Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

Classroom Connections: 365 Days to Alaska by Cathy Carr

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age range: 8-12 years
genre / topics: contemporary fiction; relocation, family, nature
Cathy Carr’s website
educator’s guide
student discussion guide

Rigel’s big heart made my own heart ache. A funny and poignant fish-out-of-water tale with all the right feels and an important reflection on how we can all find our way home.
—John David Anderson, author of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day

Rigel’s suspenseful journey toward finding a home for her brave and wild heart is one that will help us all discover the beauty and uniqueness of where we are.
—Francisco X. Stork, author of Marcelo in the Real World

Readers will want to travel alongside Rigel as she struggles to survive the halls of middle school as well as she did the Alaskan bush. 365 Days to Alaska is a wonderful debut novel about compassion, belonging, and finding your way home when you feel lost in the wilderness.
—Lynne Kelly, author of Song for a Whale

I thought it might be fun to run this interview on the 365th day of the year. Cathy, could you tell us about your book?

365 Days to Alaska is about an 11-year-old girl named Rigel Harman, who’s grown up in a remote, off-the-grid cabin in the Alaskan Bush. She loves living there, but her parents’ marriage has split up, and at the beginning of 365 Days, Rigel’s mom announces that she’s taking her daughters—Rigel and her two sisters—and moving back to Connecticut, where the mom grew up. Rigel’s sisters are excited about this, but Rigel wants no part of it. The only thing that makes the news bearable is a secret deal she’s cooked up with her dad—their agreement that he’ll bring her back to Alaska if she can stick it out in Connecticut for one year. A lot can happen to a middle-grade kid in a year, and Rigel’s beautifully simple plan doesn’t end up going the way she expected. Over the year, she learns a lot about change, acceptance, friendship, and discovering beauty where you can find it. 

What inspired you to write this story? 

The most direct inspiration was a magazine article I read years ago about a girl in Rigel’s position. The article was really about the girls’ parents, who had raised their daughters off the grid in the Canadian Bush. The parents’ marriage had split up, and the mom took her daughters and moved south to a large city in western Canada. Two of the girls had made a good adjustment to city life, but one of them hadn’t. She missed the wilderness, and she missed her old life. But there wasn’t any going back to it. I couldn’t stop thinking about that girl. In some ways, kids have so little control over their own lives. It’s one of the hardest things about growing up, and I think it’s a great subject for middle-grade fiction. That girl who missed her old life was the one who inspired Rigel Harman. 

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

Research is like an iceberg. You know you’ve done enough of it when only 10% of it is visible to your readers. I read a lot about modern Alaskan life in the Interior, both fiction and non-fiction. I even subscribed to the Anchorage Daily News. And I had to learn a lot about crows and ravens, because the behavior of Rigel’s crow friend, Blueberry, had to be right. 

One thing that surprised me was just how intelligent corvids are. I knew crows were smart, playful, and social. But did you know that they can learn how to use a vending machine? Or that they’ll turn a jar lid into an improvised sled so they can go sledding down rooftops? They also like to play fetch and they’ll bring gifts to people who feed them regularly. I really enjoyed learning more about them while researching this book. 

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

This is going to sound like Writing Advice 101, but the details have to be right. They’d better be correct (that’s where the research comes in), and you’d better choose them carefully. Good details can really make your work come to life. 

Since Rigel moves from Alaska to Connecticut, you don’t see much of Alaska in 365 Days to Alaska (despite the title). But much of the book portrays average suburban life from Rigel’s point of view, and I think readers can learn quite a bit about off-the-grid life just from seeing her reaction to the new things around her. (One of the reviews called this aspect “an informative peek into different lifestyles.”) For example, to Rigel her grandmother’s comfy suburban house is almost freakishly luxurious. Why does it have so many bathrooms? Why does Grandma need two sets of dishes? And, when it comes to school, what’s the deal with chicken nuggets? Rigel thinks they’re disgusting. And why are some of the kids making a big deal about her wearing the same shirt two days in a row? If they ever had had to do laundry using a wringer washer, they might wear a shirt more than once too. 

You need to have good accurate details, you need imagination, and you need some sharp observation of human behavior. David Sedaris said something once that I love: “If you write about people, you have to be interested in people.” 

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

Family relationships, divorce, friendship, change, and personal challenge are big topics.  It’s also a book about nature, our place in nature, and our relationship with it. There are teaching and student discussion guides available on my website at https://www.cathycarrwrites.com/docs/365-Days-to-Alaska-Educators-Guide.pdf and https://www.cathycarrwrites.com/docs/365-Days-to-Alaska-Student-Guide.pdf.

Classroom Connections: Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs + Giveaway

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age range: 8-12 years
genre / topics: historical fiction; Mexican Revolution
Author’s Website
Petra Luna Discussion Guide
Educator’s Guide

Dobbs’ wrenching debut, about family, loss, and finding the strength to carry on, illuminates the harsh realities of war, the heartbreaking disparities between the poor and the rich, and the racism faced by Petra and her family. Readers will love Petra, who is as strong as the black-coal rock she carries with her and as beautiful as the diamond hidden within it.
— Booklist, STARRED review

With vivid and poetic imagery and artfully balanced narrative tension, Dobbs’s assured writing blazes bright, gripping readers until the novel’s last page.
― Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

What hunger would you endure, what history would you sacrifice, what hazards would you brave to lead your family through a war? Petra Luna’s incredible odyssey in pursuit of her ‘barefoot dreams’ is as vital and perilous and hopeful as that of today’s dreamers, who still set off across the desert seeking a better life in America more than a hundred years later.
— Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee

Please tell us about your book.

It is 1913, and twelve-year-old Petra Luna’s mama has died while the Revolution rages in Mexico. Before her papa is dragged away by soldiers, Petra vows to him that she will care for her family―her abuelita, little sister Amelia, and baby brother Luisito―until they can be reunited. They flee north through the unforgiving desert as their town burns, searching for safe harbor in a world that offers none.

Each night when Petra closes her eyes, she holds her dreams close, especially her long-held desire to learn to read. Abuelita calls these barefoot dreams: “They’re like us barefoot peasants and indios―they’re not meant to go far.” But Petra refuses to listen. Through battlefields and deserts, hunger and fear, Petra will stop at nothing to keep her family safe and lead them to a better life across the U.S. border―a life where her barefoot dreams could finally become reality.

What inspired you to write Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna?

Growing up I loved listening to many family stories about my great-grandmother’s experiences during the Mexican Revolution. They all told of extraordinary events and unbelievable trials she endured as a child. One story in particular intrigued me. It was of my great-grandmother and her family anxiously waiting for the US border to open along with thousands of other people so that they could cross into safety.  I decided to do some research to find out if it was true. Without having an exact date, I searched through old newspapers and after many months of research (and almost giving up!), I found an article that described the event exactly as my great-grandmother had recounted it. I knew then I had to share her story, and Petra Luna was born!

Could you share with readers how you conducted your research? 

Attempting to find out if the old family story was true, I began my research journey by reading over 40 books, both in English and Spanish, on the Mexican Revolution. It wasn’t until I read three years’ worth of newspapers printed in that era that I was able to confirm the accuracy of my family’s story. I read books written by journalists and anthropologists who interviewed people living during the conflict. I also researched mundane things such as desert plants, curanderismo, Aztec mythology, Náhuatl, music from that era, etc., and even though some things never made it into the book, they allowed me to know the characters and settings more intimately. I also printed out segments of Sanborn maps and assembled them together like puzzle pieces to let me know what streets Petra Luna had walked on. When I cross-referenced the map with old photographs, I could see buildings she came across and even walked into. Also, I kept a timeline handy that followed actual dates chronicled in newspapers to help weave in the fiction. 

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

The Mexican Revolution has a complex history which can be difficult to follow. I found it challenging to narrate the story of Petra Luna while giving a sense of the war without sounding academic. I tackled this challenge by using settings and characters’ actions and beliefs to give readers an insight to the conflict and to its effects on the population, especially on impoverished women and children. 

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

The themes in the book include the vast economic gaps and the social prejudices that prevailed in Mexico and led to the country to a revolution. These are very similar to the disparities and injustices currently present here in America and around the world. The topic of people escaping violence in their homeland and coming to the U.S. for safety is as prevalent today as it was back in 1913 when Petra and her family escape her village. To me the most important lesson is how Petra Luna, even as a child, overcomes these forces and ensures she protects what matters most.

Giveaway

Alda has graciously offered to give a copy of Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna to one of my blog readers. The giveaway is open to residents in the US and Canada only. To enter, simply comment below. If you’re reading through email, be sure to click through. A winner will be selected Monday, December 20.

Classroom Connections: Thankful by Elaine Vickers

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age range: 4-8 years
format: picture book
Elaine Vickers’s website
printable activity guide
resources
Thankful book trailer

Charming, engaging…a visual delight.
— Kirkus Reviews

Please tell us about your book.

If Thankful were a song, it would be “What a Wonderful World.” The story is a lyrical narrative about gratitude based on a tradition from my own family. When winter comes, we each write down the things we’re thankful for on strips of paper, make a paper chain with them, then read a link of the chain each day as the new year approaches. At its core, Thankful is celebration of family, the beauty of the natural world—and what a wonderful thing it is to be part of it all.

What inspired you to write this story?

It’s funny—even though Thankful comes from a tradition in my family, that’s not where it started. The tradition itself is actually one that I made up for the main character to do with her family in one of my middle grade novels, Paper Chains. It wasn’t until my editor asked whether I’d gotten the idea from my own experience that it even occurred to me that this was something I could do with my actual children in real life! So, of course, we started that very year, and a few of their cousins joined in.

What sets this book apart and makes it truly unique?

While I’m proud of the text of the book, even I am quick to affirm that the art is the best part. When I heard that 3-D illustrator Samantha Cotterill had signed on to the project, I’m embarrassed to admit that my first thought was, “Does that mean it will be a pop-up book?” Of course, Sam’s art is even more magical than that. She builds each set and lights it and photographs it, and those become the illustrations. One of the most magical aspects of her work to me, though, is that she creates these incredible pieces using things like house paints and cereal boxes, and she leaves just enough imperfection for kids to look at the illustrations and think, “I bet I could do that.”

Thankful seems to take place both in a single evening and over the course of an entire year. How did you come up with the text for this story?

As I was writing the text for this story, I thought back to the things my own kids had written on their thankful chains. Some were general, others were personal and very specific, and so many of them were surprising—yet universal. That’s what I hoped to capture in the book: the things we all have to be grateful for, regardless of our circumstances. A dear friend told me that the words have been almost like a meditation to her, helping her through a difficult period as she remembers to be “thankful for a heart that beats . . . and every breath, in and out, in and out.”

Of course, the goal was to write an appealing and authentic story, first and foremost. But if it can help kids develop a sense of gratitude and maybe even practice gratitude in their own lives (which has been shown to make us happier and healthier!), I would be thankful for that indeed.

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

Gratitude, of course, which is perfect for this time of year—or any time of year! I can also envision classroom connections to art and engineering as students create their own scenes, language arts as students write their own thankful chains, and character education as they discuss gratitude and awareness of the good things in their lives. We do have some great resources to go along with the book as well, including a printable activity guide and a fabulous trailer (81 seconds guaranteed to brighten your day—just listen to those kids’ voices!) It’s been amazing to watch the photos and videos already of teachers who are reading the book and making thankful chains to decorate their classrooms. It’s pretty much my favorite thing ever! And, as a bonus, you can read Paper Chains too for a perfectly-paired middle grade read aloud!