books and reading Archives - Caroline Starr Rose

Classroom Connections: Audacity Jones to the Rescue by Kirby Larson

age range: 9-12 years
genre: historical fiction; mystery
Kirby Larson’s website

First in a series, Larson’s thriller deftly mixes humor, heart-pounding moments, and a strongly evoked historical setting-it’s truly a story with something for everyone.
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Newbery Honor author Larson’s series starter is just the ticket for readers who crave adventure and mystery as much as 11-year-old Audacity Jones, an intrepid, well-read, positive-minded orphan. . .[the] story’s themes of trust, friendship, and good manners will resonate with many. Audacity’s charm and smarts make this historical adventure a winner.
— Booklist, starred review

Larson infuses her romp with plenty of humor…Clever, funny, and sweet in equal measures.
—Kirkus Reviews

Readers will cheer Audacity’s ingenuity and bravery as they relish every moment of her adventures. Highly recommended.
—School Library Journal

Amazon Best Historical Fiction for Kids
Amazon Best Book of the Year

For years, Kirby Larson has tirelessly championed authors and their books through interviews on her blog and later on Instagram. It is such a pleasure to be able to return the favor today!

Kirby, please tell us about your book.

AUDACITY JONES TO THE RESCUE combines my love of mysteries with my love of history. It tells the story of an adventurous 11-year-old orphan who, with the help of a rag tag group of friends, thwarts a plan to kidnap President Taft’s niece.

What inspired you to write this story?

Audacity herself! I was minding my own business working hard on the first novel for the Dogs of WWII series, DUKE, when a character tapped on my shoulder. She explained she was an 11-year-old orphan and that, like me, she loved to read adventure stories but what she really wanted was to go on an adventure. I explained politely that I was busy at work on another book and that she should please go away. She did not. In fact, she kept pestering me until I had to set DUKE aside to write twelve pages about her. Her insistence led me to name her Audacity.

The character and setting came together rather quickly but I did not have the key element of a novel – the problem. Luckily, I love reading old newspapers which is where I stumbled on an article from January 1911 reporting that President Taft’s 12-year-old niece Dorothy had been kidnapped. It turned out there was no kidnapping, merely a mix-up over train schedules. But the seed was planted. I was certain that had Dorothy been kidnapped, Audie surely would’ve been the one to rescue her.

Could you share with readers how you conducted your research and / or share a few interesting tidbits about your writing process with this book? (You can re-write to suit your work.)

I am an avid researcher. Give me a dusty old archive and I am one happy writer! For this book, I sought out a recipe for President Taft’s favorite soup (turtle!); I dug up the memoir of the White House housekeeper; I flipped through pages of old photos, letters, maps, and newspaper articles. It is extremely important to me to get as much information as possible so I can move my characters around the stage of their world in a confident and believable manner.

When I wrote my first historical novel, HATTIE BIG SKY, there weren’t as many digitized materials as there are today. I had to travel to Montana (several times) to get the information I needed. With AUDACITY JONES TO THE RESCUE, I could get much of what I wanted from the comfort of my office, but I did travel to DC to spend a few days at the Historical Society there, as well as other places.

The funniest thing that happened while working on this book was the reply I received to my request for blueprints of the White House basement. It was briskly explained to me that such materials are not made available! I can only imagine what list I’m on now for asking that question as I did not think to clarify that I was looking for plans from 1910.

What are some special challenges associated with writing historical fiction?

One of the reasons I spend so much time conducting research is that I feel a huge responsibility to my young readers; I can’t let them down. And I believe that if I am knowledgeable about a past time and place, my readers will sense that and feel comfortable going along with my character on her journey. That being said, I have a trusted friend read my early drafts because I don’t want to bore my reader with each and every fascinating detail I’ve uncovered! I try very hard to remind myself that I am a storyteller first and foremost, not a textbook writer. No matter the genre, a writer can generally engage a reader by creating an intriguing character and giving her a larger-than-life problem to wrestle with. I’ve also learned that by including a cat (Miniver, in Audie’s case) or a dog (in the case of the Dogs of WWII series), I can hook a history-averse reader into reading one of my books.

What topics does your book touch upon that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom?

Though I think of Audie’s story as a romp – a book to read for a rollicking good time – it’s a great fit for classrooms because it takes readers back to our nation’s capital in the early part of the 20^th century. There is not only information about the city at that time, there’s information about the White House and those who worked there. I can imagine that the story would provoke discussion about what kind of information to trust, how things have changed for children and other groups since 1910, and it may even correct some myths about President Taft who, according to my research, never did get stuck in a bathtub.

Be sure to look for the sequel, Audacity Jones Steals the Show.

Quick Lit: What I’ve Been Reading Lately

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How to Make a Bird by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Matt Ottley

This beautifully poetic picture book is an ode to creating and letting go: “Breathe deeply / and take your time. / The making of a bird / is not a thing to be hurried.”

Or maybe it’s about giving and releasing: “So you will gather it into your hands / and cast it gently upon the air. / Those wings you so carefully made / will stretch out just a little, / and your bird will tremble / as it fills, inside its tiny, racing heart, / with the dreams only a bird can dream…”

Some might say Bird is really a book for grownups. (I challenge you to read it and not think about an empty nest.) But I say it’s bigger than that: Children should hear lovely language, too, even if it’s elevated, and stories can expose them to abstract concepts they might not grasp yet. Why not? Poetry is an experience, and this book is just that.

Lovely. Definitely worth a read.

Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

If you will listen, I will tell you a story. We can know and be known to each other, and then we’re not enemies anymore.

I’m late to this award-winning, star-earning wonder of a YA autobiography. Wow. What an ambitious and beautiful and funny and heartbreaking and hopeful book. Daniel and his family flee Iran because of religious persecution after his mother, a Christian convert, is detained by the secret police. They eventually settle in Oklahoma — a world away from everything Daniel’s known. The book is a non-linear collection of stories: his family history interwoven with Persian history interwoven with memories in a new world that isn’t always welcoming. Daniel tells his stories to the reader as Scheherazade told her stories to the king in One Thousand and One Nights. The book has one of the simplest and most heartfelt descriptions of Christianity I’ve ever read:

Sima, my mom, read about him [Jesus] and became a Christian too. Not just a regular one, who keeps it in their pocket. She fell in love. She wanted everybody to have what she had, to be free, to realize that in other religions you have rules and codes and obligations to follow to earn good things, but all you had to do with Jesus was believe he was the one who died for you.

And she believed.

80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster by Training Slower by Matt Fitzgerald

I’ve been running for almost twenty years now — nothing fancy or fast, just ten or so miles split over two days (with a few laps at the gym thrown in). I’ve tried various ways to improve my speed over the years (which pretty much peaked when I turned forty), and have tried to be better about varying the types of runs I do (high intensity, intervals, slow, distance, etc.), but, well, I always seem to pretty much settle into the same distance and pace — a pace that perhaps isn’t doing me any favors. The last few races I ran left me really zonked. I’ve been curious about bettering my running base.

In January I did low heart-rate training, which meant I “ran” at a pace so slow my fitness tracker would buzz to ask if I was still exercising! But I learned so much. I felt like I could keep running for hours, I was so energized. I realized my standard pace is wearing me out, and I wanted to help my body be more efficient. Enter 80/20 running. This is a training method most endurance athletes use, whether they realize it or not. The idea is that 80% of training miles are at an easy pace and the other 20% at medium to high intensity. By easing back you build endurance, cut back on fatigue, and increase aerobic capacity. Sign me up for that!

What have you been reading lately?

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Mark your calendars! A MIRACULOUS reading Saturday, April 29 at 11:00am, at Albuquerque’s newest bookstore, Books on the Bosque.

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