age range: preschool – third grade
topics: the fictionalized story of Jose Alberto Gutierrez; book and library love
setting: Bogota, Colombia
Angela Burke Kunkel’s website
Educator’s Toolkit

The inspiring story of a man who believes in the power of books and the importance of community. 
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

An inviting and generous story that will be a pleasure to read aloud.
 —School Library Journal, Starred Review

This amiable picture book offers children glimpses of Colombia as well as a role model who values books and enjoys sharing them with others…. Simultaneously published in a Spanish edition, Rescatando Palabras.
 —Booklist

Please tell us about your book.

Sure! Digging for Words is based on the true story of José Alberto Gutiérrez, a Colombian garbage collector who started a library for the children of his neighborhood, completely from books found in the trash. Since then, he’s gone on to provide reading material to schools and organizations all across Colombia.

What inspired you to write this story?

Strangely enough, I saw a viral video of José’s library on Facebook of all places! In my work as a school librarian, one of the most important parts of my job is ensuring that all students have access to books regardless of a family’s socioeconomic status or other factors. José’s project is really about book access for all. Although Bogotá is a city of ten million people, there are only 19 public libraries— and there were none in José’s neighborhood until he opened his home and shared his collection of discarded books. 

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

After watching and re-watching (and re-watching!) that first video, it was important for me to go beyond social media and gather as much information about José and his library. In addition to coverage in English-language sources like the Associated Press and the BBC, it was important to use Google’s search feature in Spanish rather than English. This enabled me to find local Colombian news coverage from much earlier on, as well as a wider variety of interviews where José tells his story in his own words. I also researched life in Colombia, and re-read some novels that José says are foundational to him, including Gabriel García Marquéz’s One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Little Prince (you’ll see nods to these in Paola Escobar’s beautiful illustrations). Lastly, I was able to contact José with the help of a friend who lives part-time in Colombia. Once he read a Spanish translation of the manuscript and gave it his blessing, I felt like I could move ahead with querying the story. 

What are some special challenges associated with fictionalizing a true story? 

Well, after compiling so much research and during the revision process, I kept returning to that original video to remind myself what the heart of the story was. As much as it’s about José, it’s really about the positive impact that his library has on children. I wanted to show this impact— as well as the importance of reading during José’s own childhood, and all without being didactic— and so it was important to have an invented second character, the little boy in the book who also happens to be named José.  It was really important to see that wonder of opening a book, that turning of the page, through a child’s eyes rather than an adult’s.

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

I think students should know that access to books isn’t a given in every country, or even within every school or home in the U.S.! In addition to a read-aloud that emphasizes the importance and magic of reading, I also think that Digging for Words is about community activism— José saw a problem in his neighborhood and solved it. How could this empower students? What problems do they see in their own communities, and what ideas and solutions can they come up with?  

Lastly, I want to make sure teachers know that there is an Educator’s Toolkit on my website, which includes the original video that inspired the story, a Spanish-language read aloud, activities, and several other picture book read-alikes that fit the themes mentioned above.

Thank you so much for having me, and happy reading! I hope teachers and students alike enjoy Digging for Words and getting to know both Josés.

age range: 14 and up
genre: contemporary fiction
themes / topics: theater, improv, gender equality
Nicole Kronzer’s website

A truly special book, written at exactly the right time.
— Printz Award winner Nina LaCour

Strong character development and exploration of timely topics make this novel shine…
— Kirkus

Kronzer deftly combines what it means to be a female in comedy with a story of contemporary resonance that evokes the #MeToo movement.
— Booklist

This is a well written story that provides insight into the development of an abusive, narcissistic relationship and the power of standing up for yourself.
–– School Library Connection

Please tell us about your book.

Unscripted is about seventeen-year-old Zelda Bailey-Cho, a girl with her future all planned out: improv camp, then Second City, and finally Saturday Night Live. She’s thrilled when she lands a spot on the coveted varsity team at a prestigious improv camp, which means she’ll get to perform for professional scouts—including her hero, Nina Knightley. But even though she’s hardworking and talented, Zelda’s also the only girl on Varsity, so she’s the target for humiliation from her teammates. And her 20-year-old coach, Ben, is cruel to her at practice and way too nice to her when they’re alone. Zelda wants to fight back, but is sacrificing her best shot at her dream too heavy a price to pay? 

What inspired you to write this story? 

I have been performing and/or teaching improv for more than twenty years. I have also been teaching high school English for fourteen. This story is a combination of my love for improv and my love for teenagers, and for wanting both to be great. 

Could you share a few interesting tidbits you learned while researching? 

Pretty late in the writing process, my editor and I decided it would be fun if Zelda referred to a specific set of improv rules throughout the book. I learned that modern improv popped up in several places in England and the U.S. kind of at the same time, so there’s no one set of rules. (Calculus did this too—in separate locations on opposite sides of the globe! But that’s just a fun fact—there’s no calculus in my book. 😉 ) Each improv company has their own rules, though there are some that are very similar. So I invented a fictional improv book called The Scene Must Win and culled all my favorite improv guidelines into one place. 

Also, I have a character, Hanna, who has Oculocutaneous Albinism, Type 1. A former student of mine also has this condition, so I asked him to read the book and give me his opinion of her portrayal in particular. He said, “Hanna’s great, Kronzer, but you’re always having her make eye contact with people across stage. People with albinism have crap eye sight. I can’t ever make eye contact from far away.” It taught me that research is great, but it can’t replace experience. I’m really thankful to this student (and all my beta readers) for helping me paint a more accurate picture of people whose lives are different than mine. 

What are some special challenges associated with writing improv scenes? 

This was weirdly hard. The whole point of improv is that it’s off the top of performers’ heads—no planning involved. At first, I thought I wouldn’t write any improv scenes. Improv is never as funny when it’s filmed, for instance, when compared to the magic of actually being there in the room. I figured written improv scenes were just a giant headache waiting to happen. 

Swiftly, however, I realized if I was going to write a book about improv, I had to show improv scenes. When I started writing them, it was a challenge to make something sound smart and funny, but not too smart and funny. We have to believe Zelda and her teammates and friends are capable of coming up with these characters and lines off the top of their heads, but they also have to be funny enough to survive being read. I hope I managed the right balance!

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

As a teacher myself, my own students were never far from my mind. There’s definitely plenty of fun English teacher fodder like multiple characters who grow and change, symbolism, figurative language, and an exciting plot. 

But there’s also important interpersonal lessons about what an emotionally abusive relationship looks like and what good relationships look like. There’s a diverse cast of characters. We see what it looks like to be an ally. I heard Ally Condie speak once, and she said when she wrote her first book, she wrote a book she thought her students would like. I tried to do that, too. But I also kept thinking about writing the kind of book my students needed. 

age range: 8-12
genre : magical realism
Victoria Piontek’s website
Spirit of Cattail County teacher’s discussion guide

With gorgeous prose, an eerie historical undercurrent, and a lush, larger-than-life Florida backdrop, Piontek not only delivers a taut exploration of fractured small-town dynamics, but an entrancing, compulsively readable mystery. Sensitive readers with a yen for all things supernatural will hungrily sleuth their way through this atmospheric debut.
–Booklist

A moving quest for comfort, understanding, and acceptance set in the marshes of Florida. Sparrow is not like other children, she has the gift, or curse, of seeing spirits. After her mother passes from illness, Sparrow asks her best friend—a ghost no one else can see—to send a message to her mom. Sparrow is in need of friends, family, and everything else she seems to lack. Her challenges throughout the book will resonate with pre-teens and those who have ever lost a loved one or felt they were completely alone. A melancholy, but ultimately uplifting, story about overcoming sorrow and finding one’s place in the world. Hand this to readers who crave sad stories.
–School Library Journal

Wrapped in prose as mysterious and lovely as a southern breeze lies a story about loss that haunts and the ghosts that help us heal. This story is a treasure.
— Natalie Lloyd, New York Times bestselling author of A Snicker of Magic

Please tell us about your book.

The Spirit of Cattail County is about a girl named Sparrow who doesn’t have many friends. Some kids believe her house near the swamp is haunted. Others think there’s something “unusual” about her.

But Sparrow’s not lonely — she has a best friend who’s always with her. He sits with Sparrow on her porch swing. He makes her smile by playing pranks in church. Yet Sparrow is the only one who can see him . . . because the Boy is a ghost.

So when her mama passes away, Sparrow doesn’t give up hope. After all, if the Boy can linger after death, then surely Mama can return as well.  

But the Boy has a secret of his own, one that Sparrow will need to uncover before the ghost will lead her to Mama. To solve the mystery, Sparrow joins forces with some unlikely allies — Maeve and Johnny, siblings from a family of town outcasts –and Elena, a visiting child fortune-teller.

What inspired you to write this story?

A brief moment with my daughter and a hearing a lot of ghost stories growing up inspired The Spirit of Cattail County. 

One day, when my daughter was about four, we were taking a walk through a field in rural Virginia. The grass was knee high, and we couldn’t see any other people. We were deep in the middle of the field when she tugged at my shirt and pointed into the distance. She said, “Mommy do you see that boy over there.” I looked in the direction she indicated, and I didn’t see what she saw. 

Because I was raised on superstition and ghost stories, the first fleeting thought that ran through my mind wasn’t she’s seen a rabbit or a deer. It was, she’s seen a ghost. 

It was from that briefest of thoughts that I started thinking what if a girl did see a ghost and what if that ghost was not scary, but her best friend? At that moment, Sparrow sprang to life in my mind. I could see her and hear her telling me her story. 

That night, I went home and started writing. 

Could you share a few interesting tidbits you learned while researching? 

Just a warning, this answer contains spoilers! 

While writing my book, I did research on the Orphan Train Movement, a program that sent orphaned and homeless children from crowded cities to rural parts of the Midwest. I was surprised to learn that this effort also sent children to other parts of the United States, including Florida. I also discovered that this controversial program is considered the beginning of America’s foster care system. 

What are some of the special challenges associated with writing a middle grade story about grief? 

In middle grade fiction, sad topics are explored with hope and empathy, and that’s one of my favorite things about middle grade books. However, getting the balance just right is really hard! I wanted readers to feel Sparrow’s grief, but also her strength. Often it took a lot of revision to get it just right.  

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

The town in The Spirit of Cattail County is steeped with history. Many of the characters are historians or budding historians, and even though it is a made-up town, Sparrow relies on historical research to solve the mystery of the Boy. To find answers to her questions, she consults primary resources in the town’s archives. This fictional research can be a launch pad for talking about primary versus secondary sources and how historical accounts, when viewed through only one lens, can be misleading.

One theme of the book is acceptance. At the beginning of the book, everyone has misconceptions about each other. By the end, there is more understanding, which can be a conversation starter for a discussion about empathy. This is also a book about the need to find one’s place in the world, something we all crave in varying degrees, and can be a touchstone for awareness and compassion. 

What are you working on next?

My upcoming novel, Better with Butter, (Scholastic Press, Summer 2021), is about a girl with anxiety disorder who finds an unlikely friend — an emotional support animal — in the form of an adorable fainting goat.

Twelve-year-old Marvel is afraid of absolutely everything — amusement park rides, food poisoning, earthquakes, and that big island of plastic floating through the ocean. She also obsesses about smaller worries like making friends, getting called on by the teacher, and walking home alone.

Her parents and the school therapist call her worries an anxiety disorder, but Marvel calls them armor. If something can happen, it will. She needs to be prepared.

But when Marvel stumbles on a group of older kids teasing a baby goat that has mysteriously shown up on the soccer field, she momentarily forgets to be afraid and rescues the frightened animal.

Only Butter isn’t any old goat. She’s a fainting goat. When Butter feels panic, she freezes up and falls over. Marvel knows exactly how Butter feels and precisely what Butter needs — her.

Soon, Butter and Marvel are going everywhere together, and Butter thrives under Marvel’s support. Butter also helps Marvel. Everything is easier for her with Butter by her side. But just when Marvel starts to imagine a life in which she can manage her anxiety, instead of letting it control her, Butter’s owner shows up to claim her. Will Marvel find a way to keep her friend? Or will she revert back to the anxious, lonely person she used to be?