age range: 8-12
genre: contemporary fiction
setting: New York City
Lindsey Stoddard’s website

★ This touching middle grade novel addresses the heartache of loss while also providing an insightful, accessible introduction to privilege, homelessness, and gentrification. Honest, gut-wrenching, and hopeful, this is a story about letting people in and discovering you’re a part of something larger.
— School Library Journal, starred review

★ Timely, well-integrated themes, a vibrant setting, and well-drawn, likable characters make this a winner.
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Please tell us about your book.

RIGHT AS RAIN is the story of Rain Andrews and her family as they go through the first year of grief after her big brother’s death. Her dad has trouble leaving the bedroom and her mom is trying to push the family forward toward a fresh start, so she gets a new job and rushes the family from their home in Vermont all the way to the Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City. Through the novel, Rain is trying to keep her family together, understand her place in a quickly-changing Dominican neighborhood where she feels out of place, and hold the secret that makes her feel guilty, the secret that only she knows about that night, the night that her big brother died.

What inspired you to write this story?

Like all of my stories, Rain came to me first as just a voice. I could hear her, the way she talked and how she sounded. Before anything else, I knew that she loved numbers and patterns and counting and research and was a thoughtful, emotionally strong kid. Her story came in pieces, some from emotions I felt when I was her age growing up in Vermont, and some from emotions I felt when I first moved to the Washington Heights neighborhood of NYC after college and lived there for twelve years.

What are some special challenges associated with writing middle grade?

When I’m writing fiction for middle grade readers, I focus on emotions I remember feeling intensely during those years of my own life and use those to write an honest fictional character. For my first novel, JUST LIKE JACKIE, I used a moment when I was eight that made me angry. A neighborhood boy hit a robin’s nest of eggs out of my backyard tree with his whiffle ball bat, and I had been anxiously waiting for those eggs to hatch into little birds. That event doesn’t show up in JUST LIKE JACKIE, but the anger that Robbie feels toward school bully, Alex, is drawn from the anger I felt toward that neighborhood boy. My own grandfather did have Alzheimer’s and when I was Robbie’s age I remember feeling sad and uncomfortable and wishing I could help him more. He wasn’t my caregiver, though. Instead of focusing on what happened to me, I used the emotions I felt to write Robbie’s character.

I used the same process for RIGHT AS RAIN—focused on real emotions from my childhood, and used them to create a fictional character.

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

There are lots of topics that make RIGHT AS RAIN great for a classroom: grief, transitions, privilege and gentrification, homelessness, teamwork, community, differences, etc. One thing that I learned while teaching middle school English for ten years (in Washington Heights) was that kids that age feel things big. They are sensitive and have a great interest in justice and what’s fair and right. They are emotional and capable of great empathy if given the opportunity. Books like RIGHT AS RAIN and so many other wonderful titles that have been published in the last few years are great emotional guides for any class.

age range: 8-12 years
genre: fractured fairy tale
Temre Beltz’s website

Charming and darkly funny, this debut has definite shades of Roald Dahl—it’s a natural successor to Matilda and The Witches. Middle-grade readers who like their fairy tales playing against the rules and their adventure stories with a dash of humor will gobble this up.
— Booklist

I absolutely ADORED Birdie’s story from beginning to end. The most charming book, footnotes and all!
— Liesl Shurtliff, New York Times bestselling author of Rump

Dragons, witches, and resourceful orphans? Magic, adventure, and friendship? There is so much to love about Birdie’s tragical tale!
— Jessica Day George, New York Times bestselling author of the Tuesdays at the Castle series

Please tell us about your book.

In the fairy tale kingdom of Wanderly, everyone has a role.  Birdie Bloom is a Tragical—an orphan doomed to an unhappy ending.  She spends her days locked away at Foulweather’s Home for the Tragical where her school lessons consist of nothing more than learning how to accept her tragic fate.  

Agnes Prunella Crunch, on the other hand, is a witch.  The wicked kind.  

In Wanderly, a meeting between a wicked witch and a Tragical is only supposed to end one way: tragically.  But lately, Birdie and Agnes have both been searching for something more.  And with the help of some magical Winds, a series of wayward letters, and the discovery of a very unusual Book, they might just find the kingdom’s unlikeliest friendship, and together, rewrite their story for good.   

What inspired you to write this story?

My childhood was shaped by reading.  As long as I had a book with me, I was completely content.  I loved (and still do!) the weight of the book in my hands, the sound of the pages turning, and that feeling of gently shutting the cover on yet another grand adventure that has now settled into my heart.  Some of my favorite stories to read have always been fairytales.  I love being able to dive into a shorter story, to feel quickly at home in the world because many of the roles and themes are reoccurring, and then to be able to see how some of the illustrated principles play out in the world around us and how those threads—some obviously, some subtly—are deftly woven in to other beloved classic and contemporary stories.  Fairytales, it seems, are everywhere.  In trying to make sense of our world through fairytales, I began to consider what might happen if the reverse were true.  And it is this flip in perspective that inspired the kingdom of Wanderly.

In an effort to maintain a “storybook” kingdom, the Chancellor of Wanderly has forced each citizen into a role.  These roles range from Triumphants (those guaranteed a happy ending) to Tragicals (those doomed to an unhappy ending) and everything in between, including: fairy godmothers, wizards, magicians, witches and commoners.  Chancellor-authorized storybooks are exclusively circulated as examples of what each role looks like, and, “for the good of the kingdom,” citizens are not allowed to stray from their roles.  What the Chancellor has failed to understand, however, is that stories were never meant to bind us, but to help us make sense of the larger, grander story—life—that is unfolding dynamically all around.  And that story, as demonstrated by the Winds of Wanderly, cannot be silenced; it will continue to work in, through, and around the citizens of Wanderly, despite the Chancellor’s best efforts to the contrary, which makes for some very unexpected, and delightful, twists.

On a funnier note, while trying out for a part in my fourth grade school play, my very shy, quiet self was somewhat horrified to be cast as the wicked witch!  I was reassured that she was a main part and that it really was an honor, but, try as I might, I just couldn’t get over the wicked part.  I did find the courage to play her, and I tried to bring my best self to the role, but ever since I have had a soft spot for storybook witches.  Primarily, are they all glad to be cast in such a role?  What if some of them would prefer to be written about differently?  Or, what if some of them haven’t even considered the possibility that they could be different?  It was this tension between who others think we are—and sometimes even who we think we are—as compared to what we want to or could be that I very much wanted to explore.                 

In writing a fantasy novel for children, how do you tend to approach world-building, and are there any specific techniques that you find helpful?  

The work that I have done on BIRDIE has been more fun and more challenging than I ever imagined—primarily because, when I first began writing Birdie’s story, it was not intended to be a fantasy.  The book truly is what it has become today because my agent (who I adore!) Molly O’Neill very gently pointed out to me that some of the things which occurred in Birdie’s story don’t happen in real life.  I suppose the line between fiction and reality does tend to get blurry for us writers, but I had taken it to a whole new level!  When Molly suggested grounding the story in the storybook world I referenced for the wicked witch—Agnes Prunella Crunch—it made my heart thump.  It sounded perfect, but also terrifying, though I am now beginning to learn that every story, regardless of the genre, always feels at least a little bit terrifying at the start.

One book that my agent recommended early on, The Imaginary World Of… by Keri Smith, jumpstarted my thinking in just the right direction.  It helped me begin to think of Wanderly as a three-dimensional, fully-realized world, and I began to understand that all of the thinking I do off of the page (such as side stories, histories, money systems, holidays, and traditions) will still inform the writing and help make the world feel more real to the reader.  As a writer this continues to be an important step for me: to give myself permission to day dream, and to recognize that some of the most real and important work of writing does not always translate to words on the page.  The best stories are really just the tip of the iceberg of all the hard and necessary work that no one will ever actually see.

Something else that both my agent and my editor at HarperCollins, the wonderful Stephanie Stein, taught me is that there really is nothing so far-reaching, so out of this world, so unbelievable that a reader isn’t willing to accept in a story, so long as it finds its place in a logical magical system.  In short, as long as we as writers create for our fantasy worlds a set of “rules” that can be counted upon, that can be used to make predictions, and that do not fluctuate at the whim of the writer or merely to serve the story, then the possibilities are boundless.  I like to think of it as organized freedom.

The last, and probably the most important, thing I have learned is that I still have much to learn!  But that is part of the journey of being a writer, giving our very best while still leaving room for what the books we have yet to read, and the stories we have yet to write, will teach us.  It seems the books make the writer as much as the writer makes the books.

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

I hope that students would enjoy considering Birdie’s story among other classic fairytales.  It might be fun to try rewriting some of the classic stories from one specific character’s angle in order to examine what aspects that character likes or dislikes about their given role.  This would not only get students thinking about other points of view, how roles inform the way we understand stories, and to what degree storybook roles may or may not be helpful, but it can also let students stretch their creative writing muscles.  Some of my favorite classroom activities as a student were trying on the “voice” of another writer with a distinctive style or by allowing myself to write “in character.”   

One of the other aspects that I most enjoyed in writing BIRDIE was creating the letters that went back and forth between Birdie and Agnes.  There is something very special about getting to know another person through the words that we choose to write and the things that we choose to write about.  In a world where we are constantly being pressured to make decisions at lightning speed, it can be tempting, and disheartening, to think we might “know” someone without even exchanging a word.  A fun classroom challenge could involve pairing students together so that they can write a letter to one another or to have students write a letter to a neighbor, relative, or someone else of their choosing.  As Agnes learned, all it takes is one simple “Hello” to build a bridge and to spark a “magic” powerful enough to change even an entire kingdom.

age range: 8-12 years
genre: contemporary fiction
Lynne Kelly’s website
curriculum and discussion guide

At its luminous heart, Song for a Whale is a tale about longing for connection and finding it in the most magical and unexpected of places. Fascinating, brave and tender, this is a story like no other about a song like no other. A triumph.
—Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan

Song for a Whale is beautifully written and is such an important story for kids with big struggles in their lives.  I fell into Iris’s world from the first chapter.  Lynne Kelly does an amazing job telling the story from Iris’s perspective.
—Millicent Simmonds, actress, Wonderstruck and A Quiet Place

A quick-moving, suspenseful plot takes her from junkyards to a cruise ship as she [Iris] gains the confidence to stand up for herself and take control of her life. Written by a sign-language interpreter, this story incorporates important elements of Deaf culture and the expansiveness and richness of ASL…this remains a satisfying, energetic read. Iris’ adventures will engross readers.
—Kirkus Reviews

The strength of the book is its strong portrayal of Iris as a deaf girl in a hearing world and an intelligent 12-year-old in headlong, single-minded pursuit of her goal.
—Booklist

Subtly and poignantly drawing a parallel between the girl and whale, Kelly (Chained), who has worked as a sign language interpreter, relays Iris’s venture with credibility and urgency. This finely crafted novel affectingly illuminates issues of loneliness, belonging, and the power of communication.
—Publishers Weekly

Iris’s depth of empathy, the joy she feels working with radios, and the skillful way she navigates two different worlds of communication create an authenticity that will resonate with Deaf and hearing readers alike… An uplifting tale that’s a solid addition to most collections; especially recommended for libraries needing stronger representation of Deaf protagonists. —School Library Journal

Please tell us about your book. 

Song For a Whale is about twelve-year-old Iris, who feels most at home in her electronics workshop where she repairs antique radios. She’s the only deaf student at her school, so she can’t talk to the other kids there. And she’s a frequent guest at the principal’s office. She always loved spending time with her deaf grandparents, but Grandpa is gone now and Grandma isn’t the same without him. One day in science class, Iris learns about Blue 55, the loneliest whale in the world, who sings at a frequency unintelligible to all other whales. Iris immediately feels connected to the whale and hatches a plan to reach out to him. With her Deaf grandmother by her side, Iris sets out on a trip from Texas to Alaska to find Blue 55 and let him know someone hears his song.

What inspired you to write this story?

Learning about the real 52 hertz whale, who sings at a frequency of about 52 hertz instead of 10 to 20 like most baleen whales. His song has some characteristics of blue whale and fin whale songs, so maybe he’s a hybrid of the two. He’s been around since the late 80s that we know of, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of him before. I was fascinated, wondering what life was like for a whale who sang like no other. I started reading as much as I could about him, and soon started writing about him. 

Could you share with readers how you conducted your research or share a few interesting tidbits you learned while researching? 

Yes, I learned a lot about whale songs, which I enjoyed because I’m so interested in animal communication. Some recent recordings of the 52 hertz whale song suggest that there could be more than one source of the song. Maybe there’s a small population of whales that sing it. Also the song has been growing lower over time, so it’s more like 47 hertz now. 

The humpback whales are the symphony players of the sea—they’re the ones most people think of when the think of whale songs. They have a huge range of sounds, from very low to very high, and the songs can go on for hours. What I love most is that a pod will pick up snippets of songs from one in a different region of the world. Bowhead whales are known as the “jazz musicians of the sea,” because they constantly improvise new songs. 

What are some special challenges associated with introducing a setting your audience might be unfamiliar with? 

Much of the book takes place aboard an Alaskan cruise, a place not many readers will have seen. I think the challenge is in describing the setting clearly enough for readers to envision it without going on so long that the description drags or takes them out of the story. 

I was fortunate enough to be able to take on two week-long interpreting assignments for deaf people taking Alaskan cruises, so that helped a lot with the setting details. One of those assignments was shortly after I started working on the story, and the second was a year later. That first trip informed some of the early scene work I was doing and the second one was really helpful during the revision stage. I got to see the sights that Iris and her grandmother would be sailing past, the towns they’d stop in, and the ship itself. 

One thing that helps get the unfamiliar setting description in there while still moving the story along is to have the setting do more “work” in the scene. For a scene where the ship is trying to make it through a fjord, I put that at a part of the story where Iris isn’t sure she’s going to succeed in her journey. I tried to show the walls of the mountainside seemingly closing in on the ship as they navigate through the icy waters. The ship captain finally has to give up and turn back, and Iris worries that she’ll have to do the same thing.  

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

Teachers can use the text to connect to lessons on sound waves, whale songs, sign language and deafness, poetry, ocean life, and geology.And here’s a downloadable curriculum and discussion guide!