age range: 10-12
genre: contemporary fiction
Corabel Shofner’s website

It’s not often that a book gets everything so right: characters, plot, setting, voice. It’s even rarer to find all that in a first novel. But Shofner has taken all the established, important elements of a good middle-grade novel, given them a brisk shake, and served them up to readers in way that both entertains and enlightens.
— Booklist, starred review

One undersized but indomitable tomboy tackles tough issues with wry humor as she attempts to create the home and family for which she yearns . . . Ruby’s folksy precociousness and determination are as endearing as her realization that the world is not perfect and that love comes in pieces. . . . a rollicking read.
— Kirkus Reviews

Plucky and wise beyond her years, Ruby relies on hope and common sense in equal measure, and her voice is the star of Shofner’s debut novel . . . A quirky and ultimately uplifting tale, perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo and Joan Bauer.
— School Library Journal

Please tell us about your book.

Almost Paradise is a reverse coming of age story. Ruby Clyde has taken on the adult role in her family. I have seen this often and think it is a tragedy because the child loses her childhood, yet adults often praise them for being grown up.  After Ruby Clyde’s mother is arrested, she must find worthy adults and learn to trust them. In this way she is able to reclaim her childhood.

That said, Ruby Clyde is a clear-headed, spirited little human who stands on her own two feet and tells it like she sees it, which is often funny.

What inspired you to write this story?

Inspiration comes AS I write. It usually begins with a character.

With this story, I was in bed, having just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Full of steroids and uncertain of the future, I began writing. A child marched into the room and while bouncing on the bed she announced:

“My name is Ruby Clyde Henderson and I am not stupid. What’s more, I look like a boy, even at my age—I am skinny, and as my mother says, ‘flat as a pancake.” So when I want, I tell them my name is Clyde, and when I don’t want, it’s Ruby. Some don’t even believe I’m a girl, with my hair being so short. It’s funny, people tell you not to lie, but they hardly ever want to hear the truth. If you try to tell it, they call you a liar. Liar, liar, pants on fire. But if you lie, they believe you.”

Ruby Clyde is a self-proclaimed healer. I believe writing can heal and I believe that my good health, despite a dreadful disease, is in large part due to writing Ruby Clyde.

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

I did much legal research and then told it through a child’s eye, so the law is a bit simplistic but clear, I hope. I am a lawyer in Tennessee but I had to research Texas law. I sat in on a couple of trials in Austin, one of them for what was known as the yogurt shop murders which was chilling. I spent much time in the Texas Hill Country which is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It is a lot like Israel. Dramatic and dry, rocks and twisting trees. In many ways this book is a love letter to the Hill Country. I love the spirit of Texans. I researched Peach Orchards outside of Austin and learned the difference between freestone and cling peaches, which is how much the peach clings to the pit. Long ago, I met briefly an Episcopal solitary nun but I had to find another one to answer all my questions. How to get in? How to get out? Can she live in solitude on donated land? Can she wear whatever she wants even if it is a full habit with a wimple? Could a child come live with her on the ranch? Can the nuns sell peaches?

You lean on Charles Dickens, especially Oliver Twist, to tell your story. What are some special challenges to using a book within a book?

Ruby Clyde is a reader, and the book she reads helps shape and give depth to the story. But this can be tricky. A writer must find the right passages from a book to trigger insights. Too much information might be boring. Dickens works on many levels for me: reflecting the plot, enhancing Ruby Clyde’s character, and leading readers to want to read Dickens.

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

Confidence and problem solving.

Children who take on the adult role.

Children with incarcerated parent. (Legal system.)

Vocabulary — Ruby Clyde often refers to her “wordly wizard” workbooks.

A thematic use of Charles Dickens’ books.

Children surviving in a damaged family.

Finding trustworthy adults and reclaim childhood.

age range: 8-12
genre: contemporary fiction
Melissa Sarno’s website

Please tell us about your book.

Just Under the Clouds is a novel for middle grade readers about Cora, a 12 year old girl living in a homeless shelter in Brooklyn with her mother and sister. When their room at the shelter is ransacked, the family moves in with her mother’s old friend and Cora discovers “the tree of heaven”, a tree that can grow in even the worst conditions. It sets her on a quest to understand the true meaning of home.

What inspired you to write this story?

When I wrote the novel, I was living in Brooklyn and I was struck by how many beautiful trees and plants were growing along the sidewalks where I wandered every day. I started to dream up a girl who loved climbing trees in New York City and it evolved into a story about seeking safety and permanence in something as stable and sturdy as a tree. This was also around the time when Super Storm Sandy struck my neighborhood and I began to think about some of the inequalities in the way people lived and how fleeting a sense of home can be.

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

I have always been attuned to nature, even while living in Brooklyn, but my research allowed me to understand my surroundings better. I learned to identify a lot of the trees on my street (the most popular street tree in New York City is a London Plane tree, because it absorbs carbon dioxide best.) I also learned a lot about crows and how they can recognize places and faces and keep returning to them. There’s a houseboat in my story because I had seen a small community of houseboats on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. I learned a bit about how some people live on them, like where they get electricity (through solar energy) and running water (through rain filtration). It made me want to live on a houseboat someday!

What are some challenges associated with writing about a difficult topic like homelessness?

I think the biggest challenge was getting past my own ideas of what it means to be homeless, which were originally pretty stereotypical. It’s easy to get wrapped up in a statistic or an “issue” and I also know that, as a reader, I am turned off by books that hammer home a message rather than tell me a good story. In order to overcome the obvious pitfalls, I felt I had to write about a girl who happened to be homeless, instead of a “homeless girl”, if that makes sense. I had to listen to Cora’s story and learn who she was as a person shaped by her experiences rather than someone defined by her circumstances.

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

The topic most central to the book is home and I think classrooms can explore what home means to students, whether it’s a place, a person, a feeling, or something else entirely. It’s also a book that I hope will inspire and encourage kids and teachers to think about the natural world around them, whether they live in the city, the country, or somewhere in between. Identifying what surrounds us, understanding how things grow, how we can help them grow, and connecting them to our own needs and desires can be a fun and thoughtful lesson.

Perl has created a moving coming-of-age journey steeped in Jewish traditions and comedic history, elegantly balancing humor with an honest look at the impact of suicide. Noah’s genuine voice and tricky situation will have readers pulling for him.
–Publishers Weekly

This novel is excellent on multiple fronts. A satisfying story that will appeal to all middle grade readers.
–School Library Journal

Watching Noah repeatedly sliding on a banana peel (even, once, literally) gives readers plenty of occasions to wince, to chortle, and ultimately, to applaud.
–Booklist

genre: contemporary fiction
age range: 10 and up
Erica Perl’s website

Please tell us about your book.

Well, first, let me tell you what it is NOT about: The Three Stooges. It’s actually about Noah and Dash, two seventh graders who are best friends and comedy junkies. That is, they were best friends, until Dash’s father dies suddenly and Dash shuts Noah out. Noah is sad and frustrated and jealous (because he seems to be the only friend Dash has abruptly rejected). So, instead of accepting the end of their friendship, Noah risks losing everything – even his sense of humor – to prove that gone doesn’t have to mean gone for good.

What inspired you to write this story?

My younger daughter’s best friend’s father, who was a friend of mine, died by suicide. And two adult friends of mine lost parents as a result of suicide when they were children. But, in all honesty, this book isn’t “about” suicide per se, though it does address the way depression and other mental illnesses can hide in plain sight. What I wanted to explore was the ripple effect of a tragedy. That’s why I chose to write from Noah’s perspective. He admired and adored Dash’s dad, so he feels the loss, too. But he is one step removed, so it is different for him than it is for Dash. And that makes it difficult for him to understand what Dash is feeling and why he is behaving differently than Noah might expect.

Could you share with readers how you conducted your research?

I interviewed teenagers and adults who had lost parents to suicide, and I read a lot of books. But the most important piece of my research was volunteering at a grief camp run by the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing. All the kids at camp had lost family members (though not all to suicide), and many of the campers I worked with were Dash and Noah’s age. By watching them work through their pain – and explore the freedom to separate from it – I came to a heightened understanding of the incredible range of ways kids process grief and loss. I tried as much as possible to capture and honor their lived experiences in ALL THREE STOOGES.

What are some special challenges associated with writing a “funny” book that explores a subject as serious as parental suicide?

It was really important to me to walk a careful line so no one – especially no one grieving – felt I was being casual or irreverent about loss. At the same time, I wanted to show how comedy and laughter can be a profound basis for human connection. And I wanted to show the way that humor can come from a place of pain while also helping people to heal.

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

The book explores several topics that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom. These include:

• Comedy in a cultural and historical context. In particular, the kids in this book end up working on a project exploring Jewish comedy and comedians. But many cultures have rich comedic histories, and the comedy history of America is also well worth studying. There are ample video clips for students to watch, dating back to the early twentieth century – including silent film clips – that show the evolution of comedy from slapstick and vaudeville to improv, stand-up, sketch comedy and much more. Students can study how social, political, and cultural events have affected comedic styles as well as subject matter in a variety of time periods.
• Technology, privacy, and ethical dilemmas. In the book, Noah finds Dash’s missing cell phone and is torn about what to do. The choice he makes has repercussions and leads to more bad choices because of the hole he digs for himself. Students might discuss appropriate rules around personal technology and raise examples of when it is and is not ethical to violate someone’s privacy.
• Empathy about “invisible” differences / mental health awareness. When Dash’s father dies, Noah doesn’t know what to say or how to act around him. This is extremely common (for adults as well as children). When Noah learns that Dash’s father died by suicide, and suffered from depression for years, he refuses to believe it because Dash’s dad kept his suffering hidden so effectively. Students can discuss ways to cultivate a community where mental health issues are taken as seriously and discussed as openly as physical health issues and learn ways to support those who are suffering, struggling, and surviving.

Giveaway

Erica has graciously offered to giveaway a signed copy of All Three Stooges. To enter, simply leave a comment below sharing why you’d like to read this book. The contest closes Tuesday, February 27. US residents only, please.

age range: 8-12
genre: contemporary fiction
author’s website
curriculum guide 

The tone and characters are reminiscent of classics… A charming tale, ideal for fans of Jeanne Birdsall’s The Penderwicks…
— School Library Journal

Heartwarming and satisfying.
— Booklist

Jodi Kendall’s utterly charming, heartfelt story of the unlikely bond between a girl and a pig just goes to show that sometimes it takes a little pig with a big heart to bring a family together again. Move over Wilbur, there’s a new pig in town!
— Bobbie Pyron, critically-acclaimed author of A Dog’s Way Home

Please tell us about your book.

In THE UNLIKELY STORY OF A PIG IN THE CITY, 11-year-old Josie Shilling makes it her mission to save the piglet named Hamlet that her brother brings home from college, as she and Hamlet each struggle to find their place in a crowded, chaotic family. It starts on Thanksgiving Day and ends on New Year’s Day, so there are cozy holiday moments tied in with Josie’s gymnastics team, big family, neighborhood friends, and of course her city pig adventures.

What inspired you to write this story?

When I was thirteen, my college-aged brother rescued a runt farm piglet destined for death. He snuck it into his dorm room in a football helmet and a few days later, over holiday break, showed up at our house with a squirmy pink piglet in his arms.

Dad wanted it out. Mom was sympathetic. My siblings and I rallied together on a mission to save her. The adventures we had over the next few months, as the tiny piglet grew into an 180 pound hog, have now become family legend. The Columbus Dispatch even wrote an article about our pig in 1994! This experience of bonding with a pet (the piglet was the first in a long line of ducks, hamsters, rabbits, dogs, fish, and a green iguana that joined our family of seven over the years) contributed to my life-long love for animals and the unique relationships we have with them.

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

We had a pet pig a long time ago, so I did quite a bit of research when drafting and editing the book. I spent much of 2015 at a public farm outside New York City (a wonderful place called Muscoot Farm) where there were two sets of piglets that summer. I captured video, snapped photographs, and scribbled endless notes on farm pig behaviors (I wish I had a photo of the farmer’s face when I asked him if I could sit in the pigpen and write!). I also had a friend of a friend in Connecticut who had two pet pigs, and she let me hang out with them and answered all my questions about feeding, pig socialization, cleanliness, etc. And of course, there are endless adorable pig videos on YouTube.

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

THE UNLIKELY STORY OF A PIG IN THE CITY evolved from my own experiences growing up in a big, chaotic family, caring for an adorable piglet, and worrying about finding her a forever home—as well as learning how to deal with growing pains in my own secret ways, and feeling like so many important things were out of my control. This is a story about unconditional love, belonging and acceptance, and getting bigger when you’ve always felt small.