age range: 9 – 12
genre: contemporary fiction
Melanie’s website
Bookmap (for book talks)
discussion questions

There’s abundant warmth, humor, and heart in this charmer, and readers will root for both characters and pumpkin. A winning debut. —Kirkus (starred review)

In a warmhearted debut novel, Hill shows what happens when a serious-minded girl is forced to reevaluate her priorities and reach out to others…Offering distinctive characters, a relatable plot, and some useful gardening tips, Hill’s story promotes connectivity in neighborhoods and communities. —Publishers Weekly

The book is a bittersweet tribute to the experience of growing up in a close-knit neighborhood; characters are written with care and depth…Fans of Sharon Creech’s Moo and other books about intergenerational friendship will enjoy this book. —School Library Journal

Please tell us about your book.

Giant Pumpkin Suite is about a neighborhood—kids of all ages, four generations, neighbors who get along, and neighbors who don’t. When the book starts, there’s not a lot of connection between the neighbors, except for the Brutigans and Mr. Pickering. But events transpire…. One of those events is the growing of a giant pumpkin (we’re talking giant, as in well over one thousand pounds), which winds up being something of a neighborhood effort. Another is an accident that changes the summer plans, at least—and maybe the life—of Rose Brutigan.

Rose and her twin brother, Thomas, are the main characters. They’re twelve, but in very different spots for being twelve. Rose is nearly six feet tall and can’t seem to stop growing, left-handed, way ahead in everything, and pretty wrapped up in practicing for an upcoming cello competition. Thomas is four-foot-six and hasn’t started growing, right handed, not so ahead of his peers (and totally unconcerned with being ahead), and very wrapped up in growing a giant pumpkin with Mr. Pickering, their next door neighbor. They are very different kids, but quite close, nonetheless.

It’s a summer of fresh-squeezed lemonade, mail-order worms, lots of change and challenge, bright green vines and a deep orange pumpkin, new friends, tap dancing and classic musicals, Charlotte’s Web, and GROWTH for all (not just the pumpkin!).

What inspired you to write this story?

I was incredibly inspired by a co-worker’s tales of his adult son growing a giant pumpkin in his backyard. One seed, one pumpkin, in a tiny urban backyard. He was competing against people who had fields of giant pumpkins and could choose their biggest at the time of competition. I was completely smitten by the one-seed-one-pumpkin idea as a plot. And so I started the book as a story completely focused on giant pumpkins—a couple of kids, with the aid of the old man next door, plant one seed in their totally inadequately-sized backyard…and gigantic wonders ensue!

I wrote chapters and chapters about the ins and outs of growing giant pumpkins. And then one of my writing teachers told me that I needed something else going on in the story. Pumpkins—even giant ones—couldn’t carry the whole book, she said. I was fairly devastated by this news. And flummoxed as to what else I could add to what I thought was already a fascinating story about giant pumpkin growing.

After I quit moaning and whining, I figured the easiest thing to try would be to add another competition that could run alongside the giant pumpkin growing competition. So I added a competition about something I knew almost nothing about—J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites. I love the cello. I do not play the cello, however. I’ve always wanted to learn—perhaps I still will. But I can’t really remember a time I didn’t adore Bach’s Cello Suites. (Great study/homework and writing/working music!) So, I decided to add a competition around the playing of those cello suites. This necessitated lots of research, but it was so fun for me—I love learning about new things.

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

I needed a lot of experts for this book. I needed cellists who could tell me the details of cello practice and performance. (I knew a few, thank goodness!) I needed a giant pumpkin grower to talk with me about worms and blossoms and leaves and vines. (I only knew one!) As the story became more involved I added more experts: a librarian, a doctor, a luthier who builds and repairs cellos, someone who could advise me on Japanese tea ceremonies…. So many things I knew nothing about!

I knew some of these folks, though most of them not terribly well. I was simply bold and called them to ask for help. Everyone said yes! Some I did not know—they were contacts of friends and family. When I put the call out (“Hey, does anyone I know happen to know a luthier? How about a hand surgeon?) people generously introduced me to exactly the people I needed. These experts recommended wonderful books and resources, sent me pictures and videos, explained and re-explained…but what they really did was give me a sort of hotline to call with questions—ignorant, odd, or silly questions were welcomed! My giant pumpkin expert answered questions for six years straight….

These people were also incredibly encouraging and kind. When I was dragging and losing faith, they were cheering me on. I could not have written the book without them.

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

I really felt like I was probably introducing my readers to two subjects they likely knew little or nothing about: giant pumpkins, and Bach’s Cello Suites. Now, giant pumpkins are easily recognized as fascinating, but most people have no idea the incredible amount of work it takes to grow one. I had to work hard at giving enough information to make things clear and interesting…but not go overboard and make this a How-To-Grow-A-Giant-Pumpkin book instead of a novel. It was a tricky balance.

The Bach Cello Suites were even trickier to introduce. I love this music, but I love classical music in general and know something about it. When I was writing about Rose practicing and the suites themselves, I had to keep asking myself, “What is fascinating about this—why does Rose love these suites?” I did a lot of research on those suites to find some tidbits that might draw in a reader who was not immediately or easily interested in all-things-Bach. Introducing Bach’s love of numbers and cyphers and puzzles was a part of that. And I hoped Rose’s emotions around the music she played would somehow transfer to the reader even if they’d never heard the suites before.

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

There’s a lot of STEM/STEAM potential with Giant Pumpkin Suite. The growing of the giant pumpkins has a ton of gardening, chemistry, biology, genetics etc. wrapped up in it. Rose is a math lover and the link between music (especially Bach) and math is a thread throughout the book. Also, at the state fair, a probability problem rears its real-life head—Rose “saves” them because she understands how probability works.

Very fun side-explorations could be done around classic musicals, tap dancing, Japanese history and culture, Bach, stringed instrument building, jazz music, and Charlotte’s Web.

age range: 8-12
genre: contemporary fiction; memory loss
author’s website

If Scout Finch had had a sister, she would be future “world-famous lawyer” Guinevere St. Clair….Makechnie’s debut will have readers in stitches. Gwyn’s voice is distinct and likable, carrying readers through the eventful narrative with ease. Guinevere St. Clair is indeed 100 percent unforgettable. — *STARRED Kirkus Reviews

The smart dialogue and flowing description…highlights the eccentric, yet wholly believable characters. This is part mystery, part study of the human heart, and one pierced with rays of hope. Everyone here, adults and children, have lessons they need to learn, and first-time novelist Makechnie offers them those paths, in startling ways. — *STARRED Booklist Review

Please tell us about your book. 

Guinevere St. Clair has just moved to Crow, Iowa. She’s going to be a lawyer. She was the fastest girl in New York City. She knows everything there is to know about the brain. And now that she’s living in Iowa, she wants to ride into her first day of school on a cow named Willowdale Princess Deon Dawn. But Gwyn isn’t in Crow, Iowa, just for royal cows. Her family has moved there, where her parents grew up, in the hopes of jogging her mother Vienna’s memory.

Vienna has been suffering from memory loss since Gwyn was four. She can no longer remember anything past the age of thirteen, not even that she has two young daughters. Gwyn’s father is obsessed with finding the cure to his wife’s injured brain, but Gwyn’s focused on problems that seem a little more within her reach. Like proving that the very strange Gaysie Cutter who lives down the road is behind the disappearance of an old farmer named Wilbur Truesdale.

Gwyn is sure she can crack the case, but when she does she finds that not all of her investigations lead her to the places she would have expected. In fact they might just lead her to learn about the mother she’s been doing her best to forget.

What inspired you to write this story?

The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair is based on the true events of a woman I knew who suffered a traumatic brain injury, leaving her unable to remember anything after the age of 13. I was fixated on the relationship between an incredibly patient husband and a wife who could not remember him or their children. It was a story I could not let go of. I wrote a fictional story from the point of view of a child and what it might be like to be literally “forgotten.”

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

I read a lot of books. The one that really kicked off my interest in the brain was The Brain That Heals Itself by Norman Doidge. The premise is that the brain is not fixed but always changing, and with the right therapy, can actually change and heal itself. I also teach Anatomy & Physiology, so any subject involving the human body is of huge interest. I’m not even close to being a brain expert, but I’m crossing my fingers I got it all right in the book.

Brain details were the hardest, but there were smaller details that needed to be consistent and accurate. I created a fictional town in Iowa and had to make sure that tree species, weather, and smell details were accurate. Also: cows. Had to get cow facts right! Willowdale Princess Deon Dawn was my father’s pet cow when he was a child in Idaho – I just love that.

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

Because I started with a true event, it was really hard for me to start fictionalizing. In the beginning I hesitated with even the smallest of details, like hair color or the arrangement of furniture in the living room where I conducted a short interview. I kept having to tell myself that the brain diagnosis and therapy had to be medically accurate, but otherwise, I had to create a fictional world – and I think this is important. If you aren’t writing non-fiction, then it’s probably best to stay away from writing exact replicas of people you know. But for a long time it always felt like a betrayal or lie to deviate from original events. Eventually, when my story world was built, I was at peace with it and loved my fictional St. Clair family – they have become very real to me!

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

Family themes play heavily in the book, especially between Guinevere and her little sister and between Guinevere and her mother and father. There is also the theme of friendship and how those relationships can really sustain you in hard times. There is the theme of being vulnerable and letting yourself be hurt so that you can continue to hope. Guinevere is also a huge and curious reader. She loves stories, loves learning, and loves figuring out hard problems. Memory and the brain would also be a fun classroom discussion.

Thanks for having me – I appreciate it!

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Amy!

genre: fairy tale retelling
age range: 9-12
Bridget Hodder’s website

AN ILA 2017 CHILDREN’S CHOICE LIST STARRED SELECTION

Please tell us about your book.

THE RAT PRINCE is a re-imagining of the tale of Cinderella.

Prince Char, the Prince of the Rats of the Northern Realm, is dashing, cunning, and loyal to a fault. He and his rat-subjects help keep Cinderella alive when her stepmother would gladly see the girl starve. But then Char gives Cinderella an ancient ring that his rat-ancestors stole from her noble family long ago…setting off a series of unexpected magical events! On the night of the big ball, the fairy goddess turns Char into Cinderella’s coachman. Now he and Cinderella have one fateful night to save both her family and the kingdom…and to find a most unexpected happy ending!

What inspired you to write this story?

I was never satisfied with the traditional tale of Cinderella. It’s billed as a romance but it isn’t romantic. It features an unheroic heroine who’s strangely passive and sad. And in general, it simply doesn’t make much sense! Why did Cinderella’s father allow her to be treated so horribly by his new wife? Why did a handsome prince need a ball with every lady in the land in attendance to find a wife? Who on earth was the Fairy Godmother, and how did Cinderella get one? (And where can the rest of us get one?)  These questions, and more, sparked my creativity.

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

I had a lot of fun researching the world of rats! I used to fear them, but now I respect and admire them. (I guess I still wouldn’t want to meet them in a dark alley, though.)

Among the cool things I learned (or maybe it’s unsettling, depending on your point of view) is that big rats can squeeze into a tiny opening that’s only the size of a quarter. So you might want to check your basement.

In addition, I had to learn more about olde-time sewers and plumbing than you might think, in order to get the rats in the story from place to place. In 18th-century Europe, there were (rarely) some hollowed-out tree trunks used as waste pipes, so I used these to connect Lancastyr Manor with the sewers that led to the royal palace in my story.

What are some special challenges associated with fairy tale retellings?

When you take on a fairy tale, you’re tinkering with something people have loved for centuries. So you have to be very careful to make every change a rational one within the fairytale world you create.

I chose to respect the framework of the Cinderella story in general, and tell it in a way that finally made sense and felt right to me, rather than simply turning it upside down in a haphazard manner, just for the shock effect. 

But even when you’ve made the new version of the tale consistent (as well as exciting and satisfying), there are readers who simply can’t accept alterations of their beloved original story. Once, at an author appearance, I encountered an older reader of my book who was very distraught at a change I made in the role of the human prince. I could not console her!

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

One of the original taglines for my book was “Heroes come in many guises.” This referred to the Rat Prince and to Cinderella, as well as the characters of Jessamyn the stepsister, Truffle the rat, Pye the scullery boy, and others. Often, the ideas and actions that save the day in a crisis come from folks who think differently from others; who might not conform to the prevailing sense of what is typical; who may be even be marginalized and pre-judged. THE RAT PRINCE is a great springboard for class discussions about how we shouldn’t pre-judge others on the basis of their appearance, background, social class, gender, and many other factors. It should also inspire us to find our own voices and value what we each bring to the table.

Empowerment of young women, choices and consent are also themes I wove throughout the story, hoping to spark conversations that are long overdue when it comes to the Cinderella mythos.

Not every lesson needs to feel like one. Sometimes it’s better to pick up incidental truths as we experience the fun of a rousing, immersive read, rather than have them spelled out for us as “quotable quotes” in the text. That way, classroom discussions can become voyages of discovery, as you search for the deeper meanings that authors carefully left for you find in a story that might seem at first glance to be pure entertainment. I worked hard to make THE RAT PRINCE that kind of book. I hope teachers and readers will let me know if they think I succeeded.

Thank you so very, very much for hosting me!

It’s been my pleasure.