, which I do love. My favorite is Clever Beatrice, a picture book. My mom got it autographed for me, and I love it.
Erin: I don't think I have a favorite. I love pretty much every fairy tale in existence. Fairy tales were the first form of fantasy literature I ever read. I read books and books of them when I was younger.
Jac: Oh! Also I love all the Paul O. Zelinsky illustrated fairy tales. Those are just gorgeous.
Erin: What is your favorite retelling? Shannon's books aside, I love Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier, and, recently, A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce. To name only a few.
Jac: Oh! Ella Enchanted! Yay!
LW: I like Ella Enchanted - better book than movie, by the way - but Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix is great.
Lorie Ann: I also love Donna Jo Napoli's work. Zel still haunts me! I, of course, treasure Dia Calhoun's Phoenix Dance, and Robin McKinley is just brilliant!
LW: Christopher Golden does a phenomenal job retelling well-known stories. For example, his novel Straight on 'til Morning sets the tale of Peter Pan in 1981 and makes it a coming-of-age story AND a horror novel. Brilliant. He also has a trilogy called The Veil in which a modern man must go on a quest with legends from all kinds of myths, such as Jack Frost and Kitsune, with the Sandman as their adversary.
Dia: I love Juliette Marillier's retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. And anything by Donna Jo Napoli.
LW: Which Shannon Hale book is your favorite?
Dia: Oh, what a hard choice. I'd have to say Goose Girl. I think I like it best because it was one of my favorite fairy tales when I was a girl. I particularly remember an illustration of the Goose Girl that I used to gaze at for hours.
LW: To date, I've read four of Hale's novels - The Goose Girl, Princess Academy, Austenland, and Book of a Thousand Days - and enjoyed them all.
Erin: I seriously don't have one. It depends on which I've read most recently.
Jac: This very moment I'm going to say Book of a Thousand Days, but if I ever get around to reading the Goose Girl books - ducks from invisible flying objects coming from Erin's direction - my answer might just change. I do have a special little place in me heart for Austenland, I might add. It's funny, though. Even though Austenland is the one without fairy tale/fantasy elements, it's still sort of a fantasy - just one that we create every time we open a book and start reading about the perfect love.
Erin: JACKIE! READ THEM! AAAHHH! Oh, and "the Goose Girl books" actually have the series name Books of Bayern. Just thought you should know.
Jac: I know, but I was too lazy to go look the series title up before I spoke. Remember who attended TWO Shannon Hale/Libba Bray appearances with you, WITHOUT directions, and getting LOST like five times, JUST to feed your obsession. I'm not full of ignorance. Maybe like, a quarter full...
Erin: Yes, Jackie, you rock. That night rocked. Even the getting lost kind of rocked, once we got un-lost again.
Lorie Ann: While you two carry on, I'll say the images in Enna Burning stay in my mind the most.
LW: I know Erin's answer to this: Do you tend to read and enjoy stories told in diary format? I do. She doesn't.
Jac: I do. There's just something so approachable and, if done correctly, visceral about them. Of course if they were real diaries they'd be painful to read (go ahead, try NOT to cringe at your 12-year-old self's diary), so I much prefer the fictional ones.
Erin: I'm not usually a fan of diary-formatted books. Book of a Thousand Days, however, got the feel of a real journal just right.
Dia: It depends on the book. When it's well done, as in this case, I thoroughly enjoy it.
Lorie Ann: It's not my first choice, but Shannon did so well with the format. In other books, I feel distanced from the dialogue and action - although I do love the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series!
LW: This book has a cat. Sorry, this isn't a question. This is a statement. Pardon me as I quote Holly Golightly and scream, "CAT!"
Dia: I'm screaming, too. I loved My Lord the Cat. I can imagine what a comfort he must have been to Dashti.
LW: My cats were always a comfort. I miss them terribly.
Miss Erin: If I ever get a cat I will name him My Lord the Cat. Yes, I am that big of a Shan-fan. One of my two favorite scenes in the book (I'm not going to tell either because of spoilers) involves the cat.
Jac: Cat? Oh. right. He was persnickety.
LW: Make that purr-snickety. I can't deal with it when pets don't live in books. I was quite pleased that this cat survived the tale!
Lorie Ann: The cat was wonderful! One of my favorite characters! Did everyone enjoy the drawings? Did they help set the place for you?
Dia: I loved the drawings.
LW: Kudos to illustrator James Noel Smith. Whenever books feature characters who are artists, I yearn to see their paintings or hear their performances. It was so great to see Dashti's artwork within the context of the story.
Lorie Ann: The drawings did enrich the story. They helped me to see, through beautiful lines, this unfamiliar place. Thanks, James! And thanks Shannon for bringing us even closer to Dashti by giving her an artistic hand.
LW: What did you all think of Saren?
Dia: I'm so glad that Saren evolved into a strong young woman. I was so worried for her for much of the book.
Lorie Ann: I, too, was worried about Saren. I also was irritated and frustrated with her. Weren't you all? And then I rejoiced! She grew as much as Dashti, didn't she? In a believable way.
LW: Without spoiling any big plot points, were there any parts of this story that made you cry?
Dia: Dashti's selflessness made me cry. I don't think I'd be able to do that for anyone, myself.
Lorie Ann: No, I didn't cry, but I was very engaged by the story. I love Dashti's voice and the new world she brought to me in such simple lines as this: "It's a shame I don't have fresh yak dung or anything strong-smelling to scare the misery out of her."
Lorie Ann: Didn't everyone love the songs Dashti can sing. Don't you wish you had such powers?
Erin: YES. The power to heal using songs would be amazing.
LW: I love music, and I love singing. I don't long for supernatural singing powers outright, but I'd love to one day hear that the songs I write and sing bring happiness to others!
Miss Erin: Let's talk getting locked away in a tower for seven years with someone. Would you be brave or loyal enough to do that? What would you try to do to keep yourself from going crazy?
Jac: Gosh. It is highly unlikely that I would be loyal enough to that princess to do it. I think maybe if the tower had computer access and a library. Then maybe. But not that tower, or that princess, or those RATS!
LW: I couldn't be locked up anywhere for any duration of time. I am constantly in motion - my legs are dancing, walking, my lips are moving, I'm talking, singing. If and when I'm sitting, my fingers and eyes are moving because I'm reading, writing, typing.
Lorie Ann: For my children, I would. And you can always write. John Bunyan was locked in a tower prison and wrote Pilgrim's Progress. Perfect!
Dia: Does the tower have a big window that looks out onto a splendid ever-changing view? Then maybe, if I had books and paper and a treadmill! But I still think I would want a change after about a month. Is there chalk? Can I draw on the stone walls? Three things I take into the tower with me: Cat. Books. Paper/pen.
LW: I like the sound of that. Let's end the roundtable on that note.
Thank you Kelly Bingham
Current mood: impressed
Category: Writing and Poetry
The readergirlz divas and readergirlz everywhere give a big thanks to Kelly Bingham for joining us in April with her fabulous book SHARK GIRL. Kelly's comments on the forum have been terrific--thought-provoking and witty. I feel like I could just stop in and have a cup of tea with her and start chatting away like old friends. Kelly, you are our friend and you will always be a readergirl.
Excerpts from Kelly Bingham (SHARK GIRL) chat on readergirz
Current mood: accomplished
Did you know that author Kelly Bingham (SHARK GIRL) used to write Disney movies -- including Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, The Emperor's New Groove, and Atlantis? Or that she finished the first draft of her book just a few days before surfer Bethany Hamilton was attacked by a shark, and then put the book away for a whole year? Kelly's been spending time this month on readergirlz, and here are some great quotes from her live chat last Thursday at our forum.
On books she loved as a teen:
Little House on the Prairie books! Trixie Belden, teen detective! This sounds juvenille, but lots of Charlie Brown comic books. I read a lot of animal stories but couldn't bear to read anything twice where the animal died or was hurt.
On researching SHARK GIRL:
I started with shark attack facts. Do you know it is actually quite rare to have a shark attack in America? And fatalaties are very rare here. I read all kinds of books about it and looked at stomach-turning photos. Blah. Then, once I started writing, I had to heavily reserach amputees and the things they have to use and the therapy they go through. I read for most of my research. But I also interviewed therapists, doctors, and a maker of prosthetic limbs. I also visited a rehab facility. I also read bios of people.
On how writing for film helps her create stories:
I drew storyboards for the films and worked with writers and directors to help figure out our stories. You do all that work before anyone animates anything, of course. The process takes two to five years. So I learned a great deal about character development and pacing and arcs and emotional beats, all that stuff.
On where she writes:
I write at my desk, which is in the loft of our home in the North Georgia mountains. My kids bedroom is attached to the loft. I work in the mornings when everyone is at school and I'm sort of energetic. I am constantly distracted by the chirps of birds and the desire to crawl into our bird blind and take pictures of the birds on the feeders. But soon school will be out and I will hear the sound of voices, not birds!
I honestly think it would be inappropriate to contact her. It would look as if I thought she and I are connected in some way, or I had something to offer her.... the reality is, how could I possibly understand what her loss has truly meant? My story is fictional, hers is real....and no matter how I explain, it just LOOKS so bad, you know what I mean? I think if I were Bethany, ... I would be like, "Why are you sending me this book, I just lived this story, I don't need your imaginings." She is quite the inspiration herself and I admire her a great deal.
Great stuff, don't you think? In May, we're hosting Shannon Hale (BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS), so spread the word. Shannon's live chat will be Thursday, May 22nd, 6 p.m. PDT, 9 p.m. EDT. And in June, what could be better than to focus on PROM by Laurie Halse Anderson?
This year's Asian Pacific American Heritage Month begins May 1, 2008, and ten authors--including two of readergirlz very own divas, Justina Chen Headley and Mitali Perkins--are banding together to offer FUSION STORIES (www.fusionstories.com), a menu of delectable next-gen hot-off-the-press novels for middle readers and young adults. FUSION STORIES' critically acclaimed authors so far include Cherry Cheva (Los Angeles, CA), Grace Lin (Boston, MA), An Na (Montpelier, VT), Mitali Perkins (Boston, MA), Janet Wong (Princeton, NJ), Joyce Lee Wong (Los Angeles, CA), Lisa Yee (South Pasadena, CA), David Yoo (Boston, MA), Paula Yoo (Los Angeles, CA), and Justina Chen Headley (Seattle, WA).
Fusion Stories aims to be a helpful resource for parents, educators, young readers, and the media. The entire press kit package is available at FUSION STORIES, www.fusionstories.com. The press kit includes downloads, bios of FUSION STORIES authors, information on their books, and conversations with experts about Asian American literature for young readers.
For more information, review copies, or interview requests with any of the authors, please contact mitali.perkins@verizon.net.
Our beloved rgz diva Mitali Perkins was recently featured on KGO's View From The Bay with host Spencer Christian. She shared her thoughts on growing up and parenting between cultrures and the saving grace of stories.
excited
animated
curious
hopeful
giddy
When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren's refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment. The arrival outside the tower of Saren's two suitors - one welcome, and the other decidedly less so - brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows. 
energetic
impressed
accomplished
breezy
vibrant
